President, the Right Rev. Benjamin Moore, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese.
Board of Managers, the Clergy of the City of New York, who were at this date,
The Rt. Rev. Samuel Provoost, D. D.
The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Moore, D. D.
The Rev. Edmund D. Barry, Principal of the Episcopal Academy.
John V. Bartow, Deacon of St. Michael's Church, Bloomingdale.
Nathaniel Bowen, Rector, Grace Church.
John Henry Hobart, Assistant Minister, Trinity Church.
Abraham Beach, D. D., Assistant Minister, Trinity Church.
Thomas Yardley Howe, Assistant Minister, Trinity Church.
Cave Jones, Assistant Minister, Trinity Church.
Thomas Lyell, Rector of Christ Church.
Richard Channing Moore, D. D., Rector of St. Stephen's Church.
William Smith, D. D.

LAITY:
Gen. Matthew Clarkson.
Henry Rogers.
Thomas Harvey.
George Dominick.
Jacob LeRoy.
William Bayard.
John Onderdonk.
David B. Ogden.
John Slidell.
Gulian Ludlow.

________

BOARD OF DIRECTORS A. D. 1909.

President, ex-officio, the Rt. Rev. D. H. Greer, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese.
The Rev. William H. Vibbert, D. D., First Vice-President.
Thomas H. Sill, Second Vice-President.
Arthur H. Judge, Third Vice-President.

LAITY:
A. L. Clarkson, First Lay Vice-President.
Henry J. Cammann, Second Lay Vice-President.
J. H. Van Amringe, LL. D., Third Lay Vice-President.

BOARD OF MANAGERS.

Clerical.
The Rev. Henry M. Barbour.
Herbert M. Denslow, D. D.
Henry Lubeck, D. C. L.
William T. Manning, D. D.
John T. Patey.
George A. Strong.

Lay.
F. S. Bangs.
Appleton L. Clark.
C. A. Clark.
William E. Curtis.
Henry L. Hobart.
Frank T. Warburton.

Edwin S. Gorham, Secretary, 251 Fourth Avenue.
John McLean Nash, Treasurer, 63 Wall Street.
Richard M. Pott, Agent, 112 East 23d Street.

A HUNDRED YEARS! A century is either long or short, even as we say that a day has been long or short with us. Civilized man does not reckon the lapse of time by years, but by events. The toad may live imbedded for centuries in the rock, but man lives more within an hour than the toad, in his inertia, has lived in a thousand years. So, centuries are short or long in proportion as they have been centuries of achievement. What of this century which to-night slips away into the realm of the past? Has it been one of inertia or development, one of sterility or achievement? Do you want a gauge wherewith to test it? Compare the "Clermont" lying at its moorings, within a stone's throw of where we stand, at the foot of Rector Street, one hundred years ago to-night, and the "Mauretania" which glided out of her dock at 10 o'clock this morning. There you have the measure of this Century's achievement. I wish I had the time to sketch even in its briefest outline the development of Art, Science, Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Surgery, Medicine, or even the development of the presentation of the Truths of Religion or of the development of the worship of the Church during these hundred years.

I must, however, say a word or two as to what this City was in which our forefathers wrought and in which they were "tried." Broadway was not then as now a canyon of steel-ribbed structures. It was an avenue on which many of the old-fashioned, roomy, colonial houses still stood. It was pre-eminently a City of Churches. Within the shadow of the steeple of Trinity nestled Grace Church on the southwest corner of Rector Street and Broadway, and which had but recently been endowed by the Mother of Churches. Behind it was the Episcopal Charity School known now as Trinity School. In Wall Street, between Nassau and Broadway stood the old First Presbyterian Church, and a little lower down was the Old Dutch Church on Garden Street, now Exchange Place. The Jewish Synagogue was quite close to the Custom House, on Mill Street, [3/4] now South William Street. The Scottish Presbyterian was on Cedar between Broadway and Nassau, and below it on Pine Street, between Nassau and William Streets stood the Dutch Church, which was afterwards sold to the Government in 1845 and was so well known to old New Yorkers as the Post Office. To the West, on the opposite side of Liberty Street between Nassau and Broadway was the Friends' Meeting House. The old Methodist Church, known everywhere as the old John Street Church, was on the south side of John Street between Nassau and William, and the present Church stands on almost the same site. The New Dutch Church was on Nassau between Cedar and Liberty Streets. The Moravian was on Fair Street, now Fulton, near the corner of William Street. The North Church was on the West Side of William, between Fair and Ann Streets. St. Paul's was as at present; Christ Church was on Ann Street, on the North Side between Nassau and William Streets, while the Baptist Church was on Gold Street, between John Street and what was then Fair Street, now Fulton. The Roman Catholics worshipped in St. Peter's Church, which was on the site of the present church on the corner of Barclay and Church Streets. The new Presbyterian Church was on the triangle bounded by Chatham Row, Beekman and Nassau Streets, and always known as the Brick Church. The Reformed Scotch Church was on the North side of Chambers Street between Broadway and Nassau, while the new Scotch Church was a little higher up, on the corner of what was then Magazine Street, now Pearl, and Elm Street. The African Church stood on the West side of Church Street, between Anthony and Leonard Streets. The Universalist was on what is now Pearl, then Magazine Street, almost opposite what was then Augustus Street and is now Centre Street. The English Lutheran Zion Church was on the South West corner of Mott Street. In 1810 the congregation conformed to our Church and Zion became a parish. In 1853 the building was sold to the Roman Catholics who worshipped in it. The third Presbyterian Church was on the corner of Henry and Rutgers Streets. St. John's Chapel had been consecrated in 1807 and still stands on its present site. Of all these Churches and others that stood one hundred years ago on the South side of Canal [4/5] only six are represented to-night. Trinity and its two Chapels, St. Paul's and St. John's; the old John Street Methodist Church, St. Peter's Church and St. Patrick's. The Fulton Street Prayer Meetings are now the only representative of the Churches belonging to the Reformed Dutch downtown one hundred years ago.

Columbia College was built upon land bounded eastwardly by Church Street, South by Barclay, North by Murray and West by the Hudson. The New York Society Library had its building in Nassau Street, opposite the middle Dutch Church, between Cedar and Liberty Streets. The year 1807 had seen the organization of the New York Hospital, the New York Orphan Asylum and the beginnings of the free public school system. The Manumission Society, of which General Clarkson had been president, supported a Free School of about 100 Coloured Children. It was situated on Cliff Street between Beekman and Ferry Streets, in the rear of St. George's Church-yard.

Societies bearing the name of St. Tammany had existed both in Philadelphia and New York prior to 1789, but in that year the present organization known as Tammany Hall, was founded by William Mooney, an upholsterer living at 23 Nassau Street. In those days an "upholsterer" meant more than it does to-day. The upholsterer was evidently one who not only upholstered furniture in those delicate chintzes which our grandparents so loved, but one who sold furniture and what goes to the furnishing of a home. It is a singular thing but at that period the cartmen, who wore their picturesque dress of long white aprons reaching to their shoe tops and silk hats, and the upholsterers, were men of great wealth and position in the community. They were especially prominent and influential in politics. According to the declaration of principles of Tammany written in 1790, we read, "This national institution holds up as its object the smile of charity, the chain of friendship and the flame of liberty; and in general, whatever may tend to perpetuate the use of freedom or the political advantage of this country." Its officers were to consist of native-born Americans. The St. Tammany Societies at the beginning included men of all parties. Its meetings were held in Fraunces Tavern, still standing, on the same site, but it celebrated the 12th of May in tents erected about [5/6] two miles up on the Hudson, where large numbers partook of refreshments, served precisely at three o'clock, after which there was singing and smoking and expressions of goodwill and brotherly love. At the same time it is worthy of note that Tammany was in 1809 undergoing one of its periodical housecleanings; for we are told that for the three years preceding 1809 a series of disclosures regarding Tammany had astounded the City. In 1790 the Tammany Society, through the efforts of John Pintard, became the first American Historical Society by establishing a Museum for the preservation and exhibition of all things relating to the history and antiquities of America. The New York Historical Society, whose delegate represents this Society to-night, was founded in 1804.

Tammany is not the only Society that has to-day departed from its original intention and scope. In the colonial period the celebration of St. Patrick's used to be marked by two standing toasts. One to the blessed memory of William of Orange and the other to the Battle of the Boyne.

The city had, a century ago, nine Insurance Companies and five Banks, five Morning Papers and three Evening ones.

The Church had one paper, The Churchman's Magazine.

The right of taxing bread, wine, beer, ale and all other victuals offered for sale, belonged to the City, but bread alone was taxed. Overseers were appointed to see that wells and pumps were kept repaired, clean, and in good condition. There were then six markets, called the Fly, the Bare, the Exchange, the Oswego, Catherine, and Hudson. The great financial importance of some of the trades is shown by the appointment of certain inspectors. There were inspectors of Pot and Pearl Ashes, Staves and Heading, Sole Leather, Flour and Meal, and of Beef and Pork.

The charges in the shield of the City still bear witness to the sources of the commercial supremacy of New York. That supremacy grew out of the law prohibiting the bolting of flour outside of the city limits between 1678 and 1694 which gave to its people the monopoly of the export trade in breadstuffs and biscuits. This, with the export of furs, made New York the centre of trade. Whenever we look upon the shield of this great city, the two flour barrels, the two arms of windmills, and the two beavers, we are faithfully reminded of what laid the foundation of its commercial greatness.

[7] According to the census of 1810 the population was made up of 43,448 white males, 43,102 white females, free coloured 8,137, and slaves 1,686, making a total of 96,373 or an increase over the census of 1808 of 12,843.

The amusements provided for this population consisted of the Theatre which could seat 1,200 people, Reading Rooms, the Ranelagh which was about the junction of Grand and Division streets, full of shady and agreeable walks. Vauxhall was on the Bowery Road about two miles from the City Hall, adorned with trees, shrubs and statues. It had a constant display of fireworks, a fine orchestra, a theatre and booths. The Park where the City Hall now stands was the pride of New Yorkers, but the most fashionable promenade was along the Battery. Here on the hot summer days there was a cool afternoon breeze, and an abundance of trees afforded welcome shade. Military parades were frequent; there was an orchestra in Mr. Corrie's public garden where ice cream and refreshments could be had.

In this brief survey of New York a hundred years ago, mention must not be omitted of the infant Academy of Fine Arts founded by Robert R. Livingston.

To understand the motives which prompted New York Churchmen to found their Society we must know somewhat of the movements in England which led to the foundation there of various Societies which had for their primary objects the religious education of the people, their moral uplift and the general betterment of their social conditions.

The close of the eighteenth century, like the close of the seventeenth, saw an awakening of the conscience of England to duties and responsibilities which had been neglected.

The work of the great societies founded more than two hundred years ago, was primarily for the benefit of the "Plantations, Colonies and Factories beyond the Seas" of Great Britain. The chief object of those formed as the nineteenth century was dawning, was the elevation of the poor and outcast within the realm of England.

The formation of these seventeenth century societies can be traced directly to the zeal, energy, and devotion of one man, Thomas Bray, whose soul was stirred to its depths by the irreligion and immorality which he witnessed in the greater part of [7/8] the American Colonies, on his visits there as Commissary of the Bishop of London for Maryland.

A descendant of his is now a Student of the General Theological Seminary whose deputation we have so gladly welcomed this evening.

To deepen devotion and to counteract the influence of the scoffing literature of the day, Dr. Bray formed the plan of founding parish libraries in the Colonies. For this object, he and others formed in 1698 The Christian Knowledge Society.

After an existence of more than two hundred years of varied usefulness, it is still carrying out its purpose as set forth in its charter.

If the immigrants to the colonies were to retain their religious and moral principles they must have churches and ministers.

Those living in colonies where the government was hostile to the Church of England with no provision made for the support of the Established Church would be as sheep without a shepherd unless their scanty means were supplemented by the free-will offering of their wealthier brethren in the Mother Country.

The conversion of the roaming tribes of Indians, whose ideas of the Deity were vague, to a real knowledge of Almighty God as revealed in Jesus Christ, was also greatly to be desired.

At the suggestion of Dr. Bray, the Archbishops, Bishops, and other dignitaries in England organized another Society in England under the name of The Incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, chartered in 1701.

It had for its double object the conversion of the Indians and Negro slaves and the care of the English Churchmen in the Colonies by providing, as far as its means would allow, clergymen, churches and glebes.

Acting as Chaplains to the representative of the Bishop of London two Rectors of our oldest Parishes have to-night represented as delegates these two great Societies. The Rector of Perth Amboy representing the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Rector of Jamaica the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

One hundred years ago the influence of the Encyclopedists and of Voltaire was enormous not only in England, but even more so in this country, where at the close of the War of Independence [8/9] it was considered a compliment to their French allies to ape French modes of thought. In Germany Wilhelm Martin Lebrecht de Wette was one of the boldest oppugners of the divine element in the Holy Scriptures in the opening years of the nineteenth century and rapidly grew into prominence as one of the foremost leaders in the onslaught against Revelation.

The attitude which Bishop Hobart, the Rev. H. H. Norris, and that of his friends here and in England took, was that the time was especially propitious for the distribution of the Book of Common Prayer, and that as Churchmen, they ought, while fully realizing the value of the free distribution of the Bible by other Societies, to bend all their energies to the distribution of both books together. They felt that the Bible and Prayer Book ought to be side by side in every house. That each book complemented and illustrated the other. It was malicious to say they wished to curtail the distribution of free Bibles; on the contrary, they wanted to make not one gift, but two gifts.

Indefatigable preacher as Bishop Hobart was he yet was a great believer in printer's ink. He believed in the wide distribution of the Prayer Book and of all literature that explained or defended the position of the Church.

In this connection with printer's ink it is well to remember that William Bradford, Vestryman of Trinity Church, has the honour of being the first in America who proposed to print the Holy Bible complete, Apocrypha and all, and "for those who are minded to have the Common Prayer Book shall have the whole bound up for 22 shillings."

This was in 1688. Prior to 1711, through the assistance of Trinity Church, an edition of the Book of Common Prayer was actually printed. As Mr. William Wallace says in his address on the Two Hundredth Birthday of William Bradford: "The first edition of the Book of Common Prayer ever actually printed in America was printed under the auspices of Trinity Church, by one of her Vestrymen; an assistant Minister of the Church, being himself the surety for the fidelity of the Printer's contracts."

A word for the Trinity Church in which the first Board of Managers met. It was the second edifice. This building was consecrated March 25, 1790, by the first Bishop of New York, Dr. Beach preaching the sermon, and the newspaper accounts state that it was consecrated in the presence of "a respectable [9/10] number of the people" and that "the President of the United States, together with the Rev. Clergy of the different denominations in this City, and many other persons of distinction were present." The new building was somewhat inferior in size to the one destroyed by fire in 1766. It was 104 feet long by 72 feet wide. It had really very little pretensions to architectural beauty and was far inferior to St. Paul's. It was constructed of common grey stone, with a spire of wood which rested on a stone tower and rose 180 feet. This tower was on the east side, geographically speaking, instead of on the west end as the former tower had been. It contained a ring of eight bells, and was surmounted by a gilt vane.

The great altar window was, until its removal, the largest in the United States, containing 1,039 panes of glass. The Holy Table was against the wall, the desk and pulpit being in front of it without the chancel rails. The floor was paved with grey and white marble in diamond shape blocks.

I have no knowledge as to the hour the first Board met. No notice of its meeting appears to have been published in the New York newspapers, nor is there any account of the meeting itself. The hours of subsequent meetings vary, some being at 11:30 A. M., others at six o'clock in the evening. The minutes tell us that "the Bishop being absent in consequence of indisposition of body the Rev. Dr. Hobart was appointed Chairman."

Besides the Chairman, there were present the Rev. Cave Jones, the Rev. Thomas Yardley Howe, the Rev. Thomas Lyell who was Secretary, and Messrs. George Dominick, Gulian Ludlow, Henry Rogers, David B. Ogden, Thomas Harvey and Dr. John Onderdonk.

A word as to these men. Of Dr. Hobart let me say this. Little did he dream as with his quick nervous steps he trod the marble floor of the Church on his way to the Vestry-room, and looked up at the great western window, that within twelve years he would lie beneath that Chancel, and that the great window would be removed so as to allow of the large monument to his memory to be erected there which curtained by rich and heavy drapery formed a most striking altar-piece. The monument is now in the Vestry-room, having been taken down when this building, we are worshipping in, was erected, but the remains of the great Bishop were undisturbed and lie behind me, beneath the chancel.

[11] The Rev. Cave Jones was a native of New York but commenced his ministry in Virginia, and became an Assistant Minister in Trinity Parish. He was then residing above the Two-Mile-House, Bowery. He differed so much in temperament with his colleague Dr. Hobart that a collision between them was inevitable, and this led to a severance of his connection with the Parish. He became in his later years Chaplain to the New York Navy Yard, and devoted his energies to the betterment of sailors and seamen. To him the Navy is indebted for the suggestions which led to appointment of regular chaplains.

Dr. Howe was a brilliant lawyer, a class-mate and friend of Dr. Hobart and Dr. Beasley. He turned from the law to the Church, and by his eloquence, and zeal, rapidly gained a position of great influence in the Parish and in the Diocese.

The Rev. Thomas Lyell was originally a Methodist, and a strong friend of Joseph Pilmore, who was an associate of Wesley, and afterwards the first Rector of Christ Church. To this rectorship Dr. Lyell succeeded him and held in the City and Diocese of New York positions of honour and influence, including that of being the first Secretary of this Society. He lived at 6 Warren Street.

Dr. John Onderdonk was a physician of note at 33 Fair Street. His two sons, Benjamin and Henry, became Bishops of New York and Pennsylvania respectively. He was a Vestryman of Trinity Church from 1801 to 1821.

David B. Ogden lived at 21 Pine Street, and was a lawyer and vestryman of Trinity Church. The family is still represented on the Vestry by one of the same name, David B. Ogden.

Gulian Ludlow was a merchant living at 15 Whitehall, and Thomas Harvey also a merchant living at 100 Warren Street.

The George Dominick of 1809 was a lumber merchant in Chatham Street, and I am inclined to think, the son of Captain George Dominick of the Second New York Militia, and a Vestryman of Trinity Church from 1787 to 1792, and after whom in 1761 Dominick Street was named.

Henry Rogers lived at 42 Cortland Street.

These were the men who met 100 years ago to-night in the Vestryroom of Trinity Church.

The other members of the Board, but who were not present, were Bishops Provoost and Moore, the Rev. Dr. Beach, the Rev. [11/12] Dr. Smith, the Rev. Dr. Channing Moore, the Rev. Nathaniel Bowen, the Rev. Edmund D. Barry, and the Rev. John V. Bartow, with General Clarkson, and Messrs. Bayard, Slidell and Le Roy.

Bishop Provoost was living in retirement at No. 26 Greenwich Street, a few doors below where Bishop Hobart resided.

Bishop Moore lived at 16 Vesey Street, but was not able, as we have seen, to be out that night.

The Rev. Dr. Abraham Beach lived at No. 40 Cortland Street. He was a native of Connecticut, and was Rector of Christ Church, New Brunswick, New Jersey, when in 1784 was held the historic meeting of the Corporation for the Relief of Widows and Orphans, out of which grew the measures for the organization of the Church in America. In 1809, he had been for twenty-five years the Assistant Minister of Trinity Church and the strong and firm coadjutor of the first Bishop of New York.

One of the most picturesque characters in the early history of the American Church is William Smith the younger. He was Rector of Trinity Church, New York, Principal of the Episcopal Academy, Cheshire, Connecticut, the first Editor of the Churchman's Magazine, and the author of the Institution Office in our Prayer Book. He introduced chanting in the American Church, and not only knew the theory of music and its use in the Church, but in his old age amused himself with practical organ building. Peter Erben being one of his disciples. He resided at the Academy, No. 95 Fair Street.

The Rev. Nathaniel Bowen, a native of South Carolina, was then Rector of Grace Church, and afterwards became Bishop of South Carolina.

The Rev. Dr. Channing Moore, a New Yorker, began his ministry as Rector of Rye, Westchester County, and after serving as Rector of St. Andrew's Church, Staten Island, became Rector of St. Stephen's Church, New York. He was chairman of the Committee of the House of Deputies, on Hymnody. In 1814 he was consecrated second Bishop of Virginia.

The Rev. Edmund D. Barry lived at No. 204 Duane Street, having a school of his own, and afterwards became Rector of St. Matthew's Church, Jersey City.

The Rev. John Vanderbilt Bartow, then a young man, was commencing [12/13] with great promise his ministry in Bloomingdale at St. Michael's Church which might be called the Chapel of Ease for the wealthy New York Churchmen who had their summer residences in that charming spot. Two months prior to our meeting, St. Michael's had memorialized Trinity Church to again come to their assistance, and to help them pay off their debt. That Corporation came to their relief, and one hundred years ago to-night the ink was scarcely dry on the minutes of the Vestry which chronicled the resolution of the previous day, April 13, by which Trinity again parted with some of her patrimony and generously endowed St. Michael's with six of her lots. On leaving St. Michael's Mr. Bartow went south where he remained until his death.

Matthew Clarkson, born in 1758, then lived at 26 Pearl Street. He was appointed by General Greene aide de camp to General Arnold, and, in 1786 was made Brigadier General. General Clarkson took a great deal of interest in the Bible Society, and in the movement for the abolition of Slavery. We have already seen that he was a President of the Manumission Society. He was a Vestryman of Trinity Church from 1788 to 1801. The Clarksons have always been identified with the work of the American Church, they have held pews continuously in Trinity Church, and their family is still represented by Augustus L. Clarkson on the present Board of Managers of this Society.

Jacob LeRoy was a Vestryman of Trinity Church from 1795 to 1815, and lived at No. 81 Liberty Street.

William Bayard, a Merchant, was living at No. 6 State Street, and was a Vestryman of Trinity Church from 1801 to 1821.

John Slidell was a Merchant living at 48 Broadway.

Surely of these men the words we have just heard read out in praise of famous men are singularly applicable.

"Leaders of the people by their counsels, and by their knowledge of learning meet for the people, wise and eloquent in their instructions: Such as found our musical tunes and recited them in writing."

Of the action of this Society prior to the meeting on April 14th in Trinity Church we know but little. The meeting for Organization was held early in 1808, but on what date we cannot tell precisely as there is no minute in existence of that primary meeting, but that it was prior to April we know, as mention is made in the Churchman Magazine for April that a meeting [13/14] was held at which a Constitution was adopted; and the Board of Managers that met in Trinity Church one hundred years ago to-night were elected at this primary meeting. An Address was also published in the Churchman Magazine for March and April setting forth the objects of the new Society. This Address was probably written by Bishop Hobart. It ends with this appeal:

"Is this book in the hands of all who value it? The contrary is the fact. The clergy in the city are often applied to by their poor parishioners for a Book of Common Prayer. Many also prize it, and would improve it as a gift who will not go to the expense of purchasing it. These remarks are obviously more applicable to parishes in the country, particularly to those which are forming in new settlements. From these quarters the calls are frequent for this admirable summary of evangelical truth. * * * * The earnest prayer is offered to Him who holds in His hands the hearts of all men, that he would dispose Christians to aid an institution, humbly devoted to his glory, with the means of permanently and extensively diffusing the knowledge of His Word."

As an outcome of the Bible Society founded in London a Society of the same name was established in Philadelphia December 12, 1808. The direction of its affairs was entrusted to a Board of twenty-four Managers, including Churchmen, Presbyterians, Moravians, and members of the other "evangelical churches." Bishop White accepted the presidency and was doubtless the author of the First Address.

The second meeting of the Board of Managers of our Society was held on May 31st and the Treasurer reported the receipts as being $575.00, whereupon rules for the governance of the Society were adopted. The Annual Meeting for 1810 was held February 27th in Trinity Church and Bishop Moore delivered the Sermon. He presses home his arguments with these concluding words:

"While ye are receiving the cup of salvation, and drinking to the refreshment of your souls, let us express our gratitude by extending it to others who are fainting in the thirsty wilderness where no water is."

The method of distribution at this time was in this wise: One-half of the books to be distributed equally among the congregations in the State of New York outside of the city, one-fourth to [14/15] be placed at the disposal of the Bishop to be distributed by him wherever he thinks there is the most need, and the remaining one-fourth to be at the disposal of the Board of Managers. The receipts as given in the First Report of the Board amounted to $3,251.84.

The crying need was the lack of copies of the Prayer Book suitable for general circulation. The books which our forefathers used were either bulky octavos or else very small 24mos.

In 1810, possibly, at Bishop Hobart's suggestion, a book of convenient size and type was issued. It was in both 12mo and 24mo form and issued by the old firm of Thomas and John Swords. So early as November 24, 1813, the matter of an edition of the Bible was under consideration.

Bishop Hobart was not content with the formation of this central Society for distribution of the Bible and "the silent Missionary," as he called the Prayer Book, but did all he could to foster the formation of branch or auxiliary Societies all over the country, and especially in that vast tract of which he had the Episcopal oversight.

During the years 1815 and 1816 several Societies were founded throughout the Diocese, the notable ones being the Dutchess County Society, the one for Albany and its vicinity.

In the early part of 1816 was formed the Auxiliary New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society. This Society was essentially a Layman's movement, in fact no clergyman could belong to its Board of Managers. The parent Society welcomed the new Society and expressed its satisfaction at its formation. It was at this period that arose the unfortunate controversy between Bishop Hobart and William Jay. As we read the letters and pamphlets, the Replies and the Answers in this long drawn out controversy, we can only stand amazed that two such good and devout men as Hobart and Jay should have had any controversy at all.

The New York Auxiliary was formed by young men of Trinity Parish. We have already remembered their names in our Bidding Prayer. Its object, as stated in its constitution, was to aid the parent Society founded in 1809. At the meeting of February 27th, 1816, the Rev. Thomas Lyell, who had acted as Secretary since the foundation of the parent Society, resigned and was succeeded by the Rev. Benjamin T. Onderdonk, who [15/16] continued in that office till his elevation to the Episcopate in 1830. On March 8, 1816, the Auxiliary celebrated its organization by a Service in Trinity Church at which Bishop Hobart preached. He emphasizes the reason for the existence of such Societies:

"In translating, then, and publishing the Liturgy in conjunction with the Bible, and distributing them throughout the world, we follow the scriptural plan of evangelizing it. We present to them God's Word and God's Church. For the Liturgy contains and recognizes the doctrines of the Church, its ministry, and its worship."

In April, the first Bibles distributed by the Society in a foreign language were sent forth, being one hundred Bibles in French.

Part of these French Bibles were given to Mr. Eleazar Williams for distribution among the Indians on the Canadian border, and part placed at the disposal of the minister of the French Church du St. Esprit.

In that year also the question of Stereotype Plates was first discussed and the Auxiliary Society made a grant for that purpose. The Plates were made by Daniel and George Bruce, and were of 16mo size and of good type. It was the first attempt to furnish a Book which could be sold at a cheap price and yet be of convenient size.

The stereotyped edition having proved successful another edition was ordered of 8vo size. The Seventh Annual Report was one full of encouragement. The managers reported having gratuitously distributed during the seven years of its existence 5,256 volumes. Auxiliary Societies had by then been founded in New Jersey, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Massachusetts and North Carolina.

The establishment of Sunday Schools in the year 1817 opened up a new and wide field for the energies of the Prayer Book Societies. St. Paul's Chapel lead the field in number of attendance, having a roll of 385. Then came the Churches of Christ Church, St. George's and St. Stephen's. The Ninth Annual Report included the statement that nearly $1,000.00 had been expended in the purchase of stereotype plates of the Prayer Book.

The zeal of the new Society is also evidenced by the wide distribution of the Prayer Book. It was sent out to Sunday Schools, to Prisons, to remote Churches in the State of New York to Churches or congregations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, [16/17] Connecticut, Rhode Island, Virginia, North Carolina and to the boundless Western Territories. In this year also began that beneficent, and so gratefully appreciated, distribution to them that "occupy their business in great waters and see the wonders of the deep." Then was the first grant made to the Mariner's Church for seamen on the eve of their going to sea. This fruitful year saw also the grant made to the unfortunate Liberian Colony. In 1819 President Monroe sent a ship to establish a colony in Africa and the government appointed the Rev. Samuel Bacon and Rev. John P. Bankson as its agents. While the ship was waiting to load, at the foot of Rector Street, Mr. Bacon wrote to Bishop Hobart pleading for a grant of Prayer Books. The Society sent the donation although from papers in my possession it is evident Bishop Hobart paid for them. So, for the next few years, the growth of the Auxiliary went on apace. The year 1821 was noteworthy in our Annals, it saw the foundation of the General Theological Seminary and the perfected organization of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. Owing to the prevalence of the scourge of scarlet fever which so disastrously marked the year of 1822 the receipts of both Societies fell off considerably and the Thirteenth Annual Report states the subscriptions during the past year had not been collected owing to the prevalence of that epidemic. The following year saw a revival of confidence and, consequently, the reports of the Societies were more cheerful. The Auxiliary reported that it now sold a good Bible bound in sheep for 85 cents. In 1824 the Societies had their plates of the Bible and Prayer Book corrected and brought into unison with the Standard adopted by the General Convention. In order not to lessen the receipts of the Auxiliary Society the parent Society had of late years generously refrained from having special Sermons preached on its own behalf.

The Eleventh Report of the Auxiliary shows how continuous was its care for sailors whether belonging to the U. S. Navy or to merchantmen. It details the grant to the U. S. "Cyane," and for "officers and crews of United States Ships of War when at sea." One interesting entry is "for 36 labourers at the Monroe Ironworks." The Rev. Cave Jones, who was the faithful U. S. Naval Chaplain at the New York Station, in a letter to the Society states that--

[18] "And officers of the Navy, high in rank too, who have never before been present at such a scene, have impulsively expressed the deep impression which has been made on their minds, of the beneficial results which must arise from the regular performance of these duties.

"As one immediate consequence, I will take the opportunity to mention, that a commencement has been made of introducing the regular performance of public worship, according to the forms of the Church, on board of several of the ships of war; and even on board of those which are not, according to the regulations of the navy, entitled to a chaplain. The first arrangement of this kind was on the ship of war 'Ontario,' on board of which, previously to her sailing for the Mediterranean, I officiated several times, to a very attentive audience; and the commander of which, Captain Nicholson, gave me assurance, that it was his determined resolution to have divine service performed, and a sermon read, every Sunday during the cruise.

"The same plan has since been pursued on board of the United States corvette 'Cyan,' of a still higher grade, but not entitled to the services of an authorized Minister of religion."

No matter how kindly disposed each Society might be to the other it is self evident that two institutions existing for the very same purpose and appealing for its support to the same people could not exist very long. Either one or the other had to give way; meanwhile both suffered. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that at the meeting of the parent Society, February 21, 1827, a resolution with a view to the amalgamation of the two Societies should be adopted.

The Society in their Seventeenth Report very frankly state that owing to the activity of the Auxiliary Society their institution had become almost exclusively a board of trust for the care of its permanent fund which amounted to between five and six thousand dollars. The aggregate of their distribution had been 14,390 volumes, and the aggregate of the Auxiliary was 42,897 volumes.

The Thirteenth Anniversary, October, 1828, was marked by the presence of Dr. Inglis, Bishop of Nova Scotia. The Thirteenth Auxiliary Report states that the Society had taken upon itself the stereotyping of the new Hymns and an edition of a thousand copies had already been distributed. During this year [18/19] was founded The Protestant Episcopal Press. Its origin was due to the desire of Bishop Hobart to establish a central printing and binding Society that should be devoted exclusively to the interests of the Church. By 1828 the total aggregate of the Auxiliary had risen to 45,526 volumes. The object of The Press was to do for the American Church what the S. P. C. K. was doing for England.

Notwithstanding that both Societies had concurred in 1827 that an amalgamation was most desirable, for some unknown reason no definite steps were taken to bring this about. In 1829 the outlook of the parent Society was so gloomy that for the first time no report was issued. On the other hand, the Auxiliary seems to have taken on a new lease of life through its association with The Press. This institution printed Prayer Books for the Society at a minimum of cost. For the first time we read of a grant to the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, five hundred being donated to it. One hundred copies were donated to the new U. S. Navy Chaplain.

The parent Society was still in existence though doing very little, as is apparent from the minutes of February 3, 1830. The Committee on the State of the Society again reported progress, expressing the hope that the measures then pending would soon result in a union of the two Societies. This is the last entry in the hand of Bishop Onderdonk as Secretary. Bishop Hobart's death, September 12, 1830, was a terrible blow to the Societies he had founded. He saw with a prophetic eve the immense value to the Church of a wide distribution of the Prayer Book. No Churchman to-day doubts his wisdom or his prescience. This vast assembly is a vindication of the great Bishop.

The resolutions passed by the Church Societies show plainly that they were no perfunctory minutes, that the men who wrote them felt they had lost not only a great Bishop but a warm personal friend. They bound themselves to wear "as a public mark of their constant and sacred recollection of the virtues and good offices of their deceased Diocesan a crape band upon their hats and upon their arms until the festival of Christmas," that is, for over three months.

In 1832 the question of amalgamation was again discussed, and this time with the idea of forming one organization which should embrace not only the two Prayer Book Societies but the Tract Society and The Press.

[20] The Auxiliary was at this time making such progress that apparently it was not so desirous of amalgamation. In June, 1833, it appointed a Committee to see what could be done to improve the editions of the Prayer Book both as to quality and as to appearance, and it likewise projected a new edition of the Bible. The proof sheets of this edition were read by that profound scholar William R. Whittingham assisted by Mr. Van Ingen. This edition was universally commended as being not only the cheapest but what was far more important, the most accurate edition of the Bible yet published in America.

Zealous and anxious in its operations in every quarter the Auxiliary never slackened its efforts, but the receipts kept diminishing.

The panic of 1837, which wrecked so many business concerns, affected the contributions to all Societies, and in that year The Press had to suspend its operations and the Auxiliary was reduced to its lowest ebb.

At this moment when the faith of our fathers was being tried by the Lord our God, the matter of the expiration of the Charter of the Auxiliary had to be faced. It happened that while the Board was anxiously deliberating on their Meeting of February 1st what course to pursue, they were informed that Bishop Onderdonk was in the same building. He was requested to attend their conference, and, as a result of his advice, the Committee was asked to confer with the New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society and to report with all convenient speed. The result of the negotiations was the transfer of all the property of the Auxiliary to the parent Society, July 1st, 1837. The two streams were now united in one river, and the long but friendly rivalry was at last ended.

From 1837 to the present date the reports are numbered consecutively the Twenty-ninth to the One Hundredth. While the parent Society during the years of its inactivity issued no report yet the Auxiliary never failed issuing its report, so that there has been, between the two Societies, one hundred consecutive Reports.

The Auxiliary turned over property and funds amounting to $4,514.39, most of which consisted of stereotype plates of the Bible and Prayer Book. The consolidated Society started its new career with only $86.41 of available cash.

[21] It is well to note that the Auxiliary during its existence of twenty-one years distributed 110,000 volumes, and yet during twenty years of its existence it reported that while the cost of distribution had reached nearly $20,000 the receipts during that period had been from outside of New York and Brooklyn only $75.30.

If we add the 15,000 volumes which the parent Society had distributed during its existence up to the amalgamation, a total of over 125,000 volumes had been distributed broadcast over the land, to foreign Missions and to Greece, and to our Sailors and Soldiers wherever they were serving. Certainly no mean result and could only be accomplished by the great zeal of the two Boards of Managers and their self-denying labours. Certainly then, we can give thanks to the Lord our God who tried our forefathers, but yet found them not wanting in loyalty to Him and to His Church.

The First Report of the United Society, being the Twenty-ninth Consecutive Report, gives a brief history of the Societies since their foundation. The question of publishing an octavo copy of the Prayer Book with the rubrics in red came up for consideration in 1837 and was referred to a Committee who reported favourably.

On the same date, September 12, 1837, we find that St. George's Church had donated to the Society a sum of money towards the expense of printing a part of the Prayer Book in the Mohawk language. At this time was also issued the pamphlet edition of the Morning and Evening Service in German.

At the request of the Rev. C. S. Stewart, a Congregationalist, a grant was made to the U. S. Frigate, "Brandywine."

In 1840 the Society received a legacy from Jacob Schatzel, and thus was created the "Schatzel Fund," the income of which is employed in paying for Bibles and Prayer Books for gratuitous distribution.

In 1841 the question of printing the whole of the Prayer Book in German came up for consideration and the Society declared its readiness to undertake the work as soon as the General Convention furnished it with an authorized copy of the same. In the same year an Act incorporating the Society was passed by the New York Legislature. In 1843 a request was made to the Society to print a manual of devotions for the use [21/22] of the Army and Navy, but it very properly decided that such action was beyond its province. Constant requests kept coming in from Naval Chaplains who were Baptists, Methodists or Presbyterians asking for grants of Prayer Books, and all these requests were cheerfully complied with. In 1844 a grant of Prayer Books was made to the Missionary at Constantinople. Up to 1844 the Society had confined itself in its grants solely to gifts of books for the use of Pews, it does not appear that it made any gifts prior to this for the use of the Lecturn or Prayer-desk. In the Report for 1844 we read of Prayer Books having been distributed to the "Indian Nation," in Texas, then an Independent Republic, to a colony of Manxmen, who had settled in Ohio, and to the Sandwich Isles.

This grant of Prayer Books to the Sandwich Isles was made seventeen years prior to the letter which King Kamehameha IV. sent to Queen Victoria asking for a Bishop and Missionaries. To this Society is, therefore, due the honour of having furnished the "silent Missionaries" which paved the way for the establishment of the Church in those Islands of the Pacific.

Printing the Prayer Book in French was a source of heavy expense to the Society, mainly on account of the plates having been consumed by fire in 1845.

Ever solicitous of the needs of our soldiers 15,000 Prayer Books were distributed among them at Fort Columbus, and as we are told, "in every case to men desiring it." Out of the California Regiment of 800 many received the book with tears as a relic of home and a memorial of their beloved Church. On the eve of their embarcation for Mexico a grant was made to the officers and soldiers of the army. This wide and generous distribution taxed the resources of the Society to the utmost, and in their Report for 1848 they pathetically ask, "Can it be that the only Society for the spread of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer, which we have, is necessitated to pause over its indebtedness for the past, and remain for the present not inactive but painfully circumscribed, by lack of pecuniary means, in carrying out the desires of the Church?"

In 1849 the Society took an important step in first starting to raise an Endowment Fund.

The Rev. Flavel S. Mines, the first to unfurl the banner of the Church in California, wrote to the Society that by the help of [22/23] the grant of books received from them he had been able to keep up regular services during the nine weeks he was at sea and that through the Society "the decent worship of the Church had been promptly and permanently established in San Francisco and other parts of California." That the "little brown-covered books" had been the silent but efficient missionaries of the Church on land and sea, in mine and camp.

The necessity of having Standard Editions of the Bible and of the Prayer Book had long been felt by this Society, and its need urged upon the General Convention. The current editions were full not only of typographical errors but in some cases of errors which were not accidental, as for example the substitution in the Sixth Chapter of the Book of the Acts, verse three, of "whom ye may appoint" for "whom we may appoint." The first determined action in this matter appears to have been in 1843. Committees of this Society were appointed to confer with Committees appointed by the General Convention. In 1850 this Society offered its services to the General Convention towards the attainment of the much desired end. Committees reported but nothing of real value was done. Finally, in 1853 the General Convention took what it hoped would be a forward step in securing a Standard Edition of the Bible. It unanimously adopted the 1812 Edition of the Bible as published by Eyre and Strahan, of London, as the American Standard Edition, and appointed our Society as the publishers under the direction of a joint special Committee. This is not the time nor the occasion to go into all the wearying complications that ensued, of the vast labours of that great scholar Henry M. Mason, nor of the protracted conferences between Committees of the General Convention and of this Society, suffice it to say that the General Convention had selected as the Standard a book that no one could find, or discover any trace of its ever having been published.

The Fifty-First Report of the Society gives a full historical account of the Bible in the Church in America.

A fact not generally known is that the Chaplain of Congress in 1782 was requested by a committee of that body to examine and report upon the first American Bible and its general accuracy.

In 1856 the sums from payments of friends who became Life Members or Life Managers had increased considerably. It amounted to, for the past year, $1,157.75.

[24] In that year the Society had the courage to ask Trinity to give her a donation of land, a request, however, which the Corporation did not feel able to grant.

The same year this unusual request came from a Presbyterian Minister in Paris asking for a donation of Prayer Books for a meeting house that had been opened in the French capital for Americans. A donation of over a hundred copies were immediately sent to this gentleman.

In the Report for 1854 we notice for the first time the mention of liberal grants to South America.

In 1859 Mr. Rich was engaged by the Society to complete the translation of the Prayer Book into the Spanish language.

With the actual commencement of the Civil War, the Society found a new field of operation in supplying the soldiers in camps, forts and garrisons, with Bibles and Prayer Books. Many troops passed through the City of New York and were quartered in the barracks in City Hall Park. To them a small copy of the Prayer Book which could be carried conveniently in the knapsack was a welcome gift. Many small New Testaments were also distributed. To the soldiers in the field there were sent many hundreds of volumes which were received gratefully and read eagerly.

The Society came to the aid of the older Society, "The Bishop White Prayer Book Society," and made it, on June 11th, 1861, a grant of 300 German Books of Common Prayer for distribution among the soldiers sent from Pennsylvania against the Southern rebellion, and in the same year a grant was made to the Rev. Thos. G. Carter, Chaplain, for the use of the 17th Regiment New York Volunteers under Colonel Lansing.

The members of the Board were deeply affected by the death of Bishop Onderdonk, on April 30, 1861, and paid a tribute to his memory, which is the most heartfelt minute of any minute on the death of its members passed at any time in the history of the Society.

In the northern Sacristry is the altar-tomb memorial to the Fourth Bishop of New York, undoubtedly the handsomest memorial in Trinity Church. The visitor will notice the symbolism of the snake of slander lying crushed beneath the Prelate's feet.

In consequence of the death in 1861 of Mr. Thomas C. Butler, [24/25] who had for so many years been the Treasurer and Agent of the Society, Mr. James Pott was appointed to succeed him, and for forty-three years served this Society faithfully.

The management of the affairs of the Society was radically, and much to its benefit, altered at the suggestion of Mr. Pott.

During the War the question of the Standard Bible was still agitated. The General Convention formally asked this Society whether it was ready to issue "a medium quarto Standard Bible." The Society replied that owing to the troublous times and the immediate urgent necessity of supplying the Army, the Navy and the Hospitals with Prayer Books, that great caution must be used before incurring fresh responsibilities.

In 1863 the first edition of the Prayer Book in Spanish was issued.

In the same year a course of Lectures on The Prayer Book was organized by the Society. This course was delivered in the winter of 1872-1873.

The funds of the Society were materially increased by a legacy from Mrs. Woolley in 1869, and in 1871 of a larger benefaction from John Alstyne. In 1872 new bye-laws were passed, the name of Agent was abolished and that of Treasurer alone substituted, and Mr. James Pott appointed to that office.

In 1874 a fresh version of the German Prayer Book was projected.

On October 5th, 1876, the present valued Secretary, Edwin S. Gorham was elected Secretary, and from January 8th, 1878, to this date all the minutes are in his handwriting.

It appears to me a bad custom to wait till a man is dead to record his value. All who know the Society and the work it has done for the last thirty years know full well how much of its success has been due to the gentle and quiet persistency of its Secretary, guided as it has been by his intense loyalty and devotion to the Church.

In 1878 the whole of the Prayer Book was published in the Dakota tongue, being the first instance of the publication in this country of the whole Prayer Book in an Indian dialect.

From this time on the bark of the Society sailed in more prosperous seas, and that principally owing to the legacies it had received. The distribution of books had reached that year the large number of 46,378. In 1881 the subject of printing a Prayer Book in Italian was taken up.

[26] In 1886 the Society inherited a legacy from William H. Vanderbilt.

In 1890 an appropriation was made towards printing the Prayer Book in Japanese.

At the General Convention of 1892 the Prayer Book revision was at last complete and our present Book set forth as the Standard.

In addition to the Versions already mentioned the Society has issued a Psalter for the Blind in New York Points.

The Ninety-First Report recorded legacies from Mr. Cornelius Vanderbilt and Mr. Charles Henry Contoit.

It also received noble benefactions from Mrs. Proctor and Mrs. Charles L. Smith.

A grant was made towards printing and binding an edition of 1,500 copies of the Prayer Book from the plates of the American Church Missionary Society in Portuguese for use of the Church in Brazil.

In 1894 the Committee on Versions reported the Order of Evening Prayer in Swedish was nearly ready. In the Spring of that year a second course of lectures on the Prayer Book had been delivered under the auspices of the Society. In May, 1896, Professor Egleston showed the Board of Managers a copy of the Prayer Book in Japanese. In January, 1897, the Society received a request from Bishop Graves of China for assistance towards defraying the cost of the Prayer Book in Chinese, and the Society immediately responded by a liberal appropriation. In 1900 a further grant of money was sent to the Bishop of Tokyo. The Report of 1904 stated that the German Prayer Book had at last been issued. In February, 1905, the Society lost by death Mr. James Pott, who had so long and faithfully served it, and the offices of Treasurer and Agent were by action of the Board separated, and Mr. Richard M. Pott was appointed Agent and Mr. McLean Nash Treasurer. The Spanish Prayer Book was issued in 1905, having been completely revised and brought into conformity with the new Standard Prayer Book.

My summary of the History of this Society is now ended.

That Society which even after its union seventy-two years ago, so loyally and so bravely took up its work with only $86.41 of available cash, stands here to-night with a record of over Four Million volumes distributed. Verily the tiny mustard [26/27] has certainly grown into a great plant bearing leaves for the healing of all nations.

I have, I hope, shown that notwithstanding the strong opposition it encountered in its early days, notwithstanding discouragements and lack of support from the very people who ought to have extended generous aid to it, notwithstanding disheartening days when the treasurer was happy when he could report a year ending with only a small deficit, and notwithstanding the coldness of some, the lukewarmness of others, the Society bravely stood loyal to its principles, to its Church and to its Lord. Surely our fathers were sorely tried, and yet we praise the Lord our God that being tried they were found faithful. To-day we hear on all sides paeans of praise for our Prayer Book. It is acknowledged as promising the only point of unity whereby on one side we can touch our separated Brethren who went out from us either in the direction of Rome or of Geneva. Rome has been forced to take refuge in that very dangerous and two-edged doctrine of "intention" and abandoning all former arguments rests her condemnation of our Book and Ordinal on that flimsy foundation. The great Protestant bodies around us are slowly but steadily being drawn to a love and appreciation of our Book. Its Festivals and Fasts are being more and more widely kept. Its public prayers are more and more tinged with expressions taken from our Book. The Presbyterians have recently issued a Book of Common Worship that if more widely known by both Churchmen and Presbyterians would do more for Unity than all Pan-Anglican Resolutions. It is a Prayer Book more complete than our own, providing for many more emergencies than ours does, and in its Brief Order of Worship has provided a Form suitable for any company of Christians gathered together on Sea or Land. The whole Book breathes a spirit of the deepest devotion and shows a minute acquaintance with the ancient liturgies.

What shall I say of the ancient and venerable Churches of the East. Does not the presence of their clergy here, in this Church to-night, say enough? Does it not bid us praise God and give Him thanks. They have come in all friendliness. They come to join us in our thanksgiving to the Father of All Lights who has so richly blessed us by His Holy Word as revealed in the Sacred Scriptures and as enshrined in our Services and Liturgy and Ordinal.

[28] They come in all friendliness to us but in all loyalty to their own Orthodox Church. Is it not a mark of favour from our dear Lord and Master that they should be with us in this way. Are we not their debtors in every way? To Christians, Greek is the only sacred language. Our Blessed Lord spoke a dialect of that tongue and quoted from the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Scriptures. The New Testament was given to the waiting world in Greek. The blessed Gospel was preached to a Western World in Greek and the infant Church in Rome herself was a colony of Greeks. Our own Prayer Book bears testimony to Greek influence, and whenever we meet for Matins or Evensong we say the Prayer of that golden-mouthed Eastern, St. Chrysostom.

We have departed from England, and we glory that we have so departed, by returning to a more Eastern and, therefore, more primitive Prayer of Consecration.

Our Hymn Books are full of the Hymns written by the saints of the Holy Orthodox Church, and it has been a special mark of the development of Hymnody during this past Century that these glorious and jubilant songs of praise should be a part of our heritage also.

Can we not echo with them the prayer that has been on their lips so often during this Eastertide.
"May Christ who has risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death, and upon those in the tomb bestowing life, our true God, have mercy upon us and bless us, forasmuch as He is good and loveth mankind."

Shall we not, brethren of the East, take it as an augury of reconciliation for this coming Century that by one of those happy Liturgical coincidences you and we have been celebrating Easter on the same day. May the Wisdom of the Most High who is the "strength, kingdom, power, and majesty of all ages," bring this to pass.

Unity! My dream of Unity is not, I think, that of most of my brethren in the Faith. My dream has never been of that Unity which belongs to a political organization, where the leader of the party does all the thinking. No my dream has been rather of Unity and Independence, paradoxical as it may seem. Unity, as typified by Independent States yet loyal to one Flag. Of Independent races yet loyal to one Sovereign. Of Eleven [28/29] Apostles, each independent in thought, yet loyal on Whitsunday to one Risen Lord. To me that is the grandest kind of Unity. Let us as St. Basil propounded believe in the Divinity of our Lord, in the Nicene Creed in its old and historic sense and to every clause in it and yet let us all retain our independence in the mode of the expression of that belief. Even as all leaves on the Tree of Life may be superficially the same yet each differing from the other, even as all stars to the ignorant are alike, yet to the learned each star differeth in glory. So I would like to see each Bishop and Pastor of the Flock of Christ united in one love to Christ the Lord and His Bride, the Church, and yet independent in action. This unity of worship as typified to-night by American Catholics and Eastern Catholics stepping side by side in the path to the Altar of Christ, and yet independent in their ministrations to the peoples committed by the Lord of all Kindreds and Tongues, to their individual care. God never created two men alike, never fashioned two brains in the same mould, and yet He longs for all men and for all minds to love Him. So, I believe in Independence of action but Unity of Adoration. The more the individual loves and adores Christ the Lord the nearer does he get to the Centre of Unity and in that oneness all are made alive. Yet, as the Sun is one and is the centre of the Universe so Christ is one and the centre of our being. Yet, as the Sun hath many rays proceeding from it so hath the Son of God many souls of men, individually distinct yet proceeding from Him and belonging to Him. And as the Sun is the centre, knowing neither North or South, East or West, so in Christ there are no divisions of East or West, of North or South, so may we Easterns or Westerns or Northerns, remember that the divisions are due not to Christ but to our attitude to Him.

As to the carrying out of the work of this Society, that needs human agencies and human agencies means money. Money is not my message, yet let me remind you that the only man that I know of who complained of the use of money for our Lord, in the Bible, was the man who sold the Lord. American Churchmen paid money to redeem captives from Barbary corsairs. Why should they not pay money to redeem their fellow countrymen from the great Pirate of Souls? Why should they not pay for the work of this Society that sends out as its Founder said, "The [29/30] Prayer Book with the Bible, the Gospel of Christ in the Church of Christ"? Why should they not be benefactors to the Society either in their lives or else by their wills? A Society which for one hundred years has ministered its trust with unswerving loyalty, without any great salaries, or any great expenses, without any profit to its Board. Practising the most rigid economy its administration has made good the words of the Gentleman's Psalm: "He that sweareth unto his neighbour, and disappointeth him not; though it were to his own hindrance."

Wall Street is opposite us. It is lined with houses of great firms, yet I doubt if any can show as equal a record for financial administration that this Society can for its One Hundred years. I am confident none can show a better one.

You may say perhaps that the Prayer Book is an impersonal agency. Yes, it is so in one sense, but in the other it has the Holy Spirit of God behind it. The Energizer and Quickener of all mundane things. I have given you some experiences of the value of the Prayer Book. Let me give you one more, but lately imparted to me by a friend.

In the early part of last century boxes were placed outside Trinity Church and on the corners of the streets falling into Broadway so that the citizens might place in them the books and periodicals they no longer needed, and the contents of these boxes were sent to the settlers of the Western Reserve. One of these boxes finally reached the house of the Presbyterian Minister at Ashtabula who had been appointed censor of the publications before their distribution. A young schoolmaster who was living with him assisted him in this censorship and out of the miscellaneous collection picked up a Prayer Book. It was the first copy he had ever seen; he perused it with avidity, read the Preface to the Ordinal which particularly attracted his attention, and as a consequence of his study of the Book he applied for Holy Orders, and was made Deacon in 1822 and ordained Priest in the following year. He became assistant to the Rev. Roger Searle, Rector of St. Peter's Church, Ashtabula, and when this great missionary died he succeeded him. He served this parish for thirty-three years and was instrumental in founding every parish and mission from Ashtabula to Cleveland, a distance of fifty-four miles. The Western Reserve, as you know, was founded by Connecticut men, and for that reason was considered in the early days to be under the oversight of the Bishop of Connecticut.

[31] Roger Searle was a Connecticut High Churchman and Mr. Hall followed in his steps. In Easter 1843 he wrote in his Journal that henceforth he would celebrate the Holy Communion on every Sunday and on all the Festivals of the Church, and that he would receive no more pew rents. Mr. Hall was thus the first priest in the American Church to provide the weekly Eucharist for his people. Such was the fruit of a discarded Prayer Book.

Our Lord has taught us that our dependence upon Him is to be daily. So the divine lantern is to shed its rays in the narrow circle right in front of us. Step by step we are to walk and step by step the Light will illumine our way so that we may avoid the mire of sin, or the pitfalls of the enemy. So the parting words of the Priest at the Font, at the outset of man's journey is that he shall daily proceed in all virtue and godly living. So our fathers trusting in the Lord were not confounded. They had hoped and trusted in great things like as we have heard read to us in the vision of the two unknown and obscure disciples on the way to Emmaus.

Yes, they trusted and hoped in great things, but can you tell me that any member of the First Board of Managers or of the company which assembled here a hundred years ago ever had a vision of the glory of to-night. The aged First Bishop of New York held to his house by infirmities and afflictions had grown doubtful of all things. The gentle Bishop Moore undoubtedly believed in the future of the Church, but in a cautious and limited area. The younger man, nervous and restless and burning with an inward consuming fire to make all Churchmen know the glory of their heritage, planned great things and dreamed visions of wide import, yet never even in his most sanguine moments did he ever dream such a vision as this in which we are the actors and sharers. Reaching out as he did in his restless energy to help the far-off boundaries of the Church on the shores of Lake Michigan or in the Western Reserve, he never foresaw that in one hundred years what was then the frontier both of Church and State should to-night be east of the centre of both, and that in the magnificent procession that just swept up to the Altar Throne of the Lamb there should be delegates representing eighty Home Dioceses and that in it there should be men who had themselves taught the Gospel Story in the ancient empires of China and Japan and in the far-off Isles of the Pacific.

That the dream of Darien was being fulfilled and the Atlantic [31/32] and the Pacific were soon to be joined together under American skill and with American capital and that the work of the Church in the Panama Zone should be represented in this Procession.

That the African race which was in his day so grudgingly admitted into Christian fellowship should have Bishops of its own represented by delegates of the same race, Rectors of large and stable congregations.

That the Empires of Portugal and Spain should have been broken on this continent and that Bishops in the line of succession to him should be ministering to South American Congregations and on the Islands of the Antilles.

That the successor of Seabury, whose ordination was looked askance upon by men a hundred years ago, would be with us to-night, not only as representing the Seventh Bishop of New York, but in his own person representing the Mother See of America.

That a successor of the Loyalist Inglis should represent the See of London in Trinity Church whose First Rector was a Bishop of London.

That the two Venerable Societies which had done so much for the planting of Christianity and the maintenance of the Clergy in this Church should be represented by Rectors of two of our oldest parishes, Perth Amboy and Jamaica.

That Bishops and Clergy of the Orthodox East should be present to bid this Society God speed in her work--Tell me, did Hobart, dreamer of dreams as he was, ever dream of such an event? Tell me, did he dream that the Trinity Church in which he worshipped should be succeeded by this noble fame, and that in it should be a service of such stateliness and grandeur?

That he who tried so hard to infuse a greater dignity and reverence in all the ministrations of the Church, tell me, had he the vision of all this glory? Altar decked with flowers and alight with candles; the singers before the Lord clad in their choral vestments and music and anthem to proclaim the glory of the Lord of Hosts.

That before we should pass out to the streets of the smaller world beyond, a Queen's Service Book would yield the words of the Hymn of the Society and the Coronation Service of a King would be robbed of its setting to furnish forth the music to our Hymn of Praise and Thanksgiving.

Firm believer as I am in the Spirit World, I am confident that [32/33] it is given to these men of one hundred years ago to be witnesses of our Service to-night.

To Provoost of feeble vision, to Moore of cautious vision, to Hobart of the triumphant vision, and to those faithful and loyal priests and people who sowed the tiny mustard seed of this Society a hundred years ago to-night, it is given to them to see how it has become a goodly tree.

What is the lesson of all this, to me, to you? brethren of the laity, reverend Fathers and Doctors, right reverend Fathers and Pastors, surely this one--Loyalty. Loyalty, the one and only test Christ ever applied to His disciples, the one and only test by which a State knows its citizens or its enemies. The one and only test by which a man knows his friends or foes. The one and only test by which a woman judges the man of her choice or a man the woman of his choice. Loyalty, the true test of the lover and the gentleman and the patriot. And, loyalty, believe me, is the one and only test of the Churchman.

You complain of the stress and strain on your loyalty. But how can the lover or the gentleman or the patriot be loyal unless he is tried? Absence, silence, delays, idle or malicious talk, all these test the loyalty of the lover. Evil reports, reverses, test the loyalty of the gentleman. Treasons and stratagems test the loyalty of the patriot. So, betrayals, perfidies, denials, test the loyalty of the Churchman. Our fathers were tried in all these respects. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God, which trieth us even as He did our fathers.

Loyalty is but a catchword to the underling, but empty verbiage to the worldling, but a party cry to the man in the street, but a pass word to the politician. To the Gentleman and to the Lover and to the Patriot it is the motto of his life and the Credo of his being.

Should it not be equally so to the Churchman? Could you not be loyal to me for one hour? is the gentle rebuke, and Lovest thou me? is the King's test.

The disloyal man seeks in what he thinks are easier places the solace to his soul, and so loses his soul. The loyalist remains true to his vows and never stills his Credo or hushes his Te Deum whether to please the agnostic or to placate the men of little faith. He plans and he works, he holds God's Lantern to his feet and steps forth boldly but quietly and step by step. He believes [33/34] that if he but faithfully weaves the tiny shred of the universal design, entrusted to his hands, that the Great Master Weaver will accept his task.

While they wrought their task, they then like us now, could only see the knots and ravelled edges of their work, for each man

Works on the wrong side evermore
But works for the right side ever.

It is only when the weaving stops and
The web is loosed and turned
That he sees his real handiwork that
His marvellous skill has learned.

The years of man are the looms of God
Let down from the place of the Sun,
Wherein we are ever weaving till
The mystic web is done.

Weaving blindly, but weaving surely,
Each for himself his fate,
We may not see how the right side
Looks, we can only weave and wait.

As we stand now on the eve of a new century of achievement, what lies ahead of us? Is it to be one of such achievement that the Centennial a hundred years hence shall eclipse the record of the past hundred years?

Are you doubtful of vision, are you timid of vision, my brethren in the Ministry? If so, ask the laity, ask them what the outlook is. They will tell you that we are but on the threshold of greater things in Arts and Science, in Engineering and Mechanics, in the harnessing and controlling the forces of nature. Our brethren in the Ministry of Healing will tell you that we are just getting glimpses of the forces which control mind and body. All tell us that our grandchildren, a hundred years hence, will look back upon our achievements of to-day with the same pitying condescension as we do to-night upon the achievements of our fathers.

[35] If it is to be so in the world of labour and thought that surges round this hallowed spot what shall it be in the Field of Christ's Church?

I look forward and see this American Church divided and subdivided into Provinces and Patriarchates. I see a preponderance of American influence in the councils of the Anglican Communion. I see a stronger Independence and yet a stronger Unity between all the Churches of English speaking races. I see this Church of ours overleaping its bounds and ministering as far as the Australasian Seas. I see it sending forth priests and bishops into remote Thibet and pushing inland from the African coasts. I see native Churches in China and Japan and Africa with their own Bishops and Priests and Synods all Independent and yet bound to us by bands of Orthodoxy and filial reverence. I see our Prayer Book and that of the Church of England not only revised but this time plenteously enriched. I see this Society sending forth to nations and peoples the World over the complete Bible and not parts of it, as in the past. I see her sending forth the revised editions of the Prayer Book not in English only but in dialects and tongues of the Far East. I see Historic Protestantism allied to us and having a clearer vision of Worship than has been granted to it in the past. I see a reaching out on all hands of agencies of Service to our fellow men of all races greater than has been our wont hitherto. I see the Church boldly taking under its wing the betterment of social and civic conditions, especially as they relate to women and children. I see a multiplication of simple evangelistic Services. I see a greater development of the Ritual of the Altar. I see a fraternal co-operation with the Holy Orthodox Churches of the East. I see a Confederate Council of Easterns, Anglicans and Americans sitting at Jerusalem. And what is the guiding motive of all this achievement? A deeper belief in the Divinity of Christ, an intenser love for His Person. In all the web of the future I see running with increasing brilliancy the golden thread of a deeper love and devotion to Christ our Lord.

Am I a dreamer of dreams? God make them true. The Lord of All bring them to pass. Is the vision too bold a one? I hope it is too feeble, too cautious a one. Ah, brethren in the ministry, say not it is but an idle fancy. Ah, brethren of the [35/36] laity, let it not be so. Do you all fear that God will try our children as he hath tried us and our fathers? and that the test will be too severe, and that hearts will grow cold, and hands grow numb, and faith grow faint. You are wrong, you are wrong of that I am sure. In that test will be found the survival of the fittest, of the saints of God who remaining loyal will work on and on and make of the dream a reality.

To the realization of my dream, not only must American and Anglican Clergy and people contribute their daily share of the task, but to you Reverend Clergy of the East is equally laid the task of working with us on that piece of the Vesture of Christ committed to the hands of each successive generation till the whole seamless Vesture of the Bride of Christ shall be wrought.
God grant that the realization of my vision may be as increasingly glorious a hundred years hence as to-night's realization of the dream of John Henry Hobart.

God grant that when another hundred years have passed and that we, you and I, having been gathered to our fathers, may reap the reward of loyalty here below. That we may have become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven above, companions of our loved ones, and an eye witness of the glory of Christ the Lord.

Ah, dear Lord, whatever may fail bring this to pass, bring this to pass, Thou Lover of Men.

O ye Spirits and Souls of the Righteous,
O ye Servants of the Lord,
O ye Priests of the Lord,
O ye Pastors of the Lord,
Praise Him and Magnify Him for ever.
O let East and West bless the Lord,
Praise Him and Magnify Him for ever.
O ye people give thanks unto Him
Which trieth us as He did our fathers.

4,945 Bibles; 36,488 Prayer Books; 1,209 Testaments; 32,477 Hymnals
Making a total for the year of 75,119 volumes.

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