St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-05-23
NEWTON TO POTTER.
All Souls Rector Claims He Can
Establish His Loyalty.

NEW DIRK, May 2S.-ReV. X. Heber
Newton has sent the following letter to
Bishop Potter:
Right Reverend and Dear Sir-From our
daily papers, | learn that a number of my
fellow presbyters have united in assuring
you that grave and widespread rumors are
now abroad regarding alleged violations of
the doctrine and discipline of the Protestant
Episcopal church" upon my part, and i'll
petitioning you that 1.-THE inquiry provided
be instituted, with view to
ascertaining the truth concerning
the public Tumors," in question.
Permit me to express the hope that you will
seriously consider the expediency of such
action as is thus asked of you. In common
with many of your loyal presbyters. | recog-
nize the delicacy of the position in which
you are placed by those who seem unable to
distinguish between a statesmanlike ad-
ministration of a large and diversified dio-
cese, with its necessitated tolerance of the
conflicting schools of thought for which our
church makes room, and a personal sym
pathy with the views of any one of these
schools which chances to be the object of
suspicion at any given time. would relieve
you of any possible embarrassment in the
present instance. For myself, personally,
much as l have always deprecated q
resort to an ecclesiastical trial, in order
to determine the limits of thought III our
church, am free to confess that it would
now be arelief to me to have the opportunity
MISUNDERSTANDING and Misrepresentation
which, following me through so many years,
have eliminated i'll the unprecedented spec
tacle of the past few weeks-the responsible
lty for which is now deliberately assumed by
body OF American gentlemen and Christian
ministers i'll our household of faith. Having
defined my Interpretation of our great creeds
to my own people as clearly as | could three
years ago, and these utterances having
passed unchallenged at the time by my fel-
low presbyters, l had hoped that quieter
times were opening, wherein l should be free
for the constructive work to clear the way
for which, In my own ministry, and for this
alone, have ever cared to do any destruc-
tive work. Some of my fellow Presbyters
appear now to have accepted the leadership
of one so eminently marked out by his phil
osophical mind, his judicial temper ana his
Christian spirit for the task of defining the
limits of thought in a church to which he
does not belong. Wrestling my words of
three years past from their context and
reading into them that which they do not
contain, | am made so heinous q hereto that
any means are deemed justifiable to crowd
me out of the church which l have served
with my best energies for a quarter
of century. L feel sure that
before competent body-a BODY
OF men Intellectually capable of understand
ing their own creeds, with enough of the
judicial mind to render sentence upon the
evidence submitted can amply justify my
loyalty to the Nicene creed and thus vim
l am quite aware of the ungenerous taunt to
which lay myself open i'll preferring this
request-a taunt so familiar to me in days
gone by. The facts of the past will bear me
out i'll the assertion that while never dread
ing an ecclesiastical trial. Ihave never courted
one but on the contrary, have done all in
my power, consistent with self-respect. 10
avoid such scandal bearing much that has
been very trying in order to keep the peace.
If | thus acted eight years ago, when
an acquital was a foregone conclusion
nothing having even been imputed to me
contradictory to any affirmation of the two
great creeds which are our only authorities,
candid men should now hold me free from
the suspicion of seeking the pale halo of a
nineteenth century martyrdom. / am not
blind to the dangers OF such action as that
which join with the accusers in asking YOU
seriously to consider. AS it seems 10 me,
however, there may be even worse evils for
a constitutional church than a heresy trial
One of these more serious evils appears to
me to be the resort to extra legal means
IN order to work up the relig-
ious rancor under which a presbyter
is lmpeached, tried and condemned, with
out hearing before judge or
jury. When such lawlessneSs prevails
may it not be we'll to lead it on into the legal
action in which alone can the church be
saved from the TeprOach of an ecclesiastical
lynching. Otherwise, what is to be expected,
save that we shall suffer from thatmost cruel
of all despotisms-the tyranny of public
opinion: under which the clergy win be
terrorzed, honest thought be banned, sin
cere utterance be silenced, and an era of
mental cowardice and moral hypocrisy open
upon US in our church, which has hitherto
rejoiced in the liberty or law. Where will be
found the self-respecting young men to enter
a church, the sign of whose thinking is to be
yoke; the symbol of whose teach
ing ais to be a muzZle? As it seems
to me, our church must face the
fact that, while she holds the possibility of
becoming center for reunited protestant
ism i'll this country, she is IN danger of sink
ing into sect as narrow q are the men who.
apparently Misunderstanding the philosophy
OF their own formula of faith, would now
rule out from the church the very thought
from which sprang the Nicene creed. In re-
spectfully submitting this request to You.
| right reverend and dear sir, /, of course, rec
ognize that it is for you, on whom the church
lays the responsibility of discretionary pow
ers in such matters to determine whether,
all things being considered. it is best for the
diocese and the church at large that such
action should be taken, and l shall rest with
your decision. r. HEBEE NEWTON.
DR.. Brooks Confirmation.
New YORK, May 22.-Rev. DR.. Phil
lips Brooks, bishor-alect of Massachu-
setts, has triumphed in the standing
committee of the New York diocese.
By a vote of 6 to 2 this body decided
yesterday to consent to the consecration
of DR.. Brooks. The standing commit
tee of the Albany diocese has also voted
in favor of DR.. Brooks.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, May 22.-The
standing committee of the diocese of
Indiana has voted unanimously to con-
firm the election of DR.. Phillips Brooks
as bishop of Massachusetts.
ST. LOUIS. May 22.-As far as Mis-
souri, is concerned, the trouble over the
election of DR.. Phillips Brooks to be
bishop of Massachusetts is settled, the
standing committee of the diocese OF
Missouri having decided to approve OF
his election.
DETROIT. Mich, May 22.-The stand
ing committee of the diocese OF Mich
igan met this afternoon and unani-
mously confirmed the election of Rev.
Philips Brooks as bishop of Massa-
chusetts.