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through His Church, to lead this people; one other is, that considering his labors in the church, it necessarily becomes interesting; the last I shall offer is the exhortation of Paul, "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God."
The first intimation had of Mr. Gloucester was derived from the minutes of the Presbytery of Union, Synod of Tennessee, to the General Assembly, in 1807, presented to that body by the Committee of Overtures, requesting advice in relation to the licensure of Mr. John Gloucester. The case was handed over to a committee appointed by the General Assembly, consisting of Messrs. Clark, Miller, and Samuel Brown, with instructions to report as early as possible. After due time the Committee made the following report:—
"Whereas, From the communication of the Presbytery of Union, it appears that John Gloucester has been for some time under the care of the Presbytery of Union, that in the opinion of Presbytery he possesses promising talents and eminent piety ; that he has been for several years engaged in the study of literature and theology, but has not yet obtained all the literary qualifications required in candidates for licensure, and if he were licensed there is much reason to believe he might be highly useful in preaching the Gospel among his own people; and Whereas, said Presbytery requests the advice of the General Assembly, therefore
"Resolved, That the General Assembly, considering the circumstances of the particular case, viz., the evidence of unusual talents, discretion, and piety, possessed by John Gloucester, the good reason there is to believe that he may be highly useful in preaching the Gospel among people of his own color, and the various difficulties likely to attend a further delay in proceeding in this
