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Description
Bexley supports Chase's Illinois seminary but expresses his doubts in its potential success. He mentions that the publication of Chase's letter to Lord Kenyon in the Record Newspaper secured him a private subscription before he arrived in England.
Date
11-5-1835
Keywords
Convention of Bishops, Record Newspaper, Lord Kenyon, Mr. Farquhar, Mr. Wiggins, Illinois, Mrs. Tyndale, Rector of Holton, Miss Sullivan, Mrs. Cottrell, Bishop of Sodor & Mann
Recommended Citation
Bexley, Lord, "Letter to Philander Chase" (1835). Philander Chase Letters. 1002.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/chase_letters/1002
Rights Statement
Transcript
K.Ch.351105d
Bath
5 Nov. 1835
My dear Sir
It gave me great & unexpected pleasure to my sister & me this morning to hear of your safe arrival in England, not however without some mixture of regret, that we were not at home to receive you. We shall remain here about a month longer; & then return to Foots Cray Place, where we shall hope to see you, if you continue in or near London till that time. We shall not settle in town till the meeting of Parliament. Your providential call to the Diocese of Illinois & its subsequent confirmation by the Convention of Bishops have been communicated to me & must give you the sincerest pleasure to all the friends of the Church of Engld. but especially to those who have known & sympathized with your misfortunes and sufferings. A small subscription for your private assistance was commenced before your coming to England was known, in consequence of the publication, in the Record newspaper, of your letter to Lord Kenyon by a lady to [?] as her [?] the first 10 verses of the 2 Cor.cb. It was chiefly furnished by Ladies & amounted when I last heard to about €120 & was in the hands of Mr. Farquhar of the banking house in St. James’s street. Either yourself or Mr. Wiggins had better see Mr. Farquhar on the subject. With respect to the more general subscription for the Diocese of Illinois I shall be happy, in conformity with Lord Kenyon’s example, to give my assistance, & if Mr. Wiggins will set down my name for €50, I will pay it to him when I return to town. I must however, in fully supporting the two latter objects mentioned in the printed paper, express some doubts of the expediency of the attempting at present to found a theological seminary in Illinois. Till the population & wealth of that state are considerably increased, I suspect that the very small allowances which the Professors could obtain would confine the choice to men inferior in attainments (however high in religious & moral worth) to those educated in better endowed institutions; & that the consequence would be a proportionate inferiority in the proficiency of the Clerical Students. I suspect therefore that, for some time, it will be more expedient for Illinois to receive its Clergy from the neighbouring states. I am indeed aware of the rapidity with which new establishments spring up in the U.S &, as I trust Divine Providence will long preserve you to preside over the Diocese, I hope you may see at least the preparatory steps taken for such an establishment. In the meantime ample scope will be afforded for your labors in the formation of new Congregations - providing them with places of worship & the instruction of Missionaries & directing their employment in the wilder parts of your charge.
I ought to have mentioned that the Ladies to whom you are principally indebted for the private subscription were Mrs. Tyndale wife of the Rector of Holton near Oxford whom I [believe] you know as Miss Sullivan who (with Ld. K’s permission) sent your letter to the Record, &, Mrs. [Cottrell] who sent the Text with her kind subscription.
Among the friends most delighted at your return among us will be the worthy Bishop of Sodor & Man, to whom I conclude you have written.
My sister (on account of wose health we are here) desires her kindest remembrance. Believe me
my dear Sir
faithfully yours
Bexley
The Bishop of Illinois