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from Bishop Elliot, and is officiating at Bayeu Goula. They are
both rendering highly acceptable services to their parishes.

The Rev. Mr. Renouf, of the diocese of Massachusetts, officiated
with much satisfaction in Franklin, St. Mary's parish, for
about six months during the past year, and we are not without hope
that his valuable services may be again secured.

The Rev. Mr. Stamer, of the Church of England, has officiated
also for nearly twelve months in the parish of Ascension. He has
recently left for the diocese of Ohio.

The Rev. Mr. Steele, of the diocese of Tennessee, is officiating
in the parish of Caddo, at Greenwood.

The Rev. Mr. Wall, of the diocese of Mississippi, is employed
in the instruction of youth in the College of Louisiana.

The candidate for orders is Mr. David Kerr.

The whole number of clergy laboring in the diocese is eleven.
of whom, nine are canonically resident.

Four new parishes have been organized during the ecclesiasti-
cal year, viz: St. John's, Lafourche Interion; St. James's, Alex-
andria; St. John's, West Baton Rouge; and St. James's, East
Baton Rouge; in all of which, church edifices are in a course of
erection, or soon will be.

In regard to the action of the Missionary Committee, and the
Committee on the subject of relief for superanuated and infirm
clergymen, reports will be made to the Convention.

In reviewing the operations of the year, and the general condi-
tion of the diocese, we have great reason to be grateful to Almighty
God for his blessing. Instances of his favor towards us as a
church, have been constantly multiplying, and it cannot be doubted
that yet greater blessings are in store for us, if we be faithful to
the trust committed to our care. Our chief want is an increase of
laborers; the people are not only willing, but desirous to receive
them; and the difficulty of securing such as are willing to cast in their
lot among us from abroad, suggests to me the duty of again pressing
on the clergy the importance of seeking out suitable young persons
from among ourselves, who may be trained up for the church.

As the past year has been one of more or less agitation in the
church and world at large, upon the subject of the faith and order
of the gospel, it may be perhaps expected I should at least advert
to the topics in discussion. My own reviews were well known to

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you before I was invited to take charge of your diocese, and have
been explicitely recorded in the address delivered in 1842, on the
occasion of our first meeting after my election. In those views,
I have great pleasure in knowing the clergy of the diocese, as a
body, united most cordially. They steadily adhere to the truth and
appointments of the Gospel, as set forth and embodied in our lit-
urgy, articles and homilies. Their conviction is that our blessed
Lord organized, ordained and commissioned a church, to which he
entrusted the work of the conversion of sinners, and the confirma-
tion of the faithful. To this church he has committed his written
word, to be faithfully dispensed by it, as that sure warrant of Holy
Scripture, so containing all things necessary to salvation, that
whatsoever is not read therien, nor may be proved thereby, is not
to be required of any man to be believed as an article of faith,
or be thought requisite to salvation. In the execution of this duty,
they feel it incumbent upon them to teach the people, that the con-
dition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn
and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works,
to faith and calling upon God; that they have no power to do good
works (pleasant and acceptable to God) without the grace of God
by Christ preventing them; that, if they are ever accounted
righteous before God, it must be only for the merit of our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ, by{italics} faith{italics}, and not for our own merits or de-
servings; albeit that good works, which are the fruits of faith, and
follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, yet are they
pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out nece-
sarily of a true faith, as good fruit from its appropriate tree; that
among these fruits are to be numbered, not only charity towards
our neighbor, and purity in ourselves, but that piety towards God,
which shall constrain us cheerfully to submit to, and partake of,
those sacraments ordained of Christ, not only as badges of christian
profession, but as certain sure witnesses and effectual signs of
grace and God's good will towards us, by the which he doth work
invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and
confirm, our faith in him. In a word, the clergy of the diocese,
adhering as they do to the plain and understood sense of our writ-
ten standards, are not likely to expose themselves, with any degree
of justice, to the charge of either extreme of opinion, against which,
as a church we have so firmly protested. Our confidence is, that