I received the too complaisant Letter your Lordship did me the honour of writing to me by the Revd. Mr. Christian, who has also communicated some of your Views for the Benefit of Religion in the United States of America, requesting my Opinion, which I have given him, but will repeat in this Letter, lest I should not in every particular have been rightly apprehended. It is proper to be understood that Those States consist of Thirteen distinct and separate Sovereignties, each govern’d by its own Laws, in which no one religious Sect is established as predominant, but there is a general Toleration of all; and should any thing be enacted by one of them in favour of a particular Sect, it would have no Operation in the others. The Congress, tho’ form’d by Delegates from each State chosen annually, has Powers extending only to those general Affairs of political Government that relate to the Whole, but no Authority whatever is given to them in ecclesiastical Matters. And I therefore think they will do nothing either to encourage or discourage the Introduction of a Bishop in America. For myself, I can only say as a private Person, that I think such an Officer may be of use to the Episcopalians not only for the better Government of their Clergy, but for preventing the Expence and Risque that attend the sending their young Men to England for Ordination. He should however have Power to consecrate other Bishops, so as to prevent for ever the Necessity of sending to England for Successors in that Station, otherwise he will hardly be so well received. The great Difficulty will be to make proper Provision for his Support. I doubt whether any of the Governments will establish such Support, and I have not much Confidence that any thing considerable may be obtained by private Contributions. My Reasons are, that the Episcopalians in most of the States are very small in Number compar’d with the Inhabitants of other Persuasions, and where they are a Majority, they do not generally see the Necessity or Utility of a Resident Bishop, and they apprehend some Inconveniences in it. Of this there was a strong Instance in Virginia some Years before the late Revolution. Inhabitants of that Province were almost wholly of the Church of England, and their House of Commons of course the same. Yet that House unanimously censured in strong Terms, the Proposition of some of their own Clergy, for introducing a Bishop, and thank’s others who oppos’d and defeated the Project, as may be seen in the following Extract from their Journal, viz.