Some of these statements dealt with facts, about which the critics
might have acquired better information, had they so desired,
others were prophecies of which only the years to come
could prove or disprove the truth, others again touched difficulties
which 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.
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