Untitled - Electric Scotland

430 LIFE OK ARCHBISHOP TAIT [CH. xv.
The tiisJiop of London to the Rev. A. H. Mackonochie.
LONDON HOUSE, 6th April 1868.
"Mv DKAR MR. MACKONOCHIE, I have delayed for some
days my answer to your letter of the 3ist ult., in the hope that
I might know with certainty whether there is likely to be an
appeal on the part of the promoters of the suit against you. I
have, however, no information on the subject, and therefore delay
no longer to write to you.
"
I could not doubt that you would at once drop any practices
in the celebration of Divine Service which were formally decided
by a competent tribunal to be contrary to the law of the Church,
and I gladly receive your assurance in respect of the points which
you specify. Most earnestly do I trust that your hearty zeal
for the spiritual welfare of the people committed to your pastoral
charge may be directed aright, and that, both in point of doctrine
and of ceremonial, being kept safe from dangerous extremes, you
and the clergy who work with you in so self-denying a spirit may
find your usefulness daily increased by being more and more
enabled to give yourselves to spread among your flock the simple
Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Yours very faithfully and
truly,
A. C. LONDON.
On May 22, 1868, Mr. Hubbard wrote a long letter to
the Bishop of London, explaining his own position with
respect
to the difficulties at St. Alban s. n the course of
this letter, which was published at the time, he says :-
"
It is now five years since I had the painful duty of presenting
to you at some length the complaints which I had to urge against
the proceedings at St. Alban s. You received them with the
utmost kindness and consideration, you submitted them to the
perusal of Mr. Mackonochie, and you invited us to leave to your
decision (by which we should engage to abide) the matters in
contention, including several of those which I have just noticed.
Mr. Mackonochie, however, declined the reference to your Lord
ship, and he declined also, at successive periods, as I proposed
them, references to any ecclesiastical lawyer (whom he should
choose) to his best friend, and to his own brother. Unable to
accomplish a private and friendly reference, you intimated your