The Hawaiian gazette., 1902-03-14
AN OPEN LETTER.

From the Bishop Of Honolulu TO the
Chairman Of the House of Bishops
of the Protestant Episcopal Church
in the United states
The following appeared In the Pa
cinc Commercial Advertiser of Homo
lulu. on January "a, 1902:
Bishop Potter advises going to the
court.
Suggests an injunction to keep Bish-
op Willis from ending Second Congre-
cation.
II would by all means get out an
injunction To restrain Bishop Willis
from attempting in any way to inter
fere with your congregation.
Il am writing him by this mail in
very plain terms s'-ENtract from "A let
ter Of Bishop IL. c. Potter to Rev Al
exander Macintosh
NY Dear Bishop Of Kentucky-The
pleasant recollection I entertain Of the
courtesy with which you received me
into the House of bishops on Monday,
October 9Th, the fifth day of the ses-
sion Of the general convention, held at
san Francisco, gives me assurance that
what | have now TO lay before you
will be carefully weighed and cousid-
cred.
In the communication ] laid befor.
Nbul llbNNt Alll bAEll Ailt iRlllAll llf'f tl
the bishops in council, | undertook,
through the action of the Diocesan
Synod Of the Anglican Church i'm Ha-
wall to bring the church Of the church
Of England in the Hawaiian Islands
into union with the Protestant Episco-
pal Church in the United States. The
task was one for which no precedent
existed in the history of the anglican
communion. | need hardly mention
that II has involved weeks al anNiRIIE
care and continuous labor At the
outset we found ourselves confronted
with obstacles which appeared insur-
mountable. But in the issue. as the
record | have already sent you shows,
without sacrifice to a single principle,
and without dev'ating from the funda-
mental provisions of the Anglican
Church in Hawaii, that church is now
the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
Hawaiian Islands, holding all its valua-
BILE property subject to the constitution
and canons of the Protestant Episcopal
Church In the United States. Reluctant
as many of our people were to part
with the prayer book of the Church Of
England, the situation was cheerfully
accepted, and by a unanimous standing
vote the synod acceded to the rule OF
worship of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, and promised allegiance ia iiH
constitution and canons. All this has
been done, and the prospect was
reached that ON the day on which my
jurisdiction ceases | should hand over
to the presiding bishop Of the church
in the United States "A diocese at unity
In itself.
Should this hope fail Of realization,
the cause of the failure will be the
unholy, uncanonical interference Of the
bishop OF New York, whose letter to "A
clergyman in this diocese has been
published, urging him to take legal
proceedings against the bishop for no
other purpose than to prevent the al
legiance We have promised to your
branch of the church going into effect,
and to carry into the new regime con-
ditions entirely foreign to all rules and
regulations of the Protestant Episcopal
Church. If any think that Bishop Pot
ter understands conditions here, ii is
sufficient to state that he was ashore
here less than ten hours. His uncanon-
ical action IL based not on personal
knowledge. but on ex parte correspond
ence. This act of the bishop of New
York, by which he has stirred up the
elements of strife and disaffectlon and
aims at putting the liberties of the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the
Hawaiian Islands under the heel of a
faction which for forty years has hin
dered the growth and DEVELOPMENT OF
in these Islands is but the exposure
of the hand which for months past
has been directing a conspiracy against
The liberties OF this church and dio-
cese
Not to so back further than last su-
tumn. lest | weary you, you will doubt
less remember that | was introduced to
your house at its morning sitting by
Bishop Potter on Monday, October T.
the fifth dHV a the session Nbar ,a-
cess was taken you announced that ON
reassembling the bishops would go inru
council on the Hawaiian question, and
you asked me to attend. Since my ar
rival in San Francisco on the evening
OF the 9th, not one of the bishops had
called on me, nor had / received the
faintest intimation that any action had
been already taken on that matter. |
had undertaken the journey TO san
Francisco by invitation, supposing that
there would be mutual consultation as
to the future CT the Diocese OF Homo
lulu, which founded originally in the
kingdom Of an Independent sovereign
had come In consequence of the Span
iSh- American war within the territory
of the United Ststes. The Diocesan
Synod of the church in Hawaii had al
ready expressed its readiness to take
the necessary steps for the union Of
the diocese with the American branch
OF the Anglican communion. Not only
was the resignation of the bishop not
essential TO accomplish this result, but,
having made the question a special
study l say without fear of contra
dlctlon' that without the bishop the
result could not have been constitu-
uonaily attained. 1t could only be
ieached Dy the voluntary act of the
anglican church in Hawaii through its
diocesan synod. And an act of the
syhod required the concurrent consent
OF the bishop. clergy and laity.
NeVertheless, although 1t was known
that ! should be in the city in time
olution had already been broupht into