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 PRESCOT Infidelity and religious intolerance. The in- tegrity and autonomy of the constituent bod- ies is not to be interfered with ; no ecclesias- tical authority is to be assumed, and no doc- trinal changes are to be required or imposed. The number of distinct Presbyterian bodies which, it is expected, will give in their adhe- sion, is nearly 50, embracing some 20,000 congregations. BIBLIOGRAPHY. On the his- tory of the Presbyterian church in Scotland, the following works may be consulted : Rob- ert Wodrow's " History of the Sufferings of the Church of Scotland" (2 vols. fol., Edin- burgh, 1721-'2); John McKerrow's "History of the Secession Church" (1839); Hethering- ton's "History of the Church of Scotland" (1843) ; McCrie's " Life of John Knox " (1813) and "Life of Melville" (1819); the younger McCrie's " Sketches of Scottish Church His- tory " (1841) ; and the publications of the Wodrow Society (24 vols., 1842-'7). On the church in Ireland the best and main authority is the " History of the Presbyterian Church in Ire- land," by James S. Reid (3 vols., 1834-7), with .a continuation by Killen (1853). On Ameri- <can Presbyterian church history, the principal works are Webster's " History," reaching only to 1758 (8vo, Philadelphia, 1857); Hodge's " Constitutional History of the Presbyterian Church," terminating in 1788, with the adop- tion of the present constitution (2 vols., Phila- delphia, 1840-'41); Gillett's "History of the Presbyterian Church" (2 vols. 12mo, Phila- delphia, 1864; revised ed., 1875), bringing the history down to the time of its publication ; Sprague's "Annals of the American Pulpit" (Presbyterian, 2 vols. 8vo, Tew York, 1858); besides a large number of local histories. The minutes of the general assembly are published .annually, and digests haye been successively made, embodying up to the time of issue the leading measures of the church. PRESCOT, a town and parish of Lancashire, England, 6 m. E. N. E. of Liverpool ; pop. of the town in 1871, 5,990; of the parish (area -57 sq. m.), 80,520 (in 1861, 63,540). The par- ish stands on the edge of a rich and extensive coal field, and comprises several large villages. The town has long been a manufacturing place of importance. The drawing of pin wire had its origin here, and watch movements, watch- makers' tools, and coarse earthenware are man- ufactured. The parish church is an ancient edifice, with several monuments by Westma- 3tt and Chantrey. In the vicinity are cot- m and flax mills, collieries, potteries, and glass rorks. PRESCOTT, an E. county of Ontario, Canada, bordering on Quebec, and bounded N. by the Ottawa river; area, 491 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 17,647, of whom 9,623 are of French, 4,055 of Irish, 2,546 of Scotch, and 1,256 of English origin or descent. It is watered by the Petite Nation and other streams. Capital, L'Original. PRESCOTT, a town and port of entry of 'Grenville co., Ontario, Canada, on the St. Law- PRESCOTT 819 rence river, opposite Ogdensburg, N. Y., with which it is connected by ferry, at the S. termi- nus of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa railway, and on the Grand Trunk railway, 220 m. E. by N. of Toronto, and 47 m. S. by E. of Otta- wa; pop. in 1871, 2,617. It has about 50 stores, a branch bank, two iron founderies, three breweries, a distillery, a weekly news- paper, and four churches. The value of im- ports for the year ending June 30, 1874, was $281,289 ; of exports, $626,167. PRESCOTT. I. OliTer, an American patriot, born at Groton, Mass., April 27, 1731, died there, Nov. 17, 1804. He graduated at Har- vard college in 1750, practised medicine, was successively major, lieutenant colonel, and col- onel in the militia, and in 1776 was appoint- ed a brigadier general of the militia for the county of Middlesex, and became a member of the board of war. In 1777 he was elected a member of the supreme executive council of the state. In 1778 he was created third major general of militia throughout the common- wealth, and in 1781 second, but soon after resigned. In this year he received from the government a commission " to cause to be ap- prehended and committed to jail any person whom you shall deem the safety of the com- monwealth requires to be restrained of his per- sonal liberty, or whose enlargement within the commonwealth is dangerous thereto." In 1779 he was made judge of probate for the county of Middlesex, and held that post until his death. He was very influential in suppressing Shays's rebellion. II. William, an American patriot, brother of the preceding, born at Groton, Mass., Feb. 20, 1726, died at Pepperell, Mass., Oct. 13, 1795. He inherited a large estate. In 1755 he served successively as lieutenant and captain in the provincial army under Winslow during the expedition against Nova Scotia; and after the war he retired to his estate in Pep- perell. On receiving the news of the battle of Lexington, he assembled a regiment of minute- men of which he was colonel, and marched to Cambridge. When the committee of safety decided to occupy Bunker hill, Prescott was selected for this perilous service, and on the evening of June 16 marched to Charlestown with a brigade of 1,000 men, and threw up the intrenchments behind which under his com- mand the Americans met the British on the following day. It is the contemporary record, says Bancroft, that during the battle " no one appeared to have any command but Col. Pres- cott," and that "his bravery could never be enough acknowledged and applauded." He was among the last to quit the field, and im- mediately offered to retake the position if the commander-in-chief would give him three regi- ments. He served in the army for two years longer, and was present as a volunteer at the battle of Saratoga in 1777. After this battle he returned home, and subsequently sat in the legislature of Massachusetts for several years III. William, an American lawyer, only child