and the said Convention did on the next day accept the said resignation, and on the following day proceeded to the choice, by ballot, of a person to succeed the said Diocesan Bishop; and thereupon the Rev. Benjamin Moore, D. D., was unanimously chosen by the Clergy and Laity, and received from them, as Bishop elect of this Church, the testimonial required by the Canon of the General Convention: And whereas the said Benjamin Moore was, on the eleventh day of the said month of September, rightly and canonically consecrated into the office of Bishop of the said Church, and from that time hath exercised the powers and jurisdiction of Diocesan Bishop in this State: And whereas this Convention hath been 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 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

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

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 instructer of youth and chaplain in the navy, laboring 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—Æt. 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 Duties-Pastoral Charge— Letter to a Member of his Church-Episcopal Charge-Interest taken in the Missionaries-Anecdote- Kindness 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 stumbling-block, 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