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A LETTER 
 
 TO 
 
 THE REV. THOMAS CHALMERS, D. D. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IS THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBI'RCH, 
 
 The reader is requested to correct tlie foUoiDing Errata, ichich oecured in 
 transcribing tfte manuscript. 
 
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 40, line 9, after '• {September" insert 1835. 
 
 ; 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 rUDLISHED BY SWORDS, STANFORD, AND CO. 
 No. 152 Broadway. 
 
 1832. 
 

A LETTER 
 
 TO 
 
 THE REV. THOMAS CHALMERS, D. D. 
 
 PROFESSon OF DIVINITV I.V THE UNIVERSITY OP EDINBI'ROH, 
 
 ON THE 
 
 LIFE AND CHARACTER 
 
 OF 
 
 THE RIGHT REVEREND DR. HOBART, 
 
 BISHOP OF NEW-YORK, NORTH-AMEKICA 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY SWORDS, STANFORD, AND CO. 
 No. 152 Broadway. 
 
 1832. 
 
"v\ 
 
 NEVr-YORK : 
 
 PRINTED BY EDWARD J. SWORDS 
 No. 3 Ihamet-sti-oef. 
 
A LETTER 
 
 TO 
 
 THE REV. THOMAS CHALMERS, D. D. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. 
 
 My dear Friend, 
 
 In the death of Dr. Andrew Thomson, Edinburgh has 
 lost a powerful and eloquent preacher, and the Church 
 of Scotland a zealous, bold, and uncompromising de- 
 fender. He was near my own age; but as he studied at 
 Edinburgh, and I at St. Andrew's, our acquaintance was 
 slight. Once visiting at his father's house j^i^MnTlcinohT 
 in the summer of 1799, 1 found him playing on the violin. 
 The conversation turned on music, on which he spoke 
 with great warmth, I may rather say, with enthusiasm. 
 Soon after I left Scotland, and never saw him more. 
 But Dr. Thomson was too much in the public eye to be 
 overlooked or forgotten; and I have often admired his 
 firmness and intrepidity of character, when I could not 
 sympathize in the cause for which he was contendino-. 
 
 If your Church has great reason to lament the loss of 
 one of her most sturdy pillars, still greater cause has the 
 Episcopal Church of the United States to mourn the 
 premature departure of Bishop Hobart, whose eminent 
 services have mainly contributed to her present extensive 
 and flourishing condition. Many years have passed away 
 
since I hnd the imppincsH of i)(HM>iniii;^; a€(]uainte<l with 
 this hife^hly gifted prelate. Tlie learned and aruinhle Dr. 
 Bowden, a lunne that will ever he dear to the friends of 
 true religion and the rising Protestant (church of Morth- 
 Anierica, hronght us togetiier during a short excursion 
 which I made to New- York in Fehruary, 18l($; and 
 whether from a similarity of disposition and kindred 
 minds, or some other cause, I know not, but we were 
 intimate friends from the fust moment. I loved the 
 frankness, the warmth and energy of his character, and 
 recognised at once those sterling qualities which so emi- 
 nently fitted him for the discharge of the weighty duties 
 of his exalted station. 
 
 The life of Dr. Hobart is identified with the history of 
 the Chiu'ch of which he was so distinguished an orna* 
 mcnt ; and as my sketch will introduce you to one of the 
 most curious and interesting portions of the annals of 
 Christianity, you will not be displeased at the length of 
 this letter, nor at the decided preference which I give to 
 my Churcli»cg:id her institutions, a? it is not greater than 
 you are in the habit of manifesting for your own. 
 
 In the British-American settlements, before the revo- 
 lution, no attention whatever was paid by the imperial 
 government to the religious instruction of the colonists : 
 in this matter they were left entirely to themselves ; and 
 of all denominations, the Church of England was, from 
 the natm'c of its government, the nM)st destitute, and 
 laboured under the most serious difiiculties; they were 
 indeed so great, that, had not the Society for the Propa- 
 gation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts taken pity upon 
 her members, and sent them missionaries, an episcopal 
 clergyman vould have been hardly found in British 
 North-America at the a3ra of the revolution. The Planr 
 tations, as the colonies were then called, were considered 
 
5 
 
 a part of the spiritiml cliurgc of the Bishop of Tiomloii, 
 but no prelate of the Churcli had ever heliehi them. 
 The clergy and parishes were without superintemleuee ; 
 the churches and huriul grouud.s remained unronsecrated ; 
 tlio children were witliout confirmation; ami every can- 
 didate for the ministry was under the ncccHsity of going 
 to Euro[)e for ordination — a voyage so dangerous, from 
 the imperfect state of navigation at that period, that no 
 less than onc-fifth of the young men wiio aspired to serve 
 the Lord in the sanctuary, perished in the ocean. Placed 
 in circumstances so melancholy, is it to ho wondered 
 that, after the declaration of independence and the se- 
 paration of the two countries, the members of the Church 
 of England were few in number, and many of the con- 
 gregations destitute of clergymen ? These events, so 
 gratefid to the United States in a political point of view, 
 brought to Episcopalians a fresh subject of regret ; for 
 the Society in England, by whose munificence their 
 clergymen \nu\ been supported, was induced, from change 
 of circumstances, to transfer its assistance to the colonies 
 which still continued to be faithfidly attached to the British 
 crown. 
 
 In September, 1775, while the Church continued in 
 this state of depression, and when civil dissensions began 
 to assume a serious aspect, John Henry Ilobart was born 
 at Philadelphia. From his earliest years he took a strong 
 interest in religion, and though the Church could offer 
 no allurements to the sanguine and ambitious, he deter- 
 mined to devote talents which might have raised him to 
 the highest rank in any profession, to the preaching of 
 the Gospel. While preparing for holy orders, he was in 
 constant communication with Bishop White, the venerable 
 fojther of the Church — a prelate worthy of the apostolic 
 age. Much have I desired to see this meek, wise, and 
 

 
 holy servant of God, the ancient friend of my spiritual 
 father, Dr. Stuart, of Kingston ; and I still hope to enjoy 
 this privilege, hcfore we arc removed from this sublunary 
 habitation. 
 
 In 1798, Mr. Ilobart was admitted into holy orders; 
 and, even then, the Episcopal Church seemed hardly to 
 have gained any ground ; she was scarcely known out of 
 the great towns on the sea-coast, and could only number 
 ninety clergymen north of Maryland, of which seventeen 
 belonged to Pennsylvania, and twenty to the state of 
 New- York. After a probation of two years in different 
 country parishes, where he is still held in affectionate 
 remembrance, the vestry of Trinity Church, New- York, 
 hearing of his great abilities, invited him to become one 
 of their assistant clergymen. Mr. Hobart was in his 
 twenty-sixth year when this flattering ofler was made; 
 the parish was the most ancient and populous in America, 
 and opened a field of usefulness in a great degree com- 
 mensurate with his expanding talents. In his letter to 
 the vestry he says — '* The best evidence that I can give 
 of my feelings will be, to act in all cases with fidelity 
 and independence, governed only by a sincere regard to 
 the sacred dictates of conscience and duty. The station 
 would require the judgment and experience of more 
 advanced years. I shall therefore have a peculiar claim 
 on the friendship and counsel of the vestry, on the can- 
 dour and support of tha congregation, and on the affec- 
 tionate advice -and aid of my superiors and brethren in 
 the ministry. Thus strengthened and supported, while I 
 endeavour faithfully to discharge my duty, I trust that I 
 jmay hope for the presence and blessing of Almighty 
 God." 
 
 Though young when he came to N*: v-York, his ma- 
 turity of understanding, soundness of judgment, and 
 
masculine sense, enabled him to discharge, with increas- 
 ing advantage to the Church, the arduous duties which 
 the station imposed; and his elder colleagues, to their 
 lasting honour, acknowledged him, from the first, to be 
 more than equal, in every thing that required command- 
 ing intellect or talents for business. The parish being 
 very large and populous, his labours were incessant ; but 
 it was his life to promote the spiritual and moral welfare 
 of every individual under his care; and it seemed that 
 the more he multiplied his duties, in attending to the 
 wants of the poor, in visiting the sick, in preparing for 
 the stated services of the Church, the less heavy did they 
 sit upon him. There was a diligence, an ardour, an 
 elasticity of mind, a devotion to his profession, a gratifi- 
 cation in doing good, which kept him always fresh and 
 vigorous. Indeed, his whole conduct proved most clearly 
 his readiness to spend and to be spent, that he might 
 promote the glory of God in the spiritual edification of 
 bis children, and gave an efficacy to his parochial minis- 
 trations which has seldom been surpassed ; and although 
 they were somewhat obscured by the splendour of his 
 Episcopacy, they never were remitted, or failed to pro- 
 duce the most precious and abundant fruit. 
 
 Of his services in the sanctuary I am little competent 
 to speak, having only heard him two or three times ; yet, 
 even from these, I can easily conceive why he should 
 have become so dear to his people. I felt the eloquent 
 ardoui with which he poured out to his listening atidicnce 
 the truths of eternal life, and the vigour of that mind 
 which enabled him to wield with so great effect the wis- 
 dom of the divine word, and to command assent, even 
 when he failed to produce permanent conviction. It 
 was impossible to hear him without becoming sensible of 
 the infinite importance of the Gospel. He warn coun- 
 
soiled, entreated, and comforted, with intense and jwwcr- 
 ful energy. His manner and voice struck you with the 
 deep interest which pervaded his soul for their salvation, 
 and found ready entrance into their hearts. 
 
 He appeared in the pulpit as a father anxious for the 
 eternal happiness of his children — a man of God prepar- 
 ing them for their Christian warfare — a herald from the 
 other world, standing between the living and the dead, 
 between heaven and earth, entreating perishing sinners, 
 in the most tender accents, not to reject the message of 
 reconciliation which the Son of the living God so gra- 
 ciously offered for their acceptance. 
 
 Not only was he carefiU that his doctrine should bo 
 sound and scriptural, but that the proportion maintained 
 between its various parts should coincide as far as pos- 
 sible with the inspired models ; that each Christian prin- 
 ciple should occupy its proper place, and the whole counsel 
 of God be unfolded, so that no one part of revealed truth 
 s^hould be presented with a frequency and pre-eminence 
 which might cast any other in the shade. To perfect 
 the man of God, he placed the Gospel before his congre- 
 gation in its twofold aspect, as it is calculated to inspire 
 some with confidence and joy, and others with vigilance 
 and fear^ His preaching was that of the Apostles : he 
 taught that purity of life was inseparable from true faith, 
 and that the Christian duties derive all their force and 
 authority from a personal reliance of the heart and soul 
 on the efficacy of the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God. 
 His power as a preacher was not only perceived, but felt. 
 The precise and minute adaptation of his ministrations 
 to the state of his hearers, the ease with which he en- 
 tered into the diversified workings of their hearts, and 
 the knowledge which he displayed of their thoughts and 
 practice, could only be exhibited by one who possessed 
 
9 
 
 id 
 id 
 
 sometliing of an intuitive, yet profound discernment of 
 human nature, added to an extensive and discriminating 
 observation of liuman conduct, in every varied situation 
 of common life. 
 
 There was not only a feebleness, but something of a 
 deadness in the Church, when Mr. Hobart commenced 
 his ministry in New- York. The retiring timidity of her 
 Jeading members, however amiable, and the very infirm, 
 health of Bishops Provoost and Moore, encouraged the 
 chiefs of another Christian denomination, ever the deter- 
 mined opponents of the Episcopal Church, to attack her 
 with more than their usual violence. But a defender had 
 arisen whom they knew not of. Dr. Hobart, unfurling 
 the banner of evangelical truth and apostolical order, 
 marched with fearless intrepidity to the front of the 
 battle, and put the enemy to flight. Thousands were 
 astonished to find that the claims of the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church, both in purity and government, could 
 be so firmly established, and that she was so strongly 
 entitled to the character of primitive and apostolic; Not 
 satisfied with defeating her enemies, and proving that 
 her foundation was the Apostles themselves, Dr. Hobart 
 continued to enlighten the public mind in her forms and 
 liturgy, in a series of works, no fewer than six in num- 
 ber, published between 1£04 and 1811. The consequence 
 of these publications, and other able works on the same 
 subjects, which have since followed from different writers, 
 has been, that a more general and correct knowledge 
 now exists among the people of our communion in the 
 United States, respecting the government of the Church, 
 the beauty and excellence of her forms, the purity of her 
 principles, and the spirituality of her devotions, than even 
 in England; and all this chiefly owing to Dr. Hobart's 
 judicious and powerful labours while yet a presbyter. 
 
10 
 
 The appointment of Dr. Ilobart, at this seasonable 
 period, to the conspicuous station of minister of the most 
 prominent parish in North-America, has always ap- 
 peared to me a special gift of Divine Providence towards 
 the furtherance of the true Church. Completely master 
 of her primitive usages and principles, lie applied them 
 with a readiness and perspicuity to the questions in agi- 
 tation, that astonished the religious readers of all de- 
 nominations, most of whom were totally ignorant of the 
 sacred claims of Episcopacy, and disposed to consider 
 the forms of church government and apostolic order 
 matters of inferior importance. Instead of reposing any 
 longer on loose opinions, taken up without examination 
 in these matters, people were roused to their considera- 
 tion by his cogent reasons, apt illustrations, and powerful 
 appeals to ecclesiastical history, which proved, beyond 
 controversy, that the government of the Church, the 
 orders of tlie ministry, and their regular succession from 
 the Apostles, were not questions of slight moment, or to 
 be treated safely either with silence or contempt. Dr. 
 Hobart seemed to bring strange things to their ears; 
 there was a novelty in his arguments which bewildered 
 those who were ignorant of the history of the first ages 
 of Christianity, and many found it as difficult to divest 
 themselves of their unreasonable prejudices against Epis- 
 copacy, as the heathens their propensity to idolatry, on 
 the first preaching of the Apostles* 
 
 Truth is never sown without fruit ; and the claims of 
 the Church to a near affinity with that of the Apostles, 
 soon began to be acknowledged by numbers who had 
 been hitherto her enemies. Many admitted, with true 
 Christian candour^ their total ignorance of such matters 
 till thus forcibly brought before them ; and that never 
 having seen till now the three orders of the ministry, 
 
11 
 
 Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, conducting the govern- 
 ment and worship of the Church, they were not aware 
 of its«!»uperior excellence. Even those who still adhered 
 to modern innovations in the government and ministry 
 of their churches, were compelled to treat with respect 
 the claims of Episcopacy to primiJve purity and order, 
 and no longer to hold them up as novelties, or incon- 
 sistent with the principles of the Gospel. 
 
 In all discussions in which he was engaged relating to 
 the constitution and discipline of the Church, there was 
 an earnestness and uprightness of proceeding which 
 commanded universal esteem. Among his own people 
 he was considered a sure interpreter of the laws and 
 polity of the Christian Church. Even when most ani- 
 mated amidst the conflict of debate, he was found always 
 standing upon Gospel principles, and sternly opposed to 
 any thing like artifice or manoeuvre. In controversy, 
 whether oral or from the press, he came directly to the 
 point, disdaining all sophistry or quibbling, as unworthy 
 of the cause : these were arts so repugnant to his high 
 feelings, that he could not have used them had they been 
 laid before him. He therefore gave full weight to the 
 arguments of his opponents, placed them in their strongest 
 point of view, and sought not to misstate or evade them ; 
 much less did he descend to any thing personal ; this the 
 natural dignity of his mind would never permit him to 
 employ. He depended entirely upon his honesty of pur- 
 pose, his knowledge of facts, and ready application of 
 principle ; and, whether from the press or pulpit, or his 
 more private ministrations, all his exertions were united 
 and harmonized into one predominating, overpowering 
 object, the increase and prosperity of the Church ; and 
 in this light only can his character be accurately appre- 
 ciated. 
 
it has been often said, that the blood of the martyrs 
 became the seed of the Church; and the same may be 
 said of controversy, which elicits truth, andiwrbe^men 
 from their slumbers to the contemplation of the most 
 important subjects, subjects which they may have long 
 forgotten or disregarded. To those who were ijitimately 
 acquainted with Dr. Ilobart, my dwelling upon his con- 
 troversy with Dr. Mason, on tlie subjects of primitive 
 truth and order, will be easily excused, as the whole 
 tenour of his future policy, and I will add, that of the 
 Church, turned upon its success ; for from his first work 
 on the subject we may date the rapid increase of the 
 Episcopal communion in the United States. 
 
 As no prelate of the Church of England had ever been 
 sent to the colonies up to the period of the revolution, no 
 Episcopal act had ever been performed on this side of 
 the Atlantic. But now that the connexion with Great- 
 Britain was dissolved, it became necessary to provide 
 for the continuance of the Church by a regular succes-? 
 sion of Bishops. Accordingly Dr. Seabury was sent to 
 England, to be raised to the Episcopate; but so many 
 difficulties intervened, that he was obliged to repair to 
 Scotland, and was consecrated by the Episcopal commu- 
 nion in that country, in 1784. Soon after, the difficulties 
 which stood in the way of Dr. Seabury's consecration 
 were removed by an Act of the British Parliament, and 
 Dr. Provoost and Dr» White were consecrated at Lam- 
 beth, in 1787, 
 
 The arrival of three Bishops was a new sera in the 
 Church, and the cause of much joy to her friends; but 
 as a very few years had yet elapsed since the return of 
 peace, she might even at this time be said to be scarcely 
 known. During the war, most of her clergy, then mis- 
 sionaries from the Society for Propagating the Gospel in 
 
13 
 
 Foreign Parts, had fled to En«^land or the other colonics, 
 and their flocks were scattered ; and we need not there- 
 fore he much surprised to And that the principles of the 
 first Protestant Church in the world were in a great 
 measure unknown in the United States, and that the 
 church government which accorded with the first and 
 purest ages of the Gospel, was deemed quite a novelty, 
 
 • 
 
 without the sanction of antiquity or precedent. The 
 people, accuslomed only to the Presbyterian or Congre- 
 gational form of government and discipline, and naturally 
 prone to equality, were little disposed to encourage a 
 denomination which was said to give too much power to 
 Bishops, and to be unfavourable to republican institu- 
 tions. The public mind, poisoned by ten thousand calum- 
 nies against prelacy and forms of prayer, was to be 
 cleansed and truly informed, before it was possible for 
 the Church to increase. For some time the enemies of 
 Episcopacy, sensible of their advantage, remained silent 
 on the subject of church government and order. Finding 
 the first Bishops humble men, of retiring habits, though 
 conscientious in the quiet and unobtrusive discharge of 
 their duties, they did not consider it prudent to attack 
 what they affected to represent, and what thousands of 
 their followers believed to be a new denomination. To 
 have persevered in this policy would have been their 
 wisdom; but the dignified aspect in which the Protestant 
 Church was now seen, with its Bishops multiplying in 
 number, and the respect which naturally attaches to that 
 highly spiritual office, gradually produced an accumula- 
 tion of envy, which could be ^lo longer restrained within 
 bounds, and burst forth in 1805, or eight^ears after the 
 arrival of the Bishops in 9, most violent attack upon the 
 Church. 
 
 The moment was propitious to our Zion. Her master 
 
14 
 
 spirit, ytt little known, suddenly appeared, and wielded 
 the weapons of controversy with such effect, as to dis- 
 comfit her assailants. Not satisfied with mere defence, 
 he stormed the enemy's camp, and proved, to the satis- 
 faction of every well-conditioned and unprejudiced mind, 
 that no church government but that of Episcopacy was 
 known during the first fifteen centuries of the Christian 
 ffira. This controversy has continued ever since to arrest, 
 from time to time, the public attention, and always to 
 the manifest advantage of primitive order. The Ameri- 
 cans are an acute and inquiring people, and the discus- 
 sions on church government and the forms of prayer 
 have awakened, in the minds of many, recollections of 
 what tlieir fathers had been. On others, who had their 
 denomination to choose, the information drawn out by 
 these debates came as a stream of benignant light, and 
 a feeling in favour of the good old ways was widely 
 engendered. This being the case, it only required an 
 active superintendence and a commanding mind to reap 
 the most abundant harvest. This requisition Dr. Hobart 
 most amply satisfied : he laid the foundation, as a pres- 
 byter, of that success which crowned his Episcopate, and 
 which has placed the Church upon the vantage ground. 
 That I am fully justified in this observation, the remarks 
 already made sufficiently prove; but we have, in addition, 
 the extraordinary fact, that in 1798, when he was or- 
 dained, New- York state contained but twenty Episcopal 
 clergymen; and in 1811, when he was raised to the 
 mitre, only twenty-three; giving, in thirteen years, a 
 miserable increase of three; while, during the following 
 nineteen years of his Episcopate, the increase was one 
 hundred and eleven. 
 
 On his advancement to the Episcopate, the force and 
 elevation of his character, entirely free from all envy and 
 
15 
 
 
 
 meanness, placed him, by common consent, at the head 
 of the bench. His brethren knew, from experience, the 
 truth and accuracy of his judgment and devotion to tlie 
 prosperity of the Church, and leaned with confidence on 
 his clear views and singular firmness: and well they 
 might, for Bishop Hobart reflected deeply, and examined 
 cautiously, before coming to a decision; but having once 
 formed his opinion, he was resolute in maintaining it. 
 This rendered him steady and uniform in all his pro- 
 ceedings. But although fixed in all questions of import- 
 ance, on which he had been at pains to inf^^rm himself, 
 on matters not involving truth and principle he w»iS 
 gentle and accommodating, and won the esteem and 
 afifection of his associates by the most kind and delicate 
 deference to their sentiments and feelings. He was 
 neither vain nor obtrusive; but at all times, when the 
 occasion required, prompt in action and expression — 
 sometimes vehement, and occasionally in danger of trans- 
 port, but always ready, with a manly and affable frank- 
 ness, to make every concession for the warmth of the 
 moment. With a full determination to maintain what he 
 believed to be true, and keenly interested in the success 
 of every discussion in which he engaged, he seldom 
 oflended his adversaries ; for it was to the subject, and 
 not to the man, that he addressed himself; and while he 
 handled the weapons of controversy with overwhelming 
 force, he manifested an utter abhorrence of calumny and 
 slander. We felt it natural to give way to Dr. Hobart; 
 nor, in doing so, did any one perceive his own importance 
 lessened; for the Bishop was formed to exercise an 
 ascendrency over those with whom he associated, without 
 ever appearing desirous of acquiring it. In yielding to 
 him, it seemed as if we were giving away nothing, but 
 only falling into the ranks of our leader. When, there- 
 
16 
 
 tore, he ilcpurtcd tVoiii this scene ul' liin activity, aiul tiie 
 lumcntution was without parallel, his brethren felt, and 
 still feel it no disparagement to have it said that the 
 greatest of them all is no more. 
 
 On becoming Bisho)) of New- York, a country nearly 
 as large as England, it appeared, in as far as his Church 
 was concerned, a moral waste. His people were not 
 merely few in number, but intermixed with a great mul- 
 titude of various denominations, and with many v«'ho had 
 no knowledge of religion; and how was he to proceed? 
 He believed that the Church to which he belonged was 
 the one best calculated to diAuse Christianity through 
 the world, and establish it on a permanent foundation ; 
 but what was her situation? In his diocese he saw a 
 very few scanty flocks, and, even of these, some without 
 she]>herds; single families or individuals scattered through 
 the new settlements ; but how were they to be gathered 
 together ? He had no shepherds ; the Church, in her 
 depressed state, offered no incentives to the young ; she 
 had neithe** rank nor affluence to confer; and he felt 
 that, till he multiplied the clergy, and thus had instru- 
 ments in his hands, she must remain in her forlorn state. 
 How could he build up the Church of Christ, in her 
 ordinances and faith, without an efficient ministry ? He 
 therefore set himself to bring forward young men worthy 
 of the sacred office, to multiply their number, and raise 
 the standard of their attainments. This great and me- 
 ritorious object called forth his solicitude, and incessant 
 and untiring efforts; and, blessed be God, his anxious 
 perseverance in this good work was at length crowned 
 with success. But, long before the Theological Semi- 
 nary attained that noble state of efficient prosperity to 
 which it 1ms now arrived, in how many sons of the 
 Church, while pursuing their studies for the ministry, 
 
17 
 
 I 
 
 S buthintg<&lf oouldJL 
 
 amy Vofficicntly to IBw$'^ 
 
 nnd after they became preachers, did he take the liveliest 
 interest ! How many were indebted to him, not only for 
 direction and advice, but for endeavours the most numc^ 
 rous and incessant, which few, if any, 
 have made suitably to provide for them, 
 promote and advance their success ! Through every/ 
 channel that he could conceive, he sought for them 
 scenes of usefulness, and seconded their views when 
 worthy of support. To how many churches and parishes, 
 not in his own diocese only, but through the whole Union, 
 was he thus the honoured instrument of sending heralds 
 of the Gospel to labour, and to teach, and to watch for 
 the souls of the people, as they who had to give an ac- 
 count unto God ! When we consider that this good has 
 been vastly augmented, and placed upon a permanent 
 footing, by his exertions in estabUshing the Theological 
 Seminary, it will not be easy to calculate the amount of 
 spiritual benefit which has accrued from this portion of 
 his labours to the Church and country. The present 
 generation are enjoying, and future generations will 
 more abundantly reap the benefit ; and in eternity, when 
 ministers and people meet before the throne of retribu- 
 tion, the mighty results of the Bishop's efforts in these 
 particulars will be fully disclosed. Here it is refreshing 
 to mention the grateful testimony poured from the affec- 
 tionate heart of one of the many sons whom he brought 
 forward to the Church, and who has proved himself 
 highly worthy of his protection.* While the candidates 
 for the ministry had no regular instructor, he was their 
 friend and teacher, conversing with them with the free- 
 dom of a brother, and endeavouring with parental anxiety 
 to correct their errors and cultivate their good qualitiei?. 
 
 " Dr. Berrian in his Sermon on the Death of Bishop Hobart 
 
 8 
 
IS 
 
 ■^Mft 
 
 and to mould their undcrstandiii^H nnd diisponitions to 
 the conscientious discharge of tho duties of the nncred 
 ofTico to which they aspired. Mc tnii^i^ht them to consider 
 Christia.nity a rule of life whicli had come perfect nnd 
 entire from ffi hands of its Author; that it admitted of 
 no improvements nor mutilations — not a word is to be 
 added, nor one taken away : it rests upon a foundation 
 not to be moved by tho advance of science; for it is 
 already perfect, fixed, and immutable. Nor did he en- 
 courage fanciful and speculative views of Christianity ; 
 for though it is noble and intellectual, yet its practical 
 influence on the heart and the understanding is the great 
 end which the preacher should have in view in addresHin<>: 
 the people* In reading the Scriptures, he maintained 
 the right of private judgment, with a proper deference to 
 the light thrown upon them by able and pious men ; but 
 he discouraged fanciful allegories and philosophical theo- 
 ries, from whatever quarter they might come, as leading 
 us away from the simplicity of the Gospel truth, and 
 engendering pride instead of humility. He considered 
 the decent forms and ceremonies retained by our Church, 
 as helps and scaffoldings necessary, in the present state 
 of existence, to prevent too much abstraction, and to 
 remind us that religion is an every-day business, and 
 ought to enter into all our concerns; and while it ia 
 equally distant from wild fanaticism and the vagueness 
 of cold philosophy, it inculcates the most precious truths, 
 living and divine—truths which renew, exalt, and 
 strengthen alike our understandings and affections: that 
 it supplies the most powerful motives to assimilate our- 
 selves to the perfections of God, to elevate our souls 
 above the fleeting objects of this world to the real and 
 unseen, and to prefer an heavenly inheritance to all that 
 this life has to bestow. He neither dealt in imaginary 
 
 
It 
 
 intci'protutionr^, nor aniithcmntized human life, uo\ con* 
 (JernnfMl liiiiimn nntiiro in terms which rcvrlatici docfi 
 not use; hut he pren^scd conviction homo upon th? con- 
 science with the severity of truth, rout open the dehisionN 
 «if infidelity, and broke to pieces the vain and he How 
 l)illars of worldly confidence, while he poured the halm 
 of Gospel consolation into the hearts of the weary, the 
 wretched, and the penitent- It is the doctrine of tho 
 atonement, he would say, which gives to the Gospel 
 messa^^e its true character of joy, and which shall at 
 length reconcile and regenerate the world. This great 
 truth, if preached with acceptance ond power, will not 
 fail to increase our congregations, and become a bond of 
 reunion between believers and heaven. The atonement 
 is the cord of true love let down from the upper sanctuary 
 among a sinful race, and it proves to all who take hold 
 of it, the conductor along which the virtues of heaven 
 descend upon them. 
 
 Having thus provided for a well educated clergy, he 
 was strenuous in his exhortations, in season and out of 
 season, to urge them to the faithful performance of their 
 duty, in his frequent addresses at the Convention, and 
 in his eloquent charges ; and this with a single eye to the 
 glory of their Master, and to the purity of that Church 
 which he purchased with his blood. Zealously watching 
 the spiritual fold intrusted to them as vigilant watchmen, 
 he warned them against all ojHnions and practices, how- 
 ever sanctioned by popular favour, which would deform 
 by heresy, or rend by schism, the mystical body of their 
 Redeemer. ' ' "• 
 
 ,1 J !r 
 
 The primitive order of the Church, in Bishops, Pres- 
 byters, and Deacons, they were to maintain. This was 
 not to be considered a matter of indifference, or non- 
 essential, but of the utmost importance ; for it had con- 
 
90 
 
 tinued without interruption fifteen centuries : nor is tlicro 
 in the history of Christiauity a single Church whicli lias 
 remained one-third of that time under any other system 
 of government, nor an example of any successful and 
 permanent pr<^agation of the Gospel v/ithout the super-* 
 intendence of Bishops. The apostolic constitution of the 
 Church requires not to be accommodated to times and 
 circumstances, to the state of society, or the character 
 of civil governments ; for it is essentially spiritual, and 
 capable of e:» ■"♦:ing vith effect under every possible form 
 of civil policy. Its ministrations are suitable to all na-' 
 tions, and to all times ; *' for my kingdom," saith Jesus, 
 " is not of this world;" and they are best calculated for 
 perfecting the believer unto the measure of the stature 
 of his divine Master* 
 
 The Bishop spoke of the beauty, unction, and effect 
 of the liturgy with affectionate admiration, as the first of 
 uninspired compositions ; so correct and affecting in its 
 exhibition of evangelical truth, and so well calculated to 
 preserve the faith, that while it was in daily use, the 
 Church could not fall away from the purity of the Gospel* 
 The liturgy shows that the faith and practice of our 
 Church is founded on the corruption of human nature, 
 which leads to actual transgression ; and by making our 
 best works unworthy of 4ivine acceptance, renders man 
 guilty in the sight of God* It teaches that a deep and 
 pern^anent conyictipn of this corruption and unworthiness 
 humbles man before his Maker and his Judge, and dis- 
 poses hiiH cordially to embrace the doctrine of salvation 
 through the grace and merits of a divine Redeemer. It 
 teaches that we arc saved from the guile and dominion 
 of sin by the favour and sufferings of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, received in the exercise of faith and penitence, 
 in union with his Church, in participating pf the sacrt^^ 
 
31 
 
 ments and ordinances from the hands of his authorized 
 ministry. These are the principles which distinguished 
 the Church in her first and purest state; they arc the 
 principles taught and enforced in all the forms and 
 usages of our holy communion, and they are the only 
 principles which can restore purity and unity to the 
 Christian family, now deformed bud distracted by here- 
 sies and schisms. Bishop Hobart firmly believed that 
 the Church was one, not as consisting of one compact 
 society, but because the various societies or churches 
 were modelled by the Apostles on the same principles, 
 and ought ever to be so, namely, one Lord, one Spirit, 
 one baptism; and that Bishops, Priests, and Deacons 
 were the regular and appointed agents of the Church, to 
 dispense the truths intrusted to its care, as contained in 
 the New Testament, each according to his office. He 
 could not recognise, as a true Church, any bod^of pro- 
 fessing Christians who differed from him in th^ leading 
 truths, and who had not among them a separate order, 
 consisting of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, duly ap- 
 pointed to officiate in a course of ministerial duties. 
 These duties or offices were designed by our Saviour to 
 be perpetual; and it follows as a necessary inference, 
 that it is a perpetual obligation in his followers to have 
 a distinct order to succeed the first, for the purpose of 
 discharging them. This obligation was universally ac- 
 knowledged and acted upon by the Church, from the 
 days of St. Paul, till the pride of Calvin, raising him in 
 his own conceit above the Apostle, tempted him to ques- 
 ition, and then to overturn it ; but it is an obligation still 
 felt aod adhered to by the purest portion of the Christian 
 family. Here we have the key of Bishop Hobart 's con- 
 duct as a minister pf the Christian Church ; it is clear 
 4iiid simple, and easily accounts for that firm, uncom- 
 
^ 
 
 promising, and con^ .^tcnt coiir.sc of proceeding which he 
 pursued during his laborious life, through good report 
 and bad report. 
 
 Acting on such principles, Bishop Hobart, as might 
 have been expected, highly disapproved of different de- 
 nominations uniting for religious purposes, and held in 
 abhorrence all attempts to separate education from reli- 
 gion. He believed, and I think justly, that the popula- 
 rity • >f these two principles, and the influence which their 
 practice has had upon the civilized part of the world 
 during the last forty years, has done more to produce 
 indifl*erence to religion, sap the foundations of Chris- 
 tianity, and multiply the ranks of infidelity, than all the 
 irreligious publications which have, during the same 
 period, issued from the press. He placed himself, from 
 the first, in mild but firm opposition to thj Bible Society. 
 He considered such an institution, so far as his commu- 
 nion walrconcerned, totally unnecessary, because every 
 good which it proposed might be much better and more 
 conveniently accomplished by the orthodox Society al- 
 ready belonging to the Church; and should this Society 
 deem it expeaient to circulate a larger proportion of 
 Bibles than had been hitherto done, it was fully in their 
 power to increase their subscription for this express 
 purpose. He deemed the Bible Society further objec- 
 tionable, because, having the same object as the Bible 
 and Prayer Book Society, it became, from the first, a 
 sort of rival, absorbed funds, in as much as our people 
 assisted, which in justice belonged to the latter. Such a 
 general institution was further to be deprecated, as it 
 could not, in any degree, be under the direction or con- 
 trol of Church people, who, mixed up with many denomi- 
 nations, would become a minority. It was therefore 
 evident that the adversaries of the Church would pre- 
 
 ^ 
 
23 
 
 serve their asccmlciicy, and prevent any salutary influ- 
 ence from being exerted on the part of out people, unless 
 subservient to their views. When it was argued that 
 much practical good flowed from the union in England 
 and that the same benefit would follow the establishmerit 
 of the Bible Society in the United States, he questioned 
 the fact, always \/ith warmth, and sometimes with in- 
 dignation. The countenance which was given to such a 
 Society by many members of the Church of England, 
 was, he said, very detrimental to their own establish- 
 ment, and that far more good might have been eflbcted 
 through their own Church institution for Promoting 
 Christian Knowledge : that it lifted the Dissenters to an 
 equality with the Church, and enabled them to act in a 
 compact body against her interests, to which they were 
 always sufficiently inclined: that they made the distri- 
 bution of the Bible an instrument of influence, for it was 
 a notorious fact, that Church people were seldom or ever 
 employed in this service. He declared that such asso- 
 ciations were, from their very constitution, detrimental 
 to the Church ; and if we sincerely believe that her prin- 
 ciples are more pure than those of n.'^v other, that she is 
 the best suited to disseminate (rospei truth in its most 
 spiritual and efficacious manner, in what way shall we 
 reconcile it to our own consciences to associate, for 
 religious purposes, with those who diflfer from us in 
 many of what we believe to be the most essential articles 
 of our holy faith ? 
 
 When liberality of sentiment was pleaded, he repelled, 
 with honest fervour, that sickly prostration of all prin- 
 ciple, which regards man's solemn intercourse between 
 earth and heaven any thing, or every thing, or nothing, 
 and rests in perfect indifl*erence to religious truth. To- 
 
fU 
 
 be really liberal, is to judge kindly and candidly of the 
 motives and sentiments of others, and never to allow 
 difference of opinion to interfere with the charities of 
 social life ; but implies no want of principle in ourselves. 
 In the examination of religion, it is our duty to come 
 forward with a candid and docile temper of mind ; but 
 having ascertained the truth, and arrived at conclusions 
 which we believe in conscience to be correct, it is then 
 our duty to support and avow them with discreet but 
 uncompromising firmness; and while we cherish the 
 spirit of Christian charity towards those who differ from 
 us, and are not strong in the faith, we must neither be 
 indifferent to the cause of truth, nor to the increase of 
 error, much less fall into that Laodicean neutrality, 
 which is the death of every thing lioble and generous 
 in the mind. If, then, we are convinced that the 
 Christian doctrines, as we believe them, are fully estab- 
 lished in Scripture, and that they are taught by no 
 other Church in equal purity, it becomes our duty, as 
 it is our privilege, to maintain them with all our might. 
 In such case, to treat them lightly, or attempt to ex- 
 plain them as unessential, instead of being the mark 
 of a great and liberal spirits is a proof of a wavering 
 ~ mind, not duly impressed with the value and importance 
 of truth. 
 
 What would this intrepid defender of sound principle 
 exclaim — Shall we trifle with the laws of God ? Shall 
 we assist other denominations in promoting error ? Shall 
 societies, established on the principle of indifference 
 to religious truth, and proclaiming their own praises 
 in the public journals with so much ostentatious pomp 
 and parade as to disgust every humble mind, number us 
 among their friends f Contrast, he might have added, 
 
25 
 
 their public meetings, which seem to be held for no 
 other purpose than that of bandying compliments and 
 praises which shame would prevent them from uttering 
 in a private room, with the modest simplicity of societies 
 belonging to our Church, and which have for ages been 
 productive of so much good ; and then say if you can 
 leave your own institutions and conscientiously join them. 
 Nothing can be more loathsome to sober Christians than 
 some of the reports of the Bible and other societies 
 founded on the same latitudinarian principle, which are 
 annually inflicted upon the public; they set principle, 
 modesty, and good taste at defiance. 
 
 Bishop Hobart was accused by his enemies, as indeed 
 all the opposers of the Bible Society have been — for 
 many of its supporters are not sparing in their accusa- 
 tions — of wishing to deny the Bible to the people, and 
 prevent its general dissemination. But this is false, and 
 his accusers knew it to be so when they declared it, both 
 in print and conversation. No man was ever more anxious 
 than he was that the Scriptures should be found in every 
 family — that their sound should go into all the earth, 
 and their words unto the end of the world; but he de- 
 sired this to be done through the domestic society of 
 the Church. Her members were in the first place to 
 bring the tribute and help of their zeal and love, their 
 united, best, and most strenuous efforts for the stability 
 and enlargement of their own communion; and in the 
 next to promote the welfare, efficacy, and advancement, 
 as well temporal as spiritual, of all the designs with 
 which it is connected. As to other denominations, let 
 them have their own institutions, we seek not to tie their 
 hands, or impugn their motives, or interfere with their 
 labours. But how can an active and zealous supporter 
 of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge be at 
 
 4 
 
26 
 
 llio saii.o time an active and zcalouK supporter of the 
 Bilile Society ? 
 
 Our distinctive principles, and the form of our church 
 governiTicnt, preclude its members, in my opinion, from 
 joininiT promiscuously with other denominations for reh- 
 gioiis purposes; although many do so whose purity of 
 intention I have no reason to question, whatever I may 
 think of their judgment and consistency. With her 
 ministers this duty is stronger, or rather to join such is 
 altogether incompatible with their sacred office. What 
 can be more inconsistent than to see Bishops belonging 
 to the Church of England supporting societies whose 
 objects arc not under their influence ? Episcopacy is a 
 spiritual government by spiritual men, for spiritual 
 purposes. One of its great objects is the union of the 
 Church, by the prevention of heresies without, and 
 schisms within; and I have therefore been always filled 
 with the deepest sorrow, when I saw Bishops officers of 
 Bible Societies. I deem such traitors to their own 
 Church, and promoters of division. A Bishop at a Bible 
 Society, is the object of hostility and hatred to the majo- 
 rity around him, who think it a matter of conscience to 
 thwart his views, unless he forgets his vows and acts in 
 accordance with their levelling designs. Bishop Hobart 
 did not merely admit, but insisted on th'j importance of 
 disseminating such religious tracts as exhibited views of 
 divine truth in accordance with the sentiments of our 
 Church, and explained her institutions; but in regard to 
 Tract Societies he most judiciously observed, " that an 
 union here with our Christian brethren who differ from 
 us, must inevitably, to say the least, endanger our reli- 
 gious system, either by circulating sentiments in disso- 
 nance with its distinctive principles, or by keeping them 
 out of view in a general association of commanding 
 
07 
 
 nt i 
 
 influence, lead to the belief that they arc of little im- 
 portance."* 
 
 About the beginning of the present centjn'v, the 
 Reverend Dr. Bell began to introduce a new system of 
 education, which he brought from the East-Indies, and 
 which offers great facilities for the rapid actpiisition of 
 elementary instruction. The Doctor's first painphlct on 
 the subject was printed in 1796, but several years elapsed 
 before it attracted public attention. It is indeed ques- 
 tionable, notwithstanding its excellence, whether it would 
 have come into general practice, had not Mr. Lancaster 
 adopted it with some variations, and shown to the citizens 
 of London the great ease and certainty with which ha 
 principles might be applied to the education of a numer- 
 ous population. Unfortunately for mankind, this gentle- 
 man differed from Dr. Bell, in proceeding on the maxim 
 of the Bible and Missionary Societies — a total indiffer- 
 ence to religion. This alteration was immediately caught 
 at by the falsely-called liberal, and having been much 
 followed, it has engendered a spirit of indifference to 
 Christianity, which these societies have cherished and 
 extended so as to have produced a neglect of religion 
 among the people altogether appalling. Bishop llobart, 
 a careful observer of the times, set his face against this 
 baleful system of separating rehgion from education, as 
 he had against promiscuous societies for religious pur- 
 poses. His principle was, that to instill religious truths 
 into the minds of childien at the earliest period of life, 
 
 * The wisdom of the Bishop's views on the subject of difterent denoitiina- 
 tions uniting for rehgious purposes is now generally admitted. The discus- 
 sions which have arisen in the Bible Society respecting the Apocrypha, the 
 extraordinary preface to one of their foreign editions of the Bible, and the 
 agents employed in distributing the Scriptures, have led to much acrimony 
 and dissension, and taught many the propriety of withdrawing fioni general 
 ussociatious, and confining themselves to their own comnmuion. 
 
was to secure thcin against evil. In as far as the me- 
 chanical improvements were concerned, by which they 
 might bo more quickly and in greater numbers educated, 
 no man was more eager to promote their adoption; but 
 religion must ever be the basis of education. In their 
 separation he foresaw the germ of every evil ; and the 
 present times prove his wisdom and sagacity. What do 
 we see in Europe, as the coi.seciuence of knowledge 
 without religion? The perversion of public principle, 
 the daily weakening of the bonds of union between the 
 humble ranks of society and their natural guardians and 
 protectors, growing insubordination, disregard to the 
 laws, increase of crime, the denunciation of good men, 
 mockery of religion, impatience of just control and salu- 
 tary restraint, contempt of sound learning and experi- 
 ence, and the interruption of honest industry. The 
 Bishop, considering such evils to be the certain conse- 
 quences of separating religion from education, boldly 
 denounced every such attempt; he declared it to be 
 contrary to the Christian profession, and that to patronize 
 any such plan must prove destructive of that unity of spirit 
 and bond of peace which were designed to be the dis- 
 tinguishing characteristics of Christ's Church upon earth, 
 however liberal it might be called, or popular it might 
 become. The Protestant reformers were better ac- 
 quainted with human nature and the true sources of 
 human happiness, and therefore raised the standard of 
 education on the basis of Christianity. They declared, 
 that to reject that basis, was to reject God; for what can 
 be more wicked, than for men calling themselves Chris- 
 tians, to adopt a system which produces indifference to the 
 Gospel, and the rejection of the doctrines which constitute 
 its essence and foundation f If good principles are not 
 inculcated, bad ones will gain admission into the minds 
 
29 
 
 ul'the young; and how can wc expect any blessing upon 
 ourselves or children, if we do not bring thcni acquainted 
 with their Saviour and Creator ? 
 
 As usual, those who thought Mr. Lancaster deficient 
 in the most material part of education, were stigmatized 
 as the enemies of liberal sentiment; but the friends of 
 true religion are not to be deterred from doing their duty 
 by obloquy and scorn. It is indeed to be deplored, that 
 a plan of instruction so generally adopted in Europe and 
 America, should not have ceded to Christianity the ground 
 which it ought to occupy; for it is impossible for the 
 truly religious to sanction any system of instruction 
 which scarcely admits the name of Christ, or such meagre 
 extracts from the Bible as the children are not capable 
 of understanding. Bring up the child in the way he 
 should go, and when he is old he will not depart from 
 it. Experience proves, that to instruct children in the 
 principles of the true faith by means of catechisms, easy 
 at first, and as they grow up, more comprehensive and 
 satisfactory, is certain to be successful. This has been 
 the practice of the purest portions of the Christian 
 Church in all ages ; and the same method, from its ap- 
 proved excellence, is now made use of to convey infor- 
 mation on almost all the various branches of human 
 knowledge. Children are easily made to comprehend 
 the leading truths of revelation. That there are secret 
 things that belong unto the Lord our God, in religion as 
 well as in nature, we readily allow ; but in this point of 
 view all are children, and although we cannot fathom, 
 we feel their effects. Is there any great difficulty in 
 making children understand the facts related in the 
 Gospels, and upon which the doctrines of our religion 
 stand f Is it difficult for them to comprehend the prac- 
 tical precepts f Those who say that it is impossible for 
 
'60 
 
 \licni to iindcistdml such tilings, mo cither very ignoram 
 of the capjicity of children, or dostitutu of the talent of 
 f'omnninicating knowleH«^e. At the same time, it is 
 neither wise nor nscfal to perplex them with idle or 
 «suhtle inquiries; the great anxiety should he, to make 
 them emhody in their lives, as far as possible, the in- 
 struction which they receive. A second step in the pro- 
 gress of dividing education from religion, has been made 
 in the establishment of mechanic institutions, in which 
 it is declared, that the demonstrative or experimental 
 sciences only should be admitted. These may indeed 
 strengthen the mind, and may be considered pillars in 
 the temple of knowledge, but we must look elsewhere 
 for elevation of soul, for taste, delicacy, pure virtue, and 
 religion. It must be allowed, that the sight of several 
 Imndred artificers collecting, after their daily labours arc 
 over, to listen to the voice of science, is sufficiently im- 
 posing, and that it marks a momentous aera in the history 
 of the British and American population ; but we have 
 iflready to record, that though very few years have 
 elapsed since their commencement, many of these insti- 
 tutions have degenerated into political clubs and hot-beds 
 ^f infidelity. It is not that such associations might not 
 be made useful under judicious regulations, and produce 
 excellent moral habits and a true regard for religion, 
 while they become profitable resources for leisure, and 
 for extending a knowledge of the sciences; but while 
 they continue to be occupied almost exclusively with 
 physical questions, and have nothing to do with the high 
 principles of religion, there is nothing to unite the moral 
 sympathies of their supporters, but much to produce 
 discordant feelings. A short time ago, the gates of 
 knowledge were scarcely open to any but the wealthy 
 and high-born ; now they are open to all ; and so far the 
 
n 
 
 <^anj(c is worthy of nil praise. By means of numerous 
 popular institutions, thousands, who were left, in former 
 times, in poverty and ignorance, are raised to a high 
 state of intellectual being. It is therefore much to be 
 lamented that this great moral experiment, which has 
 already produced astonishing resuhs, should limit itself 
 to man as a physical being confined to this world, and 
 thus neglect the more valuablfr part of his nature; and 
 that, while the principles of mechanical science are be- 
 coming familiar to the multitude, the diffusion of religious 
 knowledge among the same class is by no means so 
 general. Nothing can be more beautiful than science 
 and religion combined; they are, indeed, intimately en- 
 twined. God is to be worshipped in the works of nature, 
 as well as in the works of grace : united, they raise man 
 to the highest standard of excellence which it is possible 
 for him to attain in this lower world ; but, if they are to 
 be separated, leave us religion to purify our hearts, and 
 not science, which, without its companion, only enlarges 
 our power of doing evil. 
 
 As the climax of this pernicious system, the London 
 University was set up, and a similar institution projected 
 at New- York. The world had never seen an institu- 
 tion, in the form of an university, pretending to give an 
 encyclopaedia of knowledge without any reference to 
 theology ; such a thing had never been imagined among 
 Meathens or Mahometans, much less was it to be expected 
 among professing Christians. If Christian theology bo 
 considered as a science which has materially influenced 
 the literature, civilization, and destinies of nations, how 
 could it with propriety be excluded from an establish- 
 ment which professed to teach all the sciences f If it bo 
 necessary to acquire a knowledge of its elements, in 
 order to comprehend upon what grounds, and through 
 
32 
 
 what concurrin/D^ circiimstHnccfl, so large a portion of the 
 civilized world lins hecoine Christianized, nothing conld 
 be more illiberal than its proscription ; and if it be con- 
 sidered the rule of moral conduct to millions around us, 
 whether right or wrong, can that system of instruction 
 be complete, in which no mention is made of its principles 
 and evidences ? Even as a branch of history, entwining 
 itself in all the transactions of the civilized world for the 
 last nineteen centuries, a knowledge of Christianity be- 
 comes indispensable in any general plan of education. 
 
 The first best purpose of education, and which gives 
 holiness and glory to every scheme for its improvement, 
 is to connect thought and principle by the fullest demon- 
 stration of truth. This brings forth all that is religious 
 in man; it makes him the true worshipper of God and 
 the self-denying friend of his species. But are such 
 sentiments and feelings nourished by physical science ? 
 Certainly not. We must unlock the treasures of moral 
 science to find a mould for the noblest form of mind; 
 and if the philosophy of the heart and spirit form an 
 indispensable part of instruction, how is religion to be 
 excluded ? Religious principle is inherent in every man, 
 nor can his mind be analyzed with correctness without 
 introducing religion; and why not then introduce it in a 
 proper manner; and not by iinperfect, unconnected, and 
 often sarcastic hints, unsetiie the youthful mind on this, 
 the most precious of all subjects. Does not every person 
 feel that physical pleasures and mental amusements, 
 when confined to this earthly sphere, are almost on a 
 par; and yet, if, in the very midst of such pleasures and 
 amusements, there are occasional intervals when the 
 soul rejects, and even loaths them, is not this a proof 
 that it has other wants f dees not this dissatisfaction 
 with earthly things, this longing after a more elevated 
 
33 
 
 splicrc, open the iniiul to tlie i^lorioiis truths of revela- 
 tion? Is it possible timt any reflecting bcin^ enn ho 
 content with a life confined to this world — the weakness 
 and inconveniences of infancy ; the passions, the errors, 
 the faults of youth ; the ambitious miscalculations and 
 indiflerence of nuinhood; the infirmities and degradation 
 of childish old ago f In truth, it is the relij^^ious principle 
 inherent in every breast that ennobles the character, and 
 <^ivcs the true charm to scientific knowledge. To what 
 do the investigations of the works of nature tend, but to 
 expand our conceptions of the power, wisdom, benevo- 
 lence, and superintending providence of God ? What 
 are all the objects of knowledge but dark and comfort- 
 less, unless animated by vivid conceptions of him who 
 made all things f True knowledge may be defined, a 
 seeking after God ; and while we are seeking him in his 
 external works, shall we neglect his spiritual manifesta- 
 tions f Exterior nature bears, indeed, the stump of infi- 
 nite perfection, but only as a sensible medium to expand 
 and exalt our conc<<!pilons of him whose invisible glories 
 they represent ; and it is not nntil they are purified by 
 the light of divine revelation, that they open themselves 
 to a future world, where our vision will be infinitely 
 enlarged, the plans and operations of God more clearly 
 unfolded, and where we shall be able to join the immortal 
 hymn of the Church triumphant — "Great and marvellous 
 are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true arc 
 thy ways, thou King of saints." 
 
 Bishop Ilobart's voice was raised against this projected 
 university ; he saw the vast evils which such an institu- 
 tion was likely to produce, and he had the pleasure of 
 knowing that the best and wisest men, both in England 
 and America, were with him. Was then this excellent 
 prelate an enemy to the dissemination of knowledge f 
 
 5 
 
34 
 
 Far otiierwisi'. No man n ore readily admitted that 
 knowledge, in its original tendency, adds dignity and 
 perfection to the human character; and that, in this 
 point of view, it must ever be dear to Protestants, be- 
 cause from its diffusi ,i they owe their emancipation 
 from the Church of Rome, and the purity of their reli- 
 gious belief. It was not therefore his wish to limit, for 
 a single moment, the not)le gratification of scientific 
 research, or to check, in any instance, legitimate inquiry; 
 but he was anxious that ali acquisitions should be made 
 subservient to the one ihing needful. United to religion, 
 he saw no reason to confine information; and as the 
 tendency of the public mind is evidently to advance in 
 knowledge, he considered it the duty of the ministers of 
 the Gospel to prepare themselves with such knowledge, 
 scientific and moral, as well as religious, as should keep 
 them in the van ; so that they might be enabled to deliver 
 their instructions with effect, and instead of discouraging, 
 from an unworthy timidity, the advance of science, or 
 deprecating its real advantages, it became them to point 
 out its usefulness when subservient to spiritual things. 
 Next, therefore, to religious truth, he considered moral 
 and physical knowledge the mcst precious gift of Divine 
 Providence, and urged their acquisition by precept and 
 example. It is the dutj^ of the clergy, he would say, to 
 go before the general average in learning, and to be 
 able to address themselves to the understandings r,s well 
 as the hearts of an enlightened people. Moses was wise 
 in all the knowledge of Egypt, and St. Paul was tho- 
 roughly instructed in the literature of his age, nor did 
 he disdain to make use of it in the propagation of the 
 Gospel. But Bishop Hobart desired what every true 
 friend of man must desire, that our progress in science 
 and our knowledge in religion should go hand in hand. 
 
35 
 
 and that they should be most carefully united in all insti- 
 tutions for the instruction of youth. 
 
 In regard to missionary exertions, the same wise prin- 
 ciples guided his proceedings. While anxious to spread 
 the knowledge ox' the Gospel through the whole world, 
 he felt it to be more especially his duty to promote 
 missions of a domestic character. The greater portion 
 o^ Ins diocese, when he became its liishop, might be 
 called a spiritual desert ; on itinerant preachers or mis- 
 sionaries he thereftie depended for collecting the scat- 
 tered sheep, and he found that there was too much to be 
 done at home to allow for a long time the means of 
 sending the Gospel to distant climes. His first duty was 
 to cultivate and water his own spiritual garden, by car- 
 rying the tidings of srlvation to the new settlements, 
 where individuals and families had gone from the regiuar 
 ministration of the word and sacraments, and where 
 thousands were scattered as ignorant of Christianity as 
 the pagan nations. Those wastes, he said, if not culti- 
 vated by the neighbouring Church, would for ever be 
 neglected. The Church o!i Alexandria was not expected 
 to send missionaries to convert the people in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Carthage, noi the Church of Carthage to 
 the neighbourhood of Alexandria ; but each was bound, 
 as from a centre, to extend its spiritual labours as far as 
 possible around it. He considered the siti'^tion of the 
 United States to be very different from that of England 
 and other European nations. The latter, of known and 
 limited extent, have been long blessed with ecclesiastical 
 establishments, and are divided into small districts or 
 parishes, in each of which a clergyman is placed to 
 superintend the religious instruction of the people ; and 
 being thus well provided at home, they can look abroad 
 with propriety and effect. But in the former, matter?; 
 
36 
 
 are very difTerent; there is no ecclesiastical establish- 
 ment, the limits of civilization are continually extending, 
 and the utmost exertions of the different denominations 
 are not sufficient to carry spiritual food to the numerous 
 destitute settlements which are daily growing up in all 
 directions. Remote climes will be attended to, he fre- 
 quently said, by our Protestant brethren in Europe; 
 but we shall have more to do, for ages to come, than we 
 are able to perform. Our own population, spreading 
 through this vast continent, presents fields of spiritVtul 
 destitution which powerfully appeal to our hearts and 
 understandings. Let us first obey the Apostle, in pro- 
 viding for the household of faith : that accomplished, we 
 may then contribute towards the more general extension 
 of Gospel truth. Yet on this subject he was willing to 
 meet his brethren in the candid spirit of concession, for 
 there was no principle to give up, and no pernicious 
 system to combat; and therefore he became a zealous 
 supporter of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary 
 Society, the constitution of which admits the contribu- 
 tions or efforts of its members to be given to either, or 
 to both. For although the Bishop considered the wants 
 of the Church, in almost every district of the Union, 
 great and urgent, yet he was too well acquainted with 
 human nature not to know that the hearts of many would 
 be opened, and their exertions increased, at the prospect 
 of sending the Gospel to distant lands. He knew that 
 no reasoning could be more fallacious than to infer that 
 every thing paid to the one was an abstraction from the 
 other ; for those who, after due consideration, were con- 
 vinced that the home mission was more in the way of 
 their duty, might still feel that this formed no sufficient 
 excuse for doing nothing for foreign missions. Others 
 again, carried away by the splendid thought of conveying 
 
37 
 
 the Gospel to the four corners of the earth, enlarged 
 their contributions to both: it was a holy flame, which 
 he sought in gentleness to direct, and was too noble to 
 repress, or to treat with any thing but respect, even in 
 its aberrations : for as we are bound to promote the cause 
 of religion beyond the sphere in which we move, either 
 as individuals, families, or congregations ; so the Church 
 to which we belong may with propriety look to other 
 lands and nations, when able to help them. But though 
 kind and considerate in this matter towards those who 
 differed from hiro, he was firm in opposing all contribu- 
 tions from his people, except for the extension of Chris- 
 tianity as professed by our own Church ; nor would he 
 join with other denominations in propagating the Gospel, 
 either at home or abroad. He was truly solicitous to 
 enlarge the boundaries of our Lord's vineyard, and with- 
 out respect of persons would lead to the marriage feast 
 as many as would come in, but they must come by the 
 door. It .^ not given to us to commute faith for works, 
 or works for faitli. We cannot allow that he who denies 
 the divinity of Christ, and he who acknowledges him to 
 be his Lord and his God, stand upon the same, or equal 
 ground. We cannot, instead of one body, one Spirit, one 
 hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, acknowledge 
 many bodies, many discordant spirits, many different 
 objects of worship, many conflicting articles of faith, 
 many baptisms, or modes of admission into the Christian 
 covenant ; foi this would be to annul the Christian charter. 
 As well might we affirm that there are gods many and 
 lords many, of opposite wills and purposes, as that " one 
 God and Father of all" should be the Author of such con- 
 fusion. All such unfeallowed junctions, therefore, as tend 
 to neutralize sound principle and to destroy the Christian 
 character, ought to be discountenanced and condemnecj. 
 
38 
 
 Tiiu best Lonimciitary on the Bishop's opinions and 
 principles was found in the success with which they were 
 attended in conveying the bread of life through his vast 
 diocese, in which he wus continually employed in forming 
 new congregations, and planning missionary expeditions 
 through the new states which were daily added to the 
 Union : these fields of Christian labour were ever on his 
 lips — the vast regions watered by the Missouri, Missis- 
 sippi, St. Lawrence, and the great lakes, already teeming 
 with an active population, without any means of instruc- 
 tion in Gospel truth, or in the practice of its duties ; the 
 still vaster tracts even beyond these, which are settling 
 with a rapidity r v^mpled in the history of the world; 
 to these wc must i:^ the original inhabitants, who have 
 the strongest claims on the justice and sympathy of the 
 sincere believer, and to whom the blessings of Christianity 
 and civilization ought to be extended; it is a debt of 
 conscience, which cannot be discharged but by the most 
 persevering and strenuous exertions. . 
 
 The strength of his body was not equal to the energies 
 of his mind, and began to give way under his various, 
 extensive, and incessant labours. A sea voyage was 
 therefore deemed necessary; and he sailed from New- 
 York, in September, 1823, accompanied by the most 
 affectionate regrets and fervent prayers of his people for 
 his happy return with a renovated constitution. During 
 his absence, which continued about two years, he visited 
 France, Switzerland, and Italy; but his principal stay 
 was in Great-Britain and Ireland, the greater part of 
 which interesting countries he actually traversed. The 
 kind reception he met with in London, and in all parts 
 of the three kingdoms, was highly gratifying. He had 
 brought himself into more general notice than the visit 
 of a mere individual, however respectable, by the publi- 
 
cuLion of two volumes of sermons on the most importani 
 doctrines of revelation. Jealous of the honour of tin; 
 Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States, and 
 hearing it accused of having departed from the faith, 
 and that he was ranked by name among those who were 
 thus represented as neglecting the great essentials of 
 religion, and insisting chiefly on its mere externals, he 
 thought that the best refutation of such a charge, both 
 as respected himself and his brethren, would be to place 
 before the British public, a series of such discourses as 
 he had been in the habit of delivering, in the ordinary 
 course of his ministry, to his own congregation. " He 
 felt it his duty,*' he says, in his short and animated 
 preface, *' being thus publicly and particularly implicated, 
 to vindicate himself from one of the most serious impu- 
 tations which can be urged against a Christian minister. 
 And to this course he was also prompted by an earnest 
 desire, that, as a Bishop of the American Episcopal 
 Church, he should not appear to have departed from 
 the doctrines of the venerable Church of England, to 
 which that Church is indebted, under God, for her first 
 foundation, and for a long continuance of nursing care 
 and protection." Many circumstances combined to ren- 
 der this work deeply interesting to the friends of the 
 Church of England. It proved that their American 
 brethren maintained the same doctrines, and in the 
 same purity with themselves. Nor was it a small con- 
 solation to find them so ably and triumphantly vindicated 
 by a Prelate who lived in a distant country, where no 
 temptations of an interested nature existed, and who 
 could be only influenced by a sincere conviction of their 
 truth. They rejoiced to behold their apostolic Church, 
 in its forms, language, liturgy, articles, and homilief^s 
 taking c'eep root in the vast continent of America, where 
 
40 
 
 hundreds of millions of human beings might in time 
 exist, and extending its prolific branches on every side. 
 In the Bishop's sermons they find the being of God the 
 Creator, Jesus Christ the Propitiation, the Holy Spirit 
 the Sanctifier, the guilt of the sinner, the need of repent- 
 ance, the nature of holiness, the comforts of religion, the 
 hopes of the righteous, the glories of the redeemed, and 
 the eternity of blessedness, unfolded with a master hand. 
 ToJ*^ On the first of September/he embarked, at Liverpool, for 
 the United States, and landed at New- York, with reno- 
 vated health and spirits, on the twelfth of October, where 
 he was received with affectionate enthusiasm by his own 
 people, and the kind greetings of all denominations. 
 Soon after his arrival, he gave free vent to his feelings 
 of love and affection for his friends, his parishioners, and 
 his native land, in a discourse from the pulpit, which 
 being afterwards published, attracted no small degree of 
 notice in England as well as in the United States. So 
 far as it can be deemed the outpouring of a warm and 
 affectionate heart glowing with love and esteem for his 
 native country and the friends who had manifested so 
 great kindness to him, it is worthy of all praise ; nor can 
 we withhold our approbation, in so far as it was intended 
 to proclaim his unaltered attachment to his own Church 
 and institutions, and to rouse and give force to the same 
 feeling among her members ; neither are we disposed to 
 blame the great anxiety manifested throughout the whole 
 discourse to give popularity to his Church, which ho 
 thought had been checked by the Episcopal character 
 connecting it, in appearance, more with the civil govern- 
 ment of England than that of the United States. To be 
 attached to our own country, which contains those we 
 hold most dear, our purest and most early associations, 
 and to impart this lovely and affectionate preference to 
 
41 
 
 those around us, when speaking of other countries which 
 we may have visited, is highly commendable. I honour 
 most cordially that devotedness to his own native land 
 which makes a man cherish and love it above all other 
 lands. But the Bishop, as his best friends confessed, 
 went too far. Not satisfied with a general expression of 
 his preference, he entered into detail ; and here he failed. 
 His opportunities of observation in England, though far 
 better than those of most other travellers, owing to the 
 marked attention paid him, yet were not sufficient to 
 enable him, acute as he was, to get to the bottom of all 
 points upon which he speaks and decides with the utmost 
 confidence ; and he seemed to have forgotten, that, not- 
 withstanding the zeal and unusual measure of talent for 
 which he was disatinguished, hi» Church could not have 
 flourished and increased as it has done, but through the 
 aid derived from the support given to it by our monarchs, 
 while it was part of the establishment of the empire. 
 
 I dined alone with Bishop Hobart, on my way to 
 England, in March, 1826, and the conversation turned 
 on the sermon, which had not been long published. I 
 expressed my regret that it had ever seen the light, for 
 it was the only one of all his works I could not approve 
 of: that, believing it calculated to do no little mischief 
 to the Church of England, it was my intention to review 
 it, on my arrival in London, with all friendliness, but 
 with perfect freedom. The conversation was long and 
 animated; we examined the sermon minutely, and dis- 
 cussed, without reserve, those parts in which we differed. 
 With his usual candour he confessed that, in some mat- 
 ters, his opinion was rather hasty, and in a playful manner 
 requested me to give him a specimen of my proposed 
 critique. To this I readily agreed, proposing to confine 
 myself to his sweeping denunciation against ecclesiastical 
 
 6 
 
establishments. I shall commence, I said, ivtth oxpreiis- 
 ing my deep sorrow that the enemies of such excellent 
 institutions would have the gratification of finding a 
 person of his great talents and authority among their 
 mimbcr: that I could easily perceive why opposite and 
 discordant sects, who agree in nothing else, unite against 
 ecclesiastical establishments; nor was I surprised that 
 infidels should declare against them, as the strong hold 
 of that Christianity which they hate; or Unitarians, who 
 detest them for the purity of their creeds ; or the specu- 
 latist, who is rcudy to sacrifice the best interests of his 
 country for the sake of his favourite theory; or the 
 reformer, who sees abuse in every thing, and is only at 
 ease amidst changes and revolution; but for a sincere 
 and learned Christian in believe that genuine religion 
 will be most effectually extended by destroying the re- 
 servoir from whence its streams have issued, and by 
 laying the axe to the root of the tree which has hitherto 
 produced the fruits of righteousness, appeared to mc 
 truly astonishing. I was, indeed, prepared to admit that 
 it was extremely difficult for a person, born and brought 
 up in this country, (the United States,) to appreciate the 
 vast benefits of an established Church, with its parochial 
 ministers regularly distributed through the whole country 
 in settled residences, and with a given space in which to 
 labour for the temporal and eternal happiness of the 
 population; he must divest himself of many prejudices 
 and unfortunate associations before he could approach 
 the subject with any hope of giving it impartial considera- 
 tion; the defects, highly coloured and exaggerated, of 
 such institutions are ever present to his mind, without 
 being aware that they are not inherent, but of easy 
 remedy, while the advantages seem obscure, or are 
 totally unknown* In states possessed of an ecclesiastical 
 
43 
 
 1 
 
 establishment, the country is divided into small portions, 
 and a religious teacher placed in each, by which means 
 all the people have access to religious instruction. A 
 reverence is thus kept up in their minds for what is pure 
 and holy ; and their number being small, and living as 
 it were together, the clergyman soon becomes acquainted 
 with every individual, both old and young, and is able to 
 visit them occasionally at their own houses ; he becomes 
 their friend and adviser, the composer of differences, the 
 promoter of peace and contentment, the catechiser of 
 children, the encourager of industry, sobriety, and all 
 the virlueu that make man prosperous and happy here 
 and hereafter. 
 
 As the comparison is between England and the United 
 States, I shall confine myself to these two countries ; but 
 in showing the necessity of the ecclesiastical establish- 
 ment of England for the religious instruction of the 
 nation, I seek not to vindicate abuses, for such may be 
 removed, and leave the establishment more efficient than 
 ever. The Church of England is commensurate with 
 the natural boundaries of the country, which consists of 
 about 55,000 square miles, containing fourteen millions 
 of inhabitants, and divided into about 11,000 parishes. 
 The number of clergymen actually employed in parochial 
 duties are not fewer than 16,000. yThe parishes may be 
 reckoned to contain five square miles each, a space not 
 by any means too great for all the rcsidenters to attend 
 regularly the service of the Church; and the average 
 population not quite 900 souls, or about 200 families for 
 each clergyman — a number not greater than, if vigilant, 
 he is able to instruct. Even this average number is 
 lessened, in towns, by those who dissent from the estab- 
 lished form of worship; but this is the general state of 
 the rural parishes, for the Dissenters hardly ever go to 
 
11 
 
 44 
 
 the distant and obscure corners of any country, such they 
 leave to the establishment, while they plant'their stand- 
 ards amidst towns and populous villages, where, in an 
 far as religious instruction is concerned, they are very 
 little wa.ited. Now it is evident that the moral effect 
 of such a body of men daily mixing with their people 
 must be very great, more especially as they are quite 
 independent of them for subsistence. Let us now loolf 
 at the Episcopal Church of the United States, and see 
 what moral effect it can have on the population, as a 
 source of Christian instruction ; for this, after all, is the 
 true foundation upon which to institute a comparison 
 between it and the Church of England; and if in this it 
 greatly fail, the comparison falls to the ground. Now I 
 shall give you every advantage in this matter, and in- 
 stead of taking the United States generally, by which 
 my argument in favour of England and ecclesiastical 
 establishments would be much str~ngthened, I shall con- 
 fine myself to the state of New- York, where the Episcopal 
 clergymen are more numerous, in proportion to the po- 
 pulation, than in any other state, and superintended 
 undoubtedly by the most active Bishop. 
 
 In this large state the clergy of the Episcopal Church 
 are in number 136; the population two millions, or up- 
 wards of 14,000 souls to each ; the square miles about 
 46,000. Hence the parishes, if we may so denominate 
 them, contain 338 square miles, and are rather equal to 
 an English county than an English parish. The influ- 
 ence of the two Churches, as confined to England and 
 New- York, is as one to seventy ; and if the comparison 
 be taken with all the states, it becomes much more 
 favourable to England. Such influence on the manners 
 and habits of the people is next to nothiiig, and yet you 
 extol your Church above that of England, and exclaim 
 
45 
 
 against cstabliBlimeiits ! Add to this, the dependence of 
 your clergy upon tlio people for support — a stole of 
 tilings which is attended with most pernicious conse- 
 quences. The congregations frequently take offence at 
 their pastors without a good reason, and in such cases 
 the latter derive no protection from the Bishops, who 
 are equally helpless with themselves. There are doubt- 
 less many splendid exceptions, but, in general, the clergy, 
 of all denominations in the United States, are miserably 
 dependent upon their congregations. The i osult is, that 
 they too frequently sink below the rank which they ought 
 to hold in society ; and whatever be their personal merit, 
 they fail to command that respect from a vain, and 
 thoughtless, and undiscerning people, which is necessary 
 to secure attention to their instructions. It is not unusual 
 to hire clergymen by the year, or even half year ; and 
 such things excite no particular attention. It may bCy 
 that, accustomed from their childhood to temporary en- 
 gagements, the clergy partake of that restless disposition 
 and desire of change so common in new countries, and 
 think little of going with their familic8 from state to 
 state, in search of a new settlement. It cannot Ibe sup- 
 posed that clergymen so situated, will at all times speak 
 with that fearless disregard of consequences which the 
 proper discharge of their duty may often require. The 
 difference, then, of the two Churches is this, that while 
 in England the country is partitioned into parishes, over 
 which a spiritual head is appointed, to be the moral and 
 religious instructor of its population, and to add new 
 converts to the faith by familiar and daily ministrations 
 from house to house ; the Church in the United States 
 presents only a few verdant spots bearing marks of 
 recent cultivation, distinguished chiefly by their contrast 
 with the barrenness of the surrounding waste. It is the 
 
I 
 
 40 
 
 duty of Christian imtiuns to conHtitutc, within thoir 
 boundaries, ecclesiastical establishments; and since the 
 general consent of all nations has been admitted as an 
 argument in favour of the Divine Existence, so the public 
 profession of religion by every people, proves that it is a 
 primary law of human nature to honour and worship the 
 gods: how much more then is it the duty of every state 
 where the Gospel has been embraced, to recognise the 
 religion of Jesus Christ, and to make provision that his 
 ordinances bo honoured and maintained ! A family or 
 nation owes its existence to God as much as an individual, 
 and is as much the subject of his moral law; but, the 
 moment that any family or state believes the Bible, they 
 are bound by the light of nature and the moral law t» 
 profess the religion which it enjoins. Nor is it enough 
 for every member of the family to profess his faith in 
 Christ — ^there must be family profession and family v 
 ship. Again, in a nation believing the Gospel, thv..o 
 must be national profession and national worship. The 
 nation that establishes Paganism, is a pagan nation; 
 that which recognises Popery, is u popish nation; but 
 the nation which recognises no religion, is an atheistical 
 nation. It were easy to show that Scripture is clear 
 and explicit on these points, and that the Church, though 
 erected for a spiritual purpose, exists in the world as an 
 external, visible society : it ought to be chartered by the 
 legislature, as an expression of homage to the Son of 
 God; not that this 'uuld interfere with the peculiar 
 tenets and modes of' worship of those who dissent from 
 the national religion, provided there is nothing in them 
 hurtful to the general interests of society, or dangerous 
 to the lawful institutions of the country. Nor is this all. 
 It is the duty of the legislature to make for the Church 
 thus chartered, th^t temporal provision which it requires, 
 
T 
 
 47 
 
 and which those of tho Btato may admit. For it in an 
 incumbent upon nations as upon individuals to lionoui' 
 the Lord with their substance ; and it is predicted, that 
 the kings of the earth shall not only fall down before the 
 King of Zion, but shall bring forward and offer gifls. 
 What, it will be said, is the legislature to be tho judge 
 of what is a pure, and what is a corrupt profession of 
 Christianity? I say, Yes. The legislature is not to 
 dictate to the people in matters of faith, but, in moking 
 a national profession of religion, they must judge which 
 profession is agreeable to the word of God, and conse- 
 quently conducive to the welfare of the nation. The 
 truth lies as open to them as to other men, and is to be 
 ascertained in the same manner. It is also to be rc- 
 me mberod, that the proper object of such laws is not the 
 doctrines and ordinances of Christianity, but the external 
 profession and observance of them, as requiring defence 
 and maintenance : but, in doing so, they do not dictate- 
 to people's consciences, nor impose this religion ;«pou 
 any one ; they merely give it legal countenance and sup- 
 port ; and this much every Christian nation is bound in 
 duty to do. 
 
 But, notwithstanding all this, I admit that the progress 
 of the Episcopal Protestant Church in the United States 
 has been wonderful, and that she carries with her the 
 divine blessing ; and believing, as I do, that she will not 
 only far outstrip all other denominations, but that the 
 communion of which she is a part, is destined to evan- 
 gelize the whole world, I should have rejoiced in concur- 
 ring entirely in the animated praises you pronounce upon 
 her, had you not condemned ecclesiastical establishments, 
 and placed her in her infancy above the mother Church. 
 In this you greatly err; and when you picture to your 
 fancy England studded with parish rburrhes. rr<ruiarl> 
 
48 
 
 served in all the beauty of holiness, and turn to this 
 country, witli a church at vast intervals, and a clergy 
 not sufficient to suppl)^ the wants of one-twentieth of the 
 population, you must feel the advantages of an ecclesias- 
 tical establishment. In England, you behold the genius 
 of true religion entering into every family; but here, 
 unless in some favoured spots, you behold the spirit of 
 false religion, infidelity, error, and superstition trav'^rsing 
 the length and breadth of the land, and withering with 
 its pestilential breath, public as well ns domestic and 
 personal happiness and virtue. Come, said the Bishop, 
 you are becoming too severe. On this the door opened, 
 and a man from the Catskill Mountains was introduced, 
 who told the Bishop that their missiona«'y's time had 
 almost expired, and that, being few in number, they 
 could not engage him for six months longer, unless some 
 rAd could be granted them from the missionary fund. 
 The good Bishop promised the necessary assistance; 
 and an his departure, saM, with a smile. How unlucky, 
 that my country friend should come, in the midst of this 
 discussion, to show the nakedness of the land ! He con- 
 fessed that I had placed ecclesiastical establisments in a 
 point of view which was in some measure new to him ; 
 but, made up as the United States are of all possible 
 denominations, there was not tlie smallest probability 
 that any one would be ever recog^Alsed by the govern- 
 ment ; and he was pleased to conclude the conver^^ation 
 with observing, that he could not fall into mon friendly 
 hands, and that, whatever his opinion might be on eccle- 
 siastical establishments, he loved with all his soul the 
 Church of England. ' 
 
 On reaching London, I found that the Bishop's sermon 
 had made no small noise among the clergy ; some were 
 oiTended, anvi all regretted that a person whom they had 
 
49 
 
 cherished and esteemed, should have gone so far out of 
 his way to attack the (Jhurch, of which he had so fre- 
 quently testified his admiration. Nor could they account 
 for his dedicating such a sermon to Joshua Watson, Esq. 
 a gentleman particularly distinguished as an affectionate 
 member of the united Church of England and Ireland, 
 and whose life had ever been devoted to the advancements 
 of her best interests. As the treasurer of the Society 
 for Promoting Christian Knowledge, as an active mem- 
 ber of the Commission for Building Churches, and a firm 
 but mild supporter of all her institutions, his services 
 had been invaluable, and always gratuitously given. It 
 could not therefore be pleasant for one of his feelings 
 and sentiments to be thus brought before the public as 
 the friend and patron of a most uncompromising censurer 
 of the Church he loved. In most points, indeed, counter- 
 statements might have been easily made, and in some, 
 the tables effectually turned; but Mr. Watson's kind and 
 amiable disposition is not formed for controversy. 
 
 The feeling of regret, perhaps of oflt'ence, was at first 
 somewhat aggravated among the friends of the Church, 
 because they had considered Bishop Hobart one of them- 
 selves, and because his opinions were eagerly caught at 
 and exultingly brought forward by the Laodiceans of the 
 establishment. But all bitterness soon passed away, and 
 if something of disappointment and mortification fingered 
 for a season, they are long sincr neutralized and subdued 
 into something like that which is contained in the follow- 
 ing extract from a letter of one of tliC Bishop's most able 
 and candid correspondents — " I admire the sermon, as 
 an excellent stroke of policy ; you could not more effec- 
 tually have conveyed the sensation to your whole diocese, 
 and indeed throughout the states, thar the twenty-horse 
 power, whose energies had been for two years suspended. 
 
50 
 
 was at work again, and I have no doubt have called the 
 attention of your whole cofnniunion to youiself with all 
 the enthusiasm of popularity. I have little doubt also 
 that ydur sermon will conciliate esteem and awaken con- 
 sideration among aliens, and tl^a^ Episcopacy will become 
 more in favour; and nothing will rejoice me more than 
 such an effect."^ That the sermoi) did much towards 
 producing those happy results, and removing many pre- 
 judices which had been entertained in the United States 
 against the Church, will bf$ readily granted; and to pro- 
 duce good, and not evt), was undoubtedly the Bishop's 
 intention in its publication ; it was the signal of his return 
 with renovated powers, to labour for the good of liis 
 beloved diocese, and the whole Episcopal communion. 
 Soon was his presence manifest, in the life and energy 
 which he communicated to his clergy; he seemed, as it 
 were, to multijily himself, and to rejoice in the increase 
 of his duties; as if he wished, by redoubled activity and 
 exertion, to make up for his long absence. It is not easy 
 to communicate to a clergyman of an estabHshed Church 
 the variety and extent of his labours. His care of his 
 large parish, his attention to the numerous societies and 
 institutions of the Church, his vast correspondence, and 
 incessant calls for sermons and addresses on public occa- 
 sions, were far more than sufficient to overwhelm the 
 strongest mind; and yet the greatest labour remains to 
 be mentioned, namely, his a'lnual progress through his 
 diocese, in every part of which congregations have been 
 formed, or are forming. Many are the places where our 
 Church is now unknown, said the Bishop, in his last ad- 
 
 * I mentioned to some friends in London, my wish to review the Bishop's 
 sermon, but was informed that an article on the subject had already been 
 prepared. ^ appeared in the British Critic, but was too much in the spirit 
 of retaliatioii i J be useful. The writer knew little or nothing of the Protestant 
 Episcopal Church in the United States, and was dry, querulous, and unsatis- 
 factory Having no desire to prolong the controversy, and loving Bishop 
 Ilobart notwithstanding, I let tlie matter drop. 
 

 51 
 
 dress to the annual convention of his clergy in 1820, 
 hut \Vhere it would be cstahlishcd, if missionaries could 
 be procured. The want of clergymen seriously retards 
 the progress of the Church. During the visitation which 
 he had just finished, and of which, according to the 
 canons, he was giving an account to his assembled clergy, 
 he had confirmed 1299 persons in forty or fifty different 
 places, at all of which he preached; he had held twelve 
 ordinations and consecrated eight churches; and in dis- 
 charging these important duties, and visiting the different 
 congregations and growing settlements, he had passed 
 through the greater part of his vast diocese, and travelled 
 nearly ^KK) miles. Similar journies and labours were 
 made every year, and his return to New- York was a 
 return, not to ease, but to increase of labour. On this 
 occasion he made three visits to the Oneida Indians, a 
 tribe of the aborigines, which still continue within the 
 state of New- York, and which had been at former times 
 the object of his earnest solicitude. The incidents will 
 intei-est you. " On the 21st July, I visited the congrega- 
 tion of the Indians on the Oneida Reservation, and was 
 inexpressibly griatified wii.. the evidence afforded, by 
 many of them^ of piety andCliristian zeal. Their judi- 
 cious and faithful catechist and instructor, Mr. Solomon 
 Davis, presented ninety-seven for confirmation, whom he 
 had previously instructed and prepared fortius holy rite. 
 On my first visit, a number of years before, 1 had con- 
 firmed nearly the same number, and' at subsequent visits 
 others were confirmed. It could not but excitr 'lie most 
 gratifying emotions to find them still advancing in Chris- 
 tian knowledge and in attachment to our Church, in 
 whose liturgy they joined with affecting simpHcity and 
 dovotion. On the 30th, I againr visited the Oneidas, to 
 attend their chief in a council to request my advice as to 
 
 * 
 
 some particulars in relation to their spiritual interests. 
 
52 
 
 The scene was to inc novel and highly interesting. An 
 ancient butternut grove, from time immemorial their 
 council-ground, was the place where their chiefs and 
 warriors assembled and arranged themselves in circles, 
 within which the clergy and myself were seated. Groups 
 of young men, and women, and children were scattered 
 round the assemblage, regarding, with evident attention 
 and interest, what was said and done. The address to 
 me of one of the chiefs, the speech of another to the 
 natives, and the final address of the orator, were marked 
 by great good sense, and by simple and commanding 
 eloquence. On the 14th of September I again visited 
 the church of Oneida, and admitted the Rev. Solomon 
 Davis, and the Rev. Jos. B. Young, deacons, to the 
 order of priests. On this occasion, a pertinent and 
 affecting address, drawn up, at the request of the chiefs, 
 by a young Indian who had received a good English 
 education, was read to me in their name, in which they 
 requested me to recognise Mr. Davis as their permanent 
 pastor. This was done in a simple, significant ceremony 
 suggested by them: the chiefs standing behind each 
 other, each placed his hands on the shoulders of the one 
 before him, and the first on the shoulders of Mr. Davis, 
 whom I held by the right hand while I replied to their 
 address. By this ceremony they wished to signify that a 
 strong band of union was fprmed between them, their 
 pastor, and their Bishop." 
 
 The period of this zealous prelate's earthly labours 
 was fast drawing to a close; and although he lived to 
 commence another visitation, and had even made some 
 progress through his diocese, he was not permitted to 
 bring it to an end; but was removed, when .a the midst 
 of his journey, and at a great distance from home, to a 
 better world than this, at the comparatively early age of 
 fifty-five. For nearly five years after his return from 
 
53 
 
 Europe he had been spared as a shining light to hi.-^ 
 clergy and people, and every year increased their aftec- 
 tion and raised him in their estimation. 
 
 I dare not dwell on his last illness and his happy and 
 edifying death, for they have been described with an 
 affectionate eloquence which few can hope to equal. 
 The narrative of his closing days, and the sermons 
 preached on his death, which have been collected and 
 published, are well deserving of your perusal. Honour- 
 able as they are to the hearts and heads of the writers, 
 the talents they display reflect the greatest credit on the 
 clergy of the American Episcopal Church, and show that 
 the lamented prelate's mantle rests on many of his 
 brethren. The grief and sympathy excited by his death, 
 through all parts of the Union, were only exceeded by 
 that manifested upon the death of Washington. He 
 appeared rather the property of the nation than the iiead 
 of a single denomination of Christians. Never was there 
 such a funeral in New- York : the magistrates, the clergy 
 of all denominations in the city, and many from other 
 dioceses and remote parts of the country, rich and poor, 
 young and old, hastened to follow to the grave the re- 
 mains of this distinguished and beloved servant of God 
 — it was the funeral of Jacob. 
 
 Within three short weeks after the death of Bishop 
 Hobart, 1 passed through the village of Auburn, and 
 remaining over Sunday, preached in the church where 
 the lamented prelate had delivered his last sermon. I 
 had thus the benefit of becoming acquainted with the 
 friend of his youth, the amiable and excellent Dr. Rudd, 
 who ministered so kindly, affectionately, and unweariedly 
 to the comforts of his last moments. Our conversation 
 naturally turned on the recent loss which the Church 
 had sustained, and the Doctor mentioned several inter- 
 esting traits of Iijs illustrious friend, with so much good 
 
54 
 
 .^eiise, swcetnesa;, and piety, as left on my mind a very 
 lavourable opinion of his cliaracter and attainments ; and 
 I cannot but au«:ur favourably of a Church that can spare 
 a pastor of his great experience and ability for one of its 
 more remote villages. 
 
 It is pleasing to reflect on the great exertions which 
 the Protestant Episcopal Church has been for some time 
 making to disseminate Christian knowledge, and the 
 blessing with which they have been attended. The 
 prospects before her are encouraging and glorious ; she 
 extends her arms to the east and to the west, offering 
 salvation to all nations; she call^ upon her sons and 
 daughters to hold fast their profession, and upon the 
 heathen among whom they live, to save their souls aliv«. 
 With her missionary Bishops superintending and direct- 
 ing, in unity and love, the labours of her clei^, and 
 carrying in their hands the Bible and a scriptural liturgy, 
 i^he proceeds with advanfages which no other Christian 
 denomination ever possessed. But, brilliant as this pic- 
 ture is, we find it sprinkled with spots of darkness. 
 *The first Bishop of Quebec, the four first Bishops of 
 Calcutta, and now the Bishop of New-York, (for he too 
 was a missionary Bishop, as well as those of Quebec, 
 Calcutta, and Nova-Scotia,) have been called, by the 
 
 * It ought to be remembered, that the late Dr. Mountain, Lord Bishop of 
 Quebec, was not only the first Bishop of the see, but the first missionary 
 Bishop ever sent out from the Church of England. I have attempted, ii* a 
 sermon some time before the public, to do some justice to the character of 
 this eminent prelate, who, for thirt}'-five years, governed the Church in the 
 Canadas, and " laid a fair foundation for the diffusion of Christianity through 
 that extensive country, according to the apostolic principles of the Church of 
 England, which, arrayed in her beautiful garments, is turning darkness into 
 light, and sowing those seeds of righteousness and truth which shall spring 
 up and bloom for ever." 
 
 Of living prelates I may not speak, or I might say much of the vigilance 
 and labours of his pious and primitive successor in the see of Quebec, as 
 well as those of the eloquent, and faithful, a:,d uncompromising Bishop of 
 Nova-Scotia, who lately travelled ten thousand miles by sea and land, visiting 
 his extensive diocese. 
 
 \ 
 
53 
 
 \ 
 
 decree of a mysterious Providence, to give an account of 
 their stewardship. To them all, for they were wortliy, 
 it will be the duty of future historians of the Church to 
 do instice ; but the many points of resemblance which I 
 perceive, or think 1 perceive, between the two first pre- 
 lates of the East and the subject of this letter, place 
 them in the same tablet, and will hand them down to- 
 gether, for the edification and instruction of the people, 
 and the imitation of church rulers, to the latest genera- 
 tions. I do not presume to say that the resemblance is 
 complete ; for each was better fitted for his own particular 
 station, as to place and time, than any of the other two 
 would have been, and yet they were equally meritorious. 
 To all three belonged an activity and cheerfulness of 
 spirit which no disaj^ointments or annoyances could 
 embitter or depress. Never did any Christian Bishops 
 leave more solid proofs of unwearied goodness, or of 
 more ardent keenness to discharge the duties of their 
 sacred office. Their zeal had nothing of ostentation, 
 nor their devotedness of weakness ; nor did they consider 
 any sacrifice too great, in promoting the glory of God 
 and the salvation of men. To an attractive simplicity 
 of heart, and pathetic but commanding eloquence, they 
 added enlarged wisdom, sagacious discernment, manly 
 energy, tempered by mildness, anJ an uncompromising 
 firmness in supporting sound principles, and condemning 
 expediency, in matters of religion. With the most win- 
 ning kindness they took part in the laborious duties of 
 their brethren the clergy; and encouraging them, by 
 word and deedi, to proceed in the most arduous of their 
 undertakings with an assured hope of final success, they 
 never failed of increasing their zeal and raising every 
 latent faculty into action. To look at them, so humble ii» 
 their deportment, though so highly gifted; so venerable, 
 and yet so condescending; so primitive and apostolic-. 
 
56 
 
 tiiough adorned with all learning; inviting friendship by 
 their amiable manners, and conciliating all hearts by 
 their generous frankness — is one of the most delightful 
 spectacles that this world has to exhibit. Noble is the 
 example which their lives present of unqualified self- 
 devotion and unreserved dedication of themselves to tho 
 holy cause which they had undertaken, of deliberate and 
 voluntary rejection of ease and comfort, and of fixedness 
 of purpose to spend and be spent in propagating the 
 Gospel. In this single object all their powers and re- 
 sources, uncommonly endowed as they were by nature 
 and education, were entirely concentrated. Nor is their 
 example lost; it Hves in the hearts of thousands, and 
 will, from age to age, be renewed in ministers of Christ 
 crucified, till time shall be no more. Though removed at 
 a^ early age, (Bishop Hobart, the eldest, being scarcely 
 fifty-five,) they have left an imperishable name ; nor in 
 their deaths were they divided ; for while glorifying God 
 on earth, they were summoned to glorify him in heaven. 
 But 1 must conclude. Never were the happy results 
 of perseverance, on steady principle and singleness of 
 purpose, more conspicuous than those produced by these 
 venerable Fathers in the Lord ; they are glorious monu- 
 ments of what may be accomplished by men who seek 
 not their own, but the things of Cod, and who regard not 
 as matters of indifference the doctrines and discipline of 
 the primitive Church, or admit the mere profession of 
 orthodox opinions, to shelter a cold, heartless, and care- 
 less disposition ; but who, like these holy prelates, display 
 on their banner, in the spirit of true faith working through 
 love — " The advancement of the kingdom of Christ 
 throughout the world, by evangelical truth and apostolic 
 order." I remain, &c. d&c. &c. 
 
 L 
 
 York, Upper-Canada, 8tlx May, 1832. 
 
 JOHN STRACHAN.