given to understand that doubts have been entertained whether the office and jurisdiction of Diocesan Bishop became vacant by the said resignation and acceptance thereof, and whether the said Benjamin Moore was of right the Diocesan Bishop of the said Church in this State by virtue of the election and consecration herein before mentioned: And whereas this Convention hath further understood that since the last Convention the said Bishop Provoost hath assumed, and by his letter this day read in Convention does claim, the title and character of Diocesan Bishop :Now, therefore, in order to obviate the said doubts, and with a view to restore and preserve the peace and order of the Church, this Convention doth hereby resolve and declare,

That the Right Rev. Samuel Provoost, from and immediately after the acceptance of his resignation by the Convention of the Church in this State, ceased to be the Diocesan Bishop thereof, and could no longer rightfully exercise the functions or jurisdiction appertaining to that office; that having ceased to be the Diocesan Bishop as aforesaid, he could neither resume, nor be restored to that character by any act of his own or of the General Convention, or either of its Houses, without the consent and participation of the said State Convention, which consent and participation the said Bishop Provoost has not obtained; and that his claim to such character is therefore unfounded.

And further this Convention doth declare and resolve, that the spiritual order of Bishop having been canonically conferred upon the said Benjamin Moore, he became thereby, in consequence of the said previous election, ipso facto, and of right, the Diocesan Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this State; and as such, well entitled to all the jurisdiction and preeminence belonging to that office, and which have been, and may be, canonically exercised by him personally, or through his coadjutor, in the said

character.

And this Convention, in their own names, and for the Protestant Episcopal Church in this State, do hereby solemnly declare and acknowledge the said Benjamin Moore, and no other person, to be their true and lawful Diocesan Bishop; and that respect and obedience ought of right to be paid to him as such ".'

In this emergency Bishop Hobart was found wanting

e Journal of Convention, 1812, pp. 12, 13.

neither to himself nor to the office he had undertaken. Personal charges he refuted, if refutation they needed, by facts and testimony; his official rights he vindicated, by argument so conclusive, as for ever to settle the question, at least, with all disinterested reasoners. The late Brockholst Livingston, than whom few men were more competent judges of acute reasoning, stated to the writer, that Bishop Hobart's argument had completely converted him ; that one of the most lucid pieces of reasoning he had ever met with was his exposition of the dividing lines of spiritual authority and ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

The practical question, however, was settled, where alone it could be settled, by the Convention of the Diocese, and, as before hinted, to the ruin, in public opinion, of the unhappy individual by whom the contest had been begun and mainly carried on. A separation was called for by Trinity parish, with which Mr. Jones was connected as assistant minister, referees agreed upon, and an award made. This award, after many delays on his part, both legal and personal, he at length absolutely refused to abide by. The power of suspension from the ministry was then called in as a last resort, but upon his eventual, though tardy compliance, removed.

His closing years were passed as an instructor of youth and chaplain in the navy, labouring in both vocations so faithfully and successfully, as to make Churchmen willing, not only to forgive, but, what was harder, to forget the past. Now that the grave has closed over the memory of all injuries, whether given or received, let the story stand as an abiding lesson of prudence and of peace, as a fresh persuasive to that grace of Christian charity, which, while binding upon all, is yet peculiarly incumbent upon those who are called to be unto their flock ensamples of every virtue.

CHAPTER XI.

A. D. 1811. Et. 36.

Annoyances of anonymous Critics-Letter to the Author--Letter from Dr. Kollock-His subsequent History-General Character of Episcopate from 1813-Amount and Variety of DutiesPastoral Charge-Letter to a Member of his Church-Episcopal Charge-Interest taken in the Missionaries-AnecdoteKindness of Heart-Rev. Mr. Buckley-Letter in relation to the Scheme of a new religious Magazine.

THE first two years of Bishop Hobart's Episcopate were, as may well be imagined from the above narrative, years of trial and turmoil; hostility, personal as well as official, meeting him even in his nearest circles. Nor was the well-meant kindness of friends always without its annoyance. Among the minor objections made to him as Bishop, personal appearance and manners had not been forgotten. With a view to the removal of this stumblingblock, it was more than once recommended to him, by friends more zealous than wise, to throw off his old familiar manner and assume more dignity and reserve. His answer to one influential friend is remembered, and is what became him, and might have been expected from him;- Undignified,' said he, 'I must ever be, if I cannot be otherwise except by doing violence to my feelings and my nature.' But the form in which such advice generally came was that of anonymous letters, numbers of which have come into the author's hands, casually preserved among the Bishop's papers. From among these the following is selected, not only to give an idea of the variety of petty annoyances to which he was subjected, but also as touching a subject where it has been already acknowledged the critics had some ground to stand upon.'

TO BISHOP HOBART.

'An Episcopalian, ardently devoted to the Bishop, and an admirer of his ministrations, yet wishing to have every thing perfect from him, and calculated to serve for an example in his Church, relies on the kindness and acknowledged candour of his pastor, to excuse him, if he points out some few inaccuracies, as he considers them, in his phraseology or pronunciation.

Dezign and dizzemble, (like every other minister in the Church.)

The River Jurdan.

Gethered together.

Baptism and schism, in three and two syllables, baptizum and schizum.

Noo, doo, dooty, for new, due, duty; for join and enjoin, jyne and enjyne; sacrifice, it is believed, should be sacrifice; and sóvereign, súvrin; rational, rational.

"We humbly beseech thee with thy favour"

The writer contends (as, indeed, is adopted by one or two of our clergy) that it should be read, "those evils which the craft and subtlety of the devil, or man worketh against us"-meaning, that the craft and subtlety should be applied to the devil, (these being, perhaps, pre-eminently his characteristics,) and the other evils those (which) man worketh against us.

The Bishop has fot a good fight at Ephesus, but has not yet quite gotten himself the victory.

All things vis-able and invis-able.

Cum gratiâ recipiatur,

LAICUS.'

The following note to the author, who was then residing at his quiet country parish of Hyde Park, shows how far these things moved him.

Rev. and dear Sir,

TO THE REV. J. McV.

New-York, November 9, 1811.

It gives me the greatest pleasure to see you so seriously engaged in the labours of your ministry. I almost envy you your happy retirement; with sufficient calls of duty to admit of your

usefulness, and none of those perplexing cares that encroach on the plans of study and the joys of domestic life. A clergyman, usefully situated as you are, surrounded by all his friends, and with all the pleasures of rural life, has many things for which to be thankful. Perhaps, hereafter, the calls of duty may lead you to more public scenes, and then, I think, if you should feel as I do, you will more fully appreciate your present enjoyments. I am very sincerely yours,

J. H. HOBART.'

The following is the last letter found from an early friend, whose subsequent course was marked by trouble and error certainly not traceable to the intimacy this nartive commemorates.

FROM REV. DR. KOLLOCK.

My dear Hobart,

Savannah, 1811.

It is late on Saturday afternoon, and my sermons are not finished for to-morrow, yet I cannot permit the Juno, which sails in the morning, to depart without a few lines to assure you that neither interposing seas nor difference of communion can diminish my love and esteem for you. Wherever my lot may be cast during the years I have to spend on earth, my heart shall ever be warmed with affection to you, and till its last throb, I shall not cease to regard you as a faithful, tender, and long-tried friend.

Since my return I have been unusually occupied. I arrived in the height of sickness, and for some time was standing at the couches of the dying, and over the graves of the dead. How deeply ought such scenes to teach us to look for a more durable portion than this world can give!

My health has never been better than since my arrival, and I hope soon to acquire again the habits of a student. I have become a true Presbyterian in my regimen. This produces such a lightness of body, and vigour of mind, that I shall persevere in it during my life.

I have begun to my people the life of our Saviour in the form of sermons. I hope the study and contemplation of this "great exemplar" will not be lost upon myself, and will be useful to my flock. I shall devote all my powers to this course of sermons.