130 HISTORY OF BROOKLYN.

permits, shall preach alternately at both places.” On the 15th of March following, the Sheriff and Commissioners of Midwout appeared before the Council, to whom they represented that they had accepted, and were satisfied with, the decree of the Council, but that it had met with serious objections from the people of Gravesend and Amersfoort, who had subscribed with the understanding

“that on Sundays, in the forenoon, they might hear the sermon at Midwout, both places being nearly at the same distance from one another as Breuckelen, at which place, if alternately, as the apostille said, preaching was to be held, it would be inconvenient for the inhabitants, by reason of the great distance of the places, to come there to church in the morning and return at noon home to their families, inasmuch as Breuckelen is quite two hours' walking from Amersfoort and Gravesend; whereas the village of Midwout is not half so far and the road much better. So they consider it a hardship to choose either to hear the Gospel but once a day, or to be compelled to travel four hours, in going and returning, all for one single sermon, which would be to some very troublesome and to some utterly impossible.”

All of which “being maturely considered by the Director-General and the Council,” it was fully arranged that the Sunday sermon should be delivered in the morning at Midwout, as being at a nearly equal distance from the other three towns; but that the usual afternoon discourse should be changed to an evening service, to be held alternately in Breuckelen and Amersfoort,1 and thus the matter was amicably settled. During the same month, also, the three towns were permitted, on application, to levy a tax for the purpose of paying the minister’s tax.

In accordance with a resolution of the Council, November 29th, 1656, in regard to the apportionment of the Rev. Mr. Polhemus’ salary among the three towns, it had been agreed that Midwout should give annually 400, and Brooklyn and Amersfoort 300 guilders each for that purpose. The good people of Breuckelen, however, had become quite dissatisfied with the style of Mr. Polhemus' clerical services, and the assessment of the tax occasioned much grumbling, which finally culminated in a plain-spoken protest to the

1 Col. MSS., vi. 331, March 15,1656.