USA > New York > New York City > A history of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York, pt 3 > Part 26
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Bishop Hobart's correspondence bears abundant wit- ness to the intensely irritating nature of this controversy, and shows how widely the prejudices against Bishop Chase extended. This will be seen very distinctly in the cor- respondence which we shall give later on. Happily for the peace of the Church the controversy soon ended and the flow of Christian sympathy and English gold for the re-
1 See Appendix for a list of the chief pamphlets in this controversy.
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Controversy Closed
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lief of American institutions began which has never ceased since that time although few other general appeals have been made.
It was always contended by the friends of Bishop Ho- bart that the responsibility for bringing the matter before the English Church rested with others. The printing of the open letter to Bishop White and "An Appeal for Ohio" by Bishop Chase before he sailed made it neces- sary to counteract them ; for while only a few copies were in circulation in England at the time of Bishop Chase's arrival he would soon have scattered them everywhere.
" Bishop Hobart thus found himself placed in a situation in which it became his duty, however painful, to seek to correct and prevent er- roneous impressions, and this he endeavoured to do with as much deli- cacy and prudence as was possible." 1
The effect of this difference was to cause Bishop Chase, whose views were very nearly those of Bishop Seabury and other Connecticut Churchmen, to sympathize and affiliate more closely with the "Evangelical" Churchmen, and thus make him a leader of the Low Church party in this country.
Bishop Hobart felt that his course was just, and that evil would come of such an appeal. His apprehensions were not realized, but he could not, in accordance with his character, have acted differently.
Both men were thoroughly intent upon achieving their purpose and it was the habit of both to go with prompt- ness and energy at any task. Such persons could not fail to come into collision when their designs interfered.
Colonel Daniel Putnam of Brooklyn, Connecticut, a son of General Israel Putnam and aide on his staff at the same time with the famous Colonel David Humphreys, gives not only some items relating to the parochial affairs
1 P. 23, Christian Fournal, January, 1824, vol. viii., No. I.
VOL. III .- 19.
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of Trinity Church in that village but also this strong testi- mony to the work of Mr. Chase, then Bishop-elect of Illinois.
In a letter to Bishop Hobart, of January 27, 1819, he says :
"Nothing could add more to the gratification which I felt at meeting once more my friend Mr. Chase than your kind and obliging letter of which he was the bearer. I have considered the opposition from New Orleans as the work of the Devil to blast the hopes of the Church in the West ; and to learn from you, Sir, that Mr. Chase had got- ten through those difficulties was cause of gratitude to God and of felici- tation to my friend. I have long known Mr. Chase, known him perhaps as intimately as almost any person living, and the more I have known of him, the better satisfied have I been of his sincere, unaffected piety and zeal for the Church of which he is both a member and an orna- ment. Few if any within the compass of my limited acquaintance have the power of leading the mind to the examination of religious subjects and of making that examination so pleasant and ultimately so success- ful as Mr. Chase. And with you, my dear Sir, I do most heartily join in the prayer, 'that he may be made the instrument of raising up our apostolic Church in the region of the West.'"
This letter is of interest as proving that Bishop Ho- bart was fighting for principles, and was not animated by any personal feelings against his brother Bishop, whose worth and value to the Church at large he readily recog- nized, and with whom he had formerly been in friendly correspondence.
Among the Hobart MSS. there are half a dozen letters from Bishop Chase to Bishop Hobart, ranging from July 16, 1803, to June 27, 1816.
They are all written in the most affectionate terms.
The first letter is from Poughkeepsie, thanking Mr. Hobart for a parcel of books the latter had sent him. On December 4, 1806, Mr. Chase writes from New Orleans, thanking Dr. Hobart for his "salutary and fraternal ad- vice," and the letter of 1816 is from Hartford, Connecticut.
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Testimony of Rev. Dudley Chase
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These few letters show the friendly feelings of the two correspondents.
A letter from one who had the right to speak from intimate knowledge also clears Bishop Hobart from per- sonal animus against the first Bishop of Ohio.
The Rev. Dudley Chase, a retired naval chaplain, now in his eighty-ninth year, the only surviving child of Bishop Chase, says :
" If you ask me (as I gather from the drift of your letter) whether
- the difference of opinion and consequent action between Bishops Ho- bart and Chase in 1823-4 resulted from any personal animosity, then or previously existing on the part of either of these prelates, I should from all I know or believe in charity say No! They were both too good Christians to harbour such feelings. But they did contend for principles of Church polity and right which each thought important in his own point of view." 1
1 Extract of a letter to the Rev. Joseph Hooper from the Rev. Dudley Chase, Philadelphia, Sept. 27, 1900.
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CHAPTER XII.
HOBART CORRESPONDENCE. PART V .- PERIOD DURING HIS VISIT TO EUROPE TO HIS RE- TURN TO ENGLAND AFTER HIS FIRST VISIT TO THE CONTINENT (OCTOBER 29, 1823, TO JULY 16, 1824).
William Berrian Nominated Preacher Assistant-John Frederick Schroeder Appointed Assistant Minister Temporarily-Bishop Hobart Sails by the Meteor-Arrives at Liver- pool-Letters of Invitation from Rev. H. H. Norris and Rev. J. H. Spry-The Bishop Writes to his Wife-To Mr. Berrian-Goes to London-Letter from Serjeant Sellon -Letter of the Bishop to his Wife Giving Account of his Visit to Mr. Norris-Letter from Mr. Berrian, Nov. 24, 1823-From Mr. Wilberforce-The Bishop Describes his Visit to the Bishop of London in a Letter to Mr. Berrian-Letter from Lord Gambier- The Bishop's Answer-His Letter to Dr. Bell-The Rabbi Herschel-The Bishop's Letter to his Daughters-Letters from Serjeant Sellon, Dec. 12, 1823-The Bishop's Visit to Edinburgh-His Sympathies with the Scottish Church-Invitation to Preach from the Rev. Robert Morehead-The Bishop Writes very fully to Mr. Norris as to his Motives for Opposing Bishop Chase and Suggesting Printing Some of his Sermons to Vindicate his Position in the Eyes of English Churchmen-Letter from Rev. J. Skinner-Cordial Attitude of Scottish Bishops-Letter from the Bishop of St. Andrew's-Letter from Bishop of Ross and Argyle-From Sir John Sinclair- With Dr. Hobart's Reply-Correspondence with the Rev. Robert Morehead-Letter from Mr. Thomas Stanford Giving Full Account of Parochial and Diocesan Matters- Bishop Hobart's Interview with Bishop Jolly-Cordial Invitation from Bishop Torry of Aberdeen-Bishop Hobart's Answer-Letter to Mr. Berrian, Jan. 8, 1824-Letter from Bishop Skinner of Aberdeen, Jan. 13, 1824-From Rev. J. H. Spry Conveying an Invitation from Dr. Copleston of Oriel- Bishop Writes to Dr. Copleston- Letter from Mr. Berrian Giving his Impressions of Mr. Schroeder, Feb. 9, 1824- Agitation in Scotland for Establishment of a General Synod Modelled after the General Convention-Letter from Lord Shaftesbury-From Mr. Thomas Stanford, March 15, 1824-From Bishop Jebb of Limerick-Publication by the Bishop of two Volumes of Sermons on The Principal Events and Truths of Redemption-Leaves in March on first Visit to the Continent-Letter of Introduction to General Lafayette from General Winfield Scott-Letter of Hobart to Lafayette-Letter from Mr. Norris, April 16, 1824 -From Mr. Berrian, May 8, 1824-Letter from Bishop Hobart to his Wife from Rome -- Letter from Mr. Berrian, June 1, 1824-From T. L. Ogden, June 7, 1824-From G. W. Doane, June 23, 1824-From H. U. Onderdonk, July 7 and July 29, 1824- And from Thomas N. Stanford, July 16, 1824-The Bishop Returns to England.
T HE provision of the Charter of the Parish allowing the Rector to nominate a "preacher assistant," when he thought it expedient was brought into requisition by Bishop Hobart when leave of absence was given to him September 23, 1823, by the Vestry.
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1
By Stepben Affien. Mayor of the
City of New York. Go all to whom these Presents shall come, Greeting.
The beaver here of the Right Reverend Solen Henry Hobart Bishop of the State of New York, a Citizen of the United States , and a Gentleman of distinguished Pity and talents as a Predate, and of write and virtuel as a Blizen , whose name is inscribed in the margin in his own proper hand writing; being about to pats into Fraigne countries for his health. These are therefore to recomments the said Right Reverend John Henry Hobart to the kindne ? and protection of the Magistrates and Citizens of the several Countries through which he may leafs .
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Given under my hand and the Seal of Mayoralty of the city of New York this 22 day of September in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty three
Passport from the Mayor of New York to Bishop Hoburt. 1823.
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Letter from Rev. H. H. Norris
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He nominated as acting head of the Corporation the senior Assistant, the Rev. William Berrian, who was at once confirmed.1
During the two years' absence of the Bishop, Dr. Berrian administered the affairs of the Parish with marked prudence and executive skill.
The vacancy in the staff of the clergy was temporarily filled by the appointment of the Rev. John Frederick Schroeder, a recent graduate of the Seminary and lately made deacon by Bishop Kemp of Maryland.
The passport with which the Bishop was armed is here reproduced, and as we have already noted he sailed by the Meteor. The voyage was a long one ; storms and high winds prevailed. The Bishop found the sea air of benefit, although his dyspepsia was as troublesome as before he left home.
He arrived in Liverpool Thursday, October 30th. The first sounds that greeted him were the melodious tones of the chimes from the church towers of Liverpool, and the answering peal from a town on the opposite side of the river at Chester.
His high reputation as a Bishop and defender of the faith had preceded him, and unknown friends welcomed him to Old England.
Many desired the honor of entertaining him.
Instead of giving a narrative of his journeyings in Europe we will simply give his correspondence during that period, with such explanatory words as may be needed.
The Hon. and Rev. Henry H. Norris, of Hackney, London, one of the leaders of Church thought and life in England, who had been for several years his correspondent, had sent a letter to reach him on his arrival and mark out the course by which he would be brought on his way by
1 Berrian's Sketch, p. 265.
目元
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the Church to London. Another correspondent, the Rev. J. H. Spry, of Birmingham, a writer and scholar and Pre- bendary of Canterbury, wrote him in the most cordial terms, desiring that his house might be a resting place on his journey southward. But as these letters arrived nearly two weeks before the Bishop, they were forwarded toNew York and were only received by him many months later.
" MY DEAR SIR,
" Your very welcome letter greeted me on my arrival at home on Saturday evening last, and enhanced the joys of returning to my own fireside, after an absence of eleven weeks passed most agreeably, partly in exploring the beauties of the country, and partly in enjoying the hospitality of friends. I lament the cause which brings you hither, but the effect I look forward to with most delightful anticipations; and I hope this will get into the hands of Mr. Lawrence before your packet reaches our shores, that it may meet you on landing, and assure you how glad I shall be to see you here, and how much pleasure it will afford me to do all in my power to advance the purposes of your visit, and to testify that affection and respect which is of much older date than our epistolary intercourse, and which I have never been able hitherto adequately to express. Let me now chalk out for you your route to Hackney. You should be carried forward in the primitive way, by the Church. Your first start from Liverpool should be to Birmingham, where I am sure Mr. Spry, whom I left lately, would open his doors to receive you. I shall apprise him of your arrival, and tell him where he may address you. You should next proceed to Mr. Sikes's at Guilsborough, who will I am sure, send his carriage to Dun- church, to which one of the Birmingham coaches will convey you in four hours; and from thence you should go to Archdeacon Watson's, at Digswell, your course to which place Mr. Sikes will direct; and I will arrange with the Archdeacon for your safe conduct from thence hither, when you have given these three pillars of sound religion as much time as you can spare.
" In anxious expectation of soon taking you by the hand,
" I remain, "Very truly yours, " H. H. NORRIS.
" GROVE-STREET, HACKNEY, Oct. 13, 1823." 1
1 Berrian's Memoir, vol. i, p. 269.
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Letter from Rev. J. H. Spry
1823]
" BIRMINGHAM, Oct. 14, 1823. " REV. AND DEAR SIR,
"It is with sincere pleasure that I find by your letter of the 8th of September, that we shall see you in England, and that you will do me the honour of paying me a visit here. I heartily wish that im- paired health was not the immediate cause of your voyage; but I hope that the change of air, and the hearty welcome which you will assur- edly receive from the Church of England, will produce all the good effects on your constitution which you anticipate. I consider myself singularly fortunate in being so situated as to be one of the first to show you how highly your character and labours are appreciated here, by every personal attention in my power. This letter will, I hope, meet you on your landing, and find you able to prosecute your journey inland as soon as your Liverpool friends will permit you: and I shall be anxiously looking out for a line from you to say when we may expect you.
"I heard this day from Mr. Norris, who is at Hackney after his summer's ramble, and partakes with me in all the satisfaction with which I look forward to an opportunity of a personal acquaintance with you. The packet which you were good enough to send me has arrived safely, of its contents we will talk when I have the pleasure of welcoming you here.
" Believe me, my dear Sir, "With the truest esteem and respect, "Ever faithfully yours
"J. H. SPRY." 1
The Bishop immediately on his arrival wrote to his wife and to Mr. Berrian.
From Bishop Hobart to Mrs. Hobart :
"SHIP METEOR, Oct. 30, 1823.
"I had hoped to have written before this time to my beloved wife, from Liverpool. Our passage from light and contrary winds, has been unavoidably a long one. We are now lying to, about five or six miles from the Skerries light-house, near Holy-Head, which is sixty miles from Liverpool. The moon is shining beautifully in a clear sky, and at daylight we hope to take a pilot and to see the mountains in Wales. . . I stopped writing and went on deck at half-past five, and found the day had so far dawned, as to give a tolerably distinct
1 Berrian's Memoir, vol. i., p. 270. In the memoir the name is printed "Sprey," but Spry appears to be the correct spelling.
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view of Paris Mount, back of Point Linus light-house, in the island of Anglesea. I could see with a spy-glass some houses, and the hills cul- tivated to their summits, though the land seemed poor. At sunrise the view was delightful. The sun rose full orbed under a heavy cloud, in which its beams were soon hid, but not till they had illumined some high hills in the foreground, called the Table Hills, and cast a few faint rays on the far distant mountains of Caernaervonshire, in Wales. As the ves- sel advanced in her course, our view became extended from Point Linus light-house to the west, to the hills of Denbighshire in the east. Directly abreast was the bay of Beaumaris, with the high hills back of Great Ormes and Little Ormes' Head, and far distant the mountains of Pen- manmaur and Penmanbauch towering like the Catskill amidst heavy mists. The clouds that hung on the summits of the mountains which spread over the horizon, soon increased in blackness, and we have now squalls and rain like one of our roughest March days. "
From the same to the same :
" LIVERPOOL HARBOUR, 8 o'clock.
"The ship is now lying off Liverpool harbour, in the stream. The bells of the churches are ringing most melodiously, and every now and then the peals of another set of bells in a church on the oppo- site shore of Cheshire come delightfully upon the ear, cheering the silence and gloom of a dark evening that has succeeded a squally and unpleasant day. I hope to get a better night's rest in my berth than I have had since I left New-York. Instead of the noise of the waves, the whistling of the wind, and the tossing of the ship, the silence of the evening is only interrupted by the occasional voices of the sailors, or by the delightful ringing of the bells. I hardly know how to realize that I am in England, and three thousand miles from my beloved family and friends.
"Friday, October 31. I set foot on English ground yesterday morning about eight o'clock and was soon conveyed to an excellent hotel, called the King's Arms, where I am exceedingly well accommo- dated. Mr. Bolton, the friend of Mr. Jonathan Ogden, who waited on me immediately, pressed my staying at his house; but I felt that at present I should be more easy where I am, but have promised to stay some days at his house before I leave the country. I received a great many calls yesterday from those to whom I had letters, and from others. 1
1 Berrian's Memoir, vol. i., p. 267.
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The Bishop's Landing at Liverpool
1823]
There is evidently some confusion in the above letters as to the time when the Bishop landed at Liverpool. In the postscript to the first letter he says that he is still aboard the ship at 8 o'clock in the evening, and yet in the letter of the next day he says he landed "yesterday." We are inclined to think that Bishop Hobart misdated the first letter, that he wrote it in fact on October 29th ; added a postscript to it the same evening ; landed on Thursday October 30th, and then on the next day, Friday, added his second postscript. This view receives further, confir- mation from his letter to Dr. Berrian of November 29th, where he states, "I wrote you, my dear Berrian, a day or two after I arrived at Liverpool," and the letter to which the Bishop refers is the one of November 1, which we subjoin. "Two days " would make his landing at Liverpool on the 30th. This is the letter to Dr. Berrian.
"LIVERPOOL, Nov. 1, 1823.
"MY DEAR AND EXCELLENT FRIEND,
"I have thought of you daily - many times every day since I left you-with the tenderest affection; and I am happy in the reflection that such is the feeling you cherish for me.
"We had scarcely left Sandy-Hook when we got into a more heavy sea, the Captain says, than he ever experienced so soon after leaving the Hook. I stood out longer than some of the passengers, but was finally compelled to yield. In thirty-six hours the sickness almost en- tirely passed away, and I read and studied several hours every day during the passage, which was a long and a rough one; though, as it regards all the terrors of the ocean, my imagination had much height- ened the reality.
"I have recovered my strength surprisingly, but dyspepsia still torments me as much as ever, notwithstanding my close attention to my diet. I shall set off for London on Tuesday. Remember me to all friends, and especially to my brethren of the clergy, and to my ven- erable friend Dr. Harris, to whom I will write before I leave Liver- pool. The sensibility which he and they discovered when I left them I shall never forget and it has drawn them closer to me than ever.
"To Jane' my most cordial love, and believe that you have the . warm affection of "Your friend, " J. H. HOBART." 1 Mrs. Berrian.
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After a stay of about a fortnight in the north of Eng- land the Bishop went to London, making No. 29 Leicester Square, next door to the Sablonière Hotel, his headquar- ters. We have already in the preceding chapter alluded to the fact that Bishop Chase and Bishop Hobart were both in London at the same time endeavoring to interest Englishmen in their respective institutions of learning. The following short note from Serjeant Sellon shows the awkwardness of the situation, one Bishop treading on the heels of the other, as they called on Londoners of prominence.
" MY DEAR SIR,
" I hope you experience no Inconvenience from being with us last Night & that you will soon renew the Experiment. It is rather singular that I had no sooner read your Printed Statement which you gave me yesterday than Bishop Chace entered my Room. After some Conver- sation it appeared that he had the inclosed Parcel for you, which I offered to forward, meaning indeed to send to you myself to say that I shall be happy to see you privately for half an hour any time to mor- row afternoon-I shall be engaged till a bout 3 to morrow, and will do myself the pleasure of calling upon you in Leicester Square about or soon after that hour, unless in the Course of this Evening, I should receive any Intimation from you to the contrary.
"I am Yours, " Most truly "B. J. SELLON.
"Tuesday 1/2 past I. "Nov: 18"
The first letter the Bishop wrote Mrs. Hobart from London gives us a pleasant picture of the home of Mr. H. H. Norris.
"LONDON, Nov. 22, 1823.
"I forget, my beloved wife, whether I wrote to you by the last packet mentioning my arrival in London. You cannot tell the emo- tions of delight with which I was filled, when, on seeing Mr. Norris, he told me he had a letter for me, and on finding that it was from you
F
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Letter from Mr. Berrian
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dated the seventh of October. God be thanked that you and my dear children are well.
"Mr. Norris had a room and every thing prepared for me; had sent his carriage to meet me, (but it missed me) and it was with extreme difficulty that I could get off from staying with him entirely, and making his house my home. Mr. Norris is one of the best of men, simple in his manners, kind, tender and affectionate. I am as intimate with him as if I had known him all my life. He lives in a large family mansion, on an estate of his forefathers, of about thirty acres, as near to the thickly settled part of London as Mr. Stuyvesant's is to New York; and his grounds and his garden are most beautifully improved, with extensive walks, green-house, hot-house, &c. He entertains the first clergy and people in a style of suitable elegance, having a large fortune, the greater part of which he spends in pious and charitable purposes; and at the same time, having thus the means of indulgence to the ex- tent of his wishes, he is a most laborious, zealous, and faithful parish minister, as much so as any clergyman in the city of New York. One day I dined with him with several clergymen, and he left the company twice, once to visit an afflicted family who had lost a relative, and afterwards to see a sick man. There is no clergyman of greater influ- ence in all Church affairs.
"God bless you, my dearest wife and children. This letter will wish you, I trust, a happy Christmas. Happy may it be in every sense. May that blessed Redeemer who took our nature upon him to redeem and save us, be here our guide, refuge, and defence, and leading us in his service, bring us finally to his heavenly kingdom!
"Your ever affectionate husband and father,
" J. H. HOBART." 1
Mr. Berrian's first letter shows the affectionate solici- tude he had for his friend and Bishop.
"NEW YORK, Nov. 24, 1823.
"RIGHT REV. AND DEAR SIR:
"We watched you from the heights on Staten Island till we al- most saw you out at sea, and hoped from so fair a beginning that you would have a speedy passage. But though we have had no letters from you we found it could not have been very short as a vessel has arrived here without any account of yours which sailed from
1 Berrian MSS.
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Liverpool 26 days after you left New York. We hope, however, that what you have suffered in tediousness may have been more than repaid in health. It gave us all great concern that two letters from Mr. Sprey and Mr. Norris welcoming you to England and making arrangements for your journey to London came here through mistake, instead of remaining in Liverpool for you, still it was a pleasure to perceive the warmth and cordiality with which they were ready to receive you.
"Rebecca wrote to you about the sickness of Dayton. Mr. Onderdonk has written to you at least about the business of the Convention. Scarcely anything has occurred in the parish except the death of our good and excellent neighbour, Mrs. Beekman. It was very sudden and unexpected. I saw her in her last moments which were easy and peaceful. Our new clergyman is an object of greater admiration than any of those who lately preceded him. I have heard him several times, twice with great pleasure, once with indifference and another time with dislike. There is something novel and extraordinary in his sermons and his delivery is easy, graceful and unaffected. But though his voice is loud, it is not distinct and some hear him with difficulty.
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