Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 19.djvu/172

 REVEREND EZRA FISHER of population in our towns. I have been travelling through the churches the last five weeks and shall write you on the subject of the state of the churches by the next mail. Very respectfully yours, EZRA FISHER. Received June 22, 1853. Oregon City, O. Ter., June 13th, 1853. Rev. Benjamin M. Hill, Cor. Sec. A. B. H. M. Soc., N. York. Dear Br. : Yours of March 19th was received', as you will learn before the receipt of this; also yours bearing date April 2d, and I now haste to answer definitely some enquiries in that, before giving you an outline of my labor the past six or eight weeks, hoping however to have them both ready before the departure of the next mail. While I cherish a high regard for the piety and talents of Br. Chandler, as your agent I will state to you confidentially that I regard Brother Chand- ler's removal from the school an unfortunate one both for himself as a public man and for the school. Yet there is an apology. Brs. Johnson and Chandler have not always had the best understanding. Brother Johnson, from the earliest public labors of Br. Chandler, did: not regard him as the man either for the care of the church or the school. Although Br. Johnson was passive and too wise to interfere, yet Chandler soon found him rather cool and reserved. Br. Chandler had not long been in the place before he expressed a desire to settle permanently, if he continued in the church and in connection with the school after the first year. This doctrine did not meet with a very cordial reception with Br. Johnson. I assured Br. C. that it was desirable that our situations be made as permanent as the nature of the case would admit; yet permanency could only be obtained by securing the confidence of our employers, whether we were