284 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF THE \M^9 



when sitting in a separate House, to originate and propose acts for the 

 concurrence of the other House of Convention, and to negative such 

 acts proposed by the other House as they may disapproi'e. 



Your Committee conceiving this alteration to be desirable in ifself, as 

 having a tendency to give greater stability to the Constitution, without 

 diminishing any security that is now possessed by the clergy or laity; 

 and being sincerely impressed with the importance of an union to the 

 future i^rosperity of the Church, do therefore recommend to the Con- 

 vention a compliance with the wishes of their brethren, and tliat the 

 third article of the Constitution may be altered accordingly. Upon 

 such alteration being made, it is declared by the Deputies from the 

 churches in the Eastern States that they will subscribe the Constitution, 

 and become members of this General Convention. 



This report was accepted by the Convention with a single modi- 

 fication to the effect that though the Bishops, when there should 

 be three or more, should form a separate House with a right to 

 originate and propose acts for the concurrence of the House of 

 Deputies composed of clergy or laity, and that when any proposed 

 act should have passed the House of Deputies, the same should be 

 transmitted to the House of Bishops, the House of Deputies 

 should have a negative thereupon, provided that the proposed act 

 should not be negatived by the Bishops if adhered to by fonr-fiftlis 

 of the other House. 



As the States which had been in the Convention up to this 

 time were but seven,* and as those that now desired an absolute 

 right in the House of Bishops to negative any proceedings were 

 three,t it was practically impossible to have four-fifiJis of the 

 House of the Deputies carry any measure without the concurrence 

 of these three. The qualification made in the amendment of the 

 Report presented by Dr. Smith was probably made to " let down " 

 in as easy a manner as possible some of the very low churchmen 

 of the South, and it was disarmed of the last remnants of danger 

 to the views of Bishop Seabury and his friends, — which in reality 

 were the views also of Bishop White and Dr. Smith — by a 

 resolution in these words : 



That it be made known to the several State Conventions that it is pro- 

 posed to consider and determine in the next General Convention on 



* New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and South 

 Carolina. 



I Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 



