Letter from James Curgenven to Governour Trumbull

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I, James Curgenven, do sincerely promise and swear, that I will be faithful, and bear true allegiance to His Majesty George the Third. So help me God.

I, James Curgenven, do swear that I do, from my heart, abhor, detest, and abjure, as impious and heretical, that damnable doctrine and position that Princes, excommunicated or deprived by the Pope or any authority of the See of Rome, may be deposed or murdered by their subjects or any other whatsoever. And I do declare that no foreign prince, person, prelate, state, or potentate, hath, or ought to have, any jurisdiction, power, superiority, pre-eminence, or authority, ecclesiastical or spiritual, within the Realm of Great Britain. So help me God.

I, James Curgenven, do solemnly, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare, that I do believe that in the Sacraments of the Lord' s Supper there is not any transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine in the body and blood of Christ, at or after the consecration thereof by any person whatsoever, and that the invocation or adoration of the Virgin Mary, or any other Saint, and the sacrifice of the Mass, as they are now used in the Church of Rome, are superstitious and idolatrous. And I do solemnly, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and declare, that I do make this declaration, and every part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the words read unto me, as they are commonly understood by English Protestants, without any evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation whatsoever, and without any dispensation already granted me for this purpose by the Pope, or any authority or person whatsoever, or without any hope of any such dispensation from any authority or person whatsoever, or without thinking that I am or can be acquitted before God or man, or absolved of his declaration, or any part thereof, although the Pope or any other person or persons, or power whatsoever, should dispense with or annul the same, or declare that it was null and void from the beginning.

I, James Curgenven, do truly and sincerely acknowledge, profess, testify, and declare, in my conscience, before God and the world, that our sovereign Lord, King George, is lawful and rightful King of this Realm, and all other His Majesty' s Dominions and Countries thereunto belonging. And I do solemnly declare, that I do believe, in my conscience, that not any of the descendants of the person who pretended to be Prince of Wales during the life of the late King James the Second, and since his decease, pretended to be, and took upon himself the style and title of King of England, by the name of James the Third, or of Scotland, by the name of James the Eighth, or the style or title of King of Great Britain, hath, any right or title whatsoever to the Crown of this Realm, or any other Dominions thereunto belonging. And I do renounce, refuse, and abjure any allegiance or obedience to any of them; and I do swear that I will bear faith and true allegiance to His Majesty King George, and him will defend to the utmost of my power against all traitorous conspiracies and attempts whatsoever, which shall be made against his person, crown, or dignity. And I will do my utmost endeavour to disclose and make known to His Majesty and his successor all treasons and traitorous conspiracies which I shall know to be against him or any of them. And I do faithfully promise, to the utmost of my power, to support, maintain, and defend the succession of the Crown against the defendants of the said James, and against all persons whatsoever, which succession, by an Act intituled "An Act for the further limitation of the Crown, and better securing the rights and liberties of the Subjects," is and stands limited to the Princess Sophia, Electoress and Dutchess Dowager of Hanover, and the heirs of her body being Protestants. And all these things I do plainly and sincerely acknowledge and swear, according to these express words by me spoken, according to the plain common sense and understanding of the same words, without any equivocation, mental evasion,

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or secret reservation whatsoever. And I do now make this recognition, acknowledgment, abjuration, renunciation, and promise, heartily, willingly, and truly, upon the true faith of a Christian. So help me God.

JAMES CURGENVEN.

June 9, 1775.

Oath of Office he had taken before the Board of Customs, and requesting to be informed if he will administer to him the usual Oath taken by Officers of the Crown. [1775-06-09] Curgenven, James. [S4-V2-p0913] [Document Details][Complete Volume]