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 No. 
 
A    CRITICAL 
 
 COMMENTARY 
 
 O  N 
 
 Archbifhop  SECKER's   Letter 
 
 TO      THE 
 
 kight  Honourable  HORATIO  WALPOLE, 
 
 CONCERNING 
 
 BISHOPS    in    AMERICA. 
 
 Meditor  ejje  affablUs^ 
 
 £t  bene  procedit, ■ 
 
 Paulatim  plebein  primulmn  facio  nieam. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed  for  E,  and  C.  D  i  l  l  y,  in  the  Poultry. 
 
 M  DCC  LXX. 
 
 Mf^ns 
 
[    3    3 
 
 A    C  R  I  T  I  C  A  L  A~ 
 
 C  O  M  M  E  N  T  A  R  Y,  &c. 
 
 BEFORE  we  examine  the  contents  of 
 this  remarkable  Letter  to  Mr  Walpole^  ic 
 wiU  be  neceflary  to  confider  fome  circumr 
 fiances  relative  to  the  occafion  on  which  it  was 
 written,  the  time  when,  and  the  reafon  wfiy  \t 
 was  publiflied. 
 
 Archbifliop  Seeker^  being  himfelf  a  very  fincere 
 convert  from  the  relio;ious  errors  in  which  he  had 
 
 o 
 
 been  educated  in  the  early  part  of  his  life,  and 
 zealoufly  attached  to  that  fyftem  which  he  after- 
 wards embraced,  appears,  by  many  tokens,  to 
 have  been  folicitous  to  convince  thofe  whom,  he 
 had  left,  of  their  dangerous  .delufions,  and  to 
 bring  as  many  of  them  as  he  could  influence,  over 
 to  the  Church  in  which  he  himfelf  had  found  fo 
 much  fatisfadion. 
 
 With  thefe  fentiments,  and  in  this  attachment 
 to  them,  it  is  not  at  all  furprifing,  that  his  Grace 
 fhouki  be  deeply  enamoured  of  this  project  of 
 
 A  2  cftabljfhing 
 
[     4     ] 
 
 eftablilTiing  Bifhops  in  our  American  Colonies. 
 By  feme  intimations  in  his  fermon  preached  be- 
 fore T!he  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  G  of  pel 
 in  foreign  Parts^  February  20,  1747,  it  appears, 
 that  the  accomplifhrnent  of  it  had  early  taken 
 polTeOlon  of  his  Grace's  affedlions;  and  fronrr  the 
 tenor  of  his  conduct  and  converfation  from  that 
 time  to  the  hour  of  his  death,  we  may  fafely  con- 
 clude, Mr  JValpcle*^  Letter  muft  have  been  a 
 precious  morfel  to  him,  as  it  gave  him  an  oppor- 
 tunity of  figuring  on  his  favourite  fubjedl  before 
 a  miniiler  of  (late, 
 
 Mr  JValpoWs  Letter,  we  are  informed  by  an 
 Advertifement  prefixed  to  the  Biiliop's,  was  writ- 
 ten in  the  year  1750,  to  the  late  Dr  Sherlock  then 
 Billiop  oi  London.  It  does  not  appear  that  Bifhop 
 Sherlock  gave  any  anfwer  to  it,  either  by  word  or 
 writing.  Bifhop  Seeker  indeed  fuppofes^  "  that  if 
 "  my  Lord  o^  London  hz^  ever  converfed  with 
 "  M.^  IValpole  on  the  fubjed,  fince  he  received 
 *••  Mr  JVdlpole's  Letter,  he  had  douhtlefs  faid  every 
 "  thing  material  by  way  of  reply  j"  yet  nothing 
 of  this  fort  appears,  and  as  nothing  in  writing  by 
 way  of  anfwer  froni  Dr  Sherlock  to  Mr  Walpcle 
 was  known  to  Dr  Seeker  *,  the  more  probable 
 fuppofition  is,  that  Bifnop  Sherlock^  convinced  by 
 'b^h'  PFalpole's  Letter  of  the  danger,  the  folly,  or 
 at  leaft  of  the  inexpedience  of  the  projed,  made 
 00  reply  at  all 
 
 But 
 
 *  See  his  Letter,  p,  i. 
 
[     5    ] 
 
 But  tht  moment  it  is  communicated  to  Dc 
 Seeker^  he  eagerly  feizes  the  opportunity,  and  at- 
 tempts to  anfwer  the  Statesman's  objedions;  very 
 little,  one  would  think,  to  that  Gentleman's  fa- 
 tisfaflion,  who  from  the  beginning  of  the  year 
 1 751,  to  the  day  of  his  death,  fecms  to  have  let 
 this  Letter  lie  quietly  by  him,  as  other  fchemes 
 might  do  with  other  minifters  of  ftate,  who 
 fhould  be  in  no  difpoficion  to  be  amufed  with 
 the  vifionary  propofals  of  weak  or  defigning  pro- 
 jectors. 
 
 But  fmce  his  Grace's  executors,  in  compliance 
 with  his  fiat  oi  May  25,  1759,  have  thought  fit 
 to  revive  this  Letter,  may  we  not  afk,  What  is 
 become  of  Mr ^F'^/;)(?/^'s Letter  to'^i^o^ Sherlock? 
 That  Dr  Seeker^  and  cbnfequently  his  executors, 
 had  it  in  their  power  to  publifh  Mr  JValpole's 
 Letter,  is  very  probable.  If  any  circumftances 
 made  it  either  impracticable  or  improper  to  pub- 
 lifli  that  Letter,  candor  and  common  juflice  re- 
 quired, that  this  anfwer  Id  it  Ihould  have  been 
 lupprelTed  for  the  fame  length  of  time.  If  the 
 public  had  any  claim  upon  Archbilhop  5^ry^^r  for 
 his  fentiments  concerning  American  Bifhops,  they 
 had  likewile  a  right  to  the  whole  procefs  which 
 drew  thofe  fentiments  from  him.  Mr  JValpoWs 
 Letter  might  have  obje<5tions  in  it,  which  Arch- 
 bifhop  Seeker  did  not  think  proper  to  touch,  and 
 his  Grace  could  not  be  uninformed,  that  to  pub- 
 lifh anfwers  to  treatifes,  which  they  who  lliould 
 
 A.  3  judge 
 
[    6     } 
 
 juJge  between  the  parties  have  no  poflibk  means 
 of  conftilting,  has  always  been  a  (landing  and  a 
 very  realbnable  prejudice  againft  the  fairnels  and 
 impartiality  of  the  anfwerers. 
 
 As  Mr  IFalpoIe's  Letter  is  thus  withheld,  We 
 can  only  conje<5lure,  that  it  might  be  occafioned 
 by  fomc  previous  converfation  between  himfelf 
 and  the  Bifhop  of  London^  concerning  Bifhops  in 
 America.  It  is  very  unlikely  Mr  Walpole  fhould 
 begin  the  fubjed.  Minifters  of  ftate  were  then 
 laid  to  be  particularly  cautious  of  giving  offence 
 to  the  Colonifts,  and  thele^  they  could  not  but 
 know,  had  no  prediledion  for  Epifcopacy.  The 
 Coloniils,  on  the  other  hand,  who  were  members 
 of  the  Church  oi  England^  were  more  efpecially 
 within  the  Bifhop  of  London^s  epifcopal  depart- 
 ment. It  was  therefore  natural  enough  for  his 
 Lordfhip  to  propofe  an  improvement  of  tkeir  re- 
 ligious condition.  It  was  his  peculiar  bufmef^ 
 to  remove,  as  far  as  he  could,  all  obflacles  to  it, 
 and  confequently  to  ailfwer  Mr  Walpole\  Letter* 
 He  did  not  anfwer  it.  He  plainly  thought  it  un- 
 neceflkry. 
 
 How  then  came  this  province  to  be  turned 
 over  to  theBifliop  oi Oxford?  If  we  look  no  far- 
 ther than  the  Advertifement  before  the  Pamphlet, 
 there  is  fome  appearance  of  a  reafon  for  it.  We 
 are  there  informed,  that  Mr  JValpoIe's  Letter  was 
 communicated  to  Bifhop  Seeker^  by  the  Bifhop  of 
 London,     And  hence   it  might  feem,    that  the 
 
 Bifhop 
 
[73 
 
 B\ihop  of  Lojjdon,  having  either  lefs  leifnre,  or 
 lefs  aJDility,  left  Mr  IValpole  in  the  hands  of  his 
 brother  of  Oxford.  But  in  the  very  firft  page  of 
 this  anfwer,  Bifhop  Seeker  fays,  Mr  PFalpole's 
 Letter  was  communicated  to  him  by  Mr  IFalpoIe 
 himfelf ;  nor  does  he  feem  to  know  any  thing  at 
 all  of  the  Bilhop  of  London's  fentiments  on  the 
 fubjed  of  that  Letter.  It  may  therefore  be  fur- 
 mifed,  that  Bifhop  Seeker  was  fet  to  work  merely 
 by  his  own  alacrity  in  fo  good  a  caufe* 
 
 There  is  little  doubt  but  the  editors  of  this 
 Letter  think  themfelves  well  juflified  in  execut- 
 ing his  Grace's  order  for  printing  it  after  his 
 death,  as  well  as  in  taking  an  early  opportunity 
 to  do  it.  And  yet,  might  they  not  have  had  a 
 reafonable  apology  for  demurring  to  that  order 
 at  this  particular  jundure,  when  any  attempt  at 
 religious  innovations  in  our  Colonies,  feems  to 
 be  highly  unfeafonable  ? 
 
 At  the  15th  page  of  this  Letter^  his  Grace 
 moves  a  queftion,  "  Whether  the  appointment 
 *'  of  Bilhops  in  the  Colonies,  would  not  ftir  up 
 "  dangerous  uneq/inejfes  abroad  or  at  home  ?  " 
 
 There  is  I  think  little  doubt  but  that  thefe  un- 
 eafmeffes  had  been  reprefented  to  Bifhop  Sherlock^ 
 by  Mr  Walpole  (who  had  very  good  opportunities 
 of  knowing)  as  the  inevitable  confequences  of 
 fuch  an  appointment. 
 
 But  whatever  of  this  kind  might  then  be  appre- 
 hended^ Archbifliop  Seeker  lived  to  fee  meafwejjes 
 
 A  4  in 
 
[     8     ] 
 
 m  tJie  Colonies  of  a  very  different  rlature  frOrrl 
 any  that  were  dreamt  of  eighteen  years  ago  : 
 luch  indeed  as  might  have  fuggefted  to  him,  that 
 nothing  could  be  more  iinfeafonable,  than  the 
 trying  his  favourite  experiment  at  a  time  when 
 every  wife  and  good  man,  and  every  well-wifher 
 to  the  peace  and  profperity  of  his  Majefty's  go- 
 vernment, faw  how  neceffary  it  was  to  avoid  all 
 occafions  of  irritating  the  Britifh  Colonifts  of 
 America.     His  Grace's  arguments,  in  anfwer  to 
 the  queftion  abovementioned,  whatever  weight 
 they  might  have  in  1751,  or  even  in  1759,  are 
 lighter  than  vanity  itfelf,  when  applied  to  the 
 Hate  of  things  in   1768.     And  whoever  perufes 
 a  tenth  part  of  the  pamphlets  which  have  ap- 
 peared, during  the  late  altercations  on  Colony- 
 fubjec^s,  will  eafily  perceive,  that  the  publica- 
 tion of  fuch  a  Letter  as  this,  in  the  mid  It  of  thefe 
 jarrings,    would  be  adding  fuel  to  the   flame. 
 And  yet  the  written  order  for  the  printing  of  it 
 had  laid  by  his  Grace,  as  appears,  from  1759  to 
 the  time  of  his  death,  without  one  refledlion  of 
 the  very  ill  effects  it  might  have  when  he  was 
 gone.     And  could  his  executors  think  of  doing 
 any  honour  to  his  Grace's  prudence,  his  charity, 
 or  his  moderation,  by  expofing  to  the  public  h?s 
 Grace's  earneftnefs  for  advancing  his  projedt,  at 
 the  hazard  of  fo  much  confufion  as  mull  have 
 attended  any  attempt  to  execute  it  at  that  time  ? 
 
 Perhaps 
 
I    9    ] 
 
 Perhaps  it  may  be  faid,  that  as  our  Colony- 
 difputes  did  not  commence  till  Ibme  years  after 
 1759,  his  Grace,  through  the  importance  and 
 multiplicity  of  other  affairs,  might  forget  he  had 
 made  an  order  for  printing  this  piece  after  his 
 death.  But  this  I  think  will  hardly  be  allowed 
 by  thofe  who  confider,  what  daily  occurred  in  the 
 news  papers,  concerning  the  projedl  of  epifco- 
 pizing  America ;  or  if  it  might  be  fuppofed  that 
 thefe  were  below  his  Grace's  notice,  the  exiftence 
 of  fuch  an  order  could  not  pofllbly  efcape  his 
 memory  during  his  Grace's  controverfy  with 
 Dr  May  hew,  in  which  fome  of  the  fame  topics 
 are  exhibited  on  the  part  of  his  Grace,  that  we 
 find  in  this  Letter  to  Mr  V/alpole.  And  as  the 
 fubjed:  has  been  kept  in  public  view,  more  or 
 lefs,  to  this  very  time,  there  cannot  be  the  lead 
 doubt  but  the  Archbiiliop  was  confcious  of  this 
 order,  as  long  as  he  was  confcious  of  any  thing. 
 
 However,  fince  this  Letter  mufl  be  publifhed, 
 it  was  not  unwifely  done  to  poftpone  it  till  after 
 his  Grace's  deceafe.  How  aptly  foever  the  con- 
 tents of  it  might  have  come  in  aid  of  his  Grace's 
 other  arguments  ^or  American  Epifcopacy,  he  faw 
 no  doubt  the  additional  imputations  itmufthave 
 brought  him  under,  from  his  petulant  reflexions 
 upon  our  domeftic  DiiTenters,  not  to  mention  the 
 danger  of  a  more  mortifying  reproof  for  throwing 
 a  bone  of  contention  when  and  where  the  parties 
 concerned  were  fufficiently  exafperated  without  it. 
 
 What 
 
t      10     ] 
 
 What  (hall  we  fay  for  his  Grace  on  this  occa- 
 /ion  ?  Shall  we  offer  the  apology  that  one  of  his 
 admirers  hath  fuggefted  for  his  intermeddling  in 
 the  expulfion  of  the  Oxford  Students  ?  'viz.  "  A 
 *'  body  labouring  under  great  infirmities,  and  a 
 *'  mind  perhaps  fympathifing  with  it,  and  his 
 *'  not  pofTefTmg  in  their  full  vigour  thofe  great 
 '*  faculties,  for  which  he  was  once  fo'eminently 
 «  diftinguiflied  *." 
 
 But  if  this  apology  for  his  Grace  is  accepted^ 
 what  mufl  be  faid  for  the  editors  of  the  Letter  in 
 queftion  ?  Mufl  not  thefe  infirmities  of  body  and 
 mind  have  been  more  familiarly  known  to  them^ 
 than  to  others  who  had  no  particular  conneflions 
 at  Lawheth  ?  Will  his  Grace's  order  fufEciently 
 exeufe  them  to  the  public  for  a  produdlion  of  this 
 nature,  horn  fo  much  out  of  due  time  ?  It  had 
 been  fufHcient  for  their  fcruples  on  the  peremp- 
 torinefs  of  the  order,  to  have  printed  the  Letter^ 
 and  to  have  withheld  the  publication^  till  times 
 more  favourable  to  the  caufe  it  pleads.  It  is  re- 
 markable, that  jufl  before  it  was  advertifed,  the 
 public  prints  gave  us  notice,  that  our  Colony- 
 difputes  were  upon  the  point  of  being  adjufled 
 to  the  fatisfadlion  of  all  parties  :  and  this  was  the 
 more  credible,  as  it  was  announced  by  writers 
 who  were  uhderftood  to  be  retained  as  advocates 
 
 for 
 
 •  Striftures  on  Dr  Nonve/'s  Anfwer  to  Pietas  Oxanienjisi 
 page  37»  3S. 
 
[  II  ] 
 
 for  the  adminiftration  *.  At  this  critical  June* 
 ture,  could  there  be  any  laudable,  any  excufable 
 motive  for  publifhing  thefe  papers  fo  full  fraught 
 with  provocation  to  our  DifTenters  at  home,  as 
 well  as  their  brethren  in  the  Colonies  abroad  ? 
 And  will  not  this  inconfiderate  deference  for  his 
 Grace's  commands,  juftify  the  enemies  of  the 
 Church  in  a  common  obfervation,  that,  provided 
 the  dignity  and  emoluments  of  the  Hierarchy  are 
 but  maintained,  no  matter  what  becomes  of  the 
 civil  intereftof  the  community  ^  and  will  not  the 
 editors,  as  well  as  the  author,  come  in  for  tlieir 
 fhare  of  this  reproach  ? 
 
 Pafs  we  on  from  thefe  preliminary  remarks,  to 
 the  contents  of  the  Letter. 
 
 "  The  thing  propofed,  fays  Dr  Seeker^  is,  that 
 *'  two  or  three  perfons  fhould  be  ordained  Bi- 
 *'  Ihops,  and  fent  into  our  American  Colonies,  to 
 «  adminifter  Confirmation,  and  to  give  Deacon's 
 «  and  Prieft's  orders  to  proper  candidates ;  and 
 "  exercife  fuch  jurisdidlion  over  the  Clergy  of 
 *«  the  Church  of  England,  in  thofe  parts,  as  the 
 "  late  Bifhop  of  London's  CommifTaries  did  -,  or 
 "  fuch  as  it  might  be  thought  proper  that  any 
 "  future  Commiflaries  fhould,  if  this  defign  were 
 "  not  to  take  place."  page  2. 
 
 By  the  alternative  in  the  latter  part  of  this  pro- 
 pofal,  it  fhould  feem,  that,  '^  if  this  defign  were 
 
 "  not 
 
 *  Particularly  by  an  EfTayill  who  figured  more  than  once 
 under  the  name  of  Cr EON. 
 
t  t^  ] 
 
 *^  not  to  take  place,"  it  might  be  thought  pro-^ 
 per  to  vefl  th^  future  Commiflaries  of  the  Bifhop 
 of  Lc;/^^;;  with  larger  powers  of  jurisdidion,  than 
 ihe  late  Commiflaries  had  enjoyed,  in  order  to 
 fupply  the  want  of  Epifcopal  jurisdidion.  To 
 what  this  new  jurisdidlion  of  the  future  Commif- 
 faries  would  amoiint,  we  are  not  informed.  It 
 is  left  indefinite.  This  we  may  fafely  conclude, 
 that  it  would  not  be  thought  proper  to  limit  the 
 jurisdidlion  of  Bifhops  to  any  thing  Icfs  than  it 
 may  be  thought  proper  the  future  Commiflaries 
 fliould  exercife;  and  this  might,  and  probably 
 would  be,  the  full  jurisdidlion  exercifed  by  the 
 Bifliops  of  the  mother  country.  What  effe6l  this 
 difcovcry  will  have,  upon  fome  other  propofals 
 in  this  Letter,  we  fliall  fee  prefently.  In  the  mean 
 time  we  proceed  with  the  writer  of  it. 
 
 "  The  quefl:ions,  faith  Dr  Seeker^  which  arife 
 *'  on  this  propofal,  are.  Is  it  a  reafonable  pro- 
 "  pofal  in  itfelf  ?  And  if  it  be,  are  there  any^ 
 *'  fuch  dangers  of  its  being  extended  to  intro- 
 *'  duce  exorbitant  church  powers,  or  of  raiflng 
 "  uneafinefles  abroad  or  at  home,  as  may  not- 
 "  withflanding,  at  leafl:  for  the  prefent,  be  jull 
 *'  objections  againfl:  it  {a)  ?  " 
 
 His  Grace  lets  out  with  inflnuating,  that, 
 "  Mr  JValpole  feemed  to  allow  the  reafonablcnefs 
 "  of  the  propofal,  abftradledly  confidered."  But 
 as  this  on\y  feems  to  have  been  the  cafe,  we  can- 
 not 
 
 [a)   Pag«   2. 
 
[     13     1 
 
 not  judge  under  what  abftraction  Mr  JValpele  al- 
 lowed the  reafonablenefs  of  the  propofal.  This 
 could  only  be  learned  from  his  Letter,  to  which 
 we  have  no  accefs. 
 
 Dr  Seeker  argues  for  the  reafonablenefs  of  the 
 propofal  from  what  belongs  to  the  very  nature  of 
 Epifcopal  Churches  i  and  concerning  this  matter, 
 Mr  JVdpole  might  very  widely  differ  from  the 
 
 Dr Mv  JValpole  m\g\\K.  be  of  opinion,  that 
 
 many  things  belong  to  the  nature  of  Epifcopal 
 Churches,  which  the  Bifhops  of  Ew^tei  do  not 
 bring  into  pracflice.  He  might  afk  the  Bilhop  of 
 London,  Whether  the  Bifhops  oi England  tnpj^d 
 any  privileges,  or  exercifed  any  jurisdiction, 
 which  do  not  belong  to  the  very  nature  of  Epif- 
 copal Churches  ?  If  yea  :  it  feems  expedient  to 
 retrench  thefe  in  the  firfr  place,  as  mere  ufurpa- 
 tions,  feeing  that  no  edification  can  arife  from 
 the  exercife  of  fuch  powers  and  privileges.  If, 
 on  the  other  hand,  the  EngUJh  Bifliops  exercife 
 no  jurisdiftion  which  does  not  belong  to  the  na- 
 ture of  Epifcopal  Churches  i  and' if  it  is  reafon- 
 able  to  fend  Bifliops  to  America,  it  muft  be  rea- 
 fonable  to  fend  them  with  the  powers  and  privi- 
 leges which  belong  to  the  very  nature  of  the 
 Churches  over  which  they  are  intended  to  pre- 
 'fide.  That  is  to  fay,  with  the  powers  and  pri- 
 vileges exercifed  and  enjoyed  by  the  Bifliops  of 
 England.  But  this  Dr  Seeker  did  not  defire  we 
 fliould    believe.     V/hy  was  he  not  then  more 
 
 explicit 
 
C     H    ] 
 
 explicit  concerning  the  jurisdidlion  it  might  be 
 thought  proper  the  new  Bifhops  Ihould  exercife 
 in  America  ? 
 
 "  It  belongs,  fays  Dr  Seeker^  to  the  very  na- 
 "  ture  of  Epifcopal  Churches  to  have  Bifl^ops, 
 *'  at  proper  diftances,  prefiding  over  them  {by* 
 Not  only  that,  but  it  belongs  to  the  nature  of 
 Epifcopal  Churches  to  have  Bifhops  at  certain 
 diilances,  that  is  to  fay,  within  certain  diftridls 
 called  Diocefes,  prefiding  over  them,  and  con- 
 fequently  refiding  among  them.  For  it  muft  be 
 remembered,  that  there  are  certain  things  be- 
 longing to  the  nature  of  the  Epifcopal  Office^,  as 
 well  as  to  the  nature  of  Epifcopal  Churches^  one 
 of  which  is  vigilance  over  the  flock  of  which  the 
 Bifhop  takes  the  charge;  whjch  cannot  beexer- 
 cifed  while  he  is  abfent  from  them,  either  in 
 England  or  America :  and  this  is  equally  true, 
 whether  the  Bifhop  is  diflant  fome  hundreds,  or 
 fome  thoufands  of  miles  from  his  Diocefe.  And 
 yet  we  knov/  the  inhabitants  of  fome  of  our 
 Diocefes,  are,  in  this  refped,  no  better  accom- 
 modated than  the  inhabitants  of  America^  for 
 three  parts  of  the  year  out  of  four* 
 
 If  it  fhould  be  faid,  Englijh  Bifhops  can  per- 
 form the  necefTary  adts  of  vigilance  by  their  offi- 
 cers flationed  in  the  Diocefe;  even  lb  may  the 
 Bifhop  of  London  by  his  CommifTaries  ftationed 
 in  America. 
 
 "  But, 
 (^)  Page  3. 
 
[     15    ] 
 
 «^«  Bntj  it  is  alledged,  that  there  are  Epifcopal 
 *^  Acts,  which  muft  be  performed  by  Bilhops  in 
 ^'  perfon,"  and  of  thefe  the  firft  inflance  is  that 
 of  Ccnfirmation, 
 
 Shall  we  then  lay  it  down  for  a  rule,  that  it 
 belongs  to  the  nature  of  Epifcopal  Churches, 
 that  all  their  members  fhould  be  Confirmed  ?  If 
 it  does  not,  the  Colonifts  may  do  without  it. 
 And  that  it  does  not,  appears  from  the  pradice, 
 and  indeed  from  the  conftitution  of  the  Church 
 of  England'  In  feveral  Diocefes  there  are  no 
 Confirmations  for  feveral  years.  When  Confir- 
 mation is  adminiftered,  it  is  to  children  or  young 
 perfons,  from  the  age  of  thirteen  to  fixteen  in-^ 
 clufive, 
 
 By  Canon  CXII.  if  perfons  of  the  age  of  fix- 
 teen do  not  communicate,  they  are  to  be  pre^ 
 fented  to  the  Archbilhop,  by  the  Minifter, 
 Churchwardens,  &c.  In  confequence  of  this 
 Canon,  thoufands  receive  the  Communion  who 
 were  never  Confirmed,  becaufe  they  never  had 
 an  opportunity.  And  when  fuch  communicants 
 prefent  themfelves  for  Confirmation,  they  are 
 told,  it  is  not  proper,  after  they  have  communi- 
 cated ;  which  fhews,  that  how  ufeful  foever  Con- 
 firmation may  be,  where  it  can  be  had,  where  it 
 cannot^  it  is,  by  the  conftitution  of  the  Church 
 of  England  herfelf,  unnecejfary.  And  after  this, 
 would  it  be  fufficiently  refpedlful  to  my  Lords 
 the  Bii^ops,  or  indeed  to  our  excellent  eftabliih- 
 
 ment 
 
[     16     ] 
 
 rftent  to  fay,  that  fuch  and  fuch  people,  oiCumher- 
 land  for  inftance,  or  Northumberland^  or  the  PP^elcb 
 Counties,  are  denied  Confirmation,  unlefs  they 
 will  go  to  London  for  it  ?  or  that  they  are  in  effe(5t 
 prohibited  the  exercife  of  one  part  of  their  reli- 
 gion (0  ? 
 
 With  refpedl  to  Ordination,  there  are  two  ex- 
 pedients in  ufe  at  prefent  for  furnifhing  the  Colo- 
 nifts  of  the  Church  of  England  with  Minifters  of 
 their  own  Communion;  i.  By  ordaining  natives 
 of  America  who  come  to  England  for  that  purpofe. 
 2.  By  fending  Englijh  Minifters  to  the  Colonies 
 from  hence. 
 
 As  to  the  firft  of  thefe,  Dr  decker  obferves,  that 
 *'  fending  their  fons  to  fo  diftant  a  climate  mufl 
 *'  be  very  inconvenient  and  difagreeable,  and  tak- 
 *«  ing  the  fmall-pox  here  is  faid  to  be  peculiarly 
 *«  fatal  to  them,"  /.  e.  peculiarly  to  the  perfons 
 who  come  here  for  Orders.  For  when  his  Grace 
 mentions  a  little  below,  that,  "  their  young  men 
 *'  of  fadiion  would  ftillcome  to  England  for  polite 
 *'  accomplidiments,"  no  apprehenfions  of  what 
 would  be  inconvenient  or  difagreeable  to  theiny 
 are  exprefied,  nor  any  mention  made  of  any/^^r«- 
 /w  fatality  of  the  fmall-pox  to  fuch  young  men. 
 <'  The  expence  alfo,  fays  his  Grace,  muft  be 
 "  grievous  to  perfons  of  fmall  fortunes,  fuch  as 
 **'  moft  are  who  breed  up  their  children  for  Or- 
 <'  ders ;  and  yet  not  fufficient  to  bring  any  accef- 
 
 *«  fion 
 (<r)  Letter,  page  3. 
 
[     17    1 
 
 «^  fion  of  wealth  to  this  Nation  that  would  be 
 "  worth  naming,  were  more  of  that  rank  to 
 "  come."(^) 
 
 From  the  cafi:  of  this  anfwer,  one  may  conjec- 
 ture, that  Mr  TFalpole  had  objeded  to  American 
 Bifhops,  that  fuch  a  meafure  wo^ld  prevent  the 
 Colonifls  from  coming  hither,  and  fpending  their 
 money  among  us.  To  obviate  this,  his  Grace 
 was  obliged  to  fuppofe,  that  none  would  fend  their 
 Sons  to  England  to  be  ordained,  but  perfons  ia 
 mean  circumftances.  But  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
 that  the  Statesman's  objedlion  would  ftrike  a  little 
 deeper,  and  that  the  confideration  with  him  might 
 be,  that  the  more  inducements  the  Colonifls  in  ge- 
 neral fhould  have  to  flay  at  home,  and  the  fewer 
 occafions  of  perfonal  intercourfe  with  the  mother 
 country,  the  more  they  would  afpire  to  indepen- 
 dency ;  a  matter  of  very  ferious  Confideration 
 among  the  Miniflers  of  thofe  times*. 
 
 The  Statesman,  no  doubt,  argued,  that  if  the 
 Colonifls  of  the  Church  of  England  were  impow- 
 
 B  ered 
 
 {d)  Letter,  page  4. 
 
 *  I  have  been  informed,  that  the  late  Archbifhop  Seeker^ 
 being  in  conference  with  an  eminent  Colonill,  defired  ro  know 
 of  him,  if  his  countrymen  would  be  averfe  to  the  fending  a 
 Bifhop  among  them  ?  Praj,  my  Lord,  faid  the  Gentleman, 
 can  one  Bijhop  make  another  P  Undoubtedly,  replied  his  Grace, 
 Why  then,  7ny  Lord,  rejoined  the  Colonift,  you  may  fend  your 
 Bifiop  asfoon  as  you  fleafe,  it  ixiill  he  one  confiderable  Jlep  to^ 
 nxjards  our  Having  ^without  you.  Here  the  converfation  was 
 dropped. 
 
[18    ] 
 
 crcd  to  mmufadure Deacons  andPrlefts  for  them* 
 felves,  as  well  as  other  things,  which  they  have  hi- 
 therto imported  from  hence,  they  would  in  time 
 have  a  Church  independent  upon  that  in  the  mother 
 country  -,  a  confideration  often  times  more  impor- 
 tance to  Mr  IValpcIe,  than  the  money  that  would 
 be  gained  by  a  few  young  Men  coming  to  England 
 for  Orders,  or  that  would  be  loft  by  their  ftaying 
 away. 
 
 2.  With  refpedto  the  Clergymen  of  theChurch 
 oi  England  who  are  fent  from  hence,  it  muft  be 
 a  matter  of  great  Concern  to  all  who  wifh  well  to 
 the  intereds  and  credit  of  the  eftablifhment,  to  be 
 told  by  an  ArchbiJChop  of  Canterbury^  that  few  of 
 them,  in  proportion,  "  can  anfwer  the  end  for 
 "  which  they  are  defigned(^)."  That  the  reft  are 
 "  men  of  defperate  fortunes,  low  qualifications, 
 ''  bad  and  doubtful  charadlers,  and  a  great  part 
 *«  of  them  5c^/fi^  Jacobites."  Is  this  for  the  ho- 
 nour of  the  Society  which  fends  them  ?  How 
 areatly  does  this  reprefentation  detrad  from  the 
 credibility  of  thofe  accounts  they  give  us  from 
 time  to  time,  of  the  fuccefs  of  their  labours  in  our 
 Plantations ;  which  depend,  in  a  great  meafure, 
 on  the  veracity  of  men  of  thefe  wretched  Charac- 
 ters ?  When  the  public  is  folicited,  as  is  often  the 
 cafe,  to  fupply  the  deficiency  of  the  Society's  funds, 
 by  their  charitable  contributions,  will  they  not 
 
 be 
 [e)  Page  4. 
 
[     19     ] 
 
 be  apt  to  corifider,  before  they  give  their  money, 
 upon  what  fort  of  Men  it  is  to  be  expended  ? 
 
 And  how  would  the  matter  be  mended  by  fend- 
 ing Bifliops  inftead  of  Prieits  ?  Every  confideration 
 drawn  from  the  nature  of  the  fervice^  the  danger 
 of  the  voyage,  abfence  from  family-connexions, 
 &c.  which  at  prefent  ferves  to  difcourage  private 
 Clergymen  of  eafy  fortunes,  good  learning,  found 
 principles,  and  refpedlable  charaders,  would  ope- 
 rate with  ^qual  force  upon  the  mind  of  a  deftined 
 Bifhop,  and  create  the  fame  reludance  that  other 
 men  have  fhewn  to  engage  in  fuch  an  adventure. 
 
 W\         Ms  Grace  have  faid  in  anfwer  to  this, 
 that  a  larger  flipend,  an  increafe  of  power,  and  a 
 more  refpedlable  title,  would  have  engaged  more 
 reputable  candidates  ?  I  am  afraid  this   would  be 
 only  faying,  that  ambition  and  avarice  are  more 
 reputable   motives  for   accepting  the  office  of  a 
 chriftian  Billiop,  than  the  profped  of  a  bare  main- 
 tenance is  for  taking  the  province  of  an  ordinary 
 teacher.     His  Grace  could  hardly  think  that  the 
 Colonifts  are  fo  much  ftrangers  to  human  nature, 
 as  not  to  be  aware,  that  thefe  difpofitions  are  com- 
 mon toClergymen  and  others,  both  of  higher  and 
 lower  ranks ;  and  that,    with  refped  to  Bifhops 
 fent  from  England  to  America^  the  fame  hazards 
 muft  be  run  by  the  fenders,  to  which  the  propa- 
 gating Society  is  liable  in  difpatching  common 
 Miflionaries.  So  that  all  the  good  things  his  Grace 
 augurates  from  the  appointment  ofColony-Bifhops 
 B  2  would 
 
[       20      3 
 
 would  effedually  be  fruftrated,  if  the  Bifhops 
 were  no  better  men  (a  point  his  Grace  could  by 
 no  means  infure  to  the  Colonifts)  than  the  Mif- 
 fionaries  he  fpeaks  of. 
 
 His  Grace  propofes  great  benefit,  and  confider- 
 able  reformation  among  both  the  conforming  Cler- 
 gy and  Laity  in  our  Colonies,  by  rubflituting  na- 
 tives for  their  ordinary  Paftors,  inftead  of  vagabond 
 ftrayj^ers^  (as  he  calls  the  MilTionaries  fent  from 
 England.)  But  if  native  Minifters  would  fo  much 
 improve  the  religious  ftate  of  our  Church-of-^/Tg-- 
 te.^  Colonifts,  why  not  native  Biftiops  ?  I  afl^  this 
 queftion,  becaufe  it  appears  to  mie,  that  his  Grace 
 never  dreamt  of  fupplying  the  mortality  of  Colony 
 Bifliops,  otherwife  than  by  recruits  from  England, 
 Probably  his  grand  point  could  not  be  gained  any 
 other  way.  Otherwife  a  native  of  fome  of  the 
 Colonies,  not  liable  to  the  fatality  of  the  fmalJ-pox, 
 or  to  much  inconvenience  of  another  fort,  might 
 come  over  and  be  confecrated  once  for  all  in  Eng- 
 land. Or  an  Englijh  or  an  Irijh  Bifhop  might  be 
 found  without  much  difficulty,  who  would  under- 
 take the  voyage,  without  the  mortifying  alterna- 
 tive of  bidding  a  final  adieu  to  his  European  con- 
 nexions, and,  having  confecrated  one  or  more  pro- 
 per perfons  from  among  the  natives,  might  return 
 home,  and  leave  the  Colonifts  to  improve  their 
 religious  ftate  upon  this  new  inftitution,  as  they 
 found  occafion.  Here  indeed  would  be  addilmial 
 encouragement  to  parents  to  breed  their  children 
 
 to 
 
[      21       1 
 
 CO  the  Church,  —  ftill  more  convenlsrit  opportu- 
 fiities  of  providing  for  them  handfomely,  and 
 even  to  build  and  endow,  not  only  Churches  and 
 parfonage  houfes,  but  Cathedrals  and  Bifhops 
 palaces,  in  which  good  works  they  would  hardly 
 fhew  fo  much  alacrity,  if  they  found  the  honour, 
 emolument,  and  power  appropriated  to  Bidiops 
 fent  in  fucceffion  from  England, 
 
 And  what,  I  defire  to  know,  would  hinder  a 
 Bifliop  fent  from  England  from  appearing  to  the 
 Colonics  in  the  light  of  a  vagabond  ft  ranger^  any 
 more  than  a  common  Miffionary  ?  And  would 
 he  be  more  likely,  with  this  ftigma  upon  him,  to 
 anfwer  any  of  'the  good  ends  propofed  by  his 
 Grace,  more  effedually  than  any  other  Clergyman 
 of  the  fame  country  ?  And  this  being  the  cafe, 
 all  that  is  propofed  by  his  Grace  in  fending 
 Bifhops  from  hence,  is  a  mere  empty  chimerical 
 vifion,  which  deferves  not  the  lead  regard. 
 
 Mr  JFalpok  mud  have  been  a  weak  politician 
 indeed,  if  he  did  not  fee  that  Bifhops  fent  from 
 England  would  increafe  the  evils  complained  of, 
 rather  than  remedy  them.  He  muft  have  been 
 fenfible,  or  if  he  was  not,  we  may  be  at  this  hour, 
 that  theColonifts,  were  they  inclined  to  admit  apre- 
 latical  Hierarchy  among  them  (which  he  very  well 
 knew  none  of  them  were)  would  never  be  fatis- 
 fied  without  having  the  whole  orderino-  of  ic 
 themfelves,  any  more  than  they  chufe  to  be  con- 
 troledin  fome  other  things.  And  leafl:  of  all 
 E  3  would 
 
[       22       ] 
 
 would  they  fubmit  to  be  governed  by  Englifh 
 Bifhops. 
 
 One  of  the  bleffed  effecls  of  the  reformation 
 propofed  by  his  Grace  (in  my  opinion  the  prin- 
 cipal one  in  his  eftimation)  was  the  converfion  of 
 the  Dilfcncers.  Accordingly,  he  (trains  every 
 nerve  to  magnify  the  advantages  of  this  event 
 to  the  public,  in  a  political  view. 
 
 "  If,  faith  his  Grace,  by  reforming  them  (the 
 "  Colonifts  of  the  Church  q^  England)  and  in- 
 ''  troducing  better  order  into  the  Churches  of 
 "  our  communion,  more  of  the  inhabitants  fFjOuld 
 <<  come  over  to  it,  as  th'j  naturally  will^  this 
 '«  would  be  a  further  public  benefit.  For  the 
 "  members  of  the  Church  oi  England  will  think 
 "  themfelves  more  conneded  with  Ergland^  than 
 *'  others*." 
 
 Have  then  the  non-conforming  Colonics  no 
 difienting  brethren,  no  kindred,  no  commercial 
 interefts,  no  King  in  England?  Have  they  lefs 
 connexion,  or  fewer  attachments  to  England^  on 
 thefe  and   other  accounts,    than    the   conformifts 
 
 themfelves  ? 
 
 *  Page  tj.  I  have  good  grounds  for  afHrming,  that  the 
 Confoi  mills  in  the  Colonies  in  general,  io  far  from  being 
 wo^e  inclined  to  keep  up  their  conne>ftions  with  the  mother 
 country,  never  did  fo  much  by  a  thculand  times,  for  the  fake 
 of  it,  as  the  Diilenters  ever  did,  before,  and  for  years  after 
 this  Letter  was  written.  This  however  is  not  meant  to  ex- 
 clude fo;Tic  pr,rticular  public-fpirited  Conform.ifts.  Who  they 
 were,  and  of  what  communion,  who  were  chieny  in{lru- 
 Tnenta]  in  the  late  mifunderftandings  between  the  Colonies 
 and  the  mother  country,  I  have  no  inclination  to  inquire. 
 
[     23     ] 
 
 themfelves?  If,  this  had  been  infinuated  by  a  lefs 
 venerable  charadler  than  that  of  an  Archbifhop,  I 
 lliould  have  been  tempted  to  fay,  that  the  man 
 muft  either  be  contemptible  for  his  ignorance, 
 or  of  an  abandoned  aflurance,  who  fhoukl  ven- 
 ture fuch  a  fuggeftion  among  thofe  who  know 
 the  truth  of  the  calc. 
 
 His  Grace  goes  on.  "  And  fuppofing  them 
 "  not  to  be  Jacchiles^  their  acknowledgment  of 
 "  the  King's  fupremacy,  will  incline  them  to  be 
 "  dutifuller  fubjecfts  than  the  DiiTenters,  who  do 
 "  do  not  acknowledge  it."  [g) 
 
 Suppofmg  them  not  to  he  Jacohites !  whom  does 
 he  mean  ?  plainly  the  converts  from  among  the 
 Dilfenters.  But  whoever  accufed  the  Non  con- 
 formifts  in  the  Colonies  of  Jacobitifm^  even  any 
 one  man  among  them  ?  There  is  therefore  noc 
 the  lead  colour  for  this  fuppofition,  unlcfs  we 
 fuppofe  that  thefe  converts  become  Jacchues  as 
 foon  as  they  become  Coniormifts ;  which  is  no 
 very  defirable  effed  of  the  Epifcopal  reformation 
 here  held  forth. 
 
 On  another  hand,  his  Grace  has  more  than 
 fuppofed  that  moft  of  the  Scotch  miiTionaries  are 
 Jacobites.  But  every  one  knows  that  all  thefe, 
 to  be  duly  qualified  for  their  office,  muft  ac- 
 knowledge the  King's  fupremacy  upon  oath  :  a 
 plain  proof  that  the  greater  or  lefs  dutifulnefs  of 
 
 B  4  the 
 
 ig)  P^ge  6. 
 
[      24      ] 
 
 the  fubje<5fc  does  not  depend  upon  fuch  acknow- 
 ledgment. 
 
 But,  «'  the  Diflenters  do  not  acknowledge  the 
 "  King's  fupremacy."  I  am  confident  that  this 
 is  a  mere  malevolent  mifreprerentation,  and  that 
 there  is  not  one  Diflenter  in  the  Colonies,  who 
 denies  the  King  to  be  his  fupreme  Governor  ; 
 and  I  am  perfuaded  the  fame  may  be  faid  for 
 every  proteftant  Diflenter  in  Great  Britain, 
 
 The  true  cafe  is  this.  The  proteftant  Dif- 
 fenters  hold,  that  the  civil  magiftrate  hath  no  au- 
 thority to  interfere  in  matters  of  religion,  which 
 do  not  affed  the  fafety  of  his  government,  fo 
 far  as  the  private  judgment  or  confcience  of  his 
 fubje6ts  is  concerned,  whether  confidered  as  in- 
 dividuals, or  united  in  religious  fociety  :  and  this 
 they  hold,  not  merely  with  refpedl  to  the  autho- 
 rity of  a  King  or  a  Monarch  as  fuch,  .but  of  the 
 aggregate  pewer  of  legiilature  however  confti- 
 tuted.  And  is  this  principle  peculiar  to  Dif- 
 fenters  ?  Has  it  not  been,  is  it  not  ftill  the  princi- 
 ple of  as  wife,  learned,  and  worthy  Conformifts 
 as  ever  exifted  ?  Was  it  not  the  principle  of 
 Lccke^  Burnet^  Clark,  Iloadky,  and  others  of  the 
 laft  generation  ?  And  had  the  Kings  or  Q^ieens 
 of  thofe  times  vv'hen  thefe  men  flouriflied,  duti- 
 fuller  fubjeds  (to  ufe  his  Grace's  elegant  lan- 
 guage) than  thefe  illuftrious  perfons,  in  the  king- 
 dom ?  Does  not  the  artificial  author  of  the  Alii- 
 arce  in  Church  and  State^  inform  us,  that  this  was 
 
 the 
 
[    ?5    3 
 
 the  principle  on  which  the  Toleration  Ad:  was 
 grounded  ?  And  would  his  Grace  himfelf  have 
 ventured  to  fay,  had  he  been  catechifed  on  this 
 head,   that  it  was  noi  his  own  principle  too  ? 
 
 I  afk  his  pardon,  I  did  not  think  of  a  pafiage 
 in  this  Letter,  page  13.  where  his  Grace  believes, 
 "  his  Majefty  hath  not  a  right  to  order  the 
 ''  Bi(hop  of  London  to  recall  his  Commiflaries/' 
 And  if  fo,  the  fupremacy,  according  to  his  Grace's 
 creed,  mud,  in  this  inftance,  be  in  the  Bifhop  of 
 London,  and  not  in  the  King. 
 
 For  the  reft,  if  it  was  ever  underftood  that  the 
 proteftanc  Difienters  denied  the  King's  fupre- 
 macy, as  oppofed  to  the  fupremacy  of  the  Pope, 
 or  of  any  foreign  Potentate,  it  is  more  than  I  ever 
 heard.  In  the  mean  time,  it  is  well  known,  that 
 the  DifTenters  fcruple  not  to  put  themfelves  un- 
 der the  protedion  of  the  law,  as  their  dernier 
 refoft,  whenever  they  apprehend  their  rights, 
 even  as  a  religious  fociety,  to  be  infringed,  or 
 attempted,  as  was  lately  notorious  in  the  cafe  of 
 a  Diffenter  named  to  the  office  of  Sheriff  of 
 London,  which  received  its  decifion  in  iht  fupreme 
 court  of  judicature  of  Great  Britain, 
 
 2.  We  are  now  come  to  the  fecond  queftion, 
 
 namely,     *'   Whether  the  danger  of  increafing 
 
 *'  Church   power,  by  the  means  of  eftablifhing 
 
 *'  Bifhops  in  America,  is  not  a  fufficient  objedion 
 
 f'  againft  the  projed:  ?'' 
 
 In 
 
[      26      ] 
 
 In  the  outfet  of  his  Letter,  his  Grace  talks  of 
 "  jurifdi6lion  over  the  Clergy,  not  only  fuch  as 
 "  the  late  Bifhop  of  London\  CommifTaries  did 
 *'  exercife,  but  fuch  as  it  might  be  thought 
 *'  proper  future  Commifiaries  Jloould  exercife,  if 
 «'  this  defign  of  epifcopifing,  Ihould  not  take 
 *^  place."  An  infinuation  that  is  utterly  incon- 
 fiftent  with  his  Grace's  declaration,  that,  "  con- 
 <"'  firming  and  ordaining  are  the  only  new  powers 
 "  that  will  be  exercifed  (/:?)."  Thefe  powers  of 
 confirming  and  ordaining,  the  Commilfaries  never 
 had  ;  nor,  tenacious  as  our  Prelates  have  always 
 been  of  refer ving  thefe  powers  to  themfelves,  is 
 it  probable  they  will  ever  cbnfent  that  future 
 CommifTaries  fhould  be  invefted  with  them.  The 
 jurifdidion,  therefore,  that  it  may  be  thought 
 proper  thefe  future  CommiiTaries  fljould  exercife, 
 mull  fignify  that  enlargement  of  Church  power 
 on  which  the  objeclion  is  founded.  And  as  this 
 enlargement  is  intended  as  a  fiiccedaneum^  in  the 
 room  of  Epifcopal  power,  few  people  will  be  per- 
 fuaded  it  will  be  lefs  obnoxious  in  the  hands  of 
 Biihops,  than  it  would  be  in  the  hands  of  Conl- 
 miffaries. 
 
 His  Grace,  therefore,  may  much  more  (3ih\y 
 be  believed,  when  he  fays,  that,  "  flridly  fpeak- 
 *'  ing,  it  can  n^ver  be  promifed,  in  ayiy  cafe^  that 
 «*  no  additional  powers  fhall  hereafter  be  propofed 
 *'  and  prelled  on  the  Colonies,"  than  Vvhen  he 
 
 fays, 
 {h)  Page  6. 
 
[    27    ] 
 
 fays,  "  no  other  jurisdidion  is  defired  for  the 
 *'  propofcd  Bifhops,  than  the  preceding  Com- 
 *'  mifTaries  have  enjoyed." 
 
 And  yet  I  know  not  whether  we  may  not  M^A^^ 
 take  his  Grace's  Word,  even  for  this  laft  particu- 
 lar. Right  and  ^itle^  are  very  different  things 
 from  adual  enjoyment ;  and  if  the  Colonifts  may 
 be  beHeved,  thefe  fame  CommifTaries  have  both 
 enjoyed  and  exercifed  pretended  powers  of  jurif- 
 didtion,  highly  injurious  and  opprefTive  to  the 
 inhabitants,  without  any  apparent  authority  for 
 it. 
 
 And  of  this  his  Grace  feems  to  have  been  con- 
 fcious ;  elfe  why  fhould  his  Grace  have  added, 
 *'  and  even  that"  [the  jurisdiction  enjoyed  by 
 form.er  CommifTaries]  *'  on  this  occafion,  may 
 "  be  afcertained  and  limited,  more  accurately^  if 
 ''  it  he  requifJe  (/)."  But  will  in  ever  be  thought 
 requifite,  by  thofe  who  think  as  his  Grace  did, 
 that  the  jurisdidion  of  a  Bifliop  [hould  be  afcer- 
 tained or  limited  to  any  mark  below  that  at  which 
 the  jurisdidlion  of  a  CommifTary  hath  been  en- 
 joyed? And  indeed,  does  not  this  gracious  con- 
 cefTion  feem  to  imply  that  the  jurisdidlion  which 
 thefe  Commiifaries  have  enjoyed,  was  in  fad, 
 unafcertained  and  unlimited  ? 
 
 His  Gracefuppofes,  "  it  would  have  been  equal- 
 ly right  to  have  oppofed  the  Toleration  Ad,  on  the 
 apprehenfion,   that  niore,  in  confequence  of  this 
 
 concelTion, 
 
 (/)  Page  6. 
 
[       28       ] 
 
 concefTion,  might  have  been  prefTcd  upon  the  go- 
 vernnnent  in  favour  of  the  DiiTenters,  as  to  op- 
 pofe  the  fettlement  of  Bifliops  in  America^  from 
 a  prefumption  of  increafing  the  power  of  the 
 Church  {k)r 
 
 But,  I  conceive,  the  cafes  are  widely  different. 
 Whatever  is  prefTed  upon  government  in  fa- 
 vour of  the  DifTenters,  will  always  be  fubjed  to 
 the  control  of  Parliament.  Whereas  his  Grace 
 tells  us,  page  21.  '*  There  feems  no  neceffity  that 
 "  this  affair"  [of  eftablifhing  American  Bifhops] 
 "  fhould  ever  come  into  Parliam.ent."  The  Bi- 
 Ihops,  according  to  his  Grace,  "  would  be  ap- 
 *'  pointed  by  the  Crown,  and  will  be  fuch  perfons 
 "  as  the  Crown  can  beft  confide  in."  page  i^'. 
 This  looks  as  if  the  Crown  was  to  have  an  in- 
 tereft  in  thefe  Bifliops,  diftindl  from  the  interefl: 
 of  the  public  ;  and  fliould  it  appear  in  procefs  of 
 time  that  the  limited  powers  with  which  thefe 
 Bifhops  fhould  be  fent  out  at  the  firft,  would  be 
 infufficient  for  the  political  purpofes  of  the  Crown, 
 can  it  be  doubted  but  that  they  would  be  imme- 
 diately enlarged  ?  And  can  any  man  fuppofe  that 
 pretences  for  it  would  not  be  furniflied  by  our 
 Bifhops  (the  only  folicitors  of  the  proje6l  that  the 
 Letter  points  out)  viz,  "  that  it  would  be  a  dif- 
 paragement  of  the  Order,  to  have  Bifhops  in 
 any  part  of  his  Majefly's  dominions,  veiled 
 with  lefs  power  than  the  Bifnops  of  the  mother 
 
 country. 
 {^)  Page  7. 
 
[      29      ]] 
 
 country.  —  That  it  belonged  to  the  nature  of 
 Epifcopal  Churches,  that  their  Bifnops  fliould  have 
 full  powers  to  corredt  the  tranfgrefiions  as  well  of 
 the  Laity  as  the  Clergy  ;  and  that  without  thefe 
 powers  in  their  Bifhops,  the  conforming  Colonifts 
 would  not  have  the  full  exercife  of  their  religion  i'* 
 would  not  thefe  pleas  be  full  as  forceable  for  en- 
 larging thofe  powers,  as  they  are  now  for  appoint- 
 ing the  Bifhops  themfelves  ?  ForceaUe^  I  mean 
 to  the  Crown,  whofe  particular  confidants  thefe 
 American  Bifhops  are  to  be.  And  what  or  who 
 would  there  be  to  fay  nay  to  the  propofal,  the 
 Crown  having  the  pcwer,  and  the  Bifhops  the 
 will^  to  have  it  carried  into  execution. 
 
 But  had  his  Grace  refieded  ever  fo  little  upon 
 what  pafled  in  Parliament  before  the  Toleration 
 Ad:  was  obtained  for  the  DifTenters,  his  Grace 
 might  haveeafily  perceived,  that  it  was  theutmofl 
 that  could  be  obtained  for  them  ;  and  that  King 
 William  never  could  prevail  to  have  them  brought 
 into  civil  offices,  but  under  the  reitridions  of  the 
 Teft  Ad  -,  and  that  the  very  order  of  men,  who 
 would,  as  the  cafe  above  is  ftated  by  his  Grace^ 
 have  fo  much  influence  towards  enlarging  the 
 power  of  American  Bifliops,  have  hitherto  had 
 fufBcient  intereft  to  prevent  any  farther  favours, 
 particularly,  any  thing  hurtful  to  the  ejiablijhed 
 Churchy  from  being  conferred  on  the  Diflenters. 
 
 His  Grace  however  aiiures  us,  that  no  fuch 
 thing  is  intended  as  prefTing  for  additional  powers 
 
 to 
 
[     30     ] 
 
 to  American  Bllliops ;  and  in  this  afiertlon  h^ 
 thinks  there  are  no  grounds  to  queftion  the  Jince' 
 rity  of  his  Grace  and  his  brethren. 
 
 But  on  this  head  of  fincerity,  I  think  it  was  as 
 much  as  could  be  reafonably  expeded  of  his 
 Grace,  to  anfwer  for  himfelf  ;  for  alTuredly  he 
 could  offer  no  fatisfaclory  proof  that  others  of 
 his  brethren  might  not  intend,  what  he  did  not ; 
 and  about  the  time  when  he  thus  undertook  to  an- 
 fwer for  them,  it  is  certain  there  were  Bifhops 
 who  were  "  thought  to  be  pecuHarly  fond  of 
 Church-power,"  and  who  when  "  they  were 
 called  upon  to  anfwer  for  themfelves,"  gave  very 
 little  fatisfadlion  by  their  defences. 
 
 His  Grace's  great  argument  for  t\i\%  fincerily  is, 
 the  moderation  of  his  contemporaries.  To  which 
 I  fhall  fay  nothing,  but  that  his  Grace  was  pro- 
 bably the  moft  improper  perfon  of  them  all,  to 
 offer  this  confideration  on  the  behalf  of  his  bre- 
 thren. 
 
 What  his  Grace's  moderation  was,  while  he 
 was  Bifhop  oi  Oxford,  I  leave  to  be  determined 
 by  thofe  who  were  then  under  his  government ; 
 what  it  was  when  he  came  to  be  the  Head  of  his 
 Order,  the  following  admonition,  intended  for  bis 
 brethren  in  convocation  1761,  will  fufHciently 
 Ihew. 
 
 Semper  enitendum  est  ut  antiqui  regi- 
 MiNis  non  modo  retineamus  formam,   sed  et 
 
 VIM     INST AU REMUS,      qUatCDUS    Vel    DIVINO    VEI, 
 
 HUMANO 
 
[    31     ] 
 
 HLTMANO    JURE      FULCITUR.         AtqUC    INTERIM, 
 
 MANCA  quodammodo  et  mutila  erlt  7ro^tT£.« 
 noftra  (/). 
 
 That  is  to  fay.  We  muft  always  strive,  not 
 only  to  retain  the  form ^  hut  to  renew  the  force 
 of  the  ancient  Church-government,  y^? /^r 
 as  it  is  propped  up  either  by  divine  or  human 
 authority.  y^?:d  till  that  be  dcne^  our  polity 
 will  be  LAME  and  defective. 
 
 Now  what  was  this  ancient  Church-govern- 
 ment  ?  Even  the  model  left  us  by  fome  of  his 
 Grace's  Predeceflbrs  and  their  adherents,  who 
 never  wanted  ^rc>/?j  for  it  (if  you  would  take  their 
 interpretations  of  fcripture)  either  from  divine  or 
 human  authority.  And  the  force  of  it  confifted, 
 in  putting  a  two-edged  fword  into  the  hands  of 
 Church-Governors,  /^  execute  vengeance  upon  the 
 heathen^  and  puniJJjments  upon  the  people  *.  In 
 plain  Englifli,  power  to  correfi:  Heretics,  Schif- 
 matics,  and  Diflenters,  with  the  wholefome  fe- 
 verities  of  whips,  pillories,  fines  and  imprifon- 
 ment. 
 
 Without  this  force^  it  feems  our  prefent  eccle- 
 fiaftical  PoHty  is  mutilated  and  lame  ;  and  ic  is,  in 
 his  Grace's  opinion,    not  only  right  to  have  this 
 
 force 
 
 (/)  Oratio  Synodaltiy  at  the  end  of  his  Grace's  Charges, 
 •^age  360. 
 
 *  See  Pfalm  xlix.  6,  7.  To  .which  Archbifliop  Laud  pre- 
 fixed this  title,  ^he  Prophet  exhorteth  to  praife  God  for  his 
 love  to  the  Church  :  and /or  that  pciier  n.ijhich  he  hath  gii/en  to 
 the  Church,  to  rule  the  confciencss  of  men. 
 
[      32      ] 
 
 force  renewed^  but  abfolutely  the  duty  of  the  mem- 
 bers of  the  convocation,  ioftrive  to  have  it  renew- 
 ed. 
 
 "  Is  this  the  fame  man,"  may  fome  people  fay, 
 "  who  feems  in  his  Letter  to  Mr  JValpole,  to  be 
 *'  fo  well  contented  with  the  Ihare  of  power  en- 
 *'  joyed  by  the  prefent  Bifhops,  and  who  would 
 *'  have  been  facisfied  with  much  lefs,  if  he  had 
 *'  lived  where  much  lefs  had  been  allotted  to  Bi- 
 ''  ihops  ?  Is  this  the  man  who  (lands  forth  to  af- 
 *'  fure  the  public,  that  he  and  his  Brethren  are 
 *'  not  fo  fond  of  Church  Power,  as  to  be  aiming 
 «'  at  that  point  now,  while  they  folemnly  profefs 
 "  they  are  not  (m)  ?" 
 
 For  my  part,  I  can  fee  but  litde  room  we  can 
 make  for  the  virtue  of  fincerity  here.  In  the  Letter 
 his  Grace  affures  us,  with  a  folemn  face  and  a 
 fmooth  tongue,  that  nothing  more  is  required  for 
 thefe  Jmerican  Bifhops,  than  commifiarial  juris- 
 didion,  and  authority  to  confirm  and  ordain.  In 
 the  oration^  the  ancient  Church-government  is  to 
 be  contended  for  at  all  events  ;  and  without  the 
 force  of  it,  the  Epifcopal  Powers  mufl  be  lame  and 
 mutilated.  Muft  we  not  argue  thus  ?  this  ancient 
 regimen  either  belongs  to  the  nature  of  Epifcopal 
 Churches,  or  it:  does  not.  If  it  does  not,  his  Grace 
 i§  exhorting  the  Convocation  to  {[nve  for  fuppor ting 
 the  form,  and  reinflating  the  force  of  an  ancient 
 ufurpation.     If  it  does,  the  fame  pretence  which 
 
 ferves 
 
 [7n)  Page  8,  9. 
 
[     33     ] 
 
 ferves  for  a  colour  to  ftation  Bifhops  in  America^ 
 will  ferve  for  a  pretence  to  claim  for  them  the 
 for7n  znd  force  of  the  ancient  government,  namely, 
 the  pretence  that  it  belongs  to  the  nature  of  Epis- 
 copal Churches.  And  this,  I  (hould  think,  a- 
 mounts  to  fomething  more  than  a  prffibiiity^  that 
 an  improper  ufe  may  hereafter  be  attempted  to  be 
 made  of  the  appointment  of  Bilhops  for  America, 
 Once  more,  what  fhall  we  fay  for  his  Grace's 7///f<f- 
 r  ily  Sind  his  moderation?  thefe  two  publications  are 
 coeval,  and  by  the  time  and  manner  of  their  ap- 
 pearance, fhould  feem  between  them  to  exhibit 
 his  Grace's  dying  fentiments. 
 
 But  the  moderation  and  fmcerity^  concerning 
 which,  in  examining  hisGrace's  portions  of  them, 
 we  are  left  in  fo  much  uncertainty,  we  may  perhaps 
 find  in  his  Grace's  coadjutors  in  this  projed,  with 
 more  precifion.  It  fometimes  happens  that  men 
 not  worth  fixpence,  will  offer  their  bond  for  great 
 fums,  on  the  behalf  of  others  who  are  very  well 
 able  to  pay  without  them. 
 
 "  Archbifhop  Tenifon^^  fays  hisGrace,  "  who 
 '*^  was  furely  no  high  Churchman,  left  ^^looo  to- 
 "  wards  the  Eftablifhment  of  Bifhops  m  Amerd- 
 "  ca{n).'* 
 
 His  Grace,  I  am  afraid,  is  a  little  unlucky  in 
 his  inftance ;  I  am  in  fome  doubt  whether  Arch- 
 bifhop  Tenifon's  fincerity  in  this  bequeii,  is  altoge- 
 ther confident  with  Archbiihop  Seeker's  in  this 
 pamphlet.     But  let  the  reader  determhie. 
 
 C  In 
 
r  34  ] 
 
 In  Archbifhop  Tenifon's  Will,  executed  April 
 nth,  171^,  five  hundreci  pounds  were  bequeathed 
 to  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gofpel  in  foreign 
 Parts,  «*  for  the  purchafing  one  or  more  perpe- 
 *'  tual  advowfons,  donations,  right  of  patronage 
 *'  and  prefentation  of,  in,  and  to  one  or  more  vi- 
 *'  carages  or  redlories,  and  to  prefent  thereto  from 
 "  time  to  timiS,  as  often  as  the  fame  fhall  become 
 "  void,  one  or  more  of  the  mofc  deferving  Mif- 
 ^''  fionaries  of  the  province  of  Canterbury. ^^ 
 
 But  by  a  codiciij  executed  Bee.  2,  1715,  his 
 Grace  revokes  and  declares  this  bequeft  null  and 
 void,  and  in  the  room  of  it  fubfcirutes  what  fol- 
 lows, 
 
 '«  Eur  my  prefent  Will  is,  that  my  executors, 
 *'  their  adminiftrarors  or  afi]gns,  do  well  and  tru- 
 "  ly  pay  to  the  faid  Society,  within  one  month, 
 '^  or  two  at  the  farrheil,  after  the  appointment  and 
 "  confecration  by  lawful  authority  of  two  Protef- 
 *'  tantBifnoi^s,  one  for  the  Continent,  another  for 
 "  the  ifics  \nNortb  /juisrica^  the  furn  cf  one  thou- 
 *'  fand  pounds,  to  be  applied  in  equal  portions  to 
 "  the  fetclcment  of  fuch  Bifliops  in  the  fore-men- 
 *'  tic  red  Sees.  Uyitil  fucb  lawful  appointment  and 
 ''  ccnjecrations  arc  cmntleated^  lam  very  fenfible 
 "  {as  many  of  r,:y  brethren  cf  that  Society  alfo  are) 
 ''  that  as  there  has  not  hitherto  been^  notTiithfand- 
 "-  ing  much  importunity  and  many  promifes  to  the 
 **  contrary,  fo  there  never  will  or  can  he  any  regidar 
 "  Church  dfcipline  in  thofe  parts,  or  any  confirrna- 
 
 (( 
 
 iicns 
 
ii 
 
 (( 
 
 ii 
 
 [35     J 
 
 "  Ucns  or  due  crdinaii&ns,  or  any  Jetitvg  apart  m 
 ecclefiaftkal  manner^  of  any  public  places  for  the 
 more  decent  IVorJhip  of  God^  or  any  timely  pre- 
 venting  or  ah  citing  of  famons  and  dtvflous^  which 
 *'  have  hcc7i  and  are  at  prejent  very  fife  %  no  ecck- 
 ^\Jlaflically  legal  difcipline  or  correBions  of  fcanda^ 
 "  lous  manners^  either  in  the  Clergy  cr  Lai'y^  or 
 *«  fynodical  offemhlies^  as  may  he  a  proper  means  to 
 "  regulate  ecclefiajlical  proceedings.     In  the  rr.eaa 
 "   tin:e,  ttll  fucb  ' appointmenl  and  confecratiGn  as 
 "  abovefaid  is  compdeated^  my  Will  is,  that  my 
 "  executors  do  not  pay  the  faid  thoufand  pounds, 
 "  or  any  part  or  portion  of  it,  or  any  inc^reft  for 
 '^  the  whole  or  any  part  of  it  to  the  faid  Society, 
 ''  but  as  they  have  opportunity,  to  put  out  the 
 '^  faid  fum  or  part  of  it  to  intercft  upon  fure  pub- 
 '•  iic  funds,  and  to  apply  fuchintereftto  the  bene- 
 ''  fitof  fuchiMiffionaries,  being Engliflimcn,  and 
 '•  of  the  province  of  Canterbury,    as  they    fnali 
 "  find  upoH  good  information,  to  have  taken  true 
 ''  pains  in  the  refpedive  places  which  have  been 
 "  committed  by  the  faid  Society  to  their  care,  in 
 "  the  faid  foreign  Plantations,  and  bive  been  by 
 «'  unavoidable  accidents,  ficknefs  or  other  infir- 
 "  mities  of  the  body,  or  old  age,  difabied  from 
 *'  the  performanceof  their  duties  in  thefaid  places 
 "  or  precincls,  and  forced  to  return  loEngiand'' 
 Such  is  the  bequed  of  ArchbiOiop -r^-.w'^;?,  in 
 which' we  may  obferve.  a  very  different   plan  of 
 yi/7?cT/V^;/ Epifcopacy  from  that  deiineared  by  his 
 c  2  Tucceff^r, 
 
[    36    ] 
 
 fucceflbr,  Dr  Seeker^  in  this  Letter.  We  have  here 
 the  whole  Hierarchical  apparatus  of  Enghfli  Epif- 
 copacy  enumerated  in  the  minuteft  manner.  Regu- 
 lar  Church  difcipline.'-^Confecraiion  of  Churches. >~^ 
 Prevent  ion  of  /anions  and  divifwns,  (meaning,  I 
 fuppofe,  provifions  for  uniformity) — Due  Ordi- 
 nations  (which  the  Colonics  are  fuppofed  to  want, 
 for  it  feems  till  aBiIhop  is  appointed  there  never 
 will  he  any  fuch) — ecclefiafiic  ally -legal  corre5iions 
 both  of  the  Clergy  and  Laity,  And  to  crown  all, 
 Synodical  ajfemhlies  to  regulate  ecclefiafiical  proceed- 
 ings. 
 
 From  the  tenor  of  this  codicil,  and  particularly 
 from  the  words,  in  the  meantime^  till  fuch  appoint- 
 ment and  confecration  as  ahovefaid  is  compleated^  it 
 is  clear,  that  till  this  fyftem  of  Prelatical  jurisdic- 
 tion is  fettled  in  North  America^  both  on  the  con- 
 tinent and  in  the  ifies,  the  executors  of  Archbifhop 
 ^enifcn,  their  adminifirators,  or  affigns,  will  not 
 be  obliged  to  pay  a  fingle  fixpence  of  the  thoufand 
 pounds  to  the  propagating  Society  -,  for  that  fet- 
 tlement  is  plainly  the  confideratlon  for  which  the 
 legacy  is  left :  confequently,  it  cannot  be  applied 
 to  the  maintenance  of  Bifhops  with  the  limited, 
 and  no  more  than  commiflarial  jurifdidion,  for 
 which  Dr  Seeker  pleads. 
 
 It  cannot  in  the  lead  be  doubted,  but  his  late 
 Grace  o^  Canterbury  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
 contents  of  this  codicil,  fo  far  as  it  related  to  the 
 appointment  of  American  Biiliops.      Why   then 
 
 did 
 
[    37    ] 
 
 did  he  content  himfelf  with  this  general  mentiorl  of 
 the  legacy^  and  fupprefs  the  conditions  of  it  ? 
 Plainly  for  too  very  obvious  reafons. 
 
 1.  Left  Mr  JValpole  fhould  fufped  his  Lord- 
 fhip's7/«f <fri/y  in  affecting  to  def.re  no  more  power 
 for  American  Bifhops,  than  he  feems  to  plead 
 for  in  this  Letter.  Mr  Walpole  would  be  certain 
 that  Dr  Seeker^  in  cafe  he  carried  his  point  for 
 American  Bifhops,  would  not  confent  to  give  up 
 this  Legacy  of  ArchbilhopTV^//^;^ ;  and  he  would 
 naturally  conclude,  that  upon  the  e/ent  of  ap- 
 pointing fuch  Bifhops,  Dr  Seeker .^  as  a  nnan  of 
 fenfe,  and  a  man  of  politics,  would  make  the  pre* 
 fervation  of  the  legacy,  an  argument  for  granting 
 the  additional  jurisdidion  defcribed  in  the  codicil. 
 
 2.  The  particulars  enumerated  in  the  codicil, 
 are  utterly  inconfiftent  with  the  charader  of  no 
 high  Church-man^  for  which  he  would  recommend 
 the  example  of  Archbifhop  'Tenifon.  The  exhibi- 
 tion of  them  would  indeed  have  made  a  farther 
 difcovery,  equally  unfavourable  to  the  views  and 
 principles  of  many  of  Dr  Tenifon'j  brethren  of  the 
 Society^  who  are  reprefented  as  ^o^2\Vj  fenfihk  with 
 his  Grace,  that  all  thefe  Ecclefiaflical  neceffaries 
 would  follow  the  appointment  ofBidiops,  and 
 could  not  be  had  without  it  s  and  confequently 
 would  quite  fpoil  Dr  Secker^s  argument  drawn  from 
 the  "univerfal  defire  of  his  brethren,  and  of  the 
 "  members  of  the  Society,  as  well  Laymen  as 
 "  Clergymen,    of    eftablifhing  Colony  Bifhops, 
 
 c  3  «*  from 
 
[     38     3 
 
 *»  fro??i  the  Revolution  to  this  day  ;"  and  induce  a 
 lufpicion  that  the  converfon  of  the  Indians  v/as 
 biic  a  blind,  a  mere  pretence  of  the  high  church- 
 men, to  obtain  a  charter  for  the  nobler. purpofe  of 
 etlablifhing  Bimops.  For  his  Grace  exprefsly  tells 
 us,  that,  *' this  whole  body  of  men,  aimoft  ever 
 *'•  fince  it  v/as  in  being,  hath  been  making  re- 
 *'  peaced  applications  for  Biihops 'in  yf//3<?^/V^ (.?).'» 
 Behold  then  the  cloven  focir  which  his  Grace,  no 
 doubt,  thought  was  fuMicientiy  covered  by  this 
 general  reference  to  ArchbiHriop  Tenifori's  legacy, 
 as  he  might  be  pretty  {MrtM.TlValpole  would  hardly 
 20  to  iht  Commons  to  confuk  the  original. 
 
 I  am  hov^ever  perfuaded,  that  there  have  been, 
 and  ftill  are  numbers  of  that  refpedlable  Society, 
 who  fall  not  under  his  Grace's  crude  reprefentation. 
 I  could,  if  it  was  proper,  point  out  fdme  moft  wor- 
 thy men,  whofe  names  were  not  long  ago  upon 
 the  lifl,  who  thought  no  better  of  the  epifcopizing 
 proje<^l:  than  Mr  V/alple^  and  particularly  as  de- 
 fcribed  in  Archbifliop  'Tenifon''^  codicil.  But  the 
 artifice  was  plaufible  to  bring  the  whole  body  into 
 the  fame  predicament,  with  a  man  of  ArchbKliop 
 ^enifGn\  Moderation  (for  fuch  that  worthy  Pre- 
 late really  v/as)  at  their  head. 
 
 But  if  a  man  of  moderation,  how  fhall  we  ac- 
 count for  this  fcheme  of  Epifcopal  difcipline  efpouf- 
 ed  in  this  codicil,  and  on  which  the  good  old  man 
 
 lays  fo  much  ftrefs  ?  could  he  be  'ignorant  that  it 
 
 was 
 (o)  Piige  9. 
 
[     39     ] 
 
 was  the  exercife  of  the  fame  powers  from  which 
 the  original  Colonifts  of  America  fi:d  into  the 
 wildernefs  ?  On  the  other  hand  it  may  be  ad^ed, 
 could  this  be  the  fcmie  man,  who  in  the  year  16S9, 
 pleaded  for  admitting  the  diffcnting  Clergy  into 
 the  Church  without  reordinacion  by  Billiops  ? 
 Could  this  be  the  fame  man,  who  had  experienced 
 fo  fcverely  in  1700,  how  imyproper  Synodical  af- 
 femblies  were  to  regulate  ecclefiaflical  proceedings, 
 or  to  prevent  and  abate  fadicns  and  divifions  'p)  ? 
 
 .The  truth  is,  this  codicil  was  executed  but 
 twelve  days  before  the  Archbifhop's  death,  when 
 the  powers,  of  judgment  and  refledlion  may  well 
 be  fuppofed  to  have  been  greatly  impaired.  His 
 Grace  was  then  in  the  eighty- fifth  year  of  his  age, 
 worn  out  with  the  efFeds  of  a  fevere  gout,  and 
 other  inlirmities  incident  to  fo  late  a  period  of  life. 
 He  v/as  then  alfo  in  the  hands  of  two  or  three 
 reverend  Dodors,  who  have  fince  had  many  op- 
 portunities of  difplaying  their  attachment  to  the 
 Church  in  the  moil  eminent  ftations,  and  who 
 would  not  fail  to  fugged  to  the  expiring  Prelate, 
 the  merit  and  the  glory  of  contributing  to  a 
 fcheme  fo  beneficial  and  fo  honourable  to  the 
 Church  oi  England.  That  this  Archbifhop  was 
 then  under  fome  fuch  influence,  is  highly  prjDba- 
 ble  from  his  mentioning  in  the  codicil,  that 
 ''  many  of  his  brethren  of  the  Propagating  So- 
 
 04  "  ciety, 
 
 {p)    Memcirs  of  Archbifhop  Tf»//"5»,    page  13,  14.    and 
 77—101. 
 
[     40     ] 
 
 <«  clety,  were  fenfible  as  well  as  himfelf  of  the 
 "  neceflity  of  fettling  Bifhops  in  America^  for 
 "  the  wife  ends  there  fignified  ;"  which  naturally 
 refers  to  fome  converfation  on  the  fubjed  flill 
 frefli  in  his  mind,  of  which  he  retained  the  im- 
 prelTions  fo  long  at  leafl  as  was  neceffary  to  an- 
 fvver  the  purpofes  of  his  advifers.  But  though 
 Archbifhop  Tenifon  had  not  remaining  upon  his 
 mind  '*  thofe  flrong  imprcfllons  of  the  terrors  of 
 *'  ecclefiailical  influence,"  fo  prevalent  "  at  the 
 "  latter  end  of  Queen  Ame's^  and  the  beginning  of 
 *'  King  George  the  firft's  reign  •,"  yet  it  feems 
 thofe  impreflions  (till  remained  with  *'  perfons 
 "  in  public  llations,"  which  fufficiendy  accounts 
 for  the  hints  in  the  codicil,  viz,  "  the  much  im- 
 *<  portunity,  and  the  many  [unperformed]  pro- 
 *«  mifcs,"  of  eftablilhing  an  Hierarchical  juris- 
 didlion  and  difcipline,  in  the  north  American  Co- 
 lonies. The  Minifters,  were  aware  of  the  cha- 
 raders  of  the  impor tuners^  though  the  honeft, 
 unfufpedling  Archbifhop  was  not. 
 
 In  one  word,  great  allowances  ought  to  be 
 made  for  the  failings  of  fo  great  and  fo  good  a 
 man  as  Archbifliop  Tenifon^  but  nothing  can  be 
 more  invidious,  or  more  injurious  to  his  charac- 
 ter, than  to  hold  them  up  as  examples  for  imita- 
 tion. 
 
 To   proceed.     Flis  Grace   would  have  it  be- 
 lieved, that   '^  fome  people   have   apprehended, 
 ''  that  the  appointment  of  American  Bilhops  will 
 
 *'  tend 
 
[    41     ] 
 
 "  tend  to  the  depreflion  of  the  Hierarchy,  as  it 
 *'  will  afford  the  Laity  here  an  example  of  Englifh 
 ".  Bifhops  abroad  with  no  other  than  fpiritual 
 *«  powers  ;  which  may  tempt  them  to  think  of 
 "  reducing  the  Bifhops  at  home  to  the  fame  con- 
 *'  dition  (q).** 
 
 Had  his  Grace  thought  proper  to  inform  us 
 who  they  were  that  formed  fuch  apprehenfions, 
 we  might  poflibly  have  hit  upon  fome  method  of 
 fatisfying  them,  different  from  that  his  Grace 
 hath  taken  ;  which,  it  is  not  unlikely  Mr 
 JValple  might  confider  as  a  fneer.  If  thefe  ap- 
 prehenders  were  fuch  as  my  Lords  the  Bifhops 
 had  convinced,  that  none  but  what  his  Grace 
 calls  fpiritual  power s^  were  to  be  granted  to  their 
 American  brethren,  it  would  be  hard  to  fay  what 
 melancholy  confequences  they  might  not  draw 
 from  a  contemplation  on  the  hardihip  and  in- 
 dignity of  fuch  a  limitation. 
 
 But  to  raife  thefe  drooping  fpirits,  his  Grace 
 very  comfortably  a ifu res  them,  that  all  is  fafe  and 
 fnug  at  home,  as  heart  can  wifh.  "  I  fhould  be 
 *'  very  willing,"  fays  his  Grace,  "  for  the  bene- 
 "  fit  of  thofe  of  our  communion  in  the  Colonies, 
 '*  to  run  a  greater  rifque  than  I  conceive  this  to 
 "  be."  And  the  reafon  of  his  Grace's  fecurity  on 
 this  head  was,  it  feems,  that  it  is  ''  no  longer  a 
 <^«  fecret,  that  the  temporal  powers  and  privileges 
 
 •'  of 
 
 (f)  Letter  to  Mr  l^alpoie.  page  lo. 
 
[      42      ] 
 
 "  of  my  Lords  the  Bifhops,  are  merely  concef- 
 "  fions  from  the  itate  (r)." 
 
 Here  one  would  imagine,  thefe  men  of  appre- 
 hen/ton  might  afk,  "  But,  the  ftate  obferving 
 *'  from  the  examples  of  American  Bifhops  that 
 *'  thefe  temporal  powers  and  privileges  might  be 
 "  fpared,  is  there  no  danger,  that  it  might  take 
 *'  them  away?"  To  this  indeed  his  Grace  gives 
 no  anfvver,  though  Mr  IValpole  muil  know  he 
 had  a  very  fubftantial  one  in  ptto  \  namely,  that 
 though  the  itate  might  do  this,  yet  as  long  as  the 
 Bidiops,  v/ith  thefe  powers  and  privileges  conti- 
 nued to  make  as  harmlefs  and  ujeful  a  branch  of 
 the  conilitution  as  many  others^  they  run  no  rifque 
 that  the  ftate  ever  would. 
 
 This  was  dextrous  enough  ;  for  had  this  rea- 
 fon  been  given,  it  would  have  occurred  to  another 
 fort  of  apprehenders,  that  the  ftate  might  poffibly 
 think  thefe  temporal  powers  and  privileges  as 
 harmlefs  and  ufeful  in  the  hands  of  American  Pre- 
 lates, as  they  are  and  have  been  in  the  hands  of 
 their  Lordlhips  at  home  -,  and  in  confequence  of 
 that  notion,  would  hereafter  confer  them  -,  an 
 apprehenfion  which  might  have  brought  his 
 Grace's  finceriiy  a  third  time  in  queftion.  And 
 indeed  I  am.  fo  far  from  thinking  this  as  unlikely 
 to  happen  as  mofi  things^  that  I  cannot  but  be  of 
 opinion,  that,  had  American  Bifhops  been  ap- 
 pointed about  the  time  this  Letter  was  written, 
 
 his 
 
 (r)  Page  10. 
 
[     43    ] 
 
 his  Grace  would  have  lived  to  fee  this  event,  and 
 yet  have  been  very  able  to  juftify  his  Jincerity  by 
 laying,  '*  Pray,  Gentlemen  Colonifts,  do  not 
 "  :blame  me.  I  was  very  ftncere  in  propofing  to 
 "  hmit  yourBilliops  to  fpiritiial  powers :  but  who 
 *'  am.  I,  that  you  Ihould  exped  me  to  control 
 "the  policy  of  the  ftate?"  Could  Mr  Walple 
 forbear  fmiling  at  the  m.anagemenc  of  his  cor- 
 refpondent  ? 
 
 After  an  uncandid,  not  to  fay,  unjuft  compari- 
 fon  of  the  Church  and  State  principles  of  the  in- 
 ferior, with  thofe  of  the  fuperior  Clergy,  and 
 telling  us,  by  way  of  ftriking  the  balance,  "  that 
 "  there  never  was  a  time  known  when  the  upper 
 *«  part  of  the  Clergy  v/ere  fo  univerfally  free  from 
 *'  wild  high  Church  notions  (j),"  his  Grace, 
 very  incautioufly  complains,  that  "  the  regard 
 "  which  the  bulk  of  the  people  had  for  religion, 
 "  and  the  teachers  of  it,  is  grearly  diminifhed, 
 "  and  diminifliing  daily,  to  a  degree,"  fays  his 
 Grace,  "  which  I  wonder  wife  men  are  not  alarm- 
 ','  ed  at  it)  ? " 
 
 It  had  been  well,  his  Grace  had  mentioned  the 
 time  when  the  people  had  this  undiminijhed  regard 
 for  religion  and  the  teachers  of  it,  that  both  the 
 fa6t  and  the  reafons  for  it  might  have  been  afcer- 
 
 tained 
 
 (j)  Witnefs  his  GraceV  LeBures,  Charges,  and  Synodal 
 Oratkn,  and  fome  other  performances,  well  known  to  have 
 been  fabricated  under  his  Grace's  patronage  and  infpedion.    • 
 
 (0  Page  12. 
 
[    44    i 
 
 tained  with  precifion.  The  hulk  of  the  people  had^ 
 at  a  certain  period,  a  moft  undiminijhed  regard  for 
 Dr  Henry  Sacheverel^  and  the  fort  of  rehgion 
 which  he,  and  a  number  of  other  teachers,  took 
 care  to  inculcate.  I  would  hope  his  Grace  did 
 not  allude  to  thefe  times,  or  to  teachers  like  thefe. 
 I  would  fuppofe  thefe  were  the  times  of  thofe 
 wild  high  Church  notions y  which  his  Grace  dif- 
 claims  for  himfdf  and  the  upper  part  of  his  bre- 
 thren. In  what  reipedt  then,  does  the  regard  of 
 the  bull^of  the  people  for  religion,  and  the  teachers 
 of  it,  appear  to  be  diminifhed,  in  times  fubfequent 
 to  thefe  ? 
 
 His  Grace  fhould  by  no  means  have  left  us  in 
 the  dark  on  thefe  heads,  left  it  fhould  be  fuf- 
 peded,  either  that  this  dimmijhed  regard  is  owing 
 to  fome  default  in  the  teachers,  or  that  the  teach- 
 ers who  complain  of  it,  require  more  regard  than 
 is  due  to  them.  But  it  was  more  efpecially  ne- 
 ceHary  his  Grace  fhould  have  been  more  explicit 
 on  this  article,  as  in  the  very  next  period  his 
 Grace  feems  to  follicit  an  increafe  of  political 
 power  for  the  teachers  of  religion,  in  order  to  re- 
 cover this  diminifhed  regard  from  the  bulk  of 
 the  people. 
 
 "  It  is  as  important,  fays  his  Grace,  even  in  a 
 "  political  view,  that  they,"  [the  teachers  of  re- 
 ligion] "  fhould  be  able  to  do  good,  as  that  they 
 "  fhould  not  be  able  to  do  harm."  A  circum- 
 f^ance  that  is  plainly  recommended  to  the  confii- 
 
 deration 
 
C    45    ] 
 
 deration  of  thofe  wife  men,  wh6,  to  his  Grace's 
 furprife,  are  not  alarmed  at  the  prefent  difregard 
 of  the  teachers  of  religion. 
 
 Now  in  this  political  view,  the  teachers  of  re- 
 ligion cannot  be  enabled  to  do  the  good  required, 
 but  by  an  increafe  of  political  power.  The  fpi- 
 ritual  power  of  preaching  the  word  of  God,  and 
 of  adminiftring  with  all  diligence  to  the  fpiritual 
 welfare  of  their  refpedive  flocks,  none  of  the  efta- 
 blifhed  teachers  of  religion  in  this  happy  country 
 can  be  fuppofed  either  to  want,  or  not  to  employ 
 under  our  excellent  and  unalterable  ecclefiaftical 
 fyflem.  Some  people  indeed  are  apt  to  think 
 that  more  good  might  be  done  in  this  fpiritual 
 way,  than  is  done ;  and  will  perhaps  be  ready  to 
 fay,  let  the  teachers  of  religion,  from  the  higheft 
 to  the  lowed,  firft  try  what  good  may  be  done 
 towards  recovering  this  regard  of  the  people,  by 
 the  ferious  and  diligent  application  of  their  fpiri- 
 tual powers ;  and  if  this,  upon  a  fair  experiment, 
 fhould  be  found  to  be  infufficient,  it  will  then  be 
 time  enough  to  move  for  an  increafe  of  their  po- 
 litical power. 
 
 But  what  is  extremely  unfortunate  for  his 
 Grace's  argument,  the  Colonics  of  our  commu- 
 nion it  feems,  are  in  the  fame  predicament  with 
 the  bulk  of  the  people  in  old  England, 
 
 "•  Nor  do  I  find,'*  adds  his  Grace,  "  that  bi- 
 gotry to  the  Church  prevails  among  the  mem- 
 
 "  bers 
 
 i^ 
 
[     46     3 
 
 **  bers  of  it  in  our  Colonies  *,"  {u)  which  can 
 only  fignify,  (as  that  claufe  falls  in  with  what  goes 
 before)  that,  the  regard  of  the  bulk  of  the  Church 
 o{  England  Colonifts  for  reHgion,  and  the  teachers 
 of  it,  is  equally  diminifhed  among  them,  as  in  the 
 mother  country. 
 
 Will  not  then  an  increafe  of  political  power  be 
 as  neceifary  for  thefe  new  teachers  of  religion  in 
 America^  as  for  the  old  ones  at  home  ?  And  muP: 
 not  their  limited  fpiritual  powers  be  as  ineffedual 
 for  a  reformation  there,  as  they  have  been  found 
 to  be  in  England  ? 
 
 "  The  Bifhop  of  Lc/zJ^/^'s  CommilTaries,"  his 
 Grace  believes,^  ''  have  gained  no  accefTions  to 
 *'  what  was  granted  them  originally."  {w)  The 
 contrary  of  which  is  the  truth,  as  will  be  feen  be- 
 low. Not  to  mention,  what  has  been  often 
 hinted,  that  the  ComniiiTaries  have  frequently 
 found  the  means,  not  only  of  pretending  to,  but 
 of  exercifing  powers  which  never  were  granted 
 them. 
 
 *«  But  the  Bifnops  will  be  more  narrowly 
 *'  watched,  by  the  Governors,  by  other  Seds,  by 
 *'  the  Laity,  and  even  the  Clergy  of  their  own 
 *'  communion."  (.v) 
 
 But  what  kind  of  men  muH:  thefe  Bifhops  be 
 who  want  fo  much  watching^  and  that  by  perfons 
 fo  differently  intereilcd  in  their  appointment?  \i 
 his  Grace  knew  that  this  would  be  the  cafe,  he 
 
 mu  it 
 {u)  Page  12.  {tv)  Page  13.  (a)  Ibid. 
 
[    47    ] 
 
 mufl  have  known  likewife,  that  it  could  only  pro- 
 ceed from  3,jealouJy,  entertained  by  the  Colonics 
 of  all  ranks  and  denominations,  of  the  natural 
 tendetuy  of  this  Epifcopal  appointment  to  encroach- 
 ment and  oppreffion.  And  with  thele  fentiments, 
 how  could  his  Grace  imagine  fuch  appointment 
 would  [\ir  u^  no  dangerous  uneafenejfes?  But  indeed 
 when  we  confider  the  different  circum fiances  to 
 which  this  variety  of  watching  muft  be  directed, 
 one  cannot  help  fuppofing  that  dangerous  uneofi- 
 nejfes  muft  be  the  natural  confequenceof  this  abun- 
 dant vigilance. 
 
 The  Governors  would  v/atch  according  to  their 
 diredions  from  home,  which  would  probably  be, 
 that  the  Blfhops  (the  confidants  of  the  crown) 
 ihould  not  fuifer  from  any  diminution  of  the  re- 
 gard that  is  due  to  them ;  the  other  itdis  would 
 watch,  on  the  contrary,  that  this  regard  Ihould 
 not  arife  above  what  they  imagine  is  due  to  them, 
 which  they  would  fix  at  a  much  lower  ftandard 
 than  the  Governors  would  think  reafonable ;  the 
 Laity  would  watch,  that  they  might  not  be  ha- 
 raffed  with  Ecclefiaftical  cenfures  ;  and  the  Clergy 
 would  watch  to  infbrce  them,  and  to  fupport  the 
 regard  due  to  Epifcopal  Power ;  and  in  that  they 
 would  certainly  find  their  account,  as  the  Bifhops 
 muft  have  the  power  of  rewarding,  or  at  leaft  of 
 recommending  the  meritorious,  as  well  as  cenfur- 
 ing  delinquents. 
 
 However, 
 
[  48  ] 
 However,  that  the  Bifhops  would  be  more  nar- 
 rowly watched  than  the  CommifTaries  have  been, 
 is  contrary  to  all  experience.  A  man  would  have 
 little  chance  for  redrefs  againft  the  arbitrary  ads  of 
 a  juftice  of  the  peace,  who  could  not  obtain  fatis- 
 fadlion  for  the  infults  of  a  petty  conftable.  One 
 cannot  but  wonder  his  Grace  (hould  not  feel  the 
 ridicule  to  which  this  childifli  reprefentation  would 
 expofe  him. 
 
 The  remainder  of  his  Grace's  lucubrations  in 
 this  paragraph,  are  built  upon  the  fame  fort  of 
 hypothefes  *,    militating  partly  againft  matter  of 
 fadt,  and  partly  againft  each  other,  as  where  he 
 fpeaks  of  "Governors  watching  the  Bifhops,"  who 
 *'  will  neverthelefs  be  fuch  perfons  as  the  Crov/n 
 "  can  heji  confide  in  {y)'^     Might  not  his  Grace 
 as  well  have  faid,    that  the  Governors  would  be 
 more  narrowly  watched  by  the  Bijhops?  and  again 
 *«  a  right  of  recalling  them  may  be  referved  tothe 
 *'  King."     Does  his  Grace  mean,  a  right  of  put- 
 ting an  end  to  their  fundion  ?  fo  it  ftiould  feem 
 as,  ex  hypotheft^  this  recalling  muft  be  on  account 
 of  their  mifdemiCanours.     It  is  a  material  c^t^\ov\^ 
 and  1  ftiould  like  to  fee  an  anfwer  to  it,  from  fome 
 of  thofe  to  whom  his  Grace  has  bequeathed  his 
 principles  on  the  article  of  Church  Authority. 
 
 His  Grace  having  done  his  endeavour  to  quiet 
 our  apprehenfions  with  refped;  to  an  increafe  of 
 Church  Power  among  the  Americans,  by  lending 
 
 them 
 (j')  Page  13. 
 
[     49     ] 
 tJiem  Bifhops,  on  mere  fuppofitions  and  probabi- 
 lities, proceeds  to  ftrengthen  his  cafe  by  referring 
 to  adlual  precedents ! 
 
 "  It  ought  to  be  confidered  further,  fays  his 
 *'  Grace,  that  an  Ad  of  the  laft  feffion  of  Parlia- 
 "  ment [  1 749]  which  pafTed  without  any  oppoficion 
 "  from  any  body,  hath  exprefsly  efta-blijljedMo- 
 "  R  A  V I  A  N  Bifhops  in  America^  who  have  much 
 "  higher  and  ftridler  notions  of  Church  Govern- 
 "  ment  and  Difcipline  than  we  have (2)." 
 
 Bold  and  furprizing !  His  Grace  ventures  no 
 lefs  than  the  fuppoiition  that  Mr  JValpole  muft  ne- 
 ver have  feen  the  Adt  in  queftion,  nor  have  known 
 any  thing  of  the  contents  of  it. 
 
 Can  any  Man  of  common  Senfe  underftand  lefs 
 by  the  words,  exprefsly  eftahli/hed,  than  that  the 
 Adt  gives  thefe  Moravian  Bilhops  a  power  to  ex- 
 ercife  their  fundion,  affigns  them  their  ftations, 
 gnd  fecures  their  ftipends  ? 
 
 And  yet  the  cafe  is  only  this.  The  Moravians^ 
 to  whom  this  Ad  relates,  are  fuch  as  fcruple  to 
 take  an  oath,  or  to  ferve  perfonally  in  the  army. 
 This  Law  difpenfes  with  them  in  both  thefe  Ar- 
 ticles, upon  condition  of  their  making  a  folemn  af- 
 firmation inftead  of  an  oath,  and  paying  a  fum  of 
 money  fufficient  to  hire  a  fubftitute  to  perform  mi- 
 litary fervice  in  their  room. 
 
 But  left  the  Government  fhould  be  impofed  upon 
 by  perfons  pretending  to  be  of  the  Moravian  So- 
 
 D  ciety 
 
 («}  Page  14. 
 
[     5°    ] 
 
 ciety  who  arc  not,  it  is  enaded,  that  every  one  who 
 claims  the  benefit  of  this  a6l,  fhail  produce  a  certi- 
 ficate figned  by  fome  Bifliop  of  the  faid  Church, 
 or  by  the  Paflor  of  fuch  Church  or  Congregation 
 who  fhall  be  nearefl  to  the  place  where  the  claim 
 is  made,  that  he  is  adually  a  member  of  the  faid 
 Church. 
 
 j^nd  to  prevent  frauds  or  forgeries  of  falfe  certi- 
 ficates, it  is  farther  enadted,  that  the  advocate  of 
 the  faid  Church,  (hall  lay  or  caufe  to  be  laid  be- 
 fore the  Commiflioners  for  Trade  and  Plantations 
 a  lift  or  lifts  of  all  the  Bifhops  of  the  faid  Church 
 who  are  appointed  by  them  to  grant  certificates  as 
 aforefaid,  together  with  their  hand- writing  and  ufual 
 feal,  and  the  names  hand-writing  arid  feals  of  any 
 Bifliops  that  fliall  hereafter  be  confecrated  by  them, 
 as  aforefaid ;  and  the  names  of  fuch  Paftors,  as  fhall 
 be  authorifed  by  the  faid  Advocate  or  Bifhops  to 
 give  certificates  in  any  of  his  Majefty's  Colonies 
 in  America  {a) 4 
 
 Undoubtedly  his  Grace  might  give  what  names 
 to  what  things  he  pleafed,  and  fo  might  call  this 
 an  A6t  for  eftablifhing  Moravian  Billiops  in  yhne- 
 rica.  But  we  are  not  obliged  to  adopt  his  Grace's 
 ideas.  It  is  not  even  faid  that  thefe  certifying  Bi- 
 ftiops  Ihould  be  refident  in  America ;  and  for  any 
 thing  that  appears,  they  might  be  fuch  as  refided 
 in  England^  Poland^  Pru£ia,  Silefia^  &c.  in  all 
 which,  and  in  other  places,  the  A6t  fays,  the  Mo- 
 ravian Church  is  fettled  ;  and  thefe  Bilhops  indeed 
 
 are 
 
 (tf)    2  2<^  G  E  0  R  G  E  II.    cap.  30. 
 
[    51     ] 
 
 are  juft  as  exprefsly  eftahlijhed  by  this  Acl^  in  thofe 
 countries,  as  in  America, 
 
 His  Grace  affirms,  that  this  Ad:  was  pafTed 
 without  any  oppofition  from  any  body.  Bur,  Ri*" 
 mius^  the  virulent  chaftifer  of  the  Moravians,  af- 
 fures  us  it  was  oppofed  by  a  certain  member,  upon 
 a  fuggeftion,  that  *'  the  Moravians  in  G^r/z^^^y  had 
 "  made  the  greateft  part  of  Proteftants  run  mad 
 "  by  their  devices."  When  he  could  not  prevail 
 to  have  the  Bill  thrown  out,  the  fame  perfon  pro- 
 pofed  that  they  fhould  be  reftrained  from  making 
 converts;  which  was  likewifedifregarded,  fora  rea- 
 fon  which  fhall  be  mentioned  by  and  by(^). 
 
 *<  Why  then"  fays  his  Grace  f  arguing  ^  fortiori) 
 <'  fhould  there  be  fuch  fear  of  eftablifhing  Bilhops 
 «  of  the  Church  of  ^/T^to^/'" 
 
 A  queftion  which  fuppofes  thefe  Moravian  Bi- 
 fhops  wereeftablifhed  with  the  knowledge  and  con- 
 fenc  of  the  Colonifts;  which  every  one  knows 
 could  not  be  the  cafe  ;  and  in  all  probabiHty  this 
 Adt  was  paiied,  before  the  Americans  knew  that 
 any  fuch  thing  was  thought  of.  And  even  with 
 refpedt  to  our  own  people  at  home,  BifhopiL^z;/^^- 
 ton^  who  knew  as  much  of  what  pafTed  in  parlia- 
 ment as  his  brother  gf  Oxford^  informs  us,  that 
 *'  the  fettlement  of  the  Moravians  in  thefe  King- 
 "  doms  feems  to  have  been  obt^LinQd  furrepHtiousljj 
 "  under  pretence  of  their  being  a  peaceable  inno- 
 D  2  *'  cent 
 
 (^)  Preface  to  the  Supplement  to  the  Candid  Narrative, 
 pa^e  cxvii. 
 
[      52      ] 
 
 "  cent  fort  of  people."  But  his  Lord fli-ip  hoped 
 that  "  their  iniquity  and  fikhinefs  being  laid  open 
 *'  by  Mr  Rimms  and  himfelf,  they  would  be  com- 
 "  pelled  to  emigrate,  as  had  been  found  neceffary 
 *'  in  other  countries (^)." 
 
 Doubtlefs  his  Grace's  argument  ^/?r/zV/ hath 
 great  force  and  propriety,  in  reference  to  this  pre- 
 cedent. 
 
 His  Grace's  expoftulation  indeed  is  founded  on 
 the  confideration,  that  "  the  Moravians  have  much 
 "  higher  and  ftri6ler  notions  of  Church  Govern- 
 
 o 
 
 *'  ment  and  Difcipiine,  than  we  of  the  Church  of 
 *'  England  have."  Well  then,  let  us  confider 
 what  fort  of  Bifhops  thefe  Moravians  have  among 
 them. 
 
 The  Unit  as  fratrum^  in  whofe  favour  the  Ad 
 under  confideration  was  made,  are  faid  there,  to 
 be  members  of  the  Church  which  was  formerly 
 fettled  in  Moravia  and  Bohemia :  the  remains  of 
 which  was  then  fettled  in  Poland.  Among  thefe 
 Count  Zinzendorf  was  ordained,  or  if  you  pleafe, 
 confecrated  a  Bifhop  at  Lijfa,  But  here,  "  all 
 "  their  Minifters  were  on  an  equal  footing,  the 
 *'  oldeft  of  them,  without  having  refpedt  to  the 
 *'  importance  of  his  cure,  is  always  chofen  a  fe- 
 "  nior  or  elder  for  the  fake  of  Ordinations,  and 
 "  is  nothing  elfe  but  primus  inter  pares^  having 
 "  not  the  lead  jurisdidion  or  authority  over  the 
 
 ''  other 
 
 {k)  Preface  to  the  Moravians  Compared,  page  xiv. 
 
[     53     ] 
 
 «  Other  Clergy  (r)."  This  gives  us  no  very  ftrik- 
 ing  idea  of  the  high-Church  notions  of  chefe  Mc- 
 ravians  with  refped  to  Church  Government  and 
 Difcipiine.  And  would  theEnglifh  Bifhops  defjgned 
 fox /Imerica^  confent  to  a  redu61ion  of  this  kind, 
 perhaps  the  Colonifts  might  give  the  projed  a  far- 
 ther confideration. 
 
 But  fuppofing  the  Moravian  Bifhops  to  be  ex- 
 prefsly  eftabhihed  in  America^  and  to  have  all  the 
 prelatical  powers  with  which  our  Englifh  Bifkops 
 are  invefted,  what  is  the  confequence  ?  A  very 
 unfortunate  one  for  his  Grace's  project,  if  Mr 
 Rimius  is  to  be  believed,  who  when  he  wanted  to 
 exclude  the  Moravian  Bifhops  from  exercifing  their 
 fundlion  m  England^  confronted  them  with  2iCanon 
 of  the  firil  iV/V^«^  Council,  which  enjoins,  that  two 
 Bifhops  fhall  not  prefide  together  in  the  fame  city. 
 The  Moravian  Bifhops,  according  to  this  dodrine, 
 have  a  canonical  title  by  preoccupat:G?u  and  the 
 Englifh  Bifhops  muft  be  excluded  of  courfe  from 
 America^  on  the  pain  of  being  cenfurcd  as  unca- 
 nonical  interlopers. 
 
 «'  If  for  want  of  thefe"  [Englini  Bifnops]  con- 
 tinues his  Grace,  "  the  Moravian  Bifhops  fhould 
 *'  ordain  fuch  Minifters  for  our  people  as  they 
 *'  thought  proper,  or  fhould  they,  by  adminis- 
 "  tring  confirmation,  or  by  the  reverence  of  their 
 ''  Epifcopal  Charader,  be  continually  o;air:fng 
 D  3  converts 
 
 {c)  Rimius  ubi  fupra,  /.  xxx'i. 
 
[     54     ] 
 *'  converts  from  us,  it  would  be  a  very  undefire- 
 "  able  thing  on  many  accounts,  particularly  on 
 *'  this,  that  moft  of  them  refufe  taking  oaths,  and 
 *'  bearing  arms." 
 
 Had  1  been  of  counfel  with  the  publifhers  of 
 this  Letter,  I  fhould  certainly  have  advifcd  them 
 to  have  fupprefTed  this  pafTage,  unlefs  they  could 
 have  added  a  note  to  fhew  that  thefe  converfions 
 had  adluaily  been  made  by  the  Moravians  in 
 alarming  numbers,  and  that  undefireable  confe- 
 quences  had  proceeded  from  them.  As  mat- 
 ters now  turn  out,  this  idle  fcarecrovv  is  con- 
 figned  to  contempt  and  ridicule  by  the  experience 
 of  twenty  years,  during  which  no  fuch  events  have 
 been  heard  of. 
 
 But  this  is  not  the  word.  His  Grace,  by  this 
 unwary  auguration  is  expofed  to  a  very  obvious  re- 
 fiedlion,  namely,  that  "  a  power  of  ordaining  and 
 *'  confirming,  together  with  the  reverence  of  the 
 *'  Epifcopal  Charader,  are  very  likely  means  of 
 *'  continually  gaining  profelytes.'*  And  what 
 was  undefireable  with  refpedt  to  thefe  Moravian 
 Bifhops  in  his  Grace's  account,  we  may  be  fure 
 would  be  undefireable  in  the  account  of  the  Non- 
 conforming Colonifts,  with  refpeft  to  Bifhops  of 
 the  Church  of  England.  They  will  therefore  con- 
 fider  this  infinuation  as  the  effedt  of  his  Grace's  in- 
 advertently dropping  the  mafic,  and  as  exhibiting 
 a  full  view  of  his  expectations  from  the  eftablifh- 
 fnent  of  Biiliops  in  America, 
 
 But 
 
[    55    3 
 
 But  after  all,  on  what  accounts   would  thefe 
 converfions  be  undefireable  ?  one  would  have  ex- 
 peaed  from  an  EngliOi  Prelate  to  have  had  one  oi 
 thefe  accounts  at  lead  fpecified,  as  affeding  the 
 religion  of  the  converts,  viz.  the  undefireahknefs  of 
 having  our  people  converted  from  a  better  religion 
 to  a  -ujorfe.     But  then,  what  mud   have  been  laid 
 for  Arch'bifhop  P<?//^r,  who,  in  a  complementary 
 Letter  to  Count  Zinzendorfy  fo  highly  extols  the 
 orthodoxy  of  the  Mnavian  Church  •,  "  acknow- 
 "  ledging  its  full  agreement  with  the  Church  of 
 *'  England,  both  in  the  purity  of  the  primitive 
 "  faith,  and  in  the  defence  of  the  primitive  dif- 
 «  cipline  ?"  and  if  Dr  Potter  ^z^fincen  in  this, 
 we  may  be  very  fure  that  how  high  and  ftridl  foe^ 
 ver  the  notions  of  the  Moravians  may  be  concern- 
 ing Church  Government  and  Difcipline,  they  are 
 neither  higher  nor  ftricler  than  the  notions  of  the 
 Church  oi  England  on  thofe  fubjeds,  if  a  learned 
 and  "orthodox  Archbifhop  oi  Canterbury  may  de- 
 termine for  her  (^). 
 
 It  was  mentioned  above,  that  when  the  ad  in 
 favour  of  the  Moravians  was  under  the  confide- 
 ration  of  Parliament,  a  certain  member  who  op- 
 pofed  it,  not  being  able  to  prevail  to  have  it  thrown 
 out,  propofed  to  have  them  reftrained  from  mak- 
 ing converts.  This  was  likewife  rejtrdrd,  "  the 
 "  majority'*  fays  Rimius^  "  taking  thefe  people 
 D  4  "  ^""^ 
 
 {d)  Biographia   Britannica,    vol.  vii.    Art.  Zmxindorf^ 
 Rem.  [G.J 
 
[     56     ] 
 
 *«  for  the  ancient  Moravian  Church."  Which  af- 
 fords another  reafon  why  his  Grace  (to  whom 
 this  tranfadion  could  hardly  be  unknown)  would 
 not  mention  the  converfions  made  by  the  Mora- 
 vians as  undefireable  on  a  religious  account,  as  the 
 parliament  had  feemed  to  determine,  that  the  re- 
 ligious principles  of  the  Amiericans  would  not  be 
 hurt  by  their  being  converted  to  the  Moravian 
 fyfiem. 
 
 His  Grace's  political  reafon  for  ftanding  in 
 awe  of  thefe  ccnverfions^  would,  I  fuppofe,  be  lefs 
 confiderable  with  Mr  IValpole^  as  nothing  unde- 
 fireable^ of  this  fort  at  Jeaft,  had  arofe  from  the 
 Penfylvanian  Quakers,  who  prcfefs  the  fame  prin- 
 ciples with  thefe  Moravians. 
 
 The  nonjuring  Jacobite  Bifliops  in  our  Colo- 
 nies, we  may  well  fuppofe  to  be  mere  nonentities, 
 as  his  Grace  himfelf  is  fo  very  doubtful  about 
 them. 
 
 "But  popifh  Bifhops  alfo,"  his  Grace  appre- 
 hends, "  have  recourfe  to  the  Colonies  from  time 
 *'  time.  At  lead,"  fays  his  Grace,  "  the  Bilhop 
 *'  of  ^^ehec  hath  no  fmall  influence  in  a  very 
 "  in^portant  new  fettlemjtnt  of  ours."  (^) 
 
 A  fhrewd  writer  in  the  London  Chronicle  of 
 Atfgiijl  2  2,  feems  difpofed  to  believe,  from  the 
 mention  here  made  of  this  new  fettlemenr,  that 
 this  Letter  to  Mr  JFalpole  is  certainly  Jpuricus^ 
 as    this  fettlement   was  not  curs  till  eight  years 
 
 after 
 {e)  Letter,  page  15. 
 
[    57    ] 
 
 after  the  date  of  it.  To  which  might  be  added, 
 that  from  the  time  this  fettlement  became  ottrsy 
 till  after  the  peace  of  Fontainhleau^  there  was  no 
 popifh  Bifliop  at  ^lehec.  Nor  indeed  could  this 
 claufe  be  pen'd,  unlefs  by  the  fpirit  of  prophecy, 
 till  the  year  1764,  when  the  prefent  popifh  Bi- 
 fhop  of  Sluehec^  embarked  in  England  for  his 
 new  diocefe,  where  he  could  have  no  perfonal 
 influence,  great  or  fmall,  before  his  arrival. 
 
 But  inftead  of  relying  upon  this  as  a  proof  that 
 this  Letter  is  fpurious,  I  am  inclined  to  think  it 
 more  probable,  that  his  Grace  thought  proper  to 
 retouch  this  favourite  refcript  from  time  to  time ; 
 retrenching  poffibly  fome  topics  he  had  made 
 ufe  of  in  his  anfwer  to  Dr  Mayhew\  obfervations, 
 and  adding  others,  as  new  incidents  arofe  relative 
 to  his  fubjed.  Of  this  there  are,  if  I  miftake 
 not,  evident  traces  in  other  parts  of  this  Letter, 
 though  none  perhaps  which  afford  fo  manifeft 
 indications  of  a  mind  fympathizing  ijoith  bodily  in- 
 firmities. 
 
 For  might  not  his  Gra(*e  have  been  afked. 
 How  came  this  Bifhop  of  ^lehee  ty  his  no  fmall 
 influence  ?  How  came  he  there  at  all  ?  Was  not 
 the  eftahlijhment  of  a  popifii  Bifhop  in  an  impor- 
 tant new  fettlement  under  his  Majefl:y's  govern- 
 ment, a  matter  worthy  of  the  interpofuion  of  a 
 protefl:ant  Archbifhop  ?  Was  not  his  Grace  then 
 at  the  head  of  the  Church  of  England  ?  And  was 
 it  ever  heard  that  his  Grace  remonftrated  either 
 
 in 
 
[     58    ] 
 
 in  public  or  private,  againft  a  meafure  fo  feem- 
 ingly  inconfiftent  with  the  interefts  and  honour  of 
 the  Church  of  England,  and  even  with  the  fafety 
 of  our  proteftant  government  ? 
 
 This  is  not  the  firft  time  I  have  heard  thefe 
 queftions  afked  i  and  I  willi  I  could  fay  I  had 
 ever  heard  a  more  fatisfadlory  anfwer  to  them, 
 than  that  the  profound  filence  obferved  on  that 
 occafion,  was  with  a  view  to  obtain  a  precedent 
 for  fettling  Church  of  England  Bilhops  in 
 America. 
 
 But  whatever  might  be  the  reafon  of  his 
 Grace's  acquiefcence  at  that  period,  certain  it  is  that 
 the  toleration  of  a  popifli  Bifhop  at  Sluehec^  has  been 
 brought  as  an  argument  for  eftablifliing  pro- 
 teftant Bilhops  in  the  Colonies,  in  certain  dif- 
 courfes  delivered  before  a  certain  Society,  where 
 his  Grace  prefided  ;  and  in  this  very  pamphlet 
 his  Grace  was  not  afhamed  to  plead  the  example 
 of  popifh  Bilhops  at  home,  who,  he  tells  us, 
 ^'  perform  the  fame  religious  ads  by  connivance^ 
 "  which  he  propofes  his  American  Bifhops  fhould 
 "  be  impowered  to  do  by  authority."  (/) 
 
 Can  thefe  precedents  ht  decently  pleaded  by  the 
 
 fathers  of  the  Church  of  England  for  eftablifliing 
 
 proteltant  Bilhops  in  America^  but  upon  the  fup- 
 
 pofition  that  the  toleration  of  popilh  Bin:iops   is 
 
 ablblutely  void  of   danger,    both    here  and   in 
 
 ylm erica  P 
 (/)  Ibid,  page  19. 
 
[     59    ] 
 
 America  ?  And  yet,  to  ferve  the  fa^me  turn  ano- 
 ther way,  his  Grace,  moft  inconfiftently  fuppofes 
 the  danger  from  the  influence  of  the  Bifhop  of 
 i^elec  to  be  great,    and  ftill  greater  from  the 
 negle6l  of  not  having  Bifhops  of  our  own  in  that 
 country   to    counteraft   this   influence.      Which 
 however,  is  an  hypothefis  contrary  to  a  known 
 fa<a.     For  to  what  can  this  counteradlion  amount 
 in  the  Colonies  where  a  popifh  Bifhop  is  permit- 
 ted by  more  than  connivance^   when,   as  we  learn 
 from  his  Grace  on  another  occafion,   fopjh  Bi- 
 Jhops  reftde  here   and  perform  every  part  of  their 
 fun5iion  without  offence  and  without  chfervalion^  (g) 
 in  fpite  of  the  vigilance  of  twenty- fix  Prelates  of 
 the  eftablifhed  Church,  and  the  terror  of  ilrid 
 laws,  wifely  provided  by  our  proteftant  anceftors 
 a«yainft  the  pernicious  effeds  of  the  intolerant  fpi- 
 rit     and    deflrudive    principles    of    thcife    very 
 Bifhops. 
 
 We  are  now  arrived  at  the  third  queflion,  viz. 
 **  Whether  fuch  an  appointment,  however  harm- 
 *'  lefs  and  ufeful  it  might  be  other  wife,  would 
 "  not  ftir  up  dangerous  uneafinefTes,  abroad  or 
 •'  at  home  ?  And  here,"  fays  his  Grace,  *<  it  is 
 *'  afl<:ed.  If  the  members  of  our  Church  in 
 "  America^  would  like  to  have  Bifhops  among 
 •'  them,  why  they  never  petitioned  for  them  ?'*  {h) 
 This  queflion,  without  all  doubt,  came  from 
 
 Mr 
 {g)  Anfwer  to  Dr  Mayheiifi  obfervations,  page  66. 
 {h)  Letter,  page  15. 
 
[     6o     ] 
 
 Mr  Walpole^  and  therefore  we  may  fafely  take  it 
 for  granted,  that  no  petition  for  Bifliops  had  ever 
 been  offered  on  the  part  of  thefe  Church  of  Eng- 
 land Colonifts.  It  will  be  necefTary  to  give  his 
 Grace's  anfwer  to  it  in  his  own  words. 
 
 *«  Surely  their  omitting  it  may  well  be  afcribed 
 **  in  part,  to  the  thoughtlefsnefs  of  mankind 
 *'  about  their  religious  concerns,  which  hath  been 
 *'  fo  peculiarly  great  in  thofe  countries,  that  fome 
 *'  of  them  did  not  petition  for  help,  when  they 
 *'  had  no  one  office  of  Chriftianity  adminiftred 
 *«  among  them."  (/) 
 
 Turn  over  the  leaf,  and  there  you  will  find  it 
 thus  written,  "  Indeed  of  courfe  it  fhould  be  pre- 
 *'  fumed,  and  none  but  the  very  llrongefl  evi- 
 "  dence  admitted  to  the  contrary,  that  all  perfons 
 *'  defire  to  have  within  their  reach,  the  means 
 "  of  exercifing  their  religion  completely."  (k) 
 
 What  is  now  to  be  done  to  reconcile  the  fa5l 
 to  the  preftmpiion  ?  We  are  to  prefume,  that  all 
 perfons  delire,  v/hat  the  thoughtlefsnefs  of  man- 
 kind, and  (irong  evidence  from  a  mofl:  remark- 
 able cafe  to  confirm  it,  plainly  iliew  that  all  per- 
 fons do  not  defire. 
 
 Take  the  matter  of  facl,  and  you  find  the 
 Church  of  England  Colonifts  in  To  abandoned  a 
 (late  of  neplio-ence  and  indolence  about  their  re- 
 ligious  concerns,  that  there  is  not  the  leaft  proba- 
 bility that  a  whole  bench  of  Bifhops  would  recall 
 
 them 
 (/)  Ibid.  (i)  Page  16. 
 
[     6i     ] 
 
 them  to  a  due  attention.  For  it  appears  by  the 
 fequel,  that  miflionaries  have  been  fent  them  un- 
 peticioned  for,  without  the  leaft  good  efFe6l.  They 
 continue  as  thoughtlefs  about  their  religious  con- 
 cerns as  ever,  as  appears  from  their  not  petitioning 
 to  have  the  complete  exercife  of  their  religion 
 within  their  reach. 
 
 Take  the  prefumption,  and  you  mud  conclude 
 they  are  perfuaded  that  they  already  have  within 
 their  reach  the  means  of  exercifing  their  religion 
 completely  without  Bifhcps  ;  and  that  his  Grace 
 was  only  inventing  reafons  for  their  not  peti- 
 tioning fuitable  to  his  own  ideas. 
 
 I  fliall  not  inquire  into  the  matter  of  fa(5l, 
 namely,  how  far  any  part  of  the  Colonies,  was 
 ever  without  the  adminiftration  of  anj  one  office 
 of  Chriftianity  among  them :  I  have  been  told,  it 
 is  not  true  •,  but  be  that  as  it  may,  I  have  his 
 Grace's  own  teftimony  before  me,  given  when  he 
 was  Bifhop  of  Oxford^  that  they  who  were  in  the 
 mod  deplorable  circumftances  of  this  fort,  were 
 not  llack  in  petitioning  for  relief. 
 
 "  In  thefecircumftances,"  faid  the  Bifhop  of  0;v- 
 ford,  "  the  poor  inhabitants  made  from  all  parts 
 "  the  mod  affeding  reprefentations  of  their  de- 
 **  plorab!e  condition,  the  truth  of  which  was  but 
 "  too  fully  confirmed  by  their  refpeclive  Go- 
 '^  vernors,    and  the   perfons   of   principal   note 
 
 **  among 
 
[      62     3 
 
 "  arpong  them*.'*  In  this  variety  of  his 
 Grace's  accounts,  what  are  we  to  behave  ? 
 
 Another  reaibn  why  thefe  Coloniits  did  not  pe- 
 tition, is,  that  "  probably  too  many  of  their 
 "  Clergy  think,  they  may  both  Jive  more  negli- 
 **  gently,  and  have  a  better  chance  for  prefer- 
 *'  ment  now,  than  if  a  Bifliop  were  to  infpedl 
 *^  them,  and  ordain  natives  to  be  their  ri- 
 «  vals.'*(/) 
 
 This  may  be  a  reafon  why  thefe  negligent,  af- 
 piring,  envious  Clergymen,  fhould  not  petition, 
 but  is  rather  a  reafon  why  the  'Lzity  Jhould^  efpe- 
 cially  if  "  they  defire  to  have  within  their  reach, 
 *'  the  means  of  exercifing  their  religion  com- 
 *^  -pletely  •,'*  for  this  they  can  no  more  have  under 
 negligent  paftors,  than  they  can  have  it  with- 
 out Billiops.  But  indeed,  if  the  Lay-Colonifts 
 took  their  meafures  from  experience  and  hiftory, 
 they  would  hardly  think  the  negligence  or  ambi- 
 tion of  their  paftors  were  likely  to  be  cured  by  pe- 
 titioning for  BiQ^ops.     It  is  hardly  to  be  fup- 
 
 pofed 
 
 •  See  the  Bifhop  of  Oxford's  Sermon  before  the  Society 
 for  the  Propagaticny  &c.  Feb,  1 740 — 4!.  page  5.  fecond 
 edition,  oftavo.  It  is  certain  that  all  parts  of  our  American 
 Colonies,  were  never  in  this  deplorable  condition,  and  that 
 ^ny  reprefentations  of  that  fort  muft  be  falfe,  unlefs,  by  a 
 mean  and  difreputable  equivocation,  the  preacher  meant,  that 
 the  offices  adminiftred  by  the  non-conformill  paftors,  are  me 
 offices  of  Chriftianity.  Confult  Dr  Mayhews  obfervations  on 
 the  charter  and  condudl,  ^c,  chapters  v.  and.  v;. 
 
 (/)  Letter,  page  15. 
 
[    63     3 
 
 pofed  but  thefe  Colonifts  muft  have  feme  concep* 
 tion  how  matters  have  ftood  in  the  mother  coun- 
 try in  former  times,  as  well  as  in  the  prefent. 
 They  muft  be  aware,  that  there  have  been  times, 
 at  no  great  diftance  from  the  migration  of  their 
 anceftors  to  America^  when  the  Bifhops  of  Eng- 
 land were  deprived  of  their  power.  The  prefent 
 age,  wherein  the  Bifliops  of  the  mother  country 
 enjoy  their  power  under  the  protedion  of  the 
 ftate  and  the  law,  they  have  before  them  in  full 
 contemplation  ;  and  they  may  if  they  pleafe, 
 compare  the  diligence,  humility,  and  fimplicity 
 of  common  paftors  and  minifters  of  the  Church 
 at  thefe  different  periods.  They  will  at  leaft 
 perceive,  that  there  were  more  temptations  to 
 negligence  and  ambition  in  the  one  fituation, 
 than  in  the  other.  Commendams,  difpenfations 
 for  pluralities,  and  fine-cures,  (the  parents  of  non- 
 refidence,  and  the  lures  of  ecciefiaftical  ambitionj 
 are  appendages  to  Epifcopal  Churches,  and,  as 
 fome  people  imagine,  fubftantial  obftru6lions  to 
 chriftian  edification.  There  is  a  chance  at  leaft 
 that  religion  would  be  upon  a  better  footing 
 where  the  Clergy  have  not  thefe  indulgences  to 
 look  for :  and  they  who  are  negligent  and  am- 
 bitious without  them,  would  hardly  be  more  di- 
 ligent or  lefs  afpiring  when  they  are  thrown  in 
 their  way. 
 
 At  length  his  Grace  fuggefts  a  third  reafon  to 
 Mr  JValpok  why  thefe  Colonifts  did  not  petition 
 
 for 
 
[    64    ]        ■ 
 
 for  Bifliops,  which  is,  that  "  the  inhabitants 
 "  of  the  Colonies,  living  at  fuch  a  diftance,  and 
 *'  not  knowing  when  an  Application  to  the  Go- 
 *'  vernment  might  be  feafonable ;  and  being 
 *«  afiured,  that  the  BiOiops  here,  efpecially  the 
 "  Bifhop  of  London^  and  the  Society  for  Pro- 
 *'  pagating  the  Gofpel,  would  always  be  atten- 
 "  tive  to  this  point,  have  left  it  to  them.  And 
 *'  they  to  whom  it  is  thus  left,  have  received  abun- 
 **  dant  proofs,  that  very  great  numbers  of  the 
 "  Laity  of  the  Church  o^  Engl  and  ^  in  thofe  coun- 
 '^  tries,  of  higher  as  well  as  lower  rank,  earnefily 
 *'  dejire  to  have  Bifhops  fettled  there,  and  think 
 *'  it  would  be  a  m.oft  valuable  public  benefit  (»?).'* 
 
 But  how  comes  it  that  Mr  Walpole^  a  minifter 
 of  (late,  fhould  never  know  of  all  this  ?  How 
 comes  it,  that  the  Bifhops  and  the  Society  to  whom 
 this  matter  was  left,  with  fo  full  confidence,  that 
 they  would  always  be  attentive  to  it,  never  either 
 petitioned  the  Government  themfelves  on  behalf 
 of  thofe  who  put  this  confidence  in  them,  or  ap- 
 prifed  the  Government  of  the  earneft  defires  of 
 thefe  Colonics  to  have  Bifiiops  fetded  among  them  ? 
 
 Whatever  his  Grace  might  do,  1  am  perfuad- 
 t^yixWalple ^\^  not  quibble  upon  the  word, /><?- 
 iition  \  but  aflu redly  meant  that  it  never  appeared 
 to  the  Government,  that  the  Colonifts  had  any 
 fuch  earneft  defires  to  have  a  Bifhop  among  them  : 
 and  that  whatever  had  been  laid  before  the  Govern- 
 ment 
 
 {m)  Letter,  page  i6. 
 
[     65    ] 
 
 ment  by  the  Bifhops  and  the  Society,  of  this  fort, 
 had  fallen  fhort  of  the  proof  that  was  required. 
 
 The  real  truth,  I  believe,  is,  that  the  mifTiona- 
 ries  have  been  from  time  to  time  inflrudled  to  ufe 
 their  endeavours  to  procure  fuch  petitions  from 
 the  Colonifts,  in  which  fome  of  them  have  not 
 been  remifs,  as  appears  fufficiently  by  Dr  Brad- 
 hury  Chandler^  Pamphlets.  But,  as  it  (liould  feem, 
 without  any  efFed,  except  perhaps,  fome  intima- 
 tions from  their  Governors  andCounfellors  who  are 
 appointed  in  them  other  country.  Every  one  knows, 
 that  his  Grace,  after  his  acceffion  to  the  See  of 
 Canlerburyy  was  particularly  arduous  in  promot- 
 ing an  Epifcopal  eftablifhment  in  America^  in 
 which  pious  projcd,  Mr  Apthorp  and  the  faid  Dr 
 Chandler  feem  to  have  been  his  moft  confiderablc 
 inftruments.  And  as  no  body  ever  heard  of  thefc 
 earneft  deftres  of  the  Colonifts  to  give  into  this 
 fchcmefo  early  as  the  year  1750,  before  the  notice 
 given  us  in  this  Letter,  it  is  probable  his  Grace 
 might  have  been  privately  at  work  on  this  projedl, 
 from  the  moment  he  was  invefted  with  the  lawn. 
 Whether  he  had  any  coadjutors,  after  the  demife  of 
 BpGihfoni  (from  whom  moft  probably  he  derived  his 
 entetement  for  thisMeafure)  I  cannot  fay  •,  but  from 
 that  period  the  Bifhop  of  Oxford  was  undoubtedly 
 the  matter  workman,  and  knew  more  of  the  pains 
 that  had  been  taken  at  home  and  abroad  to  carry 
 the  point  of  petitioning,  than  any  of  his  brethren. 
 But  unfortunately  Mr  IFalpole  happened  to  know 
 
 E  as 
 
[     66     ] 
 
 as  much  as  the  BiHiop  of  Oxford-,  who,  for  want 
 of  the  abundant  proof  that  Mr  IVaJpole  had  reafon 
 to  demand,  is  obliged  to  fly  to  the  miferable  ex- 
 pedient of  prefuming  upon,  what  he  had  himfelf 
 before  fliewn  to  be  contrary  to  the  matter  of  fadt. 
 
 But  tho'  this  affair  of  petitioning  could  not  be 
 brought  about,  yet  his  Grace  informs  us,  that 
 "  the  Biiliops  and  the  Society,  to  whom  this  mat- 
 "  ter  was  \th^  had  found  no  caufe  to  imagine  that 
 *'  any  oppofition  would  be  made  to  it  from  that 
 *'  quarter (6-)  "  Which  is  cautioufly  enough 
 worded,  and  perhaps  implies  no  more,  than  that 
 it  was  more  reafonable  for  them  to  believe  the  ac- 
 counts tranfmitted  to  them  by  their  own  MifTiona- 
 ries,  than  thofe  which  came  from  any  other  quar- 
 ter. 
 
 ««  It  is  true,"  fays  his  Grace,  "fomeof  them 
 "  have  provided  againft  enlarging  the  jurisdic- 
 *'  tion  of  the  Commiflaries ;  but  none  of  them 
 '<•  have  exprefled  zv\y  public  relu^anceio  the  ap- 
 "  pointment  of  Bifliops  (/>)." 
 
 Some  of  ibem\  i.e.  of  the  lay  Colonifts  of  the 
 Church  of  England.  But  thefe,  whoever  they 
 were,  could  nor  thus  provide  without  fome  public 
 acl  of  the  whole  body,  or  of  the  whole  reprefen- 
 tative.  Whence  I  fuppofe  the  Government  would 
 eafily  conceive  with  what  reiudance  they  would 
 liften  to  the  appointment  of  a  fuperior  power, 
 
 when 
 {,)  Page  1 6.  (/>)  Page  17. 
 
f    6;    ] 
 
 when  they  had  been  fo  careful  to  provide  againft 
 the  oppreflion  of  an  inferior  (^). 
 
 If 
 
 (y)  How  they  were  difpofed  towards  the  appointment  of 
 Bifhops,  about  this  time,  may  be  underftood  from  the  follow- 
 ing anecdote.     In  Ma^  1749.  E Hakim  Palmer  ^{c^i  introduced 
 Mr  Hooper  (one  of  the  Council  oi  Baroadoes^  pofTefTed  of  a  con- 
 fiderable  plantation  there)  to  the  Bidiop  0^ London  [Dr  Sherlock^, 
 Mr  Hooper^  on  thatoccafion,  told  his  Lordfhip,  that  "  he  and 
 all  their  people  difliked  the  projeft."     He  informed  his  Lord* 
 fliip  likewife,  that  his  Lordfhip'sCommiflary  there,  requefted 
 an  Ad  to  impower  him  to  fufpend  fuch  Clergymen  as  were  in- 
 famous in  their  lives.     One  Clergyman  of  unexceptionable 
 character,  oppofed  it,  and  fo  the  power  was  granted  for  three 
 years  only.     One  of  the  iirft  ads  of  this  Commilfary  was,  to 
 cnfnare  this  good  man.     At  a  public  meeting  they  put  an  in- 
 gredient into  his  punch,  to  make  him  drunk.     So  foon  as  he 
 found  himfelf  not  well,  he  quitted  the  place,  and  went  home- 
 ward.    His  way  was  through  a  long  narrow  paflage.     There 
 they  placed  a  common  whore,  who,  as  inftrufted,  clung  about 
 him,  with  other  indecencies.     The  good  man  hov/ever  fhook 
 her  olF,  and  went  diredlly  home.     They  had  placed  two  men 
 about  this  narrow  paflage  to  obferve  what  pafTed.     The  next 
 day  he  received  a  fummons  to  appear  before  the  CommilTary, 
 to  a  charge  of  being  crunk  and  picking  up  a  whore,  and  tak. 
 ing  her  into  that  paflage  to  gratify  his  lull.     The  two  men 
 witnefFed  againft  him,  and  the  Commiflary  fufpended  him. 
 The  whole  parifh  were  difiatisfied,  and  applied  to  the  Com- 
 miflTary  to  take  off  the  fufpenfion,  but  he  refufed.     They  then 
 applied  to  the  Governor  and  Council  to  ufe  their  intereft  with-, 
 the  Commiflary,  that  he  might  be   reftored  to  them.     They 
 did  fo,  but  to  no  purpofe.     The  people,  nettled  at  this  refufal, 
 demanded  a  libel  againft  another  Clergyman  of  an  infamous 
 and  profligate  charader.     The  charge  was  proved,  but  the 
 Commiflary  did  not  exercife  his  power  j  for  this  latter  was  at 
 
 E  2  the 
 
[    68     3 
 
 If  the  Colonifts  exprefled  no  public  relu£iance  to 
 the  appointment  of  Bifhops  among  them,  it  was  a 
 teltimony  of  their  good  fenfe  and  prudent  caution, 
 as  no  public  attempt  had  been  made  towards  fuch 
 an  appointment.  His  Grace  indeed  fays,  that, 
 *'  for  above  forty  years  paft,  the  inhabitants  there 
 **  muft  have  had  frequent  notices,  by  various 
 
 "  ways, 
 
 the  head  of  thofe  who  requeued  the  Couftto  grant  the  power. 
 When  Mr  Hooper  had  told  this  ftory  to  the  Bidiop,  he  added, 
 "  Ard  now,  my  Lord,  will  you  fend  a  Bifhop  to  us,  who 
 «'  will  have  this,  and  greater  powers  ?  '*  His  Lordlhip  an- 
 fwered,  //  is  not  I  that  fend  Bijhops  to  America,  //  is  the  Society 
 for  Propagating  the  Gofpel  in  foreign  Parts^  nvho  are  the  mover  i 
 of  this  matter,  Mr  Hooper  replied,  "  I  do  not  care  who  are 
 "  the  movers,  but  this  lean  with  confidence  aflbre  your  Lord- 
 "  fliip,  that  if  ever  a  Bifhop  fetsfooton  ourlfland,  the  people 
 «*  will  tofs  him  into  the  Sea."  This  fo  affeiled  the  Bifhop, 
 that  he  told  thofe  concerned,  they  had  beft  drop  the  defign  of 
 fending  aBidiop  to  the  Sugar-Jflands,  for  thofe  people  were 
 too  hot  to  be  dealt  with,  and  ftick  only  to  the  other  part  of 
 the  propofal,  vi%.  to  fend  one  to  the  Continent.  In  confe- 
 quencc.  Letters  were  written  to  Virginia^  to  get  Letters  from 
 thence,  requefting  a  Biftiop  might  be  fent  there.  But  a  Gen- 
 tleman concerned  for  that  Colony  in  England^  being  aware  of 
 this  fecret  negociation,  immediately  wrote  to  one  of  the  prin- 
 cipal Gentlemen  of  the  Council  there ;  by  which  means  the  pro- 
 jed  was  difappointed  for  that  time.  It  will,  I  fuppofe,  hardly 
 be  doubted  that  the  Bi(hop  o^ Oxford  was  at  that  time  one  of 
 tkofe  concerned  in  this  Epifcopizing  fcheme ;  and  yet,  he  can- 
 not be  fuppofcd,  to  have  witten  this  Letter  under  a  confciouf- 
 nefs  of  theie  fads,  without  the  utmoft  difingenuity:  not  t«> 
 mcRtion,  that  he  could  not  fuppofe  hMlMi Waipo le mxi^Vinow 
 
 enough 
 
[     69    ] 
 
 "  ways,  that  fuch  a  defign  was  in  agitation."  p.  1 7 . 
 PofTibly  they  had ;  but  thefe  were  notices  only  of 
 fecret  cabals  and  intrigues  of  particular  perfons, 
 and  perhaps  fome  private  application  to  men  in 
 power.  But  while  the  defign  was  kept  private, 
 and  confided  to  a  trufty  junto,  the  refl  were  ac 
 liberty  to  deny  it,  and  then,  what  would  the  Co- 
 lonics 
 
 enough  of  thefe  proceedings  to  be  able  to  contradia  him. 
 And  therefore  to  fave  Dr  Seder  the  reputation  of  hls/ncenty, 
 we  muft  conclude,  that  my  Lord  of  London  did  not  choofe  to 
 communicate  to  him  the  particulars  of  the  intelligence  he  re- 
 ceived  from  Mr  Hooper,  or  to  make  him  privy  to  his  Lordfhips 
 correfpondence  with  Mr  Walpde,  We  fee,  Cifhop  Sherlock 
 difclaimed  having  any  particular  fhare  in  fending  Bifhops  to 
 America,  and  lays  the  projed  to  the  account  of  the  Propagating 
 Society,  where  no  doubt  he  had  obferved  theBifhop  otOxfonVs 
 headlong  zeal  for  accomplifliing  this  meafure  at  all  events  ; 
 and  being  a  man  of  infinitely  more  prudence,  as  well  as  abi- 
 lities, than  Xix  Seeker,  he  determined  to  have  no  more  to  do 
 with  him  in  this  affair,  than  was  unavoidable,  as  a  Member 
 of  the  Propagating  Society.  The  Editors  probably  thought  it 
 might  be  giving  fome  confcquence  to  his  Grace,  to  reprefent 
 him  in  the  Advertifement,  as  going  hand  in  hand  with  Billiop 
 SherUck  in  this  Epifcopizing  projed,  and  might  hope  that  the 
 inconfiftency  of  this  reprefentation  with  what  his  Grace  hath 
 recorded  in  the  firfl  page  of  his  Letter,  would  be  overlooked 
 by  his  Graces  friends  and  admirers.  But  have  they  not  rather 
 given  occafion  to  fufped  by  this  piece  of  art,  that  his  Grace 
 had  no  more  confequence  with  Mr  JValpole,  than  with  Bidiop 
 Sherlock  ?  And  that  however  his  Grace  came  by  a  fight  of  that 
 Gentleman's  Letter  to  Bilhop  Sherlock,  his  pietended  Anfwer 
 to  it  was  never  out  of  the  confines  of  his  iliidy  till  the  memo- 
 rable year  I'/b^  ? 
 
 E    3 
 
[    70    ] 
 
 lonlfts  have  got  by  their  puhlic  reluBance?  Even 
 the  honour  of  being  laughed  at  fortruftingto  un- 
 certain rumours,  and  fighting  with  a  fhadow  ? 
 
 His  Grace  next  proceeds  to  quiet  the  apprehen- 
 fions  of  rhofe  who  might  be  made  uneafy  by  the 
 confideration  of  the  expence  required  to  maintain 
 thefe  colony  Bifhops,  and  tells  us,  "  it  is  not  in- 
 *'  tended  to  burden  the  Crown  or  the  fubjed:  with 
 "  it."  />.  17. 
 
 As  if  the  gifts  and  contributions,  mentioned 
 jufl  after  by  his  Grace,  would  be  no  burden  upon 
 the  fubjt!6l  ?  Some  families  mull  want  what  is  thus 
 given  and  contributed,  for  what  they  will  think, 
 perhaps,  more  neceffary  ufes.  How  often  have  we 
 had  Briefs  for  the  purpofe  of  fupporting  the  Soci- 
 ety's unmitred  miffjonaries?  And  would  his  Grace 
 have  infured  us,  that  none  of  thefe  would  be  cir- 
 culated for  the  nobler  purpofe  of  fupporting  the 
 dignity  of  Bifhops  ?  A.nd  are  thefe  no  burden  to 
 the  fubjed  ? 
 
 But  where  was  his  Grace's  memory,  where  was 
 the  modefty  of  the  Editors  of  this  Letter,  who  could 
 let  fuch  a  declaration  pafs,  zh^rDrTbomTsBrad- 
 hury  Chandler  had  been  at  the  pains  to  calculate  how 
 inconftderahle  a  tax  upon  the  Americans  would  be, 
 to  maintain  a  requifite  number  of  American  Bi- 
 fliops  ?  And  how  fcurvily  does  this  Dr  come  off, 
 (when  prefifed  upon  this  head  by  Dr  Chauncey)  with 
 a  filly  quibbling  diftindion  between,  "  v/hat  it 
 *'  would  be  equitable  to  pay,"  and  *'  what,  no 
 *^  man,  if  he  denied  to  pay,  would  deferve  to  be 
 
 *'  confidered 
 
[    71     ] 
 
 "  confidered  in  the  light  of  a  good  fubjefl,  or 
 "  member  of  Society  (r)/* 
 
 His  Grace,  after  acknowledging  that  the  Pres- 
 byterians and  Independents  o( Ntw  Eyjp^layid^  have 
 fignified  their  difuke  of  his  project  of  late ^  conde* 
 fcends  to  fay,  that,  *'  there  never  was  any  thought 
 *'  of  placing  them  there."  /).  i8. 
 
 How  does  this  agree  with  Bifhop  Sherlock's  ex- 
 hortation, *'  to  (lick  to  the  propofal  of  fending  a  Bi- 
 *'  ihop  to  the  continent  ?'*  But  whatever  his  Grace's 
 thoughts  might  be  in  1750,  it  is  certain  that  A^<?;x; 
 England^  after  his  promotion  to  Canterbury^  was 
 the  principal  objed  of  his  Grace's  cares  for  Epif- 
 copal  reformation  in  America.  However,  fo  tender 
 was  he  of  giving  thefe  people  offence  at  the  time  he 
 was  writing  to  Mr  fValpole^  that  his  Grace  is 
 pleafed  to  allow,  that  *'  if  they  (hould  object 
 *'  againll  Bifliops  coming  occafionally  to  officiate 
 
 *'  amongft 
 
 {r)  7 he  Appeal  defended,  or,  the  propo/ed  ^w.^nc^iVi  Epifcopate 
 windicatedy  in  anfwer  to  the  obje6lions  and  mifreprefentalions  of 
 Dr  Chauncey  and  others.  By  Thomas  Br  adbury  Chandleii, 
 D.  D.  'Nei.v  York,  printed  by  Hugh  Gaine^  at  the  Bible  ar.d 
 Qxo-wn,\nHano'verSquarey  1769.  p.  249,  250.  Whoever  will  bp 
 at  the  pains  to  compare  this  Defence  with  Dr  Seeker  s  Letter  to  Mr 
 Walpole,  will  very  lerioufly  lament  Dr  Chandlers  misfortune  in 
 being  ftationed  three  thoufand  miles  from  His^^ifhop,  by  whofe 
 inftrudlions  the  Appeal  was  written,  and  for  yv;hpre  honour  it 
 was  to  be  defended.  He  might  otherwife  have  avoided  tlie 
 mortification  of  feeing  his  high  pretenfions  to  the  ri^hts  and 
 privileges  of  the  American  Epifcopate,  fo  remarkably  con. 
 traded  with  Iiis  Grace's  humble  concefTions,  in  an  hour  of 
 delpondency. 
 
 E  4       . 
 
[      72      ] 
 
 ^*  amongft  thofe  of  the  Epifcopal   perfuafion  in 
 «*  that  province,  — /to  might  be  omitted.'* 
 
 Now  it  is  well  known,  that  the  Society's  Mif- 
 fionaries  in  New  England  have  always  been  more^ 
 in  a  double  proportion  at  leaft,  than  in  the  other 
 provinces  \n  America,  In  the  year  1761,  about 
 thirty  MilTionaries  were  ftationed  in  New  England^ 
 while  in  New  Tork^  New  Jerfey^  Penfyhania^ 
 North  Carolina y  South  Carolina^  Georgia^  the  Ba- 
 hama  JJlands^  and  Barbadoes^  there  were  no  more 
 than  forty-nine,  according  to  the  Society's  Ah-^ 
 Jlra5f5.  (j) 
 
 If  then,  notwithftanding  the  reafonablenefs  of 
 the  propofal  in  the  abftra(5l,  notwithftanding  what 
 belongs  to  the  nature  of  Epifcopal  Churches,  and 
 the  indifpenfable  neceflity  of  Confirmation  to  the 
 complete  exercife  of  their  religion  5  notwithftanding 
 the  neceffity  of  overlooking  the  conduft  of  va- 
 gabond Jlr angers,  fo  indifferently  qualified,  as  his 
 Grace  reprefents  many  of  them  to  be,  — •  If,  I  fay, 
 notwithftanding  all  thefe  confiderations,  the  per- 
 fonal  miniftrations  of  a  Bifliop  in  New  England^ 
 where  there  are  thirty  Epifcopal  Churches,  may 
 be  omitted,  it  feems  fcarce  worth  the  while  to 
 fend  Biihops,  with  the  expenfive  appointments, 
 fuitable  to  the  dignity  of  their  charader,  to  pre- 
 fide  over  forty- nine  Miftionaries  difperfed  in  eight 
 extenfive  provinces,  where  even  the  fingle  cere- 
 mony of  Confirmation,   to  be  completely  exer- 
 
 cifed, 
 
 (i)  Mayheivi  Obfervations,  page  45.  Loneion  edition. 
 
[    73    3 
 
 cifed,  could  hardly  be  performed  by  the  labours 
 of  ten  or  a  dozen  Bidiops,  if  the  uninflrudled 
 Negroes  are  to  be  taken  into  the  account. 
 
 After  all,  his  Grace  feems  to  be  confcious, 
 that  the  true  queftions  would  come  to  this,  Whe- 
 ther dangerous  uneafincfles  would  not  be  ftirred 
 up  in  the  Colonies,  by  the  appointment  of  Bifhops  ? 
 And  whether  the  Colonifts  would  not  have  fuffi- 
 cicnt  grounds  for  their  uneafmefTes,  from  their  ex- 
 perience of  the  incroaching  nature  of  Epifcopacy  ? 
 
 In  anfwer  to  this  latter  queftion,  his  Grace  thinks 
 fit  to  fay,  that  the  Colonifts,  *'  cannot  fail  to 
 "  know  how  much  the  Epifcopal  power  exercifed 
 **  heretofore  by  Bifhops,  hath  long  fince  been 
 *'  leflened,  and  the  inclinations  and  principles  of 
 ♦'  thofe  who  are  intrufted  with  it,  altered  for  the 
 "  better."  (t)  This  hath  been  confidered  before, 
 and  we  need  only  refer  for  an  anfwer  to  it,  to  the 
 palTage  quoted  above  from  his  Grace's  Oratio  Sy- 
 nodalis.  Let  us  add  however,  as  this  matter  is 
 once  more  come  upon  the  carpet,  that  what  his 
 Grace  afcribes  to  the  better  inclinations  and  prin- 
 ciples of  himfelf  and  his  contemporary  brethren, 
 is  confidered  by  other  ftanch  Churchmen,  as  an 
 unhappy  relaxation  of  that  ancient  difcipline, 
 which  the  Church  wifhes,  in  one  of  her  offices,  to 
 have  reftored.  Of  this  complexion  is  the  zealous 
 Dr  Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler^  whom  every  one 
 now  underftands  to   fpeak  the   reak  undifguifed 
 
 fenfe, 
 
 (/)  Page  1 8. 
 
[     74     ] 
 
 fenfe  of  Dr  Seeker^  both  in  the  Appeal^  and  in  his 
 Defence  of  it. 
 
 *'  The  want  of  primitive  difcipline  in  the 
 *'  Church  at  home,"  faith  this  diligent  Miffionary, 
 "  is  no  proof  that  the  want  of  it  is  not  ftill  greater 
 *'  in  the  Colonies,  nor  that  the  want  cannot  in 
 *'  fome  degree,  be  remedied  by  the  propofed 
 *'  Epifcopate.  We  think  that  a  flridl  difcipline, 
 **  with  regard  to  the  American  Clergy,  might 
 "  be  exercifed  under  an  Epifcopate.  Jhis  is  cer- 
 ^^  tainly  expelled.  It  is  an  important  part 
 «'  OF  OUR  plan  ;  and  that  American  Bifhops 
 *'  would  difappoint  us  in  this  refpe6l,  none  have 
 **^  a  right  to  declare,  until  the  experiment  fhall 
 *'  have  been  made."(«) 
 
 Why  no  indeed,  worthy  Do(5lor,  I  dare  fay  the 
 Colonifls  have  no  fuch  fufpicion ;  and  therefore, 
 I  prefume,  it  is,  that  they  are  fo  unwilling,  and 
 with  great  reafon,  to  have  the  experiment  made. 
 How  little  was  this  (Irenuous  champion  aware, 
 while  he  was  writing  this,  that  fome  of  his  fellow 
 pupils  at  home  were  convincing  the  world,  that 
 there  was  a  time,  when  their  common  patron 
 had  denied  every  word  of  it  ;  and  that  in  fpite  of 
 his  Oraiio  Synodalis^  this  denial  was  agreeable  to 
 his  dying  fentiments  ?  After  this,  truft,  ye  Colo- 
 nifts,  if  you  can,  to  the  fincerity  of  thofe  who 
 folicit  an  American  Epifcopate.  None  of  you 
 can  be  at  a  lofs  to  know  what  a  high-flying  Epif- 
 copalian  means  by  primitive  difcipline^  while  the 
 
 hiftory 
 
 [u]  Jfp?al  defended,  page  103. 
 
[    IS    ] 
 
 hiftory  of  the  fettlemcnc  of  your  anceftors  in  A- 
 merica  remains.  None  of  you  can  be  ignorant, 
 that  \\\tjurhdi5lion  required  to  carry  this  primitive 
 dtfcipline  into  execution,  muft  be  as  different  from 
 the  plan  dehneated  in  this  Letter,  as  your  own 
 plan  is  from  that  of  Archbifhop  Laud.  For 
 while  his  Grace  is  alluring  you,  that,  "  no  more 
 "  authority  is  defired  for  American  Bilhops,  than 
 ''  the  dillenting  Minifters  exercife  here  by  law, 
 "  or  popifh  Priefts  and  Bilhops  by  connivance:" 
 Dr  Chandler^  whofe  inftrudions  are  of  a  later 
 date,  betrays  his  own  and  his  party's  expcofations^ 
 that  a  ftritt  primitive  difcipline^  with  rejpe^t  to  the 
 American  Clergy^  without  diftindtion,  may  be 
 exercifed  under  this  new  Epifcopate. 
 
 Attending  his  Grace  to  page  19,  we  find  fome- 
 thing  like  an  apology  for  the  propagating  Society's 
 fending  Letters  into  America,  One  would  wiQi 
 to  know,  what  circumftance  of  Mr  JValpok's  Let- 
 ter, gave  occafion  to  it.  Making  due  allowances 
 for  his  Grace's  palliations  and  gloffes,  tlie  cafe 
 feems  to  have  been  this.  The  zealous  promoters 
 of  American  Epifcopacy  in  the  Society,  finding 
 that  the  want  of  petitions  from  the  Colonies  was 
 a  confiderable  obltruclion  to  the  projed,  fent 
 Letters  privately  to  their  confidants  to  procure 
 fuch  tefti monies,  {viz.  that  the  Colonifts  approved 
 the  meaiure)  as  might  be  a  balance  at  leaft 
 againft  the  alTurances  the  government  had  re- 
 ceived, that  they  were  averfe  to  it.  The  pradlice 
 came  to  be  detedled,   and  the  alarm  being  taken 
 
 by 
 
[    76     ] 
 
 by  the  friends  of  religious  liberty;  the  too  proba- 
 ble confequenccs  of  it  were  remonftrated  to  the 
 government.  This  brought  feme  blame  upon 
 the  contrivers  of  this  fecret  correfpondence,  which 
 his  Grace  fought  here  to  ward  off,  as  well  as  he 
 could  -,  modeftly  requefling  in  the  end,  that  the 
 government  would  permit  them  to  play  out  their 
 game,  before  they  rejeded  the  propofal. 
 
 His  Grace's  next  endeavour  is  to  take  off  Mr 
 Walpole\  apprehenfions,  that  the  attempt,  and 
 much  more  the  execution  of  fuch  a  projedV, 
 *'  would  raife  animofuies  at  home,  produce  de- 
 *'  clamations  in  pulpits,  controverfies  in  pam- 
 •«  phlets,  debates  in  parliament,  revive  the  diftinc- 
 *'  tions  of  high  and  low  among  Churchmen,  and 
 "  terrify  and  provoke  the  Diffenters.'*  {w) 
 
 What  his  Grace  fays  on  the  part  of  the  pulpit, 
 fhall  be  confidered  by  and  by.  And  as  for  the 
 prefs,  he  reminds  Mr  Walpole^  that,  "  moft  vi- 
 "  rulent  pamphlets,  publiflied  daily  both  againft 
 ''  Church  and  State,  gave  the  government  no 
 *'*  terror  at  all."  {x)  Not  fo  much  indeed,  I  dare 
 fay,  as  his  Grace  thought  they  Hiould  have  given, 
 judging  herein  oy  his  own  feelings  \  no  man  perhaps, 
 of  his  llation,  having  ever  been  more  terrified  and 
 difquieted  by  pamphlets  and  letters  in  News-pa- 
 pers on  Church  matters,  than  the  late  Dr  Seeker, 
 Of  the  fad  however,  or  of  its  effe(51s,  he  was  far 
 from  being  fo  competent  a  judge  as  Mr  fF^lpcle^ 
 who  was  very  fenfible,  that  it  would  not  follow, 
 
 bccaufe 
 
 (w)  Pa£e  20,         {x)  rage  n. 
 
C  n   3 
 
 becaufe  the  miniftry  were  not  affedled  by  falfe  and 
 invidious  charges  from  the  prefs,  refpeding  their 
 poHtical  conduct  in  mere  ftate  affairs,  that  they 
 would  be  equally  unafFeded,  when  fo  fevere  a 
 ftroke  upon  the  religious  liberties  of  the  Colonies, 
 as  the  executing  the  Epifcopizing  fcheme  would 
 be,  (hould  be  objedled  to  them. 
 
 But  if  Mr  Walple  faw  his  Grace's  weaknefs  in 
 this  refledion,  much  more  would  he  be  fcandalized 
 when,  to  take  off  all  his  apprehcnfions  of  what  might 
 happen  in  parliament,  he  found  his  Grace  intimat- 
 ing, that  "  there  Teemed  no  necefiity  that  this  af- 
 **  fair  fhould  ever  come  into  parliament.(^)" 
 
 By  this  circumftance,  the  ftatesman  would  dif- 
 cover  the  man  and  his  communication,  and  whence 
 he  derived  his  principles.  He  would  recolledl  too, 
 that  parliament  had  more  than  once  taken  a  retro- 
 fpe<5t  of  minilterial  meafures,  adopted  without  its 
 fandion;  and  would  never  be  more  likely  to  doit, 
 than  when  fuch  meafures  feemed  to  tend  to  raife 
 feuds  and  animofities,  difguft  and  difcontent,  in 
 places  where  the  commercial  interefts  of  Great 
 Britain  are  fo  much  concerned,  as  in  the  Colonies. 
 And  if,  in  the  progrefs  of  their  inquiries,  it  fhould 
 appear,  that  the  Adminiftration  had  been  prelfed 
 into  this  fervice  by  the  importunity  of  the  Bifhops 
 in  general  (who  have  all  been,  according  to  his 
 Grace,  equally  defirous  of  eilablilhingEpifcopacy 
 in  the  Colonies,  from  the  Revolution,  to  the  date 
 
 of 
 (y)  Page  21. 
 
[    78    ] 
 
 of  his  Letter)  few  would  wonder,  if  it  fliould  be 
 refolved,  that  "  Epifcopal  power  is  a  great  griev- 
 ,-*'  ance  to  this  nation,  and  that  it  muft  rife  to  an 
 «*  equal  height  wherever  Bifhops  are." 
 
 His  Grace,  however,  could  put  Mr  IValpole  in 
 the  way  of  compofing  thefe  flirs  even  in  parliament. 
 "  The  Adminiftration,'*  fays  his  Grace,  "will 
 "  eafily  quiet  fuch  of  the  Members  as  are  their 
 *'  friends ;"  namely,  by  threatning  to  take  away 
 their  places  or  their  penfions,  or  by  promifing 
 them  to  fuch  of  their  friends  as  had  them  not. 
 *'  The  Tories  muft  be  for  Bifhops,  if  it  be  only  to 
 *'  preferve  their  own  credit."  And  confequently, 
 for  Bifhops  invefled  with  all  the  powers  which  tory 
 principles  afcribe  as  appendages  to  the  office  : 
 for  it  would  beimpofTible  to  keep  their  credit  with 
 their  party,  by  confenting  to  the  fending  out  Bi- 
 fhops with  that  limited,  low-church  jurisdidion, 
 which  hisGrace<3^^^ionly  to  defire.  "  And  the 
 ''  remainder  will  probably  find  thcmfelves  too  in- 
 *'  confiderable  to  ftir."  Ihe  remainder  \  that  is 
 to  fay,  all  the  faithful  reprefentatives  of  the  people, 
 who  are  neither  to  be  corrupted  by  the  adminiftra- 
 tion, nor  infecled  by  thole  pernicious  principles 
 of  religion  and  government,  which  have  been  in 
 times  paft  fo  pernicious  to  the  rights  and  liberties 
 of  the  Britifti  fubjedl,  and  fo  dangerous  to  that  il- 
 luftrious  fucceffion  of  proieftant  Princes,  under 
 whofe  Government  only  we  can  hope  to  enjoy 
 them.     Excellent  Patriot !  excellent  Archpaftor  of 
 
 a  free 
 
[    79     ] 
 
 a  free  Proteftant  people  !  who  for  the  fake  of  mag- 
 nifying a  mere  Ecclefiaflical  Office,  no  way  eflcn- 
 tial  to  the  faith  or  pradice  of  Evangelical  Chris- 
 tianity, would  flifle  the  influence,  on  which  the 
 prefervation  of  the  religion  and  liberties  of  his 
 country  chiefly  depends  ! 
 
 It  remains  to  confider  *'  the  only  danger," 
 which,  according  to  his  Grace,  *'  is  left,  viz.  that  of 
 *'  alarming  or  provoking  the  body  of  the  DifTcn" 
 *'  ters(2;)."  Whom  he  diftinguiflies  into,  "  a 
 *'  few  bufy,  warm  men;"  and  fuch  as,  '^  after  ar- 
 *'  guing  properly  with  them,  have  owned  that  they 
 **  had  little  or  nothing  to  objedl  againit  appoint- 
 *'  ingBifhops  in  Plantations  of  theEpifcopalCom- 
 **  munion  (<:?)."  And  among  the  latter  he  names 
 Dr  Averjy  and  Dr  Samuel  Chandler, 
 
 What  DrCbaiiMer  might  fay  to  'Dr Seeker,  is  of 
 little  confequence  :  It  can  hardly  be  faid,  that  Dr 
 Chandler  fpoke  the  fenfe  of  the  body  of  theDiflen- 
 ters,  when  it  is  fo  well  known,  that  his  connexion 
 with  that  Prelate  was  far  from  adding  to  his  elti- 
 mation  among  them.  He  is  not  at  prefent  at 
 hand  to  anfwer  for  himfelf.  Podibly  fomebody 
 might  be  found,  who  is  able  to  anfwer  for  him. 
 Be  that  as  it  may,  1  fh all  not  prefume  either  to 
 accufe  him,  or  to  apologize  for  him. 
 
 Dr^fi'^ry's  juftification  is  upon  a  lefs  precarious 
 footing.  It  is  well  known  to  ibme  yet  living,  that 
 he  was  a  principal  mover  of  the  application  to  the 
 
 Miniftry, 
 (s)  Page  2  2.  {a)  Ibid. 
 
[     8o    ] 
 
 Miniflry,  about  the  time  this  Letter  of  DrSfcker'f^ 
 was  written,  to  lay  afide  the  proje<5t  of  fending 
 Bifhops  to  America.     If  I  am  not  mifinformed,  he 
 had  the  honour  of  conferring  with  fome  of  his 
 Majefty's  Minifters  on  the  fubjedl,  and  gave  them 
 unanfwerable  reafons,  why  a  fcheme  fo  likely  to 
 produce  difturbances  in  the  Colonies,  fhould  be  - 
 laid  afide.  What  he  is  here  reprefented  to  have  ac- 
 knowledged to  the  Archbilhop,  is  in  the  higheft 
 degree  improbable.    He  was  not  a  man  to  be  over- 
 awed by  the  folemnity,  or  cajoled  by  the  afFedled 
 civility  of  an  Archbiihop.     He  was  liberal  in  his 
 fentiments,  and  generoufly  open  and  unrefcrved  in 
 exprefling  them  upon  all  proper  occafions.     Hit 
 condu6l,  in  all  his  tranfadtions,  was  inflexibly  up- 
 right, and  far  exalted  above  ail  narrow,  felfifh, 
 and  finifter  views.     No  man  knew  all  this  better 
 than  the  late  Archbi(hop5^f^^r ;  and  if  this  Letter 
 is  not  fpurious,  it  is  not  an  impoflible  fuppofition, 
 that  one  motive  of  its  fleeping  fo  long  in  his  Grace's 
 clofet,  might  be,  the  danger  of  having  it  crofs- 
 examined  and  confronted  by  the  teftimony  of  fo 
 refpeftable  a  chara6ler. 
 
 Speaking  of  the  oppofition  to  this  Epifcopizing 
 projed,  which  might  be  apprehended  from  the 
 body  of  DiiTenters,  his  Grace  delivers  himfelf  as 
 follows. 
 
 "  And  indeed  there  is  no  modefty  in  faying, 
 **  we,  who  are  not  of  the  Eftabliflied  Church,  de- 
 "  mand  as  a  matter  of  ftridl  juftice,  the  full  ex- 
 
 *'  ercife 
 
[     8i     ] 
 
 "  ercife  of  our  religion  here,  but  at  the  fame  time 
 "  infift  that  the  King's  cpifcopal  fubjedls  \u  America^ 
 "  with  whom  we  have  nothing  at  all  to  do,  Ihall 
 *'  not)  even  in  thofe  provinces  where  they  are  the 
 *'  eftablifhed  Church,  have  the  full  exercife  of 
 «  theirs  (^)." 
 
 It  is  pleafant  enough  to  hear  his  Grace  talk  of 
 fnodejiy,  while  he  is  giving  fuch  a  reprefentation  as 
 this.  What  would  his  Grace  have  thought  of  his 
 having  the  full  exercife  of  his  religion,  in  cafe  he 
 had  not  been  permitted  to  enjoy  the  preferments 
 he  once  held  in  commendam,  without  firfl  receiv- 
 ing the  communion  amongft  the  Diflenters  ?  It  is 
 made  a  part  of  his  merit  in  the  Biographia  Britan- 
 nica  that  he  never  did  communicate  with  them, 
 even  while  he  appeared  to  belong  to  their  Church; 
 (c)  whence  it  may  eafily  be  conjectured,  how  un- 
 palatable fuch  a  condition  would  have  been  to  him 
 when  he  was  Bifhop  of  Oxford.  Would  not  his 
 Lordfhip  have  thought,  that  hisMajefty's  fubjeds 
 m  America^  while  not  burdened  with  any  fuch  tefl, 
 would  have  had  a  fuller  exercife  of  their  religion, 
 than  his  Lordfhip,  even  without  the  ceremony  of 
 confirmation  ?  Can  a  Man  be  faid  to  have  the  full 
 exercife  of  his  religion,  who  is  excluded  from  the 
 natural  and  equitable  rights  of  a  good  fubjed,  un- 
 lefs  he  will  conform  to  a  mode  of  religious  worfhip 
 which  he  thinks  to  be  wrong,  and  which  fome  of 
 his  brethren  have  thought  to  be  even  idolatrous! 
 
 F  It 
 
 [h)  Page  23.        (f)  Article  Butler  (Jofi?K). 
 
[       82       ] 
 
 It  is  plain,  his  Grace  never  made  this  cafe  of  the 
 DifTenters  his  own,  and  that  he  gave  Mr  Walpcle 
 only  a  copy  of  his  countenance,  when  he  told  him, 
 a  hctle  below,  that,  "  he  fhould  have  been  a  moft 
 ''  hearty  and  zealous  advocate  for  the  DifTenters," 
 in  a  cafe  where  they  happened  not  to  want  his  affif- 
 tance,  .and  that,  "  from  his  love  of  religious  liber- 
 *'  ty  {d )  i"  when  he  never  moved  a  finger  to  reheve 
 them  in  a  cafe  where,  if  he  knew  what  religious 
 liberty  meant,  he  muft  have  known  how  jujlly  they 
 think  they  have  it  not,  and  where  an  advocate  of 
 his  Grace's  (lation  and  charader  would  have  been 
 of  the  greateft  fervice. 
 
 There  are  in  this  fhort  period,  no  lefs  than  two 
 other  mifreprefentations.  For,  i.  His  Grace  could 
 not  produce  any  legal  authority  for  faying,  that  the 
 Epifcopal  Church  oi  England^  is  the  eJlaUi/Jjed 
 Church,  in  ^;?jy  of  the  American  Provinces.  2.  The 
 King's  Epifcopal  fubjefls  in  America^  were  not 
 they,  with  whom  our  domefticDiflenters,  had  to  do 
 in  this  cafe.  It  was  their  concern  for,  and  their 
 defire  to  preferve  to  the  Americans  of  their  own 
 Aniiepifcopal  perfuafion,  the  full  exercife  of  their 
 civil  and  religious  rights^  (which  they  apprehended 
 upon  good  grounds,  might  be  encroached  upon, 
 by  the  admiiTion  of  Bifhops  into  any  of  the  Ame- 
 rican Provinces)  that  occafioned  their  vigilance  at 
 the  tirne  referred  to.  They  knew  the  hardfhip  of 
 thofe  legal  difabilities  under  which  they  themfelves 
 
 lay 
 {d)  Page  23. 
 
[    83     ] 
 
 ky  at  home.  They  had  good  reafon  to  believe 
 that  the  influence  of  the  eftabliihed  Hierarchy 
 contributed  to  continue  this  grievance.  Their 
 Brethren  in  America  were  as  yet  free  from  it,  and 
 if  Bifliops  were  let  in  among  them,  and  particu- 
 larly, under  the  notion  of  prefiding  in  eftahlijhed 
 Epifcopal  Churches,  there  was  the  higheft  proba- 
 bility, they  would  take  their  precedents  of  Go- 
 vernment and  Difcipline  from  the  EftablifhmenC 
 in  the  Mother  Country,  and  would  probably  ne- 
 ver be  at  reft,  till  they  had  eftablifhed  it  on  the 
 bafis  of  an  exclufive  Teft.  They  knew  their 
 American  brethren  thought  on  this  fubjed,  juft 
 as  they  themfelves  did.  They  knew  how  cauti- 
 oujly  the  projedors  of  the  plan  covered  their  march 
 from  all  the  Colonies,  but  their  own  confidants. 
 They  knew  that,  without  their  interpofition,  the 
 arrival  of  a  Bifliop  in  America  would  probably  be 
 the  firft  notice  the  Colonifts  would  have  of  his 
 appointment  at  home.  They  were  aware  of  the 
 alarm  this  would  give  them,  and  of  the  difagree- 
 able  confequences  of  their  oppoficion,  with  refpedc 
 to  the  Government.  They  wifely  therefore,  and 
 like  good  patriots,  fignified  their  apprehenfions  to 
 the  Government,  and  ftrengthened  them  with  fuch 
 proofs,  as  entirely  convinced  the  Miniftry,  how 
 much  the  public  peace  and  welfare  depended  upon 
 the  fupprelTion  of  this  pernicious  projed. 
 
 In  this  tranfadion  I  have  good  grounds  to  fay, 
 that  Dr  Avery  was  a  principal  aclor  and  advifer  ; 
 
 F  2  and 
 
[  84  3 
 and  would  his  Grace  have  ventured,  in  his  life- 
 time, to  rank  the  Dr  among,  *'  the  few  buf)\  warm 
 ^^  men,  who  only  affe£fed  to  fpeak  in  the  name  of 
 "  the  whole  ?'*  or  among  thofe  who  oppofed  the 
 Epifcopizing  fcheme  through,  "  a  wantonnefs  of 
 •«  fpirit,  or  an  oflentatious  fondnefs  of  ufing  their 
 *'  influence  with  great  perfons,  to  grieve  the  good 
 *'  Bifhop  of  Oxford  and  his  panizans,  without 
 "  ferving  themfelves  ?"  {e). 
 
 What  mull  their  Colony-brethren  have  thought 
 of  the  Diflenters  at  home,  had  the  latter  fuffered 
 them  to  be  taken  by  furprize,  and  a  meafure 
 forced  upon  them,  to  which,  if  they  had  not  loll 
 all  memory  of  the  firft  migration  of  their  anceftors 
 from  Old  England,  they  muft  have  the  utmoft 
 averfion  ?  What  muft  every  difinterefted  EngHfh- 
 man  have  thought  of  them,  if,  poflcfTed  as  they 
 were  of  the  fenfe  of  the  Colonies,  they  fhould, 
 out  of  a  pundilio  of  complaifance  to  a  few  fuch 
 hify,  warm  men  as  the  B— p  of  O-^—^d,  have 
 quietly  fuffcred  a  religious  war  to  be  kindled  in  the 
 bowels  oi  America,  between  the  Non-epifcopalians 
 and  the  Members  of  the  Church  o^  England,  when 
 they  had  it  in  their  power  to  prevent  it  ? 
 
 But  I  ftiall  venture  to  go  ftill  farther.  Many  of 
 the  Colonifts  of  the  Church  of  England  are  the 
 delcendants  of  fome  of  the  firft  fettlers,  who  pro- 
 fefled  Church  principles,  and  pradifed  the  modes 
 of  worfhip  cftablidied  in  Old  E^^gland,    in  their 
 
 own 
 
 {e)  Page  24. 
 
[     85    ] 
 
 own  houfes,  when  they  could  not  have  a  MInifter 
 to  officiate  among  them.     Yet  thefe  were  driven 
 from  their  native  land,  by  Epifcopal  Difcipiine 
 merely  becaufe  they  could  not  conform  in  every 
 thing.     They   left  however,    their  principles  and 
 praftices  to  their  pofterity,  fome  of  whom,  to  this 
 hour,  attend  the  Miniftry  of  the  Epifcopal  Mif 
 fionaries.     But  as  their  fathers  left  them  likewife 
 memorials  of  their  own  particular  fufFerings  frcm 
 Eithops,  they  are  no  more  in  love  with  Amnkan 
 Epifcopacy  than  their  anceftors  were  with  Emlifh 
 Prelacy.     To  fome  of  thefe,  the  idea  of  a  Bifliop 
 upon  the  foot,  was  as  difguliing  as  to  theNoncop- 
 formifts  themfelves,  and  it  is  now  well  known 
 that  when  they  were  folicited  to  join  fome  others 
 in  reprelenting  to  the  Society  how  much  BilLops 
 were  wanted  in  the  Colonies,  their  anfwer  was 
 «  that  they  were  well  fatisfied  with  the  means 
 «  they  had  of  worHiipping  God  according  to  the 
 «  Liturgy,  nor  did  they  defire  any  thing  n°ore." 
 
 Among  other  uneafintrffes  apprehended  by  Mr 
 Walple,  as  the  probable  efFeft  of  appointing 
 American  Bifliops,  one  was,  "  that  fuch  a  mea- 
 "  fure  would  produce  declamations  in  Pulpits  • 
 «  and  revive  the  diftinftion  of  High  and  Low 
 "  among  Churchmen  (/)." 
 
 To  this  anxiety,  his  Grace  adminiders  the  fol- 
 lowing foporific.  "  Now  amongft  the  Clergy,  I 
 "  conceive  it  can  make  no  difpute,  for  cve}^Man 
 
 J'  3  «'  «/ 
 
 (/)  Page  20. 
 
[     86     ] 
 
 "  of  chamber  amongfl  them  doth,  and  muft  wilh 
 *'  it  fuccefs."  His  Grace  fliould  have  added, 
 "  and  every  man  amungft  them  w-ho  wifhes  it 
 "  fuccefs,  is  and  mud  be  a  Man  of  chara5ier  \'* 
 and  then  the  refult  muO:  have  been,  that  every  one 
 who  did  not  wifh  the  projed:  to  fucceed,  was  a  re- 
 probate, a  Man  of  no  charaEier, 
 
 But  might  not  M^lValpole  have  fuggefted,  that 
 difputes  were  mod  likely  to  be  raifed  by  Men  of  no 
 charader  ?  His  Grace  was  free  enough  to  confefs, 
 that,  "  if  the  projed  were  brought  upon  the  car- 
 <^  pet,  and  the  adminiftration  were  to  oppofe  it, 
 ''  fome Clergymen  (Jorne  of  thefe Men  of  charaEler) 
 *'  might  be  tempted  to  fay  indecent  things  of 
 ^'  them  i"  and  i  pray,  how  much  lefs  fcrupulous 
 may  we  fuppofe  Men  of  no  charafter,  who  fhould 
 not  wifli  the  projedt  fuccefs,  would  have  been,  in 
 cafe  the  adminiH ration  had  efpoufed  it  ?  Either  way 
 then,  we  fee  declamations  from  the  pulpit,  and 
 difputes  between  Clergymen  of  characler^  and 
 Clergymen  of  no  characler^  would  have  been  un- 
 avoidable, had  the  affair  come  upon  the  carper. 
 The  bed  way  therefore,  Mr  V/alple  would  think, 
 would  be-to  keep  it  off  the  carpet. 
 
 But  would  this  have  fatisfied  thefe  Clergymen 
 of  charaEler^  with  his  Grace  at  their  head  ?  Let  us 
 hear  his  Grace  upon  this  quedion.  "  We  indeed 
 "  do  not  threaten,  if  we  are  difregarded.  But  they 
 *'  [the  Didenters]  have  no  more  right  to  threaten 
 ^'  than  we  :  nor  need  they  be  feared  if  they  do. 
 
 '^  Their 
 
[    87    ] 
 
 "  Their  threatnings  have  been  very  fafely  flighted, 
 **  in  a  point  which  they  have  much  more  at  heart, 
 "  I  mean  the  Teft  :  and  fo  they  may  in  this(^)." 
 
 It  is,  I  think,  pretty  certain,  (if  we  may  credit 
 fome  other  parts  of  his  Grace's  Letter)  that  the 
 Citv gy  of  char a5iery  particularly  the  Bifhops,  ne- 
 ver cea  fed  to  defire,  and  we  mud  fuppofe,  to  en- 
 deavour, that  Bifhops  fliould  be  etlablidied  mAjKe- 
 rica^  from  the  revolution  to  the  day  of  the  date 
 of  his  Letter  to  Mr  JValpole.  During  this  whole 
 interval,  thefe  defires  have  h^tn{of2iX  difregardedy 
 that  in  his  Grace's  language,  the  affair  nevtr  came 
 upon  the  carpet.  If  it  fhould,  and  the  adminiftra- 
 tion  were  to  oppofe  it,  "  fome  of  thofe  Clergymen 
 *'  ofcharader,  who  wifh  it  fuccefs,  might,  in  his 
 *'  Grace's  opinion,  be  tempted  to  fay  indecent 
 "  things  of  them." 
 
 Now^  in  my  ideas,  this  has  fomething  the  air 
 of  a  threat,  in  cafe  the  adminiflration  fhould  not 
 behave  as  thefe  clergymen  cf  chara5ler  would  have 
 them. 
 
 However  his  Grace  would  have  it  believed,  that 
 mere  difregard^  even  for  fo  long  a  time  as  flxty 
 years,  had  not  produced  the  leaft  murmur,  that 
 could  be  called  a  menace »  But  where  are  the  mor- 
 tals whofe  patience,  after  fo  long  an  interval,  may 
 r)Ot  be  worn  out  ?  How  far  this  was  the  cafe,  with 
 theBifhop  o\  Oxford  at  leafl,  in  the  year  1750,  we 
 fhall  fee  prefently. 
 
 F  4  ••         In 
 
 is)  Page  25. 
 
[     8S    3 
 
 In  the  mean  time,  it  mufl  be  a  pleafant  confi- 
 deration  to  Mr  Walpole^  that  the  prejudices  of  the 
 Jacobites  and  the  Tories  againft  the  King  and  his 
 miniftry,  might  be  allayed  by  appointing  Bifhops 
 for  America^  as  his  Grace  fuggefts(^)  ;  adding, 
 that,  '<  till  thefe  people  are  reconciled,  our  domel- 
 *'  tic  affairs  will  never  be  on  a  firm  and  eafy  foot- 
 •'  ing."  Indeed  he  gives  Mr  Walpole  no  great 
 encouragement  to  hope  x^^zx.  fucb  inftances  of  kind- 
 nefsy  would  work  any  great  or  fpeedy  reformation 
 among  them,  "but,"  fays  his  Grace,  "  fome 
 "  good  efFeft  they  mufl:  produce  ;  and  perfeve- 
 ^'  ranee  in  a  due  regimen  will  at  length  compleat 
 **  the  cure  (f;." 
 
 Which  expedient  would  not  be  unhappily  hit 
 off,  but  for  one  objf  dtion  on  the  part  of  the  friends 
 of  his  Majefty  and  his  Government.  For  as  this 
 A^ner'ican  Epifcopacy  feems  to  have  been,  in  his 
 Grace's  ideas,  one  principal  ingredient  in  that  due 
 regimen  which  was  to  compleat  the  cure  of  Jaco- 
 bitifm  and  Toryifm,  a  perfeverance  in  the  admi- 
 niftration  of  it,  miight  fuggeft  the  neceflity  ofin-p 
 creafing  the  dofe  from  time  to  time,  till  it  fhould 
 be  totally  modelled,  not  only  to  the  tafte,  but  to 
 the  conftitution  of  the  patients,  /.  e.  till  it  came  to 
 be  a  perfeftly  Laud^can  Epifcopacy  ;  which  would 
 be  an  iiiftance  of  kindnefs  to  thefe  prejudiced  people, 
 to  which,  though  it  might  be  to  hisGrace's  palate, 
 
 th€ 
 (^j  Page  2;.  (/)  Page  26. 
 
[     89     ] 
 
 the  friends  to  theProteftant  fettlement,  would,  no 
 doubr,  have  confiderable  objedlions. 
 
 Thus  far  by  way  of  friendly  innuendo,  of  wh'at 
 miibt  happen  in  cafe  of  a  refufal.  In  what  fol- 
 lows, his  Grace  fpeaks  a  little  plainer. 
 
 "  On  the  other  hand,"  fays  his  Grace,  "  lap- 
 
 "  prehend,  the  rejedlion  of  this  propofal  will  do 
 
 *'  the  Government  by  far  more  hurt  amongft  the 
 
 *«  Churchmen,  than  it  can  poflibly  do  them  good 
 
 "  amongft  the  Diflenters.     When  the  Btjhop  are 
 
 *'  afked  about  it,  as  they  frequently  are  by  their 
 
 *'  Clergy  and   others,    what  muft  they  anfwer  ? 
 
 "  We  cannot  with  truth  exprefs  difapprobation  of 
 
 *'  it,  or  indifference  to  it.     If  we  did,  we  fhould 
 
 <<  be  thought  unworthy  of  our  ftations.     Muft 
 
 *'  we  then  be  forced  to  fay,  that  we  are  all  fatis- 
 
 **  fied  of  the  abfolute  fitnefs,  the  great  advantages, 
 
 «*  the  perfe(5l  fafety  of  the  thing,  and   have  re- 
 
 *'  peatedly   prefled  for  it  ^    but  cannot  prevail  ? 
 
 '*  Would  not  this  both  fadly  diminifh  our  ability 
 
 "  of  ferving  the  Government,  by  fhewing  how 
 
 *^'  little  credit  we  have  with  it  •,  and  make  very 
 
 *'  undefireable  imprefiions  on  many  minds,  con- 
 
 *'  cerning  the  King^  and  thofe  that  are  in  authority 
 
 *'  under  him  ;  as  incapable  of  being  won  by  the 
 
 "  arguments  or  intreaties  of  thofe,  who  have  fo 
 
 "  ftrong  a  zeal  for  them,  to  do  an  innocent  favour 
 
 *'  to  "the  Church  ?  Still,  if  we  cannot  fucceed  by 
 
 "  refpedful  applications,  I  know  it  is  our  duty  to 
 
 **  make  the  bcft  of  the  matter,  and  not  difturb 
 
 "  the 
 
[     90     ] 
 
 "  the  public  welfare,  becaufe,  in  this  particular, 
 *'  we  are  unable  to  promote  it.  I  would  fpeak  as 
 «'  gently  of  the  affair  as  ever  I  could ^  where  there 
 *'  was  danger  of  doing  harm  \  though  I  fpeak  [o  ear- 
 *'  nefily^  "where  1  would  fain  hope  to  do  good.  But 
 *«  no  mildnefs  or  prudence  will  wholly  or  nearly  pre- 
 *'  vent  the  abovementioned  conjequences  (k)J* 
 
 And  what  are  the  abovementioned  confequences  ? 
 Even  as  much  hurt  to  Government  as  can  arife,  on 
 the  one  hand,  from  a  diminution  of  the  credit  of 
 the  Bifhops,  and  confequently  of  their  abihty  of 
 ferving  the  Government ;  and  on  the  other,  from 
 the  refentment  of  the  Clergy,  on  the  difappoint- 
 ment  of  a  projedl  on  which  all  of  them,  of  any 
 tharaSler^  have  fet  their  hearts.  And  as  his  Grace 
 apprehends,  that  this  will  do  the  government  more 
 hurt  than  any  good  the  rejedion  of  it  will  do  them 
 among  the  Diflenters  can  make  amends  for,  we  mufl 
 conclude  that  it  would  be  at  the  peril  of  the  Govern* 
 ment  to  oblige  the  one  and  difoblige  the  other. 
 
 "  We  do  not  threaten,  fays  his  Grace,  when 
 "  we  are  difregarded."— ''  Why  no,  my  Lord," 
 might  Mr  Walpole  have  anfwered,  "  not  in  the 
 *'  terms  of  a  C^t'^«/-Gi^r^^;2  bully,  your  Lordfhip 
 *'  only  gives  us  civily  to  underftand,  what  a  neft 
 "  of  wafps  your  epifcopal  reprefentations  can  raife 
 *'  about  our  ears,  if  we  do  not  behave  like  good 
 «'  boys  •,  and  how  murh  lefs  formidable  the  threat- 
 ''  nings  of  the  DiiTenters  would  be,  than  \\it  gentle^ 
 
 "  mild^ 
 {k)  Page  26,  27. 
 
[    91    ] 
 
 «'  mildy  and  prudent  remonftrances  of  our  own 
 "  fpiritual  fathers,  with  a  numerous  clergy  ar 
 "  their  beck." 
 
 Did  the  DiiTenters,  when  foliciting  the  repeal  of 
 the  Ted  adl,  carry  their  menaces  farther  than  this  ? 
 So  his  Grace  thought  fit  to  ^tWMxlValpoIe^  remind- 
 ing him  at  the  fame  time,  that  their  threatnings, 
 on  that  occafion,  had  been  very  fafely  flighted  (/). 
 
 I  am  afraid,  Mr  Walple  would  be  inclined  to 
 queftion  the  truth  of  this  reprefentation  •,  and  pro- 
 bably, had  he  thought  his  Grace's  Letter  worth 
 his  notice,  would  have  told  him,  that  the  appli- 
 cation of  the  DifTenters  to  have  the  Teft  repealed, 
 fo  far  as  it  related  to  his  Majefty's  Proteftant  fub- 
 jefts,  was  not  flighted.  The  anfwers  given  them 
 were  refpe6tful,  and  they  dutifully  acquiefced  in 
 the  reafons  that  were  afligned,  why  their  requeft 
 could  not  be  complied  with.  This  is  meant  of 
 the  Body  of  the  Difl^enters,  which,  as  his  Grace 
 has  well  obferved,  is  not  to  be  denominated  from 
 afev}  hufy^  warm  men  among  them. 
 
 It  is  upon  record,  that  the  wife  and  good  King 
 William^  was  deflrous  to  oblige  the  Diflrnters  in 
 this  point,  without  any  particular  application  from 
 them.  It  is  equally  well  known,  that  the  two  ex- 
 cellent Princes,  George  I.  and  George  II.  were 
 no  lefs  difpofed  to  comply  with  the  feveral  appli- 
 cations made  on  that  behalf  by  theDifl^enters  ;  and 
 fuch  likewife  were  the  fentiments  of  Mr  Walple  and 
 
 his 
 
 (^)  Page  25. 
 
[      92      ] 
 
 his  noble  brother ;  and  fuch  will  ever  bf  the  icn- 
 liments  of  all  true  Patriots,  and  well  t^iiliers  to 
 the  Proteflant  religion,  and  the  Proteftant  govern- 
 ment of  this  country. 
 
 There  v/ere  indeed  threatnings  on  thofe  occafions, 
 which  were  not  flighted,  threatnings  from  the 
 high-church  party,  many  of  them,  in  fubftance, 
 though  not  exaftly  in  ftile,  the  fame  with  thefe 
 gentle  and  friendly  admonitions  of  the  Bifhop  of  Ox- 
 ford. Thefe  made  due  imprejjions  upon  the  flates- 
 men  of  thofe  days,  whofe  experience  had  taught 
 them,  that  it  was  fafer  to  flight  the  threatnings 
 of  any  fort  of  men,  rather  than  thofe  of  an  incenf- 
 ed  and  vindidlive  high-church  clergy.  Very  ^t^w^ 
 who  either  remember  the  tranfadions  of  thofe  times, 
 or  have  read  the  hiflory  of  them,  Vv-ill  think,  that 
 thefe  latter  threatnings  had  a  lefs  fl^.are  in  fupport- 
 jng  the  Tefl:,  than  either  the  expediency  of  the  law 
 era  mere  contempt  for  the  Diflenters. 
 
 I  have  now  gone  throup^h  his  Grace's  Letter  to 
 Mr  IFalpole^  on  the  fubjedl  of  American  B\(hops : 
 and  the  remaining  queflion  is  only  this.  Whether 
 his  Grace  was  capable  of  writing  a  Letter  fo  full 
 of  grofs  miftakes,  inconfiftcncies,  artful  mifrepre- 
 fentations,  and  unmanly  calumnies,  to  a  States- 
 man, who,  from  the  nature  of  his  fituation,  was 
 fo  capable  of  detecting  and  confuting  them.  The 
 alternative  is  obvious.  If  the  Letter  is  fpurious, 
 the  forgers  of  it  are  unpardonable,  not  only  on 
 account  of  a  bafe  impofltion  upon  the  pubhc,  but 
 
 for 
 
[    93     3 
 
 for  traducing  the  memory  of  a  great  man,  who 
 departed  fo  lately  full  of  days  and  honour,  and  in 
 the  odour  of  fandity.  If  the  Letter  is  genuine, 
 his  Encomiafts  muft  have  been  egregioufly  mif- 
 taken,  who  have  afcribed  to  him,  not  only  emi- 
 nent abilities  in  the  province  of  authorfhip,  but 
 an  uncommon  meafure  of  judgment,  candour, 
 moderation,  and  integrity  in  the  adminiftration  of 
 his  high  office;  virtues  and  endowments  which 
 the  writer  of  fuch  a  Letter  muft  have  poiTelTed  in 
 a  very  moderate  degree. 
 
 The  whole  cafe  is  now  before  the  public :  and 
 if  any  one  fhould  be  inclined  to  think  that  his 
 Grace  hath  been  treated  in  thefe  papers  with  more 
 freedom  than  is  confident  with  a  decent  regard  to 
 his  Grace's  ftation  and  charader;  let  it  be  con- 
 (idered,  that  if  this  Letter  is  a  forgery,  thefe  Re- 
 marks upon  it  are  a  full  juftification  of  his  Grace 
 from  the  imputations  which  are  necelTarily  fug- 
 gefted  by  the  contents  of  it.  If  it  is  genuine,  be 
 it  underftood,  that  Truth  and  Righteoufnefs  are 
 no  refpeders  of  perfons,  are  of  no  party,  nor  at 
 all  more  attached  to  the  Mitre  and  Lawn,  than  to 
 the  Sackcloth  and  Afhes  of  a  pretended  penitent. 
 And  be  it  farther  noticed,  that  he  who  contrives 
 to  fpread  bad  principles,  and  to  recommend  mif- 
 chievous  projeds  after  his  demife,  which  he  does 
 not  chule  to  publifh  and  avow  in  his  life-time, 
 is  no  longer  intitled  to  the  benefit  of  that  common 
 maxim.  Be  mcrttas  nil  mfi  honum. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
C    95    ] 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 A  H  A  T  it  may  not  be  faid  that  mere  preju- 
 dice hath  prevailed  fo  far  in  drawing  up  thefe 
 Remarks,  as  to  leave  no  room  for  juftice  ;  I  here 
 declare  my  entire  concurrence  with  his  Grace  in 
 one  maxim  adopted  by  him,  at  page  6.  however 
 unfortunate  I  may  think  him  in  his  application  of 
 it  to  the  promotion  of  Atnerican  Epifcopacy. 
 
 The  maxim  is  this.  Againft  things  evidently 
 right  and  ufefuU  ^o  dangers  ought  to  he  'pleaded^ 
 hut  fucb  as  are  very  probable  and  great,  Plis  Grace 
 faw  the  re^hude  and  ufefulnefs  of  fettling  Bifhops 
 in  our  American  Colonies  in  fo  (Irong  a  point  of 
 light,  and  the  dangers  which  would  attend  it,  at 
 fo  great  a  diftance,  and  in  fo  diminutive  a  fize, 
 that  he  ventured  this  aphorifm  with  all  fecurity, 
 nothing  doubting,  but  the  public  would  readily 
 take  his  word  for  one  member  of  his  premifTes,  as 
 a  .confummate  Divine,    and  for  the  other,  as  a 
 
 Prelate 
 
[     96     ] 
 
 Prelate  of  great  moderation  and  finceniyy  which 
 would  intitle  him  to  his  conclufion  of  courfe. 
 
 There  were  however  times  and  occafions, 
 when  and  where  this  maxim  made  very  little  im- 
 prelTion  upon  his  Grace,  and  when  and  where  the 
 application  of  it,  in  the  opinion  of  many  ferious 
 and  thinking  Chriftians,  was  full  as  appolite,  as 
 it  was  in  the  cafe  kA  American  Bifhops. 
 
 It  is  well  known,  that  feveral  very  important 
 objedlions  have  been  made  to  fome  particulars 
 in  our  eftablifhed  forms ;  that  alterations  and 
 amendments  in  thefe  have  been  fuggefted  by  learn- 
 ed and  confcientious  men,  both  among  the  clergy 
 and  the  laity  -,  and  that  they  who  have  folicited 
 fuch  amendments,  have  demonftrated,  to  the  fatis- 
 fadlion  of  all  capable  and  difinterefted  judges,  that 
 fuch  amendments  would  be  not  only  right  and  ufe- 
 ful^  but  void  of  all  danger^  except  from  the  oppo- 
 fition  of  thofe,  who  ought  to  be  the  firft  to  pro- 
 mote them. 
 
 How  flood  his  Grace  affe6led  to  thefe  alterations 
 and  amendments  ?  Even  juft  as  his  Grace,  in  this 
 Letter,  reprefents  the  Diflfenters  at  home,  and  the 
 Non-conforming  Colonics  abroad,  to  be  affedled 
 towards  his  project  of  epifcopizing^;;;mr^,  warm 
 and  bufy  and  zealous  to  difappoint  every  thing  tend- 
 ing to  encourage  them,  ^nd  threatning  the  public 
 with  dolorous  confequences,  if  any  of  the  feveral 
 reformations  propofed,  fhould  take  place. 
 
 For 
 
[     97    ] 
 
 For  this  purpofe  his  Grace's  agents  were  fetto 
 ^ork  in  every  quarter,  and  having  once  more  re- 
 vived the  ridiculous  clamour  of  the  dar.ger  of  the 
 Church,  they  were  not  afhamed  to  reprefent  the 
 remonftrants  on  the  behalf  of  a  reformation,  as  aim- 
 ing to  root  up  the  foundations  of  the  eftablifliment ; 
 as,  feeking^  under  the  pretence  of  amendment^  to 
 break  loofe  from  all  inflitutions  and  forms ;  as  pro- 
 pofing  to  fetjire  to  the  whole  edifice^  hecaufefome  mi^ 
 nute  parts  of  it  are  not  perfectly  adapted  to  the  reft ; 
 and  laftly,  as  concurring  with  thofe  fons  of  licenti- 
 oufnefs^  who  think  that  laws  are  fuperfluous  things ^ 
 and  that  civil  focieties  were  inflituted  to  be  torn  to 
 pieces  by  difcords(a), 
 
 Dr  Markha?n,  Dean  of  Chrijl's  Church,  of  whofe 
 oratory  this  is  a  fpecimen,  could  hardly  be  uncon- 
 fcious  that  he  had  here  employed  the  figure  Hyper- 
 bole  with  great  freedom.  But  he  would  take  it 
 for  granted  his  audience  would  underftand  him, 
 and  particularly  one  of  them,  who  had  already 
 apprifed  the  world  how  much  utility,  in  cafes  of 
 this  nature,  had  the  advantage  of  truth. 
 
 It  was  honeft  enough  in  him,  however,  to  tell 
 the  company  firft,  and  afterwards  fo  many  of  his 
 readers  as  underftand  Latin,  where  he  learned  his 
 knack.  For  he  immediately  fubjoins,  that,  ''  it 
 *'  was  hardly  poflible  for  him,  or  any  one  elfe  to 
 "  deal  in  fuch  matters,  without  calling  to  mind 
 
 G  •'  that 
 
 [a)  See  Dr  Markham's  Oratiuncula,  at  the  end  of  his 
 Condo  adCleruMt  before  the  Convocation,  Jun.  25.  1769. 
 
[    98     ] 
 
 ««  that  many  who  among  our  Prelates  had  obtained 
 *«  the  fovereignty^  and  by  whofe  death,  we  grieve 
 **  for  \.\\Q  dimlnijhed  dignity  of  our  Church."  A 
 pretty  compliment,  by  the  way,  to  the  furvivors; 
 to  which,  left  he  fhould  not  be  underftood,  he  adds 
 a  little  afterwards,  "  the  Church  would  have  a 
 ''  great  lofs  of  luch  a  man  in  her  moft  fiourifhing 
 *'  times,  but  much  more  in  her  prefent  penury  /" 
 
 What  efFedl  this  petulant  infuk  might  have  up- 
 on the  venerable  body  to  which  it  was  addrelTed, 
 1  fhall  notprefume  to  guefs ;  but  I  confefs,  when 
 I  recolkdl:,  even  without  looking  into  the  Court 
 calendar,  ten  or  a  dozen  nam.es  who  were  either 
 atlually  or  virtually  prefent  on  that  occafion,  and 
 who  are  far  from  being  overvalued  in  point  of 
 abilities,  by  being  put  in  com^parifon  with  the  late 
 Archbifhop  Seeker^  my  refentment  is  provoked, 
 and  I  am  unavoidably  urged  to  examine  upon  what 
 (^rounds  this  unjull  preference  is  given  to  the  Ora- 
 tor's Hero  and  grand  Exemplar. 
 
 *'  He  was,  faith  Dr  Markham^  a  ftrenuous 
 *'  [propugnalor]  both  of  our  faith  and  difcipiine." 
 Our  faith  and  difcipiine ;  that  is,  the  faith  and 
 difcipiine  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  idea 
 of  a  Gladiator,  is  not  quite  fo  fuitable  to  the  cha- 
 racter of  a  defender  of  thechriftian  faith  and  dif- 
 cipiine :  and  the  plain  meaning  of  this  encomium 
 is,  that  his  Grace  was  an  obifinate  maintainer  of 
 whatfoever  was  eJtahltJJoed,  right  or  wrong;  whe- 
 ther agreeable  to  the  Gofpel  of  Chriit,   or  not. 
 
 However, 
 
[    99    ] 
 
 However,  to  make  his  Grace  look  as  like  a  good 
 chriftian  and  a  good  prottftant  as  he  could,  he  hath 
 added ,  ubique  ta?nen  fine  acerbitate  dijfentiens ; 
 which  I  know  not  well  how  to  render,  as,  sijlrenuous 
 champion  dilTenting  from  his  adverfary  without  bit- 
 ternefs^  exhibits  a  difcordancy  in  one  and  the  fame 
 charader,  not  very  eafy  to  be  conceived  :  unlefs  we 
 may  be  allowed  to  fuppofe  that  his  Grace's  propug- 
 natorial  fpirit,  was  gloffed  over  with  an  infidious 
 mildnefs,  by  way  of  a  mafk,  till  he  could  take  his 
 adverfary  at  a  proper  advantage.  For  if  his  Grace's 
 mildnefs  and  moderation,  were  either  truly  natu- 
 ral, or  truly  chriftian  difpofitions,  it  is  impoflible 
 Dr  Markham  ihould  be  put  in  mind  of  Archbi- 
 fhop  Seeker^  in  the  midft  of  the  bittereft  railings, 
 mifreprefentations,  and  even  fcurrilities,  thrown 
 out  againft  thofe  who  attempted  only  to  reform  his 
 Grace's  beloved  eftabhlhment  of  faith  and  difci- 
 pline. 
 
 Having  done  with  his  Grace's  controverfial 
 charadter,  Dr  Markham  proceeds  to  give  an  ac- 
 count of  his  literary  abilities,  where,  having  allowed 
 that,  "  his  Grace's  ftile  was  not  the  moft  polifhed,'' 
 he  infifts,  that,  "  no  one  ever  outftripped  him, 
 *'  in  copioulhefs,  method,  and  gravity." 
 
 Did  the  Dodtor  never  hear  of  Thomas  Aqu.inas  ? 
 
 However,  thefe  are  excellencies  it  muft  be  owned  ; 
 
 but  excellencies  of  which  every  laborious  compiler 
 
 of  a  good  common-place  book  may  equally  boaft. 
 
 G   2  This 
 
t     ^oo     ] 
 
 This  mediocrity  in  his  Grace's  proficiency  as  a 
 writer,  is  the  more  furprizing,  in  that  we  are  told, 
 at  the  end  of  the  next  paragraph,  that,  '«  there 
 **  never  was  a  man  of  leifure  who  laboured  more 
 *«  in  literary  ftudies,  than  his  Grace  did  in  a  moll 
 "  bufy  ftation." 
 
 As  Dr  Markbam,  no  doubt,  expe6ls  to  be  be- 
 lieved, we  will  for  once,  take  his  word  for  this 
 remarkable  fadl,  and  only  inquire  how  his  Grace 
 acquitted  himfelf  in  his  department  oihufinefs. 
 
 And  here  his  Grace  is  held  forth  to  us,  as,  "  a 
 "  MagiftratCy  who  laid  it  down  for  a  principal 
 *'  rule  of  his  conduct,  to  be  wanting  to  no  part 
 "  of  his  duty,  and  this  in  the  midfl  of  a  multi- 
 *'  plicity  of  cares  with  which  he  was  daily  befet." 
 
 I  freely  acknowledge  that  I  cannot  form  an 
 idea  of  a  Magijlrale  in  the  Church  of  Chrift, 
 without  adding  to  it  the  idea  of  ufurpation.  In 
 the  Church  oi  Antichrift^  zMagiJlrate  is  a  neccflary 
 chara6ler.  His  reprefentative  mud,  from  the  na- 
 ture of  his  truil,  be  invefted  with  compulfivc 
 powers,  equipped  with  an  inquifition,  and  other 
 means  of  infiiding  pains  and  penalties  upon  thofc 
 who  diilent  from  his  particular  fyftem. 
 
 It  is  not  for  the  honour  of  Archbifhop  Seeker 
 to  fuppofe  that  he  affeded  Magiftracy  in  the  lead 
 degree  ;  much  lefs,  that,  in  the  exercife  of  fuch 
 office,  he  was  wanting  to  no  part  of  it  ;  as  that 
 muft  imply  a  defire  at  lead  to  execute  penal  Laws 
 
 againft 
 
[       101       ] 
 
 againft  Heretics  and  Schifmatics,  to  Incapacitate 
 Dififenters,  by  impofing  upon  them  Teds  and 
 Subfcriptions  to  points  of  his  own  devifing,  and 
 never  to  fuffer  one  of  them  to  efcape  his  vigilance 
 when  he  could  lay  hold  of  him. 
 
 There  is,  I  think,  but  one  reafon  why  the 
 Archbifhop  fhould  defire  to  be  invefted  v/ith  the 
 powers  of  Magifiracy,  He  had  but  poor  luck  in 
 the  province  of  Church -champion.  He  was  gene- 
 rally worded  whenever  he  met  his  adverfary  upon 
 the  plain  field  of  Controverfy,  whether  he  chofc 
 to  engage  on  Englifh  ground,  or  went  in  queft 
 of  adventures  to  a  foreign  land.  At  home,  his 
 Qwn  artillery  was  dextroufly  turned  upon  him  (b). 
 Abroad,  his  Ligurian  arts  and  fubterfuges  were 
 completely  defeated,  merely  by  the  dint  of  an 
 honeft  heart,  a  good  caufe,  and  a  fkilful  hand  (f). 
 It  is  true  in  thefe  conflids,  his  Grace  laid  afide 
 the  infignia  of  his  order,  but  fome  how  or  other, 
 the  adverfary  got  a  peep  at  his  countenance  through, 
 the  chinks  of  his  vifor,  and  after  that,  there  was 
 
 G  3  no 
 
 {b)  In  a  fpirited  and  ingenious  pamphlet,  intitled,  Remarks 
 upon  the  Firji  of  three  Letters  <7^«z^TheConfeffional,  p.  24 — 36. 
 N,  B.  The  Second  2indi  Third oi  thefe  Letters  are  not  the  Arch- 
 biftiop's,  but  the  work  of  an  every  way  inferior  hand. 
 
 (f)  S^e  Remarks  on  an  anonymous  TraSi,  intitled,  AnAnfwer 
 to  Dr  Mayhenvs  Obfervations  on  the  Charter  and  Condudl.of 
 the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gofpel  in  foreign  Partr. 
 By  Jonathan  Mayhenjo,  Pailor  of  the  IVeJi church  in  B*'Jl<^n. 
 London,  Reprinted  for  W.'Nicolly  1765. 
 
[       102       ] 
 
 no  avoiding  the  difgrace  of  being  vanquifhcd  by 
 caitiff  knights  of  low  degree. 
 
 It  is  no  wonder  that  repeated  mortifications  of 
 this  kind  ihould  raife  a  little  afpiration  in  the 
 breaft  of  an  impatient  Prelate,  to  an  office  in 
 which  he  mi?ht  take  his  amends  with  more  ad- 
 vantage.  How  far  he  adled,  on  this  confideration, 
 in  the  chara6ler  of  a  Church-magiftrate^  Dr  Mark- 
 ham  may  know  better  than  I  do.  But  whatever 
 his  Grace's  diligence  and  vigilance  were  in  this 
 department,  it  is  plain,  if  we  may  believe  Dr 
 Markham^  he  had  very  little  fuccefs  ;  for  the 
 Dr  tells  us,  not  without  fome  feeming  regret, 
 that,  "  there  never  was  a  time  when  men  lived  and 
 *«  thought  more  according  to  their  own  judg- 
 *'  ment.'*  Whereas,  if  things  had  proceeded  pro- 
 fperoufly  on  x.\-\tMagtftratical  plan  of  faith  and  dif- 
 cipline,  men  ought  to  have  lived  and  thought  ac- 
 cording to  the  judgment  of  Archbifhop  Seeker 
 and  Dr  Markham. 
 
 TheDoftor  concludes  his  panegyric  (which  he 
 modeftly  acknowledges  to  ht  Jhort  2X\A  jejune)  with 
 the  following  fiouriPn  of  his  art.  "  In  fome  men 
 *'  we  difcern  an  excellent  genius,  and  a  multipli- 
 *'  city  of  fcience,  in  others,  prudence,  authority, 
 *'  probity,  conftancy  ;  but  we  fhall  not  eafily  find 
 «'  one  in  whom  all  thefe  have  fo  abundantly  met 
 *'  together.*' 
 
 I  have  no  inclination  to  difTed  this  complication 
 of  excellencies  \    let  every  one  judge  of  it  as  he 
 
 fees 
 
[     103     ] 
 
 iees  caufe.  I  allow,  on  the  one  hand,  that  an  ex- 
 alted ftation  is  a  gvQ2i\.br:ghterier^  and  on  the  other, 
 that  an  Oxfo^ d  Orator  may  be  indulged  in  a  little 
 fidion;  but  his  Grace's  writings  zrefirinus  things, 
 and  are  a  jufl  criterion  for  any  one  who  is  difpofed 
 to  verify  this  accumulation  of  virtues  and  good 
 qualities,  without  looking  for  a  parallel  either  a- 
 mong  the  living  or  the  tlead. 
 
 It  is  as  impofTible  for  me  to  mention  an  Oxfcrd 
 Orator  without  thinking  of  Dr5//r/6';2  d),  as  it  was 
 for  Dr  Markham  to  fcourge  the  advocates  for  re- 
 formation, without  thinking  of  ArchbiOiop  Seeker, 
 
 Dr  Burton  takes  his  Grace  up  indeed  a  little  late 
 in  life,  not  fooner  than  his  28th  year  ;  whence  our 
 great  grandchildren,  reading  the  contents  of  this 
 panegyric  in  \ts>  fortieth  edition,  will  naturally  con- 
 clude, that  his  Grace  owed  his  immcnfe  proficiency 
 in  omni  fcihili  (Phyfick  excepted)  folely  to  the  doc- 
 trine and  difcipline  of  the  univerfuy  oiOxford  \  lit- 
 tle dreaming  that  he  received  the  flighteft  rudiments 
 among  the  " /m/^^/^,  pcrverfe^  malignant^  fediti- 
 *'  ous^  znd  intolerably  tyrannical Funtans{e].''  And 
 yet,  as  he  turned  out  in  the  end,  fo  cotnpleatly  fur- 
 nifloed  with  irnperatorial  arts  {f)^  it  is  not  at  all  un- 
 natural to  fuppofe  that  he  might  have  picked  up 
 
 G  4  and 
 
 [d)  JoHANNis  Burton  ad  amicum  Epiftola  ;  five  commen- 
 tariolus  Thom^e  Secker,  Archiep.  Cantuar.  Memoriv;;  Sacer. 
 OxoNii,  E  Typographeo  Clarendoniano.   1768. 
 
 [e)  Epifl.  p.  27,  28.  (/)  Page   h. 
 
[     1^4    ] 
 
 and  retained  fome  flight  maxims  of  Hierarchical 
 difcipline  among  thele  tyrannical  PlfTenters,  with 
 whom  his  early  connexions  are  not  yet  abfolutely 
 forgotten. 
 
 I  am  forry  my  time  will  not  allow  me  to  go 
 through  this  elaborate  Epiftle,  which  furnifhes  in 
 every  page  abundant  matter  for  very  edifying  re- 
 fieftions,  particularly  on  the  frailty  of  bigoted  and 
 injudicious  panegyrifts,  who,  void  of  every  idea 
 of  juftice,  moderation,  or  propriety,  where  their 
 idol  is  to  be  exhibited,  give  occafion  to  thofe  who 
 are  not  quite  fo  prone  to  credulity,  to  look  farther 
 into  a  charader  fo  bedaubed  with  fulfome  adula- 
 tion,   than  they   might  otherwife  be  difpofed  to 
 
 do. 
 
 Dr  Burton^  for  example,  holds  up  his  Grace  as 
 one  of  the  princes  of  Critics  in  Hebrew  literature, 
 and  for  this  he  fends  us  to  Mr  Merrick's  Annota- 
 tion on  the  Pfalms(^).  This  might  pafs  well 
 cnoucrh  with  thofe  who  took  Dr  Burton  for  a 
 competent  judge,  at  lead  for  two  or  three  months 
 after  the  publication  of  his  Epiftle.  But  Dr 
 Gregory  SharpCy  having,  after  that  interval,  fhewn 
 how  far  his  Grace  had  waded  out  of  his  depth  in 
 that  province,  the  encomium  now  ferves  for  no- 
 thing, but  to  give  fufpicions,  that  there  are  m.ore 
 of  them  in  the  pamphlet,  upon  equally  precarious 
 
 groupds. 
 
 [g]  Epift.  page  6. 
 
[     105    ] 
 
 grounds  {h).  Add  t6  this,  that  fome  fufplcions 
 having  been  raifed  by  the  freedom  of  his  Grace's 
 Ipeculations  on  revealed  religion  in  the  earlier  part 
 of  his  life,  nothing  could  be  more  injudicious 
 than  to  attempt  to  embellifh  his  Grace's  charader, 
 by  fending  the  reader  to  a  few  infipid  cavils 
 againft  fome  flriking  parts  of  a  very  learned  and 
 zhh  Defence  of  CHRISTIAN  ITT  (i). 
 
 Again,  it  was  objedted  to  his  Grace,  that  he 
 was  out  of  meafure  provoked  at  every  attempt  to 
 amend  or  reform  our  Ecclefiaftical  fyilem  in  thofe 
 particulars  where  it  is  moft  exceptionable  :  that 
 whenever  fuch  propofals  appeared,  he  was  out  of 
 all  patience,  fummoning  his  Myrmidons  from 
 every  quarter,  and  oftentimes  lending  his  own 
 hand  to  the  confutation  of  ihtk  Innovators  and 
 Schifmatics.  This,  numbers  of  his  Grace's  ad- 
 mirers v/ould  never  believe,  fuppofing  that  his 
 Grace,  who  had  profited  fo  much  by  his  own 
 free  examination^  could  not  be  fo  violently  embit- 
 tered himfelf,  or  afford  his  patronage  and  counte- 
 nance to  thofe  who  were,  againfl  men  who  had  an 
 equal  right  to  judge  for  themfelvcs.  But  Dr 
 Burton  foon  put  the  matter  out  of  doubt,  by  ac- 
 knowledging 
 
 {h)  Vid,  A  Letter  to  the  Right  Reverend  the  Lord  Bifhop 
 oi  Oxford,  from  the  Mailer  of  the  Temfhy  containing  fome 
 Striftures  made  by  his  Grace  the  late  Archbifhop  oi Canterbury, 
 in  the  Reverend  Mr  Merrick's  Annotations  on  the  Pfalms. 
 London,   1769. 
 
 (/)  See  the  Remarks  cited  above,  Note  {b)  p.  Z7* 
 
[     io6     ] 
 
 knowledging  in  one  place,  bis  Grace  for  the  au- 
 thor of  the  feeble  Anfwer  to  Dr  Mayhew  {k)^  and, 
 in  another,  by  divulging,  that  his  Grace  not  only 
 undertook  the  office  oi  propugnator  himfelf,  againft 
 xhtjlanders  oi  Schifmatics  and  Innovators^  but  ufed 
 tht  vicarious  afliftance  of  others  who  fought  under 
 hisftandard(/}. 
 
 It  is  true,  the  Dr  fays,  he  took  the  fame 
 courfe  with  the  calumnies  of  the  papifts.  It  might 
 be  fo ;  but  the  evidence  here  is  a  little  obfcure :  in 
 the  other  cafe  it  is  clear  and  decifive. 
 
 It  has  been  often  afTerted,  and  as  often  denied, 
 that  his  Grace  kept  a  record  of  clerical  delinquents, 
 commonly  called  a  black  book^  in  which  were  re- 
 giftred  the  names  and  offences  of  thofe  who  had  the 
 misfortune  to  fall  under  his  Grace's  difpleafure  ; 
 and  that  the  better  to  deted  defaulters,  his  Grace 
 had  his  fpies  and  emiffaries  properly  diftributed  to 
 give  the  neceffary  information  — Dr  Burton  feems 
 to  give  credit  to  the  affirmative,  by  affuring  us,  that 
 his  Grace,  "  animadverted  upon  every  thing  relat- 
 *'  ing  to  the  Clergy  ;  that  he  had  his  interniintiiy 
 *<  and  ufed  the  miniftry  of  others  in  his  difquifi- 
 *'  tions ;  fought  out  and  noted  every  thing ;  and 
 *'  finally,  digefted  bis  difcoveries  into  a  kind  of  Faftiy 
 «'  by  way  of  a  provincial  hiftory,  for  the  ufe  of  his 
 "  fucceflbrs  (;;?)."     It  would  be  flrange  if  there 
 
 fhould 
 
 [k)  Eplft.  page  28.  (/)  Ibid.  p.  zr. 
 
 {m)  Page  25. 
 
[     I07    ] 
 
 fhould  not  be  one  column  of  this  calendar  appro- 
 priated to  the  car  bone  nQtandi, 
 
 But  our  greatefl  obligations  to  Dr  Burton  arifc 
 from  his  candid   and   undifguifed  account  of  the 
 
 motives  of  his  Grace's  zeal  for  American  Epifco- 
 
 i. 
 
 pacy.  His  Grace,  it  feems,  underftood  by  his 
 books,  that  Epifcopal  government  was  of  apofto- 
 lical  original :  He  perceived  likewife  [how,  it  is 
 not  faid,  perhaps  by  injlin5f^  that  there  was  a  kin- 
 dred connexion  between  E pi fcopacy  and  Monarchy, 
 (»)  And  with  thefe  convidions  upon  his  mind, 
 •'  what  wonder,  faithDr  Burton^  that  our  Arch- 
 **  prelate  fhould  favour  the  pious  defires  of  thofe 
 **  Americans,  who  having  embraced  the  faith 
 "  and  difcipline  of  the  Church  oi England,  covet- 
 *'  ed  to  have  epifcopal  adminiftrations  more  with- 
 "  in  their  reach  ?"     This  was  kind  and  compaf- 
 
 fionate ! 
 
 But  the  misfortune  is,  that  the  pofthumous  pub- 
 lication of  his  Grace's  Letter  to  Mr  Walpole^  hath 
 made  it  queftionable,  whether  thefe  motives  did 
 not  work  confiderably  towards  their  efFcdt,  with- 
 out thefe  pious  defires,  and  long  before  his  Grace 
 was  polTefled  of  the  Archprelacy.  That  Dr  Bur- 
 ion  was  well  acquainted  with  his  Grace's  motives 
 for  promoting  Epifcopal  government  in  America^ 
 there  can  be  no  doubt,  after  his  commerce  of 
 friendfhip  with  his  Grace,  for  more  than  forty 
 years(<?).     But  fome  poffibiy  may  fufpedl,  that 
 
 the 
 
 (»)  Page  26.         (0)  Page  4. 
 
[     ,o8     ] 
 
 the  Dr  knew  little  more  of  their  operation  than 
 merely  the  oftenfibU  parts  of  it. 
 
 And  yet  from  his  affigning,  or  at  leafl  intimat- 
 ing a  third  motive  for  his  Grace's  zeal  in  this  Ame- 
 rican bufinefs,  I  am  apt  to  think  Dr  Burton  knew 
 more  of  this  matter  than  he  thought  fit  to  divulge. 
 
 It  feems  our  domeflic  DifTenters,  forming  their 
 judgment  upon  Dr  Seckerh  gentlenefs  and  lenity, 
 and  his  earneftnefs  to  fupport  the  right  of  tolera- 
 tion (not  without  fome  retrofpedl,  it  is  likely,  to 
 his  more  early  principles  and  connexions)  expeded 
 his  Grace  would  at  a  proper  time,  "  betray  to 
 *'  them  the  privileges  and  authority  of  the  Church 
 «  of  England {py 
 
 There  was  no  way  fo  efFedlual  to  convince  them 
 of  their  miftake,  as  to  difcover  his  ardent  zeal  to 
 epifcopize  their  brethren  \n  America,  What  other 
 methods  his  Grace  might  take  to  undeceive  them, 
 it  is  not  material  to  inquire.  According  to  Dr 
 Burton^  it  muft  have  been  this  circumflance  in  his 
 Grace's  condudt  which  chiefly  opened  their  eyes, 
 as  it  derived  upon  his  Grace  their  moft  furious 
 refentment. 
 
 This  being  the  cafe,  we  have  here  a  third  mo- 
 tive  for  his  Grace's  zeal  for  American  Epifcopacy, 
 diftinft  from  JpoftoUcal  and  Monarchical  relations, 
 inducing  a  fufpicion,  that  the  impious  averfwn  of 
 fome  to  American  Epifcopacy,  might  have  as  great 
 
 a  Ihare 
 (/>)  Page  27. 
 
[     109    ] 
 
 a  fhare  in  his  Grace's  attempts  to  eftablifh  it,  as 
 the  pious  defer e 5  of  others. 
 
 If  it  were  worth  the  while,  one  might  pick  out 
 abundant  matter  of  amufement,  from  a  compari- 
 fon  of  DrBurion's  Elogy  with  that  of  Dr Markham^s. 
 Both  of  them  feem  to  have  been  confcious,  that 
 the  tranfmitting  the  moft  unexceptionable  charac- 
 ters to  pofterity,  without  fome  alloy  of  human 
 infirmity,  hath  given  occafion  to  the  inquifitive 
 reader  oftentimes  to  queftion  the  good  faith  of  the 
 hiftorian,  or  the  fincerity  of  the  panegyrifl.  They 
 feem  however  not  to  be  agreed,  where  the  n^vi  in 
 Archbifliop  Seeker*^  portrait  fhould  be  inferted. 
 
 Dr  Markbafn  is  inclined  to  place  the  chief  im- 
 perfedlion  in  his  Grace's  (lil^.  But  this  Dr  Bur- 
 ton  cannot  be  fuppofed  to  allow  ;  having  fubmit- 
 ted  his  own  valuable  labours  to  his  Grace's  polifh- 
 ing  hand,  which,  according  to  the  Dr,  performed 
 this  office  with  the  utmoil  accuracy  {([), 
 
 Dr  Markham,  again,  thinks,  that,  "'the  chief 
 duty  of  Magiftracy^  is  to  apply,  "  with  diligence 
 "  to  the  ordering  thofe  bufineffes  which  occur  in 
 «  the  daily  courfe  of  things  i"  and  in  this  article, 
 the  Dr  affirms,  that  the  Archbiffiop,  '*  in  the 
 *'  multiplicity  of  cares  with  which  he  was  dil- 
 "  trailed,  negle6led  nothing." 
 
 But  Dr  Burton  is  of  another  opinion  ;  he  requires 
 in  aMagiftrate  an  imperious  objimacy  and  arro^^a?7ce, 
 in  which,  according  to  him,  his  Grace  was  ex- 
 tremely 
 
 {f )  )Epift.  page  30. 
 
[     "o     ] 
 
 tremely  defedive  ;  and  informs  us,  that,  had  his 
 Grace  exercifed  his  authority  to  the  full,  and  not 
 given^way  to  the  timesj  he  would  have  much  more 
 effedlually  provided  for  the  common  good.  "  For 
 "  had  this  Prince  of  Eccleftajlics  exerted  himfelf, 
 *«  he  might,  according  to  Dx  Burton^  (in  con- 
 "  jundlion  with  his  Majefty,  both  of  them  adling 
 <•'  as  the  avengers  and  fatellites  of  defpifed  and 
 «'  violated  Religion)  have  totally  defeated  that 
 *'  hundred- headed  beaft,  Impiety^  which  paraded 
 *^  with  impunity  among  almoft  all  ranks  of  men.'* 
 And  he  gives  us  no  obfcure  intimations,  that  had 
 he  been  in  his  Grace's  feat,  matters  would  have 
 gone  much  better ;  that  is  to  fay,  "  Authority 
 *'  would  have  been  reftored  to  the  Laws,  its  pro- 
 "  per  honour  to  piety,  reverence  to  the  Ecclefiaf- 
 **  tical  order,  nor^  perhaps^  would  the  Americans 
 *'  have  been  deprived  of  an  Hierarchy  (r).'*  Such 
 is  the  courage  and  fpirit  of  thole  who  breathe  the 
 atmofphere  of  whole fome  feverities  ! 
 
 This  lenity  it  is,  that  Dr  Burton  exhibits  as  the 
 late  Archbifhop's  grand  foible  ;  taking  care  how- 
 ever to  inform  us,  that,  "  it  was  not  fo  much  tTie 
 *'  efFed  of  the  fentiments  or  the  will  of  the  man, 
 '<  as.  of  a  certain  political  neceffUy  of  the  times  (j).*' 
 In  which,  I  am  apt  to  believe,  few  people  who 
 knew  his  Grace,  will  difagree  with  him. 
 
 Such  are  the  encomiums  of  the  Dodors,  Bur- 
 ton and  Markham^  who,  by  their  officious  inter- 
 
 pofition, 
 (r)  Epifl.  page  35,  36.  {s)  Page  36. 
 
[  "I  ] 
 
 pofition,  may  be  fairly  faid  to  have  left  their  Hero 
 in  a  much  worfe  condition  than  they  found  him, 
 and  (to  borrow  an  expreflion  from  the  celebrated 
 Junius)  "  to  have  injured  him  by  their  affiftance.'* 
 On  this  charge  of  lenity^  however,  I  am  of 
 opinion,  a  willing  advocate  might  find  fomething 
 to  fay  for  his  Grace.  There  certainly  were  times 
 and  occafions  when  he  was  by  no  means  defedlive 
 in  this  arrogance  of  Magiftracy  required  by  Dr 
 Burton.  And  I  will  only  add,  that  it  would  be 
 to  his  Grace's  honour,  if  it  could  be  proved,  that, 
 in  thofe  inftances,  he  was  lefs  influenced  by  his 
 own  temper  and  principles,  than  by  the  counfels 
 and  inftigation  of  fuch  men  as  thefe  adulatory 
 Orators. 
 
 FINIS- 
 
fc  mi  'jf^i 
 
 tfisiiki^^ 
 
Vi.-'i 
 
 Arltngtnn 
 S>trcrt 
 
 Siibrarg 
 
 ♦ 
 
 (gift  nf 
 
 23A 
 
 c^a.1