The Sun.
London, England, 1845-01-08 00:00:00

THE BISHOP OF EXETER AND DR. HAWKINS.

TO THE REV. THY PROVOST OP ORIEL COLLEGE.
.. . _.

My dear Sir—l have rarely been more surprised than
by perusing your letter of the 31st ult., which I have
this day received. It had not before occurred to me
that any one could construe my letter to Mr. March
Phillips as " containing strictures on the conduct of the
late Vice-Chancellor and his assessors, in the judgment
upon Dr. Pusey's sermon." For I not only used the
words cited by you, that " the authorities in Oxford had
exercised the power belonging to them, according to the
conscientious judgment of those who had to exercise it,"
but I also added, that " I did not presume to question
the justice or wisdom of that judgment."
My adverse observations were most explicitly limited
to the principles of the law which you had to administer;
and even of that law I said that it must not be judged of
without recollecting the " very special duties of caution
and jealousy" which belonged to " an university as such."
You say " possibly your Lordship did not mean to cast
any reflections on our conduct ;" I answer, that until I
read your letter I should have judged it impossible that
any person could see in what I had said the slightest
indication of such an intention.
You add, " But the public, I fear, will interpret your
words otherwise." I answer, that I have too much re-
spect for the understanding of the public to participate
in your fear. If, however, you still think otherwise, I
should not have the slightest objection to your publishing
your letter, together with this my answer ; nor should
I inquire whether you are, or are not, entitled, as you
assume, to any expression of my " more favourable con-
struction of your conduct," were it not for the other
matter in your letter.
For I protest against the injustice of your making an
unnecessary defence against an unreal charge ascribed to
me, to be the vehicle of those disclosures of the particu-
lars of the conduct of the late Vice-Chancellor and his
assessors towards Dr. Pusey which have hitherto (for
whatever reason) been withholden.
Of those particulars, I will only say, that while they
do not in the slightest degree reconcile me to the prin-
ciple of the law of the University, as a rule for myself in
administering the discipline of my diocese, I gladly re.
cognise in them that spirit of kindness, candour, and
equity, which, whether required by the academic law or
not, I should always expect to find actuating the late
Vice-Chancellor, and his assessors, in administering it.
You will do me the justice of recollecting that I
am not now for the first time distinguishing be-
tween that law and its administrators. In answer to
a letter from the committee (of which I believe
you were a member) for conducting the election of
the present Vice-Chancellor in October last, I expressed
my regret that an indispensable engagement (a
confirmation fixed on the day of the election) would pre-
vent me from making a journey to Oxford for the mere
purpose of recording by my vote my sense of the injus-
tice of the opposition to Dr. Symons, because he bad in
Dr. Pusey's case conscientiously performed a painful
duty which was forced upon him.
I am, dear Sir, yours very faithfully,
H. EXETER.
_ _ _

P.S. If you persist in the purpose of publishing your
letter to me, which, for the reason I have given, I think
highly improper, I request that this my answer be pub-
lished with it

If my memory does not deceive me (and I really have
not opportunity or leisure to ascertain the point), a me-
morial to the late Vice-Chancellor, subscribed by Mr.
Justice Coleridge and many others, in the last year, pro-
ceeded on those very grounds which you seem to imagine
were first put forward by me in my letter to Mr. March
Phillips.
Bishopstowe, Jan. 3, 1845.

TO THE LORD BISHOP OF EXETER, &C.
My dear Lord,—l lose no time in expressing my re•
gret that the expressions to which I referred in your
Lordship's letter to Mr. March Phillips should have been
misunderstood. Had your objections been supposed to
relate to the statute I should not have taken the liberty
of replying to them. It is very possible that the statute
might be altered with advantage.

Let me also apologise for having already printed my
letter of Dec. 31st, without previous communication with
your Lordship ; which, indeed, was not contemplated
when I began the letter, but was judged advisable by
those with whom I had acted as well as by myself, when
your observations had already occasioned, as we had
reason to believe, a revival of the old objections, directed,
not against the principle of the statute, but against its
administrators, against our " construction of the sta-
tute," and our proceedings under it. Your Lordship's
letter of the 3d instant shall now, according to your
desire, be published without delay, together with this
apology.
But allow me to return my thanks for your kind ex-
pressions respecting the late Vice-Chancellor and his
assessors ; and to mention, that, not having been a
member of the committee to which you refer (having
been absent, indeed, from Oxford whilst it was sitting),
although I had heard with much pleasure of your Lord-
ship's wish to record your vote in favour of the Chancel-
lor's nomination of Dr. Symons, I had not seen your letter
to the committee, and was not aware of the sentiments
which it expressed.
Let me repeat my regret that I should appear to have
needlessly occupied your Lordship's time and attention,
and my great satisfaction that there is no room for tres-
passing upon them again—no occasion, indeed, I would
willingly hope, for any future recurrence to the painful
subject of our correspondence.—l am, my dear Lord,
your Lordship's faithful and obedient servant,
Oriel College, Jan. 4. EDWARD HAWKINS.

THE BISHOP OF EXETER AND THE REDRUTH
MEMORIALISTS.
The Lord Bishop of Exeter has addressed the fol-
lowing reply to the memorial and resolutions agreed to
at Redrath
" Bishopstowe,
Dec. 28, 1844.
" have received your letter, containing a me-
morial and a oopy of resolutions of a meeting at Redruth,
of which you were chairman.
" The memorial is drawn up in terms which entitle it