by a majority of the Standing Committees of the several dioceses, of which I was not officially informed. I have received notice of the displacement of Horace Conolly, late a presbyter of the Church, from the Rt. Rev. Dr. Lee, acting at the request of the Standing Committee of the diocese of Pennsylvania; of the degradation of John Dawson Hull, of Huntley, in Scotland, late presbyter, from the Rt. Rev. Dr. Low, Bishop of Moray, Ross, and Argyle; of the displacement of Julian E. Sawyer, late presbyter, by the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Alabama; and of the rejection of the application of E. Sundstrom for admission as a candidate for Holy Orders, by the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of Illinois. On the complaint of the Reverend Edward C. Jones, presbyter, of Georgetown, D. C., I directed a canonical investigation into the conduct of the Rev. Alexander Shiras and the Rev. Stephen G. Gassaway, presbyters, charged with conduct incompatible with the character of ministers of CHRIST. The result was an unanimous verdict of full acquittal by the Standing Committee, in the case of Mr. Shiras; and the consequent withdrawal of the presentment against Mr. Gassaway, by Frederick W. Brune, Esquire, who on my appointment, had consented to serve in the painful and unthankful office of Church Advocate. My conduct in this matter, I am well aware, has been grievously misunderstood and misrepresented. There are those present, however, who, knowing the grounds and reasons of my procedure from the outset through its whole course, are well able, and I am persuaded willing, to furnish its vindication if need be, and to them I leave it. With hearty prayers that the peace of GoD, which passeth all understanding, may keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of Him whose grace hath saved us, I commit you to His blessing and direction. WILLIAM ROLLINSON WHITTINGHAM, BALTIMORE, May 28th, 1846. The committee on the election of lay delegates to seats made the following report: The committee on the election of lay delegates respectfully report, That the following named gentlemen appear to have been duly elected as lay delegates to the Convention, viz: F. W. Brune, Jr., Mt. Calvary Church, Baltimore. Dr. James Stewart, Somerset Parish, Somerset county. Samuel Gallaway, Christ Church, Harford county. Col. Edward A. Howard, St. John's, Baltimore and Harford counties. William C. Tyler, Severn Parish, Anne Arundel county. Henry Chamberlaine, Samuel Lloyd Chamberlaine, St. Mary Anne's Parish, Cecil county. Allen B. Davis, St. Bartholomew's Parish, Montgomery county. Benjamin Orrick, Trinity Church, Baltimore city. J. Mason Campbell, St. Stephen's Church, Baltimore city. Isaac S. Atkinson, Grace Church, Hungary Neck, Somerset county. Thos. J. Dorsett, All Hallows' Parish, Anne Arundel county. John Gibson, St. John's Church, Huntingdon, Baltimore county. Chandler F. Shaw, William and Mary Parish, Charles county. Hugh D. Evans, St. Paul's Parish, Baltimore city. George W. Waring, St. John's Church, Queen Caroline Parish, Anne Arundel county. Isaac Van Bibber, Parish of the Ascension, Carrol county. Dr. J. R. Ward, St. Andrew's Church, Clear Spring, Washington county. Robert Neilson, St. Peter's Church, Baltimore city. Jacob W. Winchester, Christ Church, Queen Anne county. John Glenn, St. Timothy's Church, Baltimore county. Dr. M. M. Duvall, St. Margaret, Westminster Parish, Anne Arundel county. Jonathan W. Magruder, Emmanuel Parish, Allegany county. E. J. Middleton, Rock Creek Parish, D. C. Dr. Frederick Dorsey, St. John's Parish, Washington county. George Riall, Stepney Parish, Somerset county. J. A. N. Duncanson, Church of the Ascension, Washington, D. C. Dr. Hanson Penn, St. Matthew's Parish, Prince George county. Jesse Hollingsworth, Holy Trinity Parish, Carrol county. Dr. Allen Thomas, Christ Church, Queen Caroline Parish, Anne Arundel county. Hon. E. F. Chambers, Chester Parish, Kent county. James B. Lake, Thomas Hayward, Great Choptank Parish, Dorchester county. Richard C. Holliday, Trinity Church, Cecil county. John M. Comegys, Shrewsbury Parish, Kent county. Thomas J. Chew, All Saint's Parish, Calvert county. William J. Blackistone, King and Queen Parish, St. Mary's county. In several instances the certificates of election were signed by the rector of the parish, instead of the register or wardens. The committee having no に doubt of the fact in each case have included the names of the delegates in the aforegoing list, but recommend that in all instances hereafter there should be a compliance with the form generally used, and that the certificate of election should be signed by the register or warden of the parish or church. The committee had presented to them a certificate of the election of lay delegate by the Vestry of Christ Church, St. John's Parish, in Washington county. As there is no such church in connexion with this Convention known to the committee, they have declined placing the name of the delegate on the list, not considering him entitled to a seat. All which is respectfully submitted, SAMUEL J. DONALDSON, The minority of the committee asked permission to present a counter report, which was read, as follows; The undersigned, a minority of the committee on the rights of lay delegates to seats in the convention, is constrained after mature consideration, to differ from so much of the report of the majority, as refers to the right to a seat in this body of the lay delegate from Christ Church, Hagerstown. He appears here with a certificate in the prescribed form, properly signed, and as the regularly authorised representative of a congregation, competent in the humble opinion of the undersigned to be represented in this floor. Without going into a detailed statement of the grounds on which this Church rests her claim, or wearying the patience of this Convention with arguments advanced on former occasions to substantiate it; let it suffice briefly to say, that she has in substance complied with the acts of Assembly and the requisitions of the canon, empowering a portion of a congregation to separate and form themselves into a congregation, distinct from that they have left; and have thereby acquired all the rights that they secure. Among these, not the least cherished is that of enjoying representation on this floor, which, in the absence of any sufficient reason for withholding, the undersigned would recommend should be promptly accorded her by the admission of her lay delegate to a seat in this Convention, and he therefore recommends the adoption of the following resolution: Resolved, That the lay delegate from Christ Church, Hagerstown, be admitted to a seat in this Convention. JAMES T. EARLE. On motion, Resolved, That the gentleman claiming to be a delegate to the Convention from Christ Church, Hagerstown, be permitted to address the Convention in support of his right to a seat in this body. After some debate, a motion was made and seconded, that the permission granted in the above resolution be reconsidered, which motion was, by vote of the Convention, laid on the table. On motion, the Convention adjourned. THURSDAY AFTERNOON, May 28, 1846. The Convention re-assembled at 4 o'clock. On motion, the call of the roll was dispensed with, and the minutes of the morning's proceedings were read, corrected, and approved. By unanimous consent, the discussion on the motion to admit the lay delegate from Christ Church, Hagerstown, was suspended informally, for the purpose of proceeding to the order of the day. It was then moved that the report of the Committee on the election of lay delegates be divided, and a vote taken on adopting that part which admitted certain members to seats. It was accordingly done, and that part of the report was unanimously adopted. On motion, the remaining part of the report relating to the certificate of the gentleman claiming to be a delegate from Christ Church, Hagerstown, was then laid on the table. The chairman of the Committee on the rights of clergymen to seats, asked permission to withdraw the report submitted yester |