ich were even then
confronting Count Zinzendorf's agent; but in the light of contemporary
writings and later developments, it is possible to glance at each point
and see in how far the Halle party were justified in their argument. (1)
The treatment in Saxony, while not as yet a persecution which threatened
them with torture and death, had many unpleasant features, and the
constant agitation against them might at any time crystalize into harsh
measures, for those members of the Herrnhut community who had left
friends and relatives in the homelands of Bohemia and Moravia were
already forbidden to invite them to follow, or even to receive them if
they came unasked seeking religious freedom. (2) There was no idea of
associating the missions in Georgia and the West Indies, for the heathen
whom they wished to reach by this new settlement were the Creek and
Cherokee Indians with whom Governor Oglethorpe had already established
pleasant relations, bringing several of their chiefs to England, and
sending them home filled with admiration for all they had seen, much
impressed by the kindness shown them, and willing to meet any efforts
that might be made to teach them. (3) The money question was a vital
one, and it was principally to solve that that Spangenberg had come to
England, where with Oglethorpe's help he later succeeded in securing the
desired loan. (4) That they could speak little English was also a real
difficulty; Spangenberg used Latin in his conferences with the educated
men he met in London, but that medium was useless in Georgia, and while
the Moravians learned English as rapidly as they could, and proved
their capability for self-support, the failure to fully understand or
be understood by their neighbors was responsible for many of the trials
that were awaiting them in the New World. (5) The protest of Bolzius was
only a part of the general Salzburger opposition, and to avoid friction
in Georgia, Zinzendorf had particularly recommended that the Moravians
settle in a village apart by themselves, where they could "lead godly
lives, patterned after the writings and customs of the apostles,"
without giving offense to any; and he promised, for the same reason,
that as soon as they were established he would send them a regularly
ordained minister, although laymen were doing missionary work in other
fields. (6) In order to avoid any danger of creating trouble between
the Governments, the Moravian colonists carefully said n