The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-08-01

QueSung me to make an arrangement
for them in England. 10 which Church
he had already. | believe applied \
number of letters on the subject
passed. mine being submitted 10 the
King. and the answers dictated by him
TO Mr.. Wyllie. Hopeless of obtaining
any clergy from our own country TO
establish the Church in Hawaii. l
agreed TO further that object in Eng
land. Accordingly. when in London.
IN July. 1860, l brought the matter be
/ fore the Bishops of Oxford and London.
both of whom entered heartily into il.
l particularly remember one evening
at F'Ulham Palace. when / showed Mr.
/ Wyilie's letters TO the Bishop of Lon
don, and we went fully into the mat
ter. 1t was agreed that it should be a
joint Mission: that two or three clergy
should be sent out by the Church of
England, and the same number by the
American Church when practicable.
The animus of tn whole affair was
shown in a single remark made TO me
on this occasion by the Bishop OF Lon
don. L am happy said he, that the
application for this Mission comes
from an American Bishop. so that it
cannot be said that the Church of Eng
land is Obtruding itself on the Islands,
"A public meeting, to be presided over
by the Bishop of Oxford, was then
called, and | was requested TO be pres
ent TO make necessary explanations
AS l had an engagement in the cOun-
try which prevented my being there.
wrote long letter to the Bishop of
Oxford, giving all the statements
which / had verbally made to him and
the Bishop of London. When | next
met him, he told me that my letter
was read at the meeting, and then
placed on file, TO show at any future
time their reasons for this action
Il would mention also that the Bish-
OPP of New York, who was then in
England, being consulted, gave his cor
dial appreciation TO the measure
1t was the following year. 1861 that
the Bishop of Oxford, in a discussion
which took place in the Upper House
of COnvOcation, on the subject of Mis-
siOnary BiShOprickS said:
The present mail has brought me a
letter from the Bishop of California
who points out the importance of MAX
ing the islands a missionary centre.
Further, the American Church is very
anxious to unite with the Church of
England on this work. And Bishop
Potter states that they will undertake
to support one or possibly two mis-
SiOnary clergy, to work with the
Bishop whom the Church of England
may send out. All this is matter of
the deepest interest and the greatest
Importance; and | think it most i'm
portant that we should at once con-
slider the question: The result was
that many of those who sympathiZed
with the object, came together and
formed a committee, consisting OF
~, L, md
tlemen; several of them, members of
the Committees of the two venerable
Societies for the Propag CATION of the
Gospel ir Foreign Parts, and for the
Promotion of Christian knowledge.
Within one month after the Bishop
of OXfOrd's speech in COnvOcatiOn, the
following statement was published and
circulated:
Polynesian Church-The Committee
for promoting the establishment of al
Church in Honolulu, in communion
with the Churches of England and
America, having taken into consldera-
ton the King of Hawaii's desire to re-
ceive a Mission from the Church OF
England headed by a Bishop, are OIL
opinion that measures should be taken
for fulfilling the desire thus put, wei
trust by God into the heart of His Ma
iestv 80 i - That as it appears
bv letters from the Bishops Of Califor-
MIA and New York, that there is a
readiness on behalf of the American
Church to unite in this effort, the Com
mittee hail with gratitude to God such
an opening for common missionary
action between the two great branches
of the Reformed Catholic Church.
That the Bishops of California and
tOI ~
the Church in America most earnest
invitations from this Committee TO
unite in the WORK.
The two venerable societies, the So
ciety for the opagation of the Gospel,
and the Society FOR Promoting Christ
ian knowledge. Immediately signified
their approval of the movement by
liberal grants in it's aid. And on the
18th of December, Bishop Staley was
cOnsecrated for the new See of Homo
lulu. which place he reached in the
autumn of 1867. The responsibilities
assumed by each Church we do not
know. but that the Mission was a
Joint Mission is shown by the fact OF
the American Church sending out two
clergymen as soon as practicable, as
agreed between the Bishops OF Call
f0rnia and London, endorsed by the
Bishop of New York. Although, oW-
inc no doubt to the Civil war, this was
not practicable until 1866. The Rev.
G. b. Whipple was one Of those sent
out. !
We do not think the arguments oil
the Bishop Of Honolulu, either IN
favor of the obligations attached to the
American Church, or the perpetuating
of the See of Honolulu are reasonable
or tenable. We think that perhaps,
the Church in Hawaii, although weak,
knows best what is for her own good,
and. without commenting upon her
past. since she seeks, and we may say
almost unanimously seeks, to be re-
leased from the Episcopal jurisdiction
of the Church Of England and trans
ferred to that of the United States,
that she should be permitted to do So