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one turns to the "authorities" which the author had before him in the preparation of his work, a list of which he gives on pp. xvii-xx. In this list no mention is made of such works as Isaac Backus's History of the Baptists of New England, Hovey's Life and Times of Backus, and Ford's New England's Struggles for Religious Liberty. In fact, even the name of Isaac Backus, who was for many years the agent of the Baptists of Massachusetts and Rhode Island in their efforts to secure religious liberty at the time of the Revolution and subsequently, is not mentioned in Mr. Cobb's work. With Stillman, of Boston ; Smith, of Haverhill; Montague, of Sunderland; Meacham, of Enfield; Wightman, of Connecticut, Isaac Backus was appointed by the Warren Baptist Association in 1770 a committee on "grievances," and this committee addressed the general court of Massachusetts with reference to the ill-treatment to which the Baptists were subjected. In 1772 the Warren Association made Backus the chairman of another commit- tee on " grievances," a position which he continued to hold for ten years. In an address to the public, prepared by Backus, the case of the Baptists was forcibly stated. In 1774 Backus addressed a letter to Samuel Adams, in which he protested against the treatment which the Baptists were receiving. It was Backus who, not long after, carried to the general court the case of the Baptists of Royalston. By request of the Warren Association, Backus attended the meeting of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia in 1774, in order to call the attention of that body to the importance of securing religious liberty. At the Provin- cial Congress, which met at Cambridge in December, 1774, and at the general court of Massachusetts, which met at Watertown, September 20, 1775, Backus was present with memorials in behalf of his brethren. In 1777 Backus prepared an address to the people of New England in which the various points concerning religious liberty were discussed. In 1778 he presented another address on the same subject. In a word, he was indefatigable in his efforts to promote the great object in which he and his brethren were so deeply interested, efforts which ended only with his death. It would seem impossible, therefore, in any attempt to give a history of the struggle for religious liberty in this country, not to mention the services of Isaac Backus. The failure of the author to do justice to Backus doubtless arises in part from the fact that he confines his attention so largely to the beginnings of the struggle, and accordingly pays scant attention to the development of religious liberty in the eighteenth century.
On the other hand, the influence of Jonathan Edwards in striking
