Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-04-30
THE BISHOP McCOsKRY CASE.
BtshOp OIaFkson Gu the Probable
Action OF the Bishops.

Olarhson' 1he Olshop, IN reply to
a question by the reporter, said:
1.-The papers have made a mis-
take in regard to the estimation in
which Bishop McCoskry was held
in the church. He was never con-
sidered as profound a thinker,
scholar, or theologian as Bishop
Coke or Huntington, but he was
most esteemed for his geniality and
open-heartedness. He was educated
at West Point, and had dignfed
and commanding air. He was the
finest looking man en- the board of
bishops, and they all loved him like
a brother on account of his genial
ity, generosity and kindness" "
81 see that there are reports in
some of the papers that he has
been accused of this kind of thing
before"
al never heard of any such
thing. lie was universally esteem
ed and loved. lie is known in
every town in Michigan. If there
had ever been any such talk GER
tainly would have heard it."
He is a very old mann"
eyes; seventy-lour years old"
"When l saw him three years
ago he seemed to be rather feeble. I"
"Well, he israther we'll preserved
for a man of such great age. OF
course the weight of SO many years
tells upon him. 1t seems impossi-
bic that such a man should fall;
but | will not say impossible, for
you know that even one of the
apostles fell. 1t may be possible,
but it ought to be proved before
credence should be given to it. l
have seen nothing in the reports
that satisfies me that he has been
guilty of crime. He was always
helping everybody in every grade
of society, high and low, who ap-
pealed to him. He always went
about doing good. This has been
his reputation for years"
"When did he resign his Office of
bishop"
about four weeks since. Ii
was on the 18th of March,"
"Have you heard OF this before?''
! had heard slight iutimatious
that there was some trouble, and
met the Rev. Mr.. Harris, who is on
this committee. / Iasked him if his
brother had written him anything,
and he said, Not a word Now,
DR.. Harris is one of the committee
in whose hands these letters were
placed, and he had kept it so close
that he had not even informed his
brother concerning it. So you can
see that it was impossible for the
reporter to have had access to
them"
Bishop McCoskry'S resignation
has not been accepted, has it?"
"No, sir. The Bishops meet on
the 18th of June to consider the
matter"
"This whole matter will have to
come up then, will it not?"
eyes; the law is very clear oa
that point. 1t SAYS that the bishops
can not only take into considera-
ton the reason assigned for the
resignation, but may inquire into
any other, and this matter will have
to come before them"
What is the procedure in such
caseef"
SIN the first place there is what
you might call a grand Jury, who
hear tue evidence in the case, and
if they find that there is sufficient
evidence they bring in a verdict.
Then there is Il jury of eleven bish-
ops chosen who hear the evidence.
Both the church and the accused
have a right to appear with counsel
and an opportunity is given to bring
ont all the evidence,
SHOW many bishops are theree"
"There are sixty; but three of
them are missionary bishops, One
is in China, cue ia Japan, aud one
in Africa so only fifty-seven will
take part in the proceedings"
"What effect will this have on the
church,"
"0f course, it is a very sad
thing, 1t will give men of the
world an opportunity to scoG and
sneer at Christianity. l have felt
very badly since | heard it. The
last two days have been the saddest
days the church has ever seen in
America, but / do not think it a
permanent injury. If Bishop Nc
CoSkry is guilty, it can be proved
without a doubt, and he will not
be permitted to resign. He will be
depoSed from the ministry. And
when the world sees that even the
reputation, standing and influence
of such a man will not save him,
and the church will not condone
such crimes, it must command its
respect. If the bishop is guilty
nothing can save him"