As the colonists came to this country to enjoy the privilege of worshipping God according to their conceptions of His will, it was, of course, among their first objects to form churches, and make provision for the regular worship of the Most High. The settlers at Plymouth were organized as a church before they left Holland, and as such they landed on our shores. This church was formed on the principle of entire independence on all human authority. Its members belonged to that class of the Non-Conformists, who had separated entirely from the Church of England, and adopted a form of church polity which they deemed more consistent with the letter and the spirit of the New Testament. The separate independence of each church on all others; the necessity of true piety as a qualification for membership; the right of each church to elect its own officers; the rejection of all officers except pastors or elders, and deacons, and the entire equality of all pastors and elders, in respect to power and privileges, were among the principles adopted by this excellent body of Christians. They are the principles which the Scriptures teach, and it would have been happy for the cause of truth, if they had been held fast, without any corrupt mixture, by all the churches which professed to receive them. Another principle adopted by the church of Plymouth was, that ecclesiastical censures are wholly spiritual, and not to be accompanied with temporal penalties. In this respect, the church of Plymouth were in advance of their brethren in Massachusetts, and the history of the Plymouth colony is honorably distinguished by a tolerant spirit, which contributed not less to her peace and prosperity, than to her true fame.