Page:History of the University of Pennsylvania - Montgomery (1900).djvu/432

428 no Difficulty in making and entering on our Books a fundamental Declara- tion of this Plan as proposed to us, a Copy of which is hereunto annexed under our Seal. But the next paragraph appears to show their fear that the Archbishop might misconstrue their expression, " that the members of the Church of England or those dissenting from them be not put on any worse footing " than before : After the great Countenance shewn to this Seminary by our gracious Sovereign and by our National Church over which your Grace presides, we should hold ourselves inexcusable if, by any Act of ours, we should endeavor to put the Interest of that Church on any worse Footing in the said Semi- nary than it was at the Time of obtaining so great Favors. On the contrary we think it our Duty to shew every mark of our Regard to that Church, so far as is consistent with our Faith pledged to other Religious Denomina- tions and that Plan of Christian Liberty to which we know your Grace is a warm Friend. To Dr. Chandler they write : You may be well assured that we shall be ever Zealous to preserve that Plan of Christian Liberty on which it is the Glory of this Institution to be founded ; and at the same time that we shew all due Regard to our national Church, we shall never violate our Faith pledged to other religious Denomi- nations. To the Proprietaries they also write their acknowledgments, and say : What comes recommended to us by Personages to whom we owe so many obligations, could not fail to have its due Weight with us, more especially as it is conformable to that generous Plan which we have always pursued in this Seminary ; and therefore we found no Difficulty in making and entering into our Books a fundamental ; Declaration of this Plan, as proposed to us. The carefulness with which the Trustees reiterated their constant maintenance of the original plan of the Institution, and the grace with which they now acceded to a request from high quarters to renew assurances to that effect, would seem to imply they had knowledge that there was some ground for the mistrust held by their friends, otherwise they would have coupled to their reiteration some denial of, perhaps resentment at, the serious implications involved in the request. The Trustees had