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THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF 1892. 



REVISION AND DR. RRI««S. 



i 2 ao A-YEAR-SiyHGL^ Copies 2§ Crs 

™ JI T-ME: TRIBVME ASSOQJATfOM (l 






Entered H.New York Post-Offlce aa Second-Class Matter. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS, 



Page. 
The Portlana Meeting 3 

Preparations for the Sesaon 3 

First Day 8 

Conservatives Score a Victory in the Election 

of Moderator 8 

The Opening Seimon by Dr. Green 10 

Educating Men for the Mtnistry : 13 

Eepresentatives of the Synod .'. 14 

Second Day ^ 17 

Reports on Many Subjects 17 

The New Consensus Creed 18 

The Standing Committees 20 

Oaring for Aged Ministers ."'...21 

Western Theological Semlpary 21 

Auburn Theological Seminary 23 

Omaha Theological Seminary 24 

German School in Bloomfieldi 25 

Grerman Seminary at Dubuque 26 

Blddle University ;. 26 

Sunday Services 27 

Third Day 28 

Eevision and Dr, Briggs 28 

Work Among Indians and Blacks 29 

Work Among the Freedmen : 30 

Fourth Day ....7. 31 

Dr. Briggs Eeady .....31 

Home Missions ;. 31 

Foreign Missions ;: 32 



Page- 
Joint Christian Effort 34 

Eeport on Eevision 3S 

A Missionary Meeting 38- 

Education in tie West S* 

Fifth Day 40 

Dr. Briggs Under Fire 40 

Work of the Church Ahroad 41 

The Debate on the Briggs Case 4S 

Sixth Day 45, 

Dr. Briggs's Appeal Denied 4& 

The Joint Argument 46- 

Women and Home Missions 58 

r 

Seventh Day '. '. sd' 

Eesumption of Joint Debate 59' 

Dr. Birch's Second Argument 61 

Eevising the Confession 65- 

The Church Erection Board 6* 

Eighth Day 69^ 

Sustaining the Appeal 69 

line of Defence 7a 

The Closing Debate : 75. 

Ninth JDay 83. 

The Briggs Case Eerriknded 85 

Settling the Seminary Case 85^ 

Sunday and Temperance 8,8 

Tenth Day , go- 

Eeferred to Arbitration ...90' 



ILLUSTEATIONS. 



Page. 
Portrait of Dr. 0. A. Briggs 4 

First Presbyterian Church, PortJand.. ..;...., 5 

Portrait of Dr. A. J. Brown 6 

Portrait of Dr. W. C. Eoberts 7 

Portrait of Dr. G. W. F. Biroh 51 

Portrait of Dr. S. J. McPherson 54 



Portrait of Dr. G. L. Shearn 5T 

Portrait of Dr. E. M. Patterson.. 64 

Portrait of the Eev. Dr. John McO. Holmes....6& 

Portrait of the Eev. Dr. D. Dwight Bigger 77 

Portrait of Dr. J. S. Macintosh 83 

Portrait of Dr. John GUlespie..... SW 



THE TRIBUNE MONTHLY. 



VOL. IV. MAY, 1892. NO. 5. 



PRESBITERIiN ISSOES. 



THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF 1892. 



REVISION AND DR. BRIG6S. 



LIBRARY OF TRIBUNE EXTRAS. 



$2 a Year. Single Copies, 25 Gents. 



THE TEmUNE ASSOCIATIONJ 
NEW-YORK- 



PRESBYTERIAN ISSUES. 



The General Assembly of 1892— Revision and Dr. Briggs. 



THE PORTLAND MEETING. 



PREPAEATIONS FOR THE SE^ION. 



IMPORTANT ISSUES TO COMB BEITORE THE BODY 
—SPECIAL, TRAINS ACROSS TUE. CONTINENT 
— EXTENSIYE LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS 
—SKETCHES OP LEADING MEN. 
PortlaTid, Ore., April 29.— The General Assembly of 
the Presbyterian Churoli In the United States ot America 
wlU hold Its 104th onnual meeting In the Urst Church 
ot this city, beginning Thursday, May 19. A sermon 
by the retiring Moderator. Dr. WUllam Henry Green, 
of Pilnoeton Theological Seminary, wUl be delivered at 
11 a. m.. and In the afternoon a new Moderator will 
be chosen, and the work of the Assembly will beg^n. 
Morning and afternoon sessions wUl be held tor ten 
days, *'ie evenings being reserved for popnlar meet- 
ings In the interests of Uie several boards of the church. 

For a number of years the project of bringing the 
Presbyterians to this part of the country has been 
under discussion, and after numerous consultations 
and, wha<t was eauaUy important, the laying aside of a 
milleage fund large enough for the Increased expenses 
consequent upon such an extended trip, the claims 
of the Pacino NorUiwest were seriously considered last 
year, at Detroit, Mich. Invitations were reoeiyed from 
Calvary Church, of San Francisco, and the First 
Church of this city. The San Francisco claim was 
urged in eloquent addresses, but the speech that 
captnred the Assembly was given by Dr. A. G. Brown, 
the pastor of the First Church, who made these six 
polmts: (1) How Portland came to invite the Assem- 
bly ; (2) the unanimity and heartiness of Portland's in- 
vitation; (3) the preparations already made; (4) 
the facilities for liandling the Assembly; (5) the 
magnitude of the Interests affected, and (6) the reflex 
Influence which would be exerted upon the Church at 
large. 

When It was decided to hold the Assembly on the 
Pacific Coast, the question of transporfa.tion was the 
chief diflaculty, but this has been overcome by Dr. 
W. H. Roberts, the stated clerk, who haaseouredarouiid- 
trip ticket for a single fare, entitling the holder 
to come By one route and return by another. As the 
Assembly pays the expenses of the commissioners, 
there has heen a perfect willingness on the part of 
many Eastern bretliren to make the sacrifice required 
by their Church. Special trains are promised from 
New-York over the Pennsylvania and New-York Cen- 
tral roads, and at Chicago they win separate, one 
coming over the Northern Pacific, another over the 
Canadian Pacific, and a third over the Santa Fe route, 
the first stopping at Helena, Mont., over Sunday, and 



the other two at Salt Lake City. lAs it Is Impossible 
to make the run from Chicago to Portland after Mon- 
day morning in time to be present at the opening ses- 
sion on Thursday, additional trains will leave dilcago 
on Saturday evening, Sunday being spent at St. Paul 
or Omaha, according to the route taken. 

REPORT OP THE EEYISION COMMITTEE. 

As Portland is on home missionary ground, or was 
BO a short time ago, it is Intended to make the coming 
meeting as far as possible a missionary assembly, 
although it wlU be impossible to sink the two great 
questions that are to come up this year. Chief among 
them are the revision of the Westminster Confession 
of Faith and the position of Dr. Briggs and the Union 
Theological Seminary, in New- York. There are many 
who think Biat the report of the Revision Committee, 
admirable though It Is, and preipared though it has 
been by some of the ablest scholars and elders of the 
Church, Including Dr. Green and President Patton. of 
Princeton ; Dr. Herrick Johnson, of McGormlck ; Dr. 
B. D. Morris, of Lane; Dr. Matthew B. Riddle, of 
Allegheny ; Dr. wmis J. Beecher, of Auburn ; Dr. 
WUllam Alexander, of San Francisco: Dr. W. C. Rob- 
erts, formerly of Lake Forest University; Dr. W. E. 
Moore, of Columbus. Ohio ; Dr. R. R. Booth, of New- 
York; Dr. S. J. Nlcoolls, of St. Louis, and Dr. Henry 
J. Van Dyke, of Brooklyn, will not satisfy the great 
body of Presbyterianlsm. The result Is too radical 
for the conservatives, and too conservative for the 
radicals, and as the greater number of the ministers 
and elders are now, after the long debate on the ques- 
tion, in one of these two classes, it Is difficult, they 
say, to prepare a revision creed which will satisfy 
them. Because of this fact, there Is a vigorous move- 
ment on foot for a new creed, which shall be short, 
jyraottcal and Scriptural, emphasizing the love of God 
rather than His Justice. A greater number of Pres- 
byteries now unite in demanding the new creed than 
agreed to ask lor a revision of the Westminster Stand- 
ards, and as it was impossible for the Westminster 
Divines nearly 300 years ago to revise the Thirty- 
nine Articles, so it is thought thajt the present under- 
taking wUl fan and that another committee will be 
appelated to begin the new work. 

The Revision Committee has published the changes 
made In the Confesyom as they wUl be reported to the 
Assembly, but Instead of presenting the report as a 
whole for final adoption by the Presbyteries the mem- 
bers have agreed to send It down in separate overtures, 
some thirty in all. The overtures wUl be practically 
In this form : " Shall the filth section of Chapter 1 be 

amended so as to read : . " After the required 

number of the Presbyteries say "Yes," the Confession 
will be revised to that extent, but II the requisite 
number of affirmative votes— two-tliirds of the whole 
number— is not obtained, then that i>art ot the Con- 
fession will remain as It is to-day. Tlie only change 



UBEAEY OF TEIBTINE EXTRAS. 



In tte first chapter, by the -way. Is the Insertion of 
these words, "ithe trutMnlness of the history ami faith- 
ful witness of prophecy and miracle," among, the 
axffuments by which "the Scripture evidences Itself to 
be the Word of Gfod.» The second, fifth, twelfth, 
thirteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, twen- 
tieth, twehty-ffixth. twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, 
thirty-first, lliirty-second and thirty-third chapters 
remain unchanged. The third chapter, re- 
lating to the "Eternal Decrees," and the 
tenth, on "Eternal Cafflng," are practically 
rewritten. Two chapters are added, Nos. 9 and 11, la 
the revised report, the first being on "The Work of 
the Holy Spirit," and the second on "The tTniversai 
Offer of the Gospel." There is no essential change In 
these chapters from the foinn In which they were 
presemted at Detroit, except that they were condensed 
at the meeting held last winter. The sections In the 
Confession relating to the Roman Catholic Church 
•were somewhat modified, the tendency being to soften 
a.U allusions to that Church. 

THE DOOTRlira 01" PRETEKITION'. 
The great argument against the report of the com- 
mittee, as now presented, is that the doctrine of 
pretertaon, the "passing by" of a certain number by 
the decree of God, has not been dropped altogether. 




O. A. BBIGKJS. 
In fact, the new section on preterltlon is considered 
by some to be stronger than the one originally pre- 
sented, although this clause Is added to prevent undue 
criticism: "Yet hath He no pleasure la the death of 
the wlcKed, nor Is It His decree but the wlchedness of 
their own hearts which restratneth and Undereth 
-them from accepting the free offer of His grace made 
In the Gospel." The section relating to the death of 
Infants is materially changed, the new version reading : 

" Infants dying In infancy, and all other persons who 
"Ste not guilty of actual transgression, are Included 
Iji tee election of grace, and are reigenerated and saved 
ty Christ through the Splrtt, Who worlieth when and 
Srtlere and how He pleaseth; so, also, are all other 
«ieot persons who are not outTvardly called by the 
ministry of the Word." 

It Is undSretOtMl tbjt there wlU be dissent ex- 
pressed by some members of the committee to various 
secftons, 1. e., each man wUl sign th|& report, those who 
approve It entire without any comment, the othei-s 
adding, "I dissent to the changes made In chapter 
, section ." Besides the new chapters, twenty- 



six sections In eighteen chapters have been changed, 
and tliree sections have been strlchen out, two In the 
third chapter and oce In the seventh. 

THE NEW CREED DESIRED. 

The Creed desired by many Is one which will In 
some respects resemble the one outlined by Dr. Henry 
van Dyke, of New- York City. When discussing this 
matter In Ms Presbytery he said that those whom he 
represented wanted a new statement of essential doc- 
trine for foul reasons : 

" First. Because It will be simpler. We want some- 
thing that a platu man can understand ; something that 
we can put into the hands of those that need Instruc- 
tion without confusing their minds. 

"Second. Because it wlU be more Scriptural. We 
want something that has the tone and accent of the 
New Testament; sometMug less like a law paper and 
more like a creed, which can be read in the churches 
without ohilUag tlie spirit of devotion; something that 
will uplift and warm tlie heart. 

"Third. Because It will be shorter. Eleven thou- 
sand words Is too much. The substance of our iaith 
can be put Into half that space. If we leave out the 
non-essentials we shall bo able to put more strength 
into our faith in the essentials. And tills will bring 
us nearer to <5ur bretliren and help to clear the way for 
unification of Christendom. 

"Fourth. Because it wUl have a better balance. 
In practical theology the Important tiling Is the em- 
pliasis. We want a Creed that wOl lay a majsslvo 
emphasis upon the love of God for the world, the 
atonement of Clirist for all mankind, and the free, 
sincere offer of the Gospel for every creature." 

The Revision Committee, on the contrary, feel that 
It its report is adopted It wIU satisfy aU except a few 
extreme conservatives and a few extreme radicals, who 
wUl be equally unable to agree upon a new Creed. 
The progress of the discussion of this Important ques- 
tion will be watched with great Interest. 

PREPAEIXG A CONSENSUS CREED. 
There Is a committee now which Is discussing 
another new Creed, not one to take the place of the 
Westminster Confession, but a censensus Creed, which 
shall be used by all the Reformed churches tliroughout 
the world holding the Presbyterian system. This com- 
mittee was appointed In Saratoga In 1890, and last 
year It reported that It had been engaged during the 
year In the preparation of the draft of a consensus 
Creed to be submitted as a mere suggestion or basis 
for the exchange of opinion. In a letter sent to the 
supreme judicatories of the Reformed churches, re- 
quest was made that each one would at Its next 
meeting appoint a committee to enter Into correspond- 
ence with the committee sending the letter, with a 
view to the consideration and preparation "of a short 
creed containing the essential articles of the West- 
minster Confession to be used as a common Creed of 
these churches, not as a substitute for the creed of 
any parttonlar denomination, but to supplement It In 
the common work of the Church." Dr. Moore, the 
permanent clerk of the Assembly, is chairman of the 
Consensus Creed Committee, and Dr. W. H. Roberts, 
the stated clerk, is its secretary. Several meetings 
have been held during the year since the last Assem-. 
bly adjourned and a report Is expected at the coming 
meeting. 

A spirited debate occurred at Detroit when the Com- 
mittee on Church Unity made Its report, and the sub- 
ject is likely to come up tills spring, but In a new 
form. 

THE UNION SEMINARY CONFEEENOE. 

The subject most Important next to the revision 
question, and perhaps of greater popular interest, be- 
cause It has In it a personal element, wUl be the dis- 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



«usslon of the Briggs case. TUs wUI come before the 
•Assembly In two ways. Last year his transfer trom 
one chair to another In Union Seminary was disap- 
proved by a vote of 440 to 60, but so intense was the 
feeling on the part of the seminary dlreotOTS that at a 
meeting held shortly alter the Assembly tUey re- 
affirmed his "transfer," as they term It, and decided 
to stand by him. Besides disapproving the appoint- 
ment, the Assembly appointed a committee, headed 
by President Patton, of Princeton, to consult with the 
directors relative to the relation existing between the 
seminary and the Assembly. This committee held 
two meetings in Xew-Yorli, and after the adjournment 
Dr. Patton and Dr. Hastings, the president of the 
•emlnary, signed the following statement : 

"The adjourned conference which began on Wednes- 
day last between the General Assembly's Committee 
and the directors of the TJnlon Theological Seminary 
was concluded on Friday evening. A full, free and. 
calm discussion was had of all the points at Issue. 
There was throughout an obvious and earnest desire 
to reach harmoniously some conclusion. The com- 
mittee did not and could not yield as to the General 
Assembly's Interpretation of the agreement of 1870. 
On the other hand, the seminary directors did not 
yield their position with regard to the transfer of Dr. 
Briggs. The fact is accepted on both sides that there 
is an honest difference of opinion between the tivo 
parties to the agreement of 1870, which difference 
wlU be reported to the General Assembly as for the 
present irreconcilable. The committee will recom- 
mend that the status quo be recognized, in the hope 
that some action may be taken which will lead to 
a harmonious settlement of the questions involved. 
The membei-s of the committee and the directors of 
the seminary have reached a better understanding of 
one another by the courteous Interchange of views, and 
on both sides there has been an honorable disposition 
to seek those things that make for peace. In the 
conclusion of the conference, the venerable Dr. Butler 
addressed the committee in a few kindly, Impressive 
words, to which Dr. Patton responded in a like spirit, 
and then, with the doxology and the benedictloii, the 
conference adjourned sine die. Francis L. Patton, 
chairman of the General Assembly. Thomas S. Hast- 
ings, for the directors of Union Seminary." 

In the meantime Dr. Briggs has been teaching in 
the seminary, and as his colleague and successor In 
the Hebrew chair. Professor Brown, has been in 
Europe the greater part of the year, he has been 
practically filling his former chair. 

THE HEREST TRIAL IN 2fEW-T0BK. 
The second phase of the Briggs case wlU be the 
appeal from the Prosecuting Committee of the New- 
Vork Presbytery, which dismissed the heresy trial 
begun there last summer. After the committee had 
made Its report, ciUng the charges and specifications, 
and Dr. Briggs had made a reply, the Presbytery dis- 
missed the case, and it is against this action that the 
appeal is brought. In a4dltion to that the members 
of the committee have lodged a complaint against 
the Presbytery with the New- York Synod. According 
to the usual course, the case should go from the 
Presbytery to tlie synod, and then to the Assembly, 
but the committee Intends to force the appeaJ here. 
Wlien the case was before the Presbytery of New-York 
last faU protests against the ruling of the moderator 
and against tlie decision of the Presbytery were offered 
and these have been signed by many who voted to 
dismiss the case in the Presbyte'ry. 

DH. BRIGGS AXD HIS WORK. 
Dr. Briggs, who was the bone of contention at 
Detroit, and Is Ukely to be mentioned frequenUy at 
Portland, was bom in New- York and has just passed 



Ms fiftieth birthday. When sixteen years old he 
entered the University of Virginia, and Union Seminary 
three years later. He was a member at the famous 
7tfi Beglment of New- York and marched to the front. 
He was engaged in mercantile life alter the Re- 
bellion for some time, and then went to Germany, 
wliere he had the privilege of studying under Domer 
and Eodiger. Alter a brief pastorate at Eoselle, N. J., 
he was called to a professorship in Union Seminary 
eighteen years ago, occupying the Hebrew chair until 
last year, when Charles Butler, the president of the 
board of directors, gave $100,000 to found a ohalr 
of Biblical theology and requested that his friend. Dr. 
Briggs, should be transferred to that chair. 

Few writers of the present day have been enabled 
to accomplish more than Dr. Briggs, He Is ah In- 
defatigable worker. He became one of the founders 
and mahaglng editor of "The Presbyterian Review" 
and has written nnmeroub articles for periodicals, be- 




FIRST PKBSBTTERIAK CHTTRCH, PORTLAND. 

sides several books. Including "Biblical Study," 
"Messianic Prophecy," "American Presbyterianlsm," 
"Whither" and a new one just Issued, "The Bible, 
tlie Cliurch and the Reason." It was " Whither" that 
called special attention to his advanced views In re- 
gard to the Bible. From the first he was bitterly op- 
posed to the revised Bible and has taken frequent oc- 
casion to speak against it. The chairman of the Old 
Testament Company of the American Committee was 
Dr. Green, of Princeton Seminary, the present Mod- 
erator of the Assembly. Wh«i the University of 
Edinburgh held its centennial celebration. In 1884, Dr. 
Briggs was one of the four American scholars who 
received the degree of D. D. While recognized as a 
fighter by those outside of the Presbytery and by some 
wltliin the bounds, the following testimonial, written 
by one who knows him thoroughly, will be accepted 
as true by his friends : 

"Dr. Briggs Is a gentleman of genial si>Irit and 



6 



lilBEAEY or TRIBUNE EXTEAS. 



wlinlng addi-es3 ; he Is a flillgent and entliuslastle stu- 
dent, a vigorous writer and Independent thlniier, and 
holds high lanli as a scholar. lie flUs most acceptably 
the professorship which he now occupies Ini the Theo- 
logical Seminary, in wliich he was once a student, and 
Is highly esteemed by his friends for ills excellent 
social qualities and Clirlstian cliaracter." 

A STATEMENT OF DR. BKIGGS'S BELIEF. 

Just before the Assembly met a year ago the di- 
rectors of Union Seminary appointed a committee to 
see Dr. Briggs and obtain from him a statement re- 
garding matters wlilch wore believed to be misunder- 
stood In his Inaugural addi'ess. The statement con- 
sisted of a series of gueslions, which were answered by 
the professor and presented to the board to the satis- 
faction of an, though it has since been said by one of 
them that he merely meant tliat he would not press the 
matter further. Some of the q.uestious and answers 
were these: 

"1. A— Do you consider the Bible, the Church and 
reason as co-ordinate sources of authority? 
Am.— No. B— Do you believe the Scriptures ot the 
Old and New Testaments to be the only Infallible 
rule of faith and practice? A.— Yes. 

" 3. Would you accept the following as a satls- 




A. J. BROWN. 

factoiy definition of inspiration : 'Inspiration Is such 
a dlvln© direction as to secure an infallible record of 
Crod's revelations in respect to, "both faith and doctrine' J 
A.— Yes. 

"4. Do you beheve the Bible Inerrant In all mat- 
ters concerning faith and practice and In everytlilng In 
which It is a revelation from God as a veliicle of divine 
truth, and tliat there are no errors which disturb Its 
infalliblilty In these matters, or in its records of the 
historic events and institutions with which they are In- 
separably connected? A.— Yes. 

" 8. Is your tlieory of progressive sanctlflcatlon 
such as win permit you to say that you believe tliat 
when a man dies In the faith he enters the middle state 
regenerated, Justtfled and sinless? A.— Yes." 

As soon as the Assembly had adjourned, having dis- 
approved Dr. Briggs's transfer, the directors passed 
this resolution : 

"Eesolved, Tliat this Board of Directors, after 
having taken legal advice, and after due 



consideration, see no reason to cliange their 
views on the subject of the transfer of Dr. 
Briggs and feel bound In the discharge of their duty 
under the charter and constitution to adhere to the 
same." 

DR. BIRCH AND HIS WORK. 

Dr. G. W. P. Birch, the chairman of the Briggs 
Prosecuting Committee In New- York, was bom m 
1837, and is the pastor of a New-York church. Dj-. 
Eamsay, a fellow-pastor, says of him : " Dr. Birch 
could scarcely help being talented and cultivated. He 
came of a gifted family. One of his younger brothers 
died in the bloom of his promising youth after grad- 
uating at the head of his class. Another brother is 
now a prominent educator in Wheeling, W. Va., and 
for a number of years was the able and popular Consul 
of the United States to the Government tif Japan. 
There was not a child in the home who failed to show 
signs of genius. But in addition to 'the brain iwwer 
which Dr. Birch has by Inheritance, he has unusual 
and continuous opportunitios for cultivation. He has 
been a student all his lite. He has many other gifts 
besides memory, but this Is simply colossal. It 
enabled him to acQLulre other languages than his own 
with ease and use them in searching out truth. He 
Is especially proficient in sacred and profane history, 
his wonderful memory grasping and holding fast every 
great fact in Its proper order. His mind Is a great 
storehouse, filled with the fruit of his own gathering. 
He loses none of this fruit and none of it decays ; and 
he can place his hand almost at once on any sheaf of 
this grain he has gathered. 

"Dr. Birch has given special attention to ecclesi- 
astical law and history. His reading on this, as on 
other subjects, has been wide and exhaustive. By 
this special study he has been unusually well pre- 
pared for the post to which the Presbytery has ap- 
pointed him and the work he will be called upon to do. 
He does not profess to be able to lead Dr. Briggs, but 
he certainly can foUow Mvn into any field where In 
vestigatlons may take him. The Presbytery has made 
no mistake In placing such a man at the head of Its 
prosecuting committee. His learning, energy, per- 
severance, conscientiousness and freedom from all 
personal hostility to the accused make his appointment 
as chairman eminently fitting." 

Besides the Revision Committee and ihe Union 
Seminary Committee, the following special committees 
are to report: Cliureh Unity, Consensus Creed, Dea- 
cons, Indian Schools, Revision of Proof Texts, Sabbath 
Observance, Columbian Exposition, Church at Home 
and Abroad, Co-operation with Other Churches, German 
Theological Seminaries, Jaoiisonville, Pla., Reprinting 
Minutes, Seal of the Church, and Systematic Benev- 
olence. Tliese committees are In addition to the stand- 
ing committees appointed by the Assembly each year, 
wUch consider the works of the various boards. The 
committee, with Dr. Jolm Hall as chairman, to raise 
$7,500 to reimburse the Jacksonville church, has been 
successful in its under :alilng. This church surrendered 
property amounting to $5,000 to the Southern Church. 
Tills money has not been paid, and with tlie interest 
it now amounts to $7,500. The Jacksonville church 
was loyal 1o the Union In a time of great peril, and It 
Is liable to go out of existence unless tills money is 
paid. A large amount has been received during the 
year, and the committee hope to report tiiat the debt 
is extlngulslied. 

THE CLERK OF THE ASSEMBLY. 

After the meeting of the last Assembly, the man 
who received the most criticism, perhaps, by the friends 
of Dr. Briggs, was Dr. W. H. Roberts, the stated clerk. 
But Dr. Eoberls did not seem to care much about the 
indictment brought against him. One would imagine 



PE.ESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



50' 



toat tlie place of stated clerk was sufflolent to occupy 
tte attention of one man, but bo systematic a. man Is 
Dr. Roberts In his metbods of wort that he Is able, not 
only to do what Is of untold benefit to the entire 
Church, but be Is also a professor In Lane Seminary 
and was acting pastor of a prominent church In Cin- 
cinnati for a considerable time. Shortly after the last 
Assembly adjourned, and whUe the strictures which 
were passed upon his work at Detroit were fresh, the 
eynod of Ohio stamped its approval upon his conduct by 
electing him as Its moderator, an oflioe which he flUed 
with satisfaction to all. 

Dr. Eoberts was born In Wales In 1844, and was 
graduated from the College of the City of New-York 
when nineteen years old. For two years after his 
graduation he was statistician in the Treasury Depart- 
ment at Washington, and for six years was assistant 
librarian to Congress, but all this time his heart was 
In the ministry, and he returned to Princeton Sem- 
inary, where he studied theology, graduating tu 1873. 
At that time he was ordained pastor by the Presbytery 
of Elizabeth, and served the Cranford church, not fer 
from Elizabeth, for four years, when he was called to 
Princeton Seminary apd became Its librarian, remain- 
ing there until elected professor at Lane. He served 
the General Assembly as permanent clerk for four 
years, and has been stated clerk since 1884, succeed- 
ing Dr. Hatfield, who died the previous year. 

Dr. Moore, the permanent clerk, was bom In Stras- 
burg, Penn., In 1823, and was graduated from Yale 
College In 1847. WhUe principal of the Fairfield Sem- 
Inary, In Connecticut, he studied theology privately, 
becoming pastor of the First Presbyterian Church In 
West Chester, Penn., where he remained until 1872, 
when he accepted a call to the Second Church of Colum- 
tins, Ohio, where he has remained nntU tlie present time. 
X>F. IMoore has been a great help to the Church, having 
served it as moderator In addition to his valuable 
-work as a clerk. He lias prepared digests of the As- 
sembly which have been of incalculable benefit. He 
Is a member of the Revision Committee, of the Con- 
sensus Creed Committee, of the Committee on Con- 
ference with Union Seminary, and works with Dr. 
Eoberts in arranging the details of the various meet- 
ings of the Assembly. One of his sons is a professor 
at Andover Seminary, and another is a 'prominent pas- 
tor In Providence, E. I. If Dr. Eoberts is unduly 
progressive. Dr. Moore is e<iually cautious. 

THE PASTOE OF 'THE FTEST CHUECH. 

Dr. Arthur Judson Brown, pastor of the First 
Church, was born on December 3, 1856, In HoUlston, 
Mass., and Is of genuine Puritan stock. His father 
•was among the first who respoud,ed to the call for 
volunteers at the outbreak of the Civil War, and waa 
among the many whose lives were sacrifice* to pre- 
serve the Union. Soon after his death Mrs. Brown 
-with her two sons removed to Wisconsin and at the 
age of twelve Arthur Judson Brown was thrown on 
his own resources, working at manual labor for six 
years. At the age of eighteen he \ras converted and 
•determined to study for the ministry. He entered 
Wabash College. Crawfordsville, Ind.. and by hard 
-work outside of study hours and during vacation he 
was graduated in 1880 with the highest honors of his 
class and as Baldwin prize orator for the year. In 
September he entered Lane Theological Seminary, tak- 
ing the fnU course. One month after his graduation, 
in 1883, he was Installed, pastor of a home missionary 
church In Wisconsin. After a successful work there, 
he accepted a call to the Oak Park Presbyterian Church 
in the suburbs of Chicago, where he remained for three 
years and a half; during that time the church grew 
from a mere handful of people worshipping In a haJl 
«ver a store to a strong amd flourishing church of 



nearly t-wo hundred members with a hand- 
some church and jmrsonage. He served the 
Presbytery of Chicago, first as permanent clerk 
and then as moderator. Dr. WlUiam C. Gray, 
of "The Interior," was one of his elders. From Oak 
Park- he was called to Portland, where he succeeded 
the Eev. Aaron L. Lindsley on April 1, 1888. Here 
his work has been even more prosperous than in his 
previous pastorates. E. K. Warren, of this city, has 
recently prepared a sketch of Dr. Brown for "The 
Treasury" of New-York, In which he says: 

"Pew men of Dr. [Brown's age have accomplished 
more and fewer stm have done their work better. 
In recognition of his eminent attainments Lake Forest 
University honored herself no less than the man when 
in 1891 she conferred upon him the degree of Doctor 
of Divinity ; and as he Is but thirty-five years of age, 
his work has Just begun. If God spares his life, the 
best part is still before him, and he carries Into that 
lUe rich natural gifts with affluent culture, a lofty 
and consecrated purpose, a tender and affectionate 
heart, and a burning desire for the salvation of souls." 

As a speaker. Dr. Browm would be called some- 
what nervous in style. His voice, however. Is well 




W. 0. EOBERTS, 

modulated and pleasant. He speaks rapidly but enun- 
ciates clearly; His sermons are not " set with dia- 
monds nor decked with flowers," but they fall upon 
the ear with the force of Irresistible logic, leaving a 
profound and lasting impression. They are delivered 
with all the energy that Paul condensed Into the ex- 
pression. This one thing I do.' In their preparation 
one thing Is manifest throughout>-tne salvation of 
souls. For this purpose he marshals the artillery 
of broad scholarship, Intense thought, and downright 
earnestness In popular addresses on special occa- 
sions he particularly gives evidence of a mind 
richly endowed with those rare gifts which charm and 
sway the popular mind. In his pastoral relations 
his people are made to feel that In him they have a 
true friend and brother. No member of his large con- 
gregation Is ever neglected. In siclmess". In sorrow 
and In the dark hour of death, he Is ever present with 
that warm Christian feeling which gives sweet min- 
istry to the soul when It most longs for genuine, 
heartfelt sympathy. 

The report of the session of the First Church Is 
especially Interesting this year. The followlirg are 
the figures: Elders 121, deaconesses 30; added on. 



8 



lilBRAJtY OF TE311NE EXTRAS. 



examination— home church 157, Bethany Mission B5. 
total 222 ; added on certtHcate— home church 71, 
Bethanjf Mission 6, total 77 ; total additions, 299 ; 
suspended 2, dropped 2, dismissed— home church 23, 
Bethany Mission l; died— Bethany Mission l; adults 
baptized— home church 51, Bethany Mission 7. total 
68; Infants bajrtlzed 25; present membership— home 
church 809, 3ethany Mission 69, total 878; net gain 
for the year 275 ; reserved roU (not Included In mem- 
bership) 73; Sabbath-school membership— home school 
361, Bethany 156, total 517, students for the ministry 
2; funds contributed (tooludlng Individual gifts)— 
homo missions 810,484, foreign missions $4,376. educa- 
tion of students $31; Sabbath-school -work SlSl, 
church erection $6,158, relief fund $718, freedmen 
$623, aid for colleges and academies $4,138, General 
Assembly $244 80, Congregational $24,218, American 
Bible Society $95, mlscellaiieous $17,391, total be- 
nevolraieles $44,439 80; total Congregational $24,218, 
total for aU purposes $68,657 80. 

THE CHAIRMAN 01" THE EEYISIOIT COMMITTEE. 
The chairman of the Revision Committee Is one of 
the most popular In the Presbyterian Church. This 
Is Dr. W. C. Eoberts, whose geniality has made him 
friends from the Atlantic to the Paolflo. and whose 
Judgment and scholarship have retained that hold for 
many years. Dr. Eoberts was born In Wales sixty 
years ago, and came to this country when a mere 
child, receiving his edu<»tlon, coUegiate and the- 
ological, at Princeton, Wllmtngton, Del., Columbus. 
Ohio, and Elizabeth, N. J., have been the scenes of 
hia pastorates. While In New-Jersey he was deeply 
interested in the home mission worlr, and ten or 
twelve years ago he resigned his pastorate of the 
Westminster Church to become corresponding secre- 
tary of that board. Having entered upon this work, 
with which he was already more or less~lamlllar, he 
resolved to study it on the ground, and In his search 
for Information he literally found It on the ground, 
sleeping many nights on blankets In Wyoming, Mon- 
tana and other home mission territory. For five years 
he worked with Dr. Kendall, maimg friends In every 
Synod and Presbytery where he spoke. The home 
missionaries, men and women, whom he styles "The 
heroes and heroines of the Presbyterian Church," 
became his fast friends, and It was a universal loss 
when he resigned the secretaryship to accept the 
presidency of Lake Forest University. Dmtng the 
last Blx years he has added a mUlIou. dollars to that 
Instttntion, increasing its faculty and students in 
a marked degree. WhUe president at Lake Forest he 
served the Church as moderator, and is now the 
chairman of Its most Important committee. Within a 
few months the directors of the home board elected 
him senior secretary, and he has accepted It to the 
Joy of missionaries and pastors East and West. 

THE EETIBINU MODERATOR. 
Dr. Green, the retiring Moderator, is sixty-seven 
years old. He was bom near Bordentown, N. J., and 
was graduated from Lafayette College In 1840. After 
teaching classics and mathematics for three or four 
years he entered Princeton Seminary, graduating In 
1846. His only pastorate was In Philadelphia. In 
1851 he became a professor In Princeton Seminary, 
holding the chair of Oriental and Old Testament 
literature for more than forty years. He was the 
chairman of the Old Testament Company of the Ameri- 
can committee which assisted In making the revised 
version of the Bible, and he is now serving on the 
General Assembly's committee to revise the Confession 
of Faith. He is one of the ablest Hebrew scholars 
In (America, but his sympathies are diametrically op- 
Bosed to the methods pursued by the German school 



of higher criticism, of which Dr. Briggs is the chief 
American representative. 

THE GROWTH OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CXHURCH. 
The foUowtng table is in brief the record of the 
growth and progress of the Presbyterian Church for 
more than 250 years. Prior to 1789 accurate figures 
seem to be unattainable: 

Additions Benevo- 

on cou-Commuoi- lent con- 
TeaTs. Mhiisri%rs.Cliurches.£e5siou. cants, tributions. 

1660 „.. B1 2t 1 1 

1690 10? 18» 1,0001 

1705 12? 221 1,5001 

1717 191 40 3,0001 

1745 : 48 80 5,0001 

1757 98 200 10,0001 

1789 177 432 18,0001 $852 

1800 189 . 449 20,000? (1)2,500 

1810 434 762 28,901 5,439 

1820 741 1,299 8,021 72,096 12,891 

1830 ; 1,491 2,158 11,748 173,327 134,192 

1837 2140 2,865 11,580 222,557 281,989' 

1839, O. B 1616 1,673 6,377 156,583 134 439- 

1839. N. S 1,093 1,260 4,691106,000 Not given 

1849 O. B 1860 2,512 8,976 200,830 369,371 

1849, N. S 1,453 1,555 10,190 139,047 Not given. 

1859 O. S.; 2,577 3,487 23,945 279,630 764,66» 

1859, N. S 1,545 1,542 10,705133,990 266.574 

1869, O. S 2,381 2,740 15,189 258,963 1,346,179- 

1869 N. S 1,848 1,721 9,707 172,560 753,953 

1870. -. 4,238 4,526 32,003 446,561 2,023,365 

1880 6 044 6 489 26,838 578,671 2,262,871 

1887 ;■■ 5,654 6,436 53,886 697,835 8,196,458. 

1S88 5 789 6,543 51,062 722,071 4,015,120' 

J889 5,936 6,727 55,255 735,749 8,882,627 

1890 6i58 6,894 49,302 775,903 4,858,532- 

lis.""' .......6223 7,070 59,650806,796 4,296,932 



FIRST DAY. 



CONSERVATIVES SCORE A VICTORY IN THE 
EUICIION OF MODEEATOR. 



PRESIDENT TOrNG, OF CENTRE COLIiEGE, 
CHOSEN-tDR. GRBENTS sermon— PRESBY- 
TERIANS MARSHALLING FOR THE 
GREAT STRUGGLE. 

Portland, Ore., May 19.— After an election almost 
without precedent In its history, the General Assembly 
of the Presbyterian Church chose as its moderator this 
afternoon President WOllam C. Young, of Centre Col- 
lege, Danville, Ky. Dr. EadcUfle, of Detroit, and Dr. 
McPherson, of Chicago, were formidable rivals to the 
end of the third ballot, while Dr. Mutchtaore and Dr. 
JnnMjis, of PhUadelphla ; Dr. Bartiett, of Washington ; 
Dr. Ohrystie, of St. Paul; Dr. Smith, of Buffalo, and' 
Dr. Alexander, of San Francisco, were nominated. Om 
the final vote 525 ballots were cast. Dr. Young re- 
ceiving 262, Dr. EadcUfle 159, and Dr. MoPherson 98, 
An attempt to make the election unanimous failed. 

DR. YOUNG ACCEPTS THE MODERATORSHir. ' 

Dr. Young was accompanied to the platform by the 
committee, where Dr. Eibeldofier, the temporary 
moderator, took him by the hand and addressed him 
as follows : 

Dr. Young, I welcome you to the moderatorshlp to 
which you have been elected, and give you tbe Form of 
Government of the Presbyterian Church to guide yom 
in your government and management of the business- 
of this Assembly. And the more readily I do this 
because tlie providential combIn<itiou of age and 
of law have laid upon my shoulders for a brief time a 
burden (that I am glad to roU off upon yours. (Ap- 
plause.) And, sir, I can, I think, assure you that,^ 
having passed the most exciting business that may 
come before us, you will have an easy time of it in 
governing tills Assembly. (Laughter.) I base that 
prediction upon the fact that this is pre-eminently a 
pacific Assembly. Renewed laughter.) And I pray 
that God may bless you and guide you and those over 
whom you preside to a proper and profitable solution^ 



PEESBYTEEUN ISSUES. 



of all the questions that mav come before this Assem- 
wy. (Applause.) 

Dr. Young responded as follows : 

For the honor whlcli you have conferred, my breth- 
f'Vi, el^ftlne mo to preside over tlie deliberations 
01 thli Assembly, i have no extended formal remarks 
to mane, either lu the way of expressing tlianlis or of 
pnerliiR nd^iue as to ilie best manner of coadacting the 
important business -whloh sliaU come before us. It 
would he the merest aflectatl rr. of indlftersnce and 
^. of ^coldness If i should not feel pleased ahd 
profoundly grateful at this slguiflcant mart ot your 
fO"n'|ence and esteem. It would be suggestive, on 
the other ha.nd, of a vanity of which I am hot conscious 
U I Kliould not feel and thus publicly recognize that 
the votes which elected me over far worthier bretliien 
Bave been given In large measure, not as an expres- 
Mon of personal compliment, but as an expression of 
Iraternal fctndness and interest In the locality which I 
in part represent. (Applause.) I wish to say tEat I 
value the honor not tlie less but all the more upon this 
account, in that In some measure it has been given to 
and is shared by every member and officer and minister 
In the Presbyterian Church south of the Ohio River. 
Breuhrcn, I speak what I do know when I .say tliat 
limited In numbers, scattered over a -wide area of ter- 
ritory, lacMng the Inspiration wWch comes from close 
contact with tlie mass of their brethren, there Is no 
part of all this great Church which Is more thoroughly 
loyal to its standards and which is in deeper haim'jnv 
Tflth the heart of the Church than the portion which 
T In part do represent. (Applause.) Tested by fire, 
tried during times that put to the "test all that was In 
the man in adversity and prosperity, in storm and in 
sunsliine, with an unswerrtng loyalty to the country 
ItseU and to this church, they have stood for right- 
eousness and for the Bible, as that Bible is Inter- 
preted by this part of the Eresbyterian Church. 

But little verced in the administration of parlia- 
mentary business, I shall expect, and I Imow I shall 
find. In the discharge of the duties of the ofSce which 
you have oonfeiTed ulpon me, your indulgence and your 
co-operation. Let me say, in the words of a simple 
little stanza. : 

" Be to my faults a little blind, 
(And If you find that I have any as moderator) 
Be to my virtues very kind." 

And now, without idetaining you longer, praying a 
prayer in which I know every member of this Assembly 
win join, that these sessions may be constantly under 
the guidance and direction of the great Head of the 
Church, that however animated and earnest may be 
our disciissions, they may be wanting utterly in all 
bitterness and personality, and that at the end of this 
voyage it may be said of us, in the language of the 
Psalmist : " Then are they glad, because they be quiet. 
So he bringeth them to their desired haven." (Ap- 
plause.) 

Dr. Young is a son of Dr. John C. Young, formerly 
president of Centre College, and also moderator of the 
Old School Assembly. He was educated at the college 
■where he now presides and at DanviUe Seminary, and 
has been pastor at Covington, Ky. ; Madison, Ind. ; the 
Chicago FuUerton Avenue Church, and LoulsvUle, Ky. 
He Is conservative on the revision question, and Is 
said to be an antl-Briggs man up to the present 
moment. The Union Seminary men generally voted 
for Dr. McPherson, but they express themselves as 
satisfied with the choice of the majority. They say 
that the new moderator will be fair in the appointment 
of committees. His rivals wiU undoubtedly lead some 
of the most important committees. 

Dr. Eadclifle was bom in Pittsburg nearly fifty years 
ago, was graduated at Jeilerson College tliSrty years 
ago, had his theological training in the United Presby- 
terian Seminary at Princeton. He was ordained by the 
Presbytery at Philadelphia in 1866, serving as pastor 
of the Woodland Church for four years. From Phila- 
delphia ihe wont to Reading, first 'as stated supply of 
the First Cliurch, and later became its pastor. He has 
served as Moderator of the Synod of Philadelphia, and 
would make a strong moderator. 

Dr. McPhersDn is a young man of much promise and 
Is exceedingly popular In the West. He Is a progressive 
man, and the only word teard against Ills election is 
that Chicago has -had two Moderatoi-s within the last 
ten years. Dr. Herrlclt Johnson and Dr. Marquis, and 
that it is not fair to the rest of the Churolii to choose a 



man from Chicago so soon again. Di. McPherson was 
bom la Wheatland, N. Y., in 1850. He was graduated 
at Princeton College In 1874, with the first academic 
rank In his class. For one year he was tutor In mathe- 
matics at Princeton. In 1875 llite emtered Princeton 
Seminary. He was licensed to preach by the Presby- 
tery of EocUester in 1877, and was established pastor 
of the East Orange Presbyterian Church In September, 
1879. In November, 1882, he entered on the pastorate- 
of the Second Presbyterian Church of aiUcago. A 
friend writes : 

"Dr. McPherson has gained the admiring love oi 
his church and of his ministerial brethren, and has 
already taken rank among the leading preachers of 
the country. He speaks entirely without notes, from 
most thorough preparation. In his pulpit work he 
happily ■ blends the teacher and the orator. As a 
speaker, on occasions, with his rapid earnestness of 
manner, vigor and style, and delightful humor, he has 
proved himself to the best. His sermons, frequently 
published, show generous scholarship, philosophic 
comprehension of truth, a rare faculty of generaliza- 
tion, originality and fertility of thought, and fine 
powers of illustration. His unusual abilities, conse- 
crated faithfulness, his tact and wisdom as a pastor, 
his strong traits and attractive qualities as a man, show 
him to be worthy of the important place he occupies." 

The city Is making rapid strides toward summer, 
and flowers and trees, though later than usual, ar» 
sufficiently advanced to give Eastern visitors a great 
surprise, as they recall the barrenness viewed on the- 
journey here. Flowers and potted plants adorned the 
pulpit at 11 o'clock this morning, when the organ 
voluntary aunounced the opening of the 104th meet- 
ing of the Assembly. 

Tile devotional exercises were conducted by Drs^ 
A. J. Brown, the pastor of First Church; J. G. 
EihelldoHer, Redwood FaUs, Minn. ; B. L. Agnew, 
of Phlladelpliia ; E. S. Green, Orange, N. J.; and Dr. 
W. H. Roberts, Stated Clerk of Assembly. Dr. 
Roberts then read a note from Dr. AVllliam Henry 
Green, of Princeton, the retii-ing moderator, an- 
nouncing his Inability, through Ulness, to be present, 
and asking that, in accordance with the' rule of 
the Assembly, the senior member preside untlL 
the new moderator was elected. Dr. EiheldofEer 
was declared to be the oldest minister present 
to the knowledge of the clerk, and he occu- 
pied ithe chair of the moderator, and called 
upon Dr. Roberts to read the sermon prepared, 
by Dr. Green. Many expressions of thankfulness 
were heard later in the day that Dr. Green had pre- 
pared the sennon and that the commissioners had 
been privileged to hear it. Brief, devotional and 
practical, it set .the key notes for the practical, help- 
ful meeting for which the PactSo Coast has been 
praying and wishing during the year. 

Dr. Green's sermon was based on the keynote of 
Christianity— faith in God. He took for his text : 
"Verily, Thou art a God that hidest Thyself, O God 
of Israel, the Saviour." He first spoke of the won- 
derful faith of ithe old Hebrew prophets, who, even 
amidst their greatest trials and dangers, clung to 
their boundless faith in God. who did not reveal 
HImseU to them, but remained enshrouded in Im- 
penetrable mystery. Such a faith. Dr. Green said, 
was demanded of all In every situation. He drew a. 
forcible comparison between the worship demanded, 
now and that of the worshipper in ancient Israel, 
who looked upon ifche holy sanctuary from without, 
being forbidden to enter Its sacred chamber. He- 
received no evidence of the acceptance of his sacri- 
fice, but must rely entirely upon his faith. 

In the afternoon the Assembly by a rising vote- 



10 



LIBEAEY OF TEIBUNE EXTEAS. 



adopted this paper, which -win be telegraphed to Dr. 
Green) to-night : 

"The General Assembly detelres to express its high 
apptreciatlon of your gospel ol peace read this mom- 
ling by Dr. Roberts. We regret eixceeclingly your 
InabUity to 'deliver it In person and pray that your 
health may soon be restored and thiat your life may 
long be spareid to our Church and the country." 

After the sermon the Assembly was constituted with 
prayer by Dr. Eiheldoffer, the temporary moderator. 
Dr. Brown, of Portlaind, presented the report of the 
Committee ou Arrangements, which provides that the 
sessions be held from 9 a. m. to noon and from 1 p. m. 
to 5 I*, m., with evening sessions for popular meetings. 
Tine report also Includes invitations for excursions to 
different points of Interest. 

The call for reports, which is generaUv made after 
the election of the moderator, was postponed untU to- 
morrow, thus delaying business two hours at the out- 
set. Elver excursions are planned for Saturday ,i thus 
throwing out a full day. The report tliat Di. Brlggs 
Is on his way will delay action in his case until his 
arrival. With these setbaclis at the outset the pros- 
pect for a short session is not cheering. 

THE OPENING SEBMON. 



BY THE EEV. DE. W. H. GEEEN. 



THE KETIEING MODERATOR UNABLE TO BE 

PRESENT. BUT SENDS A MESSAGE OP 

PEACE TO THE ASSEMBLT. 

Portland, Ore., May 19.— The Eev. Dr. W. H. 
•Green, the retiring moderator, though unable to be 
present had prepared his sermon, and it was read by 
the stated clerk as follows : 

Isaiah 45 :15.— Verily Thou art a God that hldest 
Thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. 

The Hebrew prophets were men of faith. And it Is 
with eminent proiniely that they too are mentioned In 
the eleventh chapter of Hebrews among the notable 
illustrations" of the power of this grace ; and that the 
catalogue, which begins with Abel and Enoch atd 
Noah and Abraham and Moses, ends with "the 
prophets." Nothing can exceed the magnificence and 
the boldness, the seeming audacity even of their con- 
ceptions. Belonging to an inconsiderable people, 
occupying a limited territory, an easy prey as It would 
seem to the cupidity of the mighty empires then con- 
tending for the mastery of tlie world, they confidently 
announce that their God is the God of the whole earth ; 
that Assyria and Balbylon and Egypt are but Instru- 
ments raised up by Him to do His pleasure ; that the 
hope of manhlnd, the salvation of the world is bound 
up in Israel, before whom all opposing powers shall 
ultimately fall ; and the coming Prince of the Hojise of 
David shall exercise ai universal and unresisted sway, 
extending His peaceftil, holy and blessed reign over 
aU the nations and peoples of the earth. 

And this was not with them a mere dreamy and 
uninfluential conception. It was their most intimate 
and thorough peiisuaslon; their fixed conviction which 
never wavered; the lamp, whose clear and steady 
flajne enlightened the darliness of the most gloomy 
periods. They were never Intimidated by gathering 
and imminent peril ; they were never overwhelmed by 
•disaster; they never yielded to despondency. Come 
■wliat might, they drew unfailing encouragement from 
the sure hope of Israel, which was pledged by the un- 
changing promise of Him who built the earth and 

As" their faith did not rest upon outward supports, it 
did not slnlf when such supports were ■withdrawn. As 
"it was not the offspring of a temporary enthusiasm, it 
-did not effervesce -ivith changing states of mind. As it 
was not a mere patriotic fervor, it was not dashed even 
by the fatal obduracy and criminality and self-Induced 
ruin of Israel themselves. Their spirit was one which 
would not succumb to adverse circumstances. wMch 
against hope believed in hoi)e, which based Itself solely 
■on the almighty grace and the Immutable word of God. 
To this word they clung with undoubtlng confidence. 



though all that was outward and visible seemed to con- 
tradict it. They stUl afflrmed the certainty of Israel's 
triumph, when the land was swept by foreign Invasion 
and the people of God lay bleeding and helpless at the 
mercy of their cruel conqueriSrs. They held fast to 
their assurance that holiness and salvation should' 
oome forth from Israel to bless the world, even when 
Israel themselves forsook the Lord, despised their birth- 
right, broke His covenant and provoked His judgments. 
Even in the foresight of disasters greater than any 
previously experienced they stlU nurtured their own 
faith and sustained the falling faith of others by 
appeals to God's enduring promise. And this, though 
they were not themselves permitted to behold that for 
which they had so anxiously and persistently waited. 

God did not Interpose to rescue them from their 
present foes'Snd from the troubles that then threatened 
them. His Spirit did not Interfere to check the tide of 
increasing sin and corruption. He Himself was hidden 
from their sight. They did not see His stately step- 
pings nor the baring of His arm of might. God shroud- 
ed Himself In impenetrable darkness. The mystery of 
His ways they were unable to fathom. But that He 
was nevertheless pex-vadlng, directing, controlling all 
and that He would bring all to His predestined and 
glorious end they never for one moment doubted. Their 
faith was that to which Isaiah ^ves utterance in the 
text. He is in vision transported out of the dark and 
checkered present to the glorious consummation. He 
sees the redemption of Israel and the world achieved. 
And, looking backward from the certainties of this 
blisslul future over the obscurity and the calamities of 
the present and the Intervening period, in which God's 
hand was steadily worMng and shaping the issue, 
though men saw Him not and outward sense utterly 
misapprehended His grand designs, he exclaims in holy 
rapture, "Verily Thou art a God that hldest Tiiyself, O 
God of Israel, the Saviour." 

I. The faith thus commended by the example of the 
prophets in a God unseen is demanded of us all and 
in every situation. It is the established .condition of 
our earthly life Ihat we are required to -walk by faith 
and not by sight, to endure as seeing Himiwho is In- 
visible, to transcend the merely tonglble, outward and 
temporal, and pay supreme regard ia what is unseen 
and eternal; to give our allegiance to an unseen king, 
un seen , but not unknown ; to surrender ourselves to 
His will, govern ourselves by His commands, seek our 
happiness in Him, and denying ourselves and taking 
up our cross at His bidding to look for our reward In 
Heaven. 

The eye cannot see God; sense cannot penetrate to 
Him ; the most subtle analysis cannot detect His pres- 
ence, no dissection can lay bare His working ; the most 
profound investigation cannot go beyond the links of 
physical causation. Since each phenomenon can be 
traced to its physical cause, which is itself dependent 
upon some prior cause, and ttds on another still, and 
so on with no assignable limit, is not all shufTip to 
the domain of fixed Invariable law, with no room left 
for divine Interference lOr control! So "wise men of 
this generation have judged; and refusing credence to 
lliat which eludes the grasp of the senses, they would 
exclude God from the umverse that He has made ; 
and In all this marvellous display of wonder-working 
wisdom and beneficent skill, that evidences His etemiS 
power and Godhead, see nought but blind chance and 
the clashing of material atoms and some imaginary 
principle of natural selection. 

But faith refuses to admit that the corporeal senses 
are the sole test of truth, or that the invisible and in- 
tangible is therefore non-existent and unreal. Without 
abridging the range or elBcacy of physical causation, 
without in any -wise se'ting laslde tlie existence or the 
properties of created things, it nevertheless sees In aH, 
pervading all, upholding and controlling all, the author 
and the end of all, the divine, eternal splril ; a God 
who hides Himself, but who nevertheless works all 
things after the counsel of His own •will, our gracious 
God and Saviour. 

But while tlie God of creation thus hides Hlm'^elf 
In his works so that raanv fall to recognize His being 
altogether and others 'have only •vague, distant 
and inoperative notions of Him, and the eye of faith 
alone dlsceims Him •there, how Is it ■with those who 
strive ;to come into oloseir contact -with the Most 
High, to establish Intimate and personal relations 
between their souls and the Father of spirits, to enter 
Into a devout and holy fello-wsMp -with God, ■wihlch 
Be permits, and even invites! Must we not here 
again confess that not only to the s^tudent of nature 
but IQcewise to His faithful and spiritual ■worshippers, 
He W> a God that hlde^ Htmselt! The religious life 
lla only maintained by the constant exercise of faith 
in the unseen. Tt completely tMnseends the domain 
of sense and bases ttseU on that wMcH Is spiritually 
apprehended. It derives Itsi nourlishments, its stiT>- 
ports. Its moHves, its hopes. Its rewards, its whole 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



II 



being in fact, Irom Him whom no mau liath seen or 
can ■&ee, 

Tilie worsQilpper In ancient Israel made Ms revCTeut 
npproaciies to tlie sanotuary, ito pay his lioniage to Him 
wno Had there recorded HJs awlul aiiune. He entered 
iS-irS?*^' ^° engaged In the prescrl,)>6d ritual; he 
looKett upon the sacred itruoture which Jehovaih made 
ius dwelling; but he was not permitted to enter It. 
xne veil waSfclosaly drawn which shrouded all within 
irom vjew. lu tlio innermost chamber of that 
temple, in the thlcli darimess of the most holy place, 
?°* holy of hollo,, God dwelt un^en amd unapproooh- 
i * J.., Israelite was admitted to the outer court; 
ff^ secret place of the divine abode he could not 
P^eifate. Tile very construction of the temjiae taught 
hiim that the God he served .wajs a God wlio had 
hidden Himself from sight; to whom he might draw 
near In the ottering of worsWp, but whom he could not 
see. There was no answering voice to hia petitions. 
No Are came forth from the Eaactuairy to consume 
Bis iocrlflce and assure Mm of its aooepitanoe. No 
radlaiat glory beamed fortji to display the presence 
of the Deity ever resddent within. And yet, to 
believing souls, God was there ; His dneffable ipresenee 
overshadowed the wonshippers, filling them with holy 
awe ; they met^ftlith God ; they found Him propltloua, 
gracious, forgiving; they came away pardoned, pHri- 
fled and blessed. It was a real transaction'; but it 
belonged to the sphere of faith, hot of outward sense. 

And thus In tlie more spiritual exercises of Christtan 
worship. How we would value some outward token 
of divine acceptance, some spohen word or visible sign 
assuring us that our prayers are heard, that tlie pardon 
we implore is vouoiisafed to us, that needed grace wUl 
be supplied. If some bright messenger from tlie sides 
could stand by us, as by Cornelius, with a lUte glad 
and gracious message. Or It Gabriel could wing Ms 
way swiftly to us, as to Daniel, and our petitions be in- 
ten'upted, befofre they are concluded, by a heavenly re- 
sponse. But no angel comes ; no voice of God Is heard. 
Do our earnest supplications realiy reach tlile ear of 
tile Lord God of Hosts, or are they uttered into the 
•empty air? 

If some palpable resmlt Invariably and promptly 
followed, wMch we could trace to God's immediate 
aigency and associate It with our act of worsMp, It 
would be an unspealtable relief. If our hearts were 
»lways stirred wltlita. us by a divine afflatus, as we 
seek to draw pigh to GDd. If we were always con- 
fflcious at suohi times of a new spiritual fervor, wMch 
melted us to penitential sorrow, produced a glow ot 
grateful emotion, lifted us livt3 a holy rapture or 
«ootlied us into a sweetly peaceful frame, we might 
feel that we had in tMs a sensible proof of God's pres>- 
■ence and favor. But we would be in imminent danger 
of mailing our trust In God dependent on our own 
variable sensations and states of mind. 

We should pace our confidence In God and in His 
■word, because He is in Himself worthy of all confl- 
dence, the solid, Immovable rook of ages, tlie founda- 
tion whichl never can be shaken; and, though heaven 
and earth shall nass away, one ]ot or tittle shall not 
pass from all that He has declared. But, if our faith 
In God is matatalned because we have the independent 
evidence of sense to the truth of His declarations; If 
we rely upDn His promises, because we find these 
promises ever fulfilling thiemselves In our present ex- 
perience, what Is there to test the reality and the 
strength of our faith In God's word, where that word 
stands simply and alone? Will we believe God, or 
must we have something additional ta lean upon, 
something that sihaU corroborate His word and make 
It credible to ust Must we have the support of out- 
Tvard sense, or of our Inward feelings before we can 
venture to depend on what He has said, who is eternal 
truth? Can we trust Him blindfolded and in the dark, 
or must we first see for ourselves that it is and how 
it Is and why It is. before our PonvlctlDn can be car- 
ried bv a "Thius salth the Loi'd?" 

He demands our implicit, unreserved, unreasoning 
faith. Infinite wisdom, infinite holiness. Infinite 
power infinite grace and love certainly deserv^to 
Tie trusted. And what can our poor, weak, erring 
reason and feeble sense do but to submit unconditionaUy 
to such guidance ? Tf God aavs it. It is true. If God 
•enlolns it, it Is right, no matter what sense or I'eason 
mav suggest to the contrary. This absolute submis- 
■sion of ourselves with implicit confidence to the 
guidance of tlie Most High is a fundamental requisite 
of true discipleshlD. It Is unto this that He is train- 
ing us This is the design of all His dealings with us 
And hence It Is that God Wdes Himself and shrouds His 
purposes and His acts Im mystery as He does. 

He never said to the Hooise of Jacob, seek ye Mv 
face in vain. He says ask and ye shall receive; seek 
and ye shall flnfl : knock amd it shall be opened to vou. 
Him that comethi unto Me I will In no wise cast out. 
The truth of these promises Is not depeudent on our 



changing spiritual frames. Tliey are not i-endjred 
more worthy of our confideaice by uur being In au 
elevated state of feeling. They arc not dlscrcoited be- 
cause we are dull and depressed. If we really come 
to tlie Saviour and take Him at His word, we shall not 
be rejected nor our suit refused. The want of lively 
affections and sensible spii'ltual joys is no reas^jn why 
we should write bitter things against ourselves and con- 
clude that God has in anger shut up Hia tender mercies. 
The basis of our confidence is not In ourselves but in 
Him ; whether we are in the darltness or in the light, 
whether we are joyful or joyless, the foundation of 
God standeth. sure; His word of promise cannot 
fall. 

ni. God Mdes HtmseU likewise in His providential 
dispensations. The unequal dlstrlbullon of good and 
evil in the world is one of the inexplicable mysteries 
connected with His moral government. Why an in- 
finitely holy God should have permitted sin in His uni- 
verse at aE is one of those insoluble problems with 
wMch men have vainly vexed thrar minds from the be- 
ginning. But when sin had entered the world, 16 
might have been supposed Uiat it w:uld everywhere 
He under the evident brand of the Divine displeasure. 
When marlted judgment does overtake evil-doers 
it meets the approval of our sense of right; and 
we say that It Is the Ungcr of God. And yet these 
signal instances of just award are deprived ot much 
of their impressiveness by the contrary cases In 
which an opposite rule appears to hold. If it be 
maintained, as lb Indeed the case, that the general 
tendency of tUngs betrays a deeply seated moral order 
in the unlvei-se, -ssjiose natural workings bring a re- 
ward to virtue and punishment to ^dce, this is liable to 
so many exceptions and such counter influences that 
It would seem practically to have fallen Into utter 
derangement and conf-uslon. The Impunity accorded 
to transgressors emboldens them In crime. Wicked mea 
prosper, and prosper by reason of their very villanles 
and wiclied deeds. The machinery of public justice it- 
self is perverted tD screen evil-doers and to oppress 
the just. Power is accumulated in the hands of un- 
worthy men, who use it to further their selfish or 
nefarious designs. So that there are those who con- 
clude that things are just aEowed to take their course 
with no Divine superintendence or control; and 
they ask: Where is the God of judgment! and 
where is the promise of His coming? And good men 
are sorely puzzled and distressed oftentimes by the 
prevalence of these disorders, and their faith and 
constancy are severely tried, wlille they are obEged 
to confess, verUy Thou art a God that Mdest Thyself. 

The Most High gives no account to us of His 
sovereign dealings ; and it would be presumptuous for 
creatures to claim that they can remove the mystery 
of Hisi ways, or uncover the secret reasons of His acts. 
But one fact lies upon the surface and Is obvious to 
every reflecting mind. It Is that Grod's temporary and 
partial concealment of Himself answers an important 
end in the moral training and, dlscipEne of men. While 
efTectually retaining His grasp upon the control of 
human affairs and affording sufBclent indications to 
those who are careful to observe them of tliat ulti- 
mate award, of righteousness wMch Is in reserve. He 
yet so withdra,ws Himself from sight that a moral 
probation becomes possible. Coercion cannot develop 
the highest style of character. Virtue Is sopiethlng 
more than doing what is right with an eye to the 
consequent reward, or shunning evil from a dread of 
the penalty it Incurs. If Divine retributton' promptly 
followed every act, the consequences of our conduct 
would stand before us ever In such terrible relief that 
moral motives would have small chance to operate. 
There could be flttle freedom of choice under the 
pressure of such alternatives. And hence God hides 
Himself in order that He may subject men to such a 
course of training that they may become a law imto 
themselves, and learn of themselves to choose the good 
and refuse the evil without being driven by external 
constraints : that a vigorous virtue may be developed 
whicli shall gain force by being obliged to resist temp- 
tation and maintain itself against adverse and oppos- 
ing influences ; that the real character of men may be 
tested and, they be allowed to disclose what thev truly 
are: and that there may be room for the cultivation 
of that heartfelt reverence for God and submission to 
His autiiority that will delight to do His wUI from a 
sentiment of Inward lovalty though no apparent reward 
would follow, and In the fa<!e even of loss and suffering 
and reproach. 

But it is perhaps In the afflictive dispensations of 
God's providence that most distress Is felt, and most 
perplexity created by His hiding Himself as he does. 
His people are not infrequently tempted in the 
severity of their trials to imagine that God has for- 
gotten tlxem, or tliat what they BUiTer betokens the 
fierceness of His displeasure. In tie dark labyrinth 
of human life It is impossible for us now to compre- 



12 



LIBRARY OF TRIBUNE EXTRAS. 



hend in all Its intricacies and devious wliidings tlie 
way by wliloli we are led. One thing Is evident to 
us, that we cannot intelligently choose our own course. 
We cannot divine tlie issue of the various paths tliat 
open before us. We cannot wisely or witli due re- 
gard to our true welfare do otter than submit our- 
selves to tlie guidance of our Divine Leader. In our 
Ignorance of tlie future, in our ignorance of the real 
meaning and effect of wliat is now taloiDg place, in our 
Ignorance of what we most need or what will be tlie 
best for us, we cannot select our own lot. We cannoii 
presume to tate the conduct of affairs into our own 
Iiands and prescribe to tllie Infinite Intelligence. Our 
wisdom is to commit all into His hands for the present 
and for the future ; to let Him order our pathway for 
ns, wUether it be in ]oy or sorrow, in sunshine or in 
storm, amid flowery vales or over rugged steeps, and to 
to do this not only by painfully schooling ourselves to a 
reluctant resignation, but cheerfully, trustfully owning 
that He doeth all things well, learning to Jmow no 
will but His, rejoicing to be at His disposal, and con- 
tent with the assurance that what we know not now 
we shall hnow hereafter. 

How changed will all the experiences of our earthly 
life appear when we looS; back upon them from the 
lite beyond. When the process is at length ended by 
which the ransomed sotu. is prepared lor glory, and 
God's gracious design is fully accomplished, how grate- 
fully will we aohnowledge the inflnite sMU with which 
the whole worh of love was conducted. The ore is 
violently wrenched from Its native bed in the roch 
and melted in the furnace, and crushed in the TOlUng 
mill , and hammered in the forge, and cut and shaped, 
and polished and engraved to bring forth an exquisite 
piece of worlnuanehip to be admired and prized and 
nt for valuable uses, and when it is at last finished 
it appears that all these violent measures which were 
employed upon it were not for its injury or destruc- 
tion, as an unpractised observer might have imagined, 
nor were they capriciously or aimlessly performed. 
Every successive act from first to last was necessary 
and contributed its share toward the production of the 
final result. If any one had been omitted, or had been 
negligently and shghtly done, the worh would have 
been marred. And shall we complain of that divine 
and holy violence with which the great Master Work- 
man is refining our earthbom souls, and is moulding 
and polishing and decorating them and stamping them 
with His own heavenly Impress, that they may be 
vessels meet for the upper sanctuary, and there dis- 
played as masterpieces of celestial still to the glory 
of Him who designed and who perfected them? Can 
we shrink from the application to ourselves of any 
process than can bring forth such results out of such 
unpromising materials? With what glad amazement 
wlU the redeemed look upon what hns been accom- 
plished in themselves, exclaiming as they survey the 
past and the present, "Verily Thou art a God tliat 
hldst Thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour." 

IV. Tlie Lord further liides Himself In His re- 
lations to His Church, which is His mystical body, 
and He its invisible though ever present head. He 
dwells In His Church by His spirit. It is ransomed 
bv His death, sanctified by His grace, supplied bv 
Him with spiritual strength. It is His instrument 
for the subjugation of the nations to the faith of 
the gospel; and the gates of hell shall never prevail 
against It. ]!ut when we turn froni this view of the 
Ideal Church, the Church as it should be, to the Church 
as it actually is and as been, how strange the contrast ! 
Where is the holiness, and unity and power of the 
Church of the Living God? Can this be the body of 
the Lord, in which there Is so much corruption "and 
weakness and dissension, so many departures from 
the truth of God as set forth In His revealed word, 
so much deadness, formaUty and worldliness. so little 
of the life of God, so little a;ggr6ssive power? 

Is It surprising that the world falls to see the 
Caiurch In Its true light, or to recognize the divinity 
of Its origin and, Its mission or its rightful claims'? 
It Is surprising that the Church Itself does not seem 
to have a conception of Its own high character? To 
the eye of sense it is merely a body of ordinary men 
subject to like infirmities and limitations. Perse- 
cutors have thought to make It their helpless prey. 
Kings and governments have thought to make It the 
instrument of their pleasure or to exclude It from 
their dominions. Infidels have thought by argument, 
ridicule or vituperation to destroy It root and branch. 
They who are most disposed to treat it with considera- 
tion and respect concede to It whatever is due to 
the nobility of Its aims, and the excellence and worth 
of those within its pale, but judge of it as a purely 
human society that Is simply what its members make 
It to be. And the Church itself, how often has It 
been turned aside from its true character and its 
heavenly alms to court the favor of the great ones 
of the earth or to seek worldly aggrandizement and 



power, or slurunk from the unflinching declaration of 
the whole counsel of God because Its doctrines grate* 
on men's ears or offended the popular taste. How 
has It, forgetful of its spiritual mission and high 
destiny, relaxed Its zeal and labors for the honor of 
its Lord and the salvation of the world. Or, un- 
mindful of the divine citadel of Its strength, sur- 
veyed with pride its numbers and the outward re- 
som-ces at its command, as though Its ability to 
achieve success rested upon these. Or swaying to 
the opposite extreme of dejection because of its own 
incapacity, despaired of present results, looking to 
some future dispensation to accomplish what she 
is bidden and by faith might be enabled to accom- 
plish now. 

And yet the woMs of Jesus hold good— "Lo, I am 
with you alway even to the end of the world. The 
Churcii is His. He is working in it and through it, 
and shall achieve on its behalf and by its instru- 
Dientaiity all that He has declared. Only He hides 
Himself fi-om the natural sight. He suffers the bush 
to be in the flames, apparently on the point of being- 
consumed ; nevertheless it is not burned. He emplo.ys 
the foolishness of preaclilng to save the world. He- 
places the celestial treasure In earthen vessels, that 
the excellency of the power may be shown to be of 
God and not of us. He stains the pride of hiunan 
greatness and glory by choosing the foolish things 
of the world to confound tJie wise, and the weak 
things of the world to confound the things which are- 
mighty, and base things of lie world, and tliings- 
which are despised, yea, and things which are not to 
bring to nought things that are. 

Let ZioTi but awake to a sense of her true dignity 
and character, and put her faith in Him who liides- 
Himself in the midst of her -with unswerving loyalty 
to the purity of His truth and the Integrity of His 
word, and it would be as when Samson awoke from 
fids sleep and tore himself free from the bonds which 
the treacherous arts of Delilah had woven around Mm. 
Tlie secret of her strength is yet untouched. That 
word shall yet be fulfilled that one shall chase a. 
thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. The 
Lortl. who is -within her, Is mightier than all her foes. 

And It Is -with each member of the Church as it Is 
with the Church at large. He has the promise of 
the Lord's presence with Mm in all that he does and 
in all that he plans for his own spiritual growth and 
for the advancement of Ohrisfs Mngdjom; His grace 
to sn.statn. His wisdom to guide. His power to enable 
him. His watchful providence to protect. His infinite ■ 
resources to supply all his need. God -will be hi 
all In all. Wliat can be added to assurances such as 
these? It might be supposed that the oMld of God 
would have notlung to do but to go forward in a plain 
path, free from all doubt and discouragement, and 
that difficulties would vanish, obstacles be overcome 
and all foes fall before him; that he would march 
on from victory unto victory In one unbroken series- 
of trlumpiis and successes. 

Ah, how soon and how sorely is he undeceived. He 
finds liimseU In -perplexity and embarrassments, not 
knowing which way to turn. He meets unexpected 
repiulses. His plans are th-warted. TUnss Issue very 
differently from what he had anticipated. He sees nc^ 
fruit, or little fruit from long and faithful labor. His 
spirits slnlr. Where Is Us promised helper? 

God iias hidden Himself here again. He has not 
forsaken His servant. He is only leading him by a 
way that He knows not. God works for him, by- 
working In him and through Mm. He does not supply 
a guidance which shall make your ow.n careful de- 
liberation superfluous, but which in the exercise of an 
enUghtened judgment shall lead you to right con- 
clusions. He does not relieve you from the necessity 
of putting forth your best endeavors ; but at the same 
time teaches you your dependence on Himself for- 
counsel and strength. He opens a pai>h before you, 
but it ma-v be a tangled and a rugged path, through 
which you can only ma-ke your way with difficulty and 
In which you can see but a sin gle step at a time. You 
may have to put down your foot in hesitation and 
much trembling; not Imo-wlng always what} is -wise, 
perhaps not m every case what is duty. But God is 
thus training you to walk by faith: and out of what 
,vou thus do in self-distrust and fear God -will in due 
time bring forth His own appointed resiats, and at the 
end all will be made plain. 

V. But I remark In the last place that God still 
hides Himself, even when He makes the >amplest dis- 
closures and confers the largest benefits. To what- 
ever extent He makes Himself known, the revelatiott 
is but partial, and far more is kept in reserve than is 
Kho-rni forth. However rich and abundant His gifts 
may at any time be. He has still larger surprises in 
store for the recipients of them. We can never reach 
the Umlts of the grace and goodness of our blessed 
Lord. It Is a boundless expanse, stretching away 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



13 



«n every side; and however we may advance Id any 
<urectlon, the horizon nevcrtlieless outruns ns. All 
tnat we liave ever discovered or can discover Is as 
iiothlng ito that -whloli lies yet beyond,. The sonl that Is 
most abashed at the sense of its own littleness and 
unwortlUness, and is most overwlielmed by the ex- 
perience of G-od's amazing and unmerited goodness, 
1'.^ hut stepped upon the threshold of the Palace Beau- 
tiiui, lias received hut a first Instalment in the long 
reversion of God's unimaginable grace. He Is pre- 
■^^/te ™ ^°' *f<l ■"'111 "lo, exceeding abundantly above 
all that we can aslt or thinlt. The law of His bestow- 
ment is: -To Mm that hath shall more be given, and 
f u "'^ liave abundance." All tile rich experience 
*i7 lu® P^^t- ill tlie expectations it has created, and 
•all the imaginations built upon it, are perpetually out- 
done by new and more copious showers of blessing. 

It is thus as the Christian advances from stage 
to stage in the lite of God and the experience of divine 
mercy from the moment of his new birth till he has 
reached the highest attainments he shall make on 
earth. It is thus more signally still when he passes 
Into the ineffable experience of Heaven, and there Is 
suddenly opened before him what eye had not seen, nor 
ear heard, nor the heart conceived. And yet even 
in the bewildering Brightness that is tliere poured 
around the raptured spirit of the beatified saint, God 
Is neveruieless hiding Himself. He has not made 
Imown'all that there is to disclose. There are ascend- 
ing stages and fresh impartatlons and new gifts of yet 
more transcendent glory, surpassing and surpassing 
and surpassing all that has been before communicated. 
And as the ages of eternity roll oa, there will he still 
more to be Itnown and more to be i)Ossessed. The 
infinite must ever be infinite ; and tlie incomprehensible 
must remain incomprehensible; so that in the very 
iblaze Of Heaven and under the sunlight of the throne, 
and to the most exalted capacities, it must still be 
true that all that God has disclosed of Himself is as 
nothing beside the undiscovered depths of His im- 
measurable being. And forever and forever more the 
confession of the heavenly hosts will re-echo the 
■universal experience of this lowen world: Verily, Thou 
art a God that hidest Thyself, O God of Israel, the 
Saviour. 

- m 

EDXICATING MEN FOR THE MINISTEY. 

.METHODS ADOPTED TO DBCSREASE A DEBT— THE 
PRESSING NEED OF THIS BOARD. 

Portlaud, Ore., May 19.— An abstract of the 
seventy-third apnual report of the Board of Education 
presented to the General Assembly is given (hterewith: 
The only change In its membership during the past year 
-was occasioned by the resignation of S. M. Huey and 
the election of J. W. Patton, to fill his place In the 
term which expires this year and by the election of 
■R. M. Schlcli in place of Elder William Wood, who was 
appointed but declined to serve. It Is recommended 
that these elections he approved by the Assembly, 
The former officers of tlie Board were continued, viz., 
the Rev. G-. D. Eafcer, D. D., president ; the Eev. J. M. 
Crowell, D. D„ vice-president; the Eev. D. W. Poor, 
corresponding secretary, and Elder J. Wilson, treasurer. 

In order to relieve Itself from the emibarrassmeuts of 
the debt of $16,000 which lay over from previous years 
three measures were adopted at the beginning of the 
year, viz.: 1. To reduce the appropriations for the 
cOrrent fiscal year, giving those of the higher grade 
$80 Instead of $100 as heretofore ; and the others $70 
Ihetead of $80 per annum. 2. If the state of thte 
treasury at the end of the year permit, to add to each 
aBPrapriatlon a sum that shall malie it up as nearly 
as possible to the existing normal rate. 3. To drop 
from the roll of beneficiaries any students who may be 
found able to dispense with aid. It was determined 
also to decline the recommendations of all such as are 
^epomlgated "special cases," 1. e., those who are In- 
^ndtng to tate only a partial course of study and those 
wio are In the academic department (the colored 
Students excepted), save where strong reasons were pre- 
sented for tholr acceptance. 

Notwithstanding the limitations thus put on the 
reception of candidates, it is found at the close .of the 
year that the number accepted was only nln« leas than 



tliat reporte<l last year, being In all 860. Those 
decUned amount In all to fifty-eight. More would have 
applied liad they not been deterred by the toowledge 
of the above mentioned restrictlans. Some of these. 
It is to be feared, we have lost. Classified according 
to their nationality and race, 37 are Germans; 89 are 
negroes ; 4 Bchemlaus ; 4 Bulgarians ; 1 Japanese ; 1 
Turli ; 7 Mexicans ; 1 Spaniard ; 1 Brazilian ; 3 Scandi- 
navians ; 2 Sioux Indians. The rest are Americans, 
Scotch, Irish and Dutch. 

In the matter of finances, the Board reports a de- 
cided impeovement. Owing In part to the arrange 
ments at the lieglnnlng of the year, and in part to tlie 
more liberal responses from the churches to the appeals 
addressed to them Individually, It has reduced the debt 
of $16,000 one half, besides increasing the apportion- 
ments to the students $10 apiece. Now it the ministers 
will continue to impress upon their churches the 
fundamental ImpDrtance of the work of this board to 
every Interest of the Churcli at large, and will labor 
to remove the fallacious objections whiote a superficial 
observation suggests against It, there will be no dlf- 
floulty in removing the debt entirely next year, and 
enabling all our worthy candidates to fit themselves 
for service. 

Another source of help has come from what has 
been styled tlie Gratitude Fund. To raise this, » 
movement was started early in the year by the Kev. 
W. C. Covert, of St. Paul's Park. Mich., to be made 
up of voluntary contributions from those who had been 
aided by the Board in the course of their education. 
In this movement the Board declined to take any part, 
even by the way of official approval. But of course 
It was glad to accept any offerings of the Innd when 
freely tendered. Appeals were accoidipgly sent out 
by committees chosen from among the graduates of 
our theological seminaries to thieir fellow alumni 
beneficiaries ; and these, It is a pleasure to state, have 
been generously responded to. A large number of letters 
have been received by the treasurer containing dona^ 
ttolTs of various amounts and accompanied with very 
gratifying aolmowledgments of their indebtedness to 
the Board, and of the pleasure felt In testifying to it. 
TBte sum thus contributed amounts to $1,571, for which 
hearty thanks are rendered. 

A careful calculation shows that within the hounds 
of our country thei e are in all 6,901 churches of every 
size, large and small, which need to be cared for. 
For supplying these we find, after deducting from the 
whyjle number of ministers on the roll the 403 who 
are honorably retired and the 356 who are engaged in 
educational work and the 338 who are foreign mission- 
aries, that there are in all 4,189 in regular service, 
besides 930 whio are Enemployed, marked either W. 0. 
or Ev. or are blank. How many of the latter class 
could be counted upon for regular service it they were 
called to it. It is Impossible to teU. The usual estimate 
Is about one-half. So that for ministering to 6,901 
churches we can rely only upon 4,654 ordained men. 
It Is tiot surprising, therefore, that 1,185 churches 
should be marked "Vacant." True It Is that many 
of these are too weak to support a pastor, and several 
of them are cared for occasionally by a presbyterial 
missionary ; yet after maMng all due allowances, it 
must he said that the surplus o* vacant cihurches Is al- 
together too large for the healthy condition of our 
ecclesiastical body. Still fuither It must be remem- 
bered that we have a steady accession going on to the 
number of our church, averaging not less than 144 an- 
nually. Nor should we leave out of the account the 
constant demand for men by the Foreign Mission Board. 

To meet this demand our seminaries graduated this 
year 228 candidates. Of these it will be fair to say 
that about 200 can be counted upon to supply our 



14 



LIBEAEY OF TEIBUNE EXTRAS. 



needs, and to fill the places of the 166 wlio were re- 
moved from our ranlts biy deatli and dismissal last year. 
To help out this Inadequate force we called In from 
other denominations not less than ninety ordained men, 
besides ordaining several w!ho did not enjoy a libera] 
educatlDn. Then there are the 500 unemployed men 
who might he utilized were tliere any available method 
of placing them In the fields which tUey could cultivate. 
■\Vho will say fhlat our supplies egual the demand, and 
tliat there is no need of actively supporting the Board 
in its endeavor to increase tliem largely 1 



THE PRESBYTERIAN HOST. 



EEPEB6ENTATIVES OE THE SYNODS. 



A FULL 'LIST OF ,THE COMMISSIONERS HO ITHB 

GENERAL ASSEMBLT— MEN ON RECORD 

ON THE BRIGIK3S CASE. 

Portland, Ore., May 19.— The Presbyterians of the 
Pacific Northwest are ready to receive their brethren 
who have come from the Kast Six hundred 
commissioners and twice as many friends have 
arrived, and the preparation for their entertain- 
ment are complete. The list printed below gives the 
commissioners with their addresses, the first half from 
each Presbytery representing the ministry and the 
second half the eldership. Those who were at the last 
Assembly and voted on the Brlggs case ore noted; 
two men who voted for the Union professor were elected 
but one cannot go, and twelve who voted against him 
were among the principals selected, but two will not 
be at Portland : 

I-SYNOD OF ATLANTIC. 

AOantio— Robert W. Holman, Charleston, S. 0. ; S. 
J. Bampfleld, Beaufort, S. C. 

Bast Florida— T. C. Potter, Satsuma Heights, Fla. ; 
James D. BeU, Hawthorne, Fla. 

Fairfield— M. J. Seabroolis, Sumter, S. C. ; E. H. 
Richardson, Wedgefleld, S. C. 

Knox— Lawrence Miller, Macon, Ga. ; J. W. James, 
Madison, Ga. 

McClelland— Purman L. Brodle, Due West, S. C. ; 
Robert M. Alexander, Wellford, S. C. 

South Florida— James H. Potter, Euetis, Fla. ; J. D. 
Bennett, Crystal River, Fla. 

II-^YNOD OF BALTIMORE. 

Baltimore— J. Wynne Jones, Baltimore, Md. ; James 
E. Moflatt, Cumberland, Md. ; W. H. Purnell, Fred- 
erick City, Md. ; D. "W. Glass, Baltimore, Md. 

New-Castle— W. H. Logan, Princess Anne, Md. ; W. 
P. Swartz, Wilmington, Del. ; D. W. Corblt, Odessa, 
Del. ; "W. W. Canby, Wilmington, Del. 

Washington City— *W. A. Bartlett, No. 1,200 K-st., 
fr. W., Wasliington, D. C. ; Frank H. Smith, Hyatts- 
vUle, Md. 

ni— SYNOD OF CATAWBA. 

Cape Pear— Clarence DUlard, Goldsboro, N. C. ; Pi-of . 
E. N. Dent, Loulsburg, N. C. 

Catawba— Robert P. Wyche, Charlotte, N. C. ; Green 
McLain, 

Southern Virginia— Graham C. Campbell, BurkevUle, 
Va. ; G. W. Peters, Marttnsville, Va. 

Yadlriu— Junius C. Alston, Winston, N. O. ; D. A. 
Murray, N. C. 

IV— SYNOD OF CHnSTA. 

Canton— Joseph C. Q^iompson, ; . 

Nlngpo— • ; . 

PeWng ; . 

Shanglial— ; . 

Shanigung— Stephen A. Hunter, Morgantown, W. Va. ; 
J. B. Neal, Md. ; Bloomsburg, Penn. 

V— SYNOD OF COLORADO. 

Boulder— John G. Eeld, Greeley ; Andrew Armstrong, 
Fort CoUlns. 

Denver— Albert A. PlanstieM, No. 952 Broadway, 
Denver; Charles E. Cleave, No. 1,222 FUteenth-ave., 
Denver. 



Gjun,Bl^on— Theodore Crowl, Sallda; Charles ES. 
Walter, Poncho. , „, , 

Pueblo— E. Trumbull Lee, Pueblo ; Charles H. Nich- 
ols, Trinidad. 

VI— SYNOD OF ILLINOIS. 

Alton— Ira C. Tyson, JerseyvUle; Peter F. Ahrends, 
Staunton. 

Baoomington— Robert E. Anderson, Heyworth; 
Charles H. Little, Danville; Prof. George E. Morrow, 
Champaign ; James B. Foley, Gibson City. 

Cairo— Thomas E. SpUman, DuQuoin; James A. 
Rose, Golconda. 

Chicago— S. J. McPherson, No. 2,804 Pralrie-ave, 
Chicago; John P. Hale, No. 4,600 Greenwood-ave., 
Chicago; Thomas D. Wallace, No. 205 Warren-ave., 
Chicago ; Wm. W. Totheroh, Hyde ParK, Chicago ; Wm. 
M. Htndman, No. 2,914 Perry-ave., Chicago ; Henry J. 
WlUlng, No. 110 EuBh-st., Chicago; Alex. jp. Gunn, 
South Evanston ; Henry W. Dudley, No. 2,613 Indjana- 
ave., CMcago; John Frantz, JoUet; Asa G. Pettlbone, 
No. 235 MIchlgan-ave., Chicago. 

Freeport— Thomas A. Eoblnson, Winnebago; D. D. 
Sabln, Belvidere. 

Mattoon— James A. Eii>er, Cliarleston ; Albert Shaw, 
HarshaU, 

Ottawa-^Thomas Gait, Aurora; W. A. Jessup, Ken- 
dall. 

Peoria— John O. Hough, Delvan; George H. Mc- 
Hvaine, Peoria. 

Eoct River— Thomas R. Johnson, Edglngton; Alex- 
ander White, Geneseo. 

Schuyler- Heflry G. Mullau, Macomb; David G. 
Bruce, Fountain Green; Azel Pearson, Augusta; John 
Montgomery, Hersman. 

Springfield— Wm. H. Penhallegon, Decatur; David 
A. Brown, Springfield. 

Vn-SYNOD OF INDIA. 

Allahabad ; . 

PurruKhubud— Thomas E. IngUs, No. 53 FUth-ave., 
New- York City. 

KoHiapur ; . 

Lahore— Charles W. Forman, Lahore, India. 

LodJana— *E. M. Wherry, No. 211 Wabash-ave., 
Chicago, 111. 

Vin^SYNOD OF INDIANA. 

Crawfordsville— David R. Love, Newtown ; Wm. WU- 
mer, Attica; George W. ShanMln, Cutler; Henry Van 
Nuys, Lebanon. 

Fort Wayne— Henry B. Towusend, Elkhart; Henry 
E. Sayler, Huntington. 

Indianapolis— Wm. A. Hendrickson, Indianapolis; 
Wm. Wishard, Indianapolis. 

Logansport— George Knox, Monticello; W. McDon- 
ald, Logansport. 

Munoie— Charles Little, Wabash; Sumner W. Haynes, 
Portland. 

New-Albany— John F. Balrd, Seymour; Thomas Glb- 
oney, Hanover. 

Vlncennes— George E. Pierce, Terre Haute: Noah P. 
McClure, Vlncennes. 

White Water— Isaac M. Hughes, Elolunond; Samuel 
A. Bonner, Greenburg. 

IX— SYNOD OF INDIAN TEERITORY. 

Cherokee Nation— Joseph McC. Lelper, TahleQuah; 
Nelson Lerskove, Tahlequah. 

Chicka.saw— WUlls L. MlUer, Oklahoma City, Ok. Ter. ; 
A. D. Matthews, Ardmore, I. T. 

Choctaw— Harvey R. Sohermerhom, MoAlester; 
George E. Hartshorn, M. D., Oak Lodge. 

Muskogee— J. H. Land„ Okmulgee; W. H. Sanson, 
Muskogee. 

X-SYNOD OF IOWA. 

Cedar Rapids— E. R. Burkhalter, Cedar Rapids ; J. B. 
Moore, Cedar Rapids. 

Council Bluffs— H. C. Hughes, Sidney; T. C. Smith, 
Clarlnda ; W. D. Evans, ; V. Graff, . 

Des Moines— E. A. Walker, Dallas Centre ; W. O. At- 
wood, Cliailton ; P. Varga, Leon ; D. H. Scott, Albia. 

Dubuque— A. G. Wilson, Hopldnton; Prat. C. Bay- 
less, Dubuque. 

Fort Dodge ; . 

Iowa— J. B. WorraU, Keokuk; ; W. J. Hewitt, Morning 
Sun. 

Iowa City- N. A. McAulay, Wilton ; J. S. Wylle, Dav- 
enport. 

Sioux aty— H. D. JenMns, Sioux City; G. M. Tag- 
gert, Odebolt. 

Waterloo— 3. E. Koons, La Porte City; W. Moffett, 
Grundy Centre. 

XI-SYNOD OF KANSAS. 
Emporia— J. C. MUler, Wlnfleld ; C. P. Graham, New- 
Salem ; T. L. MarsliaU, Osage City ; F. B. Ewlng, El Do- 
rada. 



PRESBYTERIAN ISSUES. 



15 



Highland— M. F. Howie, Atolilson; C. C. McCarthy, 
NortonvlUe. 

Lamed— J. S. Glendcnnlng, Pratt; E. W. Hulse, Mo- 
Pherson. 

Neosho— S. M. Irwin, Geneva; W. J. Hatfield, Colum- 
Dus ; J. M. GnodseU. Fort iScott ; J. D. Dimlap, Carlisle. 

Oebome— J. M. Batcheld,er, Osbome ; E. R. Cole, 
Hays pity. 

Soaomen— E. N. SawteUe, Dilleu; W. H. Swarazey, 
Minneapolis, Kan. 

Topelta— H. H. Van Pelt, Lawrence; C. E. McCane, 
Kansas City ; C. C. Coleman, Clay Centre; J. B. Ander- 
son, Manhattan. 

Xn— SYNOD OF KENTUCKY. 

Ebenezer— J. MoC. Blayney, Frankfort; W. Ernst, 
Oovtngton. 

Louisville— J. M. Klchmond, No. 1,730 Brook-st., 
LoulsvlUe; K. W. Smith, 1,216 Thlrd-ave., LoulsviUe. 

Transylvanlar— W. O. Young, Banvflle; A. Musk, 
Httshurg, Ky. 

XIII-SYNOD OF MICHIGAN. 

Detroit— W. RadoHife, Detroit ; R. J. Service, Detroit ; 
B. P. Gilbert, Detroit ; J. H. Wade, Ann Arbor. 

ninlH-G. S. Woodhun, Marlette; H. Anderson, Port 
Huron. 

Grand Rapids— T. D. Marsh, Ludjngton; P. Fair- 
man, . 

Kalamazoo-S. F. Bacon, Richland; H. Gilbert, No. 
407 West LoveH-st., Kalamazoo. 

Lake Superioi^-J. B. Bonar, Marquette; C. L. Shel- 
don, Islipemlng. , 

Lansing— W. S. Potter, Battle Creek; G. H. French, 
Homer. 

Monroe— G. Humphrey, Box 620, Adrian; E. E. 
Moore, M. D., HiUsdale. 

Petoskey— ij. A. Kennedy, Lake City ; B. C. Bamum, 
Petoskey. 

Saglnaiw— F. D. Forbes, Midland ; N. B. Bradey, Bay 
aty. 

XIV— SYNOD OF MINNESOTA. 

Duluth—G. A. Brandt, West Duluth; H. M. Myers, 
Duluth. 

Mankato— J. Barbour, Mankato ; J. G. Rlheldofler, 
Red,wood Falls; E. R. Smith, LeSueuer; H. M. Palm^ 
Worthlngton. 

Red Eiver-^ ; . 

St. Paul— H. H. Noys, Buffalo ; R. Chrystle, No. 158 
Pleasant-ave., St. Paul; J. B. Donaldson, No. 16 Nortli 
Fourth-st., Minneapolis; C. G. Rennolds, No. 2301-2 
Western-ave., S., St. Paul; J. WlUnams, Minneapolis; H. 
K. Taylor, St. Paul; T. H. Dixon, St. Paul; H. J. C. 
Henning, Stillwater. 

Winona— R. B. Abboitit, Albert Lea; J. Martin, 
Owatonna. 

XV— SYNOD OF MISSOURI. 

ICawsas City— C. H. Bruce, No. 3,208 East TweUth- 
st., Kansas City; W. M. Newton, Eaymore; T. J. Hen- 
drickson, Drexel; B; P. Lampldn. Clinton. 

Oaark- R. W. Ely, Neosho, Mo.; W. W. Johnson, 
Eureka Springs, Ark. 

Palmyra— C. P. Blayney, Mylan, Mo. ; J. A. Wray, 
Moberly, Mo. 

Plafte— J. A. McKay, New-Hampton, Mo. ; J. 
DeClue, St. Joseph, Mo. 

St. Louis— J. W. AUen, No. .'5,431 Cabamle Place, St. 
Louis; W. J. Lee, No. 6,923 Mltehell-ave., St. Louis; 
B. A. More, Plymouth and Hamilton aves., St. Louis; 
T. Morrison, No. 1,807 Carr-st., St. Louis. 

White River— C. S. Mabane, Montlcello, Ark. ; S. R. 
Cowan, Cotton Plant, Ark. 

X\a— SYNOD OP NEBRASKA. 

Hasttngs ; . 

Kearney— B. H. Hunt, Georgetown; J. Thomas, 
M. D., . 

Nebraska City— T. K. Hunter, Nebraska City ; J. W. 
Little, Hasttngs ; A. C. Colton, Beatrice ; C. S. Clason, 
Lincoln. 

Niobrara— C. F. Gray, Ponca ; C. K. Conger, Norden. 

Omaha— T. W. Leard, Schuyler; W. D. McCord, 
Colon. 

XVn— SYNOD OF NEW-JERSEY. 

Corisco— R. H. Nassau, No. 53 FUth-ave., New- 
York. 

Elizabeth— J. A. Liggett, Rahway; J. T. Kerr, 
Elizabeth; C. D. Smith, Basking Ridge; A. C. Suthin, 
Lamlngton. 

Jersey City— B. Mitchell, No. 162 Mercer-st., Jersey 
Clly; A. McKelvey, G. W. DeMott, Tenafly. 

Monmouth— T. Tyack, Hlghtetown; A. H. Dashlell, 
Lakewood; F. French, Tucker Town; J. Wilson, 
Beverly. 

Morris and Orange— E. B. Green, Orange; W. F. 



Whltaker, Orange; E. J. Ross, Dover; A. C. Smith, 
East Orange. 

Newark— D. R. Frazer, No. 1,028 Broad-st., Newark; 
Lewis Lampman, No. 677 Hlgh-st., Newark; "G. W. 
Ketcham, Newark; A. H. Hazelttne, Newark. 

New-Brunswlok— W. H. Green, Princeton (wlH be 
represented by alternate); J. Dixon, Trenton; H. D. 
Sassaman, Mount Pleasant; E. Vosseler, Flemlngton; 
J. B. Burd, Flemlngton ; S. P. Dunham, Trenton. 

Newton— J. D. H. Bruen, Belvldere; J. C. Prall, 
Belvldere. 

West Jersey— H. L. Janeway, WUliamstown ; D. H. 
King, Vlneland ; P. W. Lyon, Bildgion ; A. B. Bndlcott, 
Atlantic City. 

XVin— SYNOD OF NEW-MEXICO. 

Arizona— J. G. Pritohard, Bisbee, Ariz.; L. L. 
Plank , 

Rio' Grande— T. C. Beattle, Albuquerque; J. K. Liv- 
ingston, Las Graces. 

Santa Fe— J. McGAughey, Ida, Kan.; P. PadUla, 
Raton, N. M. 

XIX-6YNOD OP NEW-YORK. 

Albany— J. McCIellan Holmes, Albany; C. H. Bald- 
win, Amsterdam.; W. Laldlaw, West Troy; H. E. 
Smith, Johnstown; E. P. Dnrant, Albany; J. P. 
Lansing, West Troy. 

Blnghamton— G. P. Nichols, Blnghamton; J. W. 
Keese, Cortland. 

Boston— J. T. Black, Boston, Mass. : J. A. F. HcBaln, 
Providence, R. I.; W. D. Cochrane, Windham, N. H. ; 
G. B. Reynolds, Newport, R. I. 

Brooklyn- A. H. Moment, W. A. HoUiday ; R. Hen- 
derson, No. 686 WUloughby-st. ; D. G. Eaton, No. 55 
Plneapple-st. 

Buffalo— T. D. smith. No. 242 Elmwood-ave, Buffalo ; 
N. L. Reed, Clean, N. Y. ; W. J. Shepard, No. 70 Ua- 
wood-ave., Buffalo; C. K. Wright, Portvllle. 

Cayuga— E. P. Sprague, Auburn; L. T. Hamilton, 
Weedsport. 

. Champlain— G. F. Chlpperfleld, Malone ; H. W. Cady, 
Plattsbui'gh. 

Chemung- J. Cairns, Breesport; E. Russell, WatMns. 

Chile ; . 

Columbia ; . 

Eastern Persia ; . 

Genesee— J. A. Anderson, Leroy ; L. C. Mclntyre, 
Batavia. 

Geneva— J. H. France, Canandadgua ; E. A. Bron- 
son, Geneva. • 

Hudson— D. Beattle, Scotchtown ; T. Gordon, Middle- 
town ; T. Comfort, Scotchtown ; S. C. Van Vllet, Ox- 
lord Depot. 

Long Iisland— F. V. Frisbee, Bellport; S. B. Strong, 
Setauket. 

Lyons ; . 

Nasimu— W. S. C. Webster, Isllp, L. I.; J. P. Kel- 
sey, Weetbury, L. 1. 

New- York— J. C. Bliss, No. 423 West One-himdred- 
and-fiilty-IourUi-st. ; John C. Nightingale, Stamford, 
Conn, (alternate) ; R. P. Sample, No. 214 West 
Twenty -tUird-st. ; *J. J. Lampe, Nli. 360 West Fifty- 
flrst-st. ; W. D. Buchanan, No. 131 Sevenitti-ave. ; 
*G. L. SQieairer, No. 150 Nassau-st. ; W. T. Elsdng, No. 
280 Edvlngton-st. ; Oscar E. Boyd, No. 53 FUth-ave. 
(alternate) ; *J. J. McOoolf, No. 120 Broadway ; "J. J. 
Stevenson, No. 308 West Forty-fiJth-st. ; *W. R. 
Warrall, No. 245 West Bortysixth-et. ; L. C. Murray, 
Lakewood, N. J. ; T. S. 'Strong, No. 77 West Seven- 
tleth-«t. ; F. Blmne, No. 146 West Hfteemth-st. 

Niagara- E. Snyder, Youngstown ; O. P. SooveE, 
Lewlstown. 

North Laos ; . 

North River— D. C. Nlven, Offlghland; E. Beckwlth, 
Pleasant Valley ; LeR. C. Cooley, Poughkeepsle ; 
T>. B. Abbey, Eondout. 

Otsego ; . 

Rochester- B. Bristol, Scottevlille ; P. Lindsay, 
Rochester ; iN. MUlard, Rochester ; D. Cory, Rochester ; 
F. Fielder, Dansvllle; E. Benedict, Brockport. 

St. Lawrence ; . 

Sliam— X. C. Berger, CUlton Springs ; . 

Bteuben— M. N. Preston, Bath ; B. 'OllsdeU, Coming. 

Syracuse— G. B. SpaiWlng, Syracuse; J. Eager, 
Syracuse. 

Troy— W. Reed, Troy ; G. Fairlee, Lamslngburg, P. 
Cook, Lansingburg ; , M. D. Schoonmaker, Waterford. 

Utlca^J. H. Taylor, Rome; J. W. Bamshaw, 
Lowvllle; O. P. Backus, Rome; J. C. Stark, Camden. 

Westchester— J. A. MeWUllams Sing Kng ; I. White, 
PeeksOdll ; O. S. Lane, Mt. Vernon; C. L. Rdd, 
Stamford, Conn. ; J. Barrett, Katoniah ; W. H. Parsons, 
Rye. 

Western Pensla ; . 

XX— SYNOD OF NORTH DAKOTA. 
Bismarck-^. O. Sloan, Glencoe ; J. R. Olark, Mandan. 



UBEAEY 0}F TRIBUNE EXTEAS. 



Fargo— W. Sangree, Jamestown ; A. F. Norton, Lis- 
bon. 

PemMna ; . 

XXI— SYNOD OF OHIO. 

Athens-JC. B. Taylor, Guysvllle'; Prof. W. Hoover, 
_A,tliens. 

Bellefontalne— C. M. Itraser, Forest; J. D. 
3IoLanglilln, Bellefcmtaine. 

OhUllootJie-^. Carpenter, Clilllioothe ; S. V. Wright, 
"Lyndon. 

Oinclnnatl— J. N. Anderson, No. 347 Haniilton-ave., 
dncdnnati ; W. H. James, Springdale ; W. Carson, 
HaiTison ; D. H. Shields, jMurdocli ; V. C. TSdball, 
Norwood; B. J. Tichenor, Lebanon. 

Cleveland— E. Buslmell, No. 727 Genesee-ave., Cleve- 
land; E. Laport, Alsron; J. W. Walton, Eiver-st., 
■01ev«laaid; J. Craft, M. D., Cleveland. 

Oolumbus— W. J. Wfflison, West Enslivllle ; C. E. 
McDanald, Oen*ral College. 

Dayton— P. Walter, Oxford; J. W. Nesbitt, Oxford; 
"D. C. Soott., Seven Mile: L. Timmons, New-Carlisle. 

Hmron— D. D. Bigger, liffln ; E. C. Smith, RepulbUe. 

Lima— R. MoCaslin, Sidney; C. G. Coss, Lima. 

Mailiomng— I. Eevennaugh, Leetonia ; J. I. Clari, 
Canton. 

Marion— T. J. CoUar, Radnor; M. M. Shipley, 
Richwood. 

Maumee— B. K. Ormond, No. 1,113 Broadway, 
Toledo ; L. J. Shead, Defiance. 

Poptmoutli— s. A. Van Dyke, Georgetown ; J. A. 
Lloyd, Jacteon. 

St. Clairsville— H. C. Morledge, : W. W. Watt. . 

Steuben vUle—D. Hargest, Meohanlestown ; S. L. 
"Dickey, Harlem Springsi; J. L. Kennedy, New-Phila- 
delpMa : Dr. H. W. Nelson, Steubemrtlle. 

Wooster— J. W. Cummings. Nanliin ; D. J. Meese, 
Mansfield: Prof. J. O. Notestein, )Woostcr; J. W. 
Spencer, Hayesville. 

Zanesvllle— W. E. Hunt, Coshocton ; A. Wright, 
Homer. 

XXTT— SYNOD OF OREGON. 

East Oregon— J. Hayes, Pendleton; G. J. Bowman, 
Baker City. 

Portland— E. W. Garner, Astoria; J. E. Martin, East 
"Ftttf«nth-st., Portland. 

Southern Oregon— A. Marcedlus, OaMand; J. Hall, 
ish Trap. 



Willamette— ■ 



« 



XXIII— SYNOD OF THE PACIFIC. 

Benicla— W. Alexander, San Eaiaol ; I. Cnllbering, Ar- 
-oata. 

Los Anigeles— A. Pailner, Orange; H. A. Newell, Los 
Angeles : R. Hartley, Riverside; W. Vanderver, Ventura ; 
E. B. Hall, Santa Barbara; W. Craig, M. D., Eedlands. 

Oakland— J. C. Burgess, DanvIUe; G. W. Armes, 
No. 560 Pourteentli-st, Oakland. 

Sacramento— W. C. Scott, Elk Grove ; W. Wylie, Sac- 
ramento, 

San Fi'anclsco— H. C. Mlnton, No. 2,688 Vevls- 
adero-st. ; C. Geddes, No. 415 Montgomery-st. 

San Jose— W. M. Hersman, San Luis Obispo; D. 
Jaoks, Monterey. 

Stockton— J. L. Woods, Sanger; O. Binghan, — ; — . 

XXIV— SYNOD OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

Allegheny— Prof. T. H. Robinson, Allegheny; J. R. 
McKallip, Beaver; G. Irwin, Allegheny; H. Disque, 
No. *6 Arch-st., Allegheny. 

BlairsviUe— J. H. Cooper, Oongruity ; T. R. Ewlng, 
BlalrsvlUe; C. Wlester, Manor Elation.; J. D. Miller, 
Greensburg. 

Butler— W. M. Hayes, Cllntonville ; A. Porter, West 
Sunbury. 

Carlisle— W. A. West, Spring Run ; W. A. MoCaa-roU, 
Shlppensburg; J. W. Rewalt, Mlddletown; G. M. Mc- 
Cauley, Hairrisburg. 

Chesteiv-J. Roberts, Colwyn; J. Vance, Chester; 
J. P. Durbln, Castle Wayne; G. H. Wallace, Thnrlow. 

Clarion- J. ;S. "BMer, Clarion ; J. B. Moore, Broot- 
vffle. 

Brie— R. S. Van Oleve. Brie; J. W. Reese, GIrard; 
J. A. Nem. TltusvUle: W. B. Isenburg, Mercer. 

Huntingaon— R. W. Wallace, Lewistown; W. Laurie, 
BeUefonte ; W. Dorris, Huntingdon ; J. Hamilton, State 
College. 

Kittanning- J. P. Calhonn, Slate Lick; J. H. Mo- 
Kein, Kittanning. 

Lackawanna— C. E. Robinson, Scranton ; J. S. Stewart 
TOwanda; C. Lee. Caxbondale; Major J. B. Fish, Scran- 
ion ; E. B. Sturges. Scranton ; T. H. Atherton, Wilkes- 
barre. 

Lehigh— G. C. Heclonan, Reading; J. G. WUlIamson, 
rjr., Hazelton; A. LeBar, M. D., Btroudsburg; D D. 
Dodga, Hazelton. 



Mexico- J. M. Green, Apartado 305 City of Mexico; 

Northumberland— S. W. Pomeroy, Mill HaU; S. Mit- 
chell, Mount Carmel; H. A. Sissler, Shamoktu; H. M. 
IliiSi'Bley, Danville. 

Paikersburg— J. H. Flanagan, Grafton, W. Va. ; S. T. 
Staplieton, Parkersburg, W. Va. 

Philadelphia— W. H. McCaughey, No. 754 Preston- 
st. ; A.* Allison, No. 3,038 Mt. Vernon-st. ; S. A. 
Mutchmore, No. 1,510 Chestnut^st. ; T. W. J. Wylle, 
No. 1,824 Wylie-st. ; B. L. Agnew, No. 1,933 Park- 
ave. ; J. G. Bolton, No. 1,906 Pine-st. ; R. Scott, No. 
E,133 N. Eiglrth-st. ; T. J. Gayley, M. D., No. 417 
South Eighteenth-st. ; J. Heebner, No, 1,518 North 
Pifte«ntli-st. ; R. C. Ogden, No. 1,316 Spruce-st. ; R. 
H. Hinckley, No. 127 North Nineteenth-st. ; *G. Jun- 
Idn, No. 100 South Twenty-flrs1>-st. 

Philadelphia, North— A. Henry, Frankford;' W. P. 
WlJlte, Germantown; W. Harvey, Germantown; J. W. 
Loch, Norristown. 

Pittsburg- A. A. Mealey, Pittsburg; J. J. Beaoom, 
Ewlngs Mills; W. P. Shrom, Pittsgurg; O. Newton 
Verner, McK«es . Rocks ; T. Ewlng, Pittsburg; J. A. 
Eenshaw, Pittsburg; T. D. Davis, 11. D., Pittsburg; 
W. B. Negley, Pittsburg. 

Redstone— J. C. Meloy, W6s.t Newton ; S. E. Jones, 
Belle Vernon. 

Shenango ; . 

Washington- J. D. Moffatt, Washington; F. Fish, 
Olaysville ; W. B. Simpson, Wheeling, W. Va. ; W. R. 
Thompson, M. D., Washington. 

Wellsborough— A. C. Shaw, Wellsborough.; J. Pol- 
look, Antrim. 

Western Africa ; . 

Westminster— E. L. Clark, New-Park; K. J. Stew- 
art, Delta; J. S. Patterson, White Rock; E. Mobley, 
Bryansville. 

Zacatecas ; . 

XXV-SYNOD OF SOUTH DAKOTA. 

AbeMeen— J. S. Butt, Groton; T. W. MUliam, Ellen- 
dale. 

Black HlUs— W. E. Peterson, Rapid aty; M. L. 
Grimes, Rapid City. 

Central Dakota— AV. J. HUl, Huron; J. C. Allison, 
A\Tilte. 

Dakota (Indian) ; . 

Southern Dakota— J. N. Hutchinson, Sioux Falls; 
R. P. HaU, Mitchell. 

XXVI— SYNOD OP TENNESSEE. 

Birmingham ; . 

Holston— J. Moore, Tusculum ; N. G. McFarland, 
Ellzabethton. 

Kingston— D. L. Lander, Kingston; J. T. McEwen, 
Kingston. 

Union— E. E. Sutherland, Knoxvllle; D. M. Ciald- 
well, New-Market. 

XXVII— SYNOD OF TEXAS. 

Austin— E. B. Wright, Austin; W. B. Seeley, Na. 
1,185 Flores-st., San Antonio. 

Nonth Texas— J. Anderson, St. Joe; Judge J. H. 
Barwise, WlcMta Palls. 

Trinity— J. B. Smith, Crocket; J. Sylvanus, Breck- 
enridge. | | J 

XXVIII— SYNOD OF UTAH. 

Montana— J. Eeld, Deer Lodge; Judge J. W. Stre- 
veU, Miles City. 

Tjtah— P. D. Stoops, SaJlna; W. I. Brown, NepM. 
wood River ; . 

XXIX— SYNOD OF WASHINGTON. 

Alaska ; . 

Olympla— J. R. Thompson, Vancouver; E. G. Petll- 
bone, Taooma. 

Puget Sound— J. A. I^urie, Anacortes ; L. W. Bal- 
lard, Slaughter. 

Spokane— A. . B. Cort, Sherman; E. E. Penflell, 
M. D., Spokane City. 

Walla WaUa— S. Cook, Waitsburg; 0. Monteith, 
Idaho. 

XXX-SYNOD OF WISCONSIN. 

Chippewa ; . / 

La Crosse-J. W. Winder, GalesvUle; J. Gllflllan, 
Wes* Salem. • 

Madison— W. F. Brown, No. 57 Mineral Polnt-ave., 
JanesvUle; Hon. J. B. Moseley, Madison. 

Milwaukee— A. A. KleUe, No. 124 Thtrteenth-st : 
R. Menzles, No. 2,729 Wells-st. 

Winnebago— W. O. Carrier, Wausau; M. C. PhUlps, 
Oshkosh. 



*Voted last year against Professor Brlggs. 
**Voted Inrt year for Professor Brlggs. 



I 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



17 



SECOND DAY. 



EEPOETS ON MANY QUESTIONS. 



COMMITTEES AND ORGANIZATION. 



HALP A MILLION FOR A NEW COLLEaE-LIBER- 
ALS WHO ARE NOT BRIOGS MEN. 
PorUand, Ore, May 20.— Summer weather greeted 
the Presbyterians on tlieir arrival here and the 
mercury lias been steadily rising ever since, and this 
In spite of the fact that no exciting discussions have 
occurred. After the formal welcome to the General As- 
sembly by Dr. Brown, pastor of the 'church, and the 
response by Dr. Young, the moderator, reports of 
committees were called for. Dr. Green, of New- 
Jersey, interrupted tlie proceedings to read a letter 
from a Salt Lake City man offering land valued at 
half a million dollars for a Presbyterian College in 
that city. The offer was accepted with slight debate, 
and business was resumed as U haU-mlllion-dollar gifts 
were matters of dally occurrence. ■ 

The appointments of standing committees by tiio 
new moderator to-day seem to give general satisfac- 
tion, an5 it Is noticed that three or four representar 
tives of the liberal or Briggs views have been 
placed upon the Important Theological Seminar'les 
and Judicial committees, giving the conservatives a 
representation of about eleven ou each of these com- 
mittees. The defeated candidates lor the moderator- 
ship are chairmen of leading committees. Dr. 
Clirlstle, of St. Paul's was appointed vice- 
moderator. Dr. Eadclifle heads the Com- 
mute on BiUs and Overtures, an important 
office, whUe Dr. Smltli, of Buffalo, is 
chairman of Uie Judicial Committee, wlilch will 
handle the .Briggs case first. The Theological Sem- 
inaries Committee, wlilch was led last year bv 
Dr. Patton, lias lor its chairman Dr. Mutch- 
more, of PhUadelphla. On the Judicial Committee 
are Dr. Frazer, of Newarlt, N. J., Dr. Briggs's class- 
mate, who delivered the charge at the famous Inaug- 
ural, and G«orge W. Ketcham, of Nev,-arft, the only 
member of this Assembly who voted for Dr. 
Briggs at Detroit last year. The impression 
prevails that all Presbyterians are in one of two 
classes, Briggs or Anti-Briggs, but a third class is 
growing up now, composed of those who are liberals 
but not Briggs men. 

Among the reports received to-day was one on 
church unity. The committee reported progress and 
was continued. The Consensus Creed report 
was adopted and the committee continued. 
The most interesting part of its work 
was not reported in tlie Assembly, but Is given in part 
below. It was a tentative creed wliich is under ad- 
visement by nine churches holding Presbyterian sys- 
tems of government, if tills were adopted, the new 
worldng creed desired by many Presbyterians might 

be secured. j. -.^ j. -j. 

An entire day and more was taken at Detroit 
last year In a discussion on a seal for the Church, but 
without a result being reached. Toniay Dr. H. C. 
M'cCook of PhMadelpaiia, presented a new device, con- 
sisting of an open Bible In the centre of the seal, with 
the words "The Word of God" on one page, and a 
serpent and a cross on the opposite page with proper 
adornments of wreaths, sunburst, etc. The report was 

adopted. . , , — . 

The Presbyterian women had a rousing foreign fflls- 
slonary meeting aU day in Calvary Cfiurch, and this 



evening a lay meeting was held in the interest 
of Sunday-school work by W. R. Worrall, 
cf New- York. Addresses were made by the moderator 
and leading men of the Assembly. To-morrow a, re- 
cess will be taken that members and tUelr friends may 
go en an excursion up the Columbia River. 

A letter was received to-day by Dr. E. S. Green, 
of Orange, N. J., from Jolm U. Mlddlcmiss, of Salt 
Lake City, In which he said : 

Poadering on the words ol one of the esteemed spealicra 
at your missionary meeting Jiela in Salt Lake Tlieatre 
prior to your aepiirture, i na*e cojiciuueti tiiac tne i.ui.o 
nas coine to streugtnen the tiauds or tue oanU of un;.elf'sji 
Onrlatiau wopi^era oe.ougiii^ to a c.iurcji wnos.- fidelity to 
tcachlEgs has been the light of my path in a s^mewhsii* 
eventful career. To accompllsn tue ijurpose, tt i& uccea- 
sary tnat a suitable building or buildings lor a Pi-esby- 
terian college soould be ereciea hei-e wituoi.t any lurtnor 
delay tnan cne time req.ul Ite lor drawing tlie plans and the 
erection of tne buildings, i na\ e spoken to tniee of my 
own asBooiates in buslueiis here, witn wnojn i own a great 
deal of land In tnls county, and, after a caieiui canvaLs of 
our vroijerty, i am instruotea to oifer to tne grand o-d 
Church of my fatherb twenty aeres of laua within 
tne limits of Salt Lake City for a bullulqg 
site lor college p>:riJO=es, and an adrtilioual 
eignty acres of lanu In tne tame locality 
and in the city limits as an Qtwiowment thereof. Xhe whole 
by warranty deed and free liom ail Incumbrances, with a 
perfect title to two or more trustees to be selected by your 
honorable synod. I sliail further undertake to lay out 
the grounds with avenue' ^ and plj>nt twerii witn trees, 
and place the lots into wlilch the,- eight^y acres will be 
divided on the market tliroughout the LTnited States, free 
of charge, with the following result: Eighty acres will 
give 720 town lots, nine lots to the acre, twenty-flve feet 
front o/id 130 feet depth, and aie worth and will sell 
for $500 per lot, giving a total return of $300,000, enabling 
you to erect a handsome college at tne cost of $160,000,, 
and retain In the treasury (or endowment $200,000. This 
win bo a very good tTart, and will be supplemeated by 
additional donations of equal if not greater value by others 
here who desire to see the Church in good fighting trim 
in this territory. If not asking too great a favor, I should 
like to have the college and subdivision of Salt Lake City, 
where it will be erected, p«,med '■"Westminster,'* in honor 
of the much.ahused confession of faith. 

The Assembly sent a telegram to Mr. Middlemlss 
thanking him lor 3ils ofl'er, and appointed a committee 
to arrange the necessary papers for tlie transfer. Dr. 
Wishart, synodical missionary ol Utah, and Dr. Ray, 
secretary of the Board of Aid Ijr Colleges, were de- 
lighted with the offer ol this hitherto unknown friend 
In Utali. 

THE .TACKSONVILLE CHURCH. 

Dr. John Hall, of New- York, was chairman ol a 
committee to raise money to pay a debt on the Jack- 
sonville Church. In his absence. Dr. Roberts read 
the report, which closed with these recommendations, 
all of which were adopted : 

1. That the committee on the cass ol the First 
Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville, Fla., be con- 
tinued. 

■2. That the committee be directed to secure the 
payment ol the mortgage ol $6,000 upon ithe First 
Church, Jacksonville, Fla., and to place the said 
mortgage either with the board of the church erecition 
fund, or with the trustees ol the General Assembly, 
whichever corporaition may be able to take and hold 
the said mortgage. 

3. That the committee by empowered to make a 
full settlement ol the case with the .First Presby- 
terian Cliurch of Jacksonville, Fla., In any manner 
wlilch may be wise and equitable. 

4. That the General Assembly herewith declares 
that hereafter the recommendation of any particular 
congregation to the benevolence of the denomination 
by the General Assembly is not to be understood as 
creating either a legal or a moral obligation upon the 
Assembly for the payment of (the amount recom- 
mended to be contributed by the churches. 

"THE CHURCH AT HOME AND ABROAD." 
Dr. Jolm S. Macintosh, of PiiUadelphia, presented 
a report on the imagazine of the Church, " The Church 
at Home and Abroad." The following resolutions 
were adopted alter considerable discussion : 

First— That the secretaries nominated by the boards 
of home and foreign missions be added to the 
Assembly committee— one from each of these boards. 
Increasing the number ol the committee by an ad- 
ditional member— there being now a single vacancy. 
And also that each board appoint as special repre- 



18 



LIBEARY or TEIBUNE EXTRAS. 



seatative oue of its secretaries or members, who shall 
be the board's special correspondent with the editor 
01 the magazine and the chairman ol the Assembly 
committee, and that a full list of these represema- 
Aives appear on .the cover of the magazine. 

Second— That the Commiltee on " The Chui'ch at Home 
juidi Abroad" be recommended to confer mth the boards 
witb a. view ol having the matter furnished by them 
presented to the Church In a more attractive, compact 
and popular form, and that the committee be advised 
to eonsider the propriety of a more liberal use ol illus- 
trations In the magazine, and that the magazine be 
Host lieartily commended to the churches. 

Tliird— That the committee be reappointed, and with 
the same powere, and be directed to report to the 
Assembly of 1893. 

STPwUG-aLlN^a WITH CHUEUH UXITY. 

Id the absence of Dr. J. T. Smith, of Baltimore, the 
great advocate of church unity, his report was read by 
Dr. E. M. Patterson, of Philadelphia. Progress was 
reported and the committee continued. Dr. Patterson 
supplemented his report with a brief speech saying : 

A year ago we had reached a point in conference 
with the committee from the Protestant Episcopal 
Church where we thought we had something practical 
to offer, but we have gone on slowly, giving our views 
to tliem and getting 'their views in retui'n, but the 
proposition, embracing their proposition to us, has not 
yet been received. Since coming here, I have re- 
eeived from Dr. Smith the following note : 

" Just after 1 sent a report to you I received a letter 
irom Dr. Duncan, secretary of the Episcopal Com- 
mission, in wlilch he says that they have been labor- 
ing to complete their concordat in time lor the meet- 
ing Ol the Assembly ; that the worli was so difficult 
that It necessarily consumed much time ; that he had 
at least sent it on to Bishop WUUams for final revision, 
«nd requesting the bishop to prepare duplicates and 
send one to my address in Balttmore and the other to 
Portland. He (rives some of the leading features of 
the proposal of the concordat, but I need not repeat 
them here, as we are soon to liave the document itself. 
Even should it reach yon from Bishop Williams, It 
will be impossible to consider It and report upon It 
this year, as we cannot get our committee together 
so far oft. Will you state the fact to the Assembly In 
any way you thlnli best !" 

We hope to be able to make a report next year. 



THE NEW CONSENSUS CREED. 



EEVISIQN OF THE STANDAEDS. 



J"KOGR,ESS EEPORTED BY THE COMMITTEE AND 
A TENATIVE CREED PREPARED. 

Portland, Ore., May 20.— The Consensus Creed 
Committee appointed at Saratoga ' two years ago 
presented its report to-day through its chair- 
man, Dr. W. B. Moore. The report was adopted 
and the committee continued. 

The Consensus Creed Committee leported that 
since the last report the Supremo Judiciary of the 
JbSlowing churches had acted favorably upon the in- 
vitation extended by tlie General Assembly through 
%l» committee to sister churclies looking toward the 
lormulatlon of a consensus creed : The Free Church 
of Scotland, the Presbjterlan Church of England, 
the Reformed Clmrch of England, the Eefoimed 
Church in America, the Presbyterian Church in Can- 
ada, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the Ee- 
lormed Church of Hanover, the Presbyterian Church 
of New Soutlx Wales, the Christian Jlisslonary Clmrch 
ef Belgium and the Evangelical Syriac Church ol 
Persia. In the discharge ol its trust the committee has 
prepared a creed consisting ol twenty-two articles. In 
general it may be said that it adheres closely to the 
spirit and lreq.uently to the verbal forms of the 
Westminster Standards. This creed was not submitted 
to the General Assembly for action, for the reason that 
a is the desire ol the committee, prior to such sub- 



mission, to arrive at a mutual understanding with the 
committees appointed on the same subject by sister 
chm'ches. it appears to this committee that it is 
proper that format authoiitallve ecclesiastical action 
should be preceded bj' correspondence between the 
several committees In ord,er timt the recommendations 
to be finally made may be similar in form and 
simultaneously presented to the respective supreme 
Judicatories. Con.munlcatlous, containing the tenta- 
tive creed wliich has been prepared, have been already 
forwarded to the committee of the nine churches. 
The report continues : 

With reference to one matter, the committee desire 
to receive special instructions. The overDures reierrcd 
to it in lSi)0 by the General Assembly dealt not only 
wittt a consensus creed, buti also with the subject of a 
new creed far popular u=e. Tiie committee desire to 
state in this connection that in their opinion a con- 
sensus creed cannot be made to serve tiie common par- 
pose ol a bond of Interdenominational upioii ana of 
popular use in the worship ol Cljristlaa congregations 
of necessity, a creed which is intended to be a common 
doctrinal piatlorm upon which maiiy denominations 
shall stand, must be to a large extent formal and 
tecimical in Its plu'aseology. Tne doctrinal basis, for 
instance, of tlie Evangelical Alliance was not constmct- 
ed with a vleiv to popular use, u.ltlier coitld it well have 
been so constructed. And this Is also true, in a more 
marked manner, of the creed designed to give expres- 
sion to the. common lalth of the i-resbyterian and Ee- 
foimed churches ihrougi.iout the world, if, however 
the Gei;eral Assembly desires tliat the committee should 
add to its labors the formation of a new creed designed 
lor Uturglcal uses, it should give to this or some other 
committee the proper authority. In tliis connection, 
however. It is weil tD note tiiat the Aposties' creed 
has been lor two and one-halt centui-ies one of the 
recognized stai;d;irds of the Pi-esbyteiiau churches. 
It was formally adopted by the Westminster Assembly 
as a part of tlie Shorter Catechism, and was adopted 
also lu like maimer by tl'-e General Synod of our own 
Church In 17:;9 and 1788. It is referred to in our 
directory for worehlp, chapter X, where it is enjoined 
that it shall be t;iught to the clilldi-en of tee Chm-ch. 
It would be well for the Assembly to consider whether 
tills ancient and venerable creed might not be com^ 
mended to the Church as a sufficient creed for popular 
and Uturglcal uses. 

The General Assembly alsD referred to the committee 
the propriety of omissions or clianges in tlie Apostles' 
Creed, and in tlie following terms : 

Eesolved, That the propriety ol omitting from or 
changing to tlie so-called Apostles' Creed the phrases, 
"He descended into HeU" and "The Holy Catholic 
Church," be referred to the Committee on Consensus 
Creed to consider wliat is wise in tlie way of action, 
and to repoi't to the General Assembly. 

The committee having carefully cDnsidered the sub- 
ject ol tills resolution, respectfully recommend that 
no change be attempted, and would call attention to 
tlve fact that the fDotnote connected with tlie creed and 
explanatory of the plirase " He descended into hell" Is 
a part of the creed Itself. The note reads " continued 
in the state of the dead and under the power of deatli 
until the third day." Tlis note is not tlie work of an 
editor, but of the Westminster Assembly, and was con- 
firmed and adopted by our General Synod in 1788. 
The Apostles' Creed, as a standard of tlie Presbyterian 
Church, Includes this explanatory note, and neither 
the creed nor the note could be clianged except by due 
constitutional procedure. The committee, however, 
feel that it would be tinwlse in any event to attempt 
to revise tills venerable formula ol faith, which, through 
not of apostolic origin, has yet back of it Christian 
antiquity and the veneration of all Christian com- 
munities. 

The committee recommend the adoption of the fol- 
lowing resolutions :' 

Eesolved (1), That the Committee on the Consensus 
creed be continued. 

Eesolved (2), That tite acts ol the committee up to 
this present time be approved. 

Resolved (3), That the committee extend the thanks 
ol the Assembly to the supreme judicatories ol those 
churches which have accepted its Invitations to unite 
In tt:^ formulation of a consensus creed, and that the 
committee continue to endeavor to secure tlie co- 
operation In the work ol other Presbyterian and Re- 
formed churches throughout the world. 

Eesolved (4), That the attention of our congregations 
Is hereby called to the fact that the Apostles Creed is 
one ol the Presbyterian Church, that the Instructton 
ol the children ol the Church therein is commended 
In the directory of worship, cliapter X., section 1, and 



PKESBYTEEIAX ISSUKS. 



19 



tliat Its use In worship Is not coatrary to any law or 
regulation ol our denumlnatlon. 

THE CREED. 
Articles from tlie tentative creed, wIUcli deal witli 
topics likely to come up In tlie revision discussion, 
are given lierewllh, tliougli not submitted to tlie As- 
Beml)ly : 

Ai'Ucie I— We lielleve In tlie one living and true 
CKxl, wlio is tt spirit, infinite, eternal and uncliange- 
able In His being and perfections ; most wise, holy, 
Juet, loving, merciful, gracious, longisuffecing and 
obmidant in goodness and truth ; we aclmowledge 
the mystery of the Trinity as revealed in the Script- 
ures, and Ijolleve that in tlie G-odhead there are three . 
persons, the 'IMlier, tlie Son and tile Holy Spirit, and 
that these tiiree are tlie one God, the same in sub- 
stance, equal in power and glory. 

Ai'tlcle II— We Ijelieve tiiat tile boolis of the Old 
and New Testoments are God's word written and 
wei'e given by Inspiration of God to be the only In- 
failible rule of taitJi and practice. 

Article III— We believe tiiat God, from all eternity, 
for His glory and by the most wise and holy counsel 
of His own will, did freely and unchangeably ordain 
whatsoever comes to piass ; yet so that God is not the 
author of sin, nor is violence offered to the wUl of 
man, nor is liberty or contingency of second causes 
taken away, but rather established. 

Ai'tiole IV— We believe tiiat God created all things 
by His word, and that He upholds and governs all by 
His providence. 

Ai'ticle V— We believe that God created man in His 
own image In knowledge, righffeousness and holiness, 
and that from tills state our flirsit imrents, being left 
to the freedom of their own w<ll, fell by sinning 
against G-od. 

Ai'ticie VI— We believe that, our first parents being 
the root and representative of ail mankind, <),eatii in 
sin and a corrupted nature were conveyed to aU tlielr 
posterity ; that from this corrupted nature do proceed 
all actual transgressions ; and that by sin mankind be- 
came liable to aU the miseries of this life, to death 
Itself, and to the pains of hell forever. 

Article VII— We lielleve that God did not leave 
mankind to irerish In their sins but so loved the 
world that He gave His only begotten Son that 
whosoever believed on Him should not 
perish but liave everlasting life, and that 
of His five and sovereign will, \vlthout the foresight 
of faiith or good works as causes or conditions 
moWng Him Mereunto, God did particularly and un- 
changeably choose In Ohrtst to eternal life a great 
multitude wihjcli no man can numher. 

Article VIII— We believe that the only mediator 
between God and man Is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, 
Being tlie eternal Son of God, that He might become 
mediator, became man, taking to Himself a true body 
and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the Holy 
^host, born of the Virgin Mary, so having two dis- 
tinct; natures in one person forever; that being made 
under the law as the substitute for sinners, he ful- 
filled all Its demands, and though He knew no sin, en- 
dured the penalty of the law even unto death, bearing 
our sins In His own body upon the cross ; that on the 
tlUrd day He rose from the dead ; that He ascended Into 
Heaven ; that He sltteth at the right hand of the Father, 
where He llveth making mtersession for us. We be- 
lieve that as mediator He executes the offices of 
prophet, priest and king, both in His estate of huniUia- 
mon ami exaltation ; that all power in Heaven and in 
earth Is given unto Him, and that He is liead over all 
filings to the Church. 

Article IX— We believe tihat the salvation whldi 
Christ has provided Is adapted to all men, that It Is 
sufficient for all, and that It is freely offered to all 
In the Gospel. We believe that it Is the Imperative 
duty of the ChuMih to preach thus Gospel in all the 
world, to every creature; that the free offer of salva- 
tion is accompajiied by the promi^ie of Christ, "Him 
that Cometh unto me, I will In no wise oast out," 
and tlint if any hearer of the Gospel is lost It is 
because he will not come unto Christ, that he might 
have life. 

Article X— We believe that those whom God hath 
diosen unto life and who are capable of bedmg out- 
wardly called by the ministry of the Word He is 
pleased In His appointed time, of His free and siiecial 
grace alone by His word and spirit efteotu'ally to 
call out of fihe state of sin and misery to grace and 
fealvatlt>n by Jesus Christ; and th'ait those dying In 
Infancy and other elect persons who are not out- 
wardly called by the Word are regenerated and salved 
by dirlst through the Spirit, who worketh when and 
how and where He pleaseth. 

Article XI— We believe that those who are eftec- 
tnally called of God through the outward means of 



grace are regenerated by His spirit, ai-e enabled to 
believe in Jesus Ciuist to tlie saving of tlielr souls, 
a.u lej. lO aae reiJeuiauce, are treely jusdned, are 
received into the number oi the sons of God, are 
sanotlHcd by His Woi-d and Spirit, wliereby they are 
enabled to grow in grace and In Uie knowledge of 
our Lord and Saviour .Jesus Ulu-Bt ; that they have the 
assurance of God's love and Oie promise of being 
kept by Hts power tlrrougli faitli unto tiaivation. 
We believe that the souls of all the elect are at their 
death made perfect in holiness and do Immediately 
pass into Heaven, and tliat at the Resurrection, their 
bodies being taised up in glory, they shall be openly 
acknowledged and acquitted In the day of Judgment, 
and be nuide perfectly blessed In the full enjoying 
of God to all eternity. 

Article XII— We believe tiiat God has endued the 
will of man with natural liberty ; that, by the fall 
having become dead In sin, it Is by grace alone that 
he Is enabled to accept Christ, to repent, and freely 
to will and to do that which Is spiritually good. 

Article Xlll— We believe that God hath given unto 
man a law, commonly called the moral law, wliich is 
summarily comprehended in the ten commandments; 
that It doth ever bind all persons to obedience, not 
only because Its commands are Just, but also because 
Its author' is God, and that tills law Is condrmed by 
the gospel of Christ, who more fully reveals to men 
the gracious will of God. 

Article XIV— We believe that the Holy Spirit applies 
to the consciences of all men the truth which they 
possess, whether natural or revealed, so as to leave 
them without excuse ; that the good which is done by 
unregenerate men has its source in His beneficent in- 
fluence ; and that through the gracious presence and 
power of the Spirit, redemption by Christ is made 
efficacious in promoting both the temporal and spir- 
itual welfare of mankind. 

Article XV— We believe that religious worship Is to 
be given to God alone, not to angels, saints, pr any 
other creatures, and only through the mediation of 
Christ; that God hath appointed one day out of 
seven for a Sabbath of rest and worslup ; that 
tlie first day of the week, on which our Lord Jesus 
Christ rose from the dead, is to be observed as ttio 
Lord's day or the Christian Sabbath, and tliat its 
hours sliould be kept holy unto the Lord. 

Artli-le XVI— We Believe that God alone Is Lord of 
the conscience, and hath left It free from tlie doc- 
trine and commandments of men which are in any 
way contrary to His word, or in addition thereto In 
matters of faith and worslilp; and tTIat, therefore, 
the right of private Judgment in all matters that re- 
spect religion is universal and Inalienable. 

Article XVII— We believe In the Catholic or Uni- 
versal Church, which Is Invisible and consists of all 
those in earth and Heaven, who have been, are, or 
sliall be redeemed and gathered Into one under Clirlst 
tlie head thereof; we believe that Clirlst hath estab- 
I'slied in this world a kingdom, which Is His Church ; 
that tile Church, as a visible organization under tlio 
Gospel, consists of aU those throughout the world who 
profess the true religion, together with tJielr children ; 
and that to this universal visible Church, Christ hath 
given the ministry, oracles and ordinances of God, for 
the gathering and perfecting of the saints In this life, 
to the end of the world. 

Article XVIII— We believe that the government of 
the Church should be exercised under soma definite 
form, and that it is agreeable to the Scriptures and to 
the practice of the primitive Christians, that the church 
be governed by representative bodies, such as 
church ses-;Ions, presbyteries and synodlcal assemblies; 
we also believe that the power of the church is 
wholly moral and spiritual, ministerial and declara- 
tive ; yet that the Church has received and possesses 
authority from G-od to Inflict censures upon those of its 
members who break the laws of Christ, and to exclude 
from its communion the contumacious and unrepent- 
ant. 

Article XIX— We believe that all who are united to 
Christ, their head by His spirit and by faith have fel- 
lowship with Him In His graces, sufferings, death, 
resurrection and glory ; and that being members of t%i 
Body, they are thus united with one another, iir» 
have communion In each other's gifts and grace*, «!■ 
children of one Father and brethren of the same LCrtL 
Article XX— We believe tliat Christ hath Instituted 
In His Church two ordinances, commonly called sac- 
raments, baptism and tlie Lord's supper, wherein by 
sensible signs Christ and the benefits of lie new 
covenant are represented, sealed and applied to all be- 
lievers ; and that these are made effectual, not from any 
power In them, or in him that doth administer them, 
but only by the blesslpgs of Christ and the operations 
of His spirit. 

Article XXI— We believe that the bodies of men 
after death return to dust and see corruption ; that 



20 



LIBRARY OF TRIBUNE EXTRAS. 



their souls neither die nor sleep, tut return to God 
who gave them ; lliat at the l:ist aay all tue dead shall 
Be raised up, and tiiat tliey who are alive at that day 
shall not die, but be changed. 

Article XXII— We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ 
will return to this eartn in the glory of His Father, 
and with His holy angels ; tliat He shall judge the 
living and the dead; tliat the wicked shall go away 
Into everlasting punishment; ami that the righteous, 
teing openly aoimowledgel as the sons ol God shall 
rnherit the Kiugdom prepared lor them from tlie foun- 
dation of the world. Seeing, then, that we Imow not 
at what hour our Lord will come, we should live 
soberly, righteously and godly in tills present world, 
looting lor that blessed hope and tne glorious appear- 
iig ot the great Gol and our Saviour Jesus Christ ; to 
whom be giory for ever and ever, Amem. 



THE STANDING COjVIMITTEES. 

ICEN WHO FACILITATE THE BUSIN'ESS OF THE 
ASSEMBLY. 

Portland, Or., May 20.— So much ol the work of 
the Assembly is done through its standing committees 
that a lull list is given herewith ; 

Vice-Moderator, Robert Christie, D. D. 

Bills and Overtures — Ministers, \Vallace JJadcJiffe, 
D.D., John 0. laineidatter, U. L)., Robert M. Baitterson, 
jy.D., John. Dixon, !>.!>., George C. Yiesley, D. D., 
Ira C, Tyson, D. u., George L. Shearer, I>. jL)., Jere 
Mjoore, L>. i>. Elders, Joiin J. MoCcok, Gilbent M. 
MoCauley, Thomas H. Udcteon, Fhoebus W. Lyon, 
Dainjiel W. Oorblt, Cornelius Bayless, Chiles B. Cole- 
man. 

Judicial— Ministers, T. Ealston Smith. D. D., Rufiis 
S. Green, 1>. 1)., James Roberts, 1). D., D«ivld R. 
Braser, 1). D., William Laurie, D. D., L. Faye Walker, 
D. v., John Barbour, Thomas Gordon, D. U. Elders, 
George Junlain, the Hon. Thomas Eiwing, Edward 
Wells, William Ernst, George W. Ketcliam, Samuel 
A. Bonner, Usiwald f. Bachus. 

Ohnrch l^lity— Ministers, William A. Bartlett, D. D., 
Joseph J. Lampe, i). D., Herman 1). JenMns, D. L)., 
John JI. . Richmond. 1). D.. William P. Swartz, 
Edward P. tprague, D. 1)., Herman A. NoyeS', James 
T. Black. Ellders, Logan C. Murray, Thomas 1), 
Davis, M. D", the Hon. Henry B. Sayler, William R. 
Worrall, R. G. Pettibone, Thomas H. Atherton, Henry 
J. WlUing. 

Home Mi'Sislons — Ministers, Simon J. McPherson, 
D. D., Edwa^rd B. Wright, D. D., Jolui W. Allen, 
D. [D., (AmOiS A. Kiehle, Thomas W. . Leard, John 
Wynsne Jones, Joseph McC. Leiper, Morris J. Seabrook. 
Elders, George E. Morrow, WUliani H. Wishard, M. D., 
David Jacks, Jason W. Strevell, T. J. Gayley, James 
K. Livingston, the Hon. Samuel J. Bamplield. 

Foreign Missions— Ministers, Alexander Alison, D. 
D., Jlenry 0. Mlnton, D. D., William M. Taylor, 
D. D., Thomas D. Wallace, D. D., Alfred H. Moment, 
D. D., Paul D. Bergen, Cliarles W. Forman, D. D., 
Clarence DUlard. Elders, Allen B. Endlcott, Joshua 
WUhams, Edward M. Semple, John C. Knowlton, Levi 
W. Ballard, James S. Thomas, John Slilrley Ward. 

Education— Ministers John A. LJggett, D. D., WiU- 
1am H. James, D. D., WilUam F. Elngland, D. D., 
James A. Anderson, Harry L. Janeway, William S. 
Potter, J. Scott Butt, John O. Miller. Elders, Dar- 
win G. Eaton, WllUam H. Pornell, Edward T. Gil- 
bert, Leroy C. Cooley, WUliam Hoover, Charles 
Montelth, David D. Sabin. 

Publication and Sabbath School Work— Ministers, 
Robert F. Sample, D. D., Cliarles E. Robinson. D. D., 
Alexander Parker, Clarence G. Reynolds, John C. 
Meloy, Albert A. Pfaustlelhl. Thomas E. Spilman, 
Charles H. Bruce. Elders, Levi T. Hamilton, Mallory 
D. Shoonmeker, John T. McEwen, John C. Allison, 
George W. Armes, Daniel H. Shields, George J. Bow- 
man. 

Cliurch Election— Ministers, John McC. Holmes, 
D. D., John S. Stewart, D. D., Horacfe I). Sassaman, 
James IS. Flanagan, D. D., Salathlel M. Irwin, William 

A. HoUlday, D. D., Thomas C. Smith, D. D., Russell 

B. Abbott, D. D. Elders, /Hon. Silas S. Peirson, 
Charles Weister, C. McDannald, Alexander G. Max- 
well, Alonzo P. Brown, Ephralm B. Hall, Ozias 
Bingham. 

Theological Seminaries— Ministers, S. A. JIutchmore, 
D. D., George C. Heclnnan, D. D., Jolm H< Nesbltt, 
James H. Taylor, D. D., John N. Hntchinson, Alex- 
ander G. Wilson, D. D., James E. Moffett, D. D., 
Charles H. Baldwin, D. D. Elders, John C. Tucker, 
Jonas O. Notesteln, Thomas S. Strong, ithe Hon. E. 
Smith, Albridge C. Smith, Franklin B. Keiser, W^alter 
J. Shepard. 

Ministerial Relief- Ministers, Tliomas H. Robinson, 



D. D., William W. Totheroh, D. D., Charles Little, 
L. L>., George S. Woodnuu, u. D., George Carpenter, 
Keubcn H. van Peit, William F. VVliluiker, Henry A. 
McMuLin. liilders, Emmett Russell, Andrew Porteiv 
Charles C. Go-.s, William A. Jessop, James D. Be.l, Will- 
iam W. Johnston, D. D., Cornelius K. Conger. 

Freedmen- Ministers, Robert ii. Sutherland, D. D., 
James D. Molfalt, D. u., George Parsons Nicnols, Will- 
iam H. PenhaLegon, D. D., James H. Potter, U. I)., 
David E. Love, James D. Bonar, s. Edwin K03ns. 
Elders, Eli A.Bronson,' John S. Moore, John F. Clark, 
Alexander W'liite, Robert M. Alexander, jDseph A, 
Wiay, Jacob Wii,son. ' 

Aid for Colleges- Ministers, William Alexander, D. 
D., Benjamin L. Agitew; D. D., Edward R. Burkhalter, 
D. D., Augu.^tus C.'bhaw, D. D., Graham C. Campbell, 
George Fairlee, Thomas K. Hunter, William F. Brown, 
Eldejs, celah B. Strong, Joseph A. NeiU, McClain M. 
Si.iplty, John Montgomery, George W. Peters, A.bert 
P. Frank, John DeCiue. 

Con e^iiondeECe— Ministers, John McC. Blayney, D. D., 
Robert J. service, WUliam Carson, J. Westby Earnsliaw, 
S. A. Van Dyke, Stuart Mitchell, D. D., O. Newton 
Verner, E. Trumbull Lee, D. D. Elders, James W. 
Eager, James H. McKain, Loriin J. Shead, George E, 
Hartshorne, Ezra C. Barnum, Jolm Martin, Samuel R. 
Cowan. 

Benevolence— Ministers, Robert M. Wallace, D. D., 
John B. Donaldson. D. D., Alex McKelvey, William 
Reed, R. Lorenzo Claik, Fred L. Forbes, Eugene A. 
Walker, William Samgree, Elders, James C. Knowl- 
ton, Wil iam Harvey, VV. W. Watt, William H. Sanson, 
Edwin E. Moore, J. Clark PraU, J. Duncan McLaughlin. 

Narrative— Ministers, Jolm B. Worrall, Josepli 
Vance, D. D., J. W. Cummings, J. Walter Lowrie, 
William Boone, Kensey J. Stewart, John W. Little, 
Peter Lindsay. Elders, Robert Slver, Addison H. 
Haseltine, Hezeklah W. Nelson, Cornelius C. McCarthy, 
Henry Gilbert, L. L. Plank. W. J. McCabe. 

Temperance— Ministers, D. Dwiglit Bigger, D. D., 
John J. Beacon, T. W. J. Wylie, D. D., Nelson MUlard, 
D. D., William P. Brown, D. D., J. E. Thompson, 

D. D., John K. McKaJlip, Henry B. Townsend. Elders, 
David W. Glass, the Hon. H. M. Hinckley, Albert 
Wright, Ellsha W. Hulse, Ferdinand Fairman, Clarence 
L. Reed, James M. Martin. 

Leave ol Absence— Ministers, Isaac W. Hughes, D. D., 
Newton L. Reed, Duncan C. Niven, WlUlam M. Hers- 
maB, Joseph M. Batchelder, James A. Piper, John F, 
Baird, Nell A. McAuIay. Elders, Joseph H. Doxsee, 
A. Le Bar, M. Di, W. H. Swanzey, Pedro Padilla, 
Walter Wyhe, Moses L. Grimes, J. H. Barwise. 

Mileage— Elders, H. Knox Taylor, George Irwtn, 
Frank H. Smitli, Edward Glisdell, Robert Livingstone, 

E. J. Tichenor, M. D.,. Gc-Mnge M. Taggart, David 
Corey. 

Finance— Elders, WiUlam B. Negley, A. G. Pettibone, 
Kllbourn W. Smith, Herndon M. Myers, WUliam W. 
Johnston, M. D., Edwin J. Ross, Gardiner B. Reynolds, 
Jolin A. Lloyd. 

CO.AIMITTEES ON RECORDS OF SYNODS. 

Atlantic— Ministers, W. H. Logan, Theodore Crowl, 
Charles P. Graham. Elders, Nelson Lerskove, John 
M. Goodsell. 

Baltimore— Ministers, William M. Hindman, Jolui 
Eastman, Lawrence Miller. Elders, S. Fell Jones, 
Valentine C. Tldball. 

Catawba— Ministers, George R. Pierce, Henry C. 
Mullan, James A. McKay. Elders, John E. Bird, 
W. D. Hart. 

China— Ministers, Thomas Gait, James A. F. McBain, 
Edward Snyder. Elders, iAlbert Sha, John. Frantz. 

Colorado— MlnS.stei SI. Joshua C. Bnrgess, Joseph W. 
Winder, Arthur N. Cort. Elders, MUton C. Phillips, 
J. R. Clark. 

Illinois- Ministers, John T. Kerr, Walter LaMlaw, 
James Hays. Elders, WiUiam D. Cochrane. Frank 
Fielder. 

India— Ministers, John C. Hough, WlUlam A. Hen.- 
drickson, David, J. Meese. Elders, Stewart V. Wi-ight, 
N. G. McParland. 

Indiana— Ministers, Benjamin K. Ormond. Irving 
White, William J. Hatfield. Elders, EmUlus P. Lam- 
liln, Eiias Via^eler. 

Indian Ten'itory- Ministers, Richard C. Hughes, Bid- 
ward I'ri.'itol, Algernon MarceUus. Elders. Theodore 
Comfort, George H. Fi'ench. 

Iowa— JHnlsters, Theod.ore D. Marsh, Charles T. 
Burnley. Charles F. Graves. Elders, A. C. Colton, 
Albert C. Donaldson. 

Kansas— Ministers, Thomas K. Hnhmter, William M. 
Newton, Junius C. Alston . Elders, Andrew Armstrong 
WUliam :\roffett. 

Kenlmeltj-— Ministers, Joseph M. Anderson, Charles 
Lee, George F. Chlpperileld. Elders, David C. Scotti 
David M. Caldwell. 

Michigan— Ministers, Joseph H. Prance, D. D How- 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSDES. 



21 



ATd, C. Jloieledge, TUomas H. Johnson. Elders, Al- 
bert Bhavv, t.. L. onuiu. 

iiimiesota— Miiii^iu.-i, Wlilliim P. Strom, D.D., Wil- 
bur O. DaJ-.lL-r, ..upii.M W. J.U1UI.I-JJ. Ji.ideis, uojtrt 
Menzles, Uavla 11. .^coti. 

Missouri— iimlstsi-b, John S. Gleudennlng, W. C. At- 
wood, UusUivus A, linindt. Elaers, Hlraui Anderson, 
John L. Kennedy. 

Nebraska— Mlnlstei-s, Robert S. Van Cleve, William 
J. HUi, vuUla Wumer. Jiiiders, Josppii 6. Wylle, Jere- 
miah Day . 

New-Jers3y— Ministers, Joseph Vance, D. D., Will- 
lam A. West, U. v., Frederick V. i'risble. Elders 
Thomas H. Atherton, Thomas Collins. 

New-Mexico— Ministers, Dav.d Hargest, WUllam A. 
ilcOarrell, D. D. Elders, E. P. lia,ll, John W. 
*ipencer. 

New- York— Ministers, Thompson R. Ewing, D. D., 
Henry A. Newell, Joseph C. Calhoun. Elders, WUl- 
lam McCandUsli, William B. Simpson. 

North Dakota^Mln.sters, Wlliiam P. White, James L. 
Woods, Wlliiam H. Jennings. Elders, Amos Ecetukiya, 
Lindsay Timmon. 

Olilo— Ministers, Marcus N. Preston, Walter D. 
Buchanan, Charles S. Lane. Elders, David B. Abbey, 
JJobert Seltt. 

Oregon— Ministers, Wlnfleld C. Scott, James A. 
Laurie, David H. King. Elders, James C. Patterson, 
Charles Geddes. 

Pacific— Ministers, Alfred H. Dashiell, D. D., 
iGeorge F. Walker, Johnston McGaughey. Elders, 
James Gllflllan, Charles K. Wright. 

Pennsylvania— Ministers, Samuel L. Blckey, Edgar 
Beckwith, James A. Kennedy. Elders, Francis French, 
Thomas E. Blackburn. 

South Dakota— Ministers, Robert McOaslin, D. D., 
John C. Sjlvanus, WUliam A. Bradley. Elders, 
A. F. Norton, John W. Walton. 

Tennessee— Ministers, Thomas J. Cellar, Joiin W. 
Wilson, James W. Reese. Elders, Samuel T. Staple- 
ton, Henry Dlsque. 

Texas— Ministers, Anthony A. Mealy, Willis L. 
JtflUer, George Johnston. Elders, William Craig, 
M. D. 

Utah— Ministers, John N. Wright, Edward Layport, 
William T. Elslng. Elders, Samuel C. Van Vhst, 
H. A. Shlssler. 

Washington— Ministers, James S. Elder, 'Charles M. 
leaser, Joseph G. Williamson. Elders, James B. Fish, 
Joseph Barrett. 

Wisconsin— Ministsrs, Jolm H. Cooper, Henry Fulton, 
W. M. Hays. Elders, W. J. Hewitt, Levant C. Mcln- 
iyre. 



CARING FOR AGED MINISTERS 

.SEVEN HJNBEEI) FAMILIES AIDED BY A GRATE- 
FUL CHURCH— RUMORS OF AXOTHER 
BENEFACTION. 
Portland, Ore., May 21.— An abstract ol the ai.nual 
Teport of th« Board of Ministerial Eeliel to the General 
Assembly shows thOit the number ou the roll of the 
Board to whom relmittances were s3nt upon the 
lecommendatiou ol IfiO Presbyteries during the year 
April, lS91-'93, was 682. Tlie Ir.umber of families 
jrovlded for during the year at tlie Ministers' iloudj 
s,t Perth Amboy, N. J.,' in lieu of receiving a re- 
jnittance in money, was 18; making upoh tlie roll ol 
■tlie Board during the past year a total of 700 families, 
iin Increase of 41 over last year. Of course there 
.are more thai] 700 parsons who sliard in these ap- 
jJrol)riaticns. These families iure often composed ■ of 
xiged couples ; or tlis minister, laid aside from liis 
.active duties, may have a wife and children to sup- 
■3)crt. There are also many families compvjsell ol a 
dependent widow with little cliildren to be cared for. 
Sixty-eight ministers liave applied for aid under tlie 
new rule of the Assembly which provides that " Every 
hffl.iorably retii'ei minister over seventy years of age, 
■who is in need and who has served our Church as a 
.missionary of the Home or Foreign Board or as a 
apastor tfr stated supply for u pelriod in the aggi-egate 
•of not less than thirty years, shall be entitled by sucli 
service to draw from tlie Board ol Miniaterial Relief 
an annual sum for his support, without the necessity 
of being annually recommended therefor by the 
Presbytery." Tlio maximum sum to be paid by the 



Board upon such application was fl.xed by the 
Assambly at $300 ; and fifty -one of these venerable 
men have certified to the I^'esbytery tliat they were 
In liieed of this sum annually lor their support in 
their helpless oil age. The oldest of tliem is In hia 
ninety -second year; twenty -elglit are over eighty. 
The average age is over twenty-six, and the average 
number of years spent in the ministry is meiuly forty- 
eight. During the three years in wJucli this new 
rule of the Assembly has been in operation the whole 
number of ministers ©irolled upijn this list is eighty- 
nine. Twenty-one have been called to their reward 
en high, leaving the present number as given above, 
viz., sixty-eight. The entire annual sum appropri- 
ated to tliiese sixty-eight aged ministers last year was 
only $18,300— an average of a httl9 more than $269. 
The entire income of the Board during the paat 
year, including the interest from the permanent fuiid 
as well as the contributions from churches. Sabbath- 
schools and individuals; amounted to ipl01,714 43, 
an increase of $3,550 65 over the iixome of the pre- 
vious year. This is the largest income the Board 
lias ever received and the demands upon its Treasury 
have also been larger than ever before— the entire 
expenditures amounting to $156,748 56. This leaves 
a bala;.ce, a? a result of the year's operations, of 
$4,065 87, and this added to the balances on hand 
from i)revious years enables the Board to report to 
tlie Assembly $24,063 30 in the Treasury with wluch 
to begin the ne^v year. During the year $35,028 23 
was rereived from legacies and added to the permanent 
fui ;d, wHiich (including the centennial ofEerlng) now 
amcunits to $1,192,919 12. 



PRESBYTERIAN SCHOOLS. 



WESTERN THEOLOGIiJAL SEMINARY. 



IIS HISTORT AND ITS WORK DURING THE YEAR 
—PECULIAR ADVANTAGES AND SPE- 
CIAL NEEDS. 

Portland, May 20.— The Gene.-al Assembly of 1825.i 
by resolution, date, mined that it was "expadlent 
forthwith to establish a theological seminary in the 
West," to be styled "The Westerm Theological Sem- 
inary of the P.esbyteiian Church in the United 
States of America." A Board of Directors was 
chosen, and at the same time five comm'.ssioners. 
Gelieral Andrew Jaclisoo)., of Tennessee, chairman, were 
appointed, wlio, with tlie. directors, w.'re authorized 
to select a suilable location for the new seminary. 
Alter a strife fjr the site which lasted for two 
years Allegheny was selected, and the select on was 
r:'.tiflsd by tha General Assc'mbly in 1827. At the 
same time the Rev. Jacob J. Janeway. D. D., was 
chosen irofessor of theaiogy, the only profsssor of 
the new Ins Itutlon. The seminary was opened lor 
instruction on Nov. 10, 1827, with four students In 
attendance. The single pro.'essor, Dr. Janeway, was 
not able to enter upon his duties untU the fallowing 
year, and the care ol the four young men was com- 
mitted to the Eev. EUsha P. Swift and the Eev. John 
Stoolrton. 

The seminari' opened without any buildings, and 
so continued untU March, 1831, when its first build- 
ing was ready lor use The history of its painful bub 
heroic strugg'e» for existence during the first half 
ctntary cannot be reliea;s3d. The friendship and 
large benefactions or one noble and godlv man, the 
Eev. Charles C. Beatty, D, D., will be held in hon- 
ored memory as long as the seminary Is known In 
the Church. During the sixty-five years of I'.s his- 



22 



UBEARY OF TEIBUNE EXTRAS. 



tory twenty-one professors have fll'.ed its cliairs, and 
from fwslve to fifteen persons have served as 
Instructors In its various departments. Over 
1,700 students have been enrolled in its 
classes, and its alumni have gone into nearly every 
part of our own land, and to nearly every missionary 
field of the world. The connection of the seminary 
with foreign missions has ever been one of its pe- 
culiar honors in both the number and the character 
of the men who have gone to heathen lands. Its 
graduates have also filled the most responsible and 
honored places in the gift of the church. 

The great aim of the seminary, from which it has 
never swerved, has been to give the young men under 
Its care as general and as thorough a preparation for 
the direct work of the Gospel ministry as could be 
imparted In three years. It has not sought to mate 
mere scholar's, or specialists In any lines of study, but 
to mate able and earnest preachers. Its curriculum 
has, therefore, changed but slightly during the entire 
period of Its history, and these changes have been in 
the way of enlargement In harmony with the larger 
demands of the times. It has presented but a single 
course of study and Its diplomas are given only to 
those who complete It and pass the test of a public 
examination. The system of elecUves has never been 
Introduced nor been favored by the directors. It has 
not been found to be necessary or adWsable to alter 
the course of study to meet the wants of applicants 
for admission to the seminary. The great majority of 
the students are young men who have pursued the 
fuU classical course in some of our colleges, and have 
been prepared to meet the requirements for entrance 
to the seminary. Stndtots who desire to carry forward 
speciaJ studies that are not designated in the curric- 
ulum make such studies additional to the regular 
course. While the full course of study is completed In 
three years, any students who desire to prosecute 
their studies for a longer time can do so under the 
advice and tuition of "the faculty. 

Adhering closely to the original purpose of the 
Eomlnary to make Its graduates able and consecrated 
ministers of the Gospel, the work of the last year has 
been characterized by a spirit of faithful and earnest 
attention to duty and has won the large approval of 
the faculty. Over eighty students have been in at- 
tendanc«. Twenty-two conclude their studies the 
present year. The Foreign Missionary Society has 
been maintained with vigor, and has continued its 
pecuniary support of a missionary in the foreign field. 
The year has been a successful one in all departments 
of teaching. In addition to the regular course of 
lectures in the seminary special courses have been 
given by prominent clergymen and others that have 
been very valuable. Among the lecturers may be 
mentioned the Rev. F. F. Eilinwood, D. D., of New- 
York; the Rev. C. A. Holmes, D. D'., of Allegheny, 
Penn. ; the Rev. George B. Stewart, of Harrisburg, 
Penn. ; the Rev. J. Clement WTilte, D. D., of Htts- 
bnrg, Penn. ; the Rev. George S. Chambers, D. D., of 
Harrisburg, Penn. ; the Rev. T. V. Milhgan, D. D., of 
Jeannette, Penn. ; the Rev. W. J. Robinson, D. D., of 
Allegheny, Penn. ; the Rev. J. D. Moorhead, of Beaver 
Falls, Penn. ; O. L. Miller, M. D., of Allegheny, Penn. ; 
the Rev. George W. Chalfant, D. D., of Pittsburg, 
Penn. ; the Rev. Stephen A. Hunter, M. D., of Chefoo, 
China, and others. 

"AllegJieny Seminary is situated In the midst of a 
large and rapidly incmsing population," said a mem- 
ber of the faculty recently. "The twD cities of Pitts- 
burg and Allegheny contain over 300,000 people. Ad- 
'mirable opportunities are thus afforded to the students 
for Glmstaan work in the city missions and the large 
BTunber of Pi'esbyterian churclies within the two cities. 



These cities and the districts of Western Pennsyl- 
vania and Eastern Ohio, of which they are in tlio 
centre and that furnish the large majority of the- 
students for the seminary, are the stronghold of 
Presbyterianism. Over 500 of our churches and over 
100,000 of our church members are to bie found in 
this region. Over 100 theological students from the- 
same region are in the theological seminaries. Two- 
other theological seminaries, those of the United Pres- 
byteiriain Church and of the Reformed Presbyterian- 
Church, are also in Allegheny and contain about 
elgJity pugplils, malnng in all a body of some ISO 
theological students of the Presbyterian faith pnrsin- 
ing thefir studies here. The re^on Is probably mo(P9- 
thoronghly and more strongly Presbyteirian in doc- 
trine and more soundly conservative in Its faith than- 
any other portion of the land of like extent. Sur- 
rounded by so large a Preshyterlan population and' 
by so many Presbytertan churches, the young- 
men of the seminary, both during (their va- 
cations and during the seminary term, hiave- 
many excellent opportunities, especially in serving- 
feeble and vacant churches, of practical ministerial 
training for their work as preachers of the Gospel."" 

A movement Is in progress that promises to be suc- 
cessful, that will add at once to the seminary fund for- 
contingent expenses $75,000. This -will place that 
fund beyond the nead of all pressing wants. The- 
library, a valuable one of over 22,000 volumes, greatly 
needs a larger endowment for th?. double purpose of 
an increased income for the annual purchase of valua- 
ble boolts and of securing a permanent and coifipetent 
librarian. Such an ollicer would be of greatest service- 
to the young men of tli© seminary in directing their 
researclies . and guiding them into the choicest lines, 
of reading. In addition to the single lectureship to 
the seminary, which Is Itself but partially emdowed, 
there should be at least one. more, designed to meet 
sme of the pressing practical questions of the Umes,- 
jn the relation of Christianity to social reforms. 

An Increase in the scholarship fund is another of 
the serious needs of the seminary. The increase In 
the number of students for the post ten years, and also- 
in till* cost of living, together -with the lower income- 
from invested funds make It a necessity that there- 
should te a large increase of tlieir funds. 
The enlargement of the curriculum of studv during tlio- 
past quarter of a century, demands a like enlareemen-fc 
in the corps of instructors. An increase in the num- 
ber of the faculty by the addition of at least one mem- 
ber would add to the efficiency of the institution. To- 
accomplish this end, there should, be an increase in the 
professorship endo-wment fund. The necessity for such- 
an Increase Is enhanced by the lowering rates of in- 
terest on Invcstlments. To give the seminary the effi- 
ciency for usefulness it should possess in order to pros- 
ecute Its work with the largest success, the sum of 
$300,000 should be added to existing endowments. 
The amount of present Investment Is a little less than- 
$500,000. An increase of at least half that amount- 
would give an Income that would greatly enlarge the- 
power of the seminary. Tlie real estate of the sem- 
Inaiy Is valued at $225,000, maldng the entire property 
of the seminary a little over $700X)00. 

The seminary has a board of directors consisting 
of forty members; the Rev. George Hill, D. T>.. of 
Elairsville, Penn., president; and a b-"ard of trustees con- 
sisting of twentv-one members: WllUam Baltewell, esa.^ 
of Pittsburg, Penn., president. The faculty Is consti- 
tuted as follows : the Rev. William H. .Teffers. D. D... 
LL. D., professor of Old Testament literature, ecclesi- 
astical history of doctrines, SewicMy, Penn. ; the Rev; 
Thomas H. Robinson, D. D., reunion professor of 
sa-red rhetiric. Church government and pastoraB 



PRESBYTERIAN ISSUES. 



23 



theology, 316 EUlgo-ave., Allegheny, Penn.; the Rev. 
Robert Dick Wilson, Ph. D., professor of Hebrew, Chal- 
dee and Old Testament history, 57 Llnooln-ave., Alle- 
gheny, Penn. ; the Rev. Matthew EroWn Riddle, B. D., 
professor of New Testament literature and exegesis, 
287 Ridgo-ave., Allegheny, Penn. ; the Rev. Robert 
Christie, D. D., professor elect, professor of didactic 
and polemic theology, and lecturer on comparative re- 
ligion, 300 Ridge-ave., Allegheny, Penn. ; Professor 
John M. Sleeth, instructor in elocution. 



AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 

ITS RELATION TO THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
—THE PROSPECTS ENCOURAaiNG. 
Portland, Ore., May 20.— The Theological Seminary 
of Auburn was foxmded seventy-four years ago by the 
Synod of Geneva. It was placed under the care, not 
of Uie Synod itself, but of the Presbyteries of the 
Synod, together with sucli other Presbyteries as miglit 
later be associated with them for that purpose. Under 
this latter clause, its oonatituency has been from time 
to time enlarged, or otherwise changed. Since the re- 
union of 1870 it Ijas Included all the Presbyteries in 
the State of New-Yorlc, except those in or nearest 
New-Yoris City. The Presbyteries exercise their 
control tlirough commissioners, each Presbytery having 
fhree commissioners, one of whom is elected each year. 
These elect the trustees and the professors, and have 
a concurrent vote with the trustees In ail appropria- 
tions of funds. In this matter of control, Auburn is 
nnlllie all other Presbyterian seminaries. In all 
the others the power of appointment and control is 
vested in a compact body of directors, the directors 
being practically a self -perpetuating body, thougli 
there is. In some instances, a nominal veto power 
lodged In the General Assembly. In the case of 
Auburn, this power of appointment and control ulti- 
mately resides in eighteen different Presbyteries, 
meeting, any year, in eighteen or more different 
places. This arrangement has some advantages, 
thougli It Is in certain respects veiy cumbersome. 
For one thing. Auburn is utterly disqualified for adopt- 
ing a policy, arid tailing swift and eifective action. 
In questions of church politics that arise. Perliaps 
this Is on the wliole a good thing for Auburn, rather 
than the contrary. 

The year just closed has been one of harmony and 
prosperity In this seminary. By the election of a 
professor In June, 1891, and the engaging of an in- 
structor to assist In the department of ecclesiastical 
history, the board of instruction was made fuU and 
thoroughly effective. Thirty-one new students were 
received, making the number in attendance fifty- 
seven. Of these, two were post-gi-aduates, sixteen 
seniors, sixteen mJddlers, nineteen juniors and four spe- 
cial students. The men are of good quality. A certain 
numlier of the students in the regular course lack a 
college degree; but these are now uniformly men ad- 
vanced in years, and they have uniformly made such 
preparation for the work of the seminary as to render 
them not Inferior to the college men. Most of them 
are men who have for years been engaged in teaching, 
and have gained good mental discipline in the school- 
room. A lew years ago Auburn had become care- 
less at this point, though even then she graduated 
few unworthy men, or none. Por the last three years 
flie faculty iiave carefully sifted all applications, re- 
ceiving no men of coUege age without degrees, and no 
men whatever to be candidates for a diploma savp 
those who are well qualified to work with college 
graduates. This standaixi wlil be maintained for the 
future. 

Dean Smith, a beloved and promising member of the 



senior class, died In Auburn, the 20th of February, 
1892. His death cast a gloom over the seminary. 
He was a bright and talented man, who had won the 
warm affection as well as the hearty respect of every 
one. He will not soon be forgotten. 

The professor elected in June, 1891, to the BeJlaray 
and Edwards elixir of sacred rhetoric and pastoral 
theology is the Rev. Arthur S. Hoyt, M. A. He was 
then just forty years old. He graduated In 1872 
from Hamilton College, was tliree years instructor In. 
Roberts College, Constantlinople, then took Uie 
theological course at Auburn, and tlien served as 
pastor for several years at Oregon, 111. Prom that 
service he was called, in 1885, to the chair of rhetoric 
and English literature in Hamilton College, where 
he remained uitil Ms removal to Auburn. The in- 
structor in Church, history, Edward W. MiUer, waa 
graduated from Union College in 1887, spent a year 
in Europe, and then took the Auburn course, gradu- 
ating here in 1891. 

Die of the officers says: "'An exceedingly pleasant 
feature of the work at Aubui-n, the past few years, 
has been the informal courses of lectures. From 
among oiu- alumni or other friends we have Invited 
men whom we knew to have given especial attentloa 
to particular U'es of thought or modes of work. We 
have found our friends willing to serve us gratuit- 
ously, tliougli tli.e work required Has called for especial 
fitness, and has often been very laborious. The 
lectures have ordinarily been given before the mem- 
bers of the seminary and a few friends, though some- 
times more publicly. The course for the present 
year has covered a wider variety of themes tlian. 
usual." The lecturers and subjects have l)een as 
follows : " Progress of Medical and Surgical Science 
m Europe," William S. Cheesman, M. D., of Auburn; 
" Legal Aspects ol the Trial of Jesus," Charles Hawl«(y; 
of Seneca Falls; "Engraving and Engravings," two 
Illustrated lectures, by John H. Osborne, of Auburn; 
"Tile Present Israelite Point of View," the Rev. 
E,dward Landsbergj Ph. D., of Rocliester; "Mr, 
Spurgeon and Practical Work in the Ministry," the 
Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D. D., of BrooMyn; "Our 
Specialty," thef Rev. WUllam R. Taylor, D. D., of 
Rochester; "Young People's Work," the Rev. George 
B. Stewart, of Harrisburg, Penn.; "The Pastor's Work 
with tlie Boys of his Congregation," the Rev. Halsey 
B. Stevenson, of Wolcott; "Brazil," the Rev. Dana 
VV. Bigelow, of Utica. 

" B;'glnnlng with the new Seminary year," tne officer 
continues, " Auburn will have facilities for mort ex- 
pensive and conspicuous lecture courses; but the 
lectures will be very sucosssful indeed. If tiiey prove 
to be more acceptable and profitable than some of those 
witli which our friends have fa,vored us. In addition, 
to the course above mientioned, valuable addresses 
have been given by the Rev. Jolm L. Nevius, D. D., 
the Rev. Wallace B Lucas, D. D., the Rev. Robert W. 
Hill, D. D., the Rev. Giles II. Hubbard, the Rev. 
James N. Crocker, D. D., and others. At the com- 
mencement dinner. May 5, 1892, the annoiincenient 
was made that a liberal friend of the seminary, whose 
name is witliheld, has provided a lecture fund o£ 
$750 a year for the coming five years." 

The late Ransom B. Welch, D. D., LL. D., professor 
in the seminary, left by will a i>art of liis estate for 
erecting a new building for classroom and ehap^ 
Auburn is in pressing need of such a building. Wilen 
Morgan HaU was erected some seventeen years ago 
the expectation was that the old building would soon 
be demolislied, and a building for cliapel and class- 
rooms erected, ^iorgan HaU was located with refer- 
ence to that e.xpectation. One wing of the old build- 
ing was actually talten down, and recitation-rooms 



24 



LIBRARY OF TRIBUNE EXTRAS. 



tor temporary use fitted up la the remaining part of 
tt. But no repairs liave been made on it, and It 
would not be good economy to make repairs. Hence 
the occupied parts of this building, never well suited 
to their purpose, have become less and less so, as 
the years went by. The seminary also needs a 
gymnasium ; and economy reauires the erection of a 
boiler house, from which all the buildings may be 
heated. For building purposes. It is desirable to raise 
about -$4:0,000, and arrangements wUI probably soon 
be made to attempt to raise tMs amount. There are 
rumors, too, of large progress to the seminary in other 
directions, though these Ihave no* yet bec'ome facts. 
In short, the history of Auburn for the past j-ear, and 
its prospects for the coming year, are alilie en- 
couraging. 



OMAHA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 

THE YOUNGEST INSTITUTION IN THE CHURCH— 

REASONS LEADING- TO ITS FORMATION. 

Portland,, Ore., May 20.— The Presbyterian Theologi- 
cal Seminary which was opened In Omaha, Neb., on 
September 1, 1891, grew out of three circumstances 
which had for some years been growing constantly 
more pressing. 1st. The dearth of ministers between 
the Mississippi and the Pacific. This, although the 
Beminaries to the eastward were each year graduating 
larger classes, was steadily growing more serious, until 
synodlcal missionaries and the leaders of the Chui'ch 
in this region were in despair over the outlook. Every- 
where promising openings had to be neglected, and 
ehnrches were dying for lack of ministers. 2d. In 
the emergency, almost in desperation. Presbyteries 
were laying hands upon and ordaining men without 
theological training, and putting them in these desti- 
tute fields. Many of these men had had collegiate 
educations, and only lacked theological training be- 
cause they could see no way of securing it. 3d. The 
colleges fostered by the Board of Aid for Colleges 
were found to be developing surprisingly large num- 
bers of candidates for the ministry, and It became n, 
pressing question where should these candidates re- 
ceive their professional training. Tliere was no theo- 
logical seminary of the Presbyterian Church between 
Chicago and the Pacific until this was originated ; ex- 
cept the German Theological Seminary in Dubuque, 
which is conducted entirely in the German language. 
The reasons which made it desirable that these young 
men should receive their classical education near the 
field of their life work were equally weighty as to 
their training for tlie ministry. An alarmingly large 
percentage of those sent Bast did not return after 
graduation, but settled in the vicinity of the Instltu- 
. tlon in which they were taught. 

These and other considerations caused a wide- 
spread conviction that the time had come when theo- 
logical instruction must be begun in the Central West. 
After several meetings of representative Prsbyterians 
from several States, and a wide correspondence, the 
eonvictlon became general that Providence was unmis- 
takably indicating the probent as tlie time and Omaha 
as the place for a new institution wliose object should 
be tlie raising up of laborers for the white harvest 
fields stretclilng over a territory a thousand miles 
square, wlilch encloses within its limits one-fourth of 
all tiio Presbyterian churches of the United Sta'tes, and 
one-sixth of the candidates for the ministry. Omaha 
Is 500 miles west from Cliicago and in the heart of 
the Central West. The population of Omaha is about 
150,000, and rapidly growing. Council Blufls, immedi- 
ately across the Missouri River to the east, has about 
35,000 people ; and the two cities are connected by 



steam railways, electric motor lines, and by paved 
streets and bridges. 

Dr. George L. MlUer has lived in Omaha from the 
beginning. He has been one of its most enterpris- 
ing citizens, thoroughly identified with, and a promi- 
nent factor in, its phenomenal growth. He owns 
Seymour Park, a tract of 400 acres of beauttful ground 
in tile Immediate suburbs of the city. He has orna- 
mented it with his own almost palatial residence, 
and with lawns, driveways, deer park, artificial lake 
and large groves of choice trees. He generously 
offered twenty-five acres of this park for a Presby- 
terian theological seminary, upon the only condition 
that the main seminary building, to cost not less 
than $20,000, should be located thereon, and that its 
foundation should be laid within ithree yeare from 
the date of the offer. Almost the whole park was 
thrown open for the selection of the twenty-five 
acres. 

Plans have been drawn for a stone building, to cost 
about *50,000, whlcu will contain, kitchen, refectory, 
classrooms, and accommodations in the way of 
studies and bedrooms for about fifty students. From 
present indications a building of .these proportions 
will be fully occupied by students as soon as It can 
be erected. Liberal subscriptions to it have already 
been made, and It is hoped that the cornerstone will 
be laid tills spring, and tlie building be enclosed be- 
fore winter, and ready for occupancy at the opening 
of tlie scholastic year of 1893-'94. Although apphca- 
tions for admission to each of the three classes were 
received, it was deemed wise by the Board of Direct- 
ors to confine the Instruction tlie first year to a junior 
class. Consequently tlie seminary opened Its doors 
with a junior class of eight, and one special student 
in New Testament Greek. These represmted four 
Sta.tes, and one of the number cam3 directly from 
Scotland to Omaha. Instruction has been given dur- 
ing the year without a single failure on itlie part of 
a professor to meet his cla-s. The students have made 
satisfactory progress in their studies. All who are 
wlDlng or able to do so have also had Invaluable 
experience in - worldng with Home Missionary 
churches, and in city missions. While aiming to fit 
its students for the work of the educated ministry 
anywhere, the special intention of this institution is, 
by training candidates lor the ministry In the West, 
and keeping them in toucii with the Home Missionary 
worlc of our Church, to produce preachers to fill the 
now too commonly empty pulpits of the Central 
West. Those beat competent to express a judgment 
on the subject assert that althougli only in operation 
one' year, tlie helpful influence of tlie Omaha Semi- 
nary through the labors of its students Is already 
noticeable In Us vicinity. 

The seminary will open Tuesday evening, Sep- 
tember 0, with puJljilic exercises in the First Pres- 
byterian Chui'ch. The examinations for admission 
will be on Wednesday. Septembei- 7. No senior class 
will be organized at tliat time. The Instruction the 
coming year will be confined to the junior and middle 
classes. The directors hope, liowever. In tlie fall 
of 1893 to organize tiirce full classes. Already a 
number of applications lor entrance to tlie junior 
class have been received and the indications are that 
It ■n'lill be larger than that of last year. From 
present appearances the only limitation to the num- 
ber of students the Presbyt'jrinn Ciiurch can secure 
from the colleges of tlie Centr.Tl West for education 
in this seminary is Its ability to support them. 
Coming almost from n. region wliere all are struggling 
for a living, these ■ candidate? almost all need help. 
The most serious question whicli tlie directors of 
the seminary have to meet is whot;'ioi' they can sup- 



PfiESBYTEIUAN ISSUES. 



25 



port during their studies the worthy and promising 
younft men who are anxious to enter the ministry 
oed fop lacli of whose services the churches are 
starving to death. It is difficult to see wliere the 
money could be better Invested than In their sup- 
lK>rt. The seminary would ajpipeal to the benevo- 
lently Inclined to endow scholarships for the purpose. 
The young men are waiting and ready. The churches 
are waiting for Uie young men. One hundred dollar^ 
a. year in addition to the appropriaUon made by the 
Board of Education will supfport one student. 

This being a new Institution and needing everything, 
it appeals to the Eresbyterian Church lor contribu- 
tions to its building fund, to endowments of pro- 
fessorial chairs, to scholarsliips and to Its library, 
Having deononstratedlts right to exist, it now faces 
the struggle for existence. The history of the move- 
ment to ail Its particulars was laild before the last 
Creneral Assemibly at its meeting iin Detroit when the 
following resolution was adopted : 

"Resolved, Tthat the General Assembly views with 
satisfaction the organization of the theological sem- 
inary at OmaUa and orders that its relations to the 
Oeneial AssemWy be those of the other theological 
seminaries a,s defined by the compact of 1870 and 
1871." > 



THE GERMAN SCHOOL IN BLOOMFIELD. 

E.XOELLEKT RESULTS ACCOlttPU :HED JIXC'E ITS 
ESTABrjIISHME>T^IIS 6P12CIFIC WORK. 

Portland, Ore., May 20.— The German Theological 
School of Newarlc was establshed to co.'rect an im- 
portant misiake. Its organizer.^ conslderel tliat t:ie 
loss of the immigrant at the start of his Amerlcm 
life involves manifold labors and expense to gain 
Mm afterwaM, and tliat tliere Is a risk of not gain- 
ing him at aB. They bslieved that when once a 
"Whole complex German system of social associations 
should liave been formed from which religions 
should have besn kept aJoof, when acTIve IrreUgious 
forces should have gained the li-ade-sh'p„ and wh m a 
mateilallstic .education and a materialistic pr;s3 
should liave gained -control of the masses, then the 
•difficulties would have bscome ten fold stubborn and 
success would then be achieved only by the patient 
toll of years. 

So far, therefore, from being an un-American in- 
:fluence, the seminary is in tlie liighest degree patri- 
otic and American. Its aSm li to gala the n.w com- 
ers immediately to the highest and best form oi: 
American Christian life. It establishes congi-ega- 
ilons as centres of social power and assooJatlon, 
d.evotlonal, musical, educa'.l:nal, re'.lgious. It uses 
freely the vernacular language and literature and 
innocent natural customs and habits as attractions. 
It trains young men to speak and to preach in the 
German tongue — wltli famiiia.' knowledge of the 
fatherland, its poets, historians, educators, heroes 
and refoimers. It takes out of the people them- 
selves the young men for this leadeiship. It stim- 
ulates the interest of these people in supplying 
students and In supporting tliem in their edueatlonj 
and in maintaining the pastors of tlielr own training 
when established over their churolies. In this way 
It adds an annex to ministerial education, with a 
new body of students from a new source, and with 
a new supply of support before and after their giad- 
uatlon. 

Although much prejudice has resisted the progress 
•of ttie institution on the ground tliat It wa^ un-Ameri- 
can, the Institution lias made consta.t progress from tha 
beginning. The General Assembly has twice had 
(extended and tlioraugh reports male covering the whole 



ground of the Immigrant joopulation and Its needfi. 
Tlie ecnvictlon of the Church In favor of vernacular 
preaching has been asserting Itself with a stronger and 
stronger accent, and never was so pronounced as now. 
The preliminaiy work In such an institution is necessl- 
sarily slow. German students were to he sought, 
funds were to he raised, professors found, a German- 
English curriculum adjusted to new conditions, stu- 
dents sifted, churches organized hy graduates, stubborn 
objections met— the whole Church educated to the Im- 
portance of the work. This preliminary work has been 
done. The seminary now rises to u new level, with 
every prospect inviting a rapid advance. 

Beginning in the Presbytery of Newark with four 
students, It gradually advanced to thirty. During the 
past three years it has advanced from tlilrty-six to 
fifty. It reports this year to the Geweral Assembly 
eighteen regular students and two hospltants in the 
theological department, five students In the special 
course and twenty-seven in the academic department. 
All are studying for ths ministry, the preparatory as 
well as the theological curriculum having the ministry 
In view. The curriculum covers seven years, includ- 
ing an academy, a collegiate and a theological course 
compacted. The classical and the mathematical 
courses are shortened; the couraes in history, in tha 
contents of the Bible, in Biblical introduction and in 
German and English are made thorough, as preliminary 
studies. The courses of reading In Hebrew and 
Greek exegesis are more extended than in the ordinary 
American theoioglcal seminary. The examination 
passed by graduates in the Presbyteries is not inferior 
to that of tlie graduates from other seminaries. 

At the end, of the present seminary year, over sixty 
alumni will have left the Institution, twenty-nine of 
whom will be Gei'man pastors In New- York and its 
metropolitan district. PhiladelplUa and Cincinnati 
have also good results in churches founied or led by 
graduates. With the growth of the alumni comes the 
set of the current towarl the seminary bringing a 
legoiar boly of applicants for admission. 

During the last two years, the question has arisen, 
shall the inititution be made an etimic or jwlyglot 
Inattlution 1 Tiie General Assembly has directed atten- 
tion toward the large Scandinavian population. The 
Bohemians of New- York inspirited by the success of 
tile Bohemian Presbyterian Church, have made appli- 
cation. Two or three Italians last year presented 
themselves ; an Italian Presbyterian church has been 
organized in New- York, and In default of an educated 
pastor, the Presbytery has ordained an excellent lay- 
worker and Installed him over the church. To put 
the question to the test, the Bohemians and Italians 
were placed In a special course. Four Bohemians have 
been in this English course during the past year, whose 
drill In the Bohemian tongue has been maintained under 
tile guidance of their pastor, the Rev. Vincent Plsek, 
in New- York. One Bohemian takes the regular Ger- 
man-English course. And one Italian takes tliis year 
the special course. 

The seminary reports each year to the Genei-ai As- 
sembly Its faculty and directors, Its finances and Ha 
general condition. The president. Dr. Charles E. 
Knox, and Professor George C. Seibert, have been con- 
nected with the faculty from the beginning. Dr. 
Elijah R. Craven, of Philadelphia, is president of the 
Board of Directors, iVIr. F. Wolcott Jackson, of 
Newark, is treasurer, and Mr. Samuel L. Plnneo, of 
Newark, is secretary. Leading clergymen and laymen 
of Newark and New-Jersey are members of the board, 
and Princeton and Union Theological Seminaries are 
both represented in the direction. 

The funds lor the support of the institution have 
been derived mainly from Newark and New-Jersey 



26 



LIBEAUY O'F TEIBUNE EXTEAS. 



cities, New-Yorli and Brooklyn. Funds lor the pm'- 
chase ol tie seminary building and lot at Bloomfleld, 
and for endowment, have been given to the amount ol 
$67,000. When the building began last year to over- 
flow with students, and all its appointments became 
limited, friends contributed $4,000 for the purchase ol 
an additional lot adjoining the seminary grounds. 
Enlargement ol buildings is urgent. lAn inspiring 
opportunity awaits a generous benefactor. The late 
Mrs. Amelia Kerr, ol New- York, was accustomed to 
contribute $500 annually, and some three or lour 
years since bequeathed $5,000 to the Institution. One 
ol the most interested Mends was the venerable Daniel 
Price, ol Newark, recently deceased, who contributed 
liberally during his liltlme, and whose bequest ol 
$10,000 lor endowment is Just announced. 

The expenses ol the past year have been $11,353 
and the income $9,310; tlie deficit ol $2,000 has 
been occasioned by the increase ol labor required in 
the seminary from those who have in former years 
served both as prolessors and as financial agents and 
who are no longer able to serve in hoth eapaoities. 
The property and funds are without enciimibranee 
and the tota.1 deflcliit of $6,000 it is hoped will .soon 
be cared lor by a financial agent. 

Some years ago a committee ol the Gtenei-al 
Assembly considered the practicability ol establishing 
a German Piesbyterlan newspaper In the East as au 
influence against the irreUgious Grerman press, hut they 
relinquished the project. Since that time the semi- 
nary alumni with a lew other German pastors have 
founded the "Deutscher Evangelist," a lortnightly 
Eresbyteriian papar representing Presbyterian interests. 
They have published also a Kalendar ol the Presby- 
terian Ohurcli which Is most creditable to their judg- 
ment and zeal. Prelessor Selbert has long been 
known as the originator and editor of the "Deutscher 
VoUssifireuiid," the aible illustrated German weekly of 
the American Tract Society. He is also editor of 
the lighter monthly "Botschalter." One ol the 
alumni, a pastor ol an Important church, publishes 
the monthly "Friedenstaube" in Philadelphia, while 
other alumni-pastors in that city ,pirepare the German 
Sunday-school lesson leaves pubhshed by the Pres- 
byterian Board ol Publication. 

THE GEEMAN SEMINAEY AT DtlBUQUE. 

A BXIGHT EXPENSE FOR CARRYING ON AN IM- 
PORTANT WORK. 

Portland, Ore., May 20.— The German Presbyteriam 
Theological School ol the Northwest, situated at 
Dubuque, Iowa, grew from a seed ol providential 
planting. In the year 1847 Adrian Van Vliet came to 
this country Irom Holland. He soon felt within him 
a divine caU to preacli the Gospel to the multitudes ol 
foreigners who were scattered as sheep without a shep- 
herd. Leaving his tailor's bench, he became pastor 
of a small German Church In Dubuque. He was a man 
ol earnest piety, of great consecration and industry, 
and ol undoubted ability. Sucli ai-dent desire had he 
lor the salvation of his brethren that he was not con- 
tent simply to build up a single church ; he must pro- 
vide lor a wider ei'angcllsm. It was necessary in order 
to accomplish - this, to ta'ain up a missionary force. 
He began witli two young men, taking them into his 
lamily and instructing them in his study. Such was 
the leeble beginning ol this school. 

The necessity of the work begun was quick.y proved. 
The number ol the students soon reached eighteen and 
an additional instructor was secured, In the person ol 
the Eev. Grodlrey Moery, one ol-the pupils ol Mr. Van 
Vliet. To accommodate the students it was now nec- 
essary to purchase a lot adjoining tlie church, on which 



were two small frame buildings, which were trans- 
lormed into dormitories. From 1864 to 1870 the- 
school was under the joint care ol tjhe two Presbyteries- 
ol Dubuque and (Dane. This arrangement was en- 
tered into at the solicitation ol the founder and heaid, 
who found, the Increasing responsibility too great lor 
one man to carry. The Presbyteries interested ap- 
pointed an equal number ol directors to whoon was- 
committed the care of the institution. At the re- 
union in 1870 this school came under the care ol the- 
General Assembly, under the same agreement as was^ 
made with the other seminaries. 

In the winter ol 1871, the present property was- 
secured. The building Is large and convenient; 
originally it had been erected as a Iseminary lor young: 
ladles and was obtained at a cost ol $10,000, -wlhlch 
is only about one-third Its present value. It Is situ- 
ated in a pleasant and healthlul part ol the city, an4 
has lor its surroundings some ol the most costly and 
beautilul residences ol this thriving Western com- 
munity. The proparty may therelore be considered 
of permanent value. It is located upon higli ground, 
and commands a line view ol the Mississippi Eiver 
and ol the br&fls ol the opposite bank. Here abund- 
ant accommodation has been provided lor all present 
needs ol the school. During the year just closed 
there has been erected upon the campus a professor's- 
house, which has been paid lor by special gUts. 
There are at present three professors engaged in the- 
work, though efforts are being made to add another.. 
This is greatly needed and aU that lias hindered is th& 
means to provide for his support. One chair is fully 
endowed, viz., the Catherine M. Edwards professor- 
ship ol biblical and ecclesiastical history. The otheir 
expenses are met by contributions from the churches. 
These expenses are cut down to the least possibla 
amount, not exceeding $4,000 annually. 



BIDDLE UNIVERSITY. 

A COLORED PRESIDENT AT THE HEAD OF THE 
IN'giCTDTION. 

Portland, May 20.— Biddle University is located 
one mile west ol Charlotte. N. C, on an elevation 
overlooking tliat city, with grounds e.\tendiag over 
fcixty acres, noted lor beauty and healtbfulness. It 
is ol easy access to the people for whom it was de- 
signed, being at a centre Irom which seven rairoada 
radiate, leading in as many dlreotious to all parts ol 
the South; and having laid under contribution the 
good wm ol all c'.asses, the school is at once the ob- 
ject ol the cordial solicitude and the just pride ol 
all, regardless ol race or sect. Founded by the 
Northern Pre-byterian Church nearly twenty-five 
years ago, and at first known as "Biddle Institute," 
the school was designed to aid in the great work of 
raising up proparly trained leaders for the recently 
emancipated and legally enfranchised Alrico-Ame.b- 
can people of the South, especially preachers- and 
teachers. 

Owing to the peculiar cndlUons s'jrroundlng Bid- 
dle in its days ol small beginnings it was- nottilnK 
more than a primary or parocWal school. The first 
graduates, after a regular course ol study, were sent 
out in June, 1876. Through the long and. faithful 
services ol the Eev. Stephen Mattoon, D.. D., lor 
nearly twenty years the president ol Biddle, and! 
others associated with liim, and their successors, the 
school has reached a vary high standard, and In- 
struction is being given In lour departm nt'5— indus- 
ti-ial, preparatory, collegiate and theological, wltli 
eight courses ol studj-, 

Jh.2. industrial training, which includes- carpe.itry. 



PRESBYTERIAN ISSUES. 



2T 



Bhoe -malting, printing, etc., covers a period of four 
years, and Is obligatory upon the students 01 the 
preparatory department. The preparatory courses 
lead through four years to the regular college course 
or to speciiil preparation fcr teaching. The co'-legg 
courses are classical and sclentlflo, leading respec- 
tively to A. B. and B. S. The theological course Is 
similar to tliat of the ordinary theological seminales 
of the Presbyterian Church with a shorter course for 
Irregular students. 

Elddle University Is regularly charterad under the 
laws of North Carolina, and the entire nroperty is 
deeded to the Northern Presbyterian Church, to be 
used lor the education of the Afrlco-Amei-lcan 
people, and Is held in trust by a board of trus- 
tees under these limitations, and the whole is 
under the general management of th3 Freed- 
man's Board of the Church. Blddle holds a 
place among the first of those schools designed 
for the Christian higher education of the 
Afrioo-Amerlcan. There have Ibeen brought under 
Its InstiTuclion and Influence about 3,000 persons 
the great majOTlty of whom have labored and are 
laboring througOiout the South as teacliere and preachers 
and in other walks of life. •Especially In the tnaln- 
ing and sending forth, of an educated ministry have 
tihe usefulness and Influence of Blddle been felt. In 
all, sixty well-trained men have been sent Into the 
Presbyterian ministry from this institution besides 
those who have gone into tihe m;lnlstry In other de- 
nomilnations. Within a rkdius of twenty-five mjles 
of Blddle there are twenty Afrlco-Ameiilcan Pres- 
byterian churches, organized and fostered by the direct 
eflonts of Blddle professors and studemts. Most of 
these churches now have pastors and regular supipilies 
wlio were educated at Blddle. And then the Influence 
and usefulness of Biddle e.xtends to the regions 
beyond, even to father-land, the benigMed continent 
of Aftrica. Among tho=e who have gone from Blddle 
to Uiat region is tlie present pastor of the Presby- 
terian church in Monrovia, Liberia. At present 
there are three students in tlie university preparing 
to labor In Africa, one of whom has been sent heire 
from Alrloa to be educated tliat he may return as a 
missionary. 

For many years tlie teachers at Bdddle were con- 
secrated wij|ilte men and women from the North. 
Dr. Mattoon spept twenty years at Biddle, most of 
that period as Ms president. His dlsdinterested, prac- 
tical sympathy for the colored i>eopl6 and hlsi suc- 
cessful labors for them have embalmed his memory 
as a precious heritage among them. His associates 
and successors also wrought well. But by reason 
of the logic of the situation, and in accord with tlie 
avowed policy and the practice of the Church under 
the admirable administratiion of the Freedman's 
Board, the Africo-Amerlcan element has been brougJit 
to the front in the administration of the afl'airs of 
the sohool and the control of its destinies. 
Hence the present faculty of Biddle consists of 
ten colored professors and one white professor 
and a colored president. These men are performing 
their duties with great acceptance, and Biddle Is not 
only holding, what It had of public confidence and 
supi>ort, but is enlarging Its usefulness. ' The use of 
tobacco, ardent spirits and profanity are strictly pro- 
hibited in the Institution and careful and prayerful 
attention Is given to the spiritual Interests of the 
students. There have been 19 professions during the 
winter, and of the 203 students there are only 9 or 
10 who are not professing christians. There are 54 
candidates for the ministry, mositly in the college 
department, five of whom graduate and go out to 
false charge of churches this spring. 

Enlargement of the work of Blddle is urgf.ntly de- 
manded. This year shows an increase of 27 students 



over last. The accommodations are far too small 
for the present number. The dining hall has been 
crowded to overflowing and must be enlarged during 
the coming vacation. The dormitories are too much 
crowded lor tlue promotion of comfort and health,, 
there being In some cases four and five students In 
a room where there should not be more than itwo. 
With the return of former students and coming of new- 
ones, of whom there are many applicants now, there 
will be need of at least accommodations for 275 boys- 
at Biddle next winter. How shall they be provided* 
for! This uuestlon can be answered only by the 
friends of Cnristian education for the Alrico-Ameri- 
can. 

The support ol the students is a perplexing matter, 
rt is lelt that self-reliauce is a most Imirortant ele- 
ment in the education of Afrioo-Amerlcan youth. 
Therefore it is insisted that the students and their 
parents do all they can toward sell-support. But the 
people are poor and the opportunities for malilng- 
money are limited. As a consequence nearly all 
those students wJio remain through the term rpaali'e- 
to be aided more or less. In connection with the in- 
dustrial and home departments a few pay their way 
By worMng, but there Is not enough of this to go- 
round. So funds placed at the djsiwsal of the faculty 
for this purpose are Judiciously applied to supplement 
the means of poor worthy students. 

The needs of the institution are: First. Contribu- 
tions to the "Students' Aid Fund" lor the purpose of 
supplementing the means of talented, worthy, poor 
students, thus enabling them to remain in their classes. 
Second. Annual scholarships of $100 each ; $1,200 wUl 
endow a permanent scholarship. Third. Endowments 
lor president and prolessor . chairs. Fourth. . Fonds- 
lor the enlargement ol tlie Industrial bulldlog lacUi- 
tles. Fifth. Twenty-flve thousand dollars for the erec- 
tion and equipment of a substantial brick dormitory, 
with accommodations for 250 students. This is & 
most pressing need, as many of the students are now 
domiciled in mere old barracks, where they sufCer in 
the winter, and which is likely to prove injurious to 
health. With ample endowment and building accom- 
modations and 500 students and twenty-five profes- 
sors this sable child ol the Presbyterian Church wtU 
become an Imposing gem In the diadem and an agency 
ol unsurpassed potency In fitting the Africo-Amerlcan 
lor citizenship and in extending the cause ol the Re- 
deemer's Kingdom. For catalogues or information 
address the Rev. Dr. D. J. Sanders, president ol Bld- 
dle University, Charlotte, N. C, to whom contributions- 
may be sent, or to the Rev. J. T. Gibson, treasurer 
ol Freedmen's Board, No. 510 JIarketrSt., Pittsburg, 
Penn. 



SUNDAY SERVICKS. 

PERPLEXITIES OF THE. BRIGGS CASE— REVISIOK 
MAT BE SHELVED AT PORTLAND. 

Portland, Ore., May 22 (Specijal).— Seemingly perfect 
as have been the days since the Presbyterian Assembly 
opened, to-day surpasses them all. All the churches- 
have been filled, and scores were standing at the First 
Church, where the young moderator preached on 
"Jeaus Christ in the Character ol Di^-ine Teacher.*' 
There was no apparent reference to existing discus- 
sions in th Church, except when, referring to tho- 
Eible, the speaker said, "every utterance of which is- 
the very mind of God." Such definitions of inspirar 
tion satisfied aU classes. The Rev. Dr. Thompson, of: 
New- York, himself a former moderator ol the Assembly, 
assisted in the ser\-ices. He says the pe:>ple think ho- 
ls Dr. Briggs's counsel, but this is a great mistake. 

"But will you stand by him In this contest V was- 
aslied. 

'•That is a different thing." 

Complicated as was the case ol Dr. lirlggs at New- 
York, and later at Detroit, there is a probability of the 
perplexity increasing here. Three committees have 
features of it under review, thougji nr. reference to it 
has been made on the fioor of tho Assembly. The 
Committee on iStUs and Overtures is discussing three- 
classes of overtures, the first dealing with iho famous- 
inaugural address of Dr. Briggs. Tills class the com- 
mittee may prepare a paper upon, independent ol the 
heresy trial. In the early purt of the centur,r, in » 
similar case, where Davis's book was found to be er^ 



^8 



LIBRARY OF TEIBUTvE BXTEAS. 



roneous, the Assembly bore testimony against the book. 
The second class of overtures ■beSare the committee deals 
■wltli the appeal from the New- York Presbytery. These 
liave been referred to the Judicial Committee, which 
ias also the appeal brought by Dr. Birch from New- 
York. The third class relates to the teaciiings In 
Union and other theological seminaries. These are 
referred to the Seminaries Committee, which lias the 
-report of Union Semin.iry to the Assembly. Dr. 
EadcUfle, of Detroit, the chairman. Is liberal In his 
-views, but Is not a Brlggs man. He says he was de- 
.feated for moderator because of a false story that he 
had made agreements with the Union Seminary i)eople. 
The chairman of the Seminaries Conmilttee, Dr. Mutch- 
more, of Philadelphia, Is a pronounced conservative, 
-but four of his fourteen associates are eaually sironfeiy 
pronounced on the other side. The chairman of the 
.Judicial Committee is considered most Important tills 
year. Chairman T. Ealston Smltii, of Buffalo, is a 
conservative, though formerly a, New-School man, a 
member' of the controlling body of Auburn Seminary 
■and recently Moderator of the Synod of New- York. 
Four strong Briggs men are on tills committee also. 
The present .Assembly may remand the Briggs case to 
Jils own presbytery, may try it on its merits before 
Judicial commissioners, or may arrange the prellmi- 
narles and refer the case to the next Assejnbly. 

Kevision comes up to-morrow and a lively time Is 
expected. Dr. Roberts, cliairman of the committee 
-and formerly president of Lake Forest University, wid 
present his report and malje an earnest speecli in 
advocating it. Dr. G«orge Junkin, a PhUadelplili 
lawyer, will move the reference of tJie report to a 
special committee on constitutional grounds, to report 
next year, thus materially delating, if not eaectually 
shelving, revision. A leeiiug pie vails that If tills 
tecimi'caJlty succeeds a new Creed Committee may be 
appointed this year and tliat the Westminster 3tindard--i 
tuemselves will be shelved everywhere, except at 
Princeton and Philadelpliia. 

TJie Presbyterians had a rest yestei'day, going on an 
excursion to the casciide on the Columbia Kiver, about 
-forty miles from here. Nearly every commissioner 
and all his friends went. Several of the standing com- 
.mlttees appointed yesterday held meetings on the 
-steamer. No business was done, but a great deal of 
talk was heard regarding the half-milllon-dollar gilt 
.received yesterday. There are rumors to-day of another 
.aard larger benefaction that may be aimounced before 
the Assembly adjourns. For a long time two citizens 
-of Portland interested in higher education have been 
<liscussing the advisability of maklnig an oiler to tlie 
Presbyterian Cliurch. 

The First Presbyterian Oliurch was fiUed long be- 
-fore the hour for service to-day, and aftir seats had 
■been placed In the aisles, and chairs on the platform 
-In front of .the pulpit, scores of interested hearere 
.stood throughout the hour and a lialf, and as many 
more went away. In the pulpit with Dr. A. J. 
Brown, the pastor of the church and the host of the 
-Assembly, were Dr. Charles L. ThQmpson, of New- 
York, himself an ex-moderator of the Assembly, and 
Dr. W. C. Young, the present moderator. Dr. Thomp- 
son read tlie Scripture lessons and offered prayqr'. 
Dr. Young's discourse was based upon the wordji : 
"Never man spake Uke this man." John vii; 46. 
His itheme was : " Jesus Christ in the character of a 
•ell vine teacher." This thought was developed with 
.this outline : First, the originality, truthfulness and 
blessedness of th« teachings ; second, the power with 
which it was delivered, an dtlilrd, the beneficent and 
-comforting character of the messages. 

Dr. Young spoke entirely without notes in clear, 
ringing tone.^ and with the power of a man wlij felt 
through and through the truth of the message he wa^ 
•delivering. The moderator has just passed his .'JOth 
year, having been born in Danville, Ky., on April 18, 
1843. When he was 9 years of agj his father. Dr. 
John C. Young, was the moderator of the old school 
'Creueral Assembly la Philadelphia. The e:der Dr. 
Y'oung was also president of Center College in Dan- 
ville, where the present moderator was born and 
'Educated, and over which he was called to preside 
nearly six years ago. In three offices, therefore, 
jpreacher, college president and Assembly moderator, 
%e is following the steps of his father. 

At the e nd of Ills college career in 1859 Dr. Y'oung 



went to New-M»xico, spending a year with bis uncle, 
Deneial George B. Crittenden, in command of the 
United States troops in that Territory. Returning to 
Danville, he entered the theological seminary, and was 
licensed to preach In 1866. After a successful pas- 
torate In Codington, Ky., he went to Europe In 1870 
and spent a year abroad. In 1884 he went abroad 
a second time, travellmg this time through Palestine 
and. the East for another year. His Second pastorate 
of a year was at Madison, Ind. In 1872 he took 
charge of the FuUerton Avenue Presbyterian Church, 
where among other good tilings he obtained a help- 
mate in the person of Miss Lucy Walker. After a 
residence of eight j'ears in Chicago, Dr. Young re- 
turned to old Kentucky, having received a call from 
the Central Oliiu-ch of Louisville. This was a new 
organization, but under his pastorate It grew In num- 
bers from 60 to 400 member's and erected a beauti- 
ful arid substantial edifice. Center College, which had 
called him before, renewed its invitations In 1888 and 
after considerable hesitation he accepted the presi- 
dency and is succeeding there as he did in the pas- 
torate, i , ' 



THIRD DAY. 



REYISION AND DE. B BIGGS. 



UNION SEMINARY BKSIEES TO SEVEE THE 
COMPACT OF 1870. 



1 



A PRCPOSITIOy TO SUBMIT THE CXiE TO ARBI- 
TRATION—REPORT ON THE PROPOSED RE- 
VISION or THE CONFESSION OF FAITH. 

Portland, Ore., May 23.— Dr. Briggs has arrived 
after a pleasant trip over the Union Pacific. He was 
accompanied by Mrs. Briggs, and is looking improved 
In health by his journey. He seems prepared for any 
duty which may be required of him in connection with 
Questions to come liefore the Assembly touching upon 
lilmseU. 

This morning devotional exercises of the Assembly 
were led by Mr. Buclianan, of New- York. 

The Assembly effectually disposed of the new Creed 
agtlallon to-{lay by the adoption of the following 
answer to an overture sent by the Presbytery of 
Kalamazoo requesting that steps , be taken for the 
preparation and adoption of a new Creed. The com- 
mittee reports : 

Inasmuch as the question of a consensus creed is 
in the hands of a cominittee of the Assembly: Inas- 
much as the revision of the Confession of Faith has 
been before the chiu-che-^, presbyteries and Assembly 
for three years and will necessaiily occupy the atten- 
tion of the wliole Church for a considerable time to 
come, and inasmuch as it is not e.xpedient to intro- 
duce another Mndred question at ihis time. It Is rec- 
ommended that no action be taken upon the over- 
ture at this time. 

The final report of the Committee on tlie Revision 
of the Confession of Faith was presented. None of 
the changes proposed impairs the Integrity of the 
Cal^lnistilc system of the Confession. The report of 
the committee consists of twenty-eight ovei-tureis, each 
one covering a cliange proposed to the Confession. The 
report says : 

It was found impossible tJ meet the individual 
preferences of every presbytery without setting aside 
what were known to be the views of a large majority 
of the Church. There was an effort made to secure 
harmony at any sacrifice. Tlie report is the very best 
that the committee 'las been able to prepare 
alter weeks of labor. Tne divisio.T Into tw.nty-eight 
sections will enable the cliurcli to approve a single 
alteration without endangering the whole rs^lsi'in. 

Tlie report is signed uno:nditionally by twelve mem- 
bers of the committee, and with the exceptions by twelve 
members. 01 the twenty-elglit ciianges in the Gonfession 
cf Faith, thirteen are accepted. Tlie points covered 



PEJiSBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



29' 



are: Divine decrees, preterlUon, the creation, the 
covenant, the Holy Spirit, man's fall, the new chap- 
ter on the gospel, predestination, effectual call. Infant 
salvation, uon-electlon, and the Lord's supper. The 
■sxpiratlon of the hour caused the consideration of the 
report to go over as unfinished b'usiness, and may 
oome up at any time. 

UNION SEMINARY. 

Dr. Patton, chairman of the Conference Committee 
appointed last year to confer with the directors of 
Dnlon Seminary, is absent, owing to Ulness. His re- 
port was read by Dr. Moore, the permanent cler]£. It 
narrated the steps of the conference, the papers sub- 
mitted and the action taken in October and January 
last. The resolutions then adopted are included in the 
report submitted to-day, and the following resolutions 
were added ; 

Itecoguizing the fact that the (reneral Assembly and 
the Uuiuu 'lauologkal SeUiLnary are paitlos to the agree- 
ment, or compaot, oX lb70, as contained in the memorial 
of the directors to the Assembly of m70, and also the 
fact that theie i& a wide difleience of opinion In the matter 
of the Interpretation of said agreeiuenc or compact, some- 
thing Ulie tne following liiig>ht be done : 

B'lrst— Jilach party may luily respect the opinion of the 
other, and conclude for the present that the ditlerence is 
irreooncllaWe. 

Second— The Seminary mlght«report to the next Gen- 
eral Assembly substantially that their understanding of 
the compact differed fiom tliat of the Gleneral Assembly 
as applied to tiansfers, and that, although the Assembly 
had disapproved the appointment of Dr. Brlggs, the di- 
rectors nad not seen their way clear, in view of their 
obligations, to do other than continue him in the acMvo 
duties of his olhce. 

Tiilrd— The committee^ on the other hand, might report 
the facts to the O-eneral Assembly, and in view of the 
relations of the parties and in recognition of their honest 
difference recommend that the status (luo be recognized 
In the hope that action may be taken which may lead 
to a harmonious adjustment of all the matters at issue. 

Six members of the Conference Committee prepared 
a supplemental report which was submitted to-day. 
It closed with this resolution : 

Kesolved, That the General Assembly, without surreucler- 
Ing In any way its authority, or itss natural rights of con- 
trol of all the agencies and ln.«tltutlons of the Church 
hereby proposes and agrees to refer tlie subject of the in- 
terpretaLlon of the act and compact of 1870, as to the dis- 
puted point of transfers, to arbitrators to be speeiallv 
chosen by the General Assembly and the Union Theological 
Seminary. 

Ezra M. Kjngsley, secretary of Union Seminary, read 
two papers from the seminary directors, the first giv- 
ing the directors' views of tlie conference. In it these 
statements occur : 

^e assured the committee that our action of June 5 
sustaining Dr. Brlggs, was, in our view, peifectly con- 
sistent with this resolution, inasmuch as, according to 
our laws and usage, there had been no election or ap- 
pointment, but only a transfer, and this, under the agree- 
ment of 1870, did not call for or admit of auy action by 
the Greneral Assembly. As one of the parties to that 
agreement, especially as the party that proposed it, we 
felt that we had a clear right to our Interpretation of its 
meaning, according to the laws and usages of this institu- 
tion. We had transferred Dr. Brlggs, we had not 
elected him. We had assigned him no new duties, for 
he had been teaching Biblical theology for more than ten 
years. Only elections were subject, in our view, to the 
Assemblv's disapproval. The committee was assured that 
the distinction between an election and a transfer had 
been a familiar one in the Board and in the faculty for 
many years, and was not made, as has been charged, for 
the present exigency. The Board therefore respectfully 
reports to the Assembly that we can but legsrd ourselves 
as solemnlv bound by our interpretation of the agree- 
ment, and must discharge our duties accord- 
ingly. For, having heard and carefully considered 
ell that was said by the Committee of 
the Gfeneral Assembly, we have seen no reason to change or 
modify our understanding of the agreement. There is an 
honest diHerence of opinion in this matter. In 1870, this 
Board conceded one thing, and only one, to the General 
Assembly, viz., the right to disapprove the election or ap- 
pointment of a professor. If Dr. Brigss had been elected 
or appointed to the chair of Biblical Theoiofry. the disap- 
proval of the Assembly would have been decisive with us, 
but a professor can be elected in this institution only in ac- 
cordance with our laws, and according to those laws Dr. 
BrU'gs was aot elected. His inauguration was a cere- 
monial technically unneces.sary, but designed only to honor 
puhllclv the geherositv of the fuonder of the Chair of 
Biblical Theoloffy in which department Dr. Brlggs has 
been teachtag for ten years. 

Thanldng the General Assembly for Bending to us so 
able and so courteous a committee, we join with them in 



their recommendation,, "That the status quo be recognized 
in the hope that some action may be taken which may 
lead to a harmonious adjustment of all the matters at 
issue." 

The memorial contained in addition to the history: 
of the famous agreement of 1870, this paragraph ask- 
ing for its abrogation and the restoration of former 
relations : 

As the appointed directors and guardians of this school 
of Christian learning, we deeply realize our solemn obileu,- 
tion to act faithluily for its interests according to our own. 
conscientious convictions, under our charter and constitu- 
tion. We are charged with a sacred trust handed down to 
us from the past by noble men whom the Presbyterloi' 
Church has long delighted to honor. We must keen tiiaii 
crust inviolate. There can be no conllict between real 
cbligatious. Our loyalty alike to the Church and to Union. 
Seminary constra>Ins us to believe that it would be far better 
for botli Church and Seminary that the relations whicli 
existed so harmoniously between the two for more than % 
tliiid of a century ijefore 1870, should now be restored. 
The memorial ended with these words : 
In conclusion, permit us to say that through all this, 
painful misunderstanding It has been to us a marvel in- 
explicable that any of our biethren could possibly sup- 
pose that men so well known to the Church e,s are our 
dlrectois and our professors could or can tolerate any- 
thing tliat will unde'mlne the Divine authority of the- 
Inspiied Word to which we cling with all our hearts as 
the only infallible rule of faith and practice, and to whose- 
maintenance all our lives are consecrated. There are 
other and weighty considerations which we have preferie* 
not to urge. Whiie there exists the undoubted right of 
either party to the agreement of 1870 to act alone in its 
abrogation, yet this memoiial is submitted with the earnesit 
hope that your reverend body may cordially concur with 
us in annulling the arrangement of 1870, thus lestorlne 
Union Seminary to its foimer relations to the General 
Assembly. 



WOEK AilONG INDIANS AND BLACKS. 

GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS-REI^IGION AND POPULAR 

EDUCATIOI^— A TRAINED COLOREIT 

MINISTRY NEliDED. 

Portland, Ore., May 23.— The first business before tlia- 

Assembly was a report from tiie Committee on BlUs- 

and Overtures, but Dr. EadcllSe, thji chairman of tlier 

committee, requested tliat the committee be allowed' 

to re ire. Tills rjouest was granted, and the moderator 

called lor the report of tlie Committee on Indian. 

Schools. Dr. Bartlett, of Washington, D. C, In thO' 

absence of the chairman of tiie commltte?., presented! 

the report, wiilcii closeed with the following reoomr- 

mendations. 

Resolved, Tliat in tlie judgment of tlie Assembly all 
public moneys expended upon the education of tlie 
Indian ought t* be expended exclusively by the Grov- 
ernment officers upon Government schools. 

That in the judgment of the Assembly the practice of 
appropiiating public money for the support of secmrlan 
schools amOTig the Indians, as is now done in tlie con- 
tract schools, ought to at once cease. 

That this Assembly h;artily approves of all proper 
efforts to .secure the constitutional proihlbltion of all 
appropriation-^ of public moneys to sectarian schools 
either by States or by the General Government. 

That the Committee on Indian Affairs be dis- 
charged. 

Dr. Bartlett— I liave received a telegram from the Eew 
Dr. James Jl. King, of tlie Methodist Episcopal Church,, 
now in general conference at Omaha, asMng our As- 
sembly to take action upon the following : 

Wli;ire.<is, There has been introduced Into the 
Llld Congress in both the Senate and the House of 
Representatives and referred to the Judlciarv Com- 
mittee of the respective houses, the following proposed 
form of the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution 
of the rnted Sta'es, accompanied by numerous petitions 
for its passage from all parts of the Union, namely : 
" No State shall pass any law respecting any- estab- 
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise 
tiiereof, or use Its property or credit or any money 
raised by taxation, or authorize. It to be used, for the 
purpose of founding, maintaining or aiding by ap- 
propriation, payment for services, e-xpenses or other- 
wise, any church religious denomination or religions- 
society, or any Institution, society or undertaking, 
which Is wlioUy or In part under sectarian or ecclesi- 
astical control." 

Wliereas, We tielleve that Uie .American people's 
common-school system ought to be sacredly guarded 
tliat religious controversies ought to be eliminated' 



30 



LIBEAliY 0,F TRIBUNE EXTEAS. 



Irom pc'litical questions, and that tlia separation of 
■Ciiureli and State ouglit to be perpetual, for the silie 
•of botli; therefor?, 

Kes3lved, That the General Assembly of the Presby- 
terian Cburclx In the United States of America appeals 
to the Lllld Congress to pass and submit the proposed 
iorm of the Sixteenth Amendment, as a peao3(ful 
.in:asure of safety that will avert impeoidlng perils. 

Dr. Bartlott^In 1875 General Grant made a sim- 
ilar proposition, which was supported by Mr. Blaine. 
The fact is, most of our denominations liave been 
willing to take this money— some more, and some 
■less. The Methodists have taken less llian any other 
dencminatlcn-only $33,000. The Episcopalians have 
■talten $102,000. Our good friends, tie Quakers, 
Jiave taken $140,000. The Congregatlonallsts have 
taken $183,000. But as we Presbyterians, when we 
take anything, want to take a, good deal, why, we 
took rather more, we liave taken $286,000. But the 
Catholics, having more fingers and a larger maw for 
■digestion of everything they can get into it of the 
ostrich ciuality, they have taken $1,980,000. Now 
the Question is not as to who Is the biggest thief, 
but tha (luestioh Is, being all thieves together, we 
had better repent and lay down our plunder and 
bring forth works meet for repenlance. Tiie Cath- 
ohcs have received tlie most money because they 
liad the most schools that came under the piovisions 
of the Government In order to receive the money. 
Now,, our position is, whtther It is Catholic or Quaker, 
Methodist or Presbyterian, we believe that under- 
neath this reo^ptlom of public funds is the Unlilng 
together again of Church and State ; we believe we 
see in it the destruction of our common schools and 
the very permanency of our country, ani we want to 
liave this ampi;dment to our Constl u ion. so that it 
■will bear equally upon all States all over this beau- 
tiful land of ours. 

On motion the report of the committee was re- 
ceived and the resolution adopted. 



WOEK AMONG THE FREEDMEN. 

AK ABDKBSS BT THE SEORETABiT— THE CLAIMS 
OF THE NEGRO. 

The Rev. Dr. Sunderland, chairman of the standing 
cojnmitee on freedmen, submitted a report, show- 
tag excellent progress In missionary work among the 
<50lored people of the South. 

Eev. Mr. Williams— There is one portion of these 
leisoliutiojis that I would like to call attention to. 
It Is stated that the freedmen have not disappointed 
those who labored for their emajiclpatlon, or words 
to tliat effect. It hardly seems consistent with the 
Haots of history. I think we will all admit that the 
emancipation was solely a military necessity, that It 
was not the result of any action on the part of any 
class of men who were the particular Mends of the 
colored race. I do not think that there would be any 
difference of opinion beibween us on the capacity of 
the colored race to enjoy all the blessings that we 
■enjoy. 

Tile Moderator— Is that In the resolution or in the 
report ! 

Mr. Williams— In the report. 

The Moderator— Then let us accept the report first. 
All in favor of accepting the report will say aye. 
Carried. 

The Moderator — Dr. Allen, the secretary of the 
Board of Freedmen, will now be accorded the floor. 

iRev. Dr. E. H. Allen— I left a prosperous church 
to undertake this work among the colored i>eople. 
Perhaps It was the fact that I was a Southern man, 
■bom and raised among these people. My fathei' was 
a slaveholder, and my grandfather before him. When 
the emanoiiKi'lion sun dawned upon the riegroes they 
had not a thing upon God's earth ; they didn't even 
own the coarse garments that covered their naked- 
ness ; they were without anything except their 
mujoles and their simple faith In God. We went 



among tliem and soon they bega.n to think as we do; 
they began to learn something of meolianical arts, 
and they were brought in contact with the Gospel of 
Clinist. Some of the most beautifua examiples of child- 
like faith and pletj' I have ever known I found 
among these people. On my father's plantation one 
day when a boy I heard a strange noise which 
frlglitened me, and look|ing tliro^ugh the taU grass 
by a*iedge I saw old Uncle Joe Imeeling down pray- 
ing. I heard i>art of his prayer. " Now, dear Lord, 
I'm most at tlie journey's end. Put on me de white 
robe of righteousness and wash me, oh Lord, all 
ober in blood." Then I heard him say: "Lord, bless 
the cotrton-field and de corn crop, and, good Lord, 
bless massa's Ettle boy." I saw the old man die a 
few months afterward. I heard liim bid my father 
good-by. 

Mr. Moderator, you remember, doubtless, some old 
uncle in that Kentuclry home where you and I lived, 
and where they gave evidence of their simple faiitih 
in the Savlonr. The Southern people had done some 
work before we began our work— in preaching 
tlie Gospel to these people, even in their slavery. 
But, friends, after all it was slavery. Wihen we 
[began our work down there twenity-seven years 
ago there was no foundation. We had to begin by 
organizing little mission schools and putting iefO're 
tliem tlie shorter catechism of the Biible, and on that 
line we have taught ever since. To-day we have 
134 colored preachers— and they don't seem to taie 
much stock in revision, either. We have 162 churches 
and about 16,000 communicants. We take special 
pains to Inquire how our cotored preaoliers stand 
among the white people of the South. There is a man 
here from Arkansas, and the Mayor of the town down 
tliere said to me, " Dr. Allen, I wisii you TvooUd spnd 
us a hundred men just like him." We want educated 
colored preachers. We don't wiant Ignorant colored 
exhortei's. 1 could tell you many amusing scenes 
1 have witnessed. I remember, on one occasion, 
going into a cliui'ch where one colored brother was 
called on to pray. Another brotter jumped up and 
said: "Hold on. Brother Jim. You let Uncle Sam 
pray. He's 'better acquainted with the Lord dan you 
is." On another occasion I heaid a man take lor his 
text, " The Lord cured divers diseases." " Now," 
says he, " bretliren, if you get the colic the doctor can 
cure you, if you get a fever the doctor can cure you, 
but Just as soon as you get the divers, nobody ' but 
the Lord can cure you." Anotlier man 1 heard an- 
nounce as his text " In latter days spui-lous times 
shall come," and he went on to show how the times 
could be spurious, until anotlier brother puUed Ms 
coat tails and said, '■ Brother, tliat ain't spurious, it's 
perilous," and the preacher tiumed to his congregation 
and said, " Well, perilous. Isn't that all the better for 
you?" 

Now, every one knows that a country Uke ours de- 
pends upon the virtue and inteiBigence of its citizens. 
Illiteracy in a republic Is a -poisonous worm tliat knaws 
at the nation's vitals. 'WTiatever ideas of government 
these people have are purely American, and they all 
love their countiy. You wUl not find a dynamiter 
among them, nor a socialist, nor an anarchist, and I 
would rather trust my Ufe in their hands a thousand 
times than in the hands of these infidel foreign ele- 
ments that are swarming to our shores. I have heard 
some people say that these people were too i.gnorant 
to learn to do anything, that they- didn't malie goad 
soldiers, and all that sort of thlna.^ Why, 186 000 
colored troops fought in 126 battles, and never flinched 
once. One day down on a Southern battlefield I was 
pointin'g out to a gentleman from the North where 
they fought a memorable battle, when a wljlte native 
came up and said : " It was right there that those 

5 ™^, ^WE^'? Sh^,^i\ ^^^ '"e 3™st mowed them 
down." "But didn't they come right on up the 

th^™^rt"ntr..''"^^-. "?'fS'" ^^ sail, "but we i?^ow^ 
fi^?S »T°<W. .P'^^S ! t^^"^ set on top of the hiU, 
finally !" " Yes " « And didn't you fellows get down 
on the other side of the hill?" And so it was I 
remember that charge of those colored troops. It is 
true that they were mowed down, but tliev closed un 
the ranks and went steadily on. until they planted the 
Stars and Stripes at the summit, and kept them there 
Brethren, we want you to help the childi-en of three 

S'„=^^-n*» ^ I'^J'^i '^'^'^ splendid misfion^ 
field as m the South? You don't have to travel tn 
foreign lands and learn a foreign language, but you 



PKESBYTEEIAIv ISSUES. 



31 



take tlie Bible In one hiiud aud tlie speiiluiff-boJU lu aa- 
othcr, and you go to these people right In your own 
laud. Foe .twelve yeai'= 1 have been serielaiy of this 
board, aad If <iod sjiares my ILt'e 1 wlM devote twelve 
years moie to the %vorl!. 1 helped to wrong the colored 
brother. My Ikjthei-s heli>ed to wrong him. I may 
have helped to put Mm down In that place of degitida- 
tlon. Now, brotheas. I am going to teke that colored 
brother by the hand and say : '■ Brother, I helped to- put 
jou down. Now 1 will help to raise you up." Last 
year there were StJD churehes that did not give a cent, 
^nd ilf the 200,000 Presbyterians to tliose churches 
had only given us five cents a month we wo<uJdl have 
had $120,000 In our treasiu-y to-day. Brethren, 
■thlnli of tills and ponder upon it when you go home 
to your churches, and give us more hedp in tte next 
yeai'. 

The Rev. J. C. Campbell, of Vli'glnla— I want to say 
Just a word on this subject. When these colored people 
xire organized Into churches, why shoiild we seek to 
project our Pi'esbyterlan Cliurch where the churches 
are ali«ady estnbltehed, Is a question that I have often 
heard asked. Kow, to answer that, I will say that we 
■want to give these people an educated ministry, and 
•wMte we may have lost sometlilng in the beginning of 
*lils work, yet now we are getting right down to the 
•tme ■ manner of doing it. We take the boys 
and girls and educate them, and tlUs great army of 
-colored people will soon be marching all together un- 
der the grand banner of Christ, presenting a phalanx 
:that wm not simply charge against the enemy of 
their physical freedman, but against tlie enemv of their 
•spiritual freedom, and It will press on until Christ 
Is crowned ithe universal Mug, over this country, and 
the opposition, ignorance, superstition and vice shall 
%e buried beneath the reign of Christ. 

The Rev. Mr. iBebane, of Arkansas, and the Eev. 
Mr. DlUard of Cape Pear Presbytery (colored men) 
also spoke, and then the recommendations of the re- 
g>ort were adopted. 



FOURTH DAY. 



DE. BRIG9S READY. 



MAJORI'lT AND MINOETTY REPORTS ON HIS 

CASE. 



THE MAJORITY DECLAKE5 THE APPEAL TO BE IN 

OliDBR^THE STRUG-GLE IN THE GEN- 

l-UAL ASSEMBLY. 

Portland, Ore., May 24.— Flowers adorned the coats 
of many of the commissioners to the General Assem- 
bly to-day while nearly every woman In the gallery 
of tlie Assembly church and In the church where the 
women's meetings are held carried a bouquet of roses. 
The profusion of roses lu Portland is the constant 
marvel of the Eastern visitors, wliile the liberality 
with which good things are bestowed upon them Is 
«q.uaUy marvellous and delightful. 

The Brlggs case came up tills afternoon, on the 
report of the Judicial committee in the matter of the 
appeal from the prosecuting committee of the New- 
York Presbytery, headed by Mr. Birch. Two reports 
were made, the majority report being read by Dr. 
Tralsters Smith, of Buffalo, In behalf of eleven mem- 
bers, and the minority report by Dr. D. E. Frazer, 
of Newark, In behalf of four members. The reports 
will be acted upon to-morrow at 4 p. m. The major- 
ity report was as follows : 

The Piesbyterian Church In ihe United States of America. 
Bgahiat Charles A. Brlggs ; appeal from judgment of the 
Presbytery of New-York, dismissing the case : 

The Judicial Committee respectfully reports that it has 
carefully oonsidered the documents submitted to It in ihls 
case and adopted the following resolutions : 

First, That in .the opinion of this committee the appeal 
token by the Presbyterian Church in the United States of 
.America^ an original party represented by the committee 
of prosecution, appointed under Section 11 of the Book of 
Bisclpllue, has beea taken from the full judgment in dis- 
-mlsfilng the case, and 'that the said committee have the 
right to take this appeal representing the said original 
party. 

Second, Tliat it Unds tha^ the notice oit the appeal has 



been given, and that the appeal, specifications of error, 
and record, have been filed in accordance with Sections S>6 
and 97 of tlie Book of Discipline, aud the anneal is in 
Older. 

Thlid, That m the judgment of the committee, the 
appeal should be enteitahied aud a time set apart for the 
hcarmg of the case. 

in view of these considerations the committee reports 
vhat the appeal is in order, and that tiie General Assembly 
.should pi'Meed in accordance with the nrortslons 
of feectlon 97 of the Book of Discipline, by 
causing the judgment appealed from, the notice 
or appeal, the appeal and the specifications ot ''Jie 
errors aUeged to be read, then to hear the appellant by the 
committee of Prosecution, then the defendant in person 
by his counsel ; then the appellant by the Committee on 
1 r<»ecution in reply, upon the question whether the appeal 
shall be entertained. '^^ 

A motion that the report be received was seconded 
and carried. Dr. R. M. Paterson, of Philadelphia,moved 
Us adoption, and Dr. W. A. Bartlett, of Washington, 
seconded the motion. 

Dr. Smith— I understand, Mr. Moderator, that a 
minority report Is to be presented and wUl be read, 
I presume, by Dr. Frazer. Before It is read, I would 
state that notwithstanding the fact of its presentation, 
the dehberations of the committee have sliown a most 
kindly and fraternal splrK, and there has not been 
manifested In any man or heart a disposltloii to do 
anytlilng except what sliouid be honorable to the gos- 
pel of Jesus Christ and loyal to the constitutional 
principles of tlie Presbyterian Church." (Applause.) 

Dr. Frazei^May I say, sir, tliat one 
of the infelicities of a minority re- 
P irt Is that it looks antagonistic ; but we 
ate simply standing up lor tliat which we believe to 
be great principles. The report of the minority of 
the committee, which I have the honor to pressnt. Is 
a; follows : 

Xlie undeisigned, a minority of the judicial committee 
would respectfully submit the following reno t- """«'"• 

Whereas The Book of Discipline requiies that appeals 
are generally to be taken to the judicatory imniedlatelv 
superior to that appealed from ; and iu'u,t,ui.»i<uy 

"Whereas, , Tliere are no sufficient reasons for makine 
the appeal against the action of the PiesbTteiT la New- 
York, In dismissing the case against Dr. JBrlggs, an re- 
ception to this rule. 00.0,1^0^1. 

Therefore we recommend to the General Assembly that 
the appeal be not entertained, that the papers in the case 
be returned to the appellants, and that they be advised 
IJ °y."-, "^^^'i' appeal or complahit bufore the Synod of 

This report was signed by D. W. Frazer, Thomas 
Gordon, Oswell B. Dexter and George W. Ketclium. 
The report was accepted. Dr. Smith suggested that 
the subject be made the order of the day for i p. m. 
to-morrow. Tills was acceded to and again the house 
dAvlndled by a hundred or two, who had crowded In to 
hear the debate. 

Dr. Briggs is rehdy lor the fray to-morrow and so is 
Dr. Birch. It Is tlie hope of the Union Seminary 
men that if the .(Vsserabiy acknowledges the legal 
status of the committee headed by Dr. Birch it 
will remand the case to tlie New- York Presbytery or 
to the Synod of New- York. 



HOME MISSIONS. 

FINANCES AND WORK OF THE TEAR— THE 
NORTHWEST AND THE SOUTHWEST. 

Porland, Ore., May 24.— Very uiteres.tlng and valu- 
able reports ol the Board of Home Missions and the 
Board of Aid lor Colleges and Academies In the Wes* 
were presented to-day. Dr. S. J. McPherson and Dr. 
E. C. Ray, both of Chicago, represented the two 
causes. In the .order named. Dr. Irwin, of New- 
York, Dr. Alexander, of San Francisco, and many 
others were among the si>eakers. 

The financial year of the Home Board began under 
the load of a debt of all but $100,000. The usual 
diminution ol receipts during the summer greatly 
increased this— more than all possible loans and ap- 
peals could remedy. So quarterly remittances were 



32 



LIBRARY OF TRIBUNE EXTRAS. 



delayed, and hundreds of missionaries suitered greatly. 
Increased contributions and additional loans late In 
file year brouglit up arrears so far tliat the waiting and 
patient missionaries were pretty thoroughly paid up 
by June 1, though the Board's debt was of course rather 
increased than diminished ; the main relief being found 
in its being due to the banlc and not to the missionaries. 

The year's receipts have reached $025,000— $75,000 
less than the million recommended by the last G-en- 
ral Assembly. About $840,000 of this is available 
for current use, about $82,000 being for permanent 
and trust funds, $50,000 of this being as yet avail- 
able neither In principal nor Income. The income o£ 
the remaining $32,000 Is available. The debt at the 
end of the year is $67,000— a gain on last year of 
$31,000. 

The number of missionaries In commission lias been 
about 1,640, as against 1,677 the previous year, and 
1,701, the maximum as yet reached, in the year before. 
To this number must be added 340 teachers in the 120 
schools under the care of the Women's Executive Com- 
mittee in Alaslsa, Arizona, New-Mexica, Colorado, Utah, 
South Dakota, Indian Territory, North Carolina, Ten- 
nessee, Kentucliy and Iowa, among Indians, Mormons, 
Sexicans and mountain whites. The gross receipts of 
the Women's Exfcutive Committee for the year have 
Been $364,179 1&, $45,052 20 of tlils being received 
for work among the freedmen and transmitted to the 
Board of Missions for Freedmen. The increase of In- 
come over last year Is $17,774 25. Including this, 
the Increase of the Board's gross receipts over last 
year is $73,385 98. 

There have been awalsenings and ingatherings In 
most fields more numerous and more marhed than 
the average. An unusually large number have been 
received on confession of faith. A good many churches 
have been organized here and tiiere. In spite of the 
Board's Inability to grant appropriations for new work, 
which has been rigidly maintained until within a few 
months past, wlien some advance has been cautiously 
admitted In a few pressing and promising cases. 
Some home mission committees and alliances have 
puslied ahead without waiting for tlie Board's aid- 
as notably in Denver and vicinity, and Pueblo and 
Minneapolis. In a number of places churches liave 
shown themselves q.ulte bold and resolute in assuming 
self-support— always a most encouraging sign. There 
are twenty synodical missionaries, whose function is, 
in co-operation with the home mission committees, t:> 
choose and shape new fields, organize churclies, find 
and select men, and act In general as the local agents 
of the Boai'd. Tlieir work is Invaluable and indis- 
pensable. The Board would be utterly and constantly 
at a loss without being by tlielr means brought and 
kept in touch wltli the Presbyteries and the details of 
the work. A vast deal of the smoothness and success 
of home mission work depends on the wise and watch- 
ful management of the synodical missionary. These 
men cover an Immense area, and keep the Board's 
ofiice statedly supplied with essential local information. 

The chief ana most stirring section of the home 
mission field at present is the great North- 
west—as far as comparison is allowable. The 
main tide of immigration, foreign and naiive, moves 
thither. Trade and trafBc, improvement and invest- 
ment, are there intensely active. Tills invites and 
justifies the first visit of the General Assembly to that 
distant point, and its coming will redouble interest 
and activity. It will meet on home-raisslou grounds, 
pure and simple, and it will be by eminence a home- 
mission assembly. The immense fields jif Calif arnia 
and Texas are full of inviting rpenings, tlioug"!]', for 
different reasons, they are attendeil wltli discourage- 
ment. California is benumbed bj' materialisms from 
which the churches themselves indirectly suffer. 
With its vast resources, independence of outside aid 
should be much more easily attainable than Jias ever 
yet been the case. In Texas the churches have to 
face the unfortunate opposition of tlielr Southern 



bretliren, a.s is also the experience in perhaps a same- 
wliat less degree of the bretliren in Kentucky and. 
Alabama and 'lennessee. Missouri Is another great 
seciion in which the work of tlie Board has been. 
hitherto too scant, and where it should nDW be pushed 
as never belore. Says Dr. Irvin, one of the secretaries- 
of tlie Board : 

la its 3,000,000 people our Presbyterian Church 
has OJUy 17,000 communicants, the Southern and 
Cumberland churches combined having twice as many. 
We could double our missionaries and churches there, 
almost at once, to the very best advantage. 
Tlie resources of the State are prodigious, 
whUe great masses of the people are still almost 
utterly unreached by the means of grace. So also in 
Montana, our slackness years ago put us back from 
the foremost place in church woik to a position far in 
the rear of some other denominations. We should 
have double the force there which we now have, 
and now is the moment to do our best to make up for 
lost time and opportunity. Perhaps the most fasci- 
nating line of work in a 1 our Churoii's broad horizon 
is that among the mounfjtn whites in western North 
Carolina and adjacent States. There are two millions 
and more ol them. They are of our own stock, 
largely of tecolch and Scotch-Irish descent. Neglect 
tas left them tj sad deterioration. They respond 
quickly to mental, moral and spiritual culture. Our 
work among them Is a pioneer woik, and thus far 
almost a monopoly. It is but barely begun. Our 
Home IndU!>trlal School, with its 130 girls, on its 
splendid site overlooking AsIieviUe and the lovely 
valleys of the French Broad and Swananon rivers, 
and the noble building near by neailug completion for 
our Asheville Xormal and Collegiate Institute, to ac- 
commodate nearly 300 more, an Institution of a higher 
grade, and the department for boys just to be opened 
in connection with Washington College, Tennessee, are 
but a sample and pi'eface of what may be done, and 
with larger means will be done, in tlds direction. 

City evangelization is one of the great and puzz'ing 
home-mishion problems. Chicago, among other great 
cities, has been grappling with it In earnest. Most 
young men gravitate to cities, just as aU roads lead to 
Rome. The dangerous classes especial'y tend that 
way. One-third of our entire population dwell In 
cities. So one-tliird of our liome-mission work Is to 
be found there- and the hardest tlilrd of all. There 
are the indifferent, the ill-disposed, the discontented, 
the communistic, the foreign, the criminal. Four hun- 
dred tlousand of Chicago's 1,200,000 have no more to 
do with the Christian Church than the Soudanese. 
More than half a million in New York are simply 
heathen. Tl^e wonder is that they form as quiet and 
inoffensive a component part of a Christian community 
as they do. That they reproduce and realize, as recent- 
disclosures have startled ns by showing, St. Paul's 
delineations of pagan shames and crimes in his day, 
is not surprising. Christian clnirches and people- 
have this great menace at their doors and this great 
labor on their hands. And the great cities are not 
unmindful of it. The Church Extension committees 
and Presbyterian Alliances of New- York, and Philadel- 
phia, and Chicngo, and Cincinnati, and St. Louis, and 
St. Paul, and Jlinne.opolis, and Omaha, and Portland, 
and Los Angeles, and a score of cities besides, are waking 
more and more to the emergency .and organizing gospel 
forces lor earnest and adequate dealing with it. Port- 
land is active and representative in the home-mission 
specialty, and the session of the General Assembly 
tl'ere can hardly fall to emphasize this grand direc- 
tion lor our Church's activity. Presbyterian mer- 
chant princes must not find in city church extension 
a field for large investments and ready and solid 
retui'ns. 



FOREIGN MISSIONS. 

THE WORK DURING THE PAST TEAR. 
Portland, Ore., May 24.— Following is an ab- 
stract ol the report of the Board of Foreign Missions : 
The missions of the Presbyterian Church are in four- 
teen different countries ; the United States, Mexico, 
Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil, ChtU, .Africa, India, 
?iam, China, Japan, Korea, Persia and Syria. The 
first missionary was appointed in 1833, though he 
sailed for India In 1834. He still lives In the person 
of Dr. John C. Lowrle. There are twenty-eight mis- 
sions, 111 stations and 529 outstatlons. The work Is 
carried on in over twenty languages. The statlstlcs- 
of the missions. May 1, 1892, were as follows : Or- 
dained missionaries (165 native), 375 ; native llcentl- 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



33 



ates, 225 ; lay missionaries (339 female), 384 ; lay 
naUve helpers, 1,108; churches, 391: communicants, 
30,479; added, 1891-'02, 3,430. contributions on 
field, $38,731 28 ; schools, 771 ; scholars, 29,011 ; 
Scholars In Sunday-schools, 26,388 ; students for min- 
istry, 167 ; printing establishments, 12 ; pages Issued 
in twenty-one languages, 110,000,000 ; hospitals and 
dispensaries, 43 ; patients treated, 100,000 ; contribu- 
■Hons of native churches, $40,000. 

In the Laos Mission 241 native converts professed 
faith In Christ, an average of 40 to each church. To 
the 25 churches of the Shantung Mission T60 were 
added or over 30 to each church. The average ac- 
cessions to the Presbyterian body in our own country 
were only to each church. 

With respect to Departments it should not be for- 
gotten that the Board represenlB nearly all forms of 
Christian beneficence. 

First it Is a missionary agency in the direct sense 
of employing 2,124 living agents on the field, viz., 
596 American and 1,528 native. Second, it Is a. 
church erection agency ; It builds not only churches 
but homes, schools, colleges and hospitals. Third, it 
is a great bureau of education, supporting 771 in- 
stitutions of all grades with 29,000 pupils. Fourth, 
It Is a large publishing estaWlshment, operating as 
above stated 12 press establishments in 21 lan- 
guages and Issuing 110,000,000 pages yearly. It 
la an extensive medical and eleemosynary society 
with, as above, 43 hospitals, 40 male and 13 female 
medical missionaries, many classes of native medical 
students and 100,000 patients. 

Such is the wori, such the forces employed ajid 
such the direct and estimable results accomplished. 
The direct and Invisible results It Is imiwssible to re- 
port. Prejudice has been brolien down, on intelligent 
conception of the Gospel has been given to multitudes, 
heathen religions have had another year's impress 
from the one true faith, the way has been made ready 
lor a larger advancement, thousands of lives have 
been divinely influenced, the glad news of the life, 
the death and the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus 
Christ In whom God Is reconciling the world to Him- 
Bolf has been told far and wide and Jesus Christ has 
been, in a little measure at least, obeyed. 

During the past year the Board appropriated $1,- 
002,683 65, and received from the churches $948,- 
rea eo, leaving a deficit of $54,521 05. In 1890-'91 
the average gift per church member to the wort was 
$1 17, crediting all receipts to churches, or 43 cents, 
crediting only the amount received directly from the 
churolies. This year (assuming the increase of church 
members ti be the same as last) it was $1 11, or credit- 
ing to churches only direct receipts 39 cents. Has the 
Church grown less able to give? Has the world's 
need decreased J The membership of the Presbyterian 
Church is over 800,000. According to the last As- 
sembly minutes, it contributed to the various branches 
of Its wort here $13,176,805. The present year it 
gave almost $950,000 to foreign missions ; 7 cents out 
of each dollar given to C3rrlstlan wort was allowed to 
go to the evangelization of the world. Was this pro- 
portion fair? The wort calls loudly for men, for 
money, for prayer. If one-tenth of the candidates for 
the ministry reported last year should offer them- 
selves, the Board would be able to send 130 new 
missionaries. If the average contribution of the 
church members were 1 cent a day, the Board would 
receive over $3,051,400. If the Sabbath-school 
scholars gave 1 cent a weet, this would be increased 
$450,000. And prayer I "Pray ye, therefore, the 
Lord of the harvest to thrust forth laborers into His 
Earvest." "Ye that mate mention of the Lord, teep 
not silence, and give Htm no rest till He establish and 



(111 He mate Jerusalem a praise in the earth." There 
is a cry for enlargement which we cannot shun, for 
It is alite the cry of the risen Christ and of the dying 
world. We ought to go foiward. What ought to be 
done, can be done. What ought to be done and can 
be done, must be done. 

AN UNCONSCIOUS TRIBUTE TO MISSIONS. 

Very uncomplimentary tilings are sometimes said 
about missions. But they survive. They are not an- 
nihilated by a scowl nor d.o they collapse in the face of 
a sneer. The men who cavil most are either ignorant 
of their usefulness and progress, or they hate CJiriB- 
tlariity and its wort in general. Now and then it hap- 
pens that some real friend of missions laments the 
apparent lact of success in some quarters, but his 
complaint is not so mluch against missions as against 
what he considers a mistate to methods. A genuine 
tribute to the power and influence ,'of miiseions often 
comes, however, from an unexpected source. The 
compliment is unintentional but no less real. The 
TurMsh Government is just now In an extremely com- 
plimentary mood. In other words, it magmlifies the in- 
fluence of missions by being thoroug^y alarmed. 
The method by which it show^ its appreciation is per- 
haps misleading to a casual observer, and may need 
explanation. It Is the tiibute of an alert and uncom- 
promising opposition— a determination to throttle and 
thwart the growing enterprise. The Govern mem t at 
the Sublime Porte Knows a good, iMng whein it sees it, 
and sizes up tills whole business of missions with teen 
appreciation of its significance and well-founded sus- 
picions 'as to what It Is all doming to. The result is a 
vigorous effort to put a stop to it at once and forever. 

The first point of attact is mlssiton literature— 
esi)eclally the Bible. It would 'do Anthony Comstoct's 
heart good to read the new law which the Tur-Msh 
authorities have just framed with a view to sup'press 
the sale of " boots, tracts, papers, pictures or photo- 
graphs which aie opposed to the public peace, to 
morals, or to the reUgious sects." "Pernicious or 
immoral boots and tracts" are roundly scored, and if 
they have a particle erf reUgion iln them " they are not 
to be sold in the vicinity of any place of worship." 
Woe to the " boot-hawter" who shall venture to peddle 
a tract or sell a Bible. 

The second poimt of attact is schools. Evei-y school 
must have a " firman," or official Ucense ; no private 
house must be used as a school or a place of worship 
unless by virtue of this speclail permission. Now just 
procure a "firman" if you can. You must have a 
"firman" not only for a church, but for youi- private 
residence— so the law may be interpreted— before you 
can have a, prayer-meeting there or have even femlly 
worship. Every native house of a Christian in the 
TurMsh Empire may thus be required to have a 
"license" before he can pray in it with his family or 
friends. The Turts mean business. Missions are not 
to be trifled with. 

THE SITUATION AND HOW TO MEET IT. 

In a certain sense the Christian Church is on its 
trial in its foreign missionary wort. It claims that 
Jehovah is the only true and living God, and that In 
the atonement of Christ upon the Cross is the only 
salvation of manttnd. It Insists that all non-Cauistlan 
races are In perishing need wthout the Gospel; and 
that to give them that Gospel, according to the Great 
Commission, Is the paramount and constant duty of 
all beUevers. The outside world is asserOng that 
Christianity Is only an ethnic religion lite the rest: 
but the Church tates a squarely opposite posltloai, and 
stakes Its whole doctrinal system upon it. Its oon- 
slstwicy, its convincing power, its whole conscious 
lite, eveii here at home, rest upon the assumption that 
Christ Is the Saviour, not of a nation or race, but of aU 
men everywhere. If the foreign missionary wort of 



34 



LIBRAEY or TfilBUNE EXTRAS. 



tJie Cliurcli were to cease to-day, 1£ Its iiiissioiuu'les 
WOTd ricallea, tke v/ora ot evaiigjliziiig t;if nations 
glvea up and tiie t4i'e;it Commission ot t'luist voted 
practically a dead lettec, tils Cliurcli would be most 
seriously crippled on it-; own s-oil. It would be con- 
\'icted 01 ratal inconsistency by tlie common verdict of 
mauMnd. It would be an-aigned f.r ignoring it^j own 
liistory of centuries, it would fall under tlie con- 
demnation of ingratitude toward tlij very means and 
agencies wnlcb rescued tlie ancestirs of our Western 
nations from barbarism, and raised us up to tlie 
Cbristian civilization wliicli we now enjoy. 

All mi'n o.iight to understand, therefore, bow It Is 
that, under whatever fire of cavils and er.tlclams 
and sneei'S, the Oliurob cannot relimiuiiish nor relax its 
foreign missionary work. Fortunately there lb no 
need to apologize tor or defend that work. Not only 
is it true that every nation now linown as Olu-istian 
has beam won from barbartsm since the days of the 
great Apostle to the trentUes, but within the century 
jurat now closing there has grown up an a.rray of 
mora.l and spiritual forces extending over many lands 
which is truly sublime, ri'hei'e is nothing to be 
compared with it in its Mgli quality, lis pJre dis- 
interestedness, its self-denying effort, its leaven of 
eleviting influence and its fai--reachlng results. 

Brat liow is tlie Church on its trial 'in its mission 
work? The trial or tlie test liiiige5 on the question 
whether it is to go forward or gradually lose its 
ground. N».t to advance is rtrtually to ietrea.t. The 
work must expand or decline. The Presbyterian 
Board litis been con.9tr;iiiiea to appropriate about a 
million ot dollars during tlie last year; still more 
will be cjiiled fl>r in the year to come. S nee so 
great interests are ut stake; since the welfare and 
thrift even of the Chiuroh at home is involved; 
since the very highest attestation (hat can be given 
to tlie reality ajnd the power of Christian dfictrlne is 
to be found, not in fi>rensic discussions or creed- 
maldng, but in the practical demonstration of the 
truth ill rocUiiming the world to Christ, how shall su 
sublime and exigency be met? Fir-t, there must be 
the earnest advocacy of every p.i.stur and preacher. 
The minister- of the Church are the captains of 
bandis— centurians, each standing on the battlements 
mth his bugle or tuiumpet call. No other cla-s 
of men liave such opiKirtiinitie- to pi^oclaim this 
divine and heaven-anthorlzed crus,ide. What might 
aot be iiccompiii-hed by a churcJi membership of 
800 000 if all were made to feel the sublimity 0( 
their stewardsMp I .Second, there must he Oirgant- 
Bation. It Is often said that (he Pi-esbyterlan Church 
rests upon a representative har-'is similar to that of 
our Federal Uover-nment. In a iMlltical campaign 
the mo-,t minute and effective organization is seen 
from the National Executive down through all the 
departmonts, Niitional, State, municipal. Every ward, 
every street, every house is canvassed, every voter 
is regifiterea. If, from tlie Assembly, through the 
synod, the presbytery, the session, the au'nday--chool, 
the family, anything liiie this power (t oiganizatlon 
were resoi-led to the whole problem would be solved. 
Tlilrd, pergonal obligation must everywhere be recog- 
nized and acted npon. The question tor each disciple 
is not wii.nt the Cliuj-ch as a wlioie is doing, but what 
am I doing! Fourth, there should be proportionate 
giving. There sihould lie a remembran,ce of the Now 
Testament rule, '-laccordlng to what a man hatli." 
The wealth of the Church miust he dl-awn upon ; the 
surplus means must be laid on the altar with a free 
hand, and every man miist act in the glghit of Grod 
as ihefore a suitering world as it only a steward ot 
Christ. 

JOINT CHRISTIAN EFFORT. 

SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE 
ON THE CO-OPERATION OF CHURCHES. 
Poritland, Ore., May 24.— The Committee on the 
Oo-operaiti™ ot the Churches presented to-day through 
Dr. Charles L. Thompson, ,to the General Assembly 
Its second annual report. This committee was ap- 
poined by the General Assembly of 1890, tor ,the pur- 
pose of gathering information and raaldng recbm- 
mendations to ,the Assembly regarding the possibility 
of any co-operation between the Presbyterian Church 
and other denominations. In places where feeble 
churches exist. In order to the saving of the Church's 
money. Several years ago the General Assembly ap- 
polDited a Committee on Church Unity. As the work 
of these two committees seemed to lie in parallel 
lines, the report of each committee lasit year to the 
General Assembly was referred to a special com- 



mittee, who recommended the " Assembly to approve 
both reports, adopt the recommendations, and direct 
the committees to hold jcint meetings for conference 
and cu-operation in .their work, with a view to a possi- 
ble consolidation of the two committees in the near 
future. " 

In obedience to this direction of the General As- 
sembly, .the Committee on Church Unity and the 
Co-op3ral!on of the Churches held ■» conference last 
fall, in tlie city of New-York, for the pnipose of 
considering whether a ujiion of the two committees 
was possible at the preseiiit time, and It not, for the 
purpose of defining definitely the sphere of their 
operations. It was the unanimous judgment of both 
committees that their work was so different ith'at a 
consolidation of them at presen.t seemed unadvlsable. 
The report presented to-day states : 

From the point of view of this committee, taking 
into consideration the fact of the distinct spheres ot 
the two cjmmittees ; the Committee on Church Unity 
looldng to a unity and federa.tion of denominations, 
while the Committee on Co-operatian of Cliurches 
had in hand only the more friendly co-operation of 
ditferent denominations on mission ground; in view 
of the fact itliat the work of our committee was one 
involving much of immediate and practical detail, re- 
quiring irequent conference (whlcu in this present 
organization Is practicable sincie the committee is 
small and living in and near ^'ew-Yo^•k, while 
the other commntee is large and scattered 
.throughout tile coiuitry) ; in view of these 
and 'Other considei'atlons, tihis committee does not 
regard the luiion of the two committees as either 
in the interest of the efficiency or the economy of 
either of the particular duties that have been aisignei 
to itliem. At the same time, it was the judgment of 
both committees that the lines of their worit should 
lie so outlined and agreed upon that there would not 
be even the seeming of any collision between their 
respective operations. To that end the two com- 
mittees united in the following agreement: 

" It is understood by the committees that the Oom- 
inittee on Church Unity shall conduct all correspond- 
ence with the highes,t judicatories in relation to the 
work of confederation, and .that thj Committee on the 
Co-operation of Cliui'ches shall correspond with mis- 
sionary boards and superintendents, and other mis- 
sionary societies or individuals, as their work in the 
interest ot co-operation may reoulre." 

Following this conference and understanding, your 
committee addressed itself to the work thi:^ given It 
to do. Our first, and during this year our chle.f, en- 
deavor has been, hy a wide range of correspondence, 
to secm'e the information necessary for intelligent 
recommendation by the committee and action of the 
General Assembly. T i thhs tnd we have been in con- 
ference with the secretaries of tile American Mission- 
ary Society of th? Congregational Church. We have 
also been in correspondence with the syn.idicai mission- 
aries of our own Church, and with the stated clerks of 
the presbyteries of four Slate-s in dilfe-reut parts of the 
T'nlon regai'ded as representative of ditferent phases 
of ths Home Missionary work. The results of this 
conference and correspondence can be indicatad here 
only in the most general terms, but they constitute, 
we believe, an intelligent basis for the recommenda- 
tions wiOi which we close our report to tli'. General 
Assembly. Our correspondence with stated clerks of 
presbyteries in four synods, one ot them in an Ea.3tern 
State, one in the Central West, and two beyond the 
MissLssippl Klver, has deveaop..d facts regarding tlie 
excessive multiplication of feeble churches, the con- 
tinuance f.)r many yejirs of churches that giv© no sign 
of aohievelng s If-suppoit. and the unseemly rivalry of 
allied denominations in the same mission fields, which 
abundantly justify the action of the Assembly in the 
appointment of a oommittee to make inquiries and 
suggestions in regard to the Home Missionary problem, 
and which surely call for the earnest consideration and 
the combined action of all cliurches who have a 
supreme love for the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and its establishment in the earth. Thus for example 
we find in seven presbyteries in a given synod that 
th"re are thirty-sis Home Missionary churches with forty 
members and less in each ; in towns of 1,000 potm- 
lation and less, in which there are fi-om one to four 
other evangelical dedomlnations at work. Tn nazard 
*2 "PJ^k'^'J'"^'' " ^^J?^'^ "Three of these churches 
should be given up, while the Congregatlonallsts oueht 
(o disband in two places." "^6"i- 

T!T another presbytery sixteen out of eishtppn 
churches are mission churches, four of the sixteen have 



PKESBYTEKIAN IS.SL'KS. 



39 



less tlian forty mjartjLTs each In places «I -MJ [xiiiu .i- 
Ujn aud uiiaer, wltU otliw evaiigelical denominations 
at worK 111 those flelds. Anollier presbjtery reiJOi-ls : 
'• We have generally In oui' towus oue sui>erlliious 
C'liui'ch lyid pastor— one struggliug organization wlioso 
hope .Ls in the misfortune of a sister cJmrcli." i^tlll 
auotli'ei' lepoi'ts ; "i'uuv churches with less tJian lofty 
members iii eacli, la smajl towns, besides three otlier 
climcues practically dead: and In cne of the foregoing 
towns hve denominations at wort In a populallon of 
€00." StUi another: "Four denominations at worK 
In a population ol BOO." Another presbjtcry reports. 
stvdii cuwcjiew ol torty members and less, in small 
towns, with eight churclies that might be con- 
sulldated Into four. Another presbytery reports 
lilieen chui'cbes under lh» care of iiie 
Home lioajd, nciiny all of them growing weaker, and 
not mueii opportunltj- I'or grouping them with each 
other or wltli other churclies. Still another presbytery 
Teport^ : " ^^L\ cliurchcs tliat miglit be coinsollclatJed into 
tlu'ee, and four or hve otiier mlsslonaiy churches In 
the presbytei-y, little belter tlian nominal." Another 
j^resbytery repoi-tis ; " Twelve out of tifteen churclies 
having t'oi-ty members and less, ijn small villages, with 
not much cluiiice for combination, and not much co- 
operation with other denomlnattons." Another pres- 
bytery rep.ris : A cliurch of nine meinbei's In 
a sintull iyki.ce where two other denominations ai^e at 
[worli." Anotlier j presbytery reports: "iXhlrteoH 
chm'ches of forty members or less, In towns ol 1,000 
and lesa population, witli from one to tour other denom- 
Inatiifiis at work In those fields." 

These are specimen gleanings from the Infonnatlon 
that has come mU> our liaudS ; it is only eolect/lc ; \re 
lia^'e end,eavored to secure o:ily enough facts and fig- 
ures to Indicate fairly the general condition ol the 
Home Missionary work of our comitii". We subiidt to 
the Assembly that the facts thus cited call for further 
Investigation along the same Une, looking to steps by 
which the state of affairs, so wasteful of men and 
money, and 'so dishonoring to the spirit of Christ and 
His Gospel, shall be changed. 

In oiu' correspondence with tlie synodlcal mlsslon- 
.aries ol our own church w"e sought for Information as 
to wh.at. In their judgment, were the ubstucles to Qiy 
opei-ation on their own field, how much seemed practl- 
<:abl© to them in t.Iie way of unitiug feeble cliurcOies of 
■ allied denominations, and how there might be secured 
for the prlncliJles ol comity aiinounec^ by our lien- 
era! Assembly a wider acceptance and more general en- 
forcement. 

As to the obstacles In the way of co-operation, the 
ioUowlng wei'e the ones most generally insisted upon by 
our correspondent'i : A lack of real Chilstdan mission- 
ary spirit, Ignorance of one another' views, an unedu- 
cated, ministry, denominational ijrejudice. e.xcesslve 
^enomlnatiiMiaillsm, doctrinal differences, and the want 
■of conference and conceited action. 

Our Investigations have forcibly Imrressed upon via 
tlie foHowltng conclusions : FliBt. We liave too many 
feeble churches, both in the old.er a^nd the newer parts 
of our country, planted Where tliere was no real call 
for their existence, or where by changgp ol population 
the original reason for their existence has-na^ed away. 
It is, ol coui'se, easier to see amd recognKe this fact 
than to secure any change In the condition of tilings 
■where this Is true. The organization of a church Is. In 
itself, a plea for its continuance. In tlie older States, 
where the church lias been dtepleted by removals to 
the cities and to the newer parts of the country, that 
plea often becomes pathetic. Slia'l hot tlie ancestral 
flres be kept bunting upon the altars IVir the few %vho 
still linger in the old homestead? Shall they be de- 
prived, of the church of their love "because the strength 
of It havmg gone away. It has been thrown upon tlie 
Board of Home Missions for support? And in the 
newer regions of our countr>' the Western hopefulness 
as to future increases of population, and so of feeble 
churches, operates against very endeavor toward less- 
ening, by consoKdaUon, the number of churches in any 
pai'ticular community. Kut we are stating the fact as 
It exists, without reference to the sentiments which In 
particular localities gather round it, either from the 
past or futiu'e. We were appointed to consider whether 
men and money might be saved to our Church by a 
more economical arrangement of our Home Missionary 
forces; and whether present conditions c^m or cannot 
be changed. The further 'we pm'sue our Investigation 
the cleai-er does the fact shine forth that In all parts of 
the countn- there are too many feeble churches, in our 
own and other denominations idependent upon mission- 
ary organizations for their support. 

Second. It has also become apparent to us (and it 
constitutes one of the chief reasons for the foregoing 
fact, at least so far as the newer regions of the coun- 
try are concerned,) that there has not been sufficient 
consultation concerning the organization of new 
clraiohes. A new town is started at some railroad 



cio.^sing. There are a few members ol lialf a 
iiozeii uJiiomiiiaJoiis on tue ground. Each oi these 
groups wants Its own church represented In the city 
ol the luture. Zealous missionary agents are sent 
tor, or come without tfic sending, There is olten 
no cuiiierence with one another, very little oonsiUt*- 
lion with State or general Home .missionary author- 
ities, and In a few weeks the empty lots of the rail- 
road crossing find themselves surrounding half a 
dozen nascent and potenual cJiurcn orgaiii^aitions. 

ihen loUow the rivalries, denomlnailjual jealous- 
ies, waste of men and Home .Missionary money, 
wJilcli might have been pi evented by prudent, 
thoughtful and wise consultation, either on tne field 
or among the authorities Interested in the respective 
oiganlzations. We need not dwell upon tills oondl- 
tli-ii of things. It Is perfectly well luiown to all 
\»ho liave m«cU acquaintance with our central and 
Western Stales. 

Third. We are sure, as has been indicated to us In 
some of the repii.'s ti.ai have come lu i.s fiom synod- 
teal missionaries, that a campaign of education on 
ijiis subject 1.-5 on,^ ol UCki piiuij neci:Ssities ol .tlie 
church of to-day— not of one chiu'ch, our own church 
merely, but ol all Christian churches. There ta 
necked a more thorough knowledge of home mission- 
ary fields ; a more temperate and careful examina- 
tion of the conoitions lu each case Is necessary,, not 
only lor the success of any particular denomination, 
but of the whole large causa lor which each denomi- 
nation stands; and above all, an Insistence upon 
Jiigher motives than meiely the increase lu numbars 
and power of any partlcuhir denomination; this,, let 
it be said also. In entire loyalty ol eueu denomina- 
tion to Its own doctrines, polity and work. It Is not 
necesstu'y Ti^Tat we, as i-'iesbyti.'iiaiis, should lose 
sight ol the etlmate we have been accustomed to 
place upon the value of our Church to any commim- 
Ity, the value of the doctrines whlcli It represents 
and ths polity by which It seeks to incarnate them 
In Ch.lstlan life and Instliu Ions. But ti.e time has 
come to maintain stoutly that that church best 
serves Itself which serves Its Lord most singly, and 
ithut a devotion to a denomination which is not dom- 
inated at every i>olnt by devotion to the kingdom 
of Jesus Christ has degenerated in.to an unworthy 
ambition. 

Fourth. Theie is, among thise actively engaged In 
the Home Missionary work, a growing conviction ol 
the Importance of the gener;il subject herein pre- 
sented—a feeling that denominational zeal lor the 
occupation of the country has r. ached a pjlnt where 
It needs to be reined in by the loftier considerations 
alluded to above. Tills comes to us frjm consulta- 
tion with missionary boards and correspondence with 
agents; tliose especially who are on the field and 
who constantly meet the difficullles arising from the 
over-multlpllcatlon of churches, realize tl.at steps 
should be taken In the direction of gi eater care in 
the organization of new churclies, and looking for 
the consolidation or co-operation uf those already Jn 
existence. With these tics and convlctljns before 
us, your committee respectfully offer the following 
recommendations to the General Assemb.j; : 

First— That our Board of Home Missions be di- 
rected to Instruct Its synodlcal missionaries and their 
missionary agents to increased carefulness In the or- 
ganization of new churches, and that where doubt 
may exist as to the prbpriety of tlie organization of a 
new church, such organization shall not be effected 
until alter conference with other local churches and 
with the Boa.rd of Home Missions. 

Second— Where churches have been assisted by the 
Board for several years and show little prospect of 
growth and self-support, the Board be urged to strict 
adherence to Its rule to suspend further appropriations 
pending a c^onterence between Itself and the Homo 
Mission committee of that presbytery. 

Third— That presbyteries be anioined to exercise the 
utmost care alike In the selection of new fields and of 
the men who are to occupy them ; that new work be 
undertaken only when It gives proml-e of decided 
growth ; and that presbyteries seek so far as possible 
for the best men to be put In charge of whatever new 
work Is undertaken. 

Fourth— In view of the fact that a lack of con- 
ference is given as the freciuent reason for a lack of co- 
operation, we recommend a joint conference of the 
executive officers of the allied denominations, to be 
held at some time In the near future, for the purpose 
of devising some plan for future opeiation^ In the 
general line of the facts and principles lierein given. 
We would suggest, as a step necessary to securing 
such, conference, that the matter be called to the 
particular attention of the executive olticers of our 
Board of Home Missions, and they be adrtsed to In. 
vite such conference at such time and place as may 
seem best to them. 



36 



LJBEARY OP TEIBUNE EXTEAS. 



FUtti— We recommend that tlie committee be con- 
tinued for sucli further Avorli as increasing knowledge 
and th,e necessities of tlie case may seem to make 
advisable. 



REPORT ON REVISION. 



FULL TEXT OF EECOMMENDATION'^ 



REPORTEX) FOR ACTIO'X BY THE TRliSBYTEKIES. 
Porttomd, Ore., May 24.— Following is the report 
of the comimittee on revision, whdch was submitted 
yesterday : 

At tlie meeling of the CJeineral Assemahly, in De- 
tiroit, Mich., May, 1891, the special committee on the 
revision of the Oonlessio-n of Faith presented its report, 
which was accepted ; and it was resolved that the 
report presented by the committee of revision be now 
accepted as a report of progress, and tliat the stated 
clerS be to-ected to primt the same umder the super- 
vi'STgon of the committee, and send it down to the 
presbylteries in accordance with its recommendations; 
and also that the comniittee bo continued to make 
final rejKvrt to the next Assembly ; adopted. 

In aocordajace wltih the above, the committee 
appointed by the General Assemibly of 1890 to revise 
the Confession of Faith would respectfully report ; 

That a thlird meeting was called at Xo. 53 Fifth-ave., 
New-Yorli city, on January 12, 1893, and continued 
In sesrscon until January 22. and that all the members 
were present except Professoi' William Alexander, D. 
D., of San Francisco, who was unable to attend on 
account of illness, and the Rev. Henry J. Van Dyke, 
D. D., of Brooklyn, wlio died May 35, 1891. 

It waa found Impossible to meet the Individual 
preference of every presbytery without setting aside 
what were known to be the views of a large majority 
of the Church. Nor was it practicable to taJie up and 
act upon the thirty-five requests for a new Creed, be- 
cause the committee felt that It should prosecute its 
work in the line marked out, and within the restrictions 
imposed upon it by the General Assembly. Neverthe- 
less, frequent allusions to both were made in order to 
show the tendency of thought and the kind of demands 
made in oertaiu sections of the Church. 

It affords the committee much pleasure to state that 
the same harmony and friendly feelings prevailed dur- 
ing the sessions of the third meeting in New- York that 
had characterized the meetings held in Pittsburg and 
Washington. There was no effort made to seek har- 
mony at any sacrifice, but there existed a strong con- 
viction, which found expression often in the prayers 
of the members, that God's spirit was directing the 
views and controlling the hearts of the whole body. 

According to tha Instructions of the last Assembly, 
the revision comniittee hereby presents its final report. 
It is the very best it has been able to prepare after 
weeks of hard and anxious labor. It sincerely hopes 
and prays that the results now to be presented will 
meet the demands of the Church, and enable her in the 
future to do better work for Christ and the world than 
she has as yet done. 

Although the changes here recommended are numer- 
ous and important, yet none of them, if adopted, will. 
In the judgment of the committee, impair in any way 
the Integrity of the Reformed or Calvinistlc iootrine 
taught Id the Confession of Faith. 

The text of the Confession, where alterations are 
proposed, is given in full on the left-hand page, and 
the overtures proposed on the right-hand page. 

The committee recommend that the General Assem- 
bly transmit to the presbyteries for their action the 
following overtures, viz. : 

Overtujre No. 1.— Shall Section V of Chapter I be 
so changed as to read as follows : 

V. We may be moved and Induced by the testi- 
mony of the Oimrcli to an thigh and reverent 
esteem for the Holy Scripture; and the truthfulness 
of the history, the faithful witness of prophecy and 



miracle, the lisavenliness of the matter, the efficacy 
of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the eon,- 
sent of all the parts, the scope of tlie whole (whicli 
is to give all glory to God), the full discovery it 
makes of the only way; of man's salvation, the 
ira/ny other Incomparabls excellencies, aad the entire 
perfection thereof, are aiguments whereby it doth: 
abundantly evidence itself to be the word of God; 
yet, notwithstanding, our full persuasion and assur- 
ance of th3 infallible truth, and divine authority 
thereof, is from the inward work of the Holy Spu-it, 
bearing witness by and with the word, in our hearts. 
Overture No. 2.— In Chapter III, shall Sections III 
and IV be stricken out; Section V be mada Section 
111, and so changed as to read as follows : 

III. God, before the foundation of the world was 
laid, according to His eternal and Immutable purpose 
and the secret counsel and goad p:easure of His wiU, 
hath predestined an innumerable multitude .of manldnd 
unto life, and hath parricularly and unchangeably- 
chosen them in Clu-ist untii ever'asting glory, out of 
His m?re free grace and love, not on account of any 
IVresight of faith, or good works, or perseverance in. 
either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as- 
conditions lor causes moving Him thereunto ; and all' 
to tlie praise of His glorious grace. 
.And shall Section VI be made Section TV? 
Overture No. 3— Shall Section VII of Chapter III 
be made Section V, and be so changed as to read as- 
follows : 

V. The rest of mankind God saw fit, according to 
the unsearchable counsel of -His will, whereby He ex- 
tendeth or withholdeth imercy as He p'.easeth, not to 
elect unto everlasting life; and them hath He or- 
dained to disorder and wrath for their sin to tli& 
praise of His glorious justice; yet liatli He no pleasure 
in the death of the wicked, nor is it His decree, but 
the wickedness of tlielr own hearts, which reslraineth 
and hiidereth them from accepting the free offer of 
His grace made in the Gospel. 

And shall Section Vni be made Section VI! 
Overture No. 4^Shall Section I of Chapter IV be 
so changed as to read as follows : 

. ^iJ-'^ pleased God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, 
for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power' 
wisdom and goodness, in the beginning, to create of 
nothing all things, visible and invisible, and all very 
pood; the heaven and the earth, and all that In them 
IS, being made by Him in sis days. 

Overture No. o-^haJl Section IV of Chapter VI be 
so changed as to read as follows : 

.IV- From this original corruption, wherebv we are 
utterly indisposed, disabled and made opposite to all 
that IS spiritually good, and wholly inclined to evU do- 
proceed all actual transgressions. Nevertheless, the 
providence of God, and the common operation of Hi3 
spmt, restrain men from much that is evil and lead 
them to exercise many social and civil virtues. 

Overture No. 6-Shall Section lU of Chapter Vn be 
so changed as to read as follows : 

v., ^^\- ,-^^^?' ?,y ?^ ^''^' having made himself Incapa- 
ble of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to 
make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace • 
wherein, by His word and spirit. He freely offereth unto- 
sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiilng of 
them faith in Him, that they may be saved, and promis- 
ing to give unto all those tliat are ordained unto life 
His holy spmt, to make them wiDing and able to be- 

Oyerture-No 7.-Shall Section IV of Chapter VII be 
stricken out ; the words " and is called the Old Testa- 
™^?*. .^'^ omitted from Section V; the words "and is 
called the ^ew Testament" he omitted from Section VI. 
and Sections V and VI be made respectively IV and V i 

Overture No. 8. -Shall Section V of Chapter VIH be 
so changed as to read as follows : .f ^ » -i-ij- uo 

V- The Lord Jesus, by His perfect obedience and 
sacrifice of Himself, which he, through the eternal 
spirit, once offered up unto God, hath lullv satisfied 
dlvtne justice, and purchased not only reconcUlation but 
an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of Heaven 
for aU those whom the Father haqi given unto Him. 
^^. Overture No. 9.— Shall a new chapter be added to 
tlie Confession of Faith m the foUowlng wordi : 
CHAPTER IX.— OP THE 



OF THE HOLT 



WORK 
SPIRIT. 

I. The Holy spirit, the third person In the Trinity. 
HSi'i^^J''''^ S?-^ eternal God, the same In substance 
with the Father and the Son. and equal in power and 
glory, is, togethOT with the Father and the Son. to be 
believed in, loved, obeyed and Worshipped throughout 

II. The Holy Spirit, wHo of old revealed to men In 
various ways the mind and wiU of God, hath fullv and 
authoritatively made known this mtnd and wffl In aU 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



37 



tilings pertalalng to life imd siUvation In tlie sacred 
Scriptures, holy men ot God speaMng therein as they 
were moved by tlie Holy Ghost ; and these Scriptures, 
being so Inspired, are the Infallible -word ol God, the 
E,upreme rule ol lalth and duty. 

in. The Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver ol lite, Is 
everywhere [present among men, confirming the teaeh- 
ings ot nature and tlie law of God written on the heart, 
xehtralnlng Irom evil, Inciting to good and preparing 
the way lor the Gospel. He UliewUe accompanies the 
■Gospel with his persuasive energy, and urges its 
jnessage upon the reason and conscience ol unregen- 
ei'ate men, sj that they who reject Its merciful offer 
.are not only without excusa, but a;e also guilty ol re- 
sisting the Holy Spirit. 

IV. The Holy Spirit is the only efll<dent agent 
iln applying and communicating redemption. He 
«fleotually calls sinner; to new llle in Christ Jesus, 
regenerating them by His aluiightiy grace and per- 
suadlnK and enabling them to embrace Jesus Olirist 
by taith. He dwells in all believers as tlieir com- 
iorter amd sanollfler, perlormlng all those gracioiuis 
cilices by which they are sahcCified and sealed unto 
*he day ol redemption. 

V. By the indwelling of the Holy Spirit all be- 
lievers are vitally united to Clirlst, who Is tlie head, 
and are thus united to one anotlier in the Church, 
which Is His body. He calls and anoints ministers 
for their holy office, qiuilifles all other offlcei's in the 
Ohuj-cli lor the'.r special work, and Imparts various 
gifts and graces to its members. He gives efficacy 
to the word and to the ordinances of the Gospel. 
By Him the Oliurch will l»? pre;erved, inoreased and 
purified, until it shall covei- the earth, and at last 
be made a glorious Church, not liavlng spot or 
wninlde. or any such tlilnz. 

Overture No. lO.-JShall Section I ol Chapter IX 
he BO cihanged as to read as follows : 

I. God hath endued the will of man with that 
natural fflbeipby, tliat it is neither forced nor by any 
absolute necessity ol n'atm-e determined to good or 
«vil. Wherefore, man is and remains a trof moral 
agent, reitainiluK liill responsibility lor all ld~ acts 
in his states alllie of innocency ol sin, ot grace and 
ol glory. 

Overture No. 11.— Shall Section III of Cliapter IX be 
so changed as to read as follows : 

III. Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly 
lost ail disposition to any spiritual good accompanyyig 
salvation ; so as a natural man being altogether averse 
from that good, and dead in sin, he is not able, by his 
own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself 
thereunto. 

Overture No. 12— Shall a new chapter be added to 
4aie Confession ol Faith In the following woMs : 

I. God, having provided in the covenant of grace, 
through the medium and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, a way of life and salvation sufficient for and 
adapted to the whole lost race ol man, doth freely offer 
this salvation to all men in the Gospel. 

II. In the Gospel God declares His love for the 
iworld, and His desire tliat all men should be saved, re- 
veals fully and clearly the only way of salvation ; 
promises eternal lite to all who truly repent and be- 
neve In Christ ; Invites and commands all to embrace 
the ottered mercy, and by His spirit accompsinying 
the word pleads with men to accept His gracious In- 
vitation. 

III. it is the dutr and privilege ot evei^' one who 
hears the Gospel Immediately to accept Its merciful 
provisions : and they who continue in impenitence 
.and unbelief Incur aggravated guilt and perish by 
their own fault. 

IV. Since there is no other way ol salvation than 
that revealed in the Gospel, and since In the divinelv- 

•estal'lished and ordinary metiol of gKicj, faith cometh 
"by hearing the word ff Gol, Christ has commissioned 
His church to go into all tlie world and make dis- 
ciples of all nations. All believers are, ther'fore. 
-under obligation to sustain the ordinances ot religion 
-where they are alreadv- established, and to contribute 
"by their prayers, gifts and personal efforts to the 
extension of the Irlngdom cf Christ throughout the 
whole earth. 

Overture No. 13— Shall Section I of Chapter X be 
changed by strihlng .nut from the first part ot it the 
Tvords "and those oni^','* so as to read as follows: 

All those whom God hath predestinated unto 
life He is pleased in His appointed and accepted time, 
effecllvelv to call, by His word and spirit, out of 
that state of sin and death in which tliey are by 
nature, to gra<?e and salvation by Jesus Christ: en- 
lightening their minds snirltuallv and sa.vinslv, to 
understand the things of frod, taking away their heart 
•of stone, and giving unto tliem an heart of flesh; 
Tenewing their wills, and by Ills almightv power de- 
termining them to that which Is good; and efteclively 



dra^ving them to Jesus Christ; yet s:i as to come most 
freely, being made willing b'y His gi-ace. 

Overture No. 14— Shall Section II of Chapter X be 
so changed as to read as follows : 

II. This effectual call Is ol God's free will and 
sp:>clal grace alone, not Irom anything at all foreseen 
In man, who Is dead In sin until being quicliened and 
renewed by the Holy Sphlt, he Is thereby enabled t<5 
answer this call, and to embrace the grace offered 
and conveyed in It. 

Overtui-e No. 15— Shall Section III ol Chapter X be 
so changed as to read as lollows : 

III. Infants dying In infancy, and aU other pereona 
not guilty of actual transgression, are Included In the 
election ol grace, and are regenerated and saved by 
Clirlst through the spirit, who worketh when and 
where and how He pleasethl 

Overture No. 15 1-2— Shall there be added to Sec- 
tion HI ol Chapter X as embodied in the overture the 
words : So also are all other elect persons who are not 
outwardly called by the word. 

Overture No. 16— .Shall Section IV ol Chapter X be 
so changed as t^ read as lollows : 

rv. Others, not elected, although th^y may be called 
by the ministry ol the word, and may have some com- 
com operations ol the spirit, yet inasmuch as they 
never truly come to Christ, cannct be saved : neither 
is there s-alvation in any other way than by Christ 
through the spirit, however diligent men may be In 
framing their Uves according to the light of nature, 
and the law ot that religion they do profess. 

Overture No. 17— :5haU .Sections I and III ot Chapter 
IX be so changed as t> read as lollows : 

I. Those wliom God effectually calleth, He also 
freely Justlfleth: not by infusing righteousnes.^ into 
them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting 
and accepting their persons as righteO'US : not for any- 
thing WTought In tliem, or done by them, but for 
Christ's sake alo.ne : not by imputing lalth itself, the 
act of belie ving, or any other evengelicai obedience 
and satisfaction ot Christ unto them, they receiving and 
resting on Him and His rlghteousnetis by faith ; wlilch 
lalth Is the dft of r;ri,l. 

III. Christ, by His o' edience and death, did fully 
discharge the debt ot aU tlio-e that are 'thus justifled, 
and did make a proper, real and lull satisfaction to 
divine ju'^tice in their behalf. Yet, inasmuch as He 
was given by the Father for them, and His obedience 
and satisfaction accepted in their stead, and both 
freely, not for anything in them, their Justification is 
only of free grace; that both the e-xact justice iand 
rich grace of God might be glorified in the justification 
of sinners. 

Overture No. 18— Sha'l Section I ol Chapter XIV be 
changed so as to read as lollows : 

I. The grace of laitli, whereby sinners are enabled 
to belie\-e to the saving ol their souls. Is the work ol 
the spirit of Christ m their hearts ; and is ordinarily 
wrought bv the ministry ol the Word ; ,by which also 
and by the administralion ol the sacraments and 
p:ay:r it i.s increased and strengthened. 

Overture No. 19— Shall Section IV ot Chapter XV be 
so changed as to read as lollows : 

IV. As there is no sin so small but it deserves con- 
demnation, so there is ino sin so great that It can 
bring condemnation upon those who truly repent. 

Overture No. 20— Shall Section ^TI ol Chapter XVI be 
so clianged as to read as lollows : 

^■II. Works done by imregenerate men, although 
they may be things which God commands, and ol 
good use both to themselves and others ; and al- 
though the neglect of such things is sinful and 
displeasing unto God, yet becausa they prooaed not 
from a heart purified by lalth; nor are done In a 
right manner, according to the word; nar to a right 
end. the glory ol God ; do not meet the requirements 
01 the divine law, and hence they cannot be pleaded 
as a ground ol acceptance with God. 

Overture No 21— Shall Section IV of Chapter XXI 
be so changed as to read as follows : 

IV. Prayer Is to be made lor things lawful: and 
for all sorts of men Uving, or that shall live here- 
after; but not lor the dead. 

Overture No. 22— Shall Sections III and VII of 
Chapter XXII be so changed as to read as foUows : 

HI. Whosoever taketli an oath ought duly to con- 
sid r the weightiness of so solemn an act. and therein 
to avouch nothing but what he is fully persuaded 
Is the truth. Neither may any man bind himself by 
an oath to anything but what is good and just, 
and what he beUeveth so to be, and what he is 
abl» and resolved to perform. 

VII. No man may vow to do anything forbidden In the 
word of God, or what would hinder anv duty therein com- 
manded, or which is not in Ills power, and lor the per- 



I3S 



L3BKAEA" OF TEIBUNB EXTEAS. 



lormanoe whereof he liath no promise or ability from 
God. In which respects, monastlcal vows of perpetual 
single life, professed poverty, and regular obedience, are 
so far from being degrees of higher i>erfection, that they 
are dangerous snares in which no Christian should 
entangle himself. 

Overture No. 23— Shall the words "as nursing fath- 
ers" in Section III, Chapter XXII, be striclien out? 

Overture No. 24--Shall Section III of Chapter XXIV 
be changed so as to read as follows : 

III. It is lawlul for all sorts of people to marry who 
are able with Judgment to give their consent ; yet it is 
the duty of Christiiins to marry only in the Lord. And, 
therefore, such as profess the true religion sliould not 
marry with infidels, nor with the adlierents of false 
religion';; neither should such as are godly be unequally 
yoSed by marrying with such as are notoriousiy 
wlcted In their life. 

Overture No. 25— Shall Section TI, Cliisjpiter XXY, be 
so amended as to read as follows : 

VI. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only h'ead of 
the Church, ajid the claim of the Pope of Rome, or 
of any other human authiority, to be the vicar of 
Christ and the head of the Church Universal is with- 
out warra''"t in Scripture or in fact, anji is a usurpa- 
tion dishonoring to the Lord Jefsus Christ. 

Overture No. 26— Shall Section H, of Chapter 

XXIX, be so clianged as to read as follows : 

n. In this sacrament Christ is not offered up to 
His Hathielp, nor any real sacriflc« made at all for the 
remission of sins of the quiet or dead : but olily a 
commemioration of that one offering up of Himself, by 
Himself, upon the cross, once for all ; and a spiritual 
oblation of all possible praise unto God for the saone ; 
so that the Roman Catholic dotetrinel of the sacrifice of 
the mass is most injurious to Christ's one only sacrifice 
for sin. 

And shall the word " damnation," in line 5 of Sec- 
tion Vin be changed to " co>'demnation'' ? 

Overture No. 27— Shall Section II, of Chapter 

XXX, be so changed as to read as follows : 

11. To these olficers tlie keys of the Mngd mi of 
heavem are committed, by virtue whereof they have 
ministeriskl and declarative power respectively to retain 
and remit sins, by shutting tliat Isingdora 
bgalnst the impenitent, both by the word and cen- 
sures; and by opening It unt3 penitent sinners, by the 
ministry it the Gospel, and by absolution from cen- 
sures, as occasion shall require. 

Oveiture No. 2S -Shall all changes In the numbor- 

Ing of chapters or sections made necessary by t'le 

adoption of any of tho above oveitures be committed 

to the permanent clerli of the Assembly 1 
Respectfully submitted. 

William Henry Green— (i;.xcept 6, 13, 15 1-2.) 

Matthew B. Riddle. 

Willis J. Beecher. 

Edward D. Morris. 

Herricls Johnson. 

William Alexander— (Tlxeept 13, 15, 15 1-2, 16. 

Francis L. Patton.— (Except 6, 13, 15 1-2.) 

WiUlam C. Roberts. 

William E. Moore. 

Ebenezer BrsMne— l>issentdng to the omission of Sec- 
tion III, Chapter III, in Overture No. 2, to Overture 
No. 6, and still more decidedly to Overtures 11, 

12, 13, 15 and 15 1-2. 

James T. L^ftwich- Except li and 15 1-2. 

Samutl J. Niccolls. 

Edward R. Bnrlth.n Iter— Except OvHrtnre 3. "I desire 
to give the Church the opportunity to eliminate 
the element of pretention.'' 

Robert RiDsseH Booth—" I approve of this reiwrt, ex- 
cept that I desire the omission of Section VII, 
Chapter III, which relates to pretr-rltion." 

William Strong—" I approve of tliii report ex- 
cept Overture 3, which I wish eliminated; and 
excepting the words m Overture 6, -Unto all thn-e 
who are ordained unto Ufe,' which I wish elim- 
iTiated." 

Samuel J. R. McMillan. 

Alfred Hand. 

Emerson E. Wltite- Exccipt 3. 

Henry E. Sayler. 

Winthrop S. Gibnan— Desiring the omis,sion of the 
pretention, or non-election theory, from the Con- 
fession, I app'rove the report, excepting Overture 
3. and the last twenty-three words of Overture 6." 

Willllam Ernst. 

George Jui^hin- But I except to overtures Nos. 2, 

3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, on the ground that 

while I hope and believe that the proposition is true, 

I am not convincrt as to the fTill and sufBclent warrant 

for it in the ScripturPS ; to 15 1-2 and 26. 
Charles M. ClLnmlev. 
Morriis II. Sfn'ton— Exc^it so much 'of 2 as omits 

Section III, ChaptHr Til: 13. 15 and 15 1-2. 



A MISSIONARY MEETING. 

A L.\RGE MEETING AT THE TABEE.NACT.B. 

Portland, Ore., May 24.— A large meeting for home 
missions was held at the Tabernacle to-night under the- 
ausp;ce.s of the Presbyterians, Dr. Charle.s L. Thomp- 
son, of New-Yorh, presiding. After calling the meet- 
ing to order Dr. Thompson spoke brieily. The Rev. 
Win en H. Landon, of Portland, followed wttli an in- 
teresting lilstoiy of Presbyterianism in the Northwest. 
" Uliat a remarkable change in tlilrty-nlne years," he 
said. "Then Portland welccmsd the Presbytery of 
Oregon, which consisted of three ministers and one- 
elder. Now It welcomes the general assembly of 
nearly 600 members." Dr. Landon's stories of mis- 
sion experience were very interesting. -\s an argu- 
ment for home missions, he said that there are but 
eight self-supporting ohm'ches in Oregon, of wtiich fotir 
are In Portland, and of the 180 Piesbyterian chiirchc* 
in Oregon and Washington, only fourteen are self- 
supporting. The Eev Charles F. Goss, of 
ColvUle, Wasli., made a hit ^vlth liis graphic and witty 
storias of experiences as n missionary in a new field. 
The Rev. W. C. Roberts, of New- York, ex-moderator 
of the Assembly ajid president of Lake Forest Uni- 
versity, made a very effective address. He is now 
conespondlng siecretary of the Home Missions Boards 
A debt of 867,000, he said, tied the hands of the 
board and prevented tlie growth of tihe Church. The. 
Rev. S. E. Wlshard told of the progress of the Church 
of the Synod of Utah, which extends from the nortliern 
line of Arizona to British Columbia and eastward to 
the Dakotas. The Rev. W. T. Elsln^j, of New-York,- 
followed with a discussion on " Home Mission Work 
in Cities." Appended are extracts: 

Ten years ago when I -was about to leave the 
theological seminary I had a most Intemse desire to- 
become a foreign missionary, and when I had all my 
plans made to go out into the foreign field I received- 
an invitation from a New- York milllioiniaire to spend. 
Sunday with him. His invitation was repeated several 
weeks in succession, which was an excieedlngly agree- 
able change for a young man who had been used to 
boarding at a club in the theological semlnairy. This- 
mim finally gave me a call to become one of ihe New- 
York City missionaries, but my heart was set on going 
into the foreign field. All my professors and feiiow- 
students, however, advi^ed uxd to become a city mis- 
sionary, and, fearing tliat I would make a mistake if I 
persistel in going Into the foreign field against all this 
good advice, I entered tJie New-Vork field of the New- 
York ,City mission- 1 felt very much as Jonah did 
when he went to Nineveh, after his trying experience- 
at sea. But we all know that, if we trust in the t«wl 
and do good and seek to be led in the right way, 
we receive the desii-e of our hearts, and so, without 
knowing it, I have become in the fullest sense of tlie 
word a foreign missioner right in the heart of New- 
York City. A few weeks ago I made a canvass of a 
typical block, In wliich my church stands, and found 
ten difl'erent nationalities. 

I desire first to take with you a glance at the field.. 
I am in the most tliickly populated part ol New-York 
City. In the most crowded part of London tliere are 
170,000 people to the square mile. In tlie neighbor- 
hood whera I worlt there are 345,000 people to the 
square mile. In July and August, .during the hot 
nights, the streets are black, and the housetops are 
filled with sleeping people. When a fire breaks out- 
it seems that every cobblestone becomes a htunan 
being. Tlie people in lower New- York, among whom I 
labor, are nearly all foreigners. In 1830 the agents of 
the Ne%v-York City Mission visited 35,000 fami ies. and 
among all this number there were only 260 who de- 
sired foreign tracts, showing that the population was 
then almost exclusively American or English people. 
In that s.ime territory it is now almost impossible to 
find a nativp-horn American. The churches in tlie 
lower part of New-York City have been, in many cases, 
turned into faclories and livery stables, and the Clirts- 
tian people liave moved uptown, leaving us a prac- 
tically heatllEh population to labor among. 

Among this vast pc.pulation there is a great deal of 
extreme poverty. Hundreds of poor women sit night 
after night, with aching eyes and brealring hearts, 
sewing shirts and overalls at 29 eemts a dozen. Noil 
long ago I found such a wcman and- was afraid that, 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



39 



she mlglit be suffcruig huDger. 1 »aid to her: "1 
do not want to be curious, but I would like to toow 
wliat you are going to have for dinner to-day." She 
toot tlie lid oil a little sauoe-stand and I found It 
contained ivtst one potato, and she told me that that 
was all tlie lood she expected to have that day. Our 
blessed Saviour seat Dives to hell, not so much for his 
erronoocs fheological opinions, hut hocause he neg- 
lected Lazarus at his gate, slcft and hungry and full 
of sores. Dlvee Is among us to-day robed lu the finest 
of linen and faring sumptuously every day. Lazarus 
Is also here, and the only salvation of our modem 
Dives lies in Lazarus. Our city mlssloners are dong 
a noble worlj among the lost and degraded. The 
nurses go fiom house to house, and >many a poor 
woman would have beeu left to die and rot upon her 
bed U it had not been for the Christian sympathy and 
aid which tlney have thus received. There Is no more 
beautiful and ChHstllke worli than that ol! the trained 
nui'se, and every block In our tenement house districts 
ought to be provld.ed with such a friendly visitor. 

A cl>ur«h In the lower part of New-YoirS City 
must be run at high pressure all the while. In our 
city mission churches we 'have from twenty-five to 
thirty services every weeii. Out doors are never 
closed and such a work must necessarily mean a 
large outlay in both men and money. It is imipossible 
to run such a church without a strong force of 
missionary helpers and lay asslstarats. The New- 
York . City Mission Is at present doing a remarkable 
work among the Jews. It is estimated that there 
are at present 350,000 Jews in New- York City. We 
began our work among them about tliree years ago, 
and every Saturday afternoon the Dewltt Memorial 
CQiUTCh Is crowded with JewlsB men. We have some- 
times been unable to accoifmiodate all who deslreed 
to attend our services. A few weeks ago we gave an 
lilnstrated address allowing views froon the life of 
dirist, and we had a congregation of 750 Jewish 
meal present and between 300 and 400 were out on 
the street, unaWe to gain admission. Those Jews 
who accept Christianity in many instances suiter 
severe persecution. A lew nights ago, while we 
were sitting around tlie t.ible reading the Bible wlith 
our Jewiisli converts, four men rushed into the room 
and grabbed one of our men and cari;Ied him out 
bodily, saying. What harness has a man with wife 
alid children in a mlssloji-house ? When a man 
accepts Christianity, eveaiy Jewish home and every 
Jewish workshop, a.s a rule, is closed against 
him. I have baptized men on Sunday who the follow- 
ing Friday nigiit slept in tlie streets of New-York. It 
Is neither human nor Clirlstian tb let a main go home- 
less and hungry because he h'ls accepted the ClirlsHan 
veligion, and therefore we have this winter opened a 
home for persecuted Cliri-stian Jews. 1 am now ex- 
ceedingly anxious to open a tailor shop where our 
converts may get work, and thus earn tlielr bread by 
their own labor. I believe that such an institution, if 
once pltinted, can become immediately self-supiporting. 
It is often exceeiingly difficult to tell whether a mar Is 
nnxiiius about his spiritual condition, or about his 
food .and a nl^iit's lodging, and we cannot carry on 
this work iimohg the Jews unless we are able to pro- 
vide with work .and shelter a'.l thos3 who are ca-;t out 
by their own people. 



EDUCATION IN THE WEST. 

DR. R.AY, OP CHICAGO, AND OTHERS TELL OF THE 
NEAV COLLEGES AND ACADEMIES. 

Portland, Ore., May 24.— The report of the Com- 
mittee on Aid for Colleges was next in order, and was 
read by the Rev. Dr. AVilllam Alexander, of San Fran- 
cisco. The ""port closed with the following recom- 
mendations : 

First— We hearti'y commend the fideUtv and wisdom 
with which the Board has conducted its -affairs during 
the last vear. 

Second— That we approve of the purposes of the 
Board to reciiiire the systematic study of the Bible as 
a condition of receiving aid from Its funds. 

Third— That vf urge tie necessity of increased con- 
fribullons in support of this cause, and enjoin upon 
non-contributing churches not to fail in their duty to 
this Board In 'ths coming year. 

Fonrlli— Whi'e we utter a woi-d of caution against 
the undue multiplying of colleges wit,hin limited areas, 
we recommend the multiplication of academies or sec- 
ondai-y I schools whenever it can be wisely done. 

Fifth— We urge aided institutions to use their utmost 
endeavors to arrive at self-support at the earliest prac- 
ticable moment. 

The committer also recommended the re-election of 



aU of the members except the Kcv. Dr. J. W. Dinsmoro 
and the Hcv. Dr. J. H. Worcester, jr., who had re- 
signed. The Hev. Dr. Lane, of Bloomlngtou, 111., and 
the Eev. Dr. D. E. Breed, of Chicago, were elected. 
The report \» as accepted. It was then moved tliat 
the rec:)mmendations be adopted. Dr. Edward C. 
Eay, the secretary of the Board of Aid for Colleges, 
said, among other thing* : 

I wish to emphasize the education of ministers. Th« 
need of ministers we know. The pecretary of om' Sab- 
bath-school missionary work tells me tuat they want 
200 new ministers every yeajr. The home missionary 
board wants ministers. This great West needs tliem. 
The foreign board wants ministers. It Is quite witliiQ 
limits to say that tlje result of a very careful cal- 
culation shows that we need to-day at least 2,000 
more ministers than we have, and we want annually 
|Q Increase the number at least five times beyond 
our present Increase. Now, where shall tJiis 
supply come froml Ten years ago it was found that 
>he Jrresbyterian Church had twice as many theological 
seminaries as any other great denomination, and they 
were splendidly endowed. Why hadn't ^^•e ministers 1 
it was 'sometlilng like an instance that occurred near 
my home In Kansas, where a New- York syndicate or- 
ganized a sorghum sugar factory and It lulled the 
first yeaj. Whyl Because they had neglected to ar- 
range with the farmers about there for a supply of 
sorghum, and you know it is dlttieult to make sorghum 
sugar unless you have a supply of sorghum. (Laugh- 
ter and applause.) So it was found that we had a 
splendid supply of seminaries, but we did not have 
tlie colleges and academies which should furnish the 
material out of which these seminaries could manu- 
facture the ministerial product. Hence this board was 
founded that it might be able to give a supply of 
young men who desire to enter the ministry. In 1884, 
when it was getting well under way, tills (Jliurch re- 
ported 270 candidates for the ministry, in 1891 it 
reported 1,317 Candida es, an increase of :ii^2 per 
centum. And I say that a large part of that increase 
was due to the work of the Board ol Aid for C'Olleges. 

A few weeks ago I examined the catalogues ol live 
of the largest of our theological seminaries lor three 
years and I foun* that of the students thlrty-Awo were 
supplied by State universities, and 447 by our smaller 
colleges. Tlie reason lor this is very e-vlderit. Tlier* 
are some chaiacteristics about thes& iiStitutloDs whicft 
explain It. First Is the spirit of their foundation. 
Dr. J. M. Buckley told us recently that a very re- 
spectable academy In one of the old Eastern States 
was organized 100 years ago by Christian people in a 
tavern, and Its first building was erected from the 
proceeds of a lottery, and it sold a colored slave that 
it might secure funds with wliicli to pay a professor, 
who should teacli dancing in the academy. 

Now the institutions aided by this board are 
founded, noit in taverns, but in prayer-meetings and 
In church sessions. Their little buildings are put up, 
not from speculative proceeds, but from the self-sacri- 
ficing gifts ol Christian people, who want this coun- 
try itaught the word ol &od,iaBd the science and phil- 
oscphy and history which are directed and informed 
by the word of God. In the second place, the leach- 
ers. Thev have not, so far as I am aware, an in- 
structor in dancing, but they are consecrated young 
men and women who do that work because they love 
it. And the test ol their consecration is a 
simple one. It Is a financial test. With rare ex- 
ceptions they are worlnng upon salaries from one- 
haU to two-thirds as much as they are offered iin 
other schools or colleges. But they do this work 
because they love it. I do not; yield in my love 
for our teachers to my feeling for the home or foreign 
missionaries. Tlie stories I could tej you of the 
patience, the simple heroism and the sacrificimg of 
splendid financial opportunities that they may stay 
in their humble spheres are beautiful, and ought to 
have the praise and the glad, thanks of the Chureh 
of Christ. 

There is a third thing in cur instltuti'^ms. namely, 
Ihe teachings of the Bible. The. Board of Aid for 
Colleges beUeves that the Bible is not only th? best 
of books, but there Is no other book like it: that it 
is the word of God; that it is the foundation of aU 
true education. And we prfp-ise, it your body shall 
agree to our proposition, that the word of Ciod shall be 
systematically and, thoroughly taught in every In- 
stitutton to every student. I had occasion a few years 
ago to study the curricula of most of the Christian 
colleges of this country and to correspond with the 
I»residents of most of them, and I was amazed to find 
in how few Christian colleges the word «t God is 
systematically taught. I resolved then, as (4ik1. shimld 
give me any opportunity to promote (hot worls, I would 



40 



UBEARY or TEIBUNE EXTRAS. 



dx) It. But in the schools aitled by tills boanJ the 
BiWe has been taiight, (though not as much as we 
desire It to be. . ^^ , ,^ .,, 

And we ask the Presbyterian Church that it wiH 
stand, by these poor struggling, sell-sacrlflcing little 
Western Institutions, with their splendid consecration 
of ability and love of our cause, and aid them as 
God's spirit shall move our benevolent hearts with 
such largeness that they can do greater work, and 
God may have the greater praise. 

The Eev. Dr. Agnew, of Phlladelphjar-I was oil tills 
committee, Mr. Moderator. You have had all the 
abstract principles governing this matter set forth, 
and I want to give you one fact to illustrate the 
working of the academy. In our academies we teach 
the students so th^it they are prepared to enter our 
seminaries. A week ago Sunday, when we stopped 
over In Salt Lake City, I visited the Mormon Sabbath- 
Bchool, and 1 was surprised to hear [the superintendent 
say, "The theological class wlU retire to this room." 
A theological class in a Mormon Sunday-school 1 I 
asked the superintendent what it meant. He replied : 
" Why, we have a theological class in aU our Sunday- 
schools. In that class we train our young men to 
speak. We teach them the systems of our doctrines, 
and all the principles governing our ch,ttrch." And 
so it should be with our academies. We should teach 
them so that they are fltted to enter our seminaries. 

The E6v. Mr. Eeed, from the College of Montana, 
the Eev. Dr. Thompson, of the Presbytery of Olympia, 
and others spoke briefly, and then the resolutions were 

adopted. 

— ' ♦ — 

FIFTH DAY. 



DE. B BIGGS UNDER FIBE. 



THE 



PEELIMINAEIE5 OF HIS TRIAL IN 
GENEEAL ASSEMBLY. 



EVERYTHING ELSE S\MSPT ASIDE FOR THE 

CONSIDERATION OF HIS CASE— U^'IO^^ 

SEMINAEY'S POSITION. 

PortUind, Ore., May 25.— Side by side on the plat- 
form at the meeting of General Assembly this after- 
noon sat two men from the Presbytery of New-Y'ork 
whose names should be familiar to every one of the 
800,000 communicants of tlie denomination and to an 
equally large number of people outside of the Presby- 
teHa,n Church. One of the two was Professor Charles 
A. Brlggs, of the Union Theological Seminary, and the 
other was Dr. George W. F. Birch, the head of the 
prosecuting cornmlttee of the Presbytery. Nor did 
they address each otlier. They were the centre of 
admiration, Bii-ch, the alleged prosecutor, quite as 
much as Biiggs, the alleged heretic. The church was 
flUed to Its utmost capacity. The gallery was unable 
to hold one-half of those who liad left the meeting 
held by the women in ,the interest of Home Missions. 
Averse as every one is avowedly to a church trial, 
especially at this missionary assembly, no cause of 
the Church, however pirasslng, has flUed the First 
Church with so large an audience, and the hundreds 
gathered were satisfied, for Dr. Briggs's case came 
before the Assembly in two ways. 

Just before the appeal was heard, the Ju- 
dicial Committee had submitted a report declaring in 
nnequlvocal terms that his chair In Union Seminary 
was vacant de jure, and a. minority of the committee 
had submitted a recommendation asking tlie Assembly 
to allow the withdrawal of tlie Seminary from the 
compact of 1870. Actton on tiiese reports was de- 
ferred. 

A lively scrimmage regarding the time limit to bo 
allowed the appellants and the appo'lee took p'.ace. 
When the ca=e was called, a Montana lawyer, who had 
never met Dr. Brlggs, rose in his defence and declared 
«liat the Professor must mot be met on thi 



Assembly floor by two or more of the five 
members. It must be man against man. Dr. Brlggs 
and Dr. Birch sat as unmoved as though the claims 
of Africa upon the D)rcas societies of Portland were 
being argued by >i returned missionary. Both com- 
batants held themselves well In hand. After a long 
parliamentary contest. Professor Stevenson, of New- 
York University, a member of the prosecuting commit- 
tee, said that for a sufilcient reason Dr. Birch would 
open the case and Colonel McCook, another member 
of the committee, had been asked to close It. 

Under cries of "No, no," Dr. Stevenson said with 
emphasis : " Then it that Is not granted by the 
house the appeUauts, following the Book of Discipline, 
will Insist upon their right and decide for themselves 
how they shall divide the time and speakers of the 
committee." 

Dr. Frazer, of Newark, and Dr. Mcl'herson, of 
Chicago, spoke for the liberals, and Mr. Junldn. of 
Philadelphia, and Dr. McKelvey, of Jersey City, for 
the committee. 

The matter being finally ready for action. Dr. 
Young suggested that tliis case should sweep aside 
all order of the day, and a motion to that effect was 
adopted. The reading of the paper was begun. 

The appeal begins : 

The undersigned, the Prosecu-yng Caminittee appointed 
by the Presbytery of New-York to represent the Presby- 
terian Church in the United States of America. In the case 
of 'the said Presbyterian Churcli against the Rev. Charles 
A. Briggs, D. D., believing that the trial of said Dr. 
Briggs is one of the most important in the history of the 
Presbyterian Ciiurch, by reason of the grea-i and dangerous 
errors contained in the address of the said Dr. Briggs at liis 
inauguration as professor of Biblical Theology in Union 
Thooiojical Seminary, delivered on the 20th day of January, 
1891. upon wliich inaugural address charges and 
specifications were based and tabled and prosecution inaugu- 
rated by tlie Presbytery of New- York, in the name of 
the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, 
and telie\'ing that the distinct and definite condemaation 
of those errors by the supreme judiciatory of the said 
Presbyterian Church is necessary in order to prevent their 
spread and influeLice In the denomination, and while hav- 
ing the highest respect for the Synod of New-Yorlt, be- 
lieving that- a special responsibility rests upon the General 
Assembly in cases that atlect the doctrine of the Church, 
and concern the promotion of truth and holiness througli 
all the churches under its care as set forth in Chapter XII, 
Section 4 and 5 of the Form of Government; and in view 
of tile desirablenoss of the siieediest settlement of this 
most important question, do hereby appeal to and request 
your venerable boiy to enter immediatelv upon the con- 
sideration and judicial investigation of tlie appeal hereby 
presented anl to tinally determine the case so as to secure 
the iiurity and peace of the Church at the earliest possible 
day. 

Then follow the grounds of the appeal, six In 
number, under each of which are several specifica- 
tions, one or two of the specifications containing ex- 
tracts from the notes of the official stenographer 
taken In the trial of Dr. Biiggs in New-York last No- 
vember. The grounds of appe*l are : 

(1) Irregularity in the proceedings of the Pres- 
bytery; (2) receiving improper testimony: (3) declin- 
ing to receive important testimony ; (4) liastening to a 
decision before the testimony was fnUy tairen ; (5) 
manifestation of prejudice in the conduct of tlie ease; 
and (6) mistake and injustice In the decision. 

In conclusion the appellant prays the General 
Assembly to receive and Issue this appeal, and 
to take therein sucli action as may seem best in order 
to secure and* preserve tlie purity and peace of the 
Church, it is signed by George W. F. Birch, Joseph 
J. Lampe, Eobert F. Sample, John J. Stevenson, John 
J. McCook. 

The Union Seminary case still hangs /ire, the follow- 
ing divided report being submitted by the Tlieological 
Seminary Committee, iie-ided by Dr. S. H. Mulohmore, 
of Philadelphia : 

In the report of Union Seminary vour committee find 
the name of the Rev. Charles A. Briggs. D. D., reported as 
"the iSdward Robinson professor of Biblical theology." 
In referince to this your committee recommends the fol- 
lowing action : 

Whereas, the Gteneral Asseml ly at Detroit in 1891 dis- 
approved the election or transfer of the Rev. C. A. Brigffs, of 
union Semtnary. to the "Edward Robinson chair of Biblical 



PEESBYTERIAN ISSUES. 



41 



tUttology." your conimitt-^e report that the aanual report 
■of the diret'toi's o£ Union Seminary made to thl^ G-eneral 
ABsembly shows that iToIessor Brlggs is 

-retained la full possession luid discharge of the UuUes of thti 
^halr; la view of this oou^compliuuce with the action of 
the Detroit Assembly, we recommend the lollowiug reso- 
lution : 

Beaolved, Ttiat, according to the com|>act of 1870 between 
the Assembly and the diractors of the Union Semlaury &s 
Uuerpreted by the General Assembly, this Assembly cannot 
'but regaj^d the retention of Processor Briggs in his pFofe-- 
sorshlp as not oniy a failure to comply with the expressed 
aotlon of the As-sembly of 1891, but also with the agrr^'smenc 
'Coatalned in the aforesaid compact. The chair of Biblical 
theology in Union Seminary is still de jure vacant. 

In answer to overtures from twenty-three Presby- 
teries and one synod relating to the supervision of 
seminaries, the committee made this recommendation : 

Resolved, That this Assembly regard the maintenaaee of 
the existing supervision by the General Assembly of the 
character of the instruction in the theological seminaries 
as vital to the Interests of truth and to the peace and 
welfare of the church. To Ibis end the Assembly re- 
iaflirra^ In harmoa,y with the action of former assemblies 
that we regard the power of the Assembly exercised by 
approval or veto over all appointments of professors, in- 
cluding eiectioiis, appointmeofcs and tranisfers of professors 
from one chair to another In all seminaries, as necessary. 
in order to secure the uniform system of ecclesiastical 
supervision over the theological seminaries of the denomlna- 
^tlon. so that there may be uniform and entire eonfldenee 
In those intrusted with the training of our ca,a4idate3 for 
the ministry. 

The mlcoplty report signed by four men was read 
by Dr. Taylor, of Eome. It.^as as follows: 

Approving of the report of the majority of the com- 
mittee as a correct representation of the facts touehizig 
Union Theological Seminary as viewed in the light of the 
last General Assembly's Interpretation of the compact of 
1870, but convinced that some relief from present diffi- 
culties should be suggested, the ui-iderilgned, a mindrity 
of the committee, submit the fnllowlng: 

Whereas, The directors of Union Theological Seminary 
have e.xpressed the desire to be honorably released from 
the compact of 1870, and 

Whereas, the last General Assembly's Corrjnittee 
of Conferenfe and the directors of the Union Theological 
Seminary In mutual conf.-rence Qgied to a mutual racopnl- 
tlon each of the other's honesty, and right opinions toiich- 
'Ing the Interpretations of the comp-ict of 1870. yet admitting 
an Irremediable dltl'erence of opinion, and reached no con- 
clusions as to the future action proper for both parties ; 
therefoe 

Resolved. First tliat Union Theolnalcal b3 and herebv 
Is allowed to honorably witbdnw from the compact, ond 
be. from this date, no longer held respnn=lble thereto; and. 
second, that a committee be apoolnted bv the Gen;ral 
Assembly to confer with all theological semlmries un'er 
Its sup''r\is'on toucb'nc their views of the compact tli.it 
might be devised and to formul'ite a new compact with a 
view to happllv uniting ■;ill the som'narles. the same to be 
subtriltted to the next Oeaeral Ass-^mbly. 

The Boarfls ol Foreign Missions and Publications 
were before the Assembly to-day. Dr. Gillespie, secre- 
tary, and WilUam Dulles, jr.. of New York, apipearing 
•for the former, and Dr. Craven for the 'atter. The 
recommendations submitted by the chairman of the 
Standing C!ommlttee were ado^jted. 

A telegram was sent to Wasliington In the ndme of 
the Assembly, asMng Congi-ess not to give iinv furtlier 
appropriation to the World's Fair unless the directors 
agreed not to open the doors on Sunday, and refused 
to allow r.quor to be sold on the grounds. 



WOPaC OF THE CHURCH AB:v}AU. 

A SESSION" GIVEN" TO THE FOREIGN .MLS"IONS 

FIELD-.\ -TRONG .\BDR.ES? FROM 

DR. GILLESPIE. 

Portland, Ore., May 25.— The feature of the morning 
session was tli^ detai'.ed report on foreign missions, 
wliicli was read by the Eev. Dr. Alexander Alison, of 
Philadelphia. It closed with the following recommen- 
dations : 

First— Thaftlie minutes of the board be approved. 

Second— That the following members of the boart, 
wlKi-e term of office has expired, be re-e"ecled, to wit : 
Minlslei's. the Ei-v. W. M. Paxtnn. D. D. : the Rev. 
J D. Wells, D. D. : tlie Rev. J. r.alcom Shaw; the Rev. 
David Gregg, D. D. ; laymen, Messrs. E. W. KmgsL'y 
and Alexander Mailland. , , . ,., 

Third— That a special offering, to be Imown as tho 
"Columbia", OlferinK," bt lalien in all our :>al)batli- 
sohools and young paop'.e's societies for foieign mission 



wo-rk on this Western liemlspliere on Sabbath, the 9tli 
of October. 

Fourth— Tliat we emphasize the work of our young 
people and encourage tliem in tlieir endeavors to Clirls- 
tianize the world. 

Fifth- That we heartUy commend the splendid work 
which lias been accompilslied by our women's board, 
especially commending them for the spirit of prayer 
and intelligent study of the work which liave so stead- 
ily accompanied iheir lal>ors of love. 

Sixth— x'hat our pastors and sessions increase their 
diligence in regard to this work. 

Seventli— That the standing committees on foreign 
mlssluns in synod and. i^resbyteries be urged to co- 
operate with tjie Assembly's lioai-d of Foreign Missions 
in ettorts to secure the neoesary funds for tne carrying 
on of this important work. 

Eighth— ruat, God helping us, we shaU this year 
reach wltiiout fall the mark set by tlie last Assembly, 
to wit, $1,100,000. 

Nlntli- Resolved, That this General Assembly earn- 
estly commend to the churches special attention to 
Chinese Clu'istian work in every place where the China- 
man is to be found. 

ADDRE-S OF DR. CILUE'FIE. 

The Eev. Dr. John GUlespie, secretary of the Board, 
said : Twelve years ago the General Assembily met 
In Madison, Wis. No doubt there are those here who 
were members of tliat Assembly. If so, they will 
agree with me that one of the most remarkable things 
connected with it was the sermon preached by Prin- 
cipal Cairns In the Statehouse. His text was : " His 
enemies will I clothe with shame, but upon His kead 
shall His crown flourish." The theme, of course, was 
tlie overwlielming defeat of the enemies of Christ and 
the establishment of His kingdom in the earth. As 
the preacher warmed to his subject and the vision of 
the whole earth filled with glory passed before Mm, I 
remember how liis great stalwart fi-ame swayed to 
and fro under the power of deep emotion. A few 
weeks ago tlmt prince of Israel ceased his labors and 
entered Into his resit. As he lay upon the very 
threshold of glory he said to his brother who ministered 
by his bedside : " We are engaged in a great con- 
flict, in which, if all men unite, there wiU be a 
glorious victory." What a striking coincidence— Edin- 
burgh answeiing back to Madison 1 The same 
grand theme which fllied tlie preacher in Ms 
grandeur, tilling his wliole soul as ke entered 
into the joy of Ms Lord! To me .tliat utterance is 
cbiefly remarkable for ttiree tMngs. In the first 
place, the largeness of its faith- there will be a glori- 
ous victory. In the second place, its discriminating 
grasp of the Church's true position to-day. We are 
engaged in a great conflict. In the third place. Its 
clear Conception of the essential condition of the suc- 
cessful Issue of that conflict and the acliievemeut ot 
that glorious triumph, which will come if all men 
unite. To say that the Church's position to-day Is 
one ot conflict is to utter no new truth. There Is 
conflict in the world of thought. No one knew tMs 
better than Dr. Cairns, for, as most of you know, lie 
was .thorouglily up in the various phases ol philo- 
sophic thought. I cannot but think that as he lay 
there at the gateway of Heaven, the range of Ms vision 
was wider than tMs. It took in the whole conflict of 
the Church, and especially the conflict ot the Church 
in lier aggressive movements as she goes forward 
conquering and .to conquer. Purveying, as we are at 
tljis moment, tlie work of the Presbyterian church lu 
foreign missions, it seems Jo me that this thought 
ought to come to us with great force. We 
are engaged in a great conflict in which, if aJl 
unite, there will be a glorious victory. 
Now, on the f jrelgn fields, that work may be said to 
be threefold— that is, tfce conflict. There is, first of 
all. the conflict Trttli heathen forms of philosophy and 
religion, beginning with the lowest up to the higii sys- 
tems ot p':51osophy, wliicli claim to-day to stand in the 
very front rank ot human thought— the pliilosophy of 
the Brahims. Let us not foi-get that the missionary 
is face to face -with the lowest superstition. I never 
shall forget the first few nights we spent In Canton, 
when we were disturbed by the constant dinging of 
gongs. Tile missionaries told us that we had arrived 
tlie:e at a time in the month when flie people were 
accustcmed to beat gongs to drive away tiie evil 
spirits. W'j were shown tlnough the girl's sehoo] 
and were taken up on the Oriental roof. On a build- 
ing just to tile left of us 1 observed a strange sight. 
There on the combing of the irof was a clay rooster 
paiiit'-d in gorgeous colors. On t' e ne.xt, tile below 
that there was a hideous-looking image, and below 
that were two miniature cannon, made of clay, and 
pointed toward the school. I asked wliat that meant. 



43 



L^BRAR'V' OF TRIBUNE EXTRAS. 



and was told that they were plac«d there to ward otr 
the evil iiiUuences of cor C.rlstlaa school. There 
you see the superstition of these people. 

When we were in ToMo, JapaJi, I saw intelligent 
looMng men and women and children before great idols 
in the temple in their form of worship. Let it not ha 
understood that in these faithi there is nothing to ad- 
mire. The study of comparaWve religion has gone too 
far to justify the wholesale denunciation of those sys- 
tems of worship, hut when you come to differentiate 
them from the Gospel, it is as systems of religion. 
One of the great authorities on this matter says that 
the one distinctive feature of all heathen religions is 
to work righteousness. They talk of sin, but not as 
we talk of it. Tliey taow nothing of atonement or 
salvation hy grace. 

Then there is anotlier aspect to this conflict. It is 
a conflict witli phases of tlioug^it into which are in- 
jected sonae of tlie principles of tlie Word of God. I 
remember in riding through the city of Lahore seeing 
the sign "Brahmo Soma]" over a building. I suppose 
the views of this sect are best illustrated by what you 
see the Bralimo Teraple, what is called l,he "flag of 
harmony." It is a sort of four-sided affair. A fla'g is 
in the centre, surrounded by four squares. On one of 
these squares is a copy of the Bible ; on the next the 
Koran ; on the next the Vedafi ; and on the fourth 
BuddJilstic boohs. The Brahmins accept all tliat is good 
In each of these. I might speali of these higher phases 
of thought, and which more tlian anything else requires 
that we send men of brain as well as men of heart to 
the foreign field; but there is another phase of tills 
conflict which perhaps comes a little closer home. I 
mean the conflict with the false phases of 1 he Oliristldn 
religion. G<i to Mexico, Cmiteil AmertCiJ, Soath Amer- 
ica. Wliat do you find 1 I remem^r as we were return- 
ing from BomTiay we came through tlie cit>' of Home, and 
for the first time I had the privilege of standing wltMn- 
the magnlHcent dome of St. Peter. As we passed along 
I noticed little chapels here and there, such as you see 
in cathedrals in this countrv, and in tliem then' were 
images, and before those images in many inst:>nces 
worshippers were bowing and counting their beads. I 
said to my wife : ■' If it were not for these Cliristian 
symbols about here w^viMn't it be very difficult to 
realize tJiat we were not in one of thdse temples in 
Benares where the Hindoos are bowing before tiieir 
Images and perfoimlng puja?" One of the prominent 
ministers in our church said one day ; " Why do you 
send missionari-s to Mexico and South America! They 
have the Cliristian religion." Have they? I am sure 
you will agree \nth me that we would not think we 
had the Christian religion unless we had the Word of 
God in our mother tongue; and in tlie sorond place 
the ordinances of Got administered by tried and gojly 
men. Now, I challenge you to go from end to end of 
Soutli America, to search Mexico, as witli a lighted 
candle, to find a single copy of the Scriptures in the 
vernachlar in the hands of the people that has not 
been put tliere by some missionary agency. .\nd I 
could talk by thr hour on the character of the men 
who are set over these people as tlieir spiritual leaders. 
The Abbe de D'"'minic, who w^s the chapla'n of the 
late Emperor Maxiraillia'i, slid that the Roman Catholic 
religion of Mexico was not Catholicism at all, but that 
it was baptised heathenism. And it is even so, and 
to-day they are sending missionaries from Rome of 
the Roman Catholic faith to South .America. 

Let us remember in our zeal for the celebration of 
the discovery of IJiis countrv tliat Columbus never set 
foot on this glorious heritiigp of our fathers, hut that 
he did set foot upon soil which to-dav is held in the 
thraldom of Romanism whose people are subjected to 
a baptised heathenism tliat is scarcely one whit behind 
the heatlienism of India and China. I speak of course 
of Romanism as it exists on this contiient. .and let 
us not forget our responsibility to that part of the 
Western Hemispliere. 

But I pass this. Wliat about the vict'Ty which 
arose before the mind of that dyinc s.^jnt, ,Tohn 
Erskine, when he rose to answer Mr. Hamilton in the 
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 170fi 
when he objected to the proposition to consider pi.nns 
for tile wider de-semination of the truth, s^id : " ]\Iod- 
erator, rax mo that Bible." it was handed to him. 
He opened it. " I thought that it was the glory of the 
Gospel," said he, "that it was ad.apted t'> the savniri 
as well as to the citizen." And as he unfolded 
the Word of God he made it evident not only 
that the Church was commanded to preach the Gospel, 
but that the triumph was assured in advance. .John, in 
apocalyptic vision, saw it when he beard from around 
the tirone the glorious announcement : '• The Idngdoms 
of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord 
and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and 
ever." This was victjory in anticipation. But it is 
not prophecy with us to-day. If you will pardon a 
personal reference, for I preferably bring to you 



to-day things whiah I have heard and seen, I may- 
say that one of the greatest honors ever bestowed, 
upon me was that my wife and I were met at the; 
thresliold of Asia by the venerable Dr. Hepburn and 
his beloved wife. 1 could scarcely believe my eyes- 
when that noble pioneer, with my friend Mr. Pier- 
son, came oft in a launch and greeted us on the slup- 
and when we touched the shore, there we found Mrs. 
Hepburn waiting to welcome us to Japan. Thirty- 
two years before L)r. and Mrs. Hepburn h.id landed, 
in Yokohama, the very first missionaries to that heathen, 
island empire. Ttiey could not lind a house to live 
in. But there stands to-day, just across one of the 
arms of the bay, a little heathen temple wluch they 
were permitted to rent and out of which they cast 
the idols and made their home. Now, behoid what 
God has wrought 1 Not untU 1872 was the first 
church organized in Japan. To-day there are nearly 
4.0,000 professing Clirlstians there, and a large num- 
ber of them from the former two-sworded men of the 
empire— men of character and ability. These OhristlaJis. 
include, as some of you already know, the President 
of the Diet and the chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole. What God has wrought in that empire should: 
stir the heart of every Christian and make Mm give 
thanks to God. And all within the missionary life of 
one man and his noble wUe. 

In thT year 1807 a young man landed m the city 
of New- York on Ms way to CMna. Tliat would not 
be very remarkable ta-day, for It is the highway to 
riiina. but it wa.s not then. Who was iti Robert 
MoiTlson. What was he doing! He was trying to- 
find an American ship In wliich he might go to 
( liina, for npt an Jinglish ship was i>3rmitted to- 
carry Mm. He landed in Canton, and, as you. 
know, did .-i qul-i-t though telling work in laying- 
the found-atlons of Christian work. In that same 
city It wu-s my privilege to- attend a missionary 
conference, which was held in a good si^ed room 
where the representatives of a number of missionary 
si-cletles met ta con-ult and pr.iy togther. It was- 
there I saw one iif the finest hospitals, under Dr. 
Kerr, Dr. Swan and Dr. Mary Niles. It was there 
we saw an educational work going forward, telling 
on the mullltudes In that pravince. We saw It in- 
India. Do you know, Moderator, that next Monday 
will be the one-liundredtn anniversary of the preach- 
ing by William Cary of that remariuable sermon; 
l-»iore th-j ministers in the city of Nottingham— 
tliat sermon which converted Ms friend, David Ry- 
lind, to foreign missions ? One - f the g:"atest pilvl- 
leges I had in India was to visit the little to-wn 
oi Serampore, and to sta.nd wiUi uncovered Iiead at 
tiio grave where the mortal remains of tliat pioneer 
of foreign missions lie, and just to think that then 
he was banisjied from under his own naxive flag. 
For what? Becaus3 he dared to open his lips W> 
proclaim the unsearchable riches ot Christ, the- 
Gnspei which has made England everything she is. 
But thanks to God a change has come, and T am 
liappy to say that some of England's noblest men 
are on the side of the Gospel. In the last census 
tai-eii in India, und-r the a.supices of the Britlsih 
(government, and remember we are dealing with 
something mat Is measurably accurate, the whole 
rnpulati n increased at a ratio of 13. <i per cent, and 
the Cliristian population Increased 22.6 per cent. 
(Applause.) 

I went on to Lodiaria. There I remembered our 
venerable and beloved Secretary Emeritus, the Rev. 
John C. Liwrle, D. D., who still llvds and prays 
for his beloved India. Fifty-five years before he 
ai-riv»?d there as a van-guurd of our missiona ies. At 
that time, northwest of AlMiabad, in all oi the- 
n; rthwest provinces and in the great Punjab, with 
its millions of i>'-ople, there was not -a, single 
European or American missionary, and only oine or 
two East Indians who were laboring to evangellze- 
tliat ravt of India. How is it to-day 1 Numbers 
of societies are working there doing their utmost 
to cover that very territory with tlieir mission work. 
I was told by Bishop Tlioburn that the increase- 
in the Christian population in the Pnnjab in all 
pnbabilitv would h" about -iOO pi?r cent last year,' 
because of that mighty movement in the Providence- 
of Ood amor.-g the law castes in wliich the Methodist 
Eii^copal Church has been worMng in the nTthwe.st, 
and the Church Missionary Society of England in- 
ti,e Pun]a.b. and the TJnited PresbyT^rians of our own 
country further north, and now our own Church is 
pushing out for these people. 

I might go on and multiply tiiese Illustrations ot 
enlarcement. -Bnt I forbear. On-?- of the most in- 
teresting tilings tliat I saw in India was a banyan 
tree. I went out six miles to see it. It measured' 
between 300 and 400 paces around it. I counted 
■^pvi^-nte'i-n distinct stems, because th» pecu'larity 
of the fountain tree is that it puts forth not 



PEKSBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



4^ 



only biancJies, but roots from the branches, 
iiud thesse roots grow down until they rfeach the soil, 
and they fasten themseives there, and then In turn 
become trunks of the tree. It was impossible to s;iv 
which of these trunlis was tlie paremt trunk of that 
ti'eH. Tliai Is iJie principle upon which these missions 
are being carried forward on the foreign fields to-day. 
It is to maJte them self-supporting, as 1 could show you 
if I had tlie time to Illustrate how the work is twlng 
done there, by women through tlielr schools and in 
tile various phases of Christian worti, some of which 
ha%'e been borroiwed from our own beloved land. 

But I pass on to say tliat we have only begun to 
do wJiat God has set as our tasi. 1 think one of the 
profoundest impressions made upon my mind was as 
I stood with Mr. Fulton, of Canton, an the wail of that 
great city. We had walked around part of It and 
driven a:ound In otiier parts. We came to a section 
of the dty where we stood upon the wall, and he an.id 
to me ; •' Do you see all that sweep 1" as he pointed to 
a vast aiea of the city. I did. Said he: "There is 
not a single Christian chapel among all the thousands 
of people that are living in that section." And yet 
we say that C^anton is oi'cupled for Christ. Talk about 
parishes, bretiiren. Tlxeie is a parish in the proylncj 
of Shantung the nearest church to which Is 170 miles 
to the north and to the west some 120 mllps— Uiree 
ministers and one piiyslcian to 3,000,000 souls. 
Take the t'aroldvaiad Mission, In India, covering a 
territory which our mission occupies almost exclu- 
sively with 8,000,030 souls. Do you wond(;r that 
men are appalled? I was going to say dis- 
couraged '.' But no, I did not find a single mission- 
ary discouraged in all of India. (Applause.) If we had the 
pluck and the zeal whicli I fmmd among our mlsslom- 
arles everywhere, bretlu'en, tills Church would move 
on to grander cancmests than she has ever yet made In 
tile Kingdom of Christ. JS'ow, what Is to be done ! 

I fail back again on that utterance of the now 
sainted Dr. Calms: "In which if all' men unite there 
will be a ^glorious victory." That is tlie key to the 
situation, "in wlilch If ail men unite." There must 
lirst of aJl be union of purpose. Wliat Ls the purpose 
of the Presbyterian Chui-ch to-day? If the records 
of the General Assemlily are consulted there is but 
ooie answer. I know that during my brief connection 
with the board wn iuive come here sometimes somi-- 
what discouraged, but in ever\' instance our want of 
faith lias been rebuked, and the uniform response of 
the General Assembly has been "foi'ward." But wliat 
response has the Church given ! One of Xapolean's 
maxims was : " The armv that remains In its en- 
trenchments is already defeated." Sha'l we send out 
word to our missionaries to intrench their position ? 
No. I do not believe from Maine to CallfoiJila that 
nny such message could be sent. I have returned 
from my visit to the foreicnifleld profoundly Impressed 
with this thought, tliat the work of foreign missions 
is essentially p.'Ogressive. It cannot be repressed. 
You o.^n tell your .missionaries to pack their trunks 
arnd come home, if viu like : hut even wherp we do not 
move on to new fields there is a progress in the work 
which it is in<Uspensable that we notice. 

There must be union of purpose, and then union 
of effort. I referred to the sermoin of Mr. Cary at 
Nottingham. Everrbody was iwr^foiindlv moved hy 
it. As I have said, Dr. EvUmd was converted to the 
work of fOT°ign missi'^r's. But the ministere were jn.st 
about to dSsperse without doing anything wiien Mr. 
Oary took Ithe arm of bis friend, Mr. Fuller, and s(3id : 
"Are you goinig away witiliout doing anything !■' 
Brethren, it is Union In effort that there must be 
under God. There is no want of effort for Foreign 
Missions in the Church to-day. I rejoice at it, but 
we C'lrry on our \vork under ecclesiastical control, and 
tflieref(i:e It becomes the Presbyterian Church to re- 
member that fact. Tliere Is advant.Tge being taken 
to-day of the great foreign missionary interests. Here 
is a young i)eople's isociety. Here 1? an outside 
mission scheme. It is not connected with our Board. 
It is excelleqit in itself. Young people are capti- 
vated with it, and hence the money that ought to 
come Into the treasury of Ithe Boamd of Foreign MIs- 
si'ons to redeem the pledges we have made goes else- 
wihere to biulild up the Kingdom of Christ, I do not 
doubt, but not to hudld up that part of It committed 
to our tiust. I say then there should be union of 
eil'ort on the lines anirked out by this General Assembly 
through tlie Boaird of Foreign MissionF. In tih's 
effort our mothers and daugihlters are setting us a 
noble example In woman's work for woman. Such 
intelligent, sustained and effective effort all over the 
CfliUTCh would fiolve the whole probjem. 

If yon will look at our annual report you will find that 
last year fifteen missionaries were supported by Indi- 
viduals, twenty-fire bv churches or societies, and one bv 
young people's societies. A man says: "I would 
like to preach the Gospel in tlie foreign field, but 



I cannot do It myself and I wm aemd a man in 
my steiad who can do It." I think there are many 
men and womem who, with resources behind them, wlU 
aid In this work. 

Now, I want to say reverently, and I do not wisli 
yoiu to understand me as saying It pesrfunctorily— God 
forKd It— what we want to-day more tlian anything. 
else Im the work of the Board of Foreign iMissions 
Us union in prayer. Do you know that we are 
(priests before the throne! 1 have nothing to 
say against my brethren In the pastorate, 
but It Ifls for them anid thoir jSessaons 
to say what they wUl do, and I have been amaeed 
as I have gone from pOace to place In the country 
to find that the monthly concert of prayer for forelga 
missions is sadly neglected. I tliink it was one of 
the BrsSlnes who was to preach one day, and was 
veiy late in reporting at- the pulpit. The setxoi> was 
sent to look him up. ^Vhctai he got to the minister's 
studj-, as he stood near the door he heard somebody 
say : " If you go not with me I will not go," and so 
the sexton went back and reported that Mr, Ei-skine 
was pleading with somebody to go wltli him. Ah,^ 
when Brski ' e ascended the pulpit stairs it was pter- 
fectly evident with Whom he had been pleading. 

Brethren, if we are not to have your prayers jji 
this great work, the end will speedily come. But I 
believe we shall have your prayers. Speaking by 
the mouth of Isaiah, Jehovah said : " I have set watch- 
men on thy walls, O, .Tenisalem, which shall never 
hold their peace day nor night." To-day is tliis 
prophecy fulfilled. As tlie earth revolves upton its 
axis and the voice of one of God's servants Is hushed 
in the djarkness of the night, another takes up the 
glorious proclamation and telling it out that the Lord' 
is helre. But read o i : "Ye that are the Lord's 
remombranoes, tiike ye no rest ond give Him no rest 
till He establish .ind till He make Jerusaletoi a praise 
in the earth." What a thought 1 What a privile^ge^ 
Aye, what a duty I Put Gotl In mind. May the Holy 
Spirit enable us to do it, and then the blessing will' 
come both oil the home and the foreign side of this 
great work of foreign missions! 



THE DERATE ON THE BEIGGS CASE. 

THE RlrPORT 0!f THE JUDICI.4L C.OMMI'iTF.E PRE- 
SENTED. 

Portland, Ore-, May 25.— ^Vhen i o'clock arrived, the 
moderator announced that the question befora the 
house was the con.slderatlon of the majority and 
minority reports from the Judicial Committee relating- 
to the appeal. The reporis were read by the stated 
clerk. 

The Jtoderator— We are ready for motions on those 
two papers. 

The Rev. Mr. McCarioil— I move that the majority 
report be adopted. 

Elder Jason W. Strevell, of Montana— I move to 
amend by substituting the minority report. 

The Moderator— The moderator would express the 
opinion that at this stage of the proceedings tliat can- 
not be received in accordance with the book, and for 
this reason : That it is required by the book tliat the 
liouse shall determine whether it will entertain the 
appeal, and on tliat question the parties alone— I am 
not certain about that— but certainly tlie parties have 
a right to be heard as to ■Miether it shall be enter- 
tained. Now, the order of "Procedure, in my view, is 
this : 01 course, if the minority report Is alTbpted, that 
ends the case, and if it Is voted down the order will> 
be as follows : First, the reading of the iKipers, that 
is, not the whole case, tint these papers— tlie judgment, 
the notice of appeal, tlie appeal and the specifications 
of error. The book says tliat " the judiciary may then 
determine, after iiearing the parties, whether the appeal 
sliall be entertained. That is the order as it is in my 
mind. If tliat majority report is adopted, it carries 
with It the entertainment of the appeal, and that Is 
the very question upon which we are to hear tlie par- 
ties sp2ak. Now, if tills minority report", wlilch Is a 
substitute or amendment, is voted down, tlien the 
papers will be read as required by the book, the parties 
will be lieard, and the Assembly will puss directly then 



44 



L^'BEARY OF TEIBIJNE EXTRAS. 



upon the entertalument ol the appeal. Then it is in the 
province of tlus assembly, as it seems to me, having 
determined to entertain the appeal, to do one of two 
things : First, to affirm what the lower court has done : 
second, to reverse what the lower court has done. 
'Under the las,t of those contingencies, the, reversal of 
the judgment of the lower court, It Is In the province 
of the whole assembly again to do one of two tliines— 
ajid there the substitute which has been offered will 
«ome In— first, to «end bacls the case, with Instruc- 
tion^ to the Fresbytery for trial; second, to issue the 
case Itself. 

Elder Strevell— It seems to me. sir, according to 
the book of discipline, section 99, that the maibrity 
report and the minority report bring the matter sub- 
stantially before the house, and we are not to vote 
now on the minority report. It I understand the 
chair the statement made was that the minority report 
would be Immediately voted upon. (Cries of " No, 
no.") Then I misapprehended the chair. 

The Moderatoi^-Well, sir, I am inclined to think so 
because U thelmlnorlty report is adopted, why. It ends 
the whole case. 

Elder Strevell-^ir, we cannot end the whole case 
without first hearing the parties. Tlie parties must be 
heard first. 

The Moderator— Yes. sir; I tlilnk you are right. 
Brethren, it Is the judgment of those far more versed 
in proceedings of this character than I am, that we 
have already entered upon a, stage of proceedings 
tliat may Ije characterized as judicial, and, tlierefore, 
la accordance with the bools of discipline, I will read 
this section: "Wlienever a judicatory is about to sit 
In a judicial capacity, it shall be the duty of the 
moderator to announce that tlie body Is about to 
pass to the consideration ol the business assigned 
for trial, and to enjoin on the membere to recollect 
and regard their high character as judges of a court 
of Jesus Christ, and the solemn duty In which th^y 
are about to act." We will now hear the reading of 
the papers. 

Elder StreveE- But, sir. If you will Indulge me, 
I see that Section 99 provides that "the judiciary 
may then ddtierminc, !attel' bearing the parties, 
whether the appeal shall be entertained." The 
point I raise to is this : If I understand it. In the 
committee of appellants thei'e are five parties. Now. 
I have prepared this resolution wiiich I wiU 
read: 

'•Eesolved, That in the hearing of tlie argument 
from the parties on the question of entertaining the 
appeal, but one person on each side of the question 
shall be heard; one from the appellant committee. 

and the defendent is appellee; and that not to ex- 
ceed two hours time on each side be granted to the 
parties to present tlds preliminary question; the 
appellant to open and close the discussion." 

The Moderator— Do you mean that each side shall 
Iiave one hour? 

Elder Strevell— No, sir; that each side shall have 
two hours. 

The Moderator— Does your motion contemplate that 

t£ the appellant desires to divide its time that It sIiaU 

not do it? 

Elder Strevell— No, sir ; the appellants may do as 

they please about that ; but the point 1 make is tliat 

there shall be but one person heard on eacl), side in 

presenting the subject. 

The Moderator— Then they cannot dispose of It as 

they please. It you make that limitation. 

Elder .Strevell— The appellants may speak for one 

hour In the opening— that is, the man who presents 

tiie case for the appeUaut. Then he sliall give way to 

the appellee for two hours, and then the appellant 



shall have one hour in closing— thus making t\vo hours 
on each side. 

A Member— I second that motion. 
The Rev. Dr. Millard— I would Eke to ask the 
gentleman t£ I understand correctly, that his proposi- 
tion Is that the appellants must make just one speech 
and must be confined to two hours ! 
Elder Strevell— I think so, sir. 
Dr. Millard— I do not think that is right. 
Elder Strevell— Tliat Is the practice, sir, that Is pur- 
sued in the civil courts, and I assume that we are to 
follow legal procedure here. The book follows the 
civil practice. In every case ithe appellant has the 
opening and the closing, and the appaUee meantime 
must use all the time that he desires. 

Dr. Millard— But we are not bound by any such 
law, and it seems to me that unless it Is desired by 
the appellee, this plan should not be adopted. 

Elder Strevell— Our law prohibits a defendant in 
any judicatory from employing counsel, except It be 
an elder or a member ol the judicatory. If he feels 
unable to present his cause himself, he may employ 
some one of the brethren in the judicatoiy to do it for 
him. Now, then, there is this condition. Tlie defend- 
ant stands here defending for himself, in his own be- 
half, and In the interest of fairness I desire to say 
that they meet each other man for man. I do not 
want It to go out to the world that we have put two, 
three or five men (whatever the number is that com- 
pose this committee ol prosecution) against one man, 
and that man defending himself. 01 that committee 
there should be one man against this appellee and 
but one, because in every court of cavil jurisprudence 
the matter ol opening and closing is considered itseU 
an Immense advantage. At the time of the great 
discussion between Mr. Lincoln and Senator Douglas 
It was arranged that one should take the opening ajid 
closing at one time, and the other on the next 
occasion, so 'that there might be perfect fairness. But 
the appellants here, this being the only occasion tliai 
they can be heard here, must, as I conceive, have the 
advantage of opening and, closing the argument. That 
of itself is a great advantage, as every man who Is 
accnstomed to forensic debate knows, and I desire 
that the advantage should be confined alone to that, 
and that this defendant should not be called upon 
first to answer one man and then have another come 
in his rear presenting sometliing tliat he has no op- 
portunity at all to answer 

Mr. Junkln— I Intend to exercise my right to speak, 
and as loi\g as I am recognized by the moderator I 
intend to speak. I am. In a measure, in favor ol this 
amendment, but I respectfully submit that it Is out 
ol order, for this reason : We have a motion to adopt 
the majority report, which was seconded. We have 
an amendment to adopt the minority report, which is 
seconded, and now we have tills motion limiting the 
time of tlie parties, which Is not germane to either of 
those (luestions, and I ask the moderator to decide 
that point. 

A Member— I was just rising to make the same 
point precisely— that there are two motons wluch 
take precedence of the motion that lias just been 
made by the gentleman from Montana. 
Elder JunUin— Yes sir; tliat is it. 
Eider Strevell— But this is preliminary. 
The Moderator— It seems tj me that a motion ol 
this kind is absolutely becessary. 1 dO not see how, 
U we embark in this case without some limitation, 
it is going to stop. I don't see where it can stop. 
Therefore, It seems to me that the order announced 
by the moderator— which, ol course, the house is privi- 
leged to chanse- slmli be observed, and that we go 
now, not directly to the adoption of cither tlie minority 
or the majority report, but to the realing of the 
papers, to hearing the jjarties. And this resolution 
looks to the limitation ol the time of the parties. 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



45 



Then, when the parties are heard, the vote will be 
taien upon these two reports— for these reports do 
Involve tlJB very question of the entertamment of the 
^ppial. 

Professor W. H. Pumell. of Baltimore— These re- 
ports are presented by the judicial committee. It 
seems to me that we have not Come to that time 
when the parties are to be heard. These commit- 
tees have made their report. What Is to become of 
the committees ? Has not the chairman of the com- 
mittee some right to advocate the majority report? 
And me we not to hear from some one IJi advocacy of 
the minority report ? I say the time has not come 
for iUils resolution. 

Tlie Moderator— Well, sir, you wlU have to take an 
appeal from the decision of the chair. I decide that 
the resolution Is in order. (Applause.) 

Elder Streveli- And that Is a right decision. 
The Moderator- And I so decide upon this ground, 
brethren, thait I have been i)erplexed, as doubtless 
you have been — that after reading that majortty re- 
port carefully four or five times, it seems to me .th.at 
the adoption of that report carries with it the enter- 
tainment of the appeal, whlQh Is the very ques,tion to 
be decided after the parties are heard. Now, when 
that state of the proceedings arises the representatives 
of these parties will be heard. 

Elder JunMn— The motion that was made was not 
to adopt the majoiity report as a whole, because that 
would be unjust to the defendant, but simply to adopt 
the recommendations of the majority report. Now, 
let me read those recommendations, and I think you 
will have the string that will tead you oat of your 
labyrinth of trouble. (Reading the recommendations.) 
Then causing the judgment appealed from, the notioe 
of appeal, the appeal, and the speeificataons of en or 
alleged, to be read. Then to hear the appellant by 
the committee of prosecution, and then the defendant 
In person or by counsel, and then the appellant by the 
committee of prosecutlDn upon the question whether 
the appeal shall be enteilalned. 

Judge Saylei^In view of the fact that this question 
lays In my mind as it does, I move an amendment to 
this resolution that the time be limited. I had it in 
my mind to make the time one /liour on each side, but 
I win make It an hour and a half. 

Mr. Streveli- 1 will accept the amendment. 
The Moderator— Now, brethren, tliat is the question 
before us. Let me state why my ruling was as it 
was. The motion was made to adopt this majority 
report as a whole, and -in that majority report we 
have these woi'ds : " That In the judgment of the com- 
mittee the appeal should be entertained, and a time 
set apart for the hearing of the case." It was upon 
that sentence tliat the appeal be entertained, which is 
the very question that is to be decided after the parties 
are heard, that we announced the order of business 
which we did. 

Professor Stevenson— The prosecuting committee 
offers no objection to the limitation of time. The 
chairman of the committee. Dr. iHiroli, however, is not 
well, and for that reasim it has been decided that he 
should open the case,- but tltet Colonel McCook should 
close it. (Cries of "No," "No." Well, I take the 
stand, then, on a broader step. We are the appel- 
lants, and we have the right to decide how we wiU 
open and close. ^^ ^. . „ ^ 

The Moderator— A division of the question Is called 
for. Mrst, we will take it as regards the time, allow- 
ing each party one hour and a half. Those in favor of 
making that order wlU signify it by saying aye; car- 
ried. A division is called for In regard to the limita- 
tion of one person to speak on behalf of the appellants. 
Are you ready to vote on that? 

Dr. MoKelvey— Mr. Moderator, have we the right to 
pass any such motion as thisi Have we a constitu- 
tional right to pass any such limitation as tins'! I 
raise that i>oint of order, that we have no such right 
to limit the time. , ^ , 

The ModeratSr— I think that point is well taken. I 
do not believe it is In the province of the house to do 
it. That is my decision. The parties may decide the 
time any way they please. That Is the decision of the 
chair. Now we wiU go forward and hear the readiffg 
of the papers. ., , ^ ^ , ^^ 

The stated clerk then read the judgment of the pres- 
bytery of New- York in the case and the appeal of the 

committee. ^ j.-^ j. ■ ,, 

The Moderator— I would suggest that, masmuch as 
we have begun with this .case, it would be wise to lay 
aside all orders of the day to-morrow morning. In order 
tliat we may go on and continue this business until it 
Is concluded. 

A motion to that effect was carried. The reading of 
the papers was then continued until finished. 

The Moderatoi^-That concludes the reading of the 
papers. The next step wUl be the hearing, first, of 
the appellants. 1,1 



SIXTH DAY. 



DR. BBIGGS'S APPEAL DENIED. 



HE MUST STAND TBIAL IN THE GENEEAL 
ASSEMBLY. 



FROM ITS DECISION THERE CAN BE. XO APPEAI. 

EXCEPT TO THE CIVIL COURTS— STREX&ni 

OF THE CONISEHIVATIVES SHOWN. 

Portland, Ore., May 26.— Between 500 and 
600 oommissioners to the General Assem- 
bly, and twice as many friends have spent a soUd 
day in listening to arguments, motions, points of order 
and knotty points from the Book of Discipline. The 
formal speeches have been made by Dr. Briggs, the 
Union Seminary professor, and Dr. Birch and Colonel 
McCook, membeis W the Prosecuting Committee. 
Parliamentary taotis have been indulged in by nearly 
every man who could obtain a copy of the Book of 
Discipline, and the end is not yet, nor is it in sight. 

Commissioners who had engaged sleeping-cair ao- 
commodations have rescinded their orders. An ex- 
cursion to the Pacific Ocean planned for Satarday ha» 
been given up, although a steamer iFor that day has- 
been chariiered. The orders of the day are pnaihe* 
forward and a gi'eat mass of work is laid aside to glv» 
room and time for the most important heresy trijal In 
a half century. Dr. Briggs does not seem fearful oif 
the result, although a test vote to-day seems to In- 
dicate that the present Assembly is as conservartlvo- 
as was the one at Detroit which disapproved hl» 
transfer to the new chair in the Seminary. 

Two tables in front of the moderator's desk have 
been assigned to the two parties In the trial. Dr. 
Briggs and his friends and the prosecuting committee. 
Directly in front of Dr. Briggs, as he faces his table, 
sits his loyal friend, Ezra M. Klngsley, the secretory 
of the Seminary. At his right sits ex-Judge StreveU, 
of Montana, who acts as his friend, but not as his 
counsel. He told The Tribune correspondent to-dajr 
tha/t he would not take a nickel, th4 smallest coia 
west of the Rockies, for defending Dr. Briggs. 

Next to Mr. Klngsley sits Mi'. Frazer. In the 
front of the gallery is Mrs. Briggs listenlnp: Intently 
to every point made: Dr. Eirch, short and thickset; 
Dr. Stevenson, the scholarly university professor of 
New- York, and Colonel MoC'ook, of the firm of Alex- 
ander & Greem, sit waiting for the order of the day. 
Dr. Charles L. Thompson, Dr. Wmiam B. Roberts 
and Dr. William E. Moore, three ex-Moderators; Dr. 
Christie, vice-mo(1era.tor; Dr. T. W. Chambers, cor- 
responding member from the Reformed Church, and 
Dr. W. H. Riyberts, stated clerk, sit at the side or be- 
hind the moderator. 

The steps of the pulpit are crowded, and the galleries 
could scarcely hold anothei' pei'sou. Hour after hour 
the crowd, unable to find seats, stands onxlbnsly wait- 
ing. The suspense at times is Intense and palnfuL 
Points of order from every part of the room are 
heard. The Moderator rises, holding the apple-tree 
gavel, adorned with native -diver and gold. His 
heavy brows are knitting, and sUence faUa on the 
house. Some one offers a suggestion, but Is waived 
off. The Moderator's forehead is corrugated. Quick 
as Ughtnln"g and with the power of an electric shock, 
the decision Is given. Sometimes It Is recalled It new 
light brea^ upon htm. No one can 
tell Iroia his rulings where his sympathies 
are; no one wlU ever accuse him of- 



4e 



LTBEAKY OF TEIBUNE EXTEAS. 



Deliig undcT the control of any man or party ol men. 

Dr. Bircli begins the argument with a twerity- 
. minute address, reading in distinct tonea. He Justl- 
iles the committee In bringing the case to the Assem- 
bly, and sits down. Dr. Briggs rises to answer. His 
nervous manuer, his voice high-pttclied ai, timas, are 
in marked contrast to his lellow-presbyters. His 
speech, read I'rom typewritten manuscript, occupies 
a;i hour more than Dr. Birch's paper, but it is Dr. 
JJriggs's only chance, while his opponents have more 
than an hour to answer him. Colonel McCoot uses 
the hour, standing erect with the air of a lawyer. It 
is not the committee but the Church as a whole, he 
claims, that is the prosecutor. 

The gavel falls. Shall the vote be taien without 
ilebate! Ttat question is settled, and 

no talking is allowed. ShaU the rep>Jrt 
submitted by the minority of Uie Jadlciai Com- 
mittee recommending that the appeal be not 
entertained, be substituted lor tlie majority re- 
.port, recommending that tlxe appeal be entertaiaed? 
A vote was taien and the mmority report was tabled. 
The decision Is doubted, tlie division is called tor, and 
507 men rise and stay till counted. Of tliese, 385 
are In the atlirmative and 12-2 in the negative. 

The test vote liad come and the Conservatives for 
the first timesliow tlieir strength. Dr. Briggs must 
answer at Hie bar ol this Assembly, from which there 
.Is no a.pipeajl, except in the civil court. He tlirew 
out a suggestion in his address this morning that he 
■could appeal to them if his rights were violated. 

More than an hour was spent in reaching the de- 
cision that, against Dr. Briggs's protest, the sten- 
ographer's notes, which were said to be imperfect, ol 
■ tlie proceedings In N"ew-Yorl5 should be accepted in 
the Assembly. Then the hour ol adjournment had 
arrived and a prayer closed the day's proceedings. 

Dr. Briggs made a fine argument against the ap 
neal being entertained by the Assembly, but was not 
sustained, carrjing less llian one-fourth of the Assem- 
Wy ^Tith him. He objected to tlie report of the 
New-York meeting and was voted down again. The 
next stage in the proceedisgs ulll be taken up to- 
morrow, when the members of the Presbytery will be 
iheaM, and later the members of tlie Assembly. 

THE JOINT ARGUMENT. 



DISCUSSION OF THE APPE^VL. 



THE SPEECliBS OP DK. BIKOH FOE, THE APPEL- 
LANTS AND DK. BUI&i.tS IN HIS 
OWN BEHALF. 

Portland, Ore., May 26.— After the minutes had 
.'been approved, the Moderator said : Before we begin 
the business of the day I will read the rule from the 
book again; 

Whenever a judicatory is about to sit in a judicial 
capacity, it shall be the duty of the Moderator to 
solemnly announce from the chair that the body is 
about to pass to the consideration of the business as- 
signed for trial, and to enjoin on the members to 
recollect and regard their liigh character as judges of 
a court of Jesus Christ, and the solemn duty in wlilch 
they are about to act. 

It Is needless for me to a*ld any words of my own 
to the earnest words out of our book. It Is an un- 
precedented thing, I think. In civil courts, to find the 
Judges giving any expression to their feelings by ap- 
plause or by oral condemnation, and I trust that we 
wlU not be beliind, at any 'rate, the civil courts In 
the way we act during this solemn piece of business. 
We had reached in the course of our proceedings the 
point where the parties to tills cause are to be heard. 
The Assembly has assigned one hour and a halt to 
each side— the prosecution, that Is, the appellants, be- 
-gjnnmg; then the defence occupying Its whote time, 
and then the appellants closing. I wish to state to 



the brethren who are going to speak in tills case that 
it win not be allowable at tliis stage in any way to 
speak to the merits of the case. This Is a constitu- 
tional argument, and we propose to try to hold It along 
tliat line. 

DR. BIKOH SPEAKS PIKST. 

Dr. Birch opened tile argument as follows : 

\our appellant is the Committee of Pros.c.itlon In 
tlie ease of the Presbyterian Chuicli in the United 
States of America against the Eev. Char.os A. B;iggs, 
D. D. In opening the pleadings pertalnit g to the 
apiejl in behalf of said committee I cannot help but 
teel that we appear before you for the r3as3u that 
Impelled Paul and Barnabas to lay their cause before 
the Hist C-uncll of the Christian Church at .Jerusalem. 
'J'hey were there because the Church at Antioch could 
not settle the questio.i which made its membersliip like 
tile troubled sea. They were theri' because they 
longed to see the end of the dissension and disputation 
whos3 floodgates had been opened by those false 
brothers wlio hindered the progress of Christianity 
by tile bonds of effete Judaism. 

So, Mr. Moderator, fathers and brethrsn, we are 
liere because tlie Pi'esbytery of New- York lias not 
i^cemjA to be able to settle the quesllon I'aised with 
respect to the relation of the inaugural address of 
the Eev. Charles A. Briggs, D. D., the appellee, 
dellveri'd at the Union Theologleal Seminary in 
tlie City of New- York, January '20, 1891, to th« 
Holy Sciipiures and to the Standards of the Presby- 
leran Church. We are here to Invoke this fiuprema 
Court of the Pi-esbyterian Church in the United Stiites 
of America to put an end to the dissension and 
dlspu'tetion wJiich the Presbytery of New-Y'ark vainly 
endeavored to silence with tlie dismissal of the case 
against Dr. Briggs, qualifying said dismissal by an 
assertion tliat it did this v^ltlKrut approving of the 
positions stated In tliis inanguriil addi'ess. 

As a matter of course, your appellant is met by 
the question, Why overleap tha Synod! 

To tlus pertinent question your appellant gives the 
pertinent answer that the legal competency of the 
committee of prosecution to pass by the synod of 
New-Y'ork and to ask the General Assetably to take 
up tho case simpUclter is established by the "Book of 
Discipline," Section lOii, which says, "Appeals are 
generally to be taken in the, ]u(iicatory immediately 
superior to that appealed from." The meaning of 
tlie word generally is the pivot of your apptellant's 
action. Tlve term ger.erally, according to Wetoster's 
Dictionary, signifies " in general, commonly, exten- 
sively, tliough not universally ; most frequently, 
fliough not wltliout exceptions ; as a hot summer 
generally follows a cold winter." That the "appeal'' 
of the prosacuting committee comes under the phrase 
"not uniiversaily," and is embraced, by the tea-m ex- 
ceptions— tliiat in the ordinarj' course ol judicial pro- 
cess the synod foUows the Presbytei-y, vet in this 
case the G-enerai Assembly should follow the Presby- 
tery and decide tlie issues therein Involved, is evident 
for tlie following patent, sufficient and sirong rea,- 
sons ; 

Sucln a procedure Is constitutional. In the " Form 
of Government," Sections 4 and 5, we read that 
(S*tion 4): "The General Assembly sliall receive 
and issue all appeals, complaints and references 
tliat affect the doctrine or constitution of the Cliurch 
which may be regularly brought before them from 
inferior judicatories. . . . They shall give their ad- 
vice and instruction in all cases submitted to them 
in conformity with the constitution, of the Church, 
and they shall constitute tlie bond, of union, peace, 
correspondence aiid mutual confidence among all our 
churches." ... To the General Assembly also "be- 



PRESBYTERIAN' ISSUES. 



47 



loufjs tlie power of (iocldliig Ln all cunti'ovei'sies re- 
speeliiig rtocti'lno and discipline; of reproving, ward- 
ing or befiring testimony against error in doctrine or 
immorality lii piuctlce li any cliurch, presbytery or 
s5 nod ; of superintending the concerns of tlie whiile 
Chuixli ; of supi>resslng schismatlcal contentions anl 
dlhputatlo s ; In ganeral, of recommending and nlt- 
temptiug reformatiou of manners, and tlie promotion 
of charity, truth aind liollness through all the churcheis 
under their care." 

Thus, Mr. Moderator, fathers and brethfen.l^vhile 
your app,eUiint, tlie prosecutlig committe*, has, 
■owing to the stress of peculiar circumstances, passed 
by the bar of the synod, to appear before this General 
Assembly, while it has gone ai'ound the ordinary pro- 
visions to avail Itself of the extraordinary right, 
■n-hJie it has substituted for the general rule the ex- 
-ceptlou wlilch proves that rule, yet Di so passing by, 
so going around, so substituting, it lias acted in a 
liberally constitutional an,d entirely regular manner. 
And this action has been talrai because' vour alppei- 
lant wishes tine judicial advice and Instruction which 
the constitution of the Church commissions the 
Genei'al Assembly to give, bncause your appellant in- 
voices tlus venerable court as tlifi bi^iid of unlonj peace, 
corresi<ondence and mutual cooifidence among all our 
churches to exercise- its office in the endeavor to 
a\-ert disunion, to blot out strife, to restore fi-ater- 
nlty and to strengthen confidence wltliln the 
bDunis of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
States of America. 

But I appeal to the common sense and 
deliberate judgment of this honorable body 
of ministers and elders, and ask. Has your 
appellant, the prosecuting committee, the right to 
biing this controversy rcspactlng doctrine anddiscinline 
before tlie tribunal to which belongs the power to de- 
cide It? When it brings the alleged error in doctrine 
and fault in practice on the pai't of the Presbytery of 
New-Yorii; to the atleutioii of the judicatory to which 
belongs the piwer of reproving, warning or bearing 
testimony against error in doctiinc, or immorality in 
practice, in any clmicli, presbytery or avnod. 

•J. The case which the prosecuting committee asks 
this General Assembly to adjudicate is a mutter of In- 
tense interest to all Christendom. Theoloslcal professors, 
religious editors, preachers of the gospel, private niem- 
beis of the Church everywhere, in fverv d.enominatioii, 
and in all the lands, anxiously await the disposal of 
the case on the part of this venerable court. 

3. Tills case Involves the very fundamental truths 
of Christianity, and especially the docti-ines of the Pres- 
byterian Church. We cannot disguise the fact. Mr. 
Moderator, that the history of the Christian Church 
records no more exciting and important controversy 
than tliat whicli is before this court. 

As from tliese closing years of the nineteenth 
century we look back over the highway of tlieological 
thought, we note but three Questions whicli approach 
the question involved in this case in vital importance. 
The first is the iiuestion ali'eady referred to. which 
agitated the Apostolical Church with respect to the re- 
lation of the Mosaic ritual to the Christian dispensation 
and to the participation of the Gentiles in the priv- 
ileges of tliat dispensation. The second is the question 
of the Trinity, wliich in the fourth century shook the 
Church to her very foundations and was settled at the 
Council of Nice, A. D. 325. The third Is the Question of 
justification by faith, the central doctrinal principle of 
the Protestant reformation which was boldly pro- 
claimed by Luther when he posted his ninet\'-flve 
theses on the church door in Wittemburg in 1517. and 
settled by himself and bis contemporaries. The fourth 
question is the one which now calls for the prayerful 
interest, judicial investigation, and right decision of 
this court of the • Church of Jesus Christ. In the 
«as6 of the flr^t three questions; the aim of those who 
were called on to decide them was to find out what the 
Bible said, concerning the points which thev severally 
Involved. But, in this rase, this General A!^sembly 
Is called upon to decide the question raised as to the 



aulhoiity of this Lible, wh oe iiUe.pietaUon dedded 
liie apiKai ol mui ui.u x.ali:;HJa■^ lo tnc nrst council of 
me \.aiisuau ehurcu, wiucu ^^a^ the locii upon wliich 
Atluinanius took his stand to be remembered wlUle time 
snail last m me itgeua, Amai-a-sius ugiunst the world, 
wiiicn polmed out me wicket-tate througn whicli :iiartiu 
Luther marclied lortli to liis noble and tiiumphant de- 
fence of tile doctiine of justification by faith. 

4. But the plea of J our appellant, Mr. JlLderator. and 
members ox mis houoiubiu court, is eniorced by the 
presbi tera who as->enible here in you, wlio have to the 
number of at least four score spoken with trumpet 
tongue concerning the Inaugural addiess. the occasion 
of tills proceeding, to the liighest court of the Church. 
And the last General Assembly gave heed to the pret,- 
byterial voice by vetoing the appointment of tile ap- 
pellee to the pi-ofe^so. ship, eiiti-ance upon which was 
signalled by the inaugural address. 

5. The j.-'resbytery of -Vew-York caused your appel- 
lant to appear at the bar of this court by the commis- 
sion of an errc^r In law to n anlfest as to justify immedi- 
ate relief on the part of this Assembly. Tlie refusal to 
grant that relief now is to agitate the Church for years 
to come. 

6. Your appellant admits Uia.t if the prosecutor 
in this case were au Individual there might be some 
show of reason for declining to depart from the 
general rule. But the prosecutor in tliis case la 
the Pi-esby.terlan Church in the United States of 
America, which has a wide and deep Interest in the 
quesUous Involved. Hence in a cause freighted with 
issues so momentous your appellant pleads for a 
speedy hearing in behalf of the Presbyterian Church 
in the Tnited '.-itates of America. What Dr. Herilck 
Johnson, of Jlcforniick Theological Seminary, said 
ill an article in " The Interior" in January, 1883, 
becomes i>lth and point in-Mav, 1892. as well as a 
bugle call to this Assembly : Let it still be mider- 
stood that the fundamentals of our faith, as 'expressed 
in the s.tandards, are not to be trifled with. Let It 
still be a certtdnty that idlsloyalty ,to vows of oi-dina- 
tion in the Presbyterian Church is not going to be 
toleraied in high places or low places, in chair or 
pulpit. Let the General Assembly . . . solemnly 
"urn .those to whom the trust of om- faith is com- 
mitted to guai'd scrupulously against tendencies and 
methods and concessions tha.t would betray that 
trust. If a case of betrayal or disloyalty appear, 
let it at once be given legitimate process." 

Therefore, in the name of the Constitution of the 
Presbyterian Church in the United .-t;ites of America, 
confirmed by abundant precedent in the name of all 
Christendom ; in the name of the fundamen.tai truths 
of Christianity, as set forth in the standards of the 
Presuyterlan Church : In the name of the presbj'.terles 
and the General Assembly, which have taken action 
in .the iiuestions involved in this case; in the name 
of the rigid administration of the law of the church : 
111 the name of ,the 800.000 communicants and 7,000 
ministere of the Presbyterian Church In the United 
States of America, your appellant, the prosecuffng 
committee declared by the Presbytery of New-Y'ork 
to be tlie rejH-escntative of the Presbyterian Church 
In the United States of America, as an original party, 
declared by this General Assembly to be in order, 
respectfully and earnestly asks this venerable court 
to entertain its appeal. 

The Moderatoi^If the appellan.ts do not desire to 
occupy any more time at this stage, then Dr. Briggs 
will now be heard. 

A Commissioner— Mr. Modera.tor. I rise to a point 
of oi'der. The appellant In this case is the Presby- 
terian Church In the United States of America, repre- 
sented by this Committee of Prosecution. The ap- 
pellee Is the presbytery of New-Y'ork. I can find no 
record that Dr. Briggs has been appointed by the 
presbytery of New- York to represent it. and unless 
Dr. Briggs has been appointed by the presbytery o* 
New-York he cannot at this point address the 
General Assembly. 

The Moderator-The chair decides the point lof order 
not well taken. The original parties in this case are 
the appellants and the appellee. Dr. Briggs has 
tUie floor. 

DR. BRIl>G«'.S DEPEJTCE. 

The Book of Discipline makes the defendant the only 
party competent to resist the entertainment of the 
appeal. It is necessary for the defendant to appear 
not only in his own behalf and In defence of the action 
of his presbytery, but also, as will be shown later on, 
in order to maintain the right of the Synod of New- 
York, and also to show due respect to the General 
Assembly. This defendant is, however, placed In a 
position of some embarrassment In that he is com- 



48 



LTURARV OF TEIBUNE EXTEA,S. 



pelled, in the interest of justice and orderly procedure, 
to defend the action of Ills presbytery in dismissing tlie 
case against hjm, action whicli, however favorable It 
may have been to him, was not ashed for by him, and 
for 'Which he has no manner of responsibility. Charges 
and specifications were placed in his hands by order 
of the presbytery In accordance with the Booh of Dis- 
cipline (22). He filed " objections to the snfBciency of 
the charges and specifications in form and legal effect," 
and respectfully submitted these objections to the 
presbytery for their judgment. It was the right of 
the presbytery to determine these "preliminary ob- 
jections," and then, after recognizing their validity, 
at their discretion, either to first dismiss the case, oi-, 
second, to permit amendments to the specifications or 
charges. The defendant acquiesced in the decision of 
the presbytery to " dismiss the case," although the dis- 
missal was laden with sundry other reasons, which it 
was proper for the presbytery to give under the cir- 
cumstances, but which had no manner of relevancy 
ta the objections he had presented to the presbytery as 
to the "sufficiency of the charges." 

It seemed to the defendant and his friends that it 
would be more proper for some other person to defend 
this action of the presbytery, and it was their desire 
that Dr. Francis Brown or Dr. Charles L. Thompson 
should undertake this tash. But owing to circum- 
stances which It Is not necessary to consider these 
friends of the defendant were not sent by the presby- 
tery as commissioners to the Assembly, and it became 
necessary for the defendant either to select for counsel 
some one who was not altogether familiar with the 
case or else to appear before the Assembly himself. I 
appear before you, therefore not by choice, but under 
constraint of duty. 

The defendant Is suffering under another embarrass- 
ment due to the situation. He is compelled to make 
a, legal argument against the entertainment of this 
appeal in the Interests of orderly procedure in our 
judicatories, and thus he may unconsciously present 
the appearance of interposing obstacles in the way of 
his own trial. He can only say that he has always 
been ready to meet any " charges and specifications 
sufficient in form and in legal effect" which may be 
made against him at the bar of his presbytery and to 
disprove them. 

In no judicatory of the Church, in no court in 
the world, could he be asked to plead against 
"charges insufficient in form and legal effect," or to 
waive rights guaranteed by the constitution, or to 
neglect duties required by tbe position In which God 
has placed him. If these appellante retram to the 
Presbyltery of New- York wi-thont winning their appeal, 
they still have the privilege as indlvidlual membeirs of 
the Presbytery of tabling " charges sufficient in form 
and In legal effect," if they are able "to frame them, 
and of pressing them to trial. If the Assembly 
entertain the appeal and sustain their objections to 
the action of the Presbytery they could not gain any 
more than a direction to the Presbytery to begin 
again exactly where they leiflt off when they dismissed 
the cose. All thia agitation of the Ohurch for the 
past months, all the precious time of the Assembly 
consumed In hearing the parties, can at the utmost only 
make this sjmiple difference, namely, nothing more 
than determine whether these prosecuitors shall repre- 
sient the Presbyterian Church in the United States of 
America in any further prosecution; or whether the 
responsibility for amy further prosecution shall rest 
upon them as individuals. The defendant greatly pte- 
tws that it they prosecute Mm they shall prose&ute 
aa Individual prosecutors. He feels agrieved that his 
mitttee. He feels still more aggrieved that this com- 
mltteev He feels still more agrieved that this com- 



mittee have claimed to represent the Bresbyterian 
Ohurch in the United States of America and thus- 
made it appear to the public that the wihole Presby- 
terian Ohurch was engaged in po'osecuting liim. It 
seems to Mm that this gives an unfair advantage to 
his prosecutors. But at tills stage of the case the 
defendant thinks that it is not worth mu«h time or 
labor to gain his preference. If the entertainment ot 
this appeal did not involve the forfeiture of Impor- 
tant rights of the defendant and of Ms oo-presbylters,- 
if i^Od:d not carry with it an intrusion upon the 
functions of tlie Synod of New- York, It it did not 
violate the constitution of the Church and establish. 
precedente of such injuriousi effect as to impair our 
whole system of juris(prudeece ; and if the absence of 
the delendaut might not have been construed as dis- 
respectful to your venerable body he would not have 
taken the long journey across the continent to appear 
before you at tnis time, but would have remained at 
home and allowed the appeal to have its free course 
without cp<posltlon on Ms part. 

A ■ very simple task is now imposed upon me by, the 
Book of Discipline (99j, namely, to present reasons- 
why you shouid not entertain tn.s appeal. 

There are many reasons, weighty and just, why the 
General Assembly aliould not entertain thfis ap(p^. 
I shall not consume your valuable time by uniolding 
them all beiore you. If necessary, those which I 
omit may be presented at the proper time by the 
members of the judicatory. Tlnre Is one line of 
argument which seems so convincing that I slhali 
limit myself to it alone. I sihall base my objeotioins 
upon a single provision of the Book of Disclpllue (102) 

" Apipeals are generally to be taken to the judicatory 
unmea,.ately siuperior to tliat appealed from." 

The judicatory Immediately superior to the Pres- 
bytery of New-lork is the Synod of New-York. Api- 
peals from the Presbytery of New- York are generaljr 
to be taken to the Symod of New- York. The appellants- 
are doing an unusual thing in passing over the Synod 
Of New- York and taking their appeal directly to the 
General Assembly. The adverb "generally" permlts 
exceptionE, but they must be real exceptions. All 
exceptions to rules must have exceptional reasons. 
The presiumption is always against exceptions. We 
claim that exceptloms may not be made at the diE|cre- 
tlon of the appellants. It is not for them to determine 
whether they have exceptional reasons. They make 
their appeal in an exceptional way at their own 
risk. They are not entitled to sympathy m help 
under the circumstances. We also claim that excefp- 
tions to the law of appeals may not be altogether 
at the discretion of the General Assembly. We may 
safely hold that an exception cannot lawfully be made 
by the General AssemMy which wouild involve a vio- 
lation of the rights of imrties, or an Intrusloin upon 
the privileges and rights of the lower judicatories, or 
an infringement of the consrtitution of the Ohurch or 
any departure from Mstoric' usage in our dcnomima&n. 

Eeasons must be presented to tMs veneratile body 
by the appellants which yon can recognize as valid 
exceptions within these limits before yoiu can legally 
enterlim their appeal. And even if this AssOTibly 
could decide that there are exceptional reasons for 
entertaining this appeal, you cannot lawfoHy entertain 
It in the face of valid objections made by the de- 
fendant. I propose to show you that there are no ex- 
ceptional reasons why yoiu should entertain this appeal 
and that there are Insuperable abjections which should 
induce you to reject it. 

1. The reasons presented by the appellants are 
not such as to justity the General Assembly in enter- 
taining their appeal. 

Four reasons are given by the appellants : (1) " Be- 
lieving that the trial of the said Dr. Briggs Is one of 
the most important In tlie history of the Presbyterian 
Chtiroh, by reason of the great and dangerous errors 
contained in the address of the said Dr. Briggs at his 
inauguration as Professor of Biblical Hheology in the 
Union Seminary, delivered on the SOth day of January, 
1891." 

The appellants give tMs reason ..as their belief. If 
It was their belief it was a valid reason for -lihe tabling 
of charges at the bar of the Presbytery. It Is also a 
valid reason why they should appeal -to ttiie Synod of 
New- York, provided they had the right of appeal, 
wMch we do not concede. But is It a valid reason 
why they should pass over the Synod of New- York and 
appeal to tiie General Assembly? If their belief Is a 
well grounded one, if they think that they can sustaia 
their charges before a Mgher judicatory, the Synod of 
New-York is the judicatory befDre wMch they sihould 
go. They cannot, with propriety, pass over the Synod 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



49 



of New- York wlUiout us^,igiiliig valid reasons iDr the 
oplnlou that .iJw oyiiod oJ; iVew-Yoni may not do them 
justice. I'liey make nj objecilon to 'i);]ie synod ol 
iS'ew-iork as a cuuipetent j udiciiloiy . liidevd, tliey 
are debarred from sucii'objeciion biy tlie fact that they 
unite wltli others Ln a complaint to the Synod of New- 
Yjric, ooverliif; fssentiaily the same ground as the 
appeal; tliaa rtsoiviua to Uiemseives a ciia-Uice belore 
the hynod U bhiy should fall belore the Ueuoral As- 
pembily. If theii' case were a good ease, it Is alio- 
gether llhely that they could win their cause belore 
that Judicatory. It Is a renection upon the Synod of 
New-York for a committee, claiming to represent tmu 
Presbyterian Chuich in tlie United statkjs of AmerlCii, 
to appeal over the Jiead of tlie tiynod to the Assembly, 
and juny go to tlie Synod If the General Assembly fall 
them. 

It Is also a i-efleotlon upon tliis General Assemb'y 
for this committee to make their appeal to you, reserv- 
ing to themselves the right of using their complaint tD 
the Synod If you do not give them the decision they 
require. If, as they claim, "the trial of the said Dr. 
Brlggs Is one of tlie mast important_in the history of 
the rresbyteiiau >jhuicii," tutit Is a "reason why the 
Synod of New- York, the largest Synod In tlie Church, 
tlie Immedlats judicatory, ought to have Its constitu- 
tional share in the proceedings. That is a reason 
wihiy the appeal should go to such an honorable 
jucUcatoiry. That is a reason why tlie Synod 
cannot be passed by without grave Injustice to 
that Synod. If, as the prosecutors claim, "there 
are great and dangerous errors coatairied in the 
address of the said Dr. Brigus." that Is a reason 
why the Synod of New- York, wltlnn; whose jurisdiction 
the supposed errors have been promulgated, sliouid 
liave Its constitutional riglit of deaUng with them. 
It Is tlie privUedge of the Synod to condemn such 
errors, or to defend the accused against his prose- 
cutors. Tliie Assembly cannot take the case out of 
the hands of the Synod witliout intruding upon the 
rights and privileges of the Synod in so important and 
serious a case. 

If the Assembly could entertain this reason yon 
would wrong the defendant. Tlie prosecutors may 
believe that there aie great and dangerous errors con- 
tained In ttie address of Dr. Briggs, but the judicatory 
cannot believe this, as a judicatory, or use such a 
belief as a reason, prior to trial. To act on such a 
belief would be to prejudge the case and would, in 
IteeU, destroy tlie Impartiality and fairness of this 
tribunal, and in so far violate any judgment you might 
give In the case, if the General Assembly could Im- 
dorse tills reason, it would state an opinion and belief 
before trial that " there are great and dangerous errors 
contained in the address of Dr. Briggs.'' It would 
condemn the defendant in the supreme court of the 
ChuTOh after his own presbytery had dismissed the 
charges against Bim. It would give a judgment wliile 
there are no charges pending against him. It would 
virtually sentence him before he had been on trial in 
any court of th ' Church. The defendant does not 
tWnJc it credible tl:at tills General Assembly could do 
him such a wrong. ^ ., „ i . 

2. The second reason given by the appellants Is : 
" Believing that the distinct and definite condemnation 
of these errors by the supreme judicatory of the said 
Presbyterian Church is necessary in order to prevent 
their spread and influence in the denomination. 

The appellants In this reason show that they are 
aiming to secure a condemnation of the errors oi the 
defendant by the supreme judicatory. But the 
supreme judicatory cannot condemn the defendant or 
his errors without a trial. The supreme judicatory 
cannot go to trial because It has no orl^ai jurisdic- 
tion In the case. The General Assembly can have no 
appellate jurisdiction until the defendant has been 
tried In his own presbytery and a verdict has been 
given there. Moreover the supreme judicatory cannot 
entertain this reason of the appellants without pre- 
judging the case. It has not yet been shown that 
there are any such errors in the address of the de- 
fendant. It has not yet been shown that It Is neces- 
sary to prevent their spread and Influence In the de- 
nomination. It has not yet been shown that it Is im- 
portant that any court of the Church should condemn 
tiiem. Such things can be done with propriety only 
after trial In the court of the presbytery. On the 
other hand It may be that the appellants are In error 
In their belief and opinion. It may be that the de- 
fendant Is right in his opinions and that the prose- 
cutors are In error. He claims that Ms address Is In 
entire accord with Holy Scripture and the system of 
doctrine taught In the Westminster Confession. Again 
and again he has affirmed his adherence to the Con- 
fession and the Scriptures. He is entitled to the pre- 
snmptlon of Innocence until he Is proved guilty aftei 
trial. His position and experience as a teacher in a 
theological seminary for eighteen years past ^ve the 



presumption In his favor. The action of the Pres- 
bytery of New-York In dismissing the case against 
the defendant is conclusive against the appellants' view 
of the case until their decision Is reversed by due 
course of appeal. But In fact at this stage the As- 
sembly cannot entertain any reasons that have to do 
with the merits of the case. They cannot entertain 
the opinions and beliefs of the appellants or the 
opinions and beliefs of the defendant in this case. 
They can only Inquire whether this Is a valid reason 
for making this appeal an exception to the law of 
appeals. Inasmuch as this reason, like the previous 
one, goes Into the merits of the case and pre- 
supposes the guilt of the defendant, the court cannot 
entertain it without doing him grave Injustice and 
wrong. 

3. The third reason given by the appellant is : 
"Believing .that a special responsibility rests upon 
the General Assembly In cases that affect the doctrine 
of the Church, and concern the promotion of truth 
and holiness through all thj churches under its care." 
This is a general statement ito which no Presby- 
terian could make any objection, but it is noit a 
reason why this appeal should be entertained by .the 
General Assembly. The General Assembly lias a 
special responsibility In cas;s of doctrine, so have all 
the synods and all 'ithe presbyteries in the Church. 
The law is that "appeals are generally to b^ taken 
to the judicatory Immediately superior to that ap- 
pealed from." Are there any special reasons why 
this law should be departed from by this appeal? 
We can hardly suppose tbait the appellj^nts would 
have us think that in all cases of doctrine appeals 
should be taken ito the General Assembly without 
bringing them before the Intermediate Court of .tlie 
Synod. For such an opinion could not be enit/>r- 
tained for a moment in any Presbyterian body in the 
world. They must show that the General Assembly 
has a special responsibiUy as to the doctrines con- 
tained in the defendant's address which they do not 
have as regards other doctrines In other writings and 
by other persons ; In order to make this appeal an 
exceptional one under tills reason. This proof they 
do not offer. Therefore the reason Is invalid and 
Cannot legally be en.tertalned by the Assembly. 
Furthermore, to en.tertaln the complaint for this 
reason would introduce a new and dangerous .theory 
of the authority of the Gener.il Assembly. Tt would 
exaU the authority of the Assembly In dealing with 
matters of doctrine to the deureciallon of the au- 
thority of presbyteries and svnods In this regard. 
For if a special exception could be allowed as to the 
doctrines contained In the Inaugural address of Dr. 
Briggs. 1* would establish a pretfedent for special ex- 
ceptions in the case of other doctrines of other per- 
sons. The inevitable resulit. of such exceptions would 
be to undermine and impair th'^ constitution of .the 
Church, 'which assigns .to presbyteries and synods 
duties In cases thpt affect the doctrine of the Church, 
as well as to General Assemblies. 

4. The founth reason given by the appellant is : 
"In view of the desireablenes"? of the speediest 
settlement of this most important question. " 

An ancient proverb gives us an important lesson 
applicable to this reason. "More haste — less sp^ed." 
If the appellants desired a speedy settlement of 
this m'&st Imnortant question, why did they not 
acquiesce in the decision of the Presbytery of New- 
York when they dismissed the case? The appellants 
are solely responsible for reopening the case. If they 
were dissatisfied with the dismissal of the charges and 
specifications on account of their InsufBclency. the 
speediest way would have been for them to frame 
new " charges and speclflcationE sufficient In form and 
In legal effect." U they were able to frame them. They 
might then have had a trial and a verdict during the 
past winter. They appeal to the General Assembly 
over the head of the svnnfl a.rtd thn=: ^"volve the case 
in a large number of delicate and dlflicult questions 
of law under n^-" new Rrv-^ir r>f Di<!riT)line, which has 
not yet been tested and offlciallv defined. Thev over- 
ride the rights of the defendant, and of his co- 
presbvters. a.nd thev l^Tiore th** rights of the Svnodj of 
New- York, and they disregard the constitution of the 
Church, in order to appear before your venera.ble bodv 
with their appeal for the "speediest settlement." 
This is haste, but it Is not speed. This Supreme 
Court of the Church cannot properly entertain this 
reason. Why Is speed necessary In this case? The 
appellants claim that the case Is one of the most Ira- 
■nnrtant in the history of the Presbvterlan Church. 
The importance of the case Is a reason why all the pro- 
reertlnes should be conducted with caution and wltK 
deliberation. 

The defendant claims that the case has already been 
Involved with unnecessary difficulties because of the 
haste with which It was undertaken. In his absence 



50 



LIBR,VR\- OF TKJBUXE EXTRAS. 



from presbytery, wliile iU upon his bed, without noti- 
ticaiiou, the presbytery appointed, a committee com- 
posed cJilefly of the present prosecutors to iuvestlgate 
his inaugural address. He protested against this pro- 
ceeding at the next meeting of the presbytery, claim- 
ing that no action should have been talien until he 
had had an opportunity of mailing a statement be- 
fore the presbytery. Mo opiwrtunity has been given 
to him to make any statement up to the present time. 
The only thing he has been able lo do has been to pre- 
sent his protest last spring, and then in the autumn to 
file his objections to the "sulliciency of the cliarges 
and specihca.tions as to form and legal effect." TJie 
defendant claims that if he had the opportunity, af- 
forded him by the law and usage of the denomlnatiOQ, 
of maldng an explanation before the presbytery, prior 
to the appointment of the committee of InvestlKa- 
tion, no committee would have been appointed and 
no process would Itave been undertalien. The de- 
fendant may be wrong in his opinion, but he must, in 
accordance with his convictions, claim that the case 
was entered upon with undue haste by the members 
of this committee, and that thereby great Injustice was 
done him. If the General Assembly could entertain 
this appeal in order to have " the speediest settlement 
of the case," a still greater fault would be com- 
mitted. It is not in accordance with equity that so impor- 
tant a case shoiud have " the speediest sett.emeut." 
A speedy settlement, a hasty decision, might do great 
injustice not only to the defendant, but also to many 
other important interests In our Church. 

We have tested the four reasons of the appellants for 
malring their appeal an exception to the law of appeals. 
We have shown that these reasons cannot be enter- 
tained by the Assembly without prejudging the case 
and doing wrong to the defendant, to the Presbytery of 
New-Yorlr, to the -'iynol of New-York, and so indi- 
rectly to all the presbyteries and synods of the Church. 
The General Assembly cannot entertain tlio appeal with- 
out violating the law that' 

"Appeals are geneially to be taken to the iudi atory 
immediately superior to that a.ppealed fi'om." (lOii.) 
II. This appeal cannot be entertained because there 
are no precedents to justify it.' 

In the Presbyterian Uige-st, Dr. Moore gives only 
two rases In which the Oeiieral Assembly has recog- 
nized exceptional reasons for passlntr by the synod. 
These appeals were made by defendants who had been 
condemned as guilty by their presbyteries. In the last 
of thesp, the case of the Rev. W. W. JIcLane. the de- 
fendant had leave to withdraw his appeal and, the case 
was not tried by the A.ssembly. The onlr other case 
mentioned was that of Jlr. Bourne, in 1816. in which 
the sentence of the Presbytery of Lexington deposing 
Mr. Bourne was reversed and a new trial ordered. 
But in tills case the Synod of Virginia censured the 
Presbytery of Lexington for allowing an appeal from 
their decision directly to the Assembly. It is p!aln, 
therefore, that this is no precedent for an appeal di- 
rectly to the General Assembly by a prosecutor. The 
appeal was exceptiinal because a minister had been 
deposed. All law protects the innocent and gives the 
presumption to the defendant. A minister who has 
been declared guilty by a Presbytery might suffer seri- 
ous injuiy if an appeal had, to go in its regular course 
through the synod to the General AssemblT. Such a 
man might prefer a speedy decision of his case by the 
Supreme Ooui't, and waive his right of appeal to the in- 
termediate court. There are other similar cases In the 
history of Presbyterian law. But a prosecutor is In a 
diftereat situation. He suffers no Injury by delay. He 
is deprived of no right by tile trial of the case before 
the intermediate com't in the regular way. There Is 
no reason whv he should insist upon » speedy d.eter- 
mination of the case. " The law of appeals does not 
allow exceptions In the Interest of prosecutors, but 
solely in the interest of defendants. And even 
these must gl.ve exceptional reasons. Many such ap- 
peals have been referred back to the svnod. 

It is the established usage of the Supreme Court 
to refer appeals bach to the synods. A few examples 
will be given. 

1. Two apiteals of Samuel LoVery were) dismissed 
m 1822, "because the appellant ha'd not prosecuted 
Ms appeals before the inferior judicatories." 

2. Matthew H. Bice had leave to withdraw his ap- 
peal in 1830, on the ground that " no reasons are 
assigned bv the apipellant for maldng tliis apnea! 
to the General Asseniblv instead of the svnod. 

3. ,Thj6 church at Cooperstown " had leave to withi- 
diaw their appeal in 1834, and prosecute it before 
the Synod of tJtica." 

4. John' Turbltt, In 1859, l^ad leave to wlthdrav his 
appeal from the decision of the Presbytery of 
Peoria^ deposing him from the ministry, "because 
the case had not been presented before the svn()d." 

5. The papers in the case of the appieal of Francis 
M. Donmlclt, in 1872, were returnidd to the parties 



presenting them "that they may be adjudicated by 
the Sj-nod of lona. South." These examples of ap- 
peals show sufficient y that the practice of the Gen- 
eral Assembly has beeta in accordance with the la.w 
of appeals. Appeals have been aUowed in a very few 
exceptional cases, but these have been for reasons 
clearly exceptional, and where .no wrong was done 
to any party or court. 

The reluctance of Genefiil Assemblies to entertain 
appeals dti-ecwyfi-om ,pr(siL)>terles may be seen la the 
case of the Presb.5 tery oi Philadelphia, in 1870, 
against the Presbytery of Luzerne, for an alleged in- 
vasion of the p.esb.terlai juilsdiction. a special 
reason was given In this caee, namely, " because of the 
pi'esbyteries having mo common syuodical relations." 
They belonged to dlflerent synods. No synod could 
judge between them. It would seem, therefore, that 
this was an appropriate case for the General Assem- 
bly. But the Assembly prefelrred another way. A 
new synod h!^d been orgaiizefl which embraced both 
presbyteries. Theretfore the Uen«-al Asscmljly pro- 
posed that "the new synod Uu. i ..() 
that the Presbytery of Luzerne cease aU action until 
the synol decides." •^•'j-t. 

Tills example shows clearly that there may aj-ise 
cases between presbyteries in which the General 4s- 
tS™\„'iK'^ ^rS, t^« 0"iy superior court common' to 
them both. The cases of aggrieved defendants and 
of iJresbyteries under dlflerenT synods and otlier sim- 
ilar cases which might be mentioned give sufficient 
ground for the insertion of the adverb "generaltv" 
i'J-,.!J',?t.^'''' o'" a'Pl'-lls.. ^o as to allow of such necessliy 
t'^,.,?^^ Vi ^'?*', *'"! <l"aliflcation was never de- 
signea 1 ' the interest ol pr,:.secutors, and so far aa 

S?n=SSi ™ ^^ '^'^^'^'^ '"^<'°- "^"^ m tl>e interest of 
i^iuset mors. 

If the Assembly could entertain this appeal of the 
prosecutors they woul ■ establish a new precedent 
which might have very unfoHunate results" because 
It would enable any prosecutor in any prcsbvterv to 
K^P \"^ ?/'l"^ .*°* '"■1°8 ^^ '-■as'- before the whole 
Church, if he in his judgment, thought tliere were 
good reasiJ^s for a spfeedy deteirminatlSn of the c^e 
And though the General Assembly might refer it to 
the synod after due consiaeration, yet it would be 
necessary to hear the paa-ties and cctasider wlhethier to 
entertain the case or not. A door would be opened 
by which many cases might be forced before the As- 
sembly which in due course of ,procedurel, according to 
all precedents and tlie previous interpretations of the 
Book of Disciphne, would go before the synods. 

It IS also worthy of conslderatio-n by every elder 
and minister iJiat thie law a .d precedents govern the 
passing over of all intermediate courts. If it is laW- 
i°^J^ V?*^ "^^^ "' a minister to pass over the synod 
to the Genoi-al Assembly, it is just as lawful in the 
case ot a layman to pass over the presbytery and ap- 
peal from the session to the synod. It is easy to 
see what unfortunate results miglit sprhig from a 
decision of tho Assembly to entertain this appeal 
which may involve an entire change in prrtcedure be^ 
fore aU our judicatories; aid all tliis in the interest 
of pi-osecutors and against the interest of 
defendants. The r ght of every minister and 
elder, yes of every communicant, is thi>eatcnr3d by the 
proposed entertainment of tins appe,al. 

^',l' o^'''.^ appeal cannot be entertained because It 
woiild daprive the defendant of a right "'=^'*'""' 

The delenlanti has a right to the consideration of 
his case before his synod. The entertainment of this 
appeal would deprive him of his rlglit. The Pl-es- 
bytery of New-York dismissed the case aganst him. 
He appeals before this venerable body with this action 
of lus presbytery at his b^ck. Tl»e defendant has 
reasrfn to beHeve that if this appe^il we^en^ 
tainei by tlie synod of New-York, flie Synod of Newl- 
\^7^ "^rSi^l*/"^**!" t'i« presbytery in dismissing the 
ca.se. The defeidant would thea stand In a much 
better position before the' Church and the world with 
the great Synod of New-York at Ms back, and if the ap- 
pellants sHould then can-y their apne-al to the next 
Genei-al Assembly, the defendant would have a much 
stronger case before Uiat Assembly than it is possible 
for lum to have before this Assembly. This defendant 
has a right to maintain his cause and secure the vin- 
dication of his synod. But it the General Assembly 
'^"15 ufPA®'**^° ^^ appeal and deprive a party of such 
a right, it might do him so serious a wrong as to com- 
pel him to appeal to the clvU courts of his country for 
%'lndicatlon. •' 

The law of appeals does not grant tlie General As- 
sembly a right to make an exceptional case in the in- 
terest of the appellants to the detriment of the inter- 
est of the defendant and against his protest. The law 
of appeals does not permit the Assembly to do the dft. 
fendant a wrong and deprive him of a right which h a 
enjoys under the constitution. No exceptional i-pT 
sons whatever can justify a court in doing a wrong The 



PKESBYTElilAN ISSUES. 



51 



defendiiut lias a right to every opportunity that the 
iaw ail(iivs iilm lu sclt deleiice aud m vinulcalloii. 

XV. I'he appeal caimcn be entercaliietl because It 
would depilve more tuau ouu huudred ministers and 
elders oi the i'rdsbytery oC New-Vom who uave taiien 
attiC/U lu the cuso by their complaint to the synods 
oi their rlgut ol complaint. 

A compiaint Is penuiui; before the Synol of New-Yorls 
agiuust ihe decision ol the Ji'resbytery ol New-York. 
^November 4, 1891, In sustaining by a vote of 64 to 57 
the ruling ol the moderator as foUows : 

■■I. iljt u.^ «ommitn.e Mh.cu preferred cliagres 
Against D.'. Bilggs (presented to the tiesbytery Octouer 
D, IBUl) was a commlitee of prosecution under bectlon 
10. of uie Kevlsea ucoit oi ivlsclpJne. 

■••J,. Xliat the comm.ttee was Ij tlie house on the 
day on wlilcu tue citation was returnable (November 4, 
18ul, as aforesaid) as an oilgluai party. 

■• 3. Tii.ai the committee, as an oiiglnal party, was 
virtual y and piacacail*- ludependeni ol the presby- 
tery." 

Ttils complaint bears tlie signatures of 114 minis- 
ters and elders of the Presbytery of New-Yorli. Ac- 
coi-aijig to the Book of uiscipUne (83), " a complaint 
Is a wiitten reprtsentaMju maue to the next superior 
Judlcatoi'y." a compiaint cannot be carried from the 
lireobytery to the General Assembly. Therefore, the 
otily TLditiiis the oomijlalnauts had against the decision 
of the presbytery in these important matters was by 
complaint to the Synod of New-Yark. This eomplalut 
Invoives the very existence of tliis ooiumittee, wlilch 
lias appealed, whether Jtey were appointed as a pros- 
ecuting committee, whether tliey are an original party, 
whether they have any right to act Indepeudent of the 
presbytery and against tue presbytery. If the synod 
should decide any of these questions in accordance 
with the views of the complainants, the appellants 
would have no present jlght of appeal, and couid n^t, 
thereiore, appear before you as appeliauts at tills time. 
The defendant does not raise those obJectlDns 'nere 
because t.ey go before tJie Synod of New-Y'ork for its 
decision, and he reserves tlwi I'lght with Dthers, his 
.co-complainants, to argue tliose questions before the 
iiynod. of Xew-Y'ork. If the! Ueiieral Assembly, wlt^ir 
out the consideration o^ tliese fundamental questions 
which are not before your venerable body, and wliicli 
cannot legally, come before you at this time, if you 
shaud recognize tliese ' appellants, you decide, by Indl- 
recUon, three questions of vast importancs pending 
before tlie Synod of New- York, wliWi.: only that synod 
has jurisdloiion t3 decide under present circunistanees. 
Toi might damage (lie complainants In their rights 
before the synod. You would compel the synod efiher 
to disregai-d the rights ol the complainants and refuse 
tli«m a hearing because the case had been ah-eady 
■decided by the Assembly, or you would force the synod 
to disregard the action of the Assembly in order to 
protect the complainants in their rights. The synod 
woud be placed In a cruel dilemma. They must 
either do wrong to the majoilty of t'le gi'eat Presby- 
teiy of New- York, or they must protect the rights ot 
the complainants in that presbytery, even at the risk 
of CDDfllct with the GSeneral Assembly. 

The complainants have sought tlie only mode of 
redress allowed them under tlie constitution of the 
Church, and therefore the Assembly cannot entertain 
-Olds appeai without injuring them In their rights, or 
possibly without depriving tiliem of their rights, or 
TFithout rlslilng an unfortunate conflict as to jurisdic- 
tion between tlie Synod ol New-York and the General 
Assf'TiiblV 

v. The appeal cannot be entertained because the 
Assembly would thereby intrude upon the functions 
■ol the Synod of New-Yorli. , , ,, ,*.,„„ „^ 

The Synod of New- York Is the appropriate court 
under the constitution to entertain an appeal from a 
judgment of the Presbytery of New- York. It lias the 
Tight to entertain the appeal. The General Assembly 
would deprive it of a right 11 it interposed Its authority 
■between the synod and the presbytery. Furthermore 
a protest and two complaints are pending before the 
Svnod ol New- York bearing on matters especially con- 
nected with this appeal. It Is the duty of the Synod 
ot New- York to consider all these papers brought 
properly before It. The appeUants have reserved 
themselves a hearing before the synod, should they 
fall in their appeal to your venerable body. A com- 
plaint signed by the appellants and their frien^ Is 
pending before the synod touching the same matters 
as those contained in the appeal. The whole case 
comes before the synod. Only a part ol the case, and 
that part the one prepared hy the prosecution can 
come before the General Assembly. If the General 
Assembly prejudge the case without considering the 
compiaint to come before the synod, what will be the 
d'nty of the synod under the circumstances? Can they 
refuse the complainants a heartne? If they hear the 
complaint comhig before them in the regular way shall 



they not consider It and give their judgment upon It I 
is it pioper lor the General Assembly to prejudge a 
case which must come before tlie synod, and so put 
the synod in the dUemma of doing Injustice to the com- 
plainants or of making a decision the reverse ol that 
of the General Assembly 1 It might be that the synod 
would take a different view of the case from the Gen- 
eral Assembly, requiring the appellants to take an 
appeal to the next Assembly. What then ought the 
Presbytery ol New- York to do. If the Assembly sus- 
tain the appellants and 11 the synod decide that they 
had. no right ol appeal? What would be the conse- 
quences of such a, conflict of jurisdiction brought on by 
a premature decision, ol the Supreme Judicatory 1 The 
next General Assembly might reverse the decision ol 
the present General Assembly and the whole case 
might be suspended during this period of conflict. Is 
Is -prudent to run such risks ? 

The Synod ol New- York has thirty presbyteries, 
one-seventh of the 215 presbyteries ol the Church; 
1,126 ministers, more than one-sixth of the 6,223 min- 
isters of our Church ; 165,159 communicants, mora 
than one-flfth pf the 806,796 communicants ol our 
Church. II there ever was a synod which might be 
trusted to decide an important matter to sit in judg- 
ment In a different case, surely the Synod of New- York 
is such a synod. Here are thirty presbyteries which 




THE REV. DR. &. W. ¥. BIRCH. 

can send a delegate to the synod; these are spread over 
the Empire State, sufflclntly near to be Interested In a 
case In the Presbytery ol New- York, to easily leant 
all the facts and circumstances, and yet sufficiently 
remote to decide It without personal considerations 
and complications. 

■Here is a synod which contributes bo the work ol 
home missions $312,756, nearly one-tlilrd of the sum 
total given by the whole Church for that great cause, 
$995,625. It contributes for foreign missions $203,- 
892, or more than one-fourth of the whole contrihu- 
tU>n to tile cause, $784,406. Snch a synod is deserv- 
ing of the confidence ot the General Assembly. Such 
a synod ought not t6 jrassed over Ughtly by any 
committee, even if they should prove In sorie yet 
undiscovered way to represent the Presbyterian Ohurch 
in the United States of America. 

VI. The appeal is Irregular hecause notice was 
given to the presbytery of appeal to the synod. 

The committee gave notice to the piresbyitery tihroaigh 
tJielr chairman. Dr. Bdrch, ol appeal to tlie synod. (See 
stenographer's report, p. 146.) The change ol the 
appeal to the General Assembly seems to have beem 
an afterthought, and after the right of appeal had 
been exhausted by their notice of apipeal to the synod. 
The appellant^ knew of the ^>rotesit of Dr. Van Dyke 
and the complaint ol Dr. Birowin and others to the 
Synod of New-York, 'of whi^ch notice was given to 
presbytery at the time. The complainants and the 
appeHants ought to meet before the bar of the synod. 
We claim that this change of appeal was unfair. 
Irregular, unlawful and without precedent, and that 
th:ra Is a ground why the General Assemlbly should 
not entertain It. It gives the appellants a hearing 
before the Asspmblv, when br the law of the Church 
the complainants can only be Jieard before the synod. 



LIBRARY OF TRIBUNE EXTRAS. 



Any decision ol tlie Asseanbly under tJie circumstances 
could only be ex parte and unjust. Tlie oody similar 
case to tMs whicii we liave found was the appeal ot 
Chaj-leis I'ale .ai leiiu Irom llie sentence ul the 
Breslbytery ol Bath ••deposing him irom tue Gospel 
ministry." Tills was djsmissea hy the G-emeral Assem- 
bly "itoecause it app.eared that Jlr. Yale gave noiiee 
to said preslbytery that he should appeal to Che synod 
of Geneva seveoi days beiorvj'iie sigiiitied h.s desire to 
the modftuatOT of the presbytery to appeal to the 
Genea'al Assembly." ("Digesi," p. 55(j.; 

an the Assemtjly follow tihis precedent they will 
dismiss tJliis appeal becauae tJie case is exactly par- 
allel. TJiese appellants gave notice to the i^resbyiery 
of N«w-York ol appeal to the feiyinod ol New-YorK 
severad days before they slgnihed tne-r desire to the 
clert or modeiator of the pie.sbytery to appeal to the 
aeneial Assembly. 

VII. The appeal cannot be entantained because 
the complaint to the synod signed by more ithan 
oue-thlid ol the presbytery acts as a stay until the 
synod decides whether the commlttea has a rigttt to 
exist, and therefore a right of appeal. 

A complaint is now pending before ithe Synod of 
New- York. It has been lodged with the stated clcrii 
of the synod. His receipt has been presented among 
the papers In the case. At the meeting ol the Pres- 
bytery of New- York, November 4. In connection with 
the motion to dismiss the case, a motion to discharge 
the committee was ruled out of order by the 
moderator on the ground that the committee was a 
committee of prosecution, an original party, and Inde- 
pendent ol presbytery, representing the Presbytei'lan 
Church in the United States of America. The pres- 
bytery sustained the moderator by a vote of 64 to 
57. The leaders of the minority prepared a com- 
plaint to synod which has been signed by 67 mem- 
bers present and voting at the time, showing that 
the moderator was sustained In his ruling by a 
mistake on the part of at least ten voters, and that 
the majority of the presbytery was really against 
his decision. 

It is claimed that .the complaint signed by more 
than one-third of the presbytery acts as a stay on 
the decision of the presbytery, and that this com- 
mittee cannot act as a prosecuting committee and as 
an ori^al party and as independjnt of the pres- 
bytery, unless the synod decides that .they have a 
right to act in one or more of these three capaci- 
ties. 

The ground lor that opinion, that the complaint 
acts as a stay. Is in the provision of the new Book of 
Discipline (85) : 

"Whenever a complaint, In case.= non-judicial Is 
entered against the decision of a judicatory signed 
by at least one-ithlrd of the members recorded as 
present when the action was taken, .the execution 
of such decision sliaU be stayed until .the final issue 
ol the case by the superior judicatory." 

This section was In.troduced into our new Book 
of Discipline. The old Book of Discipline allotted 
appeals in any oases, whether execratlve or judicial. 
The new Book of Discipline limits appeals to judicial 
decisions. This limitaitlon required a change In the 
law of complaints so that they might cover the ap- 
peals allowed in the old book in executive decisions. 
The reason lor limiting appeals to judicial decisions, 
as given hy Dr. Oraven, chairman of the committee 
which prepared the new book, was to prevent one or 
more parties from staying proceedings in cases non- 
judicial. But he recognized that there were cases 
non-judicial In which such a stay is important. This 
stay was accomplished by . appeals under .the 
old hook. Under the ne-(v book, the law of 
complaint was enlarged so as to accom- 
plisJi such a stand in decisions non-judicial 
under certain restrictions. The only restriction in 
the new book Is that the complaint shall be signed by 
more than one-third ol those present at the time ol 
the decision and voting in the decision. Dr. Craven 
at first proposed another limitation, namely, to re- 
strict the stay to the four things : " A licensure, an 
ordination, an Installation, or the dissolution of a 
pastoral relation." (Presby. Review, Iv, 68). 

But Dr. Humphrey showed that the stay must have 
a wider sweep or great Injustice would often be done. 
He was arguing against the limitation of appeals to 
judicial cases as then proposed. He said: 

"About three years ago, one of our Western pres- 
byteries adopted a resolution ordering aU the ruling 
elders and deacons ol a certain church to cease to act 
as such, arid took measures for the election of other 
elders and deacons. The deprived elders appealed to 
synod from the decision of presbytery. The effect ol 
the appeal being to susi)end the judgment, the elders 
and deacons continued to discharge the duties ol their 
office, and no new election has been held. One ol the 
elders took his seat pending Ms appeal In the pres- 



bytery and the synod. The Assembly ol 1881 on ara 
overiure de-lded that he had a right to Sit in the Churcla 
courts. (Mln. 587). On an appeal from the pres- 
bytery to the synod, the action of the presbytery was- 
reversed. The elders having continued meanwhile in 
the government of the chui'ch, everything passed otf 
quietly. All this was done under our present system 
(The old Book of Discipline). Now let us follow the 
case if the new Discipline (the one first proposed) had; 
been in force. The deprived elders could not have 
appealed, because their case was not judicial— it was 
simply executive. They might protest and complain, 
but neither a protest nor complaint would suspend the 
judgment. Tuey would have been compelled to cease 
acting as ruling elders, and a new bench ol elders- 
would have been chosen under the orders ol the pres- 
bytery. But the synod reversed and set aside the de'- 
cision of the presbytery and restored to the elders their 
clear title to the office. Now, under the revision (the 
proposed new book) can anybody describe (risuja 
tenens) the predicament of the newly elected elders?' 
And what would have become ol a church compelled, 
to pass Irom an old to a new administration and back 
again Irom the new to the old, all within less than a- 
year?" (Presby. Review, Iv, 328-329). 

In rtew ol those objections ol Dr. Humphrey an* 
other similar ones by other eminent ecclesiastical 
lawyers, the law of the stay ol complaints, as pro- 
posed by the committtee and finally adopted, was en- 
larged so as to cover all cases "non-judicial." The 
only limitation is that more than one-third ol the- 
voters shoiild sign it. 

It is evident that a vote ol the Presbytery of New- 
York sustaining a ruling ol the moderator in an in- 
terpretation ol our Book ol Discipline is a non- 
judicial decision. The defendant has no right ol ap- 
peal Irom it, though this decision did him great wrong. 
He could only unite with other members ol the pres- 
bytery in the complaint to the Synod ol New-Y'ork. 
He could secure a stay to this injurious action only by 
gaining more than one-third ol the voters as signers 
to the complaint. The delendant suffered a grievance 
by this decision. According to the old Book ol Discipline, 
the prosecution being a committee ol presbytery could 
not appeal against the decision of presbytery in dis- 
missing the case. They could only complain to the 
synod with other private members of presbytery and 
so seek redress. The prosecution claim the right of 
appeal under the new Book of Discipline. This right 
of appeal the delendant and those who unite with him; 
in the complaint, constituting the majority ol the- 
presbytery, deny to the prosecutors. Great injustice 
is done the delendant by this so-called prosecuting- 
committee keeping open the case against him alter his- 
presbytery has dismissed it. This committee pub- 
lished their appeal in the so-called religious press- 
and advocated it helore the Presbyterian 
Church and the general public several months be- 
fore any judicatory conild meet to decide wliether they 
had any lurther right to act as a committee of prose- 
cution. They have assumed that the decision woul* 
be in their lavor and they liave acted as 11 the deci- 
sion in their favor had already beeK made. These 
unjust proceedings, so injurious to the defendant, have 
been carried on by a committee claiming to represent 
the Bre=ibyterian 'Church in the United States of 
America. They have agitated the Church and the 
religious community agains.t the defendant as if he 
were guilty of lieresy, notwithstanding his presby- 
tery had dismissed the casS" against Mm. If 
tliese prosecutors have acted without authority, hut 
on their own respomsiblKty, the defeindiint cbuld seek 
redress from any teeiulting injury befotei <the civir 
courts ol his counti'y. But the prosecutors claint 
authodty from the Preslbyterian Church In^the United 
States ol -America, and It has been necessary for the 
defendant, out of respect to the judicatories of his 
Church, to sulEeir this wrong in patience until he oould 
gain redress from the Synod ol New-Y'ork. No prece- 
dent lor thfis claim ol the proeecutoirs or such action 
as they have taken under auoh a tlalm cam be found 
in the M'Story of Pres'byterlan jurisprudence. If this 
committee have such a rtglht it is a new thing in the 
Preshytepian law. Tlhey can gain it only by an 
olli'Cial Interpretation of our new Book of Discipline 
to that effect by the superior judicatories. Resipeot 
loir the superior judicatories ought to have Influenced' 
them to wait lor their decision of this miost important 
(luestion. 

The delendant and his complainants sought the only 
redress open to them. They endeavored to stay this 
committee by their complaint ' to the symod, si-gned' 
by a majority of the voters In the presbytery. Ac- 
cording to the law of complaint theij' have a right to 
stay tills committee by tflielr complaint. The com- 
plaint, icomplylmg with the law of complaints, does 
so stay them. They have wronged the defend.T,nt al- 
ready by their premature action in not waiting for- 



PRESBYl'EEIAN ISSUES. 



53 



the synod's d.iK;i.-.ii)ii . They wrong lUtn iiLiU more by 
jreswituig thi-lr aiJiK-al lo iour vtnei-aUl« body, xiie 
tjenreal Aiisemijly woudd ass,umJ the respjnsltililtiy of all 
4)Lelr wmig-<lolng ix you coaidd entwitaiii their appeal, 
rjie (rejiei-al Assembly cannot entertain this appeal 
WltJiO'Ut >^lat.ng the law of oomplalnte iinder tlie mw 
Book 01 MsclpUne. The synod must flrst decide that 
the iiroseoutoiis are appellants having the rlgilit as a 
committee of presbytery to appeal against the decision 
«t the presbytery which appomted tuem before Uiey 
can apipeal to elUier court, Dhe supei'lor court of tixe 
synod or the supreme comit of th,e General Assembly. 

It ought to be clear to every one that tlie luterpreta- 
.Uon of uor lijok of JJisclp Ine as to tit.ose three points, 
whether tills commHtee Is a prosecuting committee, 
wlietlier they are an orlglna. party, and -whether they 
«an act Independently of the presbytery wliicli created 
them, IS of mort' tmpartance to the i'resbjterian 
Church than any decision tn the case of Ur. Briggs. 
Ki was not necessary to complicate action against lilm 
by raising these diflicuit and delicate questions jf law. 
If tills committee itad been discharged, as they would 
have been disoluirged If It had not been for the unfort- 
unate mistake of ten or morp voters of the i'lesbytery 
of New- York as to the real question before the liouse, 
they would liave been entirely fi'ee to come togetier 
as Individual prosoutors, prepare new ciiarges, witii 
.all the light thrown upon tlie case by tlie previous dis- 
oussion, present tliam id the presbytery, and press tiiem 
tor dsdslon before thj pi-esbytery. No one questioned 
their right to talce such a course. Tliat was the course 
they oug.'.t to liave taken in Justice to tlicmselves and 
to the accused. Dr. Uriggs was prepared io meet 
tliem before the bar of the "P'esbytery. Tliey oigliit 
to have been rejidy with their case after working so 
many months upon it. Tiiey might have had a trial, 
df tliey had tabled legal (S..arges. They miglit have 
secured a righteous verdict If tliey liad a real casf. 
A final judgment ■o'jglit to have been given early iu 
the papt winter it ti.ey had done their part ot tlio 
•work. The d-'1'endant firmly believes tiial they liavo 
-no case : that tliey cannot propose any ohargos and 
speciflc{Prions that will be suflicieutln form and in legal 
■effect; tliat they caonot prove .!:im guilty or any vio- 
lation of Ills ordination vows. lie Is sure of Ms Inno- 
cence, and is convinced that any and e\ci'y attempc 
\>y any committee to prepare cljarges will oniy serv.'' 
■to inalie this evident to a'l nnprejudieed minds. If 
/tiie O'mmittee be'levod that tlje defendant -iva^ ■wrong, 
and that his pri'sbytery was wrong In tlielr decision, 
they oiiglit to h'lve taken ppins to convince the pres- 
■bytery befO'e tliey appealed to tlie 9up?.rlor coiirt.J. 
I But this oommitt^e piefoiTCd io agitate the wliole 
Presbyterian Churcii by pubUS' Ing tlielr appeal wiiiU 
arguments In advooacy of it. Tliey preferred to rats.i 
a numlier oT diiTicult questions of law in order thnt 
"they miglit stand before tlic^ public in tlie august posl- 
■tlon of representing W'e Pi-esbytcrlan Church in tih'3 
TJnit.'rt States of Airert<-:i.. 

VIII. There is pending before the Synod of New- 
Tforlt a complaint agninst an Interlocutory decision of 
-the presbytery. UntU this is sustained or reversed 
the judgment of the presbvtery in dismissing the case 
■against Dr. Briggs cannot be a final judgment and 
therefore cannot be appealed from. 

The complaint to synod signed by Dr. Bro^wn and 
others is against an interlocutory decision of the pres- 
Toytery respecting the status of the committee who ap- 
pear before you as appellants. 

Even assuming that the judgment of dismissal by 
the presbytery Is a " final judgment" in so far as It Is 
-a finality In favor of the defendant and an end of tlie 
case, saving only the rlsht of appeal (if tlie prosecutors 
are In a condition to appeal), yet It Is not, under the 
circumstances In this case, a final judgment, for the 
reason that Intormediate or Interlocutory proceedlnss 
-are pending before the synod which Involve the right 
■of the prosecutors to act. 

If no complaint has been made to the synod raising 
-the question of the authority of the committee and the 
power of the presbytery over the committee, and if 
the defendant had rested on the motion to dismiss and 
■the action taken thereon. It may be that he could not 
■object that the judgment was not final, because that 
Judgmen't necessarily ended the case and no further 
proceeding could be had In it except by way of appeal. 
New charges and specifications could have been made, 
"but this case would have been at an end. It might 
be regarded as a final judgment from this point of view. 
-although the Bonk of Discipline seems to be against 
this opinion. The prosecutora, however, are met In 
their present appeal by the complaint to tlie svnod 
taken In precise accordance wiili the directions of the 
Book of Discipline («3-86) and constituting a proceed- 
ing to secure a review of the questions raised by it 
^n the next superior Judicatory. This onerates as a 
-stay of proceedings (85). and until this Interlocutory 
<luestion Is disposed of the Judgment of the presbytery 



Is not " final'' within the meaning of the Book of 
Discipline; and if It be not final there is no right of 
appeal, the Book of Discipline permits appeals only 
"Iiom the final judgnient of the lower judicatory." (94). 

iir. Moaeraioi-, jUliusteis and jjders : 1 liave lim- 
ited my argument to the simple tact tliac the appellants 
—If they are appellants, which we do LOt oontede, and if 
they have a right to appeal under any clicumstjiuces, 
which Is open, to grave doubt— t at in auy case they 
ought to go to the Synod of New-i'ork. The reiisous 
they present why you should entertain tlielr appeal 
are Invalid. You could not admit them without pre- 
judicing the cause of t'..ie defendant, usurping authority 
wliich belongs to the lower courts, and acting in a 
liasty, illegal and revolutlonai'y manner. Objections 
liave been presented against the entertainment of this 
appeal, which seem to be insuperable. The law of 
appeals does not jusdty passingi tiver the synod in 
the Interest of the appellants. The precedents ot 
appeals before tiie General Assembly are all against 
this appeal. To enttitaln it would be to deprive the 
defendant of Ills rights under the constitution. It 
would wrong more filian 100 ministers and elders 
of tile Presbytery of New-York by damaging or 
destroying their right of complaint. It would 
override the Synod of New-York, the most com- 
petent and the only proper Judicatory to determine 
tlie case. It would put that great synod in the awk- 
ward dllem-ma either of disregarding tlie rights of 
ccmp'iiinants represenling tie maiority of tlie Presby- 
tery of Ncw-Yoi'lc, or of dlbi'egar<llng tlie decision of the 
Assembly, and so Involving a conflict of Jurisdiction. 
It would be against a precedent of the General Assem- 
bly, wliich dismissed a ca.se t}ecanse notice was given 
to presbytery ot appeal to synod and only subsequently 
of appeal to Geneml Assembly. 

You cannot enter'ain this appeal finally, because 
this commHtee is stayed from appealing by a com- 
plaint pending before the Synod of New-York, signed 
by a ma.'o'ity of the voters in the Presbytery of New- 
Yorlc, and because nntU t .Is Interlocutory decision is 
revised and drte; mined by the synod, there is no for- 
mal judgment In the case from wliich an appeal can 
be tiken. 

I submit this argument to your venerable body with 
the request that vou will do justice to the defendant, 
titat you ■will recognize the rights of ills co-p-esbyters. 
that yo I ^vlU credit the Presbytery of New-York and 
that you will '— ust the Synod of New- York, all wMoli 
you can do only by dismissing tills appeal and refer- 
ling the appellants to the Synod of New- York, where 
they must appear in anv case to maintain their o-wn 
nompUilnt before the judicatory, and to I'esUt tlie com- 
plaint of the majoritv of the Presbyoery of New- York, 
whicli must be considered and decided by the Synod ot 
New-York at the next meetdng. 

DR. A&NEW RAISES AX OB.TE0TION. 
Dr. Agnew, of Philadelphia— I rise to a question of 
order. We have decided that the appeal Is In order. 
We .then defclded that the appellant and Dr. Brirfs 
should be heard. Now I wish to ask this question : 
Is net the Presbytery of New-York .the appellee here? 
I ask It Jjecause the 89th section of the Book of Dls- 
clplitje says: "The parties to a complaint, in cases 
non-JudlQlal, shall be Imown respectively as complain- 
ant and respondent— the latter being the judlciitory 
complained of, which should always be represented 
by one or more of Its number appointed for that 
purpose, who may be assisted by counsel." Then 
section 94 is : "Aft appeal is the removal of a 
Judicial case, by a -written representation, from an 
Inferior to a superior judicatory; and may be taken, 
by either of the original .parties, from the final 
Judgment of the lower judicatory. These parties"— 
that is, either of the original pai^les— " shall be called 
appellant and appellee.",. 5ly p61nt is this: If the 
New- York Presbytery Is not the appellee in this case, 
they are not here on this floor. When we come to 
the tilal of the case you must recognize them as an 
appellee, if we conclude to try the case. I submit 
■that it is not Dr. Briggs who Is on trial here. It is 
the question whether we are to place the New-York 
Pi-esby,tery on trial or not. I therefore ask whether 
the New- York presbytery Is not the appellee lns.tead 
of Dr. Briggs. 

The Moderator— The moderator has decided before— 
and adl^res ito that decision- that the original par- 
ties are the Ckommlttee of Prosecution and Dr. Brigga, 
and If this case Is entertained, pro\-lslon is made for 
hearing the members of the lower count appealed 



54 



libeaey of tribune extbas. 



from, which refers directly to the presbytery. We 
will now hear Colonel McCook. 

COLONEL M'COOK CLOSES THE ARGUMENT. 

Colonel John J. McCook— Mr. Moderator, Fathers 
and Brethren : Before I proceed with the very brief 
statement which I shall have to make It Is Quito 
proper that 1 should say what is striqfly within the 
line of ithe record before this body, in answer to one 
or two points raised by the appellee. In doing so 
I Bhall confine myself strictly to ithe record. First- 
No one Is more desirous than the members of tills 
prosecuting committee that the most complete and 
ample justice should be done to the appellee, nol 
only In this court, but in all lihe courts of the Pres- 
byterian Church. I must remove at the outset the 
impression of injustice which might be Inferred from 
a statement of the appellee as to~hls illness or ab- 
sence. The official record at page 69 will show that 
the original committee of investigation— not the prose- 
cuting committee here— appointed by the Presbytery 
of New- York ito investigate the inaugural address 
invited the attendance and conference of the appellee. 




S. J. McPHEKSON. 
This record here is the answer of a commiittea ap- 
pointed to answer a protest, and in the clause at 
the bottom of the 60th pag3 you will find, in referring 
to this matter. " That the views herein presented were 
those I held by Dr. Briggs is' clear from his reply to 
an invitation sent to him by Dr. Birch, chairman of 
the committee, under date of April 24, 1891, inviting 
him to meet with the committee lor conference and 
to give such explanation as he might desire, in which 
he says : 'If I were in good health, I would still 
be obliged to decline, lor the reason that it would 
seem that your committee were appointed to consider 
my inaugural address, and not to consider any expla^ 
nations of It I might desire to make.' 

So much In removal of the suggestion that at any 
stage any intent has been made to do an injustice to 
our brother, Dr. Briggs. The appellee lias spent con- 
siderable time in indicating to this body that the pro- 
ceedings here are stayel by a certain complaint to the 
Synod of New- York, which it was stated has been 
signed by 114 members of the Presbytery of New- 
York. The complaint referred to will be found In 
our record as being the one presented by Dr. Francis 
Brown In behalf of himself and others. (Turning to 
Dr. Briggs.) That is the complaint, Is It not, doctor? 

Dr. Briggs— Yes, sir. 

Colonel MoCook— Have you the page there! 

Dr. Briggs— Page -257. That Is the notice ti com- 
plaint. 

Colonel McCooii— Tills is a notice of complaint given 



by Dr. Brown on behalf of himself and others In re- 
lation to the status of the prosecuting committee. 
This is printed here as a part ol the record, as we had 
to print all the papers jiertalnlng to the case. This 
complaint, and the one on page 259, was signed by 
Dr. Brown, and was delivered to tlie stated clerk of 
our presbytery within the ten days provided by the 
book, and It stands there on tills record and the record 
of this case with no other signature than tliat ol Dr. 
Brown. The complaint, as a complaint, was per- 
lected within the ten days, with that signature. As 
soon as the ten days had expired for the perfection 
of a wiltten complaint, as provided in Section 86 of 
the Book of Discipline, other signatures may have 
been added, and, from the newspaper statements, we- 
believe they have been added, but they have no more, 
effect than if those names had been written upon a 
piece of i>aper and thrown into the street. We claim, 
that any slgnatm-e attached to that complatut after 
the expiration of those ten days Is irrelevant and 
should not be mentioned In this presence. Any mem- 
ber of a Judicatory submitting to its jurisdiction, of 
course, has the right to join in the complaint, but he- 
must do it within ten days ol getting a written com- 
plaint, as provided by our book. By eliminating this, 
whole question from tlie discussion of this complaint 
we will eliminate all questions in relation to wliat has- 
gone to the Synod of New- York. There is no com- 
plaint before this body which could be consolidated 
with this appeal and heard at this time. The record. 
In this case is before you, and nothing else. No one- 
can give lilgher honor to the great Synod ol New-York 
than I am ready to accord, but I regret to hear in 
this presence that it Is stated on the basis of numbers, 
and dollars. Fathers and brethren, do not let us tor- 
get where we stand, and what these missionary pres- 
byteries and synods may, under God's providence, do- 
lor our Church. Numbers and dollars are not quali- 
fications for a judiciary to pass upon the truth of 
Almighty God, 

I regret Extremely that I have to speak upon this, 
subject upon tech<vlcal grounds and eliminate the. 
merits ol the questlop. But that is right. It is ac- 
cording to the practice ol our book, and I always 
^vish iio he controlled by that. This is an argument 
upon the single question : Shall the appeal as pre- 
sented by this committee be entertained! It is only 
proper lor me to say at the outset that the action of 
the General Assembly in approv.ng the report ol tha 
judicial committee to the extent that the appeal Is in 
order is already decided beyond 'the need of argumenti 
Irom me, although it may be necessary to give reasons 
why that decision is a sound and correct one. First, 
that this committee is a committee of pro-secution 
under Section 11 of the (Book of Discipline ^ 
second, that this appeal Is presented in. 
the name ol the Presbyterian Church of the 
United States of America, because of it having been 
instituted by a judicatory, under Section. 
10 of the Book of Discipline. The question 
whethop this Is or is not a judicial case lias also been 
decided by that decision. The question even whether- 
tliis lia a final judgement has also been decided- 
But upom these points, and not that I desire to. 
weary you— for I would gladly wish that I might be 
relieved from being before you at all, except so far- 
as it is a matter of duty, and ol obeyiing the Ijehest, in 
the first Instance, of the presbytery, and following 
that ol our Book of Dfcicipline. Ouii' Book of Disoi- 
>line, sectiooi 70, provides four ways In which a case may 
be caiiTled from a lower to a higher judicatory. First,. 
Ivy general review and control ; second, by reference ; 
third, by complaint; fourth by appeal. , We ne'ed. 
not take the time of the AsisembJy to refer to the first 
two proceedings, but is important that in passing 
we ahould loiow the dlflerence between a complaint 
and am appeal. Seotdom 83 of the Book ol Discipline- 
says : " A complaint Is a wiltten represeiU'tation .made 
to the next superior judicatory." Note that— "by one- 
or more persons subject and suibmlttling to the juris- 
diction ol the judicatory complained ol, respecttmg any 
delinquency or any decision by an interior judicatory.'.'' 
The co;npi-.riic can attcet aiii action or decision of an- 
Inferior judicatory. Section 04 of the Book ol Disci- 
pline declares that "an appeajl is the removal of a- 
judicial case by a written repre?en'tation from an in- 
ferior to a superior judicatory"— not the next superior- 
jrudJcatory, as In the case of a complaint—" and may- 
be taken by either of the original parties from the 
final judgment of the lower judlcatoi'y-" Sectiom 103' 
provides that appeals aire, generally, to be taken to 
the jaixiicatory immediately s'.iperior to that appealed 
from." ThS's word generally in section 102 clearly 
indicates that there are excep-tiOTis to the rule, and;' 
the omds.&ioii ot the \TOrd "next" In section 4 is siig- 
nlfiicanit, and in the case of the compilers of oiur- 
book Intended to provide that in exceplioaial cases* 
like this an appeal could be talien directly fro-m the-. 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



55 



preeHiytery to the Gemoral AssemWy. Tttiose two 
clauses oi the took are so clear that It TiarcUy seems 
necessary to say more. The definition ol an appeal, 
In section 94, renders It necessary that the appellant, 
when his position Is qnesittoned, should he able to 
show, first, that the csise appealed Is a jndlolal case ; 
seconil, that the appeal Is taken by one o£ the original 
l>aTttes; .third, that the appeal Is talien from a final 
Judgmeint of the lower judleitory. 

SHrst— Section 6 oX the Booh ol I^dpUne provides: 
"Brocess against an alleged offender sliall not be 
commenced unless some person undertakes to sustain 
the charge, or unless a judicatory finds It necessary 
lor the ends ol discipline to Investigate the alleged 
offence." The case ol the Presbyterian Oluirch in the 
United States of America against Dr. Brlggs was Insti- 
tuted by the Presbytery of New-Yorh. On Apull 13, 
1891, tiiat presbytery appointed a committee to con- 
sider the Inauflural addiiess ol Dr. Brlggis. On May 
12— tiliat Is, after the first resolutions were passed— 
that committee to. investigate made a report recom- 
mending tliat the presbytery enter at once upon the 
Judicial InveJitlpatlon at the case: the question of a 
liudicial case being in the hands of the presbytery and 
their committee from the very beginning. That is 
page 39 of the record. This recommendation was 
adopted by the prestytery, and on May 17, 1891, the 
appointment of a committee was. announced to airrange 
and prepare the necessary proceediiDBs appi-oprlate in 
the case ol Dr. Urlggs. This committee, on .Tune 8, 
1891, rejwrted progress. Its report was accepted and 
the committee continued. This committee, acting a-* 
a pnoseouting committee, iMppototed in compliance with 
sectioin 11 of the Bool: ol aDlsiclpUne, fonTihlated 
charges and speeiflcations In the name ol the Preshy- 
-erian CShlurch in the United Staites ol Amieiloa against Dr. 
Briggs, and made a repbrt' recommendfrig that, in com- 
pliance with section 19 of the Book ol Discipline, the 
charges and specifications and a cltntion be served upon 
Dr. Briggs. This report was accepted and adopted by 
the presbytery but an attempt was made to arrest the 
judicial proceedings and discharge the committee. 

Tills question, as to whether the Presbytery ol New- 
York understood what It ■tvas doing, is an important 
one In view ol all that we have heard. You will 
notice at the top ol page 64 that the report was ac- 
cepted and it was moved that the recommendations of 
the committee be adopted. Near the bottom ol page 
65 yon, will find a resolution, which followed a motion 
made by the Rev. George Alexander, ol our presby- 
tery, in which certain questions which had been put 
to Dr. Briggs and answered by him were recited in 
lull. The action is this : 

"Therefore resolved. That presbytery without pro- 
nouncing on the sufficiency of these later declarations 
to cover all the points eoneemlng which the accused has 
been called in question, with hearty appreciation of the 
lalthful laboi-s of the oommlttee, deems It expedient to 
arrest the Judicial proceedings at this point, and hereby 
discharges the committee from further consideration ol 
the ease." 

Upon this substitute the yeas and nays were called 
lor, and tEe substitute was lost. The judicial pro- 
ceedings were not stayed at that-stage, and the com- 
mittee was not discharged. This resolution of Dr. 
George Alexander, who was the leader ol the minority 
of the presbytery, who wished to arrest the Judicial 
proceeding, was lost; but it clearly indicated in ex- 
press terms that the appellee's supporters at tliat 
stage ol the proceedings fully understood that the 
presbytery was then engaged upon a Judicial case. A 
certified copy of the charges and specifications was 
served upon Dr. Briggs October 6, 1891, and the min- 
utes show that the day on which the citation was to 
be made returnable was agreed upon between Dr. 
Briggs and the prosecuting committee. That is the 
minute ol the presbytery. 'WTien that act was done 
and that citation was received, if we were disposed 
to raise technicalities. Dr. Briggs's mouth was closed 
as to the standing of the prosecuting committee as 
representing the Presbyterian Church in the United 
States of America. 

By this act and the subsequent proceedings in the 
case thi, appellee recognized that this Is a judicial case. 
The certificate shows that the presbytery had ordered 
that the charges and specifications shonld be prose- 
cuted. The citation was delivered to Dr. Briggs in 
open presbytery, and received by him without "pro- 
test or objection, which clearly indicates not only that 
the case Is a Judicial one, but that it is also con- 
clusive as to the appointment and status of the prose- 
cuting committee. 

AVhen ,the trial came on. on November 4. 1801. as 
the minutes show, the presbytery sat in a jiidicinl 
capacity and ,the moderator solemnly chavired the 
members, which charge is never given except whon 
a juflicatory 1= abont to sit In a indlclal capaci.ty. 
Dr. Briggs made a response to the charges and 



specifications and the prosecuting committee was 
lieaid touching the sufficiency of the charges and 
specifications In form ;and legal efl'ect, and, after a 
discussion as ito the status of the prosecuting com- 
mittee, the ruling ol the moderator was that the 
committee was properly a committee of prosecution 
and represented the Presbyterian Church as an origi- 
nal party. The decision was appealed Irom, and the 
moderator's ruling was sustained by the house. 

It is only proper to note that this action, where 
the protest was made by Dr. Van Dyke, natice was 
also given— "The Rev. Francis Brown, D. D., gave 
notice ol a"~!!omp]atat against the decision of the 
judlcaitory ; and the Rev. Charles A. Briggs, D. D., 
gave notice ol an appeal in the same way"— a verbal 
notice ol appeal, which is not binding upon any one, 
as our booli provides that a written notice ol appeal 
shall be given within a fixed time ; and it would be 
as improper lor us to claim that Dr. Briggs In falling 
to perfect the appeal ol which he gave verbal notice 
in the open presbytery should be counted against 
him as It would be ithat any one else should claim tlmt 
the verbal notice of Dr. Birch, as chairman of our 
committee, ol an appeal to synod should be htld 
against him. That is not .the Mnd of notice of ap- 
peal that our book provides for. It 19 a written 
notice of appeal, served upon the stated clerk within 
ten days. The moderator's ruling as to the status of the 
committee and that the proceedings were In the name 
of the Presbyterian Church in the United States ol 
America was sustained by the house. The pres- 
bytery then gave Its decision of final Judgment, dis- 
missing the case, and this appeal was taken there- 
from. 

I VPiU only take your time to read that final judg- 
ment, which 4s not a very long one, and at an earlier 
page ; and there, I think, in one place or the other, 
there is a, technical verbal Inaccuracy by Inserting 
the word "hereby," but It is not material: 

" Resolved, That the Presbytery of New- York, having 
listened to the paper ol Eev. Charles A. Briggs. D.D„ 
In the case of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
States ol AmerTca against him as to the sufficiency 
ol the charges and speeiflcations in lorm and legal 
effeot, and without approving ol the positions stated 
in his Inaugural address, at the same time desiring 
eamesOy the peace and quiet ol the Church, and in 
view ol the declarations made by Dr. Briggs touching 
his loyalty to the Holy Scriptures and tha West- 
minster Standards, and ol his disclaimers of interpre- 
tations put on some iof his words, deems it best to 
dismiss the case, and does so dismiss It." 

No element Is wanting from Its Inception to this date 
to make this a judicial case ; and 11 this is not a 
Judicial case and appealable. It Is hard to conceive 
ol a case in which under our Book ol Discipline an 
appeal would He. 

THE ARGUMENT RESUMED. 

Alter recess Colonel McCook resumed his argu- 
ment as follows : I am laboring under the disad- 
vantage ol having to interpret the remarte upon 
which I had eitered before recess. Up to the point 
ol our adjournment I had endeavored to show that in 
all these proceelings they had been beEun,i contliiied, 
and ended in a proper spirit, with a ereat desire* to 
preserve aind protect the rights of all the parties, and m 
saying that I wish to distinctly expi'oss the view that 
a great respo:isibillty has been put upon our commit- 
tee as reipresenting the Cliurch, to protect the rights 
and interests of that Church fully and completely, 
while caring in the tenSerest way for' the rights ol 
any other parties. I had also tried, to show from 
the records of our judicatory, the Presbytery ol New- 
York, the record wlhich has been sent up to us, and 
Is the only one upon wjilch any action can be taiken 
at this time', that the case we are now engaged upon, 
and in which tills appeal has been taken, Is a judicial 
case within the meaning ol section 94 ol the Book ol 
Discipline. This being so. it is proper that I should 
ajgainj reler to a matter which was spoken ol at irreat 
length this mornlnK, -namely, the status of tliese pro- 
ceedings grr>wSing Out of a certsiCn complaint which lias 
been filed to the Synod ol New-Ycrk and slsmed by a 
large number of persons submitting themselves to the 
jurisdiction ol the Presbvtery rS New- York. 

It has been claimed, with a view to discredit and set 
asSide the action of ti\ft Presbytery of New- York in sns- 
tajiining the d;ecis1on of the m-odeovito-r. that our oo-t^miti- 
tee was not a proeeouting committee under section 11 
ol tlie Book ol Dlsciplicp : that the persons who voted 
in that judicatory l^nve. fr^ a number trrenter tli'^'> those 
recorded in the affirmative, joined in a complaint to 



56 



LIBRAEY OF TEIDUNE EXTRAS. 



the Synod of New- York against tlie acffion of the iudi- 
catory. In tlie first piaoe, tiie protest made by Dr. 
Van Dyke wasi a protest 'not against iJhe action of tlie 
majority, but the ruUng and decision of the moderator. 
Such a protest is not efliectlve uadei' our book. It 
must be against the action of the majority. Next, 
the complaint as filed bears the signature of the Rev. 
Dr. Francis Brown, in behaU of hlmseU and others, and 
no other signature. Subsequent to the flllng of that oom- 
plalint, which wais in due time and within the_ ten daye 
provlcled by ouir booik, other persons submitting them- 
selves to the judicatory have attached their signja- 
tiires to that complaint. It Is hardly necessary to speak 
to a Presbyteirian body to airgue tliat such a proceeding 
Is altogether Irregular. Any person submitting hlm- 
seU to the jurlsdlotlon of a presbytery call sigll and file 
a complaint, but when a presbytery is sitting in Its 
Judicial capacity, where the persons constituting 
that presbytery are elders and ministers from each 
of the churches, and they reach a conclusion, that 
conclusion Is the act of the presbytery, and It would 
be most Improper, after a long Interval of time, to 
solicit tha signatures to such a oomplatnt of members 
submitting themselves to the authority of that 
presbytery, but who were not members of the body 
at the time the action was taken. The impression 
has gone out to the world that this is a fact. It 
Is not true, ap4 it .may be very misleading, and It was 
very important that that impression should not go 
out; for, under the section of our book w.noh relates 
to sucn jomplalnts staying an appeal, which is section 
85, even it the fact was tuat a majority or even one 
third of the members of that judicatory at the time 
that action was taken had filed that complaint, It 
would not lie in this particular case, because section 
85 provides that, " Wherever a complaint In cases 
non-judicial is entered agaln.st a decision of a judi- 
catory, signed by at least one-third of th<v members 
recorded as present wJien the action was taten"— 
members of the judicatory. In this particular case 
I have not checked It off, but I am infomisd that there 
are as mamy as eight elders from one church who all, 
certainly, oould not have been sitting in the judicatory 
whien the action was taken, and who have signed that 
complaint. 

Gentlemen, it would allow the power of appeal, 
which under our book is given to us as representing 
the church, to be i completely overturned by the judff- 
ment of persons who had not been sitting In the 
Judicatory, wlio had not been charged with the respon- 
sibility of their position, and who had no right to set 
up the judgment of mere numbers against the actual 
constitutional votes of the members of a presbytery. 
If such action oould stay our ajppeal, then the Presby- 
terian Church In the United States of Amelrlca has no 
rights in suoh questions of appeal, when you can 
find in a community asullicient number of the mem- 
bers of the Church submitting tliemselves to the juris- 
diction of the judicatory 'to disagree with those who 
heaj-d the case, who T\<ere charged, anid under the re- 
sponslbiUty of that charge, decided it in a consti- 
tutional judicatory of our Church. 

I think it is not necessary to trouble you longer with 
reference to that complaint, of which we have heard so 
much and of the effect which is claimed for It. I will 
now call your attention to the second point which I 
think it is necessary for us to sustain in this matter, 
wbich is that the appeal now here, that of the Presby- 
terian Church, is taken by one of the original parties. 
Section 94 of the Book of Discipline provides that an 
appeal may be taken by either of the original parties. 
Section 10 provides— and this is to determine who are 
the original parties— that. " When the prosecution Is 
initiated by a judicatory tlie Presbyterian Church of 
the United States of America shall be"— not may be, 
but shall be—" the prosecutor and, an original party : in 
all other cases the indivldnal prosecutor shall be an 
original party." Hft'orts have been made at times to 
use the words, "a prosecuting committee." or "pros- 
ecutor." in an offensive sense, if those words, as used 
by our Book of Discipline, are offensive I beg that you 
will place the offence where it belongs, and not upon 
the members of a committee who. in compliance with 
the instruction ot their presbyteries, and at a great 
cost and disadvantnge to themselves, are undertaking 
to stand for what they believe to be the rights of the' 
Presbyterian Church in the United States of 
America in the intern»-pt.i«on of its own Book of Dis- 
cipline. I beg to stand here as one who thinks the 
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America 
has some rights, and that those individuals who are 
willing, however ungrateful the task may be, to defend 
those rights, should at least have the courtesy and con- 
sideration, and not the obllquy of our Church. 

This prosecution, as shown under the last head, was 
Instituted not by individual prosecutors, but bv the 
Presbytery of New-Yorlc. (Record, jiage 68). Every- 
thing has been done, so far as the prosecuting com- 



mittee is concerned, in the name of the Presbyterian 
Church in tlie United States of America, beginning 
with their report to presbytery, containing 
ch§,rges and specifications, down to this appeal. In 
the report of the prosecuting committee to the pres- 
bytery, they say : " The committee present the follow- 
ing charges and specifications which, in compliance with 
the provision of Section 10 of the Book of Discipline, 
it becomes their duty to prosecute in fie name and by 
the authority of the Presbyterian Church in the United 
States of America." Every word spoken and every 
act done by the prosecuting committee, as shown by 
the printed record of the case, from lis cover to the 
authenticating certificate of the stated clerk of the 
Presbytery of New- York, has been spoken and done in 
the name and by the authority of the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States of America. When that 
appeal was officially filed it became part of the records 
of the Church. 

The newsi)apers, secular and religious, took enough 
Interest in this matter to print that appeal. Some of 
those prints were not complete. Applications were 
made to our committee for copies of the appeal, and 
as it has been the pride— and I hope always will be^ 
of our Church that light and knowledge and intelli- 
gence should prevail, I think that in response to the re- 
quest of members of our Church, and to prevent any 
possibility of surprise at any stage, we should Be 
thanked for responding to those requests. Instead of 
being criticised. Note that Section 10 provides that 
when the prosecution is Initiated by a judicatory, as 
in this case, the Presbyterian Churcli in the United 
States of America shall be the prosecutor. Section 11 
provides that when the prosecution Is initiated by a 
judicatory— the same case, this case— it shaU appoint 
one or more of its own members a committee to con- 
duct the prosecution in all its stages in whatever 
judicatory until the final Issue be reached. 

These two sections make the status of the original 
party as the prosecutor and the committee's duty to 
conduct the prosecution absolutely clear. The ques- 
tion as to the status of the prosecuting committee ^nd 
as to whether the Church is an original party was 
raised at the trial (pages 145, 146). The Moderator 
decided In favor of the position now asserted by the 
appellant. His decision was appealed from, and the 
house sustained his decision. The provision of Section 
10 completely controls this question as to who are the 
original parties. "When a prosecution is Inltated by 
the judicatory"— as in this case— "the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States of America must be an 
original party." 

This provision of the book Is a wise one, and many 
other reasons might be ^ven for its insertion in the 
book, but I must not take up your time to indicate 
them. We are acting under a statute which is man- 
datory. Section 10 of tlie book provides that in this 
and similar cases the Church shall be the prosecutor 
and the original paity, and we must accept its mandate. 
I think we have shown that the second requirement of 
Section 94 of the book, defining appeals— namely, that 
an appeal may be taken by eliher of the original 
parties— has been compiled with. 

Third, Tlve third reguiremeut of section 94 of the 
b>ok Is that an appeal must be taken from a final 
judgment of the lower judicatory. The record is 
before jou. rormal cliarges and specifications In a 
judicial case were framed by a piosecuting committee. 
These charges were approved by the presbvtery, and 
served upon the accused. A citation was issued and 
was served. A date for the trial was agi'eed upon 
betsveen the accused and the prosecuting committee. 
An attempt was made in tlie presbytery, but failed, to 
dismiss the judicial proceedings In advance of tlie day 
fixed lor trial. The trial came on. The charges and 
specifications having been piinted, were taken as read. 
The accused made full response to the charges and 
specifications in the form of objections to their suffi- 
ciency In fDrm and legal effect, and the members of 
tl:ie committee of prosecution were heard thereon. 
After extended discussion by the members of the j udi- 
catory (page 1 50 and following) tlie court proceeded to 
record Its decision and final judgment. 

Now, let us see what a flnai judgment is witliln the 
meaning oft sections 94 and. 95 of the^^book, ot discip- 
line. These two sections are t!ie ones tjiat must deter- 
mine, so far as our hooia can determine, what is a final 
judgment within the meaning r>t section 94, from which 
an appeal can be taken. Section 94 says: •■An ap- 
peal Is the removal of a judicial case by a written 
representation from an inferior to a superior judlca- 
toiy. nnd may be taken, by either of the original par- 
ties, from the final judgment ot the lower judicatory.'' 
Section 05 says : " The grounds of appeal may be suclu 
as these"— that is, the ground of the decision or tine 
final j udgment from which the appeal may be taken : 
"Irregularity in the proceedings ot the inferior judica- 



PEESBYTEEIAX ISSUES. 



67 



tory — T,vlilo.i' Is a si-oiind of appeal, as you wlU see by 
rererenc« to tHe iippeal bsok; -relusar to entertain an 
appeal or comp uiiu ; refusal of reasonable Indulgence 
W) a party on wlul; receiving improper, or declining tD 
receive Important testimony ; "—wliloli Is made a 
ground of appeal. We were not permitted to pi-esent 
ajiy tesllmiuy. We were not heard on tUe merits, 
altliougli we offered lo prove caoli one of the charge.i 
and spKlflcations tUat we l.axl alleged by the standards 
whloli should always control In a Presbyterian Judlca- 
tary, from the word of God and our own standards, 
but that right wai. not given us, and that Is a serious 
.ground of appeal and one wlUch eMects the whole 
olmiroh in tlie very highest degree. Another ground 
Is, "ilastenlng to a deoislon before the testimony is 
fully taken." No one can read that record and see 
that OUT testimony which we had tliere, wliich we were 
jwepared with, wlilch we offered to submit to lil;at 
presbytery and which the presbytery did not hear, 
from no fault of ours, thay hastened to a decision. 
Now, remember this is one of the decisions, that Is, 
-It can be appealed fiom, Is a final decision. They 
hastened to a decls-ion before the testimony was fuUy 
taken. Another ground woud be the "manifestation 
of prejudloe in the conduct >f the case, and mistake or 
Injustice in the decision." 

Now, the way to read a statute like this is to read 
it mt« llgently and continuously and to bring our 
■CDninion sense to bear upon it. There has been no 
adjudication by the General Assembly of t' e Presby- 
terian Church In the United States of America of wlieB, 
'Is the final Judgment wltliln the meaning of section 94, 
but I do not see how any Intelligent man reading sec- 
tion 95, following which it goai on to state the Kround 
upon T^lidch an appeal from a tinal Judgment can be 
talien, it gives tHese five several (jpounds. referrInK to 
them in two Instances as a decision. One, "as has- 
tening to a decision," and the otlier as a "mistake or 
Injustice in the decision," 

We claim that the decision of the presbytory, whioln 
was then enterpd and which has been read in your 
kearlng, is the decision intended by section 94. That 
decision uses the very language of section 95. and is 
unquestionably tie final Judgment referred to In sec- 
tion 94. 

I have already said that there has been no adjudl- 
catlom by the Gonerai Assembly as to what is the 
Anal Judgment within tlie meaning of Section 94. 
So we must aslt this body tn determine that question 
for us. A final Judgmemt In civil courts— in which 
we can go for analogy— Is a decision which ends that 
■jMrtiicu'laj case in that partlcnlar court, and it is the 
uniform pracjtlce In our courts to permdit an aDi>eal 
from all such Judgmeints or dec'slons to the higher 
court. Now, it has beem said In youir presence tills 
morning that this action dismissing t'te nasf, Avhich 
wiais a decision and an end of that case in tliat par- 
ticular e-ourt, .' was !made a final ■jjlfflgmiemt : and the 
etuiggestion was made that alV the committee had to 
do was to prepare new charges and specifications 
and cnme into that court again. Patheirs anrtlhTethren, 
would not tliat be an enltlrely new case, being based, 
as s.uggested, on new charges and specifications. 
VOTING ON THE APPK.VL. 

The Moderator— (after several points of order had 
been raised) Dp. Holmes asked me a question which I 
am goUng to try to answer first. The view of the 
moderator Is cieai-ly this : If the house votes to enter- 
tain the appeal then the Assembly mn-t proceed, not 
to a trial of the case upon Its merits, but stanply a 
trial of the case as to the sustaining of the speclfl- 
cations or rejecting them. Then, should they be sus- 
tained, the spedifi'catlons of error alleged by the prose- 
cution, it will then be In the province of the Assembly 
eWher to go on with the trial upon Its merits, or to 
refer the whole case back to the Presbytery of New- 
Tork. Sio the vote to entertain carries with it simply 
a deteoiminatlou an the pant of the house, according to 
the book, that they wflil consider the question of 
emror that has been brousht before them by the com- 
mittee of proseautlon. The record of the case from 
beginning to end ouglrt to be read, except what may 
be omitted by consent. If the parties will consent 
to waive the reading of those records It wlU save a 
great deal "of time. 

Dr. Patterson (after debate of various objections 
iand points of order)— Brethren, we will gain time li 
you will let me proceed without interruption. The 
Assembly has already decided yesterday that the ap- 
peal is in order. The question now before us is 
whether we shall entertain that order, because the ap- 
peal may be in order, and yet the Assembly have the 
right to dismiss it without further consideration, if it 
cTioos'S. The language of the book is, "The Judgment, 
the notice of appeal, the appeal and the specifications 
• of the errors alleged, shall be read." That has been 



done. "The Judicatory may then determine, after 
hearing the parties, whether the appeal shall be en- 
tertained." The parties have been heard. Now the 
Assembly may determine whether it will entertain the 
case. 

Dr. Bartlett (after fui-ther debate.)— Mr. Moderator, 
I moved the previous question, and I now renew that 
motion. 

A Member— I second it. 

The Moderator— The question before .the house is: 
Shall the call for the previous question be sustained I 
Carried. 

The ques.tlon now is upon the resolution offered 
by Dr. Bartlett, which has been ordered, and on 
which there Is no debate, namely : 

"Eesolved; ifchat the vote on entertaining the ap- 
peal be now taken without debate." Carried. 

Mr. Gloss — I wish to make an Inquiry of the mod- 
erator, that I may Intelligently vote. I do not wish 
to discuss the question at all. Some of us on con- 
stitutional grounds may be willing to dismiss this 
appeal, and yet we may be wllllag to have It tried; 
and I wish to know If I^am right In entertaining 
this belief, that if we decline to entertain the appeal 
that It ends the case in the presbytery ? 




U. L. SHEARN. 

The Moderatoi^It ends the case. 

A Member— WlU the moderator state the way this 
matter stands before us? 

Judge Strevell, of Montana— The report of the 
minority is now before us. 

The Moderator^- Yes. sir. We have adopted that 
part of the majority report which states that the 
case is In order, and alter the adoption of that 
motion we have gone on up to the point wliere we 
are about to take the vote upon entertaining the ap- 
peal. Now, Just at that point the minority 
and" the rest of the majority report directly 
clash. The motion before the house Is the 
substitution of the minority report for that 
part of the majority report. So those who 
desire that the( appeal should not be entertained will 
vote in favor of the minority 'report as a substitute lor 
the majority report. Those who desire that the aip- 
peal should be entertained will vote down the minor- 
ity report, and then adopt that part of the majority 
reipiort which recognUes the entertalnmeut of the ap- 
peal. 

Judge Strevell— If the chair will allow me one mo- 
ment. Tlie Assembly will observe that the minority 
report is that the case be not dismissed, as the Mod- 
erator observed, but that it be returned to the Synod 
of New- York. 

The Moderat'^^r— That It be not elntertainjed here. 

Judge Strevell— Yes, sir; and returned to the Synod 
of NeHv-Ynrk. 

The Moderator— But this case is not before the 
Synod of New- York. i 



58 



L1BEAK7 OF TEIEUNI EXTEAS. 



Judge StreveU— But \lt is entiraly proper for this 
Assemnly, sitting as a court, to refer tnjs case for 
trial anywhere wliere any other portion of Uie case is 
pendiiig,' wliiclx 1^ sliown to be in tlie synod ot New- 
Yorlt. Tliat is tlie report of tlie minority. 

Tlie Moderator— Is it competent for tliis court to 
refer it witliout liaving entertained it ! No, sir ; I 
decide not. 

Dr. Frazer— I understood tlie moderator to say that 
what we were to vote upon Is the minority report. 
May I ask that that be read! 

The Moderator— Yes, sir; I was going to asli the 
clerk to do that simply because tlnat brings up the 
question of entertaiiilnE or not. 

The stated clerk then read the minority report. 

The Moderator— The motion is to lay tlie minority 
report on the table, which motion is not demitable. 

A Member— I call lor the yeas and nays on that 
questloa. 

The Moderator— It takes a third of the house to 
direct the yeas and nays to be called. Those, in 
Haver of calling the ye:is and nays will say aye; lost. 
Those in favor of laying the minority report on the 
table will say aye ; carried. 

A Membei-— I call for a division on that vote. 

The minoiitv report was then laid upon tlie table 
by a voto of GK") in the affirmative, 122 in the nega- 
tive. 

The Moderatoi^We are now readi' for a motion to 
adopt the. majority report. 

Dr. Laurie— I move to adopt the majority report. 

Dr. McPherson— It seems to me that the book re- 
quires us to vote now on the question whether the 
appeal shall be entertained. The minority report in- 
volved two. other questions. It seems to me that we 
should now vote on tliat slriglfe' qufe'Stlon. 

The Moderator— That is well stated, and I agree 
with you. We have adopted the maioilty report so 
far as stating that this appeal was in order. The 
only remaining part of the majority report which has 
not been adopted is, " that in the judgment of the 
committee the appeal should be e.ntertained and a 
time set for hearing the ease." I'his Is the single 
question before us. The question is simply on the 
enteitainineut of the appeal. 

fne Moderator— I will put the question. Those in 
favor of demanding the yeas and noys will say a\'e. 
Lost by a vote of 416 to 91. We now come to the 
adoption of tliat part of the majority report which says 
that the appeal shaU bfe entertained; carried. 

Judge Saylor— I move that we now set this present 
time for the hearing of the appeal. 

Mr. Junkin— I second that motion. 

The Mo<lerator— Those in favor of that motion will 
Bay ave; carried. 

Judge Saylor— Mr. Moderator, I now believe It will 
be proper to inquire of the parties whether they will 
consent that the record may be considered as read, 
without spending all the time necessary to read it. 

The Moderator— That is a pertinent inquiry. 
DR. BRK3-G.S RAISES AN 0B.JECTION. 

Br. Eriggs— Is now the time for me to raise my 
objections to the record! 

I wish to bilng to a decision the question of what 
the records are. The records cannot be read by con- 
Bent until it Is determined what they are. Now my 
objections come right ait that point. I wish to show 
you that these are not the records of the Preslij'tery 
of New- York, and that we must take out of their 
records tlie records that are properly the records in 
the case. 

AiSter further discussion the moderator decided that, 
eo far as he had Icnowledge to the conbi'ary, the records 
in the case were in the possession of the stated clerk. 

Dr. Briggs— It is my unpleasant duty to object to 
the records of the ca=e as prepared by the alleged 
oomimilttee of prosecution as Inaoourate, as complete 
and as containing a large amoumt of material that has 
no proper place in the record. It is quite true that 
iihe stated clerk of the presbytery has given his in- 
dorsement to these recordjsi, but I shall venture to 
show yiou by indisputable evidence that he has cer- 
tiifled to a defective recor-d. I have not had time 
since they have been put in .my hajids to go over 
them as carefully as I ouglit to in order to cotriseoit 
to them. I Shan limit myself, therefore, to three 
sroecimenisi that have impressed themselves ujKin me as 
of some importance in the conduct of my case. 

Dr. Briggs spoke for .some time In the same line and 
then Colonel McC«ok replied to Mm sihowing why tijie 
stenographer was apiKJinted and answering his oihjiec- 
tlon. A motion was made and carried to the effect 
that the written minute=i of the presbctery siiouid be 
substituted for the printed ones conta,lned in the 
book prepared by the committee of prosecution, and 
that the stenographer's notes 9liiou3d be accepted with 



the minutes. Judige Strevell, of Helena, im Behalf ofl 
I>r. BilggB, gave notice tJiat he would file- a protest 
against this action. 

WOMEN AND HOME MISSIONS. 

THEIK SUCCESSFUL WORK IN THIS INTER- 
ESTING FIELD. 

Portland, Ore., May 2G.— The fourteenth annual 
meeting of the woman's educational committee ot 
home missions was opened with reports and addresses 
by Mrs. T. P. E. Kumler, of Pittsburg, by Miss 
Osborne of Utah, by Miss Cora Bartlett, formerly a 
missionary in Utah, and others. The president, Mrs. 
Darwin R. James, of Brooklyn, N. Y"., read her annual 
address. The following are extracts : 

The response of appreciation called forth last year 
by the limited exlubit of results of the schools under- 
tile cana of the woman's executive committee, to- 
gether with the expressed desire of a few of out- 
most faithful teachers to exchange teaching for more 
direct missionary worlt, has led me to fear that the- 
Christian educaiion of the young has not the high, 
place ill general esteem which is Its light. If our- 
work were mer;ly for the present, possibly the labor 
of the missionary might supplant that of the Christian 
teacher, but we are laying the foundation for the walls. 
of the church, which must stand for agree to come; 
the church of tlvs future, whieh may be called to resist 
attaclfs from the enemies of the truth, such as we- 
little dream of. One of our New England philoso- 
phers has said, that . the education of a ohUd - should 
bi-igin a hundred j'ears before his birth. More- 
certainly must this be true where generations of. 
ignorance and supeisUrion have, cast a mould from 
which Impress the cldld comes into the world morally 
deformed. While the mind is yet plastic we must 
seek to correct this deformity, and, with the patience- 
and love of the great teacner, with line upon line, 
and pjecept upon precept, to conform to tlie likeness- 
of Jesus Christ the sin-warped soul. 

Do not the times emphatically demand mors faith- 
ful instruction in God's word outside even of our ex- 
ceptional population? With three-fourths of the re- 
leased prisoners of the Old World coming to our- 
shoncs, an increasing immigration uom tnose nations to 
whom the Bible has been a sealed book, and with th& 
increase of crime surpassing by 5 per cent the in- 
crease of population. Is not the aemand for more 
thorough Chiistlan Instruction imperatives. If Dr. 
Guthrie could affirm that he had witnessed a decline- 
In morality in Scotland since the book of Proverbs 
was omitted from the reading lessons of Scottish 
schools, -will It be long before a greater decline -wilt 
follow the expulsion of God's word from our public 
schools, through the efforts of a political power not 
in sympathy with the religious faith of the founders 
of the Republic. Let us Christian women rally as 
never before -with a firm resolve to scatter broadcast 
throttghOHt ' our land the truths of God's word, not. 
only as necessary to our perpetuity as a Republic, 
but in order to a realization of the great plans of God 
for the uplifting of the nations through the Influence of 
Christianity upon those who come to our shores. 

An address on ■'■The Importance of Printers' Ink 
in Home Mission Work," was read by Mrs. G. W. 
Robinson, of Illinois. "How slialt -we Impress t'le 
impoiiance ot reading missionary literature," was the 
question that was answered by the speaker. Mivsion- 
ary literature is to be had for almost notldng and yet 
many miaslDnary workers depend upon '■ a.l>3orbing'*' 
missionary intelligence -ivlthout the trouble of readings 
The heme mls.-iio;:aries who were attncUng t'le me-et- 
ing were, in\-ited to take a seat upDn the plptiform and 
several of them made add-esses. 

A popular meeting on higher education was held 
to-nignt in tlie Fii-st Presbyterian cluirch. it was 
largely attended, and Elder Geoi^ge Junldn, the njted 
Pliiladeipliaa lawyer, was in time chair. His remarks 
int-.-oduclDg the speakeis wei'e ters.e and briglih. Iil 
ills opening afldress he said tlie Church had aitways 
been the educator of the world, and its ministers and. 
elders. and teachers were not only the teachers of re- 
ligious duties but of civil duties. Dr. B. L. Agnew, of 
Philadelphia, and H. D. Jenldns, of Sioux Ctiy, Iowa, 
also spolie in favM- ot higher Christian education. 
Dr. E. C. Kav, of Cliicago, d^mimd-ed liigh scholastic - 
and high spi-itnal education. Dr. J. M. Patterson, of 
Tacoma, oplained the necessity of an instltutl'Dn of 
.ingher learning 'm the Pacific Coast. Dr. Simon J. 
McPlierson, of Chicago, t-ook tlie stjind that smaller col- 
leges, rather than hip' er ones, were needed, -as tiro ■ 
Increase of luxury and atlile-'ics Jiad can-ed a decreasa- 
in the number of men willing to enter the ministry. 



PRESBYTERIAN ISSUES. 



5» 



SEVENTH DAY. 



RESUMPTION OF JOINT DEBATE. 



THE PEESIilTEEIAN ASSEMBLY \VITH ITS 
HANDS FULL. 



FUTILE EPFORTS BY FRIENDS OF THE ACCUSED 

PROF-E.S--OR TO &BT HIS C.4SE RETURNED 

TO NEW-YORK FOR TRCAL— DR. M'PHER- 

SON CALLED TO ORDER. 

Portland, Ore., May 27.— The temperatiire Is cooler 
to-day than it was yesterday. The fall In tlie mercury 
has caused cooler blood in the General Assembly, but 
the freezing i>olnt has not been reached yet. Conse- 
quently the Brlggs case, like the poor. Is with us still. 
Two or three times to-day efforts have been made to 
stop the case, the offer coming in nearly every, in- 
stance from those who favored tlje professor's position 
In the court, jlioiligh more of them took occasion to say 
that they did not sympatliize with his theological 
views. Dr. S. J. McPherson, of Chicago, one of the 
candidates for the Moderatorsblp, raised a constitutional 
question, and In advocating it he intimated that the 
lowest police court In the land would not deny to la 
horse thief rights that the conservatives were denying 
to Dr. Brlggs. For these remarks he was called to 
order from all parts of the room, and he added with 
emphasis : " Apply tlie gag law if you will." Another 
storm of dissent arose, and he was ashed to take, back 
those words. He did so, but added that It the humblest 
member of the Presbyterian Church was denied his 
rights, guaranteed by the constitution, it would not be 
long before there would be a large secession from the 
Church. For this remarli he was again called to order 
and took his seat. 

Dr. Brlggs has many friends in Portland, besides 
those of his own presbytery or thjse who have been 
immediately under Ms instruction in the classroom. 
To-day one of them, a florfs^t of this city, sent to his 
desk a plUar bf red >oses. %lio column resembled a 
square shaft In a cemetfery. It was about five 
feet in height, two feet squxire at the base, and 
fully a foot square above the pedestal, a solid 
mass of beautiful roses. Surmounting the pillar 
was a dove wltli Its back turned upon Dr. Birch and 
his colleagues of the prosecuting committee, and Its 
beak set townrd New-York. Various Interpretations 
were heard of the meaning of this symbol. Some 
affirmed that it meant that Dr. Briggs's hopes of suc- 
cess are burled, and others contended that the dove, 
being dead, signified tlmt Dr. Brlggs had destroyed 
the peace of the Church. One man in his prayer 
implied that it symbolized the brooding of the Holy 
Spirit. The florist's card did not contain a diagram. 
It is significant, however, that Dr. Brlggs luid con- 
sented before Ms arrival at the church. In the Interest 
of peace and harmony, to confess the grotitrids of ap- 
peal brought by the prosecullon if the case 
could be remanded to the New- York Presbytery for 
trial. When this request was denied him, it 
was noticed that tlien the flowers drooped as if with 
disappointment. An hour was frittered away tills 
morning with technical objections, and another liour 
this afternoon, but at 3 o'clock the appeal was taken 
up In good earnest and continued until the hour of ad- 
Jjurnment. Tomorrow morning It will bo resumed 
and win probably come to an end before Sunday. As 



before. Dr. Birch began the argument and Dr. Briggs- 
replied tUl the gavel fell. He had been speaking ono 
hour and five minutes and has nearly aji hour left for 
to-morrow. Then Colonel McCook will reply and a vote- 
wiu be taken whether the appeal shall be sustained, 
Tlie reasons given by the Prosecuting Committee- 
against returning the case to New- York for trial are 
that the appeal is regular, and the committee does not 
feel willing to assume the responsibility; they want 
the Assembly to take that burden, and this can only 
be done by a vote upon a question now before the- 
house. 

Portland made large promises a year ago, offering 
free entertainment for 200 commls^oners and to giv» 
$10,000 or $20,000, if necessary, toward the expenses 
of travel, etc. To-day Dr. Roberts, the stated clerk,, 
announced that he should not need to draw upon the 
$10,000 already on deposit, as the rates secured from 
the railroad companies made it possible to pay the ex- 
penses of travel entirely from the mileage fund. 
Dr. Brown, the pastor of the church, thea 
rose and read a statement that, In addition, 
to the free entertainment offered a year ago, the 
people of Portland were now ready to pay $2 a dav 
for the board of the commissioners who are staying 
in hotels, thus entertaining the entire Assembly for 
two weeks. 

When the Brlgigs case was called this morning. 
Judge Strevell, Dr. Briggs's Montana friend, said : 

Perhaps it may be uroper for me at this time to state 
that, In belialf of Dr. Brigss. 1 have a nrODOsltion txj- 
submlti to this ABSembly. It is brought about b,v the 
acceptance of the advice by Dr. Brians of persons la the- 
Assembly. Dr. Brlegs, while prepared to defend the 
acttou of the rreBb.Tti?ry of New-York, coneents now for 
the purpose of savlD? time and in the Irterefits of the 
Uhurch, that pro forma the grounds of appeal be confegsed 
and that the case uow pending here may be letumed to the 
Presbyter.v' of Kew-Yorlc fov trial there. Dr. Briggs 
desire- it to be nnderstocd that he waives none of 
his rights lu the premises in Halting this proposition. 

Several motions were read, and they were all re- 
ferred to tile Prosecuting Committee and to Judge 
Strevell for oonfterence. Being unable to agree, the- 
fact was announced and Colonel McOook explained the 
position of the committee. He said : 

I had earnestly hoped that you had heard my voice 
the last time in connection with this matter, and it Is with 
gttat regret that I am compelled to say a Wora*^t this- 
time. On the 4th of November, at the trial In New- York, 
1 urged as strongly as I could that we should proceed 
then to a trial, ajid we agreed that it should not talte as 
long, or certainly no longer, than the time oc^^upied by 
preliminary motions to prevent a trial. The Presbytery 
did not see fit to hear a word from our committee upon 
the merits of the case. We have brought our appeal here 
In an orderly May, in strict compiian-ce with the Book of 
Discipline. That appeal has been entertained. We are 
piepared to argue that appeal in fifteen minutes, or fifteen, 
hours, or flcteen days, as this 4esembly may direct. If 
It is the will of this Assembly that this appeal should le 
dropped now and here, say the words, an^* ther-2 will bo 
five of the most lelieved men in spirit chat you ever 
saw. It is, of course, a most ungrj-clous- 
thing when any one makes a suggestion that 
will relieve the hous3 from a very serious business for us- 
to interfere with it. But we are in a crisis and the re- 
fponslbillty Is with ths house. Whatever action the 
house takes the Prosecuting Committee will be satisfied. 

But we wish to give a few reasons why we ar? unable 
to accede to tJiese proposals. First, there is Judge Sa,v- 
ler's resolution. Now. a trial, dc nova, could be inter- 
preted by the Presbytery that wc should start upon new 
charges and specifications ; that we do not wish. We- 
simply wish to have your constltut'onal right to amend it 
If it may be necessary. If this appeal i* acted upon. It 
ought to be either sustained or not sustained. If thifr 
should be sent Ijaclc to the Presbytery, it means tlmt w» 



60 



LTBUAR'f OF TEIBUNi; EXTRAS. 



Trill have two years of unsettled times In our Church, and 
we decline to take the responsibility of that. 

The next resolution Is that offered by Dr. Roberts, "Thao 
■with the consent of the parties, we arrest proceedings and 
Teturn the whole case to the Presbytery of New-Yorlc, with 
directions to said Presbytery that It fully and fairly try the 
case and Issue the same at the earliest possible date." I 
tave taken the Mberty, with the permission of the mover and 
eeconder of that resolution, to strike out that jvord "fairly." 
I would notj consent t» have a resolution go down from this 
Assembly to our Presbytery telling them to fairly try a ease. 
If they try it, of course they will try It fairly. 

Then the next resolution was tliat the specifications of 
«rror in the appectl be sustained and the case remanded to 
the New-York Presbytery for trial. Now, we are In the 
tiands of this Assembly. As a committee, we have no right 
»nd we are not willing to stipulate away the rights of tho 
Presbyterian Church In the United States in a judicial 
-proceeding which at great pains we have brought to this 
Assembly so as to settle this case at the earliest posslblo 
■day. 

"Do I understand the Cofflmittee of Prosecntlon to 
say that with regard to this matter they will abide 
fcy the vote of tho Assembly?" aslied the Moderator. 

" Of course we wUl," said Mr. McCoot. " We ehall 
iave to." 

"No, they do not have to," repUed the Moderator. 
^I mean as to giving their consent." 

Mr. Sayler— Call for the previous question upon this 
ground. There was no reason for exception to tlie 
<3«nerai Assembly taMng action. That Is the mean- 
ing of these resolutions. 

Eev. Mr. Holliday— I rise to a point of order, that 
nothing is In order now except to conform with, the 
directions of the Book. 

The Moderator— I am inclined to tlunlr that point 
of order is well taken; yet I confess that there has 
been in my mind a doubt as to whether or not it 
Is in the province of the Assembly to arrest and 
to send back. 

Dr. McPherson, who has made no formal speech 
Since the Assembly began, took the floor this aftet- 
noon and said: 

Dr. Briggs has told me since luncheon that there are 
two speciflcations to which he will confess judgment. 
Now, 1 understand that it Is true that if one specification 
te sustained it is ^ulte as sufilcient aa though all the 
specillcations were sustained, .in order that we may do 
any one of the three things provided in Section 99 ; that 
Is to say, we may reverse or modify or remand 
the case for a new trial. If that be 

true what is the use, In view ;of the immease amount of 
4)UsinesB, that we have before this Assembly, of going on 
and securing a vote on all speclflcatlous ? If the 
parties can a^ree that two of the specillcations shall be 
regarded as sustained, it seems to me that this is an appeal 
to our commoa sense. I rise here to represent, as I 
-think I may claim to do in a certain sense^ moderate men 
in this Assembly. I have not been among the extreme men 
«a either side. It seems to me that the fundameatal 
thing on trial is the Presbyterian Church itself. If Dr. 
Briggs can be brought here and tried without a 
iplea of guilty or not guilty, without a par- 
ticle of sworu testimony or certified records, 
and then be tried on the merits of the case, there is not 
•one of us here who woiUd say that he had been given a 
Xalr trial. Let me, by your leave, put an extreme sup- 
position. Supposing that I, instead of Dr. Briggs, had 
■charges preferred against me for some gross and vile Im- 
morality, and the charges and specifications, ha^'in:? 
.been argued before my presbytery, had been dismissed— I 
ido not care how Illegally or on what technicality— tut still 
iiaxl been dismissed, before the merits of the case were 
considered at all, and before any testimony had been 
admitted and before I had any right to show 
that I was not a guilty man, and the case 
was apijealert to this higher body, and then tuo 
case could be tried over in this supreme judlciHr.f. 
Why I might be damned, deposed from tho mlnistr.v. and 



yet have no rights whatever before this court or in 
any other. I say to you, bretliren. that 
that kind of coustltut/ionality is of infliiitely 
greater Importance than the rights or Interests of any 
Individual. A police court will not try a hoise- thief 
without taking sworn evidence and giving the defendant 
the benefit of the doubt. Is it possible that the Church of 
Jesus Christ will do less? Will a court of Jesus Christ 
deny to a member of the Church the rights that a police 
court will give to the lowest cirlminai? I think not. 
(Applause.) Be still, brethren ; I do not want you to 
applaud. If that be right, the gueetion with thousands 
of the members of our Church will be whether they can 
stay in the Presbyterian Churclh at all. 

"Tliat is n5t rlglit," remarked, a member. 

The Moderator— I do not tijinlt tliat what has been 
said Is directly germane to this resolution. Tliis dis- 
ousslon will come up at a later period If the case pro- 
ceeds. I have allowed this because the house seemed 
wUling to hear it, but I think the remarks ought 
to be confined to this resolution of Mr. Junkin. 

Dr. McPherson— Very well, the gag law has been 
applied to all those who tMnk as I do. (Murmurs of 
"No, no," and "Take that back.") 

The Moderator— I cannot permit any such expres- 
sions. 

A member— I want that expression taken back. 

Dr. McPherson— Oh, I will take it back if you like. 

Mr. Laurle^I ;wquld like the speaker-tor specify when 
that gag law was applied. 

Dr. McElierson— I will retract that phrase. , if you 
don't like it, but we were not permitted to discuss It. 

Dr. Laurie— There are others who want to discuss 
It, as well as you. 

A Meniher— Mr. Moderator, if this discussion is per- 
mitted to go on, I Insist that it shall not be limited to 
anybody. 

The Moderatoi^-I would like to say tliat this Is all 
premature, if the parties will not agree to do this. 

A Member— Let us ask them. 

Dr. Holliday— I rise to a point of order. We are in 
a Judicial case governed by specific rules, and all this 
discussion is out of order. 

The Moderatoi^-I recognize that technicality. 
It is out of order, but I have al- 
lowed It because I followed what I believed 
to be the views of tills howse, widch are higher than 
any rules of order If they are united bn the subject. 
I heard no dissent. This action has been taken bv the 
universal consent >>f the house up to this time. 

Aifter further debate Dr. Briggs confeired with four 
members of the New-York Presbytery and then said : 

Mr. Moderator and Brethren ; I •s^dll say in a very 
few words what posTitlooi I take after consultation 
with several members of the New-York Presbyitery and 
under their adviqe. I agree to this paper and I 
•throw myself upon^the confldemce of this Assembly, 
that they will' do 'me no wrong as a result of tMs 
statement : 

"The parties having In tli© presence of the General 
Assembly agreed to submit the case wilthout argument, 
the General Assembly sustains the appeal as to sped- 
flcatioms 3 and 4 under the sixth giround of appeal, 
and reverses the judgment of tlie the Presbytery of 
Kew-York, and sends back all the records and papers 
pertaining thereto, wltli directions to try the case on 
the merits; and this order Is without prejudice to the 
rights of the appellant or the appellee as to the 
merits." 

Dr. Birch— I wish the Assembly would turn to the 
record, page 22, and read those two specifications. 
(Reads same.) Now, I accept the confession of judg- 
ment of Dr. Briggs ; but, remember, this is an error 
■svlth reference to tlve presbytery. It may sound 
strangely, but in after years, when we study the his- 
tory of this case, it will be shown that the proseout- 
ihg commil tee have been the best friends that ever Dr. 
Er.'ggs had, because we have defended him, while this 
is an error with reference to the presbytery. Now. 
if he is justified here on tills confession of judgment, 
why, he can plead that. But, now. Is it lair ? Don't 
you see the bearing of it? This is an error com- 
mitted by the presbytery. It is in no sense a retrac- 
tion. Of course It Is not, and we agree with Dr. 
Briggs about that. 

■ Mr. ■ atrevell;— I rise to a point' of 'Oirder. This reso- 
lution calls for an agreement of 'tli9'ph'r*tes, and they 
have not agreed. 

The Moderator— The point of order Is well taken. 
The parties Imve not agreed, and the case must go oh. 
Now, the first order fs to hear the appellants. Tlhey 
can divide their time, and they have one hour to open 
and one hour -to close. The Assembly this morning 
deeded that each side should liave two hours. The 
appellants may now go on. i I < . 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



61 



DR. BIBCH'S SECOND AEG UMENT 



GEOUNDS FOE THE APPEAL. 



AGAINST THE JUDGMENT OF THE NEW-TORK 
PRESBTTERT. 
Portland., Ore., May 27.— Following Is the main 
argument of Dr. Birch for the prosecatlng commit- 
tee In the case of the Presbylerlaji Church In the 
United States of America against the Eev. Charles A. 
Brlggs, D. D., In appealing to the General Assembly 
from the decision and final Judgment of the inferior 
court, the Presbytery of New- York : 

First ground of appeal. Irregularity in the pro- 
ceedings of said Presbytery of New- York. (Section 
95, Book of Discipline.) 

Speoifloatlon First— In this, that the said Presby- 
tery of New-York, while proceeding In said case under 
the provisions of Section 22 of the Book of Discipline, 
permitted the accused to read in t^e hearing of said 
Judicatory before he was required toi>lead "guUty" or 
"not guilty," and admitted to its records and consid- 
eration, a paper which purported to be objections to 
the sufficiency of the charges and ^i)eclflcatlons In form 
or legal effect, but which was In fact, and is as de- 
nominated by the said accused, a " Response to the 
Charges and Specifications submitted to the Presby- 
tery of New- York by Professor Charles Augustus 
Brlggs, D. D.," which paper is hereby referred to as a 
part of the record of the proceedings which culminated 
in the decision and final Judgment from which this 
appeal is taken, which paper or "response" consisted 
to a great extent of statements of fact or arguments 
on the merits of the case. That the said statements 
of fact or arguments on the merits of the case should 
not have been admitted or considered by the said 
Judicatory at this stage of the trial, and the admission 
and consideration of the said paper or " response" In 
so far as said paper was an answer upon the merits 
to the charges and specifications, and in so far as It 
was in fact a presentation of the case upon its merits 
for tlie deitence of the accused, was an error and ir- 
regular. 

The gravamen of this specification Is that while 
Che Presbytery of New- York prctfessed to dismiss the 
case It really tried and decided It. It tried It by per- 
mitting the appellee in his "response" under a claim 
that lie was pleading to the form and legal effect of 
the charges and specifications to plead to the merits 
of the case. The Inferior court violated established 
Judicial procedure as It neglected to precede the ad- 
fialsslon of said "response" with the requirement that 
the appellee plead " guilty" or " not guilty." 

The examination of the " response" Is the establish- 
ment of the specification. For example, read the 
paragraph marked (b), on page 119. "So far as I 
know, I have never taught any dootrines that con- 
flict with a cardinal doctrine of Holy Scripture. It 
is conceivable th^t I may be mistaken, and that I 
might acknowledge my error If such doctrines were 
specified by the prosecution." 

Now your appellant claims ithat charge I, with 
Its specifications is a plain, clear, legal and formal 
affirmation of that which the appellee In this para- 
graph denies. Charge I, according to section 16, 
[Book of Discipline, does " not allege more than one 
ofl'ence." According to section la, the Book of Dis- 
cipline does "set forth the alleged offence." The 
alleged offence. Is the violation of the cardinal doctrine 
of the Holy Scriptures and oontahied In the stand- 
ards of the Presbyterian Church that the Scriptures 
of the Old and New Testaments are the only Infalli- 



ble rule of faith and practice. And the several 
specifications which, according to section 15, should. 
" seit forth the facts relied upon to sustain the charge," 
should '• declare as far as possible the tune, placa 
and circumstances," and should "be accompanied with. 
the names of the witnesses to be cited for its sup- 
port," are the instances of the offence as each pre- 
sents its doctrine which violates the cardinal doc- 
trine of the Holy Scriptures contained in the Pres- 
byterian s,tandards. And whan the prosecuting com- 
mittee enabled the Jurors (to apply the words of ,the- 
response) to vote for the condenmation of the ap- 
pellee, one for one reason, another for a second 
I'eason, a thii'd for a third reason, and so on (in 
case of charge I. for seven reasons), it did Just whaA 
the Book of Discipline provides for In chapter 3. 

Again, read paragraph 4 on page 121 of the record : 
"I object .to the sufficiency of charge U, for the, 
reason that it does not indicate that the offence- 
charged is against an essential and necessary article 
of ithe system of doctrine contained In the Westminster 
Confession." The law of the church, as expressed. 
In the Book of Discipline (secition 4), is that " JNothlng. 
shall therefore be the object of Judicial process which, 
cannot be proved to be contrary to the Holy Scrip- 
tures or to the regulations and practices of the ohui-eh 
founded thereon; nor anything whicli does not in- 
volve those evUs which discipline is intended to pre- 
vent." 

The objection of the "response" to the specifica- 
tion of charge U is (see response, pages 14-lbj simply 
a complaint against a speclficat.on framed out ot 
the very words of the appellee. In It he presents- 
an outline of proof necessary on the part ot the 
prosecution, ana there could not be a less direct 
setting forth of the merits of the case. 

In the response to specifications two and three ot 
charge L. 135, he claims that tbe specifications as 
they now stand are false to truth and to fact. No- 
such facts are recorded In the inaugural address. 
"Furthermore," he says, "that the specifications are 
Invalid statements of fact." "I have nowhere denied 
the suihciency of Holy Scripture." These are ex- 
amples of denials of facts found In ithe specifications- 
alluded to on pages 78-81. The objection to speci- 
fication of charge I, pages 28-29, page 140 of thei 
record, is simply ithe statement of the appellee's- 
doctrine of predictive prophecy. It would scaicely 
be possible to conceive a more manifest presentaition 
of the merits of the case than ithat given by the 
"response" on pages 132-134 of ithe record concern- 
ing specification e. The objections of the " response" 
to the proofs are lor the most part on the merits ol 
the Case. It is to be remembered that there are other 
interpreters ol Scripture besides .the appellee. It is- 
also to be remembered that the Scripture proofs ap- 
pended to the Westminster Confession are nat author- 
ized by the Presbyterian Church. Thus the princi- 
pal bearing of the objection Is upon the merits of 
the case- 
Therefore, the action of the presbytery was Irregu- 
lar, in that it did not order the appellee to strike out 
from his response all that pertained to the merits of 
the case. And this was the more inexcusable, be- 
cause It was done notwithstanding the objection ol 
your appellant, the prosecuting committee, whom the 
inferior court, by sustaining the decision of the- 
moderator, determined to be "an original party." 

Specification Second— In this, that the said Presby- 
tery of New- York during the proceedings of the said 
presbsrtery in said case under the provisions of secttoh 
22 of the Bbok of Discipline, and before the said ac- 
cused was required to plead " guilty" or " not guilty," 
and when the said presbytery should have considered 
nothing but the preliminary objections raised by the 
said accused as to the sufficiency of the charges and 
specifications in form and legal effect, permitted the 
Eev. Henry van Dyke, D. D'., the Eev. Francis M. 
Brown, D. D., the Eev. J. Hall Mcllvalne, Jr., D.D., 
the Rev. Thomas S. Hastings, D. D., the Eev. Henry 
M. Field, D. D., and the Eev. Spencer L. Hllller, mem- 
bers of the said presbytery, to make pleas for the 
defence of the accused, which said pleas In- 
volved the merits of the case, while yotir appellant, 
acting as a prosecuting committee, was heard only 
touching the sufficiency of the charges and specifica- 
tions In form and lepal effect, and was debarred from 
presenting either testimony or argument touching the 
merits of the case, although your appellant, the prose- 
cuting committee, offered to the said Judicatory to 
prove and sustain each and every one of the charges 
and specifications by competent evidence, and out ot 
the Scriptures and by the standards of the Presby- 
terian Church, but without receiving such evidence or 



«a 



LIBEA.KY OP TEIBUNE EXTRAS. 



lieariug {he arguments of the said prosecuting com- 
mittee In support of the same, the judicatory voted to 
•dismiss, and did dismiss, tlie case. Speclflcation 
second Is an averment on the part of your appellant, 
tonflrmed by the official stenosraphic report tliat the 
merits of the case as set forth, constituted the ground 
of the pleas of Dr. Henry van Dyhe and others in the 
behalf of the appellee, while your appellants, the prose- 
cuting committee, have no opportunity to prove or 
plead the charges and specifications. Not one of the 
speakers mentioned in the specification pretended to 
dwell On the legal form and effect of the charges and 
specifications. They all tallied about jinother thing— 
the merits of the case— thus violating the first rule 
laid down by the highest legal authority as to the 
relevancy of evidence, wMch.is "that the evidence 
.must corrrespond with the allegations, and be con- 
fined to the point in issue." 

Specification Third— In this, that the said presby- 
tery, by rendering the said decision or final judgment, 
■dismissing the case, prevented amendments from being 
made to the said charges and specifications, . although 
your appellant, the said prosecuting committee, stated 
to the judicatory tliat the prosecuting committee could, 
in a very few minutes and without changing the gen- 
eral nature of the same, amend the said charges and 
specifications so as to completely obviate any objec- 
tions raised by said Dr. Briggs so far as said objec- 
tions had any force or relevancy, as to the sufficiency 
of the charges and specifications in form or legal effect, 
and proposed, in the furtherance of justice, tliat the 
committee should be permitted to mahe such amend- 
ments. Thus the court will see that the prosecut- 
ing committee exhausted every effort to remove 
every possible hindrance to a trial involving 
Issues raised by the inaugural whose positions the In- 
ferior court disapproved. By the authority of the 
Booh of Discipline, section 22, it proposed to so 
amend the charges and specifications as to set aside all 

'' proper objections of the appeUee. 

bpeciflicatlon Hourbh- In this, that the said presbiv- 
tery in its decyision and final judgmemt voted to dis- 
miss the case, not because the presibytery had deter- 
mined that the charges and specifications were In- 
sufficient, in form or legal eflleot, hiut because It, the 
said presbyrtery, was '• desiring earnestly the peace and 
qtniet of the Ohuroli, and in view of the declarations 
made by Dr. lirlggs touching his loyalty to the Holy 
Scripture and the Westminster standards, and of his 
■ disolaimers of Interpretatloms put on some of his 
words," whereas the question of the sufficiency in foa'm 
.and legal elteot of the charges and specificatioois, 
being a prelimjinary objection, should have been for- 
mally passed upon or determined by the said pres- 
bytery as provided by section 23 of the Book of Disci- 
pline before dismissing the case in the manner afore- 
said. No better aim could engage the heart amd 
mind of any presbytery than the promotion and the 
maSntenance of peace and q.ulet of the Ohurch. Tliat 
the pre^ytery acted Irregularly will apipear from the 
lollowinig facts : 

Tlrst— The peace and quiet of the Church are not 
reasons, eiither constitutional, legal, judltdal or moral, 
for the dismissal of a judicial case. 

Second— The consitltutloin of the ahuiroh requires the 
peace and quiet of the Ohurch to be secured In 
another way, namely, by the vindication of her purity 
and her unity in her doctitoal beliefs by judioii 
process. 

TMid— Such reason as the Inferloir court, the New- 
York Presbytery, gave will throw every case out of 
court for the stike of peace. 

Both the law of God and the pirflty of the Ohurch 
teach that "Purity must precede peace— first pure, 
then peaceable." And there can be no peace where 
there is no pu'tlity and no unity. Judtciai process is 
in order (section 2, Book of Discipline) to the main- 
tenance of the truth, the vindication of tlie authority 
and honor of Christ, the removal of offences, the pro- 
motion of the purity and edification of the Church 
and the sipdritoial . good of offenders." This dismissal 
for the sake of peace allows the very offence which 
is the cause of disturbance to remain um'emovedJ 
Therefore, the reasons assigned are Elegal, unoonstl- 
tutjional and are no reasons why an original party 
■should be deprived of Its rights and especially when 
:thfl.t oilglnal party is the Presibiyterian Ohurch in the 
United Stales of America. The decision of the Inferior 
■court appealed from cites tlie "declarations made by 
Dr. Briggs touching his loyalty to the holy Scriptures 

, and the Westminster Standards and his disclaimers of 

''interpretations put on some of his words." as the occa- 
sion of Its effort in behaM of peace and quiet of the 

'' Church. Now, these expressions of loyalty, ,these dls- 
elaiimers. which really disclaimed notliing, were lUe- 
gaiUy received. All disclaimers, after the charges and 
speciflcatlons are served, go in under the head not 
guilty. The Inferior court, the Presbytery of New- 



York, virtually Invited the appellee by his disi- 
clateers to plead not guilty lilegaiUy, in a round- 
about wiay, to a part of tlie party and to pead guilty 
and jnstiflcation to another part, and then dismissed 
the case on suoh an ex parte heaping. So the lo^al 
expressions and the soxalled disclaimers were illegal 
iin form, out of place and are no ground for dlsmlsfiing 
uhe case. 

Speclfflcatton Mfth— In this, that at the meeting 
of the said preshyltery held October 5, A. D. 1.8.91, the 
said presibytery biy a yea and nay vote refused to dis- 
miss tlie case by ari'estling the judicial proceedings 
and discharging tjie committee from further considera- 
tion of the case, that the vote to dismiss the case 
was taken at tlie adjouimed meeting on November -4, 
A. D. 1891, was taken without action on the prellm- 
(iniary objections to the suffldemoy of the charges and 
spedflcations as to form and legal effect, and without 
a reconsldeiHitlon of tiie vote not to disimjss, wlhich 
was taken on said 5th day of October, A. D. 1891, 
and therefore the vote to dismiss taken upon the said 
•tth day of November, A. D. 1891, was wholly illegal 
and nuU and void. 

The ground of this specification is that the meet- 
ing of November 4 was an adjourned meeting, that 
Is, It was a continuation of the meeting of October 
5. Hence the motion to dismiss the case at the 
meeting of Novismber 4 ought not to have been en- 
tertained prior to a reconsideration of the action ot 
tue meeting of October 5, when a motion to arrest 
judicial proceedings was negatived by the inferior 
court, and the charges, specifications and recommen- 
dations reported by the prosscutlng committee 
adopttd by said court. A presbytertal court can only 
declare Its will by a majority votei. Hence the vote 
Avhich dismissed the case without a reconsideration 
of the vote which refused to dismiss the case is 
Illegal, null and void. 

Specifioatiou Sixth-In this, that tlie mode of 
procedure In the said presbytery in the consideration 
of the said case was piactlcally to hear the case of 
til© accused upon its merits before and without 
hearing the prLSentatlon of evidence in support of 
tlje said charges and. specifications. 

This was indeed an anomaly in the history of 
■Pliiesbyteri&niem. a^ooordlng to ^tlje .judgment of 
the Inferior court, the appellee was heard on thp 
merits of the case, while your appellant was neither 
permitted to present the e^vldence in support 6f the 
charges and speclfiratlons, nor to oiffer , any argu- 
ment in their behalf. Tills was In direct violation, 
of rule 23 of the Book of Discipline, which allows th» 
Introduction of any competent evidence.. Such viola- 
tion was a wi'ong to your appellants, the members of 
the prosecuting committee, as they were judged not by 
constitutional judicial procedure, but by the mere 
word of the appellee. 

Speciflcatlou Seventh— In this, that ■ Iti the paper 
or " Eesponso" to the charges and speciflcations 
submitted by the accused, statements and arguments 
touching the merits of the case, refetTed to in the 
said action and final .judgment of„tlie,,.pald presby- 
tery as a ground for^the said dismi^l ot and final 
judgment In the case by the use of the followln.? 
woids, to wit, " Declarations triade by Dr. Briggs, 
touching Ms loyalty to the holy Scripture and the 
Westminster Standards, and of his disclaimers of inter- 
pretations put on some of Ms words," were made and 
were given by the presbytery the force of sworn, 
appjobatad and subscribed testimony (contrary to the 
provlsicns of sections 60, 61 and 62 of the Book of 
Discipline), wliereas the said Dr. Briggs, in making or 
giving the said declarations and dlseJulmers referred 
to in the said final judgment, wis neitlier sworn as a 
witn£ss nor oi>css-examined by the prosecuting com- 
mittee, nor by any member of the court. 

With respect to specification 7 it is sufficient to 
state that the stenographic report shows that tha 
appeUee was permitted to do that wMch the moderator 
of the Inferior court diaicl^pd thit the prosecuting com- 
mittee could not do, namely, traverse the case 
otherwise than by speaklngao the legal form and ett'eot 
of the charges and speciflcations. The "response," 
however, was given th? force of sworn, approbated and 
subscribed testimony on the merits of th'^ case. TMs 
method of procedure was itself irregular in tliat, while 
tiie apptllae approved and subscribed the "response," 
yet he was not sworn as a Vitness, neither was -he 
cross-examined by your appellant. 

Specificalion Eighth— In this, that tile said accused 
was permitted to present and file objections to a 
iwrtlon of th? report of the prosecuting committee 
made to the presbytery on October 5, A. D. 1891 
said portion being denominated by the, said accused 
" the preamble" ; and in that the said presbytsry 
or some of the .members thereof considered the 
objections of the said Dr. Briggs to the said preamble 
a ground, in whole or in part, for the votes of the said 



PKESBYTEEIAX ISSUES. 



63 



/members to dismiss tlic case or for the said decision 
■ol th.9 said presbytery, whereas the said poitlon ot tlie 
said report or so-called preamble was no i>;irt ol the 
said chaises and speclhcutlons, and was not served 
upon the said Dr. Brlggs as a portion of the sjild 
charRes and speclflcalt ns to which he was clteU to 
plead. 

Now, this "preamble," so strenuously objeated t^ by 
the appellee, was no part of the particular paper served. 
up ;n him, but was solely for the Information of the 
jre^bytery. At the same time It was an evidence of 
the Inndly spirit ol' youi appellant toward tlie appellee. 
Suppose that It be granted, however, tli«t the preamb e 
was an error. Did not your appellant. In the exercise 
of a light secured by section iM of the Boot of Disci 
pllne, offer to modify or tD recast or to omit. If pos- 
sible, any part of the report of liUe prosecuting com- 
mittee objected tot Certainly the inferior court can- 
not plead in Its own behalf an error In law which It 
refused your appellant Il';e liberty to correct according 
to law. 

Specification Ninth— In ftls, that the said decision 
and final judgment of the said presbytery, dismissing 
the said case before the said prosecuting committee 
■was permitted to present evidence in support of the 
said charges and specifications, prevented the said 
Judicatory from going Into private session, the parties, 
their counsel and all otJtiier persons not being members 
of t)i« body being excluded, for the " careful delibera- 
tion" required by section 23 of the Booh of Discipline, 
before tlie judicatory shall proceed to vote and to 
Judgment. 

This specification is tlie result of the facts set forth 
in the preceding specifications, and is confirmed by 
the repoits of tiliie proceedings of tlie inferior court. 
'To condemn and acquit in the same breatli, as tlie 
Inferior court does. In the Judgment from which your 
.appellant asUs to be relieved, manifests anything but 
careful deliberation. 

Second ground of appeal. Receiving improper t^>s- 
tlmony. (iSection 93, Boote of Discipline.) 

Specification Hrst— In this, that in tlie paper or "re- 
spouse" to tlie cliarges and speclncatlons submitted by 
tine accused, statements and arguments touclilng the 
merits of the case referred to lii tlie said action and final 
Judgment of the ^ald piesbyteiy as a g.ound lor the said 
dismissal ol! and final judgment in the case by the use 
of the following words, to wit, "declarations made by 
Dr. Briggs, touching ills loyalty to the holy Scripture 
and tlife Westminster Standai-ds, and otjiis deolaimers 
of interpretations put on some of liis w.ords," were 
made and given by the presbytery tlie force of Eworn, 
appr bated and subscribed testimony (contrary to the 
provisions of sections 60, 61 and 62 ol tlie Book of 
Discipline), whereas the said i.>r. Brigfrs, in maldng or 
Kivlng the said declarations and disclaimers referred to 
in tlie said final Judgment, was neltlver- sworn as a wit- 
ness, nor cross-eNumined by the prosecuting commit- 
tee, nor by any member of the court. , . ,, 

This specification brings out the fact that the g;ound 
of tie decisiou, which is the cause of the prosecuting 
committee's appeal, is tlie -'response" ot the appellee. 
Such £v use ol the response was a revo ullonary viola- 
tion of establis-hed and familiar canons of the law of 
evidence set forth in our Hoolt of Discipline, sections 
60 61 and 02. Tile simple fact that your appellant 
was not permitted to exercise the cansiUutlonal right 
■of cross-examlJiation is of itse f a'.l sufficient to sustdu 
this appeal. Specification I ditters but a Hair's 
breadth from speclflcallon II. ^ , ^ j 

Specification .second— In tins, that statements and 
arguments were made by the Eev. Henry van Dyke, 
D D., the Kev. J. Hall Mcllvalne, ]a-., D. D., the Kov. 
Thomas S. IHastlngs, D. D., the Eev. Francis M. BrowTi, 
D. D., the Eev. Henry M. Field, D. D., and the Rev 
spencer L. Hll.ier as to t..©ir views and the orthodoxy 
ot tlie said Dr. Briggs, wlilch said statement and 
arguments are contained in the ofBcial sten- 
ographer's report of tlie trial, which report is 
hereby referred to as a part of the record of 
tbe proceedings which culminated in the decision and 
final Judgment from which this appeal is ta^en, and 
which said statements and argument were given by 
the presbytery the force of sworn, approbated and 
subscribed testimony, while the persons above named 
ate making the said statements and arguments were not 
sworn as witnesses, nor subjected to cross-examina- 
tion bv the prosecuting committee, nor by any member 
of the court, as required by the provisions of sections 
■60, 61 and 62 of the Boole of Discipline. 

Specification second differs from specification first 
In the persons of those who gave testimony, and is 
liable to the same objection. It would be hard to lay 
too much stress of the defect in the proceedings of 
the inferior court incident to the absence of cross- 
■examlnatlon. The power of cross-examination has been 
Justly said to be one of the principal, as It certainly is 



one of the most efficacious, tests wlilch the law has 
devised for the discovery of truth. 

Third ground of appeal declining to receive im- 
portant testimony. (Section 95, Book of Discipline). 
Specification First— In this, tfiat the said presby- 
tery, in making the said decision and final judgment 
fi-om which appeal is ni>w taken, made said decision 
and final Judgment before any evidence was admitted 
in support of tlie said charges and specifications, 
although your appellant, acting as a prosecuting com- 
mittee, was before the said Judicatory and was pre- 
pared and affirmed its ability and readiness to sustain 
by competent evidence each and every one of the said 
charges and specifications, while, notwithstanding such 
presence, such affirmation and such offer of the said 
prosecuting committee, said committee was not granted 
any opportunity to present such testimony or evidence 
in support of the said charges and specifications. (See 
report of official stenographer, pages 62, 66 and 67). 

Your appellants would call the attention of the 
court to the emphasis which this specification places 
upon the competency of the evidence' which the prose- 
cuting comnjittee offers to present. The law requires 
the best evidence procurable in each case, and if a 
document is in existence it is better than any second- 
hand account of its contents. The document upon 
which your appellant, the prosecuting committee, 
based Its charges and specifications which were adopted 
by the Inferior court, is the inaugural address, bearing 
the sign manual of the api>ellee as its author, and it Is 
a legal maxim and a legal axiom that there can be no 
better evidence of the contents of a document than the 
very identical words of the document Itself. This is 
certainly better testimony with reference to the teach- 
ings of the inaugural than the second-hand account of 
its contents given by the " response," or by the state- 
ments of Drs. van Dyke, Mclvalne, Hastings, Field 
and the Eev. Mr. HlUier. 

The inferior court substituted tlie response for the 
inaugural as a basis for its decision to dismiss the case 
on Dr. Briggs's "declaration" and "disclaimers," and 
on the " afffrmattons" of the gentlemen already named. 
Your appellant confined itself to what is known tn law 
as primary evidence. "Primary evidence," quoting 
from section 84 of Greenleaf, "is that wldch we have 
Just mentioned as the best evidence, or that kind of 
proof wMch under any possible circumstances affords 
the greatest certainty of the fact in question. And 
it is Illustrated by the case of a ■written document, 
the Instrument ItseU being always regarded as the 
primary or best possible, evidence of Its existence and 
contents. Until it is sho^wn that the production of the 
primary evidence Is out of the party's power no other 
proof of tlie fact Is In general admitted." 

Fourth ground of appeal. Hastening to a decision 
before the testimony was fully taken. (Section 95, 
Book of Discipline). 

Specification Flrst^In this, that the said pres- 
bytery rendered a decision and final Judg- 
ment in the case by dismissing the same be- 
fore any proper or competent evidence whatever was 
taken by or submitted to the Judicatorv In behalf of the 
accused to disprove the said charges and speolflcatlonA. 

Tile inferior court in its decision assumed, facts to 
be proved which were not proved. They refused to say 
that your appellant had no case by refusing to de- 
termine the preUminarv objections. In section 22 of the 
Book of Discipline be pleaded in belialf of the inferior 
couit, that it was not bound to determine said prelim- 
inary objections, the record shows that it did, not sav 
that your appellant had no case. Indeed, it refused to 
say tliat the prosecutinK committee had no case. The 
only correct interpretation of Its action is that It 
affirmed that your appellant had, a case ■which it de- 
cided without complete and competent evidence. 

Spe^cation Second— In this, that the said presby- 
tery. In making a decision and final JudRment dismiss- 
ing the case from which appeal is now talfen, rendered 
a decision in the said case before any evidence was 
taken In support of the said charges and specifications, 
although the prosecuting committee was before the 
Judicatory prepared and affirming its ability and reacU- 
ness to sustain by competent evidence each and, every 
one of the said charges and specifications. (See report 
of official stenographer, pages 62, 66 and 87.) 

In the light of this specification. It tlie court please, 
your appellant will call attention to the constitution of 
the Church and to the relation of the prosecuting com- 
mittee to the case under c.'>n.sideratlon. The committee 
is tile result of an investigation ordered bv tlie inferior 
court, the Presbytery of New- York. The charges and 
specifications reported bv the said committee, according 
to the direction of the inferior court, were adopted by 
said court, and the appellee -was summoned to answer 
said charges and speciflcat'ons. When your appellant 
reported the charges and specifications it assumed that 
wlilch in legal nomenclature E styled "the burden of 



.64 



LIBEAEY OP TEIBXINE EXTEAS. 



proof," which is said to lie on the person who asserts 
the affirmative, or, as It is more accurately expressed 
by authoWty, as follows : " Whoever desires any court 
to give judgment as to any legal right or liability de- 
pendent on the existence or non-existence of facts 
•which he asserts or denies to exist, must prove that 
these facts do or do not exist." So let this court ponder 
the following line of fact. Xhe inferior court adopted 
the charges and specifications which the prosecuting 
committee reported. The inferior court cited the ap- 
pellee to plead to the charges and specifications pre- 
Eented. The inferior court wooltf not permit the Intro- 
diuction of the proof of the charges and specifications 
which the committee offered, to present. That proof 
■wiould have so disapproved the statements of thei ap- 
pellee in his " response," and of Drs, Van Dyke, M<y 
Ilvaine, Hastings, Brown, Field, and the Eev. Mr. 
HUllar in their remarks as to Impeach the credit to be 
attached to their testimony. So that the burden of 
l»roof stUl rests upon your appellant, the prosecuting 
committee. 

Pttth ground of appeal. Manifestation of prejudice 
In the conduct of the case. (Section 95, £ooli of Dis- 
cipline.) Specification First— In this, that the said 
presbytery received and was moved by unsworn and 
finproper testimony in the mahing of the decision or 
flnaJ Judgment of the said presbytery, said improper 




K. M. PATTERSON. 



testimony being statements and arguments for the d,e- 
feoioe of the said accused, touching the merits of the said 
case, to wit : the aforesaid : " Response to the charges 
and specifications submitted to the Presbytery of New- 
York, by Professor Charles Augustas Briggs, D. D." 

The prejudice set forth in specification first was man- 
ifest. (1) In the fact that the Inferior court permitted 
the appellee to base Ms objection to the charges and 
Epeciflcattons on the statement of the "preamble" to 
the prosecuting committee's report, when said preamble 
was no part of said oliarges and specifications. (2) 
Tti the fact that your appellant had no opportunity to 
offset the appellee's disclaimers by the affirmations and 
proofs of the charges and specifications. (3) In tne 
feet that the inferior court entertained the objections 
to the charges and specifications set forth in the ap- 
pellee's response. 

Specification Second— In this, that several members 
of the said presbytery, hereinafter named, who voted, to 
dismiss the said case, did so vote for reasons other than 
the Insufficiency of the said charges in form and legal 
effect, and presented to the said presbytery as reasons 
for voting to dismiss the said case. 

Speolflcatton Third— In this, that the said prose- 
Catlng committee in the futherance of justice was not 



given opportiinitv to present amendments to said 
charges and specifications, ■ althousft the said prose- 
cuting committee proposed to amend the same accord- 
ing to the provisions of section 23 of the Book of. 
1/iscipllue. Your appellant, the prosecuting com- 
mittee, ofl'ered to do all in its power to amend the 
charges and specUications in accoitlance with the 
wish of the Inl'eilor court. It had a oonstitutional 
right to the opportunity. It is only necessary to read 
the response ol the appellee to prove 

Specification Fourth— In tills, that while ithe merits 
of the said case were presented by and for the accused 
under the guise of submitting objections to the suffi- 
ciency of ithe said charges and speclflcatons in form 
or legal eflect, the said appellant, acting as a prose- 
cuting commiUee, was not permitted to Introduce 
testimony or' evidence in support of the said charges 
and specifictitions, although the said cemmittee was- 
prepared so to do, and affirm its ability and readiness 
to sustain by competent evidence each and every one 
of the said charges and specifications. 

Sixth ground ol appeal. Mistake or injunction in 
the decision. (Section 95, Book of Discipline.) Speci- 
fication First— In .this, that said decision and final 
judgment of ithe said Presbytery of New- York, here- 
by appealed from, may be interpreted as an approval 
by the said presbytery of the utterances in the in- 
augural address of the said Dr. Briggs for which he 
was and is called in question, and upon which ithe 
charges and specifications were based. The maitter 
of si)ecification ffrst is a history of this case since 
November 4. 1891. 

Specification Second— In ithis, that the said Pres- 
bytery of New- York voted to dismiss and did dismiss 
and passed final judgment in said case, not because of 
the insufficiency of ithe said charges and specific^a^ » 
tions in form or legal effect, but for ithe mistaken 
and imjusit reason expressed in the said final judg- 
ment in the following words, to wit: "Desiring 
earnestly the peace and quiet of ithe Church, and in 
view of the declarations made by Dr. Bilggs, touch- 
ing his loyalty ito the Holy Scriptures and the West- 
minster Standiards, and ot his disclaimers of interpre- 
tations put on some of his words." Spedflcaition 
second requires no explanation under the first ground 
of appeal. The inferior court in not deciding the 
question, namely, the sufficiency of the charges and 
specifications as to form and legal effect, made .the 
inferenctes thereof Its reason for the dismissal of ithei 
case. 

Specification Thi^ — In this, thSit in the aforesaid 
decision and final judgment of the said Presbytery 
of New- York in dismissing the said case the words, 
"without approving of ithe positions stated in his in- 
augural address," and "disclaimers of Interpretations- 
put on some of his woi'ds," are vague, indefinite and 
uncertain in their application, and are in no sense 
a sufficient answer to or refutation of the aUeged. 
hurtfid errors of the said Dr. Briggs contained in ,the 
said Inaugural address upon which the said charges 
and specifications were based. If the inaugural ad- 
dress conitalned hurtful errors, the only ground upon 
which the charges mlgiit have been dismissed was 
a retraction or refutation of those errors. If, on. 
the other hand, the Inaugural address did not contain 
hurtful errors, the case should have been allowed to- 
come to .trial that the appellee might be vindicated. 

Specification Fomth- In this, that the declarations- 
made by Dr. Briggs touching his loyalty to the Holy 
Scriptures and the Westminster Standards and his 
disclaimers of Interpreitation put on some ot his. 
words, to which reference is made in the resolution, 
of the said presbytery dismissing and expressing its 
final judgment in .the said case, are not, in any sense^ 
a retraction or refutation of the hui-tiul en-ors con- 
tained in said inaugural address upon which itlie 
said charges and specihcations tabled against him 
were based. 

Specification Fifth— In this, that by the dismissal of 
the said Case by the sfiid Presbytery of New- York the 
earnestly desired peace and quiet of the Chiorch can- 
not be secured. Tl.ere is a marked difference at 
opinion In .the Church, and the subject about which 
that difference crystallizes is so vital that (the parties 
to that difference cannot cai-ry on the work of the 
Church in harmony. It tal<es but a brief sentence 
to set forth .the fallacy of the statement that the 
Church cannot be at peace when there is a general 
conviction that the Bible may be in peril. The 
Inferior court In its final judgment pleads lor a peace 
that ought not to be so seoured^-a peace which would 
be a false peace because it would be peace before 
truth. 

Speclflcaitton Sixth— In this, that the mode of 
procedure in the said presbytery to the con- 
sideration of the said case was practically to 
hear (the Case of the accused upon Its merits 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



65 



before and without hearing tile iHosontatiiou of evi- 
dence In taippM't of the said cluiiges and spL'olflca- 
tlons. Tills spfclflcatlon sthows tlmt tlie conduce of 
tile tnfei'lor cmut was a dellbeirate, Intelligent, wlMol 
revolt against tile nulMtkalion of the oonstituitlom. It 
■was a deliberate, IntelliBent, wilful revolt against 
the nulllflcutlon of the rlBliits of the pro^eoiitlng com- 
mittee, wililch It (the Infeiiror court) had already decided 
to be an original party, representing the Presibyterian 
Church of the United Staitfs of America. So that 
wrhen the appellee was heard by the luferior court 
on the merits of the case, to the exclusion of the 
proseoutiog committee, wlilch, accordiing tO' the pi'es- 
M'terial judicial precedent, according to law from time 
immemorial, should have been called upon' to present 
Its evidence and to malie its plea to the chai'ges 
and specUicatlous In the opening and closing s<peeohi, 
theire was, as It were, a summary rejection from the 
court of tlie Pi^sbyteirlan Church In the United States 
of America. 

Speclflcablon Sevemtli— In this, that the said deci- 
siCD and linal Jiidgmemt of the said presbytery dis- 
missing tile said case before the said prosecuting com- 
mittee was permitted to present evidence lin support of 
the said charges and specifications, i»reveinted the said 
judicatory from going Into private session, the parties, 
their counsel and all other persons not being mem- 
bers of the body ijelmg excluded and prevented the 
"careful deliberation" required by section 23 of the 
Book of DscipMne, before the judicatory shall pro- 
ceed to vote and to judgment. The point of tlds 
Bpeelflcatlon is tiie disregard and the omisislon of 
t& forms of law on the part of the Inferior court. 
And this is the more surprlsJjffe because it professes 
to ground its liiidings on the response of the appeillee 
to the oiharge? and specifications preferred by your 
appellant as to their form and legal effect. The 
foirms of law are the frameworlt of the temple of 
jiisitice; the organs, if you please, of the system of 
justice. Tlheir omission Is always a mistake and an 
injiustlce. To Insist upon the observance of judicial 
procedure Is to prevent wrong and to protect the 
rigihits of those who are amenable to the laws. 80 
your appellant pleads with this Assembly to exercise 
its power of review and control in rectifying the 
misitalie and righting the wrong committed by the 
Bresibytery of New- York by the violation of that order 
■which has been the glofry of the Presbyterian Ohnrcii. 

Dr. Briggs began his reply to tlie appellant alMut 4 
o'clock and occupied an honr and five minutes ot the 
two hoiurs allowed Wm. In order that the argument 
of the defenxlant may be read as a whole, Instead of 
im parts, tlie paper Is puinted In the report of the next 
day's profoeedtngs. 

— • — 

EEVISING THE CONFESSION. 

THE REVISION GETS THE FLOOR FOK A BRIEF 
TIME— REMARKS OF DB. W. 0. ROBERTS. 
Portland, Ore., Maiy 27.— Willie a conference was 
going on in reference to tJie Briggs case the moderator 
said : " We can hear at this time the report of the 
revision committee it It is tlie mind of the Assembly, 
as that oomes up as unfinished business." On motion 
the report ^vtlen read vfas accepted. A motion was 
then made to adopt the report and on that Dr. W. C. 
Eoberts was accoivled the floor. He said: 

Mr. Moderator : With, your permission I desire to 
make a few statements, and offer two or three sug- 
gestions that may aid the Assembly in saving time, 
11 not la disposing satisfactorily of this important sub- 
ject. Since it was decided that the chairmen of com- 
mlttees must confine themselves to fifteen minutes, I 
have jotted down what I have to say that I may not 
transgress your rule. The way in which this com- 
mittee was constituted may not be known to all the 
members of the Assembly. It was not done accord- 
ing to the ordinary method. But, for the sake of 
Becnrlng absoiu'te fairness and the co-operation of the 
whole Church, a nominating committee, consisting of 
one representative from every synod in the Church, 
■was appointed by the moderator. That committee 
consumed the major part of three days in selecting men 
who would be acceptable to aU -the synods. For the 
sake of avoiding every possible suspicion of unfairness, 
the number of revisionists and antl-revlslonists was 
made In proportion to the number of presbyteries 
■which voted lor and against revision. They stood, as 
nearly as arithmetic would allow, two-thirds and one- 
third. The nominees of this committee were appointed 
by ■the Assembly as members of the re^vlsion com- 
mittee. 

Then the presbyteries ■were reqnes'ted to express 



fully their views in regard to the kind and extent of 
the changes desired. The actions of all the presby- 
teries were gathered, tjibulated and put in a book 
form, for the convenience of the committee. As para- 
graph after paragraph of the Confession passed under 
review, the alterations and amendments proposed by 
the presbyteries were read, compared and discussed. 
Thus due weight was given to the -wishes of every pres- 
bytery. After a year's consideration ol the subject 
the presbyteries -were solicited by the committee to 
aid it by offering any new suggestions that might occur 
to them. These suggestions, again, were printed and 
carefully considered. They led to a review of the re- 
port of progress and to the recasting of a number of 
sentences, clauses and paragraphs. In this wav the 
committee strove to keep constantly in touch with the 
■whole Church, in order to meet, if possible, all her 
wishes. It has been intimated on the floors of pres- 
byteries and In some of our journals that the work of 
the revision committee is a sublime compromise. Some 
have gone so far as to allege that the members were 
so courteous to each other that they haMly had a 
debate on any question. Nothing is further from the 
truth. I have never witnessed a more heated dis- 
cnsslon in any deliberative assembly tlian I have in 
this committee. Not one of tlie changes proposed es- 
caped opposition from some quarter, and very few were 
adopted without earnest and protracted debate. The 
questions brought before the re\-islon committee were 
discussed and decided just as such questions are dis- 
cussed In presbyters-, synod or the General -Assembly. 
i,.'j"i?*u owection urged against the committee Is 
that it has made changes not asked for bv anv nres- 
bytery. The answer to this Is two-fold, namely : 
First, the Assembly did not limit its work to tiie re- 
quests of presbyteries ; and secondly, a goodly num- 
ber of those bodies left the whole matter to the judff- 
ment of the committee. Hence the committee felt 
bound to consult the wishes of those silent presby- 
teries, so fer as they could be a-scertalned. It is well 
known that the committee has been accused of making 
egregious gi-ammatlcal blunders. No one denies that 
there are some infelicitous expressions, bad eon- 
ll,^''^'?J'lu''1*^^" occasional waat of harmony. But 
how did that happen, Mr. Moderator? When a sen- 
tence or a paragraph contained a strong theol(j;.;ical 
.?'i'l?n?i""-i'f3: *?:^P mteUigent Christians, no one was 
nt Ifl *^L^f '*'"■'' i*-. ." Y"^ "^'"lUy K-ft and the rest 
of the sentence had to be adjusted to It. Then a 

l"!^ ®„i^''?J™''® ■"?! freauentiy Introduced from the 
^? fim„i some other brancli of the reform chun-lies. 
The fllUng up of tli? gaps after deciding on the im- 
portant terms and sentences wa^ not so rasllv done as 
some might Imagine. The Confession Itself is lull of 
l^^^S",'"'^ blunders, arising from the same cause. 
.NO book woiUd be read in these days if written In 
imitation of the style ot the Confession of P.Vth The 
nj;om,^^«.°'i '*'' ""laP'^rs is not to be traced t^ their 
rhv«,™ hSt t!^ "i^f ■^'', '?'■£**"* ^y"ta,x or beautiful 
J^f £ i ^^^ 1° *'^!''" ^^^'^ ^"^O" •■"!* «ie multitudes 
of words and sentences containing volumes of Im- 
porlant truth. Jt is hoped that no one Is led by the 
attacks made on the grammar of tli- revised parts of 
1he Confession to believe that ex-Moderator DrT Green 

?^",'''f=tl°'*T?'"^*?''*"A^"'"'"l-'' °"'- Pa«™ 0^ Dr. Belcher, 
the late Dr. A an Dyke or Dr. Herrck Johnson, ,Tusl 
tice btroug or ex-Senatop McMillan, Judge Hand ot Mr 
Stratton do not understand the EngUsh grammar 

aosely connected with this Is the allegation tliat 
n„? r BvP i^s^fh a patchwork as the Church should 

Wh^mV"^ }% HZ""^^- " '"ay °«t l""' l™own to the 
brethren who take this ground that much of our noble 

Si"onf="S »^J'^ ?i[ compromises between thosi 
schools of theologv that can be defected as readily 
as the amendments which are now proposed. The 
revision committBe found in it a mlxtiirc of two styles 
°'.tP^^,!^'^" ''°<1 succeeded, I think, in doing away 
Ihe rhnJl"^'''"^ leaving behind only that taSght in 
the Oiurch from Dr. Archibald Alexander do^Ti to 
Drs Hodge and Henry B. Smith. The committ^has 
declared unanimously that tiie amendments propos^ 
if adopted by the presbyteries, wlu not Impair ii any 

r/5„.*?1 "'i'^I.°^J^^ '■^^is'^ Calvlnlstic system 
of doctrine taught in the Confession of Faith. ^^'■""^ 
Now, it it be true tjhat the amendments proposed 
by the revision committee do not impair the Integrly 
?f the Calvlnlstic system. Is it unreasonable to hope 

^^l„-f c 1 ^ ^S°v,™^''.„?°' /^si^e any changes in the 
Confession will be willing to submit them tS the pres- 
bj-teries out of regajd for their brethren wlio ask for 
them ! Since, on the other hand, the committee has 
striven to make nearly aU the changes demanded bv 
the revisionists, consistent with the restrictions laid 
down hy the (general Assembly, is it unreasonable to 
hope that those -who -would be glad to have those 
changes made will vote to send them down as the best 
that can, under the clrcumstanoes, be reasonably ex- 



66 



L]I;EAEY or TRIBUNE EXTEAS. 



pected? It is impossible, dear bretliren, to have all 
our individual prelerences carried out in this case. 
Let u^, tiieu, in tiie spirit of concession to each other, 
and lor the peace of our beloved Churcli, send down 
tills report to the presbyteries tliat the theological 
agitation, now so detrimental to her aggression a.id 
missionary worlc, may go on. 

1 am happy to be aole to inform you that the re- 
vision committee has not appointed any of its elo- 
quent members, lay or clerical, to force the report 
upon you by great speecues or parliamentary tactics. 
Tnev have lelt it to talie the course tisually pursued 
by the General Assembly and good judgment of the 
brelhrtn. When a large committee lihe tliat of re- 
vision has done Its worlr, strictly wlthiu the restric- 
tions laid down by the body that appointed it. It is no 
more than common courtesy to accept its rfeport and 
send It down for couHrmatlon or rejection by the pres- 
byteries. The committee never supposed that the As- 
sembly would desire to talie up the overtures In detaU, 
or to enter largely into a discussion of the report as a 
wlio.e. 1 should greatly regret a suppression of dis- 
cussion, but 1 would, ao the same time, deprecate ex- 
tended debate on the separate overtures, because I am 
sure it would be impossible for this Assembly or any 
committee of the same to reaich In that way satisfac- 
tory conclusions, it would laUe the Assembly more 
time than it did the committee. More than one of the 
overtures was considered by the committee three times, 
and it devoted to tuem hours, if not days, each time. 

In view of all tills, I would suggest that the whole 
report be accepted, adopted and sent down to the pres- 
byceries. tome of you may say that if that is done the 
presbyteries will be embarrassed in regard to a number 
of the oveitures. If they leject them^ tliey will be 
compelUed to accept the original paragraphs, wliich are 
to tuem s.ill mare objectl'iniible. Tuls dlHiculty may 
be met by not dismissing the committee, or by ap- 
pointing a better une and refer to.lt tiiie rejected, ovsh- 
tiu'es in order to recast4hera witii tUe additional liglit 
fumislied it by tjie different presbyteries. These ciin 
be further amended and refticned to 11 :e presbyteries 
next year. My tWs- means the Assembly may soon 
settle tile confessiinal agitation and secure another 
opiioitunity to put the objectionable overtures in a 
form acceptabtc to all. Eveiy one of you wiU have 
an oppostiiniiy t.j talie up tills report, item by item, 
in > U' resp.N-tive p.esbyteries. There you may have 
abundance ot lime lor dJscusslDn. If one session will 
not be long enough, you may take another, and still 
another. In this assembly you cannot do tliat. >' ou 
may vote to insert, or to strilte out, under the influence 
of an eloquent speeolr, tVsiii wMch you yourselves will 
feel to be out of place when you have time for delb- 
erution. Jlay the great Head of the Church guide you 
In the disciiarge of youi' impc-rtant duty in this case. 
Let neither feeling, sentiment or prejudice deter you 
from doing that whioli' shall be for the higldsfc interest 
of our whole beloved Church. 

Mr. EJaclv— I move tliat we talte up the considera- 
tion ot tbis report after we have finished the Briggs 
matter. 

A Member— I second tlie motion. 

A Member— I move tliat wo send down the overtures 
contained in this report to the preshe'teries for tlieir 
action. 

This motion wa^ also seconded. 

Mr. Junliin— I oiler the following resolution : 

Resolved, Tliat this report be referred, under the 
provisions of the third section of the amended chapter 
23 of the form of government, adopted June 1, 1892. 
minutes cl "891, page 140, entitled "Of amendments," 
to a committee constituted out of tlie memberslilp of 
the revision committee, in accordance with said sec- 
tion. 

A Member— I second that resolution. 

DR. PATTERSON OPPOSES REVISION. 

EeT.ision was the order of the evening, and the floor 
was given to Dr. R. M. Patterson, editor ot "The Pres- 
byterian Journal," under the ten-minute limit. Ho 
opposed the report in wllliole, for several reasons. He 
said: 

I doubt not I am in a minority here on tins ques- 
tion, though I do not fear that we who oppose shall be 
In a constitutional minority of the presbyteries on the 
report if submitted to tJiem. 

Limited to tea minutes, I can only draw up an In- 
dictment against the report, wif'out »vlng the prcot 
which I am able to give for every assertion. 

I am an unwavering and unqualified believer in the 
Bible as the inspired. Infallible and ioerrant word of 
<K)d, and in the Westminster Confession as a grand 
embodiment of the trutlis of that Bible concerning 
salvation. I believe that the G-enei-al Assembly 
should not permit In Its theological sendnai'ies 



any ins-T-ction which undermines the inen-ancy of 
ii-xj diViUe woru, and Uiat lue presbyteries ououid deal 
with any oi tneu- nuuistei-s wijose preaoning and leacn- 
ings arc iucuusistcutr uitii luul uouuiue. anu. ± ueileve 
so nruiiy in uie v..ouieasion that 1 am almost as much 
oppuscu to lis revision as to the aesiruciive luglier 
cruicism wlilch pierces the vitals of the Divine Word. 
A coiialitULioniu luaJ^.-l•il/i oi lue piebij> leiios nave 
never expre^ed themseivos in favor oi revision. It is, 
therefore, not obstructive to resist the consummation 
of tne Worn ; and unuer the action of mj piestiytery 1 
leei tiounfl, to do it. i cannot vote to seuu down the 
reporii to tne ijiuaoytdiies lor the loUowiug reasons ; 

ilrst— It IS condemned by its own friends. A mem- 
ber of the committee. Judge Hand, wno has signed the 
report .witnout any excepnuns and advocates it, has 
written: "We have sacrinced, iJosslbly, absolute Bible 
truth to harmony." Another advocate ua« written : 
'• In one particular— perhaps the Assembly might not 
go amiss in venturing to retouch the committee's work— 
and that is in tne matier of puraseology. The As- 
sembly might prontably appoint a committee on phras- 
ing with the understa.iding thait the doctrine! is not to 
be meddled, with." Another, who in hits presbytery pro- 
claimed the most radical sentiments, advocates the 
adoption of the report as a step toward the fm-ther re- 
vision, and, says concerning the third chapter, it is " a 
statement framed to suit both sides by ambiguous 
phrases, which can be interpreted by each In its own 
way. This is a frequent device in political platforms 
but a new thing to have introduced into a Confession 
of Faith." 

Second— Dr. Warfleld, the professor of theology in the 
oldest of our seminaries, declares the two new chapters 
are •• in language and thought ohvlousiv unworthy of a 
place In the elevated context of the Confession." The 
committee hps written at the expemse of grammar," 
Every section of this tenth chapter appears with sug- 
gested alterations, and every one of the alterations is 
distinctly. an injury to the Confession. The section as 
a whole comes out of the committee's hands a fair 
■model of what a Conltessional stiteme«t ousrlm to be — 
obscure and ambiguous where certainty and clearness 
are not only attainable but had nlreadv been attained 
in the original statement, dogmatic where the Script- 
ures are sUent or even opposed, and not without both 
omissions and insertion.s wlucii can be made to play 
unto the hands of error:" The amendment "all other 
persons who are not guilty of acttml transgression" 
'•is not revisiaa-; it is revolution; rebellion not from 
strict Calvlnlstlc orthodoxy, but from universal con- 
fessional Christianity ;" It Is a "revolt against common 
Christian doctrine." 

Third- The report 11 adopted,' would make the Con- 
fession self-inconsistent and, inconsistent with the cate- 
chlsm. This assertion has been publcly made over and 
over again ; it lias not been denied, nay. it has been ad- 
mitted and apologized lor. 

Fourth- Not claiming that the/ amendments will de- 
stroy the Calvlnlstlc system of doctrine (so long as 
clause 3, section 8 remains, it d.ominates the book), 
the suggested changes are largely exhibitions of verbal 
manipulation and, tinltering that will not meet the 
misrepresentations to obviate wldch was the object 
for which the revision movement was Inanguratsd, 
while they will rasp those td whom the book, from lifft- 
long association, is as dear as the apple of the eve. Ot 
all the amendments recommended by the revision com- 
m.ittee, the following probably, on superficial I'eading, 
commends Itself most tenderly to the general Cliristlan 
heart : 

"Infants, dying In Infancy, and all other persons 
who are not guilty of actual transgression, are included 
In the election of grace and are regenerated and 
saved by Clirlst through the Spirit who worketh 
•when and where and how He pleaseth : so also are 
«11 other elect persons who are not outwardly called by 
■^he Word." 

But four criticisms, wlilcji are not of a captious 
Wnd, may be made upon It : 

Flrst^Wbat proof can be cited from scrlptvire for 
the assertion that death in infancy is a proof of 
olecllon! 1 am not disputing infant salv.itlon; but 
what is the " thus saltU the Lord" for the assertion 
In that form. 

Second— Who are the other persons that are not 
.guUty 'Of actual transgression? What sc4ptural 
text can be cited here ? 

Third- The structure of the sentence is singularly 
Infelicitous. Fill out tli© last clause and grammatically- 
It must read thus ; "' So also all other elect persons, 
who are not outwardly called by the Word, are In- 
cluded in the election of grace and are regenerated," 
etc. Are there, then, some elect who are not In- 
cluded in the election of grace! We can scarcely 
Imarine that this is what the committee means, and 
yet it Is what the sentence implies. 

W^ll It do to place such doctrine, so clumsily ex 



PKESUVTERIAX I-^SLES. 



67 



piessed, In so clean-cut a book as the WLatiiilnslcr 

A^OIkleaslUil. 

tlxtJi— Tile new ehaiJter ■• (in the Hoiy «puit,'' 
repeals -what Is already expresbed in several places, 
but docs It In such a ^vay us to impair the vital 
tloctriiie of conimdn and eiiieacious grace. And It is 
trl-tlij.siic In Its tendency. 

t>evejuh— The chapter "The Universal Offer ol the 
Gospel" cannot be reconciled wltli the eighth section 
of iJiupter thiec, and dUtere essentially from the 
Larger Cat;chlsm which it Is not proposed to alter. 

Jilg'hth— 'Die distinguished professor who has been 
directing sj much attentioin to his doctrine of the 
Bible, the Church and the reason, claims, and 
properly, that the amendmeoits to. the 10th chapter 
Involve his doctrine of the reason. 

Ninth— lUlberal as It may appear, I aJn even more 
strjngly opposed to tha amendments oonoernlng the 
papacy than to the others. The latest book that 
has con.e Into my hand touching on the questloin, 
by the learned Principal Brown, of Aberdeeoi, 
Scotland, after examining Oie sorlptural passages 
that speak of the -man of sin," and "the son of 
perdition," and the features of the papacy which 
conform to them, declares : " If this does not 
come up t.i all that la here iierdlcted of the man of 
sin, we may safely say that the prediction will 
never be reallKsd." 1 wUl not vote to say, as a 
revision advocate has said, that the K'esbyterian 
cJiurches have foi? 250 yeairs bean proclaiming a 
" cblossal slander." And wlien I am asked to vote 
to striiie out the declaration that the papal church 
Is Idlatrous, 1 declare that I 'have In my hands the 
proof that that assertion is truer now than it was 
wlieu the Westminster divines wrote it. And this 
is not the time to lower our protest against the 
arch eiit>my of the people of God. 

Onia plea is advanced to persuade those who did 
not favor revision in the beginning to accede to this 
report— If we do not take this, sometiiing worse win 
come, builiclmt unto the day is the evil thereof. 
It the defenders of the confession are strong enough 
to save it now, tliey will be stromg enougli to con- 
tinue to save It. At ail events, duty Is ours, con- 
sequencHsi are Ood's. Let us wlio t>;Ueve In the 
book as it is stand by It flrmly and unflinchingly to 
the end. For one, if i were alone, I so'Suind. 

After Dr. Patterson liad taken Ms seat, a letter 
was read from Wlntlu'op S. Oilman, of Palisades, Rock- 
land County, N.Y., a member of the Revision Committee. 
Mr. .lunliin spoke In defence of his amendment, pre- 
senting a substantial argument against sending down 
the report to the presbyteries. He declared he was 
not obstmcting the progi'ess of revision, but was stand- 
ing by the constitution. Dr. W. C. Roberts, the chair- 
man of the Revision Committee, then replied to Mr. 
Junkin's argument as follows : 

The first question which I have to ask those on the 
other side is when and how was that law enacted? 
Was it the law of tlie Chm-ch when the overtures from 
fifteen presbyterys were presented to the Assembly 
of 18S9, asMng for amendments and alterations In the 
Confession of Faitli? No, sir. What did the Assembly 
do ? It assumed the responsibility of entertaining them 
so far as to send down to the jirosbyteries three or four 
questions regarding their decisions in the case. They 
replied that they wanted amendments and alterations 
bi the line indicated in the overtures. In conse- 
quence of tills, the Assembly of 1890 appointed a com- 
mittee of twenty-five to consider the amendments 
suggested, formulate tb?m, offer any amendment that 
might occur to them and report to the Assembly of 
1891. A report of progress was presented to the As- 
sembly of 1891, which was accepted and it was 

Resolved, That the report presented by the Com- 
mittee of Revision be now accepted as a report of 
progress, and that the stated clerk be directed to 
print the same under the supervision of the committee, 
and send it down to tlie presbyteries in accordance 
with its recommendations ; and also that the com- 
mittee be continued to make final report to the next 
Assembly. Adopted. 

In accordance with the just read resolution of the 
Assembly of 1891, the final report has been presented 
to this Assembly for action. The brethren of the 
other side allege that there Is a constitutional hindrance 
to the submitting of our report by this Assembly to 
the presbyteries. How did that Mndrance come into 
being, ivfr. Moderator, some ministers and 
elders of the Churcb, after the General Assembly 
tn 1889, who had entertained the fifteen 
overture and sent down the presbyteries 
three or toar questions, felt that the Church needed 
some safeguard against unexpected resolutions that 
might in time change the character of, If not destroy, 
our "Standards. I symiKithlzed with that feeling and 
saw tile possible danier. I was willing to move in the 
direct'.on of doing everyithlng in our power against It. 



Tie rule wliicli I have read was propn^ed as the pro- 
tection. It was submitted to the presbyteries and rati- 
fied. It became law last year, two years, Mr. 
Moderator, after the revision ' movement bad been 
recognized and acted upon l)£, the General Assembly. 
I call that an "ex post facto law," and all Smow that 
fiuch a law Is InoipeiraUve. A law cannot retroaot 
except by the consent of all wiliose interests it may 
affect. Moreover, Mr. Moderator, many of us voted 
for the law, believed heartily In It and mean to carry 
It ouit Jn aU cases to which it appHes, but we never 
dreamed that theire would be an effort made to apiply 
It to the past. Some of us would have opposed ita 
ratification by the preshyteoles for a time at least it 
it had • entered our minds that any man would insist 
upon Its retroaction in the case of revision. When 
I was told that such a thing would be attempted here 
I did not believe it, and I do not believe that the 
General Assembly will allow it. 

But, oh 1 say our opipoinents, there is no connec- 
tion between our General Assemtdies ; tliey are like 
Islands in the great sea of Churcih history. They are 
not connected by a bridge or a boat, or even by a sui)- 
marine caible. it deny this. The moderator and the 
clerks bind them togetiier. Committees whiicih are ap- 
iwinted by one A.ssombly to report to the next bind 
tliem. MistaliBs inadvertently made by one Assembly 
may be corrected by another. A process like that of 
I'cvislon may be InaiigMrated In one Aissembly, con- 
tinued through two or three and be completed m the 
foui'th Assembly. 

Yes, say the brethern on the other side, but the rule 
now under consideration is a part of the constitution ; 
It has tile effect of being a new constJjtution on this 
suljject. I readily admit that the Assembly must act 
umdei' the new constitution, b.ut I deny that a new 
oonsiiitu/tion annuls existing contracts or destroys 
charters given under a foj-mer constitutloi. , except by 
conseait of parties. I had the pleasure of adminis- 
tering the aflaiirs of a university in lUlnuis that had 
been chartered under the old constitution. We were 
very careful in administering our truot according to 
tlio old constitution, because we did not wish to come 
under the new. The committee on revision is ad- 
m'inistemlng its trust under the old constitution and 
we are unwi'lling to give our consent to coming under 
the new one at tills late day. 

Having considered tlie time when this law was en- 
acted and liavlng found that it is an " ex post facto 
law," consequently Inoperative in tWs case, let us 
look for a moment at the purpose for wliioh it was 
enacted. I allege, from persional knowledge and 
familiarity witli the tacts ccnnecteil with the Uw, 
that it was enacted for the purpose of protecting ths 
Assembly against unwise and unexpected motions to 
amend or alter the standards of the Oliuiroh, eitJier 
by the motions of its own members or by overtures from 
presbyteries. There can Ibe no doubt comcerning the wis- 
dom of this. It affords a much-needed protection against 
sudden assaults upon tlie very foundation of th» 
Church. But, Mr. Moderator, will any one in this 
house tell me tliat soich a protection is needed against 
the report I iiave read! Substantially, it has beeiu 
read twice before tlie General Assemlhiy and pub- 
ITisilied twiec in all our journals. Is there an amend- 
ment or an alteration in it that has not been ujs-ced 
within the reach of every me(ml)er of our Church! It 
has been before all the presbiyteries to wlilch it Is to 
toe suibmltted by this Assembly. In the light of the 
piurpose for wMoh the law has been enacted, would 
not thisi Asseonbly stultify itself before the com- 
mon sense of the Ohurcli and the world by 
submitting our report to a committee of fifteen to 
find out whether the amendments and alterations 
proposed therein are such as are proper to be sub- 
mitted, and thereby prevent has,ty and Injurious 
legislation! I cannot help regarding the views held 
by my friends on the other side as wrong— yes, Mr. 
Moderator, entirely wrong. 

The otlier point to which I caU the Assembly's 
attention is the unhappy consequences tliat would 
result from applying the ex post facto law to the 
revision report. Sometimes a law might retroact with- 
out doing any special barm. If there should be no 
objection to it, we might allow this law to do so in 
the present case, bu,t we cannot for the reason that 
very unhappy consequences would result therefrom. 
First— It would admit of the posslbiUty of defeat- 
ing by foul means a most Important measure. It 
might afford the moderator an opportunity to put 
fifteen men on the committee who would report tliat 
the amendments and alterations proposed were both 
unwise and inexpedient, if not destructive of our 
system of doctrine. None "of us, Mr. Moderator, have 
any fears that you would do so, but I am opposing 
a principle that might furnish such an opportunity. 
Tlien, if the moderator should not avail himself of 
the opportunity thus afforded to Iflll the report, the 



68 



LTKKiRY OF TEIBUNE EXTEAS. 



filteen men might be so Influenced during the year 
as to report that the amendments and altsralions 
were not such as should be submitted to the presby- 
teries. Thus, lilteeu men would deny to the church 
that which two-tlilrds of the presbyteries are perhaps 
anxious to adopt. The second unhappy consetiuenca 
is that one Assembly would knowingly Ignore a de- 
liberate and solemn act ol its predecessor. The 
Assembly of 1890 committed the work ol revising 
•Bhe OonJesslon of Faith to a committee, leaving the 
details to the discretion of Its members. The As- 
sembly of 1891 submitted subf.tantlally the present 
report to the presbyteries. All .that Is additional In 
this report Is that which has been suggested by the 
bodies *o whom the report is to be submitted. Is 
this Assembly going to put this in the hands of a 
committee appoln,ted by you, Mr. Moderator, to as- 
certain whether its amendments and alterations shMld 
be submitted to the presbyteries? I do not believe 
It, sir. It wonld be a most unfortunate actl 

The third imhappy consequence of the proposed 
procedure would be ithe offending of every synod of 
our Church. Th« presen* revision committee. Mr. 
Moderator, was not appointed by the moderator of 
the Saratoga Assembly, though no member feared Ws 
fairness, bu* the svnods claimed it as their right to 
nominate ithe members of the committee to whom was 
to be entrusted the revision of our standards. The 



not in the uncertain and lll-deflned trails of technical- 
ities and special pleading. 

Mr. Junkin's amendment was laid on the table, an* 
the report of the committee was adopted, and the- 
overtures sent to the presbyteries. 




THE REV. JOHN McO. HOLMES. 

nomtnaiUng committee consisted ol one representative 
from every synod, and that committee spent large 
portions ol ithree days in selecting satisfactory men. 
Now it Is proposed that the moderator of ibhls Assem- 
bly appoint a committee of fifteen who may throw to 
the wastebasket the work ol years ,by (the men named 
by the synods. What 'do you suppose those synods 
wonld say ito this, Mr. Moderator! If they should 
not have an opportunity to say much they would do 
a powerful amount of ithlnking. Do not slap these 
great bodies in the lace, brethren, lest ithey may 
turn and retallaite. 

The last unhappy consecLuence ol the course pro- 
posed by those on the other side is the keeping ol 
our Church lor one or two years longer in a state of 
uncertainty arid agitation. II the revision report is 
committed to a committee ol filteen, the Church will 
wonder and the newspapers will speculajte on what 
win be its late next year. Unless there be a clear 
and absolute consitltutlonal barrier in the way ol 
submitting our report at once to the presbyteries, do 
not protract the agitation. Stop not, brethren, the 
wheels ol our' progress in the direction ol possess- 
ing this land lor CErist. Move on in this matter 
In the broad path of righteousness and good sense, and 



THE CHUBCH EEECTION BOAJJD. 

EX(JEL,Li!;.\'X WOKK ACUUMi'LISHBD BY THIS. 
NECLiS.SAltY ACrENT OF THE CHURCH. 
Portland, Ore., May 27.— The Assembly was 
opened with prayer tills morning by the Eev. 
Dr. Fi'azer. The Eev. Dr. J, McC. Holmes re- 
quested, in- behalf of the Committee on Board 
ol Church Erection, that the report be read at thls- 
tlme, as It was very short, and the secretary 
of the board was obliged to leave the city, and would- 
walve any speech if the Assembly would take this, 
action. The Assembly so ordered, and the report was 
read and adopted. Following are extracts : 

Like every other phase of aggressive Christian ac- 
tivity, the work ol the board is constantly increasing. 
Urgent appeals lor aid come to it Irom all ciuarters. 
\Xherever a new church is organized a new house o± 
worsh.p Is needed; and slnue most of these new 
churches are in comparatively destitute localities, 
help in rearing their houses of worship is an impera- 
tive necessity. During the past year formal applica- 
tions have been received for aid in erecting 171 
churches and 53 manses, the aggregate sum asked for 
having been $97,i;40 lor church buildings and ipJl,985- 
lor manses, a total ol $119,225. Adding to these 
file number ol informal requests preferred, most ol 
wliich will eventuate in formal applications, the num- 
ber of congregations desiring aid in the erection ol 
chui'ches aud manses is scarcely less than 300, and the. 
sum required to meet the emergency is fully $150,000. 
m response to these appiicat-ous, aid has been granted 
during the year to lb3 churches in the erection of 
cliurdi buildings and to 44 churches in the erection ol 
manses, the sum ol $83,3tj9 having been given to the. 
former, and the sum ol $10,426 having been appro- 
pr.ated to the latter. The number of churches 
reached in all departments of the work lias been 252, 
and the aggregate amount pledged for their aid, $106,- 
242. One hundred and sixty-four churches and manses, 
have been completed without debt during the year 
through the aid of the board, aggregating in value 
nearly $400,000. These appropriations moreover, 
nave been scattered over 25 synods, 95 presbyteries- 
and 3a States and Territories. 

Commendable as is the work thus accompUshed 
dui'ing the past year, it is not what it might have 
been had the Church been more dUlgent in the dis- 
charge ol its duty. Like most other ol our ecclesiasti- 
cal agencies, Oie Board ol Cliuii-ch Education is com- 
pelled to report a decrease in its receipts during the 
past year, as compared with the year preceding. Tlie 
working Income ol the board as reported to the Gen- 
eral Assembly ol 1891 was, Irom all sources and lor 
every purpose, $126,248, whUe during the year ju-st 
closed it has been only $106,588. 

m accordance with tto recommendation ol the last 
General Assembly, tlie board has, during the past 
year, enlarged the sphere ol Its operations by establish- 
ing a loan fund to be employed in assisting in tlie erec- 
tion 01 churches, not by absolute grants, but by tem- 
porary loans. In accordance with the directions ol 
the last General Assembly, the details ol the plati are 
set lorth by the board in its annual report to tlie 
Assembly and indicate nice forethought and marked 
business sagacity. All over our country young 
cliurohes are being organized whose prosperity de- 
mands the erection ol buildings exceeding in expense 
their present ability ; not their prospective needs. 
Many of these cJlurches are debarred from borrowing 
thr'augh ordinary channels by the high rates ol interest 
tihey are required to pay, and can only findthe relief 
they need through tiiis department of the board's 
efficient effort. Under the will of the late Mrs. Mary 
Stuart, of New- York, the hoard has been mnde one of 
the residuaiT legatees ol her estate, and there Is good' 
reason to believe that the sum expected to accrue from 
tills source will constitute a satislactory ' nucleus lor 
the lund which the board has thus organized. The 
Church, however, shoiiM by no means depend upon 
this single legacy lor the establishment nnd main- 
tenance of tills- lund but should put lorth strenuous 
efforts to secure an Increased basis lor the loans it pro- 
poses to negotiate. The attention ol tl.ose in our 
Church whom God has gifted %vlth wealth is especially 
called to this new phase ol Christian effort. 



peesbyter:an issues. 



69 



EIGHTH DAY. 



SUiSTAINING THE APPEAL. 



THE GENEEAIi ASSEMBLY SUPPORTS THE 
BRIGGS PEOSEGUTING COMMITTEE. 



THE VOTE 429 TO 87— THE CASE WILL BE RE- 
MANDED TO THE NEW-YORK PRES- 
BTTERT FOR RETRIAL. 

Portland, Ore., May 28.— The General Assembly, 
t)y a vote of 429 to 87, decided to-day to sustain tlie 
appeal of the Prosecuting Committee, brought from the 
Presbytery of New-York. There are throe classes among 
the voters : thos.e who voted to sustain the appeal In 
^hole, those who voted to sustain it In part, and those 
who voted not to sustain It. The first class 
•consisted of 302 ministers and elders; the second, 127 ; 
and the third, 87 ; but tlie first two classes count 
together on the question whether or not they shall 
sustain the appeal. Tlie meaning of those whD 
voted to sustain In part Is tliat they could vote for one 
or tnore of the 200 specifications. The Synod of 
Atlanta voted solidly to sustain the appeal. Illinois 
was divided, the Chicago men voting as follows ; To 
sustain the appeal, John Frartz ; not to sustain the 
appeal, Di-. Thomas D. Wallace. Dr. William W. 
Totheroh, Henry J. Willing, Alexander H. Gunn, 
Henry W. Dudley and Asa G. Pettlbone; to sustain 
lln part, Dr. C. J. McPherson and the Rev. Messrs. 
John P. Hale and William M. Hlndman. Most of 
itlie synods were divided, members of the same Prcs- 
*ytery voting different ways. The New- York Pres- 
bytery's representatives were debaiTed by the Con- 
■stltutjon from voting. Pennsj'lvanla practically 
isustalned the appeal, perhaps u quarter voting to sus- 
tain In part; but there were only two men who voted 
in favor of Dr. Briggs. Oregon was sohdly opposed 
-to lilm, and he received only one vote from the Synod 
of the Pacific, that of an elder from Sacramento. 

As soon as the vote was annouucecl. Judge Saylor, 
of Indiana, who liad voted to sustain iixe appeal of 
the committee, offered a resolution to the effect tliat 
the judgment of the New- York Presbytery dismissing 
the case should l>e reversed by the Assembly and that 
.tlie case should be remanded to the New- York Pres- 
itiytery for a new trial. As the hour for adjournment 
Ihad passed, ilt was decided to take up the question on 
Monday. 'The probability is iliat when this resolu- 
tion Is argued, the Assembly, although It has voted to 
sustain the appeal of the committee, will vote almost 
"unanimously to return tlie case to New- York. There 
Is a, feeling here that Dr. Briggs ought to be tried; 
iihe feeling Is equally strong that Portland Is not the 
place for the trial, botli on account of the lateness of 
the session and the fact that his right of appeal. In 
case he were convicted, or the right of the 
committee to appeal in case he should be successful, 
would be taken away, in other words, that the Presby- 
tery, nnd not the Assembly, Is the place of original 
Jurisdiction. Br. Briggs did not care to make any 
icomments upon the result of the voting; b"ut his 
tfrlends said that it wias about what they expected. 



and they feel siure now that the case will be returned 
to New-York for a new trial. 

The morning session was devoted to the continu- 
ance of the argument, first, of Dr. Briggs against the 
appeal, and then by Dr. Lampe, a member of tlie com- 
mittee, in behalf of the appeal. An effort was made 
to have Dr. Cliarles L. Thompson, formerly of Chicago 
and now of New-Yorii, speak in favor of Dr. Briggs ; 
and an hour was spent in the discussion whether or 
not, he not being a member of the body, and not 
having received an appointment from the New-York 
Presbylery, shou d be allowed to speak. As there was no 
precedent to govern the Assembly, the question of 
constitutional law was raised ; and Dr. Thompson was 
finally allowed to speak, when the roll of the Presby- 
tery was called. Ho piesented a strong argument In 
five minutes for his friend, but even tliat could not 
carry the Assembly, wliich Is, as the vote shows, 
ovei'whelmingly opposed to the Union professor. 

Another matter of importance which came up this 
morning was the supplemental report of the Com- 
mittee on Theological Seminaries, read by Dr. Much- 
more, of Philadelphia. Papers relating to the me- 
morial of the Union directors had been referred to this 
committee, and, as bef(^, it brought in a divided re- 
port. The majority of the eleven members recom- 
mended the ifoUowlng resolution in regard to Union 
Seminary. 

Referring to the overtures received from twenty- 
three presbyteries and one synod in relation to the 
provision of the teachings In the seminaries which 
called upon the Assembly to enforce the compact 
entered into between the Assembly and the seminaries 
in 1870, tlie committee recommended as follows ; 

The desire or the petition of tiie Union Seminary 
dlrectoini for tile annulment of the compact was de- 
cided by a majority of the committee, a, question wliloh 
should be referred to a committee ot abltration, and 
they recommended that five members be appointd by 
the Moderator, to select five other persons who should 
act as arbitrators, to meet a like number selected by 
the Union directors; and these ten should choose five 
others, " and bv the fifteen thus chosen shall the in- 
terpretation of thl^ compact as to the transfer of the 
professor be decided." 

Dr. Taylor, of Rome, ■with three colleagues from 
the committee, presented a minority report, contain- 
ing a resolution allowing the seminary to withdraw 
honorably from tlie compact of 1850, and the appoint- 
ment of a committee to confer with all the seminaries 
for the purpose of formulating the new compact. The 
mattei" was laid over till Monday. 

Among the prominent people who have been at the 
Assembly during its session were two this morning, 
Governor Pennoyer and George W. Childs, of Phila- 
delphia, who with a, party are taking a tour through 
the State. The Governor, in a happy speech, bade 
the guests welcome to the State. Mr. Childs was 
Invited to speak, but declined to do so. Both men 
were greeted with applause. A protest is being 
prepared by the conservatives on the revision ques- 
tion against the action taken last night in laying aside 
what they consider to be a violation of the constitution 
of the Church. Mr. JunMn, of Philadelphia, moved 
as a substitute for the report for the motion of Judge 
Saylor, that the revision should be referred, under the 
provisions of the third section of the amendment. 
Chapter 23 of tlie form of government adopted on June 
1, 1891, to a committee composed of the membership 
of the Revision Committee, in accordance with that 
section. His motion was laid on tlie table, and he and 
Ills friends are to enter a protest against that action, 
as they assert that the laying aside of tliat rule wlU 
work great Injuiy to tlie Church. 



70 



LIBRAPY OF TBIBUNE EXTRAS. 



LINE OF DEFENCE. 



DR. BEIGG3 IN HIS OWN BEHAUT. 



a?HE. AOOUSED PROFESSOK PEBSEKTIS A CAEE- 

FULIiY PBiEPARBD ANSWER TO 

THE AIPaXiANTS. 

Portland, Ore., May 28.— Tlie answer of Dr. Briggs 
to tile appellants on the question of entertaining the 
appeal was continued to-day from yesterday's session 
and was carefully considered by the members of the 
Assembly. 

Dr. Briggs has made a good impression here. Not 
once has he lost himself, though some of Ills statements 
have lost their effect by tlie answer of the oommittes. 
It seemed a heartless tiling for his presbytery to ap- 
point a committee to esamine his book when he was 
too ill to be present ; but to balance tills was an extract 
from a letter written by Dr. Briggs, saying that 11 he 
were not ill he must decline to appear before the com- 
mittee, as it was appointed to examine Ills Inaugural 
address and not to hear his explanations. 

Dr. Briggs closed Ills final argument Impressively. 
His remarli:s are given herewith nearly in luU : 

The appellee is now called upon to resist the appeal 
made to y;our venerable body by the alleged prosecut- 
ing commltteo of the Presbytery of New- York. You 
have decided to entertain the appeal despite my pro- 
test and reservation of riglit. It Is now necessary for 
me, before going a step further, to say that I do not 
consent to your decision. I do not waive my right or 
the right of my co-complainants to prosecute our com- 
plaint beltore the Synod of New-oYork, In order that It 
may be determined tliere whether the appellants were 
appointed as a committee of prosecution by the Presby- 
tery of New- York, whetlier they are an original party, 
and whether tliey can act as appellants against the 
decision of the presbytery to dismiss the case. We 
reserve tlils right. The appellee does not waive liis 
riglit to seek any relief that may seem to be proper 
against your decision to entertain the appeal. Ha 
enters upon his response to the objections of the ap- 
pellants with all these reservations of right. It Is also 
necessary to call attention to the pecuSar position In 
wlilch the appellee is placed by the law of the Church. 
He is forc«d by the appellants and by the Book of Dis- 
cipline to resist the appeal by legal argument and to 
weary you with teclujlcal objections. If he should 
venture on the merits of the case, Mr. Moderator, you 
would immediately call him to order. In such a situa- 
tion the accused needs all the restraining grace that 
his God can give him. The appellee is compelled by 
the circumstances of this case to defend the action of 
his presbytery— action which he did not request and 
wlilch was not in his interest, but in tlie interest of 
the Presbytery of New- York. Ills argument Is, there- 
fore, not In self-defence and vindication, but simply 
and altfne a defence of his presbytery and a viiJdlcation 
01 Id? presbj'tery. He might waive ills own rights. 
He cannot waive the rights of the Presbytery of New- 
York. The chief patr of my task at this time is to 
test the six objections and the twenty-five specifica- 
tions made by the appellants, but tliesie objections and 
speciflcatioiis are built upon a historical sketch of the 
proceedings of the presbytery and are set in the light 
of that alleged history. History is a science whose 
value consists in an ac(ura1«, complete and impartial 
statement of facts. History ceases to be history when 
the facts .ire warped or colored or silted with a pur- 
pose to gain a point or establish a cause. The ap- 
pellee greatly desired to test this hlstoiy given by the 
appellants, for it is of some importance lor the cause 
wluch lie represents tliat all tlie facts sliould appear 
exactly as they came into existence in their relations 
and circumstances in the historical evolution of the 
case, and that they should all bo set in the clear and 
full light of the day. IX the ministers and elders of 
this AsssmbJy will only tolto the time to compare the 
history contained in the appeal with the hlstoiy con- 
tained in the records, even the printed records, they 
will see that tlie history lias bean sifted in 
the interests sf the appellants and against the 
Interests of the apiiellee, and that tilers are 
facts li comiectinn wltll the lustoty which ^o uot 
appear in tlie I'jstorical order In tlie records. I have 
made ii dclailel examination of tliis liistory, Imt 1 



rofraln from using it .because it is necessary lor me to 
spend my time upoh the objections and their speciflca- 
tions. I do not know whether it wiU be proper lor 
me to ask you to pass them as read, because I would 
like to use them at some subsequent time wihen I 
public this paper. I will mot- insist upon it, but I 
would like to have that privilege, thiough of course I 
can publish what I please an'l state that they wer» 
prepared to be read^ but were not read. 

The appellamts present to your venerable body six 
grounds of appeal, with twenty-five speciflcatio(ns. 
These seem to constitute a formidable array, but wheb 
we scan them closely, 'we find that the same specifica- 
tions do service under a number of dl/fet«nt grounds, 
and they are not so invincible,i afteir all. It Is as lit 
a pantomime, in whose sliccesslve acts and scenes at 
large number of different characters are assumed by 
a lew persons acting various parts ; they merely charage- 
iheir masks and coistumes. That is all. These- 
giounds of appeal and their specifications, on examina- 
tion, shrink into a much smaller number, aind seeim to 
the appellee to be of no substantial Importance. 
I shall iKrt weary you by going tilTough Hie gto^l!^ds 
al'd sjtecifl cations In the order of the appeal. I shalT 
ask you. rather to follow! mei in a critical analysis of 
them— a specimen of higher criticism, 11 you wlU. 

The grounds of the aippeal allowed by the Book of 
Discipline are : " Irregularity in the) proceedings of 
the inferior judicatory ; refusal to entertain an appeal 
or complali-'t: relusal of reasonable indulgemce to a> 
party on trial; receiving Impropbr olr declining to re- 
ceive Important testimony : hastening to a decision be- 
fore the testimony is fully taken ; imanilestation of 
prejudice in the conduct of a case, and mistake or 
Injustice In the decision." All of these groun'ls of 
appeal are urged by the appellants, with the exception 
of two — first, refusal to entertain an aippeal or com- 
plaint, and, second, refusal of reasonable indulgence' 
to a party on trial. The appellants do not nrge these 
two grounds, because they could not possibly do 
so, lor the simple reasoVi that ;the question of enter- 
taining an appeal or colnplaint coui'l not be raised' 
before the onurt ol original jurisdiction and because the 
aippellants were not the party and could not be the 
party on trial. The appellants, therefore, claim thalfe 
Cii evelry possible Instance the presbytery gava theln 
a ground of appeal. 

Theirei are six of tlicse grounds : (1) Irregularity 
in the proceedincrs. (2) Receiving Improjier testi- 
mony. (3) Declining to receive important testimony. 
(4) Hasteaimg to a decisioVi before all the testimony 
was fully talien. (5) Manlfestatl'ms ol prejudice ur 
tba cor|1uct of the .case. (6) Mistake or injustice In 
the decision. But you will see at once, if I mistake 
not, that threo of these grounds have no validity atf 
that stase In the process when action was taken by 
tlie Presbytary of Nelwi-York to dismiss the case. The- 
Book of Discipline, sections 22 and 23, prescribes the- 
order of procedure. Tliat Is so familiar to vou that 
I think I may save time and omit the reading of 
it. The Presbytery of Now- York a'1vai"ced thus far 
in Its procedure. The defendamt filed obieetions to 
the sulficlericy ol the charges and spfeciflcations In 
form and in legal effect. The presbytery deftermineil' 
these prehminairy objections and dismissed tho case.. 
Tile presbytery did not put the accused on his de- 
fence. He did not plead gulltv or not guUty. or refuse 
to answer. The judicatory dl'i not hetir evidence and: 
recelive testimony, it did not vote on the charges and 
speclficatio^B. It did not enter judgment. All of 
these thilngs follow In the order of our Book of Dis- 
cipline after the action, which is at the discretion of 
the presbytery, whether tliey shall dismiss the 
case. Therefore the objections as in " d-3clining to- 
receive important testimony,"' and as to "ha^tenlna 
to a decision before the testimonv was fuUv taken,"' 
have no place in connection with tlie decIs'O'i dis- 
missing the case because the time has not yet come- 
in the order of procedure wlien it was proper for the 
presbvterv to receive testimony. The objection tiiat 
the pi-e^bvtery "received improper testimony" does 
not hold because it was not the time lor tlie presby- 
tery to receive any testimony, proper or improper, and 
the presbytery did not. in fact, receive anv such testi- 
mony. These three grounds ol appeal, -with all their 
numerous speciflcatio'ns, fall t'o pieces as altogether- 
null and void. If the appellants can show, as regards 
the other three objections, that there was Irregularity 
in the proceeding: that there was manifestation of 
prejudice in the conduct of the C3.se. and that there 
was mistalfo or injustice in tlie decision, then these- 
objections are valid. But ive shall show your ven- 
eraTJle body that none of these things are true : at 
least so far as the appellants a'-e concerned. It seems 
best for the appellee to test these tn-onnds in a differ- 
ent tvav from that desii-ed bv the appellants. Inas- 
much as the sneclficntions cover the whole history or 
tlie case, lr~m the filin'j; ol objections b> the defendant: 



PRESBYTEETAN ISSUES. 



71 



unlll the decision of tlie piesbvtery dismissing the 
case, It eevma best to follow the historical oMer In 
testing' them. Thus I shall endeavoi- to malte the 
discus-ion more Interesting to you than by pursuing 
the more technical wav. We shall divide the pro- 
ceedings of the Presbytery of New- York of November 
4, 1801, Into three parts— (1) hearing the response of 
tlio defendant to the cliarges and specifications as to 
their form and legal ellect; (2) the procedure In the 
presbytery during the debate prior to the decision; 
(3) the decision to dismiss tlie case. 

First, then, let as consider the action of tlie pres- 
bytery in hearing the response of the deJendant to 
the charges and speeiflcations as to their form and 
legal eftect. Tiiere are four speoilicaUons only of 
the twenty-five under tills head. 1. First ground, 
specification flret— The ground of appeal (here is that 
there wiis an Irregularity In tlie proceedings of said 
presbytery of New-York, "ttn this, that the said pres- 
bytery of New-York permitted the accused to read 
in tlie heating ol! tlie said Judicatory a paper wlilch 
purported to be objections to the sufficiency of tlie 
charges and spccltications In form or legal effect, but 
wlilcli was In fact, and Is, as denominated by the 
said accused, a -Respinse to tlie Charges 
and Specifications,' wlilch paper consisted 
to a gieiit extent of statements of 
tact or arguments on tlie merits of the case." The 
objection that the defendant made statements of fact 
and argument on the iHBrlts of the case we sliaU 
consider fuilher on. We propose to refute at this 
point the argument based upon the title of ^he paper 
of tile defendant. It is quite true that the paper as 
printed has tlie title " Response to tlie Cliaj'ges and 
' bpectflciitions." The jccuscd »was cited October 6, 
1891, by tlie presbytery to 'plead or make answer 
to said charges and specifications. The Hook of 
lyscipline gives the accused the right in his answer or 
response— as 1 talso these to be synonymes— 'to file 
objections to the regularity of the organization or to 
the jurisdiction of the Judicatory, or to the sufttclency 
of the charges and specifications In form or In legal 
eftect, or any other substantial objection affecting the 
oi'der or regularity of the proceedings"; and. If he 
wishes to waive all these rights of preliminary ob- 
jection, and plead guilty or not guilty, or declihe to 
answer; if he pleads not guilty, to respond to tlie 
substance of tlie charges and specifications. The 
accused limited Ills response to filing of objections 
to the sullioiency of tlie charges and specifications In 
form or legal effect. It is expressly stated in Ills 
paper. At the beginning it says ; " I liave no ob- 
jection to the regularity of tlie organization 
or to the Juilsdlction of the Presby- 
tery of New- York, but It Is necessary both In my own 
Interest and In .the Interest of the order and regularity 
of the Judicial proceedings to file objections to the 
sufficiency of the cliarges and specifications in form 
and legal effect." It Is also distinctly sta.ted at the 
close of the paper ffi the following words : " These ob- 
jections to the sufficiency of the charges and speci- 
fications placed in my hands by order of the presby- 
tery of New- York as to their form and legal effect 
are hereby respectfully submitted to the Presbytery 
forlthelr Judgment." Now, the published title of tha,t 
paper might have been more specific If It had read " Re- 
sponse to the charges ajid specifications showing their 
Insufficiency in form and legal effect." But it was 
not necessary to make such an explicit title when the 
whole paper from beginning to end Showed that It 
was a response to the form of the charges, and not a 
response to the siibs.tahc'e of the charges. Further- 
more, any objection to the title Is Immaterial, be- 
cause the title of .the paper was not read before the 
pres'bytery, was not a parf of the paper as presented 
to the presbytery, and Is not recognized on the min- 
utes of .the presbyteiT. It Is true that the oJBcial 
stenographer's report copied the title of the printed 
paper into it, and tlie stenographer wrote, " Dr. Briggs 
then read his respopse to the charges and specifica- 
tions." Then the moderator. Dr. Bliss, changed it 
by inserting with Ms pen the following words : " Paper 
filing obJeoXions, which is entitled" (see printed copy 
pp. 158-159). But neither the statement of the of- 
ficial stenographer nor the statemen.ts of the mod- 
erator were examined or approved by the Presbytery 
of New- York, and therefore form no part of the record 
in this case. Another stenographic report was taken 
by a stenographer employed by the directors of Union 
Theological Seminary, wlilch gives the paper exactly 
as it was read without title, and this corresponds 
wltli the minutes of the presbytery which is tJie only 
proper record in the case. The minutes read as fol- 
lows : " Dr. Briggs, being called upon to make return 
to the citation, then proceeded to file objections 
against the siifliciency of the charges and specifica- 
tions In form and in legal effect, as follows." The 



defendant appeals to the minutes of the presbytory 
against the official stenographer and the moderator. 

Now, this may appar to be a small matter, breth- 
ren—and It is- but It is made a ground of objection, 
and we are required to meet it even if it Is a trifle. 
The first gromid of appeal, therefore, as It is based on 
the title of the paper iUing objections as to the suf- 
ficiency of .the charges and specifications as to form 
and in legal effect. Is therefore clearly, as the record 
of the presby.tery shows, null and void. 

2. Second ground, speclficlatlon eighth— Tlie ground 
of appeal is that there was Irregularity in the pro. 
oeedings of the said Presbytery of New- York in hear- 
ing objections to the preamble of the charges and 
specifications. On the 5.th of October, 1891, the appel- 
lants presented a report, consislng of a preamble, 
charges and specifications, and recommendations. The 
written records of the case in .the hands of the stated 
clerk I acknowledge as correct, as I did yesterday; 
but the printed record of the case prepared by the 
committee is at fault, as I showed yesterday. In 
that It detaches the cliarges and specifications 
from the report, and In the place where ithey 
should appear. Inserts simply the words, " Hero follow 
the charges and speolfiicatlons, for wihloh see page 70." 
It is no excuse to say that those charges and specifi- 
cations are printed on page 70. Why were they not 
printed in the place where they belonged and re- 
ferred to on page 70 ? In fact, thp preamble and the 
charges and specifications were read together and 
printed together for circulation in the presbytery and 
before th,e whole Church, and therefore the preamble 
went wherever the cbarges and specifications went. 
The cony served upon the defendant contained tlijs 
preamble. 

Now I wlU acknowledge, Mr. Moderator, tliat a 
single line of ink stretches across the two pages and a 
quarter containing the preamble and aJso the cover of 
the pamphlet; but it needed something more thian 
such a thin line to blot out the offensive and Injurious 
statements of that preamble. The defendant had no 
other opportunity of objecting to this preamble thaji 
that afforded him at the time of filing the objections. 
In fact, it is a very curious circumstance that the 
defendant was not present when the preamble was 
read, owing to a change of tlie order of procedure 
prior to Ws return after recess. The committee had 
proceeded well on in their reading of the charges 
without Inquiring whether the defendant was present. 
Is thjat legal? I am not raising the question here 
now. I have never raised any merely teclinical ob- 
jections, but it is Important for my case to mention 
it here. The defendant had the right on November 
4 not only to file objections to the suHlcicncv of the 
charges and specifications in form and in legiil eftect, 
but also to file any oth.er substantial objections attect- 
ing the order or Irregularity of the proceedings. The 
objection to the preamble made by the defendant you 
■\vlll find in his printed response. I shall not weary 
you in reading it. He appeals to the honor of every 
fair-minded man whether it was not necessary for him 
Vinder the circumstances to relieve himself at the 
outset from those unjust Imputations which they did 
not propose to try before the presbytery and wliich 
were framed apparently— I will not say Intentionally— 
but apparently with the purpose of influencing the 
court aga'ust him if they went to trial. The pres- 
bytery made no objection to this reference to the 
preamble. Tlie moderator did not question its order 
or propriety. The appellants themselves raised no 
objection on the fioor of the presbytery to hearing 
the objections made. Their objection seems to have 
been an afterthought. If it was ever a proper 
ground of appeal it ought to have besn made as an 
exception or objection on the floor at the time. 

Third— Gro'md second, specification firs' ; .-ilso ground 
five, specification first. I shall consolidate these two, 
to save your time. Receiving Improper testimony. 
Tills is the same specification under two grounds. 
The second groimd is manifestation of prejudi.p In 
the conduct of the case. It is assumed In ground 
second, specification first, that one of the grounds for 
the dismissal of the case, namely, " declarations made 
by Dr. Briggs touching his loyalty to the holy 
Pcriptures and the Westminster Standards, and of Ms 
disclaimers of the interpretations put upon some of 
Ms words," it is claimed that tliis reason of the 
dismissal referred to statements and arguments touch- 
ing the merife of the cases contained in the response 
to tlie cliarges and specifications as to tJieii" form and 
legal effect submitted by the accused. But no proof 
lias yet been given lor this assumption. It is an 
invalid inference of the appellants, and therefore no 
proper ground of appeal Tliis I shall end'^avor to 
sh.ow you, although it is not my business to show it. 

The history of the case shows that tliJs ground for 
dismissing the case, it it be a ground, was p.opo-.ed by. 



72 



LIBEABY OP TRIBUNE EXTEAS. 



Dr. John Hall. Dr. Hall began by referring to the 
former meeting, namely, Octooei" o (see page 64 and 
following), and the action proposed at tuai meeting. 
He desired lliat this ciause should be inserted in the 
dismissal, in order, as he says, " to protect us against 
any imputation of favoring what tlie Church does not 
believe," and also "to do no injustice to our brother 
who, as the acousedj is before us." Dr. Hall was 
here using phrases that had been in the minds of the 
Presbytery of New-Yort since the previous meeting, 
when Dr. Alexander's motion was defeated by the 
slender majority of 64 to BO. Dr. Alexander's motion, 
including the categorical questions so carefully amitted 
by tlie appellants from tneir jwinted appeal, proposed 
by the directors of Union Seminary, and the answers 
of Dr. Briggs, concludes as follows (page 65) : 

'■ Therefore, Resolved, That the presbytery, without 
pronouncing on the eufficiency of these later declara- 
tions to cover all the points concerning which the 
accused has been called in question, with hearty ap- 
preciation of the faithful labors of the committee, 
deenis it expedient to aiTest the judicial proceedings 
at this point, and hereby discharge the committee 
from further consideration of the case." 

S3 on the same day Dr. HaU desired the presbytery 
to pureue what he called a "middle" course. He pro- 
posed that "in view of the distinct disclaimers" — 
notice the word—" of pronounced errors that have been 
given by our friend and brother. Dr. Briggs, in view of 
fliese utterances and distinct disclaimers of intentional 
heresy, to relieve this committee from any further dis- 
charge of duty." Dr. Hall also desired that "the 
presbytery should express its regret that in recent 
utterances infelicitous language had been used" by Dr. 
Briggs, and that it was hoped tliat " our friend and 
brother, Dr. Briggs, would not continue this course." 
This last clause, which would seem to involve a censure 
■without a trial, did not receive the support of the 
presbytei-y. It oagliit to be clear from these historical 
references that the term "declarations" made by Dr. 
Briggs, " touching his loyalty tD the holy Scriptures 
and the Westminster Standards" was derived by Dr. 
Hall from the resolution of Dr. Alexander at the 
previous meeting, and tlie term "disclaimers of in- 
terpretations put upon some of his words" is a reitera- 
tion of Dr. Hall's own language on October 6. Now 
this makes ib altogether liliely, to put it mildly, that 
Dr. Hall's proposal of the additional reason for dis- 
missing the case at the November meeting was based 
upon tlie statements and disclaimers of Dr. Biiggs 
previous to the October meeting of the Presbytery, and 
that they had very little, if any, reference to any 
statement made in the response of November 4. I 
understood the chairman of the appellants to state 
this afternoon that if these statements, disclaimers and 
declarations had been made prior to the issue of the 
charges they could not except to them— that if they 
had been made prior to the issuing of the charges and 
my citation to answer them, they would not object to 
them. 

Now, I think I have shown that thev do refer to 
disclaimers and statements made orior to the serving 
of the charges, if not even piior to the prenaration of 
the charges. The response of the defendant consisted 
entirely of objections to the sufflciencv of the charces 
and specifications as to form and leeal effect. It did 
not enter into an argument on the merits of the case. 
The mertts were touched upon cnlv so far as it was 
necessary to touch upon them in obiectine to the 
sufficiency of the ehnrges and, specifications as to tlieir 
form and lecal effect. The defendant could not avoid 
this altogether, because the cliarces and specifications 
were so fra.med as to malve it neoessarv for him to 
touch them, in so far as to make it evident that the 
charges and speclflcati. ns were altogether in-elevamt. 
The defendant, let me sav, took great care not to argue 
the case upon its merits. He took great pains to 
avoid that, for two very simple reasons, which I think 
you will perceive at a elance. lit the first place, he 
wi.shed. to avoid any possibilitv of friction between him- 
self and the prosecution through the raising of 
technical objections to anything In his paper. He 
consulted several of the best legal minds in the ritv 
of New-York .and submitted his paper for their judg- 
ment on this matter, assured bv them that he did not 
enter into the case on the merits any fnrther than was 
necessary Or tha.n he had a rieht to do. He was 
prepared to meet a.nd overronie anv objections that 
might be raised before tlie bar of t' le pVesbytrary on 
tills teclinical question. Put In fact no nbiectlon was 
raised bv the apperants nt tlie time. No member of 
the court raised any olijentinn. The moderator bv his 
silence recognized the defpn-iaint's ilelit to file his 
objections without nnv exceptions whatever. Purlher- 
more. Mr. McCcolt. on Vielmlf of the prosecution, shows 
that the proserut'nn dlfl no"-, inteipnse nnv oblectioiis,- 
at the time, to tlie vosp->np». or anvtlilna: In the re- 
sponse. It was an afterthought to ba.se the ground of 



appeal upon the action of the presbytery in hearing 
any poruon oi the response, j-t is loo late. Uieiel'ore, 
to make this gi'ound of appeal to the Weneral Assemblv. 

The second reason, Mr. Moueiulor, why I did not 
enter Into the merits of the case is tills : Mr. McCook 
undertook to say on the floor of tlie presbytery tluit 
" substantially all the members of the presbytery 
present have receiven a very good idea of the pooition 
the accused is likely to take on the trial." This ia- 
ference of Mr. McCooli was gratuitous and without 
justification. The defendant did not propose to give 
Mr. MoCook. or the prosecuting committee, or any of 
the members of the presbytery, any idea wliatever of 
the position he would take on his trial, if he had 
done what the api>eliants claim he did. he would have 
put his defence permently in tteir hands. TlUs 
venerable body, I trust, wUl not think tliat the ap- 
pellee was so unwise as to take such a course. He 
had his defence prepared and with him at the 
time : because how could he know what the 
action of rfche presbytery would be? He was obliged 
to be ready tCL^jjiml on his defence, and he was ready. 
It cannot be shown, "therefore, that the response gave 
testimony In the case; still less that it gave improper 
testimony. The time Had not yet come for giving 
testimony. It was not, in fact, given. There was 
no manifestation of prejudice in tne conduct of She 
case. The presbytery did no more than it had a 
right to do. It had a right to hear tne objections 
tiled, by the diBfelidant as to the sulliciency .of the 
charges in form and in legal effect. The defendant 
had a right to file .these objections. The presbytery 
was obliged to hear tliem, according to thei constitution. 
They could not refuse to liear them without doing 
the defendant grave Injustice and wrong and forcluig 
him to seek redj'ess In the superior judicatory. 

We have thus fai' tested the four sipeclflcations 
under the three grounds of appeal and have found 
them all invalid. The defendant exercised his right 
In filing objections to the sufficiency -of the charges 
and speciticatious" as to form and legal effect. The 
presbytery heard them. No one In the presbytery 
objected to hearing them. The appellant made no 
objection. The minutes of the presbytery with refer- 
ence to the response were approved by the coirt. No 
notice was given to the presbytery of appeal against 
the action in hearing the response. Tne notice of 
appeal given to ithe presbytery was simply and alone 
fi'om the decisiOQ of the piresbyte'ry. Tneir power of 
appeal was exhausted. The appeal against ilie notion 
of the presbytery In , hearing any portion of the re- 
sponse was an aftentliought. It. was made too late to 
give It legal standing, even If It ever had any. 

II. The appellee has had jlttle to do In defending 
his own response against objeclions, for only four of 
(he specifications relate to Ills paper, out of the twenty- 
five given in the appeal. He is now called upon to 
defend the procedure in the presbytery dui'ing.ithe 
debate Intervening between his response and .the de- 
cision of the presbytery. He raust now show that 
the seven specifications of th?. appeal at tills point are 
groundless. These seven specifications are centred 
about tlie one question of hearing evidence in behalf 
of the defendant and refusing to hear evidence by the 
prosecution again,st liim. It might be siufllclent at this 
point simply to rsattirm what has already been said, 
that the presbytery had not reached that stage in the 
case when evidence could be heai^, and that they 
did not, in fact, hear ajiy evidence whatever. But the 
appellants make so miioli of these seven s(peclfications 
tliat It seems to be at least more respectful to them to 
test tliem. Thesajii.-?, first: (1) "Not permitting tha 
P'osecutlcu to present evidence against tbe accused." 
This objection is raised under tliree sp :clflcatlons— first 
ground, specification nine; third ground, specification 
cue ; fifth ground, specification four. That is : Irregu- 
larity In proceedings^— ground one; declining to receive 
important testimony— ground tAvo ; manifestation of 
prejudice in the conduct of the case— ground four. 
Now. all of these objections are Invilld. becau<5e this 
presbyleiT was not permitted by the Book of Discipline 
to allow the said prosecuting committee to present 
e\'1dence in support of the. said charges and specifica- 
tions at the time wlien preliminary objections were 
t'l be determined before It was In ord.?r to go to Irlil. 
The presbytery had the discretionary right to dismiss 
tbe case before trial; and they were obliged to dismiss 
It then or not at all. If the presbj'tery were to 
dismiss the case they were required to dismiss it 
bDfoie any evideiice was admitted in sTivBort of the 
said charges and specifications. The presbytery had 
not yet decided to ha\'e Hie trial, and therefore the 
p osecutlon was not pi'i-mltled to liitioauce testimony 
rr evidence in suppirt ol said charges and 
specifications. The presbytery of New- York could 
not have done any ol these things 
wliich the appellants claim they ought to have done 
\vithout direct and plain violation ol the requirements 



PEESBYTERIAN ISSUES. 



73 



«f the Book of Dlsclpli:e. In that the presbytery 
old wiiat tue law required them to do, no legal ou- 
jectlou can be uuien lo their a.cuou In not hearmg tue 
evlaeiK-e pioiiered by the prosecution. 

lU.) Objection Is i-alsod against the alleged action 
ol tJie piHiSbytery In hearing evidence In benall ol tlie 
uccusea. Tuere are two speclncatlons ol objections 
under this head : Gro.uud nrst. speciUcatlou second ; 
gi-ound secuiiu, specilicatlon second. Xhls class ol 
objections Is balanced against the previous class. 
Observe tliBt U It was wrong not to relc^ve the 
testimony ol the prosecution, It cerialiuly was eciuully 
wrong not to receive the testimony In behall ol the 
jiccused. If, on the other hand. It was wrong to re- 
ceive testimony on behalf ot tlie accused it was 
«iiually Wrong to receive testimony .'agftlnst the 
accused by the prosecutors, in fact It was wrong 
to receive any testimony whatever. If the appellants 
•can show that the presbytery received testimony In 
benall of the accused tney nave a valid ground of 
appeaJ and 1 will cheerfully recognize It. But, in 
lucio, the appellants cannot prove that the presbytery 
received testimony In beliaJf of that delenJant. 

rney reler In their speciflcations to remariss ol 
Drs. Van Dvhe. Brown. Mcllvaine. Hastings. Field 
and the itev. Mr. Ulilier. Tuey are taiieu out of their 
connection. I ask you as a court In all fairness to 
lead them in the stenograpidc report m their piroper 
places, and not as they give them under these giounus 
and speclBcatlons. 11 the members ol the court will 
«xamln6 either one ol the atenograpliic reports they 
will see that In the lew cases ol exception wMch were 
taken during the proceeoings to tue remarlis ol these 
hiembei'S of ihe piesbytery, iliat tlie moderator, a Just 
and eiqultable mail, decided thalt the remarks were In 
order, and no appeal was taken Irom his decision, by 
the prosecution, first, an objection was taiien by 
Dr. tjciiaufller to some words ol Ur. Mcllvaiua. Dr. 
bciiautner asked: "is tlds an order 1 is It an argu- 
ment ol the question now before us 7" aiid the mod- 
erator rcpliel : •• Xlie moderator understands that Dr. 
Mcllvaine is showing reasons why we should dismiss 
the case. This is the generic to tiiat." No appeal was 
taiien from his aecislon. 

Second, no exception was talcen by t!:e cjmmlttea 
of the prosecution or by any otlier uersun to the re- 
marks ol Drs. Van Dyke, Brjwn, Hasllugs, Fled, or 
the Kev. Mr. HUUer, as entering Intu tlie merits ol tlie 
KMiss. No objection was taken by the prosecution on 
the iloor of the presbytery tlmt any ol these members 
ol tlie presbytery wiere giving testimony In bcttmll ol 
the accused. In the notice ol appeal to the iSynod ol 
New-Yorli, glveu by the clmirman ol the prosecuting 
committee, no mention was made ol recelvlug im- 
proper testimony. The notice of appeal was glviMi 
solely agaln-st the decision ol the pi'esbytery in dis- 
missing the case. Tliey iMid exhausted tlielr powor ol 
appeal. Th© appeal.agalnst tJie action ol the presby- 
tery in receiving tesitlmouy was an afterthought and is 
now invalid 11 '^ ever could have been valid. 

In the tiiird place, the pres'Uytery are cliargied wltli 
hearing the case on tlie merits. There are two spccifl- 
catijns relating to tills objection— first ground, specifi- 
cation 6 ; sixth ground, speelflcation H. These specifi- 
cations have already been considered and disproved. 
We will recognize that the moderator. Dr. Bllss,i rulod 
with a firm, steady and equllable hand, and that lie 
prevented both sides alike Irom going Into tlve merits 
ol the case, and In th3 Presbytery ol New-York we alt 
feel very gratelul to lilra for his decisions. We have 
already sliown tl'at tlie only ane ol tliose who voted to 
dismiss the ease, whose remarks were objected to as 
entering Into the merits ol Hie case, was Dr. Mc- 
llvaine, and that he was sustained by the moderator, 
and no appeal w,as talten from tlie' moderator's decision. 
Im fact— and I wish you to notice this, members of the 
c3url^-the onl^- persons whose remarlts were rul.?d out 
of order for entering Into the merits ol tlie case were 
two members ol tlie presbytery who voted in the In- 
terests of the prosecutlan against tlie decision to dis- 
miss the case. So, if f'lere is any wrong whatever, it 
was on tlielr side. Dr. Shearer's remarks were objected 
to as entering into tlie merits ol tlie case, and he wa^ 
ruled rut of order bv the mo'leiator. (:ieo page 231.) 
Dr. ighedd was also called to order for tlie same 
rea«rn. (Pee page 2-21 ol the printed report, 117 ol 
the written.) 

It is claimed, therelore, from the s'enographic re- 
ports, tliat Ithe onlv ones who entered into the merits 
•of th^ case ivliere tihe members of the presbytery who 
voted against the decision to dismiss the-case. There- 
ffir,' the appellants have no ground of objection. I 
n-ciild have had a grnund p1 olileotlm if I wished to 
■dwell on teclmicallties. It would be eiisj' to show 
from tlie report that every statement (iuot?d in the 
.sreciflcatlons from tlie speecl'es of the friends ol the 
delfndant are more tlian ba'anced by the statements 
ivliidi might be .iiuoted lErom those who voted in tlie 



Interests ol the appellants, some of the appellants 
themselves not excepted. But in that tlie moderator, 
Dr. Bliss, ruled witn eciulty. He did not aUow any 
one to enter into the merits of the case any more than 
was absolutely necessary to discuss the question ol 
the sulticlency of the charges and specifications as to 
form and legal ettect, and with reference to the mo- 
tion to dismiss the case. No objection was taieu by 
the appellants on the Iloor ol the pi-esbytery. No 
appeal was taken by them or by any one else from 
the ruling ol the moderator. This objection was not 
Included m ithe grounds ol appeal when tlie notice 
ol appeal was given to the presbytery. The debate on 
the response antthe motion to dismiss was in order, 
and no valid objection can now be taken to It. Their 
power ol appeal has been exhausted and the grounds 
are InvaUd now, 11 they ever had va.idlty. The only 
part ol the iproceedings objected to In tlie notice ol 
appeal given to the presbytery was the deelsion of the 
presbytery. 

Fourteen ol the twenty-five specifications of the ap- 
peal are against ithe decision. These fourteen are 
under several diherent grounds, and a-1 directly against 
the decision from several dltterent points of view. 
Uround lirst, specification thi-ee ; ground fifth, specifica- 
tion three are against the actlou ol the presbytery In 
preventing ameudme ts from being made to the charges 
and speciflcations. Now, this is not a vaUd ground, be- 
cause the Book of Discipline, Section 22, leaves It to 
the dlscreti.n of tiie presbytery In connection with the 
determination of iireilminai-y objections whether It 
sliall dismiss tlie case or permit amendments to the 
specifications or charges. No legal objection can be 
laken against the action of the presbytery in doing 
what It had a right lo do, at its discretion, in ac- 
coidance with the book. It Is true that Mr. Steven- 
s-on suggested that an amendment miglit be made, but 
it iwas sucli a trivial and technical amendment that It 
made no Impression ui>on tlie presbytery ; and even 
that amendment was not aelually proposed to the 
court. The appellants never proposed any amend- 
ment to the coui-t. Tile recoids sliow tliat. The de- 
fendant showed to tho presbytery that the charges 
and specifications were all void, Insiifliclent In form 
and legal effect. The Book ol Discipline does not 
give the presbytery the right ol permitting any amend- 
ments which ciiange the general nature ol the same. 
No amendments could be made to these charges and 
speciflcations which by any possibility could make them 
sulliclent or relevant witliout cliariging their nature. 
They were shown lo be radically and essentially Ir- 
relevant and Insutticient. No om In the presbytery 
proposed to amend them In any way whatsoever. II 
the pi'osccution desired to amend them, why did they 
not request the privilege ? Wliy d'.d not some ol tlieir 
supporters make a motion to that efl^ect in the couri 
ol the presbytery ? It Is quite evident that 
the piosecution were ready to risk thtlr charges 
and specifications as tiiey were presented on 
the motion to dismiss the cas». It was only 
aller the case was dismissed and the presbytery had 
adjourned that they raised tlie objection and a ground 
ol appeal that the presbyteiy did not permit amend- 
ment. This gi-ound is Invalid. The presbytery did 
not refuse permission to any one to make amendments, 
because no one proposed to make any amendments 
whatever. ■ 

I liave arrived at the stage in my argument where 
1 was proceeding to .show (2) tniat ground first, 
speclflcatiion lourth, represem s as an objection thaA 
tile presbytery did not determine the preliminary ob- 
jections as (to the sufflolency ol the charges and 
speclflca'lons 'In form and legal efleot. This ground 
has no basis in fact. Tile presbytery did determine 
these preliminary Oibjeotlons Ijy its vote In discussing 
tlie Ciuie. It seems to the defendant tliat no one 
could reasonably doubt that the presbytery took such 
action tl ithe motion to dismiss It had remained In its 
early form. 

Resolved, That the Presibyitery of New- York, having 
listened to the paper of the Rev. Charles A. Briggs, 
D. D., in the case of the Presbyterian Church In tie 
United Sta,tes ol America against him, as to the 
sufflckncy of the charges and sipeciflcatlons in form 
and legal efleot, deem it to be a dismissal ol the case 
and djoes so dismiss it. 

In this earlier lorm ol the motion the preliminary 
objections made in the paper ol Dr. Briggs are the 
only grounds ol dis-missal. It was not necessary first 
io determine the o,bjeotii0n,s and then by a separate 
motion to dismiss the case, lit. Is the common poiactioe 
in all judicatories to combine two or more actions 
germane to each other In one motion. It Is pn'oper 
lor any one to ask lor a division of such combined 
motions ; but it is not Illegal to put them to vote ait 
the same ,tiime. The prcsecutiou did not ask for suci 
division. No one mi the floor ol the presbvtery re- 
quested It. The two combined motions were sub- 



74 



LIBRAEY OF TEIBUNE KXTEAS. 



mltted together. SeveRil such instances have already 
occuired In this Assembly. Mi-. Moderator, and you 
have not ruled them out ot order. When other 
grounds were added to tills one ground of dnismlissal 
by amendments these other grounds did not cootravene 
the one original 'ground -which stands first and Is 
fundamental to th?. action... Therefore- the presbytery 
in fact, did de'ermine the prellmlTiary objecttionB and 
dismissed the case In one and the same motion. 

Third— Ground first, speclHoation five objects that 
action was .taken in disimtssing the case without the 
reconsideration of the vote not to dismiss at a previou.-? 
meeting of the presbytery. Tills ground of objection 
is clearly Invalid. On October 5, 1891, tlie- presbytery 
declined to adopt the motion of Dr. George Alexander, 
"To arrest the proceedings ait this point, and hereby 
discharges the committee from further consideration 
of the case." This motion was entertained by the 
moderator, with the consent of the presbytery, but It 
was defeated by a vote of 64 to 60. It was a motion 
to arrest proceedings before the charges and speclflcar 
tlons had been served on the defendant, and before 
he had been ciited to aMJea.r and plead to them. At 
that time Mr. McOoolr, representing the prosecution, 
said : " Under the Book of Discipline, if we respect the 
law of the Frtsbyterian Chiirch, we have to stop at 
this stage and wait until th.; accused has made his 
answer or pleaded, as provided in that section, and 
then, if this judicatory sees fit in its -svisdom and 
judgment to dismiss the proceedings it has the power, 
and that would he the appropriate and proper time 
to djo It; but it would be eminently unfit that such 
action should be taken before." 

Now, in th.ese woixls the prosecutton admitted 
that it would be proper to -dismiss the case -after 
Dr. Erlggs had made his answer. That is the pre- 
cise time wlien the presbytery took such action. 
The appellants were, therefore, debarred from ob- 
jecting to it at the time, and are debarred from ob- 
jecting to it now. Furthermore, It was not neces- 
sary to reconsider the former action, because the 
action taken in dismissing the case in November was 
a different action from the one proposed and rejected 
in October. The prosecution did not claim at the 
proper time that there should be a reconsideration 
of previous action. No one on the floor proposed 
any such reconsideration. The appellants lost 
their right of objection by T!0t raising it at the proper 
time. That was your decision. Mr. Moderator, in 
a similar case vesterday morning with reference to 
the reconsideration of a vote to take an excursion on 
Saturday. Your decis'on was correct. It wa-5i 
recognized by . this General Assembly. Tlie appellee 
requests that It he applied to this ground of objection 
of the appellants, and that It may ba thus ruled out 
of court. 

Fourth— It is objected in ground first. Specifica- 
tion 7, that tlie dismissal of the case was upon a 
decision of its merits. This is based on' a reason 
adderl by amendment to the fundamental reason for 
dismissal. This reason was proposed bv Dr. .John 
HaJl : "Declarations mnde by Dr. Brigcrs touching 
Ris - loyalty to the Holy Scriptures .and of the. 
■Westminster Standards, and of his disclaimers of 
interpretations put nuon his own words." We 
have already sho^vn this to be invalid under anoth»r 
head : that these declarati-ons and disclaimers men- 
tioned in this amendment proposed by John Hall 
were not decla^tions and disclaimers mad-^ in the 
defendant's response to the charges and specifica- 
tions as to their f^rm and legal effect, but w^re 
declarjitlons and disclaimcs referred to in the October 
meeting of the presbvtery. in the language u'sed by 
Dr. John Hall and Dr. George Alexander of that 
date. The presbi't»r\- had the .nutboritv to make 
this reason an additional reason for their action in 
dismlssins the case. The nresbrtprv wore mt 
shut up bv the Book of D''B"lT>line to a's'ncle reason 
for dismissal. Tlie presbvtcrv onght to have iriven 
Dr. Brit^gs an onportnnitv of ma.king declarntions 
and disclaimers before them at an earli»r stage in +h-» 
proceedings. It was entirc'y prone" for +11" presby- 
tery to hear such declarations .nnd disclaimers at a 
later date and ti recoirhiz-' disclaimers aid declara- 
tions made elsewhere in a public and official man- 
ner. The i-ec-ismition of such discl-riimprs or d'-clnr.n- 
tions. all of which, roarli you, were mad=^ prior to the 
serving of the charges and specifications, cannot be 
regarded as a fl»cision on the merits nf the rasn. 

Fifth— It is objected in ground second, ''perification 
2. that other reasons were given by voters in 
voting for the dismissal. Arid in g-oiinl sixth. 
Sppcificntion 2, that one reason gn-en was " des'ring 
ea,rnesilv the peace ani oniet of the Church." Is 
not that a good r»nson ? It might not b.^ n valii 
reason for action if it st.^od alone, bu+ It does not 
stand alone. The peace and nniet of th" rinirch Is 
always appropriate as an additional reason to any 



action. Furtliernore, it is not shown by tlie appel- 
lants, and we claim that it ca-inot be shown by any- 
one, tliat a single voter voted to dismiss the cass for 
tills reason. Therefore, this objection Is invalid. 

fclxtli— It is objected in ground four, Specifications 
1 and 2, and In ground six. Specifications 5 and 
7, that the decision to dismiss the case" -was made 
without the taking of evidence. This obje^ion in 
lOLU' specifications Is invalid, because, as we have 
seen, it was not lawful for the presbytery to takef 
any evidence whatever prior to the action to dismiss 
the case. No evidence was tairen. No evidence 
could be taken, according to the constitution of the 
Church. 

(7.> It Is objected in ground six, Specifications 1, 
3 and -t, tliat the decision to dismiss the case 
may be interpreted as an approval of the utterances in 
the Inaugural address, aoid that the clause " -wlthcat 
approving of the positions stated lb the inaugural «1- 
di'ess" is In no sense a sufficient answer to or refuta- 
tion of the alleged hurtful errors, and that Dr. Brlggs's- 
statements and disclaimers are not in any, sense a re- 
traction or refatation of these hurtful errors. But Dr. 
Briggs was not required to retract hurtful errors until 
trliey had been proved against him after trial. The 
presbytery could not. witn propriety, answer or rsfnte 
the alleged errors until it had tested them in openf 
court, and the presbytery sufficiently guarded itseU 
against approval of the alleged errors by the statement 
"without approval of the positions stated in the in- 
augural address." 

One final remark may be appropriae with reference 
to these several reasons appended by amendment to- 
the original motion to dismiss the case. The solo- 
original, reason was the insufficiency, of- the charges and. 
specifications in -form and in legal effect. 11; is doubt- 
ful, to say the least, whether any of these additional: 
reasons gained a single vote to dismiss the case. It. 
cannot be sho-wh that any of the voters voted to dis- 
miss the case for any of these additional reasons. 
There is no evidence that any one who voted to dismiss- 
the case would not have voted to dismiss It for the one- 
orlglnal and fundamental reason alone. These amend- 
ments were not made in the interests of the defendant*. 
They were ali mnJe bv conservative men well known to 
the Church. They were made with the single purpose-, 
to prevent any misunderstanding or misinterpretation 
of the action of the Presbytery, of New-York, and' 
entirely in the interest of conservative men. On the- 
other hand, I wish to caU your attention to the fact 
that the stenographer's report shows that votes were 
lost to the motion for dismissal of the case by these*' 
amendments against the interests of the accused. Dr. 
Sutton says: "I listened this morning to the objec- 
tions, and I am satisfied according to our Book of* 
Discipline that his objections are valid and that he- 
deserves a •dismissal of his case on the bas's of that 
demurrer." And yet Dr. Sutton voted against the 
motion for dismissing the case, as he said, because- 
of these additional reasons which he could not approve. 
■ These reasons wei-e not In the Interests of the defend- 
ant. Is not that evident? They were far from that. 
They. were against his interests. Me had a riglit to- 
protest against them, for they broke the force of his'- 
demurrer. They afforded the principal grounds for ob- 
jection on tile part of the appellants. It is not the- 
Interest of the appellee to defend them. Professor 
William M. Paxton. of Princeton Seminary, said: "r 
have to vote no. simply because it strikes me that the- 
actlon you propose to take Is no vindication of Dr. 
Briggs whatever, but it will throw a cloud of suspicion 
over him during the rest of his life." Dr. McLean 
said : " I have to vote no, under Dr. Brlggs's state- 
ment, because it implies censure without any trial."" 
Mr. Buchanan said : " My conscience -will not permit 
me to vote for such a resolution which is condemnatory 
of Dr. Briggs." Now, there is much truth in wha'f 
these brethren said. 

It was not in tlie interest of Dr. Briggs that the 
motion 'wa.s made to dismiss the case against liim. 
Dr. -^^an Dvke, the original mover of the resolution to 
dismiss, dlstlnctlv said, when he offered his. motion : 
"It Is not made Ir the luterest of Dr. Brlccs, whn has 
sa.id on the floor of tills presbytery that he wislied a- 
trial." Dr. Briggs acqniesce'l in the decision of t,i,e 
p-esbyterv, l^howing perfectly well that it left him in 
the awkward "pos.'tinn of not b°inc condemned, it Is^ 
tnie, but al^o without a vindication. T^ie Preshy- 
t^rv of New- York desired this a.ftlon. The aimellee 
simply ciibmltted to it, preferring t-o snff-er the injrrv 
Invo'v~d rathe" Ihin to be responsible I'l nnv wa.v for- 
Ihe further agitat'lon of the Clnircli. 1 was mntent. 
brethren, to leave mv ca-^o 1n the hands of Oo'l. aud- 
io appeal to tlie Rnprp.me Jndtie. who is pv'^Herl a.i^o-^^Q 
all clv'l and ecclesla.stical tiibunais. I wa.': content to- 
bear, under His prnvHenrr... all tb" ^tni"' that wos nut 
"l>oo me l^.v tbo uniust a.ntion« fi^at bnvp Kp,.in tak**n 
hitlierio. and I am still conte'it to leave io His-- 



PEESBYTEEIA^ ISSUES. 



75 



Kraclnus hands the ultimate solution of this case, be- 
cause He Is the faltliful Civeitor. He Is the all-wise 
Providence who governs all human alfalrs, and His 
relRn Is Justice and His dominion Is love. 

Whenever the Presbytery of New- York, which has 
■sole original Jurisdiction In tlUs case, Is ready to 
call (me ,to the bsir for trial, I shall advance 
cheerfully to meet mif adversaries. 1 asft but one 
simple thing— that the charges and specifications shall 
be sufficient in form and legal effect. That is the on:5 
objection that 1 made oil the floor of tlie presbytery, and 
that one alone. The charges must be of such a char- 
acter, they must have such a form and substance, as 
to make a trial possible. In ordei' that a trial mav be 
simple, straightforward and equitable. This defence 
of the action of my presbyters', action is not desired by 
me and hot in my interest, but desired by the presby- 
tery, and in the interest of the presbytery, and, as ffhe 
piresbyitery ceirtainly supposed, in the interest of the 
peace and quiet of the Church, I submit to the Judg- 
ment of this venerable General Assembly of the Pres- 
byterian Church in the United States of America. It 
is now your province, Mr. Moderator and brethren, to 
take such action as will be for the well-being and for 
tile honor of our beloved Church, which has had such 
a noble history, which has so great present advan- 
tages, and wliicli looks forward into tuch a hopeful 
future in the service of God and of humanity. I thank 
you for your attention, o.nd regret having been obliged 
to trouble you with such long and intricate technical 
arguments. 



THE CLOSING DEBATE. 



VOTING TO SUSTAIN THE APPEAL. 



DR. LAMPE'S PLEA— NBW-TORK MEMBERS 
SPEAK-GENERAL DISCUSSION. 

Portland, Ore., May 28.— At the close of Dr. Briggs's 
statsment of his defence, the prosecution presented its 
argument. 

Dr. Lampe, of New- York, a member of the com- 
mittee who had not been heard previously, made the 
closing argument. He spoke calmly, but his argu- 
ment was carefully prepared and It did much to form 
the conclusion tliat prevailed. He said in part : 

The Committee of Prosecution assigns as grounds 
of appeal irregulai-lty in the proceedings, receiving 
Improper testimony and declining to receive important 
testimony, hastening to a decision before the testimony 
was fully talten. manifestation of prejudice In the 
conduct of tlie case and mistake and Injustice in tlie 
decision. One or more speclflcations are given under 
each. It vein not be necessary (lor my colleague. 
Dr. Birch, has done that) to go over all these seri- 
atim. A brief recital of tlie salient points of th.e 
case clearly indicates tlie errors of the Inferior 
judicatory. 

Mrsit, It goes without saying that the proceed- 
ings of the Presbytery of !Sew-York in conducting 
this case were irregular in respect to all the points 
specified under the first ground of appeal. They were 
particularly irregular In permitting Dr. Brlggs and lus 
friends to speak and give testimony on the merits of 
the Question at the time when there were objections 
as to the sulKciency of the charges and specifications 
In form and legal etfect, and in not passing upon the 
preliminary objections raised by Dr. Brlggs and thus 
giving the committee an opportunity In the furtherance 
of justice to amend tlie cliarges and ^)ecihcatlons 
without changing their nature. Dr. Briggs stated 
that no objection was made to his statements, but 
the response was objected to as a whole after the 
reading of it was concluded. See Record I, page 7d. 

Second, The appellants -did the only tlung Possible 
under the circumstances, namely, they informed the 
Inferior court of their ability to amend whenever it 
might determine the validity of the objection Dr. 
Brlggs holds the position which he has taken in the 
inauSoral address, and events since the trial before 
the Presbytery In New- York fully show that he feels 
it to be his duty to propagate these doctrines. Dr. 
Brlggs still stands squarely and firmly on the in- 
anmuul, and yet it Is now well known tliat the d^ 
oislon of the Presbytery could not have been reached 
unless it had been beUeved by a number of its members 
that in his response Dr. Brlggs had modified the state- 
ments of that addre-s, wliioh have given rise to the 
beUef that he Is advancing dangerous errors. "Hiere 
was then a serious mistake made by the court in 



reaching its final judgment in the case. It Is clear, 
therefore, that the Presbytery erred not only in maklne 
this decision, but added a solemn responsibility. It 
had a duty to perform In the premises which it re- 
fused to perform four different times durlnB 
the last ten years. The General Assembly 
has warned the Presbyteries to be on theic 
guard in respect to the theories of the 
nlglier criticism which aje involved In this case, 
and in 1683 made this doUverence (Minutes. P. 631) r. 
"It Is incumbent on them (Presbyteries) to see that 
the appropriate constitutional action siiiould become 
manifest to any ministeir of our churoh wio was pro- 
mulgating theOTles of dangerous tendency or oontra- 
ConfesslonBl doctrines concerning the Holy Scriptures.* 
That It Is believed by many In your church that such, 
theories of dangerous tendency are promulgated In tha 
Inauguirai, no one can doubt. For thds reason the 
Presbytery of New-York sbould have given heed t» 
this direction of the Assembly. Dor tliesw 

reasons the appellantB pray this venerable body, 
the General Assembly, to sustain this appeal, 
to reverse the erroneous decision of the Presbytery 
of New- York in this case, and to make sufih a dils- 
posltlon of it as in your wisdom may seem besb 
caioulated to preserve the purity and to resltore the 
I)eace and harmony and to promote the usefulnesa 
of our whole church. 

RIGHTS OP new;. YORK PRESBYTERY. 

Dr. Robinson— Mr. Moderator, 1 believe I was to 
have the floor when the prosecuting committee ha* 
coicluded. ScctlDn 3 of ai+icle 99 says : ■' Oppor- 
tunity sliail be given to the members of the Judicatory 
appealed from to be heard." My qjiestion Is thisr 
Does tills confer upon the members of the New- York 
presbytery who are members of tliat judicatory and 
who may be here, but who are not commissioners, the 
right to be heard on this question 1 

Dr. B'ayney— I raise a point of order, which I tliink 
will take precedence of tins. My point of order is \yltlt 
reference to the propriety of the point made by the 
brother. This, I submit, is a question of constitu- 
tional law, and riot a question of order, and I object to- 
a question of constitutional law being put tD the Mod- 
erator and being decided by l)im when there is no righb 
of discussion upon the floor of tills body and no ren>edy- 
except appeal without discussion. Now, I think we 
can solve this wbole trouble it I am permittsd to malte 
tills ' motion, namely, tliat the Rev. Dr. Cluirles L. 
Thompson, of the Presbytery of New-York, be heard- 
for ten minutes. 

Dr. BirO!)— Nol No! 

Mr. MoCook— He Is not a commissioner. 

Dr. Laurie— Mr. Moderator. I hope that motion will 
not prevail. 

The Moderator— I have been in great TMplexIty as- 
vo the right construction of that rule to wliloh Dr. 
Robinson calls attention, and yet, after giving it the 
very best tUipught of which I am capable. I have 
conie to the conclusion that If the decision shall rest 
with me I will decide tha.t the Presbytery oi 
New-York, wlio are not members of the General As- 
sembly, are nevertheless enititied to speak. 

Dr. Eirc*i— Is that your decision ? 

The Moderatoi^That is my decision, if I should 
h.nve to decide : but I would be very -willing it an 
appeal should be taken. 

Tlie Rev. J. W. Jones, of Baltimore— I appeal from, 
the decision of the Chair. 

The Moderator— One moment. Dr. Blayney has 
the floor. 

Dr. Blayney— I want to inquire of the Moderator 
if he would rule that. If the appeal was from New- 
York or Pennsylvania and the Assembly sat in one 
of the cities In those States, every member of the 
Synod of New- York or every member of the Synod: 
oif Pennsylvania 'had a right to 'be heard upon the 
floor of tlie Assembly? 

The Moderatoi^That has been just the perplexing- 
feature wilh regard to the decision of the right in- 
terpretation of that rule, and yet my mind has 
inclined ito this remedy for that dlfBcuWy : That it 
would be in the pro-vinoe of the house to limit liio- 
nuinber of speakers by limltine the time, as has been 
done in this case; and I Incline to this declsloit 
simply from the fact that my own mind tends 
strongly to give the benefit of any doubt I may 
have on the subject toward enlargement of freedom- 
in the discussion of the case. , _ 

The Rev. Mr. Jones— Mr. Moderator, I insist uporj- 

my appeal. ^. . , . , , 

'The Moderator (after discussion on minor points) — 
No Sir: I have ■withdira'wn mr deci-ion, and there- 
fore your appeal is not before ttie house. 

Dt Blayney— I*Tn.ove that the Pi-e-ihytery of New- 



76 



LilBEAEY 0¥ TEIBUNE EXTEAS. 



Vork who are members of tJiis court be heard. 

Dt. S. J. MJcPiherson— I raise the quiestioin -whether a 
'motion was not made before tiwjt Dr. Charles L. 
Thompson sihooild he heard. 

The Moderator— Yes sii' ; but it wias not entertained 
because we were In tie midst of tihts dlsousstaa with 
regard to the decision of the Moderator. 

Dr. McPhersOQ— Then I make that motion now as 
:an amendment. 

A Member— I second that amendment. 

Dir. Blaymey— We will relieve ourselves of a great 
■deal of perplexity, Mr. Moderator, If you wUl enter- 
tain this motion and edther hear or not hear Dr. 
■Thompson. If you undertake to decide this question 
of constitutional law you enter at once uI>on the dls- 
■oussion of a question that must necessarily be dls- 
ouseed ito some extent be5ore It is decided, whereas 
by entertaining this motion and either hearing or not 
'hearing Dr. Thompson the question for the prosent can 
te passed and and the qjiiestton of constitutional law 
need not be entertained at aJl. 

TSie Moderator— I think that is -wisely s.tated. 

Dip. DMss— The Importance of tihis matter is the estab- 
'Ushmeint of a precedent either one way or another— 
wbether you can let all the members of a synod in 
■addl'tion to the commissioners come In and express tiheir 
opinions. It is simply on that point. 

Tile Moderator— I -think not, on account of the very 
-phraseology of the resolution. It does not include 
aiU the members. It specifies one of the members 
and, as Dir. BQayneiy suggests-, does not settle the con- 
stitutional rule. 

Dr. MxiKelvey— I -irould ask in what capacity shall 
we oonsSder Dr. Thompson? Is be a member on the 
■floor of this blody! Shall we consider hlni as coming 
here by invitation, or how! Is he counsel on either 
side? 

The Moderator— I suppose he would be considered as 
a member of the lower court. 

Mi'. J'Unkln— I want to sa.j a word on tbts. Brethren, 
tbls is np matter for triflinjs. It is a pure constitu- 
tional question that we ought to meet and decide like 
men impressed with the situation . I am opposed to any 
exceptions being made In fcivor of one scde or the 
other. Let us stand by the law as it Is written. If 
you grant Dr. Thompson, whom we all love and 
admit, the opiwrtunity of expres=;lTig his views here, 
-fJien you must grant somebody from that same pres- 
bytery wlio Is not a commissioner the privilege to 
<io tJie same thing on the other s'de. I nm opposed 
-bo this lidng done because It Is not in conformity -with 
-our iKiok. 

A Me-Qilbei^-I move the following amendment to 
the amendment : '■' Kesolved, That the members of the 
■Bresbytery of New- York, whether they are commls- 
■Sl'oners or not, be beard." 

Dr. McBlierson— I will accept that amendment It tlie 
■Mjpdeinator -will make the same rul':n:g. 

The Moderator— I do not make any ruling. 

Dr. MoBherson— Pardon me. I understood you to 
■say that one member was named and therefore it 
did mot infringe any constitutional rule. Dr. Thomip- 
son is the only member of the New- York Presbytery 
'here that Is not a commissioner, as I understand. 

The Moderator— I see the diiftculty of maMng an ex- 
ception in the case myself but— 

Dr. McPlierson (interMnipMng)— J win accept the 
-amendment to my amendment. 

The Rev. Mr. Laurre-^That amendment Is unfair all 
-around. In the first place, the house has passed a 
vote that the Pre9l>yterv of New- York be heard only 
five minutes each and that the members of the house 
may only sipeak five minutes each. Now, this proposes 
te let a man not on the floor of the Assembly speak for 
ten minutes on one side and Mth no one to spealr on 
the other side. 

The Moderator— Only five minutes. These brethren 
will be under the same ll'miitatlon pr^tisely aR others. 
"No one 'can "^neak but five minutes. 

The Rev. Mr. Wells- It seems to me that the nmend- 
■ment to tlie amendment is in accordance wltli 
Sections :) .inrt 4 of this OOtli Article of the Boolr of 
Discipline ind in nccord.nnce with tlie opinion first 
exprefsed bv the Jl-'dPrator. I think that right 
should be given to all members .->f the 5"dlPatorv. 
Th-re is no power In tliis hodv limiting It to an 
Individual cv class individuals, and if anv one from 
that pi"!sbytery desires to be heaKl they shouM be 
gh-en ttio nop'rirtunity. ^'^O'sv, if you will read the 
fouT-th snbdivison. 

Rev. Mr. Donaldson- Jlr. Moderator, there fs 
no further amendment necessary. I wish sim-nlv 
"to as"'' the nuPSt-'on -whether In case this motion 
car<^ies the iMod'-^'rator \\U\ then entertain a m'otion 
■to limit the time which shall be given 

The Mndernnv— The house has already limited lb" 
time to five minut'-s to each spealiw. 

Dr. Blavney- 1 have not touched this anie'^dment 
-which derides this constitutional point, and In answer 



to the suggestion that has been made from the other 
side of the house I wish to call the attention ot tne 
Assembly to the fact that in my Judgmeat the 
iTJSbytery of New- York is here in this h-use by Its 
commissioners, and that when you hear them you 
have heard the members of tJiat body. With 
reference to the motion that I made before, X believe 
that It is perfectly competent for this body to hear 
any i>6rson that It may see tit to hear, -without 
respect to any oonstltulonal claim, It they will only 
give us some Information that -will guide us to a 
Conclusion. Therefore, no constitutional precedent 
is established by this Assembly simply voting to 
hear som© one who has no constitutional standing upon 
this floor. 

Dr. Agnew— We are interpreting a new constitu- 
tion. We liave decided that the' Inferior judicatory 
appealed from Is not the appellee as it used to be In 
Judical cases. I agr:e wlih tiie decision which was 
made In tt\at ease. Now we have come to a new 
point in our Book of Discipline, and. the question 
is : Shall the members of tte Inferior Judicatory 
be heard? It is manifest that the members 
representing the Presbytery of New- York are the 
minority of that presbytery on this question. The 
majority are not here either by couns?l op by com- 
missioners. If you vote only to hear the members of 
this Assembly who are members of the Presbytery of 
New- York, you hear but one sid^e of the case. This 
may be the case in any appeal that is brought up be- 
fore this General Assembly, that only one sid© shall 
be heard. Manifestly, the. object in writlirg this 
in the law was to give the mt-mbeis of the infcrior 
Judicatory the right to be heard. Now, as we are 
Interpreting the law let us Interpret It on the ground 
and in the interest of fairness, and give every mem- 
ber of the inferior Judicatory ,the right to be heard, 
either by a counsel appointed,, or by the members of 
thait court which may be upon the floor. 

The Member— iVIay not Dr. Thompson be allowed 
to bave the rest of It? . 

Dr. Bliss— I would state that there Is but one 
member of this Assembly from the Presbytery of 
New- York who Is decidedly on tbe side of the ap- 
pellee. The moderator of that presbytery is not to 
be counted in the matter at all. 

Dr. Birch— There are two. 

A Member— it seems to me that whoever repre- 
sents the Presbytery of New- York iiere on ,the floor 
must ibe a member of this body. 

Mr. atrevlll— May I say one word? Our Impatience 
In determining Is not a good criterion of a good de- 
termination. This finds tts analogy, from which I 
linaglne It was taken, in this. In "all of the statutes 
of the States— and I speak -with Imowledge In respect 
to three— there Is a provision for appeal to a superior 
court providing that wherever the judge of the In- 
ferior court has made a deliverance In writing of his 
opinion itliat shall always go to tlie superior court 
as a part Ot the record. When .the judicatory is a 
prosecuting party and you appeal from that, ithe 
defendant steps out and you practically put the 
judicatory on trial, as Is the case here now. When 
there Is a cause pending and the Court quashes or 
dismisses an indictment— In one because the qu?stion 
of law reserved— then the State immediately goes to 
the court of last resort, taking the opinion of the 
lower court -wltlt it when one has been delivered. 
Tile intention is tbat the lower judicatory, being 
practically the party on trial, tbat its opinion— while 
it Is not proWded that that shall bo here in -writing, 
and while there is no statute that the opinion shall 
be delivered In writing and, mark vou, the distinction 
between tlie opinion and the Juderaent— the inten- 
tion of that is to my mind that ithe reason for the 
judgment given in the lower judicatory shall lie 
represented on the floor of the superior judicatory in 
tile same manner that tbe Judge of the Inferior court 
represents himself by his written opinion In the 
superior court. And I believe that Is the proper In- 
ternreta.+lon of tliat. 

D". Agn»-w— T made a statement that T hni'ievpd it 
was the rlgl-t ^f evey mrmi-e" of the lower judicatory to 
he heard. When I pas=ed out of tli-? honso upon ad- 
journment T Tr^et Dr. Craven, who was the chairman 
of tlie committee that prepared this Tl-iok of Dls- 
rinline. I askrd liim -what was the nndorstandine 6t 
the commlttoe about this snbiect wli-'n the book was 
nrenared. He said that every member of the low^r 
Jiidlcatorv was to be l^'eard. 

Dr. nifiyney— I would ask the brDther if it is li-s opin- 
ion that the opinion of tlic chairman of tliat committee 
or of the entire committee can decide as to what the 
minds of the nrpsiivt,»rl"s weie when tli'-v adopted the 
new Pooif of Discipline? 

Professor Ilamiltoa— It seems to me tliat the niles con- 
fine the speeche- on tliis subject to those wh3 are the 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



members oX the New- York Presbytery upon this floor, 
and. tile reason Is apparent Irom the booii Itoeu. NaV 
uraily, unaer our ruies, t .eso memUeis wouad not be 
bllowed any voice in our deliberations. Xhey are 
dlstluotly proliibittd. Irom voting or deliberating duilng 
the progress ot tlie trial that is on ; and, ii theic were 
no exception to Uiat rule, they could have no voice 
whatever in tlils case. I'ui tnen there curaes in to 
their relief at this stage artlo.e i)ti, secUon 3, that 
'•Oppoitunity shall be given to the members ol the 
Judicatory to be heard." TlieU- disabiUtles are le- 
movcd to tlie extent ol permitting tliem to be heard; 
but It does not 6itend furtiier than to those who are 
the accredited representatives of tile New-YDrli Pres- 
bytery upon tUis floor. 

The Moderator— The Moderator would suggest with 
all deference tD the house tliat we Jiave heard pretty 
much all that can be said on eaetj side, and I would 
admonish, biethren, that the time Is rapidly passing. 

Dr. Mii.ard, of Kochestei^l desire lust a word. 
This last argument Js Just as good for all tlie members 
of the presbytery, lor they have no rights on tills floor 
because tliey are not commissioners, and therefore they 
would be graoted riglits. But I wish to call attention 
to tlUs interpi'etation. We have one rtiie that is clear, 
namely, rule 4: "Opportunity shall be given to tne 
members of the superior Judicatory to be heard." That 
does not discriminate. 

A Member— I move tlio previous question. 
Tile call tor the. previous question was seconded, 
put to vote and carried. 

The Moderator— The previous question is ordered. 
The Stated Clerk—" Resolved, That the members of 
the Presbytery of New- York, ^v*o are commissioners, 
be li«ard." Also, the amendment as follows ; 

" Resolved, That the members of the Presbytery of 
N«w-Yorlt, whether they are commissioners or not. be 
heard." 

The McderatDi— The previous question is applied to 
that last amendment. TliOse in favor of the amend- 
ment wiU say aye. Carried. Tliose in favor of adopt- 
ing tlie resolution, as thus amended, will say aye. 
Adopted. Brethren will understand that thev are to 
speak under the flvemlnute limit. 

The Eev. Mr. Thompson, of Washington— I hope now 
we will get down to business and there will be no more 
limiting of the speecMfylng. We have started into 
this business contrary to the votes of many of us, and 
now I don't thlnlc it ouglit to be limited, whether It 
talies two weelis or two moniths or two years. (Laugh- 
ter.) Let every mam speak that wants to. If the 
brethren who, with such overwhelming persistence, de- 
sired this trial, give them a chance, and let them go 
through with It with aJl that It involves. (Laughter). 

NEW^TORK AliLOWED TO SPEAK. 

The Moderator— There is no question before the 
house. It is decided. The .stated clerk will now call 
the roll of the New- York Presbytery, and then those 
that are present wlU be given an opportunity to spealt. 

The Stated Clerk— Dr. Bliss; 

Dr. Bliss- 1 desire to refer to the statement already 
made by me concerning the correctness of the printed 
report which is in the hands of tills Assembly. In 
making that statement I had in mind the copy of the 
official stenographer's notes. I did not mean that what 
Is given here, as containing the minutes of the pres- 
bytery as recorded by the stated clerk written in our 
book, • wliich, of course, is our final standard in the 
matter, that these minutes are entire as to those, but 
wliat is here, with the exception of a few unimportant 
Items that have been omitted. Is correct. It is proper 
for me to allude to the action taken by the Moderator 
as to these official minutes of the stenographer. No 
action was taken by the presbytery finally upon those 
minutes. It seemed to be thought sufficient tliat the 
appointment of such a stenographer by the body in the 
beginning was enough, and then these minutes were 
sent to me as the Moderator. On looldng them over 
I found there were a number of errors in the names 
of persons. On page 169, where it Is clearly shown 
that mle 42 was to be Inserted, another rule was put 
in by the stenographer by a mistake. Then at page 
158, In the entry alluded to by Professor Briggs, of his 
paper. In certifying to this document I stated that 
the corrections were made by my pen and that to the 
best of my icnowledge and belief it was .a full and true 
report of all that was said and done. In the original 
document of Professor Briggs you will find the cor- 
rections In writing, "Dr. Briggs then read his paper 
filing objections, which is entitled Response to the 
Charges and Specifications," because that paper was 
embodied by the stenographer in the notes, and hav- 
ing that title on the cover. I was careful to make dls- 



crljntnation so as to get It exact, that his paper did 
file objections, but the title by which it appears wa» 
as here given. The only trouble Is that I suppose 
Dr. Briggs put the word response there instead of ob- 
jections. If the brethren will turn to pages 163, 
164, 167 and 168 they will see with what care and ex- 
actness the Moderator endeavored to state the question,, 
and that the matter was proceeded with with all de- 
liberation possible. My aim has been to obtain exact- 
ness. I would Just take occasion to withdraw the ob- 
jection that I have made to hearing Dr. Thompson. 
I confess the mlstaie that I have made in saying a 
word upon it, tor I am convinced that that was a mis- 
take. The only thing in my mind was that we should 
not malie such a precedent.. I do not feel that I am 
called upon to enter into the merits of tlie case, be- 
cause of the posTHon that I occupy. I rejoice that 
the same spirit is prevailing here that did in our own. 
presbytery. May God guide us. 

Kev. Mr. Niglhtlngale— When this case was oaUed in 
the Presbytery of New-York, and was hurried to a con- 
clusion, the impression went forth that there was a 
large majority in favor of dismissing the case. Some 
of those who voted for the dismissal of the case did so 
with the expectation that aU proceedings would stoi». 




THE REV. BR. D. DWI&HT BIGGER. 

and that the Church would be at peace. Others voted 
for dismissal in order that the case might be carried u» 
to a higher court. The vote taken at this time was 94 
for dismissal and 39 against. There were 133 members 
present at the November meeting. When the commis- 
sioners to this Assembly were elected there were 143 
members, and when the vote was taken 72 were required 
to elect. The number of votes in favor of the delegation 
elected amount to 566, while the numljer of votes 
cast for others was about 350. Dividing these numbers 
by seven, we have an average of 81 to 50. Consequently 
this delegation from New- York stands here to-day rep- 
resenting not a minority, but a large majority of the 
New- York Presbytery. The number who voted for 
dismissal, 94, was reduced to 50 when the vote for 
commissioners was taken, and the number. 39, on the 
other side was increased to 81. I maintain that the 
persbytery was not properly represented when the 
vote of dismissal was taken; and I maintain, also, that 
when the secret ballot was cast at the spring meeting 
the presbytery was represented by the opinions and by 
the votes of the members in the very best way that it 
could, be presented to the Church; and the Presbyterv 
of New-York, upon Its sober second thought, stands be- 
fore the Church and the world to-day 81 to 50 and 
the 81 in the majority are willing to see, and are 



LIBEAEY or TEIBUNE EXTRAS. 



iinxious to see, the apixal taJien to the Assembly issue 
iu tixe Aisemul.v ; ana it, in yoiu' wisdom, it should 
seem best to send the case bacK to us we shall not re- 
joice with exceeding joy, but we shall endeaver to do 
our whole d,iity, and try the case on its merits, and 
reach an Issue which, the Cuurch will commend. 

Kev. Mr. Buchanan— I rise with great hesitancy, 
but I do so la oider tlmt you may uuaersiand how 
each commissioner stands, and what are his feelings, 
ilrst, I desire to explain my vote in tliat meeting 
where a decision was reached in reference to the 
cliaiges against vr. briggs. That was quoted by liim 
ihia morijing only in part, and might, therefore, be 
misleading. The words Quoted from the stenographic 
report, from .wliicli we read (page 'SSS and page 239), 
are as follows : ■' Walter V. Bucuanan: No; and I only 
desire to say that my conscience will not permit me 
to vote for a resolution wJilch is condemnatory of 
Brother Briggs." That is all he quoted. But my remarks 
contmned : " I vcte this way for ihe i-easons named, by 
■Dr. Booth, while I dlifer ft-om him at this point 
ondy that I do not go Into the merits oJ the case' at all 
as to the exact status of Professor Briggs here to-day, 
but in recognition of tlie wisdom or unwisdom of giving 
up Ills Jrlal at this time. My conscien-ee will not per- 
mit me" to vote for a resolution which is condemnatory 
of Brother Bilggs, and which I believe before the pubUc 
will be looked upon as a desire on the part of this 
presbytery simply to solve this entiie matter, wliile 
tUs is not at all the expression of my .attitude on this 
question." I voted as I did at that time for the 
reasons here stated. I trust that this appeal wiU be 
sustained because of the peculiar circumstances which 
surrounded the decision that was reached, in the Pres- 
ijytery of New- York. I think tliat the circumstaaices 
were not such as could, guide and lead to a dispassion- 
ate judgment, and that judicial process had really to be 
begun, amd should not have been stayed until some 
verdict was reached. Furthermore, the a/Ction of the 
presbytery in the election of delegations to this body 
seems to Indicate a change of feelings relative to that 
action. Tlie fact is that an appeal was made at that 
time to the presbytery to send a professor from the 
seminary who might on this floor in some sense repre- 
sent Dr. Briggs, and yet by a vote which has been de- 
clared to you that request was not granted, and 1 do 
think it was not because of any partisam feeling but 
■because of the strong disposition on the; part of the 
presbytery to bring to an issue that wliich they felt 
should have been Issued there. In that meeting I 
voted not on the merits of the case, but I voted be- 
cause of the reasons that 1 have given, and in addition, 
for this reason : that the prosecuting committee, an 
original party, appointed for the purpose, having spent 
time and pains witliout anytliing but a dispassionate 
attitude in the case, distinctly said that they had 
proof in their hands wlilch would assist in arriving at 
a proper oonclu^n, but they were vlrttmlly ruled 
out of court ; and I hope that •this appeal will be sus- 
tained because it is evident here that the final issue 
lias not been reached, and if we dismiss this case we 
leave it in uncertainty which woriis against the wel- 
fare of the Church and its purity and its neace. I have 
no feeling in the matter. I sat under Dr. Briggs. I 
love Union Seminary. I have an admiration for Dr. 
Briggs pereonally. But I simply feel as a commissioner 
to this Assembly that we ought to weigh and de"termlne 
the merits of this appeal, and so settle it that It 
may be brought in the proper court of the Church to 
an issue that shall make for the welfare of this great 
body. 

Dr. Shearer— In the presentation of the case by the 
appellee a statement was made that In my address 
before the Presbytery of New- York I had entered into 
tSie merits of the ease. The printed record which is 
before you will show that previouis to the place where 
my speech occurs there are recorded some remarks by 
three or four of the brethren who are alleged to have 
gone into the merits of the case, and turning to page 
218, the bretlirem remembering that I started In that 
manner to present as a judge, and liot as a man on 
either side, arguments why we should not stay pro- 
ceedings at that polnit^-I said : " We ought to have 
all the light on the case possible." Second: "I would 
say franMy I have made no determination what vote 
1 will oast ilm the matter." Then on page 221 : •' As an 
evidence of a very wiidespread convlBtlon upon the 
general question Involved," I cited the fact that the 
General Asis.eml>lies of 1882, 1883, 1886 and 1891 liad 
takesn action wjilch some eighty presbyteries had in- 
terpreted as more or less to connect with this case, 
and the secular and religious press hod taken that 
view of it. Then, tliat In response to the general 
feeling In ithe presbytery, In order to vindicate our 
brother, a committee was appointed ■without cotor, and 
In view of that fact that we had pledged oureelves 
■to undertalie an investigation of this case ; and I said : 
" We cannot stifle these allegations against our brother 



and the only way to vindicate him is by an orderly 
triai In which we sliali know definitely the decision." 
Again at pages 32'J and 223 : •' If we have not made 
these charges definite enoiugli" — and I bring ithat up to 
Show my position in the case ; I was pleading for light 
and full investigation— " we Should amend them. A 
centlflicate of good character without a thorough inves- 
tigation will not sa"tlsfy, and tliere is wrong in it 
because tlie committee stand* ready to pa-eseet the 
corrections"— to the charges and speoifications— "and 
offer proof in support of them." Then at page 233 : 
" I love the brother. I oliallenge any one that would 
moa^ gladly vote for a complete vindication, and I say 
and v.ndication we could make by stifling tWs inquiry 
by laying it on tlie table will never bring peace, but 
will simply widen the arena of conillcit to the -wihole 
Church and we wUl have to meet .it again and again." 
Now, the only place in wliich the merits of the case 
were brought U|p was at page 221, and at that poinit 1 
was reading the delivei-ance and was called to order 
in reading it; and that was read siomply as an evidence 
that- there was i 'Widespread t-onyiction upon tills 
genei-al question which, a;s the bodiy will see,' was 
afterward connected wilth the action at certain pres- 
byteiues to show tliat there was what we called "a 
iyidespread regret." and that we were trying in that way 
to vindicate the brotjier. 

Rev. M. R. Blsing— I wish this afternoon I had the 
combined -wisdom of Judige Bwlng and Judge Sayler 
and tlii^ good man who sits near Dr. Briggs (referring 
to Judge Sitrevellj, I feel as If I was a broken reed 
to represent a large numibier of my presbyteiry. 1 
have been asked many times since 1 ha-ve bieen in Port- 
land. "How does it come to pasis tliat you are the 
only man among the ministers who has any decided 
symi>atby -with a large number of the members of the 
New- York Presbyteiry who have been left at home?" 
Now, Brother Nlghtiogalj a momenlt ago said that our 
commissioners represent a large majority of the mem- 
bers of the New- York Plreayteiry. I mylself am some- 
what in doubt about that matter. But I am mot a 
repi-eseutative man. 1 have not Uie quaJlfications to 
enable me to present any adequate defence for the 
members of the New- York Presbytery who are not here. 
That noble, but sometimes slightly irreverent Elres- 
Myterlan, Jolm R. Paxiton, was not very far from the 
truth when he said; ■"If the other side gets up 
earlier In the morning than we do we deserve to be 
bearf:en." (Daughter). Now, I am heie to^lay to de- 
fend my own aotlon and also to defend the action 
of the New-York Presbytery ; aipd I do it because 1 
heard read these words (page 117 of this printed 
pamphlet) : " It has been decided by your committee 
that It is neither necessary nor advisable to embrace 
to the list of charges all the doctrinal errors contained 
in the inaugural address, and, while its teachings re- 
speotjing miracles, the original condition of man, the 
nature of sin, race redemption and Doctor Briggs'B 
scheme of Biblical theology in general are not in har- 
mony with the Scrlptnres and are calculated to wealsen 
confidence in the Word of God, and to encourage pre- 
sumption of the clemency and long .suffering of God"— 
and £o on. I saw clearly the moment tliey read 
that preamble that it would be utterly impossible for 
us to get a vindlication for a mam that was on trial 
for Ills ecclesiastical life. With all those things still 
hanging over Ills head, if he received a clean out 
acquittal, what could I do but throw these charges 
brouglit against him away from me. Tlieretore I 
voted to dismiss the case, and 1 hope that you, 
brethren, will also see youir duty dearly to send these 
dear breUiren each one back to their own work; 

Rev. John B. De-vlns— Mr. Moderator and Brethren : 
Owing to my connection ■with the press I have asked 
to be excused from voting in the presbytery on this 
case and tihat request has been granted. I have 
nothing further to say. 

Dr. White— I have nothing to say. 
Much was expected from Dr. Charles L. Thompson, 
formerly of Chicago but now of New- York, and the 
audience was not disappointed. In the few minutes 
allowed to him, he said, among other tilings : 

I am here to defend, not the formal appellee, but 
the real appellee, tlie PresbVtery of New- York. I 
have no time to go Into the details of the ground of 
appeal. Dr. Briggs, in my judgment, has shown 
that there are no suflicient grounds. It would be 
wholly unnecessary for me to traverse those twiemty- 
five specifications. I propose to take a dlflerent 
view of the case. Let us not forget that the General 
Assembly and every court of the Church Is not, first 
of all, a place for the exalting of formalities of pro- 
cedure, brat for the exalting of truth and righteous- 
ness on earth. The Assembly is here to secure the 
iarga ends of truth and justice. When forms of law 
lead through their labyrinth to such results, tliey may 
be followed. Wlien they obscure those ends, they 



PKESBVrEEIAX ISSUES. 



should be sternly subuidlnate to the gr;nt principles 
"whosB vindication Is tin end ol all law and all forms. 
1 am no ecclesiastical lawyer. Let us try to get 
.away from those teclinlcal and, lor aught I know, 
iegal and important points which have engaged yuui- 
attention. Let me call you to the main outlines ol 
the matter before us. Let us talli not as lawyers, 
but as plain, sensible men, who love one another, and 
love the truth, and love the Kingdom of Christ. 

Whiit, now, Is the contention In Its stages and 
present position stripped ol all verbiage's This is the 
declaration of your appellants : The Presbytery ol 
Ifew-York did wrong In the matter ol I's dealings with 
the case of Professor Briggs ; it did wrong on several 
.grounds In some twenty-five separate speclfl- 
catlors. I do mot believe that the 

action of tills Assembly up to tills point 
■will endure the scrutiny or stand the 
Judgment ol history. I believe the rights of the 
Presbyt«ry ol New-Yorli have been invaded In the 
loUowIng particulars : , 

First— In that it is at least-doiubttul whether the 
appellants are a committee ol prosecution wltliln the 
meaning ol Section 11 ol the Boot. 

Second— The Prosecuting Committee has no right to 
act independently ol and against the will ol the 
Presbytery wlilch created It, and should not, as 
against the wlU ol the Presbytt-ry, have its appeal 
entertained. 

Third— In tliat the appeal has, contrary to the 
meaning ol our Boole ol Discipline, been taljon over 
file head ol the Synod ol New-Yorlc to this house.. 

Certainly, the last ol these constitutes serious wrong 
against the Presbyteiy ol New-York. The only way 
to mitigate that wrong, now that you have enter- 
tained the appeal, is to send it back to tliat Presby- 
tery lor trial. We do not want the trial; we do not 
iBelleve the charges and specifications can he proved ; 
-*e think them vague, indefinite and inoonsetjuent ; 
■we are not all by any means, nor a majority ol us, 
ol Dr. Brlggs's way ol thinking. But our proloundest 
concern is not lor Dr. Briggs. He is only one man. 
The reopening of the trial will be fraught with evils 
to our churches In New-York and throughout the 
<!Ounti-y, lor wnich no l«sue of the Case could yield 
us any C'omp9nsation. But 11 you sea fit to demand 
It, we will enter upon the ungracious and unwelcome 
task. We wUl, Indeed, be embarrassed by the action 
you have already taken, but we will, or course, be 
ioyal to your order, and, beyond this, we will strive 
to be faithful to the truth and to protect, as we mav 
•Ee able, the rights of the Church and our doctrinal 
system. 

But, il now, upon what you are pleased to con- 
sider the irregularities ol the proceedlnKs ol the pres- 
bytery, you order this cass back lor trial, do not for- 
get the larger considerations which enter. II Dr. 
Briggs Is guilty ol serious and hurtful errors, let 
Ihlm be condemned, but let us be sure that an ec- 
clesiastical trial, not sternly demanded by manifestly 
-Hurtful errors reacts with tiemendous force upon 
tlie church which pursues it. The right and duty of trial 
ias not passed fi'om the chui'ch, but neltlier lias 
Tight to a reasonable liberty In lurtlvlrtuals and churcli 
courts 

The Presbytery of New-Yorlc claims, when the ac- 
cused answered categoi'lcallv, and to. tiiolr satisfaction, 
direct questions covering all essential points of criti- 
cism in the inaugural address, their right to pursue 
the case further ceased. The m'ln who made those 
answers had for many years been an honored mem- 
ber ol that presbytery. They had no reason to im- 
pugn either his henety oi ''is Intelligence. Tl ey 
•did not indorse all his positions, still less did they 
approve all his rhetoric. But the Presbyterian Church 
does not require a dead level ol uniform agree- 
ment In its ministers or members and bad rhetoric— 
than the Loisl lor the safety of most of us— is not 
Indictable at a Presbyterian bar. The Presbytery acted 
honestly In what they believed to be the Interest 
alike of charity and purity. And sending the 
report back to them, you must not be so taken up 
with the repetitious charges of iiTegularity in our 
proceedings as to be insensible to the larger consld- 
■erations which have ruled those proceedings. Mistakes 
we may have made In some details of lomial prosecu- 
tion. 

In our present preoccupation in the ereab contest 
against the world and Oie devil, forced upon us 
In New-Yorlt, we may not have been quick enough 
to perceive the demands of ecclesiastical law or the 
eminence of points of procedure. But we have tried 
to be true to the truth as it is In .Jesus, and lor this 
we demand acknowledgment. Perhaps we should 
have pursued Dr. Briggs more sharply and with a 
lioUer alacrity. Perhaps, in our love of liberty and 
pearce, our orthodoxy has not Ijeen keen enough. If 
tn this we have erred, I am sure we may trust this 



assembly to set us right. But when you tlius re- 
buke us and tell us we have been slow to start a 
heresy tilal, rememuer it has been only because we 
have given perhaps undui lieed to the almost dy- 
ing words cl Dr. Vau Dyke, " II wo cannot have 
liberty and orthodoxy, we choose liberty." But the 
Presbyterian Church ha-s never felt tlie necessity of 
such choice. Komote be the day when it shall. 
Hand in hand— in a divine wedlock— they have walked 
together down the ag's ol our history ; liand In hand 
they stand before our altar. Let us bless their 
bands once more, and seijd them on to walk to- 
gether, \Tlth equal steps atid co,';sentlng mind, 
through all the ages that are to come. 

Mr. Gillette— In the records of the case on page 
240, opposite my name. Is the simple word "Aye." 
At the time my vote was called for I gave no reason 
for that vote. I may give the reasons now, and In 
giving them I think I speak for the vast majority 
ol those who voted on that occasion. We had 
listened to the charges and specifications, and we havp 
listened to the i-esponse of Dr. Briggs. We voted 
aye on tliat occasion because we believed that Dr. 
Briggs had demolislied those charges, had shown that 
they were not suflicient in form or in legal eltect. On 
that ground alone my vote was given on that oc- 
casion. Furthermore, the Committee of Prosecution 
at that t-ime did not demand the right to amend 
their charges, to amend tlielr specifications and to 
bring them again befora the Presbytviy. Had they 
made that demand I certiilnlv should have voted 
in favor cl giving tliem permission for which the 
iiook provides. They made no such demand, and 
consequently the onlv thing that we could vote upon 
was whether we should sustain the objections raised 
by Dr Briggs, and we voted by a large majority 
to sustain the objections and lio dismiss the case. 

The Slated Clerk then inquired 11 there was any 
other nilnisters of the New-Yorlt Presbytery in the house 
th. ''l.iS^l.S*' no response he stated that he would call 
Tuck J °"® "^''^ "^ •'°^" ^■ 

Mr. Tucker-I am not a talliing man, but I am a 
working man. I am in favor ot the appeal. ThI 
remaps of Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Nightingale I ap- 

Mr. Worrall-Mr. Moderator, Father and Brethren. T 
desire to repudiate the slatments thiit have been made 
that we represent a majority or minority ollhe nIw! 

^ZtfZ^^^'^^^"- -^ "^i"" ">'" ''"^tag beenfellcted a 
commissioner I represent that presbyt?ry In^part with 
my brethren. VV. atever my opmlius Ire? I do n5t 
think It necesspy Here to defend them, because I be- 
lieve I was light and I still believe so. Tht queitlot 
belore us to-day is one solely of law : shal we sustain 
this appeal from the Presbytery ol New-Yoikr 12 
Dr. Thompson has so learnedly put before you tlie 
opinion ol Dr. Briggs, I desire to say that those opln 
iZ ^r 1?* /" l^'^stlon in this trial. He traversed 

„S?ir.S ?: ", '^ ^S"'. *". ^"'"8 o^«i' Ws statement 
against the legal eJIect of tlie charges. I claim that 
was wrong to have been allowed, and should not l^e 
^n^^M;"^'""'^,''^;."'*' Moderator. I go still further and 
^T ^iS* ^"'"i aiscussions on tills floor should not be 
allowed^ an<i 1 believe tliat the Assembly hil 
detCTmined that they shall not be permitted 
I believe that the error ol the Pi-esbytery was 
?i?i JJ'i^.y. oo^fin^^ to that, but ran aU 
the way through the speeches. And further in tho 
itieif wJs'^' ^'^ New-Y^rk Pi^bytery SeX that in 
itself was an error In that It was a decision on the 
merits, because It had never come belore ™as a court! 
and we could not vote on the case as a court because It 
SSlw"* '" "5^ . ^™"™- ^ "^et^e I represent mv 
presbytery and In so doing that I represent the 
clmrch at large. I believe we -want to 
give Brother Briggs justice, and the only way I see to 
do Lt is to put STm on trial in whatever wjy It mM^ 
seem In the sense ot tWs body to be wise 

T nm%M;!?'?''7oi "^..'"'i S°*?S tio make a'speeclii. but 
I am gomg to take the time in reading to vou a letter 
wluch was written by the Rev. Dr. H. B'. Elliott, ol 
New-York to The New- York Tribune soon lilter the 
meeting of the presbytery last autumn. (The letter 
was read.) 

tv¥''-.x®!^°°^~^''- Moderator and Brethren. I feel 
that It Is incumbent upon me to raise a protest 
against the action of this Assembly in putting Into 
the hands of the Commissioners this printed pamphlet 
or so-caUed "Record of the Case." Well, I object 
to the stenographer's written minutes. They are not 
minutes of anythlpg which took place In the form 
of evidence. They are not made up as mlnu,tes are 
ordinarily made up by submission of both parties, 
but they are made up by one party only, and they 
are presented to us as the minutes and roord of ithe 
case on wTidcli we are to act. Look at the case just 
as It stands. When those charges were preferred 



80 



LIBEAJKY OF TRIBUNE EXTEAS. 



■■;,"?S 



Dr. Briggs was asted ito reply. He appeared wltli 
objections wlilch were In the form of demurrers. He 
demurred to the complaint on the ground that It was 
not isufliclent. Under those clrcumsitances It was 
tocumhent upon thait Court to do one of two things : 
They could sustain the demurrer and hold ithat the 
charges were not auHiclent, or they could hold them 
to be sufficient and oblige him to reply. By a vote 
of more than two to one tliey sustained tbe demurrer 
which he pui in, and that made an end to the pro- 
ceeding in that court. There are no pleadings In 
the case except the simple complaint. Now the ap- 
peal is to this Court, : and you have before you the 
complaint and ,the action of the presbytery In dis- 
missing it. I thinlt there is only one of two things 
that this Court can do,, namely, either to hold that 
the Presbytery of New-Yorlc made a mistake, and 
send it back to them for a new trial and give the 
defendant a privilege of putting in a reply, or else 
sustaining ,the action and saying that the complaint 
should be dismissed. The opinion in the New- York 
Presbjtery was very strong that the charges and 
specifications were of such nature .that they could 
not and sliould not be maintained, and that if ,tliere 
was any truth In ithem, all that was necessary was 
to dismiss the proceeding and have new charges flletl 
which should be specific. I think that is what tna 
majority of the New-York Presbytery deslixjd. What 
they desire now,. I am sure I cannot tell you. 

Mr. Blume— I am not a talldng elder, like my 
brother Mr. Tucker. My sentiments are the same as 
his, I wish to add nothing further. 

MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY HEARD. 

Tto Mdderaitor— We will now hear from the mem- 
bers of the Assembly. 

Mr. McCook— I would ask if it is proper for the 
parties to retire ? 

The Moderator— No, sir ; I do not think so. 

Dr. Servic*, of Detroit— I do not care to make a 
speech. I only want to call attention to tlie main 
issue which I think has been overlooked. The main 
issue is : Are there good and sufficient reasons in 
this ,case for depantlng from the ordinary course 7 
The ordinary course is to take the appeal to the next 
superior judicatory. I have not heard a single argu- 
ment on that point to meet the one presented by Dr. 
Briggs. I have not heard a single senitencte showing 
where there are good and sufflcien.t reasons for de- 
parting from the ordinary course; and,, because no 
suoh reasons have been advanced, I maintain that 
this Assembly should refuse to entertain the appeal. 

Dr. R. M. Patterson — We have passed beyond the 
question whether we wiU entertain the case. Now, 
Mr. Moderator, I doubt whether the history of juris- 
prudence can parallel the procedure of the Presby- 
tery of New-Y'ork in this case, receiving such a paper 
as was presented by the defendant, and tlien dis- 
missing it without permitting the prosecutors to main- 
tain their case. First, the resolution was presented 
to dismiss the case. Had the presbytery stopped 
there- taking the advice of Chief-Justice Mansiield 
given to the country esquire, only to give his decision 
and not to give his reasons— it would have been better. 
Then there was added, on page 224 "The Presbytery 
of New- York, having listened to the paper of Rev. 
Charles A. Briggs, D. D., and without approving of 
the positions stated in his inaugural address, at the 
same time desiring earnestly the peace and quiet of 
the church, deemed it best to dismiss the case." Now, 
look at the reasons for the dismissal of the case : " In 
view of the disclaimers of Dr. Briggs I" The most 
serious charge that could be made against a teacher 
was presented, and the presbytery say, " Because he 
disclaims some we disinlss all." He was charged 
with specific violations of the Standards of Faith, he 
declared his loyalty, and therefore they dismissed the 
charge. Suppose a man is charged In a court with 
the violation of a particular law, and he says, "I am 
loyal to the law," do you suppose the judge would 
dismiss the case ? Then they said, " without approv- 
ing of the positions stated in his inaugural address." 
There Is an implied reflection on Dr. Briggs. It 
seems that they did not approve of the inagural ad- 
dress, and yet, though the charge is based upon it, 
the peace of the church caused them to dismiss It. 
Peace and quietness ought not to be before truth, and, 
as the charges were made speciflc, I hold that in giving 
such reasons the presbytery was unjust both to the 
defendant and to the prosecutors, and in my judgment 
such a decision ought not really to be reversed, but 
the presbytery that made it ought to be censured. 

Dr. McPherson— I want to give briefly my reasons 
for the votes that I propose to cast It we are called 



on to vote upon all these specifications. In respect to 
a majority of these specifications as I understand their 
meaning, I expect to vote not to sustain. But I want 
it to be distinctly understood for myself and others- 
that these votes are not to be initerpreted as in any 
sense passing upon the merits of this case or standing 
for the peculiar views of Dr. Briggs, or giving any 
assent especially to those things with his writings 
which seem to me erroneous and in their tendency, at 
least, dangerous. I do not say he is a heretic, but I 
do say that I do not think It is any less than a hard- 
ship to interpret a vote on a legal question as an In- 
timation that one believes In something less tliai tlie 
plenary Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures and the 
Word of God. As to three or four of these speelflcar 
tions, I feel that as the case now stands 1 should vote 
to sustain. But I do so under a land of mental pro- 
test because I profoundly believe that this case is not 
appealable under our book. This Assembly, in the 
exercise of Its sovereign power, has overruled many 
of us in that i>artlcular, and so excepting to their dis- 
cretion I bow as a loyal Presbyterian and pass upon 
these as matters of fact. My fundamental objection 
to this whole thing is that I believe there lias been a 
distinction of the civil law Introduced into this book 
which is not found here in fact. This Is an appeal 
from a demurrer that was made. Id 
civil law so far as I understand It, 
when such an appeal is made it is only on 
the case and not on the merits, and the appellate coui't 
is estopped from going intj a consideration of the 
merits. But here, Whpre there is no distinction, as the 
moderator has already rulled, there is nothing to pre- 
vent this body, but its discretion, if it sustains this 
appeal fr^m going on, on the merits of the case and 
convicting this brother. So, In voting for any one or 
more of th^e specifications I object to being put in 
that position. 

Rev. Mr. McC.'irrol!— I wish to give to reasons wJiy X 
shall vote to sustain this appeal, first, what Dr. 
Briggs himself said before the presbytery : and, second, 
what the presbytery paid. On page 115 Dr. Briggs 
declared that he would enter upon the merits of the 
case. He asserts that he proposes to plead to the 
charges and specifications— nat to the sufficienev &t 
them, though further on he declares that. Then on 
page 137 he did plead to the charges and specifica- 
tions, and in many other places you will find that he 
plead specifically to the charges and ssecifioations and 
not t3 the form and legal effect of them. 

Dr. Spiague, of Auburn— I did not mean to sneak, 
ihut one remark on the otWeir sidei 1 would like to 
answer. Dr. Patterson said that such a case could 
not bo paralleled. There is a oorresponiUng matter 
in the Synod of Pennsylvania, wliich occurred at the 
time wjion, I think, Dr. Patterson himself presided as 
moderaitor. In the church wlsere I was then, pastor 
charges were brotight against an individual, a mem- 
ber of the session, and under thte charges thetre were- 
specifications of the matter by which the accuset pto- 
claimed he could prove the charges. The sessioil, 
kno%ving the matters, dismissed the case, oil the- 
ground, not of tlio inefficiency of the charges, but 
from their o-rni knowledge thait the specifications were- 
ni'^* sufllcient to prove the charges. An appeal was 
taken from the session to the presbytery, and tlie 
presbytery, by a vote of 59 out of 60 sustained the 
sesslo] in dismissing the cliarges on mat- 
ters within their own Imowledge,. An appeal wa» 
taken to the Synod of Pennsylvania, and the synod 
sustained (the presbytery and sustained the session. I 
claim, brethren, that Oils matter lies just In line with 
an action there taken. 

Dr. Brown, of Colorado — I simply come before the 
As-.embly to explain my vote. I shall have to vote 
against sustaining the appeal In any of the specifica- 
tions ; and, as those are liable to be misinterpreted 
and those who vote on that side are likely to be called 
bad names (murmurs of disapproval)— very well, I 
will -withdraw that remark. I have read this appeal 
carefully In the light of our Book of Discipline, and 
I fail to find that the Presbytery of New-York In any 
respect departed from the authority here laid down. 
I i-annot find any just gi-ounds of appeal. Read Sec- 
tion 22. The Presbytery of New-Tork followed that 
order to the letter, and the objection that has been 
raised that the merits of the case were discussed 
is applicable equally to both sides. It was the 
privilege of the Presbytery of New-York, If, after hear- 
ing both sides; as they did at tiiat stage of the pro- 
ceedings, to dismiss tlie 'case, as tiiey did; and I do- 
no'; see that there are any just grounds for appeal 
from that action. So I shall vote -without any refer- 
ence to the charges and specifications. 

Dr. W. A. Bartlett, of wasliington, D. C— Mr. Mod- 
era' or. Fathers and Brethren. I am in favor of the an 
peal. I am in 'favor of it In tlie Interests of both slde^ 
I am in favor of getting to the end of all lands of ob-" 



PEESBYTEEIAX ISSUES. 



jeetlons, aud dolayb and legal technlcaUllis, anl get liio 
•at tUe curd ol the matier wiilcli Is uetamiUb tlie fei-eai 
Piesbytei-lau Cliurcli Horn doing Its best worK In tlie 
United states ol America. We do not exist for legal 
Brooessts, and 1 liave rejoiced In tlxe course ol 
this one that we knew so little about Jfem— 
that the moderator lias been pozzled so muea (laugh- 
tiac). It Is a credit to tlie Prosbyterian Ghm:on. We 
jire here as brethren, not as parties. 1 love my 
3rother Briggs. I do not regard him as an outrageous 
heretic ; but he 1» here detained yetir aSter year seek- 
ing a tn.al. He Is asking to have these things 
.Investigated. And why should those who claim to be 
Ms siwuiul lilenda, or wihy should any one, detain 
Mm Irom tills beneflcent result 3 l-et us sweep 
.awsiy all objectloos and semd It hack to the city ol 
New-York, where it began, and let them try the 
case fairly on Its merits and let us abide the resrult. 
.That red shaft that was here a day or two ago 
ireferiiing to the column of roses) wai3 orowmed wltih 
the white dove of peace. But It was red and Inflamma- 
.tory uatll it reached the top. We may go througlh 
fiery trials or discussions to reach that dove with 
outstretched wings, but when we look it over 
afterward It will Ibe found to have been 
a shaft of roses. (Applause.) 

The Eev. Mr. Earnshaw, of Lowvllle, N. Y.— Mr. 
Moderator, Fathers and Brthren : I am very sorry that 
the I»resbytery of New-York did not conduct this case 
to a full and final result to a complete trial upDn the 
merits. I am very sorry that they liad such a super- 
Tbundance of reasons for dismissing It. They may 
have considered- and I think they dld-some reasons 
for dismissing It w'l ich were not relevant ; but they piit 
on those two safHcieni reasons, and It was to the 



niiicv of Die c mmiltee, wouldn't It have been de- 
l.gliiili:I l..r hliu to have accepted thtlr vei-y gracious 
reiiust and by tlie acceptance of It put himself right 
Into their hands. 'I'hat would have been a ismart 
trick, wouldn't It? The great trouble in tlils matter 
has been tliat it has Ijeen law, law, law, law from be- 
ginning to end. It was not Dr. Briggs's fault that 
Dr. llall or Ur. anybody else superinduced expla- 
nations. And is a man to sutter for this action of a 
l^esbytery when the control of tliat Presbytery Is 
absolutely beyond him 7 There has not been anything 
extraordinary shown in this case that will Warrant this 
General Assembly In departing from the ordinary 
processes of tha Church. 

Mr. George Junkto, Philadelphia— I am a lawyer, 
and. Dr. Thompson to the contrary notwitlistand- 
ing, 1 am a plain and sensible man, and as sucli I have 
looked at tills case. I could give a great many 
reasons wily this appeal ought to be sustained, but the 
one tiiat weighs upon my mind more than any otlier 
is that I believe I'rom the bottom of my heart that 
this l*resbytery has done Dr. Brlggs a very great 
wrong in dismissing the case. He has suffered at the 
hands of those wlio claim to be his friends. He 
wanted to be tried. They got around lilm and pur- 
suaded him that he had better not meet the Issue : and 
he submitted, when i(n.my judgment he ought to have 
been here as an appellant, saying that, "I filed my 
objections to this complaint because they were not in 
form and, substance and they failed to pass upon them." 
He was entitled to have them passed upon, and he 
should have demanded that thev be passed upon, so 
that he might have said; "I am ready lo prove not 
only by my assertion that I agree with the Holy 
Scriptures but by the Westminster Standards." I 



Breiudlce of the appellee and to their own injury that think the man to whom the most injustice has been 
thev did not consider any reason beyond those which done by the acUon of the New- York Presbytery is 
were suiliclentta the lnsuflic.leDoyotthe^clia.rgw and - -- 



«peclflcatlons In form and legal effect. And if Ifwell 
toown to every one who ..knows tuat body «iat the 
letter InsufBclency of those oKarges and specifica. 
ttos in form and legal effect was Palnlhlly man- 
Vfit and felt bv eveiY member of that judicatory, 
it ^ axe Mn of all eminent jurists ^t Jie^ 
.mdssal of thrcase at that stage IJS^sufflcient vaMd 
.-reasons, and those were the real ,r«isons upon whicb 
the dismissal proceeded. So I claim lit was In perfect 
order lor them to 'flfcmlss it. On that CTOund an^ 
*6cause -they have done what they did ™ L?2^SC 
right to do it, 1 think It Is the duty of this Assembly 
to refuse to sustain this appeal and let the process 
.be^n before that judicatory de novo. 

Dr Agnew— I shaU have to vote to susrtain this 
appeal. .When .the. OomnUttee__of ^Prosecution w^^ap- 



. - - — „- Presbytery ._ 

Dr. Briggs, and in saying that and In asldng to have 
its action reversed, I claim to be as good a friend of 
his as there Is in the house,, no matter wliat other 
people may have thought, and so I shall vote In his 
mterests to sustain the appeal. 

Dr. Marsli, ol Michigan— Let us remember that the 
merits ol this case are not at issue here ; that the 
question of Dr. Briggs's sentiments and addresses are 
not in issue ; that we are responding simply for the 
question of legality, cons,titutional right, and that 
alone. I challenge the presentation of any word 
In the oonstituition In section 23 which 
will show tliat the Presbytery of New- York had not 
the right to do precisely what they did. I 
stand here to plead for any jndlcatory at that stage 
of the proceedings, and that is that it may consider 
Christian expediency, and that it is not a question of 



pointed it was tlieir duty to make an efflont to avoaa technicalities of law at that point. But tliat all con 

lie necessity of actual p«>cess- They asked Dr. .,.._... .,.. ., . ,. 

Briggs to appear before ^em. In a letter of April 
a4, 1891, he positively declined to do so. The con- 
Mouence was that the committee came before the 
oSytery with their charges and speclflcatlons^ 
^hfn tSe only night the accused .hod was to 

file his objections. Instead of tiling object'Ons he pui Presbyterians, to whom this Assembly is responslbre, 
technloaUtles-whjch of course "| ''"7 a rifeni. ^jj ^.^^^ ^^^^ history of this case and . ■ -■ 



slderations which bear upon the case may be brought 
to bear upon any judicatory at that stage, and it 
becomes a question not simply as to tiie (technicalities 
of a case, but what Is in the highest sense right and 
expedient in view of the interests of tlie Ifingdom of 
Grod. I do not believe that the next generation of 



In legal technloaUtles— wnjcn 01 course i.o '""1' " "j;"" will read the history of this case and say that this 

todo— and the presbytery entered upon a. tuil discussion Assem,bly had any right to entertain this appeal, for 

of tlie merits 01 the case, and on the meuts 01 xiie case ^^^^ reason that an appeal can only be taken from a 

they decided that they would dismiss it. in my ^^^^ judgment, and there was no judgment In the 

Judgment that was Irregular, and all ™» ™°°'',5i"'''i'±;, sense of a judicial judgment reached in this appeal 

which have foUowed fi-om that irregularity are jubv ^ iudlcial judgment is the action after trial 

^°-?'^^^^i^?S^;^In,«,oslng the appeal 



,ta?e W'^^'i d'o noi dritTf o7dlr to"preVent the trial 
state that luo ^^ ^ entitled to a tr al. I 

H s*^l%&^^"Vfam-S^pSJ^y-<S^^^^ 
|M^SS%fa?SS^ = fS> Ji^pt&i^rtl}^ 



awful 
General 



precedent 

Assembly 

If we 



.orfinary course. (2) The 
that tlie decision ol tnis 
^11 establish in the Presbyterian Church. 
s^stai?itliis appeal we shall virtually establish a 
nrlcldlnt that raise's up in the Presbyterian Church 
« «B^We and distinct organization that won't down 
tt the mantote of anything less than the General 
Issembl?! and won't do™ %ven at the mandate of 
flfe General Assembly until you have carried the case 
to a final conclusion. Let it go abroad to tbe world 
that the I?esbyterian Church, when Instituting a 
prosecuting com^mittee, has put absolutely the power 
S control beyond the reach of session of presbytery, 
of svnod and that any man may be dragged aU the 
wal through these separate courts of the Church up 
to Ihe General Assembly, and you will give p«)ple a 
v^rv^EO^ reason for giving the Presbyterian Church 
r^ery wide berth. (Cries of "No," "No.") 

The Moderator— Brethren, do not let us liave any 
•xT>ressions ol opinion one way or the other. 
•^?J?^ Frazer-I want to say in response to Dr. 
Agnew, Vhen Dr. Briggs calls in question the legitl- 



and 
there can be no Tiidgment in the judicial sense 
until after a trial. For tliat reason, if lor 
no other, this is not appealable. In addition 
to that, I would wish to emphasize what has 
lieeh already said in reference to passing over the 
Synod of New- York. While we may. if it shall be 
considered that there are extraordinary reasons, sustain 
an appeal, yet nothing but the most extraordinary 
reasons will vindicate the a«tion ujx)n sucli an appeal 
under the conditions in wliich it lias come Ijefoi'e this 
Assembly. 

The Eev. Mr. Laurie— My reason for voting to sus- 
tain this appeal is in the resolution of the Presbytery 
itself to dismiss it. What are the reasons for dis- 
missing it? "Desiring earnestly the peace and quiet 
of the Church." What has that got to do with the 
specifications? Tlien. it saiy®: "In view of th^ 
declarations made by Dr. Briggs touching his loyalty." 
Has that anything to do with the specifications? 
Then it says : '■' In view of the disclaimers put upon 
the words used in his inaugural address." Those 
are not his disclaimers of the Interpretations put on 
the whole of his words. So when you look at either 
cause of the dismissal of the case not one ol them 
touches the specifications in form and legal effect. For 
that reason 1 vote to sustain the appeal. 

Eev. C. T. Bui-nley, of Wisconsin— I would like to see 
this cas9 disposed of so that Dr. Briggs could be tried 
on the merits. But it has i-each,ed a stage in wliicli all 



62 



UBEAEY OF TEIBUNE EXTRAS. 



tte brethren who are not here have interests Involvecl. 
I was a member of the Presbytery ot Cayuga, N. Y., 
when oiu- new form of government was- under review. 
I voted with others for having the clause, , under whjch 
the Moderator of the Presbytery of Now-Yorlc made 
the ruling that gives this committee standing changed 
on the ground that Ic was liable to just, tine interpre- 
tation that the Moderator of New-Yorli gave 
It. I have always beUeved tliat this com- 
mittee had no right to appear on the floor 
of this Assembly, only as a misinterpretation 
of the section miglit give it tliat right; I am obliged 
to vote against sustaining this appeal, because I want 
to sustain my own liberties and maintain the liberties 
of all my brethren in the ministry. If we sustain this 
appeal we are sustaining this committee, which I be- 
I'eve ought to have been dischargeu when tlie case 
•Ka.<i dismissed in New-York. If this interpretation 
of our -'Porm ol Government" is sustained by our 
action here, it may be only at the next General As- 
sembly that you or I wiU he in tlie position of Dr. 
Briggs, and liable to have al! our rights ol maklne our 
position undei-stood belore the Cliurch talten from us. 
I believe that the Modi-ator^of the New- York Presby- 
tery marie a mlstaUe in tlie lullng th;it gives this 
committee a right to be here, and 1 must vote not to 
snslain this appeal. 

Eev. Mr. Potter, gf Battle Creek, Mich.— I just,, 
wish, to reply to a phase ol the subject presented 
ty Dr. Frazer, who practically conceded that during 
the preliminary examination In tlie presbytery very 
little attei ition was given to law, but attention was 
ehlefly given to Christian consideration. I submit, in 
reply to that— and I hbA hoped Elder Johnson wpuld 
malie that pcJnt— thiait there is notlung Incotieistef it 
between the proper administration of law according to 
our booiis and th-ei liighest Christian consllerations'. I 
lui-thermore submit that Dr. Frazer and others have 
pi-actlcally surrendered theli- case i'l admittuig that 
they did not give special attention to law. Now, it 
would seiem to me that in a judicial trial it would be 
most appropriate to give large consideration to law. 
Brother Service said that the chief question had been 
obscured and passed over, camely, theJ relation of 
the Synod ol New-Yorlt tq this case ; that this 
matter ought to have beeii talien to the Synoil 
of New-Yorli. Who was to say wlitere it 
should be taUen but these brethren representing 
the Presbyterian Chuich in the United States? The 
Prasbytcry ol' New- York could not say. They could 
not bo expected to ask tlieii- Presbytery to tad them 
where to lodge their appeal. They were the only 
tompetent authorities to determine where they should 
«any it. 

Mr. Strevell — I desire in a very few words, in con- 
clading this part of what we have to do with this 
«ase, to say that personally 1 am greatly pleased 
at tlie iraieinal leeuugs which are eSplessed by my 
brotliei', Mr. Junliin. If there is anything that we 
ought to love and do love it is the household of faith, 
and 11 there is auyth.ng that will give us assiu'ances 
that we are born again it is that we love the 
bretliren ; and 1 will not part with any brother in 
the i-resbyteriaii Ohuicli until I am obliged to. 
If I call hold to him and can bring 
him to a sense ol right, I am 

going to stick t3 liini to the last, 1 have aiven this 
caSe all the coBsideration that I ever could aiiv case 
with the little abi Ity I liave, slnc« I have been here. 
Contrary to my own convictions and desires, I must 
vote against sustaining the appeal. If there Is any- 
thing 1 d3 want^and I do not- think there is aiiv dan- 
ger ol my wish being deleated by niv vote— it is to have 
this case tried and disposed ol ; but above all that 
«omes to me my coll^■ictlon of duty toward tli'e tn'eat 
Presbytery ol New-Yorli:. I believe I have read every 
paper, from first to last, tliat ha.s been presented in 
the case, and 1 have to say — contrary tD what the gen- 
tleman sitting before me (Dr. Patterson) lias declared, 
that the Pi-esbytery of New-York ought to be censured 
—I have to ~ay tliat there are but very few ju- 
dicial causes 111 tlie courts of ti' is cauntiv that 
are tried on any better established principles of 
law than that was. The Presbytery of Xew- 
York liad one tldng belore it: Sljall we sustain 
the demrn'rei"! 1 have read that demurrer. I lear 
that some of the brethren hav.i nut read it. livery 
lawyer knows, and every layman who has ever sat in 
court knows, that in maidiig a m itlon ti qua-li an In- 
dictment for felony the ablest members of the bar (and 
wo have produced more ol them on the bench and at 
the bar than any other Church, and !■ don't like to hear 
the declaration that we are not a denomination of law- 
^verning people: we are that) every laA^^yer Itnows 
and every layman knows, as I have said, that the 
Presbytery of New- York decided the matter exactly in 
accordance with the law. I wiU vote mv conviction if 



Dr. Briggs and all the rest of us go down, and mv con- 
viction on this pivposition is that tlie Presbytery at 
New- York was absolutely and unqualifledly right. 
Therefore, feeling as I do, I shall vote to sustain the 
Presbytery of New-York. They do not deserve 
censure. 

Dr. G. D. Moffat, of Baltimore— I shall vote to 
sustain tlUs appeal, and I -will give just two reasons. 
Judge Strovell says there was an ample demurrer. I 
beg leave to dilter with him. That p.ea, while it was 
in the nature of a demurrer, was also in the nature 
of a plea in the case, and ought not to- have been 
permitted. I believe ^ve ought to reverse this, be- 
cause the verdict utterly failed In accomplishing the 
purpose that led them to dismiss the case. They dis- 
missed it, they say. In the interests ol peace. 1 ask 
you and the Church at large : Has i>eace been secured 
thereby 1 The dissension has spread wider and wider 
and has brought more and more trouble. There- 
fore, because that case was dismissed upon a demurrer 
tliat was really ex parte in the case, and because 
testimony was offered and refused, therefore I shall 
vote to sustain this appeal. 

The Bev^^Br. Goidon, of the Presbytery of Hudson— 
I shall vote against sustaining this appeal, and I shall 
do so substantially on the grounds which have been so 
well stated by Dr. Frazer. In addition to that, how^ 
ever, I wish to state that, if we have 'a right to ap- 
prove or sustain this appeal here, we have precisely 
the same right to try the case. here, and, as we have a 
right to try the case here, there is not a member 
in this house who Is blind to the fact that it would 
be an absolute impossibility to try it here. Reference 
has been made to a parallel case in theihistory of the 
Church— that of Luther.- I Hiought that the brother 
was exceedingly unhappy in alluding to that case. I 
shall vote against sustaining this appeal, because I 
would rather stand with Martin Luther to-day than 
with all the hierarchy of the Church of Rome, and I 
shall vote against sustaining this appeal because of 
the future history of the Presbyterian Church. 

"^ THE VOTING. 

The Moderator— The time is up. I desire to make a 
personal statement. Allusion was made By one of the 
spealters to a view wliich I expressed in the earlier 
stages of tlds proceeding, vrith regaid to the different 
steps which were open, in this judicatory, if these 
speciflcatlons of error sliould be sustained. I did sta.e 
on one occasion, I thliik, that in my judgment It would 
be in the power of this Assembly, when that was 
done, either to enter upon the trial or to remand it 
back to the presbytery. I have changed my opinion 
on that subject. In my view, the power of this As- 
sembly .s limited to sending it back to .the presbytery. 
I simiply desire to place myself right on the record, not 
tliat my personal views will have any influence probably 
over this body,, but as I made the sta ement In good 
faith, I wish to correct it, and sa.y that my 
opinion has undergone a change. We will now 

proceed to take the vote. Section 28 of the Book 
of Disci-pliiie provides : ■• No member of a judicatory who 
has not been present during the wliole ot a trial" shall 
be allowed to vote on any question arising therein, 
except by unanimous consent of the judicatory and of 
the parties." I hold in my hand a note just handed 
up signed "Charles Lee," asking: ''Mease liave tlie 
Moderator decide"— he has no power to decide— 
'■whether one hour's absence from this -trial deprives 
me from voting." I know nothing about the views 
which Mr. Lee entertains at all. Tlhls matter is In 
the province of the house. I put the matter before 
you. These In favor ot allowing Mr. Lee the oppor- 
tunity to vote will say aye. Cai'iied. I vfiil ask the 
parties if they consent. 

Dr. Briggs— I am entirely willing that any person 
who is a member of the judicatory shall vote whether 
he has been absent an hour or two hours. 

Colonel JlcCook— We are perfectly willing. 

The Moderator— The Book provides : "The vote shall 
then be sepa-rately talcen without debate on each speci- 
fication, the question being taken in t;he form, ' Shall 
the specification be sustained V " 

A Member— I call for IHe yeas and nays on the first 
specification. 

A Member— I rise to the point of order that the yeas 
and n-ays cannot be called exc-ept on tlie last vcrte. 

A Member— After we have foBind one error is it not 
perfectly competent for some one to make a motion 
tliat they are sustained ? 

The Moderator— No. sir ; the Book provides otherwise 

H. B. Sayler— In every question wherever the com- 
mon law prevails the appellate court stops when it 
reaches the first error and reverses the 
record for the reason that aU subse- 



PEESBYTERIAN ISSUES. 



83 



quent labor and effort Is absolutely uimecessary, be- 
cause wlien an error Is reaolied that reverses tihe 
record. Now, I ast wlietlier such a constrnotion ot 
this law will not be In the conservatloii of order In 
eoclestastlcal courts as It Is In olvll oourte. 

The Moderator— I must say that the language of the 
BooS: seems to me explicit to the conibrary. The Ques- 
Wom Is on the yeas and nays of the tost speoificaUon. 

liOSt. 

A Member— I move that we take the yeas and nays 
on the ftnal vote. 

TMs motion was seconded and carried. 

Dt. Agnew— I rise to a question of privilege. The 
Committee on Supplies have appointed me U> preach In 
Salem, flJty miles from here, tjo-moinrow, and In order 
to meet that a/ppoimtmemt I must leave on the 5 
o'dock tiriln. May I have my vote recorded now J 

The Moderator— Tliose In Havor of granting Dr. Ag- 
new's request will say aye. Carried. 

Dr. Agnew— a vote to sustain this aipi>eal oia all the 
q>eolfl)Oatlons of earor. 

Br. Lampman, of Newark, N. J.— I desire to Inquire 
U It is taie privilege of any member to give notice of 
dissent alter the vote on any one of these speclflca- 
tlnns, and so enter it on the record. 

The Moderator— Bretflireu have a right to file a 




J. S. MACINTOSH. 

dissent at the close of the voting In writing, and hand 
It to the Stated caerk. 

Mr. Lampman— I desire to file my dissent. 

Mr. Millard- And I want to put in my dissent. 

The Moderatoi^Brethren who desire to do so will 
file them with the clerk after tlje voting. 

The Stated Clerk then read the specifications of 
error separately, and the Moderator put iihe Question 
op each one : Shall the speclflcattoa b« sustained J 
And they were sustained. 

Upon the yea and nay vote the result was as fol- 
lows; 

To sustain 302 

To sustain m part 127 

To sustain either la whole or in part 429 

Not to sustain 87 

Total 7... 516 

TO BETUBN THE CASE TO NEW-YOHK. 

Judge H. B. Saylei^I now offer the following reso- 
lutlODS : 

Whereas, The specifications ot eri'or In the case of the 
Presbyterian Ohurch In the United States of America ore 
sustalaed; therefore be It 

Kesolved, First— That the judgment of the Presbytery 
of New-Torlt In said case be, and the same Is In all things 

Resolved, Second— That said case Is hereby remanded 
to the Presbytery of New-York for a new trial. The 



Stated Clerk of the (general Assembly Is directed to r»- 
turn to the Stated Olerk of the Presbytery of New-YorH 
the record and papers received by him in said case fron\ 
the Presbytery of New- York, 

The Moderator— If ttere is not to be any dlseussioni 
it will have to go over until Monday. 

Eev. Mr. Lawrle— I suggest tha.t that auestipni 
on^ht to be divided. There are two narts to th» resor 
luraou, and we should vote on It separately. 

The JModerator— I judge that It would be well to 
refer this to a committee to report upon It Monday 
morning. 

Mr. McCook— I tlil'Qk so too. We should have this 
cflirefully framed. 

A motion was made and carried tliat ijip Moder- 
ator appoint a committee of five to take into consid- 
eration the resolution presented by Judge Sayler 
and report on Monda>y moiming, recommending the 
proper action of the Assembly in the premises. The 
Moderator appointed as such committee Judge EwUnt 
(chairman). Judge Sayler, Mr. JunMn, Dr. G. D. Mof- 
fatt, Dr. William Alexander. 



NINTH DAY. 



THE BBIGGS CASE REMANDED. 



TRIAL MUST BE HAD BEFOEB THE NEW- 
YOEK PEBSBYTEEY. i 



UNION STSMINABY'S REljATION TO THE CHUitOH 

NOW THE VEXED QUESTION BEFORE THE 

PRESBYTEBIAN GENEE^L ASSEMBLY. 

Portland, Ore., May 30.— A Sabbath's rest put the 
General Assembly Commissioners In trim for rapid 
disposition of business to-day. The Briggs heresy 
case was remanded to New- York for a new trial 
without debate. Following this came another phase 
of the same question, and in many respects of more 
vital interest than the mere question of Dr. Briggs's 
orthodoxy. This was the question of the relation 
of Union Seminary to the Assembly. The Theo^ 
logicaJ Seminaries Committee recommended that the 
question of the transfer of a professor be submitted 
to a, committee of arbitration, while the minority 
report recommended that the seminary be allowed 
to withdraw from the agreement of 1870. Many 
speeches were made, but no discussion was reached 
at the morning session, and it was decided to take 
up the matter at night and take the vote at 9 
o'clock. 

Besides these two questions, the Assembly disposed 
of the temperance report and the report 'of the Com- 
mittee on Sabbath Observance, and referred the over- 
ture, protest and resolution relating to the election ol 
Dr. W. C. Roberts as senior secretary In the Home 
Mission Board. It was feared at one time that aJI 
the facls bearing on this case, tnoluding the protest ol 
Dr. Irwin, his letter to feUow-ministers and their re- 
plies, which have been printed and distributed pri- 
vately, would come before the Assembly, but Dr. Mc- 
pherson succeeded in preventing it by a speech. In 
which he favored moderation. 

This morning Dr. Young introduced Mayor Mason, (t( 
Portland, who made a brief speech of welcome. 

After an appeal had been read from the PresbyT 
terian Church of Wellington, Kan., which was de- 
stroyed by a storm last Wednesday, the Briggs matter 
was brought before the Assembly by a report from the 
special committee appointed to prepare a paper. .Tudg» 
Ewlng, of Pennsylvania, read this report : 

Your committee appointed to draft a form of iudsf- 
ment to be entered m the case ol the Presbyterian 
Church in the United States of America against th* 



84 



LIBEARY OF TRIBUNE EXTRAS. 



Rev. Charles A. Briggs, D. D., respectfully report and 
recommend for eidoptlon tlie accompanying form of 
decree and order: 

The Greneral Assembly having, on the 28tli of May. 
1892, fully sustained all the specifications of errors 
aJlaged and set forth In the appeal and specification 
In this case, it is now, May 30, 1893. ordered that the 
jndgmerft of the Presbytery of New- York, entered No- 
vember 4, 1891, dismissing ttie case of tlie Presby- 
terian Church in the United States of America against 
the Eev. Charles A. Briggs, D. D., be aod the same is 
hereby reversed, and the case Is removed to the Pres- 
bytery of New- York for a new trial, with direction a to 
said presbytery to proceed to pass upon and deter- 
mine the. sufficiency of tlie cliarges and specifications 
in form and legal effect, and permit the Prosecuting 
Committee to amend the specifications of cliarges, not 
changing tile general nature of the same. If in the 
furtherance of Justice it be necessary to amend, so 
that the case may l>e brought to issue and tried on tlie 
merits thereof ao speedily as may be practicable. 

It is further ordered that the stated clerk of the 
Greneral Assembly return the record and certify the 
proceedings had thereon, with the necessary papers 
relating thereto, to the Presbytery of New-York. 

Having effectually disposed of one perplexing 
problem, another was talien up. G. W. Ketcham, of 
Newark, spoke In favor of the minority report favor- 
ing the withdrawal of Union Seanlnary from the com- 
pact of 1870. The Eev. M. Eamshaw, of Lowvllle, 
N. Y"., foUowed on the same side, saying that the 
Seminaries Committee, in Its report, censured the 
seminary directors. Dr. Mutchmore called upon 
the speaker to produce a single sentence from the 
report In support of that statement. 

Although speeches were limited by rule to five 
minutes, the Moderator allowed Dr. Taylor, of Eome, 
to speak twenty minutes, as he had read the minority 
report. Dr. Taylor, the framer of the minority re- 
port, said there had been a good deal of mixing of 
Ideas. He felt that the only Unli of connection be- 
tween tills Assembly ind the one of last year was 
the committee of fifteen. Last year there was a 
difference of opinion aljout the matter of artatra- 
Uon, and It comes up again. Committees were ap- 
pointed last year, but It was found Impt'acitlcable. 

"Now there coones a report from six of the forty- 
three who met a year ago," he continued, " who say we 
can arbitrate. Let us judge of the welglut tills report 
should liave. Half of us don't Imow wiiat this 
question of status quo means. It means that the 
Assembly must tolerate the lack of weiglht of the 
veto power, and the seminary must tolerate Dr. 
Briggs. The seminary was not In rebellion and had a 
right to retain Dr. Briggs tSll the Assembiy meets 
again. We have no right to annul the oomipact. All 
the seminaries mueit do tliat. But so far as Union 
Seminary Is concerned, it oan be accomplished and 
she has a right to ask it. Union Seminary has found 
that the compact is fraught with danger, and that she 
has suffered and that otheirs may suffer. For twenty 
years slie has made transfers amd supposed rlglitfuily 
that Sihe was right. The report last year wa9 ren- 
dered wjitihout the sliigh,test consultation. The axe 
was raised; the axe fell and Union Seminary quivered 
In every nerve. She was the first to surrender her 
Indefpendence to form the compact. The best way 
to keep Union Siemlnary is to let her out of tlie 
comipaot." 

Dr. Patterson, of Pliiiadelphia, offered a substitute 
In resolution foim, declaring that, since Union Sem- 
Indry had ignored the veto power of the Assembly, It 
had already broken tlie compact, and that a com- 
mittee of ministers be appointed to investigate the 
case. Dr. Moffatt, of P.altlmore, said Union Semi- 
nary trembled because she was conscious of having 
done wrong. If justice were done, Union Seminary 
would be cut l:)ose and discarded from tlie Ust of 
seminaries of the Presbyterian Church. Dr. Lewis 
Lampmati >!iid that under the majority report none 



of the candidates from Union could secure licehaes- 
if tlie letter of the report was Ioll>wed, since th& 
report recommends that licenses be issued subject tO' 
the approval of the professors. 

"What 1 object to," said Dr. Larnnrnan as he left the 
platform, " is that the c^ommittee should come here with- 
a flag of truce In one hand and a club in the other, to 
beat out the brains of this institution." 

This brought the house to its fei't, and retraction 
was asked for. The statement was rtad by the sten- 
ographer. The Moderator decided that the remark was- 
merely a figure of speech. 

The report In the Union Seminary case Is a reitera- 
tion of the original with few exceptions. A recom- 
mendation, whlcli was absent from the othei'S, was made- 
to "enjoin our Presbyteries to see that students under, 
their care be prepared for their sacred office in sem- 
inaries, and by teachers who are under the direction at 
the Assembly ; and that the Board of Education be 
directed to restrict the appropriations for the education 
of students to those who are pursuing their studies, 
under the above-named Institutions, or under private 
instructors." A change in the resolution with re- 
gard to the Union Seminary was made toward the end 
where " non-compliance" of directors is called " a 
failure to comply with the obligations contained in the 
compact of 1870." The resolution a? to the necessity 
of the maintenance of the veto ipower is Identical 
throughout. With regard to the identity of transfers- 
and oi'lginal appointments in the case of profe-sors. the 
foUowlng is recommended : " The General Assembly Is- 
constralned to insist upon its interpretation of the 
terms of the compact as given by the assembly at 
Detroit." 

The report recommends a negative answer (o tha- 
memorial of the Union Theological Seminary directors, 
asldng the "co-operation of the General Assembly In. 
severing its connection," and it recommends the adop- 
tion of the following : 

Resolved, first. That this General Assembly recog- 
nizes the status ciuo as to difference of Interprjiatlon . 
given by the directors, of the Union Seminary from that, 
given by the Assembly's committee of conference; and,, 
in accordant wltli the proposition suggested by tli© 
said committee of the conference, this General Assem- 
bly agrees to refer the dilference of interpretation to- 
the compact of 1870 as to transfers to a committee of 
arbitration. 

Eesolved, second, That a committee of five mem- 
bers, representing this Assembly, shall bs appointed 
by the moderator, who shall select five other persons 
as arbitrators, who shall meet a like number, selected 
by the directors of the Union Seminary, and these ten. 
shall select five others, and by the Jfteen thus chosen 
shall the Interpretation of this compact, namely, as to- 
transfer of a professor, be decided. 

The minority report was considerably modified dure 
Ing the deliberations. The text of the supplementary 
report is as follows : 

Whereas, The last G-eneral Assembly's committee of. 
fifteen and the directors of the Union Theological Sem-" 
inary. In mutual conference, discovered whai tliey de- 
clared to be an irreconcilable difference of opinlonri 
touching tlie signlHcance of the agreement made lit' 
1870, and mutually recognized eacli others' conscien- 
tiousness and rights of opinion, yet could reach no- 
concluslon as to the proper course for each party In. 
the future, and 

Whereas, The directors of the Union Theological" 
Seminary have memorialized this Assembly, asking that 
the agreement of 1870 be annulled, therefore, be it 

Eesolved, first, That the Union Seminary have the- 
ilbei-ty to honorably withdraw from the agreement, ajid 
be from this date no longer responsible thereto. 

Eesolved, second, That a committee be appointed by 
this Assembly to confer with all iheologicol seminaries 
now under its supervision, touching their views of the 
agreement of 1870 and of any new agreement that 
they may devise, and so to formulate a new agree- 
ment, adopted to happily unite all seminaries und»r 
Buch general supervision by Ihe General .Assembly is 
will tend to safety In the Church and efliciency In her 
work; that the same be submitted to the Genera] As 
sembly of 1893. ^^ 

The special order for the afternoon was the report, 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



83- 



of the Committee on Sabbath Observance. For the 
second time the Assembly entered Its protest against 
the opening of tlife Columbian Fair on Sunday. The 
report of the standing committee on bills and over- 
tures recommended that tlie request of several presby- 
teries for a, new and shorter catechism be denied as 
It was Inopportune. 

The report on temperance evoked considerable dis- 
cussion. Prohibition was not even mentioned by 
name, though practically the same thing was indorsed. 
A long report upon the deaconess question was read 
by Dr. Eadclifle, of Detroit, closing with a proposal 
of three alternative overtures to the presbyteries 
looMng toward the establishment of the order. The 
report was adopted. 



SETTLING THE SEMINARY CASE. 

THE MODERATOR TAKES A PART IN THE 
DEBATE. 

Portland, Ore., May 30.— The evening session -was de- 
voted to a consideration of the Union Seminary ques- 
tion. 

The Moderator— The question before us Is on the mi- 
nority report, which Is an amendment to an amend- 
ment. We will talie the vote In one hour. 

Mr. JunMa— Mr. Modeiator and Brethren : We have 
nothing to do with any statements of what took place 
in the conJference coihmlttee, and all allu'slons tO! steno- 
graphic reports and all reflections on Dr. Patton and 
the last Assembly are out of order. We have simply 
to do with reports made to us by our committee and 
by the memorial from Union Seminary. We have 
kept our mouths closed as to what took place In that 
conference, because It was so understood, amd those 
who have done so, in my opinion, have done wrong. 
Now, what Is tlie condition of tilings? They reported 
to us that we were in status quo. That meant, we 
recognized, th.it Union has a right to consider tluit 
agreement, and it has construed it conscientiously and 
believes it has a right to keep Dr. Brlggs In Ills olialr. 
We say tliey did, wrong. Now, on the other hand, the 
seminary recognized that we acted conscientiously. 
There we were lace to lace. How are we to settle it ? 
Are we to stand in that position year after year J Six 
of us came to tills Assembly liaving no meeting of our 
conference committee, owing to Dr. Patton's illness. 
The report presented by Dr. Patton is not the report 
of the conference committee. It is aU right, however. 
We six presented a report- in the interests of peace. 
We had no desire to do what I have heai'd politicians 
do, try to put anybody in a hole. I would like to have 
a man, tome to me and tell me that I was capable of 
trying to put Union Seminary " in a liole" I It has 
been said that we can go to law. No, we said we would 
arbitrate, if the arbitrators say that Union is wrong, 
tfien let Union have the grace of God to acknowledge 
It. If, on the other hand, the arbitrators say the Gen- 
eral Assembly is wrong, then I hope the grace of God 
win give the Assembly the impulse to say to the 
Union. " You were right, and you liad a right to keep 
Dr. Brlggs there." Is not that the Chrlstiara. honest 
and ordinary way in wiiich honest men ought to setttle 
their differences ) I am a lawyer, but I always adrtse 
my clients not to go to law if they can help it, because 
the law, while perfect, lias to act through human in- 
strumentality, which is wonderfully imperfect. And 
why can't we settle this matter so that Union won't 
go out like Ishmael from the tent of Abraham .iway 
among the heathen, possibly. (Laughter.) Well, I 
did tfOt-'mean. what you are laughing. at, bnt sometimes 
a man-btdlds wiser than he knew. (RenewM laughter.) 
But I take It alt back, because it is not in my heart to 
throw any slur upon Union. I want to keep her in 
the Presbyterian fold ; and I do not bcUeve that Union 
Seminary directors are going to, lav down this compact 
after twenty vears, in the face of our Christian effort 
to effect a settlement by arbitration. (Applause.) 

Eev. George Chlpperfleld. of Ma]r>ne. N. Y— Mr. 
Moderator, Fathers and Brethren : There i=i only one 
of three things that this .Assi-mbly can do. It can sub- 
mit thi« question to arbitration. It can allow Union 
Seminary to withdraw. So far as the Question of 
arbitration is concerned, this -Assembly, bv its declara- 



tions of last year, leaves nothing to arbitrate. It 
says : Arbitrate, but after your arbitration vou must 
find such and such conc'iision?. Arbitration under 
such circumstances Is sliilly-shallylng. There is one 
thing more that may be done. This Assembly may 
press its right even to the point of a legal interpreta- 
tion, and insist uiion its legal rights in the premises. 

Rev. Dr. .Jamcb Koberis— I am sure this Assembly- 
must recognize the tail that this brother is mlstake-m 
when he says there Is notJilng to arbitrate. It does- 
not foBow that this Assembly will hold the arbitrator* 
to lis view, nor that Union S?mlnary will hold them 
to its view. I think this Assenibly ought to put Itsell: 
on record as willing to arbl Irate. We have Had tlie 
distinction between a first election and a transfer pre- 
sented to us, and five points have been drawn.i 
Suppose that instead of a transfer Dr. Briggs ha* 
been appointed to this new chair, would not the- 
Assembly have had the right to veto that appolnt- 
menD? 0?Ptamly. The Assejnbly Vetoied that 
appointment because Dr. Briggs was not satisfactory- 
to it. I know there Is a difference between an ap- 
pDlntment and a transfeir, but In the end It amount* 
to the same thing, and this Is the point, brethren, to- 
keep in your minds. 

Dr. E. S. Greene — I desire to offer a resolution aa- 
a substitute for that presented this morning by Dr. 
Blayney. 

'Dr. Ulayney— I will state that I wUl accept tlio 
resolutlcns Brother Greene proposes to offer in place- 
of my own at the proper time. 

The Moderator— We may as well hear them now. 
I think this is the proper time. 

Dr. Greene— I suppose I am a representative of » 
large number of us who have become somewhat con- 
iuscd in all this mnltipllclty of ar«r(ment, and In th» 
ititerest of clearness' I have prejfered these reso- 
lutions: 

" Having regard to the overtures and all the papers- 
In aie case, the Asisembly takes the following action : 

"First— That the -Assembly Indorse the interpretation 
of the compact of 1870, as expressed by the action of 
the -Assembly of 1801. 

" Second- That the Assembly declines to be a party 
to the breaking of the compact with Union Theo- 
logical Seminary. 

"Third— That the Assembly is persuaded tliat the- 
Ohlurch should have direct connection with and con- 
trol over its tlieological seminaries. 

" Ilourth— laiait the .ASscmlbly appoints a committee- 
of fifteen, coinsisting of eight ministers and seven ruling- 
elders, to take Into considerat'on the wiliole subject 
of the relation of the -Assembly to its theoiogioail' 
seminaries, to confer with the directors of these 
seminaries and to report to the ne.xt General Assembly 
such action as will result in a still closer relation be- 
tween the Assembly and its seminaries than that wKch- 
at present exists. 

"Mfth— That the Assembly dismisses the committee- 
of conferemce appointed lasit year with courteous thanks 
for Ms faithfulness and highest appreclatlori of the- 
services it has rftidered the C-hurch." 

Dir. R. M. Patterson— I desire now to get my reso- 
lutions forrtallv. before the house. The minority re- 
port and Dr. Blayney's report are pending as suibsti- 
tlutes to the report of the committee, are tiiey notT' 

The Mioderator- Yes, sir ; and Dr. Blayney has g;lven- 
notice that he will acceipt Dr. Grreen's resokitions. 

Dr. Patterson- 1 move to postpone Dr. Blayney's- 
substi'tute and the report of the minority commiuee- 
In order that I may offer my paper as an amendmentt' 
to the report of the committee. (Laughter). 

The Moderator— I decide that you have not the- 
right to do so upon this ground : That when a motion 
Is bettore the house and an amendment is made to thai 
motion anci an amendment to that amiendment Is made- 
it Is closed and the power of offering anything until 
they are dlsiposed of is past. This is simply, it seem& 
to me, an evasion of that rule. A motion lib postpone- 
in- order to suhsrtitute, it seems to me. Is the same as- 
offering it as an amendment to tlie amendment, to the- 
amendment. (Applafflue). 

Dr. Patterson- Then I will move to lay upon the- 
table for the present the report of the minority an* 
Dr. Blayney's substitute in order that I may be- 
enabled feoffor thls.pa^r. 

The Moderatoi^-I think that is in order. Those loi 
favor of laying the minority report and D;-. Blayney's- 
paper on the taile wUl say yea. Lost. 

The Rev. W. A. McCarroll, of the Presbs'terv of 
Carlyle— Mr. Moderator, F&thers and Bretliren : I have 
only a few wocrds to say on this subject. Like some 
of the bretliren, I myself have been greatly mixed a»- 
to what I ought to do (laughter) ; but after considera- 
tion I am persuaded that the thing to do is to adopt 
tiie majority report because of tiiree facts, which T 
fhinlt will not be disputed as facts, namely : The- 
General jVs=embly heretofore has exercised control lib 



86 



LIBEAEY OF TRIBUNE EXTfi^^. 



the matter of llie transfer of pi-ofe-sors fi'om one clialr 
to another and Union Seminary up to Ihlls time has 
never uttered, a protest and it is only now when a 
transfer of a professor in its own seminary lias been 
vetoed that it raises its objecfcon. If it was legal 
to veto a transfer in the past in any of the seminaries, 
why is it not legal now! Second, the last G-eneral 
Assembly vetoed tills transfer. K seems to me, there- 
ftwe, we cam do nofOhing more than conflrm.tlie laction of 
the last General Assembly, and so I believe the ouly 
thing you oan do is to declare this chair de jure vacant. 
Third, the majority report" advises the appointment ol 
a committee of arbitration. Thl^ is everything, as it 
seems to me, that we can asl?. We do not wisih 
Union Semina,ry to go out from us. I liojie the ma- 
joirity report will be adopted. 

Elder Wells, of Westchesteir, N. Y.— After the most 
earnest consideration, liaving examined the subject 
both beifiore coming here and sJnee, I am constrained to 
cast my vote in favor of the minority report and my 
reasons are briefly these : Here are two reports 
directly in conlllct. On both Eides they staind firmly 
to their guns. They both agreed to report to this 
Assembly that they could not agree, and advised that 
all parties acquiesce in the status quo ; in other 
words, that the Assembly having asserted its eon- 
strnction of the compact would stand by it, and the 
seminary having as-erted its construction would stand 
by that. These two forces are directly face to face 
and neither flinches from the conclusion. What can 
be accomplisihed by arbitration, then ? I am reminded 
by tills persistence in standing by their own views of 
the conistrucitlon of the comjjact of the question put 
by the scholastic seholard of the Middle Ages : If an 
Irresistible body imnirnges upon an immovable body, 
wtiat will be the consequence? Why, we sha'uld say 
there will be mutual annihilation. But these- spiritual 
bodies may be able to pass through each other and' both 
survive. (Laughter). I beUeve it to be the wisest 
thing to consent to the abrogation of that compact. 
As long as it conitinues it will be a source of irritation 
in the dhiurch. It will alienate the Mends in Union. 
They must be held together by the alllnjty of similarity 
of views of faith and mutual ChrJ=tian love. Anj'thing 
lihe an attempt to coerce the Union wlU fail. The 
end in wew must be accomplished by mutual Cliristian 
attraction and not by external coercions and arbitra- 
tions. 

At this point Dr. Young requested Dr. Cliiistie to 
take the ohalr. 

Dr. Y'oung— I lieartily concede perfect candor, con- 
scientiDusness and sinceiity to tlie direct^irs ot Union 
Seminary In tlie action wUich they have taken witb 
regard to the relations of tliat seminary to tlie Assem- 
bly. Some of tliose directors I am proud to call my 
persDnal Iriejids. Many of them bear names wldch 
have been associated ttirough generations witli wliat is 
best in our Uhuroli's history and our Cliui'cli's service ; 
and yet, after the very best and most conscientious 
thouglit •wliio]! 1 have been able through mjnths to give 
to tills subject, I am satislled tliey have committed 
grave eriors. A statement las been made, iterated 
and reiterated upon the floor ol (his Assembly, and 
through tlie public p;-esp for msntlis, that the paper 
offered by Union Seminary in 1870 contained only a 
proposition ivlilcli ^^'a.s signiticiint of a i-'enerOLis gift 
on the part ol tlie seminary and wliicli cojld be at any 
time recalled. I do not so interpret it. Let me read 
the closing sentence of the paper presented by the 
directors of that seminary: "We do hereby agree, if 
the said plan sliall be adopted by the General As- 
sembly." What was tlie plan 1 It was tfie removal 
of certain powers tliat tlie General Assembly had over 
many of the seminaries under Its control. Now see. 
The directors of Union, it the General Assembly will 
remit the exercises of those powers, we do agree— what 1 
To conform the -ame plan. The Union Seminary in 
New-Yorli being in tlis respect on the s.ame ffi-ound 
with tlie otiier theological seminaries of the Presbyte- 
rian Church. Was not there a quid pro quo given by 
the Church to that seminary for bringing itself paitially 
under tlie control ot t':e Assembly ? Did not the As- 
sembly as representing tjie Presbyterian Charcli pay 
its price? Did it njt pay it beyond revocation. Did 
It not remit its oonstitutional control over those other 
tliteological seminaries? Has it the power t3 recall 
that ocnt'ol without the consent of those seminaries, 
and is now Union Seminary bound by that compact? 
Now, it seems to me t'^at the salient points upon wiiicli 
the Presbyterian Church desire to insist are embraced 
in the paper which Dr. Blayney says he will aroent. 
I heartily indorse tliat paper. I indorse the mo4 tluit 
is in the report of the committee, but it seems to me 
just, in so far as we can simplify .'ind malte brief our 
action upon t'is subject, just that much will be gained 
in the adjudicallon of this maidT, What are the 
points? rirst, the Chnrcb r?;is;iTts its hearty indorse- 
ment of the interpretation jf tJie compact by the last 



General Aasembiy. Second, the Churohi Idndlv but 
poslti^'ely declines to be a party to the abrogation of 
the compact with Union. Tliird, this Assembly, as. 
represenung the Church, expresses its conviction tliat 
tile Piesbyteiian Clinicli, through its General Assem- 
bly, is determined to have direct connection with and. 
control over its theological seminaries. Fourt:;i, with, 
these instructions a committea is appointed to examine- 
Into, the, whole subjeqt,, tailing Union in with the other 
seminaries, cmfer with the directors of these' different 
seminaries, and report with regad to the relations of 
the seminaries to the next Assembly. It seems to me- 
to simplify it. It brings it -within the simple compre- 
hension of every member of the Pre-sbyterian CliuroU_ 
Y'ou have not got to go from one part to another to una 
the determination ot ti:i6 Assembly. You have them in a 
brief, simple, clear and concise form, so that thev can 
he read and understood by every man and woman in. 
the Churoli. (Applause.) 

Dr. Mutchmoie— Mr. Moderator, Fathers and. Breth- 
ren: I want to say first, that I have never written a. 
line, nor liave I unjustly criticised the Union Seminary 
nor any of its officers, or 1 should not have accepted, 
the position ot chairman of the Committee on Theolog- 
ical Seminaries. I want to call your attention to the 
remarlis ot the first speaker, who characterized the re- 
port as -wanting in logic and indeflniteness. This 
Is about the easiest tiling an intelligent man. 
can say about his neighbor and his neighbors 
thought. I talie it for granted that Jifteen men ini 
this Assembly are as competent to judge what is- 
loglcjil and pertin nt as any man however eminent 
he may be. It is a question purely of spectacles- 
Honest men with the best Intentions wUl disagrea- 
No-iv, this committee had before, it. first, the legal 
status. Thev could not consld-.r anytliing else. The 
Assembly pemiiltcci but one reply from the com- 
mittee on the legal aspect. Union Seminary ignored, 
the command of the G^reial Assembly. The General 
Assembly could do nothing else_tlian it did. Perhaps- 
the report of the committe?' did not regard the 
scnsibi'ities of brethren as highly as it ought. How- 
ever, it is said now that a transfer -was included in 
the compact as a power that the General Assembly 
could counteract by the veto power. The .'.ommitee 
said that was the law. Dr. Taylor, thoroughly under- 
standing Uie case, said that under the interpretation 
of the General As'-embly he did not ses how we could 
do otherwise. That being the law the chair was 
de jure vacant. This is admitted by Dr. Taylor and 
the bretliren of the minority. I loi-^w Dr. Musgrave 
intimately. I did know something of Dr. Adams, 
enough to revere hlni as hardly any other .man in the 
Presbyterian Chnrch. Now, I do not bellwe those 
clear-minded m'-n ever intended to make any repi-e- 
sentation to tiie General Assembly such as has been 
stated here. I think Dr. Taylor misunderstands the 
meaning of their words. Now, legal contracts have 
been mad^ upon this com.pact. I know of one will 
in which this compact is quoted, and by which one- 
el the seminaries will some day lome into the posses- 
sion of $10,000. If contracts iia\'e been made upon 
111? stren,gth of this compact we are bound as aiL 
.-\ssembly to sustain it. Then again, has there been- 
no money given to Union Seminary ? Haven't they 
receivd just as much consi.leration 

A Member (IntLrruptiug)— Has not Dr. Jlatchmore- 
exc coded his five minutes? 

Dr. Mntcliraore— I beg your' pardon, sir— something- 
yon did not do for interrupting me. Now, my fiiend- 
br. Taylor has intimated that Union Seminary has 
been opprcss:d. I cannot say that Dr. Taylor lias- 
ever been oppres.sed. I have never- ben op:iressed. 
We liave seminaries in connectioh with the Church that 
are not restless lor fear they will he opp;-essed. 
Auburn has been mentioned. Now, I do not tlilnk- 
we have any right to speak for Auburn here. She 
has sent In tlieir reports, and there was nothing in 
them to indicat? that she -was dissatisfied with this 
compact in any wa.v. Then the ne.\t point was the- 
gnthering together ot opinions of those overtures. 1 
tliink that was done fairly. The Chni'ch demanded 
three things of this Assembly. First, th-at the de-- 
elarallion of the General Assembly claiming its right 
of supervision and veto shonld be exercised; s:cond. 
that we should see that the Word of God should not iri 
any way be brouglit into distrust: third, that our- 
tlieologlcal seminai'les and tire. Cliurch itself shonld. 
more carefully gnard its teachings. f-"«-nie gentleman 
en this floor has said the report it this committee de- 
clared a boycott on Union Seminary and that the 
Ass:'mbly was going lor Union Seminary with a flag of 
truce in one hand and a club in the other to beat out 
its brains— and he never brouirlu In a tarpanliri to 
gather up the sonttered remnants. (Louglit rl It 
was a great oversiglii n-.t to do that. The Board 
of Education has been tormented for years, not know- 
ing how to take care of our theological students • the- 



PRESBYTERIAN ISSUES. 



87 



presbyteries claiming the right to send them to semi- 
naries out of connection wltli the Church, and the 
Board of Education has ashed me that this should be 
-determined. N'ciw, Is there anything severe in asWng 
tlie (iorieral Assembly to decide according to our own 
book ? Is there any indication of a boycott— which Is 
not a term to be used here; It Is a term applied to 
jiOts of disorder, and ought not to Imve any place In 
this presence. After having gone on trying year after 
year to settle tills matter liarmonlously, and then being 
told that we s&ould have a mlnorly report— why, wo 
uave done what the Assembly has commanded us to 
-do; that Is all. A\ e have answered these overtures re- 
■eommending a more careful-supervision of all our stu- 
dents In seminaries approved by the Church. I am not a 
graduate of any Eastern seminary. I have no choice 
among these cliUdren of the Lord's House. 1 have 
never discriminated as betsveen them. 1 am only say- 
ing tliat the thing that grieves me Is tli^t the. .tlilrteen 
seminaries who are all quiet, who are not asking aHy 
cliange, that you propose to appoint a committee to 
go around and aslt them If they don't want a change— 
a committee to say, " Dear brethren, you are doing 
wetty well, but wouldn't you like to have a change? 
The tieneral Assembly has sent ns, a disturbing com- 
mittee, a lilnd of smelling committee, to see whether 
you are all right and peaceful, an If you are peaceful 
we recommend tliat you get stirred up." (Laughter.) 
It Is unjust to the thirteen seminaries that are doing 
their work and not complaining and which have con- 
tracts, no doubt, based upon this coiSpact of 1870. 
\Ve could do nothing more perilous. Now, Mr. Mod- 
erator, If I have any time h ft I beg to reauest that 
Colonel McCook may be allowed *to occupy It. 

Mr. MoCook— 1 do not ask the time. 

Mr. Reed, of Montana— I am sure we as an Assem- 
bly would not consciously be guilty of an Injustice. I 
feel very strongly tliat In passing this minority report 
■we shall not be looked upon as being unjust. But 
in adopting tlie majority report we shall be Ijokel 
lipon as doing an unjust thing. I think many of us 
feel very clearly when we study the history of this 
matter before 1870 and since, that Union was made a 
catspaw to puU the chestnuts out of the Are. (Cries of 
Ko, No.) The best safeguard we liave in the Church 
to-day is the e-xanilnatlon of students after they leave 
our seminaries ; and that fact is clearly shown from 
this, that a large presbytery has lately passed twelve 
students upon examination from Union Seminary, al- 
thoiij-'li ITuion may be said to be under the bah of this 
txeneral Assembly. 

The Moderator— I do not think that tills is the case, 
sir. Nothing has been done at any rate. 

Mr. Keed— I understand It will be. 

The Moderator— But Union tienuiiary Is not under 
the ban of tills Assembly. No vote lias been taken. 
_ JMr. Keed— It is under suspicion, then. A speech 
Was made last year in l>etrolt wliich made four points : 
that the good and valuable consideration received by 
Union were tliese— the conlldence and Indorsement of 
the entire reun.twl Cllux'oli ; a large increase of stiidents 
drawn from ail parts of the reumted Ctiui-ch ; tinanclal 
aid gi anted each year irom tlie Board of Education 
and large additions to Its indorsements and funds. 
Now, lei me say in regard to tuls stuiement. Aid was 
received from the Board of Education prior to 1870. 
So that that new relation did not bring 
such lunas to tile Ciiaicli, and gifts were 
not asked for or received because of oi'tliodoxy that 
was guaranteed. And naUce the number of students : 
In l!i67-'68, 133 students. In 1869, 1:27 students. 
Notlcte the result of tlus new relation : In 1870-'71, 
110 students. In 1871-'72, 114 students. And the 
Jaige.s,t number for Ave years ;ilter that new relation 
was entered into was lao. So that Union Seminary 
cannot be said to have received a quid pro q.uo, and 
these considerations spoken of at iJetrolt last year 
Save not been fnlfflled by tlie General Assembly. 
Therefore I feel that Union has a right to feel gaUed 
under the new harness, because of this : Union 
brought upon itself new bondage while the other 
seminaries were freed from certain bondage. And in 
regard to another maitter : Dr. Taylor says that 
his vote upon ,the committee in the way of new ap- 
pointments to the faculty Is not worth one straw, 
w'hy? Because he Imows nothing in regard to the 
men who are apiiointed to these positions ; while on 
the other hand, the directors of the seminary ac- 
■quatiit themselves with Uie cliaracter and the 
theology as well of .the men who apply for and 
receive tlie appointments. 

Tlie Rev. Dr. Nelson Jllllai'd.— I only want to make 
one brief point. Our honored Moderator in his forcible 
■speech said that Union Seminary received the quid 
■pro quo wlilch he went on to quote; and his re- 
marks aisiime that Union was relieved of a burden 
that wao resting upon it, and tliat was the quid pro 



quo. Union Seminary had no such burden upon it. 
it; rested only on the others, and Union asked relief, 
practically, from a burden that was on all aUke. II 
1 miderstood the Moderator's argument it assumed 
that Union was relieved of a bui-den tliat was not 
on It, and that therefore it had no quid pro quo. 

Dr. Heckman— I am agahist the minority report. 
If J. am to choose between Dr. Blayney's amendment 
and that presenited by Dr. Green, I pr;;fer the former. 
There is one point that I wish to press. What are 
we going to gBt by the appointment of this committee 
of litteen to visit the seminaries? Wm the semi- 
naries consent to a more rigid ruling, or wUl they 
ask that (that which the General Assembly now lias 
shall be given up? If, for Instance, what Union 
demands Is that we shall give up our supervision, 
the other seminaries will consent to leave things 
stand as they are, or they will ask for a closer super- 
vision. Under either case. Union will not conseat 
to dome bslCk under the care of the ■ General As- 
sembly. What Is gained then by appointing this 
commltilee of fifteen ? Notiilng. But we mil lose 
much, if some of the rumors in the air that have 
been mentioned here are true. We can gain natlilng 
by the appointment of such a committee, and we 
may lose wha,t we have got. And, as to the quid 
pro quo, 1 wish to say that the quid was a great 
deal larger tlian the quo. (Laughter.j 

The Moderatoi^I rise myself to a question of 
privilege, as others have done. Suppose (and this 
Is tile case) that under the old laws of England 
when haid appren.tlceshlp prevailed that I. a free- 
man In the enjoyment of wealth, should go ito a 
man and say, " If you will reUeve .that apprentice 
fi-om half his time and go into court and make the 
compact that you will release Mm, I will put myself 
under your control for half my time." Then sup- 
pose after he had done thait I said, "That was an 
act of generosity upon my part and I will veto it 
and .take it back." (Applause.) 

Dr. Roberts (the Stated Qerk)— I rise to a ques- 
tion of privilege as a member of the Assembly's Com- 
mittee of Conferencie. I desire to remove a false 
Impression in many minds that the Committee was 
unanimous In the action reached by it In conference 
with thi' dlrectnrs of Inloii Seminary. Fur the in- 
formation of the house, I simply read two linos from 
the minutes of tlie (■.■;mmltlee : '-On the vote to adopt 
tlie paper as a wliole. both Dr. Roberts and Mr. Mc- 
Cook gave notice that they reserved the right to act 
Independently upon such portions of the paper as were 
not satisfactory to them." 

Dr. Blayiiey— I ask to withdraw the paper that I 
presented tliis mf>rnlng. and t.i substitute the one sub- 
mitted, by Dr. Green tln-5 cveninp;. It contains pre- 
cisely tlie same piinclples in a much more succinct 
form. 

Tile Moderator— If thei-e is no objection. Dr. Blay- 
ney's request will be granted. 

The question is upon the adoption of tlie minority 
report. Lost. 

The question then being upon the adoption of the ma- 
jority report as heretofore apiicaring at length in these 
minutes, the same was adopted as a whole, as were 
also the resolutions presented by Dr. Green. 

^Mr. fctrevell— Tlie majority report has at the end a 
recommendation for the appointment of a committee 
of arbitration. 

The Moderator— There is a resolution here. I under- 
stand, ready to be read by Mr. Roberts, which wUl 
cover your point. 

The Rev. Mr. Roberts— I offer the following resolu- 
tion ; 

Resolved, First, Tliat this General Assemblv recog- 
nize the status quo as to the dillerent interpretations 
given by the directoi's of Union seminary fiom that 
given by the Assembly's Committee on Conference, and 
m accordance with the proposition suggested by said 
Committee of Conference, this General Assemblj- agrees 
to the differeuce of Inteipretation of the compact of 
1870, as to transfers to a committee on arbitration. 

Resolved, Second, That a committee of five members 
represenjlng this Assembly shall be appointed, by the 
Moderator, Avliich shall select five other pei-sons as 
arbitrators to meet a like number selected by Union 
Seminary; and these ten shall select live others, and 
by the fifteen thus chosen shall tile interpretation of 
this compact as to the transfer of a professor te decidid. 

Rev. Mr. Ijiurie— I am perfectly %vllling to vote for 
this resolution with one proviso, and that is that this 
committee of fifteen Is not to bind the Church. I am not 
wining to give to any committee the power to tie the 
great Presbyterian Church as thev please liy any 
arbitration.. If they will repoit to the General As- 
sembly of 1893, then I am wllhng to vole for it. 



LIBKAEY OF TRIBUNK EXTEAS. 



Tie Moderator— I woaM, say that the arbitration will 
tie only concerned with the apphcation of the vote to 
the transfer. That is the whoie subject in the purview 
■ot the arbitration. 

Mr. Sayler— 'ihis resolution raises another committee 
with a jm'isdiction within the limits of the jurisdiction 
of the former committee that we have Just raised. 

The Moderator—! think not. These are only follow- 
ing out the plan pruscr^bcid by the otuer resolutions 
■which we have adopted. 

Dr. W. A. Bartlett— It striJies me that this is a very 
.complicated way to do ai very simple tiling. I think 
.the committee should be appointed by the General As- 
sembly stiaight out, asliing Union Seminary to appoint 
iheir men straight, and then those men together ap- 
point five more. I move that as an amendment. 

Rev. Mr. Dickson— Is there anything to prevent the 
committee that we have appointed under Dr. King's 
paper from considering this very question of transfer? 

The Moderator.^ Wr6 have passed thpt ^readjr . , , 

Dr. L^iirie— I suggest that the moderator 'sBoulfl. be 
■one of the committee, if a committee is to be appointed. 

A Member— I move to lay the amendment on the table. 

The Moderator— Those in favor of the adoption of the 
resoluton read by Mr. Roberts will say aye. Adopted. 



SUNDAY AND TEMPERANCE. 

IMPORTANT REPORTS ON RESORM QUESTION'S. 

Portland, Ore., May 30.— Elliot F. Shepard, of New- 
York, ohalrmaju on the committee on Sabbath obser- 
vance, submiitted an a'ble rejport which was adopted. 
The following are extracts : 

We want America for Christ. 'And then we want the 
jeist of the world for Olirlst. And one of the best 
.and easiesit methods to get them for Christ is to get 
them to keep the fourth commandment; because that 
is tlie part of time of which Christ is tlie I^rd— "lor 
the son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." (Dt is 
tihe part of time exempted by God from the curse pro- 
nounced by him upon sin in Eden, wilien He said to 
Adam : " Cursed is the ground for thy sake. In the 
sweat of thy face Shalt thou eat bread." Left by itself, 
this curee would seem to have made it necessary for 
man to work seven days in the week, but (this day was 
redeeuiied and exempted from the curse, for the "Lord 
■blessed the Sabbath, and hallowed it." And the day 
has beeoi given as a part o"f his patrimony to our L'ord 
Jesnis Christ. 

Your committee has worked efficiently in Wasldng- 
ton. New- York and other capitals and in Chicago to 
keep the gates of the World's Fair closed on ithe Sab- 
bath. Of the three bodies having conitrol of the Woild's 
Fair, the JBoard of Lady Managers is Ithe only one wihich 
tas taken action on the subject, and they liave recom- 
mended that the gates should be kept closed on Sunday. 
The State of Neiw-York has passed a law to the effect 
tiiat Its exihibits shall be ke(pt closed on iSunday. Substan- 
tially the same thilng has been done by Pennsylvania, 
<3eoiigla, Texias, Arkansas, New-Jersey, Kentucky, Olhjo 
.and other States. Tlie National House of Representatives 
has adopted a proviso tlat the exhibit of the United 
States Government shall be closed on Sunday. We are 
beseeching the thi-one of divine mercy that GDd will 
cause the Congress of the United States to pass a law 
requiring the whole fair to be closed on Sunday. The 
committee of tlie United States Senate are in favor of 
such a Taw. The President of the XT.plted Slates is in 
ifavor of such a law. Many of the religious bodies of 
the country. Including j'onr own, have petitioned Con- 
gress to pass such a law. There are many earnest, 
praying Christian, men in the National Commission who 
are in favor of such a law. It is well known that the 
exhibits of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales. Canada, 
Austria and some other countries ■will be closed on 
Sunday, .so that ucder no circumstances could any one 
attending on Sunday see the whale exliibition. And 
we call upon thi? Christian Church io pray to the Lord 
God Almighty tbat ho ■wUl follow up tills capturing of 
the outpoit? by taking to himself the victory in our 
National Congress, by the passage of the reouisite law. 

The United Slates Supreme Court, on the 28th day 
of February Oast, in the case of the Rev. Dr. B. Walpole 
Warren, of New- York, unanlmDusly decided that tlds 
is a Christian Nation. Tlierefore tlie gates of the great 
exposition cannot be forced open ■wltJiDut doing vio- 
lence to the common law of the country, ,as well as the 
■Christian Church and the outlaying ChrisfTan senti- 
ment of the United States. God grant that he ■wUl pre- 
serve the CliTlstlan Sabbath and njake it the ocaasion 
of pouring out His holy spirit upon the multitudes of 
many nations which ■will congregate in Chicago in 
189.3, and that he will then and there get to himself 
the glory of converting hundreds of thousands of our 
teUow-belnga to evangelical Christlanltv. thrDugh ■the 



means of causing His day to be kept holy by Ills nation 
ami the stianger within her gates. 

Your committee cunnoo retrain from callinz atten- 
tion to the movement to secure a rest day for the 
workiugmen in France, Inaugurated by tJie popular 
league lor Sunday observance, of which Monsieur Leon 
Say is the presideot. Mr. Say has been Fiuance Min- 
ister and president of the Senate and Is a benator of 
his CDuntryj and Ms society Is laboilng euergeilcally 
for the procurement of such a law as France needs to 
establish and protect her Sunday. Mr. Say is topeful 
of securing the passage of such a law. and writes us 
that he draws great encouragement in his work from 
the example of America. Your committee delivered 
in person to a joint committee of the National Commis- 
sion of the Columbian Exposition and the board of lady 
managers, in Chicago, September last, the certified 
copy of your resolutions adopted In Detroit in 1891. 
advising tLe closing of the World's Fair on Sunday. 
Your action. In tills matter has loeen followed by many 
of tf.B religious bodies, cliiyclies and benevolent soci- 
eties of the country. You , gave utterance to the 
earlieot expression of ChrlStiajH' sentiment, in^ this line, 
at) your meeting in Saratoga Springs, In 1890. It wiU 
not answer for you flow to desert the flag which vou 
first flung to the breeze. 

SMOOTHING THE HOME MISSION DIFFICULTT. 

The Moderator— I think there are good reasons why, 
before entering upon the siubj ect of unflnlslied business, 
we should hear tihe report of the Committee on 
Home Missions, because Dr. Thomi>son Is compelled 
to leave the clity this afternoon. Dr. McPherson may 
present the protest from the I*esbytery of Troy. 

Dr. McBherson them presented the protest from tha 
Presbytery of Troy, N. Y., on the action of the Board 
of Home Missions in designating Dr. W. C. Roberts as 
"senior" secretary of the board. Also an overture 
from the Presbytery of Stoclston on the same snirbject. 
A motion was made and carried pushing forward the 
report of the Committee on Temperamce and taMng 
up the supplemental report of the Committee oii Home 
Msjions. 

Br. G. C. Mofl'att— I am well aware that I am per- 
haps taking what may be an unpopular position re- 
garding one of the great boards of the OhurcJi, and yet 
I am constrained to oppose this report and to ask that 
you shafl disapprove of' it. My reasons I read in the 
resolutions the other day, because I bfflieve that the 
action appointing Dr. Roberts to the jwsfijtion of senior 
seoretary is cootraipy to all precedent and strikes a,i 
the whole theory of the equality of our ministers. We 
are all bishops of the Presbiyterian Gliurch, but we 
have no arohbisihops. Our secretaries are all secre- 
taries, but never before have we had a senior secretary. 
I have feno"win Dr. Roberts for years and I recognize 
Ms greait ability, but I do not believe that lie was ever 
less great tilian when he permitted himself to accept 
the portion under thart board of senior secretary. If 
hJs age and experience were great enough to have 
made him fiirsit, lei him go in withouit tlUe and by 
ihe work that he accomplishes let Mm make Mmselt 
ftrst. I do not believe In the centralization of power 
too mucli. 1 ■believe tills is the reason why tihe 
Southern Oliuroh has not united with us. I dweH on 
the bcxrder land between the Soutji and the North and 
I know that the feeling of men In tliat Ctairch is that 
we believe too much in the centralization of power. 

The Moderator — Dr. Thompson is here as the -repre- 
sentative appointed by the board to say a word on 
tMs subject, and, with the consent of the house, he 
will now be heard. 

Alter Dr. Thompson had spoken, the Rev. Mr. 
Reed, of Troy— I desire to offer tlie foUowlug resolution 
as an amendment to the report of the committee : 

"Resolved, That while.' this Assembly heartily ap- 
proves of the election of the Rev. Dr. W. C. Roberts as a 
secretary of the Board of Home iJQssions, it distinctly 
disapproves of the term 'senior,' as an ofBclal title to 
designate any superior officer, in any board of our 
Church, and the board are directed to correct their 
records in accordance with this resolution." 

The Rev. Mr. Reed and the Rev. Mr. Laidlaw, of the 
Presbytery of Troy, N. Y., supported the amendment la 
brief speeches. The Rev. Dr. McPherson thought there 
was no necessity for the amendment, that it was only 
giving undue prominence to an unfortunate Inadvert- 
ence, and he believed that if the matter was referred 
to the board they would undoubtedly give It their 
more careful consideration, in view of the slatements 
expressed by the brethren from the Troy Presbytery 
After some further discussion, a motion was made and 
carried to lay the amendment on the table. The 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



89' 



cnestlon then being on the adoption of the report ol 
tne committee, It was adopted. 

THE GREAT TEMPERANCE QUESTION. 

The Rev. David Dwlght Blggar— Mr. Moderator, 
Fathers and Brethren : We do not wish to detain you on 
the report of the Standing Committee on Temperance 
But a few moments, and we believe our report will 
then be unanimously adopted. 

Appended are extracts from this report : 

Your committee believes that It expresses the mind 

of the Church in affirming that the Christians' vow 

of consecration Involves and includes the pledge of 

temperate living and tliat the Church Is God's or- 

f;anlzation for rescuing members of the human femUy 
rom ruin and demoralizing Influences of sin in any 
form, yet believes with the permanent conunlttee that 
there should be in every church and Sunday-school 
temperance organizations. We believe also that the 
total abstinence pledge is a valuable adjunct in helping 
-the young to acquire habits of sobriety and as well 
an encouragement to those unfortunately addicted to 
the use of strong drinli to banish from their lips the 
•cup ol ruin. The success of our permanent commit- 
tee In its efEorts to present to this Assembly a con- 
sensus of the thought of the Church with respect to the 
use of unlermented wine and the feasibility of the use, 
universally, of the "fruit ol the vine" from alcoholic 
temptation, Is also gratifying when it Is noticed, ac- 
cording to their report, that " a large majority of the 
churches, in consideration of the lijflrmlty of the weak, 
substitute unfermented wine lor the wine of com- 
merce." From tlie data given in the excellent re- 
port of the committee. It is made evident that careful 
.and sleepless vigilance must be exercised in battling 
with the gigantic liquor octopus, whose breath is pol- 
lution, a blighting monsoon to social purity, and whose 
deadly arms are coiled remorsely around corporations, 
commerce and Institutions to the large injury ol com- 
munlt'es everywhere throughout the Nation. Money 
.aggregating mUllons of dollars is poured out from the 
plethoric bank balances of brewers, distillers and the 
slimy tills of sasoon-keepers to make sure the mainte- 
nance of the liquor traffic. From Oregon to the 
Florida reefs, and from Plymouth Rook to the Pacific's 
jGolden Gate, the country is belted and pitted and 
cursed by a heartless and stupendous liquor trust that 
recognizes no fealty to the Grovernment, no obligations 
ito Almighty God, and no concern for the moral welfare 
of society, living and tattening as It do:^s on its pollu- 
tions of society, 'while it beggars Its victims and crowns 
In vicious infamv by filling Infirmaries, penitentiaries 
and asylums lor the insane and imbecile, with youth and 
manhood often the flower of the American Republic. 
Not unmindful of this status of society, vour committee 
recognizes, with every commissioner of this General 
Assembly, and, the millions whose eyes are watching 
Intentlv the deliberations of this great ecclesiastical 
"body, that the pronounced and stupendous need of the 
hour to meet this enemy of everything American and 
'Christian is am aroused Clmrch. consecrated to the ex- 
termination of the liquor traffic. We believe that 
method.? and means and accessories will not then be 
Ind^ubt or lacldng,' for with an aroused, united Church, 
consecrated to personal losses, 11 come they must, that 
universal gain mav come, the battle now only begun 
will become a hand-to-hand coinflict all along the line, 
and the Chui'cli will surely conquer. 

It is with a profound sense of gratification we note 
that the Congress ol the United Slates has passed a bill 
prohibiting the sale ni Intoxicating liquors \vlthin a 
limit of oie mile nf the Soldiers' Home in the District 
of Columbia. Tiotwitlistandlng'the deflant attitude of the 
liquor power to this measure. And although strenu- 
ous and. perpi^tent efforts are lx>lng macte to secure the 
repeal of this bill, we have reason to beliere that no 
■such und.ertaliing will meet with success It is no less a 
source ol encouragement to the zealous advocates of 
temper.iuce and to missionaries of the Cross that the 
Senate of tho T'nitecl f-tntes h.is ratified the P.rnssels 
treaty, prox-idlng fo" the suppression of the slave 
trade and for the restriction of the liquor traffic in the 
Congo pv-«^ '-t.ite, wliicli action tooit place in -Tanuan', 
1892. It is the sense of this committee, while it is not 
the pr'-vmoe of tl'o riiurch to dlo'nte tr> aiv man how 
he shall \ot'', yet the committee d'lcla-'es fiat ^lo pol'tical 
IKirtv has the rlgl't to expoct the support rvf Christian 
men so long as thnt ixi'fv pt.inds committed to the 
llcensB policy, or refrses to put Itself on record against 
the saloon. 

The Rev. Dr. Heclcm.an doubled the statement in the 
report fhit a large number of churches used unf 'rmented 
wine, and denied a? a matter nf fact, there was such an 
tartlcle. He thought the quesllrm was too large to ad- 



mit of dlscmsslon at this time, and he hoped the com- 
mittee would consent to strike out that part ot the 
report. I 

The Rev. Dr. Christie thought the report was a reflec- 
tion on all who in the exercise of the authority granted 
by the General Assembly used fermented wine at com- 
munion. The Bacrameotal use of wine was sanctioned, 
by the Savlonr, and no man was ever made a drunkard 
Who confined himself to Its use in that holy way. 

The Rev. Dr. Deacon maintained that the report 
should be adopted, as the statement about the use ol 
unfermented wine was strictly in accordance with the 
fact as reported to the Assembly by a majorley ol the 
presbyteries. 

Md.er H. B. Sayler hoped the report would be 
adopted. He had known brethren who had turned 
from the paths of sobriety, after many years of tem- 
perance, by the poison InsttUed into their bodies by 
the wine used at the celebration of the sacrament ol the 
Lord's Supper. 

The Rev. Mr. Irwin and Mr. Glass spoke In the same 
tone, believing that the report should be adopted,. 

Elder Wilson Inquired U there was not a statement 




DR. JOHN GILIiESPIB, 

In the report to the effect that no man can be a Chris- 
tian who is affiliated with any political party that has 
not incorporated la its platform a declaration against 
the use and sale ol intoxicating liquors ; and, U so. h9 
desired to go on record as distinctly opposed to any 
such sentiment. 

Proilessor Stevenson, of New- York— Mr. Modea-ator, 
If there Is such a statement in the report it shoilld be 
at once stricken out. It has no business there. No 
one— no General Assembly, or any individual— has a 
right to , dictate to me how I shall vote. I protest 
against such a declaration in the report. 

The Moderatoi^It is In the province of any member 
of the Assembly when that resolution is reached to 
move to strike it out. 

Professor Stevenson— I understand it is In the pre- 
ample, but if the report is adopted, it becomes a part 
of the body of the report; and if that report Is to go out 
with the quasl-approval of this Assembly. I insist that 
It is our duty to strike out from it anything which can 
be inferred to dictate to anv man how he shall vote, 
or what poUtical party he shall affiliate with, I 
move to sti-ike out that part of it. 

The motion was seconded, and lost bv a rising vote 
of 216 to 206, and the report was then adopted. 



30 



LIBEAEY OF TRIBUNE EXTRAS. 



TENTH DAY. 



HU PEERED TO ARBITRATION. 



•UNION SEMINAET'S POSITION TO BE THUS 
DETERMINED. 



OI.O?IING SESSION OF HHE PRESBYTERIAN GEN- 
ERAL ASSBMBIiY— EMPHATIC DEOIiARA- 
HON AS TO THE INSPIRATION 
OF THE SCRIPTURES. 

Portland, Ore., May 31.— Before tte Presbyterian 
<reneral Assembly adjourced. to-day It spoie with no 
uncertain sound In regard to the autMorlty of the Bible, 
Its inspiration and the duty of Presbyterian ministers 
and teachers. Dr. Wallace Radcllfle, of Detroit, read 
the following overture, which was adopted : 

The General Assembly would remind all under Its 
oexe tliat It is a fundamental doctrine that the Old and 
Neiw Testaments are In the Inspired and Infallible Word 
■of God. Our Church JUolds that the Inspired Word, as 
It came from God, is without error. The assertion of 
the contrary cannot but shalie the confidence of tuto 
people In the sacred books. AU who enter ofBoe In 
our Churali solemnly profess to receive them as the 
the only Infallible rule of faith and practice. 
If they change their belief on this point, Ohrlstiain 
honor demands tliat they should witlidraw from our 
ministry. They have no right to use the pulpit or 
the chair of the professor for the dissemination o 
their enors until they are dealt with by the slow 
process of discipline. But it any do so act, their 
Presbyteries should speedily Interpose, and deal with 
them for a violation of the ordination vows. The 
vow taken at the beginning Is obligatory until the 
party tailing It Is honorably and propSrly released. 
The Assembly enjoins upon all ministers, elders and 
Presbyteries to be faithful to the duty here Imposed. 

In answer to overtures from forty Presbyteries, 
protesting against the opening of the World's Fair 
on Sunday, the committee recommended that the 
Presbyterian Church make no e^lilbit unless it may 
be cowered If the fair Is not closed on Sundays, 
und that Congress be urged not to make any appro- 
priations to the fair, II it is not closed on Sundays. 
An amendment was offered that no exlilblt be made 
if the fair is open on Sundays. Dr. Morrow, of 
Illinoflis, chairman of the OomrMttee of Conference 
with tlio World's Fair directors, said It would be 
better to cover the exhibit on Sunday, since it 
was absolutely necessary that the church societies 
should be represented at the Fair. A vote was 
talien, aJid the amendment was lost, while the over- 
ture suggestion was sustained. 

Dr. Young left the Moderator's chair for five 
■minutes last evening before ithe vote was taken on 
the Union Seminary case and said ; 

I heartily concede perfect candor, conscientiousness 
.and sincerity ito the directors of Union Seminary in 
the action whicli Biey have taken -with regard to the 
relations of that seminary to the Assembly. Some 
•of those directors I am proud to Call my personal 
friends. Many of them bear names which have been 
.associated through generations ■with what is best in 
our Church's history, and yet after the ivery besit and 
most conscientious thoughit which I have been able 
through months to give to itliis subject, I am satisfled 
they have commlttted grave errors. 

A statement has been made, iterated and reiterated 
■upon the floor of this Assembly and through the 
•public press for months that the paper offered by 
"Union Seminary In 1870 contained only a proposition 
which was signiflcant of a generous gift on the part 
■ of the seminary, and which could be at any time re- 
called. I do not so interpret It. Let me read the 
-closing sentence of the paper presented by the di- 
rectors of thait seminary : 

" We do hereby agree, if the said plan shall be 



adopted by the General Assembly"— What was that? 
It was the removal of certain, powers that the General 
Assembly had over many of the seminaries under Its 
control. Now, see. The directors of Union, if th« 
General Assembly wlU remit the exercise of those 
powers, "do agree to confirm the same plan," ithe 
Union Seminary in New- York being in this respect on 
the same ground with ithe other theologlclal semina- 
ries of the Presbyterian Church. 

Was not there a a quid pro quo given by ithe Church 
to that seminary for bringing itself pantially under 
the control of the Assembly! Did no* the Assembly 
as representing the Presbyterian Churoh pay its 
price! Did it not pay it beyon'd revocation! Did It 
not remit lis cdnstituHonal control over those other 
theological seminaries ! Has iit the power to recall 
that control -without the consent of those seminaries 
and is noit Union Seminary bound by that compact! 
Now, it seems to me that the salient points upon 
which ithe Presbyerian Church desire to Insist are 
embraced In the paper which Dr. Blayney says he 
■will acciept. I heartily Indorse that paper. I in- 
dorse the most ithat Is in the report of the committee, 
but it seems to me just in so far as we can simplify 
and make brief our action upon this subject, juat that 
much ■wUl be gained in the adjudication of this 
matter. i 

What are the points! 

Ffrst— The' Church reasserts its heanty indorsement 
of the Interpretation of the compact by the last Gen- 
eral Assembly. 

Second— The Church kindly but positively declines 
to be a party to the abrogation of the compact with 
Union. ■ I 1 1 I 

Third— This Assembly, as representing the Cliurch, 
expresses its coh'vlction that the Presbyterian ChurcSti, 
through Its General Assembly, is determined to have 
dlrecit connection ■with and control over its theological 
seminaries. 

Fourth— With ttiese Instructions, a oommititee Is ap- 
pointed to examine Info the whole subject, taking 
Union in ■with the other seminaries, confer with the 
directors of these different seminaries, and report with 
regard to the relations of the seminaries to the next 
Assembly. 

It seems to me to simplify it. It brings It within 
the simple comprehension Of every member of the 
Presbyterian Church. You have not got to go from 
one part to another to find the determinations of the 
Assembly. You have them in a brief, simple, clear 
and concise iform so that they can be read and under- 
stood by every man and woman in the Church. (Ap- 
plause.) 

The resolutions finally adopted were these, ottered 
by Dr. S. Green, of Orange, N. J. : 

Having regard to the overtures and ali the papers In 
the case, the Assembly takes the following action : 

First— That the Assembly indorse the interpreta- 
tion of the compact of 1 870, as expressed by the action 
of the Assembly of 1891. 

Second— That the Assembly decline to be a partv to 
the breaking of the compact with Union Theological 
Seminary. 

Third- That the Assembly is persuaded that the 
Church should have direct connection witli and con- 
trol its theological seminaries. 

Fourth— That the Assembly appoint a committee of 
fifteen, consisting of eight ministers and seven ruling 
elders, to take into consideration tlie whole subject 
of the relation of the Assembly to Its theological 
seminaries, to confer with the directors of these semi- 
naries and to report to the next General Assembly 
such action as will result in a still closier relatiion be- 
tween the Assemblv and its seminaries than that 
which at present exists. 

Fitth— That the Assemblv dismiss the Committee of 
Conference appointed last year, witli courteous thanks 
for Its faithfulness, and highest appreciation of the 
services rendered the Clnirch. 

The Rev. Dr. Roberts, folloirlng out the plan pre- 
scribed by the foregoing resolutions, offered the follow- 
ing as supplementary thereto : 

Re.solved, first. That this General Assembly recog- 
nize the status quo as to the different interpretation 
given by the directors of Union Seminary from that 
given by the-Assenibly's Committee of Conference, and 
in accoi'dance -with tlie proposition suggested by said 
Committee of Conference, this General Assembly re- 
fers the difference of interpretation of the compact of 
1870 as to transfers to a Committee on Arbitration. 
Eesilved, second, That a committee of five mem- 
bers representing this Assemb'y shall be appointed by 
the Moderator, which shall select five other i:ersons 
as arbitrators, to meet a like number selected by Union 
Seminary, .and the^o ton shall select five others 



PEESBYTEEIAN ISSUES. 



Si 



and by the ftttcen, thus chosen, shaU the Interpretation 
decided compact as to the transfer of a professor be 

In accordance with this last resolution, 
-Dr. Young this momlng appointed Dr. 
<Jreen, Professor T. A. Eoblnson. D. Hutchinson, 
W. W. Ernest and Jo-lin J. MSCook. to noonlnate a 
committee to represent the Assembly. The Hollowing 
names were suggested and form the committee : The 
Bev. T. Kal&ton Smith, Buffalo ; Dr. B. L. Agnew and 
■George JunMn, Philadelphia; Logan O. Murray, New- 
Yorli, and E. W. C. Humphrey, LonlsvUle. 

Washington was selected as the place of meeting 
■oi the Assemltfly of 1893. The meeting wiU convene 
in New-YoTli Avenue Church. 

So much time was taken up witli the two great ques- 
tions before the Assembly, the Union Seminary and the 
Briggs case, that the last two days were crowded with 
routine business. The Salt Lake College matter was 
reosnsidered to-day and the following resolution 
adopted : 

Resolved, Tliat the consummation of the transfer be 
lelerred to the Board of Aid for Colleges and Academies, 
with Instructions to receive and consider any otlier 
oiters which may be made for the same purpose, to 
take all titles in its name, to settle the questions of 
location and all other matters relating to the -estab- 
lishment of the college, and to rejlort Its action In the 
premises to the General Assembly. 

Tlw Committee on Finance submitted n report 
highly commendatory of the Rev. Dr. W. H. Roberts, 
Treasurer of the General Assembly. The loUowinR is 
itlie text: 

First— The account of the Eev. William H. Roberts, 
D. D., as treasurer of the General Assembly, for the 
year ending May 9, 1892, shows a balance on hand 
May 10, 1891, of $38,976 -21 ; receipts dnring the year, 
954,333 77 ; total, $93,309 98. Disbursements made, 
^837,653 03 balance on hand May 9, 1893, $55,056 03 ; 
total, .$93,309 98. 

We have carefuQly examined the vouchers for said 
'disbursements, have audited the accounts and do now 
recommend their approval. We And said accounts 
have been carefully and accurately kept in every par- 
ticular. The funds of the General Assemblv were 
deposited by the treasurer so as to realize the sum of 
*1,874 65 as Interest therefor during the past year. 

Second— We have alsD examined t';e account of said 
treasurer for the publishing and distribution of tlie re- 
ports of the various boards of the Church for the last 
fiscal year, It appears therefrom that tiie total C03t 
of such work was $2,219 82, which was oharced to -nnd 
■collected from the several boards In propoi'tion to the 
number of pages assigned to each and which appear 
In the respective reports of the various boards, niirt nil 
has been accomplished at a less cost than any of tlie 
previous years. 

Third— Your committee has also examined the state- 
ment of the treasurer of tlj? Board of Trnstee^ of the 
General Assembly ot their receipts and disbuvFemenls 
Tor the fiiscal year ending March 31, 1892, and tlie 
report of sairt board for said time. No vouc''ers were 
fiiibmittrd with said stntemcnt and report, lint thpre 
was appended thereto the certificates of the committee 
on finance ot tlie said boa-d, and of an aurl'tinir cnm- 
TOlltee, to tlio oflect tliat they liad examined the s?cii- 



rlties mentioned In the same and had found them to be 
correct. 

The total amount of principal in the hands of trus- 
tees is $528,720 29, which) is Invested as follows : 
Mortgages, $489,285: stocks, bonds and other comi- 
ties, $24,658 15 ; advances to secure beuuests, $7,- 
078 09 ; balance of cash on hand uninvested, March 
31, 1892, $7,759 05. Total, $528,720 29. 

Your committee recommend the adoption of the fol- 
lowing resolutions : 

Resolved, That the Eev. William H. Roberts, treas- 
urer of the Genei-al Assembly, be aatUorUed to invest 
so much of the funds of the Assembly as sliall remain 
in his hands offer the adj ournment of the Assembly as 
may seem to him advisable, and in securities concerning 
whose value there can be no doubt, for a term not 
exceeding one year. 

Your committee further recommends : 

First— That hereafter all resolutions for the aooro- 
priatlon of money outside the boards should be brought 
before the flnanoe committee before action by tho 
Assembly. 

Second— Tliat the attention of the ohiurohes be 
drawn to the fact that the amount assigned to the 
several benevolent boards of the Church In the respect- 
ive reports are simply recomendatory. put. tliat never- 
theless, the Assembly judges that the churches are In 
conscience bound if endeavor, so far as possible., to 
make good sucU recommendations. 

Third— That the accounts of the Rev. WiUlam H. 
Roberts, treasurer of tlie General Assemblv. be ap- 
proved. 

Fourth— Tbiat the thanks of the Assembly are due. 
,inrt now tendered Ui the treasurer, for Ms able and 
efficient services as well as for the clearness and accu- 
racy of his various accounts, , . ,, „ 

The Rev, Dr.'E. M. Wallace, chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Benevolence, presented a valuable report. 
It urged that pastors artd stated supplies be urged to 
the faithful presentation of the Scriptural doctrine of 
beneficence from the pulpit, in the Sabbath-School and 
in the home, and that those who have the training 
of the ministry In charge do not fall firmly to ground 
their students in this all-Important truth. It ap- 
proved of the suggestions of the special committee on 
systematic beneficence that In a tentative way an ap- 
portionment be made among the synods and presby- 
teries of the amoimts needed by the several boards 
during the coming year; and recommended that the 
Assembly's committee put and keep Itself in practical 
touch with the standing committees of the synods and 
presbyteries. , ^ , ^ ^ * 

OnloTiel .John J. McCook made a frank statement, 
withdrnwilncr any word which micht have irritated or 
caused distress 'to the family of .Tames Brown, one of 
the benefactors of the IT-nlon Seminary. He remarlred 
that hj=; oWect in referring to the matter had beeii 
to express the view that, whether the bemefactors of 
the seminary lin-tended To dn so or not, or whether they 
cnnsldpred the legal propositions Involved or not, their 
gifta iMv'ng been once delivered to the seminary, they 
necessarily come under the trusb= devolved by the 
charter, the constitutien and the contract obligations 
of the seminary. Including the cominact ot 1870. 

After all the ^usiness hadbeen disposed of and the 
re^olut.'ons of thanks hPd been adopted. Dr. Brown, 
the pastor of the First Church, was called to the plat- 
form and bade Ills guests good bye in exceedingly 
felicitous words. Dr. W. C, Brown, the Moderator, 
replied to Dr. Brown In a most graceful and eloquent 
address. The session of the Assembly was then de- 
clared adjourned. 



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"VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT; WHY 

AMERICAN VILLAGES DIFFER 

IN PROSPERITY." 



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In many parts of the country, especiaUy in the West, but indeed 
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actual cash value to themselves of a handsome outward appearance, 
of certain inexpensive improvements and of sanitary betterments. 
Nor do they fiiUy realize the pleasure to be derived from the formation 
of associations, which wiU bring the people of the place together, 
irrespective of party, in friendly consultation and practical co-operation 
for the common good. Mr. Northrop tells what has been done in a 
large number of pliaces, which he mentions by name, in the line of 
ViUage Improvement, and what the communities have gained by it. 

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