health in such a manner, that it will be impossible for me, without assistance, to perform the duties of the Episcopal office. I am therefore anxious that a special convention should be called, for the purpose of deliberating on the propriety of appointing an Assistant Bishop in this Diocese. A variety of considerations, affecting the most important interests of our holy Church, appear to me to render that measure indispensable. And it is, I think, very desirable that the appointment should be made without delay, so that the consecration may take place at the ensuing General Convention. You will therefore be so good as to take the necessary steps for calling a special convention of the Church in this Diocese, to meet in the city of NewYork, on the second Tuesday of May next.

"Praying sincerely that all our undertakings may, by Divine Providence, be guided in such a way as may best conduce to the glory of God, and the good of His Church, I remain, with affection and esteem, Rev. Sir, your friend and father in the Lord,

"By his son,

"BENJAMIN MOORE,

"Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New-York,

"CLEMENT C. MOORE.

"The Rev. John Henry Hobart, D. D., Secretary of the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the State of New-York. "Now, therefore, in obedience to the directions of the Bishop, contained in the above Letter, notice is hereby given, that a special Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in the State of New-York, will be held, for the purpose specified in the letter aforesaid, in the City of New-York, on the second Tuesday

of May next, at 10 o'clock, A. M., at which time and place the Clergy and Lay delegates are requested to attend.

"JOHN HENRY HOBART,

"Secretary of the Convention.

"New-York, March 21st, 1811."

"Thereupon, Resolved, That this Board do now proceed to the appointment of delegates to the said Convention. Whereupon, the Board having proceeded to such appointment by ballot, Messrs. Rufus King, Richard Harison, John Onderdonk, and Thomas L. Ogden, were duly chosen."

"I now come to a painful part of my subject, which could not, however, be passed over without a misconstruction of my own views, and some injury, perhaps, to the memory of Dr. Hobart; and a brief notice of which may not be without its bitter and wholesome uses to those who, on light and trivial grounds, may hereafter be disposed to disturb the peace of the Church. When, after a long series of useful labours, and a constant exhibition of those eminent gifts and qualifications which fitted him for a station of honour and power, it was perceived that there was a general disposition to elevate him to the Episcopal office, from the exercise of which Bishop Moore had withdrawn on account of his infirmities; the Rev. Mr. Jones, who was one of his associates in Trinity Church, published a pamphlet against him, entitled 'The Solemn Appeal,' with the design and hope of defeating his election. It was a great shock to public feeling; exciting, in the first instance, universal regret, and a loud burst of indignation against the author. The piece, however,

contained such charges as were calculated to gratify the malevolent curiosity of some, to create temporary prejudices in others of a more generous cast, and to produce in a few who had no previous good-will towards Dr. Hobart, a groundless and lasting dislike. The Church was therefore thrown into a ferment. Parties were formed in behalf of the assailant and the assailed; and many, doubtless, defended the one, or vindicated the other, with more warmth and violence than became the gospel of peace and good will. Another class, who were of a quiet and pacific temper, without a due consideration of the merits of the case, condemned them both. But the overwhelming sense of the community was in favour of the accused. Dr. Hobart, for years, was not aware of the unfriendly feelings of Mr. Jones, nor was he fully apprized of the extent of his injurious opinions, and his deep-rooted hostility, until the appearance of his 'Solemn Appeal.' The subjects of complaint, which, in some cases arose out of misapprehension, or which, when fairly understood, were of the most trifling nature, may, for the most part, be traced to the different temper and character of the parties themselves; they were not of congenial feelings, dispositions, and habits, those elements of harmony and love.

"It has seldom happened that two persons have been brought into so close a relation to each other, who were more entirely unlike, than Mr. Jones and Dr. Hobart. The first was cold, formal, and stately in his manners; the last, all freedom, cordiality, and warmth. The one was sensitive, suspicious, and reserved; the other communicative, frank, and confiding. The one

nurtured resentment-kept a record of hasty sallies of feeling and unguarded sayings, and magnified infirmities into glaring faults; the other never received an offence without seeking at once to have it explained, in order that it might be over and forgotten, and never gave it without making a prompt and ample atonement. It is not surprising, then, that there should have been occasional misunderstandings between them; and these divisions were not easily healed, for the conciliatory spirit of the one was not always met with a corresponding temper in the other, but the manner was so unkind, and the exactions so rigorous, as to leave nothing to the generous impulses of his own nature."*

Shortly after the appearance of this pamphlet, a Committee was appointed to take it into consideration, and to make their report at the next meeting of the Vestry. The report, which was an admirable one, was in the following words:

"The Committee to whom it was referred to take into consideration a late publication of the Rev. Mr. Jones, entitled a 'Solemn Appeal to the Church,' have maturely reflected thereon.

"The publication in question appearing to relate to matters, the cognizance and decision of which exclusively belong to regular tribunals established by the canons of the Church, the Committee deem it improper to present those matters to the Vestry, in any shape by which their merits may elsewhere be made the subject of discussion. Nevertheless, in the relation

* Memoir of the Life of the Right Rev. John Henry Hobart, D. D. by myself, pp. 128, 129, 130.

which subsists between this Corporation and the junior Assistant Ministers employed by it, the Committee deem it the right and duty of the Vestry to notice, and as occasion may require, to animadvert upon such of the public acts of those ministers, as may be calculated to affect the peace and welfare of the religious community with which they are united.

"The Committee, having in this view considered the subject referred to them, are of opinion, that the pamphlet lately published by the Rev. Mr. Jones, calls for the serious attention of this Board.

"The evident tendency of appeals to the public, on the subject of private differences between ministers of the Gospel, must, in all cases, be to weaken the reverence and respect justly due to the clerical office; to destroy its influence; impair the discipline and government of the Church; and to bring reproach upon the cause of religion.

"In the case of an associated ministry, like that of Trinity Church, evils more immediate and pernicious are to be apprehended, inasmuch as the people will naturally take part in the disputes of their pastors; their own passions and prejudices will be brought into the contest; and these must soon banish from the mind that peace and good-will which can alone dispose it to the reception of religious instruction.

"That a course obviously involving consequences of such deep importance to the character and welfare of the Church, should have been resorted to by one of her ministers, in the first instance, without even an experiment of the efficacy of that sanctioned and prescribed by her canons, adds to the grief which every