Queen's College, Cambridge 18th November 1846
My Dear Friend,
I have much pleasure in forwarding to you the enclosed letter of peace and good understanding.
I had Mr. Hitchin's note regarding the meetings on Friday and Monday, and shall duly attend them as already stated to him.
Yours Truly,
James Thomson.
Southwell, Notts.
Nov. 16, 1846.
My dear Sir,
In acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 9th inst. allow me to express my obligation for the prompt and kind manner in which you reply to mine of the 2nd, also the pleasure I have in informing you of the perfect satisfaction of myself and other friends with the explanation given.
From the very first I was persuaded no offence was intended and I wrote more for the satisfaction others and am happy to say your explanations are so full and satisfactory as completely to remove every undesirable feeling.
I am obliged for the observations offered in relation to the arrangements for Public Meetings; I perceive however they somewhat differ from the practice of this Locality; here the invitations are given either by a note or a call, and whatever partiality I may have cause to complain of I am happy to hear you say that so far as you in Lincolnshire, Dorset and other places all were equally invited and expected I was therefore wrong when I supposed this place a sample of others.
I think (whatever charitable construction we feel) you will admit that I have cause to complain of partiality; here are several villages about 8 miles distant the Parochial Minister is unfriendly to the Society and no dissenting Minister resides there and persons from other places are obliged to be invited and those invitations are confined to churchmen; the Auxiliaries with which these Branch Societies are connected arrange for parties to accompany the Deputation and I have never known a single instance in which a Dissenter has been invited, in our recent meeting I could and would have arranged to attend every one of them and I know of others who would have done the same but the fact is we did not know the Evenings on which they took place; I asked the Deputation if he had been to such and such a village, when and who accompanied him? I found they had all taken place, ours being the last and that his companions were all clergymen so that there was a preponderance of churchmen at all of them; I did think it was possibly the same in Lincolnshire.
You will judge from this explanation my peculiar position and perhaps in some degree sympathise with my sensitiveness feeling as I do that if villages cannot supply speakers the parties arranging for that deficiency ought to remember the great principle of the Bible Society and while clergymen are taken from a great distance they ought to give the dissenters living within a reasonable distance an opportunity of attending by informing him of the meeting if nothing more.
I must desist because an explanation of this sort savours too much of self but which I assure you is far very far from my thoughts; I only say if some must accompany the Deputation to certain places let Dissenters form a part; let those who secure the services of churchmen, secure also the assistance of those dissenters they may best approve whether in or out of the locality, so that the meeting is not exclusive and I am content.
Again expressing my satisfaction with your explanation and gladness that the meetings you attend it were not of the foregoing kind.
I subscribe myself,
Yours sincerely,
John Phillips.
Dr James Thomson
Bible Society.