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The Philander Chase letters were written in the 18th and 19th century and therefore may contain language that we understand today as harmful or offensive. You may encounter paternalist descriptions of Native Americans, racial slurs, or sexism. For more information, see our policy page.
Description
Rev. Dallin thanks Chase for writing to him and provides an update on the state of the Church of England. He believes that as long as clergy members perform their duties faithfully, the Church will continue to be strong. Dallin also thanks Chase for sending Churchman's letter, which he claims completely vindicates Chase's cause.
Date
7-9-1824
Keywords
Churchman's, voyage to America, Church of England, Mr. Gray, Archdeacon Wrangham, Rev. Scott, Dr. Bell
Recommended Citation
Dallin, James Rev., "Letter to Philander Chase" (1824). Philander Chase Letters. 324.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/chase_letters/324
Rights Statement
Transcript
Right Reverend &
Very Dear Sir,
I thank you sincerely for your kind communication of the 29th: [?], informing me of your journeys [sic] till your departure from this country. It will be with great pleasure, that I comply with your request in relation to your departure, & will make known your wishes to the Clergy of this place, who have interested themselves in the success of the undertaking for which you visited this country. Many, I trust, not only here, but in other parts, will intercede with the Father of mercies for his blessing on yourself, & the great cause you are promoting in the country committed in the course of Providence to your pastoral cause. And in return I would beg leave to request of yourself & the Clergy of your diocese, that the prosperity of the church to which I belong, from which your church derived, & for which you entertain, I am persuaded, a sincere regard & attachment, may be made the subject of your interceptions as a show of grace. Troublesome times, if I have any insight into futurity, are coming upon us. Our various sects, which are powerful & increasingly so, will, before is belong, unite to make some material alteration in the establishments, civil & religious, of this country. If the clergy of the Church of England discharge faithfully their duty as ambassadors for Christ, preaching his Holy & eternal truth & honouring by their lives, the machinations of our adversaries will fail; but if the Clergy are negligent in [exacting] their commission, disastrous events may be looked for. How anxious should all the friends of the Church of England be, that her ministers may honour their profession by a conduct worthy of it. I value indeed highly and interest in your prayers for myself; but think not myself worthy of such distinction, nor the little I have done to promote your undertaking, a token indeed, it was intended, of my regard & esteem for you, but given chiefly as a thankful offering to my God & Saviour for the many mercies bestowed upon me. Pray therefore, my Dear Sir, both yourself & your Clergy, for us all, that the divine grace may rest upon us & our ministrations, & so our Church may become, as He has hitherto been, a blessing to men, & continue a praise in the earth.
I thank you for Churchman’s letter: it is a complete vindication of yourself and your undertaking from the malicious & false charges of the British [?] of [?]. As soon as I had read it, I put it into the hands of Archdeacon Wrangham, an emerging Chaplain to the Archbishop of York, who has written to me in reply, that the letter triumphantly vindicates your cause. He has requested a copy of it, which I am endeavouring to provide for him. The Rev. G. Scott of Hall has been with us a few days, & has read the letter. I made him acquainted with your request for the prayers of your friends, when you leave this country. I am strictly charged by several of them to request of you, that upon your arrival in America you will let us have as early information of it, as may be in your power. I have sent to Liverpool Dr. Bell’s three pamphlets on education, which I could not get in time to be packed up with the other books, which were sent from York for you.
But my letter must come to a close, & perhaps a correspondence, which, together with my interviews with you, has been the occasion of more satisfaction, intended more to cheer my mind, on various accounts long sorrowful & dejected, than any occurrence which has happened to me. I would close this correspondence therefore, if this should prove the close of it, with a reflection, which it has several times suggested to my mind. If the interchange of Christian sentiments with you, calling out the friendly feelings of the mind to [?] good men in a distant land, hitherto strangers, & unknown to us here, has been so grateful, what must be the effect, in a future state, of intercourse with the children out of every nation under heaven; & that too not of this generation only but of all the generations of men, of Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles, of the Holy Church throughout all the world. The anticipation overwhelms the thoughts; for to it must be added, what the effect of converse not with glorified spirits only but with angels also, & of seeing God as he is! What motives, what hopes are before us to animate us, amidst all the trials of this vain world, to the steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, in as much as we know that our labour shall not be in vain.
With sincere respect & esteem, I remain,
Very Dear Sir,
Yours ever faithfully,
James Dallin
Since I wrote the inclosed I have obtained several copies of Churchman’s letter, & also of the last [perfected] list of subscriptions.
Excuse my referring again to the articles & canons of your Church, which you will send either to some friend in London, or to Mr. Gray, or myself as may be convenient to you. The multitude of cares, which will press on your thoughts upon your return home, may easily put so small a concern out of your thoughts.
Adieu,
J.D.