Page:Historical and biographical sketches.djvu/197

Rh scruples respected? They were in doubt about it, and little indications seemed to warrant their uncertainty. The local magistracy and the deputed authorities looked favorably upon their request for complete freedom from military service, but explained that they were without the power to grant the privilege which they thought existed in the King of England alone. In consequence of this explanation the Pennsylvania Mennonites resolved to write, as they did under date of May 8th, 1742, to Amsterdam and Haarlem, and ask that the com- munities there would bring their powerful influence to bear upon the English Court in their behalf, as had been done previously through the intervention of the States-General when alleviation was obtained in the case of the Swiss and Litthauer brethren. This letter seems to have miscarried. It cannot be found in the archives of the Amsterdam community, and their minutes contain no reference to it, so that its contents woukl have remained entirely unknown if the Pennsylvanians had not written again October 19th, 1745, complaining of the silence upon this side, and repeating in a few words what was said in it. Though it is probable that the letter of 1742 was not received, it may be that our forefathers laid it aside unan s wered, thinking it unadvisable to make the intervention requested before the North American brethren had substantial difficulty about the military service, and it must be remarked that in the reply, written from here to the second letter, there is not a word said upon this subject, and allusions only are made to things which, in comparison, the Pennsylvanians surely thought were of much less importance.

In the second part of their letter of October, 1745, which is in German, the Pennsylvanians write, “as the flames of war appear to mount higher, no man can tell whether