By the Golden Gate; Or, San Francisco, the Queen City of the Pacific Coast / With Scenes and Incidents Characteristic of its Life

by Joseph Carey

The attendance of members in the House of Deputies was unusually large, and while some familiar faces were missed, like Dean Hoffman, of the General Theological Seminary; Rev. Dr. Morgan Dix, of Trinity Parish, New York; Rev. Dr. Edward A. Renouf, of Keene, N.H.; Rev. Dr. W.W. Battershall, of Albany, N.Y.; Mr. Spencer Trask, of Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Mr. Louis Hasbrouck, of Ogdensburgh, N.Y.; Mr. G.P. Keese, of Cooperstown, N.Y.; and Judge Robert Earl, of Herkimer, N.Y., yet the personnel of the Convention was up to the usual standard. The new deputies, clerical and lay, felt at home at once, and some of them made good reputations for themselves in debate and in committee-work. It would seem invidious, perhaps, to single out any one deputy more than another, when all excelled, yet the names of some of the representative clergymen and laymen of the Church may justly be mentioned, as for example, Rev. Dr. John S. Lindsay, of Boston, Mass., the distinguished and well-balanced President of the House; Rev. Dr. Arthur Lawrence, of Stockbridge, Mass.; Rev. Dr. Reese F. Alsop, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Rev. Dr. J. Houston Eccleston, of Baltimore, Md.; Rev. Dr. Samuel D. McConnell, of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Rev. Dr. J.S. Hodges, of Baltimore, Md.; Rev. Dr. George Hodges, of Cambridge, Mass.; Rev. Dr. Cameron Mann, of Kansas City, Mo.; Rev. Dr. James W. Ashton, of Olean, N.Y.; Rev. Dr. Robert J. Nevin, of Rome, Italy; Rev. Dr. John Fulton, of The Church Standard, Philadelphia, Pa.; Rev. Dr. William B, Bodine, of Philadelphia, Pa.; Rev. Dr. Charles S. Olmstead, of Bala, Pa.; Rev. Dr. George McClellan Fiske, of Providence, R.I.; Rev. Dr. Edgar A. Enos, of Troy, N.Y.; Rev. Dr. J. Lewis Parks and Rev. Dr. William M. Grosvenor of New York; Rev. Dr. R.M. Kirby, of Potsdam, N.Y.; Rev. Dr. John H. Egar, of Rome, N.Y.; Rev. Dr. George D. Silliman, of Stockport, N.Y.; Rev. Dr. John Brainard, of Auburn, N.Y.; Rev. Dr. H. Martyn Hart, of Denver, Col.; Rev. Dr. Edwin S. Lines, of New Haven, Conn; Rev. Dr. Daniel C. Roberts, of Concord, N.H.; Rev. Dr. Alfred B. Baker, of Princeton, N.J.; Rev. George S. Bennitt, of Jersey City, N.J.; Rev. Dr. J. Isham Bliss, of Burlington, Vt.; Rev. John Henry Hopkins, of Chicago, Ill.; Rev. Dr. Campbell Fair, of Omaha, Neb.; Rev. John Williams, of Omaha, Neb.; Rev. Dr. Frederick W. Clampett, of San Francisco, Cal; Rev. R.G. Foute, of San Francisco, Cal.; Rev. Dr. Angus Crawford, of Alexandria Seminary, Va.; Rev. Dr. Randolph H. McKim, of Washington, D.C.; Rev. Dr. Frederick P. Davenport, of Memphis, Tenn.; Rev. Dr. Alex. Mackay-Smith, of Washington, D.C.; Rev. Henry B. Restarick, of San Diego, Cal.; Rev. B.W.R. Tayler, of Los Angeles, Cal.; Rev. Dr. David H. Greer, of New York; Rev. Dr. William R. Huntington, of New York; Rev. Dr. Beverly D. Tucker, of Norfolk, Va.; Rev. Dr. Carl E. Grammer, of Norfolk, Va.; Rev. Dr. William T. Manning, of Nashville, Tenn.; Rev. Frederick A. De Rosset, of Cairo, Ill.; Rev. Richard P. Williams, of Washington, D.C.; Rev. Dr. Henry W. Nelson, of Geneva, N.Y.; Rev. Dr. John Kershaw, of Charleston, S.C.; Rev. Dr. Herman C. Duncan, of Alexandria, La.; Rev. Dr. John K. Mason, of Louisville, Ky.; Rev. Dr. Walter R. Gardner, of Algoma, Wis.; Rev. Dr. George C. Hall, of Wilmington, Del; Rev. J.L. McKim, of Milford, Del.; Rev. Dr. Henry L. Jones, of Wilkesbarre, Pa.; Rev. Dr. George C. Foley, of Williamsport, Pa.; Rev. Dr. Storrs O. Seymour, of Litchfield, Conn.; Rev. Dr. Charles E. Craik, of Louisville, Ky.; Rev. C.S. Leffingwell, of Bar Harbour, Me.; Rev. Dr. Rufus W. Clark, of Detroit, Mich.; Rev. Dr. Lucius Waterman, of Claremont, N.H.; Rev. Dr. Henry H. Oberly, of Elizabeth, N.J.; Rev. Julian E. Ingle, of Henderson, N.C.; Rev. Dr. Charles L. Hutchins, of Concord, Mass., the efficient Secretary, always patient and courteous; Rev. Dr. Henry Anstice, of Philadelphia, Pa.; Rev. Edward W. Worthington, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Rev. William C. Prout, of Herkimer, N.Y., Assistant Secretaries; Mr. George M. Darrow, of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Dr. William Seward Webb, of Shelburne, Vt.; Mr. Henry E. Pellew, of Washington, D.C.; Mr. Linden H. Morehouse, of Milwaukee, Wis., of The Young Churchman Co.; Judge James M. Woolworth, of Omaha, Neb.; Mr. Burton Mansfield, of New Haven, Conn.; Hon. Cortlandt Parker, of Newark, N.J.; Judge Charles Andrews, of Syracuse, N.Y.; Mr. John I. Thompson, of Troy, N.Y.; Mr. Leslie Pell-Clarke, of Springfield Centre, N.Y.; Hon. George R. Fairbanks, of Fernandina, Fla.; Judge L. Bradford Prince, of Santa Fé, N.M.; Hon. Francis A. Lewis, of Philadelphia, Pa.; Hon. Francis L. Stetson, of New York; Mr. George C. Thomas, of Philadelphia, Pa., Treasurer of the Board of Missions; Hon. W. Bayard Cutting, of New York; Judge John H. Stiness, of Providence, R.I.; Hon. Joseph Packard, of Baltimore, Md.; Hon. Charles G. Saunders, of Lawrence, Mass.; Hon. Arthur J.C. Sowdon, and Hon. Robert Treat Paine, of Boston, Mass; Mr. William B. Hooper, of San Francisco; Mr. Henry P. Baldwin, of Detroit, Mich.; Mr. Francis J. McMaster, of St. Louis, Mo.; Mr. William H. Lightner, of St. Paul, Minn.; Mr. Richard H. Battle, of Raleigh, N.C.; Hon. G.S. Gadsden, of Charleston, S.C.; Mr. George Truesdell, of Washington, D.C.; Mr. George M. Marshall, of Salt Lake City, Utah; and Mr. Joseph Wilmer, of Alexandria Seminary, Va. There is one other name which must not be omitted, that of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, of New York city, who, notwithstanding his vast business interests, was in his seat from the opening of the Convention until the closing session, watching all the debates and deliberations with the deepest interest, and serving on various important committees. Many of the members of the Convention, too, were deeply indebted to him for a gracious hospitality dispensed by him in his magnificent temporary home on California Avenue.

To name the Bishops who in one way and another made their presence felt in their own House, in the Board of Missions and elsewhere, at meetings and in services, it would be necessary to speak of all who were in attendance on the Convention. Those who were specially active, however, were Bishop William Croswell Doane, of Albany; Bishop Henry Codman Potter, of New York; Bishop Daniel Sylvester Tuttle, of Missouri; Bishop Benjamin Wistar Morris, of Oregon; Bishop Thomas Underwood Dudley, of Kentucky; Bishop Ozi William Whitaker, of Pennsylvania; Bishop Cortlandt Whitehead, of Pittsburg; Bishop John Scarborough, of New Jersey; Bishop George Franklin Seymour, of Springfield; Bishop William David Walker, of Western New York; Bishop Leighton Coleman, of Delaware; Bishop Samuel David Ferguson, of Cape Palmas; Bishop Ellison Capers, of South Carolina; Bishop Theodore Nevin Morrison, of Iowa; Bishop Lewis William Burton, of Lexington; Bishop Sidney Catlin Partridge, of Kyoto; Bishop Peter Trimble Rowe, of Alaska; Bishop William Frederick Taylor, of Quincy; Bishop William Crane Gray, of Southern Florida; Bishop Ethelbert Talbot, of Central Pennsylvania; Bishop James Steptoe Johnston, of Western Texas; Bishop Anson Rogers Graves, of Laramie; Bishop Edward Robert Atwill, of West Missouri; Bishop William N. McVickar, of Rhode Island; Bishop William Lawrence, of Massachusetts; Bishop Arthur C.A. Hall, of Vermont; Bishop William Andrew Leonard, of Ohio; Bishop James Dow Morrison, of Duluth; Bishop Henry Yates Satterlee, of Washington; Bishop Charles C. Grafton, of Fond du Lac; Bishop Abiel Leonard, of Salt Lake; Bishop Isaac Lea Nicholson, of Milwaukee; Bishop Cleland Kinlock Nelson, of Georgia, and Bishop Thomas F. Gailor, of Tennessee. It is needless to say that Right Rev. Dr. William Ford Nichols, of California, who was the host of the Convention, was prominent in all gatherings, and that his guiding hand was seen in all the admirable arrangements made for meetings and services. He was ably seconded by Bishop Johnson, of Los Angeles, and Bishop Moreland, of Sacramento. Some faces were sadly missed, as for example, Bishop Niles, of New Hampshire; Bishop Huntington, of Central New York; Bishop Worthington, of Nebraska; Bishop Spaulding, of Colorado; and the Presiding Bishop, Right Rev. Thomas March Clark, of Rhode Island. The Secretary of the House of Bishops, Rev. Dr. Samuel Hart, of Middletown, Conn., was a conspicuous figure in the Convention, and he and his assistants, Rev. Dr. George F. Nelson, of New York, and Rev. Thomas J. Packard, of Washington, were often seen in the House of Deputies, bearing official messages.

In addition to the regular business of the Convention, there were discussions of a high order on such matters as Amendments to the Constitution, the enactment of New Canons, Admission of New Dioceses, Marriage and Divorce, and Marginal Readings in the Bible. The Report of the Commission on Marginal Readings was finally adopted, with some modifications, after an animated debate, to the great satisfaction of many who felt the need of such a help in reading the Holy Scriptures. At times the speakers, both lay and clerical, rose to heights of fervid oratory, and it was an education to listen to men who were thoroughly versed in the themes which they handled. The Missions of the Church were not neglected in the midst of the exciting debates of the Convention, and an important step was taken when the Board resolved to adopt the Apportionment Plan, by which each diocese and missionary jurisdiction would be called on to raise a definite sum of money. This, it was felt, would relieve the Board from the burden of indebtedness, and would enable the Church to originate new work. No more earnest advocates of this plan could be found in the meetings of the two Houses of Convention as the Board of Missions, than in Bishop Brewer of Montana and Mr. George C. Thomas, the Treasurer. Their words were forcible and their manner magnetic. Bishop Doane's eloquent advocacy of the measure also led to happy results.

In this chapter on the Triennial Council of the Church held in San Francisco, we must not omit to make mention of the United Offering of the Woman's Auxiliary to the Board of Missions. The women of the Church specially devoted to its missionary work had been gradually increasing their forces and activities and offerings. When they last met, in the city of Washington, D.C., three years before, they presented the goodly sum of $83,000; but now in San Francisco they were to surpass their previous efforts. They were to show forth the fruits of more earnest labours and richer giving. They established their headquarters at 1609 Sutter street, in a commodious dwelling house, not far from Trinity Church, where the Convention was in session. Here various rooms were fitted up with handiwork and other products of missionary labour from the numerous fields where the Church, in obedience to her Lord's command, is engaged in sowing beside all waters; and no one could walk through these artistic chambers adorned with the work of the Indians of Alaska and the dwellers of the South Seas, the converts of India, of China and Japan, as well as Mexico and other regions, without being filled with admiration. Various dioceses also of the Church exhibited pictures of sacred edifices showing different styles of architecture. There were also photographs of noted missionaries, pioneer bishops and other clergy in the collection. Here indeed was an object lesson, and in all these works was manifested a spirit of enterprise most commendable. Different countries were thus brought together in such a way as to make the student of Missions realise the fact that the Church had indeed gone into all lands and that the Gentiles were walking in the light of Him Who is the life of men. While there were important meetings held by the Auxiliary, and special services were arranged for its members, the greatest interest naturally centered in the service held in Grace Church on Thursday, October 3rd, when the United Offering for the three years ended, was laid on the Altar of God. Six clergymen gathered the alms, and bearing them to the chancel, they were received in the large gold Basin which some years ago was presented to the American Church by the Church of England. This Alms Basin is three feet in diameter, and is an object of great interest as well as value. It is used only at grand functions, such as the meetings of the General Convention. It was an occasion of great rejoicing as well as a cause for devout gratitude when the magnificent sum of one hundred and four thousand dollars was reverently placed on the Altar. Behind all this was the love which made the large offering possible, behind it too the devotion which at this most significant and inspiring service, led fully a thousand faithful women to draw nigh to their divine Lord in that blessed Eucharist which quickens the soul into newness of life. The sermon at the service of the United Offering was preached by Right Rev. Dr. Nichols, Bishop of California, from St. Luke, chapter ii, verses 22-24, and was one of remarkable power, rehearsing the righteous acts and noble deeds wrought by women in all ages.

One of the most noted meetings during the sessions of the Convention was held in Mechanics' Pavilion, on the evening of Tuesday, October 8th. It was probably the greatest gathering ever brought together on the Pacific coast in the interest of Missions or of Religion. There were not less than seven thousand persons present during the evening in the great hall, whose arches rang from time to time with applause at the sentiments of the speakers, and echoed and re-echoed the stirring missionary hymns sung by the vast multitude as led by the vested choirs of the various parishes in San Francisco. It is said that this enthusiastic gathering of all ranks was equalled only by the thousands who had assembled here only a short time before to pay honours to the memory of President McKinley, whom the people loved. Bishop Doane of Albany presided with his accustomed tact and force, and, after suitable devotions, introduced the four speakers. The first of those who addressed the assemblage was the Right Rev. Edgar Jacob, D.D., the Lord Bishop of Newcastle, who represented the Archbishop of Canterbury. He said that there were four methods of spreading the Gospel in obedience to the command of the Master, "Go, make disciples of all people of the earth." These are the evangelistic, the educational, the medical, and the magnetic. Of this last he said, "It is that the society should attract the individual. The influence of the individual must be followed by the influence of the society." Bishop Potter of New York followed in his usual happy vein. Then came the eloquent Bishop of Kyoto, Right Rev. Dr. Sidney C. Partridge, and after him Burton Mansfield, representing the laity, who spoke about "Re-quickened Faith as necessary to all."

During the last week of the Convention there were some special reunions of colleges and theological seminaries. Among the most interesting of these, that of the Philadelphia Divinity School, with Bishop Whitaker presiding, may be mentioned, and also that of St. Stephen's College, Annandale, with its first Warden, Bishop Seymour, at the head of the table. Bishop Dudley honoured the gathering of alumni at this banquet, in the Occidental Hotel, with his presence, and Warden Lawrence T. Cole was a prominent figure.

The Convention attracted to San Francisco several well-known clergymen who, although not deputies, were nevertheless deeply interested listeners, in the galleries and on the floor of the House, during the sessions, and were also participants in services and missionary gatherings. Among these was the Rev. Dr. Lawrence T. Cole, the energetic Warden of St. Stephen's College, Annandale, N.Y., of whom we have already spoken. There was also in attendance the Rev. A. Burtis Hunter, Principal of St. Augustine's School for Coloured Students, in Raleigh, N.C. In this Church Institute Rev. Mr. Hunter and his excellent wife are doing a grand work for the negro people of the South, on lines somewhat similar to those followed by Booker T. Washington at Tuskeegee. We also noticed at the Convention and Missionary Services the Rev. William Wilmerding Moir, B.D., the zealous missionary at Lake Placid, N.Y., in the Diocese of Albany. His Missions, which have been phenomenal in their growth, are St. Eustace-by-the-Lakes and St. Hubert's-at-Newman. Under his sowing beside all waters, the Adirondack wilderness, in the field committed to him, is blossoming as the rose. Never was missionary more indefatigable and self-denying than he, and his rich reward now is in the possession of the confidence and love of his flock. It shows what a true and beautiful life can accomplish for the Divine Master and for the souls of perishing men, when the apostolic injunction is observed to the letter,—"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." This is indeed the true spirit in all missionary labours; and, thank God, it animates the Church in all its fulness, as evidenced here in San Francisco in the devising of methods for the extension of the Gospel of the Kingdom!

During the last hour of the final session of the Convention, Rev. Dr. William R. Huntington, Rector of Grace Church, New York city, a man whom every one who knows him respects and honours for his learning, his eloquence, his integrity, his character as a man, his devotion as a Clergyman, to the Church, and his love for his Divine Master, created a sensation by a speech which he made. Indeed it was dramatic in its character, and it made a profound impression on all who heard it. As he spoke, a deep silence came over the members of the House. As is well known, Dr. Huntington has for years advocated an amendment to Article X of the Constitution by which there should be given to the Bishops of the Church the spiritual oversight of congregations not in communion with the Church, allowing the Bishops to provide services for them other than those of the Book of Common Prayer. This subject was debated at length, and at last, to harmonise all interests, a Committee of Conference was appointed from both Houses. Finally the Committee reported two resolutions for adoption,—the first, that Article X of the Constitution is to be so interpreted as not restricting the authority of the Bishops, acting under the Canons of the General Convention, to provide special forms of worship; and the second, that the Bishops have the right to take under their spiritual oversight congregations of Christian people not in union with the Church, and that the use of the Book of Common Prayer is not obligatory for such congregations, but no such congregations shall be admitted into union with a Diocesan Convention until organised as a Parish and making use of the Book of Common Prayer. The first was adopted, and the second lost. Dr. Huntington then arose and moved a reconsideration of the vote on the Report of the Committee of Conference. Having made his motion, he said, with evident feeling and pathos in his voice: "I may perhaps be allowed in advocating this motion to say a single word of a personal character, or partially of a personal character. I desire to say that I entertain the same faith in the final victory of the principles which I have had the honour to advocate in three previous Conventions that I ever have entertained. Individuals may rebuke me because of too great persistency and because of too much presumption. Great measures, if I may be pardoned in using a political phrase, may be turned down for the time. They cannot be turned down for all time. You have chosen your course for the present with reference to the great question of the opening century. I acquiesce. I resign to younger hands the torch. I surrender the leadership which has been graciously accorded me by many clerical and lay members of this House. The measure I advocated has been known as the iridescent dream. I remember who they were who said, we shall see what will become of his dream. In time they saw. But for the present it is otherwise. The Chicago-Lambeth platform has been turned down, and what I hope I may characterise without offence as the Oxford-Milwaukee platform is for the time in the ascendant. I accept the fact. My 'iridescent dream' shall disturb their dreams no more. I recall a saying of my old friend Father Fidele, whom we used to know in our college days as James Kent Stone. When he went over to Rome he wrote a book with the title, 'The Invitation Heeded,' and the best thing in it was this: 'I thank heaven that I have reached a Church where there is no longer any nervousness about the General Convention.' There is no probability, sir, of my heeding the invitation that he heeded, but henceforth I share his peace." The motion to reconsider the vote by which the first resolution of the Committee of Conference was adopted, was lost; and then Dr. Huntington retired from the House. Soon after the Bishops sent to the Deputies in Message 93, the same Resolutions as having been adopted by them, and asking the House of Deputies to concur. The motion prevailed by a large vote, and the victory came for the good Doctor, who thought he was defeated for the present, much sooner than he had expected.

The closing service of the Convention, on Thursday afternoon, October the 17th, was a memorable one. The imposing array of Bishops in their robes, the presence of the House of clerical and lay deputies, and the hundreds of San Francisco's citizens who thronged Trinity Church, together with the inspiring hymns and the reading of the Pastoral Letter by Bishop Dudley, who used his voice with great effect, made a lasting impression on all present. With the solemn benediction by Bishop Tuttle at 6:30 P.M., the great Council of 1901 was a thing of the past, but though its sessions were ended and become a matter of history, its effect could not be undervalued. It was a great advantage to the churchmen from all parts of the land to meet in San Francisco. In their journeyings from the East and other portions of the country between the Atlantic Ocean and the Rocky Mountains they had an opportunity of studying the far West, and they realised more than ever how great is the extent of the country, how inexhaustible its resources; and they were stirred up to greater missionary activity and more liberal giving. The wide domain between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierras and the rich valleys of California bordering on the Pacific Ocean, inviting enterprising agriculturalists from all sides, were indeed an object lesson. The civilisation of the West too is the civilisation of the East, and the Church, with her adaptability, is as much at home by the Golden Gate as in New York or Boston or Philadelphia. The Convention will help the Church in California. Its influences have gone out among the people in healing streams. Its character and work were a revelation to the populations by the Pacific; and already men who knew but little about the strength of our great American Church, its order, its catholicity, its aims, have been greatly enlightened and drawn to its services. They realise more and more what a mighty agency it is for good, how it promotes all that is best in our civilisation, and how it adds to the stability of the institutions of the land.

The character of the men and women whom the Church trains for citizenship and usefulness in the world is seen in two beautiful lives whose labours were finished, in God's Providence, by the waters of the Golden Gate. Mrs. Mary Abbott Emery Twing, of New York, widow of the late Rev. Dr. Twing, for many years Secretary of the Board of Missions, had travelled across the continent to be present at the meetings of the Woman's Auxiliary, of which she had been the first active Secretary. But sickness came, and after a few days she was cut down like a flower. She was a woman of a lovely character, devoted to the service of her divine Master like the Marys of old, and was a type of the tens of thousands of the Church's faithful daughters throughout the land. As she has left a holy example of missionary zeal and labour, so her good works follow her. The other life of which we speak is also an eminent example of love for God's Church, of faithfulness and good works. John I. Thompson, one of the most esteemed citizens of Troy, N.Y., though hardly in a condition physically to make the long journey to San Francisco, yet felt it his duty to be in his seat in the Convention. So he counted not his life dear unto himself, but with that sense of duty and spirit of self-sacrifice which always had characterised him he was found in his place at the opening and organising of the Convention, in Trinity Church, and answered the roll call. Exposures by the way had made inroads on his health and gradually he lost his strength until death finally claimed him on the evening of Wednesday, October the 16th. The next day the Convention passed the following resolution: "Resolved, That the members of this Convention have heard, with deep regret, of the death of Mr. John I. Thompson, a lay deputy of the diocese of Albany, and they hereby express their warm and tender sympathy for his family in their sore bereavement." But what a deathbed was his! What a testimony to the power of a living faith in Christ! He died as he had lived, a truly Christian man, illustrating the power of that Gospel which the General Convention is pledged to propagate and defend. With him, in the Palace Hotel, were those whom he loved best of all, his devoted wife, who had accompanied him, and his faithful son, who had hastened from the distant East to the chamber of sickness; with him too betimes the Bishop of Albany, whose tender words and loving ministrations were an unspeakable comfort to him; with him also his beloved Rector, Dr. Edgar A. Enos, of his dear St. Paul's Church, to break for him the bread of life and press the cup of salvation to his lips, and pray for him as he walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and to commend his departing soul to God. He knew he was going away from earthly scenes, and with faith and hope, he leaned on the arms of his Lord. Trained from his childhood in the ways of the divine life, and having walked like the holy men of old in the paths of righteousness, he had no fear as his feet touched the Dark River. He was ready to launch his soul's bark on the ocean of eternity. Methinks I see his purified spirit passing out through the Golden Gate yonder, but to sail over a sea more calm than the Pacific. It is eventide now, but "at evening time it shall be light;" and the light of God's eternal city is shed across his pathway as the Divine Pilot guides him through the Golden Gate of Paradise to the harbour of peace!