Benjamin Fiske Barrett

“ While so great and crying an evil as this is tolerated, winked at, excused, or covered up, by respectable men, and the offenders even rewarded by the largest organized body of the Church by being placed in office and kept in office, multitudes will look upon it as quite a venial offence, or, indeed, as no offence at all; and this dreadful canker will remain, and increase in virulence. It is not those who seek to expose this iniquity to the public gaze, but those who seek to palliate or hide it, that merit the reprobation of honest men. ”

“ I have yet to learn that any disgrace really attaches to him who honestly endeavors to ferret out offenders, and to have inflicted on them the punishment which their deeds deserve. Much less is it disgraceful for ah innocent man, when an organized body seeks to injure
or oppress him, to avail himself of all proper and legitimate methods of self defence. Let the candid reader, in view of the facts and evidence here presented, judge whether this affair be most disgraceful to Mr. Barrett, or to Mr. Wilks and the General Convention. ”

“ Along with this I send you copies of two letters, which I received from Thomas S. Miller of New York, just after my removal from that city to Cincinnati. The letters tell their own story. After an intimate acquaintance of more than seven years with Mr. Miller, I can say that I never knew a man more scrupulously honest, conscientious and truthful than he. I never heard but one individual question his truthfulness in the slightest degree, and that could easily be accounted for, without impugning Mr. Miller’s veracity—a personal difficulty having existed between them. ”

“ Wilks had been guilty of a very grave misdemeanor, of which he had never, to my knowledge, exhibited any signs of repentance. The misdemeanor was one which seemed to me of so serious a character, that I thought it ought to disqualify him for the ministry, and even for church membership, unless heartily repented of. The President of the Convention knew, also, of the nature of this misdemeanor, for he had had a brief statement of the facts from my own lips not long after the trespass was committed. ”

“ I submit whether the refusal of the Convention to grant the petition in my memorial, does not prove, either that this Body hows obsequiously to the opinions and authority of one man, or at most a very few men, or that it does not really believe this precept in Matthew to be of binding authority in its literal sense, or else that it is not ashamed to act directly contrary to its own principles. ”

“ Wilks into the Convention in this peculiar way, and contrary to my solemn protest, and since they refuse even to appoint a Committee to hear and consider my objections, and since I dislike innuendoes and like plain speaking, probably as much as any other person, I will say that my principal reason for objecting to Mr. Wilks’ coming into this Convention, or being appointed to any office in it, is, that he has been guilty of a grave misdemeanor—a cruel slander—and one which has never been retracted nor acknowledged. ”

“ Wilks in office, was equivalent to making him a member of the Convention, though he had never joined that body in any orderly or constitutional way. Honestly believing that a man, who was capable of doing his brother so great a wrong, as the evidence in my possession showed Mr. W. to have done, was unworthy to be a member of any church, until he had exhibited signs of sincere repentance, was it my duty to allow such a man to he foisted upon the Convention by the Executive Committee, and virtually made a member thereof, contrary to the provisions of its constitution? ”

“ The leather in the case would not be thought of even by the veriest dolt; so immeasurably would the crime of murder and arson outweigh all other considerations. And so in the case before us. What man of any moral perceptions, in view of the enormity of the offence complained of, could talk or think about cloth?
There have been other calumnies as gross and cruel as this circulated in the New Church—some of them in ways past finding out. It is seldom known how they get into being, or who sets them on foot. Still the envenomed shafts are kept flying. ”

“ Mr. T. S. Miller,
Dear Sir:—I have this moment received and read your letter of the 23d ult., with feelings of unmingled pain and sorrow. I could not have believed that a man professing what Mr. Wilks professes, and occupying the position that he occupies, could have circulated a report so false and calumnious as he knows the statement to be that he has made to yourself and others, in regard to the transaction referred to between him and me. I will here make a simple statement of all the facts in the case, and I believe that my word will be received by all who are acquainted with me ”

“ When I consider the frailties of our common humanity, and how liable we all are to act rashly at times, especially when anything occurs which deeply excites our feelings, I am rather surprised that I have been enabled, throughout this trying affair, to act as wisely and considerately as I have. ”

“ Of one thing, however, I can assure you, that, for the sake of all your friends here, and, in fact, of all who know you—for your full justification and freedom from all suspicion of having ever thought of so mean and wicked a thing as that imputed to you—in their minds—you need not take another step. ”

“ Why may not expediency, or our own view of what is best under the circumstances, be taken as our rule of action always, if, in view of it, we may set aside, in a single instance, what we acknowledge to be a command of God? ”

“ I am aware of the disadvantage of my position, growing out of the strong prejudice against me which unfortunately exists in the minds of some of the leading men in the Convention, and their consequent predisposition to take sides with any one who will speak ill of me. ”

“ Indeed, it has seldom been my lot to meet a man who combined in his character more of a rigid and Roman integrity of purpose, with more of a gentle and pleasing deportment in his ordinary intercourse with men. ”

“ M. is indirectly—by implication, at least—pronounced a perjured man by the largest organized body of New Churchmen in the United States—a body that assumes to be "the General New Church of the country." I know not how this may strike others, but it strikes me as a very serious matter. I think nothing short of a large amount of the most unquestionable evidence could justify the verdict of such a body, which goes to impugn the sworn testimony of a private individual. For it is plain that Mr. Wilks’ "innocence" cannot be inferred, without sup- posing that Mr. Miller has sworn falsely. ”

“ It is one of greater magnitude, and of far greater interest. It is whether a minister of the New Church shall be permitted to slander a brother minister in a most outrageous and cruel manner, and afterwards, without having made any attempt at redress, or any acknowledgment even, and seeking to cloak his first great wrong by further falsehoods, shall be received into the bosom, or elected to offices of dignity, in a body which claims to be pre-eminently the Church of the Lord. ”

“ B. F. Barrett. To neither of my letters—although it is now nearly a year since they were written—has Mr. Wilks ever deigned to reply. And yet, in the presence of the Committee appointed at the last Convention to act on my memorial, Mr. W. professed to entertain none other than charitable and friendly feelings towards me. The reader will see, therefore, that it is no fault of mine, that the evidence, by which Mr. Wilks' innocence was thought by the General Convention to have been "satisfactorily established,” is not presented in this pamphlet. ”

“ In the fourth place, this printed statement seems especially due to those excellent brethren, whose testimony in this case the verdict of the General Convention has pronounced worthless, and one of whom it has in substance adjudged guilty of perjury. So grave an offence as this, perpetrated by an organized body of men against private individuals of unblemished character, ought not, as it seems to me, to be passed over in silence. ”

“ W. such a course as the laws of charity seem to me to require—giving him every opportunity to make amends for his wrong—and he has positively refused to do anything in the premises, alleging that he is 'perfectly guiltless’ of having set any report in circulation about me; and whereas I am obliged, as the matter now stands, to regard Mr. Wilks as a man destitute of moral principle—as a base and wilful slanderer, and as such, unfit for the Christian ministry, and unworthy the respect and confidence of the members of the New Church ”

“ He says, (and the Committee believe him) that the reason he did not, was, because "he did not understand the position of affairs, &c.! there would have been no embarrassing question here, had the Committee regarded the evidence in the case as more reliable than the declaration of the accused. The explanation would then have been easy; for a man does not usually “take active measures to put a stop to a rumor,” which is well known to have originated with himself. ”

“ Miller’s and Mr. Waldo's testimony, does this relieve Mr. Wilks? Can any one see how?
The Committee at Philadelphia, together with Mr. Wilks and myself, were in session about four hours. And then they requested Mr. W. and Mr. B. to retire, that they might be in freedom to talk the matter over, and make up their verdict from what had been presented. We did retire. Both of us went into the body of the Temple where the Convention was in session, leaving the Committee in the basement. ”

“ If gross and cruel calumnies, when uttered by the friends of hierarchy against it opponents, are to be treated by organized bodies of men as venial offences, or no offences at all—are to be hushed up or altogether overlooked, and the calumniators elevated to offices of dignity in those bodies, then there is small hope for order, peace or quietness among brethren. ”

“ Moffat, that such a charge as that was so incredible, that I could not give an opinion on a mere supposition, and asked him for the evidence, which he could not give me, but would apply to Mr. Wilks for the desired evidence. I then expressed to Mr. M. my strong disapprobation of such a course in any one claiming to be a New Churchman, or a Christian, in supposing cases, and insinuating that they were true, without having facts to sustain them in such insinuations, more particularly when aimed against an absent man. After some further conversation, Mr. ”

“ There is nobody here that ever believed the slander, from the first; and if there was any one who was disposed to think you might possibly have given some occasion for it, your letter to Mr. Miller will dispel all their doubts. That letter, detailing all the circumstances of your intercourse with Mr. Wilks, will, I feel convinced, carry conviction to the mind of every person whose good opinion is worth a straw. The judicious manner in which Mr. Miller has acted, and the. ”

“ But what influence this may have had in perverting judgment, it is not for me to say. Each one must judge for himself. And now for the facts and the evidence.
In the spring of 1848, I received and accepted a call to become the pastor of the first Society of the New Church in Cincinnati, and removed to that city early in the month of May. In less than two months after my arrival in Cincinnati, I received from my friend and brother in the Church, Thomas S. Miller, of New York city, the following letter:—
B.— (No. I.)
New York, June 23d, 1848. ”

“ It is said to be making a great fuss about a very little matter—a little bit of cloth. And is it possible that any New Churchman can look at the cloth, and overlook the momentous question of moral delinquency here involved? This ought to show us how exceedingly low and grovelling our minds are. Suppose a man should steal from you a pair of old shoes ”

“ This, I think, was some time in the month of May, 1846, shortly after he removed from Williamsburg. And although 1 saw Mr. Wilks at least two or three times between this and the middle of June following, he said not a word, as I remember, about the cloth or note that had been sent, (there was no need of a word) —certainly not a word about declining to accept the gift.
In June following, Mr. W. went to Baltimore, and was there ordained by Mr. De Charms, contrary to.his repeated, express and solemn declarations given by him to me, freely and unsolicited, just before he left New York. ”

“ Barrett, as the aggrieved party, that he should have been informed of the nature of those concessions, or that it should have been stated in the report? Was it right for the Committee to regard no one but Mr. Wilks? And to endeavor, in fixing up their report, to approach as near the line of justice as Mr. W. would allow them? Let others decide.
Soon after my return from the Convention, I addressed to Mr. Charles S. Close, of Philadelphia (the member who came and called Mr. Wilks out of the Temple on the occasion referred to) , the following note:—
(No. XIV.)
Orange, June 14, 1866. ”

“ T. Worcester, under date of June 22, 1855. I first went to Mr. Wilks, privately, with a sincere desire that he might be able to satisfy me that he had not done the great wrong attributed to him; or, if he had, that he might exhibit such signs of sorrow and repentance as the heinous character of his offence demanded. But, getting no satisfaction from this private interview, I subsequently called on him again for the same purpose in company with brother Waldo ”

“ Miller’s conduct in this case—an opinion all the more valuable from the fact that it was expressed before his personal difficulty with Mr. Miller. It will also be seen that Mr. J ewett speaks in this letter of another gentleman very differently from what he has been known to speak of him Since he has been the agent of the General Convention, and in intimate alliance with some of its chief rulers. Referring in his letter to the Wilks calumny, he says:—
(No. VI.)
"I feel very sensibly the injury done you by the gross slander that has been fabricated against you. ”

“ In the third place, it is an easy thing to establish the credibility of Mr. Miller as a witness'in a case of this sort. The following testimonial to his honesty and truthfulness, coming as it does from New Churchmen who have known him long and intimately, ought to be sufficient to satisfy every unprejudiced mind. And a score of other names might easily be added if necessary.
(No. VII.)
Brooklyn, Aug. ”