OF THE GENERAL CONVENTION.
9
lieved that such a course would have prevented much that has transpired of an exceedingly unpleasant and painful character in the case."
All which is respectfully submitted,
| A. E. Small, | Committee.[1] |
| Oliver Gerrish, | |
| Isaac S. Britton, |
- ↑ In a letter received from the Chairman of this Committee under date of July 11th, 1855, shortly after the above report was rendered, I find the following passage, which shows either that Mr. Gerrish had not read Mr. Miller’s first letter, which he acknowledges was in the hands of the Committee, or had read it under some preconceived opinion or sinister influence, which caused him to find in it something quite different from what is really there. For he says: "On reference to Mr. Miller's first letter to you, you will notice that Mr. Moffat called on him and asked him what he would think, &c.—Mr. Moffat does not give his author, but Mr. Miller infers that it is Mr. Wilks, and charges him with it.” Let the reader turn to this letter of Mr. Miller’s (No. I.) on page 11, and he will see with how little attention, Or under what sort of influence Mr. Gerrish must have read that letter.
I have also before me the copy of a letter from Mr. Miller to Mr. Gerrish, under date of Nov. 10, 1848, upon this same subject, which proves that the latter had received from some source a totally false impression in regard to this affair at that early period. The letter is in reply to one from Mr. Gerrish, under date of Nov. 6th, and Mr. Miller tries, throughout, to disabuse the mind of Mr. G. of the erroneous impressions under which he was laboring. Thus he says:
"And then again you say * If Mr. Barrett had manifested a state or feeling of selfishness towards Mr. W., would not' Mr. W. be likely to seek other society?’ He would unquestionably. But then I ask, where is the evidence that Mr. Barrett did manifest such a state of feeling towards Mr. W. ? I certainly am unable to discover by the letters that be did. But one thing I have for a long time observed, that, for several years past, there have been some five or six professed New Churchmen here in New-York, who have evinced the greatest desire to detract and defame Mr. Barrett. And may it not be possible that theirs is the society that Mr. Wilks has sought, without any act of Mr. Barrett? And if it is so, is it very strange that Mr. Barrett should have treated this matter severely, knowing as he did, the system which had been carried on for years, and in such a way, too, that the authors and abettors of the system, never could be reached."
Again in the same letter:—
"For he [Mr. Barrett] was charged with having committed a fraud and theft against Mr. Wilks and those who contributed through Mr. B. what they did to Mr. Wilks. And it was one of those acts of charity which was so misrepresented and falsified, and which was well aimed, and to all appearance well calculated to destroy the character of Mr. Barrett as a man, and his influence as a minister of the New Church. And has Mr. Wilks shown any desire to repair the wrong? None whatever."
The whole of this letter is in a tone of earnest remonstrance with Mr. Gerrish, for allowing himself to cherish the false impression, in relation to this matter which he had some how imbibed. This explains, in part, the reason why the report of this committee is as we find it. The strange thing about it is, that , a gentleman
