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UOUNTAI.N-S.-IO. ,Mt. Frlouland ; 11. Mt. llrouard ; IS. Mt. Palavas i 13 Le Cournaont ; 14. Mt. Vaudalin. 16. Peat of Cella Veilh. ; 16. Co(« Konaiio ; K. MomtainVof LrVichere ; 18. S SonnXo tte. "" ofSt. J

THE

PRESBYTERlAJf CHURCH

THROUGHOUT THE WORLD :

FROM THE EARLIEST TO THE PRESENT TIMES,

Series of ^iograpl^ical anb- pistoraal Sketches.

NEW Y O E K :
DE WITT C. LENT & COMPANY.
LONDON, CANADA: G. LAWRENCE.
1874.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by
DE WITT C. LENT & CO.,
In the OfBce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

John F. Trow & Son, Printers,
205-213 East tiTH St., New York.

CONTENTS.

PAQB
CHAPTER I.
The Presbyterian Church in the Earliest Tijies  1

CHAPTEK II.
The Presbyterian Church in Scotland  20
GHAPTEU III.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland  4S
CHAPTER IV.
The Presbyterian Church in England  58
CHAPTER V.
The Presbyterian Church in Switzerland  74
CHAPTER VI.
The Pbesbytehian Church in Germany  80
CHAPTER VII.
The Presbyterian CnuRcn in the Netherlands and in France 97
CHAPTER VIII.
The Presbyterian Church in Austria and Hungary  107

viii CONTENTS. PAOB
CHAPTER IX.
Early Days op the Presbyterian Church in America  113
CHAPTER X.
Sketches of Later Preshyterian History in America  127
CHAPTER XI.
Historical Sketohhs after 18:37  149
CHAPTER XII.
Biographical Sketches  251
CHAPTER XIII.
The Reunion  418
CHAPTER XIV.
The Assemblies of 1869  491
CHAPTER XV.
The Rbconstruc'Tion  593
CHAPTER XVI.
The Future Church  641
CHAPTER XVII.
The Memorial Fund  671
CHAPTER XVni.
Explanatory and Statistical Sketches  695

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE
The Valleys op the Vaudois  Frontispiece.
Martyrdom op a Vaudois  1
Heads blo-wtst off with Powder  5
Thrown from Precipices  9
Vaudois Women Buried Alive  ,  13
Banner op the Inquisition  35
Blazing Ovens pilled with Vaudois  17
Pope Pius rv. and his Cardinals witnessing the Death op
Paschal  21
John Knox  38
John Knox's House  33
St. Giles' Church  89
Portrait op the Rev. Dr. Chalmers  4(5
Greyfriaes' Church, Edinburgh  57
Waldensian Seal  73
Uleic Z-wingli  74
John Calvin  76
Martin Luther  80
The Waetbueg  81
Luther finds the Latin Bible at Erfurt  85
Facsimile op Luther's Hand-writing  89
Philip Melancthon  91
Luther Burning the Pope's Bull  93
Philip II  98
William op Or.ange  99
Emblems op Beggars op Holland  100
A Communion Gathering in the Olden Time  117
Seal op the Trustees op the General Assembly  148
Old Pbincbton College  149
Auburn Seminaey  198
Seal op the Presbyterian Board op Publication  250
Portrait of the Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green  251
Portrait op the Rev. Dr. Archibald Alexander  261
Portrait op the Rev. Dr. Jambs W. Alexander  265

X ILLUSTRATIONS. PAQB
Portrait op the Rev. Dr. Murray  320
Chairmen of the Reunion Committee op 1866  326
Drs. Krebs, Brainerd, Gurloy, Bcitty;
Portrait op the Rev. Dr. Tustin  347
Portrait op the Rev. Dr. Spring  353
Portrait of the Rev. Dr. Richards  356
Portrait of the Rev. Dr. Beecher  385
Portrait of the Rev. Albert Barnes  406
Church op the Covenant, New York  418
Portrait op the Rev. Dr. Stearns  426
Portrait of the Rev. Dr. Adams  426
Portrait of the Rev. Dr. Musgrave  481
Portrait of the Rev. Dr. Patterson  481
Brick Church, New York  489
Portrait of the Rev. Dr. Atwater  511
Portrait of the Rev. Dr. Shaw  511
Portrait op Hon. C. D. Dii.'i.KE  612
Portrait op Hon. William Strong  512
First Church, Pittsburg  553
Facsimile Certificate op Reunion  683
Third Church, Pittsburg  592
Portrait op the Rev. Dr. Lord  593
Portrait of Robert Carter, Esq  593
First Church, Philadelphia  597
Moderators op 1837, 18G9, 1870  626
Drs. Elliot, JacobnH, Fowler, Backus.
Portrait op the Rev. Dr. Wilson  632
Portrait op Hon. W. M. Francis  632
Portrait op Henry Day, Esq  633
Portrait op J. C. Geier, Esq  632
Portrait of Hon. Daniel Haines  633
Portrait op Hon. William E. Dodge  633
Portrait of John L. Knight, Esq  641
Portrait op Hon. J. S. Farrand  641
The Memorial Vignette  671
Portrait of Rev. Dr. A. G. Hall  :  778
Portrait of Rev. Dr. S. W. Fisher  778

Jt^" A Map qf The Presbyterian Church in the United States, in a neat
cover, is presented to each Subscriber to this Vohime.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION.

The History of the Presbyterian Church throughout the World,
furnishes facts and incidents full of interest to all classes of readers.
The present book is designed for general circulation among those who
have neither time nor inclination to study the more elaborate works
that have been written upon this subject. In its Historical and
Biographical sketches is found a mass of useful information in a
popular form. It is a history for the people. No other work yet pub
lished covers all the ground which this does.
It reviews the rise of the Presbyterian Church in the earliest
times, traces its course through the Reformation period in Europe,
and illustrates its rapid progress and success in the New World. In
bringing down to the present day the more recent history of the
American Church, the best portions of "The Presbyterian Re
union Memorial " have been incorporated with this volume. These
are, for the most part, from the pens of distinguished clergymen,
whose personal observation of the scenes which they describe renders
their statements worthy of full confidence.
The " Historical Sketches after 1837, Part First," were written
by the Eev. Dr. Samuel Miller ; those of the " Second Part," by the
Rev. Dr. J. F. Stearns; the "Biographical Sketches after 1837,
Part First," by the Rev. Dr. W. B. Sprague ; those of " Part Second,"
by the Eev. Dr. Z. M. Humphrey. The chapter upon " The Re
union," is from the pen of the Rev. Dr. William Adams, and that on
" The Assemblies of 1869," was furnished by the Rev. Drs. M. W.
Jacobus and P. H. Fowler. The Rev. Dr. John Hall is the author
of the chapter entitled, " The Future Church ; " and that upon " The
Memorial Fund," was prepared by the Eev. Dr. F. F. ElUnwood,
who was the Secretary of the Committee which secured it.
In selecting the various Biographical Sketches of this volume,
multitudes more raight have been presented, setting forth the charac-

Xll EDITOR S INTRODUCTION.
teristics of ministers as excellent and as famous as any herein in
cluded. The specified limits of such a work rendered a choice impera
tive, and this has been made not without some reference to the com
parative facility -with which the material for different sketches could
be obtained. Those who miss from the series some honored and
beloved names which they look for, may rest assured that the omission
has been occasioned by these circumstances, and not by the want of
due appreciation -svith reference to the individuals concerned.
The Publishers have spared no expense to make the typographical
details of the book worthy of its contents. The steel and wood
engravings with which it is liberally illustrated are by the best artists.
They consist of portraits of the champions of the Presbyterian
Church of various nations, and of different times ; together with
views of scenes of historic interest, and representations of events de
scribed in the successive chapters of the work.
The beautiful Memorial Vignette appears in connection with
the chapter on " The Memorial Fund," by the kind consent of W. 8.
Oilman, Esq. The Rev. Dr. Field has also allowed a reduced copy
of his " Map of the Presbyterian Church in the United States," to be
made by the publishers. The Map, folded and put into a handsome
cover to match this volume, is presented to each subscriber.
As this volume finds its place in a multitude of homes through
all the land, its perusal must stimulate parents and children, the old
and the young, to revere the virtues and to imitate the Christian hero
ism of the worthies it commemorates.
G. S. PLUMLEY.
New York, March 1st, 1874.

EDITOR S INTRODUCTION. xiii

AUTHORITIES CONSULTED IN THE PEEPAEATION OF
THIS WOEK.
Alexander's History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland
A Message to Euling Elders.
Bancroft's History op the United States.
Breed's Pkesbyterianism 300 Years Ago.
Baird's Eeligion in America.
Brand's History op the Church in Holland.
D'Aubigne's History op the Eefoemation.
Gieseler's Church History.
Gillett's History of the Presbyterian Church.
Hetherington's History of the Church op Scotland.
Hetheeington's History op the Westminster Asse.mbly.
Hodge's Constitutional History op the Presbyterian Church.
Knox's History of the Eefoemation.
Manual op the Eeformed Church in America.
Miller on Euling Elders.
Miller's Presbyterianism.
Miller's Primitive and Apostolical Oeder.
Milman's History of the Jews.
Minutes op the General Assemblies of the Several Churches
referred to.
Mosheim's Church History.
Neander's Planting and Training op the Christian Church.
Peesbyteeian Eeunion Memorial Volume.
Eockwell's Sketches of the Presbyterian Chuech.
Stanley's Histoey op the Church op Scotland.
The Gotbenment of the Kingdom op Cheist.
The Log College.
The Teecentenaey Book.
The Teecentenaey Monument.
ViTEiNGA, " De Synagoga Veteee."
Webstee's Histoey op the Peesbyteeian Church in America
TO 1760. Et cetera.

JIABrYRDOM OB A /AOllOlb.

THE

Presbyterian Churoh.

CHAPTEE I.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE EARLIEST TIMES.
The word PEESBYTEEIAN is derived from Pres
byter, or Elder, and the Presbyterian Church is that
church in which the government of the society of be
lievers is committed to elders. These elders were fi-om
the earliest times of two classes or orders, namely,
teaching elders, or ministers, and ruling elders. The
ministers are specially set apart and ordained by the
laying on of hands to preach the word of God to par
ticular congregations. The ruling elders are selected
from among the brethren of each congregation to assist
the minister or pastor.
This teaching elder of a particular congregation, with
his assistants, the ruling elders, are usually called the
Church Session. Above the Session is the Presbytery,
a convention of all the ministers of a certain district,
meeting with ruling elders appointed from each Ses
sion within the same district, so that every congregation
may be represented in the body by both a teaching and
a ruling elder. Above the Presbytery are other courts,
as Synods, and the General Assembly.
The Synod consists of all the ministers and ruling
elders from all the churches within the bounds of sev-
1

2 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
eral Presbyteries. Where Presbyterian churches are
numerous enough to require a still higher Court there
is a General Assembly, to which delegates are sent
from all the Presbyteries.
The teaching elders or ministers are regarded as
equals, no one of their number being permitted to exer
cise any control or authority over the others. In all the
acts and recommendations of the several courts the min
isters share the responsibility Avith the ruling elders,
who have an equal right with them to deliberate and to
vote upon all questions.
An examination of the constitution of the several
courts of the Presbyterian Church will show that its
government is throughout a representative government.
It exists in many countries as the prevailing form of
church order, and is found with some diversity as to
the names and functions of its several judicatories in all
the grand divisions of the globe. A mere list of the
difEerent Presbyterian churches of the world would oc
cupy too much space for our purpose, but it embraces
a multitude of professed Christians, numbering more
than fifty-two millions in North America, in Great Brit
ain, the Scandinavian kingdoms, the Netherlands,
France, Germany, Austria, Bohemia, Switzerland, Italy,
and, by missionary efEorts, in South America, and in
various countries of Asia and Africa.
If we go back to the earliest records of the existence
of a system of supervision in religious matters, like that
exercised in the Presbyterian church by ministers and
ruling elders, we reach a very remote antiquity.
The patriarchal form of government is the exact coun
terpart of it. The father of the household was also its

EARLIEST TIMES. 3
priest, and when, from length of days, he became the
patriarch of several families, as the respective heads
were his counsellors in all secular affairs, they, as the
elders, advised also in those that were of a religious
character. Such was the church after the confirmation of God's
covenant with Adam ; the church of Adam, and Seth,
of Noah and his sons, of Abraham and his descendants. "
"When God commissioned Moses to deliver the Israel
ites from Egypt he commanded him to go and gather
the Elders together and announce to them his message.
When his brother Aaron was, by the Divine Command,
joined to him as a spokesman, they went and gathered
together all the elders of the children of Israel : and
Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken
unto Moses.
Doubtless those who were thus styled plders were
originally the aged ones in each family or community,
as such persons were anciently esteemed as the most
experienced, wise, and prudent. The same idea has
fastened itself to numerous official designations in the
more modern tongues.
The Latin adjective Senior, meaning elder, has thus
afforded the titles. Senator and Seigneur ; and the
name elder -mail, now called alderman, is but one of
several that would furnish similar illustrations in the
Eno;lish lanajuaare.
In the wilderness Moses often summons the elders,
asks their counsel, and acts through them upon the peo
ple. They were of different ranks, and possessed
various powers. Seventy elders constituted what
might be called the General Assembly, ruling the en-

4 PEESBYTERLAN CHURCH.
tire nation. Below these there were elders over thou
sands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens, all in
their different spheres acting together and in subordi
nation to each other. The continued service of the
elders is recognized during the administration of Joshua,
and the judges, and the kings. There is reason to
believe that even in their captivity the sacred nation
were still subject in their religious relations to elders ;
for, when they came back to be settled once more in
their own land, the elders are found supervising them
as of old. In the Synagogue administration, we have
essentially all the functions of elders in a Presbyterian
church performed by what we may call its Session
or Consistory, with a president, or pastor, styled " the
Euler of the Synagogue." These elders received ap
plicants to the ordinances, watched over the members
of the flock to guard their morals, and to secure their
compliance with the regular ceremonies of their pro
fession, and, when necessary, they administered disci
pline, and excluded from the society of the faithful
the disobedient or unruly.
The Jewish Synagogue was the model of the primitive
church of apostolic days. Like each synagogue, every
congregation has its bishop, its elders, and its deacons.
It is not until the third century that we find any
authentic records of any churches with a different or
ganization. Then we begin to see the influence of a
worldly ambition leading some bishops or pastors to
lord it over others of less influence. From such be
ginnings the power of the priesthood rose to the height
of papal arrogance, until a pope was worshipped like
God, and in pride trod upon princes and kings.

UliADS BLOWS OFP WITH POWDKK (1G55).

EARLIEST TIMES. 7
When one asks what are the doctrines believed and
taught by the Presbyterian Church, the answer its
teachers furnish is : We believe and teach what the
Scriptures themselves teach : making those doctrines
most prominent which they most earnestly insist upon.
Since Old Testament times, the great authorities for
doctrine, following in the footsteps of St. Paul, are
Augustine, bishop or pastor of Hippo, in Africa, who
was born in 354, and died 430 ; and Calvin, who was
born in 1509, and died in 1564.
The Waldenses, dwelling in the valleys of Piedmont^
in the extreme north-western part of Italy, claim that
from Christ and the apostles their fathers received the
doctrines of God's word, as they have always believed
them, and the Presbyterian form of church government,
as they have always in its simplicity maintained it.
Their history is a portion of the history of the Presby
terian Church. One of their earliest historians, using
the records and traditions of his people, says, "The
Waldenses are descended from those refugees who,
after Saint Paul had preached to them the gospel,
abandoned their beautiful country and fled, like the
woman mentioned in the Apocalypse, to these wild
mountains, where they have to this day handed down
the gospel from father to son in the same purity and
simplicity as it was preached to them." In 1530 pas^
tors of the Waldenses wrote to the reformers who were
just coming forth from the corruptions of Anti-
Christian Eome to their ancient faith : " That you may
at once understand the matter, we are a sort of teachers
of a certain necessitous and small people, who already,
for more than four hundred years, — nay, as those of

8 peesbyteeian CHUECH.
our country frequently relate, from the times of the
apostles, — have sojourned among the most cruel thorns,
yet, as aU the pious have easily judged, not without
great favor of Christ."
In the seventh centmy the Waldenses were found
residing in the valleys of Piedmont, holding fast the
doctrines of the New Testament.
It seems now a settled question that these Christians
did not derive their name from Peter Waldus, who in
the twelfth century was one of their most distinguished
brethren, but from the word Wald, meaning valley, as
they were God's " hidden ones," shut up in the valleys
of a wild, and, in early times, nearly inaccessible moun
tain region. Waldus was a pious merchant of Lyons,
who caused the Gospels and other portions of the Bible
to be translated into French, and encouraged the circu
lation of them vnth all ardor and at great expenditure.
In 1180, he became a preacher, and with companions of
like faith and courage sought, by publishing the tnith,
to stem the current of iniquity which, by the influence
of the popes, cardinals, and priests of the Eomish
church, was spreading over Europe. These Waldenses
held and taught that God alone can forgive sins, that
prayers and rites for the dead are useless, and that the
teachings of Christ must guide and control his churches.
Throughout the twelfth century the Waldensians were
noted for the purity of their lives, and the faithfulness
with which they performed every religious duty.
The Albigenses, deriving their name from the town
of Albi in Aquitania, where they were condemned in a
Eomish council held a.d. 1176, traced back also their
possession of Christian doctrines to very early times,

THROWN FROM PRECIPICES.— A PICTURE TilEES AT TIIE TIME (l(iB5-lCC5).

EARLIEST TIMES. 11
and rejected firmly and constantly the numerous errors
of the Papacy, although they did not retairi Scripture
truth in the purity which belongs to the faith of the
Waldenses, and hence were not, like them, continued by
God's pro^ndence in the possession of a distinct existence
as a people. Against both the Albigenses and the
Waldenses the corrupt Eomish power directed its per
secuting warfare, increasing year by year its cruel vio
lence. But the blood of the martyrs became the seed
of the church, and, notwithstanding the purpose of their
adversaries to destroy them utterly, they grew in num
bers and in influence, and seemed likely to spread abroad
their pure and primitive Christianity to all portions of
EurojDe. Accordingly Eome organized a plan to crush
them out at once and forever.
In 1163, Pope Alexander IIL, a man proud, vindictive,
avaricious, despotic, and cruel, called a council to be held
at Tours, in the west of France on the river Loire, on
May 29 th, at which almost all the bishops of France and
England were present. At this council all the bishops
and priests in the country of Toulouse, Avhere these
primitive Christians were numerous, were commanded to
take care and to forbid, under pain of excommunication,
every person fi'om presuming to give reception, or the
least assistance to the followers of this heresy wherever
they should be discovered. Neither were they to have
any dealings with them in buying or selling, and they
were to punish them by the loss of their goods and
other penalties, as though guilty of high treason. From
this time through four centuries the popes and their
cruel instruments waged a dreadful war with the Albi
genses and Waldenses in all the cities and towns where

12 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
they could be discovered, in the smaller places, and
finaUy in the lovely valleys and through the mountain
fastnesses where they made their last refuge. Often
the papal legions, led by the inquisitors, swept over the
beautiful territories where they dwelt, and drove the
people from the blazing villages to hide in caves on the
mountains, and almost to browse with the chamois on
the wild herbage of the wintry rocks.
Innocent III., who became pope in 1198, a few days
afterwards sent forth two travelling inquisitors, friars
by the name of Eayner and Guy, giving them authority,
to quote his Avords : " to catch and kill those little
foxes, the Waldenses " and their adherents, — " foxes of
diverse faces, but -with tails tied together by a cord of
common heresy, and sent by Satan with firebrands of
destruction into the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts."
In 1215, Innocent III. called and presided over the
Fourth Council of the Lateran, so named from the
church of the Lateran, the place where it was held,
and in which the popes are crowned. There were
present at this council four hundred and twelve bishops,
who laid down regulations to destroy the Albigenses
and all heretics, imposing upon them ex-communication
and confiscation of their estates. They must also be
given to the secular authorities, and these are charged
to rid their land of them. The penalty of infamy was
also denounced upon all who should resist the decisions
of this council. Such persons were declared incapable
of holding any public office, of exercising any right of
suffrage, bequeathing property, or having successors to
their estates. In distress none must show them any
charity, and after death, no one must give them Chris-

VAUDOIS WOMEN BURIED ALI VE. — 1<T10M A CONTEMPORARY ENGKAVINa.

EARLIEST TIMES.

15

tian burial. We may date the formation of the first
regular Inquisition from this council, for it ordered
every archbishop and each bishop to visit his " parish "
yearly, " to make inquisition for heretics and conventicles,
to summon all suspected persons, whom, if they find
guilty, they shall punish."
To this council, Foulques,
the Bishop of Toulouse, who
had been especially severe in
the persecution of the poor
faithful Christians of his
diocese, brought a Spaniard,
forty-five years of age, named
Domingo de Guzman, who
has usually been knoAvn as
the author of the terrible
institution for the suppres
sion of those opposed to the
Eomish papacy, called The
Inquisition. His admirers
have canonized him under
the name of Saint Dominic. His mother, Juana, before
he was born, dreamed that she gave birth to a dog who
carried in his mouth a burning brand to set the world on
fire. The boy showed a flaming zeal, and, after having
become a priest, and accompanying his bishop on an in
quisitorial expedition into France, dealt fearfully with
all who believed and practised the simple teachings of
our Saviour. Previous to his entrance upon the bloody
work of his cruel life, these humble Christians in the
south of France and in the north of Italy had been ter
ribly afflicted ; but there was no regular plan for their

Banner of the Inquisition.

16 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
examinatioh and destruction by torture. The world has
sickened with horror at the plain story of their terrible
sufferings. Multitudes were seized in their quiet homes,
dragged to some public place, and burned with fagots.
Some were hacked to pieces with sabres, and their
wounds filled with quicksilver; others died amid the
fumes of brimstone matches fastened to the lips, the
nostrils, and every part of the body. The mouths of
others were filled with gunpowder and their heads
blown to atoms by its explosion. The poor women, in
the remoter villages, were forced to bring fagots upon
their backs, and to pile them up around the scorching
bodies of their own beloved religious teachers. From
the lofty crags and precipices near their humble dwell
ings, others were thrown down, to fall hundreds of
feet through the air, and to be dashed in pieces
upon the rocks beneath. Pious females were
taken from their beds and buried alive in graves dug
before their eyes by pitiless soldiers, who made sport
of their death agonies, and trampled them down into
their narrow tombs, and then covered them over with
soil mixed with stones and snow. Children were cut in
pieces, and often torn apart by strong bigots who
drowned their shrieks of agony with brutal shouts and
laughter. Many were impaled, and, vnth a sharp pole
thrust through their bodies, were left to be the prey of
vultures, or, laid across forked stakes, were slowly
roasted to death. Ovens were constructed, like lime
kilns in shape, and, having been filled with flaming
combustibles, into these were thrown a wretched mass
of struggling men and women and children, their cloth
ing first stripped from them, and parted among merci-

BLAZINQ OVENS FILLED WITH VAUDOIS (1665-1683).

EARLIEST TIMES. 19
less executioners, by lot, as was the clothing of their
Eedeemer. The descendants of these persecuted Christians hailed
the first dawning of the Eeformation. Living remote
from other branches of the Eeformed Church in the
valleys of Piedmont, but near to their brethren of the
French cities and to Geneva, they grew in sympathy
with these. In a council at Angrogna, in 1532, they
adopted a confession of faith embracing in substance
the doctrines they had for centuries maintained, and
also took measures to procure an impression of the whole
Bible in their native language, and to supply their
people with other religious books. A century later they
suffered grievous persecutions, and their land was dev
astated vdth flre and sword. In consequence of these
severe trials, multitudes of them emigrated to other
countries, and carried with them the truth of the Gospel,
Avhich they communicated to all around them.
The Albigenses were joined with the Waldenses
through several centuries in the simplicity of their
faith in the Gospel, in theii' conscientious obedience to
its teachings, and in the persecutions to which their
love for it subjected them, although, as has been re
marked, errors of doctrine crept in among them that
hindered their usefulness, and caused their decline. The
Waldenses still survive, vigorous and useful. With a
well-appointed Theological Seminary, in primitive zeal
they have extended their operations into Italy, and are
faithfully winning souls to the service of their Master.

CHAPTEE IL
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN SCOTLAND.
The more research opens up the fountains of the his
tory of Evangelical religion in the British isles, the
more evident it is that Primitive Christianity was born
and flourished there long before the Eoman Church
sent thithej its missionaries. TertuUian tells us that in
his day, tne third century, " those parts of Britain
which were inaccessible to the Eomans, had become
subject to Christ." Eather from an eastern and Greek
source, than from a western and Latin origin, had the
seeds of the Christian religion been planted even as
far as the mountains of Caledonia before the close of
the second century.
Scotland was so remote from Eome, and, in the
Providence of God, so little effort was made to
introduce within its bounds the corruptions of the
Eomish anti-Christian church, that its earliest traces
of religious faith and order are unmistakably and dis
tinctively Presbyterian. There these principles were
ever maintained and defended : The Lord Jesus Christ
is the only head and king of the church. Its govern
ment is derived from Him alone, and is distinct from,
and not subordinate in its own province to the civil
magistrate. At a very early period the Culdees held their chief
seat at the island of lona, and maintained a church
order, doctrines, and worship of primitive simplicity

POPS PIUS 17. AND HIS CARDINALS WlTNKSSINa THE DEATH OF PASCHAL.— FROM AN ANCIENT KNGRATINa.

SCOTLAND. 23
throughout Scotland. The Culdees derived their name
from Gaelic words that signify, " Those who worship
God in retired places." Columba is said to have
founded at lona, an island west of Scotland, in the
year a.d. 563, a regular presbytery, with a president,
called by "the Venerable Bede" the "Presbyter
Abbot." The presbyters were twelve in number.
They resided permanently at lona, regarded their
president as only "the first among equals," established
a seminary for the education of ministers, and propa
gated Christianity among the people around them.
These godly men with their successors, from a.d. 563,
for a long series of years maintained a Theological
Seminary, as it would be called in our days, and fur
nished the model for numerous other similar organiza
tions. Their establishments in various other portions
of Scotland diffused the truth widely. Devastating
wars vdth the Saxons subsequently proved injurious
to the cause of religion in Scotland ; but with the re
turn of peace not only was the faith of the Culdees
widely extended within its boundaries, but they became
missionaries among those who lived beyond the south
ern border. The coming of Augustine the monk, with
forty associates, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, was
the commencement of the corruption and tyranny of
the Eomish Church in Britain. The Culdees were
driven from England. Contests between the Picts and
Scots succeeded, and they suffered still more. In 801,
amid the invasions of the Northmen who then ravaged
their coast, their establishment at lona was burned.
About seventy years later, during a similar incursion,
those who had returned thither fled to Ireland, carry-

24 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
ing with them the remains of Columba. The perils
and sufferings of the Culdees continued through suc
cessive years, until toward the close of the thirteenth
century, when they were suppressed by papal fraud
and tyranny. They and their followers represented
the primitive, evangelical presbyterian church of Scot
land. There is not one of the unscriptural dogmas of
the Eomish church that they did not reject, and, in the
simplicity of their presbyterial form of government,
and the doctrines they adopted and defended, they
were reformers before the Eeformation. Though, as
an organized church, they were scattered, they planted
good seed throughout Scotland, Ireland, England, and
Wales, that still bears fruit.
When the tyranny of Eome gained a footing in
Britain, the Culdees, and the numerous churches that
they had organized, were fearfuEy persecuted, and
many of their hearers with their pastors were put to
death, or driven to take refuge in other regions, as in
the mountains of Wales, and the far northern and
western districts of Scotland. Yet though their name
was foi'gotten, their doctrines were abiding, and many
cherished them until the daybreak of the Eeformation.
Eesearch shows us in what respect these teachings dif
fered from those of the Eomish Church. They re
jected auricular confession, penance, authoritative ab
solution, transubstantiation, the idolatrous worship of
angels, saints, and relics, praying to saints for their in
tercession, prayers for the dead, works of supereroga
tion, on these and other essential points holding fast
to the pure teachings of the Scriptures.
In 1407 John Eesby, an Englishman, and a scholar

SCOTLAND. 25
of Wickliffe, was burned for declaring that the pope is
not the vicar of Christ, and that no man of a wicked
life ought to be acknowledged as a religious ruler.
Twenty-five years afterwards Paul Craw, a Bohemian
follower of Huss, convicted of denying the doctrines of
transubstantiation, auricular confession, and praying to
saints, was burned at St. Andrews. And that he might
not preach the truth at the stake a ball of brass was
forced into his mouth by his cruel murderers. These
and other similar attempts to crush out the truth had
an effect quite the opposite of what was intended ; and,
to hinder its further spread, James IV. summoned be
fore the great council in 1594 about thirty persons,
men and women, caUed in derision " the LoEards of
Kyle." Adam Eeid, one of their number, answered
their adversaries with such spirit and humor, and so
baffled the accusing bishop, as greatly to please the
king who presided, and they were dismissed with an
admonition. The next prominent victim was Patrick Hamilton, a
youth of royal birth, commanding abilities, and ardent
piety. In 1526 he visited the continent, at Wittemberg
enjoyed the friendship of Luther and Melancthon, and
at the University of Marburg was taught by Francis'
Lambert. Eeturning to Scotland, he began to preach
with wonderful popularity and success. His sermons
were heard with deep attention, and his influence grew
day by day. The priests resolved to slay him, and lest
the king, his relative, should hinder their plans, they
decoyed him to St. Andrews, where a prior, pretending
to agree with him, drew from him an avowal of his
opinions in such terms as to secure his condemnation

26 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
for heresy before a tribunal of dignitaries of the Eom
ish Church. Arrangements were at once made to put
him to death. Before the College of St. Salvador they
built a pile, and bound Hamilton to the stake on Feb
ruary 28th, 1528. A train of gunpowder, laid to set
fire to the fagots, exploded in such a way as to scorch
the side and face of the martyr. While other combus
tibles were sent for he calmly exhorted the spectators,
and, when the flames at length surrounded him, he ex
claimed : " How long, 0 Lord, shall darkness cover this
realm? How long wilt thou suffer this tyranny of
man ? Lord Jesus, receive my spirit ! " and fell asleep.
This death awakened all Scotland to search into the
doctrines for the defence of which Hamilton was slain,
and they spread rapidly. Shortly after, Alexander
Seaton, a Dominican friar, confessor to the king,
preached faith in Christ boldly and eloquently, and,
when compelled to leave his house to escape secret
machinations, he wrote to the king a letter in which he
proves it to be the duty of magistrates to secure to
every accused person a just defence. For holding to
the pure doctrines of God's word, in 1534 and 1538,
several brave and learned men were burned, crowds of
sympathizers looking on, and cherishing their last heroic
recommendations of the truth. The dea,th of James V.,
in 1542, a king who weakly yielded to the wishes of the
persecutors, relieved the faithful believers from peril,
and copies of the Bible, which had been secretly read
before, were now seen on every table, and the New
Testament was borne about in nearly every person's hand.
The regent, Arran, reigning as guardian for. the in
fant " Mary of Scots," was, however, a fickle man, and

SCOTLAND. 27
soon became the tool of the popish faction. Then came
more bloody scenes. In 1543, at Perth, five men and
one woman Avere tried for heresy. The men were
hanged, the Avoman was drowned. In other places
similar executions occuiTed. Cardinal Beaton, who had
succeeded as archbishop his persecuting uncle, was
specially the instrument of these cruel outrages, and re
solving to exterminate the teachers of evangelical truth,
he caused many others to be slain. Soon after he sum
moned to trial George Wishart, a distinguished scholar
and preacher of noble birth, greatly beloved for the
unction and Avinning sweetness of his ministrations.
Besides his distinction as a public man he Avas remark
able in private life as a most mild, gentle, patient, and
amiable Christian. Driven at the instigation of the
archbishop from Dundee to Ayrshire, and thence to
Edinburgh, he was waylaid while travelling, hurried to
the Abbey church of St. AndreAvs, and, after a sermon
against heresy by the sub-prior, Avas condemned by
Beaton to be burned on the next day. His burning
took place in full view of the cardinal's window.
Wishart Avas led to the stake with bags of gunpowder
tied to various parts of his body, with his hands bound
behind his back, a rope round his neck, and an iron
chain about his- waist. Meekly kissing his execution
er, praying for his enemies, and exhorting all about
him to receive salvation through the blood of Christ, at
the sounding of a trumpet fire was applied to the pile
around him. While the gunpowder exploded his suf
ferings were not at an end, and, when the cai^tain of
the soldiers came near and addressed him, Wishart re
plied, " This fire torments my body, but no way abates

28 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
my spirit." Then, looking toward the cardinal, he said,
" He who ih such state from, that high place f eedeth
his eyes with my torments, within f cav days shaU be
hanged out of the same window, to be seen with as
much ignominy as he now leaneth there in pride."
After these words the rope about his neck was tight
ened, and he soon expired. This was on March 2, 1546,
and on the 29 th ofthe following May the cardinal was'
slain by conspirators, and, to allay a tumult arising from
a demand of the people about his castle to knoAv whether
he were dead, his lifeless body was exposed from the
same Avindow over the same part of the battlements,
where the cardinal had, a short time before, reclined so
proudly as a witness of Wishart's martyrdom.
Meantime a young man was, under the direction of
God's Providence, groAving up into usefulness and in
fluence, who was destined to become the greatest Scot
tish Eeformer.
John Knox was born in 1505, in the village of Gifford,
in East Lothian. With a liberal education, we find him,
during the persecution of Wishart, in the position of a
private tutor, teaching to his
pupils the classics, and, by daily
exercising them in the Holy
Scriptures, and in catechisms of
Bible doctrine, training his own
mind and theirs to shun all error.
In perM for conscience sake, he
with his pupils took refuge in
the castle of St. Andrews, under
the protection of nobles espous
ing the reformed faith. John

SCOTLAND. 29
Eough, preacher to the garrison, asked that Knox might
be his colleague, and, by his persuasion, and that of the
congregation, Knox accepted the trust, and preached
so earnestly that it was said of him : " Others hewed the
branches of the papistry, but he struck at the root."
By the assistance of a fleet from France, the castle of
St. Andrews was invested, and, after a brave resistance,
its besieged forces capitulated. John Knox was taken
prisoner, was put in chains, was confined as a galley
slave. During the second year of this captiAaty, the
galley on which he was borne was anchored near St.
Andrews, and he was asked if he knew the place.
"Yes," he replied, " I know it well; for I see the stee
ple of that place where God first opened my mouth in
public to His glory ; and I am fully persuaded, how
weak soever I noAV appear, that I shall not depart this
life, till that my tongue shall glorify His godly name in
the same place." Sir James Balfour, to whom these
prophetic words were said, often repeated them previ
ous to the time when Knox returned to Scotland.
After a tedious and severe imprisonment of nineteen
months, Knox obtained his liberty, and remained five
years in England, preaching, studying, attracting the
regard of Edward VL, who desired him to become a
bishop, and preparing for his future triumphs. When
" Bloody Mary " succeeded to the throne, Knox, com
pelled to flee from England, visited France, SAvitzer-
land, and Germany. Meeting the other great Eeform-
ers, he became still more firmly grounded in the knowl
edge and love of God's truth. Especially did he gain
advantage from his intercourse and friendship with
John Calvin.

30 PEESBYTERLAN CHUECH.
In 1555 he returned again to his native land, visiting
numerous brethren who Avere confirmed by his preach
ing, and whom he assisted to rebuild upon broad and
sound foundations the ecclesiastical system which has
brought so many blessings to Scotland. In 1556 he
was invited to return to Geneva as pastor, and, accept
ing the call, he had no sooner gone than he was sum
moned as a heretic by the priests, condemned, and
burned in e^gj at the market cross of Edinburgh.
This act did not, however, deter a number of reformed
preachers from setting forth the Gospel in various cities
and towns.
In Geneva John Knox occupied himself for two
years Avith the care of the English congregation, in
study, and in labors upon the Geneva Bible. But
Scotland needed his heroic efforts, and, by the invita
tion of certain noblemenj he returned thither suddenly,
and to the consternation of his opposers. Previously,
in 1557, a number of the most trusted and influential
nobles had signed what is knoAvn as The First Coate-
NANT, iu Avhich they pledged themselves to maintain,
set forward, and establish the most blessed word of
God and his congregation ; and to labor to have faith
ful ministers, purely and truly to minister Christ's
Gospel and sacraments to his people. Aided by the
ruling powers of the nation, their foes had summoned
many of the brethren who adopted and maintained the
principles of this Covenant to trial. Knox, staying but
one day in Edinburgh, resolved to share their fate, and
hastened to Dundee to join them. Together they went
to Perth, where he preached against the worship of
images. After his sermon, a foolish priest, exhibiting

SCOTLAND. 31
a rich altar-piece, covered with images, and celebrating
mass, so irritated the common people that a riot ensued,
in which the images, and monasteries of the tovm alike,
were demolished. Although Knox expected no such
incidents, they sufficiently showed his influence with all
classes. Eeturning to St. Andrews, he pi-eached in the
Cathedral, in defiance of the Archbishop, on the duty
of aE Christians to remove the corruptions of the
Papacy, and to purify the church. For three days he
presented the truth with such effect that the magis
trates and people set up the Eeformed religion in the
town, stripped the church of images and pictures, and
demolished the monasteries. Very soon after, Knox,
as pastor of old St. Giles, was wielding the fire and
hammer of God's word, to the discomfiture of his foes,
and the full establishment of the Presbyterian Organ
ization in his dear Scotland.
In 1561 the youthful Mary, Queen of Scots, arrived
from France. Educated there as a Eoman Catholic,
petted and praised for her beauty, fond of gallantry
and the amusements of a luxurious court, prejudiced as
to the strength of the royal prerogative, and deeming
it her appointed work to overthrow throughout Scot
land the opposers of the Papacy, no one need wonder
that she found herself at once engaged in sharp con
flicts with those whose consciences and principles were
on the side of Bible truth.
As their acknowledged leader, Knox was five times
summoned to the Queen's presence, and there courte
ously yet firmly told Mary to her face Avhat was her
duty as a sovereign, and what were the rights and
privileges of the people. The Queen and her courtiers

32 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
sought after these interviews to silence the reformer, and
not long afterwards they congratulated themselves on
bringing him to trial as a traitor. During the Queen's
absence from Holyrood House, Popish worship had
been celebrated with the revival of numerous supersti
tious practices, apparently to provoke the evangelical
party. Some of the latter entered the church and pro
tested against the unusual services. For this conduct
they were indicted, charged with " felony and invasion
of the palace." Knox was requested to write a circular
letter to several gentlemen, who were their friends, and
request their presence on the day of their trial. This
letter was made the ground of an accusation of treason
against John Knox, but when his cause was heard be
fore the nobles. Queen Mary presiding, the nobles ab
solved him from all offence, and praised his modest
appearance and the judicious manner in which he had
conducted his defence.
The first General Assembly of the Church of Scot
land met in Edinburgh on the twentieth day of Decem
ber, 1560. It consisted of forty members, only six of
whom were ministers. The Confession of Faith, com
posed by John Knox and other eminent divines a few
months previously, was recommended to the churches^
and the same authors were appointed to prepare a book
of discipline and ecclesiastical govei'nment. In January
this book was approved by the Assembly. Its proAd-
sions are those of Holy Scripture. Church government
was placed iu the hands of a pastor and the Session.
Presbyteries, Provincial Synods, and a General Assem
bly were the courts above the Session. Four orders of
permanent officers were recognized in the church

JOflM KSOX-a HOUSE.

SCOTLAND. 35
namety, the pastor, the teacher of theology, the ruling
elder, and the deacon. Besides these, permission was
given to temporary officer?, as superintendents and ex-
horters, to labor for the edification of each congrega
tion. The Second General Assembly was held at Edin
burgh, May 27, 1561. It ratified the Confession of
Faith and Book of Discipline, and recommended them
to all the people. The first moderator of a General
Assembly in Scotland was John Willock, appointed by
the Assembly of 1563. Troublous and sad times fol
lowed. The history of religious affairs involves the
opposition of Queen Mary's court to the progress of the
Eeformed Church, her successive marriages, misfort
unes, imprisonment, and death. Then followed the
regency of Earl Murray, a Christian statesman and a
fiiend to true religion. Knox preaches in December,
1567, at the opening of Parliament, exhorting the rulers
to begin with the affairs of religion if they Avould se
cure success, and the Parliament acts Avisely upon this
counsel. The reformed church is recognized as the
only national chui'ch, and enters upon a career of spir
itual prosperity, growing in the number of ministers
and congregations, and diffusing on every side the bless
ings of a pure Gospel. An event full of disaster to
the country occurred in 1570. The malice of the
priests ag.ainst the regent found an assassin in Hamil
ton, nephew to the Archbishop of St. AndreAvs. Con
stantly following him, as Murray was passing through
a narroAV street at Linlithgow, Hamilton, from the Avin-
dow of a room prepared for concealment, shot him.
The wound was fatal, and the death of the good Mur-

36 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
ray proved a national calamity. After this event the
avaricious nobles endeavored to obtain control of the
revenues of the church, which should have been applied
to the support of religious and literary establishments.
Though no longer any part of the National Church,
the Popish prelates were allowed to retain two- thirds
of the revenues of the larger benefices during life. The
Earl of Morton devised a plan by which, at their death,
the same revenues might come into the coffers of the
nobles. When HamUton, Archbishop of St. Andrews, died,
Morton obtained a grant empoAvering him to dispose of
the see and its revenues. He then appointed a succes
sor, AAith the understanding that the principal part of
the revenues should be paid back to himself. The
other nobles, AAishing in turn to avail themselves of
similar arrangements, prepared to make Morton's plan
universal in Scotland. John Knox, too El to attend
the Assembly of 1571, in a letter warned its members
of the peril, and stimulated them to resist such wicked
encroachments of power. Soon afterwards he died —
on the 24th of November, 1572. Morton, elected re
gent on the same day, attended, Avith a multitude of
the nobility and gentry, and a great concourse of peo
ple, upon his funeral ; and, as the body was loAvered
into the graA^e, delivered the laconic and true eulogium :
" There lies he who never feared the face of man."
But though he praised the sublime devotion to Christian
principle which Knox exhibited, Morton failed to be
guided by it. He gained control of the appointment
of the bishops, in spite of the remonstrances of the
Assembly. Andrew Melville, Avell known to his coun-

SCOTLAND. 37,
trymen as a man of learning and abilities, Avho had
spent much time in Geneva Avith Calvin and Beza, ar
rived in Scotland in July, 1574, after an absence of ten
years. He aided his brethren to stand in their contest
with the regent, and when Morton offered to him the
post of archbishop as a bribe, he repelled him. Irri
tated by his opposition and that of the Assembly, Mor
ton complained of them as treasonable subjects. Mel
ville supported their decisions by quotations from the
Scriptures. The regent, unable to confute him, growled
forth : "There never will be quietness in this country
till half a dozen of you be hanged or banished." Said
Melville : " Threaten your courtiers : it is the same to
me whether I rot in the air or in the ground. The
earth is the Lord's. My country is wherever goodness
is. Let God be glorified ; it aaqE not be in your power
to hang or exile His truth."
On March 6, 1578, Morton resigned his regency, and
James became king. The same year the Assembly per
fected its form of Government, issuing what is knoAvn
as " The Second Book of Discipline." It also agreed
that hereafter the bishops should be addressed simply
as other ministers. A subsequent Assembly abolished
the prelatical office, and ratified what is knoAvn as The
First National Coatenant of Scotland, which forms
the first part of every subsequent national Covenant.
Contests followed that resulted, in 1592, in the passage
of an act of Parliament by which the General Assem
blies, Synods, Presbyteries, and Sessions of the church,
with the jurisdiction and discipline belonging to them,
were recognized and established to secure the weEare
of the nation.

38 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Notwithstanding this " charter," as it has been styled.
King James, who saw that an Episcopal form of gov
ernment for the church -would better serve to make
him, in his own words, " a free and absolute monarch,"
during several subsequent years sought by force and
guile to substitute it. One Assembly after another ex
perienced his arbitrary interference, until he endeavored
to supi^ress it entirely.
In 1605 the King's messenger at arms charged the
Assembly at Aberdeen to dismiss, on the pain of re
bellion; and, when James was informed that it ad
journed again to convene, he sent to prison fourteen
eminent ministers, including John Forbes, the moder
ator, and John Welsh, sonin-law of John Knox. Six
of the number, after trial, couAaction, and an imprison
ment of fourteen months, were banished to France.
From 1606 to 1618 the annals of Scotland teem with
the results of royal knavery and prelatic treacherj^
In 1618 the Assembly met in the Little Kirk at Perth.
Spotswood, the king's bishop of St. Andrews, claimed
the moderator's chair, because the Assembly was con
vened Avithin his diocese, and introduced the dean of
Winchester, who recommended, as the king's measure,
the adoption of the " Five Articles of Perth." These
were, — kneeling at the commimion, the observance of
holidays. Episcopal confirmation, private baptism, and
the private dispensation of the Lord's Supper. Spots-
wood put the vote in these words : " Will you consent
to these articles, or disobey the king ? " Had none but
commissioners voted, these articles would have been
defeated ; but the usurping moderator alloAved nobles
and prelates appointed by James to be counted as a

ST. GILES CnURCH.

SCOTLAND. 41
majority in favor of the measure, and a parliament,
summoned for the purpose, soon after declared the five
articles to be the law of the land. Persecution fol
lowed, marking as its victims all who nobly resisted
the power of the temporal government to coerce the
courts of the Scottish church. Among those who suf
fered are found the names of John Welsh, Eobert
Bruce, and William Forbes. Then, after the death of
King James, and the accession of Charles I., came the
" Book of Canons," prepared under the revision of
Archbishop Laud, which forbade a General Assembly
unless called by the King, and all private " conventi
cles," including meetings of Presbyteries and sessions,
and which, not allowing a minister to pray, except from
a book, arranged for fonts, altars, ornaments, vestments,
and other Popish fooleries. Soon after appeared
Laud's " Liturgy," modelled upon the Eomish missal,
which the prelates at once began to use, and all minis
ters were required immediately to adopt. On July 23,
1637, at the cathedral church of St. GEes, the dean of
Edinburgh, attired in a surplice, began to read the ser
vice from this liturgy. The congregation seemed
breathless Avith sorrow and alarm, when an old woman.
named Jenny Geddes, unable to restrain her indigna
tion, exclaimed : " Villain, dost thou say mass at my
lus: ? " and seizins: the stool on which she had been sit-
ting, hurled it at the dean's head. A riot resulted, and
throughout the kingdom there was evidence that this
liturgy would not be tolerated. On the 28 th of Feb
ruary, 1638, a solemn covenant was signed at the
Greyfriars Church, in Edinburgh, rencAving the former
engagements of the Scottish people, " to put aAvay all

42 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
idolatry, superstition, and immorality, and to worship
God in simplicity and faithfulness, according to His
word." An aged nobleman, the Earl of Sutherland, '
first affixed his signature. One name after another was
subscribed, until all within the crowded church had
signed. Then the great parchment sheet was removed
to the church-yard, and spread upon a level gravestone ;
and the vast multitude crowded around to sign. Some
Avept aloud ; some joyfully shouted ; some, after their
names, added the words " till death ; " and some, open
ing a vein, subscribed with their blood. As the space
became filled, they wrote their names in a contracted
form, limiting them at last to initial letters, till not a
spot remained on which another letter could be in
scribed. The document was then copied, and sent
throughout the city and kingdom, and universally
signed. In November, 1638, the General Assembly met,
Avhich annulled all former acts by which Prelacy had
been introduced, and passed an act condemning the
Five Articles of Perth, the Book of Canons, the Litur
gy, and the Book of Ordination. The rights of the
church were thus so clearly vindicated, and the sover
eignty of Christ so fully maintained, that this Assem
bly has been said to have accomplished Scotland's Sec
ond Eeformation.
King Charles, more than ever resolved to destroy the
Presbyterian Church, prepared to invade Scotland and
to subjugate those whose opposition deeply offended
him. The Covenanters prepared for defensive war.
They sent into England a document vindicating their
past conduct and present intentions ; they appointed a

SCOTLAND. 43
committee to sit at Edinburgh, and, corresponding with
subordinate committees, to direct their affairs through
out the kingdom. With prompt and well-concerted
measures, they possessed themselves of numerous strong
holds, and, Avhen Charles entered Scotland with his
army, without striking a bloAV, he found himself
obliged to make a treaty of peace, and agree to submit
aE ecclesiastical matters to the next General Assembly
for settlement. This Assembly, not less firmly than
the preceding one, maintained the cause of the church
in opposition to the king's usurpations, and Charles re
solved again to raise an army of invasion. Funds for
this purpose being needed, he was forced to call to
gether a parliament, Avhich, before it considered Scot
tish affairs, complained of the grievances of the Eng
lish people. Each year drew more closely together
those on both sides of the Tweed who were contending
for the same religious liberty, until, in 1643, a treaty
was formed between them, knoAvn as — The Solemn
League and CoA-enant.
This compact bound the united kingdoms to preserve
the Eeformed religion in the Church of Scotland, and
to reform religion in the kingdoms of England and Ire
land accordins: to the Word of God. Soon afterwards.
the execution of Charles I. took place, and the Cove
nanters proclaimed his son as their king, on condition
of his subscribing to the Covenant that bound them to
gether. Thus they were alienated from Oliver Crom
well, the Protector, who, notAvithstanding, after the ex
pulsion of Charles II. from Scotland, allowed the
Scottish Church to enjoy a season of prosperity and
peace. Upon his death, Charles II. , although in his

44 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
former extremities he had declared that he " would
have no enemies but the enemies of the covenant — no
friends but the friends of the covenant," violated all his
pledges, and endeavored to restore prelacy. With this
object in view, making use of numerous unprincipled
men, he succeeded in repealing all the laws that favored
the spiritual liberty of the church. As noble and de
termined leaders stood up to oppose these measures, they
were destined to ma";*tyrdom. The Marquis of Argyle
and James Guthrie, Minister of Stii'ling, were put to
death, and many others were imprisoned or banished.
Four bishops were then ordained in London to govern
the Church of Scotland, and these soon arrived, Avith
authority to prohibit all meetings of Synods or Pres-
byteiies that should be called AAithout their concur
rence. An act Avas also passed banishing from their congre
gations all ministers who should fail to conform to these
measures, or who should fail to submit to the appointed
bishops. In consequence, on the last Sabbath of Octo
ber, 1662, two hundred pastors left their pulpits, and
soon four hundred ministers were ejected for non-con
formity. Their places were filled by ignorant and dis
graceful curates, whose teachings and conduct alike
made the people despise them. The former pastors
sadly left their houses, their beloved flocks, and all
they held dear on earth, and, amid the hardships of
winter, hastened to the districts north of the Tay where
they could worship God undisturbed and save their
souls from the guilt of perjury.
Some of the ejected ministers, in secluded places, stiE
occasionaEy preached, and crowds came to them from

SCOTLAND. 46
every side. Others held family worship in their OAvn
dwellings, or in the open air, and many joined with them.
To suppress these meetings, which became constantly
more numerous, and in their influence dangerous to the
plans of the king, the army Avas employed, and bands of
armed men were sent everywhere to break up " conven
ticles " and bring to punishment those who frequented
them. The death of Charles IL, in 1685, for a time suspended
these persecutions, but they were fearfully renewed
when his brother, James II. , turned his attention to
Scottish affairs. The mEitary judges resumed their
murderous career vdth increased eagerness, making the
whole south and west of Scotland one scene of carnage.
Claverhouse, whose name is stiE repeated always Avith
emotions of disgust and horror, and Avho had formerly
carried fire and sword into many peaceful homes, was
now a privy counsellor, and, selecting such instruments
of cruelty as he could find to act as his subordinates,
and employing countless spies and informers, he hunted
down the Covenanters, not hesitating, AA'-hen his soldiers
wavered, to imbrue his own hands in their blood. Vol
umes have been Avritten filled Avith the story of these
shameful persecutions which spared not the aged, the
feeble, the helpless female, the unprotected infant. It
Avas not brutality enough to slay the victims. Too
often they were inhumanly tortured, pent in disgusting
dungeons, suffocated. Starved, branded, drowned. And
yet the spirit of the Covenanters was not broken, nor
their devotion to the principles of God's Avord destroyed.
A revolution succeeded. The throne Avas declared va
cant, and William, Prince of Orange, became king.

46 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
when all its rights and privileges were restored by law
to the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.
In 1733 the " Secession "" left the EstabEshed Church,
constituting the " Associated Presbytery." This sepa
ration occurred subsequent to an act of Queen Anne's
reign, by which the right of patronage or the poAver to
nominate a pastor to a vacant church was vested in cer
tain individuals. So many ministers continued to be
thrust upon congregations contrary to the will of the
people that, in 1752, the " Eelief " Presbytery also went
out. In 1847 these two bodies were united, and now
comprise the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland,
with more than six hundred congregations.
On May 18th, 1843, after a contest of ten years for
the spiritual independence of the Church and the lib
erties of the 2^eople, in which Dr. Thomas Chalmers
bore an honorable part, nearly five hundred ministers
gave up their livings and formed the Free Church of
Scotland. The scene was impressive Avhen the Eoyal
Commissioner entered the Assembly Hall in St. An
drews Church and took his seat on the throne. After
prayer, the Moderator, the Eev. Dr. Welsh, read a
protest against further proceedings, and, laying it upon
the clerk's table and bowing to the throne, left the HaE,
followed by an illustrious company of men distinguished
for zeal, piety, learning, and faithfulness in the cause
of Clirist. As they marched in column, four abreast,
through the streets crowds of citizens, Avho watched
them from the sidewalks and the windoAVS and roofs of
the housetops, lEted up their voices and cheered them
as the defenders of religious liberty. Arrived at Tan-
field Hall, they elected Dr. Chalmers by acclamation

SCOTLAND. 47
as Moderator of the First General Assembly of the
Free Church of Scotland, and proceeded to pei-fect their
plans for severing their connection with the Govern
ment as an established church, and for managing schemes
for home and foreign work.
Thus there are now three large bodies of Presbyteri
ans in Scotland : the Established Church, the United
Presbyterian Church, and the Free Church ; also a con
siderable number still known as Covenanters.
The Established Church of Scotland comprises more
than one-thu-d of the population instructed by it in the
word of God and the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
The United Presbyterian Church, formed by the union
of the " Secession " and the " Eelief," is said to be
heartEy in favor of an organic union with the " Free
Church," toward which it manifests a strong sympa-
thy. The Free Church has now nearly nine hundred con
gregations, and with plans for missionary and benevo
lent enterprise, and, for the comfortable support of its
ministry, the education of pious youth, the providing
of manses, and the erection of church edifices, it sets a
noble example to all sister churches throughout the
world. In Chalmers, it gave to the age an unriA^alled
theologian ; in Candlish, an author of varied gifts ; in
Guthrie, an impassioned sacred orator ; in Duff, a mis
sionary stimulating multitudes to holy consecration;
and in McCosh, a master of mental and moral science, a
defender of the faith, impressing on numerous thought
ful minds imperishable truth.

CHAPTEE IIL
THE PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH IN lEELAND.
The great number of the bishops that the missionary
(Saint) Patrick ordained in Ireland in the fifth century,
sends doAvn through the darkness of subsequent times
a clear ray of light upon the fact that these " bishops "
were pastors of parishes or congregations. Says Nen-
nius : " He founded three hundred and sixty-five
churches, and ordained three hundred and sixty-five
bishops and three thousand elders." It is agreed that
the primitive church of Ireland for centuries differed
from the Eomish Church, and held to the Scriptures,
reading them to the people, maintaining the doctrines
that became those of the Eeformation, worshipping
with simple forms, having a married clergy, and organ
izing the churches with elders and deacons.
In the twelfth century, Pope Adrian IV. enjoined
upon Henry II. of England to enforce conformity to
himself, aud, AAdthin a century, this was accomplished.
Then followed many sad years of immorality on the
part of the priests, and of ignorance and gross supersti
tion among the people. Here and there a few copies of
portions of the Scriptures were cherished, and, when the
labors of Luther and the other Eeformers on the Conti
nent bore fruit in their own lands, to Ireland were
communicated some seeds of life. That these seeds
were springing up is evident from the fact that in 1556,
in the reign of Mary, three English statutes against

ieeland. 49
heresy Avere re-enacted, and they Avere rigidly enforced
throughout Ireland. During the latter years of Henry
VIII. he endeavored to introduce the Eeformation,
under himself as head of the English Church, but Avitli
little success, such was the influence of the priests.
Under Edward VI. an English liturgy Avas introduced,
said to have been the first book printed in Ireland, and
this was used in Dublin in 1551. Little progress was
made in this reign, for the English Church, instead of
circulating the Scriptures and preaching the truth,
sought only to secure an outAvard conformity to its au
thority. During the reign of Mary many refugees
from England spread among the people the Eeformed
doctrines. Six months after Elizabeth came to the
throne texts of Scripture were by her orders substituted
in Christ Church, Dublin, in place of pictures, images,
and relies, and soon after two Bibles Avere placed in the
two cathedrals of Dublin, which both hearers and read
ers eagerly used, and so many desired copies for them
selves that a single bookseller sold Avithin two years
from 1616 seven thousand Bibles. The year 1610 was
memorable for the number of emigrants from Scotland
and England who settled in Ireland and Avho brought
-with, them the Bible and faithful preachers to explain
it. In 1615 a convocation of the clergy of the English
Church in Ireland met in Dublin and adopted a con
fession of faith that was more Presbyterian than other-
Avise in many of its tenets. It establishes the sanctity
of the Sabbath, the validity of ordination by presbyters,
condemns the doctrine of priestly absolution, the ob
servance of Lent as a religious fast, pronounces the
4

50 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
Pope to be Antichrist, and makes no distinction in the
consecration of the clergy, leaving them all in this mat
ter upon an equality.
The liberal character of these articles encouraged
emigration, and among those who came from Great
Britain Avere the fathers of the present Presbyterian
Church in Ireland. A fcAV years later a great revival
of religion occurred, Avhich opened the way and created
a desire for more preachers. As these came at the call
of ProAddence, especially from Scotland, they found
the hearts of the people opened to receive the word,
and a record of great successes and of a multitude of
couA-ersions in all parts of Ireland follows.
In 1626, after the accession of Charles I., a long
struggle commenced in Ireland between the king and
those of the people who sympathized Avith the oppo
nents of Eomanism. Laud, now Archbishop of Can
terbury, tried to introduce into the Established Church
of England all the abominations of the papists. The
communion table Avas to be built as an altar, with rail
ings, its situation ahvays at the east end of the church.
Upon it Avere to be seen crucifixes and candles, and it
must be saluted with low bows and genuflexions. Into
the churches were introduced images, pictures, lighted
tapers, incense. Saints and angels Avere worshipped,
the real presence maintained, with the necessity of con
fession of sin to the priests, and the efficacy of their ab
solution. Under the influence of this prelate and his
deputy, Wentworth, the piety of the Irish clergy de
clined, and the Eomanists were encouraged.
In Ulster the Presbyterian churches grew stronger,
notwithstanding the severity of the Prelatical party,

ieeland. 51
which forbade their ministers to preach in public. In
1634 the Presbyterians of Ulster reneAved a plan, that
under former persecutions they had entertained, name
ly, that of emigrating to Ncav England. For this pur
pose, in 1636, some of them, one hundred and forty in
number, sailed from Loch Fergus. Detained by con
trary winds, with their vessel leaking, Avhen nearly half
way to Newfoundland, so severe a ^torm blew from the
north-west that they reluctantly returned, and many,
with others of their afflicted brethren, found a refuge
on the western shores of Scotland. The introduction
of the new liturgy into Scotland in 1636, and the pop
ular indignation and distui-bances Avhich resulted there
from at Edinburgh and other places in 1637, gave in
terest, among all the Irish Presbyterians, to the third
renewal of the National Covenant by the ministers and
people at Edinburgh, on March first, 1638, and the meet
ing of a General Assembly of the Church at Glasgow,
in November of the same year. The proceedings of
this Assembly, which in its thorough condemnation of
prelacy cheered its oavu Scottish constituents, also
greatly encouraged the Irish Presbyterians. Their
choicest ministers had fied to Scotland, and these sent
back the neAVS of the progress and sympathy of sister
churches in that land. They Avere so beloved by their
former flocks that multitudes removed to Scotland to
enjoy their ministry. Hundreds would visit its shores
at special preaching services, and on one occasion
the beloved Livingston baptized twenty-five children
brought over for that purpose. Multitudes in Ulster
signed the National Scottish Covenant, and lists of
those able to bear arms, if defence were needed, were

52 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
made among them. Persecutions foEoAved, ministers
and individuals belonging to the Avestern gentry were
threatened, throAvn into prison, and driven into exile.
From this time, during ten subsequent years, the
events transpiring in England and Scotland Avere all
preparing the way for better days to Ireland. It was
the time of the Long Parliament, of the fall of Straf
ford, of the Irish rebellion. Then foEoAved a season
of apprehension and suspense, Avhich proved to be the
darkness that preceded the daAvn.
In 1641 what is caEed " The Great EebelEon " broke
out. Its object Avas to destroy Protestantism, and to
restore the patrimony of the Eomish Church. It began
originally AAatli the native Irish, encouraged by a non
resident nobility whose estates had been confiscated,
and Avho, from the caj)itals of the Continent, communi
cated with them through the priests. It had attained
such importance that King Charles I., February 8,
1642, issued his commission for ten thousand men to
suj)press it. The arrival of these troops from Scotland,
Avith their godly and prudent regimental chaplains,
marks an epoch in the history of the Presbyterian
Church in Ulster, for by them its foundations Avere
once more there renewed. Some of the chaplains were :
Hugh Cunningham, Thomas Peebles, John Baird,
James Simpson, John Scott, John Aird, and the valued
and honored John Livingston. These godly ministers
at once established a session in each regiment, and then
caEed together the first regularly constituted Presby
tery held in Ireland, at Carrickfergus, on June 10, 1642.
Five ministers and four ruling elders were present, and
arrangements were made by them to organize more

ieeland. 53
sessions, to hold frequent meetings of Presbytery, to
secure catechetical instruction among the people, and
to provide for the regular preaching of the Gospel.
Adjoining parishes soon sent to this Presbytery for
supplies and for assistance in the formation of churches,
and these petitions Avere complied with.
To Scotland, the stronghold of Presbyterian faith
and order, the people now looked for more helpers ;
and in 1642 tAVO settled pastors came thence to their
former congregations, and six ministers were commis
sioned to spend a year in Ireland each, to build up the
congregations and preach to them the Gospel. So suc
cessful Avere these brethren and others subsequently ar
riving, that the Assembly of 1643, in response to fur
ther petitions, sent others temporarily to fill places
which it would gladly have occupied with permanent
pastors. NoAV folloAV the civil Avar of England, the meeting
of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, and the adop
tion of " The Solemn League and CoA^enant " by the
Scottish Parliament. This celebrated bond Avas amend
ed so that it could be received also in Ireland, and Avas
promptly sent thither. It Avas received Avith acclama
tions of joy, and, Avhile it was administered to the sol
diers, crowds of the people came together in CA^ery place
and also signed and affirmed it. In 1644 more minis
ters came from Scotland, and thanks were sent to Hol
land for provisions and clothing to the amount of
tAventy thousand pounds, which had been contributed
to the sufferers in Ireland.
The General Assembly of 1645, in reply to rencAved
petitions from Ireland, ordered certain of its ministers

54 peesbyteeian chuech.
" to repair to the north of Ireland, and there to visit,
comfort, instruct, and encourage the scattered flocks of
Christ, according to the direction of Jesus Christ, and
according to the doctrine and discipline of this church
in all things." These preachers Avere followed by
others, and congregations here and there sought and
obtained pastors from Scotland. Amid the succeeding
civil strEe, in the midst of which Charles I. Avas be
headed, the churches in the north of Ireland were
gaining in numbers and in spirituality, and the Com
monwealth found them united and groAving in prosper
ity. The persecutions that subsequently devastated
Scotland, drove to them more pastors and preachers,
and soon a stated alloAvance from the Irish Council
aided the maintenance of their ministers.
At the time of Cromwell's death, the vacant pulpits
of Ulster Avere gradually gaining supplies ; but, after
the restoration of Charles IL, the congregations en
tered upon another period of suffering and persecution,
for, Avhen prelacy Avas by the king re-established, the
ministers Avere not only cut off from their churches
and livings, but were forbidden, under heavy penalties,
from preaching, baptizing, or exhorting. " Blood's
Plot " to secure the person of the Duke of Ormond,
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in 1663, was charged
upon the pastors of the north, and they were ordered
to leave the country, or suffer imprisonment. All but
two retired, most of them to Scotland. The persecu
tion subsiding, most of them again returned and re
sumed their labors. Troublous times succeeded, in
Avhich unruly and erratic men hindered in some places
the prosperity of the churches, and, under the arbitrary

ieeland. 55
rule of James IL, many timid hearers wandered aAvay
from the Presbyterian congregations. The king's
policy, however, Avas to favor liberty of conscience, so
that his Eoman Catholic adherents might introduce
their worship. On this account he published his cele
brated " Declaration," granting such liberty, and thus
undesignedly he at once afforded relief to his Presby
terian subjects in Ireland. Soon after, to the joy of
those Avho had longed and prayed for greater liberty of
conscience, the Prince of Orange arrived among them.
All their troubles Avere, however, by no means con
cluded, for many of the Irish people Avere yet to suffer,
since their own region soon became the theatre of bat
tle. The siege of Derry, a famous event in Irish his
tory, resulted, the forces of James investing the city,
and cutting off its supplies.
Since very many had fled from other towns to Derry,
thinking that they Avould there find protection, its in
vestment subjected a croAvded population Avithin its
waEs to. the perils of starvation and pestilence. But
after a memorable siege of one hundred and five days,
dui'ing which multitudes perished, relief Avas brought
to the survivors. These perils Avere succeeded by rest
from persecution, for soon afterAvards the Presbyterians
of Ireland began to enjoy the liberal protection of
King William.
The Synod of 1690, at Belfast, Avas foEoAved by suc
cessive synods which made all needful arrangements
for the supply of vacant puljDits, the education of young
men for the ministry, and the exercise of discipline.
A missionary fund Avas established by the Synod of
1705, for the support of feeble congregations, Avhich

56

peesbyteeian church.

subsequent synods increased and usefully applied. In
1719, under the reign of George I., there Avere eleven
Presbyteries, with one hundred and forty congregations.
The brethren in England sent to the Irish Pi'esbyte-
riaus messages of sympathy, donations, and legacies.
Publications in the Irish language were multiplied, and
preachers in the same tongue went forth in large num
bers. Outward persecutions for a time being now stayed,
the church in Ireland passed through a severe ordeal
from heresy Avithin it, but by discussion, and the
preaching of the Gospel, the truth came forth into
clear and open triumph. In 1724 to 1728, the rise of
rents and tithes, and bad harvests, drove to America
four thousand tAvo hundred emigrants, many of Avhom
Avere staunch Presbyteiians, carrying Avith them good
seed to plant in the new Western World.
Forty 5'ears later, the Irish people, when an appeal
for funds came to them from the same land, out of
their deep poverty contributed more than four. hundred
pounds. They had previously taken in their churches
a collection in aid of " The College of Ncav Jersey,"
and given to it, from Armagh, its President, the Eev.
Dr. Samuel Finley.
Since those days the Irish Presbyterian Church has
groAvn in resources, numbers, and influence. It has
Avidely circulated the Scriptures, it has carried f orAvard
the Avork of Foreign Missions ; it has built manses and
organized a General Sustentation Fund, to secure an
adequate maintenance for its ministers ; it has stimu
lated its people to regard the religious education of
their children, and to maintain the consistent observ-

IRELAND.

57

ance of the Sabbath, and, in its plans for Christian
work in cities, and for the evangelization of destitute
fields Avithin its oavu bounds, has set forth a conspicu
ous and noble example to the Christians of other
lands.

CHAPTEE IV.
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN ENGLAND.
We find traces of a pure and primitive faith, and of
a simple and scriptural order of church government, at
a far earlier date in Scotland and in Ireland than in
England. This is not, however, because they first
existed in those portions of Great Britain, but rather
because those regions were not so near and accessible
to persecuting Eome, that, soon after it had gained
supremacy, drove to remote and far-distant corners the
AAdtnesses of the truth. When the Eeformation, sweep
ing through Germany, SAvitzerland, and France, rolled
on its purifying Avave to the British Isles, England was
not all dark or corrupt. From the eastern world, Eng
land, like Scotland and Ireland, very early received the
Gospel. AVhen, in a.d. 449, Hengist and Horsa,
Avith their Saxon foEoAvers, subjugated the race, Chris
tianity AA-as driA^en back AAdth the Britons into the
mountains of Wales and the moors of Northumberland
and CoruAvall. There its sparks and embers survived,
and thence it burst forth again and again, and sent
back its light to the regions whence it had been ex
pelled. The pupils of Columba and his brother mis
sionaries repaid the debt which their more-distant ter
ritory OAved to the former generations, and taught in
England their oaati religious system : " The Lloly Script-
m-es are the only rule of faith. Throw aside all merit
of works, and look for salvation to the grace of God

ENGLAND. 59
alone. BeAvare of a religion Avhich consists of outward
observances : it is better to keep your heart pure be
fore God than to abstain from meats. One alone is
your head — Jesus Christ. Bishops and Presbyters are
the same ; they should be husbands of one wife, and
have their children in subjection."
When the Saxons became successors to the Britons,
and, subduing them, occupied the best portions of Eng
land, Papal Eome fixed upon them her gaze, and pre
pared to reduce them to her poAver. The marriage of
Ethelbert, King of Kent, to a princess of Frank ori
gin, afforded a favorable opportunity to accomplish
this object. Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine
in A.D. 596 with a numei'ous band of helpers to intro
duce into England the Eomish worship. These mes
sengers Avere not idle in their task. They fulfilled
their mission among the Saxons, but failed to convince,
by arguments, or threats, or persecutions, the more
stubborn Britons and sturdy Scots. As Eome gained
a stronger hold upon the former race, she instigated its
heathen Avarriors to exterminate those AA'ho refused to
submit to her, and multitudes of Christians were slain.
But amid this darkness a bright star shines forth in
the lEe and labors of Oswald, an Anglo-Saxon prince,
who, trained in Scotland, and a baptized convert, set
before himself the Lord Jesus Christ as his model.
Eecovering the throne of his ancestors, he sought for
missionaries from lona, Avelcomed them into his domin
ions, himself exhibited a Christian example, and, when
fatally Avounded in battle by rebels, Avith his latest
breath prayed for the souls of his people. This Avas in
A.D. 642. For seven centuries succeeding this date.

60 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
ahvays opposed, yet ahvays conquering by fraud, cun
ning, and violence, anti-Christian Eome held sway in
England. Yet ever there were not wanting some who
loved God's truth, and Avho, when brought to the test,
died rather than betray it.
In 1324, in a little viEage of Yorkshire, was born
John Wicldiffe, the morning-star of the Eeformation.
When twenty-four years of age, during the prevalence
of a terrible pestEence, he passed many days and nights
groaning and sighing and calling upon God to lead
him in the true path. His]Drayers were heard, for he
found in the study of the Holy Scriptures such spirit
ual peace and instruction that he resolved to make
these treasures known also to others. Educated at
Merton College, Oxford, he became a teacher and
preacher, and laid out his strength to restore to his
country AA^hat corrupt priests had banished — the Bible.
Despite opposition, obloquy, and persecution, in the
face of solemn injunctions against preaching the truth,
he attacked the papacy, he proclaimed the Gospel to
the poor, and at last translated the Latin Bible into his
native tongue, so that all his countrymen might read it.
For nearly fifteen years he steadily toiled at this great
task, and in 1380 completed his Bible, which was
everywhere Avelcomed and studied. " You could not
meet two persons on the higliAvay," says a writer of his
time, "but one of them was Wickliffe's disciple." His
own Bible taught Wickliffe, and led him on, step by
step, to attack one false teaching of the papacy after
another, until the breach betAveen himself and the pope
Avidened to such a degree that nothing could have saved
him fi'om threatened martyrdom but the inability of his

ENGLAND.

61

foes, hampered by political quarrels and convulsions,
to bring him to such a fate.
After his death, his disciples and followers spread
abroad his teachings. They circulated the Scriptures
Avhich he had translated, and his different works ; they
called upon Parliament to abolish celibacy, prayers for
the dead, offerings to images, auricular confession, and
other popish doctrines. They nailed on the gates of
St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey the " Twelve Con
clusions," a series of Scriptural statements.
But the fires of persecutors were preparing, and
Henry IV., Lancaster, hoping to strengthen his throne,
at the dictation of the priests, kindled them. William
Sautre, for saying, " Instead of adoring the cross on
which Christ suffered, I adore Christ, who suffered on
it," was burned alive at Smithfield, in 1401. In 1417,
Sir John Oldcastle — Lord Cobham — under Henry V.,
resolutely confessing Christ, Avas dragged on a hurdle
to Saint Giles's fields, was there suspended by chains
over a sIoav fire, and cruelly burned to death.
Such brutality, hoAvever, did not crush out the truth.
With a revival of learning in England, God's word Avas
more widely read and more heartily embraced. The
Aasit of Erasmus to the learned men of the English
court filled their minds AAT.th his severe satires upon the
vices of the priests, and diminished the veneration
which, attached by tradition to their clerical habit,
their own disgraceful conduct had already in no small
degree impaired.
The course of History conducts us through the reign
of Henry VIL, and into that of Henry VIII. Cardi
nal Wolsey rises to the height of his ambitious de-

62 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
sires, and falls, like Lucifer, to 'rise no more. Mean
time, the students of God's word foEoAved each other
to the blazing fagots. John BroAvn, for ridiculing the
deliverance of souls from purgatory by priestly efforts,
was tortured to induce him to confess the efficacy of
the mass, and, Avhen he remained unshaken, he was
burned to death. Thomas BE ney, a modest student of
Trinity CoEege, Cambridge, in the midst of vigils, fast
ings, and despair, buys the Greek Testament collated
by Erasmus. His eye catches the words, " This is a
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of
whom I am chief." Joyfnl he saw that Jesus saves
sinners. With him Avas soon associated William Tyndale,
another. enthusiastic student, who, enlightened by God's
word, began to lecture with success at Oxford upon the
Greek Testament. Persecuted there, he hastened to
Cambridge, where he and Bilney spread, light all
about them. To assist the two scholars, a third, John
Fryth, came forAvard, and, draAAdng from the same New
Testament its saving truths, joined them in preaching
salvation through Jesus Christ alone. With the help
of Fryth, Tyndale rapidly translated the Greek Testa
ment into plain English. Soon, knowledge of his task
coming to the ears of the priests, he was obliged to
leave his country to complete it in Germany.
While thus occupied, his associate, Bilney, is exerting
a poAverful influence at Oxford. The future martyr,
Latimer, is, by conference with him, brought to a
knoAvledge of the truth. Four editions of Tyndale's
New Testament, printed partly at Cologne and partly

ENGLAND. 63
at Worms, successively arrive in England, to the joy
of believers, the conversion of a multitude of inquirers,
and the discomiiture of Avicked bishops and their allies.
Bilney became a marked victim. Three times arrested
and threatened without flinching, at his fourth arrest
his courage failed, and he recanted. But released, and
repenting, he renewed his preaching, and, from house
to house, and in the open country, he declared his oavu
errors and the doctrines of God's AVord. Again arrested
and couAdcted of heresy, he was burned at the stake in
1531. Copies of Tyndale's translation of the Ncav Testa
ment, meantime, have been sought for by many serious
inquirers. Thomas Garret, a poor curate of London,
after reading this, to him, most ncAv and wonderful
book, exclaims : " His Avord Avas in my heart as a burn
ing fire shut up in my bones, and I was Aveary with
forbearing, and I could not stay." Anxious that others
should share with him this precious treasure, he went
forth circulating it on every hand, selling it to laymen,
and monks, and priests. Soon the word found a lodge
ment in a multitude of dwellings. The Gospels and
Epistles were committed to memory by many ; meet
ings for reading and hearing them read, and for preach
ing, were multiplied. Alike in the splendid dwellings
of the rich and in the humbler cottages of the poor
were these gatherings held, and, by means of them,
numbers received the truth.
After the fall of Wolsey and the establishment of
prelacy in England, under Henry VIIL, as head of the
church, in 1539 a commission was appointed by the
king to form articles for directing the doctrine and

64 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Avorship of the church. The six articles thus prepared
enjoined, under pain of confiscation of property, im
prisonment, or death, for heresy, conformity to these
opinions and practices : — The real presence in the sac
rament, communion for the laity only in the use of the
bread, the celibacy of the priests, the observance of
monastic vowg, masses, and auricular confession. In
opposition to these articles so savoring of Popery, those
who still received the pure doctrines of the Gospel
taught them boldly, and from the seeds which they
planted arose the Puritans, who appear in the succeed
ing reigns, many of them as Presbyterians, and many
as IndejDendents.
The influence of the Eeformed Chui'ches of the Con
tinent must not be overlooked when considering the
progress of the Presbyterian Church in England.
Near the coast of France, and in the English Chan
nel, are the two islands of Guernsey and Jersey. To
these islands, numbers of the persecuted Huguenots,
looking on all sides for places of refuge, fled when
driven from their homes, and here they planted their
churches. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, by
royal protection, their ministers and elders, in Septem
ber, 1587, held their first synod. Greater privileges
were obtained under the rule of James I., and from these
refugee Presbyterians an influence soon went forth to
the various cities of England.
Meantime, in 1549, John k Lasco, a nobleman of
Poland, arrived in London. Able, eloquent, learned,
and deeply pious, he had enjoyed special advantages
abroad. In Switzerland he had consorted Avith ZAvingli,
and received from him counsel and encouragement.

ENGLAND. 65
Under his influence, in 1550, a congregation of German
refugees was formed in London, and, as a place of
worship, the church of the Augustine friars was as
signed to them. This congregation was soon erected
into a corporation, under the direction of John a Lasco,
now recognized as Superintendent of all foreign churches
in London, with whom four other ministers were asso
ciated. In the act of incorporation, the lord mayor,
aldermen, and magistrates of the city, and all arch
bishops, bishops, and justices of the peace, are enjoined
to permit the superintendent and ministers to enjoy and
exercise their oAvn rites and ceremonies.
In London the French Presbyterians also formed a
congregation, to which the church of St. Anthony was
granted. These French Presbyterians were permitted
to use the Genevan discipline and order of AVorship.
After the death of Henry VIIL, diuing the short
reign of Edward VL, such Eeformed chm-ches and
ministers as were of the Presbyterian family remained
unmolested, and' many were added to their number.
Learned men, as Martin Bucer and Paul Fagius, from
Germany, invited to England by the king, taught the
true doctrines and simple forms of worship of God's
word. The reign of the bloody Mary succeeded. Not less
than four hundred martyrs were publicly executed,
many others being secretly slain. Among them were
tAventy clergymen of high attainments, sixty women,
and forty children. Peter Martyr and John S. Lasco
were expelled from the country. The congregation of
the latter was included in his sentence. Hundreds, es-
tabEshed in the faith and order of the Eeformers, fled
5

66 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
to the Continent, and settled along the Ehine, in France,
in SAvitzerland, in Austria, in Holland. Wherevei
they made their residence in these lands they found
Presbyterian Eeformers, ministers, elders, and an or
ganization, more or less perfect, of Sessions, Presby
teries, and Synods.
Hence, it is no wonder that, when Elizabeth came to
the throne, multitudes of these exiles returned to Eng
land, confirmed more thoroughly than ever before in
their attachment to the doctrines and worship of their
church. Many of them who were ministers were em
ployed as pastors in the parish churches, in cities, and
toAAms, and throughout the country ; but little of that
conformity to the established church being then de
manded, Avhich in subsequent reigns was so rigidly en
forced. In their constant ministrations they circulated
the Genevan Bibles, they instructed their people in the
principles of church order, and thus laid solid founda
tions for a pure and primitive ecclesiastical system.
God's Providence was, by these teachings and efforts,
preparing the way in England for the Puritans, the
Independents, and the Presbyterians — the Non-con
formists of succeeding days.
To the Parliament of 1572 leading men who desired
a purer church than that of the establishment addressed
a petition detailing their grievances. They presented
a scriptural plan of church government, afiu-med the
equality of ministers, defined the method of selecting
them, and described their duties ; while they prayed
that the Church of England might be further reformed
and brought back to the ancient simplicity of apostolic
times. For presuming to criticise the present condition

ENGLAND. 67
of the established Church, and to present this document
to the House of Commons, its authors were imprisoned.
The arbitrary rejection of this petition paved the AA^ay
for the organization of the first regularly constituted
Presbytery of the Eeformation period.
This was organized on the twentieth of November,
1572, at Wandsworth, a village near London. There
Avere present about fifteen ministers, but a considerable
number of laymen ; and, after having constituted the
Presbytery, they set apart eleven elders, and defined
and set forth their duties in a treatise which they
styled the " Orders of Wandsworth." The formation
of this Presbytery Avas followed by the free preaching
of the Gospel, the education of numerous able and
godly ministers, and the establishment of many Pres
byterian congregations.
The " Orders of Wandsworth " did not, it is probable,
differ essentially from a treatise, " printed for John
Wright, in the Old-baily in 1644," and " PubEshed
by Authority." This is entitled, " A Directory of
Church-goA^ernment. Anciently contended for, and as
farre as the Times would suffer, practiced by the first
Non-conformists in the dales of Queen Elizabeth.
Found in the f tudy of the moft accomplished Divine,
M^ Thomas QartwrigTit, after his deceafe; and re
served to be published for such a time as this."
Herein is described the discipline of Christ's Church
as it is delivered in the Holy Scriptures, the necessity
of a call to the ministry of the word, and other public
service in God's house. The proper order of worship
and a directory for the same follow, Avith dn-ectious for
the election of pastors, and the administration of the

68 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
sacraments of the church. The article upon "The
Catechisme " is of special interest, since its early inti
mations were so closely obeyed by the " Westminster
Assembly " nearly a century later. " Let the Cate
chisme bee taught in everj^ church. Let there be two
sorts. One, more large, applied to the delivering of
the sum of Eeligion by a sute and order of certaine
places of the Scriptures, according to which some point
of the holy Doctrine may be expounded every week.
Another, of the same sort, but shorter, fit for the ex
amination of the rude and ignorant before they be ad
mitted to the Lord's Supper.''
A clause of the article which treats " Of Students of
Divinity " is worthy of notice : " In every church
where it may conveniently be done, care is to be had
that some poore Schollers studious of Divinity, being
fit for Theologicall exercises, and especiaEy for ex
pounding of holy Scripture, may, by the liberality of
the godly rich, be taught and trained up to preach."
Full directions are given briefly for the calling of Ses
sions and higher courts, and for the ordering of business
Avithin them, which contain the germs of all the ecclesi
astical procedures of the Presbyterians of the present
day. This was the " Book of Discipline," formed in 1586
by the Elizabethan Presbyterians, and subscribed by
more than five hundred of the most godly and devoted
ministers of England.
From this time the Presbyterian Church in England
grew and gathered in multitudes of pious men and
women of aE classes.
The accession of James I., upon the death of Queen

ENGLAND. 69
Elizabeth, subjected all who were not willing to con
form to his strangely prelatical views to new distresses.
Successive conferences and convocations showed the
royal purpose to be most despotic and arbitrary in
reference to ecclesiastical control.
Once more oppressed and driA^en forth, many Pres*
byterians fled to the Continent. In every country they
were greeted with a welcome, and their pastors soon
found abundant opportunity to preach.
The year 1618 is memorable for the publication of
King James's " Book of Sports," which proposed that
the people, after divine service, should be indulged in
such recreations as " dancing, archery, leaping. May-
games, Whitson-ales, morrice dances, setting up of May
poles," and similar amusements. It was the royal order
that this " Book of Sports " should be read in the
churches. Many pastors refused to read it, and left
their parishes. Others, when they read it, also read
the Fourth Commandment, saying afterwards : " This
is the command of God, the former is only an injunc
tion by man."
The distresses of this reign were surpassed when
Charles I. came to his father's throne. With Laud as
Bishop of London, and then as Archbishop of Canter
bury, there was no lack of persecuting violence coming
down upon all who would not yield to his Popish en
croachments. The " Book of Sports " was again pub
lished, and all ministers not conforming to the Church
of England were forbidden to preach, and their con
gregations were commanded to withdraw from them.
But the very intolerance that pursued them was made
by God the means of their deliverance. Charles came

70 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
into collision Avith the great majority of his subjects.
Pym, Hampden, Cromwell, Selden, and a multitude of
other instruments to bring in liberty to England, were
raised up. The Long Parliament, in abolishing the
Star Chamber and the Court of High Commission,
those old engines of tyranny, commenced a course of
opposition to the royal usurpation of authority over the
consciences of subjects, that led directly and rapidly to
the king's destruction.
In 1643 the English Parliament passed an ordinance
convening what has ever since been called the West
minster Assembly of Divines. It consisted of one hun
dred and seventy-four members, of whom one hundred
and forty-two were ministers. Of these, sixty-nine ap
peared the first day, and generally the attendance
ranged between sixty and eighty. They convened in
the Chapel of Henry VIIL, at Westminster, and held
their sessions in that Chapel, and in the Jerusalem
Chamber, for more than five years and a half. The
object of their appointment was declared by Parlia
ment to be to settle a government in the Church of
England that may be most agreeable to God's Holy
Word, and most apt to procure the peace of the Church
at home, and nearer agreement with the other Eeformed
Churches. This Assembly composed a Confession of
Faith, a Directory for Worship, a Form of Church
Government and Discipline, and two catechisms. The
Shorter Catechism, for the instruction of the young,
was adopted November 6, 1647; and the Larger Cate
chism, for the use of Divinity students and ministers,
Avas adopted April 14, 1648. The Shorter Catechism
is not an abstract of the Larger, but is an independent

ENGLAND. 71
work, corresponding to . it and to the Confession of
Faith. It was at once warmly received and cherished
as a clear exhibition of Bible truth in a systematic
form, and was quickly published and circulated in
other European countries, and in America in the " Ncav
England Primer." The first part, from the beginning
to the thirty-eighth answer, treats of Avhat we are to
believe concerning God, and contains all the doctrines
of Scriptm'e. The second part, from the thirty-ninth
answer to the end, is practical, and teaches the duties
of religion.
London and its immediate vicinity was for a consid
erable time within the bounds of the Provincial Synod
of London. This Synod continued to hold regular
meetings until the year 1655. The same churches, dis
continuing at that time the Synodical meeting, met still
as Presbyteries, and maintained, as far as it was possi
ble, the Presbyterian government and discipline.
After the death of Cromwell and the restoration of
Charles II. , prelacy was restored, and, under the strong
- hand of Parliament, was cruelly enforced throughout
the kingdom by the Act of UnEormity. This passed
both houses by small majorities, received the royal
assent on May 19, 1662, and took effect on the feast of
St. Bartholomew, August 24, 1662. The terms of con
formity specified by this act Avere : — 1. Ee-ordination
for those who had not receiA-ed their ordination from
prelatical authority. 2. A declaration of unfeigned
assent and consent to aE and everything prescribed and
contained in the Book of Common Prayer, and admin
istration of sacraments and other rites and ceremonies
of the Church of England, together with the psalter,

72 PEESBYTEEIAIT CHUECH.
and the form and manner of making, ordaining, and
consecrating of bishops, priests, and deacons. 3. To
take the oath of canonical obedience. 4. To abjure
the Solemn League and Covenant. 5. To abjure the
lawfulness of taking arms against the king, or any
commissioned by him, on any pretence whatsoever.
The penalty affixed to the refusal of ministers to con
form to these tyrannical decrees was to be ejected
from their pulpits and manses or parsonages.
When the sad day of St. Bartholomew arrived, two
thousand Presbyterian clergymen, full of their consci
entious devotion to the principles of God's Word, re
linquished their ecclesiastical possessions, abandoned
theu- only means of subsistence, left their dwellings,
and, Avith even more of distress, their pulpits and their
disconsolate congregations, and went forth aliens in
their oaati land, having no home to shelter them, for
bidden to preach or to exercise the offices of their sacred
calling. Not discom-aged or crushed, these self-denying fol
lowers of Him who had not where He might lay His-
head, bravely taught His word, E not publicly, at least
from house to house. The Presbyterian Church,
burned, but not consumed, still lived in England, and
now has in that country a firm position of growing in
fluence and usefulness, rapidly increasing in numbers,
and affording a home for multitudes who fly to it, on
the one hand from a prelacy that apes Popery, and on
the other from a broad carelessness in doctrine that
opens AAdde the door to infidelity. The Presbyterian
Church of England is a self-governed body, but it is
closely boimd in fellowship and sympathy to the Free

ENGLAITD.

73

Church of Scotland. The United Presbyterian Church
in England is to this time a branch of the United
Presbyterian Church of Scotland. It is believed that
these churches will soon unite their forces, and be one
in organization, as they are in spirit. In England
there are now nearly three hundi'ed Presbyterian con
gregations ; in the Dominion of Canada there are more
than five hundi-ed. In Australia, New Zealand, Africa,
the West Indies, and other British colonies, there are
six hundred. In Scotland there are three thousand,
and in Ireland not less than six hundred ; making in
aE, for Great Britain and her dependencies, an aggre
gate of Five Thousand churches and ministers. And,
when the Church of England shall be dis-established,
this number will be largely increased. Then shall it
be seen that the persecuting Aaolence of popes and kings,
who in former days refused God's Word a dwelling-
place in the British Isles, was overruled to make its
lodgement there the more firm, and the martyrs who
gave their Ea'cs for the truth again shall find them,
abiding in their infiuence, and faith, and teachings
evermore in EngEsh homes.

CHAPTEE V.

THE PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH IN SAVITZEELAND.

"Ulric Zwingli.

In Switzerland, beautiful vrith its vaEeys, sublime in
its mountains and precipices, the early history of the
assault against Eomanism by
those who, in the stanchness
of their faith and the consti
tution of their church, were
Presbyterians, has much to do
with the labors and heroism
of Ulric Zwingli. Born at
Wildhaus, in moderate cir
cumstances, January 1, 1484,
seven weeks after Luther,
in the pure, cool au- of a
green, Alpine region, and with father, mother, and
other relatiA^es of a genial, religious tone, he grew up
healthy and vigorous in body and in soul. Highly
favored in his schoolmaster, who had visited Jerusa
lem as a pilgrim, and who often described the Holy
Land to his pupEs, he learned Latin by reading and
analyzing the best classical authors, and became an
adept in instrumental music. In 1499 he entered the
university at Vienna, and, with a thirst for knowledge,
became a proficient in the Greek poets, in Plato, and
Aristotle. Eeturning, after tAvo years' training, to his
native Aullage, he finds employment as a teacher of
languages at Basel. Here he is also soon found study-

SWITZEELAND. 75
ing as a pupil of Wittenbach, and Leo Judae became
his fellow-pupil. Under this instruction he grew
mighty in the Scriptures, and in 1506 was consecrated
as priest and pastor at Glarus. While thus laboring
he wrote off St. Paul's epistles in the form of a small
book, and carried them about with him, fixing their
doctrines in his memory and heart. War arising, and
the people of his canton marching into Italy, he ac
companied them, in 1512, and encouraged their valor.
More and more alive to the shameful vices of the
majority of the Eomish priests, he was scandalized
when Samson, an agent for the sale of indulgences,
came to Switzerland, as Tetzel had come to Saxony,
and he uttered warnings against him and his system
from the pulpit. Like Luther, he was led on from
this commencement, step by step, to attack aE the pre
vailing Eomish errors. In 1516 and 1517 he was
using in his oavu land the very words and arguments
which Luther was wielding in Germany. His exposi
tions of the gospels and the epistles grew in fervor, and
his sermons became more pointed and personal. He
awakened a universal hatred for indulgences, until
complaint was made against him to the Pope, and he
seemed, like Luther, a marked and condemned victim.
He denounced the celibacy of the clergy as unscript
ural, and proved marriage to be honorable in all.
A council at Zurich was called in 1523, to give
ZAvingli an opportunity to defend his vieAvs, and he
succeeded in having the appeal made to the " genuine
Scriptures in the German tongue and language."
Zwingli prepared seventy-six propositions containing
the substance of his doctrine. Before one hundred aud

76

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

eighty delegates he prepared to defend these proposi
tions from God's Word, against the Pope's Vicar-gen
eral, Faber, who did not dare to argue with him. This
was the first of a long series of victories in which,
whether the opponents ajDpeared or retired, he demol
ished the dogmas of auricular confession, the worship
of images, righteousness by good works, the changing
of the wafer into the real body and blood of Christ,
and the monastic system — so full of gross crimes.
Some have lamented that a sharp contention took
place between Zwingli and Luther as to the presence
of Christ in the Lord's Supper. At the time many
said. See how these orphan chEdren now quarrel when
no longer the Mother Church keeps them in check.
The discussion, however, did good. It showed that
these Eeformers were free, not depending on each
other, nor quoting each other's words, nor artfuEy
combining vrith each other to feign a semblance of
harmony that did not really exist ; but, on the contrary,
that they derived their views
of true doctrine from the
Scriptures, and, agreeing in
essentials, feared not to ex
hibit their real opinions on
points of difference.
Other reformers in SAvitzer
land co-operated with Zwingli,
such as Farel, BuEinger, Lam
bert, (Ecolampadius, and Wit
tenbach; whEe John Cahdn
deserves much fuller mention as the greatest theologian
of the Eeformed Churches.

Jolm Calvin.

SWrrZEELAND. 77
He was born at Noyon, near Paris, July 10, 1509,
and from a very early age was trained for the priest
hood. Eeceiving the charge of a parish when but
eighteen years old, so constant were his studies, so re
markable his intellectual advancement, and so eloquent
his discourses, that his father, foreseeing the revolution
about to occur in the religious world, and fearing lest
his son's zeal and growing prominence would bring him
into jeopardy, prevailed Avith him to study law at Or
leans. God's hand was in this apparent interruption of
his theological training, for Calvin was thus to gain prep
aration for his future work of organizing the churches
upon Scriptural and apostolic foundations. While
attending the legal lectures by day, and rapidly gain
ing acquaintance with all the intricacies of civil and
canon law, young Calvin by night as profoundly read
the Scriptures, and became mighty in acquiring the
knowledge of their contents. Enlightened by these, he
became convicted of his sins. In sorrow of soul he
sought in peace the masses and ceremonies of his church,
but at last, as he declares, " the secret guidance of God's
Providence delivered me from the superstitions of the
papacy." After iis father's death, openly joining the
Eeformers, he preached in Paris, strengthening the
timid believers who began to be persecuted, and usually
ending each sermon with the words : " If God be for
us, who can be against us ? "
The doctors of the Sorbonne, a college of the Uni
versity of Paris, during the times of the Eeformation
the most able and learned theologians of the Eoman
Church, had just proscribed the doctrines of Luther ;
and Calvin soon met their fiercest opposition. Having

78 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
the fiiendship of one of them, upon the occasion of his
being chosen as rector, Calvin furnished him with his
inaugural oration on the theme, " Justification by Faith
alone." It is not hard to imagine what power of
thought and diction filled this production. The angry
Sorbonne ordered it to be burned, and, sending officers
to arrest CalAan, he was let down, like St. Paul, from a
Avindow in a basket, and hastily fled. Still unchanged,
remaining an untiring student and a conscientious
preacher and teacher, ever drawing truth from its foun
tain-head, and poming it forth to refresh and save the
people, we find him successively at Nerac, Angouleme,
again at Paris, at Orleans, Strasbourg, Basel, and, in
1536, at Geneva.
The preceding year, when but twenty-six years old,
he published, anonymously, his celebrated " Institutes
of Theology," in French. At Basel, in 1536, the Latin
edition appeared, and subsequent revised editions were
published in 1539, 1543, 1545, 1549, 1550, and 1559.
Though hastily written, it came from a mind so well
trained and accurate, that it needed little correction.
The author found reason to add here and there to its
chapters, but not to erase. Says Beza : " Though pre
pared in haste, he never changed anything ; " and Scali-
ger writes : " He made no retractions, though he wrote
much." The "Institutes" is in four books, in turn
treating of the knowledge of God as the Creator and
Sovereign of the world, of the knowledge of God as
Eedeemer in Christ, of participation in the grace of
Christ, and the fruits thereof, and of the external
means of grace, namely, the church and the sacraments,
by which God brings us into and continues us in com-

SWITZEELAND. 79
munion Avith His Son. This system of theology is built
upon the idea of God's sovereignty : " God in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their
offences unto them." In accordance Avith God's holy
and wise decrees, the human race, fallen in Adam's
transgression, suffering from the guilt and weakness of
Original Sin, is redeemed by the coming in the flesh,
the sacrifice, death, and intercession of the God-man.
Justification is by faith alone, and faith is the gift of
God. For twenty-eight years CalAdn was a champion of
Scriptural truth. He ruled religious opinions by the
power of God's Word, not only in Geneva, but all
over Europe. He established the primitive system of
ecclesiastical organization. In accordance with this
plan a church acts through its bench of elders, which
orders all its spiritual affairs. Above this is the Pres
bytery or provincial Synod, in which every church is
represented by its pastor and one or more of its elders,
with a General Assembly, constituted like the Synod,
and dEecting by its counsels the entire body of be
lievers. Under this simple yet ancient organization,
Switzerland soon took her place among the most highly
favored nations, exhibiting to the world a Presbyterian
church grand and imperishable as her own snow-capped
mountains. The Church thus constituted has been greatly
blessed of God, and now numbers one mElion and a
half of communicants.

CHAPTEE VL

THE PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH IN GEEMANY.

The Protestants of Germany were,, and are still,
Presbyterians. The Lutherans of all branches recog
nize the equality of the ministry by divine appoint
ment, although there may be gradations in it because
of human necessity, and thus some of the pastors be
appointed to superintend districts comprising many
parishes. Consistories of church officers, or elders,
chosen from the people, administer the affairs of indi
vidual congregations, and Synods possess the powers of
supervision over them.
Their great leader, Martin Luther, to whose efforts
the world so much owes the religious freedom of mod
ern times, vas born in the
toAvn of Eisleben, in Saxony,
near the Hartz mountains, on
St. Martin's Eve, November
10, 1483, and died in his
native town, February 18,
1546. His father was a poor
miner, his mother the daugh
ter of a plain citizen of Neu-
stadt. At the age of six
years he could read and write ;
at fourteen he left his first school to take his place as
a scholar in that of the Franciscans at Magdeburg,

«/'i\\'

Martin Lntlier.

^'f.^-

' '>M-^:

THE WAKTBURQ.
GEEMANY. 83
whence he was soon transferred by his parents to the
free school at Eisnach, Avhere he had several relatives.
Like other poor students of Germany, to maintain
himself he often sang from door to door, and begged a
little bread. A wealthy family, that of the Cottas,
became interested in him and sheltered him beneath
their roof duiing his course of four years in the Eis
nach school.
In his eighteenth year, his father was able to place
him in the University of Erfurth. Here he studied
zealously and profoundly. His attainments" in the
Greek and Latin classics, in jurisprudence, in the works
of the fathers of the church, and in rhetoric and music,
attracted the attention and praise of his professors and
other learned men.
After two years of study at the University, one day,
while turning over the manuscripts of the library, he
lighted upon an old Latin Bible, the first he had ever
seen, and soon he was absorbed with Avonder and delight
at its histories, its prophecies, and its exhibitions of doc
trine. As he read one portion after another Avith in
creasing intensity of interest and emotion, he exclaimed :
•¦ O God ! coiEd I have one of these books, I would seek
i'or no other treasure."
In 1505 two striking incidents led him to new
thoughts and a noAV plan of life. An intimate coEege
fiiend was sadly assassinated, and Luther Avas led to
inquire: "What if I should be called to die thus sud
denly?" Soon after, walking near Erfurth, he Avas overtaken
by a fearful thunder-storm, and, being quickly encom
passed by the terrors of death, he made what he sub-

84 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
sequently called "a reluctant and "forced vow" to be
come a monk. On July 18, 1505, he entered the
Augustine monastery of Erfurth. Previous to this
time, John Wickliffe, in England, the Morning Star of
the Eeformation, born about 1324, and John Huss,
born 1373, and Jerome of Prague, born 1378, on the
Continent, had rebuked the errors of the corrupt
Eomish church, and had taught the doctrines of the
NeAV Testament, claiming the equality of ministers.
For these opinions the former was persecuted and the
two latter burned.
Luther's progress to the adoption of their views and
to the maintenance of the primitive and apostolical order
of church government was rapid.
He became disgusted with the scandalous conduct of
the popes, bishops, priests, and nuns. He saw how the
worship of Mary, of saints, of images, had crowded out
the worship of Jesus. Attempting by the seE-denial
of a hermit to acquire holiness, he fell a prey to sad
ness, to perplexities, to sore temptations of the adver
sary. Taught by the Holy Spirit, through the sen
tences of his Bible, he boldly proclaimed that the writ
ings of the prophets and apostles, proceeding from God
Himself, were more profound and certain than all the
traditions of men. Soon he began to teach the truths
he had learned in an ancient wooden chapel in the
square at Wittemberg, which has been compared to the
stable in which Christ was born. In this dilapidated
building, propped up on every side, standing in an old
plank pulpit three feet high, he re-echoed the teachings
of Paul fi-om the epistles to the Eomans and the Gala
tians.

LUTHER FIKDS THE LATIN BIBLE AT ERTOST.

GERMANY. 87
Setting out for Eome in 1510, he there, wishing to
gain the indulgence promised to all Avho should climb
" Pilate's StaEcase " on their knees, seemed to hear in
his heart Avords which he says had stirred its depths
both at Erfurth and at Bologna : " The just shall live
by faith." Then, leaping to his feet, as he fled from
the staircase, he fled also from Eome's sinful supersti
tions, and planted himself more firmly than ever upon
the Eock of Holy Scriptui,'e. Not long afterwards he
wrote to Brentius : "This article of justification by
faith is what creates the church, nourishes it, edifies it,
preserves and defends it."
Eeturning to Wittemberg, the Elector, Frederick,
became his patron, able and studious men sought his
friendship, multitudes listened to his preaching, and he
became bold to attack the Eomish errors. Among
them the most profitable to the coffers of the pope was
the notion that souls could be rescued from the tortures
of purgatory by liberally paying money to his agents,
the bishops and priests ; while similar gifts would se
cure to the donors the forgiveness of the Avorst crimes.
In 1517, Tetzel, one of these agents, coming to the
city of Luther's residence, sold vast numbers of these
indulgences, so that, as Luther said, "the money leaped
and fell tinkling into his box." One day a number of
persons came to confession to Luther, and, having first
acknowledged themselves guilty of the grossest sins,
they then refused to perform the penances he imposed,
showing to him diplomas containing this sentence : —
" I absolve thee from all excesses, sins, and crimes, that
thou mayest haA^e committed, however great and enor
mous they may be." Luther refused to recognize these

88 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
credentials, quoting the text : " Except ye repent, ye
shall all likewise perish."
The refusal led to an open conflict between the be
sotted and grasping pajsists and the newly enlightened
Eeformer, and caused him to publish his celebrated
" ninety-flve theses." These propositions Luther nailed
to the door of the Wittemberg Church at mid-day, Oc
tober 31, 1517, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The ninety-five theses describe what the Saviour means
by " repentance ; " they assert that the pope can only
confirm the remission of sins which God bestows ; that
no human pardon can avail for the dead ; that " they
preach mere human follies who maintain that, as soon
as the money rattles in the strong box, the soul flies out
of purgatory ; " that every Christian participates in all
the blessings of Christ and the church by God's gift ;
that to hope to be sav.ed by indulgences is a lying and
empty hope ; that, the true and precious treasure of the
church is the holy gospel of the glory and grace of
God; that it is better to enter into the kins:dom of
heaven through much tribulation, than to acquire a
carnal security by the consolations of a false peace."
These " theses " may to-day be read upon the same spot
to which Luther nailed them. They have been cast in
enduring bronze upon the ponderous gates that occupy
the room of those which formerly received them. And
thus the imperishable truth which they set forth will
continue to exert its beneficial power to all future gen
erations. The declarations thus published by Luther were the
germs of the Eeformation Avhich was to separate him-
seE and a multitude of other Christians from the papacy.

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GEEMANY.

91

Soon after the "theses" Avere written, Luther gave to the
world his " Sermons on the Ten Commandments," and
his " Explanations of the Lord's Prayer, for simj)le aud
unlettered laymen." Events crowded him rapidly for
ward as the Champion of a true faith and a Scriptural
church order. He is surrounded by congenial allies,
scholars like Bucer, Melancthon, Carlstadt ; heroes like
Syl-vester, of Schaumburg
Francis, of Sickingen, and
Ulric Van Hiitten ; Avhile the
celebrated painter, Lucas Kra-
nach, and worthy Hans Sachs,
the cobbler poet, with designs
and verses, awaken the Ger
man masses, and bring good
speed to his cause.
On the 15th of June, 1520,
Luther gains higher honor.
Leo X. Avrote his anathema, the celebrated bull of ex
communication. Luther perceived its emptiness ; his
students, playing on the Avord " hullaf which means
both " the seal of the pope's declaration " and a " bub
ble," called it the bubble, and, tearing it in pieces, flung
it into the river to see it swim. On the 17th of
November Luther appealed from its judgment; on
the 10th of December he marched boldly at the
head of a long procession of divines, students, and
citizens, to the eastern gate of Wittemberg, and
there tlircAV the canon law, the decretals, the paj)al
extraA-agants, sundry writings of Eck and Emser —
the pope's disputants — and a copy of the late bull
into the midst of flames kindled like those in Avhich

Philip Melaucttion.

92 PRESBYTERLiN CHURCH.
the Eomanists burned Christians, amid the applause
of croAvds of spectators.
The diet of Worms was a convention consisting of
the Emperor Charles V, six electors of the empire, one
archduke, two landgraves, five margraves, twenty-seven
dukes, besides counts, archbishops, bishops, and others ;
in all numbering two hundred and six dignitaries.
It was opened by the Emperor on January 28th, 1521.
It was a tribunal before which all matters of vital
interest Avithin the empire came for decision. The
Eeformation was to be judged before it in the per
son of Luther. A citation and safe-conduct reached
him, and at once he set out, knowing that enemies
who thirsted for his blood would surround him on
the way thither, and while he should stand there to
defend the truth. " Christ lives," he exclaimed, " and
I AAdll go to Worms to brave the gates of hell." At
Oppenheim he wrote the words and music of that won
drous hymn, Avhich he sang as he came in sight of
Worms, Avhich, echoed afterwards in every hamlet of
Germany, stiE awakens enthusiasm by its confident
burden : — " Ein Feste Burgh 1st Unser Gott : " —
" Our God, a stronghold ! " Hear his own words :
" Though I in truth was physically fearful and trem
bling, God sustained me, and I replied firmly " (the
herald asking him if he would indeed go to Worms),
" Yea, I will repair thither, though I should find there
as many devils as there are tiles on the housetops."
Notwithstanding this diet of Worms condemned and
excommunicated him, Luther, successful in maintain
ing the boldness and consistency of his protestations,
exerted a more poAverf ul infiuence upon his countrymen

LUTHKB BURKING THE POPE'S BULL.

GERMANY. 95
than before against Eome. On his return, to save him
from the Avrath of his enemies, the Saxon elector
caused him to be arrested and taken to the lofty and
isolated castle of the Wartburg, which he called his
"Patmos," and from which he sent forth a deluge of able
and convincing writings over Germany. Here, from
lack of exercise, he suffered pains of body and at
times depression of mind, once imagining that Satan
was before him to torment him. Luther, in alarm and
anger, flung his inkstand at the apparition, and the spot
on the wall blackened by his ink is still shovra to trav
ellers. His lEe after his return to his more public labors
was a succession of triumphs. He sent forth his trans
lations of the New Testament, he trained by his teach
ing and preaching an army of spiritual champions ;
and the history of the church, that since those days
bears his name, is a history of the Presbyterianism of
mElions who revere his memory, read his version of
the Bible in his native tongue, and love the truths
for which he so fearlessly contended.
The Presbyterian Family in Germany gave the name
of Protestant to Christendom. In the old town of
Spires two noted diets were convened. The first, in
1526, refused to enforce the condemnation of the diet of
Worms upon Luther and his foEoAvers. It thus left
them free to promulgate the truth. In 1529 a second
diet forbade any change in doctrine, discipline, or wor
ship, until the convoking of a general councE. Against
this declaration, the Elector of Saxony, the Marquis of
Brandenburg, the Landgrave of Hesse, the Prince of
Anhalt, the Dukes of Lunenburg, Avith deputies from

96 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
fourteen cities, solemnly protested. This was on AprE
19, 1529. In 1530 was held the diet of Augsburg, in
Bavaria. The " Augsburg Confession " was here adopt
ed. It consisted of twenty-eight chapters, in which the
doctrines of God's word are set forth. Against the de
crees of this diet that, like those of Worms, perhaps
with even greater severity, opposed the Eeformers, the
Protestant princes formed the league of Smalcald, in
1531. Two years later, by the help of France, Eng
land, and Denmark, the free toleration of Protestant
ism was secured for Germany. And, although the
council of Trent, maintained as to its decrees by the
power of the Emperor, sought still to oppose the suc
cess of the truth, though a time of severe conflict fol
lowed, and the good cause trembled in the balances, its
leaders often disheartened and perplexed, at last, in
1555, again at Augsburg there was concluded the
celebrated " Peace of Eeligion," and Germany rejoiced
in permanent religious freedom.
The progress of the Lutheran Church in Germany
since those days has been varied. It has suffered its
declensions from the influence of Eationalism and scep
ticism; but a reaction has occurred, and its scholars
and students have abundantly illustrated Biblical truth.
It is now fully Presbyterian in its system of Church
Government, with a series of Synods : the Circuit
Synod, the District Synod, the Provincial Synod, and
the General Synod.

CHAPTEE VIL
THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE NETHERLANDS, AND
IN EEANCE.
THE NETHEELANDS.
At the present time, four-fifths of the Protestants in
the Netherlands adhere to the Eeformed Church of
HoEand, which derives its " Confession of Faith " from
Zwingli and Calvin. This Presbyterian family is thus
intimately related to the Church in Switzerland. It is
directed by a consistory, or what is elsewhere called a
session of elders; by classes, or Presbyteries, composed
of the ministers of seA^eral neighboring congregations,
each church sending one elder also ; by provincial Syn
ods, and by a General Synod which meets annually at
the Hague. The seventeen Belgian provinces, known
as the Netherlands or the Low Countries, were, in the
sixteenth century, part of the dominions of Charles V.,
governed by his viceroys. Here, during two centuries
previously, various religious reformers had appeared,
among them Thomas a Kempis, usually named as au
thor of "The Imitation of Christ." Here, also, in Eot-
terdam was born the celebrated Erasmus, in 1467,
whose reputation as a classical scholar was widely
spread over Europe. As an author and a critic, he
greatly helped the Eeformation. His satires upon the
vices of the priesthood aided to awaken the jDopular
hatred of the system that created and leaned upon it.
He stimulated a spirit of research in the study of the

98

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

original tongues of Scripture, and encouraged succeed
ing scholars.
The Avritings of Luther were eagerly read in the
Netherlands, and those AA'ho embraced his opinions
Avere severely persecuted. Yet their numbers in
creased, and, when they became possessed of civil
freedom as an independent state, religious liberty fol
lowed. The people then adopted the reformed re
ligion. In 1555, Charles V. abdicated in favor of his son,
Philip II. ; and the Netherlands coming under his
sway, he established there
the bloody tribunal of the
Inquisition, and the writings
of Luther, (Ecolampadius,
Zwingli, Bucer, and Calvin
were forbidden to be printed,
written, copied, kept, con
cealed, or sold. All persons
were moreover forbidden to
converse or dispute concern
ing the Holy Scriptures, unless
they were pi-ofessed theologians.
Then followed scenes of dreadful brutality, torture,
and slaughter, as multitudes Avere persecuted and slain
for clinging to God's word. But, in 1566, opposition
was maintained to the cruel edicts and acts of Eoman
tyranny. In 1572, WEEam, prince of Orange, became
master of Holland, and, under an act of toleration, the
Eeformed religion prospered. PreA-iously, in 1562, its
professors prepared a bond of union or " Confession,"
that was approved and revised by Calvin, to Avhom

Philip ri.

THE NETHEELANDS.

99

Willium of Ornngc.

they sent it. It was styled " A Confession of Faith
generally maintained by believers dispersed throughout
the Low Countries, who de
sire to live according to the
purity of the holy Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Hence the origin of the Ee
formed Church of the Neth
erlands, which has continued
to this day to grow in num
bers and influence. Thia
Church has sent forth to all
other lands emigrants who
have either carried with them their own organization,
or have aided and strengthened other churches to
which they have joined themselves. The history of
their struggle with intolerant Eome is full of stirring
and exciting interest. Theu* fearful persecutions under
the Duke of Alva, and their glorious triumphs with
WEEam the SEent for leader, are worthy the earnest
study of aE Presbyterians. Perhaps no more romantic
acceptance of a nickname occurs in history than theirs,
when they were sneeringly styled " Beggars," by their
Spanish foes. A number of Dutch nobles being gath
ered at a banquet, and having drank success to the
Protestant cause in generous Ehenish wine and " Hol
lands," some spake of this contemptuous epithet in
terms of severe chagrin. " Yes," cried one, " they
stigmatize as ' beggars,' gentlemen of older and better
blood and sterner courage than themselves." Brede-
rode, the host, rising at the head of the table, replied :
" Gentlemen, nobles, they caEus 'beggars ! ' We avEI

100

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

not be ashamed to Avear proudly the name. Yes, we
Avill brave the Inquisition, we avEI be true to our king ;
we wEl stand firmly in defence of our rights and of
our religion, till with ' beggars' ' shoes and staff, and
bowl aud sack, we go forth from our homes as beg
gars." Beckoning then to one of his pages, he sent for
the staff, the wallet, and the Avooden alms-bowl of a beg
gar. Hanging the wallet from
his shoulders, and filling the
bowl with Ehenish wine, as
he drained it he shouted,
" Long live the Beggars ! "
Then rose from the lips of
all the hardy heroes about
him the war-cry, " Vivent les
Gueux^'' and their oppressors
trembled and f eE before the prowess of the " wood beg
gars," the " wEd beggars," and the " beggars of the sea."

Emblems of Beggars of HoUand.

EEANCE.
In Feance the Eeformed Churches may find traces
of their origin and of the spiritual lEe and power of
Presbyterianism in the early centuries of the Christian
era. The story of the Vaudois is the story of their
fathers. In Southern France, as early as the eleventh
century, there were Eeformers before the Eeforma
tion. In Provence, a celebrated troubadour in the
twelfth century sang : " Indulgences and pardons, God
and the devil, the priests put them all in requisition.
There are no crimes for which the monks cannot give
absolution. To live at ease,. to buy the whitest bread,
the best fish, the finest wine — this is their object the
whole year round. God willing, I too would be of this
same order, E I but thought that I could purchase my
salvation at that price."
In 1124 three Christian apostles, Peter of Bruys,
Henry, and Arnold of Brescia, after sitting at the feet
of the Piedmontese, went from them to bear the gospel
into Provence, and to wear the praise and the crown of
martyrdom forever. For an entire century, a crusade
of unmitigated ferocity fills the history of all the
country which is now called Fi'ance. It was the
determination of Eome to stamp out the last vestige of
opposition to her hierarchy, and to leave none alive who
might communicate the infection of resistance to spir
itual tyranny. This resolve did not miscarry through
any stint of slaying sword or consuming fire, but the
faithful instruction of parents so reared their sons and

102 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
daughters in the hamlets of remote and quiet valleys,
that, previous to the emancipation of Luther, or the full
conversion of Zwingli, in France there were many devout
and devoted Christian believers. Among these the
venerable Lefevre had already cheered his pupil, Farel,
with the words, " My dear William, God will change
the face of the world, and you will see it ! " This was
the same Lefevre AA^ho long before had declared in the
Sorbonne, " It is God alone who by His grace justifies
unto eternal life."
In 1519 Martin Bucer and Philip Melancthon Adsited
France and found multitudes desirous to be taught
from the Scriptures. The mother and sister of Francis
I., who, in 1515, became king of France, were earnest in
reading the Gospels and the Epistles, and with these lov
ing guides the king often explored their truths. Had
Francis possessed the piety and firmness of his sister,
Margaret of Valois, he might have been the religious
leader of his nation, but he was vacillating, and fell
under the control of the Avily priests. Thus the story
of events in France in his days becomes to the student
a history of martyrs. Still the word of God was not
bound ; Count Sigismund, a frank and courageous noble,
translated Luther's works, as they appeared, into French,
and circulated them Avidely. Pierre Toussaint, thrown
into a foul dungeon and almost slain there, Avas spared
to testify to the truth, and to nerve others by his own
fervor. Many others came as the early morning stars
to usher in the day till Calvin was given to France, and
the Presbyterian Church, by his genius and piety, was
purified from error, cemented in the unity of the faith,
and furnished for succeeding conflicts.

FEANCE. 103
Passing on to the times of Henry IL, Avho came to the
throne in 1547, we find the nickname Huguenots fas
tened upon the French reformers. It means Confed
erates, and was affixed to the evangelical Christians of
France by their foes, to stigmatize them as of a foreign,
republican, and heretical origin. In 1561, in the little
village of Poissy, near St. Germaine, the residence of
the court, a conference was held in which Theodore
Beza and other Huguenot divines maintained the great
doctrines of the Gospel in opposition to the teachings
of the corrupt priesthood. By means of these discus
sions, many of the bishops and other clergy, with nu
merous nobles, and a host of the common people, were
won over to espouse the truth.
It is sad to read of the alternate hopes and fears,
successes and persecutions, of these adherents and their
brethren who were ever in peril, and knew what it is to
" die daily."
The world has turned pale with horror at the fearful
story of the massacre of Saint BartholomcAV. It had
been preceded by cIa^E wars in which Admiral Coligny
was the leader of the Huguenots. He was a devoted
Calvinist, a bold soldier, and a sincere Christian.
Henry, the young king of Navarre, a Protestant, was
married August 18, 1572, to Margaret of Valois, a Papist,
sister to Charles IX., the king of France. Huguenots,
being invited, came from all parts of France to attend
the nuptials, little knoAving what aAArful slaughter was
awaiting them. At the marriage, the bride, who loved
the young Duke of Guise, only bowed slightly in assent
to the questions proposed to her, as her head was rudely
forced forAvard by the king, who stood behind her.

104 PEESBYTEELAK CHUECH.
Four days after the wedding Admiral Coligny was
fired upon by a man usually caEed " the king's assas
sin." The shot was not fatal, but it broke the Admiral's
left arm and destroyed the first finger of his right hand.
The king feared lest this outrage should bring upon him
the displeasure of powerful Huguenots, especially that
of young Henry of Navarre, his new brother in-law.
He accordingly hurries at once to Coligny's house, and
assures him of his sorrow because of the occurrence,
and promises that he will at once apprehend and pun
ish the perpeti'ator of so great a crime. It was after
Avards learned that the king, his mother, and her
younger son, the Duke of Anjou, had plotted the death
of the Admiral. They believed that if Coligny were
murdered, the Huguenots would shed blood to avenge
the murder, and that their rising Avould furnish a pre
text for their indiscriminate and universal massacre.
The conspirators were not fully agreed what was next
to be done, and the king wavered; but finally, at a
given signal, on the eve of Saint Bartholomew's Day,
August 23, 1572, sixty thousand men, armed with
pistols, stakes, cutlasses, poignards, knives, and other
bloody weapons, are hastening through all the streets,
putting to death all the Protestants. The pavements
are piled Avith dead bodies : houses, corridors, gates, and
doorways are everywhere covered with gore ; while the
riA^er Seine is deeply tinged with the blood of God's
people. Early in the slaughter. Admiral' Coligny was
slain in his own house by a brutal soldier, and his body,
being flung from the window into the street, was
spurned by the foot of the Duke of Guise. The head
was cut off and sent to the pope, and the trunk hung by

EEANCE. 105
the heels to the gibbet; and, when it was decomposing,
and the king and his retinue passed by it, Charles re
marked, " The carcass of an enemy always smells pleas
antly." For two months this massacre continued all over
France, desolating its toAvns and villages, until nearly
one hundred thousand Huguenots Avere butchered. To
commemorate this event, which the papists everywhere
celebrated with Eluminations, bonfires, and festivities,
the pope had a medal struck. On one side is repre
sented the destroying angel bearing in one hand the
cross of the church, in the other the sword of ven
geance. On the reverse is the Pope's likeness and the
legend fittgonottorttm Strages, 1572.
This slaughter was not unavenged of God. Though
the Huguenots were slain in such numbers, multitudes
remained. They spread through France and the
neighboring lands. In 1598 a decree, called the Edict
of Nantes, was signed, by which toleration was be
stowed, and in certain specified parts of France all
were permitted to worship God as directed by con
science and enlightened by His word. Such freedom,
however, existed only for a time. The kings and
nobles of France, sinking doAvn into shameless Aace,
were soon again the willing dupes of Eomish intoler
ance, and in 1685, Louis XIV. signed the Ee vocation
of the Edict of Nantes. This procedure drove from
their country half a million of her most intelligent,
moral, and industrious citizens. The act declared all
further reformed worship in the kingdom illegal The
pastors must quit the realm within a fortnight, and,
meantime, would be allowed to perform no clerical

106 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
function, on pain of being sent to tlie galleys. All
ministers abandonincr their faith were to be entitled to
a salary one-third greater than formerly, vrith a rever
sion of a nioiety to their widows. A dispensation from
academical studies would be given to those who wished
to practice at the bar. Parents must not instruct their
children in the Eeformed religion, but must have them
christened in Eomish churches on pain of five hundred
liATes fine. All refugees were ordered to return to
France vrithin four months, or forfeit theE property.
All reformed Christians were forbidden to emigrate
under penalty of the galleys, if men, or seclusion for
life, E women. All laAvs against relapsed heretics were
by the act re-confirmed.
As soon as these intolerant orders were published,
all civilized nations began to receive the throngs of
Huguenots that fled from home and property, and with
their lives in their hands sought freedom to worship
God. France afterwards bitterly repented this crime.
Through successive revolutions one barrier of religion
after another was broken, and a tide of infidelity and
sin desolated the land.
But amid the national ruin, God has kindly pro
tected His church. There are now in the old homes of
the Huguenots, a very large number of sincere Chris
tians, who are one in faith, and in primitive discipEne
and worship vrith the Presbyterians of other countries.
And by theE prayers and labors the French Evangeli
cal church is rapidly gaining in strength, in members,
in resources ; and promises in the future greatly to
bless the people of beautEul France.

CHAPTEE VIII.
THE PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH IN AUSTRIA AND HUNGAEY.
In Austria, as in England and in most other coun
tries of Europe, the political changes of society had
very much to do vrith the success or hindrance of evan
gelical religion.
The pure and primitive administration of the church
of Christ must have prevailed at a very early period in
the regions now collected under one empire as Austria.
Moravia, Bohemia, and Silesia sheltered, it is believed,
some of the earliest Christians who, in the times suc
ceeding the apostles, fled from persecution, and who
brought vrith them the apostolic faith and simple church
order in which they were reared.
Besides Hungary, Bohemia is properly included in
any sketches of Presbyterianism in Austria, on account
of its proximity, and the sympathy which, in religious
matters, existed between the 'people of Austria and
those of Bohemia. Together the believers of Bible
truth in these territories suffered and struo-s:led. When
there was prosperity in one quarter, all enjoyed the
same ; whEe reverses brought persecution and exile not
merely to those first assailed, but to all the rest who
accepted their faith and practised their worship.
Bohemia and Moravia, in very early times, received
the Gospel from an Eastern source, for two Greek
monks — Methodius and Constantine — are said to have
visited these countries in the year 862, and to have

108 PEESBYTEELAN CHUECH.
been greatly successful iu introducing Christianity
among the people.
Among the noble reformers of Bohemia, the most
prominent is John Huss, who was born at Hussinetz,
July 6, 1373.
He was liberally educated, and was graduated at the
university of Prague, in 1393. From the position of
lecturer in philosophy, he became president of the fac
ulty of Theology in the university, in 1401 ; and soon,
as preacher in a chapel which had been established for
this purpose, faithfully expounded the Scriptures in
the Bohemian tongue. Here he became the leader and
adviser of all who were disgusted with the misconduct
and intolerance of the papacy.
Preaching boldly against the vices of ecclesiastics,
maintaining the propriety of bringing all religious
opinions to the test of Scripture authority, devoting
his talents to purifying the church and condemning
error, he soon was by the pope denounced as a heretic,
and, being tried and condemned at Eome, although
still remaining at Prague, was excommunicated.
A long contest resulted, in which Huss sent forth
volume after volume. In his works he proved the sin
fulness of withholding God's Word from the people, of
amicular confession, of venerating images, of praying for
the dead, of transubstantiation, of elevating one order of
the clergy in rank and authority above theE brethi-en.
Such multitudes read his writings and became his
followers that his enemies resolved to crush him, and
Huss was cited to appear before a general council
at Constance. Here, notArithstanding a safe-conduct
granted him by the emperor, he was imprisoned, and

AUSTEIA AND HUNGAEY. 109
threatened with death unless he would recant. Boldly
facing his accusers, day after day he maintained his
positions by arguments drawn from God's Word.
But his doom was already resolved upon. When it
was clear that Huss could neither be alarmed nor cajoled
into yielding to them, his foes condemned him to be
burned, and on July 6, 1415, he was led from the city
of Constance to a field where the stake was set for his
execution. Here, summoned again to abjure his her
esies, he sang the chant, " Jesus, have mercy," until the
flames suffocated him.
Jerome of Prague, a distinguished co-laborer vrith
Huss, was born about 1378. Visiting the universities of
Cologne, Heidelberg, Paris, and Oxford, from the writ
ings of Wickliffe he became acquainted vrith the doc
trines of the Bible. In 1408 he openly took sides with
John Huss, and with him assailed the prevailing errors
of the Eomanists. The same martyrdom also awaited
him, and, on May 30, 1416, he was burned at the stake.
The Scriptural teachings of John Huss and Jerome
df Prague produced an effect so powerful in Bohemia,
Hungary, and Austria, that great multitudes obeyed
them. Upon the breaking forth of the Eeformation,
as early as the year 1519, the followers of John Huss
in Bohemia opened a correspondence with Luther, and
in the most affectionate terms bade him to be of good
cheer, and to persevere in his Avork, since there were a
multitude among them praying day and night for the
success of his cause.
In 1522 several Hungarians, who had received their
education at Wittemberg, introduced the doctrines of
the Bible as taught by Luther. Eeformed churches

110 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
were organized, and many preachers of the truth were
raised up. But a storm of persecution, instigated by
the papists, scattered these congregations, and drove
their pastors to other lands.
In Austria the Gospel made such progress that, in
1530, when Luther's writings reached the people, the
Eomish bishop proposed to lay down his office. It was
estimated that not one person in thirty remained firm
in adherence to the Eomish church. Old and young
alike showed their deep interest in the Eeformed doc
trines. The cloisters were empty, and the monks be
came the scorn of the people.
This condition of the popular mind, so favoi-able to
the prosperity of evangelical Christianity, was the
promise of an apparent victory that the Providence of
God strangely delayed. The choice of Frederick V.,
Elector Palatine, as King of Bohemia, seemed a favora
ble event. It, however, led to the sad and devastating
" thEty years' war," during which the national princi
ple, patriotism, was arrayed against the religious senti
ments and principles just beginning to gain ground.
At the instigation of the Jesuits, the whole power of
the empEe, including the army, was employed to crush
out the converts to evangelical faith. Persecution
drove forth numbers of these Christians to other lands.
The sufferings of the friends of the primitive faith in
Styria, MoraAda, and Carinthia, have filled volumes.
When Frederick V. was crowned, in 1619, his sub
jects expected protection for their religious principles.
But, vanquished by the forces of the emperor in 1620,
near Prague, he lost not only his new kingdom, but his
ancient hereditary dominions, and went into exile.

AUSTEIA AND HUNGAEY. Ill
while his poor subjects were crushed beneath the tyr
anny of the Eoman pontiff.
The thirty years' war was concluded by the peace of
Westphalia, so called because it was signed within that
country ; and the Eeformed churches were, by its arti
cles, protected against attacks by Avar.
But, notvrithstanding these agreements, the popes
and their subordinates hindered, as far as they were
able, all the evangelical Christians as to their rights,
advantages, and privileges. In Hungary, especially,
for ten years, from 1671 to 1681, there were sad perse
cutions. Noble families were separated, some were put
to death, others fared miserably in noisome prisons.
Churches and schools were taken from their pastors
and teachers, and every means was employed to drive
to other lands the readers of the Scriptures.
Since those dark days, Austria has been decidedly
given over to the Eoman power. Its various depend
encies have also shared its servitude to the papacy.
And yet the seed of the church within it is not incon
siderable. In Austria there are not less than fifty
thousand who may be counted in the ranks of the
Lutheran and Eeformed churches ; while in Hungaiy
nearly three millions adhere to their doctrines and
worship. And, as the influence of government, each
day becoming more liberal, extends itself ; and, as the
power of the papacy declines, it is not improbable that
a great multitude wEl arise to represent the blessed
martyrs who, in those lands, laid doAvn their lives for
Christ, to love the Bible which they loved, to practise
the obedience to its precepts of which their lives fur
nished bright examples.

CHAPTEE IX.
EAELY DAYS OF THE PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH IN
AMERICA.
Two hundred years ago America was the promised
land of refuge for persecuted and suffering Christians
of every European nation. Hence, in tracing the early
history of the Presbyterian Church in America, we find
among its fathers and mothers sturdy Hollanders, en
terprising English, enthusiastic Huguenots, the ardent
Irish, the persevering Scotch.
The first, however,' who planted churches vrith a
Presbyterian form of government and a Scriptural
Confession of Faith were the Dutch. Their own coun
try enjoyed at this time full religious freedom, but
commercial enterprise brought them to the new world.
Some date the organization of their church at New
Amsterdam (New York) as early as 1619, though they
may not have had a pastor until 1628.
In the half-century of the Dutch rule in New York,
theE' church increased to the number of ten thousand
members. The location of their nine churches was con
fined to New York, Long Island, Bergen in New Jer
sey, with Kingston and Albany.
In New England, among the Puritan settlers, were
many Presbyterians. Cotton Mather says that, previ
ous to 1640, four thousand Presbyteiians had arrived
there. •In 1646 a synod was convened at Cambridge by the

EAELY DAYS IN AMEEICA. 113
general court of Massachusetts, to establish a uniform
scheme of church government. Most of the churches
in New England sent delegates. After two years, hav
ing adjourned from time to time, it adopted what is
known as the Cambridge Platform, and recommended
it, with the Confession of Faith of the Westminster
Assembly, to the churches. The Cambridge Platform
was generally accepted by the churches in Massachu
setts, and was also the constitution of the Connecticut
churches for sixty years. It recognizes the office of
ruling elder as distinct from that of pastor or bishop,
and recommends synods much in the same terms as
does the Westminster form of government. Previous
to the founding of the first Presbytery in America,
groups of Presbyterians from Scotland and Ireland held
services together in private houses in the neighborhood
where they found a home. As early as 1662 the peo
ple of Jamaica, Long Island, had public worship regu
larly established ; and some deem the Presbyterian
church of this town to be the oldest in America.
Between the years 1670 and 1680, Scotch Presbyte
rians settled on the eastern branch of Elizabeth Eiver,
in Virginia, and had with them a minister from Ire
land, who died in 1683. Later, a hundred families
from Ireland settled Londonderry, in New Hampshire,
bringing with them the Eev. James McGregore as their
pastor, who faithfuEy and affectionately labored for
their good.
In the lower counties of Maryland, on the eastern
shore, as early as 1680 several houses of worship had
been erected by Presbyterian refugees. In 1680, a let
ter from one of them. Colonel WiEiam Stevens, was
8

114 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
laid before Laggan Presbytery, in Ireland, in which a
minister was asked for, to labor in Maryland.
Next year, Feanci3 Makemie was licensed by this
Presbytery, and in 1684 he organized the Presbyterian
church in Snow Hill, Maryland. This pioneer of the
church, a native of Donegal County, Ireland, was a man
so earnest, fearless, and indefatigable, that he perse
vered in obtaining fellow-laborers, though he must cross
the ocean for them. John Hampton and George Mac-
nish returned vrith him to Maryland, but there, strange
to tell, were forbidden by the authorities to preach.
Baffied also by the officers of the government of Vir
ginia, who, acting in concert vrith the British governor
of New York, the detestable Lord Cornbury, placed
every obstacle in the way of Presbyterians, Makemie
stEl persisted in planting churches. In January, 1707,
vrith Hampton, passing through New York on the way
to New England to obtain more preachers for these
congregations, he proposed to preach in the Dutch
church ; but Lord Cornbury forbade him. Mr. WiEiam
Jackson inrited him into his house at the lower end of
Pearl Street, where he preached to a small audience,
and baptized a child. He then went over to Newtown,
on Long Island, where his companion had, by inrita-
tion, preached in the public meeting-house. Here he
was arrested, and, after an examination before Gover
nor Cornbury, he was thrown into jail, subjected to a
tedious trial, and, though finaEy acquitted, obliged to
pay a large bill of costs.
This transaction was a specimen of acts of intoler
ance in Maryland, in Virginia, in the Carolinas, and in
other States, which disciplined by severe trials the min-

EAELY DAYS IN AMEEICA. 115
isters and people of the churches, but gave them the
opportunity to stand up victoriously for the defence of
civil and religious liberty.
The date of the organization of the first Presbytery
is about the beginning of the year 1 705. It was called
the Presbytery of Philadelphia, and consisted of seven
ministers, namely : Francis Makemie, John Hampton,
George Macnish, Samuel Daris, Nathaniel Taylor, John
Wilson, Jedediah Andrews.
To one who reads carefully the records of this
Presbytery until the formation of the first synod, in
1717, it is evident that a most watchful and labori
ous care was exercised in the oversight of infant
churches, the establishment of new congregations, and
the removal from the ministry of incompetent or im
moral preachers.
The Synod was composed of three Presbyteries
formed from the original one, together with the new
Presbytery of Long Island. This latter commenced
its existence at Southampton, April 17, I7l7. The
Presbytery of PhEadelphia numbered six ministers :
Andi'ews, at Philadelphia ; Jones, at Abington ;
Powell, at Cohansey; Orr, at Maidenhead and Hope
well; Bradner, at Cape May; and Morgan, at Free
hold. The Presbytery of New Castle had also six ministers :
Anderson, at Newcastle; McGEl, at Patuxent; Gilles
pie, at White Clay Creek ; Evans, at the Welsh Tract ;
Witherspoon, at Appoquininy; and Coun, in Mary
land. The Presbytery of Snow Hill numbered but three

116 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
members: Davis, in Delaware; Hampton, at Snow
Hill ; and Henry, at Eehoboth.
The new Long Island Presbytery consisted of Mac
nish, at Jamaica ; Pumry, at Newtown ; and PhElips,
at Setauket.
Nineteen faithful ministers, scattered over a wide
region of country, thus composed the Synod of Phila-
deli:)hia ; and the same faithfulness in laying the foun
dations of new churches, and in overseeing those already
established, VA^hich had marked the history of the Pres
byteries, was transferred to the Synod. In fact, as one
studies its minutes, he seems to be reviewing those of a
Presbytery ; for the Synod constantly regards the
minutest affairs of the feeblest of its churches, and
sends to each one in turn letters of counsel and en.
couragement. Under its directions, the Presbyteries visited the
churches, and the pastors and sessions patiently tilled
their respective spiritual fields. The Shorter Catechism
was studied in every dwelling and recited in every
school. The Psalms in metre were everywhere com
mitted to memory, and were constantly sung and quoted
as household words by the old and the young. The
communion customs that were of long standing in
Scotland and Ireland were in most places continued.
The people were gathered together for prayer and
preparatory services previous to the celebration of the
Lord's Supper, and often continued their meetings for
a day or more subsequently. Frequently these gather
ings, especially in Virginia and in Pennsylvania, took
place in the open au", in groves, and beneath the canopy
of the sky. To this temple the fathers and mothers in

EAELY DAYS IN AMERICA.

117

Israel of those early days were wont to repair to enjoy
sweet seasons of sacramental blessing : —
' ' Not to the dome where crumbling arch and column
Attest the feebleness of mortal hand,
But to that fane, most catholic and solemn,
Which God hath planned."

A COMMUNION GATHERING IN THE OLDEN TIME.
In 1729, the memorable Adopting Act of the Synod
was passed. It is probable that this act was suggested
by the Irish members of the New Castle Presbytery.
In 1727, the adoption of a measure requiring all the
ministers to subscribe to the Confession of Faith Avas
presented to the Synod by John Thomson, of Lewes,
Delaware. The New England members objected, as
did Andrews and Dickinson. In 1728, the subject Avas

118 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
again brought forward, but was postponed, as the
Synod was not a full one. In 1729, after much confer
ence, the act was adopted, containing this agreement :
" All the ministers of this Synod, or that shall hereafter
be admitted into this Synod, shall declare their agree
ment in, and approbation of, the Confession of Faith,
with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms of the Assem
bly of Divines at Westminster, as being in aE the
essential and necessary articles, good forms of sound
Avords and systems of Christian doctrine, and do also
adopt the said Confession and Catechisms as the Con
fession of our faith."
Little did the members of the Synod then foresee
that, in a few years, a division would separate them
into two apparently hostile bands. It has been said
that at this time many causes were at work, which pro
duced the " Great Eevival," with its subsequent " Diris-
ion of the Synod."
Emigi-ation led multitudes to seek for excitement
rather than instruction, and a kind of preaching that
would warm and enliven their religious emotions. In
New England, the close reading of written sermons, and
the consequent Avant of fervor in presenting the truth,
has been given by some as the reason Avhy interest de
clined in many congregations, and worldly amusements
absorbed the attention of the young.
The low state of religion in its churches Avas a cause
of lamentation in the Synod in 1733, and it earnestly
recommended that all the ministers in punctual family
visitation insist upon secret and household worship, ac
cording to the Westminster Directory. The following
year inquiry Avas made as to the fulfilment of this

EARLY DAYS IN AMEEICA. 119
recommendation, and all the brethren were called upon
to be more careful in examining candidates for the
Lord's Supper.
From East Jersey Presbytery, not long after. Cross,
Wales, Gilbert Tennent and William Tennent, Jr., and
Blair, were set off into a separate body, with the name
of New Brunswick Presbytery.
The Tennents thus mentioned were the sons of the
Eeverend WEEam Tennent, Senior, a native of Ireland,
who arrived in this country in 1716, and, after laboring
for a time in the State of New York, became pastor of
the church at Neshaminy, Penn., in 1726.
Here he established an academy, afterwards called
" The Log CoEege." Himself eminent as a scholar, he
trained a number of godly and useful ministers, among
whom were his sons, Gilbert, William, and John.
Gilbert Tennent was born in Ireland, in 1703 ; was
about twenty-one years of age when his father's " col
lege" was opened, and soon became his assistant in
teaching. He was licensed to preach in 1726, and or
dained as pastor at New Brunswick, New Jersey, in
1727. An eloquent preacher, a frank and generous
friend, a dEigent pastor, and a public-spirited Presbyter
and citizen, his influence and usefulness were great.
In 1743, he was called to be the pastor of the Second
Presbyterian Church, in Philadelphia, where he minis
tered successfully until his death, in 1764.
William Tennent, Junior, was born June 3, 1705, in
Ireland. He Avas a zealous and industrious student,
and, after a preparatory training at the " Log College,"
studied divinity with his brother Gilbert, at New
Brunswick.

120 PEESBYTEELAN CHUECH.
WhEe thus engaged, his health f aEed, and he became
the subject of what has been frequently styled a
"trance." To all appearance dead, and saved from
prematm-e interment only by the entreaties and perse
vering efforts of a young physician, his most intimate
friend, he became restored to perfect health.
He described thus his own feelings . at this time :
" While I was conversing with my brother on the state
of my soul, and the fears I had entertained for my
future welfare, I found myself, in an instant, in another
state of existence, under the direction of a superior
being, who ordered me to foEow him. I was accord
ingly wafted along, I know not how, till I beheld at a
distance an ineffable glory, the impression of which on
my mind it is impossible to communicate to mortal
man. I immediately reflected on my happy change,
and thought, ' Well, blessed be God ! I am safe at
last, notAvithstanding all my fears.' I saw an innumer
able host of happy beings smTounding the inexpressible
glory, in acts of adoration and joyous worship ; but I
did not see any bodily shape or representation in fihe
glorious appearance. I heard things unutterable. I
heard their songs and hallelujahs of thanksgiving and
praise vrith unspeakable rapture. I felt joy unuttera
ble and full of glory. I then applied to my conductor,
and requested leave to join the happy throng ; on which
he tapped me on the shoulder, and said : ' You must
return to the earth.' This seemed like a sword throush
my heart. In an instant, I recollect to have seen my
brother standing before me, disputing vrith the doctor.
The three days during which I had appeared lEeless
seemed to me not more than ten or twenty minutes.

EAELY DAYS IN AMEEICA. 121
The idea of returning to this world of sorrow and
trouble gaye me such a shock, that I fainted repeatedly.
Such was the effect on my mind of what I had seen
and heard, that if it be possible for a human being to
live entirely above the world and the things of it, for
some time afterwards I was that person. The ravishing
sound of the songs and hallelujahs that I heard, and
the very words uttered, were not out of my ears, when
awake, for at least three years. All the kingdoms of
the earth Avere in my sight as nothing and vanity ; and
so great Avere my ideas of heavenly glory, that nothing
which did not in some measure relate to it could com
mand my serious attention."
Mr. Tennent's brother John, who was born in Ire
land, November 12, 1707, after his introduction to the
ministry became pastor of the church at Freehold,
New Jersey. He, however, lived but three years and
a half after his installation.
The Eev. William Tennent Avas his successor, and
was installed as pastor in October, 1733. His preach
ing is described as most impressive, solemn, and search
ing, and his praise Avas in all the churches.
The risit of Whitefield to America for the second
time, in 1739, seems to have been the occasion for a
great separation between the brethren of the Synod.
In connection vrith numerous eridences of God's bless
ing upon his preaching, and upon that of the Tennents,
and others who became proridentially associated with
him, there were certain irregularities that gave pain to
all good men.
In Philadelphia aE the churches were opened to
Whitefield, and Gilbert Tennent at once became his

122 PEESBYTEEIAN OHUECH.
bosom friend. After his southern tour he returned to
Philadelphia, and oh the way to New York preached
at Amwell, New Jersey, where four ministers met him,
namely, GEbert Tennent, Wales, Eowland, and Camp-
beE. In May, 1740, the Synod convened, and it soon was
evident that the members of the New BrunsArick Pres
bytery were beginning to act in direct opposition to
their brethren. They were prepared to take on trial,
to license, and to ordain, ministers who were not eligi
ble under the Synod's rules. The party names, " Old
Side " and " New Side," were fastened upon the two
parties now arrayed against each other. The " Old
Side " men were those who, with the majority of the
Synod, demanded that all ministers subscribe to the
Confession of Faith; and that no ministers or licen
tiates of one Presbytery be allowed to preach in the
bounds of another without the permission of the latter.
On the " New Side " were those who demanded that
ministers be allowed greater freedom of theological
riews, and that each Presbytery should be sovereign to
send its preachers wherever an open door should seem
to be set before them.
In Synod, Gilbert Tennent and Samuel Blair read
papers which showed how seriously they differed from
many of theE brethren, whom they charged with nu
merous grave defects in their ministry. The Synod
thereupon passed a minute solemnly admonishing the
Presbyteries and the ministers seriously to weigh the
charge, and to seek to approve themselves to God in
the particulars thus complained of. It adjourned vrith
out an open rupture.

EAELY DAYS IN AMEEICA. 123
The Synod met again in May, 1741, to fmd the " Old
Side " and the " New Side " more than ever separated
in their views and acts. The New Brunsvrick Presby-
.tery, the smallest and youngest one, had three licen
tiates and one minister on its list, which the Synod
could not accept without laying aside its authority.
Twenty-six ministers and eighteen elders vvere pres
ent. The whole of the New York Presbytery was absent,
probably anticipating a breach that they could not heal.
A protest was prepared and brought in by Eobert Cross,
of the Presbytery of Philadelphia, with these points :
1. The indispensable duty of Synod to maintain the
doctrines as found in the standard of the Westminster
Assembly. 2. That no minister or elder sit and vote in Synod
who does not receive these standards.
3. That those brethren who have opposed the
" Adopting Act " have no right to be accounted mem
bers of Synod.
4. That while they remain in Synod all its acts are
of no force.
5. If they and theE adherents continue in their pres
ent course, those who maintain the rights of this judi
catory are the true Presbyterian Church. All others
are guilty of schism.
To this protest were affixed several reasons, and the
whole was signed by a majority of the Synod.
Whereupon the minority vrithdrew, and there were tAvo
judicatories opposed to each other, more by reason of
prejudice and unhappy discussion than by reason of
difference in doctrine. These were the Synod of Phil
adelphia and the Presbytery of New Brunswick.

124 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
The latter body organized the Presbytery of London
derry, and the two Presbyteries were required to meet
at Philadelphia in August, 1741, in the capacity of a
synod. The synod which grew from this division was
called the Synod of Ncav York. In 1 745, being fully
constituted, it adopted the foEoAnng plan and founda
tion :
1. The adoption of the Westminster Confession of
Faith, vrith the Larger and Shorter Catechisms ; and
the approval of the Westminster DEectory.
2. Matters of discipline and those relating to the
peace and good order of the churches to be determined
by the majority.
3. The brethren to deal with those in error according
to the rules of the Gospel and the known methods of
discipline. 4. All to be admitted of competent ministerial
knowledge and known orthodoxy, piety, and diligence,
and AviEingness to submit to discipline.
Both synods labored earnestly for the good of the
churches committed to their care, and, after numerous
friendly conferences, agreed to unite in 1758.
At this time the Synod of New York had fiA^e Pres
byteries, namely : Suffolk, New York, New Brunswick,
Abington, and New Castle.
The Synod of Philadelphia comprised three Presby
teries, namely : Philadelphia, Donegall, and (another)
New Castle.
The new reunited Synod met in the Second Presby
terian Church, Philadelphia, under the name of The
Synod of New York and Philadelphia. At this first
me(!ting there were present forty-tAvo ministers and

EAELY DAYS IN AMERICA. 125
fourteen ruling elders. The noble declaration of union
under which the Synod began ends with these memora
ble words : " The Synod agree that all former differ
ences and disputes are laid aside and buried ; and that
no future inquiry or vote shall be proposed in this
Synod concerning these things; but if any member
seek a synodical inquiry or declaration about any of the
matters of our past differences, it shall be deemed a
censurable breach of his agreement, and be refused,
and he be rebuked accordingly."
Thus commenced a steady, rapid, and permanent en
largement of the churches under the Sjmod of Ncav
York and PhEadelphia, Avhich was the highest judica
tory of the church from 1758 to 1789, when the meet
ing of the First General Assembly took place.
The progress of the church during the first half-cen
tury of its American history was full of success. Not
vrithstanding poverty, the neglect of the churches in
the mother country, and the tyranny of royal governors,
desirous of securing an established church, her course
was onAvard and upward. Bright names adorn these
early days. Among them, Makemie, and BostAvick,
and Eodgers, and DaAdes.
David Bostwick, a native of New Milford, Conn.,
after laboring ten years at Jamaica, Long Island, be
came pastor in New York. Full of zeal, solemnity,
and eloquence, he was an able and useful preacher of
the New Testament. With superior pulpit talents,
piety, and prudence, he had a strong hold on public
esteem. John Eodgers, born in Boston in 1727, as a boy
heard Whitefield preach at night on the court-house

126 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
steps in Philadelphia, with such absorbed interest, that
he dropped from his hand a lantern which he was hold
ing for the use of the preacher. Long settled in Mary
land, in 1765 he became pastor of the church in New
York, and labored there vrith unchanging success, until
he fell asleep in Jesus in the eighty-fourth year of his
age, and the sixty -fourth year of his ministry. He was
the Moderator of the First General Assembly, a power
ful preacher, a devout Christian, an example for spirit
uality of life and devoted consecration in the work of
winning souls.
Samuel Davies, a native of Delaware, converted at
the age of twelve in 1736, under the preaching of Gil
bert Tennent, pursued his studies amid animating relig
ious scenes. He often listened to Whitefield, Blair,
Eobinson, the Tennents, and Eowland.
After his ordination he labored vrith great success in
Maryland, in Virginia, and in Delaware.
In 1753, he visited Great Britain to solicit and re
ceive contributions for Nassau Hall.
Eeturning home, in abundant labors he was instru
mental in the conversion of multitudes. His long
preaching tours were full of evidences of God's favor,
and amid his large congregations were many poor
negroes who vrith joy received from his lips the Gospel
tidings. He was elected President of the College of
New Jersey in 1758, and applied himself to his work
in that relation assiduously and honorably, untE he was
called home in 1761. What he said of Hervey has
been applied to himself : " Blessed be God that there
was such a man on this guilty globe ! "

CHAPTEE X.
SKETCHES OF LATER PRESBYTERIAN HISTORY IN AMEEICA.
The year 1789, memorable as to the Constitution of
the United States, which in March of that year went
into operation, is also to be remembered as the year in
which convened the first General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church of the United States of America.
This met in the Second Church, Philadelphia, and was
opened vrith a sermon by Dr. John Witherspoon, Presi
dent of Princeton College, and one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence of 1776.
Twelve Presbyteries were represented in this first
Assembly: namely, Suffolk, Dutchess County, New
York, New Brunsvrick, Philadelphia, New Castle,
Lewes, Baltimore, Carlisle, Bedstone, Lexington,
Transylvania. There were besides four vrith no repre
sentatives present in the Assembly : namely, the Pres
byteries of Hanover, Abingdon, Orange, and South
Carolina. These sixteen Presbyteries were grouped
into four Synods : the Synods of New York and New
Jersey, Philadelphia, Virginia, and the Carolinas.
The Eev. Dr. John Eodgers, of New York, was
chosen Moderator of this Assembly, and it proceeded to
its solemn work in the most humble, serious, and
earnest manner. As the first Congress of the United
States, under the new Constitution, was then in session
in the city of New York, it was deemed appropriate to
draft and send an address to George Washington, the

128 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
President. This document was worthy of its source,
and received from Washington a modest and grateful
reply. Among the acts of this Assembly is one adopting
measures to preserve faithful and correct impressions
of the Holy Scriptures. To effect this a committee, of
one fi-om each Presbytery, was appointed to bring the
subject to, the attention of the churches, and to aid by
subscriptions a gentleman of New Jersey who was en
gaged in printing a new edition of the Bible. The
work of Missions, Avhich had not been previously neg
lected, was assumed with renewed vigor. A committee
was appointed to prepare a minute with reference to
sending missionaries to the frontier settlements. Meas
ures were taken to secure the attendance of commis
sioners from all the Presbyteries, and to infuse interest
and zeal into all the churches. The following Assem
bly perfected the missionary plan, and sent two
missionaries, Messrs. Hart and Ker, into New York
and Northern Pennsylvania, who were everywhere
received vrith respect and affection, and whose labors
resulted in the formation of churches that still flourish.
In 1793, upon the subject of slavery, the General
Assembly declares that it has taken every step which
its members deem expedient or wise to encourage
emancipation, and to render the state of those who are
in slavery as mild and tolerable as possible.
The original edition of the Confession of Faith and
the Catechisms, issued by the Synod of New York and
New Jersey, published in 1789, was revised by suc
cessive Assemblies, and vridely distributed.
Before the close of the century the original sixteen

LATEE AMERICAN HISTORY. 129
Presbyteries had increased to tAventy-six, Arith nearly
fiA^e hundred churches, and three hundred ministers
under their care.
In 1799 and 1800 there were great revivals of re
ligion in Kentucky, Central and Western NeAv York,
and NeAA^ England.
At the formation of the General Assembly the strength
of the church lay in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, as
these two States embraced more than half its churches,
and nearly haK its ministers. At Newark the digni
fied, learned, and eloquent McWhorter ; at Princeton
the venerable and useful Witherspoon, were still spared.
At Orange was the pious, urbane, and acceptable Chap
man ; at Freehold, Woodhull ; at Trenton, Armstrong ;
at Woodbridge, Azel Eoe ; at Woodbridge Second,
(Metuchen,) Cook; Eichards, at Eahway; Elmer, at
New Providence ; Joline, at Mendham ; Eeed, at Bound
Brook ; Smith, at Cranbury ; Joseph Eoe, at Penning
ton ; Clark, at Allentown ; Boyd, at Lamington ; Wilson,
at Independence and Mansfield ; Condict, at HardAvick ;
Johnes, at Morristown ; and Monteith, at Ncav Bruns
wick. In Philadelphia Presbytery was the thoroughly
A-ersed scholar and popular preacher. Dr. John Ewing.
On his visit to England he tamed the controversial
rudeness of Dr. Samuel Johnson, who, after liberally
applying the terms rehels and scoundrels to the popu
lation of the American colonies, demanded abruptly of
Dr. Ewing, "What do you know in America? You
never read ; you have no books there." " Pardon me,
sir," said Dr. EAring : " we have read TTie Ramblerr
In charge of the Second Church was Dr. James Sproat,

130 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
a master of the art of persuasion, Avho fell, with his
family, the victim of yelloAV fever.
The pastor of the Third Church was the bold, fear
less, and uncompromising Dr. George Duffield. Dr.
William M. Tennent, grandson of the elder William
Tennent, was pastor of the three congregations, Abing
ton, NorristoAvn, and Providence. At Deep Eun Avas
James Grier, of Avhom one said " it was impossible to
hear him preach and refrain from tears." Symonton
Avas at Great Valley; Peppard, at Allentown; Boyd,
at Newtown and Bensalem ; Watt, at Cape May ;
Faitoute, at Greenwich ; Hunter, at Woodbury ; and
IrAvin, at Neshaminy.
In the Presbytery of Carlisle was the patriarch, John
Elder, pastor of Paxton and Derry, who, often exposed
to the invasions of Indians, knew what it Avas to have
his gun by his side in his pulpit.
At Carlisle Avere Nisbet, President of Dickinson Col
lege, and Davidson, pastor of the church. The fornier
Avas singularly fearless in the discharge of duty. On
one occasion during the Eevolutionary Avar he delivered,
on a public fast day, a sermon very unacceptable to the
members of the town councE of Montrose, from which
pastorate he Avas called to Carlisle. The members of
the council, soon after" the commencement of the sermon,
rose in a body and left the church. Stretching forth
his hand to the seat which they had just vacated, he
said vrith emphasis, as they vrithdrew, " The vricked
flee when no man pursueth."
Cooper vvas at Middle Spring ; McKnight at Lower
Marsh Creek, and Tom's Creek ; at Mercersburg, King ;
at East Pennsborough and Monaghan, Waugh; at

LATEE AMERICAN HISTOEY. 131
West Hanover, Snodgrass; at York and Hopewell,
Cathcart. The " Old Bedstone Presbytery," the territory of
vvhich had been for thirty years previously the scene of
frontier privations and heroic pastoral fidelity, had at
Eehoboth and Eound Hill, Finley ; at Lebanon and
Bethel, Clark ; at Buffalo and Cross Creek, Smith ; at
Chartiers and Pigeon Creek, McMillan. Powers was
at Mount Pleasant and Sevrickley ; Dunlap, at Bed
stone and Dunlap Creek; Dod, at Ten-mile ; and Barr,
at Pittsburg.
In Maryland and Virginia the Presbyterian Church
after the Eevolutionary war began to prosper. At
the meeting of the first Genei-al Assembly, the Presby
tery of Baltimore reported six members and twelve
churches. Allison was at Baltimore; Keith, at Alex
andria ; Balcb, at Georgetown ; Hunt, at Bladensburg
and Cabin John ; Slemons at Slate Eidge and Chance
Ford ; and Lucky, at Bethel and Centre. The First Pres
byterian Church in Baltimore dates from 1763. Patrick
Allison, its pastor for thirty-five years, was graceful, dig
nified, courteous, learned, and judicious. President Smith
said, " Dr. Allison is decidedly the ablest statesman we
have in the General Assembly." Others have compared
him in the church to Franklin in the state.
At the constituting of the General Assembly, the
Presbyterian Church in Virginia comprised the two
Presbyteries of Lexington and Hanover. In Hanover
Presbytery, Sanckey was at Buffalo Creek ; Todd, at
Providence ; Irrine, at North Garden ; Smith, at Cum
berland and Briery ; Mitchel, at Peaks of Otter ; and
Blair, at Hanover and Henrico. Among those with-

132 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
out charge, was James Waddel, immortalized by Wil
liam Wirt in the " British Spy," as the " old blind
preacher." In the Ettle church of Hopewell Wirt
heard him. He was blind and palsied, yet to the
statesman the most eloquent of preachers. As he closed
his piciure of the Saviour's crucifixion by a quotation
from Eousseau, — " Socrates died like a phEosopher, but
Jesus Christ like a God ! " — Wirt was full of admira
tion. He Avrites, " Whatsoever I may have been able
to conceive of the sublimity of Massillon, or the force
of Bourdaloue, had fallen short of the power which I
felt from the delivery of this simple sentence. I had
never seen in any other orator, such a union of simpli
city and majesty. He has not a gesture, an attitude,
or an accent to Avhich he does not seem forced by the
sentiment he is expressing. His mind is too serious, too
earnest, too solicitous, and at the same time too digni
fied, to stoop to artifice." He Avas spared until 1805.
Lexington Presbytery, stretching from Northern to
South-Avestern Virginia, had six pastors in 1789. The
patriarch Avas John BroAvn, Avho Avas the sjDiritual father
of Dr. McWhorter, of NeAvark. He Avas pastor at Timber
Eidge and Providence. At Bethel and BroAvn's Church
Avas Scott, persevei'ing, devoted, patriotic. At Augusta,
the mother church in the A^alley, was Wilson ; at Mossy
Creek and Cook's Creek, ErAvin ; at Winchester, Mont
gomery ; at Companion and Good Hope, McCue ; at
ShepherdstOAvn, Hoge.
Among the ncAV Synods set off just previous to the
constitution of the General Assembly Avas that of the
Carolinas. Its Presbyteries Avere knoAvn by the names.
Orange, South Carolina, and Abingdon. One of the

LATER AMERICAN HISTORY. 133
fir«t measures of this Synod was action on an overture
for publishing Doddridge's ten sermons on Eegenera-
tion, and his Else and Progress of Eeligion. In 1791
Synod took up the subject of Domestic Missions, and
resolved to send out four missionaries to destitute re
gions Avithin and adjoining their bounds. Laborious
and capable ministers toiled not Arithout fruit through
out the Synod, — the pioneers, Patillo, and Caldwell, the
fearless McGready, the beloved Hall, the unassuming
Hunter, the influential Waddel, the patriotic Brown, the
missionary Eobinson, aud Wilson, "father of churches."
In the State of Ncav York there were at this time
forty congregations. In Suffolk Presbytery, Buell Avas
at East Hampton ; Goldsmith, at Aquabogue and Matti-
tuck ; Woodhull, at Huntington ; Wetmore, at Brook-
haven ; Eose, at South Hav^en ; Williams, at Southamp
ton ; Woohvorth, at Bridgehampton ; Eussell, at West-
hampton. Samuel Buell held the highest rank among the
pastors of his day. His ready Avit Avas joined to great
boldness inthe cause of truth. During war-time, an Eng
lish officer told him that he had ordered some of the farm
ers of his congregation to appear at Southampton, tAvelve
miles distant, on the Sabbath day, with their teams.
" So I have understood," was his reply ; " but, as com
mand ei'-iii-chief on that day, I have countermanded
your orders." Of him President Stiles declared : " This
man has done more good than any other man that has
ever stood on this continent."
In New York City the Presbyterian congregations
had suffered severely from the disasters of Avar. Both
the pastors and many of the people fled from their
homes for safety. On returning they found that the

134 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
church edifices had been employed for military pur
poses The Brick Church had been used for a prison,
and had been left in a filthy and broken condition.
The WaE Street Church was unroofed, and its interior
was destroyed. The day succeeding "Evacuation
Day," namely, November 26, 1783, Dr. Eodgers re
turned to New York, and soon raised the necessary
funds to repair the churches. Three colleague pastors
preached to the people : Dr. Eodgers, Dr. John Mc
Knight, and Dr. Philip Milledoler. Soon the Eutgers
Street Chui-ch was built.
The Presbytery of Dutchess County was repre
sented at Lower Salem, by Mead ; at Pleasant Valley,
by Case ; at Phillipi, by Lewis ; Mills was at Freder
icksburg ; Davenport, at Bedford.
The ncAV Pi-esbytery of Hudson had at Goshen, Ker ;
at NcAvburgh, Close ; at Hopewell, Freeman.
In Kentucky, " Father Eice " found a home as early
as 1783, and, abundant in labors, was spared in useful
ness until the age of eighty -three. At Lexington Avas
Eankiu ; at Walnut Hill, Crawford ; at Salem, Mc-
Clure ; at Shiloh, Craighead.
In 1785, Abingdon Presbytery was formed by divid
ing Hanover Presbytery. It included the churches of
Southwestern Virginia and Eastern Tennessee. Cossan
Avas at Jonesborough ; Doak, at Salem ; H. Balch, at
Mount Bethel ; J. Balch, at Sinking Sj^ring ; Hender
son, at Westminster ; Carrick, at Knoxville ; and
Blackburn, at Eusebia.
The Presbytery of Transylvania, formed from that of
Abingdon, had churches in the neAv settlements in
Kentucky, and extended across the Ohio Eiver. EeA^

LATEE AMEEICAN HISTOEY. 135
Charles Cummings was pastor of Ebbing Spring and
Sinking Spring. The Indians so often attacked his
hearers, that he and they went to church fully armed.
On the Sabbath he would put on his shot-pouch,
shoulder his rifle, mount his dun stallion, and ride off
to church. There every man held a rifle, and the
preacher, laying aside, for a time, the carnal Aveapon,
would handle wisely the spiritual weapons of Avarfare.
He was a John Knox in zeal and energy in support of
his own church.
The General Assemblies that succeeded the first,
show by their records that they Avere fuE of 'a mission
ary spirit. Methods of intercourse vvith other denomi
nations AA'^ere adopted, and a "Plan of Union" was
formed Avith the Congregational Churches, by Avhich
Presbyterian congregations might call a pastor from
the Congregational Church, who should still retain his
connection vrith it ; or a Congregational Church could
have the labors of a pastor, still continuing to remain
a member of a Presbytery.
From year to year new efforts were made to educate
ministers, to send forth missionaries, to distribute
Bibles and tracts and religious books. In 1812, minis
ters were recommended to preach, as often as expedi
ent, on the sins and mischiefs of intemperate drinking ;
and the Assembly enjoined special vigilance on the part
of sessions with regard to the subject.
The year 1808 is to be remembered, because then
Dr. Archibald Alexander, in his sermon as retiring
Moderator, suggested the institution of a Theological
Seminary. The following year, the Presbytery of
PhEadelphia, on motion of Dr. Ashbel Green, in an

136 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
overture written by himself, brought the matter to the
Assembly's notice. In 1810, measures were taken to
establish the seminary. In 1812, its location Avas fixed
at Princeton, a board of directors was chosen, and Dr.
Alexander was appointed professor. In 1813, Dr. Mil
ler became his associate; and in 1817, the edifice for the
students Avas first occupied.
From year to year, numerous revivals were reported
to successive General Assemblies. In 1816, the mem
bership was below forty thousand; in 1825, it is re
ported as over one hundred and twenty-two thou
sand. In 1816, the Missionary Committee became the
"Board of Missions," aud the Assembly hailed the
formation of the American Bible Society with gratifica
tion and heartf el-t pleasure.
In 1820, a plan of correspondence with the Associate
Eeformed Church Avas adopted; and in 1823, one with
the Eeformed Dutch Church. In 1819, an authorized
book of Psalmody Avas provided for, which Avas pub
lished iu 1830. The subject of African Colonization
Avas considered by different Assemblies, and the Amer
ican Colonization Society was commended to the confi
dence and liberality of the churches. Deliverances
Avere also sent forth Arith reference to temperance, to
Sabbath observance, to a monthly concert of prayer
for missions, and to the circulation of the Scriptures
and a religious literature. A celebrated paper on the
subject of slavery, from the pen of Dr. Ashbel Green,
was passed in 1818. This has often been quoted. In
this, the Assembly exhorts the members of its churches
to increase their exertions for a total abolition of

LATEE AMEEICAN HISTORY. 137
slavery, suffering no greater delay than regard for the
public welfare truly and indispensably demands.
From 1825 to 1835 the church had grown in num
bers and strength more than fifty per cent. Its four
teen synods had become twenty -three ; its eighty-one
presbyteries, one hundred and twenty-five ; its one
thousand and eighty ministers, two thousand ; its sev
enteen hundred and seventy-two churches, two thousand
eight hundred ; Avhile its membership reached to tAVO
hundred and fifty thousand.
Auburn Theological Seminary was established, and
in 1821 its course of instruction commenced under
Professors Mills, Lansing, and Perrine.
The Western Theological Seminary was placed iu
1827 at Allegheny City, and Lane Seminary, the fol
lowing year, near Cincinnati. Other schools for the
training of ministers Avere : The Southern and Western
Seminary in East Tennessee ; and in the bounds of
Virginia, the Union Theological Seminary. Education
societies Avere encoui'aged, and the work of foreign
missions was prosecuted vrith rencAved vigor. Home
missions Avere not neglected in the West, South, and
South-Avest. As a specimen of the hardness which the
good soldiers of the home missionary field have en
dured and still conquer on the frontier, the experience
of Isaac Eeed in Indiana may be cited. At Bethany
he was obliged to aid in building his own rude log-
cabin, which Avas unfinished as winter came on. In
December his family entered it, but it had no loft, and
there vvas no plastering of the chinking betAA^een the
logs above the joist-plates. A wide wooden chimney-
place was cut out of the end of the house and built

138 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
up a little above the mantel-piece. Here the self-deny
ing missionary studied, meditated, and prayed, sur
rounded by the various occupations of the family ; and,
cheered by God's presence and blessing, called his rough
dwelling the " cottage of peace."
From 1830 to 1837 the groAA^th of the Presbyterian
Church was astonishingly rapid. In 1837 there were
twenty-three synods, one hundred and thirty-five pres
byteries, tAVO thousand one hundred and forty ministers,
and two thousand eight hundred and sixty-fiA^e churches,
vrith a membership of two hundred and twenty thousand
five hundred.
During this period, however, the seeds of separation
had been soavu, and the church became divided into
two bands. The stoiy of this dirision is briefly re
counted in the foEowing chaj)ter. But a brighter his
tory of the glad Eeunion is more fully unfolded in the
remaining portions of the volume. That it may prove
lasting, and encourage all Christians who agree in the
great essentials of the Gospel to come together into
one united flock, is the constant prayer of the multi
tudes who now enjoy its peaceful and happy fruits.
The United Peesbyteeian Chuech is composed of
the Associate and Associate Eeformed Churches. The
Associate Eeformed Presbytery of Pennsylvania, sub
ordinate to the Associate Synod of Edinburgh, was or
ganized in 1753. In 1776 there were two Presbyteries.
Negotiations were partially successful for uniting vrith
the Eeformed Peesbyteeian Chuech, a Presbytery
organized in 1774, and in June, 1782, a union was con
summated, and the church resulting was called The

LATEE AMEEICAN HISTOEY. 139
AssocDVTE Eefoemed Chuech. Iu 1783 its three
Presbyteries and fourteen ministers wei'e organized into
a synod called "The Associate Eeformed Synod of
North America."
In 1805 its theological seminary was opened in New
York City. In 1858 the Associate and Associate
Eeformed Churches joined together and formed The
United Peesbyteeian Chuech of North America.
The first ministers of the Associate Church vvho la
bored in America were Alexander Gellatly and AudreAV
Arnott, coming under appointment from the Anti-
Burgher Synod in Scotland, and after m'gent petitions
from New London, Octorara, and other places in East
ern Pennsylvania. Landing in Philadelphia in the
summer of 1753, they organized in November following,
according to their instructions, a presbytery entitled the
"Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania, subordinate to
the Associate Synod of Edinburgh." When, in 1776,
this Presbytery was dirided into those of Pennsylvania
and New York, their number had groAvn to thirteen.
When the Eevolutionary war commenced it Avas evi
dent that communications could not be kept up Avith the
Church in the mother country. Nor could j^astors be
obtained thence to meet the demands of new and grow
ing churches. The sentiments of American patriotism
also tended to make a separate and independent exist.
ence desirable, and hence the union, in 1782, vrith the
Presbytery of the Eeformed Presbyterian Church that
had been established in 1774.
In 1799, at its meeting in Green Castle, Pennsylva
nia, the Associate Eeformed Synod issued its formal
standards, namely, the Westminster Confession of Faith,

140 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
which was subjected to some alterations with respect
to the civE magistracy ; the catechisms and the directo
ries for government and worship, and all were styled,
" The Constitution aud Standards of the Associate Ee
formed Church in North America."
When the General Synod established its Theological
Seminary, under Dr. J. M. Mason, it found a number of
most promising young men ready to enter it. Some of
them afterwards became most distinguished as pastors,
professors, and leaders in different branches of the
Presbyterian Church. Such names as the foEoAving do
honor to the roll of this Seminary and the Church that
founded it: Drs. J. M. Matthews, W. W. Phillips,
George Junkin, Samuel Findley, David Macdill, John
T. Pressly, D. C. McLaren, and Joseph McCarrell.
Prerious to the most happy union of the Associate Ee
formed and the Associate Church as the L'nited Pres
byterian Church, it had theological seminaries at New-
burgh ; Allegheny City ; Oxford, Ohio ; and at Mon
mouth, lEinois. It reports an average annual salary of
aearly nine hundred doEars for each one of its pastors.
The Eefoemed Presbyterian Church organized
Its first Presbytery in 1774. All but two of its minis
ters joined the Associate Eeformed Church. In 1798,
its Presbytery was reorganized. Ten years af terAvards,
the Synod of the Eeformed Presbyterian Church was
organized, and in 1825 the General Synod Avas formed.
In 1833 a dirision resulted, and two synods continue
^vith the above titles to sustain missions, theological
schools, and other departments of Christian work.
Its first minister was the Eev. John Cuthbertson,

LATER AMEEICAN HISTOEY. 141
from the Eeformed Presbytery in Scotland, who ar
rived in America in 1752. The names of the two
ministers Avho did not unite with the Associate Ee
formed Church are the Eev. William Marshall and
the Eev. Thomas Clarkson. Of its two bands or
synods that now exist, the one called "The Synod"
has a college, a theological seminary, and a very
useful mission at Latakia and its neighborhood in
Syria. The other, " The General Synod," has a theo
logical school, and an influential foreign mission in
connection with the Presbyterian Church, in India.
The Associate Eefoemed Synod of the South was
originally one of the four synods of the General Synod
of the Associate Eeformed Church. It has numerous
congregations, and a theological seminary at Due
West, South Carolina.
The Cumbeeland Peesbyteeian Chuech, formed
from the Presbytery of Transylv^ania in 1803, became
an independent church in 1810. It has an itinerating
system of circuits and stations, which extends widely
throus:hout the South and South-west. It has five col-
leges and theological seminaries.
Its origin was during a wonderful revival of religion
that occurred in Kentucky in 1801, 1802, and 1803, at
which there was an unusual demand for Presbyterian
ministers. Many pious laymen of good abilities, and
who were accustomed to speaking in public, were en
couraged to prepare as preachers, and were as such
licensed and sent forth to labor.
The Cumberland Presbytery, formed in the southern

142 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
part of Kentucky, admitted and ordained a number of
these licentiates, and took on trial othei's of similar
standing and training. Being censured for these pro
ceedings, this Presbytery withdreAV from the General
Assembly, and became the germ of a large and power
ful denomination. Overtures for union with the Ee-
united Presbyterian Church have been recently enter
tained, but as yet Avithout results.
The Peesbyteeian Church in the United States
has had a separate existence since 1861. It is vigor
ously employed in the work of home and foreign mis
sions, and the other departments of benevolence, and
maintains several theological seminaries.
Among these are the Columbia Theological Seminary,
situated at Columbia, South Carolina, and the Union
Theological Seminary, at Hampden Sidney, Virginia.
The Church has four permanent executive committees,
haring in charge respectively : Sustentation, Foreign
Missions, Publication, and Education.
EspeciaEy in the work of Foreign Missions is much
enterprise and zeal exhibited. There are forty-five mis
sionaries sustained, laboring among the Cherokee Indi
ans, the Creeks, the Choctaws, and the Chickasaws, in
Italy, in the United States of Colombia, in Northern
Brazil, in Southern Brazil, and in China. A corre
spondence has been opened vrith the Eeformed Church
looking to a union with it, Avhich is deemed desir
able by many of the ministers and members of this
Church. The Eefoemed Chuech, formerly known as tho

later AMERICAN HISTOEY. 143
German Eeformed Church, is Presbyterian in its gov
ernment, and Calvinistic in its doctrinal standards. Its
first missionaries came from the Classis of Amstei'dam,
and the Synod of North Holland. For some years it
was dependent upon the Dutch Church in Europe, but
in 1819 it had a regular synod, vrith Classes or Presby
teries. It established a theological seminary in 1824,
at Carlisle, Penn., which Avas afterAvards removed to
Mercersburg. This church is numerous, weE organized,
and increasins;.
The Eefoemed Chuech, formerly called The Ee
formed Dutch Church, dates its origin in this country
to an early period in the seA^enteenth century. The
first period of its history may be said to extend for
half a century, to the surrender of the Dutch in Ncav
York to the English, when it had ten thousand adher
ents. Its second period extends for three quarters of a cen
tury, during which time the Dutch became a distinct
element of population in the English provinces. In
New York and New Jersey fifty churches were organ
ized. The third period embraces another half century, dur
ing which a conference, or coetus, was established,
which was to meet yearly and supervise such ministers
as were sent over from the mother country.
In 1772, full approbation was given by the Classis
of Amsterdam to the formation of 'a synod, and the
Dutch Church rapidly grew and prospered in America.
A General Synod was organized in 1794. Its lit
erary and theological institutions have been well main-

144 PEESBYTERLVJSr CHURCH.
tained. These are: Eutgers College, at New Bruns
vrick, Now Jersey ; Hope College, at Holland, Mich.,
vrith theolos:ical seminaries at both New BrunsAvick
and Holland.
THE PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA.
Large portions of the various British provinces
which are noAV united in the one Dominion of Canada
having been settled by the Presbyterians of Scotland
and Ireland, we may well suppose that rigorous
chm'ches of this name have taken deep root and grown
to large dimensions in this part of the Continent of
America. Men who left their native land, and vvith
grim earnestness and noble moral courage set them
selves the tasks of conquering the intense rigors of
vrinter, the scorching heats of summer, the Avild beasts
of the forest, and a soil encumbered with impenetrable
Avoods, and of building homes for their families, Avere
not likely to neglect the essential matters of education
and religion. They did not forget these. Trained
from their earliest years to value such institutions, they
Avere now far more earnest in their appreciation of
them. As with giant strokes they cut their Avay into
the forests, they sang, " If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget her cunning." When as yet
there were neither toAvn nor hamlet, church nor school,
these sturdy pioneers had their family altars raised for
the offering of their morning and evening incense.
To other countries than Scotland, Burns' poem of " The
Cotter's Saturday Night," may well be transferred.
When ininisters of the Gospel were rarely found, often

LATEE AMERICAN HISTOEY. 145
and often the sun has set upon such a scene as that por
trayed by the poet,
"The cheerfu' supper done, -wi' serious face
They round the ingle form a circle -wide ;
The sire turns o'er, -wi' patriarchal grace.
The big ha' Bible, ance his father's pride ; '
His bonnet reverently is laid aside,
His lyart haflets wearing thin an' bare ;
Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide,
He wales a portion with judicious care ;
And 'Let us worship Qodl ' he says, -with solemn air."
The visits of ministers, like angels', Avere few and
far between, but when preachers came near the toil-
worn settlers they and their message were hailed vrith
delight. Volumes could be written that would read more
like romances than histories, concerning the sacrifices
made and the suffei-ings endured by the missionaries
who planted Presbyterianism on Canadian soils. Par
ishes were necessarily of immense area, and the pastors
were itinerants, preaching now in barns, again in the
peasant's kitchen, or in the open aE. The various
churches of Scotland and Ireland vvere represented in
this grand pioneer work. Ministers of the Established
Church of Scotland were of course early on the field,
and planted churches in towns and country districts.
About the year 1830, the Synod of the Presbyterian
Church of Canada in connection with the Church of
Scotland was formed. This section of the Presbyterian
Church has made considerable progress. There are
now upwards of a hundred able and earnest minis
ters who have been mostly educated in Scotland.
They have as many churches, to which not a few
10

146 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
preaching stations and district Sunday-schools are
attached. The home-mission work of this Synod is
carried on with zeal and generosity. The work of edu
cation i-eceives careful and earnest attention, and in this
connection Ave may say that the well-known colleges
of Kingston and Morrin do important service in the
training of ministers. There is, besides this Synod,
another of the Church of Scotland in the Maritime
Prorinces, Avhich lias about fifty ministers, and is doing
a gi-eat and useful work on a difficult field. It has
done much in recent years in planting home-mission
stations, in raising pastors' salaries to a good standard,
and its contributions to foreign missions are worthy of
notice. By far the largest body of Presbyterians is that
which is called the Canada Presbyterian Church. This
Avas formed in 1861 by the union of the bodies in
Canada which represented the Free and United Pres
byterian Churches of Scotland — the Irish Presbyterians
haring been generally included in the former. The first
General Assembly of this Church was held in 1870.
The Canada Presbyterian Church has now five synods,
three hundred and fifteen ministers, six hundred and
thirty -three regular charges, fifty-one thousand six hun
dred and twelve communicants, and church accommo
dations for about one hundred and thirty-five thousand
persons. The liberality of this Church vies vrith that
of the original Churches in the mother country. It is
fully alive to the necessities of the home field, while
contributing largely to foreign missions. The clergy are
generally well cared for, and manses are the rule rather
than the exception ; whEe the congregations are large

LATEE AMEEICAN IHSTOEY. 147
and consolidated, and are earnest and liberal in carry
ing on their work. It is curious and instructive to find
the representatives of the Free and United Presby
terian Churches, which m Scotland have for the last
ten years been vainly striving after an incorporating
union, dwelling togethei- in brotherly love as one
Church of Christ. A similar union is witnessed in
Australia, and surely we may hope that the example
so happily set by the children in the Colonies wEl be
followed by their parents in the mother country.
Besides this, there is the Synod of the Presbyterian
Church in the Lower Provinces, which is homogeneous
Avith the Canada Presbyterian Church, but separated
from it by reason of distance. It includes the Presby
terian Churches in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and
Prince Edward Island. It has nearly one hundred and
twenty pastors, upwards of one hundred and thirty
churches, one hundred and twenty preaching stations,
and about eighteen thousand communicants.
Not only does Christian harmony prevail amongst
these different Churches, but there is reason to hope
that before much time has passed they will be united
under the name of the Presbyterian Church of
the Dominion of Canada. The unification of the
Churches will thus happily follow that of the provinces
into one Dominion. This movement, Avhich is but of
recent origin, and may be said to have been the natural
sequence of the reunion of the two great branches of
the Presbyterian Church in the United States, has
made the most promising progress. Difficulties that
might have arisen from the peculiar relation of a
-section of these bodies to the State, have seemingly

148

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

vanished in presence of the Christian spirit and broth
erly love which have prevailed in all their counsels.
It is now a mere question of time when there wiE be
but one Pi'esbyterian Church throughout the Dominion,
vvhich in numbers, influence, and liberality will compare
favorably with any one of the Churches in Scotland.
In such a union we see the possibility of a similar
movement for the union of the Churches in the mother
country.

OLD PR1^-GET0N COLLEQB.

CHAPTEE XI.

HISTORICAL SKETCHES AFTER 1837.

PART I.

It is a third of a century since the Old School and the
NeAV School parties separated and became distinct com
munions. It is Avell for the Church that its later party
names, like the earlier ones. Old and NeAV Side, should
speedily die away from the current, -especially from
the emotional, language of Presbyterians ; though they
must forever survive in history, and the historical use

150 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
of them caimot, with reason, be deemed invidious. Of
course, in what is Avritten, at this early day, from a
point of riew in either school, the warm glow of interest
and of a reasonable partiality vriE be looked for, rather
than the clearer but colder light of unbiassed indiffer
ence. This period of about thEty-two years has been a
very momentous one in the annals both of the church
at large and of the world. It has been marked by
extraordinary progress in the arts and sciences : by
wonderful improvements in domestic, agricultural, and
manufacturing machinery; by brilliant discoveries in
the depths of old ocean, in the stellar universe, and in
the all-pervading laws of the physical forces ; by the
practical introduction of intercontinental steam nariga-
tion and of the magnetic telegraph, linking closely
together points the farthest asunder round the almost
girdled globe. Its record of human enterprise teEs of
adventurous expeditions, on one side far toAvard the
North Pole, on the other into the tropical mysteries of
interior Africa ; of the ocean cable, of the Suez canal,
and of the Pacific raiEoad; of the close earth, in
regions Avide apart, greedily disembowelled, and yield
ing up unheard-of treasui-es. These years have vrit-
nessed political changes, many of them of the greatest
importance. The United States have gained by con
quest, justly or unjustly, from Mexico, a large extension
of the national domain. A war of almost unparalleled
magnitude has saved our union, emancipated and en
franchised four -millions of slaves. The Emperor of
the French, attempting to interfere vrith our American
system, has been disconcerted by a frovpn, and in. wis-

HISTORICAL REVIEW OF THE CHURCH. 151
dom dearly purchased has abandoned the adventure.
In Europe, France has again a republic, after her perils
under the imperial Napoleonic dynasty; Eussia has
been humbled at Sebastopol, but has greatly advanced
in ciAaEzation and power, and emancipated miEions of
serfs ; the larger part of Italy has recovered itself from
arbitrary rule, and the temporal despotism of the Popw
is tottering — perhaps to its f aE ; Prussia has suddenly,
by warEke achievement, become one of the great
powers, and has weE-nigh realized the pregnant idea of
German imity ; Austria has been wonderfully modern
ized ; and Spain, haring exiled her royal house, stands
hesitating between a republic and a constitutional
monarchy. In benighted Africa, Liberia has become
an independent state, with free Christian institutions
modeEed exactly after our own. In slumberous Asia,
the dense miEions of China and Japan have been
awakened to intercourse with the busy, outside world ;
and over those of India, Great Britain, through much
blood and suffering, has reasserted her power, which
God seems to overrule to such poor idolaters and wor
shippers of the false Prophet for good. To the Church
of Christ this period has been made specially interest
ing by the decline of rationaEsm in Germany, but its
spread in Great Britain and the United States ; by the
decay of Eomanism in Papal, but its revdval in Protest
ant, countries, and by striking indications that its
superstition, iniquity, and blasphemy are almost full,
seen in the mins^led craft and madness with which the
machinery of conferences and councils has been re
stored, modern civEization and evangeEcal religion
denounced and attacked, and the monstrous dogmas of

152 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
the immaculate conception of Mary and the infalli-
bEity of the 'Pope unblushingly promulgated ; by the
discovery of the more complete of the two oldest
knovm manuscripts of the Greek New Testament ; by
the exodus of the Free Chm-ch of Scotland ; by a spirit
of union and communion freshly and extensively
awakened among Christians ; by Avide openings of the
Papal and Pagan world to the gospel, its more abund
ant success, and the Avonderful outpourings of the
Holy SpEit, by Avhich, in many lands, it has been made
indeed the power of God unto salvation.
For obrious reasons, the division of seventeen years
between the Old Side and the New Side of the last
century was of shorter duration than that just now
healed. The amount of transient feeling excited was,
perhaps, in the two cases, nearly equal — ¦ feeling
enough to rend the church in twain. But much the
more important iiave been the differences, as to doc
trine and chm-ch order alike, which have protracted the
separation of the Old and New Schools. And vrithout
a general idea of these differences, we should hardly be
able to understand the long continuance of the dirision ;
the history meanwhEe of either school ; the negotiations
Avhich have resulted in reunion ; its final terms ; or the
prospects of the reunited church.
Affinities and a fraternal confidence which unhap-
pEy time has not increased, between Presbyterians and
Congregationalists, had led to an admixture of Congre-
gationaE-sm iu Presbyterian judicatories. The Old
School insisted that this admixture, as unconstitutional,
shoidd cease. The New School contended for its tol
eration and extension. The Old School preferred

HISTORICAL EEVIEW OF THE OHUECH. 153
strictly ecclesiastical agencies for conducting the mis
sionary and other general evangelistic work of the
church, urging, particularly, the establishment of a
Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. The New
School desired, in union Avith Congregationalists, to
confide this Avork to voluntary associations, the foreign
part of it to the American Board of Commissioners.
Both professed to be Calrinistic and to " receive and
adopt the Confession of Faith ... as containing the
system of doctrine taught in the Scriptures ; " but they
differed seriously in judgment as to what was essential
to that system, and, therefore, what departures from
the formulary vvere consistent with such a profession.
The Old School contended that certain errors utterly
inconsistent vrith it vvere prevalent in the church ; for
the purification of which they endeavored to visit with
discipEne several prominent ministers charged Arith
these errors. The New School argued that some of
the views alleged to be erroneous were reconcilable
vrith the Calrinistic system; denied that the others
were reaEy entertained by the parties accused, or vvere
seriously prevalent; and resisted the discipline pro
posed. This difference as to doctrine the Old School
uniformly considered and treated as by far the most
serious difference between the parties.
The Old School majority in the General Assembly
of 1837 haring disowned four synods, as so far Con-
gregationalized that they could not be any longer
acknowledged as Presbyterian bodies, the New School
commissioners to the Assembly of 1838, refused to
recognize an organization of this judicatory vvhich ex
eluded representatives from the disowned constituency

154 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
and formed another, and, as they claimed, the only true
Assembly. This was but the commencement of the
dirision. A process of separation and reconstruction,
necessary to some extent in both schools, at once began,
which was not completed throughout the two for
several years. Most of the component parts of the
former church took up theE positions definitely and
finaEy, at once, on this side or that; but some smaE
portions remained for a whEe undecided ; while a few
made a decision at first to which they did not ulti
mately adhere. The whole process, though not carried
through vrithout much heat and friction, produced less
of either than might have been anticipated. Appeals
to the civE courts for the settlement of church disputes
were not of very frequent occurrence. Here, a synod,
presbytery, or congregation, vrithout division or serious
difference of opinion, declared for the Old School or
the New; there, such a declaration was submitted to
by some persons under protest. Minorities in many
cases seceded from majorities, and frequently claimed
the true succession, yet in general vrithout open strEe.
Ecclesiastical records were usually retained by the
bodies whose adherents happened to have them in
hand. Legal right, real or imagined, often assumed at
first an attitude of defiance, yet in the end yielded to
the spEit of Christian forbearance. As usual in such
cEcumstances, adherence to one side or the other was
not always determined by a fuE, or even predominant,
approval of the vdews or measures by that side
adopted. The Old School have always claimed to have made
full provision, in 1837 and 1838, for the proper read-

HISTORICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 165
justment of the ecclesiastical relations of all sound
churches, ininisters, and judicatories involved in the
disowning acts; and, by several measm-es adopted in
the latter year and the next, they provided further for
the minorities left in synods, presbyteries, and congre
gations, in the church at large, by the withdrawment
of the New School. Before any suit at law had been
commenced, they recommended, in regard to property
questions, "great Eberality and generosity" on the
part of aE theE adherents. And after the main suit
had resulted in their favor, they more than intimated
their readiness to stand by the terms, as to temporal
interests, which had been proposed and both parties
had approved in their negotiations for an amicable
dirision. The exact relative strength of the two, when they
separated, cannot be easEy determined. By the statis
tical tables of 1837, the whole number of ministers in
the yet united church was twenty-one hundred and
forty, of congregations twenty-eight hundred and sixty-
five. Several years elapsed before all these ministers
and congregations determined definitely their respec
tive positions, and the numbers of the two sides could
be clearly ascertained. Moreover, the New School, in
1840, commenced the experiment of a triennial As
sembly, their supreme judicatory not meeting again
till 1843. At the latter date, they reported twelve
hundred and sixty-three ministers, and fourteen hun
dred and ninety-six congregations; the Old School,
•fourteen hundred and thirty-four of the one, two thou
sand and ninety-two of the other. By comparing these
numbers, and allowing for the natural increase of both

156 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
bodies in six years, we shaE perhaps come nearer to
their relative strength at the separation than we can in
any other way.
It is an interesting fact, that the years of most
earnest controversy, pending the dirision, were years
of special reEgious prosperity in the Presbyterian
Church. From 1829 to 1838, inclusive, the statistical
reports exhibited an unusual number of additions upon
profession, though the reports of 1836, 7, and 8 were
less favorable than those preceding. And after the
dirision, there was in this respect no appreciable fall
ing off, in the Old School communion, from the exhibit
cf the years last mentioned.
The New School, to test their claim to the true suc
cession, and theE title- to the funds and institutions of
the Presbyterian Church, commenced a suit in the
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the state by which
the Trustees of the General Assembly had been incor
porated. Three other suits by commissioners from
vrithin the bounds of the disoAvned synods, who had
been denied seats in the Assembly, were also instituted,
to test in a different way the principles of the case.
The one first mentioned, however, was the only one
brought to trial, the decision therein being regarded
as finaEy settling, so far at least as the courts of
Pennsylvania were concerned, the Avhole controversy.
This trial, involring as it did great interests, dravring
together a number of the most distinguished men of
the Presbyterian Church, and being conducted by emi
nent counsel on both sides, excited profound attention, ¦
and was watched thi-oughout its progress by many
anxious minds aE o^er the United States. Early in

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 157
March, 1839, it commenced before Judge Eogers and a
jury at nisi prius. Most of the time during its contin
uance, the court-room was crowded by eager spectators
and auditors. One after another caEed upon to tes
tify, a number of them venerable clergymen, put aside
" the Book," vrith Puritan conscientiousness, and swore
vrith the uplifted hand, a form of oath particularly
solemn and impressive. In the crowd the question
was frequently asked, "What is the difference
between the Old School and the New ? " Perhaps a
tipstaff would assume for the nonce the gravity of a
theologian, and attempt to satisfy the inquE-er. " The
Old School hold that whatever is to be vriE be," he
said, but broke down in trying to reverse the proposi
tion plausibly. Under the judge's charge, sustaining
the New School in every important point, the jury
gave a verdict in their favor. From outside the bar,
in the densely packed courtroom, rang forth a warm
burst of applause, which the judge instantly and
sternly suppressed.
A motion for a new trial was afterwards presented
and argued, and on the eighth of May an anxious
thi'ong were again assembled to hear the decision.
Chief -Justice Gibson delivered the opinion of the court.
Judge Eogers only dissenting. The judgment at nisi
prius was entirely reversed, a new trial granted, and
the whole case reaEy settled in favor of the Old School
In silence the crowd dispersed. Three years and some
months later, the New School quietly discontinued the
suit. This triumph at law, and consequent retention of the
general property of the church, have not uncommonlv

158 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
been regarded as a signal advantage to the Old School,
and a chief cause of their subsequent prosperity. They
were beyond doubt gainers, in character and influence,
by being declared thus judiciaEy the true Presbyterian
Chm-ch. But the funds secured were a mere trifle
comparatively, not amoimting to half a miEion of
doEars, and not equalling the aggregate of missionary
and other charitable contributions of the whole chiu-ch
for two years alone prior to the division. Moreover,
they were the funds, mainly, of the Old School theo
logical seminaries; and three seminaries, with their
endoAvments, out of seven, the New School retained ; as
likevrise, in all but a few cases, the property of theE
indiridual congregations. They had in fact agreed, in
the Assembly of 1837, that an equitable dirision of the
only general funds, to any part of which they could
lay just claim, would give them less than fifteen thou
sand dollars.
But advantages more important the Old School re
aEy enjoyed. The separation was not theE act, and no
effort to rend the body asunder gave them an impiEse
in any divergent com-se. They went on in the even
way of the standards, to which, in fact, they were ac
cused only of adhering vrith too much strictness. Their
orthodoxy has been scarce questioned, however they
may have been charged vrith putting undue restraints
upon Ebei-ty. With them, much the greater part of the
period of separation has been one of steady progress in
the old Presbyterian orbit, vrith only the slightest per-
tm-bations. Though not quite aE approring of the acts
of 1837, they have been united, in an unusual degree,
in doctrine, spirit, ecclesiastical policy, earnest effoi-t to

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 159
spread the Gospel under strict Presbyterian forms,
and in the whole work of the church.
It was an advantage, too, that the Old School felt
themselves particularly bound to demonstrate by spe
cial actirity and zeal, that what they had so earnestly
contended for was in truth for the furtherance and
prosperity of Christ's kingdom. To save their oavu
credit, much more for the glory of God, they must
prove that Congregational order was no help to Pres
byterianism ; that church boards were better than vol
untary associations ; that old Calvinism was the form
of doctrine most effective iu producing genuine revivals
and saving men.
The measures adopted by the General Assembly to
purge the church of Congregationalism were soon com
pletely successful. The greater number of those judi
catories in which it prevaEed to any serious extent
went off, sooner or later, vrith the New School ; but in
one way or another the last vestige of it disappeared,
before long, from the Old School body.
The theological history of this division of the church
for the whole thirty-two years of its separate exist
ence may be presented in a very few vvords. It was
left by the separation in a state of almost unprece
dented doctrinal homogeneity. One may weE doubt,
whether any other Christian communion of equal size
has ever exceEed it, as to unity in the reception of an
evangeEcal creed of such extent as the Westminster
Confession and Catechisms. Differences of opinion, even
among its ministers, have, of course, existed ; but these
differences have been comparatively trifling, or of very
little prominence or prevalence. H in any quarter st>

160 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
rious error has been adopted, for the most part it must
have been kept secret, or have been known to but a
few. No agitating discipline on this ground has been
exercised, or, to the knowledge of the church at large,
needed. "Princeton Theology," as it has often been
caEed, has, beyond question, been almost universaEy
prevalent among the Old School. If opposing systems
must take a modern nomenclature, there may be no
harm in making Princeton and New Haven respectively
the synonyms of the Old and the New Dirinity ; but it
should be remembered that the text-books of Princeton
have constantly been the simple Westminster symbols,
and such long and generaEy approved systematic pre
sentations of the Eeformed Theology as the " Institutio
Theologiae Elencticse" of Franciscus Turrettin. Old
School men have been slow to admit the idea of any
possible improvement in the generaEy received system
of gospel truth. Eecognizing fuEy the recent progress
made in BibEcal criticism and exegesis ; the fact, too,
that from time to time fuEer and more exact statements
of Christian doctrine may be, as they have been, elabo
rated; and by no means maintaining that any unin-
spEed man has been wholly free fi-om error; they
have, nevertheless, rejected vrith singular unanimity the
assumption, that any part of the substance of the gospel
has lain hidden in holy Scripture until modern times ;
or that the church of Christ has new discoveries to
make as to the system of truth in Jesus. Of a well-
known Presbyterian quarterly publication, one identi
fied vrith it from the beginning has lately said, " It has
been the honest endeavor of its conductors to exhibit
and defend the doctrines of our standards, under the

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OP THE CHUECH. 161
abiding c6nviction that they are the doctrines rf the
word of God. They have advanced no new theories,
and have never aimed at originality. Whether it be
a ground of reproach or of approbation, it is believed
to be true, that an original idea in theology is not to be
found on" its "pages . . . fi-om the beginning untE now."
And this praise or blame may be said to have belonged
to the Old School Church in general as cEstinctively as
to the publication from which it has been quoted.
A deep conriction of the church's duty to carry on,
through strictly ecclesiastical agencies, the work of
Foreign Missions, had led the Synod of Pittsburg, as
early as 1831, to organize itself for this purpose as The
Western Foreign Missionary Society. The New School
had refused to consummate the desires and plans of the
Old, by taking this enterprise under the care of the
whole churcE; but the Assembly of 1837 accepted the
trust, establishing in New York City The Presbyterian
Board of Foreign Missions, to which the Synod of
Pittsburg immediately made a surrender. This result
greatly cheered those who had so long labored for it,
and they felt theE solemn responsibility to prove that
zeal for Christ's cause, not mere party spirit, had ani
mated theE endeavors. The first meeting of the new
board was held in Baltimore in the follovring October;
and it commenced its operations vrith alacrity, and vrith
most encom-aging prospects, which have not proved de
lusive. According to the plan of chm-ch agencies now fully
established, a Board of Publication was appointed by
the Assembly of 1838, to which was transferred the
property and business of the Presbyterian Tract and
11

162 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Sabbath-School Book Society, organized by the Synod
of PhEadelphia a few years before. The Assembly of
1839, the fiftieth year haring now been completed
since this supreme judicatory had first convened, recom
mended the second Sabbath of December for a semi-
centenary celebration, a day of jubilee thanksgiving for
past mercies ; and the offering at that time, by all the
members of the church, of gifts for the endoAAonent of
the new board. The fund raised reached the sum of
forty thousand dollars. This sum, vrith about twenty-
eight thousand doEars donated for building purposes a
few years later, has been the nucleus of all that board's
permanent property.
Before the dirision, two boards had been organized :
The Board of Missions, now of Domestic Missions, for
the home Avork, in 1816 ; and in 1819, The Board of Ed
ucation, to aid candidates for the ministry ; both located
in PhEadelphia. These had been fostered by the Old
School, while, as a party, the New School had pre
ferred The American Home Missionary Society, and
The American Education Society, voluntary associa
tions in which Congregationalists participated.
The Board of Missions had, in 1844, the business of
chm-ch extension, or church erection, added to its other
operations. This was carried on by a special commit
tee, which, ten years afterward, for greater effect, Avas
enlarged. But in 1855, an independent Committee of
Church Extension was established at St. Louis, the
name of which was changed, in 1860, to that of the
Board of Church Budding, then the Board of Church
Extension. In 1845, after several years' agitation of the subject,

HISTOEICAL EEATEW OF THE OHUECH. 163
the Assembly dEected the Board of Missions to appoint
an Executive Committee at LouisriEe, furnished vrith
a secretary and other officers, co-ordinate with the Ex
ecutive Committee at PhEadelphia, and to have the
care of the western and south-western fields. In 1859,
a South-western Adrisory Committee, with a district
secretary at New Orleans, was ordered, and the next
year a similar Committee of the Pacific Coast at San
Francisco; but in 1862, all this additional machinery
was cEscontinued, as cumbersome, expensive, and un
profitable, and the management placed upon its pre
rious simpler footing.
The sphere of the Board of Education was enlarged,
in 1846 and the two years foEovring, so as to include
the assistance and care of Presbyterian colleges, acade
mies, and primary schools, a part of its work which has
groAvn constantly, though not rapidly.
Two other departments of Christian liberality and
effort have been committed to similar agencies. For
more than a century and a half the Presbyterian
Chm-ch has systematically raised funds for the relief
of disabled ministers and their families. But, in 1849,
the General Assembly ordered collections for this pur
pose to be disbursed by the Board of Publication, a
business transferred in 1852 to its oaati trustees; and
in 1861 a secretary Avas ajDpointed to devote his time
mainly to this enterprise, which has since more pros
perously advanced. In 1864, the condition of the
Freedmen at the South demanding immediate atten
tion, tAVO committees, one in Philadelphia, the other
in Indianapolis, were appointed to take charge of
educational and general evangelistic work among this

164 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
class ; and the next year, in place of the two, a single
Committee on Freedmen was estabEshed and located
at Pittsburg.
In 1840, the Assembly determined that an efficient
system of agencies, by which the churches shoidd be
risited from year to year, was, in the existing condi
tion of Christian feeEng and knowledge on the subject
of benevolent operation, absolutely indispensable. But
graduaEy that system has passed away, yet the lib-
eraEty of the churches has greatly increased. This
result has been attained in part through a standing
committee on Systematic Benevolence, appointed first
by the Assembly of 1854, and reporting every year.
Although many congregations yet fail of making regii
lar contributions to every scheme of the church, the
plan of striring to cultivate in ecclesiastical judica
tories and indiridual Christians a sense of theE respon
sibEity, and leaving the matter vrith them, has proved
in such a degree effectual, that any system of special
agencies for the collection of ordinary benevolent con
tributions would now find little remaining favor.
In 1842, the Assembly gave a unanimous decision
that ruling elders should not lay on hands in the ordi
nation of ministers ; yet afterward the matter was laid
over, in mere courtesy, for the action of the next
Assembly, in which was also agitated the question,
whether there could be a quorum of presbytery or
synod, without the presence of any ruling elder. A con
troversy on these subjects, carried on for several years
in ecclesiastical judicatories and in periodical and other
pubEcations, excited no little interest. The office of
ruling elder has been regarded almost unanimously, in

HISTOEICAL EEATtEW OF THE CHUECH. 165
the Presbyterian Church, as of dirine appointment, but
vrith a considerable latitude of opinion as to its exact
Scriptural warrant, and its relations to the office of the
preaching elder. On these points at least four distinct
theories have been propounded. (1.) One is, that the
term elder in the New Testament, as applied to Chris
tian ecclesiastics, is used only to designate ministers of
the word and sacraments, who are also, as universaEy
admitted, rulers in the most general sense, including
all ecclesiastical functions. The scriptural words then
designating those now called ruling elders are such as
rulers and governments. The other theories all agree
in the supposition, that the same New Testament term
includes both the ruling and the preaching elders of
our day, but from this common starting point diverge
vridely. (2.) One of the three supposes two orders of
elders ; that is, two kinds distinguished by ordinations
essentially different. The two remaining theories alike
represent all elders as of . exactly the same order or
ordination; but (3) one of them supposes all to be
fundamentally rulers, and the office of preaching to be
a mere superadded function or gift; while (4) the
other makes aE fundamentaEy ministers of the word,
the fact that some do not much addict themselves to
this ministry being due, in part to a wrongful ordina
tion of incompetent persons, in part to an allowable
diversity of serrice. The latter two theories seem to
have been confined pretty much to this countiy. Dr.
Eobert J. Breckinridge, Dr. Thornwell, and others who
maintained either of them, naturaEy enough contended
..hat ruling and preaching elders alike should unite in
presbyterial ordinations. They argued, moreover, that

166 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
as ordination was an act of presbytery, participation
in every part of it was the right of every member of
presbytery. It was rather inconsistent vrith either of
these theories to maintain, that vrithout the presence
of one or more ruling elders no church court could be
properly constituted; but Dr. Breckinridge and other
advocates of the latter doctrine based it chiefly upon
certain expressions in the form of government. The
ready reply was that these expressions had received an
authoritative interpretation to the contrary by imme
morial and nearly unEorm and unquestioned practice.
Against any innovation upon that practice very large
majorities decided in both 1843 and 1844; and this
quieted the agitation of the subject.
, Of a later date, in the Old School Church, and of
much less notoriety, has been the question, whether
ruEug elders may be elected to serve for a limited time
— one year or a term of years. The Assembly of
1835 had condemned such an election; but recent
tactitians having derised plans for turning the flank
of both the supreme judicatoiy and the form of gov
ernment at this point, they met vrith a more decisive
check in the Assembly of 1869.
The year 1843 was the two hundredth since the first
meeting of the ever-memorable Westminster Assembly
of Dirines, and it was made itself memorable by the
thrEling exodus of the Free Church of Scotland. The
Old School Assembly of the previous year had ap
pointed a committee to mature a plan for a bi-centen-
nial commemoration, in which other Presbyterian
bodies also might be interested. Now it was resolved
to recommend a more general indoctrination of both

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 167
young and old in the Westminster standards, and in
struction by pastors, on the first of July, the anniver
sary of the assembling of the divines, or at some other
convenient time, in the history of the church's strug
gles and sufferings for the maintenance of gospel
faith and order. A resolution of sympathy with
that portion of the Church of Scotland vvhich was
contending and bearing reproach for the truth's sake,
was also adopted. A few weeks afterward, intelli
gence came of the secession from that church of four
hundred and seventy ministers, Arith about six hundred
congregations, two thousand ruling elders, and at least
one miEion of worshippers. " Since the Act of Uni
formity," it was vvell said, "there had been no such
public and general sacrifice of interest to principle, and
it could not fail to secure the approbation and admira
tion of the Christian world." The secedins; ministers
relinquished yearly stipends amounting, in the aggre
gate, to about haE a million of dollars, and the people
their places of AVorship — the church homes, where
theE fathers before them, for many generations, had
called upon the name of the Lord and waited for his
word. The next year, the Eev. Messrs. George Lewis
and WiEiaui Chalmers appeared in the Assembly as
representatives from the Free Chm-ch, of which they
gave most interesting and soul-stirring accounts; and
resolutions of the warmest welcome and sympathy
vvere passed. Contributions also, to aid the Free
Church, were recommended. Other delegates, among
whom were Dr. Cunningham and Dr. Bums, subse
quently, by theE public addresses, extended this glow
of sympathy aE oyer the land. It may here be added.

168 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
that out of the bi-centenary commemoration of the
Westminster Assembly, at Edinburgh, in July, 1843,
grew the Evangelical Alliance formed in August, 1846.
The subject of slavery had for many years, in some
degree, agitated the church ; but the General Assembly
had taken thereupon no decided action between 1818
and 1845. In the latter year, by a vote of one hun-
di-ed and sixty-eight to thEteen, an important minute
was adopted, which itself became, at once, a matter of
more or less dispute. Extreme abolitionists and extreme
pro-slavery men alike, the former vrith chagrin, the
latter Arith exultation, maintained that it Aoi-tually an
nulled the action of 1818 ; Avhich, though unanimously
approved then by the southern as weE as the northern
commissioners, had condemned slavery as " a gross rio-
lation of the most precious and sacred rights of human
nature," and declared it to be " the duty of aE Chris
tians ... to use theE honest, earnest, and unwearied
endeavors ... as speedily as possible, to efface this
blot on our holy religion, and to obtain the complete
abolition of slavery throughout Christendom." But
by the church at large the deliverance of 1845 has
been constantly understood to deny only certain unjus
tifiable inferences from that of 1818, particularly that
elave-holders ought to be excluded from membership in
the visible church of Christ. The doctrine of the Old
School, from first to last, consistently was, that slavery
Avas a great evE, which, as soon as it might be safely,
ought tp be abolished ; that slave-holding, however, vvas
not always or necessarily a sin ; but that masters ought
faithfully to give to their servants "that which was
just and equal," seeking dEigently their improvement

HISTOEICAL REVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 169
and preparation for freedom. The doctrine, advanced
chiefly in later times, and which found some advocates
in the Presbyterian Church at the South, that slavery,
like the family relation, vvas a divine institution, was
never at all countenanced by the church at large ; but
was rirtually and decisively condemned, over and over
again, in several weE considered and unanimously or
almost unanimously approved deliverances. In 1846,
the Assembly's prerious action was declared consistent
throughout, and aE that Avas needed ; a declaration
which in substance was reiterated in 1849.
But ultra men from the North or South Avere not the
only ones that troubled the church about this matter.
It was pressed upon the Assembly Avith strong determi
nation, and occasionally, in the view of many, Avith
severe, if not unchristian expression, in its foreign cor
respondence. The Irish General Assembly, in particu
lar, took upon itself the office of rebuke, Avhich led, in
1854, to a suspension of intercourse vrith that body, a
letter from which it was resolved not to answer.
During the whole protracted controversy on this sub
ject, the General Assembly continued to enjoin, from
time to time, upon the southern chui-ches, increased at
tention to the moral and reEgious imj)rovement of the
slav^es ; and particularly from 1845 to 1861, Ave find in
its narratives of the state of religion frequent accounts
of dEigent efforts and good success in this great work.
The importance of those efforts, as a providential pre
parative for emancipation, can scarcely be overesti
mated. The Boards of Domestic Missions and Educa
tion were heartEy interested and engaged in them ; the
former, while that distuiguished Georgian, the Eev. Dr.

170 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
C. C. Jones, was its secretary, to an unusual degree and
Arith the happiest effect. No man better than he un
derstood the demands of evangeEcal work among the
slave population of the South; for he had spent his
ministerial life in it, and published several important
volumes as the fruit of his long experience. Speaking
of the improvement of this class, the Assembly con
vened at Nashrille, Tennessee, in 1855, said in its narra
tive, " In few, E any of our Southern States, are laws
enforced forbidding that slaves be taught to read.
UsuaEy, as far as among any other class. Sabbath
schools are sustaiued for theE instruction. . . . And we
believe ourselves to be speaking the language of sober
truth, Avhen vve say there are in our southern churches
thousands of slave-ovTuers, whose desire and effort is to
prepare those whom an inscrutable proridence has cast
upon their care, for a state - of liberty and seE-control
they cannot yet enjoy; and whose fervent prayer is,
that God would hasten the day of safe and salutary
freedom to men of every clime."
It is a significant fact, that the emancipation of the
slaves by mEitary and ciAol authority in 1863 and af
terward, Arith the general rejoicing over this great
event at the North, and the fervor of thanksgiring
which it excited, did not render it necessary for the
Old School Church to rescind or modify one of its de
liverances upon the subject of slavery. It is believed
that those deliverances express its mind at the present
time as truly as they ever did. And when the Assem
bly of 1864 was called, in God's proridence, to frame a
minute expressive of its sentiments, in view of the
emancipation decreed by our national government, aE

HISTORICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHURCH. 171
the grand abiding principles of that minute were
quoted carefully from its own prerious utterances.
Yet the paper fuEy satisfied the public mind, even at a
moment of the greatest excitement and clamor. Hap-
pEy this whole subject seems to have been put, in
God's goodness, beyond the possibEity of further dis
turbing the church's peace.
Sometimes it has been intimated, that pro-slavery
tendencies on the part of the Old School were among
the most influential causes of the dirision of 1838. No
allegation could be more entirely opposed to historical
truth. A careful reading of all the official documents
of that time, when, too, crimination and recrimination
were loosely prevalent, vriE not disclose the slightest
hint of such a charge from any quarter. Nay, the As
sembly of 1835, in which there was a decided Old
School majority, appointed a committee to report upon
slavery; but the Assembly of 1836, in vvhich the New
School had altogether theE own way, postponed the
whole subject indefinitely by a vote of one hundred
and fifty-four to eighty-seven.
When, in 1812, the first theological seminary of the
Presbyterian Chuxch was established at Princeton,
there vvas a very general sentiment in favor of concen
trating the resources of the whole chm-ch in a single
thoroughly equipped institution. Even then, however,
the advocates of this plan encountered a few warm op
posers ; and these, vrith the increase of Presbyterian
ism, and its spread over a constantly vridening territory,
grew so numerous and powerful as to change altogether
the policy of the church in this respect. In favor of
the multiplication of seminaries have been m-ged, the

172 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
cost to students, in time and money, of traveEing to dis
tant parts of the land ; the advantage of interesting the
denomination more generaEy in theological education
and the increase of the ministry ; the undue influence
which might be exerted by theological professors, E the
trainins: of the church's candidates were committed to
but a few, and the evE — a special benefit as it was once
considered — of casting all in one mould ; the fact that
an education at the North or East unfitted persons
sometimes, to labor in the South or West, particularly
in slave states ; and the danger that young men going
far away from home to pursue theE studies would
never return, or that, at least, chm-ches in the neigh
borhood of the divinity school would attract and retain
the ablest of them. The new policy of multiplying
such schools had so far prevailed prior to the dirision
in 1838, that about haE a score of them were already
more or less actively competing for the patronage of the
Presbyterian Church. Of these, the Seminary at Prince
ton and the Western Seminary at AEegheny vvere un
der the immediate care of the General Assembly ; Union
Seminary in VEginia, that at South Hanover, afterward
at New Albany, and that at Columbia, South Carolina,
under immediate synodical superrision ; and Auburn Sem
inary, Lane Seminary at Cincinnati, and Union Seminary
in New York City ; New School institutions, under con
trol of Presbyteries, or of their respective corporations.
In 1853, the subject of another seminary for the West
was brought before the Assembly by numerous over
tures and proposals. All parties seemed, at first, to
be agreed, that the new institution should command
the whole patronage of the Old School body west of

HISTORICAL REAHDEW OF THE CHUECH. 173
the appropriate limits of that at Allegheny. As to its
location there was great diversity of opinion. Of six
places named, three only, however, came into active
competition, — New Albany, Saint Louis, and DanvEle.
Danrille was at length fixed upon by a decided ma
jority ; but its selection was regarded as an abandon
ment of the idea of a single institution for the West :
it was at once quite apparent that the North-west could
not be satisfied vrith a seminary so far south. Besides,
personal energy, influence, and zeal, rather than the true
relations and wants of different sections, seemed to
have given the triumph to Danville. The school at
New Albany, therefore, which was to have been merged
in the new one, was continued under synodical manage
ment, -and any intention to interfere with it was dis
claimed by the next Assembly. In 1856, the Synods
haring it in charge resolved upon its removal to Chi
cago ; and a want of harmony among its friends, vrith
the munificent offer of Mr. C. H. McCormick to endow
it vrith one hundred thousand doEars, prorided it
should be permantly located at Chicago and put under
the control of the General Assembly, determined them
to apply to the latter to take it in charge. A consider
able endowment was also promised, if the institution
should be fixed at Indianapolis ; but the advocates of
Chicago prevailed by a very large majority. Here the
Presbjrterian Seminary of the North-west, as it was
named, has since had its location. With the churches
of the South, when they seceded, the institutions in VE--
ginia and South Carolina of course remained. Four
theological seminaries, therefore, all under the control
of the Genei-al Assembly, the Old School bring into the

174 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
reunited church. That at Princeton celebrated in
1862, with appropriate observances, its fiftieth anni
versary. The few years immediately preceding the Southern
EebelEon were years of special actirity and prosperity
though not vrithout apprehensions, difficulties, and trials,
in the Old School Church. In June, 1857, eight be
loved missionaries of the Presbyterian Board in North
ern India, — Messrs. Freeman, CampbeE, Johnson, and
McMulEn, and theE vrives, with two little children,
Willy and Fanny CampbeE, — fell by the cruel hands of
the notorious Nana Sahib and the Sepoy mutineers.
Money was freely offered for their release and that of
other captives by a rich gentleman among the latter.
" It is blood we Avant, not money," was the reply. For
Christian blood, indeed, the poor heathen were thirst
ing. With the faith of true martyrs, these devoted men
and Avomen yielded up their lives. The intelligence of
the compEcated horrors of that rebeEion thrilled
deeply aud powerfuEy the hearts of God's people in
this and other lands. Here, upon its reception, days of
special prayer were Aridely observed, and supplication
for India seemed to be the spontaneous utterance of the
whole church. In God's good proridence and faithfxd
remembrance of his covenant, the mutiny Avas arrested,
and a wider door of usefulness than ever before vvas
opened in that benighted land ; while in this country,
especiaEy during the fall and vrinter, most of the evan
gelical churches, the Old School Chm-ch among the rest,
were graciously and signally revived and inc]-eased.
The Fulton-street daEy prayer-meeting in Ncav York,
the forerunner and model of many of a similar kind,

HISTORICAL REATEW OF THE CHURCH. 175
was established. The glad tidings flew across the
ocean, and a remarkable " Year of Grace " was vouch
safed to the chui-ches of Great Britain and Ireland.
But, before these had felt the Spirit's breath, our sur
viving missionaries in Northern India had been aroused
by the good news from America ; and after much
prayer and a blessed refreshing, they had recommended
the devotion, in every land, of a Aveek in January, 1860,
to united supplication for a lost world. The Evangeli
cal Alliance heartily endorsed the suggestion, and hence
the " Week of Prayer " since so generally observed.
Thus again became the blood of the martyrs the seed
of the church.
The gracious revivals mentioned, which but little
prevailed south of vvhat are now known as the Border
States, were a merciful preparation for the dread life-
struggle which followed. And already, in both church
and state, the mutterings of the fearful storm were
heard. The southern commissioners to the Ncav School
General Assembly of 1857,. offended by its anti-slavery
action, called a convention, the result of Avhich was the
subsequent organization of the United Synod of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.
Such men as Dr. F. A. Eoss and Dr. A. H. H. Boyd
v^ere opposed to a proffer of union vrith the Old
School, against which various reasons were urged;
among these, the " exscinding acts " unrepented of ; the
examination of applicants to presbytery; very serious
doctrinal differences as to original sin, the atonement,
and other j)oEits ; the denial of each one's right to in
terpret the Confession of Faith for himself ; and, above
all, blind persistence in the "toleration theory" as to

176 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
slave-holders, in spite of the discovery by certain
southern iEuminati that slavery was a permanent
diAone ordinance. The proffer, nevertheless, was at
length unanimously made, upon certain " indispensable
terms," which, however, the Old School Assembly of
1858 decided, did "not afford a basis of conference "
promising the advancement of the Presbyterian Church
or of the Eedeemer's kingdom. In 1863, the Synod
was invited by the General Assembly of the Presby
terian Church in the Confederate States to a negotia
tion, which resulted, the next year, in a union between
the two bodies, under the name of the latter.
Extreme southern opinions were now overbearingly
urged upon the Old School. In the Assemblies of
1859 and 1860, Dr. ThoruAvell, a man of lovely charac
ter but inexorable in debate, maintauied, in the interest,
of course, of slavery, that the church is so purely
spiritual, so completely restricted to the simple busi
ness of saving men, so absolutely limited to what the
Bible in express words commanded or permitted, that
all ecclesiastical action in regard to Bible Societies,
Temperance, Colonization, Slavery, or the Slave-trade,
and all church boards are unlavrful. This new and
startling doctrine, contrary to the whole current of
Presbyterian usage and tradition, was, of course, not ac
cepted by the Assembly, although, at first, some feared
the eloquent Southron would prevail.
In AprE, 1861, the storm of ciril war, which had
been for months, in risible blackness, hanging over the
country, burst upon it vrith the thunder of the bom
bardment of Fort Sumter. On the sixteenth of May,
the General Assembly met in the city of PhEadelphia.

HISTORIOAIi EEAOEW OF THE CHUECH. 177
It met, of course, in the midst of unpai-aEeled excite
ment, and when public opinion, if not evident duty,
requE-ed from every man and eA^ery organized body of
men, an open declaration of principles as to the terrible
conflict already commenced, aud soon widely and fear
fully to rage. Only some thirteen commissioners ap
peared fi-om the seceding states, seven of Avhom Avere
from Arithin the bounds of the Synod of Mississippi.
A very large part of the time of the Assembly Avas
taken up in the warm and able discussion of several
papers offered upon the state of the counti-y. It Avas
erident that a majority, in the beginning, Avould have
been glad to avoid the subject altogethei- ; but now
that it Avas forced upon them, Avould not silence, or a
refusal to express loyal sentiments, .be misconstrued '¦.
In the end, a decision was made simply betAveeu two
papers in substance not unlike, but iu form a declara
tion, one of them by the Assembly, the other l)y the
mei'nhers of the Assembly; a difference Avhich many
regarded as distinguishing betAv^een an authoiitatiA-e act
and a mere opinion of certain individuals. The vener
able Dr. Spring had offered the former, as in substance
it Avas at length adopted by a vote of one hundred and
fifty-six to sixty-six, the minority protesting. It recom
mended a day of prayer, professed loyalty to the
Federal Government, and declared it a duty to support
that government and preserve the Union. Several in
ferior judicatories at the North, pronounced this deliv
erance inconsistent vrith the constitution, and vrith the
word of God. Some who viewed it thus, did not
object, however, to similar declarations made by subse
quent Assemblies after the southern chui-ches had
13

178 PEESBYTEELAN CHUECH.
vrithdraAvn. TheE idea was, that a judicatory repre
senting Christians in states that had seceded had ni>
right to decide for them the political questions, whether
secession was lavrful, and whether aEegiance was due
primarily to the indiridual state or to the United
States. But it was asked. Does not a judicatory repre
senting only Christians in states that have not seceded,
decide vdrtuaEy the same questions, in pledging them
selves to assist in a Avar to prevent secession, a war ut
terly unjust if secession be lawful, and the people of
the South be suffering persecution for righteousness'
sake? In the fall of 1861, met the first General Assembly
of the Presbyterian- Church in the Confederate States.
This secession drcAV off, first and last, 'about seven hun
dred ministers and twelve hundred churches. It is not
probable that it was precipitated by the action in
Philadelphia, although that action was made in part
to bear the blame. How could Christians remain
united in the church, while fiercely fighting against
one another along the whole dividing line of theE
respective territories ?
Every subsequent Assembly during the war added
something to the church's testimony on the subject of
all-absorbing interest, the state of the country. Once
and again regret was manifested that it was further
pressed ; many thought that enough had been said and
done to establish a character for loyalty, and to satisfy
even the popular demand for an outspoken declaration
of principles; but each new body of commissioners
found, in ever-fresh zeal for the coimtry, and current
soul-stirring events, abimdant reason for new deEver-

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CIICTECH. 179
ances. Especially when enthusiastic men had in
troduced the subject, it was sufficient to plead that
hesitation vA^ould imply indifference, a refusal sym
pathy vrith the South; and discussion haring once
commenced, feelings were soon aroused which car
ried the body aAvay captive in the chains of patriotic
emotion. The deEverances of the Assembly on this subject
after 1861, so far as they added any material idea to
the testimony of that year, condemned most unequivo
cally the rebeEion for the perpetuation of negro
bondage, as a monstrous iniquity, to be earnestly re
sisted and " force crushed by force ; " yet called upon
the loyal people of the country to humble themselves
before ' God, confessing both national and indiridual
sins, that the dirine anger might be turned away ; and
declared that the time had come, when every vestige of
slavery should be swept from the land, ancl when every
Christian should address himseE earnestly to the ac
complishment of that work. Then, the war having
abruptly terminated, thanks were retui-ned, the whole
Assembly in the vote rising to its feet, for the conduct
and issue of the struggle, and the emancipation of fom-
miEions of slaves ; Abraham Lincoln was eulogized, his
sad death deplored, and a blessing invoked upon his
successor in the chief magistracy; the Board of Do
mestic Missions, which has always exercised a full dis
cretion as to the character of its missionaries, was
directed to aid no disloyal minister, nor any one not in
cordial sympathy Arith the Assembly in its " testimony
on doctrine, loyalty, and freedom ; " churches and judi
catories Avere forbidden to receive from the South

180 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
appEcants who had voluntarEy participated in the re
beEion, or held that slavery was a dirine ordinance, or
that, ia the words of the Southern Assembly, it AA^as
"the peculiar mission of the Southern Church to con
serve " it, Arithout repentance of their sin and error ;
and they were dEected to suspend, pending discipline,
or erase from the i-oE after two years' absence, minis
ters Avho were fugitives or exiles on account of disloy
alty, or had gone south and aided in the rebellion.
Fm-ther, the southern church secession was declared
schismatical, and the intention of the Chm-ch North not
to abandon the southern field asserted. At the same
time, Idndness and a concilatory spE-it wei'e i-ecom-
mended toA\'ard the erring, especially the younger, more
impidsive, and less guilty of them; and the constant
temjjering of justice vrith mercy.
A little incident of the year 1863, may iEustrate the
excitement of feeling in which every chm-ch judica
tory duiing the war convened., A motion was made to
i-aise the national flag over the chm-ch edifice occupied
by the Assembly at Peoria. A large minority were for
laying this motion on the table, but it was referred in
due dilatory form to a committee. While the latter
Avere deliberating, however, " the fire burned " in some
heaits, and the trustees of the church were urged to
hoist the flag Arithout Avaiting for the issue of parlia-
mentaiy process. Might not the stars and stripes un
folded to the eye quicken deliberation upon them?
The ti-ustees, Arith a slight stretch of authority, though
hardly a stretch of reverence for the embodied vrisdom
of the church, yielded to this suggestion ; and the As
sembly afterward gravely decided, that as the thing

HISTOEICAL EEAOEW OF THE CHUECH. 181
had been done, their further attention to it was unnec
essary. A statement of the grounds upon which these various
acts of the supreme judicatory, most of them more or
less earnestly contested, were by their advocates sus
tained, AAdE exhibit sufficiently the argument on both
sides. Kindness, it was said, to the erring, might be
serious unlrindness to the church and nation; there
were higher interests at stake than the retention of the
southern churches; and loyal Christians at the North
would not be satisfied vrithout the fullest declaration of
loyalty, and the plainest dealing with the rebellion as
an atrocious iniquity. The duty to condemn sin Avas
ui-ged, especiaEy sin so monstrous and destructive.
Eepentance neither the state nor political parties de
manded, but the chui-ch never restored offenders Avilh-
out it, and was to be governed by a simple regard lo
right far more than to policy. No terms of communion
unknown to Presbyterianism had been established, no
ncAV offences created. Were not the ten command
ments part of the chm-ch standards; and had not the
Assembly ahvays exercised the right of laying down
conditions for the reception of outside ministers, in
the position of which those at the South had really
put themselves, aud of enjoining examinations which
supposed a Eberty to reject appEcants, and which
every church court Avas coiEessedly entitled to make ?
All moral and religious questions, no matter on what
other questions of a secular kind they depended for
settlement, the church could rightfully decide. Must
a convicted smuggler, sent to the state-prison, remain
in good ecclesiastical standing, because his guEt d&

182 PEESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
pended whoEy upon the interpretation of positive civE
laws? Must a mm-derer continue an unimpeached
church-member, because his conviction required, in the
chm'ch as in the state, the settlement of such a mere
scientific and professional question as that of medical
maljDi-actice ? In cases of this kind, the church could
not merely follow state decisions, Avhich might be glar-
Eigly unrighteous. By such decisions Christians had
often been persecuted ; by such a decision Christ him
seE Avas crucified. It Avas admitted that erroneous
political opinions, generally prcA^alent and imbibed in
early years, Avere a great palEation of jDolitical offences,
and made lenient discipline specially desEable in the
present case.
The action of the Assembly upon the state of the
country and of the church gave great offence to some
persons, particularly in the border states. The Presby
tery of LouisviEe issued a "Declaration and Testi
mony," to which they soEcited the signature of aE theu-
brethi-en who agreed vrith them. The whole number
of signers, first and last, was something like one hun
dred and twenty ; say forty-two ministers and seventy-
eight elders. This paper testified against various
errors in acts of the Assembly' grovring out of the war,
errors which, of course, were attributed to poEtical
views and feelings. Two things at least secured its
vei-y general condemnation. Its language was grossly
imbecoming. It charged the Assembly, for example,
vrith unjust and scandalous self-contradiction, malignity,
and even falsehood. Moreover,, it raised avowedly the
standard of revolt, inaugurating in the church what
had just been attempted in the state. This ecclesias-

HISTORICAL EEATEW OF THE CHUECH. 183
tical rebeEion took the place, in the Assembly of 1866,
at St. Louis, of the civE rebeEion which had produced
such protracted agitation, as a source of excitement
and vehement debate.
Dr. Eobert J. Breckinridge had endeavored to ex
clude the signers of the Declaration and Testimony
from the Synod of Kentucky, and had appealed to the
Assembly against theE admission. This case, however,
was j)assed by, and the commissioners fi-om the Presby
tery of LouisvEle Avere summarily, Arithout allowance
of argument, excluded from the house until their case
coiEd be adjudged. Afterward, when it Avas brought
forAvard, they were invited to defend themselves, but
declined. At length, the Assembly, but not Arithout
the warmest, most excited discussion, adopted, by a
vote of one hundred and ninety-six to thiity-seven, a
paper offered by Dr. P. D. Gurley, in substance con
demning the Declaration and Testimony as slanderous,
schismatical, and rebeEious; summoning its adopters
and signers to the bar of the next Assembly ; forbid
ding them to sit, meauAvhile, in any chui-ch court above
the session ; and declaring every such court admitting
any of them to be ipso facto dissolved, its poAver pass
ing into the hands of those adhering to the order of
the Assembly.
In support of this action, it was urged that the As
sembly was a body, not of limited powers given to it
by its constitution, but of powers unlimited — all the
power of the Presbyterian Church, excepting Avhat the
constitution expressly took aAvay ; that every delibera
tive body had an absolute discretion in regard to the
qualifications of its members, and the preservation, as

184 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
against those members, of its own dignity and tlie dig
nity of its constituency ; that the effectual rebuke of rici-
lence and prevention of rebellion demanded, in this
case, sharp Avork; and that the offence of the Louis-
AdEe Presbytery and its commissioners, as the original
and most flagrant one, required special treatment.
In vieAV of the importance and exigency of the crisis,
a preliminary convention had been called, after the
mamier of the troublous times preceding the division of
the chm-ch in 1838, to meet at St. Louis. It was quite
numerously attended, and sent in a memorial to the
Assembly, Avhich was treated vrith respect, but as pro
posing nothing desirable after the deliverances already
made. The issue proved that the call of the convention
had been unnecessary, as indeed, beforehand, it had
been generally regarded.
As the result of all this, the Synods of Kentucky and
!Missomi, with the presbyteries belonging to them, were
divided, and the Assembly of 1867 adjudged those por
tions of the several judicatories which had obeyed the
oi-ders of 1866 to have the true succession; but concilia-
toi-y measures, though without the relinquishment of
pi-inciple, were adopted, remitting the cases of the
signers of the Declaration and Testimony to the lower
courts, and providing for the return of all who might be
AvEling to promise obedience in the Lord, and disclaim
intentional disrespect, and for dropping the names of
the rest. In 1868, the Assembly refused to modEy
this action, but gave permission to the Synods of Ken-
tuck}' and Missomi to do, in the whole matter, anything
consistent Arith the honor and authority of the supreme
indicatory, for the sake of peace and order. The Deo-

HISTORICAL REVXEW OF THE CHURCH. 185
laration and Testimony men, however, are noAV, in gen
eral, with the southern secession, or by themselves.
As early as 1866, the Assembly had declared that
it deplored greatly the separation of the southern
churches, and earnestly desired a reunion on the basis
of the standards, and on terms consistent vrith truth
and righteousness. In 1867, generous contributions
for the reEef of destitution at the South Avere recom
mended. The next year, the Southern Presbyterian
Chm-ch was recognized as independent, Arith the expres
sion of an earnest hope, that, although its separation
could not be justified, it might return to its former rela
tions ; and in 1869, Christian salutations were addressed
to it, Arith the assurance of a strong desire for a general
reunion among Presbyterians throughout the land.
Our sketch, thus far, of ecclesiastical events duiing
and since the war, makes several things which deserve
consideration sufficiently evident. In the Assembly as
well as out of it, ministers and ruling elders acted often
under great excitement, which it Avould be extreme
folly to say was not unfavorable to Avise action. But
how great had been the provocation ! Hoav impossi
ble it was, the war still raging, for men whose sons,
brothers, or other near relatives were at the moment
exposed to death upon the field, E their lives had not
been already offered up, to view the rebellion calmly,
or express themselves upon it Arith moderation, or
punctilious propriety. One reason why prudently mod
erate men sometimes failed to get the ear of the church
was, that rank sympathizers vrith the South hailed
them as allies, and threw upon them suspicion. Noav,
when the danger has passed aAvay, we can imagine the

186 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
event to have proved that others were hasty, rash, un
necessarily alarmed and severe. The acts of men in
great j)erE are to be judged of, however, by that peril
as imminent, rather than by a subsequent providential
escape ; and, indeed, who can say that the Union would
have been preserved, vrithout the resolute, it may be
the stern, riolent patriotism of northern Christians?
Nor is a general disposition now, the emergency having
ceased, to relax the rigor of previous enactments, any
eridence that they were originally unjustifiable. We
approached, even at the North, very near to that con
dition actually experienced by large portions of the
South, in Avhich constitutions and laAvs crumble away,
and natural right and Christian principle remain the
onl}'- social bonds. Well may we be thankful that the
reriew demands so little regret ; that the great princi
ples of the Gospel and of Presbyterianism were so well
sustained; that so little, E any, essential injustice wap
done; that narrow limits to beneficial and patriotic
church action were not aEowed to be set. Llad w(
realized the proverb. Inter arma silent leges, it had
hardly been a wonder ; but the gracious Head of thf
Chui-ch saved us fi-om that calamity : to him be the
jjraise ! It is not probable, either, that a more concilia ¦
tory course in the northern Assembly would have
even retarded the southern chm-ch secession ; which was
deliberately designed to aid the rebeEion and carry out
its foregone conclusions, as clearly as om- acts were de
signed to strengthen the national government. Besides,
it may vveE be doubted whether the coherence, d^xring
the war at least, of the northern and southerii por
tions of the chm-ch was desirable. Men cannot alter-

inSTOEICAL EEVXEW OF THE CHURCH. 187
nately, go out and fight against each other to the death,
and come in together to the Lord's table, at once con
sistent foes and consistent friends. No chm-ch could
preserve its oneness the land over, through such a ciril
war as ours, unless the Chm-ch of Eome, Avith its bond
of union in another and distant country.
Leaving uoav a topic which might weE have occu
pied a much larger space, it may be desirable, running
OA'er the Avhole period of this history, to condense into
a fcAV paragraphs, in the order of time rather than of
logical comiection, some brief aEusions to events, par
ticularly acts of the General Assembly, to which little
room comparatively can be given. The troubles of
1837 and 1838 interrupted fraternal intercourse Avith
various evangelical bodies at home and abroad, with
which, however, a friendly correspondence was speedily
re-established. Soon after the division, measures were
not unsuccessfuEy adopted to rerive and invigorate the
office of deacon. Various arrangements and changes
have been made to secui-e to the boards the advantage
of periodical publications, to disseminate intelligence
of their Avork thi'ough the churches. The latest ac-
counts shcAV a cEculation of sixteen thousand copies of
the monthly Hecord ; nearly one hundred thousand of
the Sabbath School Visitor of the first, vrith thE-ty-four
thousand additional copies of that of the fifteenth, of
the month; and three thousand five himdred of the
pamphlet, Arith almost fifty-two thousand of the news
paper, edition, both monthly, of the fforeign Mission
ary ' besides many thousands of the several yearly re
ports and of various occasional issues. From about
1849, the project of a weekly religious paper, like the

188 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Afethodist Advocate^ was pressed upon the Assembly
for several years successively, but without effect. Yet
the chm-ch has always acknoAvledged the unspeakable
importance of religious papers, many of which have
been established by private enterprise. The value of
its periodical pubEcations to the Old School, before
the dirision, none can estimate. But then they were
weighty with doctrinal discussion, and bristling vrith
the arms of stui'dy polemics. One of our most honored
ministei-s recently said, in an addi-ess to theological
students, " I cannot help thinking we shall need, in
the next ten years, a little more controversial preach
ing : " he might vrisely, perhaps, have added, " and a
little more doctrinal and controversial newspaper
Aviiting." It is probable that Millenarianism has become more
prevalent among the Old School than it Avas in 1838,
though lately it seems to have suffered a decline. The
Assembly has more than once strongly recommended
preaching Avithout manuscript and expository preach
ing. It has discouraged ordination sine titulo. Twdce
the presbyteries have rirtually declined to make pro
vision for a voluntai-y demission of the ministry.
Tvrice the Assembly has refused to submit to them a
proposition to allow marriage with a deceased vrife's
sister, and other marriages faEing vrithin the same
general prohibition ; and it has sustained discipline for
such a connection, vrith the explanation, however, that,
though the union was sinful, it was not invalid ; and
vrith the result that church judicatories, as to discip
line in this case, do each one what is right in its oavu
¦eyes. Total abstinence from intoxicating drinks has

HISTORICAL EEATEW OP THE CHUECH. 189
been strongly recommended, though not enjoined ; im-
less we may regard the equivocal language of the
Assembly's acts of 1865 and 1869 as amounting to an
injunction, which a majority of the church, it is proba
ble, would hardly sustain. Eomish baptisms, after
long hesitation, have been by a nearly unanimous vote
declared void. The subject of union, more or less
intimate, Avith evangelical, and especially Presbyterian,
bodies in the United States, other than the Ncav School,
has repeatedly been brought before the Assembly, and
has ahvays awakened a favorable interest, as in the
cases of the Presbyterian National Union Convention
of 1867, and the National CouncE of Evangelical
Churches proposed, in 1869, by the General Synod of
the Eeformed Church. The ordinations of all Protes
tant communions have been pronounced valid, Avith the
express proriso, however, that ministers received from
other bodies must possess the qualifications required
by the Presbjrterian standards. The dismission of
chui-ch-members to the Avorld has been condemned. In
1853, the Assembly addressed a memorial to Congress
requesting the adoption of measures for seeming the
rights of conscience to our citizens abroad. The
American Bible Society and the American Coloniza
tion Society have been warmly commended, although
the alterations made by the former, in the received
English version and its accessories, were in effect con
demned, though not until the society had itseE seen its
mistake and Arithdrawn its rerised editions. In 1858,
the centennial anniversary of the reunion of the Old
and New Sides was celebrated. The Assembly has re
fused to authorize the preparation of a church-commen-

190 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH
tary on the Bible. The subject of unemployed minis
ters and vacant congregations has been repeatedly dis
cussed, but Arithout any effective action. Mr. Joseph
M. WEson, the indefatigable ach^ocate of church-
manses, has succeeded in engaging for his project the
favorable attention of the church.
There have been several attempts, during the same
period, to make important changes in the Form of
Government, Book of Discipline and Directory for
Worship. Offices for the administration of baptism
and for the public admission of chm-ch-members have
been jDroposed, but have not found faA^or. An able
committee, appointed in 1864, elaborated a plan for
trying judicial cases in synod and in the General As
sembly by a commision of appeals in each, composed of
fom- ministers and four elders, elected, two every year,
for fom- j^ears. This plan, hoAvever, was rejected by
the presbyteries, although it has been an almost uni
versal conviction, that some radical change ought to be
effected for the dispatch of judicial business in our
larger "hurch courts. The entire recasting of the
Book of Discipline has, moreover, been before the
General Assembly and the church, some of the ablest,
most influential men having been engaged in the work,
ever since the year 1857, until the anticipation of reunion
suggested the vrisdom of learing the business to be con
summated by the reunited body. There have been,
besides, slight and wholly ineffectual efforts, in some
quarters, to induce the church to return to the use of a
litm-gy. The interval of separation has been one of very
marked literary activity in the Old School body. Some

mSTOEICAL EEATffiW OF THE CHUECH. 191
thEty original volumes, from this source, of comment
upon ?-arious portions of Holy Scripture have appeared;
and a very large number of important works, biograph
ical, historical, dogmatical, practical, and misceEaneous.
Probably no other denomination in the United States
has produced, within the same period, so many theolog
ical books of standard v^alue.
Before the southern churches seceded in 1861, that
is, in twenty-three years from the separation, the Old
School branch had much more than doubled the number
of its communicants, ministers, and congregations. And
now, after that secession and the loss also of the Decla
ration and Testimony party, it re-enters, vrith forces not
very far from double, into organic union with the New
School. To the Assembly of 1869, additions of more
than fifteen thousand communicants upon examination
were reported, and contributions for congregational and
benevolent purposes of between four and a half and five
millions of doEars. Excepting the troublous times of
the rebeEion, the whole period under reriew has been
one of peace, steady enlargement, and uninterrupted
prosperity. No smaE share of this prosperity has been
due to the happy operation of the boards and similar
agencies of the church. The sujDerior advantages of
these, as compared Arith voluntaiy, union associations,
for buEding up, not only Presbyterianism, but also the
kingdom of Christ, few of either school uoav question.
For a time, after the separation, many church-members
and some congregations of the Old School preferred to
make voluntary societies the channels of their benevo
lence. Their Christian freedom in this matter was not
disputed; their preference was not condemned. A

192 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
spirit of forbearance and love prevented difficulty, and
by degrees has won nearly all to a hearty su])port of
the church's own agencies.
The question, hoAV many boards there should be, has
sometimes been agitated. It has been Avell-nigh univer
sally agreed, that the work of foreign missions, that of
domestic missions, that of education, and that of publi
cation, should be committed each to a separate agency ;
but many have thought that the Boards of Domestic
Missions and Education might, between them, take the
whole Avork now confided to that of Church Extension,
to the Committee on Freedmen, and, in the matter of
disabled ministers and their families, to the Trustees of
the General Assembly. The location of different boards
has, fi-o'u time to time, been Avarndy discussed ; but for
the most part the very sensible idea has prevailed, that
the noithern and eastern portions of the church, as able
to contribute more largely by far than the southern
and western portions, should not be discouraged fi-om
devising liberal things, by havdng the application of
their charities taken too much out of their oavu hands.
The operations of aE the boards, at times, and partic
ularly, in several instances, those of the Boards of
Domestic Missions, Education, and Publication, have
been subjected to searching inquiiy, with the result,
occasionally, of modification ancl improvement, but al
ways of demonstrating the general abEity and fidelity
with which their affairs have been managed, and of re
commending them to increased confidence in the church.
Said a speaker, several years ago, on this point, "The
boards breathe more fi-eely after the Assembly ad
journs" — more freely, the ordeal passed, and the sub

HISTOEICAL EEVTEW OF THE CHBECH. 193
jects of it "found unto praise and honor," yet not left
vrithout a wholesome sense of responsibdity. Besides,
uneasy spirits must have an outlet. Fretting over the
imperfections which the best efforts of our faEen hu
manity, and our most effective institutions, cannot al
ways escape, they are ready at any time for radical
transformation or revolution, forgetting that incessant
change may itself be one of the most ruinous of erils,
and that no plan can even seem perfect, unless because
untried. The church, so far as her boards have been
concerned, has paid little regard to Adsionary perfec
tionists, and has steadily maintained these agencies, as
the right hand of her poAver.
Among them aE, none has held a warmer place in her
affections than the Board of Foreign Missions. Its re
ceipts for a year, as reported in 1869, had exceeded
three hundred and thEty-eight thousand dollars. As
to the increase of means, its prosperity, for an equal
length of time, has far transcended that of the Ameri
can Board, so honorably distinguished for its success.
And wherever the two have labored in the same field,
side by side, or in fields that can justly be compared,
the results prove the Presbyterian Board to be, saying
the least, not one whit behind the other in the evidences
of God's blessing. The number of its church-members,
on foreign missionary ground, has doubled in about
five years ; and average pastors at home are often com
pelled to mourn that they have been less successful, in
our Christian land, than average foreign missionaries in
the dark places of the earth.
To close this brief historical sketch, there remains
but to present a simple outHne, from an Old School
13

194 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
point of riew, of the protracted negotiations that have
resulted in the consolidation of the two branches of the
Presbyterian Church. And here, the reader's attention
vriE be directed to points for the most part outside of
the ground occupied by the fuE account of the reunion,
from other pens, in subsequent chapters. The Old
School Assembly, in 1846, courteously declined an in-
ritation to unite Arith that of the New School in cele-
bratElg the Lord's Supper, doubtless mainly on the
groimd, that though the great lawsuit before men
tioned had been discontinued some three and a haE
years, former differences and conflicts were yet very
fresh in thought and feeling; and each body yet ex
pressly claimed to be the Presbyterian Church ; each,
too, regarding the other as making herein a sinful
claim. With the language of mutual recrimination
upon their Eps, ought they to sit down together at the
Lord's Table? In 1850, the Assembly refused to take
any action upon the subject of reunion. When the
rebelEon commenced, however, causes similar to those
which speedEy brought the two branches together at
the South, began to operate powerfuEy at the North.
The common agitating excitements, alarms, perils, and
sufferings of a struggle for the nation's lEe, drew Old
and New School men into closer and more frequent
communion, and the rather because of theE near rela
tionship and famEy resemblance. Yet, in 1862, the
Old School Assembly stiE declined to talk of reunion,
though it unanimously agreed to open a correspondence
by delegates. No doubt this correspondence was a
great advance toward organic unity. Nothing, how--
ever, more definite was accomplished, although the

HISTOEICAL EEVTEW OP THE CHUECH. 195
subject was brought every year to the notice of both
Assemblies, until, in 1866, the first joint committee was
appointed to confer upon " the desE-ableness and practi-
cabEity of reunion." The earliest plan proposed by
this committee was by no means satisfactory to the
Old School. Various objections were made to it, but
the "doctrinal basis" was the grand difficulty. Be
sides, the major part yet doubted the fact of that
reasonable agreement in doctrine, vrithout which the
two branches could not vrisely unite.
Now, there met in PhEadelphia, the Presbyterian
National Union Convention of November, 1867, and
gave a very perceptible impulse to the whole move
ment. The hope vA^hich it excited of the consolidation
of five or more Presbyterian bodies; the impression
that it gave of a general feeling, soon to be irresistible,
in favor of reunion; and the warmth of enthusiasm
which it kindled, were very influential to turn op
ponents into friends of the measure. The convention
was thought by many to have produced an improved
" doctrinal basis," which was therefore incorporated
into the joint committee's plan. StEl, as before, the
Old School Church was not satisfied. Yet a few
months later, upon a new basis, the reunion was
decreed by such an overwhelming vote of the presby
teries, that the feeble minority could but bow in
humble submission to the evident vriE of the church.
To explain all this, some, on both sides, have sup
posed a relaxation of doctrinal strictness in the Old
School body, of which, however, there has not been the
sEghtest evidence. What single act of the Assembly,
what disposition manEested by any considerable num-

196 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
ber of the presbyteries, has indicated such a thing?
The veiy reverse is too apparent to be questioned. In
express words, the Assembly has reaflE-med aE its old
testimonies against error. And, on the very ground of
apprehended doctrinal disagreement, and of dissatisfac
tion vrith the doctrinal basis, the church hesitated, up
to the last moment, to sanction the reunion.
But the plan of 1869 vvas regarded by the presby
teries generally as presenting the safest basis possible
in point of doctrine — the basis of " the standards pure
and simple." It was the basis vrith which those who
loved the standards most were eridently the best
pleased. In fact, past negotiations had proved it to be
the only basis offering the least jDromise of safety.
And, again, from every quarter had come to the Old
School body multiplied assurances, in most influential
forms, that the Ncav School, not as to every indiridual,
but as a church, had become, and were becoming, more
orthodox than formerly ; nay, were now as strictly con
formed to the Confession of Faith and Catechisms as
the Old School themselves. Such assurances were
given in the joint committee to its Old School mem
bers. The unimpeachable orthodoxy of the present
theological professors in the New School seminaries
was avouched vrith the strongest confidence. .As a
specimen of the declarations made on this general sub
ject, take the follovring from the able pen of Dr. Henry
B. Smith, professor in the Union Theological Seminary
of New York. He says it is notorious, " that the New
School is thoroughly organized as a Presbyterian body,
haring renounced the vain attempt to combine incon
gruous elements in its system of church order, and no

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 197
longer favoring even the v^estiges of the plan of union
for any future churches ; that it is not strenuous as to
the support of voluntary societies ; that it is separated
in aE church action from CongregationaEsm; that
many of its more extreme men have wElingly gone into
other church connections; that certain objectionable
forms of doctrine and of practice are no more taught
in its pulpits and seminaries ; that it, in short, has be
come a homogeneous body, on the basis of the stand
ards of the Presbyterian Church ; and that, especially
in case of reunion, all these tendencies wiE be acceler
ated and carried to their completion."
Now, this declaration and a thousand others, to the
same general effect, the Old School Church, after long
doubt, indeed, yet at length, confidently received and
believed. It consented to reunion, — in the end gladly
and warmly consented, — because authoritatively as
sured that the Ncav School Church was as orthodox as
the Old.

AUBURN SEJIIXARY.

P,i?,.E,T II.

It is provided by the " concm-rent Declarations " that
" the official records of the tAvo branches of the church
for the period of the separation should be preserved
and held as making up the one history of the church."
Those documents are uoav the property of the united
body, and vriE, no doubt, be made the subject of care
ful investigation by its future historians. They contain
a portion of Presbyterian history of equal value to
both the classes of vvhich the united body is composed.
We are henceforth to have but one interest ; and what
ever good has been accomplished by one class vriE be a

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 199
matter of satisfaction, and whatever eril incurred, of
regret, to the other. Both results must be accepted and
acknowledged as the achievements or faEures of Amer
ican Presbyterians.
In preparing this sketch, the guiding principle must
be that of truth impartially stated. Yet, E separate
sketches are to be given, the Avriter of either wEl stand
somewhat in the position of an advocate, and must not
be held as violating the wholesome rule, " to study the
things that make for peace, and to guard against all
needless and offensive references to the causes that have
divdded us," E, on some critical points he states the case
of his cEents from theE oavu point of view, though, to
the other party, it may have a different aspect. It is
to be hoped, however, there wiE be very little even of
the appearance of partisanship.
It vriE be readEy granted by those who have studied
the history, that the New School party in the old Pres
byterian church did not desire the separation. Their
feelings were against it ; their interest was mauEestly
against it ; they had no points to carry which, in theE
estimation, were likely to be subserved by it ; theE- ac
tion, up to the last moment, was directed with a view
to its prevention. When it took place, it found them
totally unprepared for the exigency. They had no
plans concocted for separate action, no policy adapted
to the new condition in which they found themselves.
If such was the case vrith the act itself, stEl more
was it vrith the manner of doing it. The cutting off of
the four synods, on the principles which were held to
justify it, seemed to them so arbitrary and tmdiscrimi-
nating a measure, that they had not supposed it would

200 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
be contemplated. Why not dissolve the Assembly as
weE, since it contained the same elements ? Why not
rather take measures to eject the unsound and alien
elements, carefuEy preserving such as were sound and
constitutional? Why break up these large orgaidza-
tions, the conservators of large and widely extended
interests, simply for having followed rules of action
adopted for them by the General Assembly ? So they
reasoned. We say this, not to vindicate their position,
but only to state it. The other side took a different riew,
and theE arguments are on record. But these were
theEs, and must be considered, E we would understand
theE action. They held the act of exclusion to be un
constitutional, and felt bound, not only in justice to
theE brethren, deprived, as they thought, of rights
sacredly secured to them, but in justice also to the
church itself, and to theE OAvn constitutional pledges,
to make common cause vrith those brethren, and organ
ize the General Assembly on what they deemed the
only true principles. This they did ; and by the subse
quent course of events, particularly by the final decision
of the court in Bank, found themselves, against their
vrishes and expectations, a separate body.
It has been a matter of surprise to many, that the
New School party, immediately upon the disi-uption,
should have exhibited so little strength and so great
a lack of decision. Up to that time they had been a
strong, compact, and steadily advancing party. They
claimed to be the majority, and no doubt included in
theE ranks a large share of the aggressive activity of
the chm-ch and a large proportion of the young men.
In numbers, the two parties were nearly balanced, and

HISTOEICAL REVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 201
every year there was a sharp sti-uggle for the ascend
ency in the General Assembly. But dm-ing seven years,
from 1831 to 1837, inclusive, the New School held the
majority in that body five times, and theE riA^als of
the Old School only twice. It might naturaUy have
been expected, that in case of a division, the advantage
in respect to efficiency, organic lEe, and growth would
have been on their side. Why the result was otherwise
vatE be seen when we consider the obstacles.
Unquestionably the blow which severed them from
the legally recognized Presbyterian church was to them
a stunning blow. Its decisive character, partly because
of its unexpected occurrence, they faded at first to un
derstand; to use a modern military phrase, it quite
demoi-alized them. It loosened all the bonds of theE
organic union. TheE- membership began at once to fly
apart. Many who adhered to the body lost their inter
est in it. For many years they scarcely knew whom
they could rely upon as permanently of their number.
It crippled theE resources. It separated them from
theE strongest institutions. It threw suspicion, not
only on the soundness of theE faith, — the alleged de
fects of which had been assigned as one of the chief
motives of the acts of excision, — but the genuineness
of their denominational standing. It even raised the
question of their right to exist as an organized body.
Indeed, scarcely had the disruption occurred, when the
standard of another denomination was openly raised
within theE oaati camp, among those who had professed
to be of them ; and from the highest watch-toAver of
the NeAV School citadel, as it then regarded itseE, rang
out the cry of revolt, " To your tents, O Israel."

202 PRESBYTERIAN -CHUECH.
The disadvantage A\'as increased by the policy which
the other party, awakened to ucav life and organic en
ergy by the separation, saAV fit to adopt in regard to
them ; the policy of " absorption,^'' so called. In theE
riew, the separation Avas final. Considered as an organ
ized body, they did not know the New School ; they did
not suppose it could live. But its elements, of Avhich
a large part were still held in esteem by them, they
desired to recover. Hence, immediately on the with
drawal of the New School, they adopted a resolution
which operated, dm-ing the whole period, which fol
lovved, as a standing invitation to churches, ministers,
presbyteries, and minorities of presbyteries, to disconnect
themselves from the New School and become united
with the Old School Assembly. Taken from their own
point of ATCAA^, this Avas an affectionate inritation to aE
sound Presbyterians, unhappEy separated from the
true Presbyterian fold, to retm-n, vrith an assurance of
welcome. Taken from that of the New School, it was
an invitation and encouragement to unfaithfxdness, dis
turbing and disintegrating theE ranks, and so a source
of Eritation and distrust.
In the light of recent events over which we all re
joice and thank God, it wEl be held as an honor to the
Christian spEit of the Ncav School, though it delayed
the consolidation of the body and the settlement of
theE denominational plans, that, for several years,
amidst those troubled scenes, they did not give up the
hope or effort to bring about a reunion of the chm-ch.
In a convention held just before the disruption, they re
solved, and sent the resolution to a convention of theE
brethren, "that we are ready to co-operate in any ef-

HISTOEICAL EEATEW OP THE OHUECH. 203
forts for pacification that are constitutional, and which
shall recognize the regular stancling and secm-e the
rights of the entire church." The day after the separ
ation took place, their General Assembly resolved as f ol-
loAvs : " That this body is Avilling to agree to any rea
sonable measm-es for an amicable adjustment of the dif
ficulties existing in the Presbyterian Church ; and will
receive and i-espectfully consider any propositions that
may be made for that pm-pose." In 1839, they pro
posed a " plan of peaceable dirision," " designed only,"
as they say, " to secui-e oui- constitutional privileges as
Presbyterians," Avhile it relinquished to the other body
" all the chartered rights, institutions, and funds of the
Presbyterian Chm-ch." It was not till the year 1840,
as the Assembly say, that they relinquished the idea
of reunion, and, " coraing reluctantly to the conclusion
that union was impracticable, corrected their roE, and
cE'opped from it the names of those brethren in defer
ence to theE feelings." One more proposition, though
only for a mutual recognition of each other as bodies
of Christian brethren, by communing together 'at the
Lord's table, was made during the session of the two
Assemblies, in the same city of Philadelphia, in 1846.
None of these proposals were successful. No doubt
they were all made, as the Assembly declare, " in good
faith, and vrith the earnest desire and hope that they
might be met in the spirit that prompted them." No
doubt the one last named raised, in the Old School As
sembly, an embarrassing question. Most of them would
gladly have accepted the invitation, had they regarded
it as expedient to do so. And they rejected it, although
decisively, yet kindly. The result served to conrince

204 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
the New School, of what perhaps it would have been
better for them to have understood earEer, that, however
desE-able union might be on general grounds, the time
had not come for them to be pressing proposals to that
effect on the consideration of theE brethren; and that
the best thing they could do in existuig cEcumstances,
Avas to go about theE separate work, and buEd up as
best they might, theE own particular section of the for
tifications of Zion.
This independent action, necessary to theE growth
and ATgor as a denomination, was stiE further checked,
and that groAAd;h and vigor hindered, by the very unsec-
tarian — Ave might say undenominational — spEit that
pervaded the body. Many of them were New Eng
land men, born and educated in another denomination;
and though, by conviction, they had heartily adopted
the Presbyterian system, they did not regard theE own
section of the church as the only true church, and
shrunk sensitively fi-om even the appearance of prose-
lytism. This Avas manifest to a considerable degree in
their relations to the Old School, bitterly as they re
membered the acts of excision; and still more as res
pected the Congregationalists, among whom were the
near relatives and fellow-students of many of them, for
the sake of whose feEowship and co-operation they had
incurred in theE own denomination the catIs of suspic
ion and disruption. Some may ask here. Why, vrith
these riews, did they insist on keeping up their distinct
organization ? Why not rather abandon it, and aUow
its elements to faU off, on the one side and the other, to
theE natural affinities, — the strong Presbyterians to the
Old School, and those who had little objections to Con-

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 205
gregationalism, to the Congregationalists. But the re
ply is obvious. Here was a large body of churches,
say fifteen hundred, more or less, that were neither of
the one extreme nor of the other. They were Presby
terians, and they were not Presbyterians on the basis of
1837 and 1838. These churches were to be cared for;
the great religious interests involved in them were to
be preserved. Their resources and working powers
were to be caEed forth and made available. None but
a New School Presbyterian church, at that juncture,
could have performed this service. And to perform it,
that church must not only maintain its existence, and
resist disintegration, but increase, by all fair and Chris
tian means, its organic strength and efficiency. A sec
tarian spirit is, no doubt, to be reprobated. Denomin-
ationaEsm may not be, on the whole, the best principle
for the distribution of the church. But while denom
inations exist, each is made responsible for its ovm.
And a certain degree of the denominational esprit du
corps is therefore indispensable to the common inter
est. The Congregationalists, looking to the interests
of Evangelical Protestantism in our land, and of the
Eedeemer's Kingdom, have occasion to rejoice; and
the Old School, looking to the fair proportions, hajDpy
fellowship, and augmented strength of the reunited
Presbyterian Church does rejoice to-day, that the Ncav
School body, at that critical period of its history, did
not wholly forget its dirine mission as a distinct body
of Evangelical Christians. Had it sooner and moi-e
vigorously roused itself to this duty, it would, no
doubt, have done more for the common advancement.
One more hinderance in its way, may be found in

206 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
the peculiar condition and stage of growth at which
thf, disruption found a large part of its churches.
Most of them had been missionary churches and were
recently established; many of them were stEl benefic
iaries of the American Home Missionary Society.
They were, it is true, a noble band of true-hearted,
zealous-minded Christian people, deeply imbued vrith
the spEit of the great revivals which had just before
rejoiced the country and astonished the Christian world,
and fuU of evangelical fervor. But they lacked re
sources. Most of the old wealthy churches went vrith
the other dirision. So did all the old and well-endowed
institutions. Those which remained were in theE in
fancy, Aveak, unendowed, and struggling for existence.
Lane Seminary received its first student in 1829.
Union, in New York, was organized in 1836. Auburn
was a few years" older, but was not strong. The same
may be said of the colleges. Most of the ministers
were young men, not much versed in matters of ecclesi
astical policy. A few, such as Dr. Eichards of Auburn,
were men of ripe experience and comprehensive and
far-seeing judgment. But the number of such men was
not large, and most of theE contemporaries were in the
other body. The mass of those that remained were
rather men of zeal and abEity, than experience and rep
utation. Their best power and weightiest influence was
in the future.
In such cEcumstances, it is not strange that some
mistakes should have been made increasing the embar
rassment. One of these, the impolicy of which the
church afterwards saw and retrieved, was the alteration
of the constitutional rules. The Confession of Faith

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 207
was never altered, even in a penstroke ; but the Foem
of GovEENMENT was, iu a few particulars. Partly
ovring to a weariness with past struggles, the General
Assembly had come to be regarded vrith less favor, and
its importance to the Presbyterian system less highly
estimated than formerly. The impression had begun
to gain ground before the dirision, and had the sanc
tion of some eminent names in both parties, that if
appeals coidd be stopped with synods, annual Assem
blies might weE be dispensed vrith. Accordingly, in
the year 1839, the next year after the separation, over
tures were sent down to the presbyteries, which, being
approved, took effect in the year 1840, altering the
basis of representation, making the synods courts of
ultimate appeal, and providing for triennial instead of
annual Assemblies. A committee ad interim was also
erected, invested vrith large but not well-deflned powers.
The effect especially at so critical a period, may be
easEy supposed. It left the body vrith at best a very
weak and inadequate bond of union, and at a time when
the most constant rigEance, concert, and co-operation
were essential to safety, vrith no provision, during re
peated intervals of three years, for the slightest common
considtation upon its interests and dangers. That the
church did not make complete shipvATeck during the
nine years of the continuance of this poEcy, is indeed
far more to be wondered at, than that it should be
found to have lacked much in organic strength and
successful progress.
But whEe, from these and other causes hereafter to
be noticed, the progress and efficiency of the body,
during the fEst half of its existence, was not as great

208 peesbyteeian chuech.
as might otherArise haA^e been expected, justice to its
history requEes us to add that, during all that period
of discouragement, an important work AA^as going on, in
it and by it, both for immediate results and in prepara
tion for the future. The " co-operative " or undenomi
national method to vvhich the Ncav School strongly
adhered in theE work of evangelization, so merged
theE contributions vrith those of a sister denomination,
that it is not easy to determine, except approximately,
what portion of the common results was due to their
agency. But there is reason to believe it was in full
proportion, both Ei men and money, to theE compara
tive ability. With generous aid afforded them from
New England, they sustained and strengthened theE-
numerous feeble and infant churches, and made provi
sions for the support and endowment of theE theologi
cal and literary institutions. Some of these suffered
severely from the financial embarrassments which weU-
nigh overwhelmed the country just at the occurrence
of the separation, and it was only with the greatest
difficulty, and at the cost of great seE-denials and ex
ertions on the part of their guardians and Faculties,
that they were kept aEve, to be the blessings which
they now are to the church. The records of the Gen
eral Assembly give tokens Ekevrise of a high degree of
devotion to the work of the gospel, in the frequent,
very extensive, and deeply moving revivals of religion,
which obtain notice in its Pastoral letters and official
" Narratives of the state of Eeligion." Large numbers
were, from year to year, added to the church ; bold and
judicious testimony was uttered for the sanctity of the
Sabbath, the purity and integrity of the Christian doc-

inSTOEICAi EEVIEW OP THE CHUECH. 209
trines, the promotion of temperance, and against the
worldly spEit threatening in various Avays to corrupt
the piety of the church. In that most critical and
formative period in the history of our Western country,
there went forth steadEy, it is believed, E-om this de
voted band of hard-working, self-denying ministers and
churches, an influence of vast though silent efficacy, to
make that great and now powerful section of our coun
try what it is, — eminently Christian. Meanwhile, a
process was going on vrithin the body itself, whose bene
ficial results some, no doubt, were then unable to foresee.
That process of depletion which began, as we have seen,
at the beginning of its troubles, — the dropping off, on
this side and on that, of men and churches, that had
been considered in some cases leaders of the body, and
that certainly did contribute to swell its numbers and
apparent strength, — was graduaUy disentangling it fi-om
hurtful complications, remoring the embarrassment and
peril of alien counsels, and promoting unity and homo-
geneousness among its members. Some of those trusted
leaders, who, in the days of adversity, went away, and
walked no more vrith them, were among the rowers
who rowed them into the deep waters, and whose un-
Arise measures, or vulnerable expressions, had made
their ricAvs and actions to be misinterpreted by those
Avho Avere really of the same principles. At the same
time, questions rital to their future peace and prosper
ity were getting discussed and settled. Such was the
question of slavei-y, to the discussion of which they
gave the utmost latitude, as Arill be shown hereafter,
and vrith respect to which they reached conclusions
which, during all the fierce struggles Avhich afterwards
14

210 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
agitated the country, they saw no reason to alter.
Night seems to most men, especially E it be overcast
vrith clouds, a season of gloom ; but it adds mightily,
vrith its refreshing moisture and its sparkling dew-
drops, to the beauty and freshness of the morning.
Winter seems a cheerless and barren interval; but
spring owes not a little of its bursting life, and sum
mer and autumn of theE growth and wealth of prod
ucts, to its silent processes. So, often, does the church
of God look back vrith gratitude to her seasons of
discouragement, as she looks forward, and takes up the
words of hope, —
" The -wiiiter season has been sharp,
But spring shaU aU its wastes repair."
It has been necessary to dwell thus long upon this
period of depression, that we might the better under
stand that of the new life and actirity which followed.
The stErings of this new lEe began to discover them
selves during the meeting of the triennial Assembly in
1846. Most of the time in that meeting, to the great
disparagement of the Assembly in the eyes of some,
was occupied vrith the discussion of slavery. In con
sequence of this, as appears from the minutes, " busi
ness of vast importance to the prosperity of our church,
especially at the West, was left unfinished and unat-
tempted ; business which, in the opinion of many enti
tled to belief, must be done soon, or it would be whoUy
beyond our power ever to do it." In this view, the evdl
of triennial, instead of annual Assemblies, began to
be apparent to many. " It was not surprising," they
said, "that during the long interval, the churches at
the West, in aU stages of existence, among a heterogen-

inSTOEIOAL REVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 211
ecus and rapidly increasing population, should feel the
want of the presence and vrisdom of the General As
sembly, both to attract around a common centre these
diverse elements, and to derise plans for the extension
and consoEdation of our branch of the church. That
the exigency might not faE to be met, an adjourned
meeting of the Assembly was agreed upon, to be held
in the spring of the next year ; and as the measure was
then without precedent, and some doubted its legality,
the opinion of Chancelloi- Kent was procured, who gave
it the sanction of his weighty authority.
In the spring of 1847, the Assembly came togethei
in the city of Cincinnati, full of the spirit of their im
portant mission. A memorial was presented from
EeA^. Thornton A. Mills, not a member of the Assem
bly, which, though not to be found upon the minutes,
deserves to be carefully preserved, both as a memorial
of the man, and an important monument of progress in
the history of the church. The opening paragraph is
characteristic : " That, being a native of the great West,
and expecting to live and die in the serrice of Christ,
endeavoring to spread the influence of the Presbyterian
Church thi-oughout its vride limits, he feels peculiar
pleasure in welcoming the Assembly, at this, its first
session in the great city of the West, and in learning
that one object of the adjournment, was to consider the
condition of our western churches, and derise means for
their enlargement. Haring been aU his lEe an observer
of the state of things, and having for several years past
possessed pecuEar adA'-antages of acquiring knowledge
from his connection with the Home Missionary Society
through a large portion of this region, he trusts it Arill

212 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
not be deemed presumptuous E, in the form of a mem
orial, he ventures to offer a few suggestions as to the
best means of extending the influence of the kingdom
of Christ, as it is connected vrith our chm-ch." In this
memorial, four points are very clearly presented and
forcibly m-ged. 1. The great want of places of public
worship. "The power of Presbyterianism" lies "in
the continuity of its efforts; and this cannot be se
cured without permanent church accommodations."
2. The expediency of a temporai-y system of itineracy
under the direction of presbyteries and synods. Pres
byterianism cannot be made aggressive without this.
3. The need of some ueAv measui-es to supply suitable
ministers, "men apt to teach, who will persevere in
laying the foundations of many generations." 4. The
ueed of some special prorision for the wants of our
foreign population, especially the Germans.
This memorial, carefully considered in a committee,
and freely discussed in interlocutory meetings of the
Assembly, resulted in the adoption of a plan Avhich re
quired only to be matm-ed and carried out, to place the
church on a new platform in respect to its prosperity
and usefulness. "Every pastor, session, and church,"
Avere exhorted to " regard themselves as a missionary
body, established in the midst of the most important
missionai-y field in the world, and the object of their
vocation to lead aE around them to Christ." To this
end, the congregations Avere to be "thoroughly in
structed," "thoroughly grounded in the doctrines of
gvace^'' and particularly " in the doctrines of the Bible
as contained in the standards qf our church.'''' All the
points contained in the memorial were urged as of

HISTOEICAL EEATEW OF THE CHUECH. 213
great importance, and it was recommended " to all our
presbyteries carefuUy to survey theE whole territory,
and apply to the Home Missionary Society, for one or
more missionaries who shall be employed in itinerating
among the destitute."
This short adjourned meeting of the Assembly, in
1847, proved to be one of the most important in the
annals of the New School Church, not so much for
wliat it accomplished, as what it put in process of ac
complishment, as indicative of the neAV spirit which was
beginning to arise in the body and prophetic of its fu
ture adv-ancement. In its action are to be found the
germs of the Avhole subsequent policy. Nor did the
Assembly dissolve itseE till it had taken measures to
reinvigorate the impaired system by a return to the old
rule of annual Assemblies, and the restoration of the
constitution to its original state ; of which the former
was effected in 1849, and the latter one year later. On
this last point, an able rej)ort, di-aAAm up by Dr. Hatfield
and containing the history of this whole subject, in the
light of which the Assembly and the Presbyteries
finally acted, is to be found in the appendix to the min
utes for 1849.
Various causes contributed to retard, for several
years, the fuE execution or completion of the plan.
But it was not dropped or overlooked. The question
Avas freely discussed, information sought, committees
raised to consider it during the intervals of the As
semblies, and, from year to year, progress was made.
In 1851, Dr. Mills preached, by prerious appointment,
an able and stirring sermon on Home Missions, from
Isaiah Ev. 2, 3 : " Enlarge the place of thy tent," &c.,

214 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
and the whole subject, haring been again fully dis
cussed,, was referred to a special committee of nine,
among: whom were some of the ablest ininisters of the
church, and of which Dr. MEls was the chaEman, vrith
dEections to report to the next General Assembly.
Such was the postm-e of affairs when the Assembly
met at Washington, in 1852. It was an earnest, reso
lute, hard-working Assembly. The chm-ch was repre
sented by some of its ablest men. They came together
from all parts of the field. North and South, and from
the Atlantic to the Pacific, not to see the sights of
Washington, in which recreation they indulged but
sparingly, but to devise and fix upon measiues to make
their beloved church Avhat they all felt she ought to be,
— a power in the land. An excursion to Mount Ver
non, and a visit in a body to the Presidential mansion,
Avhere, being introduced in a felicitous speech, by their
Moderator, Dr. Wm. Adams, they were received vrith
great courtesy by President Filmore, who complimented
them in his happiest manner, as an "Ecclesiastical
Congress of the United States," occupied the hours of
Saturday, and gave opportunity for free conference on
the work before them; and their unfeigned love of
country, and devotion to its interests, always character
istic of the Presbyterian Church in aU its history, found
expression in the presentation of a block of marble, to
be inserted in the monument to the memory of Wash
ington, bearing that most fitting emblem, an open Bi
ble, vrith the inscription: The Geneeal Assembly of
THE Peesbyteeian Chuech in the United States of
AlIEEICA, IN session IN WASHINGTON CiTY, MaY, 1852.
These were pleasant incidents, occupying Ettle time

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 215
and serving, as did the very genius of the place, to
.stimidate theE zeal, and give them enlarged concep
tions of the sublime mission of the church in this great
and growing country, at once to "walk through the
land in the length of it and the breadth of it," and
take possession of it in the name of the Master.
It was weU understood from before the appointment
of the commissioners, that the grand subject of interest
in this Assembly would be the report of the special
committee and the work of Church Extension, which
that committee had in charge. Dr. Mills and his asso
ciates had prepared a detailed plan for carrying into
effect the long-cherished pm-pose of the church. It
consisted of three principal sections, which were taken
up and discussed seriatimi / riz., that on Education for
the Ministry, on Home Missions, and on Doctrinal
Tracts. The stress of the discussion came U]3on the
first, chiefly perhaps because it was taken up first ; for
they aU involved substantiaUy the same principles, and
the adoption of either was felt to be a vdrtual commit
tal of the Assembly to the whole policy. The discus
sion was able, earnest, and protracted. Two parties dis
covered themselves, one, — of those particularly jealous
of what might in any degree impaE or imperil the
system of voluntary societies, to which the church had
been committed from the beginning ; the other making
no objection to that system, but resolute to secure, at
whatever cost in that dEection, a more efficient method
of Church Extension and Home Evangelization. Elab
orate arguments were presented on the one side by Dr.
Asa D. Smith, then a member of the Executive Com
mittee of the American Home Missionary Society, and

216 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
Dr. Beman, that prince of debaters, who had always
been an earnest champion of the voluntai-y or non-
ecclesiastical system. These were answered by argu
ments, E not as elaborate, yet quite as effective, at
least vrith those predisposed to that side of the ques
tion. In pai'ticular, the commissioners from the West
were di-awn out and encom-aged to tell freely the story
of their embarrassments under existing methods ; which
they did, using theE rifles as practised marksmen, in
pithy speeches or plain statements of facts. The de
bate, although eager, was eminently courteous and fra
ternal, and resulted in the very general conviction that
something must be done, and that quickly, E we would
perform our proper part in carrying forward the Lord's
work, or save ourselves from being absorbed on the one
hand, or losing om- very name as Presbyterian "Chris
tians on the other.
At the end of three days the discussion was arrested,
and the vA^hole subject referred to a special committee.
It may be of interest to recaE the names of those who
at this important juncture were entrusted vrith the re
sponsibility of harmonizing the opinions of their breth
ren and recommending the new plan of operations.
They stand on record as follows : " Eev. Messrs. Stephen
Taylor, D.D., Nathan S. S. Beman, D.D., PhEemon H.
Fowler, Asa D. Smith, D.D., George A. Lyon, D.D.,
Samuel W. Fisher, and Eobert W. Patterson ; vrith the
Hon. Messrs. WEEam Darling, WEliam Jessup, LL.D.,
and John Mason, and Messrs John Ogden and Horace
Maynard." TheE report was on the first section only,
- — that on Education for the ministry ; and the two
others having received several amendments in the body

HISTORICAL REATEW OP THE CHURCH. 217
itself, the whole plan vvas adopted by the General As
sembly with great unanimity.
The leading f eatm-e of the plan, in the intention of
the Assembly, was the combination of the volimtary or
co-operative system, with the effective and responsible
supervision by the church judicatories of the work of
the church.
In the department of doctruial tracts, there was no
difficulty, because the field Avas unoccupied. A commit
tee of mne Avere appointed, whose duty it should be " to
superEitend the publication of a series of tracts explan
atory of the doctrines, government, and missionary pol
icy of the Presbyterian Church, as the Assembly should
from time to time direct."
In the department of education, existing education
societies, with vvhich the presbyteries or churches might
co-operate, were left undisturbed, but were requested to
adopt such a plan of operation and correspondence as
would make the parties concerned mutual helps / and,
for the West, as there was no such society there, it was
recommended that one should be formed, to be called
the Western Education Society, which should arrange
its annual meetings to be at the same time and place as
those of the Assembly, and permit the members of the
Assembly, ew officio, to act as members of the society.
These societies Avere requested to fm-nish annual reports
to the Assembly, " as far as theE operations " should
" relate to our church ; " and the Presbyteries were to
appoint standing committees to take charge of the
funds coUected in their churches, exercise superrision
over theE- young men, and press the subject in all its

218 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
bearings on the attention and action of theE congrega
tions. Inthe department of Home Missions, "the American
- Home Missionary Society," say the Assembly "is here
by recommended as the agency through which, as here
tofore, the Avork of Domestic Missions shaE be done."
Each presbytery was to have a standing committee on
church extension, " to see that, by its own ministers or
othervrise, the claims of Home Missions should be urged
upon the chm-ches, and funds raised and paid into the
treasury of the society vvith as little expense to it as pos
sible ; to recommend aU applications for aid, and keep
the amounts asked for as low as would answer the pur
pose." In order to avoid conflicting ancl irresponsible
action, whEe the Assembly would not abridge the right
of the society " to obtain all needed information in re
gard to appEcations " for aid, or " exercise its full dis
cretion as to granting them in whole or in part," the
society was requested so to arrange its system that the
applications of the presbyteries for their churches
should not depend, as had recently been grovring to be
the custom, on the "official sanction" of the agents of
the society. The synods also were to have each a
church extension committee, and on them was devolved
the duty of forming a plan, and derising means to aid
feeble churches, either by loan or gEt, in erecting
houses of worship; for which object they should requEe
of the churches to make each a yearly coUection. The
Assembly also was to have its standing committee, and
the whole work was tp come up annually, by reports,
for its superrision.
The most important provision of the plan in this de-

HISTOEICAL EEATEW OF THE CHUECH. 219
partment, as the case then stood, was the sixth item,
viz. : " Each presb}d;ery Avhose circumstances as to
churches and members demand it, is recommended to
appoint an itinerant onissionary vrithin its bounds for
each symod, where it is best that two or more, or all of
its presbyteries shall be united in this work, is recom
mended to appoint such a missionary, whose duty it
shall be to act as a travellins; evan2:elist after the
scriptural pattern, to explore destitute fields, to prepare
the way for the formation of new churches by the j)res-
byteries, to seek for ministers to take charge of them,
to assist and direct in building houses of worship in
destitute places, and, in all other suitable Avays, under
the dE-ection of presbyterial or synodical committees,
promote the work of church extension." The object of
the prorision is not doubtful. The Assembly had at
length awoke to its obligation, too much overlooked in
times past, to superintend the developement, in all
legitimate ways, of its own branch of the cJiurcli, and
was determined to do it, not vrithout regard to the
claims of others, but vrith a vigilant and self-reliant
energy. That there might be no misunderstandings in
the matter, a committee of five was appointed " to con
fer vrith the executive committee of the Home Mission
ary Society, expressing to it the confidence of the Gen
eral Assembly, and the churches it represents, and re
questing its co-operation in this plan, as far as its prin
ciples wiE admit, and also requesting a statement of
^^e, principles on which its appropriations are inade to
the churches of the several denominations of Christians
who. support it, and report the result to the next Gen
eral Assembly."

220 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
One department, second to none in importance, both
as a necessity of the work, and a bond of union to the
church itseE, viz., that of aiding feeble congregations
in the erection of houses of Avorshij), Avas not finally
acted upon tEl the foUoAving year. The assembly of
1853, instituted a Chuech Erection committee, and, fol-
loAAong out a scheme devised and put in successful op
eration in Missouri, under the influence of Dr. Artemas
BuEard, i-esolved to raise by contributions fi-om the
churches the sum of $100,000, Avhich should constitute
& permanent fund iov that purpose.
As a further instrument of the new plan, the assem
bly at Washington took measures to encoui-age the
agency of the periodical press as sustained by the
friends of the church. An arrangement, partially ef
fected with the New York Evangelist, and New York
Presbyterian, then recently united, by which that paper
should be made to subserve the interests of the denom
ination, received the approval of the Assembly ; and the
announcement of the recent establishment of a guar-
terly, to be caEed the Peesbyteeian Quaeteely Ee-
vxEW, in the city of PhEadelphia, and to be " under the
control and superintendonce of several of the most dis
tinguished ministers of our connection," called forth a
warm expression of satisfaction, and a cordial recom
mendation of the enterprise.
The results of this Assembly were eminently grati
fying to the friends of progress. The members went
home to theE presbyteries and churches feeEng that a
new era had at length opened on theE beloved church.
It had now faEly taken its stand as an independent
bodj- of Presbyterian Christians. It had abandoned, at

HISTOEICAL EEATEW OP THE CHUECH. 221
least for the present, aU thought of reunion wiih the
Old School, haring made its last ineffectual effort, in
1849, in a proposition for friendly "correspondence,"
and with a solemn renewal of its declaration of " readi
ness to meet in a spirit of fraternal kindness and Chris
tian love any overtures that may be made to ^is from
the other body," resolved, in present circumstances, " to
take no further action in the matter." In respect to
the Congregational churches, while it stiU clung to the
idea of co-operative or voluntary societies, regarding
them, as they had been regarded by a,U parties at the
beginning, simply as suitable agencies through which
the chu/i^ch might act, they still claimed for themselves,
as they freely conceded to theE- brethren, the right and
duty to look after their own safety and prosperity as
an organized body, and superintend and carry forward
their own proper portion of the work of the gospel.
The church had now, to a degree never felt before,
the consciousness of a mission among the chm-ches of
Christ, and in the spirit of a sacred zeal, trusting in
God, vvas resolved to hold on its way, and press for
ward in the holy rivalry of love and good works.
But the way was not as clear yet, as, perhaps, some
sanguine men had supposed. It is the lot of men to en
counter antagonisms, and that in the best pm-suits and
among the most sincere brethren. When the plans of
the Assembly were adopted, there seemed no doubt
that they could be carried into execution vrith the
cordial concurrence of the Home Missionary Society.
They were in full accordance vrith the principles on
which that society was founded and which had been
repeated again and again in its official documents. In

222 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUROH.
its earliest communications to the Christian public, it
had inrited ecclesiastical bodies, " presbyteries, and sy
nods," to become its auxEiaries, and pledged itseE, in
the most expEcit manner, not to interfere in the slight
est degree Arith theE denominational preferences or
theE* denominational work. "It had no desEe," it said,
" did it possess the power, to assume the control of mis
sionary effort on the field, any further than it should be
conceded by the confidence of the public." It aimed
only " to be the servant of all in building the house of
Jehovah in the length and breadth of the land." This
is strong language ; but the founders of the society did
not mean to be misunderstood. These pledges, had
they been steadily adhered to, would have secured
every object which the General Assembly had in ricAV.
The rules vvhich the society had adopted were good in
the main. But they left unprorided for some objects
which the Assembly thought quite indispensable to the
prosperity of its churches. And how were these to be
supplied ? The question was asked. Cannot the society
so modify its rules as to include them ? This it declined
to do, for reasons of which it was competent to judge.
But its executive committee agreed with the Assem
bly's committee, that it was better, on the whole, that
cases of that class should be prorided for " by such lo
cal arrangements as would not divert funds from the
Home Missionary Society." So far aE seemed satisfac
tory. The Assembly's committee made a temporary
arrangement vrith a few individuals in PhEadelphia, to
supply the means, and the work was commenced. But
finding that arrangement not sufficiently reEable, the
Assembly, at length, made a more adequate prorision,

HISTORIOAI, EEATEW OP THE CHUECH. 223
by the establishment, in 1855, of its Chuech Extension
Committee. The functions of this committee were strictly limited.
It was not to be in " an Ecclesiastical Board," or " to in
terfere vrith the proper functions of the Home Mission
ary Society ; " but ovlj to proride for those exceptional
cases which, being important to be met, could not well
be included under the society's general rules. The com
mittee, in their Declaration of Principles, on which they
proposed to govern themselves, and which were after
wards sanctioned by the Assembly, are careful to say :
" We have no vrish to divert funds from the Home Mis
sionary Society. On the contrary, we hope and expect
that this supplementary agency, by increasing light,
vriE tend, both dEectly and indirectly, to enhance the
receipts of the society. We feel quite sure, that the
ends of our appointment vriE be most fully accompUshed
by preserring, E possible, unEarmed, the holy ties of
fraternal love and confidence which have so long united
us and our Congregational brethren, in furthering, at
home and aE over the earth, the kingdom of our
blessed Lord."
But times had changed, and were changing rapidly ;
and what woidd once have been regarded as a matter
of mutual congratulation was now looked upon vrith
distrust or severely censured. For several years there
had been a grovring jealousy between the two denomi
nations co-operating in the society, especially at the
West. It was gradually infecting pubUc opinion at the
East, and was industriously fomented by a portion of
the eastern press. The correspondence between the
Assembly and some of the Congregational ' bodies had

224 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
begun to be disturbed by it. The plan of union abro
gated by the Old School, in 1837, as subversive of
Presbyterianism, had been abolished by the convention
at Albany, in 1852, as injurious to Congregational in
terests. Congregationalism, once contented Arith its
New England home, and regarding NeAV School Pres
byterianism as its best representative in other parts of
the country, had now, as it had a perfect right to do,
entrenched itself at the commercial centre, and Avas
spreading itseE as a clistinct denomination over all
parts of the Western field. The competition was sharp.
And the question of slavery, in this, as in everything
else, took its share as a disturbing element.
In these circumstances, the society, or rather its ex
ecutive committee, allowed themselves to be di-awn into
the controversy. Their position Avas no doubt a difficult
one. They made it worse by undertaking to arbitrate
between tAvo great rival denominations, and assuming
to control the policy, at least, of one of them. In vari
ous quarters, in the Congregational ranks, the action of
the General Assembly, in the establishment of its
Church Extension Coinmittee, was denounced as an
unfair and unfriendly attempt to gain denominational
advantage. The society took up the contest, and pro
ceeded to execute, according to its own discretion, rules,
excluding from the benefit of the common fund, to
which the Presbyterian church largely contributed, both
missionaries and churches who did not themselves, or
who belonged to ecclesiastical bodies who did not " con
tribute to the funds of the society, according to the full
measure of their ability ; " that is, as the practice under
those rules showed who did not make tie society theii

HISTORICAL EEATEW OF THE CHURCH. 225
exclusiA^e agent in Home Missionary work. AU the
churches of one presbytery were excluded because one
prominent c7m7'cA in, that presbytery gave its collections
to a feeble church at its side ; and those of another, be
cause the presbytery, as such, employed a considerable
portion of its contributions, as it had always done, in
sustaining its own itinerant missionary. Congregational
bodies, it is true, took the same liberties. But then,
as they were only voluntary associations, individual
churches were not held responsible for their action.
The adoption of this poEcy, as might naturaUy have
been expected, caUed forth loud remonstrances. By
impairing confidence in the impartiaUty of the society,
it did no doubt divert funds from its treasmy. It in
creased rapidly the work of the Chwrch Extension
Committee, and made it necessary foi- the Assembly to
enlarge its functions. To aggravate the groAving difii
culty, the society claimed to sit in judgment on the
position of the churches, in regard to the vexed ques
tion of slavery, and to determine, as a condition of aid,
AA^hether or not the decisions of the Assembly on that
subject were satisfactorEy carried into execution.
It AA^as in this posture of affairs that the Assembly
came together at Wilmington, in the year 1857, and the
complaints vvere urgent. It was plain that some decisive
action must be taken. The society, from being, as it de
clared itseE at the beginning, " the servant of aE," was
becoming, unconsciously perhaps, and by the force of
circumstances, the master of aU. The Assembly could
not submit to the new policy vrithout sacrificing its own
independence, and allovriiig an Eresponsible body, com
15

226 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
posed of different denominations, to interfere, both with
its policy and its ecclesiastical discipline.
That it might not act without a full understanding
of the case, a commission was raised with directions to
ascertain, by a thorough investigation, the facts in the
case, and to procm-e such other information as may be
in their power, relating to the histoiy of our connec
tion Avith the work of Home Missions, and our present
relations to it ; also, to learn the principles and modes
of administration of the American Home Missionary
Society over the entire field of its operations, and to
submit the whole, weU authenticated, to the next Gen
eral Assembly.
In pursuance of the object of their appointment, the
commission during the year, made a thorough examina
tion of the historical docurnents, compiled from the
publications of the society a careful estimate of contri
butions and benefactions, instituted an extensive corre
spondence, conferred in AAT-iting vrith the executive com
mittee of the society, and prepared an extended report
which they presented to the General Assembly con
vened at Pittsburg, in 1860.
It was now clear that a separation must take place.
The Assembly came reluctantly to the conclusion. The
churches had been warmly attached to the society. In
the whole system of voluntary societies, there were none
which they regarded as so emphaticaUy their oavu. It
was founded chiefly by Presbyteiians, and sustained by
them several years before their Congregational brethren
came into it. They had important interests, moral and
pecuniary, involved in it. And E part they must, they
desEed earnestly to part amicably and Arith a fair ad

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 227
justment of all mutual claims. To accomplish, if possi
ble, this object, the Assembly made one more effort at
conference ; and, since the society held no meetings, ex
cept once a year, and those but formal ones and vrith out
an adequate representation, it resorted to the appoint
ment of a committee, Avith instructions to inrite the ap
pointment of corresponding committees by the associa
tions Arith which the Assembly was in correspondence, to
confer vrith reference to the adjustment of theE and om-
mutual relations vrith the society, and, E a separation
should be found necessary, to agree upon equitable
terms. This proposition was declined. Most of the
associations declared their approval of the offensive
acts of the society and saw no good to be expected
fi-om negotiations.
The next year the Assembly vrithdrew, leaving be
hind all the interests of its churches in an institution
which they had done so much to build up ; leaving also,
for the sole benefit of the sister denomination, all the
unexpended funds and legacies, some of which were
large, of Presbyterian contributors. The committee of
conference, in accordance vrith the duty assigned them
by the Assembly, " to recommend to that body such
plans and measures pertaining to the Home Missionary
work, as they may deem wise and necessary," presented
a constitution, carefully drawn up, in the adoption of
which the Assembly resolved, that "the General As
sembly, in accordance vrith the obvTOUS indications of
proArdence, and agreeably to the constitution of the
church (Form of Gov. xviii.), assumes the responsi
bility of conducting the work of Home Missions Arithin
its bounds." To this end, the Assembly hereby insti

228 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
tutes a permanent committee, to be knoAAm as the Pees
byteeian Committee of Home Missions.
The Church Extension Committee, of which the la
mented Dr. Wallace was the indefatigable secretary,
discharged its difficult and responsible trust, during the
six years of its continuance, with eminent wisdom and
fidelity, and vrith perfect good faith to all parties. In
all that time it never had a divided vote, and to its
agency it is largely due that the church, in that critical
period, was not only preserved fi-om disintegration, but
adA'auced in prosperity and usefulness.
This was the only serious collision which the New
School ever had vrith their Congregational brethren.
Some misunderstandings threatened at one time to dis
turb their relations Avith the American Boai-d. But
the prompt and fraternal manner in Avhich the Board
met the case in their action at NeAvark, in 1856, aud
again at Philadelphia, in 1859, quelled at once the
rising discontent ; and fi-om that time the harmonious
co-operation of the two parties in that most beneficent
institution, has continued unabated to this hour.
We have had occasion to glance more than once at
the question of slavery. The relations of the New
School Church to that subject demand a much fuller
consideration than the limits of this chapter vrill allow.
Probably no denomination of Christians in the land
has devoted a larger, E so large a portion of its time
aud strength to the discussion of it. It finds a record
in the minutes of almost every Assembly, from the or
ganization of the separate body tEl the proArdence of
God, forcing on the issue, took it out of the range of de
liberation. In 1846, nearly the whole time Avas con-

HISTOEICAL EEATEW OF THE CHUECH. 229
sumed Avith it. The roll Avas* called, alternating be
tween the top and the bottom, to give every member,
northern or southern, conservative or radical, a full and
equal opportunity to express his opinions. At the close,
resolutions were adopted by a large majority, — 92 to
29, — declaring " the system as it exists in the United
States, vieAved either in the laAvs of the several states
which sanction it, or in its actual operation and results
in society, an intrinsicaEy unrighteous and oppressive
system, and opposed to the principles of the lavv of
God, the precepts of the Gospel, and the best interests
of humanity." The Assembly of 1849, in a paper oc
cupying four pages of the minutes, recites the action of
former Assemblies, and, while deprecating all harsh and
indiscriminate judgments, exhorts all under its care to
do theE utmost, and "make all necessary sacrifices to
remove this foul blot on om- holy religion," and specifies
certain erils incident to the system, as the buying and
selling of slaves by Avay of traffic, and the separation of
families, as " evEs Avhich should be corrected by disci
pEne." The Assembly of 1850, after another long dis
cussion running through nearly a week, adopted by a
majority of 87 to 16 the article knoAvn, from the place
of meeting, as " the Detroit resolution : " That " the
holding of our feEow-men in the condition of slavery,
except in those cases Avhere it is unavoidable by the
laws of the state, the obligations of guardianship, or the
demands of humanity, is an offence in the proper import
of that term, as used in the Book of Discipline, chap.
i. sec. 3, and shoidd be regarded and treated as other
offences." The Assembly of 1853 reafiEms the Detroit
resolution, exhorts to " patience and fraternal confidence

230 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
towards brethren who are subject to embarrassmeni s
fi-om which we are happily fi-ee," and in order to cor
rect misapprehensions, and allay E-ritations by a knowl
edge of the real facts, requests the presbyteries in the
slave-holding states, to lay before the next general As
sembly distinct statements respecting the number of
slaves and slave-holders in the churches, how far they
are included in the excepted cases of the Detroit reso
lution, and what regard is paid to the parental and con
jugal i-elations and the religious needs, privileges, and
well-being of the enslaved. To this request there were
urgent protests : it was pronounced unconstitutional and
offensive, and Avas never complied with. In 1856, both
the Assemblies met in the city of New York, and were
numei-ously attended. The question came up on the
report of a committee on the constitutional powers of
the General Assembly. It was ably debated ; and the
southern brethren by general consent occupied a large
proportion of the time. They put a special construction
of theE own on the Detroit resolution, frankly acknoAvl-
edged that the views of the South, theE own among the
rest, had materially changed in regard to the alleged
evE of slavery, and did not hesitate openly to avow that
they now accepted the system of slavery. The report of
the committee, which was a guarded one, and carefully
limited the constitutional powers of the Assembly, was
adopted, and the report of the minority, a document
covering eight pages, contrary to the custom, was, at
the request of the southern members, printed side by
side vrith it in the minutes.
The Assembly of 1857 found itself in a new posture
of affairs. Developments had been made during the

HISTORICAL REATEW OF THE CHUECH. 231
year, which seemed to caU for the most explicit declar
ations. The Presbytery of Lexington, Ky., gave official
notice, that a number of its ministers and ruling elders
held slaves from, principle and of choice, beliering it to
be, according to the Bible, right ; and that they, with
out qualification, assumed the responsibUity of sustain
ing them in so doing." This position, the Assembly
felt itself caUed upon pointedly to condemn, and while
stdl expressing " a tender sympathy for those who de
plore the evE and are honestly doing aE in their power
for the present well-being of theE slaves, and for theE
complete emancipation, declared emphatically, " Such
doctrines and practices cannot permanently be tolerated
in tlie P-resbyterian Church^
The question had now reached its final issue. The
Assembly, planting itself upon the well-defined princi
ples of the Presbyterian Church from the beginning
hitherto, had only to abide the result. The southern sy
nods, determined to stand or fall by the new doctrines,
immediately withdrew E'om the body, and formed them
selves into a separate body caUed the United Synod
OF THE Peesbyteeian Chuech.
In aU this procedure, two things mark the conduct
of the Assembly ; atz., a fii-m and expUcit condemnation
of the whole system of slavei-y, on the one hand, and
a considerate and charitable regard for the cEcum
stances of those connected vrith it, on the other. Its
action was, aU the way, decisive and yet conservative,
resolute to destroy the tares, yet tenderly careful not to
root up the wheat vrith them.
The New School Presbyterian Church had now gone
through its last conflict, and, deeply as it regretted the

232 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
loss of SO many valued brethren, perceiving that there
was no alternative, acquiesced cheei-fully, and felt itself
only the stronger for its diminished numbers. The ter
rible struggle through which the country Avas about to
pass, and by which other bodies Avere so sorely agitated,
found them a unit. TheE vieAvs in respect to it, Avere
outspoken and unanimous ; theE position was unambig
uous and AveE understood ; and it is no disparagement
to any others, to say that, in respect to loyalty to the
government, and readiness to make any sacrifices for
the salvation of the country in the time of need, none
vvere more prompt and earnest, whether in the Assem
bly or the pulpit, in the social circle or on the field of
battle. All theE chm-ch judicatories spoke one voice,
and aU their jDidpits rang out clear and strong, the obli
gations and incitements of Cheistian Patriotism.
On this point, the General Assembly led the way, and
set the example. At the meeting in Syracuse, in 1861,
just after the commencement of the war, "the absorb
ing topic that is pressing upon the heart of the vv'hole
counti-y," says the Presbyterian Quarterly Pevieto, " it
now appeared was the first to occupy the Assembly."
Meetings for prayer, and discussion on the state of the
country, were held on three successive evenings, and
" the deepest enthusiasm was manEested." A carefuUy
prepared paper was adopted, in which, after stating the
main facts of the rebellion, and citing the patriotic
Avords of the old Synod of New York and PhEadel
phia, at the opening of the Avar of the Eevolution, in
1775, the Assembly declared: "We should be recreant
to om- high trust, were we to Avithhold an earnest pro
test against aU such unlawful and treasonable acts:"
and, in pursuance of this declaration, —

HISTOEICAL EEATEW OF THE CHUECH. 233
^^Pesolved, 3. That inasmuch as we believe, according
to our Form of Government, that God, the Supreme
Judge and King of aU the world, has ordained civil
magistrates to be under him, over the people, for his
own glory and the public good, and to this end hath
armed them with the power of the sword for the de
fence and encom-agement of them that are good, and
for the punishment of evE-doers, there is, in the judg
ment of the Assembly, no blood o J' treasure too precious
to be devoted to the defence and perpetuity qf the gov
emment in all its constitutional authority?''
The Assembly at Cincinnati, in 1862, again referring
to the same explicit Avords of our Form of Government,
condemning the rebellion, approving the Avar aS just and
necessary, expressing great confidence in the President
and his cabinet, the commanders of the army and navy_
the soldiers, etc., and i-ecording the opinion, that,
"This Avhole insurrectionary movement can be traced
to one primordial root, and one only — Afi-ican slavery
and the love of it, and the determination to make it
perpetual : "
'•'-Pesolved, 7. That we hei-e, in deep humility for om
sins and the sins of our nation, and in heartfelt devo
tion, lay ourselves, vrith aU we are and have, on the
altar of God and our comitry ; and we hesitate not to
pledge the churches and all Christian people under our
care, as ready to join Arith us in the same fervent sym
pathies, and united prayers, that our rulers in the cabi
net, and om- commanders in the field and on the waters,
and the brave men under theE leadership, may take cour
age under the assm-ance that the Peesbyteeian Chuech
OF THE United States are with them with heart and

234 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
hand, in life and death, in this fearful existing con^
testP'' A copy of the resolutions was sent to the Pres
ident, accompanied by a letter expressing " in a more
personal maimer, the sentiments of the church in refer
ence to himseE, and the great issues with which he vvas
called to deal." " Since the day of your inauguration,"
they say, " the thousands of our membership have fol
lowed you with unceasing prayer, beseeching the throne
of grace in your behaE." "In our great church courts,
in our lesser judicatures, in our weekly assemblages, in
the house of God, at our family altars, iu the inner
place of prayer, you have been the bm-den of our peti
tions." " We give praise not to man, but to God. In
your firmness, your integrity, challenging the adnura-
tion even of yom- enemies, your moderation, your wis
dom, the timeliness of your acts exhibited at critical
junctures, your paternal AVords, so eminently fitting the
chosen head of a great peojDle, vve recognize the hand
and power of God." Expressing their "deep sympa
thy "' vrith him in his great trust, and in the depth of
his then recent personal bereavement, |)ledging him
" aU the support that loyal hearts can offer," referring
to the sons of the church, ministers, and others, who
had served, and some of them died in the common cause,
and adding, in regard to the latter, " we are glad that
we have given them : we gladly pledge as many more
as the cause of our country may demand," it concludes
thus: "We believe there is but one path before this
people: this gigantic and inexpressibly wicked rebel-
Eon must be destroyed ; the interests of humanity, the'
temple of God and his church, demand it at our hands.
May God give to you his great support, preserve you,

HISTORICAL REATEW OF THE CHURCH. 235
impart to you more than human AATsdom, and permit
you ere long, to rejoice in the deliverance of om- be
loved country, in peace and unity."
To this warm-hearted, as weU as patriotic letter, the
President retm-ned, through the Secretary of State, the
foUowing reply : —
"Department op State, June 7, 1861.
Tothe General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church qf
the United States holding its Annual Session in the
city of Cincinnati : — -
" Eeatsrend Gentlemen, — I have had the honor of
receiving your address to the President of the United
States, and the proceedings of youi- venerable body on
the subject of the existing insurrection, by which that
address Avas accompanied.
"These papers have been submitted to the President.
I am instructed to convey to you his most profound and
grateful acknoAvledgements, for the fervent assurances
of support and sympathy which they contain. For
many years hereafter, one of the greatest subjects of
felicitation among good men wEl be, the signal success
of the government of the United States in preservdng
OUI' federal union, which is the ark of ciril and religious
liberty on this continent, and throughout the world. AE
the events of our generation which preceded this at
tempt at revolution, and all that shall happen after it,
wEl be deemed unimportant in consideration of that
one indispensable and invaluable achievement. The men
of our generation whose memory vriE be the longest
and the most honored, vrill be they who thought the
most earnestly, prayed the most fervently, hoped the

236 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
most confidently, fought the most heroically, and siE
f ered the most patiently, in the sacred cause of freedom
and humanity. The record of the action of the Pres
byterian Church, seems to the President vA^orthy of its
traditions and its aspirations, as an important branch of
the chm-ch founded by the Saviour of men."
" Commending our yet distracted country to the in
terposition and guardian care of the Euler and Judge
of nations, the President Avill persev 3re, steadily and
hopefully, in the great work committed to his hands, re
lying upon the Adrtue and intelligence of the people of
the United States, and the candor and benevolence of
all good men."
" I have the honor to be, Eeverend Gentlemen,
" Your A^ery obedient servant,
"William H. Seward."
The Assembly met in Philadelphia, 1863, at a perilous
crisis. The national heart had been wrung to the core
by the defeats of the previous summer. The conscrip
tion Avas in process of enforcement, and treason and
semi-treason were bold and boastful. The Assembly
reafiEmed all the principles and declarations of previous
assemblies on this subject, declared it to be "the relig
ious duty of aU good citizens promptly and cheerfully
to sustain the government by every means in their
power, and stand by it in its peril ; " that " loyalty,
unreserved and unconditional, to the constitutionally
elected government of the United States, not as the
transient passion of the hour, but as th(5 intelligent and
permanent state of the public conscience, is not only a
sacred Christian obligation, but indispensible, E we

HISTOEICAIi EEVTEW OF THE CHUECH. 237
would save the nation;" that "the Proclamation of
Emancipation, issued by the President," is to be recog
nized " Avith devout gratitude," as a fruit of the " won
der-working power of God:" and exhorted aU the
churches and ministers, " to stand by theE country, to
pray for it, to discountenance aU forms of complicity
Arith treason — having on this subject one heart and
one mind; Avaiting hopefully on providence; patient
amid delays; undaunted by reverses; persistent and
untEing in effort, until, by the blessing of God, the
glorious motto. One Cowntry and Constitution, and one
Destiny, shaU be enthroned as the sublime fact of the
present, and the sublime harbinger of the future." A
copy of the whole paper was transmitted to the Presi
dent, and appointed to be read in all our pulpits.
The utterances of the Assembly of 1864 vvere of the
same tenor, reaffirming the prerious action, recognizing
the good hand of God in the disappointments and de
lays of the war, exhorting to renewed zeal, and urging
all Christians to refrain from weakening the adminis
tration by " El-timed complaints," " and from all speech
and action which tend to difference."
When the Assembly of 1867 met in Brooklyn, the
rebellion was conquered; but the final stroke which
struck dovm the beloved and honored chief of the na
tion had filled all loyal hearts vrith the profoundest
horror. The Assembly recognized vrith joy and thank
fulness, the dirine goodness in the happy termination
of the war, and added its emphatic declaration, " that
¦ in our opinion a nation like ours, whose corner-stone is
equal rights, caimot permanently prosper, nor be ex
empt from future convulsions unless the principles of

238 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
cIatI and religious liberty are firmly carried out and
fuUy applied, vrith only just and healthful limitations,
vrithout reference to class or color, to all the people.
Neither the law nor the Gospel, when rightly under
stood, wiE aEow us to exclude from the rights and
priAoleges of free men, those who are citizens like our
selves, many of whom have imperilled theE lives in
this conflict."
The tribute of this Assembly to the excellences of the
martyred President, will form a fitting conclusion of
what Ave have here to say on this subject : " In his life,
he struck the chains from the trembling limbs of mil
lions, rindicated the rights of humanity, and illustrated
the glory of a patriotism made strong by devout confl
dence in God; in his death, he touched the cords of
sympathy in the heart of universal man, and won over
to -our holy cause, every true lover of his race, every
soul in which dwells the hope of freedom."
The unanimity which pervaded every Assembly dur-
.iig all this period was vei-y remarkable, and illustrates
in an eminent degree, the vrisdom of that freedom of
discussion, and that frankness and flrmness of testimony
which, in aU matters pertaining to the interests of the
country, and the rights, as well as duties of man, had
characterized their procedure from the beginning.
We shaU be obliged, for want of space, to pass has
tily over the years of steadily increasing prosperity
which succeeded these conflicts. We may say of them,
in words borroAved from an earlier history, " Then had
the church rest, and was edified, and, walking in the fear
of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Ghost, was
multiplied." Its several departments of «elf-developing

HISTOEICAL EEVTEW OF THE CHUECH. 239
and evangelizing work had now attained their full
organization, and were in vigorous and hopeful ojDcra
tion. " The Presbyterian Committee of Home Missions "
was organized in 1861, and has been steadily increasing
in efficiency. Its receipts, the first year, were $27,244,
and the number of its missionaries 195. In 1869, it
had 465 missionaries and an income of $162,421. Its
missionaries report 70 new chm-ches formed during the
year, 2,400 hopeful conversions, and 2,191 added to the
churches on profession of their faith. The fi-eedmen's
department, organized in 1865, received and expended,
dm-ing the same year, about $16,000, and reports 79
teachers employed and 20. others under appointment —
all in the southern States.
"The Ti-ustees of the Church Erection Fund," ap
pointed in 1854, were incorporated by the Legislature
of the State of New York, in the year following. The
original basis of their operations was the permanent fund
of $100,000, raised by contributions E-om the chm-ches,
most of it in the year 1854, the interest to be employed
in promoting the object chiefly in the way of loans.
The establishment of this fund operated as a strong
bond of umon in the church. In the year 1866, the
basis was enlarged, and an annual contribution ordered,
and fi-eer disbursements. , Since that time this organiza
tion has been rapidly grovring in importance, and uoav
stands in the vei-y first rank of the eA'angelizing agen
cies of the chm-ch. In 18-69, it reports an increase of
$54,996, and of churches aided about 70.
The "Permanent Committee on Education for the
Ministry," org'anized in 1856, came slowly into opera

240 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
tion, moulding its plans gradually, and embarrassed by
the remains of the old voluntary system. In 1869, its
income amounted to $26,569, and the number of its
beneficiaries to 210; viz., 63 in the theological, 102 in
the collegiate, and 45 in the preparatory department.
The Committee " on Doctrinal Tracts," organized in
1852, has l^ecome the "Presbyterian Publication Com
mittee." In 1869, its income from all sources was
$66,214, of which $6,851 was expended in its purely
benevolent work.
" The Trustees of the Presbyterian House " located. in
Philadelphia and incorporated by the Legislature of
Pennsyh^ania, hold for the uses of the church a valu
able property, purchased chiefly by donations made by
individuals in the city of Philadelphia, uoav estimated
to be Avorth more than one hundred thousand dollars.
Under their charge has been placed the Ministerial Ee
lief Fund, managed by an executive committee, which
commenced its operations in 1864. In 1869, they report
$13,465 receiv^ed from ordinary sources, and $8,200 a
special donation tovvards a permanent fund; also 29
disabled ministers aided, 33 Avidovvs, and 4 families of
orphans. The average age of the ministers was 76
yeai's, and of their ministry 40 years.
The Assembly has also a Peiinanent Committee on
Foreign Missions vA'hose functions are not the raising
and distributing of funds or the conducting of missions,
but the supervTsing of our part of the work and report
ing the i-esults to the Assembly. From their report, in
1869, it appears that om- contributions for that year to
the American Board were, in money, about $93,643, and
in laborers, 71 ; viz., 52 male and 19 female mission-

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 241
aries. In 1868 the contributions were $110,602 ; in
1867, $110,725.
The literary and theological institutions vrith which
the New School Church has been connected, are inde
pendent in theE control and management, though in
perfect harmony vrith it, for the most part, in theE
riews and aims. It was no part of its original policy,
even where it had a controUing influence, to establish
an organic connection.
MarysATlle CoUege, in East Tennessee, was founded
in 1819. It had a theological department, and, of its
graduates, 120 have found theE way into the ministry.
Its work was suspended dm-ing the war, but resumed
in 1866. Efforts are now in progress for its endow
ment, towards vvhich $65,000 have been pledged.
Of HamUton College, President Brown remarks:
" The relations of the coUege to the Presbyterian Church
are very intimate. It is under no ecclesiastical jurisdic
tion, and is Uberal in its general policy, but the large
majority of its trustees, officers, and students are con
nected vrith that church. It is prosperous and growing,
and during the period of the separation has graduated
923 pupEs, and added $300,000 to its property." That
eminent benefactor of the church, John C. Baldwin,
recently deceased, has made the coUege one of four,
his residuary legatees.
In the vaUey of the Mississippi, where the New
School at the time of the disruption found its chief field
of labor and promise, there is a cluster of colleges, some
of which were then in theE infancy, and others sprang
into being soon after, — Western Eeserve, Marietta,
Illinois, Wabash, Knox, and Beloit. They were founded,
16

242 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
for the most part, by Presbyterians, and sustained
largely by New England liberality. In these, Presby
terians and Congregationalists have a joint interest,
though some have come to lean chiefly to the one de
nomination, and some to the other. In a most critical
period of theE history, they were sustained, if not saved
from utter extinction, by the timely aid of that unpre
tending, but most useful, organization, " The Society for
promoting Collegiate and Theological Education at the
West." Its indefatigable secretary, the Eev. Theron
Baldvrin, D.D., a man as noble, energetic, and far-seeing
as he was unassuming and modest, — a Presbyterian at
the beginning, a CongregationaEst afterwards, a sectar
ian never, — was for more than a quarter of a century
the lEe and soul of the institution ; and the cause of
Christian learning in our land (especiaEy at the West),
which now joins his many personal friends in their sor
rows over his new-made grave, vrill hold his stainless
memory in devout admiration as long as such learning
retains a place in the hearts of American Christians.
Illinois, Knox, and Beloit are now chiefly Congrega
tional; though they have been largely patronized by
Presbyterians and done them much valuable serrice.
Western Eeserve Avas founded in 1826, and was re
garded vrith special interest by the New School Chmch
in its early struggles, for the theological department at
tached to it. President Hitchcock says of the coUege,
in 1868 : " Its number of alumni is 319. Of these, more
than one-thEd are ministers of the gospel." Among
them are not a few Home and Foreign Missionaries.
Wabash CoUege was founded in 1832. " On the 23d
of November," says President Tuttle, "five ininisters

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OP THE CHUECH. 243
and three laymen met, and counselled, and prayed, and
resolved to go forward." " They selected the spot, drove
a stake to mark it, and all kneeled down in the snow,
and consecrated the proposed enterprise to God." Its
alumni, in 1868 were 199. It has seen hard times, but
is now free fi-om debt, has a permanent endoAvment of
$105,000, a library of 10,000 volumes, and several thou
sands of acres of Avdld lands, on which to found golden
expectations. This coUege is another of the residuary
legatees named in the wEl of the late Mr. John C
Baldvrin. Marietta College graduated its first class in 1838.
The history of its struggles and triumphs is much like
that of the other two. Its graduates number 298, of
whom 115 are devoted to the ministry. During tAventy-
five years, the West has raised for its use $150,000.
Its property now amounts to $180,000.
Lake Forest has as yet no organized collegiate de
partment, but the Preparatory department and Female
seminary are weU established and prosperous ; and the
property and funds may be safely valued at from
$250,000 to $300,000. It is " wholly under Presbyte
rian control." There is also the beginning of a college
enterprise in Iowa, for which there is a property of
perhaps $50,000 in value.
Of the Theological Seminaries, Auburn is the oldest.
It was founded in 1819 ; it has a professorship fund ot
$125,000, an education fund of $65,000, a small library
fund, and a library of 8,000 volumes. The corner-stone
of a new library building has just been laid, to be
erected through the munificence of Hon. Wm. E.
Dodge, and Hon. E. B. Morgan. Its graduates number

244 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
not far from 950, of whom 550 were graduated since
1838. Lane Seminary went into fuU operation as a theolog
ical institution, in 1832. The history of its early
hopes, embarrassments, struggles, disappointments, and
successes, is one of uncommon interest. Some of the
ablest names in the church are to be found in the cat
alogue of its faculty. The receipts in 1869, were
$27,041. During the separation, there has been con
tributed to Es funds about $120,000. The whole
number of its graduates is 481.
Union Theological Seminary is the youngest of the
three. It was organized in 1836, and was incorporated
by the Legislature of the State of New York, March 17,
1839. The design of the founders as expressed in the
constitution, was " to provide a Theological Seminary in
the midst of the greatest and most grovring community,
which may commend itself to all men of moderate
views Avho desire to live free from party strEe, and to
stand aloof from aU extremes of doctrine or of prac
tice." Every director on entering upon his office, and
evei-y member of the faculty, tiiennally, or as often as
requEed by the board, must declare his approval of the
Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Presbyterian
form of church government, and promise to maintain
them in the discharge of the duties of his office. The
institution has been eminently prosperous, its property
exceeds haE a miUion, and measures are already in op
eration for securing for it half a miUion more. It has
a library of great value, containing about 35,000 vol
umes. Its graduates number 853, among whom are a
very large proportion of Domestic and Foreign Mission-

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 245
aries. The Seminary is not under ecclesiastical control,
but is, in a measure, under the superrision of the two
nearest synods, who appoint annuaEy a committee to
attend the examinations and report.
The beginning of a Theological School for the educa
tion of ministers for the Geemans, in which instruction
is to be given both in German and EngUsh, has been
made, during the past year, at Newark, N.J., vrith en
couraging success.
The periodical literature of the New School church
deserves honorable mention. Besides other local
papers, the American Presbyterian, at Philadelphia,
has shown a warm zeal for its interests, and the New
York Evangelist has done it exceUent serrice. Much
credit is due to the Presbytery Reporter, a monthly pub
lished at Alton, IU., now in its eighth volume, for the
abiUty and faithfulness vrith which it has watched over
the interests of the church in the North-west. During
the ten critical years, from 1852 to 1862, the Peesbyte
EiAN Quaeteely Eevtew, ably conducted by an associ
ation of ministers in PhEadelphia, defended its cause and
was an honor to its Christian inteEigence. The Ajieei-
CAN Theological Eeatew, founded in 1859, on a basis
not distinctly denominational, and united vrith the Pres
byterian Pevieto in 1863, combining the names and
objects of both, has, under the charge of Prof. H. B.
Smith, its editor from the beginning, assumed and se
cured a place second to none in the land.
The general statistical results of the thEty years of
the separate existence of the church, wEl be given in
the appendix, by a more accurate and practised hand.
It need only be said here, that vrith some vicissitudes.

246 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
the body has made steady progress both in strength
and numbers. The sifting process referred to in the
early period, and the retEement from it of the southern
synods in 1857, greatly reduced its numbers, but they
were soon replenished; and whereas, in 1843, there
were but 94 Presbyteries, 1,263 ministers, and 1,496
churches, in 1869, there were 113 Presbyteries, 1,848
ministers, and 1,631 churches. It would be instructive
could we trace its fortunes in its local developments,
in cities and toAvns and in the new territories of an ad
vancing country. In some places the progress has
been cheering, in others slow and embarrassed. For
example, in Cincinnati and St. Louis, neither branch of
the church has gained much during the whole period,
OAring partly, it is believed, to mutual jealousies. In
Chicago, since the year 1842, the advance has been
rapid. Whereas, then, there was but one church, and
that in an uncertain condition, now there are in the
city, or closely connected vrith it, fifteen, and they
are all flourishing. In Missouri, under the energetic
influence of Dr. Artemas BuUard and his associates, the
growth was rapid till about 1856 ; then, ovring to the
growing influence of slavery, the decline was constant
tiU the war began and everything was thrown into
confusion. Since the Avar, New School men have met a
hearty welcome in the regenerated State, and now it
shows a larger roU of ministers, churches, and members
than ever before. Somewhat simUar has been the case
of East Tennessee, where we have now 38 churches and
an encouraging opening for the future. In Kansas, not
much was accomplished tUl 1838, when a band of eight
young men from one class in Union Seminary, entered

HISTOEICAL EEATEW OF THE CHUECH. 247
the State, and the success was signal. In October of
that year, ten young men were ordained at the same
meeting of presbydery, and uoav we have a Synod of
Kansas with three presbyteries, thirty-one ministers,
and forty-one chm-ches ; and the work of exploration,
organization, and church erection is going rapidly for
ward. The position of the New School Church towards
the Eeunion requEes but a word here, as that vriU be
the subject of another chapter. Suffice it to say, that
position has been thi-oughout frank, cordial, and re
markably unanimous. The ill success of their early
efforts seemed to forbid their again taking the initia
tive ; and, on strictly denominational grounds, they had
no desEe to contract new relations. After many dis
couragements and long struggles they had won a place
among the branches of the church of Christ, in their
own esteem inferior to none. Their organization for
church work vvas completed, and seemed, fi-om experi
ence, to have some special advantages. They understood
each other perfectly, and were happy vrith each other.
They loved their own chm-ch, and the name New
School had come to have very pleasant and inspiring
associations. They shrunk from breaking up old ties
and forming new ones, which might, for aught they
knew, lead to new complications. But they looked to
the common interest of the Presbyterian cause and
especially of the cause of Christ, and had no hesitation.
It may be confidently affirmed that, among all the par
ties now brought together in the happy union of which
this volume is a memorial, none worked harder or
prayed more fervently, or were more vrilling to make

248 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
every reasonable sacrifice, to bring about the blessed
consummation. As to the Basis on which the Eeunion stands, the
members of the now historical New School Church have
nothing more to desEe. " The standards pure and sim
ple " have ever been their preferred standards. When
they stood alone, in the days when suspicion was
thrown by some upon theE orthodoxy, their General
Assembly, again and again, enjoined upon their churches
" the faithful use of the Westminster Catechism, in the
instruction of the young." If any ask for a more ex
plicit exposition of the particular phase of Calrinistic
doctrine which should be distinguished as "New School
Theology," they wEl find none so likely to be accepted
as such, by the larger number, as that first drawn up
by Dr. Baxter Dickinson, and afterwards formally
adopted, under the title of " Errors and True Doctrine,"
by the convention at Auburn, in 1837, of which Dr.
James Eichards, of Auburn was the President, and
nearly two hundred ministers and laymen, the very
flower of the New School body, were the members.
But, in truth, there is no such phase of theology, which
either the body as a whole, or its theological seminaries
would agree to distinguish by that name. They take
the standards of the Presbyterian Church just as they
are — the Bible as " the only infallible rule of faith and
practice," and the Confession of Faith " as containing
the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures."
Further than that, they give, and claim from others no
pledges, — they give and take reasonable liberty.
The task assigned to the writer of this chapter is
now finished. It has been a pleasant task, though a

HISTOEICAL EEVIEW OF THE CHUECH. 249
laborious and painstaking one. As he has gone from
page to page of the annals, covering a period of more
than thirty years, memories both sad and animating
have, in turn, taken possession of his thoughts. The
New School Presbyterian Church need not be ashamed
of its history. Noble men and noble deeds stud the
line of its fortunes. It has met frankly and earnestly
every question of the day, as affecting the moral and
religious interests of man and the cause of Chiist, and
pronounced judgments and assumed positions which it
has no occasion to retract. It has grappled vrith diffi
culties before which any but resolute, courageous, and
beEevdng men would have succumbed. It has risen
above them. The conviction is deepened, as we exam
ine its records, that we have here a band of true, trusty,
inteEigent, weU-grounded, Uberal Presbyterian Chris
tians, — men who can re-examine and test, over and
over, the foundations of their faith, and stand only the
more strongly and squarely upon them ; eminently cath
olic towards all Chiistian denominations, eminently loyal
to theE own chosen standard. The contribution which
they now bring to the United Presybterian Church, in
strength, wisdom, actirity, and resom-ces, is one worthy
of its acceptance. They will stand by it, as they have
hitherto stood by theu- own particular branch of it, in
the spEit of a true seH-devotion, and a firm, courage
ous trust in the dirine promises.
And now the long and troubled drama of New and
Old School is at length finished. The seal is on the
past, and the futm'e, vrith its responsibilities, opens
before us. And now, forgetting the things that are be
hind, all the grudges, aU the aUenations and rivaEies

250

peesbyteeian chuech.

of the past, and reaching forth to those things which
are before, what have we, but to press towards the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus ? The chm-ch expects of us, — the world vrith aU
its sorrows and sins, weU aware that the true church is
by its vocation the salt of the earth and the light of
the world, expects of us, — more than aU, the Master
himseE expects, — that we, thus favored in the happy
healing of om- long-broken unity, should now unite our
force in one harmonious, resolute, persevering effort for
the salvation of our race and the spread of the benign
pruiciples of om- Holy Eeligion.

^-X.\.

/^^^i^^^^tf^^-^a-^lw^^.^^ fe4tV/-

'/A^C^^H.

CHAPTEE XII.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

F^^RT I.

The father of Ashbel Green was the Eev. Jacob
Green, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Hanover,
N. J., and his mother was a daughter of the Eev. John

252 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Pierson, of Woodbridge, N.J., and granddaughter of
the first President of Yale College. He (the son)
was born at Hanover, on the 6th of July, 1762. At
a very early age, under the influence of his father's
loyalty, he enlisted in defence of his country's liberties ;
and in one instance at least, at the attack on Elizabeth-
town Point, his lEe was in imminent jeopardy. In
consequence of the associations into which he was
brought, during the period of the Eevolution, he became
doubtful in respect to the Divine authority of the
Scriptures; but he determined not to surrender his
faith vrithout a dEigent and impartial examination.
The result of such an examination was a full conriction
that the Bible is the word of God ; and that conriction
he foUowed out, shortly after, by entering, with great
strength of purpose, upon the religious lEe.
His aspirations for a coUegiate education were early
manifested, and his preparation for college was begun
and completed under the instruction of his father. He
entered the junior class in the CoUege of New Jersey, in
the spring of 1782, and graduated the next year, the
Valedictory Orator of his class. General Washington
being present at the Commencement.
He was appointed to a tutorship in the college, im
mediately after his graduation ; and, havdng held that
office for two years, Avas advanced to the chair of Pro
fessor of Mathematics and Natural PhUosophy, in
which he continued till 1787. In connection vrith his
coEegiate duties, he prosecuted the study of Theology
under the direction of Dr. Witherspoon, then President
of the college, and was licensed to preach by the Pres
bytery of New Brunsvrick, in February, 1786. Shortly

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 253
after his licensure, he was invrted to become the pastor
of the Independent Church in Charleston, S.C, and at
a little later period received a similar inritation from
the Second Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. The
latter invitation he accepted, and was installed in May,
1787, as coUeague pastor vrith the Eev. Dr. Sproat.
The same year he was elected a member of the Ameri
can Philosophical Society.
In 1791, Mr. Green, for the beneflt of his health,
journeyed into New England as far as Portsmouth, N.
H., mingling in many interesting scenes, and forming
many valuable acquaintances. In 1792, he was honored
Arith the degree of Doctor of Divinity, from the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania, when he had been but six
years a licensed preacher; and the same year he was
elected Chaplain to Congress, an office which he held
during eight successive years. In 1793, during the
prevalence of the yeUow fever in PhEadelphia, he left
the city, vrith a view to risit his son in Princeton, who,
he had heard, was seriously Ul ; and, whEe he was ab
sent, his venerable coUeague fell a victim to the raging
malady. In the course of the next vrinter, the Second and
ThEd Presbyterian churches, of Philadelphia, united in
securing the serrices of the Eev. (afterwards Dr.) John
N. Abeel, vrith the understanding that the two churches
should jointly share his labors. He was, accordingly,
installed as coUeague pastor with Dr. Green ; but,
though there was perfect harmony between the two
pastors, the union did not result favorably, and was
dissolved in 1795, when Dr. Abeel removed to New
York.

254 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
In 1799, the Eev. (afterwards Dr.) Jacob J. Jane-
way, became associated vrith Dr. Green in the pastoral
office, and the relation continued, a source of mutual
comfort and blessing, untE the removal of the latter to
another field. In 1799, he suffered a severe chronic
rheumatism, the effect of which was great mental de
pression, unfitting him, in a measure, for his public
duties. In the hope of obtaining the desEed relief, he
visited the Warm and Sweet Springs of VEginia, and
in the course of his journey, made the acquaintance of
some of the most distinguished men in that part of the
country. Though the journey proved physically salu
tary, it did not avail to the restoration of his spirits;
and it was nearly two years before his faculties were
aE in theE fuU operation.
After the burning of the edifice of the CoUege of
New Jersey, in March 1802, Dr. Smith, the President
of the coUege, was requested, by the trustees, to risit
South Carolina, to solicit aid in repaEing the loss which
had been sustained. This he actuaUy did; and the
oversight of the coUege, meanwhile, was committed to
Dr. Green, who discharged the various duties, thus de-
v^olved upon him, with great fidelity and dignity.
In 1809 was foi-med in Philadelphia the first Bible
Society in the United States. An Address to the
public, setting forth the design and importance of the
institution, was vmtten by Dr. Green, and did much to
prepare the Avay for other institutions of a similar na
ture. Dr. Green succeeded Bishop White, as the presi
dent of that society, and held the office tEl the close of
his Ufe.
In 1810, a resolution to estabUsh a Theological Semi-

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 255
nary was adopted by the General Assembly, and Dr.
Green was appointed chairman of the committee to
draft a constitution ; and, in the discharge of this duty,
he produced a document that has had an immensely im
portant bearing on the interests of the Church. When
the Board of Directors for the seminary was appointed,
in 1812, they elected Dr. Green as their president, and
this office also he retained as long as he lived, render
ing it a channel of rich blessing to the institution.
In August, 1812, he Avas chosen President of the
College of New Jersey ; and, havdng accepted the ap
pointment, was released from his pastoral charge, and
was introduced to his new field of labor in October fol
lovring. The same year the degree of Doctor of Laws
was conferred upon him, by the University of North
Carolina. In 1815, an extensive rerival of religion
prevaEed in the college, Avhich resulted in the hopeful
conversion of a large number of the students. Dr.
Green labored rigorously and earnestly, in carrying for
ward this work ; and, after the excitement had ceased,
he made a long and able report of what had been pass
ing, to the trustees, which was afterwards published, and
had a wide circulation.
Dr. Green continued to occupy the presidential chair
tiU September, 1822, when he thought proper to resign
his office. Though it was chiefiy vrith a view to being
relieved from the burden of care which had so long op
pressed him, that he was induced to take this step, yet
he passed immediately into another field of labor, where
his facidties were scarcely less tasked than they had
been in the preceding one. He immediately returned
to Philadelphia, and became the editor of the Christian

256 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Advocate, a monthly periodical, and continued it tEl
1834. In this work first appeared his Lectm-es on the
Assembly's Catechism, delivered at Philadelphia, both
before he went to Princeton and after his return ; and
they were subsequently published in two duodecuno
volumes. For about two years and a half he preached
to the African congregation, and was always on the
alert to promote the best interests of the Church by
every means in his power. During several of his last
years his faculties were perceptibly waning, and most
of his time was spent in private devotion. While the
General Assembly was in session in PhEadelphia, in
1846, he unexpectedly appeared for a few minutes
among them, and was met vrith the highest testimonies
of respect and reverence. He died in the midst of a
large cEcle of friends, to whom he was greatly en
deared, on the 19th of May, 1848, aged nearly eighty-
six years. His remains were removed to Princeton,
where his monument is now to be seen, amidst a cluster
of Elustrious names, such as is hardly to be found else
where. In November, 1785, about the time that he entered
on his professorship, he was married to the eldest
daughter of Eobert Stockton, of Princeton. She died
in 1807, leaving three chEdren, — all of them sons. In
October, 1809, he was married to Christiana Anderson,
the eldest daughter of Colonel Alexander Anderson.
She died in 1814, after a connection of a little less
than four years and a half. In October, 1815, he was
maiTied (for the thEd time) to a daughter of Major
John McCuUoch, of Philadelphia. She died, after a
somewhat lingering Elness, in November, 1817. His

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 257
three vrives were aU ladies of excellent character, who
did honor to the position which they occupied.
Besides the two volumes of Lectures on the Assem
bly's Catechism, already referred to. Dr. Green pub
lished, in 1822, an elaborate History of the College of
New Jersey, in connection vrith a series of his Bacca
laureate Discourses. He published, also, a History of
Presbyterian Missions, and about twenty occasional
Sermons and Addresses in pamphlet form.
Dr. Green Avas of about the medium height, with
prominent features, a dark, piercing eye, and an expres
sion of countenance highly intellectual. His manners
were dignified, sometimes approaching even to stern
ness, but he knew how to unbend in free and cordial
intercourse. His mind Avas comprehensive, logical, and
highly cultivated ; indeed, he seemed at home in almost
every accessible field of knowledge. Though he some
times appeared distant, and may have been thought to
lack the genial element, it needed only a change of
circumstances to shoAV that his heart was OA^erflowing
vrith kindness. As a Preacher, he was highly evangeli
cal, lucid, impressive, whEe his manner had, perhaps,
more of the commanding than the graceful and attrac
tive. As the Head of a college, he commanded the ut
most respect, while he was always intent on the moral
as Avell as intellectual improvement of those committed
to his care. As a minister of the Presbyterian Church,
the General Assembly testified their high sense of his
merits by making him their Moderator; and it may
safely be said that he has left behind him a bright and
enduring record. 17

258 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
ARCHIBALD ALEXAKDER, D.D.
Archibald Alexandee Avas a son of WEliam Alex-
Auder, a person of great worth and respectability, and
was born near Lexington, Eockbridge County, Va., on
the l7th of AprE, 1772. While he was pursuing his
studies at Liberty Hall Academy (now Washington
CoUege), in 1789, he accompanied his instructor, the
Eev. William Graham, to Prince Edward, to attend a
communion in the Briery congregation. This brought
him into the midst of a rerival of religion, of which he
became, as he believed, one of the subjects. He made a
public profession of his faith in the autumn of the same
year, and shortly after commenced the study of theol
ogy, under the dEection of Mr. Graham. He was
licensed to preach, by the Lexington Presbytery, in
1791, when he was but nineteen years of age.
In 1792, he was occupied in missionary labor about six
months, partly in Virginia and partly in North Caro
lina. After haATUg served six different churches, in con
nection vrith the Eev. Drury Lacy, for some time, he
took charge of the churches of Briery and Cub Creek.
He was ordained at Briery, in November, 1794, and was
dismissed fi-om Cub Creek in April, 1797, and from
Briei-y in November, 1798. In 1796, he became succes
sor to the Eev. Drury Lacy, as President of Hampden
Sydney College. The same year he Avent as a delegate
to the General Assembly, at Philadelphia, and such Avas
his popularity as a preacher, that the Pine Street Pres
byterian Church, then vacant, invited him to become
theE pastor. About the year 1797, he came to have
serious doubts in respect to the divine authority of ui-

biogeaphical sketches. 259
fant baptism, and for a year or two discontinued the
administration of the ordinance to infants; but his
scruples were ultimately removed, and he returned to
his former practice. In 1801, he was sent a second
time to the General Assembly, and accepted the ap
pointment of delegate to the General Associations of
Connecticut and New Hampshire ; and, until within a
few years, there were those living who heard him there,
and could never forget his thrilling eloquence. On his
return he preached in Baltimore, and afterwards re
ceived a caU to settle there, as successor to the Eev. Dr.
Allison, but declined it.
In 1806, he received a second call fi-om the Pine
Street Church, Philadelphia, which, chiefly on account
of his too onerous duties in connection with the college,
he accepted. He was installed as pastor of that church,
by the Presbytery of PhEadelphia, in May, 1807. The
same year he was chosen Moderator of the General As
sembly. In 1810, the degree of Doctor of Divinity was
conferred upon him by the College of New Jersey. In
1812, the General Assembly haring determined to estab
lish a Theological Seminary at Princeton, Dr. Alexander
was chosen to the Professorship of Didactic and Po
lemic Theology. After considerable deliberation, he ac
cepted the appointment, and was inaugurated in August
foUoAring. Here he continued in the constant and labo
rious discharge of his duties till near the close of life.
His last illness Avas dysentery, and was of about a
month's dm-ation. In the prospect of his departure,
he was lifted above all doubt and fear, and had the
fullest confidence that the change before him would be
a blessed one. He died on the 22d of October, 1851.

260 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
The Synod of New Jersey, which was in session at
Princeton at the time, attended his funeral on the 24th,
and a sermon was preached on the occasion by the Eev.
Dr. John McDqwell.
Dr. Alexander was married in AprE, 1802, to Jan-
etta, daughter of the Eev. James Waddel, D.D., of the
county of Louisa, Va. Mrs. Alexander died in Sep
tember, 1852. They had seven chEdren, who survived
them, — six sons and one daughter. Of the sons, three
became ministers of the gospel, two lavpyers, and one a
physician. Besides numerous Tracts and Sermons in pamphlet
form. Dr. Alexander published the f oUovring : A Brief
OutUne of the Eridences of the Christian Eeligion,
1825 ; The Canon of the Old and New Testament as
certained, or the Bible complete without the Apocrypha
ancl Unwritten Traditions, 1826 ; A Selection of Hymns
adapted to the Devotions of the Closet, the Family, and
the Social Circle, and containing subjects appropriate
to the monthly concerts of Prayer for the Success of
Missions and Sunday Schools, 1831 ; The Lives of the
Patriarchs, published by the American Sunday-School
Union, 1835 ; History of Israel; Biographical Sketches of
the Founders and Principal Alumni of the Log College,
together vrith an account of the Eevdvals of Eeligion
under their ministry, 1845 ; A History of Colonization
on the Western Coast of Africa, 1846 ; A History of the
Israelitisb Nation from their Origin to their Dispersion
at the Destruction of Jerasalem by the Eomans, 1852 ;
Outlines of Moral Science, 1852.
The f oUoAring were issued by the Presbyterian Board
of Publication : Practical Sermons, to be read in Fami-

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 261
lies and Social Meetings ; Letters to the Aged ; Coun
sels of the Aged to the Young ; Universalism False and
Unscriptural; A Brief Compend of Bible Truth; Dirine
Guidance, or the People of God led in unknoAvn Ways ;
Thoughts on Eeligious Experience ; The Way of Salva
tion familiarly explained in a conversation between a
Father and his ChUdi-en. He published also an abridge
ment of the Life of Eichard Baxter, of Andrew Mel-
viUe, and of John Knox.
Dr. Alexander was undoubtedly one of the most re
markable men Avhose names appear in the history of the
American Church. His coun- ^^-wg
tenance, especially when he *^^^^'^^^
was engaged in animated con- ' ^ ^i^
versation, betokened the work- *
ings of a mind of the highest
order. He had subjected him- °
self to a most thorough disci- §
pline, so that he had full com
mand of aU his admii-able
powers. His manners were Sev. Dr. Archibald Alexander.
most simple; he could not take on airs or make
equivocal demonstrations ; no one could resist the
impression that his heart was in utterance and ac
tion. Whether he was called to solve some difficult
problem in philosophy or morals, or to explore
the depths of some darkened and bevrildered spirit by
the light of revelation, he always seemed ready for the
exigency. As a Preacher, it may safely be said that
he held the very highest rank. So thoroughly conver
sant was he vrith evei-y part of Scripture, and such per
fect command had he of thought and language, that it

262 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
was quite safe for him to preach vrithout much pre
meditation, and some of his most effective sermons are
said to have been wrought out almost entEely in the
process of delivery ; whEe yet his ordinary mode of
preaching Avas to study his subject carefuUy before
hand, and trust to the prompting of his feelings at the
moment for the language. As a Writer, his leading
characteristics were perspicuity, naturalness, and adap
tation. No matter how abstruse might be the subject
upon which he was vniting, his thoughts were always
dE-ect and clear and apposite; and he never took a
step beyond the legitimate boundary of human knowl
edge. As a Professor in the theological seminary, he
discharged every duty, not only vrith signal ability^
but vrith great punctuality and fidelity. His lectures
were generaEy wiitten ; and they were always luminous,
and, to every thoughtful student, in a high degree attrac
tive. The part which he bore in the Sunday afternoon
conference, taking on the form of a f aniEiar talk on some
subject of great practical interest, was always most ed
ifying ; and every one who had listened Avas sure to
carry away Arith him thoughts for both his intellectual
and moral powers to cligest. In his more private inter
course vrith the students, he was perfectly free and com
municative, always ready vrith the most fitting vvord of
instruction, of counsel, or, as the case might be, of ad
monition. In Chm-ch Coui'ts he never spoke unless there
was manifest occasion ; but when he did speak, he never
faded to command profound attention, and not unfre-
quently the mists which had been accumulated by a
long discussion, were all swept away by a few of his
direct and luminous remarks. That which formed the

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 263
glory of his whole character was his deep, simple, unob
trusive piety. It was impossible to notice his move
ments in any of his relations, vrithout perceiring that .
he walked closely vrith God. The actings of the prin
ciple of spEitual life were manifest in his whole deport
ment ; and those who knew most of his religious habits
as weU as those vvho only vritnessed his daEy conduct,
could bear testimony that he always seemed in com
munion with the fountain of aE grace and purity. His
death was worthy of his lEe, — full of peaceful and
joyful anticipation.
Dr. Alexander had two sons, now passed away, who
were every way worthy of their parentage, and who
are justly entitled to a much more extended notice than
it is possible here to give them.
The first is Dr. James Waddel Alexander. He
was born in Louisa County, Va., on the 13th of March,
1804. He was graduated at the College of New Jersey,
in 1820, and vvas appointed tutor in the same institu
tion, in 1824, but vacated the place the next year. He
became a student in the Theological Seminai-y at Prince
ton, in 1822, and was licensed to preach by the Presby
tery of NeAV BrunsArick, in October, 1825. In March,
1826, he preached for the first time to the church at
Charlotte Com-t-House, Va., and Avas installed as its
pastor, in March, 1827. He resigned his charge here at
the close of 1828, and accejDted a call from the First
Presbyterian Chm-ch in Trenton, N. J., and was consti
tuted its pastor in February, 1829. About the begin
ning of the year 1830, he became the editor of the
Biblical Repertory. In October, 1832, he was dis
missed from the chai'ge of his church in Trenton, and

264 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
El January follovring became editor of the Presby
terian, and continued to hold this place untE the close
of the volume for 1833. In the course of that year he
left PhEadelphia for Priuceton, having accepted the
.Professorship of Ehetoric aud BeUes-Lettres in the Col
lege of New Jersey. This office he held until 1844,
when he became pastor of the Duane Street Presby
terian Church in New York. In 1849 he resigned this
charge, and accepted the ProfessorshijD of Ecclesiastical
History and Church Government, in the Theological
Seminary at Princeton. Here he remained two years,
and in 1851, accepted a caU to become pastor of the
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York, the
same vrith vvhich he had been formerly connected in
Duane Street, and retained this place tEl his death.
He died of dysentery, at the Eed Sweet Springs, Va.
(whither he had gone for the benefit of his health), ou
the 31st of July, 1859. His dying utterances left no
doubt that he was in communion vrith the Eesurrection
and the LEe.
He vvas married to Miss E. C. CabeE, of Virginia,
and had several chEdren, one of whom, the Eev. Henry
C. Alexander, after having had charge of the same
church in which his father exercised his pastorate at
Charlotte Court-House, has been transferred to the
Union Theological Seminary, Va., as Professor of New
Testament Greek.
Dr. J. W. Alexander was a voluminous writer. Be
sides numerous contributions to periodicals, he pub-
Ushed the American Mechanic and WorMngman ; Gift
to the Afflicted ; Geography of the Bible ; Thoughts
on FamEy Worship ; Consolation, or Discourses to the

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

265

Suffering Children of God ; LEe of Archibald Alexan
der, D.D. ; Plain Words to Young Communicants ; and
upAvards of thEty volumes for children, published by
the American Simday School Union. Since his death,
there have been published several volumes of his Ser
mons, together vrith Forty Years' Correspondence with
Dr. HaU of Trenton.
Dr. James W. Alexander was undoubtedly one of the
most gifted and accomplished men of his day. His
faculties were developed in great harmony, forming a
character at once attractive
and efficient. In the pulpit
he was a model of simplicity,
while he was not less distin
guished for original thought
and evangelical earnestness.
A bold adherent of the truths
of the Gospel, he welcomed in ^
cordial fellowship all Avho
bore the Saviom^'s image.
Thoughtful and generous, he could pour forth a
torrent of good humor. His Avritings will represent
him most adA^antageously to the coming genera
tions. Dr. Archibald Alexander's third son, was the Eev.
Dr. Joseph Addison Alexandee, who has also left a
splendid mark behind him. He was born in Philadel
phia, in 1809 ; developed early a wondei-ful power of
acquiring language ; and was graduated at the CoEege
of New Jersey in 1826, with the highest honors of his
class. He was elected tutor soon after his graduation,
but declined the appointment, and joined vrith another

lUiV. Dr. James W. Alexander.

266 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
person in establishing the Princeton Edgehill School.
He studied theology under the direction of the pro
fessors at Princeton, though he was never matriculated
as a student of the Seminary. In July, 1830, he was ap
pointed Adjunct Professor of Ancient Languages and
Literature in the CoEege of New Jersey. He accepted
the appointment, and held the place until the spring of
1833, when he resigned it, and left for Europe. He
spent some time at the Universities of Halle and
Berlin, and returned to this country in 1834. WhUe
in Em-ope, he was offered the Adjunct Professorship of
Oriental Languages and Literature in the Princeton
Seminary; and on his retm-n in 1834, he acted as as
sistant to Dr. Hodge, and in May, 1836, was elected to
the Professorship of Oriental Literature, which he did
not formally accept untE May, 1838, although he was
actually fulfilling the duties of the chair. In 1836, he
was elected to the same chaE in the Union Theological
Seminary, New York, but declined the appointment.
In 1851, he Avas transferred to the chaE of Biblical and
Ecclesiastical History ; and, in 1859, at his oaati request,
the department of Hebraistic Greek and New Testa
ment Literature Avas assigned to him. The degree of
Doctor of Dirinity was conferred upon him by both
MarshaE College and Eutgers CoUege. He died in
great peace on the 27th of January, 1860.
Dr. J. Addison Alexander published the foUovring
Avorks : Commentary on Isaiah, 2 vols. ; Exegetical Es
says ; Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles ; The
Psalms Translated and Explained; and Commentary
on Mark. Since his death, there have been pubEshed,
imder the superrision of his brother, Eev. Dr. S. D.

biographical SKETCHES. 267
Alexander, An unfinished Commentary on Matthew;
Two volumes of Sermons, and Notes on New Testament
Literature and on Ecclesiastical History.
Dr. J. Addison Alexander was remarkable, not only
for his extraordinary facility of acquiring language,
and the great number of languages that he thoroughly
mastered, but for his wonderful skill in the use of his
own language, whether in the pulpit or the lectuxe-
room. One of his feUow-professors, than whom there
is no more competent judge, has expressed the opinion
that he has never met vrith a man in this country or in
Europe, who was Dr. Alexander's superior, in respect
to the power of his intellect or the extent of his learn
ing. He was not altogether without the eccentricities
of genius ; and though there were those vrith whom he
could be communicative and playful, yet in other cEcles
he would maintain an almost absolute silence. He was
remarkable for his love of little childi-en, and his efforts
to gratify them ; but when they had passed a certain
period, they were obliged to give place in his regards to
those who came after them. AU who have listened to
his impressive eloquence in the pulpit, or to his pro
foundly critical teachings in the lecture-room, think of
him with admEation. SAMUEL MILLER, D.D.
Samuel Millee, a son of the Eev. John and Margaret
(Millington) Miller, vvas born at the residence of his
parents, near Dover, Del., on the 31st of October,' 1769.
After haring passed his early years at home, and been
fitted for college under the instruction of his father, he
became a member of the University of Pennsylvania,

268 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
where he maintained a high rank, and graduated in
1789. He entered almost immediately on the study of
Theology, under the direction of his father, and wa
licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Lewes, in Octo
ber, 1791. After his licensure, he contiuued his studies,
under Dr. Nisbet, President of Dickinson CoUege, and
one of the most learned theologians of his day.
After declining an invitation to become his father's
successor at Dover, he preached to great acceptance in
the city of New York, and in the autumn of 1792, re-
ceiA^ed a unanimous call from the United Presbyterian
Chm-ches in that city, to become a colleague of Dr.
Eodgers and Dr. McKnight. Though the call was en
tirely unexpected, he accepted it, and was ordained and
instaUed in June, 1793.
His settlement in New York brought him within
the immediate range of several of the ablest and most
vridely knov^^n ministers of the day ; and yet his weU-
balanced and highly cultivated mind, his bland and at
tractive maimer, and the graceful f acUity vrith which he
moved about in the different cEcles of social lEe, soon
gaA^e him a position among the most prominent of his
brethren. He was inrited to preach on various occa
sions of great public interest, and several of these dis
courses were printed, and attracted much attention.
His sermon preached at the beginning of the present
century, became the nucleus of a work, published in
1803, in two volumes, and entitled "A Brief Eetrospect
of the Eighteenth Century." This work is marked by
great abiUty, and has commanded much attention on
both sides of the Atlantic.
In 1804, he was honored Arth the degree of Doctor

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 269
of Divinity from the University at which he graduated.
In 1806, he Avas Moderator of the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church. In 1811, Dr. Eodgers, who
had been united vrith him in the pastorate nearly twenty
years, was removed by death ; and, two years after, his
Biography, Avritten by Dr. MUler, appeared, in an oc
tavo volume, fuU of interesting details of the History
of the American Presbyterian Church. In 1813, he was
elected to the chair of Ecclesiastical History and Church
Government in the Theological Seminary at Princeton.
This appointment he thought it his duty to accept,
though, in doing so, he had to abandon a field of useful
ness, which had become endeared to him by many sa
cred associations.
Here Dr. MiEer continued, accomplishing a work of
the highest interest to the Church, during the period of
thirty-six years. Besides attending to his stated duties
in the Seminary Arith great fidelity, he performed a large
amount of literary labor, the results of Avhich are now
in the possession of the Church, and will form a rich
legacy to posterity.
After tendering the resignation of his office to the
General Assembly, which was accepted vrith the warm
est expressions of respect and gratitude, in May, 1849,
his health, which had been Avaning for some time, be
came more ancl more feeble, untE his ability for all
active exertion was gone. He lingered Ei this condition
several weeks, f uUy aware that the time of his departure
had nearly come, but in the possession of a triumphant
faith, that not only cast out aU fear, but seemed to
brine: Heaven doAvn to earth. He died on the 7th of
January, 1850, and an appropriate commemorative dis-

2^0 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
course was preached at his funeral, by his venerable
colleague, the Eev. Dr. Archibald Alexander.
Dr. MiUer was married, in the autumn of 1801, to
Sarah, daughter of the Hon. Jonathan Dickinson Ser
geant, a distinguished laAvyer and member of Congress,
of Philadelphia. They had ten chEdren, but only six
survived him. One of his daughters was married to the
Eev. Dr. John Breckinridge, and another to the Hon.
John F. Hageman, of Princeton. Of the sons, two be
came ministers of the gospel, one a surgeon in the navy,
and one a laAvyer, practising in Philadelphia.
Dr. MEler was one of the most voluminous AAT-iters
which our Presbyterian Church has ever produced.
Beside the works already mentioned, he published more
than a dozen volumes on various subjects, and upwards
of forty pamphlets, containing sermons and addresses.
Several of his works are controversial, two of them be
ing devoted to a rindication of Presbyterianism agaiust
the claims of Episcopacy. His controversial writings
are clear, fair, earnest, and marked by uncommon abE
ity. It has aEeady been intimated that Dr. MEler pos
sessed a large measure of personal attraction. He was
of about the middle size, and had a face expressive at
once of high intelligence, and of aE that Avas gentle and
Idndly and genial There was a sort of graceful for
mality about his movements, but nothing to create re
serve or embarrassment. His mind was remarkable for
the admEable proportion in which its faculties existed ;
all acting in perfect symmetry, and therefore Arith great
power. His heart was full of benevolence and generos
ity, and no one knew better than he how to render good

BIOGEAPHICAi SKETCHES. 271
for eril. His presence in the social cEcle was always
met vrith a cordial welcome, and always diffused an air
of cheerfulness, while yet not a word fell from his lips
that was not consistent with the dignity of a minister
of the Gospel As a Preacher, he Avas justly regarded
as among the more eminent of his day. His sermons
were vsr-itten vrith great care, and so simple and logical
in their arrangement as easEy to be remembered, while
yet they were uncommonly rich in evangelical truth, and
were delivered vrith a simplicity and miction, well fitted
to impress them on the mind and heart. As a Pastor,
he was always ready to meet the needs of his people,
and he moved about among them so kindly and ten
derly, that they could almost forget that he was not a
father or a brother. As a Professor in the Theological
Seminary, he was always punctual in the observance of
every duty, delivered luminous and well-digested lec
tures, treated the students vrith marked attention and
respect, and was a model in evei-ythihg pertaining to so
cial manners and habits. As a member of Ecclesiastical
Courts, he was watchful, firm, and yet condescending ; he
would not tolerate what he believed to be gross error,
while yet he would not make a man an offender for a
word. He was strongly attached to the Presbyterian
Church, regarding it as more strictly conformed to the
scriptural standard than any other ; but he was ready
to open his arms and his heart to aU whom he recog
nized as holding the fundamental truths of the Gospel.
He was an earnest and a resolute patriot, and possibly,
at one time, sympathized more deeply in the poUtical
movements of the day than was most conducive to his
usefulness as a Chiistian minister ; but, during his latter

272 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
years, especially, his patriotism never took on a parti
san aspect. His lEe was a blessed testimony to the
power of the truth, and a freeAriU offering to the glory
of God and the great interests of humanity.
ELIPHALET NOTT, D.D., LL.D.
Eliphalet Nott, a son of Stephen and Deborah
Nott, was born at Ashford, Conn., June 25th, 1773.
His parents, who were persons of great moral worth,
had preriously lived in Saybrook, but, in consequence
of the burning of theE house, theE circumstances
became straitened, and they removed to Ashford in
the hope of improring them. Haring one of the
best of mothers, this son began very early to be in
structed in the truths of religion, and at the age of four
years he had read through the Bible, and committed
considerable portions of it to memory. Liis youthful
days he passed principaUy in laboring with his father
on the farm ; but his thEst for knowledge Avas insatia
ble, and, under his mother's direction, he was constantly
adding to his acquisitions from every source vrithin his
reach. He passed two vrinters in his youth vrith two
of his sisters, liring in different places, and spent a
short time vrith his brother, the Eev. Samuel Nott, of
Franklin. At one time he was strongly inclined to be
come a physician, and was actually taking the incipient
steps towards the medical profession; but a severe
surgical operation, at which he was present, proved an
overmatch for his nervous system, and gave a different
direction to his lEe.
After the death of his mother, which occurred in Oc
tober, 1788, he returned to Franldin, the residence of

BIOGEAPHICAl SKETCHES. 273
his brother, who had been settled there a few years in
the ministry. For two or three years he worked on his
brother's farm during the summer, and in the Arinter
taught a district school, and prosecuted his studies un
der his brother's tuition. At sixteen, he taught a school
at Portapaug, and was there two successive winters.
In 1793, he took charge of the Plainfield Academy, at
the same time pursuing his classical and mathematical
studies, under the Eev. Dr. Benedict. On leaving
Plainfield, he became a member of Brovra. University,
and remained there for one year, during which time he
held the highest rank as a scholar ; but it seems, from
the college catalogue, that his graduation, which was
in the year 1795, was out of the regular course. He
studied theology under the dEection of his brother,
about six months, and was then licensed to preach, by
the New London Association, and was immediately sent
on a mission by the same Association, to an almost des
olate region, — the part of New York bordering upon
Otsego Lake. On his arrival at Cherry Valley, which
was, to some extent, inhabited, he was very favorably
impressed vvith the appearance of the country; and,
after laboring a couple of months in different places in
that region, he accepted an invitation to return to
CheiTy Valley, in the double capacity of a preacher
ancl a teacher. Here he established a flourishing acad
emy, and had the charge of it as long as he lived in the
place. After havdng remained two or three years in Cherry
Valley, he was on a journey to visit his friends in New
Eno-land, and stopped at Schenectady to pass the night.
One of the ministers of the place, haring fallen in with
18

274 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
him, invited him to conduct an evening religious ser
ATcfe ; and the Eev. Dr. Smith, President of the college^,
being present, was so favorably impressed by the ser
mon, that he immediately proposed Mr. Nott as a can
didate to the First Presbyterian Church in Albany,
which was then vrithout a pastor. The result was that
he was inrited to preach to that church two Sabbaths,
after which he received a caU, which, though not en
tEely unanimous, he thought it his duty to accept. He
was instaEed on the 13th of October, 1798. The church
of which he now became pastor, was one of great influ
ence, and his ministry attracted such men as Alexander
Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Brockholst Livingston, and
others of like reputation.
When the news of the duel between HamUton and
Burr reached Albany, Mr. Nott was attending a meet
ing of the Board of Trustees of Union College, Schen
ectady. The common council of Albany dispatched a
messenger to him, with a request that he would preach
a sei-mon Arith reference to the event the next Sabbath.
He complied vrith their request, and preached the cele
brated sermon on duelling, which passed through sev
eral editions, and was reckoned a masterpiece of pulpit
eloquence. In 1804, he was chosen to the Presidency of Union
CoEege, Schenectady, and held ^ the place during the
residue of his lEe. In 1805, he received the degree of
Doctor of Dirinity from the CoUege of New Jersey, and,
in 1828, the degree of Doctor of Laws from Brown
University. In 1811, he was' Moderator of the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church.
Though Dr. Nott continued to hold the office of Pres-

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 275
ident tEl the close of his lEe, he was relieved of its ac
tive duties in 1852, by the induction of the Eev. Dr.
Hickok to the offices of Professor and Vice-President.
As he advanced in age his strength of both body and
mind gradually failed, untE he was reduced to an al
most infantile weakness. The winter of 1859-60 he
spent in Philadelphia, in the hope of inrigorating his
health ; and, during that period, he exerted himself to
the utmost to bring about a reconciliation between the
two parties into which the Presbyterian Church was di
rided. He gradually retired, not only fi-om all the activ
ities of life, but from the society of his friends, except
as he could meet them in his oaati dweUing. His last
days were days of great physical suffering, and hia
mind was sometimes clouded vrith gloom ; but his con
fidence in his Eedeemer was generally fiirm and unwav
ering, and he left a dying testimony to the power and
exceUence of that Gospel in which he trusted. He
passed gently to his rest on the 29th of January, 1866.
An appropriate and impressive address was delivered
at his fmieral by the Eev. Dr. J. T. Backus.
Dr. Nott was married in July, 1796, to SaUy Maria,
eldest daughter of the Eev. Dr. Joel Benedict, of Plain-
field. She died in March, 1804, the mother of four
children. In 1807, he was married to Gertrude Tib-
bits, of Troy, who died about 1840, the mother of two
chEdren. In 1842, he was married to Urania E. Shel
don, of Utica, who yet survives.
Dr. Nott's principal publications are Lectures on
Temperance and Counsels to Young Men, though he
was the author of several Occasional Sermons and Ad
dresses, which have gained a vride cEculation.

276 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Dr. Nott was, undoubtedly, one of the most strongly
marked men of his generation. In his person he AA^as
large and portly, ancl his countenance betokened, in a
high degree, both thoughtfulness and intelligence. His
mind was at once philosophical and practical: while
he could penetrate the depths, and was at home in the
regions of abstract science, he knew how to make the
results of his inquiries turn to good account in the
every-day concerns of lEe. In his ordinary intercourse,
he was bland and courteous, and yet no one knew bet
ter than he how to maintain a dignified reserve; In the
pulpit, he was everywhere recognized as a prince among
orators ; and though, during the early part of his minis
try, especially, the American pulpit had perhaps the
brightest galaxy it has ever knoAAm, there was probably
no one who held a higher rank than himself. His im
pressive manner of utterance was, no doubt, the result
of great care and study ; but it seemed only the legiti
mate actings of a grand and lofty spirit. His style was
ornate and striking, and formed after the finest of the
French models. As the President of a college, he was
greatly beloved and honored by those under his care,
and vvas generaUy admired for his cautious and adroit
management. As a member of ecclesiastical bodies,
indeed, in aU his intercourse vrith society, he studied the
things that make for peace. He was a noble specimen
of the divine workmanship. WILLIAM NEILL, D.D.
William Neill, a son of WEliam and Jane (Snod
grass) NeUl, was born a few miles from Fort Pitt (now
Pittsburg), Pa., in the spring of 1778 or 1779 : the

BIOGEAPinCAL SKETCHES. 277
25th of AprE has been fixed as the day of his birth,
though there is some doubt as to both the year and the
day, on account of a deficiency in the record. Both his
parents were born in Lancaster County, Pa., his father
being of Irish, his mother of Scottish, descent. In the
spring of 1779 or 1780, he Avas taken by his parents to
a farm about eight miles from their residence, and
there his father and his father's brother were most
barbarously mm-dered by the Indians, and his mother
escaped in great peril, carrying him in her arms, to a
block-house in the neighborhood. On the death of his
mother, Avhich occurred about three years afterwards, he
was taken to live in the family of his mother's brother,
near Pittsbui-g, where he passed his early boyhood in
circumstances not the most favorable to either intellec
tual or moral culture. Haring led, for several years,
rather a migratory lEe, — living first with one of his
sisters and then vrith another, — he accepted a clerkship,
in 1795, in the store of a respectable merchant in Can-
onsburg. Shortly after this, he Avas the subject of a
very threatening illness, during Avhich he formed the
purpose of entering on a new life, if his health should
be restored; but, though it was restored, his purpose
was not immediately carried out. Not long after this,
however, he began to attend on the ministrations of the
venerable Dr. McMiUan, and through the influence of
his preaching was brought to deep, serious reflection.
While he was in this state of mind, and before he had
any satisfactory evidence of having begun the Christian
lEe, he felt a strong desire to become a minister of the
Gospel; and he, accordingly, entered the academy at
Canonsburg, and began his Latin grammar, in 1797.

278 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
It was not long before his mind reposed trustingly in
the gracious provisions of the Gospel, and he became a
member of the Presbyterian Church at Charters, ther
under the pastoral care of Dr. McMiEan.
In the autumn of 1800, he left Canonsbm-g, and be
came a member of the Sophomore class in the CoEege of
New Jersey. He was graduated in September, 1803 ;
and it was a high testimony to his scholarship and gen
eral character, whEe a student in coUege, that he was
appointed immediately to a tutorship, which office he
accepted, and held for tAVO years. With a riew to carry
out his purpose to become a minister of the gospel, he
prosecuted his theological studies, whEe he Avas acting
as tutor, under the superrision of the Eev. Dr. KoUock.
In October, 1805, he was licensed to preach by the
Presbyterjr of New Brunswick; and, in compliance
Arith a request which he had received before his licen
sm-e, Avent immediately to Cooperstown, N. Y.,to preach
as a candidate. As his serrices proved highly accepta
ble, a call was made out for him in the com'se of the
next summer, which being accepted, he was ordained
and instaUed there, by the Presbytery of Oneida, in
November, 1806. Here he had a very comfortable and
useful ministry. A portion of his time seems to have
been devoted to teaching, for Fennimore Cooper was, at
one time, his pupE.
In the summer of 1809, he received a call from the
First Presbyterian Church in Albany, to become the
successor of the Eev. Dr. Eomeyn in the pastoral office.
As' his salary at Cooperstown was inadequate to the
support of his famEy, he thought it his duty to accept
the caU ; and, accordingly, having resigned his charge,

BIOGEAPHICAX SKETCHES. 279
he removed to Albany, and began his labors there in
September, 1809. In 1812, he was honored vrith the
degree of Doctor of Dirinity from Union College. The
same year he became deeply interested in the founding
of the Theological Seminary at Princeton, and secured
considerable funds in aid of the enterprise. He was
one of the DEectors of the institution from its begin
ning. In 1816, he was a member of the convention
that foiTued the American Bible Society.
In the summer of 1816, he received an inritation to
become the Pastor of the Sixth Presbyterian Church in
Philadelphia, — then a new organization that grew out
of a secession fi-om the ThEd Church, on the settlement
of Dr. Ely. He accepted the caE, and vvas installed in
November follovring, though he subsequently doubted
whether he had been wise in leaving his charge in Al
bany. The congregation graduaUy increased mider his
ministry, and considerable numbers were added to the
church, vrithout anything, however, that could be caUed
a rerival of religion. His ministry here was an unu
sually quiet one, but he was the object of universal
respect. In the summer of 1824, he was inrited to the Presi
dency of Dickinson CoUege, as the successor of the Eev.
Dr. John M. Mason. This inritation, after considerable
hesitation, he accepted, and removed to Carlisle in Sep
tember, follovring. Here his situation, ovring to various
circumstances, was far from being what he desired or ex
pected ; and, in July, 1829, after haATug been connected
Arith the institution nearly five years, he tendered the
resignation of his office. He consented, however, to re-

280 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
main tEl after the Commencement, vvhich took place at
the close of September.
His connection with the coUege haring now ceased,
he accepted the office of Corresponding Secretary and
General Agent of the Presbyterian Board of Education,
and engaged immediately in its duties, remaining mean
whEe in Carlisle. In September, 1830, he returned vrith
his family to PhEadelphia. In the autumn of 1831, he
resigned his agency, without havdng accomplished much,
except in the way of preparing for future more vigor
ous operations. Immediately after this, he removed,
vrith his family, to Germantown, and, being desirous of
resuming the work of the ministry, became a stated
supply to the chm-ch in that place. He removed from
Germantown to PhEadelphia, in 1842, and remained
without a charge tEl his death, which took place on
the 8th of August, 1860. During this long inverval,
he was constantly engaged in doing good, though his
labors were of a somewhat misceEaneous character.
Besides often supplying vacant pulpits in the city, and
rendering assistance to his brethi-en when they vvere ia
need of it, he was always ready to lend a helping hand
to any object of Christian benevolence that presented
itself. His faculties gradually waned, but he never lost
his interest in the progress of truth and righteousness.
In October, 1805, he was married to Elizabeth, daugh
ter of Matthew Vandyke, who lived in the neighbor
hood of Princeton. She died in November, 1809, learing
him with two infant childi-en. In February, 1811, he
was married to Frances, second daughter of General
Joshua King, of Eidgefield, Conn. She died in October,
1832, the mother of three chUdj-en. In AprE, 1835, he

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 281
was married to Sarah, daughter of Dr. Ebenezer Elmer,
of Bridgeton, N.J., who still (1870) survives. By the
last marriage there were two children.
Dr. Neill's publications were Lectures on Biblical
History, and a Practical Exposition of the Epistle to
the Ephesians, besides several Occasional Discourses.
After his death there vvas published a volmne of his
Sermons, vrith his Autobiography, and a Commemora
tive Discourse by the Eev. Dr. J. H. Jones.
Dr. Neill was somewhat above the medium height,
had an inteUigent, thoughtful expression of counten
ance, and was rather deliberate in his movements. His
mind was naturally vvell balanced, and his faculties
vvere developed in due propoi-tion. He was natm-ally
quiet and gentle and unpretending, though he was al
ways firm to his convictions of duty. As a Preacher,
he was distinguished for method, sound logic, and a
highly evangelical tone; and though his manner was
far from being generally impassioned, yet he sometimes
rose to a high j)itch of animation. As the President of a
college, his success was less strongly marked ; but it is
perhaps safe to presume that this vvas owing, in a meas
ure at least, to the adverse infiuences vrith which he had
to contend. As a Christian, his heart ahvays seemed to
be glowing with love to Christ and his cause; and,
wherever he has lived, he has left behind him enduring
monuments of his beneficent activity.
JOHN McDowell, d.d.
John McDowell, a son of Matthew and Elizabeth
(Anderson) McDowell, was born in Bedminster, Som
erset County, N.J., on the 10th of September, 1780.

282 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
His parents were exemplary members of the Presbyte-
lian Church at Lamington, aud theE chEdren were the
subjects of the most careful Christian nurture. At the
age of eleven years this son became deeply concerned
for his immortal interests, and, after a protracted season
of anxiety, was enabled, as he believed, to exercise a
liring faith in the Saviour ; though, for a considerable
time, he regarded the CArdences of his Christian charac
ter as somewhat dubious. At an early period, he felt a
strong desire to become a Minister of the Gospel ; and,
having Avorked upon his father's farm until he was
fifteen years old, he became a member of a classical
school, then recently established in the neighborhood
by the Eev. WEliam Boyd. Here he continued for
three years, and in the fall of 1799 entered the Junior
class in the CoUege of New Jersey, then under the pres
idency of Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith. He graduated
vrith honor in September, 1801.
After his graduation, he engaged as a teacher in Sus
sex County for six months, and commenced the study
of theology, under the direction of the Eev. H. W.
Hunt, of Newton, N.J. ; though, in the spring of 1802,
he went to study, under Dr. Woodhull, at Freehold,
where he continued for about two years. It was not
tUl he had been engaged in the study of theology nearly
a year that he made a public profession of religion.
He joined Dr. WoodhuU's church, in September, 1802,
— eleven years after he first indulged the hope thai
he had been born from above. Shortly after this, he
placed himseE under the care of the Presbytery of New
BrunsArick, and, in AprE, 1804, was licensed to preach
the Gospel. Haring preached a few Sabbaths in dif-

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 283
ferent places, he vvas called, in July following, by the
Presbyterian church in Elizabethtown, to become their
Pastor. This call he accepted, and his ordination and
installation took place about the close of December.
Mr. McDowell now became the minister of one of
the largest and most influential congregations within
the bounds of the Presbyterian Church ; and his position
was the more difficult from the fact that certain agitat
ing influences had preriously existed there, which had
placed different portions of the congregation in antago
nism vrith each other. He, hoAvever, immediately in
augurated a system of measures, which were fitted to
heal existing difficulties, as well as to bring the Gospel
in contact AAdth aU classes of persons around him.
In the Avinter and spring of 1806, he made a journey,
for the benefit of his health, into New England, of
Avhich he has recorded many interesting particulars.
In August, 1807, there commenced a rerival of religion
under his ministry, vvhich not only pervaded his con
gregation, but spread into other congregations, and
lasted eighteen months. In the spring of 1809, he
received a caU from the Collegiate Dutch Chui-ch, in
New York, which he vvas greatly urged to accept, but
which, in due time, he declined. Scarcely was this caU
disposed of before he received another from the Brick
(Presbyterian) Church in the same city, but this also,
though, by the urgent request of the church that pre
sented it, it was submitted to the Presbytery, was
quickly answered in the negative.
About this time (September, 1809), Mr. McDoweU
preached his memorable sermon on Horse-racing. Being
aAvare that a horse-race vvas contemplated by some per-

284 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
sons from New York, in the immediate neighborhood
of Elizabethtown, and knovring weE the evEs by Avhich
such scenes are generaEy attended, he resolved to do
what he could to avert the thi-eatening calamity. Hav
ing tried in vain to secure the influence of the civE au
thorities against the movement, he resolved to put forth
his own influence in a more dEect manner, and, accord
ingly, wi-ote and preached a sermon on the text, " Cry
aloud, and spare not," etc. Several, who had most to
do vrith the races, were present, and, though at first
they seemed to take on an air of defiance, before the
sermon Avas finished they Avere evidently smarting un
der its scathing rebukes. The horse-race Avent forAvard,
attended Avith fearful exhibitions of vice and crime, but
it terminated prematurely, and no effort Avas ever made
to repeat it. No event in the whole ministry of this
exceUent man showed more impressively than this his
unyielding fidelity to his own conrictions.
In 1810, Mr. McDowell was appointed, with his neigh
bor. Dr. Eichards, of Newark, to represent the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church to the General
Association of New Hampshire. They were absent
about a month, and, dming the whole of that time,
found everything they could desire to ministei- to their
social enjoyment. The meeting of the Association was
at Exeter, but they traveUed as far as Portsmouth,
and even crossed over into Maine, for the sake of
setting theE feet in another department of the Yankee
dominion. In 1812, when the Theological Seminary at Princeton
was estabEshed, Mr. McDowell was chosen one of its
first DEectors; and in 1825, he was appointed one of its

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 285
Ti-ustees ; both of which offices he held till the close of
lEe. . In 1814, 1815, and 1818, he took long journeys
in different parts of the country, to collect funds in aid
of the Theological Seminary, and was generally very
successful. In 1818, the degree of Doctor of Divinity
was conferred upon him by the University of North
Carolina and by Union College. In 1820, he was Mod
erator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church. The same year, the church of which he was
pastor, haring reached a membership of between six
and seven hundred, it was thought best that a colony
from it should be organized into a second church ; and
of that church the Eev. David Magie vvas chosen pas
tor, who has, within a few years, closed an honored and
useful ministry. In 1822, he was appointed a delegate,
by the General Assembly, to the General Associations
of Connecticut and Massachusetts, and fulfilled his mis
sion in respect to both Associations, to great acceptance.
In 1824, the First Presbyterian Church in Ncav York
gave him a unanimous call to become their pastor, but
he declined it. In September of the next year the call,
was repeated, and, on being referred to the Presbytery,
there was a unanimous decision that it was his duty to
remain at ElizabethtoAvn. In 1828, he was appointed,
by the General Assembly, Professor of Ecclesiastical
History and Church Goverimient in the Western (Alle
gheny) Theological Seminary ; but, after due refiection,
he became satisfied that it was his duty to decline the
appointment. In 1831, he was chosen to the Professor
ship of Church History and Polity in the Union Theo
logical Seminary in VE-ginia, as successor to Dr. John
H. Eice ; and though he accepted the appointment, and

286 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
was actuaUy released from his pastoral charge by the
Presbytery, yet cEcumstances subsequently occm-red
that rendered it undesirable to him to leave Elizabeth-
town, and, vrithout being formally installed, he was re
stored to his pastorate. In 1832, he went on a short
begging tour to the South, in behalf of Princeton Col
lege ; and about the same time declined a caU from the
church in Princeton, and also an appointment as General
Agent and Secretary of the Presbyterian Board of
Missions. Early in 1833, a proposal was made to him
to come and administer the communion to a new church
in PhEadelphia; and shortly after, he received from
that church a formal caU; and though his attach
ment to his congregation remained undiminished, yet
partly on account of his health, and partly from some
adverse circumstances which he found it difficult to
control, he accepted the call, and thus closed an event
ful ministry at ElizabethtoAvn, of twenty-eight years.
Dr. JdcDowell was installed as pastor of the Central
Church, PhEadelphia, by the Presbytei-y of Philadel
phia, on the 6th of June, 1833. When the controversy
arose which issued in the dirision of the Presbyterian
Church, in 1837, though he feE in with the Old School,
he was far from favoring the division ; beliering, as he
did, that whatever errors in doctrine or practice existed,
they could be effectuaUy corrected Arithout a resort to
extreme measures. His attachment to that portion of
the Church vrith which he identified himself, was, how
ever, firm and enduring. He held the office of Perma
nent Clerk of the General Assembly, from 1825 tiU
1837, and the office of Stated Clerk from 1836 till
18-"

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 287
In 1844, Dr. McDoweU discovered that the pecuniai-y
indebtedness of his congregation was much greater than
he had supposed, and was brought to believe that it was
his duty to resign his pastoral charge. Accordingly, by
his own request, the Presbytery dissolved the pastoral
relation, in November, 1845, the congregation mean
while rendering the most honorable testimony to his
character and serrices.
Several congregations were now ready to extend a
call to him, but, instead of encouraging any such move
ment, he joined a portion of the congregation to which he
had ministered, in an effort to establish a new church.
He commenced preaching in the old Fourth Street
(Whitefield) Academy, where he continued for a year.
An application was made to the Presbytery, in January,
1846, for the organization of a new church, and the re
quest being granted, the church was organized a few
days afterwards, under the name of the Spring-Garden
Presbyterian Church. Dr. McDoAveU Avas immediately
invited to become the pastor, and, having accepted the
caU, was instaUed vrithin a few days. A new place of
worship was forthvrith erected, through the generous
contributions of friends, both at home and abroad, and
was ready for occupancy, in May, 1847. In 1851, in
consequence of an accumulation of snow on the roof of
the church, the budding fell under the weight. The
disaster awakened a general sympathy throughout the
city and elsewhere, and vrithin about six months it was
rebuilt, re-dedicated, and reoccupied.
In the spring of 1859, Dr. McDowell expressed to
his session, for the second time, the fuU conviction that,
in consequence of the increasing infirmities of age, it

288 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
was fittins: that he should be reUeved fi-om the duties of
his charge. In consequence of this, the Eev. Morris C.
Sutphen vvas settled as his colleague, in May, 1860;
and the relation was always mutually agreeable. Aftei
this, Dr. McDoAvell preached frequently, and, during
the greater part of the summer of 1861, he performed
the service regularly once almost every Sabbath. He
died of Avhat seemed to be an attack of bilious colic, on
the 13th of February, 1863. At his funeral, there was
every demonstration of the highest respect, and the
Churches and the Boards with which he had been con
nected passed resolutions expressive of their sense of
his extraordinary worth.
In February, 1805, he was married to Henrietta,
daughter of Shepard Kollock, Esq., of Elizabeth-
town, and sister of the far-famed Dr. Kollock, then
of Princeton, afterwards of Savannah. They became
the parents of three chEdi-en. Mrs. McDoweE died in
January, 1867.
Besides about a dozen Sermons in pamphlet form,
Dr. McDowell published, in 1825, a System of Theol
ogy, in two vols. 8vo; in 1839, The Bible-Class Manual,
in two vols. 12mo ; and, in 1816, A System of Questions
on the Historical parts of Scripture, afterwards extended
to cover the entire Bible.
FeAv men have ever been connected vrith the Ameri
can Presbyterian Church who have rendered to it such
manifold and varied serrices as Dr. McDoweE. Though
he never sought pubEcity in any other way than by at
tending faithfuUy to the duties devolved upon him, the
number of appEcations for his serrices in important
places was perhaps unprecedented. He was a man of

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 289
exceUent common-sense, vrithout being either highly
imaginative or metaphysical He had great executive
abEity, and rarely engaged in an enterprise that did not
prove successful. But his crowning attribute was an
earnest, devoted piety, which gave complexion to his
whole lEe. His preaching was in a high degree evan
gelical, practical, and experimental ; and his labors out
of the pulpit were eminently fitted to give effect to his
teachings in it. His ministry at EEzabethtown, espe
ciaEy, was signalized by a succession of revivals of re
ligion which scarcely any other church has ever enjoyed.
It was manifest to aU who saw him, that the great ob
ject for which he lived was to bring glory to God in
the Highest by saving the souls of his fellow-men.

Dr. McDoweU had a brother, William Andeeson
McDowell, vvho is justly entitled to a commemorative
notice. He was born in Lamington, May 15th, 1789;
was graduated at the CoUege of New Jersey, in 1809 ;
studied Theology under Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith, of
Princeton, and Dr. KoUock, of Savannah, who after
wards became his brother-indaw ; was ordained and in
stalled Pastor of the church at Bound Brook, in De
cember, 1813, but remained there less than a year; was
instaEed at Morristown, in December, 1814, and con
tinued there about nine years ; was installed as Pastor
of a church in Charleston, in December, 1823; was
honored vrith the degree of Doctor of Dirinity from
Franklin CoUege, Georgia, in 1827; was Moderator of
the General Assembly, in 1833, and at the same time
19

290 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
was appointed Secretary of the Board of Domestic Mis
sions, and discharged the duties of the office vrith great
fidelity until 1850, when his decEning health obliged
him to vrithdraw from it. He died at Lamington, on
the 17th of September, 1851. He was exceedingly
quiet and unobtrusive in his manner, but possessed an
intellect of uncommon rigor and clearness, Arith fine so
cial feelings, and an earnest, devoted piety. He was
vsdthal an exceUent preacher and pastor, and sustained
honorably and usefuUy every relation.
GEORGE JTJNKESr, D.D., LL.D.
Geoege Junkin, a son of Joseph and Eleanor (Coch
ran) Junkin, was born in Cumberland County, Pennsyl
vania, on the 1st of Nov^ember, 1790. His parents were
of Scotch-Irish descent, and belonged to that branch of
the Presbyterian Church known as Covenanters. They
were most faithful in the religious education of theE
children, and the event proved that their parental fidel
ity AA^as not in vain. The subject of this sketch was
very early brought into a serious state of mind, and his
own conviction Avas that, in his eleventh year, he experi
enced a radical change of character. He did not, how
ever, make a public profession of his faith until he had
reached his nineteenth year ; and for this he was greatly
iadebted to the preaching of the Eev. James Galloway,
his pastor at Mercer, who afterwards became his brother-
in-law. From this time tEl the close of his lEe, he
seems to have had scarcely any doubts of his gracious
acceptance. His earliest years were spent in Cumberland County,
and afterwards in Mercer County, where his father's

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 291
family had their home. The means of inteUectual cult-
m-e, in that region, were, at that time, by no means
abundant; and yet, by diligent application, and with
such aid as he was able to command, he was fitted for
Jefferson College, and actuaUy became a member of it
in 1809. He graduated in 1813, having, for the sake
of lessening the expense of his education, spent a large
part of his college life at home, though keeping along
vrith the prescribed course of study.
Immediately after his graduation, - — his eye and his
heart being set upon the Ministry,- — he became a mem
ber of the Theological Seminary of the Associate Ee-
foi-med Church, under the care of the iUustrious Dr.
Mason. Llere he remained three years, taking the regu
lar theological course, and was licensed to preach the
Gospel, by the Presbytery of Monongahela, of the Asso
ciate Eeformed Chm-ch, in September, 1816. Agreeably
to an existing arrangement in that Church, by which
licentiates Avere sent, by the General Synod, to the sev
eral presbyteries, Mr. Junkin was sent to labor Arithin the
presbyteries of New York and Saratoga. He, accord
ingly, preached there in the autumn ancl vrinter months
of 1816, and afterwards was engaged in missionary la
bor in different parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland.
In June, 1818, vrith a riew to his greater usefulness
as a missionary, he received ordination in Gettysburg.
Shortly after this he was inrited to take charge of the
united congregations of MEton and PenneU (now Mc-
EwensvEle), and, having accepted the invitation, en
tered at once upon his labors as pastor.
His connection vrith this charge continued about
eleven years; and in the mean time (in 1824) he passed

292 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUEOH.
from the Associate Eeformed to the Presbyterian
Chm-ch. During this period he was constantly and
earnestly engaged in the various duties of the ministry,
and had the eridence, on every side of him, that his la
bors were not in vain. He resigned his charge, hoAvever,
in 1830, and, in the hope of attaining to yet higher use
fulness, accepted the position of Principal of the Manual
Labor Academy at Germantown. Here he remained for
two years, vvhen he was invited to remove his students
to Easton, and, taking advantage of a charter obtained
from the Legislatm-e of Pennsylvania for a mEitary
school, to become the President of a college. This inri
tation he accepted; and, shortly after, Lafayette College
Avas organized, and he entered upon his work vrith a
zeal mounting up well-nigh to enthusiasm. He dis
charged the duties of this new relation vrith great abE
ity and fidelity; and besides his week-day labors in
connection vrith the college, which were arduous and
incessant, he usuaUy preached, at least once, on the
Sabbath, and sometimes three, and even four, times.
In 1833, he was honored with the degree of Doctor of
Dirinity from the college at which he graduated, and,
in 1856, with the degree of Doctor of Laws from Eut
gers College.
In 1841, Dr. Junkin accepted the Presidency of Mi
ami University, Ohio. After haring labored here vrith
great success for three years, — -his successor at Lafay
ette, the Eev. Dr. Yeomans, haring resigned his place,
— he was earnestly inrited to return to Easton, and
resume his former position. This he actuaUy did, and
continued there tUl the autumn of 1848, when he ac
cepted an invitation to become President of Washington

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 293
College, Lexington, Va. His parting vrith his classes
at Lafayette, on Commencement day, was a scene of the
most tender interest; and the estimation in which he
was there held was sufficiently indicated by the fact
that tAventy-six of those who had been his students
there, appeared at the Washington CoUege, to resume
their studies under his direction.
Here he contEiued untU May, 1861, — twelve years
and a half ; and, as' in every public position he had pre
riously occupied, so here, he was a model of energy.
perseverance, and fideUty. When the clouds began to
darken our poUtical horizon, and to forebode the horrors
of war, he had no sympathy vrith the proposed seces
sion, regarding the principle as a fallacy, both in law
and in morals ; and as he found the current too strong
to resist, nothing remained for him but to vacate the
place which he had held so long, and so usefully and
nonorably. He left behind many warm friends, some
of whom Avere in fuU sympathy vrith his political riews,
while the greater portion of them believed that he had
faUen into a sad, though honest, mistake. He came
from VEginia to PhEadelphia, where he, ever after,
found a home in the famEy of his son.
The residue of his life was spent, as the preceding
part of it had been, in a constant succession of efforts to
do good. During his seven remaining years, he preached
about seven hundred times. He labored as a Colpor
teur of the Board of Publication, Adsiting encampments,
as he had opportunity, distributing tracts and books,
and beseeching sinners to be reconcEed to God. He
spent days and even weeks among the southern prison
ers at Fort DelaAvare and Point Lookout, and was ono

294 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
of the first to exercise his mission of mercy after the
battle of Gettysburg. He wrote many articles for the
newspapers in defence of a proper observance of the
Sabbath, against the threatened encroachments of legis
lative authority. He also officiated in two benevolent
institutions in PhEadelphia, and in one of them the in
mates had arranged his desk vrith reference to his
speaking, on the very day that he died. And besides
aE his other labors, he wrote and pubEshed, during his
last years, a Treatise on Sanctification, a Treatise on the
Ancient Tabernacle of the Hebrews, ancl some smaller
works; and he left behind him in manuscript a very
full Commentary on Paul's Epistle to the Llebrews, —
the Avhole of it Avritten in a fine, bold hand, after he had
completed his seventy-fifth year.
Dr. Junkin had, throughout his whole life, dreaded
the pains of death ; but when death actually came to
him, it took on its mildest form. UntE Monday, the
18th of May, 1868, he Avas in his usual health ; on that
day he was taken ill; the next he was greatly relieved;
and the next, Wednesday, the 20th, vrithout any appar
ent aggravation of his symptoms, he died, vrith the-
name of Jesus on his Ups. A Discourse, commemorative
of his lEe and character, was preached in the West
Spruce Street Presbyterian Church, PhEadelphia, by the
Eev. Dr. James H. Mason Knox, on the 28th of June
foUovAong. Dr. Junkin was married in June, 1819, to Julia
Eush MEler, of PhEadelphia, a lady of great personal
attractions, of high inteUigence, and earnest piety.
They had nine chEdren, — five sons and three dfiughters.
Of the sons who Eved to maturity, two became minis-

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 295
ters of the Gospel, two became lawyers, and one a
teacher. The daughters were aE most respectably mar
ried. Mrs. Junkin died, greatly lamented, in February,
1854. Besides the works already referred to, Dr. Junkin
published, in 1839, a Treatise on Justification, and, in
1844, Lectm-es on Prophecy. Several of his occasional
Sermons and Addi-esses were printed. He was also a
liberal contributor to many of the periodicals of his
day. Dr. Junkin was a man of commanding appearance,
though not above the medium height ; of a countenance
expressive of great energy, and fine intellectual powers,
and of manners simple and direct, and yet prej^ossess-
ing. In his private intercourse he was sociable and
communicative, and when he ceased talking, he always
left the impression that it was not for want of anything
more to say. In his Theology he was thoroughly Cal
vinistic, and was not specially tolerant towards any
departure from the accredited standards. In the con
troversy by which the Church was agitated and finally
separated in 1837, he took the deepest interest, and
though his intense regard for orthodoxy may have sug
gested measures that some thought extreme, yet those
who knew him best have testified of his private expres
sions of respect and affection even towards those from
whom he differed most vridely. Nowhere Avas he more
at home than in a church court : here his promptness,
his energy, his keen insight into matters of difficulty;
and his faculty at suggesting the appropriate remedies,
were specially apparent ; and no one who Avatched his
movements could resist the impression that he was act-

296 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
ing in obedience to the dictates of conscience. He was
just such a preacher as might be expected from his pe
culiar inteUectual and moral constitution, in connection
vrith his large measure of Christian fervor ; he brought
out the doctrines of the Gospel vrith great simplicitj
and plainness, whEe yet his large and well-stored mind
would often suggest thoughts which were beyond the
common range of pulpit instruction. In discharging
the duties of the pastoral relation, he was eminently
felicitous ; his fine social qualities combining with his
deep sense of responsibility and his earnest devotion to
his work, to make this part of his labor at once pleasant
to himself and profitable to those to whom he minis
tered. He was eminently beloved and honored as the
Head of a coEege ; and while his admirable powers and
qualities rendered him an object of attraction to the
students, they were a pledge at once of his fidelity and
success. The several churches and institutions vrith
which he has been connected, rejoiced in his light, and
now they gratefuUy cherish his memory.
JOSEPH SMITH, D.D.
Joseph Smith was born in Fayette County, Pa., on
the 15th of July, 1796. His paternal grandfather was
the Eev. Joseph Smith, and his maternal grandfather
the Eev. James Power, D.D., both of whom were of
that noble band of ministers who first preached th(5
Gospel west of the Allegheny Mountains. His father
was the Eev. Darid Smith, a highly gifted young man,
who died in 1803, after a most successful mimstry of
only nine years. He (the subject of this article) be
came, in due time, a member of Jefferson CoUege, and

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 297
graduated in 1815, — the class to which he belonged
consisting of only two persons besides himseE. It was
during the last year of his coUege lEe that his religious
riews and feelings became so far matured, that he was
enabled to make a public profession of his faith in
Christ. After leaving coUege, he went to Virginia, and spent
a year in teaching an academy at BerryriUe, then in
Frederick County. In the autumn of 1816, he com
menced the study of Theology, under the Eev. Dr. Hill,
of Winchester; but, in the faU of 1817, became a stu
dent in the Theological Seminary at Princeton. Here
he remained until April, 1819, when he was licensed to
preach the Gospel by the Presbytery of Winchester.
During the two follovring years he was employed as a
Domestic Missionary in five counties immediately east
of the Blue Eidge, and extending from the Potomac to
Albemarle, Va. In May, 1821, he was called to the
church of Harrisonburg, Eockingham County, and,
haring accepted the caU, was ordained and installed, in
the com-se of the ensuing summer, by the Presbytery of
Lexington. Here he remained tEl 1826 ; and then be
came pastor of the church at Staunton, where he con
tinued about six years, — until the fall of 1832. He
removed now to Fredericktown, Md., and was there
preaching and teaching for one year, and then accepted
a caU from St. Clairsrille, Ohio, where he remained as
pastor tiU the spring of 1837. At that time he accepted
an invitation to become President of Franklin College,
Harrison County, Ohio, but continued there only till the
fall of 1838, when he retm-ned to Frederick, Md., as
both Pastor of the chm-ch and President of Frederick

298 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
College. He resigned his pastoral charge, in AprU,
1843, and the office of President, in July, 1844; and,
shortly after the last-mentioned date, was employed as
a stated supply at EUicott's MUls, and a few months
later was constituted pastor of the church. The degree
of Doctor of Dirinity was conferred upon him by Jef
ferson CoUege, in 1845. In September, 1846, he ac
cepted an agency from the Board of Missions in the
Synods of Pittsburg, Wheeling, and Ohio ; and held this
office, residing first in SteubenviUe, and then in Alle
gheny City, untE April, 1850. He then accepted a call to
Elizabeth and Eoundhill, in Bedstone Presbytery, and
remained there tUl about the close of 1855, and at the
beginning of 1856 was transferred to Greensburg, where
he had his last pastorate, and continued through a pe
riod of ten year*. The infirmities of age had now begun
to creep over him, and, after haring been engaged in
the serrice of his Master forty-seven years, he felt that
he had a right to retu-e from the active duties of the
ministi-y, and, therefore, for the last time, resigned his
pastoral charge. He preached, however, occasionally,
after this, and vvhen he could not use his voice in public
speaking, he would use his pen in his own house, and
always vrith marked abEity.
Dr. Smith had a natm-ally rigorous constitution, and
was never the subject of any protracted illness. For
some weeks prerious to his death, however, he had suf
fered from an affection of the head, vvhich had disabled
him for any uiteEectual labor. On the 3d of December,
1868, he rose in the morning, and attempted to di-ess
himseE, but his strength failed, and vrith it the power
of speech, premonitory of the extinction of the vital

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 299
principle. He lingered until the afternoon of the next
day, and then passed onward to his rest. A Discom-se
commemorative of his lEe and character, and full of
the most interesting detaUs, was afterwards preached
at Greensbm-g, by the Eev. W. H. Gill, and was pub-
Ushed. Dr. Smith was married, in 1821, to a daughter ol
John BeE, a weU-known merchant in Winchester, and
a greatly respected ruling elder in the Presbyterian
Church. He became the father of eight children, six
of whom, vvith theE mother, surrive him. One of his
sons is a Presbyterian minister, and two of his daugh
ters are the vrives of ministers.
Dr. Smith was an able and useful, though not very
voluminous, writer. Besides numerous contributions to
newspapers and other periodicals, he published Old
Bedstone, or Historical Sketches of Western Presbyteri
anism : its Early Ministers, its Perilous Times, and its
First Eecords; and the History of Jefferson College.
Both these works are carefully and elaborately wi-itten ;
and Avhile they are of great historical interest anywhere,
to the Presbyterians of Western Pennsylvania they
must be invaluable.
From the sketch of Dr. Smith's Ufe now given, it is
apparent that his ministry vvas marked by an unusual
succession of changes. In a letter written by himseE,
from Avhich most of the material for this sketch has
been di-aAvn, there is the foUoAving statement Arith ref
erence to this remarkable feature of his lEe : " Thus
you see Avhat a sojourner I have been, haring lived and
labored in four different States. To explain the reasons
which led to aE these changes would weary my pa-

300 PEESBYTEELAN CHUECH.
tience, — much more yours. One thing I can say vrith
satisfaction, — I have never had any trouble or difficulty
vrith any congregation. I have left no place where I
had any reason to beUeve they were tEed of me, — - no
place that I cannot uoav risit vrith mutual satisfaction,
as I am firmly persuaded. And it has always seemed
to me that my way was distinctly cleared before me by
the good hand of our God. The Lord has given me
the privilege and honor of raising up to comparative
strength and independence several churches, in every
instance doubling the numbers of their membership,
and the stiU greater pririlege of healing breaches, re
moring schisms and dirisions, and restoring harmony.
Yet the reriew of the long and scattered character of
my ministerial lEe teaches me some vei-y humbling
lessons." Dr. Smith was a man not only of varied experience,
but of pure and elevated character. A stranger, on
meeting him, could not help forming the opinion, from
his countenance and manner, that he was not only a
highly intellectual, but genial and amiable, man ; and
this impression was sure to be justified and confirmed
by a subsequent acquaintance. Perhaps no one of his
inteUectual powers was more prominent than his judg
ment. His riews of men and things, where he had had
very slight opportunities for observation, he rarely had
occasion to change, upon any subsequent enlargement
of his knowledge. He was always a diligent student,
and his mind became a vast storehouse of varied infor
mation, which he was ever ready to dispense as he had
opportunity. But, vrith his extensive acquisitions, he
vvas modest and unpretending, and never uttered a sen-

BIOGEAPHICAX SKETCHES. 301
tence for the sake of self-glorification. His Christian
character vvas at once consistent and decided. With
great fervor of spEit he combined a discreet and
thoughtful habit of speaking and acting, thus render
ing his influence both safe and pure. As a Preacher, he
could perhaps scarcely be considered a favorite vrith
the multitude; but to the more reflecting aud judicious
his clear and logical exhibitions of Divine truth were
always most acceptable. He was a rigorous helper in
all ecclesiastical proceedings, perfectly familiar vrith aU
the forms of business, and able, sometimes, by his
timely suggestions, to meet difficulties that seemed
weU-nigh insuperable. At the same time, he knew
how to treat an opponent vrith the utmost courtesy,
often disarming him by kindness ; and while nothing
could induce him to make the slightest sacriflce of prin
ciple, neither could he needlessly put at hazard the
peace of the Chm-ch. And the brightest attribute of
his character was, that he was an eminent saint : he
lived habituaUy under the influence of the powers of
the world to come ; and vvhen he passed away, all who
knew him felt the fullest assm-ance that he had gone to
receive the croAvn of glory that fadeth not away.
WILLIAM AV. PHILLIPS, D.D.
William Wirt Phillips was bom in Florida, Mont
gomery County, N.Y., on the 23d of September, 1796.
His father was boi-n in England, and came with his
parents to this countiy whUe he was yet a boy, and the
famEy stiU occupy the place where they originaUy set
tled, and where the subject of this sketch was born.
Haring gone through his preparatory com-se, he was

302 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
admitted, in due time, to Union CoEege, where he grad
uated, in 1813, when he was seventeen years of age.
Shortly after his graduation, he became a member of
the Associate Eeformed Theological Seminary in New
York, at the head of which was the Eev. Dr. John M
Mason. After completing a three-years course of study
at this institution, he spent a year in the Theological
Seminary of the Eeformed Dutch Church at New Bruns
vrick, under the instruction of the Eev. Dr. J. H. Liv
ingston. He was Ucensed to preach, by the Classis of
New Brunsvrick, but, shortly after, transferred his rela
tion to the Presbyterian Church. He received a caU
from the Pearl Street Presbyterian Church, in New
York, which he accepted, and in AprE, 1818, was or
dained and instaUed as its pastor, by the New York
Presbytery. Here he continued a most useful and ac
ceptable pastor for eight years, when he was translated
to the First Presbyterian Church, then Avorshipping in
Wall Street. This church was, in due time, removed to
what was then the upper part of the city ; and, after the
new edifice was built, he continued to occupy it till near
the close of life. Though he had been for several years
the subject of a painful chronic disease, he stEl con-
tuiued actively engaged in the duties of the ministi-y
mitil vrithin about four weeks of his death. He died
on the 20th of March, 1865, after having been a minis
ter of the gospel forty-seven years. The Address at his
funeral Avas delivered by the Eev. Dr. Krebs, vrith
whom he had long been in the most intimate relations,
and, on the next Sabbath, foUowed a Commemorative
Discourse by the Eev. Dr. Eichard W. Dickinson.
Both the Address and the Discourse presented very

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 303
felicitously the character they were designed to com
memorate. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon
Mr. PhElips by Columbia CoUege, in 1826, when he
was only thirty years of age. He was a Trustee of the
College of New Jersey, and also a member of the Coun
cE of the NeAV York University. He was both a Trustee
and a DEector of the Theological Seminary at Princeton,
and of the Board of Directors he was President. He
was ChaEman of the Executive Committee of the Board
of Foreign Missions, and, dm-ing several of his last years,
was President of that Board also. He was often a
member of the General Assembly, and in 1835 Avas its
Moderator. The serrices devolved upon him by these
various offices vvere numerous and onerous ; but he
adapted himseE to each with apparently as deep an
interest as E it had been the sole work to which he was
designated. Dr. PhElips Avas married, in 1818, to Frances Sy
mington, daughter of James and Frances (Evans)
Symington, of the city of Ncav York. They were the
parents of twelve children, nine of whom, with theE
mother, stEl survive.
Dr. PhElips Avas a firmly buUt man, vrith a face indi
cating thoughtfulness and grarity rather than an ex
citable temperament. So admEably blended were his
intellectual and moral powers that it were impossible
to do justice to the one vrithout including also some
estimate of the other. Among the more prominent of
the faculties of his mind was a calm and sound judg
ment, that rarely mistook in respect to any matter on
which it vvas caEed to exercise itself. He was naturaUy

304 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
of a quiet and retEing habit, and never obtruded him
self in any cEcumstances, whEe yet he was always
prompt to obey the call of duty, even at the expense of
placing himseE in an attitude of antagonism towards
others. His religion moulded his whole character and
diffused itself over his whole lEe. In prosperity his
heart glowed vrith thankfulness, and in adversity he
was not only submissive and trustful, but was caUing
gi-atefuUy to remembrance the blessings that stUl re
mained to him. In his family his presence was constant
sunshine. Among the people of his charge he moved
about as a good angel, intent on carrying blessings in
his train ; and whether they were in sorrow or in joy,
the fitting words of comisel were alvA^ays upon his lips.
In the pulpit there was nothing about him of a sensa
tional or startling character, but he was a model of
sunplicity and fervor, and brought out the great truths
of the gospel in a luminous and impressive manner.
His good influence was felt, not only in every circle in
which he moved, but throughout the whole Chm-ch; for
Providence placed him in various responsible stations,
and few of his contemporaries had more to do in mould-
ins: the destinies of the denomination vvith which he
was connected than himself. H others have possessed
characters more attractive to the multitude, his was one
that must always be gratefully remembered for the
harmonious combination of the good quaUties that com
posed it. JOSEPH H. JONES, D.D.
The father of Joseph Huntington Jones, was Am-
asa Jones, and his mother vvas a daughter of the Eev.

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 305
Dr. Joseph Huntington, author of the work which at
tracted much attention in its day, entitled " Calrinism
Improved." Lie (the son) was born at Coventry, Conn.,
the residence of his parents, on the 24th of August,
1797. In 1810, he began to prepare for college at
Coventry; but on the removal of the Eev. Abiel Abbott,
under vvhom he had preriously studied, to Byfield,
Mass., to become Preceptor of Dummer Academy, he
quickly followed, and spent somewhat more than a
year under his instruction. He entered Harvard Uni
versity, in 1813, on the day that completed his fifteenth
year. Here he had a highly respectable standing, and
graduated vrith honor, iu 1817. Among his classmates
vvere George Bancroft, Caleb Cushing, George B. Emer
son, Dr. Tyng, and others, VA'ho haA^e impi-essed them
selves indelibly on our cIatI or religious institutions.
Shortly after his graduation, he accepted a tutorship
in Bowdoin College, and held the office for a year.
During his residence at Cambridge, he had fallen in Avith
the current of religious thought that prevailed there,
and had become a decided Unitaiian; but, on going
to Brunswick, and becoming associated Avith President
Appleton and some of the professors and tutors, whose
views were thoi'oughly orthodox, he was led to re-exam
ine the system Avhich he had adopted at Cambridge,
and the result was that he rejected it altogether. This,
however, did not occasion any interruption of his j)leas-
ant relations with his Hai-A^ard friends; and of the
generous qualities and kind offices of some of them he
never grew weai-y of speaking as long as he lived.
In 1819, he remoA^ed to Wilkesbarre, Penn., Avhere his
father's family had become settled, and took charge of
20

306 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
the academy in that place. His mind, meanwhile, had
taken a thoroughly serious dEection, and he not only
indulged the hope that he had been born from above,
but was deeply impressed with the idea that it Avas his
duty to become a Minister of the Gospel. In this state
of mind he actuaUy entered on his theological studies.
under the dEection of the Eca'-. Cyrus GUdersleeve.
In 1822, he was licensed to preach the Gospel by the
Susquehanna Presbytery, and subsequently spent three
months as a supply at Montrose, the capital of Susque
hanna County. While at Montrose, he Avas invited to
Union, Broome County, N.Y., and here also lie spent
three months, and declined an earnest request to settle
there as pastor. In the the spring of 1823 he joined
the Princeton Seminary, and remained there about a
year, though, during one of his vacations he went on a
mission to Erie Eun, and there declined another inrita
tion to settle in the ministry. In 1824, he was ordained
by the Susquehanna Presbytery, and immediately after
took his dismission to the Presbytery of Philadelphia,
and became a supply for the church at Woodbury, N.J.
In 1825, he Avas called to the pastorate of the Pres
byterian Church in Ncav BrunsArick, N.J. He accepted
the call, and Avas installed on the 28th of July, when
he had not fully recovered from an attack of bilious
fever. Here he remained, laboring faithfully and suc-
ccssfuUy among his people, until 1838, Avhen he Avas
called to be the pastor of the Spruce Street Chm-ch, in
Philadelphia, — the same church Arith Avhich Dr. Neill
had been connected, prerious to his removal to Dickin
son College.
In 1842, Mr. Jones received the degree of Doctor of

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 30 7
Dirinity from Lafayette College, and, in 1855, was
honored in a similar way by Harvard University.
Dr. Jones continued the pastor of the Spruce Street
Chm-ch about twenty-three years, and discharged the
duties of his office vrith exemplary diligence and fidel
ity. In 1853, he Avas appointed a Trustee of the General
Assembly, and very soon became deeply interested in
the Fund for Disabled Ministers. He, however, re
tained his pastoral charge until May, 1861, when he
retired from it, and devoted the residue of his lEe to a
course of effort designed to relieve his suffering breth
ren. In this cause he labored most earnestly and faith
fuUy, and no doubt the blessing of many ready to perish
came upon him. He died so suddenly that the tidings
of his death shocked the whole community. He had
just returned from New York, apparently in his usual
health and spirits, but was attacked the same evening
Arith a malady, which, though it seemed, after a few
hours, to yield to treatment, returned upon him before
morning Avith a fatal power. He died on the 2 2d of
December, 1868, in the seventy-second year of his
age. Several of the ministers vrith whom he had been
associated delivered commemorative addresses at his
funeral. Dr. Jones Avas married, in October, 1825, to Anna
Maria HoAveU, daughter of Joshua L. and Anna B.
HoAvell, at Fancy Hill, Gloucester County, N.J. They
had fiA^e children, only three of Avhom survive. Mrs.
Jones died in January, 1865.
Besides several occasional Sermons, Dr. Jones pub
lished the follovring: An account of the Eevival at
New Brunsvrick ; Influence of Physical Causes on Ee-

308 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Ugious Experience ; LEe of Ashbel Green, D.D. ; and
Memoir of Dr. Cuyler.
Dr. Jones was rather under the medium size, though,
on the whole, a weU-formed man, and possessing the
usual degree of bodily rigor. His face was a faE index
to some of the features of his character : it indicated
great kindness, vrith a tinge of melancholy ; and these
were the qualities for which he was especially distin
guished. His natural sympathy with human want and
wretchedness, sanctified, as it was, by the grace of God,
rendered him eminently fit for the position he occupied
in connection vrith the Fund for Disabled Ministers.
Not only did his benevolent spirit prompt him to ex
plore thoi-oughly the various parts of the Church, to find
out the proper subjects of this form of charity, but also
to gather means sufficient to meet the varied exigences
that were made known to him. In his ordinary inter-
com-se he was cheerful, and sometimes even buoyant;
but occasionally he had turns of deep depression, occa
sioned by a withdrawal, to a great extent, of the eri
dences of the Dirine favor. It was this proclirity to
gloom, no doubt, that suggested to him the writing of
his admEable work on the Influence of Physical Causes
on EeUgious Experience ; a work that has already done
much, and is destined to do more, in guiding darkened
spEits into the Ught of heavenly truth. As a Preacher,
there was nothing about him to awaken the applauses
of the multitude, but there was much in his discourses
for the thoughtful and earnest mind to feed upon, —
much that could be carried away as material for lasting
edification and comfort. As a Pastor, he showed no re
spect of persons ; the high and the low, the rich and the

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 309
poor, came equally within the range of his attentiouo.
In his more general relations to the Church, he mani
fested great consideration, and good sense and regard
to the Presbyterian standards, vvhile yet he vvas watch
ful for the promotion of harmony among- brethren.
He was universally esteemed and honored while livdng,
and the generations to come vrill take care that his
memory does not die.
VHLLIAM M. ENGLES, D.D.
William Moeeison Engles, a son of Silas and Annie
(Patterson) Engles, was born in Philadelphia, October
12, 1797. He passed his early days at home, enjoying
the best advantages of education Avhich the city afforded.
In due time he became a member of the University of
Pennsylvania, where, notvrithstanding he Avas among
the younger members of his class, he graduated, in 1815,
with one of the highest honors. After studying Theol
ogy for three yeai-s, under the dEection of Dr. Samuel
B. Wylie, of the Eeformed Presbyterian Church, he was
licensed to preach, by the Presbytery of PhEadelphia,
in October, 1818. Shortly after his licensure, he set
out on a missionary tour in the VaEey of Wyoming,
where his fresh and earnest preaching is said to have
produced a powei-ful impression.
Haring performed the missionary serrice allotted to
him, he retm-ned to PhEadelphia, and on the 6th of
July, 1820, was ordained and instaEed Pastor of the
Seventh Presbyterian Church, which had preriously
existed as a colony of English Independents, but had
shortly before, ovring to various circumstances, become
connected vrith the Presbytery of Philadelphia. He

310 PEESBYTERLIN CHUECH.
continued in this relation untE September, 1834, when,
on account of an affection of the throat, he was obUged
to discontuiue pubHc speaking, and therefore resigned
his pastoral charge. The church enjoyed a good degree
of prosperity under his ministry, and E its numbers did
not increase during the latter years, it vvas attributable
to cE'cumstances over vvhich he had no control.
About the time that his connection vrith his congre
gation closed. Dr. James. W. Alexander was just retir
ing from the editorship of the Presbyterian. That
paper then came under the dEection of Mr. Engles; and
though, at different periods, he shared the labor and
responsibUity with several other indiriduals, his con
nection vrith it as editor continued through the long
period of thEty-three years. The Eev. Dr. Grier, who
was associate editor vrith him at the time of his death,
has rendered the highest testimony to the good taste,
and good judgment, and good spirit, vrith which he
prosecuted his work.
In May, 1838, he was appointed Editor of the Pres
byterian Board of Publication, and he held that impor
tant position, discharging its duties with great fideUty,
twenty-five years. In 1840, he was chosen Moderator
of the General Assembly, ancl the same year was ap
pointed Stated Clerk. The latter office he held untd
1846. Dr. Engles (for the degree of Doctor of Divinity was
conferred upon him in 1838) had, for a considerable
time, been subject to occasional turns of iUness, which
medical skEl could not aA^ert, and VA'^hich proved to be
an obscure affection of the heart. The last attack Avas
accompanied, vrith congestion of the lungs, which left

BIOGEAPinCAL SKETCHES. 311
little doubt of a fatal issue. WhEe he Ava& willing to
submit to Avhatever medical treatment might be thought
best, he had the fullest conviction that his hour had
nearly come ; but he Avas j)erf ectly tranquE and submis
sive in the prospect, not doubting that it would be gain
for him to depart. He died on the 27th of November,
1867, when he had just completed his seventieth year.
He Avas married, in 1836, to Charlotte Schott, daugh
ter of James Schott, of Philadelphia, Avho surATves him.
They had no children.
The follovring is an extract from the record of the
Presbyterian Board of Publication, Ei refei-ence to hia
death : —
" The Presbyterian. Board of PubKcation is probably more largely
indebted to Dr. Engles, than to any otlier man, for its existence and
its early influence. He was one of the first half-dozen men who
clearly perceived the necessity for such an institution, and who met
to take counsel together in reference to its formation. In all the in
cipient measures whioh led to its organization, and afterwards to its
adoption and reorganization by the General Assembly, he took a pro
minent part. He was appointed, at the very beginning, a member
of its Executive Committee, and continued to serve uninterruptedly
in that capacity, until June, 18G3. He was like-wise appointed the
first editor of the Board's jjublications, and every one of them passed
under his, eye and hand until the same date. In the following year,
after the death of the Piev. Dr. Phillips, of New York, President of
the Board, Dr. Engles was selected to fill the vacant chair. This he
continued to do with dignity, and Christian courtesy, and warm
regard to the Board's interests, till his removal by death.
" Plis usefulness in connection -with this Board, the Churcli can
never fully appreciate. His sound judgment rarely allowed him to
fiiU into a mistake. His extensive reading, and his thorough and
discriminating orthodoxy, placed upon the Board's catalogue a large
variety of the most approved Calvinistic books, both of our own

312 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
country and of Great Britain, yet kept its list, to a remarkable de
gree, free from all admixture of error. A large number of old and
valuable works, which had become nearly extinct because of their
cumbrous style, were revised and abridged by him, and have had an
extensive cii-culation and usefulness in every part of the land. He
was also himself the author of a large number of valuable books and
tracts, nearly all of which were published anonymously. Among
them iSick Hoom Devotions has carried light and comfort to thou
sands of chambers of sickness. His little work, 2'he jSoldier^s JPochet-
Booh, of which nearly three hundred thousand, in English and Ger
man, were circulated among our soldiers during the war, achieved an
untold and unspeakable amount of good."
Dr. Engles enjoyed, in a high degree, the confidence
and regard of every community in which he lived. He
had a AveU-built, symmetrical frame, and a face indicative
of thoughtfulness and dignity, rather than anything
briUiant or startUng. He Avas not imjDulsive but cau
tious and discreet, and i-arely took a step or suggested
a measure Avhich the circumstances did not justify. In
the jDulpit, he Avas simple and natural and edifying in
all his deliverances. On questions of chm-ch polity, he
manEested great Avisdom ; and while he Avas earnest for
AA^hat he believed to be the truth, he Avas far from in
dulging a censorious spirit. EA^eryAvhere he shoAved
himself under the influence of a living piety, and aU
Avho saw him took Icnowledge of him that he had been
vrith Jesus. JOHN K C^UIPBELL, D.D.
John N. Campbell Avas born, of highly respectable
parentage, in the city of Philadelphia, on the 4th of
JIarch, 1798. His matei-nal grandfather, Eobei't Ait
ken, Avas the puljlisher of the first edition of the

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 313
Bible in this country. He was baptized by the Eev.
Eobert Annan, minister of the old Scott's Presby
terian Church, in PhEadelphia, and in connection
vrith that church he had his early training. Lie Avas
for some time a pupil of that celebrated teacher,
James Eoss, and afterwards became a member of the
University of Pennsylvania, though his name does not
appear on the catalogue of graduates. After studying
Theology, for some time, under the direction of the Eev.
Ezra Stiles Ely, he went to Virginia, where he continued
his theological studies, and became connected, as teacher
of languages, vrith Hampden Sydney College. He vvas
licensed to preach, by the Presbytery of Hanover, in
May, 1817, when he was about nineteen years of age.
The first two or three years after he entered the
ministry were spent chiefly in Virginia ; but in the au
tumn of 1820 he was chosen chaplain to Congress; and,
notvrithstanding he was very yoimg to occupy such a
place, his serrices proved highly acceptable. He after-
AA'^ards returned to VEginia, and preached for some
time in Petersburg ; and also went into North Carolina,
and vvas instrumental in establishing the First Presby
terian Church in Newbern. In 1823, he went again to
the District of Columbia, and, for more than a year,
Avas an assistant to the Eev. Dr. Balch, of GeorgetoAvn.
In 1824 or 25, he took charge of the New York Avenue
Church, in Washington City, VA^here his great popular
ity quickly filled the house. In January, 1825, he Avas
elected one of the managers of the American Coloniza
tion Society, and for six years discharged the duties of
tho place vrith great ability and fidelity. Dui'ing his
residence in Washington, he made the acquaintance of

314 PEESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
many of the most distinguished men of the day, among
whom Avas the Elustrious WiEiam WEt, vvith Avhom,
for some time, he kept up a correspondence. It Avaa
here that the late Ambrose Spencer, Chief -Justice of the
State of New York, first heard him, and so favorably
Avas he impressed by him, both as a preacher and a man,
that he recommended him as a suitable person to take
the i^astoral charge of the First Presbyterian congi'ega-
tion in Albany, with which he vvas connected. He Avas
accordingly invited to preach there as a candidate, and
shortly after accepted an inritation to become their
Pastor, and was actually instaUed in September, 1831.
The serrices were rendered especiaUy interesting by the
fact that the venerable Dr. Nott, one of the former
pastors of that church, took part in them.
In 1835, he was honored with the degree of .Doctor
of Divinity, from the CoUege of New Jersey. In 1836,
he vvas appointed a DEector of the Theological Semin
ary at Princeton, and held the office tEl the close of
lEe. He very rarely attended the meetings of the Gen
eral Assembly, but he was a member in 1856, was
nominated for the office of Moderator, and came very
near being chosen. He occujDied his own pulpit with a
degree of constancy rarely equalled, being scarcely ever
absent from it, except during a fcAV Aveeks in the sum
mer, AAdiich he spent, for the benefit of his health, at
Lake George. His large executive ability devolved
upon him many duties outside of his iimnediate profes
sion. He Avas, for many years, one of the Eegents of the
University of the State of NeAV York, an office Avhich
he readdy accepted, on account of its intimate connec
tion- AAdth educational interests. Lie Avas one of the

BIOGEAPinCAL SKETCHES. 315
busiest of men, and yet his habits were eminently social,
and he could always command time to devote to his
fi-iends. Dr. CampbeU's habit of great activity continued till
near the close of lEe. He preached vrith his usual ani
mation and interest on the Sabbath immediately pre
ceding his death, and there vvas nothing to betoken the
approach of any serious malady. On Monday, he vvas
walldng the streets vrith his accustomed rigor, but, be
fore the close of the day, the disease of which he died
began to develop itself. It did not, however, take on
an alarming form for two or three clays ; but, in the
com-se of the week, it became doubtful whether it was
not beyond the control of medical skiU. On Sunday
morning, just as his congregation were assembling for
pubEc worship, and for the celebration of the ordinance
of the Supper, the startling intelligence went forth that
theE' Pastor was no longer among the liAdug. The
whole community were well-nigh paralyzed, as the
tidings cEculated among them. He died on the 27th
of March, 1864.
Dr. CampbeE Avas tArice married. His fii-st Avdfe vvas
Miss Bowling, of Petersbui-g, Va. ; his second, who is
stiU living, was Miss EEzabeth TEden WEson, of Mary
land. Dr. CampbeE vvas somewhat above the ordinary
height, of a slender frame, a pallid face, and a general
appearance not incUcatuig robust health. His counte
nance and whole manner, however, indicated what he
actually possessed, — great energy of mind and decision
of character. He AA^as genial, and often jorial, in his
intercourse, and Avas almost sure to be a commanding

316 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
spirit in any social cEcle into Avhich he Avas throAvn.
He had mingled much Avith the world, and, Arith his
uncommon natural shrcAvdness, Avas an adept in the
knoAvledge of human natm-e. He saAV both clearly and
quickly ; and AA'hen his mind Avas once made up on any
subject, though he could still consider and appreciate
adverse eridence, he AA^as not very likely to yield his
first conriction. As a Preacher, he Avas clear, eA^angeli-
cal, and animated. His sermons were carefully prepared,
and Avritten in a character that was scarcely legible to
any one but himseE; and then they were delivered
\\'ith a graceful ease and fi-eedom, Avhich made them
appear to those vvho listened, as if they vvere the pro
ductions of the moment. They were Arithal A^ery brief,
and logical, and easy to be remembered. Lie had but
little to do AAuth controversy in the pulpit, though if
there Avere any errors, that seemed to him especially
palpable, he did not hesitate to exjiose them. There
Avas an air of lofty indejoendence pervading all his
movements. It may safely be said that he f eai-ed not
the face of man ; aud his plans Avere generally success
ful, cA^en Avhere they had to encounter the most intense
opposition. Even those Avho differed from him still
' applauded his honesty. GEORGE POTTS, D.D.
Geoege Potts was the son of the EeA^ George Charles
Potts, Avho emigrated from Ireland to this country
about the beginning of this century, and of Ma,vj En-'
gles, his AAdfe, and Avas born in Philadelphia, the place
of his father's settlement, on the 15th of March, 1802.
He studied for a while, under the Eca^ Dr. James Gray,

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 317
and then under the Eev. Dr. Samuel B. Wylie, after
which he Avas transferred to the Grammar School of
the University. He entered the University at the age
of fourteen, one year in adA^ance, and graduated in 1819 ;
the third in his class, — Eobert J. Walker, Secretary pf
the Treasury, and Henry D. Gilpin, Attorney-General,
being the only persons occupying a higher place. After
his graduation, he spent a year in general studies, pre
paratory to entering the Theological Seminary. Lie
joined the Seminary at Princeton, in 1820; Avas
licensed to preach by the Presbytery of PhEadelphia,
at Doylestovsm, in 1822 ; and left the Seminary at
the close of the regular course, in 1823. He went im
mediately to Natchez, on the invitation of the Presby
terian congregation there, and, after preaching six
weeks, received a call to become their Pastor. Lie ac
cepted the call, ancl returned to Philadelphia for ordi
nation, which took place in his father's church, on the
9th of September, 1823. Immediately after his return
to Natchez, he was instaEed Pastor of that church, and
continued there twelve years, the utmost harmony
existing between him and his people during the Avhole
time. The climate, ho Ave ver, by this time, exerted such
an enervating infiuence.upon him that he found it neces
sary to seek a northern home. Accordingly, he resigned
his charge, and shortly after received an inritation to
become Pastor of the Duane Street Church, NeAV York.
This caE he did not at fii'st accept, on the ground that
he was unvrilling actually to leave his people until there
was a fair prospect that the vacancy would be speedily
supplied. The caU was subsequently repeated, and he
accepted it, on condition that he should remain with

318 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
his former charge tUl the opening of spring. His in
staUation at Ncav York took place in May, 1836.
Some time after his settlement in New York, he be
came affected Arith the bronchitis, and in 1838, visited
Europe for the benefit of his health. The same year,
he Avas honored vrith the degree of Doctor of Divinity,
from the University of New York.
In 1845, he resigned the charge of the church in
Duane Street, and on the 25th of November vvas in
staEed Pastor of a newly gathered church in Univer
sity Place. He continued in this connection till the
close of lEe.
Dr. Potts, dui-ing the greater part of his ministry,
enjoyed vdgorous health. Within a few months of the
close, some of his faculties perceptibly declined, and he
Avas at length induced to separate himseE from his field
of labor, in the hope that perfect rest might effect the
desEed renovation. In parting with his people, uncer
tain, of course, whether he should meet them again, he
addressed to them a letter, in which were condensed
what proA^ed to be his last counsels and admonitions, —
a letter that testifies, in the strongest manner, of his
tenderness and fidelity. After having been absent for
?ome time, he returned to his family, but returned only
to die. He Ungered for a brief period, and then passed
aAvay, amidst floods of sorrow, but in the joyful hope
of entering into rest. He died on the 15th of Septem
ber, 1864, and, at his funeral, the Eev. Dr. Krebs, his
neighbor and friend, delivered an impressive address,
Dr. Potts Avas married, in April, 1824, to Mary
PostlethAvaite, of Natchez, thereby securing to himseE
tlie highest domestic enjoyment. They became the

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 319
parents of nine chEdren, only four of Avhom sm-vive.
One of the sons, the Eev. Arthur Potts, is Pastor of a
Presbyterian church in Morrisania, N.Y.
Dr. Potts was a Director of the Theological Seminary
at Princeton, and a member of the Council of the Ncav
York University. He never aspired to anything in the
way of authorship, haAdng published only a few occa
sional Sermons and Addresses.
The personal appearance of Dr. Potts was eminently
imposing. Of commanding stature, being not less than
six feet and two or three inches in height, and every
way weU proportioned ; with a countenance expressive
of high inteUigence; elastic and yet dignified in his
movements; his first appearance could hardly fail to
suggest the idea of superiority. And that impression
Avas fully justified by an intimate acquaintance Arith
lum. He had an uncommonly genial temperament, and
Avithout any attempt to put himself forward, he vvas
very likely to be recognized as the commanding spirit
in any social circle. His intellect, naturally of a high
order, had been subjected to the most careful culture
and discipline, and there was scarcely any subject of
general interest with which he had not made himself
familiar. As a Preacher, he was undoubtedly regarded
as one of the most attractiv^e of his day. His voice vvas
full and clear; his utterance distinct and impressible;
his gestures simple and graceful, and the manifest
promptings of nature ; and his whole manner such as
was best fitted to give effect to the momentous truths
he proclaimed. There Avas in his preaching a happy
admixture of the doctrinal and the practical ; he never
felt that he had done Arith any truth that he presented,

320 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
untE he had not only shovra its intellectual bearing, but
had brought it in contact with the conscience and the
heart. Though his sermons were generally wi'itten, he
accustomed himseE, especiaUy dm-ing his latter year.«,
to extemporaneous speaking ; and he has been heard to
say that he had more freedom and comfort in this mode
of preaching than any other. The interests of his con
gregation seemed ahvays uppermost in his thoughts;
his pastoral vdsits were a som-ce of mutual enjoyment to
hun and his people ; and those Avho were in the morning
of lEe especiaUy shared most largely in his Avatchful
regards. Though his tastes Avere rather for a life of
quietude than bustle, he Avas by no means destitute of
executive abEity, nor did he shrink from taking his
share in guiding and moulding the destinies of the
Chm-ch. In CA^ery relation he sustained, his pure and
noble spirit was impressively exemplified.
NICHOLAS MURKAT, D.D.
Nicholas Mueeay, a son of Nicholas and Judith
(Mangum) Murray, Avas born in the county of West-
meath, Ireland, on the 25th of December, 1802. His
father was a man of considerable influence in his neigh
borhood, but he died Avhile this son was in early child
hood. Both his parents were in the communion of the
Eoman Catholic Church. After haring been sent to
school three years, — from the age of nine tiU the age
of tAveh-e, — he Avas apprenticed as a merchant's clerk,
near Edgeworthstovra ; but, on account of the unkind
treatjnent he received there, he ran away and returned
home. Though his mother eai-nestly adrised him to
return to the place he had vacated, he persisted in re-

,^-:

"^ /^

^^

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 321
fusing to do so, saying that he purposed going abroad
into the world to seek his own fortune.
Accordingly, in 1818, he took leave of his native coun
tiy, and saUed for New York, Avhere, on his arrival,
he found himseE in a land of strangers and almost pen
niless. After looking about a short time for employ
ment, he engaged himseE as a proof-reader, or for any
other serrice of which he was capable, to those weU-
knoAvn publishers, the Harpers. Up to this time his
faith in the religious system to which he had been
trained had not even begun to falter ; and when, through
the influence of one of his associates, who afterwards
became a Methodist minister, he was induced to read
the New Testament, and, as a consequence, renounced
his faith in Eomanism, he rejected Christianity alto
gether and became an avowed infidel. At the sugges
tion of some young men, students in Dr. Mason's Semi
nary, Math whom lie became acquainted, he went to hear
Dr. Mason preach ; and so deeply was he impressed by
the sermon, that he Avent home to read his Bible vrith a
ricAv to entering on a new life. Feeling the need of
some one to counsel him, he was introduced to Dr.
Spring, who cheerfully became his spiritual adriser,
and, after about a year and a haE, admitted him to the
communion of his church.
Mr. Murray, as he had the opportunity of exhibiting
his talents and virtues, began to attract the attention of
some benevolent indiriduals, Avho very soon proposed
to him, to lay aside the Avork in which he AA'^as engaged,
and, at their expense, to begin his preparation for the
Christian ministry. After considering the generous
proposal for some little time, he determined to accept
31

322 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
it ; and he did accept it, and entered upon his studies,
vrithout, however, altogether relinquishing at once his
prerious occupation. In the fall of 1821 he became a
member of the Amherst Academy, where he completed
his preparation for college. He entered WiUiams Col
lege in 1822, and graduated in 1826, being the whole
time under the presidency of Dr. Griffin, who continued
through life his fast friend, and whose character was
the object of his intense admiration.
After learing college, he was very successfully em
ployed, for a short time, as agent of the American Tract
Society, in the northern part of the State of New York,
and then became a member of the Theological Seminary
at Princeton. At the close of a year, in consequence of
pecuniary embarrassment, he resurned his agency under
the Tract Society, making PhEadelphia the scene of his
labors. Here he established a Branch Tract Society,
and acted as its secretary for eighteen months; and
then he resumed his place in the Seminary, haring kept
along vrith the studies of his class during the whole
period of his absence. The compensation which he re
ceived for his labors enabled him to complete his theo
logical course vrithout further embarrassment.
Mr. Mun-ay was licensed to preach, by the Presby
tery of PhEadelphia, in April, 1828. After preaching
a short time vrith great acceptance in Morristovm, he
engaged as a Domestic Missionary, and, at the sugges
tion of the Eev. Dr. Engles, of PhEadelphia, went to
WUkesbarre, where the Piesbyterian Chm-ch was with
out a pastor. Here he preached for a short time as a
candidate, and then received a call, which he accepted.
He was ordained and installed in November, 1829.

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 323
In the autumn of 1832, he attended the meeting of
the Synod of New Jersey at Morristown, and, by ap
pointment, preached a sermon on Domestic Missions.
His congregation at Wilkesbarre were then engaged in
building a church; and he asked Dr. McDowell, of
ElizabethtoAATi, if his people would not listen to an ap
plication to assist them in the enterprise. Dr. McDowell
repEed, that if he woidd come to Elizabethtown, and
repeat the sermon that he had preached before the Sy
nod, he doubted not that something might be done.
Mr. Murray, accordingly, went and preached, and ob
tained a liberal contribution to his object. When that
congregation became vacant, by the removal of Dr. Mc
DoweU to Philadelphia, the next year, Mr. Murray re
ceived a unanimous caE to become his successor. He
accepted the caU, and was installed in July, 1833. He
received the degree of Doctor of Dirinity, from the
college at vvhich he graduated, in 1843.
Dr. Murray's noble qualities of mind and heart ren
dered him an object of attraction to several of the most
prominent churches in the land. He had calls, at dif
ferent times, from Boston, Brooklyn, Charleston, S.C,
Natchez, St. Louis, and Cincinnati ; but he preferred to
occupy the field in which Proridence had already placed
him. He was appointed to a Professorship in two The
ological Seminaries, but in both instances declined the
appointment. In 1849, the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church conferred upon him one of its
highest honors, by choosing him its Moderator.
TArice in his latter years Dr. Murray crossed the
ocean, and travelled extensively, not only in England
Scotland, and Ireland, but on the continent of Europe.

324 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
These visits brought him in contact Arith many of the
most Elustrious minds of the day. The high reputation
that had preceded him secured to him a cordial wel
come, and his fine powers, and genial manner, and
earnest piety, to say nothing of his remarkable history,
fully justified the best things that had been said of
him. It may safely be said that few American clergy
men have found more ready access to th6 best European
society, or have left behind them a more honored name
than did Dr. Murray.
When he had nearly reached his threescore years,
his Augor had not begun perceptibly to wane, and there
was nothing risible to indicate that he was not destined
to many years more of active usefulness. But, notAvith
standing these hopeful appearances, the time of his de-
paitm-e Avas at hand. Accustomed to pay an annual
visit to a friend in Albany, he had actually made his
preparations for the journey, when he Avas seized with
the malady Avhich, in a few days, changed him into a
corpse. In the full possession of his faculties, he uttered
words of counsel and comfort to those around him, and
passed away in the joyful hope of being admitted to
the communion of the ransomed in Heaven. He cUed
on the 11th of February, 1861.
Dr. Murray was married, in the year 1830, to
Eliza J., daughter of the Eev. Morgan Eeese, a distin
guished Baptist clergyman, vvho emigrated from Wales,
and settled in Philadelphia. They became the parents
of ten cliEdi-en, only four of vvhom now sm*rive. The
two sons have been graduated at Williams CoEege, one
of whom is a laAvyer, the other in a course of prepai'a-
tion for the ministi-y.

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 325
Dr. Mm-ray's character, intellectual, moral, religious,
was well formed and endnently attractive. His mind
was comprehensive and logical, and always reached its
conclusions by a luminous process. He had the common
birthright of his countrymen, — an exuberance of Avit,
which he dealt out in the form of mirthful pleasantry,
or cutting sarcasm, as occasion requEed. His heart
was the natural dweEing-place of generous purposes and
kindly feelings, and perfect sincerity breathed in all his
utterances. His presence was ahvays an element of pleas
m-e in the social circle ; for he could accommodate him
seE Arith great f acEity to every variety of intellect and
every shade of character. As a Christian, he was thor
oughly grounded in the truth, stood firm to his convic
tions of right, and was always ready to improve every
opportunity of doing good ; and if, sometimes, his natu
ral procUvity to good-humor may have seemed to some
excessive, his daily lEe proved that it was consistent
vrith an earnest and elevated piety. As a Preacher,
he held a high rank among the lights of the American
pulpit. WhEe his sermons were of a deeply evangelical
tone, they were so clear and forcible, and weU adapted,
that they never faded to command attention and awaken
interest. His fine executive talent gave him great in
fluence in church courts, and in ecclesiastical matters
generally, while it rendered him a competent guide and
an efficient agent in adjusting the private affairs of
some of his parishioners. In his ovm famEy he was a
model of all that was generous and attractive ; he VA^as
dignified and yet fuU of love and of lEe. With the
members of his congregation he was on terms of great
familiarity, while yet he was the faithful and devoted

326 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
pastor, always ready to move about among them, when
he could carry blessings in his train. But perhajDS the
vei-y croAvn of his usefulness was his authorship. Besides
several sermons and addresses of great exceUence, printed
in pamphlet form, he published Letters to Bishop Hughes,
under the signature of KEwan ; Notes, Historical and
Biographical, concerning EEzabethtown, N. J. ; Eoman
ism at Home ; Men and Things, as I saw them in
Europe ; Parish and other PencElings ; and The Hap
py Home. Of these, the volume containing Let
ters to Bishop Hughes has had the vridest cEculation,
having not only passed through many editions in this
country and Great Britain, but having been translated
also into several foreign languages. It is written with
great power and consummate skill ; and it wEl always
remain, not only as a grand testimony in favor of truth
and right, but as an evidence that its author had one of
the brightest minds as weU as the most remarkable ex
periences of his day. JOHN M. KREBS, D.D.
John Michael Keebs, a son of WEliam and Ann
(Adamson) Krebs, was born at HagerstoAvn, Md., on
the 6th of May, 1804. His father was of German, his
mother of EngEsh, extraction ; and both were of highly
respectable families. When he was about fourteen or
fifteen years of age, haring previously received a good
common education, he became a clerk in the post-office,
whEe part of his time was spent in his father's store.
Though he was fond of reading, and devoted to it aU his
intervals of leisure, he became ultimately so identified
vrith the post-office, that he had the chief direction of it ;

„ 1 ; ;..iji-5iiJ!iM'ULj^^

biographical sketches.

327

and in this way his fine executive abUities were admi
rably developed. He continued to be thus employed
tiU his father's death, which occurred in 1822, and for
more than a year after he was occupied in assisting to'
settle his father's estate.
Though he had been educated in the German Ee
formed Church, yet, as the serrices in that chm-ch were
conducted chiefly in German, he was accustomed to at
tend, for the most part, on Presbyterian preaching.
Shortly before his father's death he became deeply
thoughtful on the subject of religion; and, not long
after it, without haviug scarcely revealed the sEent
workings of his spirit to an individual, indulged a hope
of acceptance vrith God, ancl joined the Associate Ee
formed Presbyterian Church, under the pastoral charge
of the Eev. John Lind. Having determined to devote
himself to the ministry, he began to prepare for col
lege; and having made the requisite prejaaration, partly
under the private instruction of Mr. Lind, and partly
at the Hagerstown Academy, he entered the Sopho
more class of Dickinson College, then under the Presi
dency of Dr. NeEl, early in 1825. Here he had a high
standing, and graduated vrith distinguished honor, in
1827. Shortly after his graduation he began his theological
studies under the direction of the Eev. Dr. Duffield, then
of Carlisle ; but a few months after this, he became a
teacher in a grammar-school connected Avith the college,
and continued thus employed for two years. MeauAvhile
he was pursuing his theological studies, and early in
1829 was licensed by the Presbytery of Carlisle to
preach the Gospel. After haring preached for some

328 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
time, by the appointment of Presbytery in that neigh
borhood, he went, in May of the next year, to the Theo
logical Seminary at Princeton, with a riew to avail him
'self of the advantages of that institution. As he ar
rived at Princeton during the vacation of the Seminai-y,
he determined to make a brief risit to some of his friends
in New York, and the result of that risit was, that he
was introduced as a candidate to the Eutgers Street
Church ; and though he retm-ned to Princeton for a short
time, he afterwards went back to New York, and, after
preaching for the Eutgers Street people two or three
months, received a call to become their Pastor. This
call he accepted, and, in November, 1830, he was duly
set apart to the pastoral office.
From the commencement of his career in New York,
he attracted great attention, especiaEy for his remarka
ble executive ability. In 1837, he was appointed Per
manent Clerk of the General Assembly, and held the
office tUl 1845, in which year he was Moderator of that
venerable body. He was elected Clerk of the Presby
tery and Synod of New York, in 1841, and Director, of
the Theological Seminary at Princeton, in 1842 ; and
was appointed President of the Board of Directors in
1866. He was a member of the Board of Foreign Mis
sions from its organization till his death. He received
the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Dickinson Col
lege, in 1841. He published several occasional sermons,
Avhich shoAV great facility of adaptation.
Dr. Krebs had a good constitution, and generally en
joyed rigorous health, but he was subject to turns of
nervous prostration, that, in several instances, occasioned
a serious interruption of his labors. In the summer of

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 329
1 553, and again inthe summer of 1865, he spent sev^eral
months in traveUing in Em-ope, for the benefit of his
health; and in both cases, the desired object was, in a
good degree, realized. In the summer of 1867, he
became greatly disordered in respect to both his bodUy
and mental faculties, and, after a lingering process of
decay, which medical skiU could not arrest, he passed
on to mingle in higher scenes. He died on the 30th of
September, 1867, and at his funeral, which was attended
on the 2d of October, addresses were delivered by Drs.
Spring, and E. W. Dickinson, and the other services
conducted by several prominent clergymen in the neigh
borhood. Dr. Krebs was married in 1830, to Sarah Harris,
daughter of Andrew and Annie Holmes, of Carlisle.
Mrs. Krebs died in 1837, haring been the mother of
two childi-en, both of whom survived her. In 1839, he
was married to Ellen Dewitt, daughter of John Cham
bers, of Newburgh, who also became the mother of
several chEdren, and died in 1863. Both of his vrives
were persons of great exceUence, and contributed much
to his usefulness and happiness.
Dr. Krebs was a short, but thick-set man, and had
great quickness and energy of movement, and a counte
nance expressive at once of vivacity and strength. His
inteEect was much above the common order, being at
once rapid in its movements, and clear and logical in its
conclusions. He had an unusuaUy genial and versatEe
temperament, and, without compromising his dignity,
could accommodate himself to every variety of character
and cEcumstances. His mind was of an eminently
practical turn, and could never be at rest unless it were

330 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
working out some beneficial results. His Chiistian
character was marked by great quietness, earnestness,
and efficiency ; and, when his mind was not clouded
through the influence of bodily disease, by great cheer
fulness also. His sermons on the Sabbath were gener
aUy written, and were fuU of evangelical truth, exhib
ited in a luminous and impressive manner. His inode
of deUvery was simple and natural, and sometimes rose
to a high pitch of earnestness. He could extemporize
vrith great ease and fluency, and some of his unpremed
itated utterances are believed to have been among his
most effective. With great executive ability, directed
and sanctified by a living faith, and a gracious influence
from above, he was a most active and useful member of
aU ecclesiastical bodies. Indeed, he adorned every rela
tion he sustained ; and when he passed away, aU who
had known him, felt that he entered on a glorious re
ward. CORTLAJSTDT van RENSSELAER, D.D.
CoETLANDT Van Eensselaee belonged to one of the
most ancient and honored f amUies in our country. His
father was General Stephen Van Eensselaer, a man of
immense wealth, and great personal and political influ
ence, weU known as the " Patroon " of Albany. His
mother was a daughter of the Hon. William Patterson,
Governor of New Jersey, and one of the Associate Jus
tices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Both
parents were not only distinguished in the walks of
phUanthropy, but possessed, in other respects, a marked
Christian character, and were specially careful to train

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 331
up theE chEdi-en in the nui'ture and admonition of the
Lord. He was born in Albany, on the 25th of May, 1808.
He passed his early years at home, but in due time vvas
fitted for coUege, and entered at Yale, where also he was
graduated in 1 8 2 7. For three years after his graduation,
he vvas engaged in the study of the Law, and, in 1830,
was admitted to the Bar in the State of New York.
Before the close of that year, however, the great purpose
of his lEe seems to have been changed, and he resolved
to devote himseE to the ndnistry of the Gospel. This
was in consequence of his having experienced a sEent
but thorough change of character, which led him to vrish
to make the most of lEe, as an opportunity for doing
good, and as a preparation for Heaven. Accordingly,
in 1830, he became a student in the Theological Seminary
at Princeton, but, after remaining there two years, took
his dismission, and connected himseE vrith the Union
Theological Seminary in VEginia ; and there he passed
the last year of his preparation for the ministry.
Mr. Van Eensselaer, during his whole theological
course, seems to have been deeply impressed especiaUy by
the moral degradation of the slaves at the South ; and
no sooner had he left the Seminary, than his efforts for
ameliorating their condition began. He accepted an in-
Adtation from a distinguished VE-ginia planter. General
Cocke, at that time weU knoAvn in the walks of Christian
benevolence, to live in his family, and labor among the
occupants of his plantation. Here, and especiaUy through
the influence of Mr. Van Eensselaer, was built one of the
first, if not the vei-y first, of the chapels in Virginia for the
reUgious instruction of tho colored population. In thia

332 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
seE-denying work of endeavoring to instruct and elevate
these poor people, he continued rigorously engaged until
the fall of 1835, when certain changes in the political state
of things not only made his position an uncomfortable one,
but revealed to him the necessity of seeking another
field of labor. Accordingly, in a letter to the West
Hanover Presbytery, by which he had been ordained,
he asked for his dismission, stating what he had regarded
the sources of encouragement in his labors, and what he
then regarded as the death of all his hopes of usefulness
in that field.
Mr. Van Eensselaer, on leaAdng VEginia, came north
ward, and in 1837 was instrumental of establishing
a chm-ch in Burlington, N.J., and was installed as its
Pastor on the 29th of June. He resigned his charge
in May, 1840, but always retained for the church a
warm affection, and was ready to do his utmost for the
promotion of its interests. For two or three of the fol-
loAring years, he lived chiefiy in Washington City,
where he supplied the pulpit of a feeble chm-ch. In
1843, he was inrited, by the Board of Directors of the
Theological Seminary at Princeton, to undertake an
agency for increasing its funds. He accepted the ap
pointment, and traveEed over a large portion of the
United States, and coUected one hundred thousand dol
lars ; and when he resigned his commission, he refused
to accept any compensation for his services, aud insisted
even on paying the expenses of his long and tedious
journey. In 1845, Mr. Van Eensselaer received the degree of
Doctor of Dirinity, from the University of Ncav York.
Early in 1846, he was elected, by a unanimous vote of

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 333
the Presbyterian Board of Education, their Correspond
ing Secretary. In this office he performed what may
justly be considered the great work of his lEe. He en
tered upon it under a deep sense of its magnitude, and a
corresponding distrust of his own abEity for the success
ful performance of it, but at the same time vrith a reso
lution that scarcely knew a limit, and in humble depen
dence on the higher influences of God's grace. And in
this work he showed that he was wiUing to spend and
be spent. He wrote and published numerous essays and
addresses, designed to awaken the pubUc mind to the
importance of a thorough Christian training. He as
sisted many a poor youth of promise either by his own
generous contributions, or through the kindness of others
which he enlisted in theE- behalf, to gain the requisite
qualifications for the Christian ministry; and it is
believed there are those stEl actively and faithfuEy en
gaged as the ministers of Chiist, who, but for his influ
ence, Avould never have been invested Arith the sacred
office. In short, his ruling passion was to help forAvard
the cause of Christ, especially in coimection Avith the
great object to which he was devoted, — the increase
and the improvement of the Christian ministry. He
had many testimonies of respect and good-AvEl fi-om the
Presbyterian Chui-ch, one of which was his being chosen
Moderator of the General Assembly in 1857.
The Elness that brought Dr. Van Eensselaer to his
grave, was a lingering and protracted one. For many
weeks previous to his death his case vvas regarded hope
less ; but so intent was he on doing good, that, after he
became too feeble to use his pen, he kept on writing
by another's hand. Dm-ing the session of the General

334 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Assembly at Eochester, in May, 1860, the announce
ment of his death was daEy expected ; and, as a testi
mony of the high regard which that venerable body bore
for his exalted worth, they all (numbering more thai
three hundred) signed theE names to a letter, expressive
of the warmest gratitude for his distinguished services.
On the morning of his death, he was carried out upon
the veranda, that he might enjoy the fresh aE, and the
beautiful prospect that opened around him ; and while
there, the cord that bound him to life was broken. He
died on the 25th of July, 1860, and the discourse at his
funeral was deUvered by the Eev. Dr. Hodge, of Prince
ton, Doctors Plumer, Boardman, and Chester, partici
pating in the services. His remains were taken to
Albany, and interred in the family vault.
Dr. Van Eensselaer was married, in 1836, to Catha
rine, daughter of Dr. Mason T. Cogswell, of Hartford,
Conn., for many years one of the most eminent physi
cians in that state. They had eight children, — six sons,
and two daughters ; five of whom, vrith their mother,
stUl surrive.
Dr. Van Eensselaer was a large, strongly buEt man,
and, during the greater part of his lEe, enjoyed rigorous,
uninterrupted health. His face would lead one to ex
pect a clear, practical, well-ordered mind, rather than
one of extraordinary brEEancy. His manners were
simple and unostentatious, without any of those artifi
cial airs which are too often associated vrith the con
sciousness of superior rank. His mind was natm-aEy
clear, comprehensive, and correct; and though it had
been subjected to careful culture, it was mauEestly
most in its element when it was devising or carrying

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 335
out plans of doing good. His heart easily warmed vrith
generous affection, and his ear opened spontaneously to
the tale of want or sorrow. His religion diffused itself
as an aU-pervading influence, sanctifying and elevating
his whole character. In his family, he was a model of
gentleness and kindness, but never lacking in domestic
dignity and decision. In the ordinary intercourse of
Ufe, he was always upon the lookout for opportunities
of doing good, and either by a word in season, or by
some timely gEt, he v^ery often accomplished his object.
In the pulpit, he could not be said to be eminently at
tractive to the multitude, but his sermons were always
fuU of sound evangelical thought, clearly and vigor
ously expressed, and pressed upon the heart and con
science vrith much more than ordinary power. In the
various more public relations to the Church which he
sustained, especially in the office of Secretary and Gene
ral Agent of the Board of Education of the Presbyterian
Church, the generosity of his heart, in connexion with
his exceUent common-sense, and thoroughly practical
tendencies, made him eminently a man of mark. He
liv^ed to bless his generation, and through them his
good influence vriU extend to posterity ; and, as long as
the record of his lEe remains, his name vriU be held in
cherished remembrance.
That which, more than any thing else, gave complexion
to Dr. Van Eensselaer's character and Ufe, was his de
votedness to his self-denying work, in connection vrith
the position of ease and worldly independence that
seemed to come to him as his bEthright. After he had
graduated at coUege, and fitted himself to enter the legal
profession, in which, doubtless, he might have become

336 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
eminent, he directed his thoughts to the Christian min
istry ; and froEi that time, he seemed to forget evei'v
thing else in the one aU-engrossing object of doing good.
What were great worldly possessions, including all the
luxmies of life, to him who had deliberately consecrated
every thing to the serrice and gloiy of his Eedeemei- ?
He began his professional career among the slaves of
VEginia, and he closed it in faithful efforts, and gene
rous benefactions, designed to elevate the character of
the ministry throughout our whole Presbyterian Church ;
and the whole interval was spent in intense devotion to
his work. Let every scoffer at the mimstry contem
plate this noble character, and be confounded. Let every
minister of the Gospel contemplate it, and be encour
aged, strengthened, comforted.
PHINEAS D. GURLEY, D.D.
Phineas Densmoee Gueley, the youngest chUd of
Phuieas and EEzabeth (Fox) Gurley, was born at Ham
ilton, Madison County, New York, on the 12th of
November, 1816. But during the infancy of this son,
the family removed to ParishvEle, St. LavTrence County.
His father was bom and educated a Quaker, though his
ancestry were Scotch Covenanters ; and his mother was
a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, though
she frequently attended the Presbyterian Church, and
in aE her intercom-se was a model of Christian charity.
He received the rudiments of his education at the acad
emy in ParishvEle. As a chUd, he was remarkably
amiable and gentle in his disposition, and was especially
distinguished for a spirit of reverential obedience toward
his parents.

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 337
In the year 1831, a revival of religion, of great inter
est, was experienced in the v^illage in which his lot was
cast. Under a sermon preached by the Eev. Dr. Can
non, of Geneva, he became deeply impressed with a sense
of his own sinfulness, and, after a season of intense
agony, found rest, as he believed, in a cordial acceptance
of Christ as his Sariour. Shortly after this, he united
vrith the church in ParishvEle, being then about fifteen
years of age.
Immediately after this, he not only felt a desEe, but
formed a purpose, to become a minister of the Gospel ;
and his father, though his pecuniary means were limited,
finaUy consented that he should receive a liberal educa
tion. Accordingly, after haring been engaged in his
preparatory course about a year, he was admitted a
member of Union College, in 1833, before he was six
teen years of age. At the close of his first year iu col
lege, he was summoned home to see his mother die ; but
before his arrival, she had departed, learing it as her
dying message to him, " that he should be a faithful
minister for Jesus." This message was treasured among
his most cherished remembrances as long as he lived. The
scantiness of his pecuniary resources obliged him to
teach a school at intervals, during his college course :
but notArithstanding this, he maintained a high position
in his class, and graduated, in 1837, Arith the fEst
honor. Shortly after his graduation, Mr. Gmdey entered
the Theological Seminary at Princeton, where also he
took a very high stand, as a scholar, a gentleman, and a
Christian. During the vacation of 1838, he performed
missionary labor in Sussex County, Del., and, by thia
23

338 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
means, not only acquEed a greater facility of extempo
raneous spealdng, but learned many important lessons
that he was able to turn to good account in his subse
quent ministry. In AprE, 1840, he was licensed to
preach the Gospel, by the Presbytery of North Eiver,
at Cold Spring, New York. His first sermon, which was
preached in Newburgh, shortly after his license, made
so decidedly favorable an impression, that it brought
him an immediate caU to become Associate Pastor vrith
the Eev. Dr. Johnson, who was then far advanced in
Ufe. The chui-ch in Indianapolis, Ind., haring become va
cant in 1839, its strength was much reduced by the
vrithdrawal of a large number, who formed a second
church (N. S.), with the Eev. Henry Ward Beecher
as their Pastor. The fEst church, consisting of about
one hundi-ed and fifty members, and worshipping in an
old and incommodious edifice, requested Dr. Archibald
Alexander, through a commissioner to the General As
sembly, in 1840, to recommend to them some suitable
person for a minister. He recommended Mr. Gmley ;
and, accorcEngly, Mr. Gmley was applied to, accepted
theE inritation, and, on the 15th of December, was re
ceived by the Presbytery of Indianapolis, was ordained
to the work of the ministry, and instaUed as Pastor of
the chm-ch which had caUed him. Here he very soon
acquired a poAverful influence, not only by his correct,
able, scriptural preaching, but by his faithfulness as a
pastor, and his considerate, exemplary deportment in aU
the relations of life. The rapid increase of his congre
gation created the necessity for a new church-edifice ;
and this was buEt, chiefly in response to his appeals and

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 339
t lf<-)rts, and was dedicated in May, 1843. In the early
part of that year, a rerival of religion took place under
his ministry, in which his labors were most abundant,
and from which was gathered much precious fi-uit.
During his ministry here, he visited Cincinnati, Fort
Wayne, and several other places, in seasons of rerival ;
and his labors were always attended vrith a mauEest
blessing. In November, 1849, Mr. Gurley preached in the
FEst Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio, and assisted
the pastor in the communion service. That congrega
tion, becoming vacant soon after, elected him as its
Pastor. Influenced largely by a regard to the health
of his family, he accepted the call, and was installed
by the Presbytery of Miami, in AprE, 1850. Here he
remained four years, during which time he was inde
fatigable in his labor, and the church enjoyed unwonted
prosperity. The pastoral relation of the Eev. Dr. D. X. Junkin, to
the F Street Presbyterian Church, in Washington City,
having been dissolved in October, 1853, the congregation,
by adAUce of the several Presbyterian ministers in Balti
more, unanimously caUed Dr. Gmley (for meauAvhile he
had received the degree of Doctor of Divinity) to become
theE Pastor, and that Arithout even haring had the op-
portimity to hear him preach. He immediately visited
Washington, and preached to the congregation, who, af
ter haring heard him, repeated theE call. He returned
to Dayton, and announced to his people his determination
to remain with them ; but, upon more matm-e reflection,
he reversed his decision, and resigned his charge, and, in

340 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
March, 1854, was installed pastor of the F Street Chm-ch,
by the Presbytery of Baltimore. Here he continued
discharging his various duties vrith great fidelity anc
success, untE he finished his com-se with joy.
In 1858, he served as Chaplain in the Senate of the
United States. In 1859, a union of the Second Presby
terian Church vrith the F Street Church having been
consummated, the united body was known from that
time as the New York Avenue Church, Dr. Gurley
continuing its Pastor. To the buEding of the noble
edifice now occupied by this church, he contributed
largely, by coEecting funds, both at home and abroad.
In 1865, the church vrith vvhich he was connected, in
accordance vrith his adrice, established a Mission Church
in the northern part of the city, which he helped to
sustain and advance by every means in his power. He
had a high estimate of the importance of Church Exten
sion, and, both by his teachings and his example, did
much to promote it.
Dr. Gurley was a commissioner from his Presbytery
to the General Assembly that met at St. Louis, in May,
1866. As ChaEman of the Judicial Committee of that
Assembly, he. exerted a commanding influence, and was
especially active in securing the passage of certain reso
lutions, having a bearing on the then distracted state
of the country and the Church. The same General
Assembly appointed him a member of the Committee
of Fifteen to confer vrith a simEar Committee of the
New School General Assembly, in regard to the reunion
of the Presbyterian Church. Here he labored vrith
great care, and yet vrith great diligence, and, though a*

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 341
first doubtful, became ultimately satisfied, of the desEa-
bleness of reunion. He was again commissioned by his
Presbytery to attend the General Assembly which met
at Cincinnati, in May, 1867. Of that body, he was
chosen Moderator ; and by the promptness and skiE vvith
which he presided, as weE as the graceful and cordial
welcome which he gave to the delegation of foreign
ministers present on the occasion, he excited general
admiration. Dr. Gm'ley's ministry at Washington brought him in
contact vrith many of the higher class of minds ; and
several of the successive Presidents of the United States,
and many others holding exalted stations, were among
his stated hearers. With President Lincoln, especially,
he was on terms of intimacy ; and one reason which the
President gave for liking him as a preacher, was, that
he kept so far aloof from politics. Dr. Gurley, as a
pastor, vvas called to attend him in his last hours ; and
after the death-scene was over, he offered a most touch
ing and impressive prayer; and afterwards, at the fun
eral, delivered an address of great pathos and power.
He accompanied the remains of the President to their
last resting-place in Springfield, Illinois, and there closed
the series of funeral services.
At the time of Dr. Gurley's attendance at the Gen
eral Assembly at St. Louis, his health seemed firm,
andthere was every thing in his appearance to justify
the expectation that he would see yet many more yeai's
of active usefulness. But even then, he was rapidly
nearing the close. On the first Sabbath of February
of the next year, he felt constrained to ask leave of

342 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
absence from his congregation for a few months, in the
hope of being able to return to them vrith inrigorated
health. His request was readUy granted, and he went
immediately to PhEadelphia, and stopped vrith a much
loved fiiend there for about six weeks. Thence he went
to Eichmond, Va., and afterwards to Brooklyn, N.Y. ;
and then to Clifton Springs. Being fully impressed
vrith the conriction that his malady must soon prove
fatal, he requested that he might be carried back to
Washington to die ; and, accordingly, he reached his
earthly home a little less than a week before he took
possession of the building of God. Liis departure was
eminently peaceful, and even glorious. Lie died on the
30th of September, 1868.
In October, 1840, he was married to Emma, young
est daughter of Horace Brooks, M.D., of ParishvEle,
where he spent his early years. Mrs. Gmley and five
childi-en — thi-ee sons and two daughters — sm-vdA'^ed
him. Dr. Gurley had a weE formed and robust frame, that
seemed fittingly to represent his intellectual and moral
character. He had great power of endurance, and
could perform more labor than almost any of his con
temporaries. He was earnest and firm, yet condescend-
uig and concEiatoi-y. His preaching was not highly
impassioned, but it was eminently clear, evangelical, and
spirited, and fitted to find its way to both the under
standing and the heart. As a Pastor, he united great
discretion vrith great fideUty, and no one knew better
than he how to mingle in scenes of sorrow. As a Pres
byter, the various ecclesiastical bodies vrith which he

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 343
was connected have testified their respect for him and
their confidence in him, by placing him in their highest
positions of influence and I'esponsibility. As a Chris
tian, he was humble, zealous, consistent ; and his grand
inquEy always was, vvhat his Lord and Master would
have him to do.

Septimus Tustin was born of respectable parentage,
in the city of Philadelphia, about the beginning of
the present century. Losing his father at an early
age, the responsibility of rearing and sustaining a large
family devolved upon his mother, a Christian lady of
earnest and devoted piety.
WhEst engaged in secular buiness as a juvenile sales
man, the subject of this memoir became hopefully pious,
by the Divine blessing upon the united instructions of
his excellent mother and of his minister, the Eev.
James Patterson, at that time pastor of the First Pres
byterian Church in the Northern Liberties of Philadel
phia ; and at the age of fourteen he made a public pro
fession of his faith in Christ as a member of Mr. Pat
terson's church.
Having thus consecrated himself to the serrice of his
blessed Eedeemer, his mind soon become impressed with
the conviction that it was his duty to prepare for the
work of the Christian ministry. Accordingly, he at
once commenced a course of literary study, vvhich he
prosecuted for several years under the direction of his
pastor ; at the same time attending lectures at the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania. His theological course was

344 peesbyteeian chuech.
prosecuted at the Seminary of the Associate Eeformed
Church, then in charge of the late Eev. Dr. Banks.
Haring completed his theological studies, Mr. Tustin,
being led" providentially to visit Washington city,
placed himself under the care of the Presbytery of
Baltimore, at the session held at Georgetown, D. C,
December 30, 1822 ; and at an adjourned meeting,
held in the Second Church of Washingrton, Eev. Daniel
Baker, pastor, (now the New York Avenue Church,) he
was licensed to preach the gospel, January 20, 1823.
After spending several months in missionary labor
in the ricinity of Georgetown, Mr. Tustin returned to
his native city, where he was employed by the Female
Missionary Society of Philadelphia as their missionary
to the inmates of chai'itable institutions. While thus
emjdoyed he was commissioned by the Committee of
the Home Missionary Society, of which Dr. Thomas H.
Skinner was then chairman, to visit and explore the re
gions of North Carolina, of which Washington, N. C,
was the centre. Here he labored for several months
with good success, laying the foundation of the Presby
terian Church in the town of Washington.
Eeturning to Washington, D. C, Mr. Tustin was or
dained to the ministry October 7, 1824, in the First
Presbyterian Church, the old edifice still standing at
the foot of Capitol Hill, then a fashionable church un
der the pastoral care of the Eev. Eeuben Post. This
ordination was the first performed by the Presbytery
of the District of Columbia, after it had been consti
tuted by the dirision of the Presbytery of Baltimore,
May 11, 1824.
Immediately after being ordained, Mr. Tustin was

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 345
called to the pastoral care of the Presbyterian church
in Leesburg, Virginia, and, Avhile there, was united in
marriage vrithe Eliza Maria, third daughter of the late
EeA^. Stephen B. Balch, D.D., one of the pioneeers of
the gospel in Georgetown, D. C, and the founder of
the Bridge Street Church in that place.
From Leesburg Mr. Tustin was called to the church
at Charlestown, Virginia, as the successor of the late
Eev. Dr. John D. Matthews. In this charge he con
tinued to labor usefully and happily for nine years ;
the membership in that time being more than doubled,
and the congregation building a new and enlarged
house of worship.
The next position occupied by Mr. Tustin was that
of chaplain to the University of Virginia, an office to
which he was unanimously chosen, and the duties of
which he discharged vrith great acceptance to the Fac
ulty and students during the whole period for which,
by the laws of the Institution, a minister of any one
denomination is elected to serve.
At the close of this service Mr. Tustin was chosen
pastor of the church at Warrenton, Virginia, where he
remained four years. During this time the memorable
controversy betAveen the Old School and Ncav School
parties in the Presbyterian Church raged Avith violence
throughout the land, which, in 1837-38, resulted in
the dirision of the body. With the vicAvs he then held,
Mr. Tustin became a decided adherent of the Old School
branch, and so influenced the people of his charge —
/lot, however, vrithout some difficulty — as to assume the
same position upon the questions at issue.
While pastor at Warrenton, Mr. TustiL was elected to

346 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
the chaplaincy pf the House of Eepresentatives, serv
ing one term, with leave of absence from his congrega
tion for that purpose ; but the congregation refusing to
continue that leave, he declined a re-election. In the
year 1841, however, a vacancy occurring in the chap
laincy of the United States Senate by the death of the
lamented Mr. Cookman, Mr. Tustin was chosen his
successor ; and in this position of influence and respon
sibility he was continued five or six consecutive terms.
During this time he became associate pastor vrith the
late Eev. James Laurie, D.D., of the F Street Church,
a relation Avhich subsisted about four years. Through
out this period Mr. Tustin preached on alternate Sab
baths at the Capitol and in the F Street Church ; and
during the ^veek, (alternating weekly vrith the chaplain
of the House of Eepresentatives,) opened the Senate and
House of Eepresentatives, attended two weekly serrices
in connection \vith the F Street Church, and aided in
the conduct of the Congressional prayer-meeting on
Saturday night.
After retiring from the collegiate charge of the F
Street Church, Mr. Tustin became identified vrith an
effort to build a new church edifice on Eighth Street.
This enterprise, prosecuted with indefatigable energy
under many difficulties, was successful to the comple
tion of the house, the gathering of the congregation,
and the installation of the pastor, when his health, yield
ing to the pressure of long-continued and arduous labor,
compelled him to entertain the idea of retiring to a
field of labor requiring less exhaustive labor ; and, un
der the adrice of Presbytery, he accepted a call to be
come the pastor of the Church of Hagerstown, Maryland.

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 347
After spending some years in the serrice of this
church. Dr. Tustin became successively pastor of the
Churches of Germantown, Pa., Havre de Grace, Md.,
and Aberdeen, Miss. This last charge, however, al
though not less agreeable and successful than any that
he had occupied, he promptly resigned, as soon as he
discovered the hostile attitude about to be assumed by
the State of Mississippi against the authority of the
Federal Government.
Eeturning to Washington City he accepted a position
under the Government, tendered by his particular friend,
the Hon. Judge Holt, then Postmaster-General, and
which he held till the time of his decease. But CA^en
in advanced age and greatly
enfeebled health, our departed
brother delighted still to serA^e
his Master in the ministry of
reconciliation. For several '
years previous to his call from .
toil to reward, he served as
stated supply to the Fifteenth ^a^
Street Colored Presbyterian "^^^v-
Church. To his people he bov. Dr. Ta.^tm.
was the venerated pastor and the beloved friend,
Avatching over their interests with parental solicitude ;
and, on theE part, with peculiarly grateful apprecia
tion. Beside his lifedong labor in the ministry, Tiv. Tustin
ever felt a deep concern in the cause of education,
which Avas particularly manifested in his earnest de
votion to the work of building up the interests of Lafay
ette CoUege. His influence as a member of the Board

348 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
of Trustees, and his counsels as president of that board,
were material wealth to that once struggling enterprise.
But the work of Dr. Tustin's life, the honor of which, we
believe, next after that of his acceptable ministry, he
most highly appreciated, was his appointment by the
Old-School Assembly, in session, 1863, at Peoria, Illinois,
to bear fraternal salutations to the sister Assembly of
the other branch, then sitting in Philadelphia, and to
inaugurate a correspondence which, it was most ardently
desired, would result iu a permanent and happy re
union. The manner in which he was enabled to discharge
this delicate and important mission received not only
the hearty approval of both Assemblies, and of the
great body of both branches of the Church, but also,
and above all, the gracious approbation of Him who
purchased the Church with his own blood. The con
sciousness of this, together Avith the happily consum
mated re-union, in which this honored servant of God
Avas permitted to participate, Avas, we well know, to
him a source of exalted pleasure, and the occasion of
devout gratitude to God.
Although Dr. Tustin's general health had been for a
long time feeble, yet, by the favor of a kind Provi
dence, he enjoyed, up to the hour of the stroke of paraly
sis, Avhich proved fatal, a good measure of bodily
strength, and the full vigorous use of his mental facul
ties. Such Avas the nature of the attack which occurred
on Thursday morning, October 26, 1871, and so decisive
and speedy were its effects, that, vrithout any material
reaction, on Saturday evening, October 28, he fell
sweetly asleep in Jesus.

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 349
In family worship, on the evening prerious to his
attack, he was more than usually animated, praying in a
spirit of fervor that seemed almost an inspiration, for
his family and friends, the saving favor of his covenant-
keeping God, and for himself that he might be prepared
for the appointments of his Father's vrill. The work of
God's servant was done ; the chariots of Israel were
rolling down the ethereal highway to bear him home,
and he beheld the flashing of their approaching heavenly
light. Of Dr. Tustin as a pulpit orator, aE that ever heard
him bear testimony that he was one of the most elo
quent and impressive. In the palmy days of his ministry
crowds of attentive listeners were wont to sit entranced
by the ferrid strains of his impressive declamation, or
subdued to deepest sympathy by the pathos of chast
ened thought. His discourses were composed with
great care, and were remarkable for clearness of
arrangement, practical tendency, chaste and classical
diction. They were in all respects model compositions.
As a pastor. Dr. Tustin was diligent, judicious, and
faithful ; as a presbyter, courteous to his brethren, re
fined and genial in social intercourse; and as a hus
band, father, and friend, an exemplary Christian.
The honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity Avas con
ferred upon Mr. Tustin in the year 1852, by Jefferson
College, Pennsylvania. GAEDINEE SEEING, D.D., LL.D.
Gardiner Spring, the eldest son of the Eev. Samuel
Spring, D.D., of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and

350 PRESBYTERL4.N CHUECH.
grandson of Colonel John Spring, of Uxbridge, Mas
sachusetts, was born in the town of Newburyport,
Febmary 24, 1785.
At the age of fifteen he entered Yale College, and
soon was known as a patient and diligent student.
Amono- his associates were John C. Calhoun, and Ben-
net Tyler.
He was graduated, as valedictorian of his class in
1805. He then studied law, first in New Haven, and
subsequently on the island of Bermuda, Avhile also en
gaged as a classical and mathematical teacher.
Eeturning after two years to New Haven, he opened
a law office on the corner of Chapel and State Streets.
Becoming, as he believed, a chEd of God in 1803, on
AprE 24, 1809, he united Arith the Centre Church, and
during the same summer, after hearing a sermon from
the Eev. Dr. John M. Mason upon the text, " To the
poor the Gospel is preached," he commenced the study
of Theology at the Andover Seminary.
In May, 1810, he was called to the pastorate of the
Brick Presbyterian Church, New York, where he was
installed on August 10, 1810. From this date until his
death, August 18, 1873, he remained pastor of the Brick
Church. He Avas elected President of Hamilton Col
lege, and afterwards of Dartmouth College ; but in each
instance he declined the honor.
While throughout his whole ministry devoting him
self exclusively to his chosen work of preaching the
Gospel, he republished his most elaborate discourses in
book form. Among them Avere :
Essays on the distinguishing Traits of Christian
Character.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 351
Tlie life of Samuel J. Mills.
Internal Evidences of fnspiration.
Eragments from tlie Study qf a Pastor.
Tlie Obligations of the World to the Bible.
The Attraction of tlie Cross.
The Bible not of Man.
Tlie Bethel Flag.
The Poiver of the Pulpit.
The Mercy Seat.
First Things.
Tlie Glory of Christ.
Tlie Contrast.
The Mission of Sorroio.
Pulpit Ministrations.
Personal Reminiscences.
Dr. Spring was married May 25, 1806, to Susan,
daughter of Captain Barney, of New Haven. Mrs. Susan
Spring was spared to her husband and family for fifty-
four years, until August 7th, 1860. Dr. Spring was
married to Abba Grosvenor Williams, on August 14th,
1861. Mrs. A. G. Spring died a short time before her
husband. Dr. Spring was a man of erect form and tall stature.
His step was rapid, his manners dignified, his whole
appearance betokening the seriousness and devotion of
one who was always and everywhere the ambassador
of Christ. His view of the duty of a pastor is well
expressed in his " Power of the Pulpit," and he was
himself an admirable model of his oavu description :
" Of all the labors of a minister, the most important
is preparation for the pulpit. The pulpit is his great

352

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

sphere of action ; the work of the pulpit is the great
AA'ork to which God has appointed him ; it is the work
in which most is effected for
the great object of that ap
pointment. Every preacher
ought to do all that in
him lies to give effect to
his preaching, and make
evei-ything subserve the pul
pit."
'v\f/'' i^^^^^S''^ ' It required no little seK-de-
Eev. Dr. Spring. ulal aud determination to ful
fil this his ideal. Fond of judicial cases and practiced
in their conduct, he shunned the courts, where he would
have been a welcomed auditor during the years of his
early ministry. Not unsocial or ascetic in tempera
ment, he debarred himself from many companionships
and intimacies. Urged to address popular assemblies,
and to lecture on themes of current interest in connec
tion vrith other public speakers, he often refused such
invitations. He even abridged or avoided many visits
from house to house that would have cheered and edi
fied him. Shutting himself, from principle, in his
library, he bestowed his best hours, his most devoted
study, his severest diligence to produce, to chastise,
and to elaborate discourses that were for his hearers
the " beaten oil of the sanctuary."
Dr. Spring's long ministry was in all respects too
interesting and too important to be duly reviewed in
a sketch of a few pages. He came to New York as a
New England man, and during his first years in the
city, his church gathered to it a large proportion of

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 353
persons who had come from the New England States.
Numerous revivals ocpurred under his faithful preach
ing. His sermons to the impenitent were singularly
solemn and powerful, and awoke at different times de
termined opposition.
His efforts in behalf of every benevolent society
were constant and full of influence.
He was instrumental in organizing the " New York
Evangelical Missionary Society of Young Men."
He signed the call of a meeting, which, held in the
session-room of the Brick Church, resulted in forming
the " American Home Missionary Society," before
which he preached the annual sermon in 1823.
He was, as a member of the Assembly of 1831, in
fluential upon what was then called the " Committee
of Compromise," that secured the permanence and har
mony of the Presbyterian Board of Domestic Mis
sions. He was a member of the Andover Seminary when
MEls, Hall, Judson, NeAvell, and Nott there laid the
foundations of the American Board of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions. He attended the meeting of the
General Assembly of Massachusetts that prepared the
plan of this Society. His father was one of its found
ers, and in this father's church its first collection was
taken. It was then said of Dr. Samuel Spring : " The
Doctor has given us a grand sermon, and he has
preached allthe jack-knives out of the sailors' pockets."
From that hour the son was a constant friend of this
society. He corresponded vrith its first missionaries ; he
became a corporate member in 1824. He attended most
of its anniversaries, and preached its Annual Sermon at
33

354 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Utica, in 1835. When the Board of Foreign Missions
of the Presbyterian Chm-ch was organized he became
active in its behalf. Indeed, one of the Euling Elders
of the Brick Church has been accustomed to say that
in his own parlor the initiatory meeting took place
which resulted in the founding of this Board, and that
his pastor's was a moving spirit in its progress.
Of the Convention that formed the American Bible
Society in 1816, Dr. Spring was a member. His father.
Dr. Samuel Spring, was also present as a representative
of the Merrimack Bible Society : and it was the only
occasion on which the father and the son occupied the
floor of the same deliberative body. Dr. Spring was
from that day devoted to the interests of this Society.
He served on its Committees, being Chairman of the
Committee on Versions for very many years." His
Dissertation on the Rule of Faith was preached in
1844, by request of the friends of this Society.
Other associations that still live to bless the world
found in Dr. Spring a powerful helper. The American
Tract Society and the American Colonization Society
are among them. His name stands in the list of Presi
dents of the New York Colonization Society, and of
many other benevolent associations. In the Sabbath
Eeform, he took an early and lasting interest. He did
much to save God's day from desecration by preaching
upon the obligations of the Sabbath, and by encourag
ing societies and committees formed to protect it. He
constantly afiarmed it to be " the envelope which vrraps
up aU the means of grace and salvation."
When the question of the Eeunion of the two
branches of the Church was first discussed. Dr. Spring

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 355
exhibited a profound interest in it, and used all his
efforts to promote it.
And when it was finaUy accomplished, and in his own
church the steps vvere taken to consummate it in the
coining autumn, he seemed to be overjoyed, and said
with aged Simeon, " Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant
depart in peace according to Thy word, for mine eyes
have seen Thy salvation."
EetEed from active pastoral duty, his last days were
passed in quiet and hopeful waiting for the hour of his
departure.. And sweetly falling asleep in Jesus, he
rests from his labors, and his works follow him.

FJ^Tll! II.

Every rigorous association has an organic lEe, which
is marked more or less clearly by individual character
istics. This is especiaEy true of the Church of Christ.
In a subordinate sense, it is true of each of the di
visions of the Church. The Greek, the Eoman, the
Protestant Church — each is indiridual. The same is
true of denominations, and of the minor dirisions into
which denominations are separated. The history of a
Chm-ch, therefore, must be treated somewhat as we treat
that of a man, — presenting it in its personal character,
as weE as in its relations. In writing even single chap
ters of such a history, some analysis must be made of
the elements and forces which give the history its tone.
The Presbyterian Church of America, for example,
may be compared to the Mediterranean, E not to the
Atlantic. It has a direct connection vrith the Church

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

357

universal, as the inlying has vrith the outlying sea. The
great tides may fiow into it, as they run through the
Straits of Gibraltar ; but it is, to some extent, what its
tributaries make it. It has its dirisions, as the Medi
terranean has its Adriatic and its JEgean ; but each of
these dirisions contains some peculiarities, depending in
part upon position, in part upon what is brought down
into it. What even a tributary shall be depends upon
the springs which run among the hiUs.
Our present purpose is to indicate some of the earthly
sources from which what was recently known as the
New School Presbyterian Church of the United States
derived its life, whEe separated from that portion of the
Chm-ch of which it once formed and now forms an in
tegral part, by a ridge, which, thrown up in a period of
convnlsion, has gradually subsided in a period of calm.
We cannot, however, specEy ' aE of even • the most im
portant of these sources. For obrious reasons, we
must confine ourselves to notices of those whose
earthly Eves are already terminated, though conscious
of the imperfection which such a restriction neces
sitates. Some of those who have contributed most to the indi
vidual character of the New School Church, stEl remain
vrith us, Seri in codu/m redeant. We must be sEent re
specting some of whom we are not permitted to speak.
We have, indeed, less space than we could vrish, for
reference to those of whom we may speak. Some hon
ored names vrill be missed by the reader from these
scant pages. Let our excuse for sEence respecting them
be, that our pm-pose is not that of the biographer, so
much as that of the analyzer ; hence, a few of those who

358 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
have contributed to the individual Ufe of the Church.
must stand as representatives of the rest.*
The first officers of this division of the Church after
the separation, were : Samuel Fishee, D.D., Moderator ;
the Eev. E. W. Gilbeet, and Eeskine Mason, D.D.
Clerks. These officers were well chosen. AU of them were
strong and judicious men. Dr. Fisher had long been
knovm in the Church as one of its most faithful workers
and vrisest counseUors. At the period of the dirision, he
was in his sixty-first year. He was bom in Sunderland,
Mass., June, 1777. His father, an officer in the Army of
the Eevolution, had died a short time prerious at Mor
ristown, N.J. He resided during his boyhood vrith an
uncle, — Dr. Ware, at Conway, Mass. He was graduated
at WEEams CoUege, at the age of twenty-three ; and
pursued his theological studies in part vrith Dr. Hyde,
of Lee. His first pastorate was at WUton, Conn., where
he was ordained, in 1805. In 1809, he was sent by the
General Association of Connecticut, to represent that
body in the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church at PhEadelphia. Here, he formed an acquain
tance vrith Eev. Dr. Eichards, of Morristown, and ac
companied him to that place for a visit to the scene of
his father's decease. This visit opened for him the door
into the Presbyterian Church, as, soon after. Dr. Eich
ards removed to Newark, and Mr. Fisher was invited to
take charge of the Morristovsm congregation. The call
was accepted. The congregation was one of the largest
* The materials for these sketches were coUected from various sources ; but
we are specially indebted to Sprague's ArnwHa of the American PvMt. and
Wilson's Presbyterian Historical Almanac.

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 359
in New Jersey, embracing, as it did, over five hundred
famUies, and covering a vride territory. His ministry
here was most acceptable and useful ; but ended in the
year 1814, when he took charge of the FEst Presbyte
rian Church in Paterson, where he remained twenty
years, pursuing his duties vrith signal success, and exert
ing a powerful infiuence vrithin and far beyond the
bounds of his parish.
In the summer of 1834, warned by faUing health to
seek less arduous duties than those which had multi-
pEed around him in this long and important pastorate,
he resigned his charge. His ministry, after this pe-
iod, was comparatively broken, though he continued to
labor for many years at Eamapo, at Greenbush, N.Y.,
and at other places. He died in 1856, vrith the depart
ing year, in the family of one of his chEdren in New
Jersey. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon
him by the CoUege of New Jersey, in 1827 ; and he
honored the title. As a theologian, he was clear and
thorough. His abiUties in this department of thought,
were so highly respected, that he was one of the most
prominent candidates for the professorship of theology
in Auburn Seminary, at its founding. Agreeing very
nearly in his views vrith Dr. Spring, of New York, who
was always prominent in the Old School Church after
the dirision, he believed in the substantial soundness of
the New School, and so sought to prove in the sermon
which he preached before the General Assembly, when
resigning the Moderator's chaE in 1839.
As a Preacher, he was dE-ect, instructive, scriptural,
and in the highest sense, popular. Of no rivid fancy.

360 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
he possessed the power of vivid statement. He under-
stood " the art of putting things." By no long, involved,
and glittering sentences, did he at once please and be-
vrilder. His utterances were crisp and unmistakable.
The common people heard him gladly, and the most
intelligent were interested and satisfied.
" There was in his preaching," says Dr. Magie, long
his neighbor and intimate friend, " a sort of naturalness
of tone, of style, of deEvery, which used to interest me
exceedingly. It was the simplicity of a chUd, yet a
simpUcity consistent vrith robust thought. No one,
probably, ever suspected that there was a spice of affec
tation in the free, open countenance, in the clear, impres
sive eye. It was impossible to doubt his deep sincerity
of soul. As he became warmed vrith his subject, the
tender accents and suffused eye told his hearers how
much concerned he felt for theE weEare."
Among those who heard him preach occasionaUy in
the pulpit of Dr. Eichards, at Newark, was a young
student-atdaw, who has since become one of the most
brUUant Ughts of the American pulpit, — Dr. Samuel
Hanson Cox., This young man, not yet a Christian,
Ustened to Mr. Fisher vrith no common attention ; and
when himseE a preacher of vride popularity, he retained
an unabating respect for one who had early inspEed
him " vrith a general awe of God, whose ways he vindi
cated vrith sincerity and masteiy of manner." The de
votion of Dr. Fisher to the interests of the Church, is
weE Elustrated by a reminiscence which Dr. Cox thus
recaEs : —
" When I was fii-st elected Moderator of Presbytery,
I remember we met in his parish at Paterson. He was

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 361
j ust recovering from a perilous attack of sickness. We
hesitated about meeting there, but were urged by pas
tor and people. So vve came, but vrith no idea of see
ing him in Presbytery. On the morning of the second
day, however, he entered most abruptly, to the aston
ishment and grief of his brethren. He looked reduced,
haggard, wan, and scarcely able to walk; when he
spoke instantly, as foUows : —
" ' Mr. Moderator, I could not be easy vrithout leaving
my couch, and at least reporting myself in Presbytery.
I am grieved, when you are here, not to be able to serve
you, and to enjoy the expected pleasure of your society.
I have been very sick ; but have reason to thank God
for my present convalescence. My brethren vriU, I
know, susta,in my reasons for absence. I pray the Lord
to be vrith you, and hope you wiU remember me and
mine in your prayers.'
" The effort was almost too much for him. Two mem
bers rushed to his support, and led him to his chamber
again, with increasing admiration of his character, and
love of his companionship."
By rqason of age and weakened physical powers, he
was not conspicuous in the Church after the dirision ;
but was generaUy beloved and trusted to the end.
In the year 1814, a number of students from Prince^
ton Theological Seminary risited Wilmington, Del., to
labor in the spEitual harvest-field. An extensive revival
was prevaUing. Among these students was Eliphalet
W. Gilbert,* then in the junior year of his Seminary
course. Liis efforts in this rerival were so peculiarly
¦* Bom iu Lebanon, Columbia County, N.Y., Dec. 19th, 1793.

362 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
blessed, that, as soon after his licensure as his serrices
could be commanded as pastor, he was vrith great una
nimity recaUed to WEmington and settled over the
Second Presbyterian Church. There he remained un
tU 1834, during which year he accepted the Presidency
of Delaware CoUege. He returned, however, to WE
mington in the foUovring year, in obedience to the caU
of the Hanover Street Church. In 1841, he became
once more President of Delaware CoUege, and retained
this office until 1847, when he accepted a caE from the
Western Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia. Here he
remained until his death, in 1853.
The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon
him by the University of Vermont, in the year 1841.
He was a man of clear mind and of decided views ;
skiUed as a controversialist, yet of such courtesy to his
opponents, that when the joust was over they were
among the first to sit down in his tent. He was " mighty
El the Scriptures," and studied them vrith constant care.
His effort as a preacher was to set forth the truth in
strong, sharp outlines ; yet these outlines were often E-
luminated and tinted by rivid lights and touches. He
was an omnivorous reader, and drew knowledge and il
lustration from every available source. In the discus
sions of theological questions he charmed his hearers
by crystaUine statements, acute distinctions, and the play
ful radiance which he threw over aU. His lEe ran into
that of the Church at large Uke a clear, bright stream,
whose qualities were only diffused, not lost after the
stream had ceased to flow.
Dr. Eeskine Mason had a mind in some respects

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 363
like that of Dr. GEbert ; but more highly cultured and
more roundly developed. His great centre of influence
was that of the pulpit. It has been justly maintained
by one of our distinguished men, that the normal posi
tion of Presbyterianism, sociaUy considered, is interme
diate, and thus most favorable for reaching and mould
ing aU ranks of society. Dr. Mason's influences went
upward and outward upon some of the most intelligent
persons of his day. The son of one of the most cele
brated preachers America has produced;* brought up
in our commercial metropolis, where he came in con
stant contact with men of wealth and culture, — all the
associations and habits of his early life fitted him for the
station he was to occupy. He did not inherit aU the
mental qualities of his father. His heart was incapa
ble of those fervors which sometimes rendered the elo
quence of his father so grand. He had not that versa
tility which gave his father a supreme eminence in the
pulpit, on the platform, in the class-room, or in the so
cial cEcle. Yet in him some of the best qualities of
the sEe were reproduced. He had, perhaps, even more
logical power. He would never have been styled a popu
lar preacher by those to whom eloquence is a matter of
pulse and thriU. He never had occasion to complain of
that " popularity of stare and pressure and animal heat "
which Dr. Chalmers deplored. The crowds drifted into
other churches than his.
We remember hearing him once in the church in
Bleecker Street, N.Y., which was so long identified vrith
his name. Our seat was in the half-empty gallery.
* Erskine Mason was the youngest child of Dr. John M. Mason, and wae
bom in the city of New York, April 16th, 1805.

364 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Tlie audience upon the main floor was thin and scattered.
But probably no church in the city contained at that
moment a larger proportion of the students of the Union
Theological Seminary. He was the prime favorite of
that school of the prophets. We felt sure, as we looked
and listened, that were he preaching to these students
alone, he would through them reach many thousands.
They were lenses gathering light to scatter it abroad.
But in the pews sat also some of the most influential
men of the denomination. Preaching to those who
helped to fashion the thought and the polity of the
Church, he exerted a power whose sources were never
known by multitudes who felt it. ControUing the pe
cuniary resources of men of wealth, he wrought in
every work of benevolence to which they contributed.
Some of the most distinguished jurists in the land were
among his auditors. To them he brought proof of the
positions he assumed. And, aocustomed as they were
to the analysis of argument, they listened vrith an in
terest like that which is felt in the court-room, and vrith
a satisfaction far greater than that often derived from
learned expositions of earthly law.
Yet he was not a man of cold intellect. His thoughts
were often warmed by a pathos which broke though
theE white Ughts, and made them tremulous as vrith an
iuward fire. He frequently addressed the consciences
of his hearers in powerful appeal. None could more
forcibly apply the great principles of God's law. Fcav
could more deeply move the heart by the presentation
of the Cross. His discourses were always carefully
prepared, and deUvered from manuscript. Even his
more famiUar lectures were put together vrith unusual

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 365
care and skEL He was never distinguished for extem
poraneous speech ; his habits and constitutional tenden
cies were unfavorable to it. He loved a perfect argu
ment better than a glowing peroration. He was a
quiet man, and avoided every thing that might look like
display. He was a lover of peace and order. There
was more than a dash of heroic blood in his father's
veins, and he was always ready for the charge or the
fray ; but the son was not less loyal to God and the
truth. His courage fitted him for the defence of the
citadel, E not for the sti-uggle of " the imminent and
deadly breach."
He was sincerely attached to the dirision of the Church
into which he feU vrith his Presbytery in 1838, and
served it weU untE 1851, when, at the early age of
forty-six, he died. He maintained to the last, a special
interest in the Union Theological Seminary, having given
to it much of his time for six years as the occupant of
its ChaE of Ecclesiastical History.
Among the princes of the pulpit, whose influence
penetrated the more educated classes at the time of the
dirision, none is more deserving of mention than Dr.
Edward D. Geieein. His influence, however, upon this
branch of the Church vvas mainly posthumous, as he
died in Newark, November 8th, 1837. We wiU there
fore, make no attempt to sketch his Ufe and character.
Had vve space to occupy vrith even outUned sketches
of aU now deceased who were promEient in the New
School Church at the period of separation, we should
give conspicuous place to such men as Ezea S. Ely, D.D.

366 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
distinguished as preacher, as editor, as educator; and
Dr. Ajbsolom Petees, xmsurpassed as a parUamentarian :
and Drs. Wm. Hill and Gideon N. Judd. We must
leave names only at some points where we would rather
hang pictures.
We have referred to Drs. Mason and Griffin, as rep
resentative of the preachers who sent theE influences into
the more cultured classes of society. Of those who, at
this early period, wrought upon the popular heart, none
was more effective among the masses of the city, than
Dr. James Patteeson, of PhEadelphia.* In reading the
descriptions left us of his person and character, one can
scarce avoid thinking of him as of some Hebrew prophet.
To our fancy, he was not unlike the prophet Jeremiah,
who is compared by an English scholar to the thin-ris-
aged, fiery -souled Dante. " In Dante, as in the prophet, we
find — united, it is true, vrith greater strength and stern
ness — that intense susceptibEity to the sense of wrong,
which shows itseE sometimes in passionate complaint,
sometimes in bitter words of invective and reproach. In
both, we find the habit of mind which selects an image
not for its elegance or subUmity, but for what it means ;
not shrinking even fi'om what seems grotesque or tririal,
sometimes veiUng its meaning in aUusions more or less
dark and enigmatic."
The impression thus defined, is confirmed by the de
scription of one who knew Dr. Patterson long and weU.
"At least six feet in height, and so lank that he seemed
stUl taUer ; eyes black, and set deep in his head ; coaVl
* Bom at Ervina, Pa., March 18th, 1779.

BIOGEAPmOAL SKETCHES. 367
black, straight hair ; skin dark, and complexion so pale,
as often to seem cadaverous ; high cheek-bones, and
large mouth ; aU wrought by labor, responsibdity, ner
vous sympathy, and feeble health, into an expression,
grave, almost sad ; his eyes often streaming vrith tears,
and his voice in its higher tones, shrUl, piercing, lugu
brious, or severe, — he seemed like an old prophet of
Israel, risen from the dead — a messenger from another
world come to warn the vricked to flee from the wrath
to come."
He was by no means vrithout early cultivation. Nor
did he begin his ministry in the use of headlong methods.
Educated at Jefferson CoUege, he employed himseE for
some time as a teacher of the classics. Pursuing his
theological studies at Princeton, his earlier sermons were
marked by careful elaborations of thought and style.
But he soon changed his mode of address, in obedience,
doubtless, to the laws of his indiriduality ; yet also in
consequence of a conriction that his great pm-pose,
which was the speediest conversion of the largest num
ber of souls, could be effected by a simple, unadorned,
vigorous handling of the truth. His passion for souls
was intense. Here, again, we are reminded of Jeremiah.
" Oh, that my head were waters, and mine eyes a foun
tain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the
slain of the daughters of my people." Yet, unUke Jere
miah, he never vrished that he " had in the vrilderness,
a lodging-place of wayfaring men," that he might sepa
rate himself from those whose vrickedness he deplored.
On the contrary, when, in 1814, he assumed the pastor
ate of the FEst Presbyterian Church, in what was theu
styled the "Northern Liberties" of PhEadelphia, he

368 PEESBYTEELAN CHUECH.
applied himself to his work vrith aU his rigor. Sm--
rounded by " the poor, the Eliterate, the animalized, the
stupid, the heathenish," he adopted every available
means to reach them. Dr. Mason would never adver
tise his church serrices. Dr. Patterson used all the
machinery of advertising, — cEculating handbills, dis
playing placards on the walls, announcing novel texts
and subjects ; then when the people were attracted to
his church, pleasing them with quaint illustrations, that
he might, after gaining theE attention, drive the truth
home into theE hearts. He believed in revivals, and in
promoting them by every legitimate means. He believed
in' work, and infused his energy into all about him. He
had little patience with a drone. He loved to think of
God as making "His angels, spirits. His ministers a
flaming flre." His revmlsion from the arts of a re
fined popularity, led him sometimes to distrust the meth
ods of those of his brethren whose natures were tuned
to a different key ; but this only made him the more
popular Arith the masses, who gave him theu- affec
tion and yielded to his persuasions in a remarkable
degree. In the courts of the Church he was the same impul
sive, yei; true-hearted man that he was in pulpit and par
ish. He was ardently attached to any cause Avhich he
espoused, and is remembered by those vrith whom he
Avas associated after the dirision, as one of theE warm
est and most efficient friends. And at last, when it was
announced that he was dead, " there was one unanimous
lament throughout the city. His praise was ou all lips,
and at least ten thousand people, of aU characters and
classes, came to drop a tear on the dust of one who

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 369
had faithfuUy served God, in spending his life to sanc
tify and save the lost."
As representative of those who at this.period preached
the Gospel most effectively among the scattered popu
lation of the frontier, vve select, vrithout hesitation. Dr.
Gideon Blackbuen.* Born in one of the counties of
Virginia which touched the wilderness, his early tastes
were those of the woods and the hills. His ministry
commenced about the year 1792, in what were then the
wilds of Tennessee, among a people inured to hardship,
and constantly exposed to assault from hostUe Indian
tribes. This exposure had occasioned the establishment
of many forts in the region. To one of these forts, that
of Maryrille, the young preacher marched with a com
pany of soldiers, clad in a hunting-shirt and carrying
his trusty rifle. He was the Daniel Boone of the pul
pit ; and when in his frequent excursions from one fort
to another, he" gathered the settlers — as he delighted to
do — for worship, he often preached under the shadoM^
of a tree, his rifle leaning against the trunk, while his au
ditors supported themseh^es on their weapons. His hab
its of preaching thus formed were direct and " off-hand."
The Avoodsman despises a preacher who cannot shoot or
speak " vrithout a rest." In later days, and before more
cultivated audiences, he never used a manuscript. He
seldom Avrote his sermons. The associations of the for
est always clung to him. His method of preparing his
discourses was to make the survey of his subject while
on his feet, fixing Ms points the whEe by some sudden
* Son of Eobert Blackburn, and bom in Augusta County, Va. , August 37,
1773. 34

370 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
dashes of his pen. As he himself describes it, "he
blazed his path."
It woidd be a mistake, however, to suppose him rough
in manner or in character. He was of erect and manly
figure ; his bearing vvas that of a soldier, graceful and
dignified. He was never a critical scholar ; and some
times provoked the criticisms of the fastidious by care
less expressions or by unsound pronunciation. He was
a good scholar, nevertheless, and once disarmed a classi
cal hearer by an apt illustration from Xenophon. Liis
language in the pulpit was as free as the winds am6ng
the oaks, and as rivid as the sunlight on the leaves. He
especially excelled in word-painting. His descriptions
vvere revelations. His hearers seemed rather to see than
to listen. When describing the ci-ucifixion, the cross
stood out on the mount beneath a darkened sky. When
depicting the scene of the plague of the serpents, his
hearers involuntarily turned to look at the sufferer, as,
pointing Arith his finger, he cried, " There ! see that wo
man ! one of the serpents has just struck her and she
is fainting ! " It is doubtful whether Whitfield was
ever more powerful than he was in some of his higher
moods. In his later Ufe, he devoted himself to the interests
of education, and Avas as successful among his pupils
as he was in the pulpit. During three years he was
President of Centre CoUege, Kentucky, and subsequent
ly devoted himseM to the foundation of an institution
for the education of ministers at CarlinviUe, IU., which
by his foresight is now liberally endowed, though it
has not yet attained the position among seminaries
which he designed to secure for it.

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 371
He can scarcely be described as an ecclesiastical
leader. He was too far from ecclesiastical centres for
that, but the Church acknowledged his power, and wEl
keep his name in honorable remembrance.*
What Dr. Blackburn designed for the theological edu
cation of the Church, has been abundantly realized in
other institutions than that of CarlinriUe. One of the
brightest lights of Auburn was Dr. James Eichards.
Born at New Canaan, Ct., in 1767, his mind developed
so rapidly that at the age of thEteen he became teacher
in a district school. His early desire to enter the min-
- istry was gratified after some struggle and delay. He
was ordained, May 1st, 1797, by the Presbytery of New
York, and at the same time installed pastor of the Pres
byterian Church in Morristown, N. J., whose pulpit he
had then been supplying about three years. He soon
became so favorably known in the Chui-ch at large, that,
in 1805 he was elected Moderator of the General As
sembly. He was then but thirty-seven years of age.
In his OAvn church he enjoyed abundant success. Within
two years after his instaUation, more than one hundred
persons were gathered into the Church — fruits of a pow-
erfid revival.
In 1809, he was selected by the Presbyterian congre
gation at Newark, as successor to Dr. Griffin, who had
been invited to a professorship in Andover. To occupy
the place of such a man involved no smaU responsi
bility. Most men would have shrunk from it. Dr.
Eichards was fully aware of the difficulties of the posi
tion offered him, yet he accepted it. He had no hope
* Died at CarUnviUe, August 33d, 1838.

372 PRESBYTERIAN OHUECH.
of reproducing the eloquence which had rung from that
pulpit. Nor did he attempt it. He had faith in the
truth, though his trumpet Avas not silver. He resolved
to giA'e the whole vigor of such poAvers as God had be
stowed upon him to his work. He could do no more ;
God would bless him in that. And He did. Without
affecting even the literary graces of style, without at
tempting to carry captive the fancy, he laid deliberate
siege to the hearts and consciences of his hearers. The
issue Avas triumph. The Church gained in strength and
in numbers. In 1811, a large colony went from it. No
better proof of the strength of Dr. Eichards need be
furnished than that, after this colony had recaUed Dr.
Griffin from Andover, these two men labored side by
side, Arith perhaps equal honor and usefulness, for a pe-
I'iod of six years.
Dr. Eichards's merit as a theologian became so con
spicuous during his residence at Newark, that when, in
1819, the Theological Seminary of Auburn was estab
lished by the Synod of Geneva, he was invited to
occupy its principal chair. He was already one of the
DEectors of the Princeton Seminary, and had received
the degree of S.T.D. in one year ft-om both Yale and
Union Colleges.
When flrst invited to Auburn, in 1820, he declined;
but Avhen, in 1823, the invitation was renewed, he re-
A^ersed his former decision, and entered upon his new
duties vrith his habitual method and devotion.
Seldom has a mind more perfectly balanced been ap
plied to the systematic unfolding of theology. Pro-
founder students have wrought in the mines of relig
ious truth. Men of more genius have set forth some of

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 373
the ideas of Eevelation. He laid no claim to originality,
but he was a careful and independent explorer of regions
which others had traversed. He vvas a thorough sur
veyor where others had styled themselves discoverers.
He foUoAved no path, simply because some great man
had cut it ; yet he can scarcely be said to have cut hia
own way. He was a safe teacher, because he avoided
aU extremes ; a clear teacher, because he told only what
he knew ; an instructive teacher, because he shoAved all
portions of revealed truth in their relations.
Llis theological stabEity was early tested by the revi
val excitements which prevailed in Western Ncav York
in 1826-7. Evangelists, with novel methods of preaching
and of labor, went from vElage to village. Ferv^or often
flamed into passion. Denunciations vvere huiled from the
puljDit against all who were opposed or indifferent to the
" measures " adopted for the conversion of souls. Even
public prayer was sometimes filled vrith riolent epithets
against those who were " keeping sinners out of heaven."
The President of Hamilton CoUege is said to have been
prayed for as an " old gray-headed sinner," and the Al
mighty vvas entreated to raze the waEs of the college to
the ground, E necessary, to bring the President and his
associates to " a better mind." The excitement reached
Auburn. Dr. Eichards saw, and was ready to confess,
that some good vvas accomplished by the means which
commended themselves neither to his judgment nor his
experience. He could not be untrue to his convictions.
He therefore refused to give the new methods his sanc
tion. The whole community was aroused. Many who
had been large contributors to the Seminary thought
him unwise. He vvas charged vrith fighting against the

374 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Holy Ghost. The students in the Seminary caught the
prevaUing sentiment. Some who had hitherto revered
him as a model of vrisdom, publicly prayed for his con
version. But his firmness never for a moment gave
way. " None of these things moved him, and he lived
not only to see the' finger of scorn which had been
pointed at him vrithdi-aAAm, and to hear the voice of
obloquy that had been raised against him die away, but
to know that his course had met the approbation of the
Arise and good everywhere; to receive in some in
stances, the hearty acknowledgments of those who had
been among his most active opponents."
The mental and moral qualities thus exhibited, emi
nently fitted him for the trying scenes of 1837-8. On
account of the peculiar position of the Auburn Seminary,
as related to the Synods of the State of New York, and
especially to that of Geneva, all eyes were, dui-ing these
years, tmned to Dr. Eichards. Well did he bear their
scrutiny. He greatly deplored the division of the
Church, whEe, vrith clear exactness, he set forth the theo
logical tenets of the congregations by which he was sur
rounded ; and in so doing, unconsciously contributed even
then, to that reunion which he was never to see unless
through eyes celestial He retained at once the confi
dence of those vrith whom the dirision left him, and the
respect of those from whom he parted. He never liked
the characteristic titles by which the severed bodies
were distinguished. An aged woman and former pa
rishioner, once asked his vrif e, in his hearing, whether he
were a New School, or an Old School man. She referred
the question to him, and received the reply : " My dear,
I hope I belong to the school of Christ."

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. ¦ 375
It is not pretended that a careful reader of his writ
ings vriE approve every sentence or sentiment ; but the
judgment of any one whose mind is as fair as his, may
be relied upon to pronounce him safe, judicious, and
sound — a man whose memory as a Presbyterian, the
whole Church may cherish with veneration and love.
* His portrait fitly adorns the opening of this chapter
of a Eeunion Memorial, as that of one who both by life
and character, reminds us that we are to be neither of
Paul, nor of Apollos, nor of Cephas, but of Cheist.
Closely associated vrith Dr. Eichards, both as pupil,
and as f elloAV-teacher, was Dr. Henry Mills. He was
born at Morristown, N.J., in 1786, and graduated at
the College of New Jersey, in 1802. For some years
after his graduation, he was occupied in teaching, and
in the enjoyment of such forms of culture as prepared
him for the principal work of his lEe. His theological
studies were directed by Dr. Eichards, then at Newark.
In 1816, he was ordained and installed pastor of the
Presbyterian Church in Woodbridge, N. J. As a
preacher, his style vvas simple, warm and pure. His
sermons were elevated and spEitual. Possessed of a
rich vein of humor, which often betrayed itself in his
conversation, he was serious and tender in the pulpit.
True humor often gives tone to pathos, when no one
except a mental analyst would suspect its infiuence.
The discourses of Dr. MEls were carefuUy written ; yet'
often supplemented by extemporaneous remarks, through
which, with great earnestness and deep feeling, he
roused or melted the hearts of his hearers.
As a scholar, his attainments were unusual for the

376 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
period at which his active Ufe began. He was led to
the study of the Hebrew language while yet undeter
mined as to his professional life. He was already so
weE prepared for the duties of Professor of BibEcal
Criticism, that when the Seminary was founded at
Auburn, he was inrited to the discharge of those duties
in that institution. He accepted the invitation, and for
many years instructed his classes with aU a scholar's
tastes and enthusiasm. In 1854, he resigned his post,
because of physical disability ; but wore the honorable
title of Professor Emeritus until his death, in 1867. He
was poet as well as scholar ; and published a smaU vol
ume of translations from the German, in 1845. Few
have contributed more, or with less ostentation, to the
spEitual Ufe of the Church, which he loved vrith
fervent, E not vrith demonstrative, affection.
One of the most distinguished teachers in Union The
ological Seminary was Dr. Henry White.* We retain
a ririd remembrance of him as he appeared inthe class
room. TaU and erect, his figure was rounded by no su
perfluous tissue. His haE, .prematurely gray, was a
" crown of glory." His face was thin, and his eyes,
remarkable for brdliancy, burned Uke the Ughts of a
Pharos. And as a Pharos, he stood above the shoals
of theological speculation. Whoever sailed by him,
avoided wreck. His was a steady warning to keep the
•open sea, or to anchor in the roadstead. He had Uttle
sympathy vrith that class of minds which love most the
dangerous places of theological study. Not that he
would leave such places unsounded, unsurveyed ; but
* Bom in Durham, Greene Comity N. Y., June 19th, 1800.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 377
that he distrusted the fascinations which such places
have for the venturesome and the curious. His system
was pre-eminently clear and simple. His aim was to
teach what he himseE had learned from the Bible as a
revelation. That which the Scriptures did not reveal, he
was not anxious to explain. His terminology was no
more obscure than were his thoughts. He never found
it necessary to invent a word to express his meaning.
He peculiarly disliked the mists of German philosophy,
by which the students of his day vvere often befogged.
To him there was little more than despair in the cele
brated exclamation of Hegel, " But one man in the world
understands me, and he misunderstands me." Perhaps
he did not give the thinkers of the trascendental school
the credit which was justly their due. He believed
that many of theE novel and seemingly vast ideas were
like the spectres of the Brocken, — images of them
selves, projected on a cloud. He encouraged discussion
in the lectui-e-room, drew it out often by ingenious meth
ods. And Avhenever a subtle doubt or distinction Avas
advanced, he listened vrith patience. Every " difficulty "
was considered vvith candor. If it was real, it was dis
cussed vrith discriminating abEity. If it was a trap, he
was sure to spring it upon him who set it. He pos
sessed great powers of sarcasm, and was master of the
reductio ad absurdum. If the students ever held their
breath whUe one of theE- number assumed a position
which was ingenious, but untenable, they generally re
covered it as the professsor made answer, and saluted
the unlucky student, as his argument suddenly disap
peared, v^dth a hearty burst of laughter.
With Dr. White theology was an eminently pi-acti-

378 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
cal science. He weU knew what practical use could be
made of it, for he had himself been a successful preacher
and pastor. He was graduated at Union College in 1 8 2 4,
vrith high honor, having especiaUy distinguished him
self in the departments of mathematics and philosophy.
He then pm-sued his theological studies at Princeton.
His only pastorate was in the Allen Street Chm-ch, New
York, over which he was installed dm-ing the winter of
1827-8, and where he remained untE he was elected
Professor of Theology in Union Seminary at the time of
its founding, — 1836.
His preaching was remarkably lucid and strong.
"There was one class of topics," says. President Asa
D. Smith, " that relating to the guilty ancl lost condi
tion of the sinner and his obligation to immediate re
pentance, in the handling of which he had, in my judg
ment, few liring equals. I have heard strains of dis
course from him which seemed to me, in their awful,
overwhelming impressiveness, more like that wonderful
sermon of President Edwards on ' The Justice of God
in the Damnation of Sinners,' than aught I remember
to have heard from the Ups of man." Yet he had
vrithal such kindness of nature, such sympathy with
the impei-Eled, such an abiding confidence in Christ as
the sinner's refuge, that he won whUe he alarmed. Like
McCheyne, he preached terrible truths " tenderly." And
the result was mauEest ; as during the eight ' years of
his pastorate he received into his chm-ch about four
hmidred persons, nearly half of them on profession of
theE faith. He was no " legalist," in the opprobrious
sense of that term. His oaati experience had taught
him the preciousness of the Saviom-. " Oh, the unspeak

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 379
able preciousness of the atonement by the blood of
Christ ! " cried he, when dying. " I have preached it
for years, and taught others to preach it, and noA^ I
knoAA" its worth." If Sinai thundered from his pulpit,
the light of the Cross also beamed there, Uke that of the
sev^en lamps which burned vrith steady radiance amid
the flashes of the apocalyptic vdsion of the Throne.
CEcling about aU the symbols of terror was the sign
of mercy — the " rainbow, in sight like unto an emerald."
The love and the reverence of all who sat at his feet
attest the success vrith vvhich he employed and in
structed others to employ, the great truths of the Gospel.
He was stiU in the rigor of manhood vvhen he died,
but ready to be unclothed and clothed upon. During
the last year of his earthly lEe, vvhich closed in 1850,
he supplied the pulpit of the Sixteenth Street Presby
terian Chm-ch, in New York, and there preached not only
vrith the power but also vrith the success of his earlier
days, using old weapons, repeating old rictories.
One of Dr. White's associates in the Seminary was
that truly great Biblical student and scholar. Dr. Ed
ward Eobinson.* Of him, also, we retain inefface
able memories. UnUke Dr. White in person, he was of
massive, almost heavy frame. His prominent eyes would
haA^e denoted to a phrenologist an extraordinary gift of
language. Yet vrith aE his taste for, and facUity in the
acquEement of foreign tongues, he was by no means
fluent in speech. This was due, perhaps, to his habits
of critical investigation. He was never a preacher, and
his instructions were not given with the freedom of
* Bom in Southington, Conn., April 10th, 1794.

380 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
one accustomed to popular address. The little peculai'i-
ties of manner which one remembers as indiridual signs,
were those which would be brought from the study, — ¦
the tapping of the Ups vrith the finger, — the abstracted
roUing of the pencE in the palm of the hand, while
some question of exegesis was explained.
To eulogize him as a scholar, would be superfluous.
His merits have been acknowledged on both sides of
the Atlantic. He never sought distinction, yet fame
made haste to celebrate his worth. In his experience
was Elustrated the sentiment of the Latin historian,
"He vvho slights fame shaE enjoy it in its purity."
He entered HamEton CoUege in 1812, while that in
stitution Avas an outlying post of cirilization. From
the fii-st he was the leader of his class. Leaving col
lege, he commenced the study of civil laAV ; but soon
abandoned it for the more congenial pursuit of letters.
In 1821, Ave find him in Andover, Mass., publishing an
edition of the Iliad of Homer, vrith a Latin introduc
tion. WhEe thus occupied, he turns his attention to
Llebrew, and masters it so rapidly that in 1823 he is ap
pointed instructor in that language in the Theological
Seminary. Prof. Moses Stuart was then in the zenith
of his popularity. Comparison vrith him was inerita-
ble. But the younger teacher suffered nothing from
contrast vrith the elder. Less biilEant than Prof. Stu
art, he was soon regarded as more safe. Less enthusiastic
and " electric," he was confided in as more exact and
thorough. The two worked weE together. One kindled
the interest of the student in a study which is not gen
eraEy attractive ; the other gave him the precise analy
sis of the passage he was seeking to elucidate.

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 381
But Hebrew never was the chosen language of Dr.
Eobinson. He always preferred the Greek; and de
voted himself peculiarly to the unfolding of its treas
ures, especially as found in the mines of the New Tes
tament. After remaining in Andover three years, he repaired
to Europe for vrider opportunities of study than this
country afforded. He spent four years abroad, residing
mainly at Halle and Berlin, and enjoying au intimate
association vrith such scholars as Gesenius, Tholuck,
Eodiger, and Neander. In 1830, he returned to Ando
ver, where he receiv^ed the appointment of " Professor
Extraordinary of Sacred Literature, and Librarian."
In 1837, he accepted the appointment of Professor of
Biblical Literature in the Union Theological Seminary,
on the express condition that before entering upon the
duties of the professorship, he should be permitted to
spend three or four years in exploring Bible lands, espe
cially the Sinaitic Desert and Palestine. The results of
this exploration, published in three volumes, gave him
immediate rank as a scholar and a scientific discoverer.
The gold medal of the Eoyal Geographical Society of
London Avas awarded him. The University of Halle
conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divimty, and
Yale CoUege that of Doctor of LaAVS. After entering
upon his duties in the Union Seminary, he continued to
discharge them, except as they were interrupted by
subsequent travel, untE his death, in January, 1863.
He made a second tour to Palestine, in 1852, and after
wards published an additional volume of his "Ee-
searches." He visited Germany, for relief from 'disease
in 1861, and died January 27, 1863.

382 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
His Uterary labors were incessant and varied, yet
always those of the Biblical scholar. He was the f oun
der of both the Biblical Repository and the Bibliotheca
Sacra ; and his contributions to both are of permanent
value. His Greek Harmony of the Gospels Avas a great
improvement upon that of any one who had attempted
that work before him. For his Greek and English
Lexicon of the New Testament, there is as yet no read
Uy accessible substitute.
As an exegete, he was critical, yet reverent. He never
sacrificed the truth to an accent or a particle. His riews
of inspiration were well-defined, and consistently applied.
In this respect, he Avas remarkable, — seeming the more
so, when we consider the Aride ranges of scholarship
over which he travelled. It is a prevailing complaint
of those who pm-sue their, studies in foreign lands, that
they become unsoundly " broad " in their opinions. Dr.
Eobinson Avas catholic, but never careless. He never
caught that critical spirit which interprets the Bible as
Neibuhr and others after him interpreted Eoman history.
He did not suspect fables in Genesis, because the story
of Eomulus and Eemus was doubted. He never ran
the knife through the threads of Eev^elation, that, first
destroying, he might then explain it. He was suffi
ciently " scientific" to recognize the difference between
the natural and the supernatural elements of the Scrip
tures; but not so scientific as to reject the supernatu
ral. He did not find a miracle where no miracle was
recorded, but he resolved no miracle into a myth. The
¦essential truths of the Bible were aU illumined by his
investigations ; they were never dimmed. It would be
an occasion of unfading regret that he died vrithout

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 383
leaving us a solitary commentary, had he not given to
Christian scholars such abundant materials for indepen
dent conclusions. His Lexicon is of more value to the
student than most, or than many commentaries. It is
easy to see that such a mind and heart must have ex
erted a powerful formative influence upon the Church,
through those vvhom he moulded and quickened. It is
not so easy to trace that influence to its limits. Om
niscience only can follow the lines of light, the pulsa
tions of the aE-, the transformations of moisture, or the
rital forces which go out and on from a great and sanc
tified human soul.
It is by no means easy to determine whether Dr.
Lyman Beechee * should be classed among the instruc
tors or the preachers of our Church. Logically, his
place in this record would be among the instructors ;
for his direct connections vrith the Presbyterian Chm-ch
vvere formed in the year 1832, by his acceptance of the
office of President and Professor of Theology in Lane
Theological Seminary. Yet, at nearly the same time,
he took his place among our pastors, by his installation
over the Second Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, in
1833. On the whole, considering his mental habits and
peculiarities, we should class him among the preachers,
and assign him a rank second to that of none. He was a
man of genius, and of an individuality most marked.
Genius always develops itself most perfectly in some
single line. Michael Angelo is great in art, MEton
in poetry. Neander had genius as a professor, none at
¦* Sou of Da-rid Beecher. Bom at New Haven, Conn. , October 13th, 1775.
Died at Brooklyn, January 10th, 1863.

384 PEESBYTEEIAN CHXTRCH.
all as an orator. One might compare Neander with
Dr. Beecher, when rehearsing odd stories of the ab
stracted ways of either. Either might appear in the
morning vrith a slipper on one foot, and a boot on the
other. Neander was never presentable except through
his sister's care. Dr. Beecher had often to submit to
adjustment by female hands, when he rushed from his
study AAdth a hopelessdooking manuscript, as the last
stroke of the church-beU died away. But, unlike Nean
der, Dr. Beecher was a preacher in grain. He was still
preacher Avhen he attempted the duties of professor.
Neander steadUy read from his manuscrijDt, tAvEUng a
quiU — the symbol of his poAver — in his fingers. Dr.
Beecher broke often impulsively aAvay from his manu
script, and preached to his students as if the " great
congregation " was before him. Liis feelings were per-
petuaUy breaking through the methods of his intellect
and flaming out in unpremeditated eloquence. He was
already a preacher by constitution, whEe, yet a lad,
he discouraged his uncle. Lot Benton, in all attempts
to teach him the mysteries of the ploAV. He went to
coUege expecting to be a preacher. He took notes of
Dr. DAright's sermons, " condensing and making skele
tons," Arith aU a preacher's instincts, though, as yet,
unconverted. His earliest attempt at literary composi
tion was an argument against Tom Paine's infidelities.
He discovered the fallacy of Samuel Clark's famous ar
gument for the being of a God, even while praising
the ingenuity with which his schoolmate, Eoger Sher
man, defended the f aUacy. He vvas always ready for
discussion, and always characteristic in his treatment of
the subjects he debated. He was not vrithout method

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES.

385

in his thinking ; yet method was not his distinguishing
peculiarity. Ideas lay in his mind in a state of fusion.
His favorite definition of eloquence, was, " logic afire ; "
and he exemplified his definition. Some men fiirst refine
theE thoughts by mental heats, then coin them. He,
not unfrequently, poured his out hot from the crucible.
He is said to have been, like other great preachers, oc
casionaUy dull. If so, it was because at such times the
furnace did not draw. In his more common moods, he
was anything but dull. Very seldom could the sar
casm of Heinrich Heine be applied to what he spoke
or penned, —
" I vvas reading this book, aud fell asleep. I dreamt
that I went on with the reading, and three times I was
waked up by its tediousness."
Such a man as this will
always be both understood
and misunderstood. The in
tensity of his convictions and
of the language in which they
are expressed, vrill be such that
he will neglect some proper
qualifications of his thought.
Some vrill say that he is
"no theologian," while few
theologians " to the manner born " will exert an im
mediate infiuence so penetrative and powerful. Dr.
Beecher could be exact in his statements, but we must
judge him by the laws of his individuality. Had he
been of cooler temperament, and of more cautious
habit, he would have been less effective. The discus
sions of the period of the division would not have cE-

Rev. Dr. Beecher.

35

386 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
cled so swiftly about him ; but he would have been far
less of a man.
To rehearse those discussions, or to make an analysis
of Dr. Beecher's riews at this time, is not vrithin our
prorince. We are unwiUing to disturb even the echoes
of the past. Indeed, there is now but little dispute that
though he made himself generaUy understood through
some tribulation, he was substantiaUy in accord with
those Church standards of which he considered himseE
representative and defender.
His great purpose in life was to move men rather
than to mould them. Individual himself, he did not
care to fashion men after other patterns than were de
signed for them by Him who planned their lives.
He would move all men so that they should become
disciples of the Lord. Thus by choice, as weU as by
nature and grace, he became a revival preacher. He
went to Lane Theological Seminary, avowedly to make
it a " revdval institution." He was attracted to the
West by the ardent natures which there awaited him.
He thought of the victories to be achieved for Chiist
among those who had carried the enterprise of the emi
grant into what he foresaw would be the heart of the
nation. He longed to be among the earliest in the con
flict. No other caU of duty could have drawn him from
his post at Boston, where he seemed to be accomplish
ing more than any other man could have done.
It must be conceded that the effect he produced upon
the preaching of his time, was signal and vride-reach-
ing. Methods of preaching change vrith the changing
generations. If to-day the pulpit is characterized by
more eloquence, by more " logic afixe " than it was fifty

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 387
years ago, it is partly because of Dr. Beecher's influ
ence. So, also, as to prevaUuig forms of theological
thought and expression ; Dr. Beecher's marks are upon
these, though he has left but Uttle which vriU be long
associated vrith his name in the ranges of theological
Uterature. His earthly immortality is not in print and
binding. His works vrill not go into the permanent
stock of booksellers, but his influences are abiding. In
Litchfield as an advocate of temperance and an earnest
preacher of the Gospel; in Boston as a corrector of
pernicious doctrinal errors ; in Cincinnati as intent upon
the salvation of souls, — he was like Elisha, casting salt
into corrupted waters. The salt was lost to sight, but
the fountains were " healed." He left to others the not
less useful work of laying the enduring curb-stones about
the fountains' rims.
It is impossible to give a perfect portraiture of Dr.
Beecher. We have not attempted that of which his
own chUdren despaEed. They sketched him, indeed,
from various sides and in various moods ; but condemned
each sketch as faint and feeble. His connection vrith
Lane Seminary continued through a period of twenty
years. He was faithful to it. He gave it all he had —
himself. He gained for it many friends and no incon
siderable endovAonents. He saved it in a time of ex
treme depression. He left it, having accomplished for
and by it, E not aU he hoped, yet more than a less san
guine spEit than his could have ever expected.
Among the most appreciative fiiends of Dr. Beecher,
and closely associated vrith him in the discharge of pas
toral duty whEe in Cincinnati, was Dr. Thomas Brain-

388 PRESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
' EED. Like Dr. Beecher, he sprang from Puritan stock.
He was a member of a famEy already rendered iUus
trious by the labors of that devoted missionary, David
Brainerd, and of his not less devoted brother John.
He inherited many of the qualities which braced and
gave tone to the characters of these missionaries. He
was bom in Levris county. New York, in 1804. " Chang
ing the sky " did not, at this period, change " the mind "
of New England famUies. Dr. Brainerd was carefully
nurtured in Puritan habits. His academic training was
thorough. His early purpose was to enter the legal
profession ; and vrith this in vdew, he devoted some time
to legal studies. But after being partially fitted for ad
mission to the Bar, he abandoned these studies and en
gaged in the duties of teacher at Philadelphia. There
he became a member of Dr. James Patterson's Church,
and formed an intimacy with him which was terminated
only by the death of that eccentric but useful man. He
remained in Philadelphia at this time but about a year ;
then repaEed to Andover to study for the ministry.
Soon after his graduation, in 1831, he went to Cincin
nati, and became pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian
Chm-ch in that city. This position he resigned at the
expiration of two years for the editor's chair, and con
ducted the Cincinnati Jou/rnal and the YoutKs Maga
zine nearly four years. Dm-ing this period it was that
he became associated vrith Dr. Beecher in the labors of
the pulpit in the Second Church. In 1837 he left Cin
cinnati to take charge of the Pine Street Presbyterian
Church in PhEadelphia, and remained in this pastorate
untE his death, in 1866. His relations to the New
School Church continued therefore through nearly the

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 389
whole period of its independent existence. And no
one was more thoroughly identified vrith it, or more sin
cerely devoted to its interests.
He was a man of remarkable personal influence.
Without the intense nature of Dr. Beecher, he had not
a little of that magnetic force which in Dr. Beecher
was so great. Without enjoying the culture of col
leges, he was better disciplined than are many coUege
graduates. He possessed by nature, or acquired by
taste, what some students never obtain. Sidney Smith
speaks of a fi-iend into whose brain you could get a
joke only by a surgical operation. Something like this
may be said respecting scholarly habits of thought and
speech in the case of those who have no natural apti
tude for them. Dr. Brainerd had the gift of mastery
over his mother-tongue, and used it as not abusing it
He had an uncommon fluency of speech, and his com
maud of language was well nigh perf ec.t. The choicest
expressions came instantly to his lips. Sometimes quaint,
he was never, Uke Dr. Patterson, grotesque. His sen
tences did not coruscate like Dr. Beecher's; but they
flowed like a pleasant, and sometimes sparkling, stream.
" From the lips of no one," says Albert Barnes, "could
fall more pertinent and fit words, more complete sen
tences, more beautiful figm-es, more striking Elustrations.
In description, in statement, in argument, in warning,
in appeal, in invective, his language presented the best
forms of the Anglo-Saxon tongue." He was peculiarly
happy in extemporary addi-ess. His congregation often
expected most, when on rising to address them he de
clared hEnself least prepared.
He ncA^er lost those tastes of the editor which wei-«

390 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
exercised, not formed, in Cincinnati. We say "not
formed," for they were inborn. " No man," says one
of distinguished authority, " can be a successful editor,
unless printer's ink beats iu his veins instead of blood."
Dr. Brainerd would have been successful had he de
voted his lEe to the periodical press. He would some
times write for the journals of PhEadelphia, and always
in a fresh and vivid style. A few articles from his pen
appeared in the Arnerican Presbyterian and Theologi
cal Review, whose origin was due to a councE of which
he was a member. He has left us no volume except
the Life qf John Brainerd, a book whose style is of
rare felicity.
As a Pastor, Dr. Brainerd was almost unsui-passed.
He was on terms of affectionate intimacy with the f am.
dies of his flock, — such intimacy that, E his visits were
ever unexpected, they were never unwelcome. He was
almost as likely to appear unheralded at the breakfast-
table of a parishioner, as at his tea-table, thus varying
the pleasure of an early morning ride by that of social
intercourse and influence. He made even casual ac
quaintances feel that they were his friends. He was
beloved by the young, into whose sympathies he entered
vrith aU the freshness of youth. No decay of physi
cal rigor ever affected his heart or checked its perennial
streams. To the very last his church was a favorite re
sort for young men. He never faded of their co-opera
tion in aU his purposes for the benefit of the Chm-ch
and of society.
In ecclesiastical matters he was always among the
foremost. He took a special interest in the work of
Church Extension in PhEadelphia. The founding of

BlOGEAPHICAi SKETCHES. 391
three of the most important churches in the city was
due in no smaU degree to his influence. The interests
of his denomination were always near his heart ; but
he was never offensively a denominationalist. The
whole city respected, revered, was proud of him. The
nation had his sympathy in its darkest days. He was
among the most active of those who contributed to the
comfort of our soldiers, as during the late civdl contest
they passed through the city or Ungered in its hospitals.
And when the news of the surrender of General Lee
thrUled the community vrith joy, his voice it was which
led the thanksgivijigs of the multitude, as by sponta
neous impulse they gathered under the shadow of In
dependence HaU. So ardent indeed were his patriotic
feelings, so incessant were his patriotic labors during
the period of strEe, that it is supposed his life was ma
terially shortened by their exhaustions. He officiated
in his pulpit in Pine Street for the last time, July 8,
1866. His text on this occasion was, " Abide vrith us,
for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." A
little more than a month after this the evening fell, the
day was over, and he passed " through night to light."
Another name, weU knoAAm in the annals of Presbyte
rianism, and associated more or less closely vrith that
stronghold of the Church, PhEadelphia, is that of Duf
field. Dm-ing the period of the . Eevolution, George
Duffield, D.D., was pastor of the ThEd or Pine Street
Presbyterian Church in this city. He was an ardent
patriot as vvell as an efficient minister, and officiated as
chaplain of the Continental Congress. His son George
was for many years ComptroUer-General of the State

392 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
of Pennsylvania, and a ruling elder in the Presbyterian
Church. He resided in Strasburg, Lancaster county,
where his son, perpetuating the same name, was born,
July 4th, 1794. This George Dufeield is the subject
of our present sketch.
In the line of the Duffields, fidelity to the truth for
conscience sake was conspicuous for many generations.
That member of the famEy who first emigrated to
America, left Ireland to enjoy Christian liberty, as his
ancestors had left England for the same reason. We
may be sure that nothing was lost fi'om the good quali
ties of the Duffield blood when the father of our pres
ent subject married Faithful Slaymaker, of Huguenot
extraction. It is thought, indeed, that her son inherited
her qualities, rather than those of his father.
In his youth, he was a wayward boy, but began to
regard lEe as having some earnest purpose, whEe in the
University of Pennsylvania, at which he was graduated
May 30th, 1811. His fii'st real interest in religion was
occasioned by overhearing the conversation of two godly
women; and his first conviction of sin, by a sermon
preached by Dr. Archibald Alexander, on prayer. The
way of peace he found long and difficult ; but was led
through it, so that soon after his graduation in PhEa
delphia, he repaired to New York, and placed himseE
for theological study, under the care of Dr. John M.
Mason, who, vrith great interest, directed his education
for the ministry, through the period of four fuE years.
He was Ucensed by the Presbytery of Philadelphia,
AprE 20th, 1815. He was then not quite twenty-one
years of age, but he had been subjected to a somewhat
rigorous discipline by the Presbytery, under whose care

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 393
he had been for three years, and who, at every semi
annual meeting dm-ing that time, examined him on reg
ular or extra "parts of trial." The great questions
pressed upon his notice were such as these : " What is
saving faith in Christ?" "What is the grand essential
fact to be believed in the first actings of saving faith ? "
These questions were specially prominent in that day,
and he was compeEed by his own experiences, as weE as
by the searching examinations of Presbytery, to find a
clear answer to them. They occasioned him much spE
itual doubt and perplexity. If there was any thing in
dividual in his theological views, it was because of this
discipline. He had no difficulty in accepting the fact,
as historicaUy proved, that Christ died, the just for the
unjust, to bring us to God. The hard point to solve,
was, "What authority have I to believe that Christ
died for me as a person ? " It vvas solved at last in
the conviction that the offers of salvation through
Christ are freely made to all, and that the saving act
of faith is first of aU an appropriating act, by which
the sinner accepts the gift as extended to, and meant
for him.
" This appropriating act of faith, I saw, was lUse the
hand stretched forth to take the free gift, and make it
mine in possession as it was mine in the offer. This
became to me the way of peace, and joy, and strength,
and holiness. So to preach the riches of His grace, and
so to press upon sinners the acceptance of Him as theE
personal Savdour, as having died as particularly for each
one as He did in general for aU, I felt before my licen
sure to be the Avay to preach the vei-y essence and mar
row of the Gospel. The Presbytery at Philadelphia

394 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
thought that in so doing, I taught that. the sinner in hia
first actings of faith, must believe that he is one of the
elect, and did not give me credit for the distinction
made between faith's saying, ' Christ is mine in God's
gracious offer,' and the vritness of the SpEit, thi-ough
conscious dependence, enabUng me to say, ' He is mine
m actual possession.' Christ formed in the heart the
hope of glory." *
A simEar difficulty was found in harmonizing the im
mediate obligation of the sinner to believe in Christ,
and the indispensable agency of the Holy Spirit to in
duce and enable him so to do. This difficulty was thus
solved : " Moral corruption, I saw, was not regarded in
the Scriptures, — i. e., viewed in the Ught of theE defi
nition of sin, as a physical entity or quality at aE ; but
the attribute of voluntary moral agents, endowed with
adequate capacities for moral obligation, and justly held
responsible, under law, for obedience to God." So the
agency of the Spirit in regeneration, was never " a phy
sical potency or an Eresistible affiatus," but a " power
ful motive moral force brought to bear upon the minds,
consciences, and hearts of sinners, through the truth as
revealed by Jesus Christ."
In these solutions, he believed hEnself to be sustained
by Scripture, and by some of the most distinguished
authorities of the Church. We have referred to them
at length, because they constitute the distinctive fea
tures of his preaching. Their definite declaration was
accepted by Presbytery, after some discussion and delay,
both at the time of his Ucensure and at that of hia
* Sermon deUvered at the installation of Eev. W. A. McCorMe as hia asso
ciate in Detroit.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 395
ordination and instaUation as pastor at CarUsle, Pa., in
1815. He remained at CarUsle nineteen years. He was then
called to PhEadelphia to succeed the Eev. Dr. Skinner,
as pastor of the Fifth Presbyterian Church. Two years
later he removed to New York, to assume the pastorate
of the Broadway Tabernacle Church. But, after a year
spent in this serrice, he accepted the call of the FEst
Presbyterian, then styled " Protestant " Chui-ch, in De
troit, over which he was instaEed, October, 1838. Here
he remained untE his death, June 26th, 1868.
These thirty years constituted the most important
and fruitful period of his ministry. His influence ex
tended over the whole State of Michigan, and measur
ably through the Church. He was thoroughly " pro-
nomiced" as a Presbyterian, and indefatigable in the
promotion of the interests of the Gospel through his
denomination. He was zealous in the work of domes
tic missions ; he was abundant in labors, making use of
the press, as weE as of the pulpit ; interesting himself
in all matters of local importance ; foremost in the cause
of education, of temperance, of good morals. Scarcely a
man in Detroit was so influential. He had his favorite
ideas, as have aE men of decided individuaUty ; and he
so impressed those ideas upon the popular mind and
heart, that one vriU often hear them referred to as stan
dard truths. Yet his culture was unusually broad aud
rich. He was thoroughly skilled in the use of the
Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and German languages.
He was a careful student of the sciences, and so mas
tered them that he was a fit companion for the most
scientific. His memory was unfaiUng, and his fancy

396 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
brUUant. He was therefore always welcome in general
society. He was a scholar among students, a savant
among phEosophers, a political economist among mer
chants. We weU remember being in Detroit, a few
years since, when a new buEding of the Board of
Trade was formaUy opened. Dr. Duffield was among
the most pronunent in the exercises of the occasion.
As a Preacher, he was rigorous, logical, persuasive.
His feelings always lay so near the surface, that they
suffused his speech at a touch. As a PhEanthropist, he
was untiring. As a Patriot, he was worthy of his ances
try. During the civE war, he was instrumental in the
establishment of a hospital, and was among the most
active in the serrice of the Christian Commission. Lie
was never old in spEit, and his fire was never phosphor
escent. We do but feeble justice to his memory in these
uniUmnined sentences.
We have space only for a few lines respecting his
early and consistent advocacy of Presbyterian Eeunion.
He spoke upon that subject in the Assembly held at
Detroit, Ei 1850, and was a recognized leader in the As
sembly held at Washington, in 1852, when that move
ment was made which resulted in the organization of a
distinct Committee on Home Missions. His interest in
the subject took him to St. Louis, and also to Harris-
burg. He intended to be present at the memorable
Union Convention, held in PhEadelphia, but was provi-
dentiaUy detained. He watched vrith interest, and
aided every judicious step towards the consummation
which has at last been realized. Whatever may be or
may have been thought of his peculiarities, in explain-

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 397
ing or impressing our doctrinal symbols, no more ardent
friend of the Church can be specified ; scarcely any one
has rendered it more signal serrice.
He died as he had vrished to die, " in the harness."
Delivering an address before the International Conven
tion of the Young Men's Christian Association at De
troit, June 24th, 1868, he suddenly paused, and vrith an
exclamation of distress, f eU into the arms of those near
est him. Lie was tenderly bome to his home, and
there, two days afterward, expired. His remains were
borne to the cemetery between two long lines, formed
as E out of the whole population of the city. The
mourners literally " went about the streets."
It would be impossible to give even a partial com
pleteness to our view of the personal infiuences which
have given tone to the lEe of the New School Church,
vrithout definite reference to the efforts of those who
have been closely identified with its aggressive work on
the fi-ontiers. We have already given a sketch of Dr.
Blackburn, the pioneer ; but his influence upon the mis
sionary spirit of the Church was indEect. The name
of Dr. Artemas Bullard, of St. Louis, is intimately
associated with the systematic development of Presby
terian Home Missions.
Born at Northbridge, Mass., June 3d, 1802, he was
graduated at Amherst CoUege, in 1826. Fitted by
natural qualities for a lEe of enterprise, he was early
directed by Providence into Unes of usefulness in which
only a man of enterprise could be successful. In him,
energy and resolution were associated vrith a sanguine
temperament. He is said to have closely resembled ia

398 PEESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
personal appearance, the " Old Hickory " of Ameiican
Presidents. He certainly resembled him in character.
His perceptions were keen, his will was tenacious, his
mental movements were quick, and his sagacity was al
most unerring. He possessed in a remarkable degree,
the constructive faculty, and marshalled principles or
men vrith an equal facEity. His frankness sometimes
gave offence, his firmness made his opposition formid
able. He had, like all men of positive character, his
troops of friends, and his experience of enmity. Yet
none of his opponents could ever deny him the praise of
sincerity and of love for the truth and the Master.
While at the seminary in Andover ('1828), he pro
posed to devote himself to Foreign Missions ; but, hav
ing formed intimate relations vrith Dr. Cornelius, and
other eminent men in Boston, he was prevailed upon, in
1830, to risit vvhat was theu the West, in the service of
the American Sunday School Union. He traveEed on
horseback, as far as the State of Hlinois ; and in this
service displayed such qualities, that when Dr. Corne
lius was suddenly laid aside, he was urgently solicited
to assume the arduous duties of Secretary of the A.B.C.
F.M., in the Valley of the Mississippi. He accepted the
appointment, and for some years travelled over his wide
field from Detroit to New Orleans. This experience
gave him not only an accurate knowledge of the West,
but also an ardent sympathy vrith its wants. And when
in 1838, he was invited to accept the pastorate of the
only Presbyterian Chm'ch in' St. Louis, he felt it his
duty to comply. Lie saw in the position to which he
was invited, the centre of an influence whose bounds
were indefinitely vride. The waste places were on every

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 399
side. He knew what were the demands of the Home
Missionary work, and what the sacrifices of the Llome
Missionary. He could aid the churches of the vrilder
ness, and encourage those who had gone or might be in
duced to go to the scattered fiocks, as to sheep having
no shepherd. He could assist in planting new churches
and do much to develop the educational interests of a
new and broad region. He threw himself into his new
duties vrith characteristic zeal. He was the faithful
pastor of his own flock, the earnest friend of every
missionary within his reach. Lie was a true bishop,
making frequent and long journeys to visit the
churches which naturally turned to him for counsel and
help. He was accurately informed of the condition of
aU the Presbyterian congreg.ations in the State. No
one knew better than he what was a miuister's lEe in a
log-cabin, or what the influence of a pulpit in some
rude school-house, or ruder sanctuary. Yet he was one
of the first to perceive the importance of proriding
comfortable and attractive houses of worship, as cen
tres of a permanent power. As early as 1845, he un
dertook under sanction of his synod, to raise a fund of
$10,000, to be used for the purpose of church erection
in Missouri. He risited the East, to coUect a portion
of this fund, and to obtain recruits for Home Mission
ary service. He returned, bringing vrith him generous
donations, and ten clergymen. He was, indeed, remark
ably successful in his lEelong efforts to raise the means
for carrying on benevolent enterprises. " Come away,"
said a student to a friend who caEed his attention to a
" speaking Ukeness " of Dr. BuUard, at the door of a

400 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
photographic artist : " Come away ! he'U have five dol
lars out of you for a church before you know it."
He was greatly interested in the establishment of
Webster CoUege, near St. Louis. The subscription
book of that institution was found upon his person, wel
and soiled by the rain which beat upon his lifeless
body, as, vrith twenty-nine victims of the disaster of
Gasconade bridge, he lay amid the ruins of that wreck
which had cost him his Ufe.
He was always a distinguished member of the Gen
eral Assembly, when he attended its meetings as com
missioner. Ardently devoted to every interest of the
church in the line of progress ; possessed of a knowl
edge and experience to which all were compeUed to de
fer ; fiuent, direct, and clear in debate, — he never faded
to vrield a powei-ful influence. When he died, every
missionary lost a friend, every measure of importance to
the Church lost a champion.
Among those whom he was instrumental in introduc
ing to the missionary work of the Church, we vriU men
tion one only whose character and career are illustra
tive of some of the phases of the work itself.
When, iu 1849, Dr. BuUard visited the Seminary at
Auburn to stimulate the interest of its students in the
great West, he became acquainted with Frederick
Staer, Jr., a gi-aduate of that year, who had already
distinguished himseE by self-denying labor as teacher
and missionary in the Sunday-school of the prison.
This young man quickly caught the spirit of Dr. Bul
lard. He was not unlike him in character. Bom in
Eochester, January 23, 1826, his development was quick

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 401
and strong. He made a profession of religion in his
tenth year, and was from the first an active and useful
Christian. In 1850 he repaired to St. Louis, and un
der Dr. BuUard's direction began the labors of city
missionary. But he was not long content vrith these.
His spEit craved a vrider, freer horizon. Hence in
March, 1851, he went up the Missouri fom* hundred and
fifty miles to the verge of civilization. Here he found
the town of Weston, then numbering about 3,000 in
habitants. Four mUes from Weston was Fort Leaven
worth, where at that time all the annuities of the In
dians in that region were paid. Here, too, was the
starting-point from which emigrants to CaUfornia
launched out upon the plains. When Mr. Starr arrived,
the whole territory about Weston and the Fort vvas occu
pied by a host of these emigrants, waiting for the grass
to spring up along the route before them. He consti
tuted himself at once a missionary among these motley
hosts. He conciliated theE favor both by his frank
demeanor, and by his interest in their spE-it of adven
ture. Gifted vrith strong and well discipUned mechani
cal tastes, he could assist in mending a wagon or in
making a plaything for a child. Haring an easy ad
dress and a remarkable facility of speech, he could vrith
equal readiness rivet theE attention by an anecdote
at the camp-fire, or by a sermon deUvered from some con
venient bench or barrel.
While laboring in this manner vrith great success, he
Avas urged to accept the pastorate of the Presbyterian
Church in Weston, whose pulpit was vacant. He took
the caU into consideration and earned it to his father,
Hon. Frederick Starr, a man whose name is held in dis-
36

402 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
tinguished regard by the Church, for advice. It was
natural that the father, desiring to have his son nc;ir
him in his declining years, shoidd hesitate ; but the fa
ther had too much of the spEit of the son to resist the
appeal made to him as the son sprang to his feet after
laying open the case and exclaimed, " Father, have you
not always taught me from a chEd, where there was any
work to be done which no other man would do, to take
hold and do it ? I have traveEed many thousand mUes,
and noAvhere in the land haA^e I found a place so Aricked,
so sunk in sin, and where any other minister would be
so Uttle likely to incline or dare to go as Weston ; and
that is my reason for AAushing to go there."
He went. He carried AAdth him money to relieve the
church at Weston of an embarrassing debt. Lie aided
vrith his ovsm hands in repaEing the chm-ch edifice,
which was " open, ddapidated, repulsive." He was or
dained and instaUed October 23, 1850. He organized
an extensive system of labor among the rich and the
poor, among masters and slaves, among cirilians and
soldiers. He reasoned of righteousness, temperance,
and judgment to come. Positive, fearless, energetic,
powerful, he won the love of many, the admiration of
aU — even of those whose prejudices he aroused. In
the summer of 1852, the cholera raged in Weston vrith
great riolence. He was unwearied in his active exer
tions for the relief of the sick and the comfort of the
afflicted. The Methodist and Baptist clergymen of the
toAvn both fell Adctims of the pestilence. He alone was
left to render such serrices to the whole population as
a ndnister can render ; but his habitual fearlessness and
fideUty were conspicuous untE the plague was stayed.

, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 403
A stUl severer trial tested his nerve and his devotion,
when the excitements attending the repeal of the Mis
souri Compromise prevaEed. He was in the very theatre
of the Kansas raids — a Northern man of positive char
acter and conrictions where no Northern man was safe.
He was marked vrith suspicion. His lEe was threat
ened. He was summoned to attend a meeting of the
" Platte County Defensive Association," when he knew
that the summons meant death. He attended it, and
by his courage and addi-ess averted the perU which hung
over him, though franldy declaring his conviction that
slavery was a moral eril, and appealing for authority to
such southern men as Jefferson and Benton. But the
Border War went on, and soon became so bitter that,
yielding to the entreaties of his friends, he returned to
New York, despairing of stemming a tide which defied
all barriers.
This was inthe spring of 1855. He was immediately
enlisted in the service of the Auburn Theological Sem
inary, and of the Western Education Society, and con
tinued therein untU 1862, performing what many of his
friends regard as the great work of his life.
After a short and successful ministry at Pp.rm Yan,
he returned to the West in 1865, to take charge of the
North Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, where, after
two years of labor remarkable in results, and giving
signal promise for the future, he died, January 5, 1868.
Eeference is due to -another to whom the Church
OAves much of its solid growth and of its prep
aration for Eeunion, — Dr. Thoenton A. Mills.
He was born in Paris, Ky., September, 1810. He

404 PEESBYTEEIAJ^r CHUECH.
was graduated at the Miami University, in 1830, and li
censed by the Cincinnati Presbytery, in 1833. In 1836,
he became pastor of the ThE'd Presbyterian Church in
Cincinnati, and retained that relation for twelve years.
In 1848, he purchased the Watchman of the Valley,
a religious jom-nal published in Cincinnati, and imme
diately began to exert a wide influence in the forma
tion of those opinions which resulted in the full organ
ization of a system of committees to carry forward the
distinctive work of the church. This paper, under the
present title of the Central Christian Herald, was
one of the earliest and steadiest advocates of Eeunion.
The principal labor of Dr. MiUs in the serrice of the
Church, however, commenced in 1853, when he was
elected Secretary and General Agent of the Church
Erection Committee. On the completion of the fund
of $100,000, which was raised by his energetic advo
cacy, he accepted a caU to the Second Presbyterian
Church in Indianapolis. But fi-om this post he was re
moved in 1856, at the urgent demand of the Church at
large, to enter upon the duties of General Secretary of
the Assembly's Committee on Education, then just or
ganized. . These duties he performed with great efficiency
untd his decease, June, 1867.
A consummate organizer, a powerful advocate, a man
of vride views and of tenacious purposes, undaunted by
obstacles, unshrinking from work, a thoroughly genu
ine man, — his influences were by no means confined to
the sphere in which he officially moved. Ardently lov
ing his denomiaation, brought into constant contact vrith
its leading minds, he touched aU the springs of eccle
siastical life, and forwarded aU the measures of eccle-

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 405
siastical progress. His record is so interwoA^en Avdth
the history of the Church during the past fifteen years,
that one can trace it in all the, chapters of that his
tory. Of all who witnessed the reunion of the Church in
1871, none was more widely known or more highly
honored than Albbet Baenes. He was a son of the
past century, having been born in Eome, N. Y., De
cember 1, 1798. In him, hoAvever, the spirit of the
nineteenth century was roundly developed. He sprang
fi'om the middle rank of society. For some years in his
early lEe he was engaged in his father's occupation,
that of tanner. He was persuaded, while yet a young
man, to turn his attention to the study of civil laAV.
But before his graduation at Hamilton College, in
1820, he relinquished his purpose to become a lawyer.
Though a student at Hamilton but a single year, that
year was pivotal in his history. Up to the age of nine
teen he was a sceptic Avithout faith in the Bible as a
revelation from God. A simple statement of religious
experience, warm from the lips of one of his coUege
classmates, dissolved his doubts and led to his conver
sion. A consecration to the work of the gospel minis
try immediately follovved. He resorted to the Theo
logical Seminary at Prin<jeton, N. J. ; was licensed to
preach by the Presbytery of Ncav Brunsvrick, April 23,
1823 ; and, after remaining one year at Princeton as resi
dent licentiate, was ordained and installed pastor of the
Presbyterian Church in MorristoAvn, N. J., on the 8th of
February, in the year 1825.
While at Morristown, he became impressed vidth the

406 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
importance of BibUcal helps for the Sunday-school
teacher and for the common student of the Word of
God. The notes which he prepared for his own Bdde
classes proved so useful, that, as they grew upon his
hands, he resolved to print them. Thus began that se
ries of commentaries upon the entEe New Testament,
and upon several of the books of the Old Testament,
which has not only carried his name around the world,
but has proved of incalculable benefit in the conversion,
instruction, and sanctification of souls. " He builded
better than he knew." His pastorate at MorristoAAm
Avas marked by signal success in all the departments of
ministerial labor. He neglected nothing which Avould
promote an outward morality or au inward life. A re
vival of remai'kable extent and power occurred in the
Avinter of 1828-9. In the midst of this rerival, he
preached a sermon entitled " The Way of Salvation."
This sermon, which was greatly and immediately
blessed, Avas soon after printed, and at once obtained a
wide circulation. It came to the notice of the First
Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, then without a
pastor, and was the occasion of a call to the pulpit of
that church. It attracted the notice, also, of certain
minds then influential in the denomination, and was
severely criticised for its supposed unsoundness. His
transfer from Morristown to Philadelphia, in 1830, was
resisted by some who thought the sermon defective.
In the year 1835, his commentary upon the Epistle to
the Eomans was issued. This volume was thought to
be even more objectionable than the sermon. It led to
his formal arraignment before his Presbytery. The
case was tried and carried from "one ecclesiastical court

^^ ^^.c/ //r^.-

'^ C r.

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 407
to another, until the strife was ended in his acquittal by
the General Assembly, in the year 1836.
This trial doubtless had something to do Avith the
division of 1837 ; but, at this day, it seems strange that
it could have been prosecuted with sev^erity. Mr.
Barnes certainly differed in terminology from those
who disagreed with him. Very likely he differed from
them in some shades of sentiment ; but he is uoav re
garded as substantially sound. A generation has
passed since the division. In the light of past contro
versy new study has been giA'-en to our standards and
to the Bible as interpreted thereby. Old forms of
statements — favorites on either side — have in some in
stances been abandoned as imperfect. The dispo
sition to ascertain Avherein those who uphold the same
standards agree, has taken the place of a disposition to
suspect the hand which clasps the banner-staff, either of
weakness or of disloyalty. It is the period of union.
Dismantled parapets are given up to the weeds on the
theological field, as well as on the fields where hostile
cannon once flamed.
Mr. Barnes was peculiarly sensitive to the sj)irit of
his times. He was bold and earnest as a reformer.
Lie instinctiveljr adopted those habits of mind and
speech which were calculated to make him most useful.
He was a representative man, and as such greatly in
fluential in shaping that sentiment which ultimately re
sulted in the reunion of the Church. He did not seek
that reunion ; but he was indirectly tributary to it in
no small degree. Here again he " builded better than
he knew."
He remained pastor of the First Church in PhEa-

408 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
delphia thirty-seven years. In 1867, he resigned his
charge, Avas immediately elected -pastor emeritus, and
so continued until his death, December 24th, 1870.
In character he was as remarkable as in work. In
deed, the work Avas the natural outcome of the charac
ter. No man was ever more perfectly balanced. None
was ever less liable to the disturbing influences of pas
sion. " Do you never act upon impulse ? " once said
one of his brethren, half vexed that he moved in some
important matter with so much deliberation. " No,
never, either good or bad ! " was the reply. He was a
man of method. One would say that he had drilled
himself to an almost mechanical regularity. His time
Avas broken into measured periods. He rose in the
morning at four o'clock, repaired to his study, and de
voted himself to work upon his commentaries.
When the clock struck nine, he abandoned that work
instantaneously, though in the midst of a verse, or
leaving a sentence half v^itten. Thus he went from
task to task through the day, and retEed to rest so
punctually at his appointed hour, that one of his fam
ily has said he could safely set his watch by his foot
step. H he made an appointment, he was ready for it
at the place agreed upon and at the minute designated.
His methodical habit was as noticeable in his mental
as in his physical movements. His VAO-itings are di
vided by numeral and alphabetical signs to a degree
unusual with the Avriters of his day. His thoughts
were always clear cut and free from tangle.
Associated with this method vvas an extreme sensi
tiveness both of conscience and of heart. He discerned
the right in questions of casuistry almost by intuition,

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 409
and he clung to the right vrith unyielding tenacity.
All his sensibilities were quick and keen. This is the
more remarkable because well-balanced, methodical,
conscientious men are often dull and cold. It is gen
erally the ardent nature which is most susceptible to
impression. Some, indeed, vvho met Mr. Barnes only
casuaUy or but seldom, thought him reserved, almost
self-contained. He was so modest that he could not
make demonstrative advances, so conscientious that
he would not assume the appearance of what he did
not feel. Yet he was genial, affectionate, and self-
sacrificing — always unwilling to wound the feelings
or even arouse the anxieties of others. We once called
upon him one Monday, after obserring an alarming
faintness in the pulpit on the preceding day. He lay
upon the lounge in his library. We referred to his
faintness. With instant alarm his wife asked, " What
was it ? " He looked up with a smile, and said : " I do
not tell her all that happens."
Whilst having this sensitiveness of heart, this fear of
wounding his friends, he was magnanimous toward
those who were thought to have injured him. If ever
there was anything to be forgiven in the trials of his ear
lier ministry, it was forgiven by Mr. Barnes whilst the
fault was fresh in memory. So he virtually declared
in some of his later Avritings. He wished to think of
his conflicts as those of opinions, rather than of men.
In the later and serener periods of his life, he remem
bered them rather as the mariner on shore remembers
the tossings of a storm — the Avinds and Avaves vrith
which he has wi-estled, and not the JEolus who unloosed
the former, or the Neptune who disturbed the latter.

410 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
As a friend, Mr. Barnes was universally beloved.
As a counsellor, he was listened to almost with rever
ence. To the last, he was an active auxiliary in every
good work he was able to promote. When over sev
enty years of age, he would walk through heat or
storm many miles, on the Sabbath, to assist his breth
ren; seeldng no pecuniary remuneration, receivdng
none. Everywhere welcomed to house or to pulpit,
he was everywhere missed, when in a moment he
passed, as by a kind of translation, out of the world.
He died in the house of a friend to whom he had gone,
apparently in perfect health, to express sympathy and
administer consolation. Hopeful and cheerful to the
end, desiring to round his century of life, that he
might see the glories of God's advancing Providence
for the benefit of mankind, he was not unprepared to
depart. He has left behind him Avorks Avhich will sur
vive the century ; but his memory is worth almost as
much as his works. Not only in this land, but out of
many a kindi-ed tongue and nation, shall rise those who
vrill call him blessed.
There are two other names which must not be
omitted from these pages : Thomas H. Skinnee, D.D.,
and Nathan S. S. Beman, D.D. Both died after the
Eeunion; both Avere conspicuous in the New School
branch during the whole period of its history.
Dr. Skinner was born in Perquimons Co., N. C,
March 7, 1791. He was graduated at Nassau HaU,
Princeton, in 1809, and commenced the study of law
in his native State. This study he pursued with en
thusiasm for about eighteen months. In 1811, when
on the eve of admission to the bar, he listened to a

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 411
sermon by a missionary, on the text, " What shall it
profit a man," etc. Overwhelmed with emotion, he
sought his room and the mercy-seat. Next morning,
before he had left his bed, a servant brought him the
intelligence that a dearly loved brother had perished
by shipwreck. This so deepened his religious feeling,
that he could think of nothing but the salvation of his
soul, until he found it by faith in Jesus. This led to
the abandonment of the law for the study of theol
ogy. In pursuance of his altered purpose, he repaired
again to Princeton, where he remained one year. The
year 1812 vvas mainly spent with Eev. John Mc
Dowell, at Elizabethtown, N. J. He was licensed to
preach in December of that year. Eeturning to the
South, he passed a Sabbath in Philadelphia, and
preached in the " Tabernacle " of Eanstead Court.
This led to a call from the Second Presbyterian
Church, to become co-pastor with Eev. Dr. Janeway.
The call was accepted, and he was ordained June 10th,
1813. Here he remained three years and four months,
resigning his position at the end of that period, prin
cipaUy because of some theological disagreement Avith
his colleague. In 1816, he was installed pastor of the
Fifth Presbyterian Church, in Locust Street. Here
he struggled manfuUy against many discoui-agements,
arising chiefly from the situation of the chui-ch edifice,
until 1823, when his congregation removed to a new
sanctuary erected on Arch Street, near Tenth. Then
commenced what was, perhaps, the most prosperous
period of his ministry — a period marked by poAverful
revivals, and by a general interest, which has rendered
his name historic in Philadelphia. In connection with

412 PEESBYTEEIAN' CHUECH.
this church he remained until 1832, excepting a few
months of an experimental pastorate in Boston, in the
year 1828. In 1832, he accepted the chair of Sacred
Ehetoric in Andover Theological Seminary. This he
occupied vrith signal ability for about three years,
Avhen he resigned it to become pastor, once more, in
New York, at the call of the Mercer Street Church.
After thirteen years of vigorous service here, he again
became professor of Sacred Ehetoric, this time in
Union Theological Seminary, New York. The duties
of this professorship he discharged until the day of his
death, February 1, 1871.
Ardent in his temperament, he vvas distinguished in
the pulpit, especially in his earlier days, by " blood-
earnestness." " If his preaching even in those days
was unmarked by any special power of illustration or
play of fancy, it gloAved with a spiritual fire and en
ergy of soul, which fused into one his most elaborate
expositions of Christian doctrine, Avith all his high-
wrought arguments and appeals ; bringing them home
to the conscience and heart of his hearers as a verit
able message from God.- For intellectual rigor and
discrimination, combined with im^jassioned spiritual
convictions, and the best results of Scriptural and theo
logical study and reflection, I suppose very few
preachers of his generation could compare with Dr.
Skinner." *
" In his character, nature and grace were united in the
finest proportions. He was simplicity itself : it was
his nature. He seemed as unconscious of his own vE't-
* This and foUo-wing extracts are from the memorial prepared by Prof.
Geo. L. Prentiss, of Union Theological Seminary.

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 413
ues as if it had never crossed his mind that he cmdd
possess them. A more transparent, unsophisticated,
guileless, single-eyed, naive human being I never saAV.
The foundations of his character were laid deep in
truth and righteousness.
" As a disciple of Jesus, Dr. Skinner attained heights
seldom trodden in our day. Grace had penetrated
every part, and to the lowest depths of his being.
The Christian life was to him an infinite realitv^ He
himself seemed not to have the faintest conception of
its unearthly loveliness. His face, that showed so
bright to others, was hidden from his own eye. He
was, in a word, a rare example of spiritual manhood ;
sound to the core, clear as a crystal, and reflecting in
every lineament the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God, shining in the face of Jesus Christ."
As professor in the Theological Seminary, he was
systematic, earnest, individual ; preparing his lectures
vvith the greatest care, and revising them continually.
Interesting himself in his pupils as men, and in every
way promoting the culture of theii' minds and hearts.
In ecclesiastical assemblies he was always influen
tial, and was chosen Moderator of the General Assem
bly of the division with which he was then connected.
in 1854. He is not, hoAvever, remembered, as some are,
for interest iu the debates of the courts of the Church.
No one rejoiced more heartily than did he in the Ee
union. "When the movement toward reunion com
menced, he watched it with deep interest, gave it his
approval, his counsels, and his prayers, advocated it
on the floor of the General Assembly at Harrisburg in
a most impressive speech, and hailed its consummation

414 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
vrith intense joy and thankfulness, as an event full of
promise to the whole American Church."
De. Beaian was a man of different temperament.
He loved debate", and Avas foremost in all the discus
sions which interested the Presbyterian Church in his
day. He gained the soubriquet of the " War Llorse,"
through the ardor, the rush, and the power Avith which
he charged upon any position he desired to carry.
The outlines of his life are these : Born at New Leb
anon, New York, November 26, 1785. Graduated at
Williams College, in 1807. Licensed to preach by a
Congregational Association in Maine, June 14, 1809.
Ordained pastor of the Third Congregational Church
in Portland, March 14, 1810. Dismissed on account of
a failure of health, which drove him to the South for
milder climate, 1812. President of Franklin College,
Georgia, from 1818 to 1822. Installed pastor of the
First Presbyterian Church in Troy, New York, June
18, 1823. This pastorate he retained precisely forty
years, being then dismissed at his own request. He
died at Carbondale, Illinois, August 8, 1871, at the age
of eighty-six years. As a pulpit orator he was remark
able, not for grace and beauty, so much as for force and
clearness. " The atmosphere in which his intellect worked was
that of common-sense. His mind was of an intensely
practical character. Though metaphysics was a favor
ite branch of study, he never suffered it to lead him
into vague or aimless speculations. His profoundest
thought was never on and unto itself. His mind Avas
at once acute and comprehensive. He saw a truth on

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 415
many sides, and saAv each side clearly in all its rela
tions to all the others. *
" Liis presence was commanding ; his form was tall
and symmetrical ; his head and features massive, and
his face, through stern when at rest, mobile and sus
ceptible of an illumination which at once softened and
beautified it. . . . In the most moving discourse he
was deUberate. His words came slowly, as stores
chosen out of the scrip, vrith a perfect knowledge of
the weight of each. ... To cultivated minds, his
preaching was always attractive. He fed them with
strong meat. Few pulpits in this land have educated
as many thinkers on the great truths and problems of
religion, as did this, during the forty years of his
ministry. His church was a favorite resort for men of
the legal profession, to whom his preaching appealed
through qualities which, as they could readily discern,
vvere as well adapted to command respect at the bar,
as in the pulpit."
He took great interest in politics, and especially on
Thanksgiving Days was fond of dAvelling on themes of
national interest, which he ahvays did in such a man
ner as to command a crowded audience. He was an
ardent promoter of revivals, preaching the terror of
th'e Lord perhaps more than would most men at the
present day, but dAvelling often and with great tender
ness upon the redemption prorided, and the salvation
offered, through Christ. His theology did not escape
the criticism of some of his brethren, but the mode in
which he defended it commanded their respect.
* This and following extracts from a memorial prepared by Dr. Martin
R. Vincent, for some years Dr. Beman's colleague.

416 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
He was chosen Moderator of the General Assembly,
in 1831, which shows the respect accorded to him at
that early day in the Church at large. He Avas not Avith
out interest in the dirision of 1837. Indeed, he was
one of the active participants in its scenes. And ever
after he Avas among the foremost and the most influ
ential of the leaders of his Church. As clear in debate
as he was in the pulpit, he carried conviction where
weaker men would fail, and inspired respect where he
did not carry conriction. When the probabilities of
reunion were estabUshed, he gave his hearty approval
to the measure, and when the Church became one again
he publicly expressed his rejoicing. We have no room
to sketch his personal peculiarities, though these would
afford material for many a pleasant paragraph. Our
sketch is but imperfect. Let its deficiencies be covered,
at least, in suggestions by that sentence which is
carved on the tablet, erected to his memory, in the
church Avhere he so long j^reached the Gospel: "A
WOEKMAN THAT NEEDED NOT TO BE ASHAMED, EIGHTLY
DIVIDING THE WOED OF TEUTH."
Othei's there are, still living on earth, who are not
less honored than some whose names Ave have here
put on record. There are also many among the laymen
of Avhat Avas known as the New School Church, whose
memory will not soon fade. But we must leave aU
these to receive a better justice than we could i-ender
them, in ampler pages, and at the pen of some abler
chronicler, than is he who here gives way.
Our space in this book is already more than full, and
our regret that the sketches we have attempted are so

BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES. 417
meagre, is scarcely less than our regret that we have no
room for extended reference to some of the honored
laymen who have contributed in no slight degree to the
growth and prosperity of the Church which has now so
gladly dropped its New School title. Such men as
Fredeeick Staee Esq., and Judge William Jessup,
have accomplished what no clergyman could effect.
The names of these two, at least, shaU stand in this
chapter to remind the reader of virtues and services
which a volume only could fitly commemorate.

37

CUURCK OF TTTE COVENANT, NEW YORK.
CIIxiPTEE XIII.
THE EEUNION.
The greatest events are generally foreshadoAved by
many signs and tokens. Spring and summer have
many harbingers. Changes of opinion in Church and
State are brought about by insensible degrees. The
large blocks of ice detached from polar masses, are
gradually dissolved in the warmer currents by which
they are borne to the south.
To attentive observers, it was very erident for several
years before formal negotiations were inaugurated, that
the Eeunion of the two branches of the Presbyterian
Chm-ch was merely a question of time and mode. The
grounds of this expectation Avere obvious.

THE EEUNION. 419
Many of those who were leaders on both sides at the
time of the disruption had either passed from this lEe,
or had entered into other ecclesiastical relations. Per
sonal prejudices, those most powerful of aU agencies
in producing the separation, were thus to a large degree
eliminated from the question. A new generation had
risen in the ministry and membership of the Church.
having but Uttle information, and less interest as to the
separation itseE. Social and ecclesiastical intercourse,
except when vain attempts Avere made by a few to keep
alive old distinctions, had done much to obliterate for
mer lines. Ministers on both sides were accustomed to
exchange pulpit services. Members of churches passed
from one side to the other, dismissed and received on
the ordinary certificate. This practical union had been
largely promoted by co-operation in good causes in
cities and towns. When it pleased God to pour out
his SpEit and excite an uuAvonted prayerfulness over
the country, the hearts of Christian peojale were draAAOi
together in risible unity. For its general extent and
influence, it was like the breath of Spring. There
seemed to be floating in the very air a sentiment of
Chiistian confidence and love. Indifferent to things of
minor importance, the hearts of men were made to con
verge on those things supreme and ultimate relating to
the kingdom of Christ. In such an atmosphere and
current of events, aU projects for union among Chris
tians seemed to meet with a ready response.
Then came the memorable struggle for national integ
rity and lEe. Before the mighty enthusiasm and inflex
ible purpose of the nation to save itself from dismem
berment and to preserve its Constitution, aE subordin-

420 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
ate distinctions in Church and State instantly disap
peared. In large cities, in towns, viUages and scattered
settlements, there was one and the same high-VATOUght
patriotism, dravring men together in the closest and
firmest unity. Both AssembUes, though with different
degrees of unanimity, took the same position in relation
to the duty of the Church in the fiery trial to which
our national Ufe was subjected. As the conflict pro
ceeded, it became apparent that the continued existence
of slavery was involved in its issue. As this was the
cause of the war, so had it much to do vrith the separa
tion of the Presbyterian Church. It was not generaUy
recognized as such in public debate. But large ships
are turned about by that plank which is out of sight
and under water. The New School Assembly at the
time of the disruption had but few churches and min
isters who endorsed slavery by theory and practice.
AU these vrithdrew and founded a separated organiza
tion of theE own in the South before the war, and be
fore negotiations between Old School and New School
were opened for Eeunion. The General Assembly Old
School had a large slave-holding constituency for which
it always manEested, in debate and legislation, the ut
most tenderness and caution. The time came when it
was erident that slaveiy was to go down forever before
the weU-nigh unanimous purpose to maintain the na
tional existence. This cause removed, there went with it
what had long tended in Church judicatories to produce
Eritation, repulsion, and strife. Much has not been
said or written in the discussions of the last few years
upon this subject, but all who are personaUy acquainted
Arith the affaEs of the Presbyterian Church in thia

THE EEUNION. 421
country, for the last thirty-five years, wEl, in aU candor,
be prompt to admit that the existence of slavery had
more to do vrith the division of the Church than has
generaUy been supposed ; and that its entEe extinction
has been among the many causes which have made the
Reunion of the two Northern Assemblies more easy and
more certain.
In view of aU these circumstances, it was inevitable
that the subject of Eeunion should become a matter of
discussion. Several religious papers representing both
branches made unequivocal expression of opinion in its
favor. In May, 1862, the Old School Assembly, then in -ses
sion at Columbus, Ohio, adopted a resolution proposing
a " stated annual and friendly interchange of commis
sioners between the two General Assemblies." This, it
wiU be perceived, was not a movement towards organic
union. It has been understood as intended by some by
a flank movement to defeat Eeunion, by establishing
friendly relations between two independent bodies, al
ways to be retained in this position. The above reso
lution was communicated to the New School Assembly
at its next meeting, May, 1863, in PhEadelphia. Its
action on the subject is contained in the following reso
lution :
" Resolved, That this Assembly, with heartfelt pleasure and Chris
tian salutations, accepts the proposition thus made, hoping and pray
ing that it may result in securing a better understanding of the rela
tions which, in the judgment of this Assembly, are proper to be main
tained between the two Assemblies."
The Old School Assembly being in session at this
time in Peoria, lUinois, was at once informed by tele-

422 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
graph of this action, and immediately delegates were
chosen by both bodies, in accordance vrith the terms of
the resolution. So far fr-om operating, as some of its
advocates supposed that it Avould, as a measure looking
to continued independency of the two branches, vritb
honorable and friendly recognition of each other as be
tween distinct denominations, it tended immediately to
strensdihen the vrish for a closer union.
The very next year (1864), when the Old School
General Assembly was in session at Newark, N. J., a
meeting of ministers and elders, members of that body,
and others casually in attendance, was held for confer
ence upon the expediency and feasibility of organic Ee
union. This, so far as is known to the writer, was the
first action in favor of Eeunion on the part of a public
and representative body. It was not the action of the
General Assembly itself, but of those, in large part, who
were members of it. The paper prepared and pub
lished by this meeting, was signed by seventy ministers
and fifry-three elders. From this document we make
the foUowing extract :
"It is believed that the great majority in each branch sincerely re
ceive and adopt the Confession of Faith, as containing the system of
doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures, and approve the same govern
ment and discipline. On this basis we may reunite, mutually regard
ing and treating the oifice-bearers and church courts of each branch
as co-ordinate elements in the reconstruction. There are difficulties
in the way of repairing the breaches of Zion, which must be met and
overcome by well-considered methods, and in a spirit of forbearance
and prudence. Reunion cannot be accomplished, nor is it to be de
sired, -without the restoration of a spirit of unity and fraternity.
We beKeve this spirit exists, and is constantly increasing. That
which should first engage the attention of the friends of Eeunion

THE EEUNION. 423
should be to find out how far unity of sentiment and kindness of
feeling prevail."

The same year, at the opening of the New School
Assembly at Dayton, Ohio, a sermon was preached by
the retEing Moderator, the Eev. Llemy B. Smith,
D.D., Avhicli presented the whole subject of a Eeunited
Church with singular felicity and power. These
documents were Avidely circulated and freely discussed
throughout the counti-y ; signs multijDlied in every di
rection of an everdncreasing disposition and purpose to
unite the tAVO branches of the Presbyterian Church in
the United States.
That the two Assemblies should meet simultaneously
in the city of St. Louis in the year 1866, was no ac
cident. It Avas an evidence of pre-concert on the part of
influential members of both branches, and indicated a
general expectation that some formal action in favor of
Eeunion would soon be inaugurated. Scarcely had
these Assemblies been organized, before it appeared that
each had been memorialized by a considerable number
of Presbyteries in different parts of the country be
tween New York and San Jose, to take action in favor
of reunion.
It was necessary that these overtures should receive
official notice. Moreover, in that city, so remote from
aU memories and associations of the disruption, a Chris
tian spEit Avas prevalent which made it easy for mem
bers of the two AssembUes to meet together for social
worship and the sacrament of the Communion. At
these services, jDopular sentiment expressed itseE de
cidedly in fav^or of Eeunion. At length the General

424 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Assembly of the Old School adopted the follovring
resolutions :
" Hesolved, That this Assembly expresses its fraternal aiTection for
the other Branch of the Presbyterian Church, and its earnest desire
for Reunion at the earliest time consistent -with agreement in doc
trine, order, and policy, on the basis of our common standards and
the prevalence of mutual confidence and love, which are so necessary
to a happy union and to the permanent peace and prosperity of the
united Church.
" Hesolved, That it be recommended to all our churches and church
coxirts, and to all our ministers, ruling elders, and communicants, to
cherish fraternal feeHng ; to cultivate Christian intercourse in the
worship of God, in the promotion of the cause of Christ ; and to
avoid all needless controversies and competitions adapted to perpetu
ate di-vision and strife.
" Hesolved, That a Committee of nine ministers and six ruling eld
ers be appointed, pro-vided that a similar committee shall be appointed
by the other Assembly now in session in this city, for the purpose of
conferriag in regard to the desirableness and practicability of Reunion,
and if, after conference and inquiry, such Reunion shall seem to be
desirable and practicable, to suggest suitable measures for its accom
plishment, and report to the next General Assembly."
These resolutions were presented in the New School
Assembly by a delegation from the body adopting them,
consisliing of the late and lamented Phineas D. Gurley,
D.D., of Washington, and Hon. Lincoln Clark, of De
troit.
, With no unnecessary delay, the Assembly of the New
School made response by passing the foUoAring resolu
tions :
" Hesolved, That this Assembly tender to the Assembly repre
senting the other branch of the Presbyterian Church its cordial salu
tations and fellowship, and the expression of its earnest wish for Re-

THE EEUNION. 425
union on the basis of our common standards, received in a common
spirit. " Resolved, That a Committee of fifteen, nine of whom shall be
ministers of the Gospel, and six ruling elders, be appointed to confei
on this subject in the recess of the Assemblies -with the Committee to
be appointed by the other General Assembly, and to report the re
sults to the next General Assembly.
"Resolved, That we enjoin upon this Committee, and upon all our
ministers and church-members, to abstain from whatever may hinder
a true Christian fellowship, and to cherish and cultivate those feel
ings and purposes which look to the peace and prosperity of Zion,
the edifying of the body of Christ, and the complete union of all be
lievers, especially of those who live in the same land and have the
same history and the same standards of doctrine and polity."
Notvrithstanding the spirit of Christian confldence
which breathes thi'ough these respective resolutions, it
does not appear that there was any definite measure
then in view beyond the appointment of the Committee
of Conference, which was likely to bring about the re
suit contemplated. Many on both sides were skeptical
as to any good likely to ensue from the proposed con
ference. Some there were in each Assembly who were
personally active in the scenes of the disruption. How
ever, vrith a good degree of unanimity, the above reso
lutions were passed in both Assemblies, which imme
diately proceeded to appoint the proposed Committees.
These were selected with care, as representing different
sections of the country. Very few of the members
were members of the Assemblies then in session. They
were chosen from the States of New York, Pennsyl
vania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri,
lUinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, and the District of Co
lumbia. As originaUy constituted, these Committees
were as foUows : —

426 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Those on the part of the Old School were —
Ministers : J. 1^1. Krebs, D.D., Chairman, Drs. C. C.
Beatty, J. T. Backus, P. D. Guriey, J. G. Monfort, W.
D. Howard, W. E. Schenck, V. D. Eeed, F. T. Brown.
Euling Elders: Messrs. J. M. Bay, E. McKnight, S.
Gallowa)-, H. K. Clarke, G. P. Strong, O. Beatty.
Those on the part of the New School were —
Ministers: Thos. Brainerd, D.D., Chairman, Drs.
WEliam Adams, E. F. Hatfield, J. F. Stearns, P. H.
FoAvler, J. B. ShaAA^, H. L. HEchcock, E. W. Patterson,
H. A. Nelson. Euling Elders: E. A. Lambert, J.
AUison, H. WUliams, T. P. Handy, E. W. Steele, W.
II. Brown.

J. F. Stearns, D.D. William Adams, D.D., LL.D.
Before these Committees could meet, events occurred
which were fitted to produce unusual sobriety. The
Chairmen of both Committees Avere removed from all
participation in the conference. The Eev. Dr. Brainei'd
was suddenly translated to that world where all the
distinctions of Christian discipleship are lost in the har
mony of heaven. The Eev^ Dr. Krebs was disabled
by severe iUness from any share in the deliberations.

THE EEUNION. 427
and before long he too was united to the great company
of Christian ministers in the kingdom of God. Both
of these brethren were vrise and magnanimous, and their
untimely death was profoundly felt throughout the
Church. After correspondence between members of the Com
mittees, they were convened in the city of New York,
Febmary 20, 1867, and organized by the appointment
of their respective Chairmen, Drs. Beatty and Adams.
At first each Committee met by itself. It was natural
that some degree of awkwardness should exist, when
one was waiting for the movement of the other. At
length the two Committees met in joint session. Most
of the members were personal strangers. But aU es
trangement and reserA-e soon disappeared before the
spirit of prayer and honorable Christian confidence.
In the first instance, no member of these Committees
was so sanguine as to expect immediate action in favor
of organic union. The first proposal looked only to
closer relations in the work of the Church ; the av^oid-
ance of rivalry in the establishment of new churches,
especiaUy on the frontier settlements. An arrangement
of this description had aE-eady been inaugurated by
the respective Boards of Home Missions. But after
continued conference, in which, as the result of the
utmost frankness, entire confidence was established, it
dawned upon the Committees that they were appointed
to accomplish a specific thing. To that point they uoav
addi-essed themselves vrith the honest and earnest en
deavor to adjust a plan for reuniting the two bodies
which they severally represented. It soon appeared, to
their own surprise and satisfaction, that a substantia]

428 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
agreement could be reached. To give opportunity foi
farther inquiry and information, the Committees ad
journed to the month of May. On the first day of
that monththey reassembled in the city of New York,
and gave an entire week to theE deliberations.
The result of the conference appears in the follovring
report, which was made totidem verbis by the two
ChaEmen to theE respective Assemblies, the Old
School meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the New School
in Eochester, N. Y., in May, 1867 :
All the meetings of the Committees were distinguished by a degree
of courtesy and -unanimity, which was more than common. Com
posed of men of decided individuality, representing divers interests
and sections, they have discussed every question, many of them of
admitted delicacy and difficulty, with the utmost frankness, without
one word or expression of any kind ever to be regretted by Christian
brethren who felt the grave responsibilities of their position.
The result of their conferences is contained in the following docu
ment, adopted in Joint Committee vdth remarkable unanimity :
Proposed Teems op Reunion Between the two Branches of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States op America.
The Joint Committee of the two General Assemblies of the
Presbyterian Church, appointed for the purpose of conferring on the
desirableness and practicability of uniting these two bodies, deeply
impressed -with the responsibility of the work assigned us, and having
earnestly sought Divine guidance, and patiently devoted ourselves to
the investigation of the questions involved, agree in presenting the
following for the consideration, and, if they see fit, for the adoption,
of the two General Assemblies :
BeUe-ving that the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom would be
promoted by healing our di-visions ; that practical union would greatly
augment the efficiency of the whole Church for the accomplishment
of its di-vinely appointed work ; that the main causes producing divis
ion have either wholly passed away, or become in a great degree in-

THE EEUNION. 429
operative ; and that two bodies, bearing the same name, adopting the
same Constitution, and claiming the same corporate rights, cannot be
justified by any but the most imperative reasons in maintaining sepa^
rate and, in some respects, rival organizations ; and regarding it as
both just and proper that a Reunion should be efi'ected by the two
Churches, as independent bodies and on equal terms ; we propose the
folio-wing terms and recommendations as suited to meet the demands
of the case :
1. The Reunion shall be efi'ected on the doctrinal and ecclesiastical
basis of o\ir common standards ; the Confession of Faith shall con
tinue to be sincerely received and adopted " as containing the system
of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures ; " and its fair, historical
sense, as it is accepted by the two bodies in opposition to Antinomi
anism and Fatalism on the one hand, and to Arminianism and Pela-
gianism on the other, shall be regarded as the sense in which it is
received and adopted ; and the Government and Discipline of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States shall continue to be ap
proved as containing the principles and i-ule of our polity.
2. All the ministers and churches embraced in the two bodies
shall be admitted to the same standing in the united body which they
may hold in their respective connections up to the consummation of
the Union ; and all the churches connected with the united body, not
thoroughly Presbyterian in their organization, shall be advised to
perfect their organization as soon as is permitted by the highest in
terests to be consulted ; no other such churches shall be received ;
and such persons alone shall be chosen Commissioners to the General
Assembly, as are eligible according to the Constitution of the
Church. 3. The boundaries of the several Presbyteries and Synods shall be
adjusted by the General Assembly ofthe united Church.
4. The official records of the two branches of the Church for the
period of separation shall be preserved and held as making up the
one history of the Church ; and no rule or precedent which does not
stand approved by both the bodies shall be of any authority until
re-established in the united body.
5. The corporate rights, now held by the two General Assemblies
and by their Boards and Committees, shall, as far as practicable, be
consolidated and applied for their several objects as defined by law.

430 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
6. There shall be one set of Committees or Boards for Home
and Foreign Missions, and the other religious enterprises of the
(Church, which the churches shall be encouraged to sustain, though
left free to cast their contributions into other channels, if they desirs
to do so.
7. As soon as practicable after the Union shall be efi'ected, the
General Assembly shall reconstruct and consolidate the several Per
manent Committees and Boards whioh now belong to the two Assem
blies, in such a manner as to represent, as far as possible, with impar
tiality, the -views and -wishes of the two bodies constituting the united
Church. 8. When it shall be ascertained that the requisite number of Pres
byteries of the two bodies have approved the terms of Union as here
inafter provided for, the two General Assemblies shall each appoint a
Committee of seven, none of them having an official relation to
either the Board or the Committee of Publication, who shall consti
tute a Joint Committee, whose duty it shall be to revise the Cata
logues of the existing publications of the two Churches, and to make
out a list from them of such books and tracts as shall be issued by
the united Church ; and any Catalogue thus made out, in order to
its adoption, shall be approved by at least five meinbers of each Com
mittee. 9. If, at any time after the Union has been efi'ected, any of the
Theological Seminaries, under the care and control of the General
Assembly, shall desii-e to put themselves under Synodical control,
they shall be premitted to do so at the request of their Boards of di
rection ; and those Seminaries which are independent in their organi
zation shall have the pri"vilege of putting themselves under ecclesias
tical control, to the end that, if practicable, a system of ecclesiastical
supervision of such Institutions may ultimately prevail through the
entire united Church.
10. It shall be regarded as the duty of all our judicatories, minis
ters, and people in the united Church to study the things which make
for peace, and to guard against all needless and ofiensive references to
the causes that have di-yided us ; and, in order to avoid the re-vival of
past issues by the continuance of any usage in either branch of the
Church that has grown out of our former conflicts, it is earnestly rec
ommended to the lower judicatories of the Church, that they con-

THE EEUNION. 431
form their practice in relation to all such usages, as far as consistent
with their convictions of duty, to the general custom of the Church
prior to the controversies that resulted in the separation.
11. The terms of the Reunion shall be of binding force, if they
shall be ratified by three fourths of the Presbyteries connected with
each branch of the Church within one year after they shall have been
submitted to them for approval.
12. The terms of the Reunion shall be published by direction of tha
General AssembUes of 1867, for the deliberate examination of both
branches of the Church, and the Joint Committee shall report to the
General AssembUes of 1868 any modification of them they may deem
desii-able, in view of any new Ught that may have been received during
the year.
13. It is recommended that the Hon. Daniel Haines, and the
Hon. Henry W. Green, LL.D., of New Jersey, Daniel Lord, LL.D.,
and Theodore W. Dwight, LL.D., of New York, and Hon. Wil
liam Strong, and Hon. George Shaeswood, LL.D., of Pennsylvania,
be appointed by the general Assemblies a Committee to investigate
all questions of property and of vested rights, as they may stand re
lated to the matter of Reunion ; and this Committee shall report to
the Joint Committee as early as the first of January, 1868.
14. It is e-vident, that, in order to adapt our ecclesiastical system
to the necessities and circumstances of the united Church as a greatly
enlarged and widely extended body, some changes in the Constitution
-will be requii-ed. The Joint Committee, therefore, request the two
General AssembUes to instruct them in regard to the preparation of
an additional article on this subject, to be reported to the AssembUes
of 1868.
Signed by order of the Joint Committee. Charles C. Beatty, Chairman.
Edwin F. Hatfield, Secreta/ry.
New York, May, 7th, 1867.
Lea-ving their Report with the General AssembUes and the minis
ters and churches of their denomination throughout the land, your
Committee cannot disregard the Providential auspices under which
their recommendations await decision. The present is thought to be
a favorable time, now that many questions of former controversy have

432 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
lost their interest, for adopting a magnanimous poUcy suited to the
necessities of our country and the world. The Presbyterian Church
has a history of great reno-wn. It has been intimately associated
¦with civil and religious Uberty in both hemispheres. Its repubUcan
and representative character, the parity of its clergy, the simpUcity
of its order, the equity of its administration, its sympathy with our
institutions, its ardent patriotism in all stages of our history, its fiex-
ible adaptation to our heterogeneous population, its Uberal support of
schools, colleges, and seminaries designed for general education and
theological culture, its firm and steadfast faith in the extension of
the Redeemer's Kingdom, and that by means of revealed truth and
the special efi-usions of the Holy Spirit, in distinction from all trust
in human arts and de-vices, — all unite to promise, if we are -wise and
faithful, a future for the Presbyterian Church in these United States
greater and better than all the past. Amid the changes which have
occurred around us, we are confident that nothing true and good -will
ever recede or decay ; and it becomes all those who love the same
faith, order, and worship, abounding in love and hope, to pray that
God would count them worthy of their calling, that they may fulfil
all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith -with
power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in
them, and they in liim, according to the grace of our Lord Jeshs
Christ. Signed by order of the Committee. William Adams, Chairman, iV. S.
Charles C. Beatty, 0. 8.
New York, May, 7th, 1867.
It vriU be seen in the 12th article of these proposed
terms of Eeunion, that action upon the merits of the
plan, was, by agreement, to be postponed for an entire
year. It was deemed very unadvisable that there
should be any appearance of haste. It would have
been very unhappy should any, doubtful as yet as to
the expediency of Eeunion, have cause to complain that
decisive action had been precipitated upon them vrith

THE EEUNION. 4d..
out the fuUest opportunity for deliberation and dis
cussion. The Eeport recommended that the Terms ol
Eeunion, agreed upon by the Joint Committee, should
be published by direction of the General Assemblies,
that the Committee should be continued, and that they
should report to the Assemblies of 1868 any modificci-
tion of them Avhich they may deem de.sE-able, in vieAV of
any new light they may receive during the year.
The course of events fr-om this point onwards, has
been so faithfully and happily described by the Eev.
Dr. Steams, a most sagacious and indefatigable member
of the Joint Committee, in an article in the American
Presbyterian Review, for July, 1869, entitled "Histor
ical Sketch of the Eeunion," that the writer prefers, in
stead of affecting a new cast of the facts into other lan
guage, to avail himself largely of the narrative pre
pared by his distinguished associate in the Committee :
The New School Assembly approved and adopted "the whole
report with entire unanimity, appointed the legal committee recom
mended in Art. 13, and authorized the Joint Committee to recom-
mend needed changes in the Constitution, as requested in Art. 14. In
that of the Old School, parts of the Report encountered opposition.
The special committee to whom it was referred, brought in. two Re
ports. That of the minority asking the Assembly to instruct the
Reunion Committee " to obtain a more definite statement of the doc
trinal basis," the exclusion of " Committee men " from the Church
Courts, and a " distinct and formal recognition of the right and obli
gation of every presbytery to be satisfied as to the soundness of every
minister it receives," was, after discussion, rejected by a large major
ity: nays 152, yeas 64. Pending a resolution to adopt that of the
majority, the resolution to instruct the Joint Committee to propose
changes in the Constitution, as recommended in Art. 14 of the Plan,
was unanimously stricken out ; another was added declining to ex
press either approbation or disapprobation, of the terms presented by
28

434 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
the Committee of Reunion in detail, and the rest adopted without a
count, containing the Resolution, " that this Assembly has Ustened
-with grateful and profound satisfaction to the Report of the Commit
tee on Church Reunion, and recognize, in the unanimity of the Joint
' Committee, the finger of God as pointing toward an early and cor
dial Reunion of the two sister churches now so long separated.
In this posture of afi'airs, the Report of the " Terms of Reunion "
went out ±0 the churches and presbyteries. It was, by order, pub
lished in the Appendix to the Minutes of both Assemblies, and in
the reUgious newspapers, and commended to the careful consideration
of the whole church. During the Summer and Autumn, the provis
ions of the Plan were very freely discussed by the press, an^ in the
presbyteries, and various opinions and suggestions were elicited con
cerning them. The Princeton Revie-w, in its July number, attacked
the whole scheme with great "vigOr, in an article -written by Dr.
Hodge, and afterwards published under his O'wn name in pamphlet
form. The object of that article, he says in the preface to the pam
phlet, " is threefold : First, To show that the true principle of sub
scription to the Westminster Confession of Faith requires that those
who profess to adopt the system of doctrine therein contained, should
sincerely receive in their integrity, all the doctrines essential to the
Reformed or Calvinistic System. Second, That this is the principle
adopted and insisted upon by our church from the beginning, and to
which the Old School body stand sc^emnly pledged before the Chris
tian world. Third, That however numerous may be the orthodox
members of the New School Presbyterian Church, that Church, as an
ecclesiastical organization, never has and does not now adopt and act
upon that principle ; and, therefore, that union between the two
churches under these circumstances, would be not only inexpedient,
¦but morally ¦wrong" An able answer to this article appeared in the
Presbyterian Review, in the number for October, written by Profes
sor H. B. Smith, and afterwards published separately, and widely
¦scattered through both branches of the Church. In this article, the
charge of loose subscription made against the New School was posi
tively and indignantly denied, and proof challenged. On the contrary,
it was affirmed that the sense in which the New School Church re-
eeiv ed and adopted the Confession was precisely the same with that
claimed as the true one by Dr. Hodge, -viz., the Calvinistic or Re-

THE EEUNION. 435
formed. This discussion was very generally read, and had a power
ful influence in disabusing many minds of their prejudices or misap
prehensions. Both of the admissions of Dr. Hodge, and the denials
and assertions of Professor Smith, tended to the same result, — the
conviction of the substantial oneness of both bodies in the receiving
and adopting of the Confession of Faith in the true, honest, liberal
common-sense, and Presbyterian signification of those words.
But the question still remained in the minds of some, Was this a
fair representation of the opinions of the New School Church ?
In the month of November of that same year, occurred that re
markable meeting of Christian men in the City of Philadelphia, kno-wn
as " The Presbyterian National Union Convention." " It origi
nated in a proposal, made in the Synod of the Reformed Presbyteriar
Church, at its meeting in the city of New York, in May, 1867, by
George H. Stuart, Esq., an elder in that body," and had for its
object " to inaugurate measures to heal Zion's breaches, and to bring
into one the divided portions of the Presbyterian family." Though
entirely spontaneous, and -without ecclesiastical authority^ this meet
ing was composed of delegates sent by the repective presbyteries of
the different branches of the Presbyterian fam-ily in all parts of tha
land, and had a most important infiuence on the progress of the mea
sures in operation for the reunion of the Old and New School. The
presence of the Spirit of God was never more sensibly felt, and scenes
were there enacted which -will be remembered when the prayer of the
departing Saviour shaU have reached its complete fulfilment, " That
they all may be one." In this meeting the proposition was very early
entertained and adopted to attempt an organic union of these diff'er
ent churches, and a Committee to prepare and report a " basis of
union " was appointed, consisting of one minister and one elder from
each of the churches.
This Committee went immediately to their work, and the next day
brought in their report. Meanwhile, as the discussions and devo
tional exercises proceeded, all hearts seemed melting into one. The
strongest expressions of desire for the accomplishment of the design
were uttered by the speakers of every branch of the Church repre
sented, and from every part of the land. A Convention of Episco
pal brethren in session in the same city had turned aside from their
business to pray for God's blessing upon our deliberations. We had

436 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
reciprocated the fraternal action, and sent a delegation -with our Chris
tian salutations to them. The delegation had returned, reporting
their very cordial reception, and the desire on the part of the Episco
pal Convention to reciprocate the courtesy by sending a correspond
ing delegation to us. The Report of the Basis had been read and
largely explained and commented upon by the members of the Com
mittee. The highest degree of enthusiasm prevailed. The first arti
cle, containing an acknowledgment ofthe Scriptures, had been revised
and adopted, and the second, declaring that " in the United Church,
the Westminster Confession of Faith shaU be received and adopted as
containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures," was
before the Convention.
All this whUe, Dr. Hodge, a member of the Convention, had re
mained perfectly silent. Except a short prayer, very guarded in its
language, which he offered at the request of the Moderator, he had
not uttered a word. The reason, as was supposed, and as he after
wards avowed, was his great surprise at seeing the turn which the
affairs of the Convention took, and the spirit and desires of its mem
bers. " Mr. President," he said the next day, " I came to this Con
vention under an entire misapprehension, and I presume that this is
true of the majority of our Old School brethren. We thought it
probable that some plan of federal ¦union, which would allow each
member of the confederation to retain its O'wn peculiarities, and re
volve in its own sphere, might be proposed and recommended. But,
sir, from the first hour of our coming together, -with the soUtary ex
ception of the remarks of Dr. R. J. Breckenridge on the first day of
the Convention, I have not heard a word uttered or a prayer offered
from the members of any of the bodies here represented, which did
not assume that the organic union of all the Presbyterian churches in
the land was the object contemplated and desired. Such being the
case, I have taken no part in your deUberations, but have sat in si
lence, waiting to see what God, in his pro-vidence and spirit, would
bring to pass."
It was late in the evening, at the close of the second day, and tho
question was just about to be put, when Prof. Smith, also a member
of the Convention, and who had from the beginning taken a warm
interest and a prominent part in all its deliberations and actions,
arose and said : " Mr. Moderator, it seems to me that, in this article,

THE EEUNION.

437

we have reached the central point, and that here we need to be care
ful and circumspect, because we have come to the article where there
is the most controversy. There will be the most diificulty in respect
to the terms of subscription as to the sense in which we assent to the
doctrines presented, and receive the Confession of Faith as containing
the doctrines taught in the Holy Scriptures. I move that the follow
ing words be added to that article, namely : ' It being understood
that this Confession is received in its proj)er historical, that is, the
Calvinistic or Reformed, sense.'' " The proposition took the Conven
tion by surprise. Some did not see the need of it ; others feared it
would raise a new and unnecessary discussion. But the mover per
sisted. To a friend who suggested to him that some would prefer to
have him withdraw it, he replied, " I have offered it, and the Conven
tion may dispose of it as they like; vote it do-wn if they do not like it."
His object is manifest from the history of the case as already given.
It was first, to meet the objections to the organic union then contem
plated, on the part of a considerable section of the Old School body, of
which the Princeton Review was the representative ; and, second, to
test, in an open and explicit manner, the position of the New School
on the subject of accepting and adopting the Confession. In this lat
ter view, its success was most signal. There had been no concert.
The mover acted upon his own responsibiUty. But when the ques
tion was put to the New School portion of the Convention, every man
except two (46 ayes, to 2 nays) immediately voted in the affirm
ative. And from that time to this we have never heard from any
quarter in our branch of the Church, a single voice dissenting from
the position there taken by their delegates. The result proved, as
might have been expected, eminently acceptable to aU candid men in
both parties. It had, no doubt, a most important influence in pro
ducing harmony and confidence between the two parties in all parts
of the Church.
The meeting of this Convention was preceded and attended with
meetings for prayer in various parts of the land, and followed by a
series of Union Conventions in different localities, accompanied, in
some cases, -with special united celebrations of the Lord's Supper, aU
which served to deepen the influence.
In the month of March foUowing, 1868, the Joint Committee of
Reunion came together in the city of Philadelphia, to re-vise and com-

438 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
plete their Plan of Terms to be recommended to the General Assem ¦
blies. Vacancies in their ranks had been filled by the appointment of
Dr. J. Edson Rockwell, in the place of Dr. Krebs, Dr. George F
Wiswell in the place of Dr. Brainerd, and Elder Jacob F. Farrand, in
the place of Elder W. H. Bro-wn, since deceased. The transactions
of the eventful past year were before them, and they came together
with the earnest desire, on all hands, to meet the demands of the case
as manifested by what had occurred.
When the doctrinal article of their first Report came before them,
the members of the Committee from the New School were satisfied to
let it stand just as it was. The resolutions of the Convention at
Philadeljihia had answered their end. They were not intended for a
basis for Reunion between the Old and New Schools. On the con
trary, they expressly disclaimed any such purpose. In many respects
they were not adapted to this use. But those of the Old School
greatly preferred the doctrinal Article adopted at the Convention, es
pecially in view of the Smith amendment, popularly so called. And
those of the New School were quite disposed to acquiesce, provided
that Article could be so modified as to adapt it to the demands of the
case. There was a little clause in the original Article which they
thought ought to he retained, viz., the words " as it is accepted by
the two bodies," thus recognizing the equal standing of both churches
in respect to their adoption of the Confession. But this was objected
to. The clause had met -with misinterpretation and objection, it was
said, from numbers in the Old School body. We must not throw it
back upon them. At one time, there was danger of a very serious
disagreement. But the New School members of the Committee, wish
ing to avoid such a result, offered a choice of three distinct proposi
tions, to either of which they would cheerfully assent, viz., to take
the original Article formally approved by one of the Assemblies, and
not disapproved by the other, just as it stood. 2. To take the same
Article, with the addition of the Smith amendment, and -with no
other alteration. 3. To take the Philadelphia Article, including the
Smith amendment, with the insertion of the clause from the original
plan, slightly modified so as to mak it more acceptable ; " as it is
now maintained by loth the separate bodies." In case these should
be imacceptable, their brethren of the other side must, they insisted,
fui-njsh something to the same effect more satisfactory to themselves.

THE EEUNION. 439
It VMS in these circumstances tliat the Gurley amendment, so called,
was produced.
The circumstances in which that important clause
was proposed, will never be forgotten by any one then
present. Most of the day had been spent in vain at
tempts to agree upon a form of statement which would
be perfectly satisfactoi-y to all. The two Committees
held separate meetings for protracted conference. Su
difficult was it found to be to fi-ame a mode of expres
sion AA'hich would at once remove all existing misappi-e-
hensions and not be liable to yet other misapprehensions
on one side or the other, even more unhappy, that it Avas
seriously debated by some whether it would not be
necessary to adjourn all farther conference and repoi-t
to the respective Assemblies, that it was impossible to
agree upon a doctrinal article not open to objections
and implications, such as had become apparent in pre
vious discussions.
At this point a recess of some two houi-s was taken.
It was vrith heavy hearts that the Joint Committee
convened again in the afternoon.
Immediately upon the opening of the session, Dr.
Guidey rose and said that instead of going to his lodg
ings for refreshment, he had spent the intermission in
retEement and prayer, greatly oppressed by the des
pondent a,ttitude of affairs at the time of the morning
adjournment; and as the result of his earnest delib
eration, he vvould propose an amended form of ex
pression which he ventured to hope might harmonize
all. This ne said vrith great solemnity of manner and
depth of emotion. It should be observed that Dr.
Gurley at this time was in very feeble health, suffering

440 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
greatly fr-om that painful malady which in the course
of the summer carried him to the grave. This it is be
lieved was the last public serrice rendered by this most
estimable Christian Minister. His amendment vvas in
these words : " It is also understood that va/)'ious metli-
ods of viewing, stating, explaining, and illustrating the
doctrines of the confession, which do not impair the in
tegrity qf the Reformed or Calvinistic system, are to be
freely allowed m tlie United Church, as they have hith
erto been allowed in the separate Churches.'''' No sooner
were these words uttered, than it was apparent that they
met most haiapily aE the points of the case. They were
instantly referred to the Sub-Committee who had been
chai-o-ed Arith framing the doctrinal article. "VVithdraAV-
ing for a few minutes for consultation, they returned
Arith the cheerful report that they were entirely and
heartily agreed, and upon their recommendation the
proposed amendment was adopted by a xinanimmis
vote of the Joint Committee. Immediately all anxiety
was remoA'ed. Despondency was succeeded by hearty
joy; Arith tears and sobs of intense emotion, the whole
company rendered thanks to Almighty God for the
happy result which had been reached.
The difiiculty now removed had not been ovring to
any misunderstanduig between members of the Com-
nuttee. It arose from the nature of the case, in at
tempting to adjust existing opinions in both branches
of the Church, which had been brought out with great
expUcitness in the debates and discussions of the yeai-.
The amendment proposed by Dr. Gurley was intended
to be a kind and suitable balance to the amendment in
troduced by Dr. Smith in the PhEadelphia Convention.

THE EEUNION. 441
The latter, as vve may say, was designed to satisfy the
orthodox demands of the Old School. The former vvas
intended to secm-e that reasonable liberty vrithin the
limits of the Presbyterian System for which the New
School had specially contended. This article thus
amended and disposed of, aU other terms of agreement
were readily adjusted.
The result of aU the deliberations was presented in
the follovring report, made to the two Assemblies meet
ing respectively at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and
Albany, N. Y., in May, 1868. This report had been
prepared by the Chairmen of the two Committees, by
order of the Joint Committee. The " Terms of reunion "
had been decided upon in exact and unalterable phrase
by the Committee itself. These, it was thought, should
be accompanied by suitable explanations. The report
thus prepared was submitted to aU the members of the
Committee who had taken part in aU these deliberations
and final action, and received their approval.
In these cEcumstances, the document as distinct from
the terms themselves forms a part of the history of re
union, and is reproduced in this record as shovring the
several changes which had been made in the original
report the year prerious, as also the understanding
which existed at the time by members of the Committee
ou either side. It was read in both Assemblies at the
same hour, previously agreed upon, and in precisely the
same words, vrithout addition or subtraction; the only
difference being that in the one Assembly it was signed
by William Adams, and in the other by Chaeles Q.
Beatty, as Chairman.

442 PEESBYTEEIxVN CHUECH.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON REUNION, 1868.
The Committee appointed by the General Assembly of 1866 to con
fer with a similar Committee of the other Assembly, in regard to tho
Reunion of the two branches of the Presbyterian Church, and con
tinued by the Assembly of 1867, with directions and instructions to
co-operate -with the other Committee in furtherance of the object,
and " report to the General Assemblies of 1868 any modification of
the terms of Union whioh might seem desirable to the Joint Commit
tee, in view of any new light that may have been received during the
year," — would now respectfully report :
That the two Committees again assembled in joint meeting, in the
city of Philadelphia, on Wednesday, A. m., the 11th of March, 1868,
and continued in conference, re-viewing the terms of Union -with the
further light which, they had rfeceived, tiU Saturday afternoon, the
14th, when, having finished the important business -with which they
were intrusted, they finally adjourned.
Every member of these large committees was present -with the excep
tion of Rev. Dr. Hitchcock, of Ohio, absent in Europe ; Rev. Dr. How
ard, of Pennsylvania, detained by severe illness ; and Judge Strong,
of Missouri, prevented by unavoidable professional engagements.
Rev. Dr. Patterson, of Illinois, arrived from a foreign voyage, after a
long absence, in season to meet the Committee ; but leeimg himself
obUged to leave for home on Thursday afternoon, did not participate
in the final action. This large and patient attendance was a new in
dication of the deep interest whicli is felt throughout the country in
the subject under consideration, and also ofthe profound sense of re
sponsibUity on the part of the several members of the Joint Commit
tee, charged to take action in a matter which must affect extensively
and permanently the interests cf our country and the kingdom of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
To our regret, the report expected from the legal advisers appointed
to investigate questions of property and vested rights was not re
ceived, o-wing to the death of Mr. Daniel Lord, and the fact that
Judges Strong and Sharswood had declined to act in the premises,
because of their present official position on the Bench. After filling
a vacancy by the appointment of Hon. WUUam M. Porter, of Phlia-
delphia, we requested the Legal Committee to meet as soon as practi-

THE EEUNION. 443
cable and prepare their report, which will be submitted by thera
directly to the AssembUes.
To affirm that all the meetings ofthe Joint Committee were distin
guished, as heretofore, by Chiistian courtesy and kindness, would be
but a faint expression of the truth. This sentiment of fraternal con
fidence and regard assumed such forms of expression, that all who
participated in the conference wiU be sure to remember it, ts one of
the greatest and happiest privileges of their Uves. This kindness of
feeling, however, did not repress or modify the utmost frankness in
the statement of difficulties, real and alleged, on either side. It ought
to be stated distinctly, in justice to all the many interests and sec
tions represented by these Committees, that there was nOt the least
reserve in the expression of the objections, which had been urged in
any quarter, against the proposed Reunion. So frank and explicit
was this utterance, that at times it appeared as if honest differences
of opinion woidd render success uncertain. But the effect of con
tinued and candid conference was the increase of confidence, through
the correction of misapprehensions and the removal of obstacles, so
that the very clouds, which threatened to obscure the light, arranged
themselves at last so as to reflect and increase what they could not
hide. The prayers of many Churches and Conventions, in different
parts of the country, kno-wn to the Committee to be ascending" to
God in their' behalf, were abundantly answered in the entire harmony
and unanimity to which they eventually attained. By this unanimity
it is not meant, that in every article and act of the Committee the
preferences of each member were fuUy met; but that aU were finally
agreed, that the basis of Union now to be reported was, in the cir
cumstances, the best that could be framed in the way of adjusting di
vers conflicting views and interests ; and as such it was adopted, in
the final vote, with entire unanimity, pledges of cordial support, and
sincere thanks to Almighty God.
Your Committee are fully persuaded that, if the ministers, elders,
and members of both branches of the Church had been present at
our recent conferences, seen what we saw, and heard what we heard,
they would heartily join in the result which was reached by their
representatives. With this beUef, the Committee have judged it ex
pedient and proper to accompany their report -with such explanatory

414 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
words as may serve to convey to others the facts and motives which
proved of such weight to themselves.
Your Committee were not at Uberty to forget or overlook the prem
ises upon which they received their appointment. The Resokition of
the General Assembly (0. S.) in which this movement originated,
expressed the " earnest desire " of that body " for Reunion at the
earUest time consistent -with agreement in doctrine, order, and polity,
on the basis of our common standards and the prevalence of mutual
confidence and love." The General Assembly (N. S.), in responding
to this action by a similar vote, expressed " its earnest -wish for Re
union" on a similar basis.
This EARNEST DESIRE for Union, as confessed by both bodies, is a
fact which antedates the appointment of your Committee. They were
not commissioned to inquire whether it existed, or to take measures
to excite and promote it. The existence of this acknowledged senti
ment was the basis upon which the two Committees were appointed.
These premises assumed, the position occupied by the Joint Commit
tee, and the point of view from which they should survey their v/ork,
were already decided by both Assemblies.
The desii-ableness of Reunion, if it can be consummated on satis
factory terms, is not to be treated and put aside as a blind and imbe
cile impulse : it is the act and expression of Christian wisdom. The
movement, thus inaugurated and advanced, was not made necessary
by the condition or prospects of either of the bodies now in conference.
Each is thoroughly organized, equipped, and prosperous. Neither
needs the accession of the other for its own sake merely. The motives
which impel to Union are higher and greater than any which pertain
to denominational advantage. They relate to the welfare of the
Avhole country, and the kingdom of our Lord in all the earth. On
this high ground, chosen for them in the providence of God, by the
action of both Assemblies, the two Committees took their stand, in
cUned in advance, when any concessions were to be made, that the
lesser preference should defer to the greater and the stronger.
The changes which have occurred in our own country and throughout
the world, during the last thirty years — the period of our separation
- — arrest and compel attention. Within this time the original number
of our States has been very nearly doubled. It was in the year 1837
that what is now the great and prosperous State of Michigan was

THE EEUNION. 445
admitted into the Union. Florida, Texas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Califor
nia, Minnesota, Oregon, Kansas, Nevada, Nebraska, have followed in
rapid succession ; with numerous territories already organized, soon
to take their places in the National Union. And all this vast domain
is to be supplied with the means of education and the institutions of
reUgion, as the only source and protection of our national life. The
population crowding into this immense area is heterogeneous. Six
milUons of emigrants, representing various religions and nationalities,
have arrived on our shores -within the last thirty years; and four
millions of slaves recently enfranchised, demand Christian education.
It is no secret that anti-Christian forces, — Romanism, Ecolesiasticisiii,
RationaUsm, InfideUty, Materialism, and Paganism itself, — assuming
new vitaUty, are struggling for the ascendancy. Christian forces
should be combined and deployed, according to the new movement of
their adversaries. It is no time for small and weak detachments,
which may easily be defeated in detail. A lesson has been given us
in recent years, as to the ease with which diversities of sentiment
may be harmonized and combined in one purpose to maintain the
national Ufe. The time has come when minor motives should be
merged in the magnanimous purpose, inspired both by patriotism and
religion, to Christianize the whole country.
The necessity of a closer union among Christians of a common
faith and order has come to be felt, in a new sense, by the members
of our several Churches. It cannot be denied, that there exists a
wide-spread and earnest longing for more of -visible unity among all
classes of Christian people. This is especiaUy noticeable among the
most intelUgent, active, and generous in our connection. Respond
ing to the teachings and challenges of the pulpit, the laity in our large
cities and towns have entered upon a new stage of Christian activity,
demonstrating the possibiUty of practical union in the stewardship of
Christ. In many quarters there is an evident increase of evangelic
life and energy. With these facts well authenticated before them,
your Committee feel that, should the elements now stirred and con
verging toward union be diverted and repeUed from their object, the
effect would be most disastrous on the prospects of true religion. If
the hearts of Christian people, combined already throughout the land
in Christian work, should be disappointed as to that organic union
which they crave, and this through differences asserted by the clergy,

446 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
which the laitj- either do not understand or with which they have no
sympathy, the certain effect wiU be to lessen the sentiment of respect
and confidence on their part toward their appointed leaders, and
weaken the force of paramount motives.
Nor is the proposed Union desirable on our o-wn account only. It
is inevitable that its effects should be felt throughout the whole of
Christendom. Many of the ecclesiastical organizations of Protestant
Europe had their origin in remote controversies connected with the
Reformation. That was a time for the assertion of truth, rather
than for the expression of love. It was not so much a season for ex
tending Christianity as for purifying and preparing it for future ag
gression. If we must judge now, that segregation was then carried to
an extreme beyond what was required by necessity and Christian
charity, surely we possess pecuUar advantages in this country and age,
for availing ourselves of a -wiser and happier policy. Nothing is so
long-lived and inveterate as ancestral memories and prejudices. Be
fore the world we are now engaged, as a nation, in sol-ving the prob
lem whether it is possible for all the incongruous and antagonistic
nationalities thro^wn upon our shores, exerting their mutual attraction
and repulsion, to become fused in one new American sentiment. If
the several branches of the Presbyterian Church in this country, rep
resenting to a great degree ancestral differences, should become cor
dially united, it must have not only a direct effect upon the question
of our national unity, but, reacting by the force of a .successful exam
ple on the Old World, must render aid in that direction, to all who
are stri-ving to reconsider and readjust those combinations, which had
their origin either in the faults or the necessities of a remote past.
Tlie results of our present movement are eagerly observed by many,
and its success or failure must inevitably affect other efforts, at home
and abroad, looking to the consolidation of other branches of the
Christian Church ; nor can we doubt that, if any hindrance should
frustrate the consummation of that Union now contemplated by our
selves, a pang of grief and disappointment would be felt not only in
our own country, but throughout Protestant Christendom.
The third of a century, the Ufe of a whole generation, has indeed
-(vrought wondrous changes, of the greatest promise for the future.
Another order of things exists. Old causes of irritation are removed.
A new generation in the ministry and the membership of the church

THE EEUNION. 447
hns arisen, with little sympathy for those controversies that resulted
in di-vdsion. A new evangeUc spirit is abroad, Uke the breath of
spring, in-viting to a new style of action.
It would have betrayed a criminal temper, on the part of your
Committee, had they been indifferent to those events and sentiments to
which they owe their own appointment, and under the influence of
whioh they addressed themselves honestly, patiently, and prayerfully,
to the duty assigned to them. The result of theu- deliberation is
embodied in the foUo-wing document, which they now submit for the
consideration of the Assemblies : —
Proposed Terms op Reunion between the two Branches of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.
The Joint Committee of the two General Assemblies of the Pres
byterian Church, appointed for the purpose of conferring on the de-
sit-ableness and practicability of uniting these two bodies, deeply
impressed -with the responsibility of the work assigned us, and hav
ing earnestly sought Divine guidance, and patiently devoted our
selves to the investigation of the question involved, agree in pre
senting the folio-wing for the consideration, and, if they see fit, for the
adoption of the t-Wo General AssembUes.
Belie-ving that the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom would be
promoted by healing our divisions ; that practical union would
greatly augment the efficiency of the whole Churoh for the accom
pUshment of its di-vinely appointed work ; that the main causes pro
ducing division have either wholly passed away, or become so far
inoperative, as that Reunion is now " consistent with agt-eement in
doctrine, order, and polity, on the basis of our common standards,
and the prevalence of mutual confidence and love ; " and that two
bodies, bearing the same name, adopting the same Constitution, and
claiming the same corporate rights, cannot be justified by any but
the most imperative reasons in maintaining separate and, in some
»-espects, rival organizations; and regarding it as both just aud
proper that a Reunion should be effected by the two Churches, as
independent bodies, and on equal terms, we propose the foUo-wing
Terms and Recommendations, as suited to meet the demands of the
case :
1. The Reunion shaU be effected on the doctrinal and ecclesiastical

448 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
basis of OUT common standards ; the Scriptures of the Old and New
Testaments shall be acknowledged to be the inspired Word of God,
and the only infalUble rule of faith and practice ; the Confession of
Faith shall continue to be sincerely received and adopted, " as con
taining the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures ; " it
being understood, that this Confession is received in its proper, his
torical — that is, the Calvinistic or Reformed — sense ; it is also
understood that various methods of viewing, stating, explaining, and
illustrating, the doctrines of the Confession, which do not impair the
integi-ity of the Reformed or Cal-vinistic system, are to be freely
aUowed in the United Church, as they have hitherto been allowed
in the separate Churches : and the Government and Discipline of
the Presbyterian Church in the United States shall be approved
as containing the principles and rule of our polity.
2. AH the ministers and churches, embraced in the two bodies, shall
oe admitted to the same standing in the united body which they
may hold in their respective connections up to the consummation
of the union ; imperfectly organized churches shall be counselled and
expected to become thoroughly Presbyterian, as early, within the
period of five years, as is permitted by the highest interests to be
consulted ; and no other such churches shall be hereafter received.
3. The boundaries of the several Presbyteries and Synods shall be
adjusted by the General Assembly of the United Church.
4. The official records of the two branches of the Chnrch, for the
period of separation, shall bo preserved and held as making up the
one history of the Church ; aud no rule or precedent, which does not
stand approved by both the bodies, shall be of any authority, until
re-estabUshed in the united body, except in so far as such rule or
precedent may affect the rights of property founded thereon.
5. The corporate rights, now held by the two General AssembUes,
and by their Boards and Committees, shall, as far as practicable, be
consoUdated, and applied for their several objects, as defined by law.
6. There shaU be one set of Committees or Boards for Home and
Foreign Missions, and the other reUgious enterprises of the Church,
which the churches shall be encouraged to sustain, though free to
cast their contributions into other channels, if they desire to do so.
7. As soon as practicable after the union shall be effected, the
General Assembly shaU reconstruct and consolidate the several

THE EEUNION. 449
permanent Committees and Boards, which now belong to the two
Assemblies, in such a manner as to represent, as far as possible, with
impartiaUty, the views and wishes of the two bodies constituting the
United Churoh.
8. The publications of the Board of Publication, and of the Pub-
Ucation Committee, shall continue to be issued as at present, leaving
it to the Board of Publication of the United Church to revise these
issues, and perfect a catalogue for the joint Church, so as to exclude
in-vddious references to past controversies.
9. In order to a uniform system of ecclesiastical supervision,
those Theological Seminaries that are now -under Assembly control
may, if their Boards of direction so elect, be transferred to the watch
and care of one or more of the adjacent Synods ; and the other Sem
inaries are ad^vised to introduce, as far as may be, into their Consti
tutions, the principle of Synodical or Assembly super-vision ; in
which case, they shall be entitled to an official recognition and ap
probation on the part of the General Assembly.
10. It is agreed that the Presbyteries possess the right to ex
amine ministers applying for admission from other Presbyteries;
but each Presbytery shall be left free to decide for itself when it
shall exercise the right.
11. It shaU be regarded as the duty of all our judicatories, min
isters, and people in the United Church, to study the things which
make for peace, and to guard against all needless and offensive refer
ences to the causes that have di-vided us ; and, in order to avoid the
re-vival of past issues, by the continuance of any usage in either
branch of the Church that has grown out of our former conflicts, it
is earnestly recommended to the lower judicatories of the Church,
that they conform their practice in relation to all such usages, as far
as is consistent -with their con-victions of duty, to the general cus
tom of the Churoh prior to the controversies that resulted in the
separation. 12. The Terms of the Reunion, if they are approved by the General
Assemblies of 1868, shall be overtured to the several Presbj-teries
under their care, and shall be of binding force, if they are ratified by
three fourths of the Presbyteries connected -with each branch of the
Church, -within one year after they shall have been submitted to
•Jiem for approval. 29

450 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
13. If the two General AssembUes of 1869 shall find that the plan
of Reunion has been ratified by the requisite number of Presbyteries
in each body, they shall, after the conclusion of aU their business, be
dissolved by their respective Moderators, in the manner and foi-m
foUo^wing, viz. : Each Moderator shall address the Assembly over
which he presides, saying, " By virtue of the authority delegated to
me by the Church, and in conformity -with the Plan of Union
adopted by the two Presbyterian Churches, let this Assembly be
dissolved ; and I do hereby dissolve it, and require a General Assem
bly chosen in the same manner, by all the Prebyteries in connection
vvith this body, and all those in connection ¦with the General Assem
bly meeting this year in  , to meet in  , on the
 day of May, A. D. 1870; and I do hereby declare and
proclaim, that thg General Assembly thus constituted will be the
rightful General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United
States of America, now, by the grace of God, hapjiUy united."
Signed, by order of the Joint Committee.
Charles C. Beatty, Chairman.
Edwin F. Hatfield, Secretary.
Philadelphia, March 14, a. d. 1868.
It will be observed that the Committee have agreed upon a few
modifications of the Basis of Union reported in May, 1867 ; this,
not so much from any change of opinion on their o-wn part, as with
a view, if possible, of preventing or correcting misapprehension, and
to meet, more fully, the -views and wishes of the bodies which they
i-epresent. In reference to the First Article, containing the doctrinal basis,
the language employed is so expUcit, that the Committee believe it
will prove satisfactory to all who desire union on the terms of Chris
tian confidence and honor. First of all, following the order of the
" Constitutional Questions " proposed by our Form of Government
to all who are ordained to the Ministry and Eldership of the Pres
byterian Church, we assert the great Protestant principle — the sole
supremacy and undi-vided authority of the Word of God, in all mat
ters of faith and practice : assigning to this the foremost place above
Church, Creed, Confession, School, and System.
Magnifying the Inspired Scriptures, we next adopt, indorse, and

THE EEUNION. ' 451
honor, our common Confession, as "containing the system of doc
trine taught in the Holy Scriptures." So far as they were con
cerned themselves, the Committees would have been content to rest
in this prescribed form of words, as received and used by Christian
Brethren. Unhappily, misapprehension, prejudices, and distrust are
engendered by di-visions, to obviate which the Committee have en
deavored to modify the language of their former report, thought by
some to be ambiguous, so as to make it precise, without surmising or
exaggerating differences of opinion.
In their judgment, the line of distinction between the two Assem
bUes, as now dra-wn, does not consist, as some have supposed, merely
in theological diversities. The same confession is adopted by all.
It is adopted in the same terms as containing the same system. To
make this agreement the more determinate, the Committee have
given this system its historic name. At the same time that we mu
tually interchange these guarantees for orthodoxy, we mutually in
terchange guarantees for Christian liberty. Differences always have
existed and been allowed in tbe Presbyterian Churches in Europe
and America, as to modes of explaining and theorizing within tfie
metes and bounds of the one accepted system. What exists in fact,
we have undertaken to express in words. To put into exact formu
las what opinions should be allowed and what interdicted, would be
to write a new Confession of Faith. This, neither Branch of the
Church desires. Your Committee have assumed no such work of
supererogation. Neither have they made compromises or conces
sions. They append no codicil to the old Symbols. They have as
serted, as being essential to all true unity, the necessity of adopting
the same Confession and the same System, with the recognition of
liberty on either hand, for such differences as do not impair the in
tegrity of the system itself; which is all the liberty that any branch
of the great Calvinistic family of Churches has ever claimed or de
sired. Your Committee cannot see how it was possible for them to
employ language more precise and guarded, unless they were pre
pared to substitute "private interpretations" for the recognized
standards of the Church. To go further in either direction than
they have done, would certainly lead to useless and endless " strifes
of words." Language somewhere must find a limit. It would be
impossible sb to frame expressions on this subject, that those who are

452 ¦ PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
opposed to Reunion may not find occasion to cavil and object. But
the Committee hope and trust that the Article now reported will
commend itself to all fair-minded men, as containing what is precise,
vet not exclusive ; definite, yet not rigid ; specific, yet not inflexible ;
Uberal, -without laxity ; cathoUc, without latitudinarianism. If ex
act uniformity in all shades of opinion, in technical adjustments, in
philosophic theories, be regarded as essential to union, we should
earnestly recommend the indefinite adjournment ofthe present move
ment. Nor woultl consistency aUow us to rest here; our present
organizations should be dissolved and exchanged for disintegration
and indi-vidualism.
Nothing need be said in vindication of the Second Article, to
those who are fully infornied concerning the churches referred to
therein. Your Committee had to deal, not with abstractions, but
with facts and re.ilities. The churches here described originated in
a policy which was itself inaugurated by a remote necessity ; their
number is limited, and cannot be increased ; the terms of their rela
tionship are prescribed and limited also; their Presbyterian relation-
Bliip is at present coidial, happy, and eminently useful ; and some of
them are deemed, by the Presbyteries with which they are connected,
as among their most efficient and excellent churches. As nothing is
intended by our action to disturb the present relations of these
churches, so nothing is designed to be done, at any time, which can
be regarded as inconsistent -with good faith and honor ; but such
statements were made by those members of the Joint Committee
more immediately representing the sections of country in which
these churches exist, as led the Committee to beUeve, that the
friendly counsel contained in this Article would prove not unaccept
able to these churches themselves, and that the specification of a defi
nite time might be an aid to them in perfecting that organization
which is now suggested by Christian expediency.
The several Articles, whioh contemplate the combination and re
adjustment of the respective Boards and Committees of the two As
sembUes, look only to economy and increased efficiency.
The recommendation contained in the Eighth Article calls for the
briefest explanation, as it is beUeved that it will prove more satis
factory than the former Article, to which various objections were
made. No disposition was manifest in the Committee to press in-

THE EEUNION.

453

vidious distinctions and preferences. Neither Publishing Committee
is to supersede or indorse the other. Both, earnestly engaged at
present in pubUshing what is received by the churches at large as
valuable Uterature in theology and practical reUgion, are advised to
continue as now organized, till such a new Board or Committee shall
be appointed in the United Church, as, it may be supposed, would be
prompted by every instinct of Christian propriety to omit painful
and invidious references to past strifes, leaving undisturbed what is
now, and ever must be, highly prized by all our ministers and
churches. As to the action of the Committee concerning Theological Semi
naries, as embodied in Article Ninth of their report, all difficulty
springs from the obvious fact, that there is no authority which is
competent to forbid the endo-wment of Seminaries at any time by
any individuals in our connection. Those- Theological Seminaries
wliich are now independent of ecclesiastical control, were founded
before the disruption, and endowed by men representing alike what
are now known as Old and New School Churches. What was done
then, may be repeated again. A recommendation, looking to some
uniformity of ecclesiastical supervision, is all which the Committee
felt to be -within their province or that of the Assembly ; except that
those Seminaries, now belonging to either branch of the Churoh
should have every guarantee and protection for their chartered rights
which they might desire.
A new Article, here designated as the Tenth, has been introduced,
in whioh some concession has been ma,de on both sides, designed to
reconcile conflicting claims and usages. Many churches and Presby
teries, in both Assemblies, claim the right, as now expressed in for
mal vote, of pronouncing upon the expediency of admitting, to their
own membership, those who bear testimonials from correlative
bodies. One Assembly now makes this obUgatory upon all the
Presbyteries. The Committee recommend the recognition of the
right, and the aboUtion of the imperative rule. As all difficulties
springing from this pause had their origin in times of suspicion and
distrust which, it is hoped, are passing away, it is believed that the
whole matter may safely be left to adjust itself in a new era of confi
dence and harmony. In this connection, however, the Committee
would particularly refer to the next Article (No. 11), whioh empha-

454 PEESBYTEEDVN CHUECH.
sizes the duty of all our judicatories to study the things ¦which mak(=
for peace, and earnestly recommends to the Presbyteries to conforn
to earUer and more ancient usages. The examination of ministei-a
passing from one Presbytery to another is altogether unknown to
the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland and Ireland ; nor was it orig
inally practised in our own. The extent of territory covered by the
Presbyterian Church in the United States may have been one reason
for another method, in later years, in our own country ; but, inas
much as the right and usage asserted and defended by some, aud de
nied and discarded by others, were related to controversies which are
past, the Committee are confident that practical difficulties, from this
quarter, -will be obviated by the adoption of their entire action in
the premises. Amid the diversified practices which now prevaU as
to this subject in both branches of the Church, this recommendation
of the Committee was designed to aUay, and not to promote distrust
and suspicion.
That some changes must be made in the present method and ratio
of representation, is apparent from the size of the two Assemblies.
Differences of opinion also have long existed in both branches, as to
the powers and prerogatives of the General Assembly, as now exer
cised. Many are jealous and apprehensive lest these may transcend
the limits of expediency and Constitutional Law. Whether the pro
posed Reunion would create the necessity of enlarging the authority
of the local Synods and modifying somewhat the power and province
of the General Assembly, is a subject upon which, as not having
been referred to them, the Committees have not felt at liberty to
make suggestions or to take action, beyond that of commending it to
the attention of the two AssembUes, which they do in the foUo-wing
terms, to -wit : —
' ' The Joint Committee recommend that each of the two General Assem
bUes of 18G8, appoint a Committee of five, to constitute a Joint Committee
of ten, whose duty shall be to prepare and propose to the first General As
sembly of the United Church a proper adjustment of the boundaries of Pres
byteries and Synods.
"This Committee shaU also recommend to the General Assembly any
amendments of the Constitution, which they may think necessary to secure
efficiency and harmony in the administration of a Church so greatly enlarged
aud so rapidly extending."

THE EEUNION. 455
Thus have the Committee discharged the duty with which they
were intrusted. Having acted to the best of their ability, according
to all the wisdom they could command, theu' responsibility ceases.
The grave necessity of decisive action is now devolved on the respec
tive Assemblies and Presbyteries of the Churoh. That this respon-
Bibility transcends what ordinarily occurs in the Ufe of men, no one
-wall question.
The Union contemplated in this report is one based on " mutual
confidence and love." The Committees are aware that thoy have
personally enjoyed peculiar opportunities, in the way of intimate fra
ternal intercourse, for the cultivation aud expression of these Chris
tian sentiments. Whatever differences may exist among themselves
on subordinate matters, they have come to rest in raiitual confidence
concerning that which is of paramount importance. If the same sen
timent prevails throughout the whole Church, organic Union cannot
be prevented ; if it should prove to be wanting, no technical formu
las, no cautious definitions, no well-gnarded conditions, can produce
union of any value or permanence. There is a so-called unity, which
is like the freezing together into one soUd mass of all incongruous
and heterogeneous substances. Such icy compression is undesirable.
There is another unity, which the Holy Ghost has compared to the
living " body fitly joined together, and compacted by that which
every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the
measure of every part," making "increase of the body unto the
edifying of itself in love." Such is the Divine model of ecclesiasti
cal Union, combining diversity and harmony, liberty and love, and
the whole instinct with Ufe, aud predestined to gi-o-wth and perfec
tion. Love demands few conditions, and confidence builds on some
thing better than verbal guarantees. Your Committee have never
expected to reconcile all local uiterests, all private preferences, aU
personal memories and prejudices. Content are they, if the Articles
of Agi-eement, herewith reported and recommended, approve them
selves to the thoughtful and judicious in both branches of the
Church, as suited to promote, not the advantage of any school or
sect, but the healthful vigor of the entire Church, the prosperity of
the whole country, the honor of our adorable Lord.
We make no computation of majorities and minorities, in the
United Church, as related to past distinctions. We recognize no

456 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
such idea as one body absorbing the other ; our whole action is based
on the principle of two bodies, now independent and equal, becom
ing assurdlated and fused together in cordial " agreement as to doc
trine, order, and poUcy, on the basis of our common standards, and
the prevalence of mutual confidence and love." In such a sublime
act, something must be trusted to the power of Christian sentiment ;
something left co be accomplished by faith in one another, as well as
in our common Loid. Signs are visible in every quarter of increased
confidence among Christian churches and ministers, long separated
by ecclesiastical differences, now yearning for more of unity. As
well might we deny the return of spring and the putting forth of
buds and the tender grass, as question this obvious fact. Do not
events indicate a Divine Leadership which it is our wisdom to ob
serve and obey? Results have already been reached, under Pente
costal effusions of the Spirit from on high, surpassing the most san
guine expectations, rebuking unbeUef, dissolving prejudice, and be
tokening greater things to come. Some things must be referred to
the past. If we face the sun, our shadows are behind us. " Let the
dead bury their dead." It is our Lord Himself who teaches us,
that aU which is personal and private should be held subordinate
to the claims and affinities of His kingdom. What was tolerated
once may not be justified now. The future cheers and animates us
with brightest prosjiects. The voice of the Son of God reljukes the
weakness aud wickedness of schism, and enjoins the unity of faith
and love. Hope anticipates the time when, every dissension healed
and forgotten by Christian charity, all branches of the Presbyterian
Church, in all sections of our common country, holding the same
Standards, shall be drawn together by patriotic and evangelical
sympathies in cordial and indissoluble union. Glorious things are
promised to the Church, " in the day that the Lord bindeth up the
breach of His people and healeth the stroke of their wound."
Surely it will be for good and not evil, for joy and not sorrow,
for sti-ength and not weakness, if henceforth our rule shall be " One
body and one spirit, even as 'we' are called in one hope of ' our' call
ing. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all,
\\-lio is above all and througli all and in ' us ' all."
" Now unto Plim that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we aal.- or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

THE EEUNION.

457

unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all
ages, world without end. Amen."
Signed, by order of the Committee.
Wiliam Adams, Chairman, N. S.
Charles C. Beatty, 0. S.
May 20, 1868.
The whole subject was now before both Assemblies
for action in the form of definite terms for oi-ganic Re
union. The terms met with no little opposition. In the
Old School, the opposition was chiefly against the ex
planatory clauses of the doctrinal article ; in the New,
asjainst the admission of the tentli ai-ticle, concernino;
the right of examining ministers in good and regular
standing. After a long and animated debate, the whole
plan, as reported by the Committee, was adopted by
Ijoth Assemblies, by a very large majority, and accord
ing to the provisions of the plan itself was sent do^wn
as an overtm-e to the Presbjderies for their decision.
In the Old School Assembly, the minority disapproving
of the plan, entered a formal protest. This was an
swered by Professor Shedd, Chairman of a Committee
appointed for the pm-pose. As this paper was ajj-
proved and adopted by the Assembly itself, thus en
dorsing the orthodoxy of the New School Presbyterian
Church, it is too important, as a historic document, to
be omitted fi-om this record. It is as follows :

ANSWER TO THE PROTEST.
In reply to the Protest against its action on the Terms of Union,
the Assembly observes :
The authors of the Protest first speak of a series of doctrinal er
rors and heresies, which may be concisely stated as follows: (1.)

458 PRE.SBYTERIAN CHURCH.
There is no moral character in man prior to moral action, and there
fore man was not created holy. (2.) There was no covenant made
with Adam, his posterity did not fall -with him, and every man stands
or faUs for himself. (3.) Original sin is not truly and jaroperly sin
bringing condemnation, but only an innocent tendency leading to
actual transgression. (4.) InabiUty of any and every kind is incon
sistent with moral obUgation. (5.) Regeneration is the sinner's own
act, and consists in the change of his govei-ning purpose. (6.) God
cannot control the acts of free agents, and therefore cannot prevent
sin in a moral system. (7.) Election is founded upon God's fore
knowledge that the sinner will repent and believe. (8.) The suf
ferings of Christ are not penal, and do not satisfy retributive justice.
(9.) Justification is pardon merely, and does not include restoration
to favor and acceptance as righteous.
These doctrinal errors the authors of the Protest are careful to say
are repudiated by the great mass of the New School Church. They
say that " they are far from believing or insinuating that these doc
trines generally approved by the New School Church " — that they
do not impute these errors to a majority, or to any definite propor
tion of out- New School brethren."
The charge that is made in this Protest, and the only charge made
in this reference is, that while the other branch of the Presbyterian
Church repudiate these doctrines for themselves, they at the same
time hold that they are consistent with tlie Calvinism of the Confes
sion of Faith. The authors of the Protest allege that it is the judg
ment of the New School body that a person can logically and consist
ently accept the Westminster symbol, and these nine or ten Pelagian
and Arminian tenets, at one and the same time. This is the sub
stance of their charge.
The Assembly pronounces this aUegation to be without foundation,
because :
1. Such a position, if taken by the New School Church, or by any
churoh whatsoever, would simply be self-stultifying and absurd. That
a great reUgiou,=s denomination, which from the beginning of its or
ganization in 1837, dovra to the present time, has held up the West
minster Confession as its symbol, has compelled eveiy one of iU
ministers and elders to subscribe to that symbol, and has received its
membership into church communion upon professing faith in the doc-

THE EEUNION. 459
trines of that symbol ; that an ecclesiastical body which has thus
stood before the other churches of, this and other lands, as a Caloiib-
istic body, and has been reckoned and recognized as such, should at
the same time be jealous in behalf of the distinguishing doctrines of
Pelagianism and Arminianism, and insist that these latter are co-nsist-
ent -with the former, and are to be tolerated in a Cal-vinistic body, is
too much for human belief. The entire history of the Church doe.-^i
not present such a phenomenon as that of a denomination adopting,
before the world, a definite type of doctrine, and at the same time
claiming that exactly the contrary type of doctrine is compatible with
it, and must be tolerated within its communion. If the New School
Church are really doing what the signers of this Protest allege they
are, then their position before the churches and the world would be
as absurd as would have been the position of the Nicene Church, if,
at the very time that it adopted and defended the Truiitarianism of
Athanasius, it had insisted that the tenets of Arius or those of the
Humanitarians were consistent with those of the gi-eat father of or
thodoxy, and must be allov,red in the Catholic Church. The human
mind, even in its natui-al condition, never did work in this manner,
and never "wiU; and stUl less will the human mind, when renewed
and sanctified by divine grace, be guilty of such a paljiable incon
sistency. 2. These very errors, charged by the signers of the Protest as al
lowed by the Nev,r School Presbyterians, have already been distinctly
repudiated by them. The Auburn Convention, held in 1837, under
the infiuence and doctrinal guidance of that excellent and sound di-
vine, the late Dr. Richards, specified sixteen doctrinal errors, whioh
contain the very same latitudinarian and heretical tenets mentioned
in the Protest, rejected them in in toto, and set over against them
sixteen " true doctrines," which embrace all the fundamentals of the
Calvinistic creed. This Assembly regards the " Auburn declaration "
as an authoritative statement of the New School type of Calvinism
and as indicating how far they desire to go, and how much liberty
they wish in regard to what the terms of union call "the various
modes of explaining, illustrating, and stating" the Calvinistic faith.
We believe that a large number of our New School brethren would
prefer the modes of " explaining and iUustrating " the tenets of Ca,l-
vinism which are employed by the authors of this Protest themselves,

460 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
and the other portion of the body claim only that degree of varia
tion from these modes, which wouJd be represented by the theology
of Pdchards and the Auburn Declaration.
3. The Assembly is fully satisfied that any instances of laxity of
doctrine among the New School which have been exhibited, are ex
ceptional cases, and that the great body of the other Church sincere
ly and fii-mly stand upon the basis of our common standards. The
many disclaimers of the unsound views charged, and declarations
that the standards are received as by us, which have been made by
distinguished and representative men, and in the periodicals of the
New School Church, leave no room to doubt that the interests of
sound doctrine will be safe in the united Church.
4. That the aUegation of this Protest is unfounded is proven hir
che fact that the New School Church have adopted, by a unanimous
vote, the Basis of Doctrine presented by the Joint Committee. What
ever may be the preferences and opinions of individuals respecting
particular clauses in the first article in this basis, this Geneial As
sembly holds and affirms that it not only commits, but binds any
ecclesiastical body that should receive it to pure and genuine Calvin
ism. It will be so understood by all the world. For it expressly
lays down the Westminster symbol as the doctrinal platfoi-m, and
expressly requires that no doctrine shall be taught that is not Calvin
istic in the old, ancestral, " historical " meaning of this term, or that
" impairs the integrity " of the Calvinistic. system. We affirm that
there is not a man upon the globe, possessed of a sane mind, and ac
quainted with the subject of doctrine, who would assert that the list
of errors and heresies mentioned by the signers of this Protest is
" Cal-vinistic " in the accepted and historical signification of the term,
or that their reception would not impair the integrity of the Calvin
istic system.
And it must be distinctly observed, that if any doctrines had been
hitherto aUowed by the New School body which " impair the integrity
of the Cal^vinistic system," they are not to be allowed in the united
Church under the terms of union. Such doctrines are condemned, ami
any one who may teach them will be subject to discipline. It is the
testimony of some of the protesters themselves that the great body
of the New School are sound in doctrine ; our own body being the
large majority in the union, when fortified by the accession of tho

THE EEUNION. 461
great body of sound men in the other, will establish and confirm the
testimony of the Church to the t.ruth; will preserve it, by God's
help, from error, and maintain intact, whUe it extends, the piirifying
and saving power of our venerated Confession.
5. The errors and heresies alleged in the Protest are combated and
refuted in the Theological Seminaries of the New School.
Such Seminaries in any denomination are important exponents of
its doctrinal position and character. The Assembly knows that in
the three Seminaries of our New School brethren, Westmmster Cal
vinism is fully and firmly taught. The Professors in these are obliged
to subscribe to the Westminster Confession, and heretical teaching
throws the Professor out of his chair by the very constitution of
these Seminaries. The Assembly notices this point, particularly, be
cause the authors of the Protest assert that the doctrinal errors speci
fied by them " have been taught in some of the Theological Semina
ries of our land." This is not the proper manner in whioh to affix
so grave and damaging a stigma upon our New School Presbyterian
brethren. The authors of this Protest ought to have made this alle-
ga-tion, not in the way of insinuation, but by distinct assertion and
proof. Many things are " taught in the Theological Seminaries of
our land" which are not taught in the Presbyterian Seminaries of •
the land, either New School or Old.
6. The Protest alleges it to be a " notorious fact " that the New
School Church insists that the heresies mentioned are compatible
with Cal-vinism. If the alleged fact had been so "notorious " as the
Protest affirms, it would certainly have been kno-wn to this Assem
bly, and would have ihade it simply impossible to have secured for
the Basis of the Joint Committee, or for any other conceivable basis,
any favorable consideration. The idea of reunion would not have
been entertained for a moment.
Furthermore, this Assembly emphatically holds up to the Church
and to the world, that it receives into its ministry and membership
those who adopt " the system of doctrine taught in our Confession,"
and that it never has held, and does not now hold, that its ministers
or members shall " view, state, or explain " that system in any other
than the words of the Holy Scriptures and our standards ; and to
show that this is the sentiment not only of the Assembly, but of the
protesters themselves also, the Assembly here cites the testimony of

482 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
one of the signers of the Protest, whose words have been referred to
in the discussions just closed. Says Dr. Hodge :
" If a man comes to us, and he adopts ' the system of doctrine '
taught in our Confession, we have a right to ask him, ' Do you be
lieve there are three persons in the Godhead — the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Ghost — and that these three are one God, the same in
substance, equal in power and glory ? If he says. Yes, we are satis
fied. We do not call upon him to explain how three persons are one
God, or to determine what relations in the awful mysteries of the
Godhead are indicated by the terms Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
If we ask, Do you beUeve that ' God created man male and female,
after his o-wn image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with
dominion over the creatures " ? and he answers. Yes, we are satisfied.
If he says he believes that * the covenant being made with Adam,
not only for himself, but for his posterity, all mankind descending
from him by orcUnary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him,
in his first transgression,' we are satisfied. If he says that he be
lieves that ' the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell consists
in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of original righteousness,
and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called
original sin, together with all actual trangressions whioh proceed from
it,' we are satisfied. If he says, ' Christ executes the office of a
priest in his once offering himself a sacrifice to satisfy Divine justice
and reconcUe us to God, and in making continual intercession for us,'
we are satisfied. If he says he believes justification to be ' an act of
God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us
as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed
to us, and received by faith alone,' we are satisfied. Is not this what
is meant when a man says he adopts our ' system of doctrine ' ? Is
not this — nothing more and nothing less — that which we are au
thoi ized and bound to require? God grant that we may unite on
terms so simple, so reasonable, and, I must hope, so satisfactory to
every sincere, humble, Christian brother." — {Remarks of the Rsv.
Charles Hodge, P.D., in the Philadelphioj Convention?)
The Assembly cannot enlarge the basis beyond the platform of
God's truth as stated in our standards, and it would not narrow the
basis by taking one tittle from the form of sound words therein con
tained. We declare our -willingness to unite -with all those who pro-

THE EEUNION. 463
fess their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and their adoption of " the
Confession of Faith and Form of Government " of our beloved
Churoh. The protesters object to the eighth item of the Basis, because it
makes the united Church responsible for the publications of the New
School Committee. This is a misapprehension. The publications of
the New School Committee and our Board are to be issued as now,
with tho imprint of each, untU the new Board shall prepare a new
catalogue, for which alone the united Church -will be responsible.
Again, the protesters object to the fourth article as unsettling past
acts of our Church. This is a matter of necessity where the action
of the two bodies differs. It is believed, however, that except in the
case of the imperative clause of the examination rule of 1837, no
important difference can be found. If it is otherwise, the united
Church is the proper body to establish its own usages. We do not
believe that our brethren of the New School Church have now any
sympathy with Congregational -views of government, or any objec
tion to usages that are strictly Preshyterian.
The various amendments proposed by the protesters were laid on
the table, not because they were contrary to the sentiment of the
Assembly, but because, under the circumstances, it was not possible
to engraft them upon the terms of the union, and, in the judgment
of the Assembly, were not essential to the integrity of the Calvinis
tic basis on whioh the union is to be effected.
Wm. G. T. Shedd,
j. g. monfoet,
S. Ieen^us Peime,
H. H. Leavitt,
RoBEET McKnight,
Committee.
In the New School Assembly at Harrisburg, the min-
OTitj, after having expressed their dissent and their ap-
])rehensions in regard to the tenth article, with few
exceptions, waived their objections in the final vote
upon the whole plan, and acquiesced in the judgment of
the majority.

464 PEESBYTEEIAN CUUECH.
As the Session of the Old School Assembly at Albany
was dra^\dng to a close, action was taken which it is
important to understand correctly, because of its bear
ing on all subsequent proceedings. In hope of concili
ating the minority, who had professed honest misgiv
ing:^ as to the effect of the explanatory clauses of the
doctrinal article, that Assembly adopted the following
resolution :
While the Assembly has approved the Report of the Joint Com
mittee on Reunion, it expresses its preference for a change in the
first item in the basis, leaving out the following words, viz. : " It
being understood that the Confession is received in its histoiioal —
that is, the Calvinistic or Preformed sense, — it is also understood
th;st various methods of vie-wing, stating, explaining, and illustrating
the doctrines of the Confession, whioh do not impair the integrity of the
Eefoi-med or Cal-vinistic system, are to be freely allowed in the united
Church, as they have hitherto been allowed inthe separate churches."
The Assembly believes that by omitting these clauses the basis will
be more simple and more expressive of mutual confidence ; and the
Permanent Clerk is directed to telegraph this proposed amendment
to the Assembly at Harrisburg, and if that Assembly shall concur in
the amendment, it shall become of effect as the action of this Assembly
also. The Assembly also appoints the Rev. C. C. Beatty, D.D., the
Rev. V. D. Reed, D.D., and ruling elders Robert Carter and Henry
Day, a Committee to proceed to Harrisburg and personally to lay this
action before the other Assembly.
This Committee immediately put in execution the
trust assigned to them ; and on their an-ival at Harris
burg, were very cordially received, and by their pres
ence and warm expressions of fraternal love, -did much
to advance the interest of Eeunion. But the Assembly
at Harrisburg was now xhtj near its close. Many of
its members had abeady obtained leave of absence,

THE EEUNION.

4«:

and on investigation it was found that there was no lon
ger the requisite constitutional quorum for reconsidei'-
ing the action which had been taken. A free confer
ence on the subject, however, seemed to warrant the
belief that the Assembly would have been ¦willing to
concur in the proposal, if their brethren of the other
Assembly would add the tenth article to the portions to
be omitted. The Committee returned to Albany and
reported the result of their mission, and there the mat
ter was left when the Assemblies severalty adjourned.
The plan recommended by the Joint Committee and
adopted by both Assemblies was now the overture, and
the ovly one regularly before the presbyteries. If,
however, ha^ving acted upon that, any of them had
chosen to express their approval of the proposed amend
ments, subject to the concuiTcnce of the two Assem
blies, no embarrassment would have arisen. But, un
fortunately for the immediate success of the effort for
Reunion, other councils prevailed. The presbyteries of
the New School acted upon the regular overture, and
approved it by a very large majority ; but the presby
teries of the Old School voted, some for the overture,
some for the amended plan proposed but not adopted
by their Assembly ; and still others ignored both for
the basis of " the standards pure and simple ; " aud by
far the largest number effectively rejected the only
raeasure legally before them. In this state of affairs,
seeing that that measure was defeated, not intentionally
on the part of most of the presbyteries, but by con
fusion of action, the Eeunion Committee, on the part
of the New School, which had been continued by that
Assembly, while that of the other Assembly had been
30

-iCiQ PEESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
dissoU^ed, hoping still to bring about an agreement,
and deeming it within the limits of their authority to
attempt to do so, met in the city of New York, in
the month of January, 1869, and adopted the folio-wing
paper : —
ADDRESS OF THB REUNION COMMITTEE TO THE
PRESBYTERIES.
In pursuance of a resolution of the General Assembly, at its meet
ing at Harrisburg, Pa., May, 1868, continuing the Committee on Re-
urdon for the purpose of " furnishing such information as they may
deem best to the churches, in order to secure inteUigent action on the
subject of reunion," the said Committee met in the city of New
York, on the 20th day of January, 1869.
It appeared from the best evidence that could be obtained, that
while a large proportion of the New School presbyteries, acting on
the overture sent do^wn by both General Assemblies, had given their
approval of the same, most of the Old School presbyteries had given
their approval only to an amended basis, for which their Assembly
had expressed a preference, in case the Assembly at Harrisbwrg
.shoidd concur ; that is, to the basis of the overture with the omission
in the first article of the following words : " It being understood,
-etc., or, as some of them have expressed their action, the basis of
the Standards pure and simple."
It thus appeared that, whUe on both sides there has been a" very
general approval of Reunion itself, a difference of action has prevailed
which, as the case now stands, is likely to defeat what we believe is
the earnest purpose of a very large majority of the members of both
'branches of our Churoh, to wit, the accomplishment of Reunion at
'the meeting of tho next General AssembUes.
That the other Assembly did not intend to make any alteration in
rthe principles of the plan submitted by the Joint Committee, is
clear from the fact that, having adopted that plan by a large majority,
the amendment was proposed only as a matter of " preference,"
subject to the concurrence of our General Assembly ; and the reason
given for the preference is, that, so amended, " the basis would be
more simple and more expressive of mutual confidence." It appears from

THE EEUNION. 467
the statement of the Committee sent by the Assembly at Albany to
report their action to the Assembly at Harrisburg, that they were
infiuenced in part also by the hope of reconciling opposing elements
in their own body, and so securing in favor of Reunion greater unani
mity. BeUeving that the Presbyteries connected with us, and our branch
of the Church generaUy, are disposed to make any concessions to
their brethren of the other body not inconsistent with principle, and
that express guarantees, both in regard to doctrine and polity, may be
safely dispensed with, now that free discussion of the subject has
brought about so good an understanding, this Committee deem it
then- duty, in accordance with the purpose of their continuance, to
call the attention of the presbyteries to the present posture of the
case ; and, without assuming any authority, would reccomend that,
at a regular meeting preceding the next General Assembly, they ex
press their assent to the amendment referred to, with the additional
ono (which to us appears to carry -with it all the reasons that apply
to the other, and is regarded by some as quite necessary in case the
other is adopt'ed), viz., the omission of the whole of the Tenth
Article. We cannot but trust that our Old School brethren -wUl con
cede this additional omission, since it is but the application of the
same principle to the polity of the Church which they have appUed
to its doctrine ; and whUe it will serve to harmonize differing prefer
ences among us, as theirs does among them, -will be equally, with
theirs, expressive of the same "mutual confidence."
Should the requisite number of Presbyteries in both the bodies
agree to both these modifications, the two AssembUes may find them
selves in a position to consummate the Reunion at the approaching
meeting, and thus avoid the delay of another year, which is much to
be deprecated, in order to frame and send down a new overture. It
must, however, be well understood, that, by agreeing to the omissions
in question, the Presbyteries do not reUnquish nor deny the right to
all reasonable Uberty in the statement of views, and the interpretations
of the Standards, as generally expressed in the First Article as it now
stands ; and also that the interpretation of their own language by
the Joint Committee in the preamble and conclusion of their report.
May, 1868, is to be accepted as the true interpretation.
With these views, and in order to prepare the way for definite and

468 PEESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
uniform action on the part of the Presbyteries, the Committee beg
leave to submit the foUo-wing form, not to supersede but to follow
their pre-vious action, in case they have already approved of the terms
of the overture : —
" This Presbytery, having already approved of the basis of Reunion
overtured by the last General Assembly, do now, in order to a final
and harmonious adjustment of the whole case, consent to the amend
ing of the Basis, by the omission,
" First, Of that part of the First article of the Basis that begins
-with the words ' It being understood,' &c., and ends -with the words
' In the separate chnrches.' And,
" Second, Of the whole of the Tenth Article of the basis.
" Wm. Adams, Chairman."
This address was sent to all the presbyteries in connec
tion with the New School branch of the church, and
published in the religious papers, for the information of
all parties concerned. Unfortunately, again, no sooner
had the adoption of the address been made known
through the press, than the Central Presbytery of Phil
adelphia, -with the best of intentions, we are bound to
believe, but without the slightest consultation -with the
Committee or any of the members of the New School,
adopted and issued a cii'cular to the presbyteries of the
Old School, advising them to abandon the whole plan
overtu/t^ed by the Assemblies, and vote for the union on
the basis of the Standards, without explanations or
agreements, leaving all the delicate questions on which
the Eeunion Committee had labored for nearly three
years to be settled as best they might, after the union
should be consummated. The result was as might nat
urally have been expected. Whde the presbyteries on
the one side voted for the Committee's measure of
attempted concilation, those on the other were as much

THE EEUNION. 469
confused in their action as before ; and again there was
no agreement.
It was in this posture of affairs that the two Assem
blies met in the city of New York, May 17, 1869. It
can liardly be thought strange that in the New School
portion of the chm-ch a considerable degree of coldness
had beo-un to manifest itself. Not a few of them be-
gan to feel that they h^d been trifled with. With the
utmost confidence in the good-will and sincerity of
the friends of Eeunion in the other church, they
could not see why they should still pursue their efforts
to conciKate a small minority in their own body, who
had been opposed to Eeunion from the beginning, to the
extent of ignoring the opinions and policy of its fidends
in the New School body, who had battled with them
side by side for many years, and of neglecting to take
them into their counsels. This was the case especially
with some of the laymen. Two eminent juidsts, mem
bers of the Assembly, expressed as much during the
course of its meetings. One of them, who had been a
member of the Eeunion Committee from the first, and
had declared himself warmly for Eeunion as early as
1864 at the Assembly of the Old School at Newark,
declined for the first time to concur with the New
School Committee when they put forth the January
letter, thinking it unwise and beneath their dignity to
make any further attempts in such circumstances.
It was well known before the meetino' of the Assem-
blies that the plan of Eeunion overtm'cd the preceding
year, owing to the confused and diverse manner in
which the vote had been taken, had faded of the re
quisite endorsement by the Presbyteries. This tended

470 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
somewhat to dispirit the fidends of Eeunion, especially
ia the New School Branch. They approached the
Assembly, so far as is known, with no definite plan.
It was expected, i£ anything was done toward Eeunion,
that it must be with considerable delay, and by the in
ception of some new method, they knew not what, to
be inaugurated by the other branch. But it was soon
evident that the desii-e and purpose for Eeunion were
deepened and not dduted by delay. A meeting for
prayer had been appointed in the Brick Church the
evening previous to the opening of the Assemblies. It
wks instantly appai-ent that all hearts converged towards
the same object, and some of those who had for various
reasons been supposed to be indisposed to Eeunion, now
appeared to be the foremost in its advocacy.
On the first day of the session, a motion was made
in the Old School Assembly for a Committee of Con
ference to meet a similar Committee fi'om the New
School Assembly, to consider what further action
should be taken on the subject of reuniting the two
bodies. A similar Committee was appointed by the
New School Assembly, upon information of what had
been done by the other body. These committees con
sisted of five ministers and five elders from each
Assembly. On the part of the Old School, the Com
mittee was composed entirely of new men. Not one
who had served upon the previous committee was
reappointed. It is not known that any of these had
been retm-ned to the Assembly. On the part of the
NeAV School, one half had been members of the original
Committee, appointed three years before. This con
stitution of the Joint Committee proved to be favor

THE EEUNION. 471
able to success. It had been suggested more thau
once, in several quarters, that in previous conferences
the Old School Committee had not been suflSiciently
firm and sagacious in the maintenance of their own
ground. Those who were associated with them had
no occasion to doubt for an instant their true and
decided fidelity to the interests which they represented,
or to question the singular abdity with which they
discharged their trust. But for the wisdom, patience,
and excellent Christian bearing of the first Committee,
upon whom it devolved to initiate the work of Eeumon
in its least promising and most difficult aspects, the task
of their successors would have been a thousand-fold
more onerous. It wdl always be a very strong testi
mony to the wisdom and fidelity and discernment of
those to whom reference is uow made, — the members
of the Joint Committee from the Old School, — that,
in the final review by new men, in their place, every
one of the provisions to which they had agreed, even
those which had been most severely criticized, are
retained unaltered in substance.
The Committees now appointed addressed them
selves immediately to the work assigned them with
intense earnestness. Meantime, the members of the
two Assemblies were thrown into intimate intercourse.
On Monday evening a social entertainment was given
in Apollo Hall by the citizens of New York, in
which there was the freest interchange of fi'iendly
sentiments. Nearly every day the two Assemblies
met together for social worship. By the guidance
of God's Providence and Spirit, the tide of feeling iu
expectancy of reunion was visibly and constantly

4(2 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
rising. Monday morning, a delegation from the Old
School Assembly, consisting of the Eev. Drs. Beatty
and IMusgrave, and Hon. Eobert McKnight, appointed
under the old rule of interchange, addressed the New
School Assembly ; and their fei'vid eloquence kindled a
new enthusiasm for Eeunion. Two days after, the Del
egates from the New School, — Dr. Adams and Hon.
Wm. E. Dodge, — -were received by the Old School
Assembly with every expression of kindness and re
spect. The address delivered on that occasion by the
former is here inserted, inasmuch as it represents the
attitude of affairs upon one side at that critical time :
ADDRESS OF REV. DR. ADAMS, BEFORE THE OLD
SCHOOL ASSEMBLY.
Mr. Moderator, — Lest it might be supposed by any that my
colleague and myself are the bearers of some special overture from the
Assembly whioh we represent, it -will not be impertinent to premise
that the appointment under which we serve was made by the General
Assembly of the last year. It is, on our part, a continuance of that
interchange of fraternal courtesies which was inaugurated several
years ago, but which is now dra-wing to a close ; for I am awed by
the thought that this is undoubtedly the last delegation from our
xVssembly to yours, as interchange is now to give place to inter-
blending. We remember with delight the -visit of your delegation
to our Assembly last year at Harrisburg ; their kinds words, their
genial spii-it, their noble bearing ; whUe our hearts are stUl glowing
with the fervent eloquence of your commissioners, when addressing
us two days ago ; for aU which we thank both you and them.
Though my coimection with the Presbyterian Church has exceeded
thirty years, this is the first time that I even so much as looked
upon the General Assembly of your branch of the Church. With
particular men among you, I have formed intimate, and I trust im
mortal friendships. Many of your names — pardon me, Mr. Mod
erator, for mentioning your own among them — bel ung to the com
mon scholarship of the country ; whUe I can truly say of the men

THE EEUNION. 473
¦with whom I have been associated in the negotiations of the last
three years, that to me their faces will ever shine as did that of
Moses, though it may be added that, in their Christian modesty,
" they wist it not themselves."
To give first impressions, it strikes me that I am not among
" strangers and foreigners ; " that you have the true, indescribable
but unmistakable Presbyterian look, — gra-vity without austerity, dig
nity without dulness ; or, if I may accomodate the descriptive words
of Sir John Denham, written two hundred years ago, — -
" Though deep, yet clear; though gentle, yet not duU;
strong, without rage ; without overflowing, full. "
it -will be remembered by some present, that shortly after the
division of the Presbyterian Church into two bands, our o^wn branch,
not having the most delightful associations with the General Assem
bly as then administered, and -wishing to put into form that idea of
its functions which had been propounded by many of the fathers of
the Church, that it should be more of a bond of union among
Synods as local Assemblies, and less of a supreme, long-armed, legis
lative power, inaugurated — -wisely or unwisely — the system of Tri
ennial AssembUes, and, for the conduct of any business which might
require action in the interval, a committee was appointed caUed the
" Committee ad Interim." Though a young man at the time, I had
the honor to be a member of that Committee. It may also be re
membered by some present that, in subsequent Assemblies of your
own, it was quite common facetiously to refer to this Committee of
ours as " the Committee ad Interment ; " a pleasant and witty
mode of expressing the con-viction that we were dead. Ours was
not the first instance in which premature burial has been arrested.
I am reminded of that immortal passage in EngUsh literature, famil
iar to all nurseries, whioh describes a cei-tain motherly person greatly
grieved because of the death of her favorite dog, —
" So she went out to buy him a coffin;
When she came back she found him a-laughing."
Mr. Moderator, we are not dead. We have never had any idea of
dying. How could we die when we are -vitalized by the spirii of
Presbyterianism and by aU the memories and traditions of Presby-

474 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
lerian history ? It is very common for those who migrate from the
Old World to the New to be taunted -with the ra-wness and recency
of their origin. If there is any virtue in historic lineage, all such
have as indefeasible a right in every thing which constitutes the
glory of Britain as those who stUl hold the ancestral cliffs. In Uke
manner, we, as a Churoh, are no foundlings, blushing at the bend
of illegitimacy in our coat armorial. All good and great Pres
byterian names are our common projierty. Your Alexanders,
McDowell, Rice, Miller, are ours, as our Richards, Skinner,
Barnes, and Smith, are yours. Chalmers, the Bro-wns, the Erskines,
are ours. The Confession of Faith is ours. The old Catechisms
are ours. Presbji^erianism, in all its bravery, and scholarship, and
fideUty, is ours, as truly as theirs who ever have lived on the hills
and heather of Scotland.
We have nothing to report concerning our branch of the Church
but the special goodness of Almighty God. We do this, not in pride
and exultation, but, we trust, -with true gratitude for the past, and
humble dependence on him for the future. All our organizations
for Church work are complete and efiicient. Special reference may
be made to our Home Missionary work, which has been greatly pros
pered. Our receipts for this object are, I beUeve, considerably in
advance of your ovm. There are many of these topics, of which, in
other circumstances, we might speak at length ; but it wUl be ex
pected that I come at once to that subject of Reunion, which at this
hour occupies aU minds and hearts.
By this time, we must all be convinced how much easier it is to
break than to mend, to tear than to heal. The hand of a child may
breaK off a branch from a rose-bush ; but to reunite it to the parent
stock, and cause it to grow fibre to fibre, bark to bark, so that there
shaU be no soar, is a di-vine art, to be accomplished only by a Di-vine
power. In what has been done already, we can see the signs of some
working which is not altogether of man. No man, no set of men, on
either side can take to themselves the credit of that movement which
has already advanced so far towards its consummation. For myself,
I can honestly say that when informed that my name was put on the
Joint Committee, magnanimously inaugurated by your Assembly at St.
Louis, in 1866, I had very Uttle faith in the success of what was then
projected. I see before me my friend and brother, Rev. Dr. Beatty,

THE EEUNION. 475
Chairman of your own Committee of Fifteen, who, at the first meet
ing of our Joint Committee in February, 1867, told us that he hoped
from some summit in the upper world one day to look down upon
this Reunion — a consummation which he did not expect to see on
the earth. Day before yesterday, in his address to our Assembly, he
expressed the beUef that this blessed issue was nigh at hand. I need
not faU back upon the etymology of his name, which I have no doubt
is derived from the Latin Reatus, to find reasons for congratulating
him on his happiness this day. In nothing is the good hand of God
more conspicuous than in the delays and doubts and hindrances
which had their origin in honest convictions. The solution of a
doubt is oftentimes the strongest confirmation of truth. I may apply
to a good cause what Robert HaU has said of meritorious character,
— it rises superior to opposition, and draws lustre from reproach.
The vapors which gather about the rising sun and follow it through
out the day, seldom fail, when evening comes, to form a magnificent
theatre for its reception, and to invest -with variegated tints and a
softened effulgence the luminary which they cannot hide.
It may not be impei-tinent to say that as we know of nothing in
your condition as a Church which should lead you to seek this Re
union on your o-wn account, so there is nothing in our condition
which, for our o-wn sake merely, makes it necessary that we should be
united. You are a strong and venerable Church, needing no acces
sion of strength or numbers. We are young, vigorous, and flexible.
To a remarkable degree, we are homogeneous and' united. We have
no jealousies, no roots of bitterness throughout our large communion.
So far as I know, we have no questions before us which are Ukely to
divide us. Slavery is dead. Slavery has kUled itself in these United
States, and aU the people have said Amen. Theological polemics are
behind us. So far as we are concerned, it must be confessed, we enjoy
this condition of things mightUy. We trust that it wiU not be re
garded as an offence if we are disposed to compare ourselves with the
herdmen of Isaac, who digged a well, and when the herdmen of Gerar
strove for it, c-alled it Esek — Contention — and passed on ; and they
digged another weU, and when they strove for that, they called it
Sitnah — Hatred — and passed on ; and digged a third weU, which
they caUed Rehoboth — Room. Having dug our new well Reho-
both, and finding its waters sweet and abundant, rejoicing in the

476 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Uberty wherewith Christ maketh us free, there is no necessity, and
we have no -wish, for our own sakes merely, to go back to that which
is past.But there is a ground on wlUch we have come to beUeve that re
union is desirable, pre-eminently desirable. It is a consideration
higher and gi-ander than the interests of either branch, — the good of
the whole country, and the extension of the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Evangelism is better than ecolesiasticism. Our common Christianity
is nobler and higher than any zeal for partisanship.
As we have been taught by our common system of theology, that
God foreordains whatsoever comes to pass, making even the wrath of
man to praise Him, we may suppose that each of these distinct bodies
may have had its mission, and so is now prepared to benefit the
other in a new combination ; as streams, impregnated with the quali
ties of the different soils through which they run, flow together and
purify each other by the gentle effervescence of contrary qualities. I
suppose you wiU consider it no affront if you are regarded as the
special conservators of orthodoxy. Adopting the same Confession of
Faith with yourselves in all honesty, we will not shrink from being
considered as the special advocates and representatives of liberty.
Circumstances have created these distinctions. You wUl not think
it strange, whUe you hold steadfastly to your orthodoxy that we
should magnify and assert oui- liberty. We have found it neces
sary to emphasize the fact that, within the bounds of our common
system of doctrine, there is room for liberty. As there always
have been, so there always will be differences of opinion in
unessential particulars among those who are agreed heartily in
the gi-eat essentials of the same historic system. My excellent friend
and brother. Rev. Dr. Musgrave, when addressing our Assembly, two
days ago, as your Delegate, said, emphatically, in his admirable elo
quence, that he rejoiced in the name of Cal-vinist, a name in which
we rejoice also ; but we have never supposed that in order to vindi
cate one's title to that honored appelation, every one of us should go
through the world like the u-on man Talus in the drama, with his flail
crushing on the right hand and the left, aU who differ from us in per
mitted shades of opinion. You and we together insist upon the free
play of forces within the range of our common self-prescribed Umita-
tions. You are called Old School ; we are called JVew School

THE EEUNION. 477
Wlien I say that all the novelty, all the innovation in theology whioh
we represent consists in getting rid of superstitions, using the v/ord
according to its exact etymology, to denote those things imposed upon
theology which are not of its substance, — human traditions and
pMlosophies, which have attached themselves to what is divine, like
barnacles to a ship, so getting back more and more to the old, simple,
primal, granite, eternal facts of Revelation, — perhaps it will appear
not altogether impossible to reconcile the ideas of JVew and Old in
true harmony and unity. Upon this point it is not necessary to
multiply words, on our part, especially as we recall the generous act
of your last Assembly, in amply vindicating our orthodoxy by that
deUverenoe which, of your o-wn accord, was entered upon your
minutes, and for which we render you, in the name of all truth and
fairness, our sincere thanks.
Should this reunion be consummated, there are two things, Mr.
Moderator, which, as it seems to me, will be of immense importance,
and of which I would presume to speak a word, -without appearing
to drop into the strain of professional homiletics. The first relates
to the mode in which, from this time onward, we are to treat ono an
other. Nothing is so long-lived and inveterate as prejudice — pro
fessional prejudice, party prejudice, sectional prejudice. While hold
ing to freedom of speech, the utmost freedom of the Press, can any
candid man deny that the Churoh and the country are both suffering
at this hour from the misrepresentations of a partisan Press ? We
have had enough of parvanimity — let us pledge ourselves now to a
noble magnanimity. Let my right hand forget its cunning, and my
tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I ¦write or speak one word
which shall tend to rekindle old prejudices, re^viveold issues, or ex
cite distrust and suspicion in this critical hour of healing. If any
man is disposed to do this, to give heed to idle rumor, to propagate
rumors and suspicions fitted to make divisions, just when the tissues
are beginning to knit themselves together into a new confidence, we
have inspired authority for the direction to mark that man. What
a noble opportunity especially is theirs who, advanced in years and
having a vivid memory of former times, veterans scarred in past con
flicts, men whose honest con-victions are always to be honored, may
so take the lead, at this new era, in the conquest of personal preju
dices and partialities, as that they shall secure the love, gratitude, and

478 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
honor of a new generation, and go to their rest at the close of life
with the benedictions of a united Church. What the country needs
now most of all, and the Church also, is the restoration of intelligent
confidence between aU its parts. North and South, East and West.
Let the educated men of the country, especially our ministers and
elders, cultivate more of intercourse and acquaintanceship, and they
wUl bind this whole land into compactness, as the roots of the -willows
by the water-courses give firmness to the sod. If our Union is to be
based on confidence and honor, then honor must be whole-hearted.
We cannot mix clay and iron and gold together.
The second thing is the -wisdom and the necessity of engaging im
mediately in larger enterprises of Christian evangeUsm. This is the
true method of diverting thought from obsolete questions, and pre
venting new divisions because of minor and subordinate matters.
" Doth the wUd ass bray when he hath grass, or loweth the ox over
his fodder ? " The true way to arrest all senseless brayings and low-
ings is to fill heart and hands with grand and urgent work. We are
much impressed on our side -with the paramount necessity of evangel
izing our cities and new territories, believing that Presbyterianism
has peculiar advantages for this vast achievement. In our late
national struggle manifold were the diversities of opinion in regard
to men and measures, but these were all compelled to follow the one
grand purpose to preserve the national life and integrity. We read
in the Apocalypse of certain forms of life destined to annoy the
Church, that " their power is in their tails." No matter how many
tails a serpent may have, so long as he has but one head he -will be
able to glide through any thicket, every caudal extremity forced to
obey one capital tractive power. It is the attempt to put these di
versities in the foreground — going as it were tails foremost — which
ensures either stoppage or dismemberment. Let us make sure of
true unity by undertaking great things for the kingdom of our Lord.
Our Theological Seminaries should be more liberally endowed. The
scholars of the Church should be provided for more generously. As
thank-offerings to God, new churches should spring up all over the
land. Now is the time for splendid action. We have been skirmish
ing only, using squads and detachments. Now for the bugle-note
sounding for an advance along the whole line.
Having drawn an Ulustration from the weUs of Isaac of different

THE EEUNION. 479
names, it occurs to me that there was a sequel to that history which
justifies a further analogy. In his new encampment, Jehovah ap
peared unto Isaac and said, " I am the God of Abraham, thy father :
fear not, for I am -with thee, and wUl bless thee and multiply thy
seed. " " Then Abimeleck went to him from Gerar and Ahuzzath,
one of his friends, and Phichol the chief captain of his army. " And
Isaac said unto them, " Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me,
and have sent me away from you ? " And they said, " We saw cer
tainly that the Lord was with thee " — anticipating that fine formula
of Irenseus, " where the Spirit is there is the Church," in distinction
from the ecclesiastical formula, " Where the Churoh is there is the
spirit " — " we saw certainly that the Lord was -with thee ; and we said.
Let there be now an oath bet-wixt us and thee, and let us make a
covenant -with thee. " " So they made a feast, and did eat and drink
together ; " and the last well which was dug there was called
Beersheba — The well of the oath — for there those who had been
at variance sware one to another in a blessed covenant of amity and
peace. " Then Israel sang this song. " ShaU we, ere this week is
past, sing it, here on Murray Hill, by the side of our new well ?
" Spring up, O well ; sing ye unto it : The princes digged -the well,
the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver."
So they journeyed "from the wilderness to the top of Pisgah."
Pisgah ! ¦with what blessed memories and hopes is the name associ
ated. Shall we stand awhile together upon this mount of vision and
look around us. There is one temptation to which we are exposed
at this hour, and that is elation. So much is said of the excellence
of our standards of doctrine and polity that we are in danger of ex
alting them unduly, forgetting that they are but instrumental to that
which is higher and nobler. Leighton says that the devil is alert in
watching for full and satisfied souls, just as pirates look out for ships
which are heavily freighted, letting the empty pass unmolested. If
we shaU be tempted to pride because of our numbers and wealth and
ecclesiastical strength, we shall be in imminent peril. Believing as
we all do that our Church system is subordinate to Christianity, let
this memorable week be distinguished by the birth of a purer and
loftier type of spiritual religion.
Pisgah ! how is the word associated with heavenly -visions and
hopes. How small in the presence of death those distinctions of.

480 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECU.
which we make so much in " the pride of life. " What difference can
we imagine there is now between Krebs and Brainerd, Erskin(!
Mason and James W. Alexander, and all those whp have been wel
comed by the Lord of glory to His presence out of these two sepa
rated Branches of the Church on earth? How are we to account for
that physiological fact which has so often come under our profes
sional notice, that as nature dissolves itself into its simplest elements,
the moral affections come forth -with utmost tenderness and power.
Some twenty years ago, when our partisan prejudices were in their
first heat and strength, I had a neighbor, eminent for his scholarship
and for his legal reputation and ofBce, who was so thoroughly impreg
nated -with theological partialities that he could regard me only with
cold distrust and suspicion. For years our intercourse was confined
to the most frigid forms of civility. , He was seized by painful and
fatal illness, during which, at his request, I frequently -visited him.
Not a word ever passed between us pertaining to difl'erent schools and
systems. We talked of " the common salvation." All that was rigid
and exclusive disappeared. Every thing that was sweet and tender
and gentle came forth. How often did he take my hand and kiss it
over and over again in fondest affection. The intellectual gave place
to the moral — the simple affections of the heart asserted their
supremacy. Why should we defer till the process of dissolution that
union which is sure to be at last through the medium of Christian
love? "All my theology," said that sweet saint. Dr. Archibald
Alexander, when waiting and Ustening for the footsteps of his Mas
ter, "is reduced to this brief compass — the faithful saying, worthy
of aU acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save
sinners." My dear Mr. Moderator, pardon my prolixity, and accept the
most cordial, fraternal, and Christian salutations for yourself, and the
Assembly over which you preside, from those whom we have the
honor to represent. God bless you and them in all things ! God
bless aU branches of the Presbyterian Church! God bless aU true
Christian ministers and men ; " all who, in every place, call upon the
name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours ! " In this day
of gladness, because of the reunion of the tribes of Israel, let us
chant together the jubUant words whioh the Spirit of God has made
ready for our use, " Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact to-

THE EEUNION.

481

gether. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. For my brethren and
companions' sakes, I -wiU now say. Peace be within thee. Because of
the house of the Lord our God, I wiU seek thy good."
A week had elapsed since the opening of the Assem
blies, and on Thursday, the seventh day, the Joint Com
mittee was ready to report. As this was the document
upon which both Assemblies agreed in their final action
upon Eeunion, it is here inserted entire, that it may be
conveniently compared with preceding reports on the
same subject. It was signed individually by every
member of both committees.

Old School: Eev. Drs. Musgrave, A. G. Hall,

Atwater, Lord, Wdson.
cis, Grier, Day.

Messrs. Carter, Drake, Fran-

E. W. Patterson, D.D.

New School : Eev. Drs. Adams, Stearns, Patterson,
Fisher, Shaw. Messrs. Strong, Haines, Dodge, Far
rand, Knight. 31

482 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

I. _ Plan of Eednion op the Pbesbttbrian Chijkch ra the
United States of America.
Believing that the uiterests of the Eedeemer's kingdom would be promoted
by the healing of our divisions, and that the two bodies bearing the same
names, having the same Constitution, and each recognizing the other as a
sound and orthodox body according to the principles of the Confession com
mon to both, cannot be justified by any but the most imperative reasons in
maintaining separate and, in some respects, rival organizations ; we are now
clearly of the opinion that the reimion of those bodies ought, as soon as the
necessary steps can be taken, to be accomplished, upon the basis hereinafter
set forth. •
1. The Presbyterian Churches in the United States of America, namely,
that whose General Assembly convened in the Brick Church in the city of
New York, on the 30th day of May, 1869, and that whose General Assembly
met in the Church of the Covenant in the said city on the same day, shall be
reunited as one Church, under the name and style of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America, possessing all the legal and corpor
ate rights and powers pertaining to the Church previous to the division iu
1838, and all the legal and corporate rights aud powers which the separate
churches now possess.
3. The reunion shall be effected ou the doctrinal and ecclesiastical basis
of our common Standards ; the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments
shall be acknowledged to be the inspired word of God, and the only infallible
rule of faith and practice ; the Confession of Faith shall continue to be sin
cerely received and adopted as containing the system of doctrine taught in
the Holy Scriptures ; and the government and discipline of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States shall be approved as containing the principles
and rules of our polity.
3. Each of the said Assemblies shall submit the foregoing basis to its pres
byteries, which shall be required to meet on or before the 15th day of Octo
ber, 1869, to express their approval or disapproval of the same, by a categor
ical answer to the foUowing question :
Do you approve of the reunion of the two bodies now claiming the name
and rights of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, on
the following basis, namely : " The reunion shall be effected on the doctrinal
and ecclesiastical basis of our common Standards ; the Scriptures of the Old
and New Testaments shaU be acknowledged to be the inspired word of God,
and the only infaUible rule of faith and practice ; the Confession of Faith
shaU continue to be sincerely received and adopted as containing the system
of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures ; and the Government and Disci
pline of the Presbyterian Church in the United States shaU be approved as
containing the principles and rules of our poUty " ?
Each Presbyteiy BhaU, before the first day of November, 1869, forward to

THE EEUNION. 483
the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly ¦with which it is connected, a
statement of its vote on the said Basis of Eeunion.
4. The said General AssembUes now sitting shaU, after finishing their
business, adjourn, to meet in the city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on the
second Wednesday of November, 1869, at eleven o'clock, A. M.
If the two General AssembUes shaU then find and declare that the above-
named Basis of Eeunion has been approved by two thirds of the Presbyteries
connected ¦with each branch of the church, then the same shall be of binding
force, and the two AssembUes shaU take action accordingly.
5. The said General AssembUes shall theu and there make pro^nsiou for
the meeting of the General Assembly of the united church on the third
Thursday of May, 1870. The Moderators of the two present AssembUes
shall jointly preside at the said Assembly of 1870, until another Moderator ia
chosen. The Moderator of the Assembly now sitting at the Brick Chuich
aforesaid shall, if present, put aU votes and decide questions of order ; and
the Moderator of the other Assembly shaU, if present, preach the opening
sermon ; and the Stated Clerks of the present AssembUes shaU act as Stated
Clerks of the Assembly of the united church, until a Stated Clerk or Clerks
shaU have been chosen thereby ; and no Commissioner shaU have a right to
vote or deUberate in said Assembly until his name shaU have been enroUed by
the said Clerks, and his commission examined and filed among the papers of
the Assembly.
6. Each Presbytery of the separate churches shaU be entitled to the same
representation in the Assembly of the united chuxch in 1870, as it is entitled
to in the Assembly ¦with which it is now connected.
II. — CONCTJBBBNT DECLARATIONS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLIES OF 1869.
As there are matters pertaining to the interests of the Churoh, when it
shall have become reunited, which ¦wUl manifestly require adjustment on the
coming together of two bodies which have so long acted separately, and con
cerning some of which matters it is highly desirable that there should be a
previous good understanding, the two AssembUes agree to adopt the follow
ing declarations, not as articles of compact or covenant, but as in their judg
ment proper and equitable arrangements, to ¦wit :
1. AU the ministers and churches embraced in the two bodies should be
admitted to the same standing iu the united body, whioh they may have
held in their respective connections, up to the consummation of the imion
3. Imperfectly organized churches are counseUed and expected to become
thoroughly Presbyterian, as early ¦within the period of five years as may be
permitted by the highest interests to be consulted; and no other such
churches shaU be hereafter received.
3. The boundaries of the several Presbyteries aud Synods should be ad
justed by the General Assembly of the united church.

484 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
4. The official records of the two branches of the church for the period of
separation should be preserved and held as maMng np the one history of the
church ; and no rule or precedent whioh does not stand approved by both the
bodies, should be of any authority until re-estabUshed in the united body,
except in so far as such rule or precedent may affect the rights of property
founded thereon.
5. The corporate rights now held by the two General AssembUes, and by
their Boards and Committees, should, as far as practicable, be consoUdated,
and applied for their several objects, as defined by law.
6. There should be one set of Committees or Boards for Home and For
eign Missions, and the other reUgious enterprises of the church ; which the
churches should be encouraged to sustain, though free to cast their contribu
tions into other channels if they'desire to do so.
7. As soon aa practicable after the union shall have been effected, the
General Assembly should reconstruct and consoUdate the several Permanent
Committees and Boards which now belong to the two AssembUes, so aa to
represent, as far as possible with impartiality, the views and wishes of the
two bodies constituting the united church.
8. The pubhcations of the Board of PubUcation and of the PubHcation
Committee should continue to be issued as at present, leaving it to the Board
of PubUcation of the united church to revise these issues and perfect a cata
logue for the united chuxch so as to exclude invidious references to past con
troversies. 9. In order to a uniform system of ecclesiastical supervision, those Theo
logical Seminaries that are now under Assembly control may, if their Boards
of Direction so elect, be transferred to the watch and care of one or more of
the adjacent Synods; and the other Seminaries are advised to introduce, as
far as may be, into their Constitutions, the principle of Synodical or Assem
bly supervision ; in which case they shaU be entitled to an ofScial recognition
and approbation ou the part of the General Assembly.
10. It should be regarded as the duty of aU our judicatories, ministers,
aud people in the united chuxch, to study the things which make for peace,
and to guard against all needless and offensive references to the causes that
have divided us; and in order to avoid the revival of past issues by the con
tinuance of any usage in either branch of the church, that has gro^wn out of
former conflicts, it is earnestly recommended to the lower judicatories of the
church that they conform their practice in relation to aU such usages, aa far
as is consistent -with their oouvictions of duty, to the general custom of the
chuich prior to the controversies that resulted iu the separation.
in. — EBCOMMEND ATION OP A DAT OF PRATER.
That the counsels of Infinite Wisdom may guide our decisions, and the
blessing of the Great Head of the Chuich rest upon the result of our efforts "

THE EEUNION. 485
for Eeunion, it is earnestly recommended to the churches throughout both
branches of the Presbyterian Chuich, that they observe the second Sabbath
iu September, 1869, as a day of fervent and united prayer to Almighty God,
that he would grant unto us aU "the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit
of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord," and in the new relations now
contemplated, enable us to "keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of
peace." The chief points of difference between this document
and the Eeport of 1868, it will be seen, are these :
It distinguishes several things which before had been
confounded in popular apprehension. It does not pro
pose a new Basis for Eeunion. The first Eeport, of the
first Joint Committee recommended that the " Eeunion
shall be effected on the doctrinal and ecclesiastical
basis of our common standards." No other basis was
ever thought of by any. But this basis, in the first
instance, was accompanied by certain terms relating to
cognate subjects, such as in the circumstances were
thought to be necessary to bring about a good under
standing. These terms had been confounded in many
ruinds with the Basis itself. This appeared from the
manner in which the different Presbyteries took action
on the overture. In the new and last Eeport, to prevent
all confusion, these several matters are carefully distin
guished. The Basis stands by itself. It is so framed
that the Presbyteries were required to render a cate
gorical answer to the question whether it should be
approved or disapproved.
But inasmuch as it was not only desirable but abso
lutely necessary that some good understanding should
be established between Bodies so long separated, those
matters which in previous reports had been constituent
parts of the compact and terms of covenant are here

486 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
put iato the form of " concwrrent decla/rations^'' as being
of equal force and value with men of Christian confi
dence and honor.
Pre-vious conferences, debates, and articles had accom
plished their needfid service. In regard to the doctrinal
article, it was no more necessary that any explanatory
clause designed to represent either side, should be intro
duced. The old qualifications — excellent in their time
and place — " as it is accepted by the two bodies," " as
it is now maintained in the two bodies," " as they have
hitherto been allowed in the separate churches " — are
all dropped, and in their place a better expression is in
troduced into the preamble — satisfactory to all, " Each
Eecognizing the Othee as a Sound and Oethodox
Body." Thus it appeared as the result of the way in
which God had led us, through all conferences and
debates, that entire confidence between the negotiating
bodies had been reached, and so the Eeunion was con
summated. The scenes which occurred, in both Assemblies, when
the final vote was taken upon the Eeport of the Com
mittee, were such as occur only once in a lifetime. As
these belong to a subsequent chapter of the volume
descriptive of the Assemblies in New York and Pitts
burg, to be written by their respective Moderators, they
will not be anticipated.
The writer of this chapter, a member of the Joint
Committee from the beginning, in 1866, cannot lay down
his pen without making record of his conviction that
the whole movement has been under the guidance of
the great Head of the Church. The work of healing
what was broken, of uniting what was sundered, was

THE EEUNION. 487
divine. No man, no set of men, can take to themselves
the credit of its success. Oftentimes faith faltered
and the issue seemed most dubious. But difficulties at
the critical moment disappeared, and discomfitures and
delays were overruled for good. The faces of good
men, alive when the movement began, but translated
before it was complete, — Brainerd, Krebs, Gurley,
Brown, — smde on their sm'viving associates who have
seen its consummation. To mention the services ren
dered by individual members of the Committee now
li-vdng or dead, would be in-vidious. Each contributed
his part ; and some, representing different sections and
interests of om- extended coimtry ' and of our beloved
Church, exhibited a degree of wisdom and faith, firm
ness and charity, discernment and skdl, which "will never
be forgotten by their associates.
May the future of our history furnish proof that the
whole movement is approved of God, and tends to the
augmented usefulness . of the Church, the good of our
native land, and the advancement of the Kingdom of
om- Lord throughout the world.
[Since the time when these eloquent words were pen
ned, this prayer has become a prophecy. The Presby
terian Church, consolidated by the Eeunion, has gathered
strength and power for every department of its Divinely
appointed work in this and in other lands. Many revi
vals of religion have taken place, the Theological Semi
naries have received numerous candidates for the minis
try, multitudes of church edifices have been erected on
the frontier, and missionaries in increased numbers have

488 PEESBYTEELAN CHUECH.
gone forth to sow beside all waters. No regrets have
been expressed that the union was completed, but from
every portion of our country and of Christendom there
have been heard congratulations and thanksgi-vings
because of its rich, beneficent fruits.
Not would it be beyond probability if this happy
consummation should encourage and stimidate other
churches, near allied in doctrine, order, and worship, to
join hands and hearts, and to unite together in similar
bands of affection and Christian fraternity. May such
ever continue to be the glad and gracious results of
THE eeunion so fitly commemorated in the preceding
pages. Ed.]

BmCK CHUBOH, NEW TORK.

CHAPTEE XIV.
THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869.
It has been truly said that " the meetings of the Old
and New School General Assemblies of 1869, almost
within speaking distance, on Murray Hill, New York,
will be memorable so long as the Presbyterian Church
lives in this country or the world."
Eepresentative bodies of Christ's ministers, having
the same historic name and polity, were convened in
the spirit of concord, and were yearning, though long
alienated, to become again one.
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
in the United States of America had now attained its
fourscore years. It had reached this age " by reason
of strength," and so far from the " strength " being
" labor and sorrow," the labor and sorrow had become
the strength. The movement now happdy culminating
and traced through a history of strife and tears, stands
without a parallel in the annals of the Christian
Church. That bodies formerly one household, but long
time sundered by great questions of doctrine and
polity, with all the animosities and jealousies spring
ing out of such a disruption, should become one again,'
after a generation of separate, and often of rival action
— this was the marvel ! But just because the divi
sion had lasted through a generation, it was all the more

492 peesbyteeian chuech.
a time for Eeunion, when most of the men, left on
the field, had not been personally involved in the act
of separation. It was also because there was vitality
in the parts that there was the element of healing : Or
rather, because the Spirit of the Lord had breathed
upon the scattered limbs, that they came togethei"
again, bone to his bone, in all the plain.
The event, considered in all its bearings, is so signal
and so significant as to seem to be a great first chapter
in that Johannean development for which the Church
looks and waits — the age of Christian concord and
love, in all the body of Christ. It is notable that the
generation which had been passed in di-vdsion, and to
some extent also in dissension, had wrought silent and
steady results towards conciliation. Each body, claim
ing, on whatever ground, to be " The General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Chm'ch in the United States of
America," — what wonder if each was, all the while,
the rather intent on making good its claim in the eye
of the world ? Besides, the lessons of the strife had
been put to account, to the end of correcting what was
amiss. So that, at this period, the respective parts
were found, by all confession, in great degree, homoge
neous, as they were not at the division — thus always
tending towards each other, rather than apart. The
Congregational element, introduced by "The Plan of
Union" of 1801, had, in large measure, occasioned the
outbreak of 1837 ; and the question was whether the
disruption would work in that direction, as to doctrine
and polity, or in the line of reaction towards the old
paths. It was just the steadfast adherence to the Pres
byterian faith and order in the mass, that came, at

the ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 493
length, to demand a Eeunion of the respective parts,
when the reconsideration and adjustment, on either
side, had so diminished the dijBferences. Every lover of
the Church felt that there was a great sacrifice of
Church power by such separate operation, which could
be justified no longer when essential divergence was at
an end.
Different views, it is true, were all along taken of
the situation. And some on both sides, who had been
opposed to the disruption, were now as conscientiously
opposed to the Eeunion. But it was just the question
whether the grand inner forces of a true Presbyterian
ism were not steadily working towards a homogeneity
which would warrant a reuniting of the sundered but
affiliated parts, and whether the time had not even now
come for the Eeunion. True, it could be claimed that
the signal thrift and success of the two branches, in
their separation, were such as to justifj'- the separate
organizations, and that a healthful competition had
been even an element of success fully warranting a
longer, continuance apart ; but such a view is quite too
secular, and overlooks the higher demands for the one
ness of the Chm'ch of Christ by all legitimate means.
But peril to Scriptural doctrine was the stronger
point made by not a few, and that on either side.
Though at the disruption the formal question was
a constitutional one, — a question of Church polity
rather than of creed, — and though, as to doctrine, the
separating portion had then formally protested their
orthodoxy, and some of the highest authorities in the
exscinding body were so agreed, and maintained that
the divergence was not such as to infer separation, yet,

494 PEESBYTEEIAN OHUECH.
all along, a zeal for the truth, as set forth in our Cal
vinistie system, led many in the Old School branch to
dissent, or greatly to hesitate as to the Eeunion. But
actual uniformity is not pretended in either body ; and
the degree of divergence can only be measured and ad
judged, in indi-vidual cases, according to the indes of
the Church, as plainly provided. If freedom of pri
vate judgment has most asserted itself in the Presbyte
rian famdy, to the extent of schism, for what has
seemed the truth's sake, yet who shall deny that the
truth of God has its most noble and Biblical definition
and exposition in our cherished Westminster formulas
of faith, which are the common family heritage ? And,
what wonder, if with these in hand, and claimed
equally by both, the distinctive truth they set forth
should dispose and draw together the living parts as
essentially one in the vital doctrines of salvation?
But the facts and auguries, in the case, were inter
preted differently. As in the proverb of the red sky,
it is a sign of storm or of sunshine, according as it is
seen at dawn or at evening; so the same facts were
tokens of conflict or of concord, according as they were
viewed. And according as acknowledged differences are max
imized or minimized, must be the judgment and action
in the case before us.
At a time when Anti-Christ, in all the forms of
papacy and infidelity, rallies the strongest forces, and
displays a solid front against the Holy Chdd Jesus,
and His true Church ; and when the exigencies of our
time are so alarming, it must be accounted as, at least,
a Christian sentiment, even though it were a practical

THE ASSEMBLIES OP 1869. 495
mistake, that these great bodies, one in confession of
faith and form of government — one in their mode of
organization and of operation, and one aforetime, with
a common ancestry and history — should be again or
ganically one, for most effective action. For here, in
the Di-vine arithmetic, it is most plain that one is
more and better than two.
A brief review of the antecedents will prepare us bet
ter to estimate the status of 1869, and the constituent
elements of this Assembly.
There were mainly, from the &rst, four classes in the
Church on this great question of Eeunion. Some were
in favor of it, most positively, and by all lawful means.
Others, a decreasing few, were as positively opposed to
it, by all means, on the ground of essential differences
believed to exist in doctrine and order. A larger num
ber, early averse, then dubious and distrustful, were, at
length, desirous of its accomplishment so soon as the
constitutional terms could be carried. And others, a
few, were at the first opposed, and at length only ready
to acquiesce in what was seen to be ine-vdtable, yet all
the while insisting on the safest and best terms.
In 1866, both Assemblies having met in the same
city of St. Louis, the first formal initiative was taken by
the Old School body. They proposed the naked basis
of " our common standards,''^ and expressed " an earnest
desire for the Reunion, at the earliest time consistent
with agreement in doctrine, order, and polity, sindi the
prevalence qf mutual confidence and love, which are
necessary to a happy union, and to the permanent
peace and prosperity of the Church."

496 PEESBYTEEIAN OHUECH.
The other branch emphasized the terms, " on the.comr
mon standards, received in a common spirit.''''
A Committee of fifteen, from each Assembly, was
then appointed, to draw up a plan of Reunion, and
report to the Assemblies of 1867. This was accord
ingly doue.
But there was not yet the ^'¦mutual confidence.''''
There were many and deep misgivings as to the sense in
which the two branches understood and held the " Com
mon Standards." An attempt was, therefore, made by
the Joint Committee to fix the sense, so as to forbid any
misconception or divergence. This restrictive move
ment was from the Old School side of the Committee.
And, according to the very unanimous Eeport, it was
expressly provided in the Doctrinal article of the Basis
that the sense in which the Confession was to be re
ceived, should be " its fair, historical sense, as it is ac
cepted by the ttoo bodies in opposition to Antinomiamr
ism and Fatalism on one hand, and to Arminianism
and Pelagiojnism on the other P
Besides the Doctrinal Article, there were thirteen
items pertaining to various matters of church polity.
These were proposed as points for agreement. And as
to certain of these, there was much di^vision of sentiment
in both bodies.
The Eeport was, however, adopted in the New School
Assembly -with entire unanimity. But in the Old School
body, a Minority Eeport of a Special Committee to
whom it was referred, asked the Assembly to instract
the Joint Committee in three several particulars, viz-.,
" To obtain, (1.) A more definite statement of the Doc
trinal Basis. (2.) The exclusion of ' Committee-men '

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 497
from the Church Courts. And (3.) The distinct and
formal recognition of the right and obligation of every
Presbytery to be satisfied as to the soundness of every
minister it receives." This Minority Eeport obtained
(64) sixty-fow votes, against (152) one hundred and
fifty-two. But the Assembly " declined to express either
approbation or disapprobation of the plan in detail,"
and meanwhile " recognized with satisfaction the finger
of God as pointing towards an early and cordial Eeunion
of the two sister Churches now so long separated."
This Basis, though not formerly overtured to the Pres
byteries, was sent down for discussion and free expres
sion. Already it was pronounced loose in terms, and
capable of very different constructions, according as it
was read with, or ¦without, a comma after the word
" bodies.'''' And when it was discussed and voted upon
in the Old School Presbyteries, it was very generally
disapproved, as more indefinite by far than the Stan
dards which it would seek to define. The question was
sharply discussed, especially by Dr. C. Hodge and Dr.
H. B. Smith, in their respective Eeviews for the year,
the former charging upon the New School a loose sub
scription to the Standards — the latter positively deny
ing this, and challenging the proof, asserting, " that the
sense in which the New School receive and adopt the
Confession is precisely the same with that claimed by
Dr. Hodge as the true sense, viz., the Calvinistic or
Eeformed." Professor Smith, in 1864, as retiring Moderator of his
Assembly at Dayton, Ohio, had suggested, as the terms
of Eeunion, " the simple Basis of the Standards, which
we equally accept pie said] vrithout private interpre-

498 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
tation, interpreted in their legitimate and historic sense,
in the spirit of the Adopting Act, and as containing
the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures."
In November, of 1867, " the Presbyterian National
Union Convention " assembled in Phdadelphia. In the
course of. their proceedings. Professor Smith moved
this defining clause in the platform for the union of all
Presbyterians, viz. : " It being understood that this Con
fession is received in its proper historical, that is, the
Calvinistic or Eeformed sense." This was found to be
eminently satisfactory to the most conservative of the
delegates present. The Joint Committee, accordingly,
in their Eeport to the Assemblies of 1868, modified the
Doctrinal Article of the Basis, incorporating the Smith
clause, instead of the defining clause of the previous
Eeport, and after much discussion adding what is known
as " the Gurley amendmentf viz., " It is also understood
that various methods of viewing, stating, explaining, and
dlustrating the doctrines of the Confession, which do
not impair the integrity of the Eeformed or Cal-vinistic
system, are to be freely allowed in the United Church,
as they have hitherto been allowed in the separate
churches." There seemed here, in the Doctrinal Article, to be a'
balancing of cautious clauses, which savored of Ecclesi
astical diplomacy.
The Gurley clause, as was well understood, had been
interposed at a serious exigency of the negotiations, as
an offset to the former defining clause. In itself, it
would appear to be quite legitimate, as calling for no lib
erty beyond what was " consistent with the integrity of
the Calvinistic system." Yet the proviso for such an

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 499
allowance in the United Church, as had been hitherto
used in the separate churches, as to variety of viewing,
stating, etc., was open to weighty objection, as seeming
to contradict itself, and to imply already some misun
derstanding, and to threaten most serious altercation in
the future. There were also certain modifications of
the subordinate items. Besides, the famous Tenth Arti
cle was added, as called for by the Minority Eeport
of 1867, so far as acknowledging the right of Presby
teries to examine ministers coming from other Presby
teries, but not making it a " duty," and imperative, as
had been the case in the Old School branch.
Hence, though both of the Assemblies of 1868 adopt
ed the Basis, and sent it down to the Presbyteries for
formal action, yet it was evidently with great mis-
gi-ving in the Old School, and with much dissatisfaction
upon second thought.
It was earnestly opposed in the Assembly, and a
weighty minority uttered a strong protest against it.
This was pointedly answered by a Committee, of which
Professor Shedd was the Chairman. Ground was
taken, in this reply, that " to suppose the objectionable
clause pro-nded for Arminianism and Pelagianism
within the sphere of Calvinism, was an absurdity not to
be named in such case."
Nevertheless, there was such dissatisfaction in the
Assembly, that it was sought to break the force of this
Basis, after it was passed upon. It was unanimously
voted, on motion of Dr. A. G. Hall, as a measure of
conciliation, " that this Assembly hereby declare it to be
distinctly understood that the Doctrinal Article of the
Basis, already adopted, is not to be interpreted as giv-

500 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
ing license to the propagation of doctrines which have
been condemned by either Assembly, nor to permit any
Presbytery in the United Church to license, or ordain
to the work of the ministry, any candidate who main
tains any form of doctrine condemned by either As
sembly." This action was immediately telegraphed to the other
A.ssembly at Harrisburg. Besides this, a special dele
gation was sent to the New School Assembly, to request
an alteration of the Basis, so as to strike out both of the
amending clauses in the Doctrinal Article, and so as to
leave " the Common Standards ipxire and simple," for the
platform of doctrine. This action, however, proved to
be too late. Though it was well received by those yet
present at Harrisburg, the house was too much thinned,
at this last moment, to take formal action upon it, there
being, in fact, no quorum remaining. Ajid, as it was
only in the event of its adoption by the Harrisburg
Assembly that this alteration was to be made in the
plan, the result served merely to indicate the mind of
the two bodies on this important point.
It was in this aspect of aye and nay, pro and con, that
the Assembly of 1868 left the question of Eeunion. No
wonder that the Chm-ch was puzzled to understand the
exact status. In such tanglement of terms, a plan hav
ing been passed upon, and sent down, and then closely
followed up by a unanimous caveat, as to the meaning.
and after that, by an expressed preference for an impor
tant change in the plan, no wonder that the Presby
teries scarcely understood what they were to vote upon.
It was in such category that " The Pittsbwrg Gircu-
la/r " was issued, soon after the adjournment. It pro-

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 501
posed, unofficially, the Standaeds pure and simple, as
the Doctrinal Basis, leaving the remaining articles of
agreement to stand as last reported. This was first
proposed by Dr. James Allison in the Banner. It took
shape and execution at a conference of Drs. Allison,
Paxton, A. A. Hodge, and Jacobus. This was meant,
not by any means to balk the Eeunion movement, but
to set up a banner for the distracted ranks. It was
more than ever manifest, however awkwardly brought
about, that the Eeunited Church could stand only on
the naked Confession, aud that the sense of the Stand
ards could not be categorically defined in such an instru
ment, without interpolating, in such restrictions and
qualifications, certain new terms additional to the Con
fession itself, which would need to be interpreted as
much, as that, and would be quite as liable to be mis
construed. In the light of this plain history, it will
appear, how disingenuous is the assertion that this waa
equivalent to accepting the Standards " without a sense"
and that it was, in fact, an utter surrender of the truth
in our Confession. The Old School Presbyteries again
voted, variously but largely, against the Basis of the
Joint Committee, at the same time expressing their -mll-
ingness to unite upon the platform of the Standards.
The Tenth Article remained as a chief difficulty in the
other branch ; yet they reported one hundred and fwe
Presbyteries for the Basis, and only/o^ir against it, with
four others not heard fi'om. Thus matters were gener
ally tangled. Meanwhde the Old School Committee on
Eeunion had been disbanded. In this juncture, the New
School Committee met in January, 1869, and recom
mended to theirPresbyteries to vote at their spring meet-

502 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
ings for omitting both of the qualifying clauses of the
Doctrinal Article, and also the entire Tenth Article.
Such informal action, modifying the Basis, as over
tured to the Presbyteries, could only serve to express the
mind of the Church, for the enlightenment of the ap
proaching Assembly.
And it was by this thorough testing of different
Bases that the Church was made ready, on both hands,
for the true and proper Basis of the Standards.
A new and striking phase was given to the matter,
closely on the edge of the Assemblies, by the action of
the Central Presbytery of PhiladeljDhia, as moved by
Dr. Musgrave : namely, to make the Basis consist of
but one Article, the Doctrinal one, and herein propos
ing the Standards alone, lea-ving the other items for
adjustment by the Eeunited Church.
This plan was startling, as being perhaps too sum
mary, and as altogether extra hazardous.
Yet, on maturer consideration, it was well approved.
This same Basis had been moved in the Assembly of
1868, by Dr. Musgrave; but it had faded of adoption.
Yet this was in fact coming back to the starting-point
of the negotiations, after so roundabout a course. This
was what was contended for, and counselled in The
Princeton Review, after the Assembly of 1868, as fol
lows:
' ' We aie willing to unite upon the Basis of our Common Standaids, without
explanation. If they aie -willing to take that ground, weU aud good. If not,
the fault is theirs, not ours. Let the lejection of ' the Basis ' be foUowed by
a request, or overture, to the next General Assembly, to negotiate a plan of
Union having for its doctrinal Basis our Common Standards pure and sim
ple."— July, 1868, pp. 453, 473, 3.
It was made plain as day that no new Confession

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 503
would be accepted, nor any codicd to the old document,
nor any well-phrased ultimatum, formulated by any
number of ecclesiastical diplomatists, however revered
and loved. The Church had already her well-accepted,
time-honored formulas, of which she is so justly proud,
for their strict conformity with the "Word of God. And
she asked no better, and would not peril her own iden
tity by adopting any other, in any shape, at this late
day. It would have been grossly unjust to both of the
high negotiating parties. The secret of such a recur
rence to the original terms must be sought in the man
ifested vanity of all efforts to change them with advan
tage, and in the further, better fact, that a change had
come over the Church in both of its branches, bringing
about more of the " mutual confidence " which was fore
seen as vitally conditioning the great problem.
This was the outlook of the subject, as the time drew
nigh for the Assemblies of 1869. Manifestly an influ
ence had gone forth meanwhile, like the soft spring-tide,
melting the mountains of ice, and dissolving the bands
of frozen rivers as a thousand fires of our kindling
coidd never have done. There could be no doubt of
the fact, that Union upon the basis of the Standards
was now the joint plan and pm-pose, and that each
party was ready to challenge the other by the same ori
ginal formulas of the Presbyterian ordination ; an ex an-
imo reception, and embrace of the Confession. All ob
jection seemed thus to be cut off, except in few cases,
on the ground of alleged diversities not covered by such
positive terms, or on the groimd of inexpediency upon
other considerations.
It was in this condition of things that the two As-

504 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
semblies convened in New York city, on the 20th of
May, A. D. 1869.
Strangely enough, on the first day of the session, de
vout men carried to the burial the Eev. Absalom Pe
ters, D.D., whose name had been most prominent in con
nection with the disruption, as the Secretary of " The
American Home Missionary Society."
The two Assemblies had met here in the great Me-'
tropolis, in 1856. But no high public interest was'
then excited. There was then, as yet, no drawing to
gether of the parts, but rather a manifest distance.
An overture was made by the New School Assembly to
the Old School for formal correspondence ; but it was
declined. The venerable and excellent Dr. Phillips
said on the floor of the house, " Plow can we enter into
correspondence with a body which claims to be our
selves?" The hour had not yet come. But now the
city was moved. Entertainers and outsiders were astir.
The -wires were at work to convey despatches to aU
quarters of the world. The leading daily journals, as
the Herald, and the Tribune, and Times, and Post, were
largely given up to the proceedings.
It is noteworthy that this Assembly of the Old School
branch was the largest ever convened in the entire his
tory of the Church, saving only that of 1832, at Phda
delphia, which had seven more members enrolled, and
excepting also the Assemblies of 1859 and 1860, pend
ing the separation of the Southern Church. And in
the other branch, the numbers were the largest since
the disruption in 1837. And, what is still more re
markable, the latter body lacked now only thirty-six of

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 505
being equal in numbers to the former, indicating the
wonderful increase since the disruption.
A Joint Assembly would have numbered five htm-
dred and fifty-five. And it was currently remarked
that a larger amount of ripe experience, of practical
wisdom, and of sound, Scriptural knowledge, together
with earnest loyalty to the Church, and devout faith
and piety, had not at any time been gathered in either
Assembly. Civilians of eminent rank were among
the members of both bodies. It is further notable that
among the Old School commissioners there was not one
of the original Eeunion Committee of Fifteen, whUst on
the New School floor there WQvefive of the leading clei-
ical members of that Committee, and one of the most
eminent jm-ists.
That Historic Chm-ch, " the Old Beick," whose his
toric pastor, the venerable and beloved Gardiner Spring,
D.D., LL.D., was a member of the Assembly, added
interest to the sittings of the Old School branch. It
was the Church whose pastor, the Eev. John Eodgers,
D.D., was the Moderator of the fii'st General Assembly,
fourscore years ago, when there were thirty-four mem
bers in all; and his last official act was to lay his hands,
in ordination, upon the head of Dr. Spring, in 1810, the
latter now the senior pastor of the same Church, and a
grand connecting link -with the first General Assembly
of the Church in this land.
Only some three or fom- blocks from this stately cor
ner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-seventh street, sat the
other Assembly (N. S.), in "the Church of the Cove
nant," corner of Thirty-fifth street and Park Avenue.
The pleasant contiguity was not more suggestive of

506 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
cordial interchange than it was found to be answerable
to the fi-iendly relations now existing.
It was, every way, a most happy conception, that the
formal sittings were prefaced by a Joint Prayer-Meet
ing of members and others, at. the Brick Chm-ch, on the
evening preceding. The weather was ill-favored, with
rain and chdl, but a large concourse was present. The
retiring Moderators, Drs. Steams and Musgrave, pre
sided, and, after introductory services, the meeting was
thrown open for voluntary exercises of prayer, exhorta
tion, and praise.
It had been advised, as a prudential measure, that the
exciting toj)ic of Eeumon, in its delicate bearings at
the moment, should not be introduced. But it was all
in vain to set up barriers against the overflowing
thought and emotion. You could as well shut out the
morning from the day, or the spring-tide from the fields
and gardens. The first prayer referred to it, and the first
speaker plainly broached it, as the topic of the hour. Ir
resistibly, every exercise savored of this Eeunion senti
ment, and it was seen to be the one great thought and
feeling of the praying Assembly. It was, however, re
marked that the brethren of the New School were more
retiring and less pronounced on that occasion than could
have been exjDccted. But, on the other hand, it was
manifest that a very great change had come over many
on both sides, who had, up to this time, been regarded
as opposed or reluctant. It was a first coming together
of the brethren long time distant, and now met at the
mercy-seat. The ointment bewrayed itself. The at
mosphere was redolent of it. Famdies of the city who
had sought the spot as one of promised privilege, shared

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 507
in the high enthusiasm. The advent of long-expected
good was sung to the watching shepherds there, that
evening, by a chorus of the heavenly host. Earnest
hearts unbm-dened themsel-v^es before God, pleading for
the consummation. No injudicious word was spoken,
and it was plain to all that the key-note was struck,
and a kind of Divine intimation was given in the tone
of the meeting that the time had come for brethren
whose souls flowed together so in prayer and praise and
mutual address, to band together again as one in the grand
old Church of their fathers.
It soon became manifest, however, that there was a
shyness on the part of the New School branch, — that
there was even, in some minds, a feeling bordering upon
irritation, at the equivocal negotiations thus far, especially
at the rejection of the Basis by the Old School Presbyte
ries, even after its adoption by both Assemblies, and fm--
ther still, at the seeming instabdity of the Assembly itself,
proposing alteration of the Basis, even after their
own formal adoption of it, and at the same sitting.
Leading members of the New School were free to say that
they were tii-ed of such fruitless overtures, — that they
mshed the matter brought to a prompt decision, that
fm-ther delay and doubt would be damaging to all the
interests of the Chm-ch, and that, for themselves, they
felt aggrieved at the divers misadventures, and could
only now, in all good faith, await the definite action of
the other branch. There was a chafing of spirit, easdy
accounted for, which seemed, at the first, to imperil the
good result.
" Not a few " (says Dr. Steams) " began to feel that
they had been trifled with, and the prospect of Ee-

508 PEESBYTEIUA.N CHUECH;
union seemed to many, at that moment, to be very
unpromising." On the other hand, there were not a few, of both
branches, who were only debating whether the Eeumon
could not be consummated at this sitting, and without any
further delay. At the opening exercises in the Brick
Chm-ch, when Dr. Musgrave took his seat in the pulpit,
the venerable Dr. Spring, sitting beside him, suggested
the propriety, as the fii-st business, of " notifying the other
branch of owr readiness to xonsummate the Reunion
immediately f Dr. Musgrave replied that he had thought
much of that measure, and would be quite agreed, ex
cept that there were over thirty Presbyteries of our
branch who had protested beforehand against any deci
sion being reached without first overturing the terms
to the Presbyteries for their action. And when this
majestic and veteran pastor, the Metropolitan Patriarch,
then rose in prayer, he uttered such exalted petitions,
in such glowing and godly words, as even he, perhaps,
had never excelled.
The day w^as a sunshine after the rain. The noble
sanctuary was crowded. The opening sermon in this
Assembly did not touch the topic of Eeunion, albeit ifc
was well known that there were members present
whose minds were not quite clear as yet, and who might
need some argument or persuasion. But the retiring
Moderator, with all his earnest zeal for the measure,
"determined not to know anything among them save Jesus
Christ and Him crucified." The discourse was a massive
and masterly exposition of the Gospel Faith, in its rela
tion to the great salvation. The passage was Mark xvi.
16 : "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 509
etc." Such deal-, convincing exhibition of fundamental
truth was, in itself, a proof of Christian unity, and a
plea for Christian Union, amongst those of " like precious
faith." The sermon at the opening of the other Assembly
grasped the great theme, and in a discourse of an hour
and twenty minutes, elucidated the subject of Christian
Union. The text was from the intercessory prayer of
our Lord : " That they all may be onef With sound
logic and luminous illustration, the preacher enforced
the importance of Presbyterian Union under such heads
as these : " The demand for united effort." " Induce
ments to Eeunion." "The obstacles not insuperable."
"The desire for Eeunion." "Eeunion probable," and
" Unity of spirit."
Both these sermons, so strikingly different, and yet,
in reality, so much to the same effect, had their happy
influence in both Assemblies. The one Gospel provisiorv
and the oneness of Gospel effort was the united theme,
looking to the Eeunion. Said Dr. Stearns :
I sa.y, if we were only united, — and why should we not be united ? — what
possible reason could a candid man, looking on and observing the ways of
these two main Branches of the Presbyterian Chuich, see or devise why they
should stand apart or claim to be distinguished ? They have the same Con
fession of Faith ; not a word, a letter, or a point, either in the confession,
properly so-called, or the Catechisms that repeat and expound it, which is
not exactly the same. And to- this they have both held fast during the thirty-
one years of their separation. They have precisely the same Form of Govern
ment, Book of Discipline, and Directory for Worship, the same order of
exercises, the same method of procedure, the same objects of Chiistian benefi
cence, and the same style and stamp of piety and action. And they both
daim to bear precisely the same name. Where, in the whole history of the
Church, was there ever exhibited such a spectacle ? Two bodies of
Christian men who could find nothing tangible, nothing by which the eye
or ear of a passer-by would be able to distinguish them, and yet unable to go
together?

510 PEESBYTEELAN CHUECH.

THE OBSTACLES NOT INSUPERABLE.
But it is said we are very jealous about the doctrines. Well, are we not all
jealous about them ? If not, why have we kept the old Confession of Faith ?
Does not that state them distinctly ? Is there a man among us who would
exchange it for another system, or allow its proper integrity, as a system of
doctrine, to be impaired ?
But it is said, on the other hand, we want Uberty, both of thought and ex
pression. What Uberty ? Liberty to subscribe oue thing and beUeve another ?
Liberty to think and speak contrary to the Holy Scriptures ? None of ua
would say that. Do we then require other or greater Uberty than that se
cured to us by the words of our Standards ? They require us to maintain the
unrivaUed supremacy of the Scriptures, and to receive them as the only infal
Uble rule of faith and practice. Preabyterianism has made provision for an
ever-fresh resort to that fountain of truth. It does not require us to receive
the Confession of Faith as infalUble. It does not tie us up to those precise
words and foims of expression ; it does not require us to subscribe to every
proposition contained in it, but only to receive it as containing, according to
its true intents and original meaning, the system of doctrines taught in the
Scriptures. There is no dispute now between the two parties (whatever
there may have been once), in regard to that matter. True, it would be hard
to find in the Confession any other than a pretty strong Calvinism ; but Cal
¦vinism is not that iron thing which some have supposed it. None of us takes
it as such ; none of us preaches it as such. We mean to have all reasonable
Uberty. But, in the union or out of it, we mean to maintain and teach the
doctrines of the Confession.
The Assemblies were then formally organized. The
election, in the Old School body, fell upon the Eev. Me
lancthon W. Jacobus, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Biblical
Literature and Exegetical Theology in the Theological
Seminary at Allegheny, Pa. Dr. Jacobus's senior col
league, the Eev. David Elliott, D.D., LL.D., was
Moderator of the Assembly at the Disruption in 1837.
He was professor of Didactic Theology at that time,
and still lives, to magnify his office, and to rejoice in
the Eeunion. It was jocosely remarked, -with allusion
to the chairs, that Dogmatic Theology had presided at

THE ASSEMBLIES OP 1869.

511

the separation, while it was reserved for BibUcal Exe
gesis to preside at the Eeunion.
In the New School body the choice fell upon the Eev.
Phdemon H. Fowler, D.D., pastor of the First Presby
terian Church at Utica, New York.
The Moderators had been fellow-students and friends
in the Theological Seminary at Princeton, at the time of
the disruption. This was accepted as a Providential^
bond, and an omen of cordial relations.
The first formal business of the Old School Assembly
was the motion of Dr. Musgrave for a " Committee of
Conference on Eeunion " — to whom all matters on the
subject should be referred. And the same was likewise
moved in the other Assembly, on the hearing of this
fact, and without waiting for the formal notification.
In the former house, the Moderator appointed a strong
Committee, who, though entirely new in this joint offi
cial work, fairly represented the hitherto diverse views
of the body on the subject. And, in the other Assem
bly, there were able representative men.

L. H. Atwater, D.D.

¦ I /
J. B. Shaw, D.D.

512

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUKCH.

0. D. Drako.

Wiliiam Strong.

These Committees at once addressed themselves earn
estly to the task, both separately and jointly, and the
members were scarcely to be seen in the Assemblies
during the first week of the sittings.
Deep interest was felt, on all hands, touching the ne
gotiations going forward in the Committee-rooms ; and
it was plain that every phase of the question was can
vassed, -without and within, with a -vdew, if possible, to
agree upon a plan that should be mutually satisfactory.
There were significant hints, here and there, of sharp
discussion. But it soon came to be known that the
respective Committees were each a unit, and that
between them there was only the most manly, cour-
teoas, and Chi-istian debate.
A lady of New York, well reported of for good
works, and known as enthusiastic for the Eeunion, met
Drs. M. and S. at the comer of the Brick Church, and
gracefully congratulated the former upon the happy
prospect. He replied, to her dismay, "Madam, I

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 513
fear that it will fad, after all, and that all our efforts
will come to nought, if the , position taken by my
brother here is to be maintained." They went into
Committee again, and found that they had simply mis
understood each other, and were soon heartily agreed.
Already, on the first evening of the Session, accord-
iug to notice given in the Assembly, the Eiding Elders
of the New School body were convened for prayer.
They were understood to be earnest for the reuniting,
and they made this sentiment most manifest in their peti
tions at the very threshold of the work. And so, also,
they made their influence to be widely felt in this As
sembly. The power of prayer was devoutly recognized
amidst such grave responsibilities. Men felt that it
was a case in which the Great Head of the Church
must be deeply interested, and should be humbly in
voked, — that God, as in the case of Jacob and Esau,
must be recognized as controlling the minds of men ;
and that there, at the brook of Jabbok, it was fitting to
pass the evening and the night, if need be, to pray that
the meeting of the alienated brothers might be in
peace- — little dreaming how, in the morning, they
would fall on each other's neck, -with tears and kisses,
and start along their way together, careful for each
other's comfort and anxious for sparing the flock.
On the Sabbath there was a general interchange of
pulpit ministrations between the two branches, giving
pleasant presage of the Eeunion.
On the fourth day of the Sessions, Monday, a joint
prayer-meeting was held at 8^ to 9J a. m., in the Brick
Church. The Moderator, Dr. Jacobus, presided, assisted
by his brother Moderator, Dr. Fowler. The house was
33

514 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
filled. The occasion elicited the deepest interest. The
meeting was aglow. Eepresentatives of both Assem
blies, clerical and lay, led in the prayers. The petitions
were fervent. The od ran down upon the beard, and
went down to the skirts of the garments, and the per
fume filled the house. One of the religious papers re
marked of it, " It was a blessed season, never to be for
gotten by those who were present. At the close, two
verses of the hymn ' All hail the power of Jesus' name '
were sung with a fervor not often excelled. Brethren
parted with reluctance, as if un-willing to separate."
On Monday evening, a grand social Reunion took
place at "the Apollo Eooms," Broadway. It was a
happy conception, admirably planned and carried out
by the Eev. Drs. S. I. &l E. D. G. Prime, of the New
Yorh Obser-ver. The arrangements were magnificent
and munificent, altogether worthy of the jubilant occa
sion, and of the great Metropolis. Not only were the
members of the two Assemblies thus brought into
social contact, but the congregations of both branches
were largely represented — the wives, and sons, and
daughters added to the charm of the soiree. Ministers
and laymen of other denominations evinced their inter
est by their cheering presence. Prominent ci-vdlians,
fi-om the city and from abroad, men of professional
rank and of military and political reno-wn, gave zest
to the occasion. Music was richly discoursed. Dr.
Adams called the meeting to order, and announced the
appropriate introductory of praise, ^^ Blest be the tie
that binds" This was sung with a wiU by the im
mense assemblage, variously estunated at 1,500 and
2,000. After an opening, in his o-wn graceful style,

the assemblies of 1869. 515
upon the word " Eeception," which headed the cards of
admission — saying that it was each receiving the other,
he alluded to the nuptials in prospect, and then, ap
proaching the Moderator of the Old School Assembly,
and seizing him by both hands, he led him to the front of
the platform for an impromptu address. Dr. Jacobus
responded to the graceful commitment, and followed up
Dr. Adams's introductory by an allusion to Oriental
nuptials, in which the bride is bargained for by father
or brother, and when the groom is introduced to her by
"the friend of the bridegroom," on the nuptial occa
sion, and the bride is then perhaps for the first time
unveded to his -view, he is expected to make loud dem
onstration of joy; and "the friend of the bridegroom,
who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because
of the bridegroom's voice." Here it was the Elder
Brother who had bespoken the Bride, and had made the
contract, and we could all rejoice.
This was followed by Dr. Howard Crosby, and by
the Moderator (New School), Dr. Fowler, in words of
brief acknowledgment, also by Dr. Ormiston, of Canada,
and by the venerable Dr. Samuel Hanson Cox.
The buzz of a score of hundreds of voices over
whelmed the loudest efforts of the platform beyond the
circuit of a few feet, till the speeches and music gave way
for the banquet-room. Here was, indeed, a rich display
of the elegant hospitality of New York Christians.
The highest credit is due to the generous entertainers,
and to those who, by dint of indefatigable industry,
¦wrought out such a splendid success. It was, in effect.
Social Eeunion pleading for the Ecclesiastical Eeunion
of Presbyterians. So many old friends came pleasantly

516 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
together — ministers and members. Old and New — that
the occasion formed, altogether, a most significant index
and appropriate prelude to the higher Eeunion of the
week. Already, during the day, there had been a formal
reception, in the New School Assembly, of the Delegates
from the other branch, appointed the preceding year.
The hour was anticipated -with great interest as being a
possible foretaste of the better things to come. The
house was thronged "with eager listeners, deeply sympa
thizing in whatever tended to the great result.
The venerable C. C. Beatty, D.D., first addressed the
Assembly. He adverted to the opening of this corre
spondence, in 1862, when he presided as Moderator.
The address was an elaborate and earnest exposition of
the great doctrines of Unity and Liberty, defining the
power of the Church to set a guard upon abuses of
liberty, and a check upon such diversities in doctrine and
practice, as are not justly allowable. It was eminently
kind and sound, and met a cordial response from the
entire body. Dr. Musgrave followed, saying that he
was glad to be present as a Delegate, but that he had
rather be there as a Commissioner : reminding, also,
that upon his motion, at the Columbus Assembly, this
correspondence had been begun. "Now, sir," he added,
"I can't tolerate error. (Impressive silence.) I dare
not do it. I am sworn not to do it. There must be a
lindt to expression of opinion. Now, I honestly say to
you, if I did not believe — if I were not fully convinced
— that there was no vital difference between us, I
would oppose this Union -with all my heart. I would,
so help me, God! But I have the same confidence in

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 517
your body that I have in my own. When did you evei
hear of a man being tried for heresy in the Old School
Chm-ch? When, since 1838?" (Eeiterated laughter
and applause).
He was followed by the Hon. Eobert McKnight, in
cordial salutations. These were responded to by the
Moderator, Dr. Fowler, who said, "We seek only
what you ask — the Word of God, and the liberty of
that Word. These points conceded, we are ready to
consummate the Union at once."
A Second Joint Prayer-meeting was held on Wednes
day (the sixth day) morning in " the Church qf the
Covenant." The religious fervor was in no wise abated, but
rather increased. And before the close, it was an
nounced by Dr. Musgrave that the Sub-Committee of
Conference had agreed unanimously upon a report to
the Joint Committee, which would be presented at half-
past ten o'clock. It was not yet kno-wn what was the
result. But there was a feeling abroad that it could
be nothing adverse to what seemed to be desired by
all. In the Old School Assembly, on this day, the dele
gates from Corresponding bodies were received. Dr. W.
J. E. Taylor, from the Eeformed (Dutch) Church, and
Dr. Wm. Ormiston, from the Presbyterian Church of
Canada, were heard in the morning : and, in the after
noon. Dr. Wm. Bruce, from the United Presbyterian
Church. Each of these made happy reference to the
Eeunion as an event the most desirable, and as a move
ment enlisting their Christian sympathy and that of
their respective Churches. And they severally expressed

518 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
the hope of further Unions to embrace all the Presby
terian famdy in one.
Immediately following these, the delegates from the
New School body were received — the Assembly rising
as they appeared upon the platform. The house was
crowded. The galleries were thronged with deeply
interested spectators, representing the Christian families
of both bodies, ardently enlisted in the great Eeunion
movement. Though it was only a delegation of the previous
year, appointed by the last Assembly, whose office it
was now to convey the salutations of the other body,
without any report on the subject of Eeunion, yet it
was seen to be a notable step in the advance, and it
proved a golden link in the chain of events bearing
steadUy upon the issue.
The Eev. Dr. Wm. Adams, Chairman, conveyed the
fraternal greetings of his constituency in passages of
rare eloquence, and of genuine Christian courtesy, which
elicited the admiration and applause of the large audi
ence. He was followed by Hon. Wm. E. Dodge, who, in a
brief and earnest speech, kept up the glowing enthusi
asm. To these the Moderator, Dr. Jacobus, responded,
fully reciprocating and emphasizing the courtesies of
the occasion.
This response is here inserted as part of the history,
showing the understandings as expressed on either side.
Eev. Dr. M. W. Jacobus, Moderator, responded to
the delegates from the New School Assembly as
follows :

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 519
" The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Chuich in the United States of
America" opens her arms to receive you, as delegates from "The General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Churoh in the United States of America.'' We
are glad to see you on this platform to-day. We have been wont to speak of
you as deUcately as possible, as the "other Branch." It was never said
whether we were branches of a tree, or branches of a river. But Jesua
Christ spoke a parable about the branches when he said: "I am the ¦viae, ye
are the branches." Blessed be God, the vine includes the branches. I have
known a tree, just by being lopped off at the top, to shoot out right and left,
and there seemed to be a healthful, vital competition between the branches,
as to which should bear the greater amount of fruit. God's ways are wonder
ful. There may have been some healthful competition between us, which '
may have done ourselves and the world some service. But the time has come
when this correspondence should cease, not because of variance, but because
of aUiance, just because of the coincidence and concurrence with which we
shaU henceforth work together and walk together in the cause of our blessed
Lord Jesus Christ. On the one hand we have haji our devotional reunions,
and they have been blessed ones ; and on the other hand we have had our
fraternal, social reunion, when we have eaten salt together, for a covenant
of salt. We have dwelt in tents together, and claim a share of each other's
heritage. ' ' Behold how good and how pleasant a thing it is for brethren to
dwell together in unity ;" not to Uve apart in unity, but to dweU together in
unity, under one roof. It is Uke the precious ointment upon the head, which
ran down upon the beard and went to the skirts of the garments ; and the
beard was Aaron's, and the garments were Aaron's, and we are a royal priest
hood. " It is Uke the dew of Hermon, Uke the dew that descended upon the
mountains of Zion. For there the Lord commanded the blessing, even Ufe f or-
evermore. "
You spoke the other night of nuptials about to be celebrated, and there
seemed to be some Uttle difference and doubt about the matter. I apprehend
that the only question can be, which is to be married to the other ; and it is
stiU, I believe, an open question whether a man is married to the woman,
or whether a woman is married to the man.
But this is of small moment to us. The time has come when Joseph and
his brethren must make a mutual discovery of themselves. They cannot
refrain themselves to-day.
I remember iu the same history, when a pair of brothers, twin brothers,
alienated from each other for a time, came together ; it was Jacob and Esau
We cannot say to-day which is Jacob and whioh is Esau. But the brothers
had each his claim to the birthright. And we have each of us a claim to the
birthright, which is a blessed bu-thiight. We have the common standards,
we have common formulas of Christian faith, a common form of Church
Government and polity, common memories of the past, and common ances-

520 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
tial traditions. Such a heritage, blessed be God, such a burthright we own
together. We have come to an interesting posture in this state of things. You
remember that one of these traveUing brothers was met by the angels of God.
He caUed the name of the place of meeting Maha-naim. And then he sent for
ward presents to his estranged brother, whom he feared. And he put up hia
prayer to God, pleading his Covenant — "for ¦with my staff I passed over thia
Jordan, and now I am become two bands." Andnow, he crosses the ford
Jabbok We have come to this point, which in secular phrase is the crossing
of the Eubioon. And now there is ¦wxestUng to be done ¦with the Covenant
Angel until the breaking of the day. Oh, for the faith and hope to say —
' ' We ¦wm not let thee go except thou bless us. ' ' Now is the moment when the
name is to be changed, when Jacob is to be caUed Israel — prevaUer ¦with God
and ¦with man ! And now comes to pass the meeting of these t^win brothers.
Ou the neck of each other, what tears of joy. And then the mutual tender
ness and sparing of each other, with which they go forward on their journey
homeward Too much self-confidence ¦wiU spoil the matter. Therefore, the
WrestUng Angel ¦wUl perhaps make the sinew of his thigh to shrink, that he
may go halting in a sense of his dependence.
The General Assembly is eighty years old this year — fourscore years old.
It is not, howevei, ¦with it as it is with the human frame, that the strength is
labor and sorrow. No, but the labor and sorrow is the strength. So it shaU
be by the blessing of God upon us. God doesn't lead us into Canaan by a
very direct route. He has a discipUue for us. We never saw that, when a
great good was to be accompUshed, we were sent right into the piomised
land. We have been taUdng these many yeais of a basis, a platform upon
which we can stand together. But we have found at last that the true and
propel platform, the constitutional platform of the Presbyterian Chuich, is
the platform of oui Standaids, puie and simple ; no Umitation, no qualifica
tion, no explanation. Some speak of Ubexty. My dear brethren, we have
Uberty, as your retiring Moderator has weU put it, not the liberty to subscribe
one thing and beUeve another. This neither of us would ask But it is the
Uberty to receive the truth of God, and our appeal ¦will be stiU as ever to
the vernacular Scriptures, and then to the originals — the Hebiew and Greek
Scriptures. This is the safe and dignified platform upon which we can all
stand, as Presbyterians, and must stand. We can stand squarely upon this
platform of the Presbyterian Chuich, and we rejoice to-day that we can clasp
hands, and stand shoulder to shoulder, stUl embracing the doctrines of our
fathers. I piay and beUeve that the result of this ¦wUl be that the people ¦wiU come
forward ¦with their offerings, and with new impulses, giving themselves and
their means to forward the cause of the blessed Lord Jesus Christ, when they
see OUI banneis floating together in the breeze. There is but one grand ban
ner after aU, bome by us both, and we are one. You speak of the Chuxch on

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 521
"the other sida" Was it not marveUoTis in the Pro^ridenoe of God that thia
Reunion Committee had its Chairmen taken to heaven, first from yo^ur side,
and then from our side, as if to show the connections of the cause with the
Church triumphant? Venerated and beloved men, Brainerd and Krebs — they
have gone up and are set do^wn together with Christ in heavenly places : and
I think this day is something like the transfigiuration, when Jesus Christ is
manifestly tiansfiguied before us, and when his countenance shines like Ught-
ning and his raiment is white as snow. And as those two men of the old
covenant, Moses and EUas, came do'wn and talked ¦with him, so may oui two
biothers look do^wn upon us from their heavenly places, and talk of this
blessed work of Christ. We pray to God for the morrow's dawn, to hear the
Eeport of the Committee of Conference. We have an inkling of what it is.
You, Mr. Chairman of the Committee of Conference, in the Providence of
God, are happily made the representative of your side of the house to us to
day. We aie waiting for your report. We are impatient, anxious, longing
for it. Our Presbyterian .system has eminent simplicity for the most uuivei-
sal work, a glorious apparatus for the conquest of our land to Jesus Christ.
We have the locomotive built, and poUshed, and oUed, and the track is laid,
ready to bear forward its loads of piecious freight. But it must -be fired up !
and what we ask is, that the fire of God may come do^wn upon us. That is
what we ask. And we shaU then traverse this continent, and stretch oux
arms -widely from sea to sea, and from the riveis to the ends of the earth.
May God bless you and keep you always.
It was now well understood that " the Joint Commit
tee of Conference " had unanimously agreed ujdou a
Eeport, and already it was intimated by the Speakers,
and by the Moderator, in his response, that this corre
spondence was now to cease, not because of divergence,
but because of convergence and concordance. The
crowded assemblage, present from both houses, brim
med over Avith emotion. And the smiles and tears of
members and of spectators indicated plainly their zeal
for the good result.
On the seventh day of the Assembly (Sabbatic) a
Third Joint x-'rayer-meet-ing having opened the day with
fi-agrant incense of fraternal pleadings at the mercy-
seat,, the Joint Committee of Conference, by their re-

522 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
spective Chairmen, presented their Eeport at ten, a. m.,
according to announcement of the previous day.
The public interest was intense. Both houses were
crowded, as the reading was going on, simultaneously,
in both. Enthusiasm was added by the declaration
that the Eeport was unanimous. Drs. Musgrave and
Adams explained the main featm-es to their respect
ive houses. The speech of the former produced a pro
found impression upon all, and was regarded as a
masterly expose of the plan, and a conclusive vindica
tion of it. At the close of this, the Moderator called
upon Dr. John Hall to lead the Assembly in thanks
giving and prayer. From amidst the packed multitude
in the aisle, Dr. Hall pleaded fervently as befitted the
occasion. With one heart and ¦with one voice we glorify thee for that to which thou
hast brought us this day, for the progress that has been made, for the encour
agement that is afforded to us, for the unanimity that thou hast given unto
OUI brethren ; and now. Lord, we do not know what is before us. We, in
oux feebleness and foolishness, cannot teU ¦with confidence what is the best
that we should do ; but, 0 Lord God, thou knowest aU things ; and we beseech
thee that thou wouldst give us bountifuUy of thy -wisdom ; clear, we be
seech thee, our spiritual vision from all obstructions of pride and selfishness ;
enable us in thy Ught to see Ught clearly. Give to each of us singleness of
eye, and let the whole body be fiUed ¦with Ught. Oh, blessed Jesus, the Son
of God, who hast brought us to love thee and worship thee, into whose hands
we have been led to commit our souls' salvation, whom we acknowledge as
King and Head iu the Church ; we beseech thee that thou wouldst take this
matter into thy hand ; leave it not, we pray thee, to the pride or to the pas
sion or even to the mind of man. Oh, take into thine o^wn Almighty hand
this mattei, and if it be thy supreme ¦wiU to carry this thing through, we be-
Eeech thee that it may be done in such wise that we may be thoroughly devoted
to it in heart, spirit, feeUng, and happy Christian activity. And tf this is the
end, poui out thy Spirit upon us, upon both branches of the Chuxch ; and 0,
let it please thee to humble us before thee in such a way as to bring us to
gether that we may be one ; that we may be united, humble, earnest, sincere
children of Christ, sitting at the feet of Jesus, learning the truth, and leam-

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 523
ing the way of service from hia holy Ups. Oh, keep us, we beseech thee,
from looking unduly to visible resom-ces. We feel that this Christian work
that thou hast given us to do in the land, ia to be done, not by might, nor by
power, but by thy Holy Spirit.
Then followed deliverances of leading members, in
both houses, defining their position; some accounting
for their slowness in accepting the Eeunion movement,
ancl declaring, in certain instances, their opposition to it
up to the time of this Assembly. Others vindicating
the spirit and terms of the plan throughout — whde
some expressed their fears, and contended for certain
understandings as requisite to secm-e the desired har
mony of working. There were those, also, who here
bore witness to the orthodoxy which others had doubted,
and to the sound instructions given in the Theological
Seminaries of the New School branch. These testi
monies were outspoken and influential. It could not
be wonderful if some few would j^Ze a caveat, or serve
a special notice as to the understandings in the case.
But it was most surprising that, among the various de
liverances, there was nothing said but was most frater
nal, as between Christian men, lo-\dng the common cause
and ser-nce.
The venerable patriarch. Dr. Spring, objected to any
delay in the consummation, and argued that it would be
" flying in the face of the prayers of God's people."
'¦'¦ If you postpone this Union another year [said he],
I shcdl probably not see it, but shall die a member of
a divided Church." God was better to him than his
prophecy, and he lived to see the Eeunion cro-s\Tied
with fruit. Some gave free expression to their doubts,
as to several details of the plan, touching the legal sue-

524 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
cession, etc. These queries were all well' and satisfac-
tordy answered.
Dr. Skinner, Jr. (O. S.), wished to know whether
"the Confession of Faith" was to be understood as in
cluding " the Catechisms." And to this important in
quiry Dr. Atwater replied by reading from the Digest,
and showing that in the Assembly of 1832, before the
disruption, this question was settled in the affirmative
as foUows :
Resolved, That in receiving aud adopting the Confession of Faith, as con
taining the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures, the larger and
shorter Catechisms of the Westminster Assembly of Di'vines axe included, and
do constitute an integral part of the Standards of this Chuich.
And that so it stands as the law, accepted in both
branches, for the whole Church.
The leading feature in this Eeport is that the Stand
ards, pure and simple, are made the Doctrinal Basis
-without any explanatory clause whatever, and without
any other article. This is simply falling back upon the
original platform, in the preliminary negotiations of
1866: "A Eeunion upon the basis of the Common
Standards, so soon as a mutual confidence would seem
to justify it." This " mutual confidence " was now ex
pressed in the preamble, " Each recoynizing the other
as a sound and orthodox body, according to the princi
ples of the confession common to both."
"This clause of mutual confidence [says Dr. Stearns,
in his Historical Article] was the only one which, in the
reading before the Old School Assembly, was greeted,
with a spontaneous applause." We happen to know
that when this clause was broached in the Joint Com-
ndttee, one of the Old School members privately queried

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 525
of Dr. Musgrave whether the phraseology would not
seem to be quite too explicit an endorsement of New
School orthodoxy. To which Dr. Musgrave replied, that
only upon this explicit statement, that each so '¦'¦recog.
nizes tlie other as a sound and orthodox body, according
to the principles of the Confession," could he consent
to the Reunion, and only so could it be well and pro
perly advertised beforehand, that the United Church
could never consistently tolerate heresy.
Another special feature of this plan is, that the items
of readjustment are separated entirely from the Basis, in
the form of mutual understandings, as "Concueeent
Declaeations of the General Assemblies of 1869."
For this apt title the Committee were indebted to Dr.
E. W. Patterson, of Chicago.
It may be mentioned, as part of the inside history of
the negotiations,' that when the '¦'¦Joint Sub-ComTnittee"
met for the purpose of engrossing what had been passed
upon by " the Joint Committee qf Conference," and to
prepare the Eeport to the Assembly, one of the members
(N. S.) objected to the insertion of the words con
tained in the preamble to the Concurrent Declarations,
viz. : "Not as articles of compact, or covenant, but as,
in their judgment, proper and equitable arrangements."
He admitted that the language fairly expressed what
had been agreed upon, that the articles referred to were
merely recommended, and if adopted by the United
Church, might, hereafter, for good and sufficient reasons,
be modified or repealed. But he argued that the inser
tion of the words above referred to would make the
impression that the articles are ephemeral, and would
have a tendency to in-nte change. There was force in

526 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
the objection. But to this it was weU replied, that the
words ought to be inserted. 1. Because they fairly ex
press our mutual good understandings. 2. Because, if
omitted, it might be hereafter argued, that the articles
were intended to be a compact between the two parties,
which could not be honorably modified or repealed. 3.
Because it was held to be in the highest degree impor
tant, that the United Church should be left entirely
free to adapt itself to any changes which, in the future
development of Pro-^dence, might be deemed either
necessary or expedient. This difference threatened to
be a stumbling-block in the way, even within reach of
the goal. At this very crisis, however, an eminent lay
man of the New School Committee joined in this -view
of the case, -with such cogent reasons as to prove the
correctness of the position. Upon re-examination of
the paragraph, the dissent was revoked, and the entire
paper was then adopted by a unanimous vote.
This meeting of the Joint Sub-Committee was held
on the evening preceding the day of presenting the Ee
port to the General Assembly. And it was not untd
eleven o'clock at night that the decisive vote was
reached, in the Committee room.
These concurrent items enter into the plan, not as any
part of the Basis, but yet, as honorable understandings
at the time, indicating the view of these consorting As
semblies as to the proper mode of adjustment, and hence,
not to be departed from, except for very manifest and
sufficient reasons. It was seen that circumstances might
arise, however unanticipated, which might make it emi
nently -\vise and proper to alter or repeal some of these
pro-sdsions. Indeed, this very judicious disposal of

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 527
these several items, which had formerly been so many
topics of debate, facilitated greatly the adoption of the
Basis, as it not only simplified it, but relieved it from
sundry particulars which could not as yet be so pos
itively determined, and which could better be trans
mitted to the United Chm-chf or after settlement. Some,
in both Assemblies, were perhaps not quite willing to
leave in this shape, even with a five years' period of
grace, the question of the mixed Churches, our legacy
from the plan of Union of 1801. But this was, on all
hands, felt to be a difficult point, requiring delicate treat
ment, and not capable of easy issue. And here the set
period was named with notification in advance, so as to
plainly assert the Constitutional principle of Church
polity, and to restrict the divergence within this nar-
T-ow limit.
These free deliverances, in both Assemblies, had
overpassed the morning session, and occupied the en
tire afternoon, leaving only time for the vote, before
adjournment for the day. The crowd of spectators
waited anxiously upon the result , — all the more as
it was plainly foretokened by the respective speakers
what the decision would be. The excitement, in both
houses, rose to the highest pitch, as the moment drew
nigh for the poll. In the New School Assembly, there
was call for an interval of silent prayer ^ and then, by
a rising vote, the adoption was declared unanimous.
The emotions of the entire body were brimming over
all former bounds. In the Old School Assembly, the
vote was taken by ayes and nays. On the negative
part, several presented their reasons in detail. One
of tiiese argued, at great length, the heterodoxy

528 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
of the New School body, adducing excerpts from the
former writings of individuals, — some of them long
past, — and citing scattered declarations of one and
another. But this was deemed inconclusive, unless it
could be shown tnat no change had meanwhde oc
curred with these, and that these were accepted i-epre-
sentatives of the body. Confessedly, there were cita
tions, also, from more recent indi-vidual deliverances,
well worthy of attention, which, in so far, woidd indi
cate serious differences in the construction of the Stan
dards. But it could not be shoAvn that the body, as
such, was rej^resented by these, or implicated in them ;
and this was the point to be proven. There was no
formal protest except of a solitary layman, and that
on the ground, among others, that the plan proposed
for organizing the United Assembly, in 1870, would
imperil the legal succession. This was "important, if
true." But it was not deemed necessary to foi-mally
answer the protest, — though in its terms highly re
spectful, — inasmuch as, according to most eminent
legal counsel, the plan, provided for the succession of
both Assemblies; whde, as respects the Joint Mod-
eratorship, in the opening of the first Eeunited Assem
bly, and its organization, the functions of Moderator
were so assigned as to fix the legal succession, ac
cording to the pronounced decision of the highest
Court in the Commonwealth.
At the count, the vote in the Old School Assembly
stood 285 to 9 ! Of these negatives, _^-y<s were clerical,
2iQ.A.fotor were lay !
The news of the result, so harmoniously reached in
both Assemblies, was flashed by the telegraph all over

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 529
the land, and across the seas. The Eeunion was virtually
secured. That only nine, out of the five hundred and ,
sixty enrolled members of the two Assemblies, were
foimd voting in the negative, was surely a degree of
imanimity most marvellous, and quite without a paral
lel in the annals of the Church.
OVERTURING TO THE PRESBYTERIES.
The Plan of the Joint Committee provided for over
turing to the Presbyteries the question of Eeunion in
categorical form, to wit: "Do you approve of the
Union of the two bodies claiming the name and rights
of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of
America, on the following Basis, to wit : The Eeunion
shall be effected on the Doctrinal and Ecclesiastical
Basis of our Common Standards. The Scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments shall be acknowledged
to be the inspired Word of God, and the only infal
lible Eule of Faith and Practice. The Confession of
Faith shall continue to be sincerely received and
adopted, as containing the system of doctrine taught
iu the Holy Scriptures; and the Government and
Discipline of the Presbyterian Church in the United
States shall be approved, as containing the principles
and rules of our Polity."
However it might have been claimed that no such
reference to the Presbyteries was necessary, after such
explicit, though informal, action of theirs to this effect ;
yet it was eminently wise to satisfy thus the protest, in
advance, of over thirty Presb}d;eries in the Old School
branch, and to send do^vn the Basis for formal ap
proval. 34

530 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
It was provided that a two-thirds vote should be
sufficient, — not, as in former plans, a three-four !^is
vote, inasmuch as, in such case, one-fourth of the
Presbyteries in either branch could defeat the measure.
And besides, in this voting, the delinquent Pres
byteries who, for any reason, might retm-n no vote,
must be counted in the negative, a three-fourths actual
afiu-mative being required.
Many in the Old School, at least, who otherwise
would have dissented from the plan, were fully com
mitted to the verdict of the Church thus regularly
to be pronounced. The great objection, -with some,
arose from the necessary delay in such case, when the
Assemblies had acted now so harmoniously, and when
all was so ripe for consummation on the spot. Bat
this objection was, in great part, relieved by the novel
exjjedient of adjourning for six months — a very extra
interval, — so as to give full time for the Presbyteries
to act, and yet to consummate the Union by these
Assemblies, and ¦without the necessity of postponing
for a year. This feature of the plan was not seriously
opposed, but rather welcomed, as forestalling appre
hended difficulties of delay, and conciliating many
who else would have opposed. It was, indeed, alto
gether a most happy expedient, entirely justified by
the case iu hand, and securing the best results. The
working of this extra adjournment was much inquired
into, so many not seeming able readily to apprehend it
as a simple adjournment. Questions were already
started, as to seats that might possibly be vacated by
principals, whether they could be filled by alternates
already chosen, or whether new elections would be

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 531
requisite, or allowable, to provide for such vacancies.
In the Old School branch, alternates were allowed, —
and only such, — - who had been already chosen, to fill
the place of absent principals. In the New School,
newly-elected Commissioners were required in such
cases. By the strict construction, the Assembly being
the same, not dissolved as usual, but only adjourned
for six months as if for a day, the Commissioners
must be elected prior to the meeting of the Assembly.
Yet, exceptionally, the other method of supplying
vacancies was also held to be admissible. The in
stances in question were not numerous enough to
seriously affect the identity of the body in either
house. What remained was now to commit the goodly
movement, as thus far so harmoniously advanced, to
the Great Head of the Church, so to direct and control
the Presbyterial action, in both bodies, as to secure
the best result. It was with high gratulation, and
with sjDecial solemnity, that the Old School Assembly
was led in prayer by the Eev. A. G. Hall, D.D., and
adjourned at six o'clock. The New School Assembly
was led in special thanksgi-ving by the Eev. Thomas
H. Skinner, Sr., D.D., and adjourned at about the same
hom-. Thus ended Thursday, May 27th, 1869 !
On the folio-wing morning (Friday), a joint prayer-
meeting of the two Assemblies was held for one horn-
in the Church of the Covenant. Of course, at this
advanced stage of the Eeunion, after the great event
of the day preceding, the united supplications were
most fervent, and the flowing together of the two
bodies was more manifest than before. The feeling

532 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
of oneness was no longer restrained ; for, as concerned
these representatives of the two Churches, they had
already, with scarce an indi-vddual exception, expressed
theii- -wish to be one. And even the few dissenting
brethren joined earnestly in the public prayer, and
expressed their strong desire also for Union.
Delegations from each Assembly to the other now
ajipeared, and formally announced the vote. This was
again the occasion of pleasant interchanges ancl respon
ses, with new assurance of fraternal regard.
' The following letter from the other Assembly was
read :
To the Mode>-ator qf tlm General Assembly meeting at the Brick Church, New
York.
Eeverend and De.\b Brothek. — It gives me pleasure to inform you, aa
instructed by the General Assembly meeting at the Church of the Covenant,
New York, that the report of the Joint Committee of twenty on Eeunion
was, at the close of the Sessions of the Assembly thia afternoon, unanimously
adopted, and that the Hon. WUUam Strong, and the Eev. WiUiam Adama,
D. D. , were appointed to communicate this action to the venerable Assembly
over which you preside.
By order of the General Assembly. Edwin F. Hatfield, stated Clerk.
Church of the Covenant, May 27th, 1869.
Judge Strong (of Pa.), fi'om that Assembly, was then
introduced, and received with applause. After giving
verbal notice of the fact, contained in the above letter,
he proceeded to say that they had all yearned for years
to consummate the union which is now in a fair way
of accomplishment, a union of faith, of sentiment, of
doctrine, and practice. And in order to secure these
blessings they will follow the recommendations of the
Committee of Conference, and study the things that
make for peace.

THE ASSEMBLIES OP 1869. 533
Dr. Adams stepped forward, ahd paid high eulogy
to Dr. Musgrave, and said that if the Old School had
any more such cannon, throwing fifteen-inch shells, they
need no addition to their numbers. He was especially
moved on meeting Dr. Musgrave, ~ whose memory he
had associated with former strifes and controversies,
but whom he had known as a faithful adherent to his
0"wn convictions, as one of the principal leaders in the
movement for Eeunion. And now, for all of the Chm-ch,
the noble ser-vice is left to finish what had been .so
earnestly and so successfully begun, for the good of the
kingdom of Christ.
Dr. M. W. Jacobus responded as follows :
Dear Bret-hbeh. — Every step in tbis matter of Eeunion becomes omy
the more blessed occasion for the descent upon us of the Spirit of the living
God. How blessed are even these iaterohanges of notification ! Our Com
mittee has appeared before your Assembly, as you appear before us, to an
nounce this marvellous unanimity that has prevailed ¦with the Committees of
Conference. Union aad Eeunion are the order of the day. It is the wHl of
God among us, manifestly. We caimot aifirm that the delegates of this large
body have aU been able to say aye to the report of the Committee. The ven
erable father of this Assembly, Dr. Spring, thought for a moment that he must
say 'aay. But it was only because he was more aye than any of us. Not that
he was opposed to Eeunion, but because he was opposed to any postponemen'
of the Eeunion. Others who have given iu their nay have expressed theii
reasons, which we can appreciate ; and considering the circumstances, and
the larger number of our body, the unanimity is as marveUous and God-in
spired perhaps -with us as with you. We bless God for this hour. We do
confidently expect, as we look forward through the next six months, to hear
aU along through this broad land, from the Canadas to Mexico, and from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, the loud and coidial Amen of Eatification. And iu
November next we wUl welcome you as you wdl welcome us, to our city of
Pittsburg, in the region that has been familiarly caUed the "backbone of
Presbyterianism," and we -wiU strike hands together there on that spot where
symbolically and beautifuUy the AUegheny flows into the Monongahela, and
the Monongahela flows into the AUegheny, to make the broad Ohio, rolling on
into the Mississippi, aud sweUing that noble and majestic river into the Gulf.

534 PEESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
JOINT C0j\OnJNI0N SEASON.
It ¦\7as deemed only most fitting that, at this stage of
pleasant and hallowed interchanges, a Joint Communion
Season should be held now upon the day follo"wing the
Eeunion vote of the Assemblies. On this Friday after
noon, at thi'ee o'clock, the solemn ser-vice took place in
the Brick Chm-ch. The Moderators jointly presided.
The body of the house — even the aisles — was filled
with communicants. The galleries were thronged with
guests, many of whom were also communicating chm-ch-
members. It was an hom- so truly refreshing with the
dew of Hermon on the mountains of Zion, that, with a
most signal manifestation, the Lord commanded the
blessing. The Venerable Dr. Spring offered the Sacra
mental prayer, and distributed the bread; and it was
as if i\Ioses or Elias had come down to talk on that
Transfigm-ation Mount of the decease accomplished at
Jerusalem. Dr. Shaw (N. S.) delivered earnest and tender words
of address, followed by Dr. Taylor, of Cincinnati (N. S.),
distributing the Cup ; and by Dr. Anderson(0. S.), of In
diana, in a closing appeal It could scarcely have been
more impressive as a spectacle, or more ravishing as a
holy feast. The place was called by one and another.
Bethel and Peniel. It was a well, and it was named
Beersheba, Rehoboth, and Beer-la-hai Roi.
This season of Communion was all the more enjoyed
because there were many who remembered that dm-ing
the years of separation, such a Sacramental meeting of
the two Assemblies had been proposed, but was declined,
as being without precedent.
The Joint Prayer Meeting held on Saturday morning,

the assemblies oe 1869. 535
in the Brick Chm-ch, was very largely attended, and
the devotions of the United bodies were enthusiastic.
The tidings had now gone abroad, and the sympathy
of other Christian bodies was deeply stii-red and sought
expression. The following despatch was received and read :
Newark, Ohio, May 38, 1869.
• The General AssemUies of the Old and New Sclwol Presbyterians in the City
of Neto York : —
The Synod of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists greeting the brethren. 2
Thess., first chap., third and fiist clause of fouith verse, and 2 Corinth., thir
teenth chap. , eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth verses. E. T. Evans, Moderator.
David Harris, Secretary.
The verses referred to were read by Eev. Dr. Eodgers,
as follows :
We are bound to thank God always foi you, brethren, as it is meet, because
that youi faith gioweth exceedingly, and the charity of eveiy one of you aU
toward each othex abonndeth.
So that we ouiselves gloiy in you in the churches of God.
FinaUy, brethren, fareweU. Be peifect, be of good comfoxt, be of one
mind, Uve in peace ; and the God of love aud peace shall be with you.
Greet one anothei ¦with a holy kiss.
AU the saints salute you.
The despatch was received with much satisfaction by
the Assembly, and Henry Day, Esq., was appointed a
committee to prepare an answer. Before adjournment,
he reported the following, as the joint answer of the
two Assemblies, which was adopted and ordered to be
transmitted :
That the General AssembUes, now convened in the city of New York, return
their cordial and Christian salutations to the Synod of the Calvinistic Method
ists now sitting in the City of Newark, Ohio, and we expiess to them oux best
wishes and desires in the woids of Moses to Hobab, Numbeis x. 29: "We
are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, I ¦wUl give it you.

536 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Come thou ¦with us, and we ¦wiU do thee good ; for the Lord hath spoken good
concerning IsiaeL"
This fitting reply by Mr. Day was wrongly credited
by the press to the Eev. Dr. Stearns, of Newark.
The N. Y. Tribune entitled this Biblical Telegraphic
Correspondence, " Apples of Gold, in pictm-es (baskets)
of Sdver."
A Delegation fi-om the Evangelical Church of Bohe
mia ^vas received, and one of them, Dr. Von Tardy,
said in the Old School Assembly as follows :
I especiaUy congratulate myself that I am here just at this interesting juni,
ture, when these two bodies, not two but one, standing upon a common foun
dation, are upon the point of uniting themselves upon the common founda
tion of Christ and his Apostles, Christ being the comer-stone, thus shomng
that perfect faith works love, and love itself together -with faith is the perfect
token of the cMldien of God. I then come here fox the express purpose of
being quickened and refreshed.
A Delegation from the Methodist Preachers' Meet
ing, composed of one hundred ministers in New York
and vicinity, was received, consisting of the Eev. Drs.
Curry and Eidgway, and Eev. Mr. King. The follow
ing paj)er was read :
The New York Preachers' Meeting, composed of one
hundred pastors of the Methodist churches in New
York and -vicinity, have adopted the folio-wing minute :
Whereas, The General AssembUes of both branches of the great Presby
terian family axe now in session in the city, we take pleasure in sending to
them OUI fratemal greeting and assurances of our Christian love and feUow-
ship. We rejoice -with them in the prospect of a speedy reunion of the two
branches of their communion, and pray that their pxosperity in the future
may be even greater than it has been in the past. We also express the deep
conviction that the time has f uUy come when aU EvangeUcal churches, f oi-
getting the sad estrangement of the past, should come nearer together, and
united in heart, aid in maintaining throughout this land a sound moraUTiy

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 537
against ¦vice, intemperance, and Sabbath desecration ; and a pure religion
against Eitualism and Popery. We hope the day is near at hand -svhen frater
nal relations wfll be estabUshed between these two great churches, ¦with a
mutual interchange of friendly delegates between the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church and the General Conference of the Methodist Epis
copal Church, and we respectfully suggest that the General Assembly of 1870
appoint such delegate to meet -with oui General Conference, which ¦wiU con -
vene in Brooklyn, May 1, 1871.
In reply, the Moderator, Dr. Jacobus, said :
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church xeciprooates the Chris
tian salutations of the Methodist Episcopal Chuich in the United States.
The Church of John Calvin le.sponds to the Church of John Wesley, in the
name of our common Lord and Head. We are engaged in a common conflict
against irreUgion. It is a conflict of Christianity against aU the powers and
forces of antichrist. It is a conflict of tiue religion against irreligion and
false religion. We rejoice in tho great work which your large and active
Church has been able to acco'mpUsh in our land. All the agencies and le-
Bouices of the Christian Chuieh aie needed at this critical moment. And wo
hope soon to had the time when the final conquest of oux King Jesus shall be
proclaimed in aU the land and in aU the world.
THE SOUTHERN CHURCH.
Amidst so many add such cordial congratulations in
which the Spirit of a Eevived Church seemed to be
awakened and fm-ther foretokened by the Spirit of
Union, it was not at all wonderful that the heart of the
Old School Assembly should go out towards the alien
ated brethren of the Southern Church. A Committee
had already been appointed to report upon the impor
tant subject of Eeunion with the Presbyterian Chm-ch
of the South.
The Eev. A. A. E. Taylor, late of Georgetown, D. C,
introduced the following resolution on this subject :
WJierens, The last General Assembly acknowledged the separate and inde
pendent existence of the Presbyterian Chuich in the Southem States, aud
enjoined upon aU subordinate courts so to treat it, thus according to ita

538 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
ministexs and members the privilege of admission into oux body upon the same
terms whioh are extended to the ministers and members of othex blanches of
the Presbyterian Church ; therefore
Hesolved, That thia General Assembly hereby conveys its Christian saluta
tions to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the Southem
States, and gives expression to its sentiments of Christian fiatemity and fel
lowship toward the ministers and membeis of that body. And as we inherit
and hold with them the same ancient symbols of faith, the same forms of
government and of worship, thus representing before the woxld the same
sacied principles which our common ancestors -witnessed, and whioh we have
maintained in the past, and especiaUy since we occupy adjacent, and in many
places, common territory, we deem it due to our one Lord, and to the best in
terests of his kingdom ou earth, to express the desire that the day may uot be
distant when we may be again united in one great organization that shaU
cover our whole land, and embrace aU branches of the Presbyterian Churoh.
Hesolved, That the Stated Clerk be directed to forward a copy of this reso
lution to the Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Chuxch in the Southem
States. This manifesto was thus eminently fraternal — an
honest, earnest expression of desire, " That the day may
not be distant when we may be again united in one
great organization, etc., of the Presbyterian Church."
It Avas the yearning for Eeunioi extending itself, and
growing only more intense and wide-spread, by its in
cipient gratification. It could be thought of here, only
in a spirit of mutual concession — on the ground of ig
noring past complaints, and burying old differences —
as in the Eeunion North — nothing more said of old,
" dead issues — nothing now charged of heresies or of
excisions — no confessions, nor retractions called for on
either side." A poor way to make peace is by taking
up the war again The only question could now be,
not whether the Northern Church, from which the South
had separated, — was ready — for that was most plainly
declared — but whether the Southern Church would be
found ready, for the Eeunion, or for any positive step

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 539
in that direction. It was intimated, at this juncture, by
the Stated Clerk, Dr. McGill, that in an informal cor
respondence, the Stated Clerk of the Church South, had
rather deprecated the agitation of this question, at
present, as likely to disturb the peace of their churches.
But it was felt that, however this overture might be
treated at the present, the time must come when well-
advised efforts at peace will not imperd the peace of
Christ's house, but -will avail to restore it, for it is writ
ten, as it was spoken by the Master, himself, " Blessed
are the peace7nahers, for they shall be called the chil-
dren qf God."
This movement in the New York Assembly was at
least in good faith, and it went the full length of com
mitting that body to the Eeunion, and of taking the in
itiative in so good a cause. And so far, it was, indeed,
a great step in advance. And though that body would
form ordy a portion of subsequent Assemblies in the
Eeunited Church, yet they have put themselves upon
the record that so far as in them lies, they crave a
return to the old fi-aternal relations as of one grand
Presbyterian Church.
When the French architect was repairing the mosque
of St. Sophia, at Constantinople, he asked of the Sul
tan the pi'i-vilege to remove the whitewash which cov
ered the ancient Christian emblems that adorned the
ceding of that chm-ch of the silver-tongued Chrysostom,
and the Sultan replied " The time has not come yet."
But we say the time is coming, and must come, when
our holy and our beautiful house where out- fathers
worshipped must be restored from floor to ceding, and
when the emblems of our Christianity, that 'have been

540 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
covered with divers washes of the hour, must be made
to appear again. And no man, nor set of men, can
possibly prevent this blessed result.
The Moderator of the late Established Kirk of Scot
land Assembly, Dr. Norman McLeod, in his closing
address to that body, said, "Not for the sake of my
Chm-ch, but rather for the sake of our common country
and common Chi'istianity, I would refuse to be an Old
Mortality, restoring and keeping fresh the deep and
sharp-cut lines on the monuments reared by us all, on our
old Ecclesiastical battle-fields, but would rather leave
them to be quietly covered by time and a genial heaven,
vrith their benevolent ministrations of gi'een moss and
lichen — emblems of that Christian charity which cov-
ereth a multitude of sins."
At this very time, the Southern Assembly -was in
session at Mobde, Ala., with over one hundi-ed Com
missioners. Since this writing, we regret to add that a more
special overture of the first Eeunited Assembly, borne
by a most conciliatory delegation, has been answered
by declinature and "indictment," yet though the As
sembly -was carried for such an unliapjDy response, we
rejoice to know that it was not -without strong and
manly protests, and not without a feeling of Christian
revulsion in the ministry and membership at large,
which -wdl soon, we trust, make itseK felt hi another
Assembly of the Southern Chui-ch, that we m ay be one
again, beyond the reach of any poor, political complica
tion — the Church one for the nation's sake, and the
nation one for the Church's sake.

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 541
THE REFORMED CHURCH NATIONAL COUNCIL.
From stiU another quarter, another and important
movement for Union of the Churches indicated the
spirit of the time.
A communication was received and adopted by both
Assemblies from the General Synod of the Eeformed
(Dutch) Church, proposing a National Council of
Evangelical Chm-ches, for mutual strengthening and
defence, a-nd for promotion of the common cause of
Christianity versus Antichrist :
It is the con-viction of this Synod, that wholesome fratemal men,sures may
be adopted for combining and unifying the Evangelical denominations in sup
port of the common doctrines of Christianity, -without invol^ving any surrender
of the distinctive features and individual characteristics of these denomina
tions. The state of Christianity in our country, in its relation to antichristian
forces, seems to encourage an efiiort to secure a co-operation among all who
" hold the faith," in measures fitted to meet the exigencies of the times.
Hoping that your leveiend body may be ¦wflling to take the action sug
gested in the pieoeding paper, we subscribe ourselves as
Youis in fratemal bonds,
Elbert S. Porter, Pies't of General Synod.
David D. Demarest,
New York, May, 1869. Stated Clerk.
The following action was taken by the New School
Assembly, on the proposal for a general Christian
Council, submitted by the Eeformed Church (this is a
report from Dr. Maxwell's Special Committee) :
Recognizing this proposition as a pait of the gieat movement of oui day,
which is seeking better to express the essential unity of the Church of Christ,
and to bring about that organic unity toward which we have just taken so
important a step, we regard it as one eminently fitting to be entertained.
Our own hearts have felt most convincingly the influences of that Spirit when
in joint supplications for the reunion of oiu: sepaxated Presbytexian family.
Mutual love and confidence fiU the heaits of beUevexs. The spirit of ¦wisdom

542 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
seems to be imparted to our councils for reunion, and from aU branches of the
Church the prayer is going up for a speedy realization of that oneness foi
whioh our Eedeemer prayed. And when God so manifestly points the way
and opens the path where was a sea of diffioultiea before, it is for His people
to go forward. Great good may also result from the adoption of some such
plan. In a common profession of the essentials of our common faith ; in the
promotion of wholesome discipline and mutual co-opeiation therein ; in devi
sing means of practical evangelism ; in borrowing Ufe from every part, and in
diffusing it through aU the members of the common body ; in presenting a
common front to a common foe ; in such prospects of vast good accomplished,
we see a motive fox acceding to the proposition submitted. Thexefoie,
Hesolved, That five representatives of this body, three ministers and two
laymen, be appointed to meet simUar representatives from other bodies on
the third Tuesday of Octobei, in the city of New York, provided the higher
.Tudioatories and AssembUes of sister churches accede to the proposition.
Similar action was taken by the other branch, and
Delegates were appointed likewise.
Still another announcement in the same direction
was made by the Eev. Dr. S. I. Prime, representing the
Evangelical Alliance, a Protestant Ecumenical Council,
to assemble in the autumn of 1870, in the city of New
York:
The EvangeUcal Alliance in this country has caUed the various Christiana
of all denominations to meet in the city of New York, in the autumn of this
yeai ; and it has also invited a conference of Evangelical Christians, fxom aU
the nations of the earth, to meet in this city, in the autumn of 1870. We
have now an agent in Europe, Eev. Di. Schaffi, who is making airangementa
¦with the brethren in England, and in Germany, and in HoUand, and in S'wit-
zeiland, and in other countries, to be represented at that conference ; and we
have no doubt that, -with God's blessing, it ¦wUl be not only one of the most
interesting, but one of the most useful assemblages of Christians ever held in
this country, and perhaps in the world. I count it a great joy to be per
mitted to commend the operations of this institution to the Assembly of the
Piesbyterian Church, and to ask that, in youx several spheres of usefulness,
in the seveial cities and to^wns in which you xeside, you -wiU make kno-wn its
charactei and its operations, and that these conferences may be understood.
We hope that your seveial localities -wiU be represented in it, and that we
may bring together Christians from aU parts of this country, and then in the
foUo-wing year fxom aU paxts of the woxld, who wiU unite their hearts and
their hands in the great work which the AUiance seta bef oxe it.

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 543
At the conclusion of Dr. Prime's address, the follow
ing paper, introduced by Eev. John HaU, D.D., was
adopted :
Hesolved, 1. That this Assembly has heard -with great satisfaction that the
EvangeUcal AUiance of the United States has in-vited a Conference of Evan
geUcal Christians in this country, to meet in the city of New York, in the en
suing autumn, and a general Conference of EvangeUcal Christians in aU the
earth, to assemble in the same city of New York, in the autumn of 1870 ; and
it -will imite its prayeia with those of Christ's people everywhere, that the
Holy Spirit may guide then- counsels and lead to -wise results for the advance
ment of the Eedeemer's kingdom.
Hesolved, 2. That the principles of the Protestant Eeformation, identified as
they are ¦with the progress of reUgious Uberty, education, and Christianity in
tho earth, are incieasingly precious in our eyes, and we caU upon our minis
ters and people to watch with jealous care the efforts of Eomanism in the
United States, aud by the employment of aU suitable means, to resist insidi
ous attempts of Eoman Catholics to obtain undue influence in thia country.
And now the time for adjournment was at hand.
The closing scenes in both Assemblies were truly im
pressive. Parting to meet again, if God should so
please, in a distant city, a six months hence. And yet
to think, of possible vacancies in the seats of the Com
missioners !
Careful and detailed provision had been made con-
cm-rently in both Assemblies, for securing from the
Presbyteries a categorical answer to the questions over
tured in the plan, so as that a full return might be
made to the November meeting.
The New School Assembly adjouened on the tenth
day, and the Old School Assembly on the eleventh day
of their sessions at evening, to reassemble in the city of
Pittsburg, on the tenth day of November, in the Third
and First Presbyterian Churches, respectively. The
members of both bodies had been held together in

544 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
unusually full numbers tiU the close, and be}Oud the
adjournment of the New School, many remained to
vdtness the conclusion of the other Assembly. In the
nature of the case, such Ecclesiastical proceediiigr^,
whose harmony had been so unbroken, left little of the
wearied, worn-out feeling that ensues upon mere I'ou-
tine transactions of Church Courts. The two houses
had both been banqueting houses, and the banner over
both of them had been love.
The hospitalities of New York Christians had been
tlispla}-ed in the spirit of a large-hearted Christianity.
And no pen can adequately detail the thousand pleas
ing incidents occurring daily at the tables of the gen
erous entertainers. Besides, it was quite a specialty
of the occasion, that .soirees were given at private
houses, in which groups of a score or tv/o from the t%\'0
Assemblies were gathered round the table, -with Chris
tian cheer, followed by genial rounds of address and
personal reminiscences of Eeunion movements. Who
that had the happiness of being present at the dejeuner
of Dr. Adams, or of Mr. Hem-y Day, will ever forget
the graceful chaUenge and genial repartee, and the im
promptu address and resjjonse all round the cii-cle, that
brought smdes- and tears in quick succession. Such
brimming emotions at length as broke the alabaster
box and filled the room with the odor of the ointment.
And, not to mention other names, it may be allowed to
refer to like Christian refreshings at Dr. E. P. Eogers',
of the Eeformed Church, and Henry M. Alexander
and James Brown, Esqs., where elegant hospitali
ties were lavished upon the guests of both branches.
Members lingered as if reluctant to leave the spot

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 545
consecrated by such thrice happy meetings. And they
looked with confident forecast over the sis months in
terval, to the reassembling at Pittsburg, to receive
from the Presbyteries the word of ratification. Already
the marriage covenant was signed by the high con
tracting parties. It seemed only a signature of the
witnesses and a marriage certificate that was fm-ther
requisite. And Pittsburg was already looked to as the
city which should be honored with celebrating the rare
nuptials. Such unanimity as had characterized the action of
both Assemblies left little doubt on the minds of any,
that the Presbyteries would return the requisite major
ity and more, in favor of the plan as overtm-ed by the
Assembly. Nevertheless, there was anxiety until the
result should be fixed beyond any peradventure. Si
lent Presbyteries were to be counted with the negative,
because a clear afiirmative vote of ttoo-thirds was
required. Besides this, the foreign and fi-ontier Pres
byteries might not act, or not in season. StiU further,
some dissent would certainly show itself in a few Pres
byteries, though there was no token of organized or
concerted opposition. And any negative vote beyond
one-third of either Assembly, which might, indeed, be
less than one-sixth of the whole number of Presbyteries,
would defeat the movement. The writer of this,
received letters expressing such anxiety- — and that
from those who might be supposed to be most capable
of judging how the field lay.
The Peess, both secular and religious, was most
active and decisive for the Eeunion. And this was by
no means confined to the Press of the denomination,
35

546 PEESBYTEEIAN EEUNION.
but was most remarkably the voice of the leading
Joui'nals in the land. Such an Eirenicon was hailed,
on all hands, as a precious National boon.
The Pastoeal Lettee ordered to be prepared by
the Joint Committee of Conference and the two Mod
erators, was soou issued to the Churches. It was
brief, direct and earnest, and it aimed, in a spirit of
Christian conciliation, to state the case with clearness,
and in terms of honest simplicity to urge the fit
ness and timeliness of the Great Measure of Eeunion.
It had been first submitted to each of the Joint Com
mittee, and had received the cordial approval of each
member separately. It is testified to, as ha"ving done
good service in helping forward the blessed work.
And it stands on record as a public testimony to the
equal terms of the Eeunion, and to the strong and pos
itive adherence to the Standards, on one part equally as
on the other part, without any restriction or qualifica
tion. DAT OF PRATER.
The Day of Prayer, recommended by both the Assem
blies, came. The great theme of Union and Eeunion
was treated by the thousands of ministers in so many
pulpits of the Church. It was a rare season of con
certed supplications. At this advanced period (Sep
tember), within two months of the re-assembling in
Pittsburg, there seemed scarcely the shadow of a doubt
as to the issue. The public sentiment had settled down
to a measurable certainty. And yet, the Great Con
cert of Prayer for the Eeunion, on the eve of the
meeting of the two Assemblies, was a grand auxdiary.

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 547
Not a few" of the leading Presbyteries had already
met soon after the Assemblies' adjournment, to receive
and act upon the Eeport of their Commissioners.
And the indications had been slowly gathering with in
creased distinctness. But now, God, the Paraclete,
Teacher, and Strengthener, was invoked by the Assem
bled Churches, on both parts, for the best results, and
for the consummation of aU that was hoped for. The
heart of the people was plainly enlisted for the move
ment. As the time approached, reports 'from the fall
Presbyteries were roUed up in swelling afiirmatives,
and beyond the requisite two-thirds, on both sides.
And the glad announcement was at length made that
the conditions precedent had been fulfilled! -
PROCEEDINGS AT THE ADJOURNED SESSION IN PITTS
BURG.
According to adjournment, the two Assemblies con
vened in the City of Pittsburg, on Wednesday, No
vember 10th, 1869, at 11 o'clock, a. m.
The General Assembly (O. S.) met in the First Pres
byterian Chm-ch, on Wood street.
The General Assembly (N. S.) convened in the Third
Presbyterian Church, on Sixth avenue.
These churches were only a couple of blocks apart.
The members in attendance were more nearly equal
in numbers than at the New York session. The Old
School roU counted 237, and the New School roll
227. After clearing the docket of whatever business be
longed to the Old School body, the Stated Clerk, Dr.
McGiU, read the Eeport of the action of Presbyteries

548 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
in response to the overture on Eeunion. This was on
Thm-sday morning — the Second Day.
REPORT ON THB REUNION VOTE OF THE PRBSBTTEREEg.
The Presbyteries in coimection ¦with this General Assembly have all report
ed in ¦writing, on the overture of Eeunion, as crdered in the Brick Church,
at New York, except the foUo^wing ten, viz. : Austin, Corisco, Knox, Knox
viUe, Maury, Ogdensbuig, Shantung, Siam, Stockton, and Western Africa.
The Stated Clerk of the Santa Fe Presbytery has reported by letter, that
it is impossible for this Presbytery to have a meeting, in piesent circumstan
ces. The Presbyteries of AUahabad and Canton, being unable to meet ¦with
in the time specified, have sent circulars, signed by a majority of each, to in
dicate the wiU of the Piesbyteiy in f avoi of the Eeunion as now proposed :
but these aie not counted in declaring the result. Anothei Piesbyteiy, La
hore, formed by the Synod of Northern India, in December last, but not reg
ularly reported as yet by any officer of that Synod, has sent its answer to
this overture, in written form, and this has been counted ; on the presump
tion that the Assembly ¦wUl recognize, at this meeting, the existence of that
Presbytery on our roll
We have thus one hundred and forty-four Presbyteries. One hundred and
twenty-eight of these have answered the overture sent down affirmatively,
in -writing. Three, Hudson, Eio de Janeiro, and West Lexington, have an-
sweied in the negative.
Informal Eeports from the Presbyteries of Stockton,
Ogdensburg, and Milwaukee, in the affirmative, were
admitted to record.
In both Assemblies action was taken looking to
imion with the United Presbyterian body, -without
any bar fi-om their Psalmody.
A book was opened on the clerk's desk for the au-
tograj)hs of aU the officers and members of both As
semblies. Photographic artists succeeded in taking
exceUent views of both bodies as they were grouped
in front of theii- respective churches.
On Thursday evening, a Public Meeting in the inter
est of Home Missions was held in the First Church.
Stirring addresses were made, and the large audience

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 549
of both Assemblies evinced their appreciation of that
vastly augmented strength which the Eeunion must
give to the denomination, for vigorously prosecuting
this great work of our day.
On Friday morning, the deputation fi'om the New
School, to report the vote of their Presbyteries, was
announced in the Old School Assembly. It consisted
of the Eev. Drs. Aiken, and Z. M. Humphrey, and the
Hon. Jno. A. Foote.
The chairman. Dr. Aiken introduced the reading of
the Eeport as follows :
Mr. Moderator. — I am one, sir, of a Committee of three appointed by the
othei branch to wait upon this Assembly, and to lepoit to you the xesults of
the action of oui Piesbyteries on the subject of Eeunion As I may take it
for granted, I suppose, that you are ready to receive oux lepoxt, I would beg
leave to caU on Dx. Humphrey, one of the Committee, to xead an official
statement fxom our Stated Clerk.
Dr. Humphrey read the f oUo-wing :
EEPOET.
Report of the Stated Clerk of tlie General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
in fhe United States of Ammca, on the answers of tlie Presbyteries to the
Overture on tlie Heunion of the two branches of tlie Church.
The number of Piesbyteries connected ¦with this Geneial Assembly ia one
hundxed and thirteen. Official lesponses have been received from eveiy one
of them. They have aU answexed the overture in the affirmative. In each
of the Presbyteries of Albany, WeUsboro, and the District of Columbia, a
single negative vote was cast. In each of the remaining one hundred and
ten Presbyteries, the vote was unanimous. Respectfully submitted,
Edwin T. Hatfield, Stated Clerk.
Pittsburg, Pa., November 10, 1869.
The reading of the report was haded with great ap
plause.

550 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
The Moderator, Dr. Jacobus, responded in these
words :
Brethren, — Oui hearts have been deeply moved by the announcement of
the singular unanimity which has pervaded your body ; a unanimity, as we
beUeve, unpaiaUeled in the histoiy of the Church of Christ. Only three Pres
byters of aU youx Ust of votexs, in all paits of this land, and of othex lands
vote No to this piogxamme of Eeunion Is not this in the line of what was
pxedicted by the EvangeUcal Prophet: "Thy watchmen shall Uft up the
voice ; with the voice togethei shaU they sing ; for they shaU see eye to eye,
when the Lord shaU bring again Zion " ? And shaU not the results be alao m
the line of what waa predicted in the same connection by that prophet :
" Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the
Loxd hath conrfoited his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem " ? The Lord
bless us and keep us. The Lord Uft up the Ught ofhis countenance upon us,
aud give us peace. [Applause.]
Mr. Hem-y Day moved the adoption of the following
paper. It was unanimously adopted by a rising vote,
as foUows :
This Assembly ha^ving received and examined the statement of the votes
of the several Presbyteries on the Basis of the Eeunion of the two bodies now
claiming the name and the rights of the Piesbyterian Church in the United
states of America, which Basis is in the words foUo-wing, namely: "The
Union shaU be effected on the doctrinal and ecclesiastical Basis of our com
mon standards ; the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament shaU be ac
knowledged to be the inspired woid of God, and the only infaUible rule of
faith and practice ; the Confession of Faith shaU continue to be sincerely re
ceived and adopted as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy
Scriptures ; and the Government and discipUne of the Piesbyterian Chuich in
the United States shaU be appioved as containing the principles and lules of
our poUty ; " — does hereby find and declare that said Basis of Union has
been appioved by more than two-thirds of the Presbyteries connected with
this branch of the Church, — and whereas, the other branch of the Presbyte
rian Chuich in the United States of America, now sitting in the Third Pres
byterian Church, in the City of Pittsburg, has lepoited to thia Assembly
that said Basis has been appioved by more than two-thirds of the Piesbyte
ries connected -with that bianch of the Church, now, theiefoxe, we do sol
emnly declare that said Basis of Eeunion is of binding force. [Applause.]
Dr. Eodgers said :
Mr. Moderator, — My giandf attei was the first Moderator of the Pies-

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 551
byterian Chuxch in these United States ; and, as his gxandson, I mo\ e you
now that this Geneial Assembly be dissolved. The motion waa passed.
The Moderator, Dr. Jacobus, then said :
By -virtue of the authority delegated to me by the Chuxch, let this Gene
ial Assembly be dissolved, and I do hereby dissolve it, and require another
Geneial Assembly, chosen in the same mannei, to meet in the City of Phila
delphia, on the third Thursday of May, Anno Domini, 1870, in the Firs*
Presbyterian Church, at eleven o'clock, a. m.
In the New School Assembly, the Moderator an
nounced that a deputation was present from the other
-Assembly, and if no objections were made, it would
now be heard. The deputation consisted of Eev. Dr.
Musgrave, and Mr. Day.
Dr. Musgrave said :
I appeal before you as a delegate from the Geneial Assembly in session in
the First Churoh, to communicate to you speciaUy the vote of our Piesbyte
ries on the subject of Eeunion We have brought a ceitified copy of the
vote; the majority has been much moie than two-thirds — the number re
quired — and the votes of our Presbyteries have been almost unanimoua . The
overture has been adopted, and the union has thus been consummated. I
have not time to make a speech, and am not in condition to do it. I -wiU,
therefore, simply add, that I never discharged any duty iu my Ufe -with a
greater pleasure than thia. I have had many duties during the course of my
ministiy, that have fiUed my heait with praise and thanksgiving to God, but I
may say that nothing has so excited my gratitude and joy as this. I beUeve
it has been brought about by the Spirit and Providence of God, and I firmly
believe that, as this result has been introduced by Him, so He wiU continue
to guide and bless us, and make this union a blessing to our land and the world.
Mr. Day then read the certified vote of the Old
School Presbyteries on the overture of Eeunion — only
three dissenting. The reading of the vote was greeted
with applause.
Mr. Day said :
Brethren, — I tiust that peihaps at this very moment an oveiture or state.

552 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
ment similar in character has gone forth from this Assembly to the Assemblj
from which we have come, and that it is being xead thexe at thia very moment
These two churches, so long divided, aie now united by the hand of God ; and
what God hath joined togethei, brethren, let us never aunder. [Applause.]
The Moderator (Dr. Fowler) :
This General Assembly feel renewed ¦within them the joy they experienced
on being unoffioiaUy informed of the result of the vote in your Piesbyteries,
and we fuUy sympathize with you in your hopes for the future. Bear to your
Assembly the assurance that we axe in fuU acooid ¦with them. [Applause.]
Dr. Adams :
Ml. Moderator, — I move you the foUowing lesolution :
This Assembly having leoeived and examined the statement of the votes of
the several Presbyteries on the Basis of the Eeunion of the two bodies now
claiming the name and the rights of the Piesbyterian Chuxch in the United
States of America, which Basis is in the woids f oUo^wing, viz. : ' ' The Union
shaU be effected on the doctiiual and eoolesiaatioal Basis of our Common
standards ; the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments shaU be acknowl
edged to be the inspired word of God, and the only infaUible rule of faith and
practice ; the Confession of Faith shall continue to be sincerely received and
adopted as contaiiung the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures ;
and the Government and DiscipUne of the Presbyterian Chuich in the United
States shall be appioved as containing the principles and rules of oux poUty ; "
— does heieby find and declaie that said Basis of Union has been appiov.ed by
more than two-thirds of the Piesbyteries connected with this bianch of the
Church, — and whereas, the other bianch of the Presbyterian Chuich in the
United States of America, now sitting in the First Piesbyterian Chuich, in the
city of Pittsburg, has lepoited to this Assembly that said Basis has been ap
proved by more than two-thirds of the Presbyteries connected ¦with that
branch of the Church, now, therefore, we do solemnly declare that said
Basis of Heunion is qf binding force.
The paper was adopted unanimously by a rising
vote. THE ASSEMBLY DISSOLVED.
Dr. Adams:
I now move you, Mr. Moderator, that thia Assembly be dissolved in tha
usual form prescribed by oux constitution.

Adopted unanimously.

FIRST CHUROH, PITTSBURGH, PA.

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 555
The Moderator, Dr. Fowler, then said as foUows :
By viitue of the authority delegated to me by the Chuich, let this General
Assembly be dissolved, and I do heieby dissolve it, and xequixe anothei Assem
bly, chosen in the same manner, to meet in the Fiist Piesbyterian Chuxch, in
Philadelphia, on the third Thursday in May, 1870.
It had already been agreed that at ten o'clock, on this
day, the two Assemblies should each be regularly dis
solved, and that the two bodies should immediately
come together for such religious celebration of the.
grand event as was befitting to the occasion.
Thus, at the same hour, in both houses, -with a sol
emnity becoming so rare an event, the Moderators
formally dissolved their respective Assemblies. The
Christian Doxology, and the Apostolic benediction,
closed whatever pertained to the separate history and
doings of these kindred bodies, which had now become
in effect One.
The hom- of ten arrived. The skies had thus far
been propitious. But the chdl November wind was out
on this memorable morning, when the two Assemblies
were to meet and to greet each other in the open street.
The city was moved ; and no blast of November could
repress the public enthusiasm. The programme was
well arranged, and its items were admit-ably car
ried out. The New School body first left their house,
at the hour, and marched in double file down Sixth
avenue to W(jDd street. As they turned the corner into
Wood, the head of the column stood opposite the First
Church. This was the signal for the Old School body
to move out of their house, and to take up the line of
march in a paraUel column "with the other body, along
Wood street, also m double file. The marshals and

556 PEESBYTEELAN CHUECH.
their aids, who headed the two advancing columns,
found no Uttle difficulty in clearing the street. The
Marshals were Gen. J. K. Moeehead, Samuel Eea,
John D. McCoed, and Geoege H. Stuaet; and their
Aids, Joseph Dilwoeth, Chaeles J. Claeke, Eobeet
A. Claeke, Williajm A. Heeeon, David Eobinson, and
T. A. Ceee. Besides the crowds who thronged the
sidewalks and fiUed the doors and -windows, the broad
avenue was ajam with eager spectators. Waving of
handkerchiefs and shouts of applause greeted the rare
procession, and evinced the public enthusiasm. The
Iron City Avas electrified. . The magnetism of such a
movement was attractive beyond any paraUel. It
was confined to no denomination. The heart of the
people was stirred. It was, indeed, a spectacle alto
gether novel. Christian fraternity was holding Jubi
lee ! The paraUel ranks. Old School and New School,
on opposite sides of the avenue, two-and-two, arm-in
arm, moved along one block, when a halt was made.
The two Moderators who headed their respective col
umns, then approached each other, and grasped hands
with a -will. This was the signal for the Clerks, who
foUowed, and then the j)airs aU through the ranks
parted, crossed over, and paired anew, — the Old and
New, grasping each other, and amidst welcomes, thanks-
gi-nngs, and tears, they locked arms and stood together
in their reformed relations. There were* rare personal
meetings on that avenue after this strange fashion.
Men found themselves, by this wonderful order of the
ranks, brought face to face, and hand to hand, with
those from whom they had been a long time separated,
and, perhaps, more or less alienated.

THB ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 557
There were incidents -within that brief moment of
forming the new columns which stirred half a thousand
hearts to the depths, brothers hading brothers, as if
long absent or lost ; some discovered to others, as Joseph
to his brethren, and others faUing upon the neck
of those long dissevered and at strife, as Jacob and
Esau. For example, it may be mentioned, that two
eminent and exceUent pastors of the same city in New
York State, who had for years been estranged, as ac
knowledged leaders in their respective branches of the
Church, found themselves in that providential pairing
brought together for the hand-shaking and fi-aternal
greeting which was the divine order of the day.
Neither of those dear brethren was the man to resist
the loving ordinance of God. Neither of them could
fad to note the providential commandment. Even, in
any case, what arm could be so -withered as not to move
at such command of Jesus to stretch it forth to a
brother in Christ, for its o'wn cure ? And at this great
family holiday it was meet to make merry and be glad.
Those large hearts bounded at the celestial signal for
that fraternal embrace. They met. They grasped
each other. They wept together on the street. They
stood arm-in-arm in the ranks and blessed God. All
alienations were gone. They were brothers confessed
before men and angels, under the open sky, and on they
marched with gushing emotion to keep the Reunion
Jubilee together in God's house. On the next Sabbath
each of these pastors made public mention of the stri-
Idng incident to their respective congregations, as indi
cating the finger of God in the great movement, bear
ing testimony to the Eeunion, as so personal with them-

558 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
selves. And, as by a strange magic such a revolution
had occurred as in a moment, and the Presbyterian
ranks had been formed anew, so had occurred the great
Eeunion, of which this was only the typical illustra
tion. Through Fifth avenue into Smithfield street,
and onward to the Third Presbyterian Church, the pro
cession passed, brethren unbosoming themselves to
brethren at every step. It was a grand public profes
sion of Christian unity. It was felt to be the linking
of mighty forces for doing battle against a world of
evil. Men of all beliefs acknowledged the power of such
a movement. It Avas well remarked that "the tread of
armed thousands through the same thoroughfares, with
banners blackened and torn in their country's defence,
had not so stirred the soul of the people as did the
sight of this united band of once separated brethren."
It was a triumph of love — a victory gained under the
banner of the Prince of Peace. As the procession
reached the church, the building was blockaded by the
waiting multitude. Within the house, both the gaUery
and orchestra were already in possession of eager spec
tators. As the head of the column entered the door, the
large and noble edifice rang -with the grand old Jubilee
Hymn, sung by a choii- in the organ loft, " Blow ye the
trumpet, blow — the* gladly solemn soum^d." The spa
cious platform was promptly fiUed by the officers
of the Assemblies, and by such of the Commissioners
as could be seated there, and as soon as the remainder
of the procession was disposed of in the body of the
church, the outside multitude rushed in, and instantly
every seat and standing place was crowded to the ut-

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 559
most capacity of the building. Hundreds could find
no room, not even so much as about the door. On
either side of a small table in the centre of the plat
form the Moderators, Drs. Fowler and Jacobus, sat,
and presided by turns. It was now about 11 o'clock,
and " the Coronation Hymn " was grandly given by
the entire audience. The solid mass of faces in pew,
and aisle, and doorway, and gaUery, was most impress
ive from the platform. And from the body of the
house the array of Commissioners, clerical and lay,
among the foremost men in Church and State, and met
for such a di-sdne purpose, wafe everywhere noted as a
rare sight. It was an interesting incident, that the ven
erable David EUiott, D.D., LL.D., who had presided in
Philadelphia at the Disruption, stepped forward to the
platform, and took his seat in front near the Moderator.
His appearance was greeted with applause.
After a solemn invocation by the Eev. C. C. Beatty,
D.D., it was ordered, on motion of the Eev. G. S. Plum-
ley, that the foUcwing message be sent by cable to the
Chairman of the Union Committee in the Free Church
of Scotland :
" To the Rev. Robt. Buchanan, D.D., Glasgow :
" The two great Presbyterian Churches in America,
ihis day united, greet the Presbyterian Churches of
Great Britain and Ireland, and pray that they also
muy be one. (Signed) " Geo. H. Stuaet,
" Jno. Hall,

"1

"Wm. E. Dodge,

"Pittsburg, Nov. 12th, 1869."

" Committee.

560 PEESBYTEELAN CHUECH.
Selections of Scripture were read, after which the
audience joined again in the service of praise — - " Blest
are the Sons qf Peace."
The Eev. Phdemon H. Fowler, D.D., Moderator (N.
S.), made the opening address. He said :
WeU may one feel dumb in the presence of this overpowering occasion
And it is from no choice of my O'wn that I break sflence now. Would that I
could sit quietly here, and wonder, and praise, and adore, and rejoice ! Is there
a paraUel in aU history tu the event that has now been accompUshed ? It ia
easy to rend asunder, but oh, how hard to reunite 1 You may splinter the rook,
but can you gather togethei the scattered fragments and sohdify them
again ? You may easdy divide the Church, but can you so easily bind it to
gethei again ? Histoiy is f uU of divisions of the Chuich — only heie and
there is there a lecoid of reunion — and when leunion has taken place, how
comparatively smaU the bodies whose parts have been joined together ! But
here we are, thousands of ministexs, thousands of congregations, hundieda
of thousands of Christiana, flo^wing together by one impulse, and embracing
each other in what we hope and beUeve wOl be an indiasoluble Union [Ap
plause. ]
And now, how wondeiful the unanimity ! There have been reunions be
fore, but how many and what large fragments have stood out agaiust the fu
sion ! How smaU the fragments that ¦withstand the glow of love under which
we, who have been dissolved, have flo^wu together, and those fragments re
maining in the mass wiU be dissolved ¦with it. [Applause.] Think of it!
Of a hundred and twenty Presbyteries of one branch, aU, ¦without an excep
tion, pronouncing in f avoi of Eeunion. Think of it ! Out of a hundred and
forty-four Presbyteries of the other branch, only three pionoimcing against
the Eeunion.
And what gladness this Eeunion gives to the advanced coips of the sacia-
mental host of God's elect ! How oui outposts are rejoicing in view of it —
our missionary biethien at home and abroad !
Two 01 three days before I staited foi Pittsburg, as I left my o^wn house,
I met a missionary brother from Ceylon. He was about coming to see me.
He waa the beaiei of a lettei from anothei missionary brother in India.
That letter ¦wfll best speak for itself, and I ¦wUl take the Uberty of reading
it. "Dear Brethren [It is addressed to ua] — I have been leading in the
New Yoik Observer and in the Evangelist the accounts of the meetings of
the two Geneial AssembUes. In view of what has been done, and what now
appeals may be done in the future, I can say, -with an overflowing heart, ' Let

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 561
everything that hath breath praise the Lord.' I cannot express the degree
of pleasure that I experienced on reading the proposition to raise the sum of
five miUions of doUars as a thank-offeiing, to which I gladly contribute my
mite, on the principle laid do-wn ia Malachi
' ' I hope that the one bundled doUais in gold, accompanying thia, -will
prove a mustard-seed from whioh a gigantic tree may spring up, ¦with extended
blanches studded ¦with golden mites, that ¦wUl beai five milUons of doUars.
The thousands connected ¦with the Presbyterian portion of Zion can easfly
coUect the required sum, which, ¦with earnest prayer and more ardent conse
cration, ¦wiU bring do'wn the answei to the Saviour's suppUcation that they
aU may be one. "A PEESBYTEEIAN ON THE FOEBIGN FIELD."
And here is the donation, converted fxom gold into cuxrenoy, and amountr-
ing now to one hundred a-nd twenty-eight dolla/rs and seventy-five cents.
This was greeted -with loud applause. Turning
then to Dr. Jacobus, he said :
My Dear Brother Moderator, — May we not, before I take my seaii,
perform a simple act symboUcal of the Union which has taken place between
these two blanches of the Church. Let lis clasp hands.
This ehaUenge was instantly responded to. The
Moderators promptly grasped each other's hands,
"amidst prolonged and deafening applause." The
Doxology to the Old Hundredth was then sung
with a hearty good "wiU, the great audience standing, —
"¦ Praise God from whom all blessings flow."
Dr. Jacobus then, aUuding to the joining of hands,
said: These axe the nuptials of the Chuiches which we represent. Then, I am
sure, my brethren, that the Great Apostle and High Priest of our profession,
Jesua Christ, ofSciates at the wedlock And, iu Hia name, I would put the
question just now — just here, and say, " If there be any person piesent who
knows of any reason, just and sufficient, why these parties may not be law
fuUy united, let him speak, oi evei aftei hold his peace." [Applause.]
And I «!ay to you, venerable father [addressing Dr. David EUiott], who were
the organ and instrument in Philadelphia, of the chuich I represent, at the
36

562 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
parting asunder of those that weie yesteiday sepaiate blanches of oui Pies
byterian body, — Do yoxi know of any leason, just aud sufficient, why these
parties may not be lawfully united ?
Br. Elliott. — I do not, sir. [Applause, and cries of good, good.]
George H. Stuart. — "Whom God hath joined togethei, let not man put
asundei.'" [Prolonged applause.]
Br. Jacobus [continuing] — In the name of God, Amen I [Amens, in the
audience.] When we met togethei on another platform, in the great commercial
metiopoUs, six mouths ago, we looked 'with happy anticipations to this houi
— this solemn, impiessive, eventful hour. May we not say the hour has
come ? May we not add -with aU reverence, the hour has come that the Son of
Man may be glorified, and that these kernels of wheat, that faU into the
ground and die, die only that they may not abide alone, but that they may
bring forth much fruit ?
The Presbyteries have spoken from Maine to CaUfomia, and from across
tbe Pacific, from China and from India, and they have sent up, with such
signal and marveUous unanimity as only God himself could bring about, as
we believe, their affirmative lesponse to the Plan of Eeunion. Three Presby
ters of youi body, three Presbyteries of our body, brethren good and true and
loyal, and who -wfll be faithful in the Eeunited body, as I verily beUeve, yet
having, 'with us, the right of private judgment, have said No. But this ele
ment of dissent ia not an element of antagonism. Where could there have
been less of dissent ?
We standheie on symboUo ground, near where these beautiful rivers run into
each other. They run into each otlier, I say, — the AUegheny into the Mo •
nongahela, and the Monongahela into the AUegheny. You shaU see just at
the confluence a sUght difference in the currents, but only foi a Uttle while.
You shall see moie of it in stormy times, when there come rushing down the
banks of the Monongahela the tributaries to that stieam. But how shortly
the wateis of the AUegheny — as the name imports, ' ' clea/r, running waters "
— wash away all the muddiness, and the united stream makes the Ohio —
" tlie beautiful river." And the Monongahela — as the name imports, '-^ the
¦river of crumbling banks" — tliat symboUzes the situation. The crumbUng
banks of prejudice and aUenation, aud suspicion and strife, on both sides, have
muddied the current for a while, and muddy it yet, perhaps, a Uttle, just at
the point of union. But pass on a few steps, and the clear running water,
which is symboUc in aU the Scriptures of the river of the water of life, purifies
the stieam. When the spring-tide comes ; when the icy bands of 'wintei axe
melted away ; when the snows upon the hills are dissolved — then the rivera
rush impetuously into each othei's arms and bosom, and plow deeper the chan
nel of the united stream, and flow do-ivn togethei to the Fathei of Waters.
And with our representative system, and our free principles, and our unex-
clusive ecclesiastical poUty, we claim to be a great American Church — that

THE ASSEMBLIES OP 1869. 563
may properly be the great American Church. — if we understand the situation
and accept it, and put our eneigies into it, and go forth on all oui fiontieis,
and through aU the States, to evangelize the people. And this day this Ee
union is the great bugle-blast, calling upon aU the brethren of the Piesbyte
rian f amUy to come togethei — to have their forces massed into one — aU of
them, North, South, East, and West — howevei they may choose to sing,
whatevei forms they may choose to obseive, adopting 'with us the doctiines of
oux Confession and the polity of oui Churoh, that we may be one, as Jesus
has piayed that we may be one. [Applause.]
Yes, my brethren, this reunited body is a Chuich for missionary work.
With five thousand ministers nearly, -with half a miUion of members nearly,
having contributed the last year neaily eight millions of doUars — too muci
of it expended, perhaps, in matters not closely connected 'with the muItipUca-
tiou of sanctuaries, and the sending abroad of the li-raig missionaries. But
the money is here, and it is at the command of our Lord Jesus Christ ; and
we believe that this union is accompUshed by the order of God, for the most
enlarged lesidts. That symboUcal tiansaction lecoided by the prophet Zech
ariah — might it not have intimated what we have heard to-day from the
missionary stations, in sympathy and concert -with this gieat movement?
When the captive exiles had set to woik to rebufld the waste places of Jeru
salem, they were ordered to take the gold and sUvex biought fiom heathen
Babylon, not so much foi the rebuilding, as to make of the piecious metals a
triple cro'wn foi the head of Joshua, the gieat representative and type of the
High Priest of out profession, "to be a memorial," it is said, "in the temple
ofthe Lord." '¦'¦ And,''^ itis added, '¦'¦they that a/re afar off shaU come and build
in the temple of the Lord. "
But to-day we keep high festival in thia city. Blessed be God, we have had
the Christian Passover, when Jesus Christ died at Jerusalem. And we have
had the Christian Pentecost in part, as we are to have it in fuUei measure in
the future. And was not this the condition of the advent of the Holy Ghost ?
"When .ley were all, with one accord, i-n one place, suddenly there came a
sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty -wind, and it fiUed aU the place
where they were sitting.'' Even so now come, blessed Spirit of grace, and
truth, and promise, in a second glorious Advent that shah bxing about the
great Feast fox whioh the Christian Chuich waits — the festival of which the
piophet Zechariah has sung — when from aU lands, aU people, and tongues,
and tribea shaU come up to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabemacles —
the gieat closing feast of the year, . — when aU the crops, and aU the vintage
shall have been gathered in ; and it shaU be the great Haivest Home, which
the Chuich yet looks for, the Harvest Home of the world. [Applause.]
Those who have had to do with this important transaction, have some of
them already gone to glory ; others, who have bome the work aud burden of
their day in the matter, are stiU here to pray -with us, and to rejoice in God.
Men have said meanwhile, "Protestantism is a failure ; " and a Bishop in the

564 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Church whexe that statement was made answexed it weU, when he said, that,
coming out of his xuial home one day, he saw an owl peiched on the Urhb of a
tiee, -winking, and bUnking, and screeching, and what do you think he said f
'¦' Baylight is a failure! " [Laughter.] No, my hearers. Protestantism is not
a f ailuie. And Preabyterianism is the pure essence of Protestantism, and we
have it in its simplest f oim — -with the Bible aud the Uving minister — to go
thiough all oux land, aud through aU lands in aU the world.
Diplomacy can alter the boundaries of States; war can reconstruct the
map of continents ; science can tunnel g---anite peaks, and connect the terri
tories on either side. But it is the function and prerogative of Di'vine Grace
to oveicome prejudices and alienations and suspicions, and to shed a sweet
influence upon the minds of men, and to turn them as the riveis of wateis are
turned, so that we all may be one, as our blessed Lord Jesus Christ has
piayed. So let it be. Amen I [Applause.]
The audience united in singing the Hymn —
*' Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian Love."
Dr. Musgrave then took the platform and said :
ADDEBSS OF THB EEV. DE. MUSGEAVB.
Thank God for this hour ! and for the privUege of being present on thl&
occasion ! How UiarveUous a change ! How great a contrast between 1869
and 1837-38 ! As a Calvinist, I must believe that everything has been or
dained of God, so that I believe that oux separation was the wUl of God, aa
our Eeunion is. But, air, we have been accustomed to distinguish between
the pemnissive and the efficient 'wfll of God. [Applause.] And that is the
logical method of solving a great many difficulties which embanasa Armin
ians. [Laughtex.]
I beUeve that this Eeumon has been bxought about by the efficient, effi
cacious, gracious ¦wUl of God. [Applause.] I do not beUeve it is possible
that anything less than au Almighty Power could have produced this xesult.
When we remember our antecedents and the materials of which (l only speak
of the Old School), when we think only of the materials of whioh we axe com
posed, it is marveUous [laughter], it is almost miraculous [renewed laughter]
that we should have been brought together so trustingly and lo^vingly.
[Laughter.] WeU, I am constrained to say that I yielded to nothing short of
tiie conviction that this thing is of God, and is in accordance ¦with His wUl 1
Now, sir, I beUeve that this Eeimion ¦wfll be permanent !
Now, aftei a sepaiation of more than thirty yeais, we are agreed to come
together again. It puts me in mind of a remark made by a good Quaker,
whose -wife, on one occasion, was disposed to quarrel — weU, there aie ladies

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 565
here, and I don't like to teU the story — but she was anything but sweet
tempered ; but the husband of the old lady would say to her, " My dear, it
is not worth whfle for you and me to quarrel, for we wfll have to make it up
afterwards. " And so there is no use in these two churches quarreUing ; and
I think now, historicaUy, that we have been taught this lesson — that it ia
not worth our whfle, in the future, evei to quaiiel, fox we have to make it
up again. [Laughtex.] WeU, sir, aa I beUeve this Eeunion is in accordance
¦with the ¦wfll of God, I have given it my whole soul, aud I le joice in the
belief that God wfll bless it, and make it a blessing to our country and to
the worid. But, Moderators, we must be humble ; we must be prayerful,
we must be devoted to our Master's cause and glory, that we may have His
continued favor — for ¦vsdthout his blessing, oui means, oui numerical
strength, our inteUigence and oui wealth ¦wiU avafl nothing. Oh, let us Ue low
at his feet, and implore God to lestiain us from pride, and ambition, and
self-aeeking, and enable us as his servants to seek his honor and the pxos
perity of his Church.
I feel, sir, that my work is nearly done, and in a few months, if I may bb
aUowed by my brethren, I expect to letu-e from the official position I have
occupied, and lesign my place to, I tiust, ablei han.ds. But in my retirement
I shall not cease to pray fox the peace of Jerusalem. I shaU watch while I
Uve, -with intense interest, for the developments of God's Pxo-ridence, and the
progiesa of His Chuich. It is now nearly half a century since I have been in
communion, uninterruptedly, -with this church, as a private member, and as
minister of the gospel, and I have endeavored to promote its interests.
But the men of my generation have nearly aU passed away, and the few
of us that remain wiU soon disappear ; biit whfle we have life and breath,
we wfll pray God to bless this good old Presbyterian Church, and make it a
blessing to this nation and to the world. Let us go to woik -with a -wiU ;
¦with energy, 'with perseverance ; and let this spirit of activity pervade the
whole Churoh. I would close by lepeating an expression that I had occasion
to use a Uttle whfle ago : Let the bugle sound the advance along the entiie
Une ; aud let us, as one united phalanx, move forward in the name and foi
the sake of the gloiy of Christ, and the spiritual conquest of this and aU other
lands. [Long-continued applause.]
DR. WILLIAM ADAMS'S ADDRESS.
I, too, thank God that I am permitted to see thia day. Many have desired
to see it, but have been denied the sight. Four of the Joint Committee as
originally constituted — Brainerd, Kreba, Gurley, and Brown — have gone to
their reward. If the spirits of the departed are permitted to take cognizance
of afirairs upon the earth, I ha've no doubt these brethren aie bending over us,
and sharing in our joy.
" Glory to God in the highest." " This is the Lord's doing, and it is mar-

566 PEESBYTliEIAN CHUECU.
veUous in our eyes." None but those who were originaUy on that Committee
can comprehend aU the difficulties, misgivings, and apprehensiona which they
felt when, by no seeking of their own, they were brought together for theu
first conference on a cold, wintiy day. Those difficulties and misgivings are
now behind us. To-day, aftei many -wiestUngs with fear, we say, as the
angel to the patriarch of old, " Let me go, for the monxing breaketh." We
have crossed the ford Jabbok : alienated brethren have met : Esau and Jacob
falling upon each other's neck, kissing and weeping.
It is a beautiful custom iu the Moravian Church — I was quite startled by
its novelty on the first occasion, when Dr. Muhlenberg came lound from one
side of the Communion table and gave me his hand, — at a certain point iu
the administration of the Lord's Suppex, fox each communicant to grasp the
hand of his neighbox, saying ' ' Heie is my heart, and here is my hand. " I did
not know, Messrs. Moderators, when you joined your hands just now in that
symbolic aot of Union, but that you weie about topiopose, aftei the Mora-
-vdan method, that the whole constituency of these Assemblies should repeat
the act. [A voice, "It's not too late to do it yet." Scaicely had Dr. Adama
uttered the sentence, when the whole audience caught the idea and enacted it
most heartfly, every one taking his neighbor by the hand, and repeating in
many instances the words, ' ' Here is my heart, and here is my hand. "]
It ia not often, I am told, that here in Pittsburg the sun and the moon are
seen to shine so brightly as duiing these passing days and nights. I am not
RupeistitiouB ; but I am reminded that on a certain occasion Luthei looked
out of the -window, and said, " I see a sign iu the heavens : the firmament
upheld by no ¦visible pfllars. " These aie the halcyon days of which VirgU
sang, when "birds of cahn, ¦with sflvei plumage, sat and s-wung on the pliant
wave.'' Peihaps the crowds of people who hung upon our procession to this place
have been ready to ask, ' ' What does aU this mean ? " " What was the cause
of this old division ? " and "What is the meaning of this present Eeunion ? "
The first thing which this occasion signifies is ij, magnanimous f oigetfuhiesa
of the past. We forgive and forget even as God " lemembers oui sins no
more foievei." When fract\u-ed Umba are in the very act of knitting to
gethei, it is no time to undo the bandages and sciape the bones. Let the
things which aie past sink like lead in the gieat wateis.
For the future, this occasion means liberality in the best sense of the word.
Unessential difEeienoes -wfll not be aUowed to divide us; diveisities -wfll
leault in harmony ; and aa foi nairowneas and exclusivenesa, we mean to
show that scholarship and piety and the whole spirit of the New Testament,
as expiessed in oui symbols, by this act of union, pubUcly rebuke them.
The occasion means, moreover, progress, iu oux work aa a Chuxch. In
xecent debai.^.* and negotiations we have had frequo.nt occasion to xefex to
"our Standaids.'' The woid Standard -maj be used iu seveial different
senses. Heie in Pittsburg, wheie thoy manufactuxe iron so. extensively, it

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 5*^7
may mean an upright pfllai, stiff and hard and cold, such as is used to hold
up the deck of a boat or the floor of a warehouse. There is another sense in
which we may use the woid Standard, as a symbol of our faith and polity.
It is the banner which we raise at the head of our line. It is not something
on which we are to stand motionless and stfll, as if it could beai us up, but
something which, in the name of Jesus Chiist, we are to bear onwards from
conquering to conquer. It has been asked what are we to do henceforth
-with those old-time and f amfliai designations. Old School and New School. A
very simple arrangement has been suggested — even that, as Old and New
Schools are brought together on this occasion, the initial letters 0 and N should
be biought togethei also, leaving the two SS on either flank, and we have that
expressive word SONS — sons of one and the same Piesbyterian Church —
sons of God in one household of faith. The old blue bannei of Preabyterian
ism, which iu former times was bome by biave and godly men ovei the hflls
and heather of Scotland, 'with its new armorial quaiterings, Leaming, Lib
erty, Charity, Magnanimity, Piety, let us lift it higher, and bear it on, in the
name and by the Spirit of God, in our great woik of the futuie.
We were aU struck -with the beautiful symboUsm of the place where we
are assembled, the AUegheny and the Monongahela meeting to foim the
Ohio. That figure is daguerreotyped on all our memories. It has ocouiied to
me that the resemblance might be carried yet furthei. The Ohio has many
tributaries. I cannot recall them aU. But, as it runs to the sea, the Wabash,
and the Cumberland, and the Tennessee flow into it, and sweU the flood. One
speakei said this morning that -we should never see another scene Uke this. I
hope and expect that we may. We cannot forget our Presbyterian brethren
of the South, or othex organizations ha-vdng oui owm faith and polity ; and we
trust the time 'wiU come, when, af tex many divisions aud dispersions, there will
be flowings togethei of many othexs into one Chuich of augmented uumbeis
and -rigor aud joy. Those who hve long enough wfll, as I beUeve, see grander
and happier occasions even than this. I was somewhat afraid just now,
when my exceUent fiiend and brothei, Di. Musgrave, announced his purpose
eie long to resign his official position, that he was about to speak of his antic
ipated departure to a highei world. Now, some of us have a special favoi to
ask of Dr. Musgrave, Di. McGfll, and these othei fathers in the Chuich:
Don't piay Nunc dimittis too hard. We greatly desire that you should Uve to
be the objects of respect and love ; to see for yourselves the happy results of
the union now consummated, and to take part in other reunions equaUy
important and blessed. Oui hearts are erdaiged the more we love. It seems
a Uttle thing to ad-rise oi to do, but let us, instead of being kept apart by any
cluvaux defrise of prejudice, cultivate each other's acquaintance, assured that
the more we know each othei the more we shall confide and love.
Our eloquent friend, Di. Musgrave, has just reminded us that he was a
Cal-rinist, and as such a beUever in the " f oreordination of whatsoever comea
to pass." He has reminded us also of the distinction recognized in our thop-

568 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
logical books between the permissive and the efficient 'wiU of God. I do nol
know that from my position I should have ventured to emphasize this distinc
tion, since, if my memoiy seives me, we are accustomed to lefei to God's
peimissive foieordinatiou such events only as aie especiaUy mysterious, hke
the intioduction of sin into the worid. But since my biother has referred to
the disruption as somehow permitted and so foreordained, I may add, concern
ing this matter of pacification and leconcUement, it is so obviously in accord
ance 'with God's positive and " efficacious" purpose, that I shaU not be sus
pected of anything extreme in New School Theology if I should say that we
have all been willing to have a part iu its acoompUshmeut, giving ' ' great
dfligence to make our caUing and election sure." [Applause.]
Di. Adams here referred to the good service done by some of the original
members of the Joint Committee, whom it would be iu'ridious to mention by
name, but who, amid manifold embarrassments, contributed so much to thia
day's happy issue, and he concluded by a summons to all Pxesbyterians to Uft
aloft theix standaid, having upon it Christ's name and cio-wn, and to beai it
down aU the riveia, ovei aU the prairies, up and do'wn the slopes of the moun
tains, aU over our own land, and into heathen lands, so that on earth and in
heaven there may be joy because of this day.
At the close of Dr. Adams's address, the Rev. Ed-win
F. Hatfield, D.D., was called on to offer prayer, which
he did "with great fervency.
It was then moved by the Rev. Ravaud K. Rodgers,
D.D., that the cordial thanks of the Reunited Church
be returned to the members of the Joint Committee,
through whose labors of love, by the blessing of ijrod,
this great and glorious result has been brought about.
This Resolution was unanimously adopted.
The Rev. De. Samuel W. Fishes then introduced a
paper, which he read, closing with the resolutions follow
ing. Fathers and Brethren, — It is not my intention so much to make a
speech as it ia to read a short document. I was directed by the Joint Com
mittee ou Union to prepare a document of this kind, to be read on thia oc
casion. The sentiments, I doubt not, -wiH be approved. Its defects and
faults are my own
( Dr. Fisher was crowded with duties of the Com-

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. oG9
mittee of Arrangements, of which he was Chairman,
and was almost disabled by a severe cold.)
In the Piovidence of God, the two branches of the Piesbyterian Churoh
in the United States of America have to-day become oue — in f oim and ia
fact — one Chuich. Thia ia au event so unpaiaUeled inthe ecclesiastical his
tory of this countiy, and almost of the worid, as to attract attention and awa
ken expectation of coiieaponding results among aU those who love the cause
of the Eedeemei.
This event is speoiaUy significant of the inspiring presence and unifying
powei of the Di-rine Spirit. To that gieab body of Christians, this day united
in one ecclesiastical oiganization, it constitutes an eia in their history most
memorable and auspicious ; memorable, as a most triumphant exhibition
to aU men of the powei of Christian love ; a/uspicious, not as an eia of deca
dence aud torpor and death, but of enUghtened progress in the great work,.
to accompUsh which Christ has constituted the Chuich mUitant. It speaks
-with the voice of God to oui piofoundest gratitude, demanding the expies-
sion of that gratitude not merely in words, but in deeds, iu heroic Christ
ian deeds answering to the greatness of the Dirine Goodness.
In this event, theie are outflashings of the Di-rine Spirit to make this
Church a moie signal, efficient co-worker -with Christ iu the evangelization of
this contiueut and the world. It summons us, whfle we maintain that great
system of truth which Paul so luminously unfolded, and which oui Church
has so gloriously upheld through aU the centuries, to give ourselves, out
sons and daughteis, and oui wealth, moie perfectly to the woik of saving
souls. Let us, then, iu humble dependence upon our deai Eedeemei, -with deep
humflity in -riew of oui past inefficienoy and piesent unworthiness, and as au
expiession of our devout gratitude to Him who has biought this once dis
severed and now united Chuich up to this Mount of Tiansfiguratiou, sig
nalize this most blessed and joyfid Union with an offeiing in some good de
gree commensurate 'with the pecuniary gifts He has bestowed upon us.
Therefore, be it
Hesolved, By the ministers, elders, and members of the Chuich, here as
sembled, as in the presence and behalf of the entire body of the disciples con
nected 'with us in this land, and of those beloved missionaries on foxeign
shoxes, now meditating our action 'with tender and prayerful inteiest, that it is
incumbent on the Presbyterian Church iu the United States of America — one
in organization, one in faith, one in effort — to make a special ofilering to the
treasury of oui Loid of one milUon of doUars ; aud we pledge ouiselves first of
aU to seek, iu our dafly petitions, the blessing of God to make this resolution
effectual And second, that we will, -with untiring peiseverance and personal
effort, endeavor to animate the whole Churoh -with the like purpose, and to

570 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
becuie the accompUshment of this great woxk befoie the tMxd Thursday o*
May, 1871.
I have another resolution, Mr. Moderator, and I 'wish to state that the sum .
which is named here is one that can be easfly altered. It has been suggested
that the sum should be five miUions of doUars. [ Applause. ] Five miUions
of doUais — and I am sure that when we look upon the Chuich as it is to-day,
its wealth, and what it is able to do 'with Chiistian self-denial, this sum ia
smaU enough. Most xeadfly would I place this in the xesolution ; but the
mattei is whoUy at your disposal. The fact is, it is easy foi us to talk, but
hard work to act ; and in my ears aU this moming one text is linging, and
that is my speech on this occasion, iu moving this lesolution. " Poigetting
the things that are behind and leaching forth to those things that are before,
let us press toward the maik fox the prize of oux high caUing." Thia prize
we are pressing aftei in the Lord Jesus Chiist. That is my speech ; foi we
come here to-day to bury aU our past suspicions, enmities, and jealousies ; to
forget them, aud bury them in the ground forever.
We come here uot only to forget the past in that respect, but to forget it
in the greatness of the hour. We propose that the doings of this Church in
the future shaU be related to the doings of this Church in the past, as the
income and woik of the United St.ites Govemment of America, in 1869, are
related to the income and work of that government in the year 1789.
There aie several other speakers to foUow me, and I do not propose to
detain you This is a f amfly gatheiing, and I have one thing which I simply
-wish to say. I said theie aie some things which we want to forget, but there
are some things we wfll not forget. We -wfll not f oiget. Mi. Moderator [turn
ing to Dr. Jacobus], when we were boys togethei, when we sat together, and
were leaied together in the same Chuich, and under the training of the
same ministexs. We 'wiU not foxget when we sat tog«ither at the feet of
Alexandex, and MiUer, aud Breckenridge, and othexs who have gone to their
lewaid, as weU as Di. Hodge, who stfll remains. We 'wih not forget that
whfle we were in our course in the Seminary the stroke came which sent you
in one direction and me in anothei, and fiom that time untfl to-d.ay we have
nevei met as members of one chuich. And now I am too fuU foi utterance.
To-d.ay we are brethren in one household of faith. We are biought together.
and memory bridges the thirty years that have gone by since that hour of di
vergence, and enables us to feel that the same warm current of affection is in
our veins now as flowed in them theu We were strangers to livalry and sus
picion — separated, but not opposed ; and we had the same hopes in reference
to a united Chuich in the future. I say that there axe many here to-day who
wiU remember such things that are not to be forgotten, though the fact of
the separation is past. The Union has come, and now let us be up and doing,
forgetting the past, and -with Chiistian earnestness let us go forward, leaning
on God. Let us carry into execution a resolution somethhig like this : And
furtiier.

THE ASSE]\IELIES OF 1869. 571
"Hesolved, That the Stated Clerks be directed to print this Eesolutiou aud
append to it the names of the Moderators, the Clerka, and the Union Com
mittee, and the members of the AssembUes just dissolved, and send it to aU
the pastors of the Churches.''
A motion was made, and carried unanimously, to
amend the first resolution so as to make the thank-
offering to be raised the sum of $5,000,000 instead of
$1,000,000. This amendment was promptly seconded
by De. John Hall, of New York, who said :
On the personal side of this august tiansaction, in which we are permitted
to take our part to-day, there is nothing, if there had been anything, left for
me to say. I was not in the Disunion, and I have not shared in any of the
feelings incident to that Disunion; and, piaoticaUy, to me peisonaJly, the
Eeunion happfly effected to-day -vriU make no very great change.
I must, therefore, speak of the public aspect of this transaction. We are
here to-day, as one United Presbyterian Chuxoh,-by the giace and mercy of
God, a free Chvu-ch in a fiee land, a United Church in a United country.
[Applause. ]
There are at this moment many questions being raised in this country upon
the subject of the administration and govemment of the Chuich. We are
not bound to be contioveisial, and I suppose we should not be, in any
distinctive sense. We shaU, howevei, throw some Ught upon that great
question : if we can exhibit the spectacle of a body of Christian people,
governed in the Lord Jesus Chiist -with a form of govemment that in its aim
is analogous to the government of the State ; that aims to conform the
people to the government of the State ; that gives f-oU play to indiridual
conscience, whfle it gives fuU expression to the whole ; if we can exhibit to
the worid this Church, doiug its woik in sa'ring immortal souls — then we
¦wiU do much to guide the inqiuiies, aud shape the convictions of those who
ask "How is the Church to be governed; how is its administration to be
cairied on ? "
At this moment the Sabbath, which is so deai to us, is perflled in some
degree over this land. The Sabbath, Uke ita Loid, is in danger of being got
away 'with. The multitude, iu many places, are ciying out, "Away \rith
it," as the multitude in olden times cried concerning Him. And when the
question is biought befoie courts aud ralers, it happens sometimes, as it hap
pened in Hia case, that it is condemned upon the ground of a supposed poUt
ical expediency. There is work fox the Church in holding up the Sabbath
and teaching in aU this bioad America, " Eemembei the Sabbath day to
keep it holy." [Applause.]

572 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
From the immense material resources of this great land, there is a strong
temptation to mammon-woiship among us. We aie tempted to set up a
gieat golden image, and to caU upon oux young men everywhere to fall down
and worship it. There is nothing that -wiU save the young men from thia,
but the Truth of God. There is nothing that 'wfll make them bold and fear
less confessors of the tiuth, but the truth in their heaits ; and there is
nothing that wiU strengthen the Church to do her duty in this matter, but
the truth. And thia united Chuich, if she woidd be faithful to hei King and
Head, may at length be able to dash to pieces this idol. This selfishness
of the woild can only be held in check by holy Uring, and holy communion,
and Christian unselflslmess, and a marked magnanimity, and prayei foi the
blessing of tho Loid upon His Church. Fatheis and Brethren, let us show
what we think of this selfishness. Let us show what we think of it, by for
getting ourselves, and losing ourselves in that magnificent enterprise which
He sets before us, when He gives us thia land to be subdued under the soep-
tie of Jesus Chiist. This day He makes us one.
In the vaUeys of S-witzerland, where the people are isolated and apart, iu
some places, owing to the temperature, they sometimes become afllioted -with
a sad and frightful disease. It is said that the only cure for this is to take
them out of these vaUeys, and bring them to a higher and healthier atmos
phere. Fathers and Brethi-en, if we have been thus isolated by this seclu
sion, if the bairieis have done us mischief, God bieaks them do'wn to-day.
He peimits us to go up the mountains, where we have not been befoie, and
we may breathe a. puiei air. Let this strengthen us, and shed a healing
influence upon us, and let us make this a day for personal, spiritual devoted
ness and consecration to Christ, remembering the promises that he has made
unto his people.
Many years ago, when I was a pastor in another land, I had among my
parishioners two very old men — brothers. Then- families had gio'wn up veiy
close to each other In theix middle Ufe these two brotheis had quaneUed,
One of these two biothers became sick, and he had eveiy leason to beUeve
that he would die in the couise of a Uttle time. I was sent foi. I spoke,
and -lead, and piayed with him, as was my duty. I told him that tf hia
repentance was sincere, he would make a leooncfliation with his aged
biothei. I teU you it was a haid thing to bring him to that point, even now
ou his death-bed, to aUow me to send foi his bxothex. And theu I had to go
to the biothei, and bring him to the same point. By and by, the consent of
the old man was obtained, and he came into the sick-room of his biothei,
and some of his chfldren, and his biothei's chfldren, were thexe, and the old
men weie there face to face. "Brothei!" said the man, sick on his death
bed. ' ' Biothei ! " said the old man, standing by his side ; and neither of
them could say any more. The one bent down upon, and kissed the other.
They kissed aa Uttle chfldren, and the gray hairs of the two old men mingled
togethei. They put their arms around each other, and lifted up their voices

THE ASSEMBLIES OE 1869. 573
and wept ; and they pxayed togethei that God would make this xeooncfliation
permanent, and accept it thiough Jeans Chiist ; and we all gave thauks to
Almighty God agaiu and again, that his grace — his grace — could conquei
such stiong hatred.
We aie met and leconcfled to-day. I have seen many teara fall to-day.
These are gracious days, in whioh you -wfll buiy f oievei out of sight aU the
things that have di'rided and disunited you heretofore. Let us thank God
that we aie xeconcfled here to-day, not because we are dying, but because
we are living. We are lecoucUed, not in -riew of the grave, but in view of
the battle-field to which the Lord summons us to fight, the right against the
¦wrong, to fight for Christ against the de^ril. He marshals us to that battle
field. The pfllai of cloud and fiie has guided us into thia large and wealthy
place. Let us stand up fox the puxe, holy tmth of the Gospel, and for pure disci
pline, and for a pure and Christian Ufe ; and whfle we do so stand up. He, to
whom the sflvei and the gold belongs, ¦wUl bless ua. Let us not tiust in
riches, but take our stand beside the cross, lest otherwise we transmute our
gold into dross. I have special pleasure in seconding this resolution, and I
shall have special pleaaure m making it a real and glorious fact.
This was foUowed by the address of Hon. William
Steong, now of the Supreme Court, U. S.
I cannot speak My heart is too fuU, and I have no woids -with which to
express my emotions. I cannot attempt to describe my joy, and it would be
vain were I to make the attempt.
I have listened to aU that has been said this moming, and I have rejoiced
in aU that has been said. I have appreciated the beautiful symbols — the
expressive figures — by which the union of these two great bodies has been
represented ; and yet they are all inadequate to eap-i-ess my feelings. I cannot
think of the junction of these blanches of the Church as a marriage, simply
because we are too near of kin for that, and always have been too neax of
kin foi that. [Laughter.]
Nor are we in aU respects Uke riveis, foi we have not different sources ; we
have one source in God, the Father, thiough the Holy Spirit of God. We
have the same spirit ; we are mingling into one, as kindred drops from one
stream, and th^t stream is the Spirit of -the Uving God. I can, therefoie,
find no language to expiess my ideas in regard to this union of the church.
We have been accustomed to think of ourselves as diffexent bodies. In past
days, in hiatoiy, there were pexaoua who called themselvea Old School Piesby-
teriana, and they thought they could see certain quaUties in New School Pxes
byterians not according to their taste and judgment ; and so thexe were New

574 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
School Piesbytenaus who thought they saw a peculiar stiffnA9S in their Old
School brethren.
But I am unable to discovei in this large Assembly a single Old School
Presbyterian, oi a single New School Piesbyterian. No man can say of him
self now, " I am an Old School Piesbyterian," oi, "I am a New School Pres
byterian." [Applause.] By the Articles which we have ratified by our Pres
byteries, and which we have resolved, in both AssembUes, to observe, and to
be of binding force, we are aU Presbyterians, members of the "Presbyterian
Chuich in the United States of America " — one spirit, one name, one purse.
[Applause.] This union calls its to higher work tlian ever.
The Honoeable Chaeles D. Deake, United States
Senator from Missouri, RuUng Elder, next addressed
the audience, whose attention was unfiagging to the end.
He said :
Two great bodies of Christians to-day change their orbits, and merge them
into one — doing iu the Christian world what is impossible in the natural
world, that great consteUations should change their oxbits and lun togethei.
When they change their oibits in the natural worid and come in contact, xuiu
and desolation is the xesult ; but hexe these two great Christian consteUations
oome hereaf tex to have a common oxbit, and all move heieaf tei f oievex axound
the gxeat centxal Sun of the Chiistian system — the Loid Jesua Christ. My
biethxen, let ua not foxget iu thia moment, that at laat that Sun is aU that
binda us togethei. His name on the first page of the New Testament stands
foi evei and evei as the glorious centxe Ught of the whole Christian system.
The angel said, ' ' They shaU caU his name Jesus, fox he shaU save hia people
from theii sins." And theie, in that name, on that fiist page of the great
woxd of God, stands the Sun of the Chiistian system, shedding his Ught upon
all succeeding genexations, and at last to gathex aU the world into one brother
hood in Him. And, my bxethien, let us not foiget, oh, let us not f oiget, that
he was caUed Jesus because he was to save his people from their sins. He saves
us to-day as indiriduals from our sins ; He saves us to-day as chuiches fiom
the sins that have maiked our pathway in the days of bur separation, to be
lemembeied against us, according to his promise, no more forever. Brethren,
let us not imagine that this Eeunion can take place and can go along from the
veiy beginning 'without some' friction. I look for no such thing. But let us
be careful what use we put the friction to. There is not a single cog or pinion
in this watch that I hold in my hand, but was once so rough that if you at
tempted to put them togethei, they nevei could have been biought to work
Friction was necessary to poUsh them, and to make them smooth and fit to
work togethei. Let us be sure that iu this reunited Chuich, wheievei friction
comes, it comes only to polish and to brighten, not to min and to make in-

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 575
capable of action. And if we make this use of friction, how are we to do it ?
Only, brethren, by keeping every joint and pinion weU oiled 'with prayer.
That ia the way that the friction that wfll come in spite of aU that we can do
— and wiU come aUthe more because we aie Presbyterians — [Laughtei] — that
is the way in wliich it can be made to bring everything to a smooth and polished
surface, so that in a little time this reunited Church shaU be not only moving
in haimony, but 'wfll be the grand time-piece of the Christian religion in the
whole world; and it wfll go on, and it 'wfll tell the time, minute by minute,
and hour by hour, marking the progress of the faith of Chiist, untfl at last aU
shaU end in the glorious coming of its Divine Head, and the woik of all hu
man agencies and time-pieces shaU be done foievei, aud aU shall be taken
home to God.
Senatoe Deake was foUoAved by
Eldee Heney Day, Esq., of New York.
Brethren of the Piesbyterian Chuich of the United States of America. I
do not say Moderators — their duty is done — but this our glorious Chuich
remains. I g.m stiuck to-day -with the grand idea of what has been accom
plished in the Piovidence of God within these two hours. It is not a union
of the biethreu heie merely. It is not a union only of the hearts that aie
gathered togethei to-day in thia chuich. It is a union of four hundred thou
sand Christians in this land. If I could set befoie you an aiiay of the
chuiches scattered aU ovei oui land. North, South, East, aud West, and the
mission stations in f oieign lands, and put the picture before you, then I could
portiay what htis been done -within these last two-or three days. Thanks be
to God who hath done this work. Biethxen, gxeat crises and gxeat occasions,
in chuiches, in nations, and in individual histoxy, always lay gxeat lesponsi-
bflities upon those by whom they axe brought about. We are not to be an
exception to that rule.
You, biethxen, xepresenting the Piesbyterian Chuich of the United States,
have put yourselves undex tremendous responsibUity in this matter. This is
not m.auily an occasion of coming together that we may show our strength
and our numbers. Why, biethxen, we have come out befoie Almighty God,
we have come out befoie the worid, we have biought these two churches to
this point of union, and what have we sought by it ? What tremendous
lesponsibflity have we taken upon ourselves to the Loid, the Head of the
Chuich ! Great powei has been put into our hands, and the Loid — the
Head of the Chuich — demands that we use it fox his pxaise and his gloxy.
I -wfll not attempt to say anything- new. Any man would shrink from that
after wha.t has been said upon this stage, and I would merely gather up one
or two sentiments that we may fasten them in our minds, and carry them
with us to our homes. The first sentiment is, that the Lord God Almighty

576 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
has biought about this union, and woe be to the men, or the man, or the the
ologian, who attempts to undo it. He has brought us to this thiough disap
pointment and reverses, and he has led us by the pfllar of cloud by day, and
the piUar of fire by night, and to-day we stand on the hither side of the
Promised Land. If we stand in this position, what then have we to do ?
Every speakei has been impressed with the idea that we have something to
do. Look into your o-wn city and streets, go thiough the to'wns along your
raflways, see the thousands appealing to us for our prayers, and then you
have the answer to the question. What have we to do f What have we to
do ? We have eveiything to do. How are we to do it ?
As I was walking laat night, undei a fair sky and a beautiful moon, across
the majestic bridge that spans the river between this and your sistei city ; aa
I looked up and do'wn the river, I saw the Ughts from housea, and atores, and
river craft, — I saw the Ughts scattered aU along that stream, and that every
single Ught was reflected upon the bosom of the river. Every one, even that
of the humblest widow, was lepioduced again. It occuned to me tliat is the
Church, tlmt is the Presbyterian Church, tliat is the Chuich militant. As I
looked into the sky and saw the stara ahining brightly, aud they too reflected
in the waters of the river, it occurred to me that is the Chuxch txiumphant.
Now, my brethren, that is what we want, that our light may be reflected
upon the world. Let aU, let every 'widow, let eveiy chfld, let the humblest,
reproduce theix light, and let it shine out upon the daikness around them.
That is what is to be done when we go to oui homes. [Applause.]
This was followed by the address of the Hon. "Wm.
E. Dodge.
If I attempt to say anything, dear brethren, it vriE be to give an outburst
of my heart, in the woids of the Psalmist: "Bless the Loid, 0 my soul, and
aU that is 'within me, bless His holy name." " Bless the Loid, 0 my soul,"
foi tha privilege of U'ring to see this day. I did Uve at the sepaiation, and
my heart bled at the separation, and I thank God that I am heie to-day, to
unite with you in ascriptions of praise and gloiy to God. Hereaftei, oui
strong men — our honored prof essois — ¦wiU not spend their time iu attempt
ing to find out whether we differ aa a church, but in the determination to
stimulate it to the utmost capacity, so that every member of this united
Church may go forward in the gxeat woxk of subduing this dying woxld to
Jesus Christ. I have no doubt that we have honestly differed, but let us foi
get all those differences. We are a united countiy, and if we would be united
in tiuth. North and South, and be one gieat country, for which we fought
and bled, we must forget aU past differences. So in the Church, we must
foiget Old School and New School
The interesting anecdote related by Dr. HaU reminds me of one which I
think I ought to relate to thia audience.

THE ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 577
More than twenty yeais ago, two eminent meichants in the city of New
York commenced business togethei poor, but they prospered year by year, tfll
they had roUed up an immense estate. On one occasion they differed upon a
matter of poUey in business. That difference grew into anger. They sepa
rated, each beUeving the other meant -wrong. The result was that the very
next day there was a dissolution of partnership, and for ten long years they
never spoke to each other. They settled their business through mutual
friends. I stood iu a large room, on one occasion when one of them stood in
one room and the othex in anothei, because they would not speak to each
othex, and au auctioneer called out their bids on stock as a mutual friend.
They grew gray in their diffeiencea. Once, one of them, musing in his
Ubiaiy, thinking of the origin of their sepaiation, and of their pleaaure in
early Ufe, at last the thought passed through his mind, " Can it be possibje
that I miaunderstood him?" He spent a sleepless night, and in the moming
he went to a mutual friend and said, "Go to my partner and see if he meant
so aud so." The answer was, " No, I never thought of such a thing." The
mutual friend came back and gave the reply. " Can it be possible that we
have suffered aU this through these twenty years, and have gone through aU
this, simply because we misunderstood each other, or thought we did ? " A
leooncfliation took place, that bound those men togethei again, and they
weie pne. They Uved together as friends as long as they Uved. One of them
recently passed away to his last account. On his dying bed he was thankful
to God, for they were Christians, foi the reunion which bound them togethei
heart to heart, that it had taken place before he died.
Let this be a union that we shaU never, never break Let ua nevei sepa
rate because we think we differ on certain questions of poUcy. What we
want is, to aid one another a great deal. I have thought that some of us
might do much in the way of pecuniary effort. Our fatheis -wfll have much
to do in urging us to duty. Let all the past be foigotten, and let us go foi-
waid. [Applause.]
At the close of Mr. Dodge's address there was a loud
call for Mr. Geoege H. Stuaet, who was present on
the platform, and who was kno-wn to feel a hearty
interest in the event. He said :
As an outsider standing on a platform of Presbyterianism perhaps a UtJie
more rigid than the rest of you, late New School and Old School brethren, I
have looked 'with inteiest second to no man upon the movement inaugurated
in the city of St. Louis, during the -visit of Dr. MoCosh to this country in the
year 1866. I was then in Ireland, and when looking upon the hiUs of my na
tive land my heart went up to God in a song of thankfulness for that com
munion season that the two Assemblies had enjoyed together in the city of St.
37

578 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Louis. My heart went up stiU more when I heaid you had so far looked at
each other as to appoint committees on Eeunion. When I heard of •difficul
ties arising in the progress of the movement, my heart was sad indeed. I
have prayed for this union ; and I have labored for it ; simply because I be
lieved that it would bring glory to my blessed Lord and Master, Jesus Chiist,
whose I trust I am and whom I endeavoi to serve. I have labored and
prayed for it, because I beUeved it would tend to the advancement of the
kingdom of Jesua Christ, not only in the United States of America, but in dis
tant heathen lands. I have laboied foi it, and I have piayed foi it, because
I beUeved it would aUow ministeis from towns in whioh seveial are now
/aboring (whfle one would be sufficient), to go to more destitute fields at
home and abroad. I have labored and prayed for it, because it would bring
brethren together, now unhappfly dirided, to see eye to eye, and send minis
ters from these Uttie charges, 'with the piayeis of this united Church, to go
to Africa, and China, and India, and the Islands of the Sea, that the nations
that have so long bowed down to idols might leam of Jesus and Him ciuoi-
fied. Oh, biethien of the Piesbyterian Church of the United States of
America I think of it, that since thia hour yesterday — since these twenty -four
hours have passed away — eighty-six thousand four hundred immortal souls
have gone to the judgment seat of Chiist, and we ought to ask ourselves the
question which Baxtei asked when he said, ' ' I nevei hear the funeral beU
toU 'without asking myself the question, what have I done to point that de^
parted soul to the Lamb of God that died to save a perishing world?"
Brethren, buckle on your armor for the great conflict ; buckle it on for gi'ring
the glorious Gospel of the Son of God to the millions of the earth who are
perishing foi lack of knowledge.
May God bless this great Presbyterian Church, and may God grant that the
day may soon come when one United Chuxch shall embxace aU in thia land
who bear the Piesbyterian name.
When Mr. Stuart took his seat, the Moderator
called on Mr. Robeet Caetee, Ruling Elder of New
York, to offer prayer. This he did with great unction,
and in hearty sympathy with the occasion — the great
assembly melted together at the throne of grace.
The Apostolic benediction was then pronounced by
the Moderator, the Rev. M. "W. Jacobus, D.D., and the
immense audience which had been held together three
hours, great numbers of them patiently standing, and
signifying their unflagging interest by breathless

the ASSEMBLIES OF 1869. 579
attention, dispersed, but never to forget the day of
The Peesbyteeian Reunion.
These scenes of Christian fellowship and fraternity,
so rare and memorable, were crowned -with the sacra
ment of the Lord's Supper, in the afternoon of this
jubilee day, at the First Presbyterian Church. The
Moderators presided jointly, and over a thousand com
municants received the holy ordinance. The Church
was crowded in auditorium and gaUeries, and many
were standing in the aisles. Addresses were made by
Rev. Drs. J. F. Stearns and R. K. Rodgers. It was
the first reunited communion. The great and joyous
event of the week, -with aU the pleasing trans
port of the morning service, fresh in mind, made this a
feast of tabernacles — a closing festival of the year.
Such a day is one in a lifetime. Men confessed them
selves converted to the movement by the morning cele
bration. A well-kno^wn la-wyer of the city, who had, a few
months before, asked the pri-dlege of one of the Pres
byteries to argue against the Reunion, said to the writer
as he entered the Church at the sacramental ser"nce,
" You may count me a convert after the meeting this
morning." And the Holy Supper set its seal at once upon the
covenant of Di-vine love, and upon this answering cove
nant of Christian love and union. There were such
meltings and flo-wings of heart there, at the Table of the
Lord, as made the place to be the Gate of Heaven. And
altogether, the impressions of the brief, but blessed sit
ting of the two Assemblies, with the grand climax of
the jubdee and the Supper, are such impressions as are

580 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
rarely, if ever, equaUed, and cannot be exceUed ou
earth. Remembering, too, that this was in Pittsburg, which
had witnessed such scenes of conflict in the days of bit
ter controversy, it was all the more notable and joyous.
The healing was to be measured by the depth of the
wound, — the joy of 1870 by the sorrow of 1837. It
was no such absurdity as an empirical pronouncing that
there never had been any wound, nor any departure.
But it was a pronouncement of a healthy knitting to
gether, and of a sound recovery.
Christianity has her most august triumph in Christian
conciliation, on the platform of Christian truth, and for
united Christian ser-vice. " Grace and truth came by
Jesus Christ." There may be mistakes and shortcomings
in all these transactions, but harmony, and not strife, con
cord, and not discord, union, and not separation, are in
the Divine programme for the Churcli! s future. And if
the world inquires of the watchman, "What of the
night ? " we wdU answer, " The moentng cometh and
also the night." If ye will inquire, inquire ye!
.Return ! Come !
The Commissioners, in large companies, took the even
ing trains of Friday for their homes. But there was
yet another ser-vice for those who remained. It was a
public meeting in the interest of Foreign Missions. It
was held in the Third Church. The Assemblage was
very crowded, and interested. There seemed a special
fitness in the arrangement by which the Jubdee was
ushered in by a convocation for Home Missions, and
foUowed up by a stirring convention for Foreign Mis
sions, as the two grand departments of Church enter

the assemblies of 1869. 581
prise, which this united host has sworn together to push
forward to the noblest results, with God's blessing,
for the evangelizing of the %oorld.
It was necessary, for legal purposes, that the next As
sembly should meet in Pennsylvania. And the city of
Brotherly Love, the traditional seat of Presbyterianism
in the land, had its prior claim. And so also it was or
dered, in .God's Providence, that the first meeting in
General Assembly of the Reunited Church should be in
the same house where the disruption first became a pro^
nounced and public fact, by the meeting there of a sepa
rate Assembly — that the coming together in peace of
the two Assemblies should take place where the pro
testing Assembly met a generation ago — nay, more, that
it should be in the same First Church, on Washington
Square, where jilbert Barnes had so long labored before
and since the disruption -with which his name was so
prominently connected.
So the ends of history meet, and make God's circles,
every way fitting and complete for the admiration of
the world, and for an exhibition to the universe of the
wisdom of God. And this Reunion in Philadelphia
would be all the more remarkable in view of the fact,
that when the two AssembUes last met, in that city, in
1846, an overture from the New School for a joint com
munion was rejected — formally for lack of precedent,
but really for lack of the conditions precedent, the
mutual confidence and love ; which conditions were now
happily fulfiUed. If any ask, like Nicodemus, " How
can these thmgs be ? " the only answer is figured forth
by the Master, m the wind that bloweth where it listeth,
and makes itself known by its effects, as an emblem of
the rene-wing, reviving spirit of God. Laus Deo !

582 PEESBYTEEIAN CUUECH.

ADDITIONAL IMPEESSIONS.
[The " Certificate of Reunion " was drawn up by
Henry Day, Esq., of New York. It is given in the
handwriting of the Rev. Dr. McGill, Stated Clerk of
the Old School General Assembly. The signatures are
those of the officers of the two Assemblies of 1869.J
The reunion of the two branches of the Church so far
transcended every other subject before the Assemblies
of May and November, 1869, and the two bodies were
so homogeneous, that an account of either is in all essen
tial respects an account of the other. It was presumed
that the narrative of Dr. Jacobus might leave something
to be supplied by one who was present in the New
School Assembly ; but it is so comprehensive that any
addition to it is almost superfluous.
God is in history, and conspicuously does he appear
in the event now so happily consummated. The train
for it was laid so independently of human agency, prog
ress towards it was made to such an extent -without
-visible means, formidable difficulties so frequently re
tired as it was approached, and it was finaUy reached
¦with such unanimity and cordiality in so brief a space,
after bitter alienation, that it cannot be explained ex
cept on the supposition of a special Divine interposition.
" Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name
give glory." And giving God the glory, we take en
couragement for the future. A guaranty of good to

^r_ ^

^' (A^'6^Lr^
ADDITIONAL IMPEESSIONS. 585
come is furnished. What has been Divinely wrought
must be Divinely prospered.
The disinterestedness with which the Reunion was
sought should also be observed. Neither body had
selfish objects in -view. Neither desired to ease or mag
nify itself. Each was thrifty and fruitful, with no need
of change to escape barrenness and decUne, and each
could say from the depths of its consciousness that it
had no aspirations for aggrandizement. We yielded to
our con-victions of what was due to the cause of God
and accordant with his wUL We longed indeed for
the association to which our affinities adapted us, but
whde dra-wn together by sympathy, we came together
at a divine caU, for the larger work our combination
enables us to perform. We accept the Reunion as a re
sponsibdity even more than as a pleasure. Enlarging
our opportunities, we look upon it as enhancing our ob
ligations. We expect and mean to do more than ever
before. While fears for orthodoxy and apprehensions of com
motion from the mingling of discordant elements and
surviving antipathies, disinclined many of the Old School
brethren to the Reunion, it was repugnant to a few of
the New School brethren as likely to restrain the Chris
tian liberty of thought and to destroy or impair the pleas
antness of their ecclesiastical associations, and as calling
off their Church from a course of bold and successful
enterprise which it was pursuing. But a better ac
quaintance with each other allayed suspicions and anxi
ety on both sides. Tmth was found to be as precious
and safe with one as with the other, and toleration as
reasonable, and an association of the two proved a fel-

586 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
lowship of congenial spirits. It was remarkable how a
membership of joint committees and of Assemblies con
vened in the same place removed distrust and substi
tuted confidence and affection. The elders and private
members of the chm'ch were soonest ready for the Re
union, and most unanimous and earnest for it, because,
in fact, they frequently met in business and social inter
course and knew each other. Some of the aversion to
the Reunion remained among the Old School brethren
to the last, though generaUy these were but little in
conference -with New School brethren, and, therefore,
could not understand them. Opposition to it among
the New School brethren was entirely -withdrawn, not
altogether because they were satisfied -with it, but be
cause it was a foregone conclusion, and unanimity was
the habit of theii" body, and they preferred concession
to dissent.
Although the New School branch of the chui'ch had
been generaUy weU disposed towards the Reunion from
the first, a change was distinctly manifest, as Dr. Ja
cobus has remarked, at the opening of the Assemblies
in New York. Whde no zeal for it had -vsddely pre
vailed, there was an assent to it as wisest and best in
the circumstances of the case, and an acquiescence in
the successive projects proposed for it, though these
were by no means fuUy approved and reUshed. The
fadure of these projects in the other branch produced a
sense of wounded pride and dignity. If not repelled
or trifled with, the New School brethren felt that they
had not been met with the generosity they had shown,
and just self-respect constrained them to put on reserve.
AU this passed away on the correction of the misappre-

ADDITIONAL IMPEESSIONS. 587
heusion in which it originated. The earliest proceedings
of the Old School Assembly expressed such heartiness
for the Reunion that the delay of it in its branch of the
church was demonstrated to have been induced by un-
propitious circumstances and not by blameworthy con
siderations. The tide of feeling in both bodies was thus
swollen, and defied all impediments to its flow. The acts
and incidents of the session may be recorded, but the
spiiit of the occasion can never be described. There
was the inflamed ardor for the Eeunion, and then the
solicitude about the speedy practicability of it, when
the terms of it came again to be considered and stated,
the alternation of hope and fear, the elation and de
pression, untd the intelUgence that the Joint Commit
tee to whom the matter was referred had agreed on a
" basis." The presentation of the Report and its adop
tion by the AssembUes tmmed excitement into ecstacy.
None but they who felt it can know the experience of
those days, — the pressure of soul, — the suspense, — ¦
the reUef when it was known that our prudent men,
under the leading of the Spirit, had devised a plan
which they believed met the exigency, — the eagerness
with which its public reading was listened to, — the se
riousness -with which it was discussed, — the solemnity
with which it was voted upon, and the gratification
with which it was approved. The Report was care
fully considered in both Assemblies, but it cannot be
said to have been debated in the New School Assem
bly. No opposition was made to it there. There was
only a difference in the assent given to it, and they who
most qualified this were only j)recautionary. They en
tered a caveat against a narrow and Uliberal spirit and

588 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
poHcy in the reunited church, and against a censorship
of " aU reasonable liberty in the statement of views and
the intei-pretation of the standards not impairing the
integrity of the Calvinistic system," and especiaUy
against a disturbance of the ecclesiastical status of any
particular individual who had retained a good standing
in the New School branch of the church, notwithstand
ing his peculiarities in minor articles of faith, and his
philosophy of doctrines and facts. The sensitiveness
on this subject grew out of the intemperateness of
speech, amounting to threats, which had been indulged
in here and there by Old School brethren disaffected
towards the Reunion, and not from zeal for the views
in question, or even concurrence in them, and stiU less
because they were presumed to prevad in the New
School body. The speeches were simply a notice in ad
vance that the tolerance of immaterial diversities was
expected and would be claimed, and that acceptable
members of either branch of the church must hold
an unquestioned place in the two combined.
Ad who desii'ed to speak having been satisfied, the
voting in the New School Assembly was preceded by
sdent prayer, and these were deeply impressive mo
ments. The thronged house was motionless and stiU,
as if transfixed and hushed in looking to God. The
question was then taken by rising, and every Commis
sioner stood up in the affirmative ! Nothing like tu-
multuousness succeeded, nor was there the faintest ap
plause, and yet the joy was rapturous. TTianksgiving
and praise were the universal impulse, and the venera
ble Dr. Thomas H. Skinner most fittingly led in this
act. A hymn was then sung. With thrUUng force the

ADDITIONAL IMPEESSIONS. 589
grand old words of that inspiring song roUed upward
from that vast Assembly of strong, earnest, resolute
Christian men, standing there in a solid body —
" Let Zion and bet sons xejoice.
Behold the piomised hour ;
Her God hath heard her mourning voice,
And comes to exalt hia power.
" The Lord ¦wiU raiae Jerusalem,
And stand in glory there ;
Nations rejoice before his name.
And kings attend 'with fear.
" This ahaU be kno'wn when we are dead,
And left on long record,
That nations yet unborn may read.
And trust and praise the Loid."
The Assemblies met at Pittsburg with a very dif
ferent spii'it from what prevailed at their opening in
New York. All was exhUaration noys^. The Presbyte
ries, it was known, had affirmed the overture submitted
to them, and after the reception and announcement of
their answers, the proclamation of the Reunion was to
be made ; and as the Commissioners exchanged greetings
their faces beamed with smdes, and they grasped hands
closely, and shook them vigorously, and their voices rang
out cheerily. On calling the roll in the New School
Assembly, the gayety of the hour was subdued by the
disappearance from it, through death, of the names of
one minister and two elders : the Rev. Frederick R.
GaUaher, D.D., of the Presbyteiy of Coldwater, H. G.
Torbett, M.D., of the Presbytery of Utica, and Loring
Danforth, of the Presbytery of Buffalo. Reports of
Committees on Amusements, on the Bible in Schools,
and on State Appropriations to Sectarian Schools,

590 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
on the Report of the Delegate the preceding year
to the General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church
of Ireland and of the Free Church of Scotland,
and on the relations of the General Assembly to the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions,
were adopted by the New School body, and few other
matters were disposed of there. The answers of the
Presbyteries to the overture sent down to them were
examined and declared and reported to the other Assem
bly, and its report of the answers of its Presbyte
ries Avas received, and thereupon the Assembly was
dissolved. A sentiment of anxiety and sadness predominated in
the act which finally merged the two bodies into each
other. The attention was naturaUy turned to pre-vioua
relationships that had been greatly enjoyed, and which,
if not broken up, were to be henceforward modified.
If old associates were to be retained, many new ones
were to be introduced into the company, and the char
acter of the intercourse held might be changed. There
was the risk, too, attending all decisive deeds, however
commended and approved. The die was cast, and while
great good was confidently expected, e-vil might ensue.
I am best informed, of course, about the New School
brethren. They could hardly be more consentaneous
and affectionate. Leaderships, parties, cliques, animos
ities, strifes, rivalries, jealousies, envies, were unkno"WU
among them. There were frequent differences of
opinion and earnest discussions, but no disputes and
di-viding Unes. Their method of conducting ecclesiasti
cal proceedings was exceedingly fraternal. They were
famdy conferences rather than legislative and judicial

ADDITIONAL IMPEESSIONS. 591
assemblies. Superior -wisdom ex:erted superioi' influence,
but no lording it appeared, and voting was a means of
ascertaining the judgment and -wish of a body, and not
the triumph or defeat of contestants. The least pos
sible appearance of authority was exhibited. An at
tachment thus so bound them together, and a sympathy
thus so identified them, that it is not strange that they
took the step with moistened eye and trembling limb,
which, though it did not part them, added associates to
them that might jeopard their fellowship. This fore
boding was quickly composed. In private conferences,
in committees, in ecclesiastical meetings, there has been
no consciousness on either side of any change in the
character of former association and intercourse. Every
individual has felt perfectly at home in his new rela
tionships. None, indeed, have seemed aware that they
were new in the least. If the numbers connected -with
them have increased, it is not perceived from an abate
ment of familiarity and freedom.
The Jubilee Convention that followed the dissolution
of the Assemblies gave the key-note to the reunited
church, and started it on its career. Jubdation and
congratulation and thanksgiving were irrepressible, but
the sense of duty and its pressure superabounded.
Every speaker was burthened by the work to be per
formed, and intent on securing faithfulness and effi
ciency, and the immense audience, packed into a single
body, lifted its shoulders and stretched out its arms to
undertake it. " We must dare and do," the one soul
throbbed. A pidlion of dollars as a thank-off erins: will
not suffice. It shaU be five miUions, at least. En
thusiasm proposed the sum to be presented, but the

592

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

resolute purpose to raise it seconded the motion and
adopted it. Thus setting out with UberaUty, and com
mitted to enterprise, the reunited church must be des
tined to large prosperity and rapid and extensive prog
ress.

THIRD CniTRCH, PITTSBUIIGH, PA.

CHAPTER XV.
THE EECONSTEUCTION.

Willis Lord, D.D.

Robert Carter.

Upon the consolidated Church is laid the task of
Reconstruction. This includes a new arrangement of
Synods and Presbyteries, constitutional and other
changes made necessary by combining into one two
previously distinct branches, and a fi'esh adjustment of
the agencies hitherto employed by them both for mis
sionary and other Christian efforts. Its fuU accom
pUshment wiU, moreover, add to the power of the
Church as an instrument for doing good, it will prune
her administration from everything not approved by
experience, it wdl enable her to adapt her plans to the
demands of the present and the future, and more fully
equip her for the mighty work to which her God now
calls her. Such a task may well employ the best
38

594 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
thoughts and most earnest prayers of aU her officers
and members, for the Divine voice once more is saying
to her, "Thou shalt raise up the foundations of many
generations." If this view of the magnitude and scope of the work
of Reconstruction be correct, the General Assembly of
1870 performed its fuU share of it, by defining its out
lines, and commencing to fill them up.
The object of the present chapter is to review what
this Assembly thus transacted, and to indicate what
yet remains for its successors to accomplish.
Philadelphia was in every way most appropriately a
place of meeting for the first Assembly of the Reunited
Presbyterian Church. It has been claimed that the
first Presbyterian Church in this country was here
organised. The mother Presbytery was formed in the
same city in 1705. Forty-four General Assemblies had
here been welcomed previous to the division, and after
it, nine of the Old School and seven of the New School
AssembUes transacted their business in Philadelphia.
Its very name suggests harmony, and during the ses
sions of 1870, its citizens, with liberal kindness and
unsurpassed hospitaUty, accommodated the nearly six
hundred delegates that composed the Assembly, render
ing their sojourn most agreeable, and fiUing up the
intervals of their business -with pleasant, social enter
tainments. The General Assembly convened, as was most fitting,
¦with that congregation from which aU others in the
city date their origin, in the First Presbyterian Church,
on Washington Square (the Rev. Albert Barnes and

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 595
Herrick Johnson, D.D., pastors), on Thursday, May
19, 187Q, at 11 A. M.
To prepare for this meeting, arrangements of the
most ample character had been made by a joint-com
mittee, consisting of the Rev. Herrick Johnson, D.D.,
chairman, the Rev. Alexander Reed, D.D., the Rev. Z.
M. Humphrey, D.D., and Messrs. Wdliam G. CroweU,
Morris Patterson, and J. A. Gardner. These gentlemen
were indefatigable in their endeavor to secure the com
fort of their numerous guests. Their forethought had
pro-vided ample accommodations for all the wants of
the large deUberative body meeting with them, and
from the commencement to the close of its protracted
sessions, the cheerfulness and constant courtesy -with
which their arduous labors were rendered elicited the
united commendation of aU for whom they toiled.
The thorough success of their efforts deserves special
mention. As the opening exercises commenced in the spacious
edifice of the First Church, the sight was pleasant and
impressive. The ground floor of the house was nearly
filled by the Commissioners and the Delegates from
various kindred bodies. Upon the platform were
seated representatives of the Free Chm'ch of Scotland,
the United Presbyterian Church of Great Britain, and
of the Irish Presbyterian Church; also the Rev. Thomas
DeWitt, D.D., one of the oldest ministers of the Re
formed (late Reformed Dutch) Church. A floral com
mittee had tastefully decorated the pulpit, the desks of
the clerks, and the galleries -with choice evergreens and
flowers. Over the pulpit they had suspended the
words : " Now aee they many membees, yet but one

596 PPJESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
BODY ; " while at the rear end of the Church were seen
the date of the division with that of the Reunioji : 1837,
1870. An audience, that crowded every portion of the
budding not reserved for the Assembly, gladly united
with its members in the ser-vices of praise and prayer
which preceded the sermon of the Rev. Dr. Fowler, the
last Moderator of the New School branch. This dis
course at once entered upon the subject of the Recon
struction of the Reunited Church, and suggested its
outlines. Dr. Fowler's text was Ephesians iv. 4 : " There is
one Body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one
hope of your calling." The preparation of this dis
course was somewhat advanced before it was noticed
that the Rev. F. Allison, D.D., had chosen the same
text when preaching in Philadelphia, May 24, 1758,
before " The Reverend Synod of Philadelphia and the
Reverend Commission of the Synod of New York," on
occasion of the former Reunion of the Presbyterian
Church. Instead, however, of changing the text, as was
his impulse at first. Dr. Fowler retained it, as sanctioned
by such an authority for it, rather than interdicted by
such a use of it.
The portion of the sermon which relates to Recon
struction is as follows : —
First, the Eeunion lays upon us' a work of reconstruction. I ¦will not in
trude on the part assigned to committees appointed to report to this Gen
eral Assembly. They are charged chieily ¦with the necessary changes in
the boundaries of our judicatories, and with the combination of our two
sets of evangelistic agencies. The further question arises. Is any modificon
tion of our ecchsiasticdl administration desirable and feasible ?
Everything distinctive in our polity is beyond inquiry, of course. As
none of us entertain a thought, so none of us could present a proposition

i

m

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 599
looking the most remotely to the least alteration of otir Presbyterianism.
We fully approve it. We ardently love it. Study and observation and
experiment commend it to our judgments and hearts. But is om- method
of operation incapable of improvement ? Has trial developed no faults or
defects in the organs we furnish for the functions of our Church?
For example, how is it in reference to supervision ? Our organization
pro^vides for it. Indeed, it is characterized by it. We define Presbyter
ianism as "a series of courts of re^view and control." But ours is a super
vision by bodies. Presbyteries, Synods, and the General Assembly exer
cise it. Is there not a measure, and is there not a method of it, that could
be entrusted to individuals, and that would be useful to the Church?
None of us could be reconciled to an Episcopacy — technically so called.
The parity of the ministry is inviolable among us, and imperiousness and
inquisitiveness are intolerable by us. We must be freemen and peers.
And we would not sacriflce self -training, self -incitement, self-restraint, for
the quickening and check of a bishop's crook and eye. We must be, we
¦will be, laws to ourselves. But cannot iudividualism be reconciled ¦with a
supervision by individuals, and would not cm- Presbyterianism be helped
by it? Prelacy and Methodism largely owe their efficiency to it, and
guarded against excess and abuse, and an appendix to supervision by judi
catories, might it not add to our force ?
This would be no novelty in Presbyterianism, as it would be no intiu-
sion upon it. John Knox established it in the Scotch Kirk, which he divided
into ten dioceses, for each of which a superintendent was appointed. The
first Book of Discipline directed that these superintendents should have
then- own special ku'ks, besides the common charge of others, and that
they should not "remain in then own kirks above three or four months,
but should pass again to their visitations." Their duty was described as
not only to preach where they went, but to " examine the doctrines, life,
diligence, and beha-vior of the ministers, elders, and deacons;" to "con
sider the order of the kii-k, the manners of the people, how the poor are
provided, how the youth are instructed, how the purity and discipline of
the kirk are kept, how heinous and horrible crimes are corrected," and to
' ' administer and dress things out of order -with their counsel the best way
they may."
The genius of Presbyterianism presides in the study. Our ministers are
the thinkers and scholars of their profession, and particularly set apart for
the inculcation of principles and doctrines. Diligently do they prose
cute their special mission, and they need little additional incitement and
guidance in it. We feel our shortcomings and deficiencies more in out-of-

600 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
door work, and who of us but often need responsible counsel and help
and how invaluable they would be to the juniors among us 1
Our churches suffer from the lack of oversight. Pastors tend well th'a
folds over which they are severally set ; but, ¦with here and there an excep
tion, our Presbyteries and Synods very imperfectly watch the shepherdlesa
flocks. As ecclesiastical bodies do not and cannot whisper caution and
advice and encomagement and stimulus to those of their members who call
for the delicate administration of such an office, so they are too cumber
some for all the acti^vities of a missionary field. They are compelled to
undertake them by the exigencies of new settlements, and are occasionally
au-oused to them in established communities, but their efforts are generally
transient and fitful. And the result is disastrous. Scores and hundreds
of churches die of neglect, and scores and hundreds of opportunities for
chm-ches are lost. Episcopacy has an advantage here, and Methodist Epis
copacy is making the most of it. It takes up om- expu-ing flocks and puts
them in well-tended folds.
And would not an arrangement for a kind and measure of supervision,
by indi'viduals as well as by bodies, abate an evil, of which both our
church and ministers are the victims ? I can hardly bring myself to pub
lish the fact, for it seems like proclaiming either our weakness or our
shame, and yet the stress of the case compels me to state, that while our
last minutes report 4,181 ministers, and 4,330 churches, more than 1,000
of our ministers are stated supplies, or ¦without pennanent engagements ;
and nearly 800 are wholly unemployed, and less than 1,500 are pastors;
and more than 1,500 of our churches are served by stated supplies, and
nearly 1,000 have no regular supplies of any kind. Suppose that one-
half of these unemployed ministers are aged or infirm, or other^wise incom
petent for pulpit and pastoral labor, we then have 400 ministers, qualified to
preach and visit, without pulpits and parishes. Most of the 1,000 vacant
chm'ches are small and feeble, but the greater their need of care, and ¦with
400 able-bodied and well-trained ministers disengaged in our bounds, they
ought to be served.
The impossibOity of a support for these 400 ministers in these 1,000
churches is not the reason of their being unemployed, for long-continued
experiment by a sister denomination shows that it can be furnished. "What
is needed, though not all that is needed, is an accepted medium of com
munication between the two, and also some degree of authority to bring
them to terms. Left, as each church so much is left, to provide for itself,
and left, as each minister so much is left, to settle himself, cm- Minutes
will continue to report then- humiliating tale. And is it not distressing to
think of this amount of cultivated and consecrated power lying idle in tha

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 601
midst of tlxs abounding waste, and must there not be something faulty oi
wanting in the administration that admits of it 3
All modification of our methods of ecclesiastical action may seem too
perilous to be risked ; but more is to be feared from a timid conservatism
than from a bold amendment. None of us, I am sure, are content ¦with
our present degree of efficiency. We make no comparisons with other de
nominations, but we are dissatisfied ¦with ourselves. We have not the
life, the 'vdgor, the enterpiise that become a Christian church in this day
and in this land.
According to the plan of Reunion adopted by the
Assemblies of 1869, the Moderators of the two Assem
blies of 1869 jointly presided until the new Moderator
was chosen. By this arrangement the Rev. Phdemon H.
Fowler, D.D., Moderator of the Assembly that met in
May, 1869, in the Chm-ch of the Covenant, New York,
having preached the sermon, the Rev. Melancthon W.
Jacobus, D.D., LL.D., Moderator of the Assembly that
met in May, 1869, in the Brick Church, New York,
took the chair, for the purpose of putting the votes and
deciding questions of order.
Prayer having been offered by Dr. Jacobus, the Rev.
J. Trumbull Backus, D.D., was by acclamation elected
Moderator. Also by a unanimous vote, the follo"wuig
gentlemen were elected clerks :
The Rev. Edwin F. Hatfield, D.D., Stated Clerk, the
Rev. Cyras Dickson, D.D., Permanent Clerk ; and the
Rev. ViUeroy D. Reed, D.D., Hon. S. F. McCoy, and
Ezra M. Kingsley, Esq., Temporary Clerks.
The following telegram was read, and received Avith
applause : Allegheny City, Pa., )
Miy 19, 1870. f
To tlie Moderator of the General Assembly of tlie Presbyterian Cliurch :
The Moderator of the last General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church

602 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
immediately preceding the separation, sends gi-eeting to the first Reunited
Assembly of the same through their Moderator, praying that their proceed
ings may be distinguished by the ¦wisdom that is ft-om abpve, and cemented
by the charity winch is the bond of perfectness. Davtd Elliott.

The Rev. Dr. Hatfield, by appointment of the Assem
bly, prepared a reply, using for the purpose the words
of Psalm xcu., Verses 12-15: "The righteous shad
flourish like the palm tree : he shall grow like a cedar
in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of the
Lord shaU flourish in the courts of om' God. They
shall stdl bring forth fruit in old age ; they shaU be fat
and flourishing ; to shew that the Lord is upright : he
is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him."
After the preliminary organization, in which was thus
exhibited an entire unanimity, the Assembly commenced
its appropriate work A Joint Committee on Re
construction had been appointed by the Assemblies of
1869. This Committee, of which the Rev. Dr. Mus
grave was Chairman, and the Rev. Dr. Hatfield, Secre
tary, reported at an early stage of the proceedings. The
consideration of this report, that involved the boundar
ies of the Synods, arrangements for the formation of new
Presbyteries, and important constitutional changes, oc
cupied more of the time of the Assembly than any other
subject. It originally proposed the establishment of aU
the Presbyteries dming the sessions of the Assembly
of 1870, a plan being suggested by which the various
representatives of the Synods in the house should meet
and nominate ]>ounds to be afterward ratified by the
whole Assembly. For this, the method finaUy adopted
was, after not a little discussion, substituted. The

TTTE EECONSTEUCTION. 603
specific work of reconstructing the Presbyteries was
remitted to the Synods, when organized, as defined
by the Assembly. These Synods were directed to
meet for the purpose of thus arranging the bounds
of the new Presbyteries previous to July 15, 1870.
In several other particulars the very able report of the
Joint Committee on Reconstruction was changed by
amendments, aU of which were fuUy discussed and quite
unanimously adopted.
As this report wiU possess a historical value, it seems
proper to insert it here in its amended form :
Your Committee have held three several meetings in the city of Phila
delphia — one in January, another in March, and the final one the present
month, just before the meeting of the Assembly. The second, and most
important of aU our meetings, had the presence of every member. We
have endeavored diligently and faithfully to attend to the business of Ke-
consti'uction, which had been intrusted to us.
Our duties, as described in the concurrent resolutions of the two As
semblies for our appointment, were — ¦ " to prepare and propose to the Gen
eral Assembly of the United Church a proper adjustment of the bounda^
ries of the Presbyteries and Synods, and the ratio of representation ; aud
any amendments of tho Constitution, wMch they may think necessary to
secure efficiency and harmony in the administration of the Church, so
greatly increased and so rapidly extending." Under this minute, espe
ciaUy the latter part, many supposed our powers very extensive, and our
range of subjects almost unrestricted. We have not so judged, but pre
ferred to keep closely to what is more specially mentioned or clearly im
plied. Numerous communications on these matters have reached us ; a few from
ecclesiastical bodies, or associations of ministers, but chiefly from indi-
¦yiduals ; all which have been respectfully and patiently considered, though
the suggestions contained in some of them we may have failed to adopt.
Many of them either fell in with our o^wn convictions, or tended somewhat
to modify them ; a few recommended changes so great and radical in the
constitution of Presbyteries, Synods, and the Assembly, that we could
not approve of them ; some, we thought, might better come before your
body from another quarter ; while others, though important and aalu-

604 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
tary, would cause such agitation and opposition, if proposed, as might
seriously disturb the peace and harmony of our so-happUy united Church.
We have thought proper to recommend only measm-es which were of im
mediate and pressing necessity, leaving other matters to future and fuller
development. THE SYNODS.
First, then, as to the consolidation, adjustment, and defining the boun
daries of Synods ; we recommend the follo^wing, viz., the Synods of —
1. Long Island ; to comprise the counties of Kings, Queens, Suffolk,
and Eichmond, N. Y.
2. New Y'ork ; to comprise the counties of New York, Westchester,
Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster, and Sullivan, N. Y., ¦with our
ministers and chm-ches in the New England States.
3. Albany ; to include north of the lino of the Synod of New York,
and cast of the west line of the counties of Greene, Schoharie, Montgom
ery, Fulton, HamUton, and Franklin, N. Y.
4. Utica ; to extend west of the Synod of Albany, to the west line of
Tioga, Cortland, Onondaga, and Oswego counties, N. Y., and to the
State liue on the north.
5. Gexeva ; to comprise the counties west of Utica to the west line of
Steuben, Ontario, and Wayne counties, N. Y.
6. Genesee ; to embrace aU the counties of New York west of the
Synod of Geneva.
7. New Jebsey ; to be conterminous -with that State, and have also at
tached to it the Presbytery of Corisco.
8. Philadelphia ; to embrace the eastern part of Pennsylvania to the
west line of the counties of Bradford, SulUvan, Luzerne, SchuylkiU, Leb
anon, and York; and to have attached to it the Presbytery of Western j
Africa. 9. Haekisbueg ; to comprise the central counties of Pennsylvania west
of the Synod of PhUadelphia, and east of the west line of the counties of
McKean, Cameron, Clearfield, Blair, and Bedford.
10. Ekib; to comprise the north-west counties of Pennsylvania, ¦\7est
of the Synod of Hanisbm-g, and bounded south by the counties of Cam
bria and Westmoreland, and the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, to the State
line, except that part of Indiana County lying east and south of the Black-
lick Creek.
11. Pittsbueg; to comprise the remainder of Pennsylvania west of
the Synod of Harrisburg, and south of the Synod of Erie ; -with aU of
West Virginia west of the Allegheny ridge.
13. Baltimoke ; to contain Delaware, Mai-yland, the District of Co-

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 605
lumbia, and our ministers and churches in Virginia and West Virginia,
east of the AUegheny ridge ; to have attached to it, also, the Presbytery
of Rio Janeiro.
13. Atlantic ; to embrace the States of North and South Carolina,
Georgia, and Florida.
14. Cleveland ; to extend from the Ohio State line, on the east, to the
west and south Unes of the counties of Lorain, Medina, Summit, Stark,
Tuscarawas, Guernsey, Noble, and Monroe, Ohio.
15. Toledo ; to comprise the counties west of the Synod of Cleveland,
and to be bounded by the east and south lines of the counties of Erie,
Hm-on, Crawford, Wyandot, Hardin, Logan, Champaign, Shelby, and
Mercer, Ohio.
16. Cincinnati; to comprise the counties bounded by the north and east
lines of Dai-ke, Miami, Clark, Greene, Fayette, Ross, Vinton, and GaUia,
Ohio. 17. CoLTiMBtrs ; to comprise the remaining, being the central, counties
of the State of Ohio.
18. Michigan; to embrace the whole ofthe lower peninsula of that
State. 19. Kentucky; to be conterminous -with that State.
20. Tennessee ; to embrace the States of Tennessee, Louisiana, and
Texas, ¦with all our mimsters and chm-ches in the States intervening.
21. Indiana, South; to extend to the northern line of the counties of
Wayne, Henry, Hancock, Marion, Hendricks, Putnam, Clay, and Vigo,
Ind. 23. Indi.vna, Noeth ; to embrace aU of the State north of this
Une. 33. Illinois, South ; to comprise all of the State south of the north
line of Edgar, Douglas, Moultrie, Shelby, Christian, Montgomery, Ma
coupin, Green, and Calhoun counties.
24. Illinois, Central ; to comprise the counties north of the above
line to the south line of Kankakee, Grundy, La SaUe, Putnam, Bureau,
Henry, and Mercer counties, IU.
35. Illinois, North ; to comprise the remaining counties of the State,
bounded on the south by the north line of the Synod of Illinois,
Central. 30. Wisconsin ; to take in all that State, the upper peninsula of Mich
igan, and the county of St. Louis in the State of Minnesota.
37. Minnesota ; to comprise the State of Minnesota, except as above,
and the territory of Dacotah.
28. Iowa, North ; to comprise aU the State of Iowa north of the south

606 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
lino of CUnton, Jones, Linn, Benton, Tama, MarshaU, Story, Boone,
Greene, CarroU, Cra^wford, and Manona counties.
29. Iowa, South ; to comprise the remainder of the State of Iowa,
¦with Nebraska and the Territory of Wyoming.
30. Missouri ; to be conterminous ¦with the State of Missouri.
31. Kansas ; to extend over that State, Colorado, New Mexico, and tha
Indian Territories.
33. Pacific; to embrace aU the region west of the Rocky Moun
tains. 33. India ; to comprise aU our missionaries and churches in that
country. 34. China ; to comprise all our missionaries and chm-ches in China,
Siam, and Japan. TEE presbyteries.
In regard to fixing the boundaries of the various Presbyteries, which
seemed as distinctly assigned to us, we have felt not only that it would
be a most onerous task, which we could hardly do, for all parts, with
just discrimination, or to general satisfaction, but that it seemed to fall
more properly under the province of the difEerent Synods or their repre
sentatives, who could do it, when assembled, more understandingly and to
the f uUer content of those interested, than if done by us or by this As
sembly. Accordingly, it is proposed that this specific work be remitted
to the several Synods, as now defined by this Assembly. And, for the
purpose of securing uniformity of action on the part of the Synods
throughout the whole Church, it is recommended that each Synod being
convened, as hereinafter provided, shall organize the Presbyteries ¦within
its bounds in accordance ¦with the foUo^wing general principles, viz. :
1. That each several Presbytery, ¦with the ministers and churches -within
its Umits, be defined as to boundaries by geographical Unes, or -with re
spect to the most convenient lines of travel.
3. That Presbyteries be enlarged, and the formation of small ones be
discouraged ; none formed hereafter to consist of less than five mimsters,
the quorum for business remaining as heretofore.
8. That in the formation or arrangement of Presbyteries by the respec
tive Synods it be recommended that no Presbytery consist of less than ten
ministers — except in outlying, frontier, and missionary districts, and then
to be constituted as large as possible.
4. That when two or more congregations, on different sides of a Syn
odical or Presbyterial Une, are under one pastoral charge, they shaU aU,
for the time, belong to that Presbytery -with which the minister is con
nected, but only so long as such pastoral relation continues.

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 607
5. That ministers ¦without charge are required to unite ¦with that Pres
bytery within the geographical limits of which they ordinarUy reside, or
are nearest to, and to winch they shaU be amenable for the proper discharge
of their ordination engagements.
6. That the Presbyteries and Synods heretofore existing, which shaU
lose their present organization by consoUdation under these arrangements,
shaU be considered and designated as continuing their succession in that
Synod, now defined, or Presbytery to be constituted, which includes the
largest portion, counting both ministers and churches of said body as ex
isting May 19th, 1870, to preserve its records, and attend, as may be found
necessary, to its business and interests.
That the Commissioners of the Presbyteries -within the bounds of each
Synod, as fixed by this Assembly, be respectively appointed a Committee
to designate the day, not later than July 15th, 1870, when, and the
place where, each Synod shaU hold its first meeting, for the reorganization
of the Presbyteries ¦within its bounds, and for the transaction of any other
business that may come before them ; also, to nominate some one to
preach the opening sermon, and preside untU the Synod shall be organized
by the choice of a Moderator ; and report the same to this General As
sembly for its action. REPRESENTATION.
The next general subject is that of Hepresentation in the General As
sembly, and a proper ratio for the same.
Yom- Committee, after full and repeated consideration of this impor
tant and difficult subject, are of the opinion that a change to Synodical
representation is necessary, in order to bi-ing the numbers in the Assembly
within due Umits, and secure equal rights to aU parts of the Church.
But, so far as we can discover, the Church generaUy is not yet prepared
for such a change ; and the Committee desire to avoid aU occasion of
discord in om- united Church, or needless discussions on this subject in
this General Assembly. Therefore, no change ftom Presbyterial represen
tation is proposed ; nor would we at present ad-yise any change in the
ratio of representation, but leave the matter as it ia ordered by chapter
xU., section 3, of the Form of Govemment.
LIMITATION OP APPEALS.
For the reUef of the General Assembly in the dispatch of business,
and to discourage pertinacious Utigation in Church courts, the Committee
recommencl that all Appeals, References, and Complaints terminate at the
Synod, except in relation to questions of constitutional law, or the trial
of a minister for heresy in doctrine.

608 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
STANDING RULES.
For the purpose of securing the necessary constitutional changes foi
the foregomg objects, the Committee propose that this General Assemblj
send do-wn to the Presbyteries the foUo^wing Overtures, viz. :
1. In the Form of Government, chapter x., section 3, after the word
Ministers, to insert, "in number not less than five."
3. In the Form of Govemment, chapter xu., section 4, to add to the
first sentence, at its close, the foUowing words : ' ' and which relate exclu
sively to the construction of the Constitution, or the trial of a minister
for heresy in doctrine."
3. In the Form of Govei-nment, chapter xi., at the end of section
4, to add the foUo-wing sentence: "Every case of the trial of a
minister for heresy in doctrine, and aU questions relating exclusively to
the constmction of the Constitution, may be carried by appeal or complaint
to the General Assembly ; in all other cases or questions the decision
of the Synod shaU be final."
4. In the Book of DiscipUne, chapter vu., section 3, to read as follows,
viz. . ' ' Every kind of decision which is formed in any church judicatory,
except the highest, may be reviewed by a superior judicatory, subject to
the limitation of appeals from the Synod as provided in the Form of
Govemment, and may be carried before it in one or the other of the f our
foUo^wing ways."
Moreover, it is recommended that the Assembly instruct and order all
the Presbyteries, when reconstructed, at their flrst appointed meeting, to
vote directly yea or nwy on these several Overtures, and send forth-with
an attested copy of their action to the Stated Clerk of the Assembly, who
shall keep an accurate account of the same, and report it to the next As
sembly. Finally, your Committee -wUl close their report with a suggestion for
the action of the Assembly, winch they think would secure greater effi
ciency and dispatch in their business.
Q-VEETURES TO THE ASSEMBLY.
As much time is consumed, and the attention of the Assembly dis
tracted -with Overtures, and Questions of minor importance, coming up
from various quarters, impeding the transaction of business of more gen
eral interest, it is recommended that the Assembly order that, hereafter,
BUls and Overtures come up only from Synods or Presbyteries; yet
that this may not prevent any Committee of BUls and Overtures from
bringing before the house, of its o-wn motion, upon a two-thirds vote of

TECE EECONSTEUCTION. 609
the Committee, any matter which they may deem of sufficient importance
to engage the attention of the General Assembly.
After the adoption of this report as amended, ar
rangements were immediately made for convening the
various Synods defined by it. An enabling act, prepared
by the Rev. Dr. Hatfield and Hon. WiUiam Strong, was
also passed, by which the several Synods and the Pres
byteries that compose them become the legal successors
of those into which the Church was formerly divided.
Since the adjom'ument of the Assembly these Synods
have met in conformity ¦with its appointment, and, with
the greatest harmony, have performed their part, in
turn defining the bounds of the new Presbyteries ac
cording to the principles adopted in the report on
Reconstruction. It is a remarkable fact that thus,
without any fi-iction or dissatisfaction, the number of
the Presbyteries has been reduced from two hundred
and fifty-nine to one hundred and sixty-five. Most of
these are weU bounded by geographical lines, so laid
clo^vn that the convenience of the members of' them,
and the advantage of the chm"ches composing them,
are Avell secured.
"When the Reunion was stdl in progress, and not yet
consummated, the remark was frequently heard that
the relation of the Theological Semnaeies to the
General Assembly would give rise to difiicult and deli
cate questions. Some of them were already subject to
the Assembly's control ; others were under Presbyterial
supervision, or that of a Board of Directors. It was
feared that the eiftort to bring them all under one plan
of administration satisfactory to the whole Church
39

610 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
\\-ould occasion prolonged, perhaps excited discussions.
Happdy, such fears were not justified by the event.
In the Providence of God, at a very early stage of its
sessions, the whole matter was brought before the Gen
eral Assembly, in such a form as seemed to meet the
views of all the brethren, and to promise in the future
the utmost harmony and success in the management
and direction of these Seminaries. The Directors of
the Union Theological Seminary, New York, had pre
pared a memorial, which was read to the Assembly.
In this paper they suggest as a rule and plan, that the
Board of Directors of each Seminary be authorized to
appoint its professors, subject to the veto of the Gen
eral Assembly. A Memorial appended to the Report
of the Directors of Princeton Theological Seminary
made request for the same rule, asldng also that the
Board of Directors of Princeton Seminary have power
besides to fill vacancies in their number, subject to the
Assembly's veto. In behalf of the Trustees of Auburn
and Lane Seminaries, representations were made that
their Boards wdl give most cordial assent to the plan
proposed, or to any other plan which the Assembly
adopts. In view of these communications, the Rev. Dr.
Musgrave, in the course of some remarks upon the Ee
port of the Directors of Princeton Seminary, proceeded
to say :
WUl you aUow me to add, that tliis is an additional cause for congratu
lation and for thanksgiving to God [applause] ; that even these questions
of the Tlieological Seminaries, which we thought the most difficult to
adjust and that would be likely to give us the gireatest trouble, are thus
amicably adjusted by their respective Boards of Directors. [Applause.]
Is it not another proof that the whole Reunion is from God, and that we

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 611
have the earnest of perpetual unity and harmony not only, but of in
creased efficiency in every department of our work ? [Applause.]
In accordance with these views the Committee on
Theological Seminaries reported the foUowing plan
and resolutions to the Assembly, which were subse
quently adopted :
1. Accepting the offer so generously made by the Directors of the
Union Theological Seminary in New York, a Seminary independent hith
erto of aU direct ecclesiastical control, to invest the General Assembly -with
the right of a veto in the election of Professors in that institution, this
Assembly would in-vite aU those Theological Seminaries not now under
the control of the General Assembly, to adopt, at their earUest convenience,
the same rule and method, to the end that, throughout the whole Pres
byterian Church there may be uniform and complete confidence in those
intrusted with the fraining of our candidates for the ministry.
3. That the several Boards of Directors of those Seminaries which are
now under the control of the General Assembly shall be authorized to
elect, suspend, and displace the Professors of the Seminaries under their
care, subject in all cases to the veto of the General Assembly, to whom they
shaU annuaUy make a fuU report of their proceedings, and to whom then-
minutes shall be submitted whenever the Assembly shall require them to
be produced. These Boards shaU further be authorized to fix the salaries
of the Professors, and to fill their own vacancies, subject in all cases to
the veto of the General Assembly.
3. Hesolved, That a committee of five be appointed by the Assembly to
propose such alteptions in the plans of the Seminaries now under the con
trol of the Assembly, as shall be deemed necessary to carry into effect the
principles above stated, and that said Committee report to this or to the
next succeeding Assembly,
4. In case the Board of Directors of any Theological Seminary now
under the control of the General Assembly should prefer to retain then-
present relation to this body, the plan of such Seminary shaU remain
unaltered. Passing in review the Assembly's work of Recon
struction, it is not essential to observe as to the record
the same order in which the difEerent topics came up for

612 PEESBYTEELAN OHUECH.
decision. With reference to all the Boards and Perma
nent Committees of both the Old and the New School,
the AssembUes of 1869, at their adjourned meetings at
Pittsburg, raised Joint Committees to combine and
consolidate the former organizations, and to report
to the General Assembly of 1870. In each case these
Committees faithfully discharged their trust, and, with
some judicious modifications, their reports were adopted.
The great importance of the subject demands an early
reference to the plans adopted for Home Missions
and for Foeeign Missions. The Board of Domestic
Missions of the Old School, and the Permanent Com
mittee on Home Missions of the ISTew School, each
presented its Annual Report to the Assembly. A
StancUng Committee, of which the Chairman was of
the late Old School branch, carefully considered these
documents. In reviewing them in its report ancl
resolutions, this Committee spoke in terms of approba
tion -with reference to both organizations, commending
the efiiciency and competency of their management.
The foUowing extract from the Report of the New
School Permanent Committee on Home Missions was
especiaUy approved, as weU calculated to indicate the
proposed future policy of the new Board in the Re
united Church :
There was an obvious propriety that we should insure those whom we
sent into the field against suffering. We flrst guaranteed them $600
and their necessary traveUing expenses, and as prices advanced we were
compeUed to advance the rate per annum $300 more. We found in the
field at first many who, for want of adequate support, could not give
themselves whoUy to their ministry. Some were teachers, many were
farmers, and in consequence many of them were non-resident stated

THE EECONSTEUCTION. bi.6
supplies. We have beUeved it a better policy and the only true economy
to pay the laborer more, so that we could command his entii-e services.
The Joint Committee on Home Missions had recom
mended that the name of the new Board be, " The
Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church
iu the United States of America." This suggestion
Avas adopted, and also the following provisions, with
reference to the late " Board of Domestic Missions,"
and " Permanent Committee on Home Missions : "
1. That this Assembly designate the locaUty in which the chief opera
tions of the new Board shall be carried on, and in which the principal
office for that purpose shall be located.
3. That a Committee be appointed by this Assembly, whose duty it
shall be to endeavor to procure aU the legislation required by the exi
gencies of the case, and direct the transfer of property now held by the
two bodies above described, on recei-ving the opinion of competent
counsel that the authority of the new body is perfect.
3. Meantime, tUl such a result has been reached, that both of the exist
ing organizations be kept up in the form requu-ed by their respective
chartei-s. Subsequently, by an afiirmative vote of two-thirds,
the Assembly decided that the place for the future
Board of Home Missions shall be the city of New
York. It having been agreed that the existence of
both the Board of Domestic Missions and the Perma
nent Committee on Home Missions, as corporate bodies,
be maintained until such a time as they can be joined
into one Board, thereupon two Secretaries and a Trea-
siu-er were elected by acclamation, as the officers of the
ncAV Board into which they are to be merged. The
Assembly, however, whde thus exercising its right to
designate the officers of one of its Boards, expressed its
desire that the act, apparently necessary in the peculiar

614 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
exigencies of the case, might not be used as a precedent
under ordinary circumstances. Arrangements were
also made by which the necessary legislation for com
bining both the existing organizations into one may be
promptly and satisfactordy obtained. The new Board
wdl consist of twenty members, five constituting a
quorum. There is every indication that in the future
Church our Domestic Missionaries wUl be more ade
quately supported, and that their work wdl more
thoroughly than ever before enlist the prayers and
efforts of aU God's people.
In many portions of the field where two or more
Mission stations have hitherto existed, these wiU be
combined into one, which, by its greater strength, will
become more efficient for good. By a simdar concen
tration of resources, in various places where two mis
sionaries have hitherto labored, one wiU be retained,
and the other commissioned to a new and more desti
tute position, where he wiU find ample room in which
to work for Christ.
As to Foeeign Missions, the task of the General
Assembly was more simple, as there were not two
Boards or Committees to be fused together. The New
School having hitherto performed its part in the mat
ter through the American Board, the only measure
necessary was to give both former branches a proper
representation for the future management of the work.
The consolidated Church adopts as its own the old
organization, retaining its name. The number of the
Board was fixed by the Assembly at fifteen mem
bers, di^nded into classes of five each, each class serving
three years, and one-third of the whole number con-

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 615
stituting a quorum. The churches of the former New
School branch are preparing, after the present financial
year, to retire from their long and pleasant connection
¦with the American Board of Commissioners for For
eign Missions, and to bring their contributions and
their co-operation to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign
Missions. It was understood that a third Secretary,
elected from the former New School branch, would be
added to the two former Secretaries of the Board.
The work of assuming the support and control of cer
tain missions hitherto sustained by the New School
branch, in correspondence with the American Board,
must evidently be a gradual one. Harmony and
kindly feeling wdl doubtless still obtain between those
sister societies, that work together in different fields
for a common object. A Committee appointed by the
New School Assembly, in 1869, to confer -with the
American Board, was continued to complete the nego
tiations already cornmenced, and to report to the next
Assembly. The report of this Committee, of which the Rev.
Dr. Jonathan F. Stearns was the Chairman, is so
important that it is given in full in the Appendix,
as weU as the action of the Prudential Committee of
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreig-n
Missions, to which the conference of the Assembly's
Committee with the officers of that Board gave rise.
The subject of Publication occupied much of the
attention of the Assembly, and eUcited considerable
debate. Both portions of the Church possessed organ
izations weU officered and appointed to perform the
work of preparing and circulating religious literature

616 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
on a liberal scale. Both were located in Phdadelphia.
Both were found to be operating faithfidly and suc
cessfully. The General Assembly combined them into
one Board, under the title of " The Presbyterian Board
of PubUcation." This Board is to be composed of forty-
eight members, taken in equal number from each of the
late branches — one-half ministers. They are di-vided
into three classes, each class ser-^dng for three years.
Presbyteries are hereafter to appoint a Presbyterial
Publication Committee, which Committee shall, in that
Presbytery, supervise the work of secmdng an annual
collection for this Board from each of its churches ; shaU
search out and recommend to the Board suitable per
sons to act as colporteurs ; shaU correspond with the
Board in reference to its work in that Presbytery;
and shall do whatever else may tend to promote the
work and interests of the Board, and to secure a thor
ough distribution of the Board's pubUcations within
and throughout the bounds of the Presbytery.
AU the property of both the former organizations is
to be united and placed in charge of the new Board,
and an equal representation within it is secured to both
of the former branches of the Church. A prolonged
debate upon the appropriation of the future profits of
the Board resulted in the rejection of the foUowing
minute :

It is to be understood by aU parties to this arrangement, and it is di
rected by this General Assembly, that the property thus vested in "The
Trustees of the Presbyterian Board of Publication," together with aU
which may hereafter be given to it for publication purposes, and aU the
net profits of its business, are to be perpetually and sacrecUy used in the
work of publishing and diffusing a sound reUgious Uterature, and for no

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 6X7
other purpose, in accordance -with trusts heretofore accepted and pledges
heretofore given.
It was also decided to seU the real estate used pre
viously by the Old School branch, and to erect upon
the premises of the other, or near them, a larger house,
adequate to the extended operations of the new Board.
Tlie resolution to effect this result was foUowed by
the adoption of the f oUoAving :
In order that the above recommendation may be cai-ried out so as tr
provide ample accommodation for the Board's ftiture business, and for all
our other Presbyterian interests in this city, -without the absorption of any
part of its capital now used and needed for the publication and distribu
tion of a religious literature, it is recommended that the sum of one hun-
d]-ed thousand doUars be raised among otir churches and people for the
erection and equipment of said Publication House, and all contributions
made thereto shall be recognized as a part of the offering of five miUions
of dollars, whioh it was at Pittsburg resolved to raise.
The Assembly also adopted these recommendations :
We recommend the Board to give special and prominent attention to
Sabbath-school literature, and to its introduction into Sabbath schools.
We recommend that the Board, at as early a date as possible, consider
the propriety of estabUshing a Department of Sal^bath Schools, whose
office it shall b6 to promote the number and efficiency of Sabbath schools
tlu-oughout the congregations of the Presbyterian Church.
We recommend that the exceUent "Sabbath School Visitor" should be
circulated much more -widely than it has hitherto been, and that the pas-
toi-s and chm-ches should exert themselves to secm-e this end.
We recommend that the two pubUcations, the "Record" and the
"Presbyterian Monthly," be merged in one, and that measures be devised
and adopted to have that one periodical competently edited, and full of
information likely to interest the families of om- people.
Deeijly impressed -with the importance of the colportage work conducted
by the Board, we would strongly urge its extension, as being tho mcians
best fitted to make kno-wn the b-uths of salvation to multitudes in our
coiuiti-y, and to Eoman CathoUcs and persons separated fr-om the ordinary
means of grace.

618 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
We recommend that the Board consider what may be the best means
of effecting some understanding as to the issue of Books of Psalmody, and
report on the subject to the next General Assembly.
We are happy to find that Books and Tracts have been furnished so gen
erally to ministers, to domestic and foreign missionaries, and to Sabbath
schools ; and recommend that these gifts be continued and increased.
It wiU be evident, from a careful perusal of the
above papers, that in no respect was the action of the
Assembly more thorough or provident than in its di
rection of this important subject. The new Board of
Publication enters upon its career ¦with ample accom
modations for its printing and other mechanical work,
¦with abundant capital, mth an eligible salesroom, and
with the ripe experience of its officers. A bright
future, full of the triumphs of sa"ving truth, is assured
to it, if God's blessing accompanies it hereafter as it
has accompanied its predecessors.
In their plans for the education of young men
¦with a view to the ministry, but little difference was
found to exist between the poUcy of the Board of Edu
cation of the Old School, and that of the Permanent
Committee on Education of the New School. Upon the
recommendation of the Joint Committee to adjust their
affairs, the Assembly adopted the foUowing measures ;
The title of the new Board is, "The Board of Education of the Presby
terian Church in the United States of America." Its objects shaU be the
general superintendence of the Church's work in ftu-nishing a pious, edu
cated, and efficient ministiy in sufficient numbers to meet the calls of its
congregations, to supply the wants of the destitute classes and regions iu
otu- o-wn country, and to go into aU the world and preach the gospel to
every creature. It shaU provide for the collection and judicious distribu
tion of the funds which may be requisite in the proper education of candi
dates for the ministry under its care, and it shaU, in co-operation -with the

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 619
ecclesiastical com-ts, do whatever may be proper and necessai-y to develop
an active interest in education throughout the Church.
The Board wiU consist of twelve members, of which
six are to be ministers. It is to be divided, like the
other Boards, into three classes, so that a portion will
be elected each year. Five constitute a quorum. The
fifth and sixth articles of the Constitution define the
functions of the Boai'd, and the relation of the Pres
byteries to it, thus : Article V.
Eu-nctions. — Sec. 1. The Board shaU act through the Presbyteries of the
Church. Candidates for the ministry, when properly examined and re
ceived by the Presbyteries, and recommended for aid to the Board, shall
receive the amount specified, -within the limits prescribed by the Assembly,
provided in all cases that a discretionary power, necessary to the general
ti-ust committed, shaU be exercised by the Board ; and the Board shall re
quire that each recommendation shall be accompanied -with such informa
tion as may be necessai-y to the intelligent and judicious performance of
its duties.
Sec 3. It shaU exercise a general supervisory care over the students,
through annual renewals of recommendations from Presbyteries, and quar
terly reports from instructors, and through the correspondence of its Secre
tary, and his personal visits to literary and theological institutions and
the judicatories of the Church, and by other appropi-iate instrumentalities.
Sec. 3. It shaU take all suitable means to inform the Church as to the
duties and uiterests relating to the consecration of her yoimg men to the
office of the ministry, and their soulnd and thorough education, and to
urge the effective care of her judicatories over them ; and it shall make
such statements and apjieals as are calculated to secure conbibutions suffi
cient for the accomplishment of its ends. It shaU make a fuU annual re
port of its work to the General Assembly.
Article VI.
Helation ofthe Presbyteries to the Board. — It shaU be the duty of each
Presbytery to see that coUeetions are taken up annuaUy for this cause iu
aU the churches under its care ; to make the subject of increase of candi
dates for the ministry a topic of serious consideration in its meetings, at

620 peesbyteeian chuech.
least once a year ; to appoint a standing committee to act for Presbytery in
aU matters pertaining to this cause, when it is not in session ; to recommend
to the Board proper cases for its aid, and to make an annual report of the
transactions of the Presbytery on the whole subject to the Board, previous
to the meetings of the General Assembly.
The Board is to be located in PhUadelphia, and is
Instructed to take such legal steps as are necessary to
secure to it the present property of the Board of Edu
cation, located at Philadelphia, and the Permanent
Committee, located at 'New York ; so that this property,
and any funds with which either is or may be in
trusted, or which may hereafter be received by bequest
or other-mse, for purposes of ministerial education,
shall be managed by one and the same Board and its
successors as trustees thereof; ancl that said Board
have authority to apply for and obtain a charter of
incorporation, or such modification of the existing char
ter as they may deem proper. It is further recom
mended that the organizations of the " Permanent Com
mittee on Education " and the " Board of Education "
be continued, so far as may be necessary for the pm*-
pose of holding and transferring to the Board of Edu
cation, as arranged by the present General Assembly,
such funds and trusts as may have been, or shaU be,
committed to them.
In subsequently adopting the suggestions of the
Standing Committee upon this subject, the General As
sembly acknowledged the need of a careful selection
of candidates, and of a high standard of qualifications
for the work of the ministry. It recommended ample
provision for the wants of the students of the Church ;
and, whde acknowledging that the processes and ap-

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 621
pUances for the education of the rising ministry admit
of great improvements, insisted upon the importance of
having the youthful candidates trained to preach well,
in the highest sense of the phrase. The above extracts
fi-om the Assembly's action sufficiently exhibit the fact
that the Reunited Church recognises the indispensable
importance of a thoroughly trained ministry, while
making ample provision to secure it for its future mem
bers. The new Board of Education goes into opera
tion with about six huncbed young men under its care,
more than two hundred of whom wdl be pursuing their
theological studies. With the results of a past useful his
tory to aid its highly respected officers, and the prayers
and benefactions of the many thousands of our Zion, it
cannot fail to do its precious work "wisely and weU.
As to Chuech Eeection, the action of the General
Assembly was weU considered and thorough. It was
rendered the more simple, because, whde the Church
Erection Fund of the New School was a chartered in
stitution, the Board of Chm-ch Extension of the Old
School was -without a charter or permanent funds.
Among the recommendations adopted were these :
That the operations of tiie United Church be carried on under the charter
of "Tlie Trustees of the Church Erection Fund of the Presbyterian Church
in the United States of America," and that its location be continued iuthe
city of Now York.
That the members of the Board be chosen impartially from both branches
of the Church ; that their number be twenty-one, consisting of ten minis-
tera and eleven cldei-s acting in connection with the Presbyterian Chm-ch ;
and th.ki the enth-e Board so formed be expected to meet at least once each
year. That fifteen members, seven ministers and eight eldei-s, shaU reside in
the city of New York or its -vdcinity. That at an early day an amend
ment of the charter be obtained, authoi-izing these fifteen local members

622 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
to act as Trustees of the Fvmd ; but until such change can be seem-ed, nine
of the fifteen members shall continue to hold the said Trusteeship under
the pro-visions now existing.
That six members of the Board, three ministers and three elders, shaU
be chosen from the West. This recommendation is made in -view of the
, fact that certain properties held by the Board of Church Extension are
temporai-Uy located in Missouri, and require a local supervision. It also
seems desu-able that the Board shaU have representatives on the ground
who may secure those grants of land which are so freely offered for
Church purposes by raUroad and to-wn companies throughout the West ;
also to have special oversight in the matter of insurance on church proper
ties — a matter of great importance, in which it is feared there is at present
great neglect.
The Assembly also called the attention of its Pres
byteries and churches to the importance of this work.
Its language is :
If any comparison may be made, it is more important to secure the
church edifice (in the present condition of our frontier, with its rapidly in
creasing land prices) than the missionary himself. We may provide the
missionary next year, but -with the land for a church it is now or never.
In making arrangements for Ministeeial Relief, the
Assembly of 1870, availing itself of the labors of its
Joint Committee, arranged for more thoroughly supply
ing the wants of the veteran soldiers of the Church,
and their widows and orphans. The centre of opera
tions for this necessary fund is to be Philadelphia. It
is placed, under the supervision of the Assembly, in the
hands of faithful and kindly men. With officers of
tried experience and fidelity, it is recommended in the
strongest terms to the justice and Uberality of the
churches. The work of the Presbyterian Church for the Feeed-
MEW, as its value demands, received a fuU share of time

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 623
and attention. In the deliberations that it caUed forth,
several brethren of color, representatives of Southern
Presbyteries, were listened to with much pleasure.
The Assembly's Committee (Old School), and the Freed-
men's Department of the Presbyterian Committee of
Home Missions (New School), and their secretaries,
were praised for their fidelity and energy in the prosecu
tion of the work committed to them.
It was resolved to conduct the efforts of the Church
for the colored race in this country, including both their
religious and educational interests, under the charge of
a Committee of twelve members, five being a quorum,
¦with its location in the city of Pittsburg. The cause
was earnestly commended to the churches, and the var
ious Boards were recommended to co-operate with the
Committee supervising it. In re-organizing this Com
mittee the Assembly expressed its opinion that the
great need of the Freedmen to-day is a supply of com
petent preachers and teachers, raised up from among
themselves. It also adopted this language :
For help in this matter we look -with hope to Lincoln University, Bid-
die Memorial Institute, and the Normal School of Winchester, Va. , and
other similar institutions estabUshed by our Church. We especially m-ge
the necessity of pro-riding schools where females may enjoy advantages
that may enable them to keep pace |rith the other sex in inteUectual and
moral elevation.
One of the most important discussions of the General
Assembly occurred in connection with resolutions intro
duced by the Rev. John C. Backus, D.D. These reso
lutions, although not passed, and thus not appearing in
the Minutes for 1870, deserve notice not only for their

624 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
intrinsic value, but principally because the considera
tion of them paved the way for the suggestion of a
plan for the " unification " of the work of the Church,
to be consummated by another Assembly. One of
these resolutions is as follows : ' ''
Hesolved, That a Committee of fifteen, representmg aU sections of the
Church, and ha-ring power to fill vacancies, be appointed by this General
Assembly to examine aU the above reports and the plans and modes of
benevolent operations of sister churches at home and abroad, and -with all
the Ught thus gained to devise a general uniform plan, that shall combine
and economize and give as much efficiency as possible to all our schemes
of benevolence, and report the same to the next General Assembly.
In its support, Dr. Backus said :
We are about to enter upon the great work of tliis Church, which is to de
vise the best plans for the jDm-pose of extending this Church tlu-oughout
the land and tlu-oughout the world, according to the great commission of
our Master. We are in a pecuUarly serious position. Various committees
have reported to us. There is a great difference of opinion in this body
in regard to a great many of the points which they have recommended.
Now, the question is, Is this Reunion to be now the means of awakening
a greater interest in these great objects, and of proriding this Church -with
the machinei-y and the means that shall give to them the greatest possible
success ?
We are, at this time, about to enter upon a great and now sphere of ac
tion. We have a great body which is to be put now in motion as it has
never been before.
We have fom- thousand ministers, and half a mUlion of members, and
half a million of chUdren to be educate^ and a million of adherents ; and
now the question is. How shaU we best enter upon this great work ? Our
Committees have aU been reporting to us from time to time, and have ren
dered a very important service. They have provided for the welding togethei
of the Church in regard to these various operations, and their plans have
been well considered. But there have been many ways proposed by which
to bring out aU the powers and agencies of this great Cliurch. Here and
there are gentlemen who feel that it is of the greatest importance that the
eldership of the Church be developed in this great matter. Now, sir, we
have sessions which can operate in this way. We have Synods which cover

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 625
the larger districts, but none of these are brought into play in this matter.
If you appoint committees in your Presbyteries, who shall take the over
sight of these benevolent operations in the churches under their care, and
then make the Chairmen of the Presbyterial Committees in which those
Presbyteries are, and the Chairmen of the Synodical Committees thus com
posed, constitute the Boards of this Church, then you will have a machin
ery in operation that -wUl bring all this body into play in all its various
powers and agencies, so as to accomplish the end you desire. And now
not only -wiU this more conform to the great principles which we desire to
promote throughout this counti-y, but we have around us sister churches
in this lanA who have been making great advances beyond us in regard to
this most important matter.
Hitherto, our Boards and Committees have all acted separately, -without
reference to each other. There is no combination, and yet you -wiU per
ceive that it would be a very serious thing for this Church to saddle itself
-with all those expenses of the machinery, that seems to a great many of na
to need a great deal of harmonizing in its different parts, to make it effec
tive in this great work ; and therefore we propose that you shall appoint-
a committee, and bring aU of these reports together in harmony, -with no
janing, and make each one contribute to the efficiency ofthe other. This
we feel to be of the greatest possible importance in this great work, as
these Boards are now proposed to be constituted. According to the pres
ent arrangement, no Board represents this Presbyterian Chm-ch. It does
not have reference to all its parts, but it is simply constituted of those be
longing to a particular locaUty who -wiU be regarded as a clique having no
particular knowledge of the various parts of the Church, standing afar
off, and haring no knowledge of those churches that are distant,
and no means of developing their liberality, and making them efficient in
this great work. We want to harmonize aU these things. It has been
suggested that some of the Boards be united together; others have sug
gested to combine aU in one treasury, and there are a great many j)lans
and schemes upon this subject that seem to call for the special attention of
tho Chm-ch.
These remarks had prepared the minds of the mem
bers of Assembly to seek a more compact combination
of the present plans for benevolence, and a resolution
from the Committee on the Finances of the Church
subsequently furnished the occasion for seciiring it.
This is the resolution referred to :
40

626 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Hesolved, That it be recommended to the General Assembly, at their
next meeting, to apjtoint a Treasm-y Board, consisting of twenty, composed
largely of business men of standing and character, to be divided into four
classes of one, two, three, and four years, and the Assembly to elect aimu-
aUy five — the Board to have charge of all the funds annuaUy contributed
for the benevolent operations ofthe Church, and to meet the drafts of each
of the Boards for the amounts annuaUy appropriated by the Assembly, or
designated by the donors, so far as they have received the money, and tf
report annually to the Assembly.
During the consideration of the above, the Rev. Dr.
C. C. Beatty offered the foUowing resolution, which was
adopted :
Hesolved, That so much of the Report of the Joint Committee on
Finance as relates to the permanent financial operations of the Church be
referred to a select committee of twenty-one, which shall consider and re
commend to the next Assembly a mode of carrying out the suggestions of
the Joint Committee on this first branch of their report ; and that, -with a
view to the uniform arrangement and administration of our enth-e " benev
olent work," this same committee of twenty-one shall, if possible, recom
mend a plan for simpUf ying and consolidating our various operations, and
for enUsting the vigorous and effective sympathy and co-operation of aU
our Presbyteries and all our congregations -with the Boards of the Church
as they may be organized.
To this Committee of twenty-one, the Moderator,
the Rev. J. TrumbuU Backus, D.D., was, by a special
and unanimous vote, added, and made its Chairman and
Convener. As the Church expands, and its benevolent
work grows commensm-ately, our most judicious minds
may weU be occupied in welding together more and more
closely its active agencies, that they may not only be as
simple as possible in their constitution, but by direct
communication with pastors and churches caU out the
interest and sympathies of the entire body.
Several important matters were discussed and passed

THE EECONSTEUCTION.

627

upon by the Assembly, which, although not immedi-
.\tely essential to the reconstruction of the Church, yet
had a relation to it too obvious to be omitted from
this record.
Early in its sessions a movement was made to open
a friendly correspondence -with the " Southern Presby
terian Church." With this object the following paper,
offered by the Rev. WiUiam Adams, D.D., was unani
mously adopted :
Whereas, This General Assembly, beUe-ring that the interests of the
Kingdom of our Lord throughout our entire coimtry -wiU be gradually pro
moted by healing aU unnecessary dirisions.
Whereas, This General Assembly desires the speedy establishment ol
cordial fratemal relations -with the body kno-wn as the ' ' Southem Presby
terian Church," upon terms of mutual confidence, respect, and Christian
honor and love.
Whereas, We beUeve that the terms of Reunion between the two branches
of the Presbyterian Church at the North, now so happily consummated,
present an auspicious opportunity for the adjustment of such relations ;
therefore be it
Hesolved, 1. That a Committee of five ministers and four elders be ap
pointed by this Assembly to confer -with a similar Committee if it shaU be
appointed by the Assembly now in session in the city of LouisvUle, in re
spect to opening a friendly correspondence between tbe Northern and
Southem Presbyterian Churches, and that the result of such conference be
reported to the General Assembly of 1871.
Hesolved, 3. That -with a riew to the furtherance of the object contem
plated in the appointment of said Committee, this Assembly hereby reaf
firms the "Concurrent Declaration " of the two Assemblies which met in
the city of New York last year, riz. :
"That no rule or precedent which does not stand approved by both bod
ies shaU be of any authority in the reunited body, except in so far as such
rule or precedent may affect the rights of property founded thereon."
Hesolved, 3. That two Ministers and one Elder of. this Committee ap
pointed by this Assembly be designated as delegates to convey to the As
sembly now in session at Louisrille, a copy of these resolutions, -with oui
Christian salutation.

628 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
In accordance with the above resolutions, a deputa
tion consisting of the Rev. Dr. John C. Backus, the Rev.
Dr. Henry J. Van Dyke, and Hon. Wm. E. Dodge, vis
ited LouisviUe, Ky., where the Southern General As
sembly was in session. They were received with kind
ness and cordiaUty by the delegates of that Assembly,
and, in the presence of a large audience, explained their
mission. While they were speaking, the breathless in
terest and deep emotion of their hearers gave good
hope of the success of their efforts, and, at the conclu
sion of their remarks, many took them by the hand
and thanked them for coming.
To the regret, however, of the Assembly, the Com
mittee charged with preparing a response to its peaceful
overtures sent the foUowing paper :
Louisvillb, Ky., Mat 28th, 1870.
Hev. E. F. natjield, B.B., Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.
Dbak BnoTHEB : — The ' ' General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
in the United States,'' in session at LouisviUe, has directed me to forward
to you the f oUo^wing official document. It is a true extract fi-om the Mia-
utes of Friday, May the 37th.
The Committee on Foreign Correspondence, to whom was referred the
overture for reunion from the Old School General Assembly, North, of 1869,
at its sessions in the city of New York ; and also the proposition ftom the
United Assembly of the Northern Presbyterian Church, now sitting in
PhUadelphia, conveyed to us by a special delegation, respectfully report :
That the former of these documents is virtually superseded by the lat
ter ; because the body by whom it was adopted has since been merged
into the United Assembly, from which emanates a new and fresh propo
sal refiecting the -riews of the larger constituency. To this proposition,
then, "that a committee of five ministers and four elders be appointed by
tbis Assembly, to confer -with a similar Committee of their Assembly in
respect to opening a friendly correspondence between the Northern and

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 629
Southern Presbyterian Church" — yom- Committee recommend the foUow
ing answer to be returned :
Whatever obstructions may exist in the way of cordial intercourse be
tween tbe two bodies above named, are entirely of a public nature, and
involve grave and fundamental principles. The Southern Presbyterian
Church can confidently appeal to aU the acts and declarations of all their
AssembUes, that no attitude of aggression or hostiUty has been or is now
assumed by it towards the Northern Church. And this General Assembly
distinctly avows (as it has always believed and declared) that no grievan
ces experienced by us, however real, would justify us in acts of aggression
or a spirit of malice or retaliation against any branch of Christ's visible
kingdom. We ai-e prepared, therefore, in advance of all discussion, to ex
ercise towai-ds the General Assembly, North, and the churches represented
therein, such amity as fidelity to our principles could under any possible
circumstances permit. Under this view the appointment of a Committee
of Conference might seem whoUy unnecessai-y ; but, in order to exhibit
before the Chiistian world the spirit of concUiation and kindness to the
last degree, this Assembly agrees to appoint a Committee of Conference
to meet a simUar Committee already appointed by the Northern Assembly,
¦with instructions to the same that the difficulties which Ke in the way of
cordial con-espondence between the two bodies must be distinctly met and
removed, and which may be comprehensively stated in the following par
ticulars :
1. Both the wings of the now United Assembly, during their separate
existence before the fusion, did fatally complicate themselves with the
State, in poUtical utterances deliberately uttered year after year; and
which, in our judgment, were a sad betrayal of the cause and kingdom of
our common Lord and Head. We beUeve it to be solely incumbent upon
the Northern Presbyterian Church, not -with reference to us, but before the
Christian world, and before our Dirine Master and King, to purge itself of
this error, and by pubUc proclamation of the tiuth to place the cro-wn once
more upon the head of Jesus Christ as the alone King of Zion. In de
fault of which, the Southem Presbyterian Church, which has already suf
fered much in maintaining the independence and spirituality of the Re
deemer's kingdom upon eai-th, feels constrained to bear public testimony
against this defection of our late associates from the truth. Nor can we
by official correspondence even, consent to blunt the edge of this, our tes
timony concerning the very nature and mission of the Church as a pm-ely
spiritual body among men.
3. The union now consummated between the Old and New School As
semblies, North, was accomplished by methods which, in our judgment.

630 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
iuvolve a total surrender of aU the great testimonies of the CJiurch for the
fundamental doctrines of grace at a time when the -rictory of truth over
error hung long in the balance. The United Assembly stands of necessity
upon an aUowed latitude of interpretation of the standards, and must
come at length to embrace nearly aU shades of doctrinal beUef. Of those
falUng testimonies we are the sole surriving heirs, which we must Uft
from the dust, and bear to the generations after us. It would be a serious
compromise of this sacred trust to enter into pubUc and official feUowship
with those repudiating these testimonies ; and to do this expressly upon
the ground, as stated in the preamble to the overture before us, "that the
terms of reunion between the two branches of the Presbyterian Church at
the North, now happUy consummated, present an auspicious opportunity
for the adjustment of such relations" — to found a correspondence pro
fessedly upon this idea would be to endorse that which we thoroughly
disapprove. 3. Some of the members of our o-wn body were, but a short time since,
violently and unconstitutionally expeUed from the communion of one
branch of the now United Northern Assembly, under ecclesiastical charges
which, if true, render them utterly infamous before the Church and the
world. It is to the last degree unsatisfactory to consti-ue this offensive
legislation obsolete by the mere fusion of that body -with another, or through
the operation of a faint declaration which was not intended, originally, to
cover this case. This ie no mere "rule" or "precedent," but a solemn
sentence of outla-wry against what is now an important and constituent
part of our o-wn body. Every principle of honor and of good faith com
pels us to say that an unequivocal repudiation of that interpretation of the
law under which these men were condemned, must be a condition prece
dent to any official correspondence on our part.
4. It is weU kno-wn that simUar injurious accusations were preferred
against the whole Southem Presbyterian Church, with which the ear of
the whole world has been fiUed. Extending, as these charges do, to heresy
and blasphemy, they cannot be quietly ignored by an indii-ection of any
sort. If ti-ue, we are not worthy of the " confidence, respect. Christian
honor and love " which are tendered to us in this overture ; if untrue.
Christian manliness and truth require them to be openly and squarely
withdra-wn. So long as they remain upon record they are an imjiassable
barrier to official intercourse. Yours fratemaUy, Joseph R. Wilson,
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States.

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 631
To this letter a reply was adopted by the Assembly
in terms as foUows :
Whereas, This General Assembly, at an early period of its sessions, de
clared its desire to establish cordial, fratemal relations -with the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S., commonly known as
the Southern Assembly, upon the basis of Christian honor, confidence, and
love ; and with a -riew to the attainment of this end, appointed a commit
tee of five ministers and four elders, to confer with a similar committee,
if it should be appointed by the Assembly then in session at LouisviUe,
"in regaid to the amicable settlement of all existing difficulties, and the
opening of a friendly correspondence between the Northei-n and Southei-n
churches," and for the furtherance of the objects contemplated in the ap
pointment of said committee, and -with a view to remove the obstacles
which might prevent the acceptance of our proposals by om- Southem
brethren, reaffirmed the concm-rent declaration of the two Assemblies
which met in New York last year, to the effect that " no rule or precedent
which does not stand approved by both the bodies shaU be of any author
ity in the re-united body, except so far as such rule or precedent may af
fect the rights of property founded thereon ; " and as a further pledge of
our sincerity in this movement, sent a copy of our resolutions, together with
our Christian salutation, to the Assembly at LouisviUe, by the hands of
delegates chosen for that purpose.
And whereas, the Southei-n Assembly, while receiring our delegates -with
marked com-tesy, and formaUy complying -with our proposition for the
ajjpointment of a committee of conference, has nevertheless accompanied
that aijpointment -with declarations and conditions which we cannot con
sistently accept, because they involve a rirtual pre-judgment of the very-
difficulties concerning which we invited the conference. Therefore,
Hesolved, That the further consideration of the subject be postponed
and the committee be discharged. At the same time we caimot forbear
to express our profound regret, that a measure designed and, as we beUeve,
eminently fitted to promote the establishment of iieace and the advance
ment of our Redeemer's kingdom in every part of our country, has appar
ently failed to accomplish its object. We earnestly hope that the nego
tiations thus suspended may soon be resumed under happier auspices, and
hereby declare our readiness to renew our proposal for a friendly corre
spondence whenever our Southem brethren shall signify their readiness to
accept it in the form and spirit in wliich it has been offered.

632

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

On motion of the Rev. George L. Prentiss, D.D., a
committee of five was appointed to consider the perds
which beset the system of popular education in this
coimtry, and to prepare a minute expressing upon the
question the sentiment of the General Assembly. Sub
sequently, as the chairman of this committee. Dr. Pren
tiss offered a very satisfactory report, which was unani
mously adopted.

H. E. Wilson, D.D.

W. M. Francis.

Henry Day.

THE EECONSTEUCTION.

633

It was to be expected that, with the zeal and enthu
siasm that filled this Assembly, it would endeavor
actively to carry out the plans inaugurated by its pre
decessors for raising a Memorial Fund of Five Millions
of Dollars, as a special thank-offering to the treasury of
the Lord. After sufficient deliberation, a Committee
was appointed to raise the amount.

Danip.l Haines.

WiUiam B. Dodfte.

This Committee was instructed to prepare and for
ward to each congregation, through the pastor, stated
supj)ly, or session, to be laid before each member of the
congregation, a cleai-, distinct, and minute plan for sub
scribing, reporting, collecting, and forwarding the
amounts contributed to this fund, and also to prepare
and send suitable blanks for these piu'poses.
The Assembly also instructed the Presbyteries and
Synods, at theu* Fall meetings, to make careful inquiry
of each pastor and elder, and know if these subscriptions
have been presented to the individuals of aU our congre
gations, and in cases of fadure, to take such measures
as may best secure this result.

634 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Institutions were also designated by the Assembly,
to which, if contributions are given, these may be
counted as included in the Memorial Fund, namely :
I. Theological seminaries, and coUeges, and seminaries for the edu
cation of our daughters, including buildings and endowments of the
same, it being understood that such institutions shaU be chartered, and
shaU be in connection -with the Presbyterian Church.
n. Literary institutions for the raising of a native Gospel mimstry in
heathen lands.
in. Church buUdings and manses originating subsequently to the union,
dud othei-wise entitled to public aid ; hospitals and orphan asylums in
coimection -with the Chm-ch.
IV. Institutions for the education and evangeUzation of the Freedmen.
V. Special contributions for the estabUshment of a Permanent Susten
tation Fund, which shaU include appropriations for the support of disabled
ministers and their families.
A committee, appointed by the last Old School As
sembly, to consider upon the aUowance of the Heidel-
bei'g Catechism in the churches, presented a report
which was unanimously adopted. The resolutions at
its close, thus made the action of the Assembly of 1870,
are the f oUomng :
1. Hesolved, That this General Assembly recognizes in the Heidelberg
Catechism a valuable Scriptural compendium of Christian doctrine and
duty. 3. Resolved, That if any churches desu-e to employ the Heidelberg Cat
echism in the instruction of their chUdren, they may do so -\rith the appro
bation of this Assembly.
3. Hesolved, That this Assembly cordially rejoices at the continued and
increasing eridences of agreement and of union among those whose sym
bols maintain in common the faith once deUvered to the saints.
Allusion has been made to the remarkable kindness
and generosity -with which the members of the various
congregations of Phdadelphia entertained the Assembly.
Besides numerous private receptions, and a constant ex-

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 635
hibition of hospitaUty on the part of the famiUes of
both ministers and laymen, the Social Reunion of
Thursday evening, May 26th, deserves a grateful com
memoration. That aU the members of the Assembly,
with their kind hosts, and very many distinguished men
in attendance upon the sessions of the body might
meet together most pleasantly, the Academy of Music
was selected, as affording very great facilities for such
a gathering. This spacious building was beautifully
decorated with fiowers, whde a multitude of singing
birds were so arranged as to fill the air with their
cheering melody. A motto of welcome w^s placed in
a conspicuous position : " The Chuech which is in
Philadelphia Saluteth You." A large committee of la
dies and gentlemen had made such ample provision for the
entertainment of the great company that were assem
bled at this most agreeable reunion, that none were in
commoded, and all enjoyed it to the full. In one por
tion of the budding, short addresses from eloquent men,
some of them from other lands, attracted an applauding
concourse. In other parts, groups were collected for
conversation and the interchange of joyful congratula
tions over the happy progress of the Church's peaceful
work. And in a spacious hall, with convenient ingress
and egress, others were enjoying a repast comprising
in bountiful profusion the choicest ¦viands, sufficing for
all the great company thus collected. On a subsequent
evening the Oratorio of the Messiah was rendered in
the same building, at the expense of the citizens of
Phdadelphia, in honor of the Assembly. These brief
references but imperfectly describe most successful j)ublic
exhibitions of the deep and cordial interest which evi-

636 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
dently existed in all the churches and congregations of
Phdadelphia -mth regard to this General Assembly, per
mitted, in God's Providence, to consummate the work
of Reunion, and to provide for the future progress of
Christ's kingdom.
In rapidly revie-wing the process of Reconstruction,
as aided by the members of the Assembly of 1870, we
cannot fail to be impressed with the promptness of
their action, as well as with its satisfactory results.
Every duplicate Board or Permanent Committee was
combined upon principles somewhat similar, it is true,
but yet by methods greatly varying with the peculiar
circumstances of each case. Here one is called by the
name of the organization as kno"wn to the Old School ;
here another receives the title formerly employed by
the New School. One results from the fusing together
of both the former agencies ; in the case of others, a
choice is made of that which, by reason of its better
charter or more perfect plan, promises to do the most
good. And, as in the Assembly itself these results
were reached mth no excited discussion or unfriendly
ardor, but in the exercise of Christian courtesy and
with an evident desire to seek the glory of God and
the welfare of souls, so have the tidings of what was
effected been received through the churches. On every
hand we hear expressions of gratification and thankful
ness with reference to the work so far completed with
out any rivalries or jealousies or complaints.
The history of ecclesiastical bodies may well be
chaUenged to present any parallel to the wonderful
readiness with which the entire Church now adapts
itself to the new ordering of aU its plans as thus

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 637
arranged. Private opinions and interests have been
subordinated to the common judgment and the general
welfare. Under the evident superintendence of God's
Holy Spirit and the plain direction of God's Pro-vi-
dence, radical changes have taken place. But these,
subjected to the tests of combined wisdom and experi
ence, as gained by both the former branches of the
Church, are cordially accepted by aU. There appear
to be no parties, no dissatisfied minorities, no unwiUing
protesters. With happy hearts and devout thanksgiv
ings, Judah and Ephraim and Le'vi and Benjamin and
aU the other tribes merge their distinctive names and
their separate plans in their sincere affection for the
united Israel into which, as one, they fiow together.
And now some may ask. What fm-ther is needed to
finish the work of Reconstruction so happily begun?
In one sense, but little more, since the foundations are
carefully selected, weU laid, and strongly cemented.
In another sense, much more, since upon these noble
foundations there must be erected a structure vast and
enduring. In indicating briefly the following portions of the yet
uncompleted task, they are referred to because now
occupying the attention of our thinking and progressive
minds in various parts of the Church. Some of them
are very generally deemed desirable, others require yet
to be more thoroughly elaborated and matured. If
adopted by the Church, time and use must prove their
value or reveal their defects. Few, however, wiU deny
that the present is an auspicious period in which to
increase the efficiency of our system and to adapt its
methods more perfectly to the demands of our coimtry

638 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
and the world. It furnishes an occasion such as sel
dom can occur in the history of any communion, to
make needed changes and to secure desirable reforms.
It is a grand opportunity, a transition epoch, when the
wisdom and experience of the past may guide us so
that, holding fast to aU that is really valuable in om-
traditional methods, we may also incorporate upon our
system whatever the sound judgment and the ripe
reflection of our most judicious leaders endorse and
approve of as requisite for the enlarged and increasing
usefulness of the Church.
Our Presbyterian Homes in the great cities east and
west are yet to be built. A Psalmody adequate to the
wants of this wide-spread Zion is to be selected and
prepared. A Manse is not yet found in every congre
gation. Some Sustentation plan remains to be sug
gested, that the Church, from the overflow of congrega
tions whose concentrated wealth suffers a very trifling
draft when from it but one ministry is sustained, may-
pour forth to the aid of feebler folds enough to save
them from the sorrow or reproach of awarding to faith
ful pastors a scandalous maintenance. Some method
must be devised by which the humbler and middling
classes in cities and towns shaU be more generaUy
attracted to God's altars, that rich and poor may there
meet together. A multitude of churches and mission
chapels need to be budt in our crowded centres of pop
ulation, and at frontier points that wiU soon become
such centres. The relations of the Church to popular
education, and its responsibdities in training aU chil
dren and youth are to be more clearly defined. Our
Christian women, the deaconesses of primitive times,

THE EECONSTEUCTION. 639
and in every age numerically, and by reason of their
great capabilities for extensive usefulness, an invaluable
band of helpers, await the disposal of the Church, say
ing, " Here we are ; send us." A host of unorclained
servants of Chiist, laymen, it is tnie, yet gifted and
educated, are ready to go everywhere preaching the
Word in the shop, at the market, on the railway, from
house to house, through the secular week, and on the
Sabbath day in halls, parks, or streets, desiring to be
told how they may perform this function decently and
in order. Chairs for the instruction of missionaries in
foreign and especiaUy Eastern languages are yet to be
endowed, that every man may speedily hear in his own
tongue the wonderful works of God, and another stu
pendous Pentecost of conversions f oUow. Such prepar
atory steps are awaited as may draw other kindi'ed
churches to ours, or ours to them, as far as God intends
organic union or fraternal correspondence between
these. His witnesses. Some old measures must be re
vived, or new plans secured that may bring -with increas
ing numbers the baptized members of the Saviour's fold
to assume every duty of a religious life, until aU the
Church's chddren be taught of God, and great be the
peace of her chddren. The session must be restored to
its ancient efficiency, and its elders become more
thoroughly the helps they were ordained to be, with a
Scriptural and settled plan by which the efficient may
be retained, and, ruling weU, have double honor; while
the inefficient, and such as experience declares cannot
serve to edification, may retire from the active exercise
of the office. Unemployed ministers must, by some
weU-ordered and perpetuated means, be set at work,

640 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
and vacancies be constantly supplied. The arrange
ments for a Memorial Fund and kindred schemes must
develop a system by which every son and daughter of
the Lord's house shall habituaUy, upon the first day ol
the week, lay by in store an offering as God hath pros
pered them. A return to what is regarded by them as
the ISTew Testament use of the diaconate is by some de
manded, who desire that the deacons may be more
numerous and more fuUy employed, and that those who
are of Israel may direct the Church's temporalities,
according to the dictates of consciences instructed by
the Holy Oracles and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
But we may not longer dweU upon these thiags,
which are suggested in various quarters, and which
raany hoj)e for as yet to result from the full Recon
struction of our beloved Church. To her futm'e his
tory and destiny the eye of faith may well look for
ward with glad and prayerful anticipations. How
auspicious the beginnings of her prosperity ! How
solemn the responsibilities of those who now in God's
Providence have committed to them this precious ark
to bear forward ! Truly there is much land to be pos
sessed. Most of aU gifts, do we not need individual
piety, personal hoUness, the entire consecration each of
his one soul to Christ ? Let but every heart be fired
with love to Jesus, every closet be witness to new and
more solemn devotion, each fandly altar blaze with
a more constant and holy sacrifice, each pulpit and pew
be fiUed by those who are absolutely dedicated to the
ser-vice of the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, and
His voice will send to us its sweet, assuring promr
ise, " My peesence shall go with thee, and I will
GIVE THEE EEST."

CHAPTER XVL
THE FUTUEE CHUEOH.

Jolia L. Knight.

When the English and the Prussians, under WeUing-
ton and Blucher, effected a junction on the 18th of June,
1815, on the field of Waterloo, it was not that they
might enjoy the parade and pomp of a mighty host, or
luxuriate in the gladness which led the old Prussian, after
the manner of his country, to embrace and hug the vic
torious Englishman ; but to continue the work in which
they had been engaged — to drive a mditary despotism
out of France, and to restore to Europe the blessings of
an assured peace.
And when two great sections of the Lord's sacramen
tal host f eU into one line in Pittsburg, it was not for the
satisfaction of exulting in the sense of greatness, or in
dulging in mutual gratulations, but for the purpose of
¦41

642 _ PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
pushing Christian effort with more vigor, of concen
trating strength, and bringing the land under the Sav
iour's peaceful sceptre. The sympathy of numbers is in
deed a valuable power, and the joy of enlarging commu
nion on earth a precious fruit of the Spirit. But they
are not to be rested in as an end, but employed as means.
We are to be more sanguine because we are one ; for
the Spirit that has put aside the banders to union, and
made us one, may weU be counted upon to carry us^
over other difficulties. If, however, fiushed with asense
of strength and success, we rely on visible resources, and
yield ourselves up to mere carnal exultation, we shaU be
certainly visited with God's displeasure, and with de
served humUiation. But if we feel our dependence on
Divine aid, give God gloiy for the great things he has
done for us, and address ourselves in a right spirit to the
work of a Church of Christ in this land, we shall see
enough in ourselves, and in the desolation around us,
to emphasize the caution to the angel of the Church at
Sardis, " Be watchful, and strengthen the things that
remain, that are ready to die." — Rev. iii. 2.
The measure of the strength of a machine is the
strength of its weakest part. It is prudent for a be
sieged city to look to its defences where the line is most
easdy penetrable. And it is wise for a church to make
good any position which it is right to hold, preparatory
to successful aggressive effort. There is a charm about
a new thing to many minds. It is all too common to
quit the old spheres and reUeve the monotony of labor
by seeking fresh fields of exertion. The lines may thus
be -widely extended -without any absolute gain. To
cultivate a coimtry is not to rush across it, here burning

THE EUTUEE CHUECH. 643
a wood, and there making a corduroy road over a
swamp. When men steadily, persistently, and on a
definite plan, sit do-wn on the land, root out its trees,
fence it in, and cultivate it, tdl its valleys are cov
ered with corn and its hdls -with cattle, they are really
riding over and subduing it. And on such a com-se,
though less striking to the imagination than the move
ment that sweeps along like a prairie-fire, ought the
Presbyterian Chm-ch to enter if she is to -win in years to
come the Master's commendation, " I know thy works,
and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience,
and thy works; and the last to be more than the
first."— Rev. n. 19.
The cities of America are permitted to exercise an
immense influence. The agricultural districts of every
country are slower in movement than the cities. From
great cities smaUer to-wns take their cue ; from these,
again, the -vdlages ; and from the -viUages the purely
rural population. What an immense power is radiat
ing from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, and
many other centres ordy distinguished from these by
their areas of influence being less extended. It ought to,
be among the fin'st objects of the united Church to
strengthen itself in the great cities. Apostolic practice,
the later history of the Church, the deductions of com
mon sense, and the peculiar circumstances of America,
all point to this. If we be strong in the cities, we shaU
be strong in the land. If me be feeble where people
most do congregate, where mind is most active and vig
orous, where thought is soonest and most loudly uttered,
we must resign into other and abler hands the work of
evangelizing the land. The Church that holds the

644 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
great cities -psdU control the religious character of the
country. In some of these, our Church is already strong, rela
tively. In some she is almost unkno-wn. And in some
she must be content to remain unknown. To expect
missionary effort to be made from -without for setting
up Presbyterianism in New England towns, for exam
ple, is in the highest degree absurd. There are certain
laws of liEe which must be respected in the gro-wth of
churches, as in the growth of any societies composed of
human beings, and which you cannot control by any forc
ing agency -with advantage. A congregation " got up " in
a place by external zeal is usually a poor, sickly, hot
house plant, drooping under every unfavorable change.
'' Behold, I am at the point to die," is its frequent cry,
" and what profit shaU this birthright do to me? " There
is no -wisdom in forwarding these artificial " erections."
But when the people of a locaUty, looking around, and
seeing how weU a system works elsewhere, set up
among themselves an organization, and maintain it as
a thing of their o-wn, there is hope ; for there is natural
and healthy growth. The plant is racy of the soil It
does not need the nursing demanded by an exotic. It
has not to overcome the prejudice with which an intru
sive stranger is apt to be regarded. Its existence is its
justification. Its progress is an argument for sympathy,
and its success is a plea for a second Uke unto it. And
so the work of healthy and«useful church extension ad
vances. But how are our existing possessions to acquire that
attractive appearance ?
1. In many places there is need for -wise amalgama-

THE FUTUEE CHUECH. 645
tion. Of what use can it be to maintain two feeble
churches in a district which has seen its best days, when
one would serve aU the objects of a chm-ch? Union
would set one man fi-ee for ministerial work elsewhere,
and would secure employment and adequate mainte
nance for the other. That there is a second budding is
of no real consequence. Buddings and organizations
are for men, not men for them. There is no indelibdity
about the sanctity of a church edifice ; when it ceases
to be what it was intended, its work is done. No mer
cantde firm that could move would remain in a region
from which trade had disappeared simply because they
o-wned a house. And the children of light ought to bo
no less -wise than the children of this world.
2. There has been some waste of power in many of our
cities and to-wns from the misplacing of congregations
and mission stations. Sometimes this arose from the
ignorance which comes from want of concert and con
sultation. Sometimes, one fears, there was too much
eagerness to push denominational interests to permit
dispassionate examination of collateral questions. It
would be easy enough to have Presbyteries survey the
cities and to-wns -within their bounds, and so far as new
churches and mission stations are concerned, distribute
their resources to the utmost advantage, so as to secure
as near an approach as possible to the territorial sys
tem. To give to each congregation that undertakes
aggressive work a definite district for which, in
Christian honor, it should be held responsible, would
be an immense gain. There is, on the present pla.-'o, a
great discouragement in the apparently unmanageable
character of the undefined regions in which evangelistic

646 PEESBYTEELAN CHUECH.
organizations labor. A smaU, defined, and appropri
ated "plot" would be cultivated -with a sense of obli
gation and a hopefulness of spirit not attained upon
the present haphazard method. So congregations only
able to maintain themselves should have assigned to
them the region immediately around their centre, for
the careful cultivation of which they shoidd be consid
ered accountable. Many a congregation is sinking to
dependence, when, by the faithful and joint effort of
pastor and people, its pews might be fiUed, its funds
replenished, and its life in-vigorated and prolonged by
the evangelization of its surrounding district. The
cheapest, most effective, and every way most reUable
missionary organization is the congregation, which sub
sidizes and sanctifies the social instincts, and forms
Chi-istian character in and through the Christian fel
lowship, the want of which is the confessed weakness
of ordinary city missions. When the lapsed or careless
famdy has been brought to value religious pri-vdeges,
and to desire them, the difficulty arises. How are they
to be given ? The mission is a reclaiming agency. It
does not contemplate the cultivation, but only the
awakening, of religious life. Its very success becomes its
embarrassment. Its subjects are skilfully and patiently
conducted upward to the point of seeking feUowship
-with God's people, and there they are to be abruptly
switched off to a congregation of which they know
nothing, to be scrutinized and — through what elabo
rate forms they know not — put on probation for the
Church pri-vileges. It is not in the earlier stages of
Christian feeling that this process can be hopefuUy
entered upon. Even advanced Christiaris would not

THE FUTUEE CHUEOH.

647

always cheerfully submit to it. Men like to be, or to
think themselves, free. The people whom city mis
sionaries approach have their fuU share of pride, sensi
tiveness, and independence. They do not like to be
" evangeUzed," labeUed, and handed over Uke a parcel,
to a body of Christians which, however valuable and
exceUent, is a strange body to them.* But a congrega
tion is able to offer a home to each fandly as it is
brought in ; the chddren form social ties ; the parents
learn to take an interest where they are of some conse
quence; and as the devout aspirations grow in the
minds of parents or chddren, there are means of satisfy
ing them simply, naturaUy, and without that violence
which not unfrequently throws back an inquirer on his
old and careless ways. The adjustment of this matter,
and the determination of the means by which mission
work can be made to pass over into organizations, like
the trees of the field "whose seed is in themselves
after their Mud," is one of the questions awaiting settle
ment. The Presbyterian Church ought to be able to
deal with it, and a satisfactory and practical plan
would be eagerly scanned by other churches with a
view to its adoption, f
¦^ So strongly has this difSculty been realized in the New York City Mission,
that after much consideration, and in the face of some difficulties of detail, it
has been decided to give congregational shape and privileges to the better
attended mission stations. The difficulties encountered there would not attend
the movements of a single Church.
f In New York, and probably in other cities also, there has gro^wn up a sys
tem — if that word can be appUed properly to anything so irregular and ¦without
concert — of mission churches and schools. It is an obvious advantage that
the congregations of such cities should be grouped in oue Presbytery, so as to
give opportunity for adjusting the orbits of these satellites, and securing by
'mited counsel and joint action that they shall give Ught where it is most

648 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
3. The United Church, having rearranged its Presby
teries, might easily direct Church extension among the
self-sustaining districts in such a way that no strength
should be wasted, and that the least possible temptation
should Ue in the way of pastors and people to look with
jealousy on their neighbors' prosperity.
The loose and casual plan upon which churches and
mission stations are, at present, too much located, has
these disadvantages, no one of which may be thought
serious, but the conjoined result of which is in the
highest degree mischievous :
1. The POOE are aUowed to drop out of -\dew of the
Church, to faU into carelessness, and if ever won back,
which aU too often never occurs, it is by whatever
Church may " happen " to notice them. Of course it is
well that they should be drawn in anywhere, if they leam
Christ ; but it is a pity that they should for any length
of time sweU the ranks of the lapsed masses, create
necessity for missions outside the Church, and carry
about in their bosoms the rankling thought — as we
fear many do — that whde they were of some consider
ation the Church cared for them, but so soon as they
lost their position, disregarded them. How diUgentlj
Satan fosters this feeling, by exaggeration, misrepresen-'
tation, and reiteration, is kno-wn to aU who have ever had
to do -with the neglectors of ordinances, who were once
in better circumstances. As it is now, people are sought
out and -visited, because they are on the roU of the
church or congregation. On the plan we recommend
wanted, and ¦with the least risk of their obstructing the path of other, and in
some instances brighter, luminaries. Such au object is adequate reason in
•'tself for having, for the present, large Presbyteries.

THE FUTUEE CHUECH. 649
they would be reached "with Christian care, because
they were in the given district which a church had in
charge to convert into a "garden inclosed." The loss
to the Presbyterian Church among the poor, though
probably no greater than in other communities, is yet
far too great to be contemplated -with indifference.
Let us reform in this respect, and earn the benediction
which comes on churches no less than on indi-vdduals,
" Blessed is he that considereth the poor."
2. Less important than this, but yet not to be over
looked, is the faciUty now afforded to persons so in
clined to faU into practical neglect of ordinances. A
famdy takes a residence in a given district. If not
prominent enough to be anticipated with some interest,
and calculated upon to enter a particular congregation,
the members may remain long enough without any
approach on the part of Christian people. No one
feels responsibility. No one -wishes to intrude. No
one, with an honest, kindly zeal invites to the sanc
tuary, and compels a decision one way or another. AU
are apt to wait to see what the family wiU do. But
the family -wdl do nothing ; and by and by, some prov
idence makes explanation necessary, and they may be
heard saying, "Where we lived last, we attended
church regularly, but since we came here, we knew no
one, and we have fallen into neglect." But suppose
the congregation charged -with the care of a district.
Now no apology is needed for calling upon the new
famdy. It is an admitted duty. It is done from felt
responsibility. It is the way of the place. If the first
caU is -without result, a second wUl perhaps succeed.
and the hearts that would have been glad of an excuse

650 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
for letting God alone, feel that God wdl not let them
alone, and are won to the reverent reception of His
truth. And how many, under such a weU-worked
arrangement, would be found saying, "We love our
church, for when we came here it took kindly notice
of us, and drew us in, and we never felt as strangers,
and God has made it the means of unspeakable good
to us."
3. A third bad consequence follows : Districts neg
lected foUow the usual law, and become missionary
ground. Each church is sm-rounded by a belt of un
godliness. It should be reduced by the acti-vdties of the
church, or rather should never have been allowed to
form. Instead of this, it is constantly encroaching on
the church, widening itself and reducing the church
area. At length there comes a period of Christian ac-
ti-nty. " Bfere are lapsed people, li-ving in heathenism.
Shall we feel as Cain did ? Are they to perish at our
door ? Surely not. Let us form a society." And so City
Missions, Reformatories, Refuges, Woman's Aid, Helping
Hands, and other well-meant expedients, come into being,
each -with its Secretary, Board, and Directors, first, sec
ond, and third, and try to drain this Pontine marsh, which
is not only stagnant, but malaria-breeding, and threaten
ing to overrun the church itself. And so the ministers
have to be " approached ; " the societies have to be sus
tained, and their rival claims nicely adjusted ; and the
community has to be interested, and — we -write it -with
no lack of appreciation of the real good in these auxili
ary agencies — the churches are teased by the persist
ency of worthy people, who have a vested interest ia
the life and prosperity of an organization, the fadure

THE FUTUEE CHUECH. 651
of which they persuade themselves would be the col
lapse of Christendom. And then comes the long train
of Fairs, Bazaars, Concerts, Lotteries, -with their gam
bling, and other abominations, by which the world is
humbly entreated, in its worldly way, to help Christ's
kingdom, and in which we presume, it laughs at the
simplicity of the church, or despises its ser-nlity. And
in aU this the church is punished in the way of her sin.
Overtake the wants of the population, forsooth ! How
did the population get so far ahead that it is now a
hopeless race to overtake it ? By the church's neglect.
Had she done her duty, this " mixed multitude " had
not gro-wn up defiant of the societies, which are called
in -as mercenaries to gain the ground which the church
should have conquered and held aU along.
It may be said, indeed, that we assume that our church
shall occupy aU the ground and include all the popula
tion. We do not make such an assumption. Let other
churches do the same if they think fit, and gather in
all in their districts that are in affinity with them.
The accumulation of lapsed Methodists, Presbyterians,
Congregationalists, and Episcopalians -wiU make a
practically heathen people ; and their being cared for
in detail by their respective churches wiU prevent the
catastrophe. Nor would it be any calamity if the Pres
byterian elder should say to the Methodist classdeader,
" I came the other day on a family that would more
readily f aU into your church than mine ; won't you try
them ? " "WTien the godless find churchmen — we use
the word in its true sense — thug work disinterestedly,
they -wiU be helped to believe us something better than

652 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
members of ambitious corporations. Oh ! for more
charity and fewer " charities " !
But, it may be said, this process would entaU the em
ployment of a large staff of Christian workers. Of
course it would require a number. But in the first in
stance the Presbyterian Church has them to her hand.
What are her Elders ? A body of "selectmen" to comfort
the minister? ,An honorary and ornamental Committee
meant to give the weight of their sanction to the cause,
as a list of Presidents gives respectabdity to a charity
ball ? No ; they are a bench of Bishops, to whom the
Holy Ghost has given oversight of a congregation. In
theory the office is the glory of our church. In practice,
it has been a source of immense strength to her. But
she is not deri-nng from it all the aid she ought to ob
tain, and the fault is her own. She has not magnified
the office that distinguishes her. Other churches have
Bishops. So has she. Other churches have Deacons,
So has she. But she has Elders, as she professes to be
lieve, on the New Testament plan, and -with adaptations
and authority peculiar to her. Let the United Church
make the whole use of the Eldership that Scripture and
reason warrant, and she -will find herself possessed of
power she has never yet realized. Let ministers preach
on the office. Let them teach the people to magnify
it. Let them take pains to train Elders, to introduce
them to work, to lead the people to expect theii- -visits,
admonitions, and Christian offices. Let earnest Elders
deal with those who are idle or inefficient,* so as to deepen
a sense of responsibiUty, and send the indolent either out
* In some instances. Elders'' meetings — separate and distinct — for mutual
edification and prayer, have been set up, -with great advantage.

THE FUTUEE OHUECH. 653
into the field, or out of the office. It is a mockery of
sacred things, and has aU the mischievous effects of
such mockery, to go through the solemn pageant of or
daining men to duties they never attempt. Let us here
be true to the facts of life, and to the commands of the
Master ; let us honor Him, and He -will honor us.
This waste of power in the Eldership suggests
another and similar sphere for reform. Here is a -vill
age that expects, like two-thirds of all American villages,
to become " quite a place " by and by. Some years ago,
a settled pastor did not get on weU. There was some
trouble about his lea-nng. The consequence is that the
congregation has since been provided for by stated
supplies. A minister is engaged from year to year, but
not installed as pastor. A conscientious man wdl try
to do spiritual work wherever God is pleased to put
him ; but it is easy to see how much is wanting to the
complete idea of the pastorate in this penny -a-day plan.
How does a man stand in the community whom a con
gregation hii-es from year to year, but does not suffi
ciently trust to require his settlement ? In some instan
ces, it is true, the minister has declined settlement for
reasons of his own, in which case the history and opera
tion of the evil are different, but the e-vU itself remains.
Both minister and congregation are in a position of
weakness, relatively to one another, and to the general
community. It is good for a minister to be able to say
" My people." If there be true worth in him, the words
recall responsibility. Christian honor, fidelity — "My
people — who appreciated me, caUed me, asked my set
tlement over them in the Lord, honor me in the Lord,
for whom I watch, pray, live, labor ; and among whom,

654 PEESBYTEEIAN OHUECH.
SO far as I know, I am to die and be bm-ied." And
so it is good for the people to be able to say " Our pas
tor." It recaUs their o-wn act and choice, their obUga
tion to receive his teaching, their union as a congrega
tion, their relation to him and to one another. " Om
pastor, who loves us and whom we love, who be
longs to us, to whom we belong, who goes in and out
among us, in our joys and sorrows, sharing both, and
giving to us, the childi-en, the consolation that cheered
our departing parents." This is the feeling that
ought to be, and that cannot be in the case of these in
complete connections. " Moderator," said the old man
when it was proposed to transfer his pastor to another
sphere, and the Presbytery was sitting upon the ques
tion, " our minister has been -with us thirty years.
He has married most of us, baptized our children, and
married many of them. He has been at the dying beds
and graves of our departed. Moderator, we hoped he
would live among us, die among us, and be buried
among us, and breah ground for us at the resurrection
morn." Quaintly put as this is, it embodies a fine sentiment,
the strength and value of which it is impossible to
overestimate in a Christian church. It is desirable
that the Presbyterian Commonwealth should rid itself
of these anomalies, which are at war -with her theoiy,
with her organization, and, we humbly think, with her
efficiency. A system of rotation, such as our Metho
dist brethren employ, works weU, because it is the ac
cepted plan of operations. But when, in opposition to
our Church's idea of the pastoral relation, the average
of pastorates is reduced to almost the term of Metho-

THE EUTUEE CHUECH. 655
dist residence in one locality, as it is said to be in New
England ; or when, as in the case of these long " stated
suppUes," years pass -without any pastoral relation
whatever, nothing but growing weakness, derange
ment, and depreciation of the ministerial office can
result. It is a sore misfortune for the land when her
i-ulers fall into contempt, and their office is despised,
for respect for them is a kind of chivalrous self-respect.
And it is a terrible loss to a Christian community when
her religious leaders of whom the Spirit of the Lord
says, " Obey them that have the rule over you," and the
high office they occupy, faU below their proper place
in the community. To raise the ministi-y, not in the
Anglican, but the Presbyterian and evangelical sense,
is to raise the entire Church, and to bless the commu
nity. But this desirable elevation is closely connected with
another and very commonplace topic, the material sup
port of the ministry. Attention has need to be called
to this point, and in many instances this is all that
needs to be done. Many congregations only require to
be shown that they are defrauding the laborer of his
hire, that the preachers of the gospel should Uve by the
gospel, and that their minister only Uves by the gospel
and his oavu or his -wife's means, and they hasten to
rectify the -wrong. But in many cases there is an en
tirely mistaken idea upon this subject, which needs to
be energetically dealt with, and removed, like any other
practical error, by solid instruction. The agricultm-al
population is slower in movement than the dweUers in
cities. Producing on their own ground much of what
they consume, the farmers form no idea of how much it

656 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
costs to pay for everything. Receiving the money
they use once a year, they are less f amiUar -with it
than traders who constantly pass it through theu*
hands, and a sum of five doUars appears much larger
to a farmer than it does to a storekeeper of no greater
wealth. Then the amount of supplies " sent in " to
ministers is tremendously overrated in quantity, and
stdl more in value to him. On aU these accounts the
rural population has special need of enlightenment on
this point. Yet it is not with them, but -with the
larger and richer churches, the reform is to be prac
ticaUy begun. When a subscription is to be raised
in the community, we go to the larger givers first,
kno-wing that they wdl be followed by the less liberal
or less competent. Precisely so we beUeve it must be
¦with the raising of the standard of ministerial income.*
The most ob-vious method of putting ministers' in
comes upon a basis not contemptible is by a systema
tized employment of the resom-ces of the rich for sup
plementing the contributions of the poor. The Free
Chm-ch of Scotland has given prestige to the plan of
a common fund, into which aU put theii- contributions.

* With this conviction we cannot regard with any satisfaction the
course pursued, no doubt -with the best motives, by clergymen declining
increased salai-ies. If they do not require them, many of their brethren
do. If they do not need the money, there are a hundred ways of using it
for good ; and if they are not as capable as the trastees of the church of
laying out for God's glory a thousand dollars or so, they are hardly fit
to lead a Christian comnnmity. It is not common for a rich la-n'yer or
doctor to reduce his fees liecause he is weU off, nor would it seiTe cither
the profession or the community. The placing of the ministerial profes
sion upon a different basis in this respect, has done much eril, of which we
shaU have occasion to take subsequent notice.

THE FUTUEE CHUECH. boi
and out of which all congregations receive for their
ministers an "equal dividend."
But it by no means foUows that a movement in Scot
land arising out of the strongest feeling naturally
evoked by legislative -wrong, could be here copied with
success, in cold blood. The immense extent of country
over which the Presbyterian Chm-ch must operate, aud
possibly what may be caUed the national feeling, are
unfavorable to such a common sustentation fund. But
we are already sustaining many of the weaker "causes'"
through the Board of Domestic Missions, ancl othervvdse.
The consolidation of these resources and operations might
l)e made to do the work at the lower end of the scale,
while the movement of intelligence and liberality from
the higher might meet it, and so produce a chm-ch
above reproach on the score of justice to ministers : for
sm-ely it is not the divine -wiU that the world should be
brought to truth, justice, and piety, through a ministry
systematically wronged and underpaid.*
For the vigorous prosecution of a work of this kind,
we have an order of officers — the Deacons — to whom it
is appropriate, and ought to be congenial, work. The

* One of the very strongest arguments on behalf of the national estab
lishment of the British Isles is founded upon the inadequacy of ministers'
incomes in America. They can tell there of ministers among us keeping
stores, and being driven to still more unprofessional pursuits — almost as
much so as Paul's tent-making. They make rather merry over such
accounts as they have received of "donation parties; " and they allege
that chiu-ches so sustained cannot raise and educate in the natural way
their o'wn ministers. Even so lately as the last meeting of the Scottish
Assembly [Estalslished], Dr. Norman McLeod urged tMs argument -u-itb
all his characteristic force and earnestness. American failure in this par
ticular is a strong buttress of Old World state churches.
42

658 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH. I
legislative arrangements of the country regarding ten-
ares take out of the deacons' disposal and give to the
trustees what in European churches is supposed to be
pecuUar to the deacons' court. How much good public
service even a few spirited men, conversant -with affairs,
themselves accustomed to business life, might effect by
the agitation and discussion of this question ! Let us
suppose them to caU a State convention ; to in-vite all
denominations to send representatives; to compare
notes ; to ascertain how many ministers — educated for
the work at some expense, often at the public expense —
had been starved out of it ; to compare the usual mode
of providing ministerial incomes ; to examine their pro
portion to the incomes of other forma of educated indus
try ; to tabulate and publish the results ; and then to
set about acting on such suggestions as could not fad to
be elicited: suppose other States to foUow the example,
what an amount of good might be done to the Church
and to the country !
For our sober and deliberate opinion is, that on this
side is the greatest weakness of the American churches.
Iu zeal, fidelity to the world, energy, and capacity of
adaptation to the wants of men, they have no superior.
But the arrangements regarding the supjDly and main
tenance of ministers are open to criticism. Of course,
we who live in the country understand the aUowances
that have to be made for its peculiar circumstances,
arising from a historj'- like which the world has no other.
But others have not the inteUigence, perhaps not always
the candor, to take these things into account ; yet the
fact may be fairly weighed, as one of many considera
tious that shoidd stimulate us to reform.

THE FUTUEE CHUEOH. 659
Our attention has been fixed, so far, upon the means
of " strengthening the stakes." But when the Church
has put her machinery in the best working order, when
the organization is as thorough as it can be made, what
is it to accompUsh ? What work is to be done ?
To this question but one answer can be given. The
great function of the Church is to teach the truth. The
Church is a mighty ci-viUzer. She keeps inteUect awake.
She is a grand reformer. Science flourishes most where
her testimony is clearest and best heard. Commerce
lives in the security and confidence she begets. Crime
is kept mainly outside her territory. But aU those
incidental and collateral benefits are attained, not
when directly aimed at, but as the results of the
Church's fideUty to her main duty — the duty of wit
nessing to the truth. When these objects are aimed at
as primary, the consequence is often enough a failure ;
when the salvation of men is directly aimed at, the
minor benefits come in their place as consequences.
There is indeed no true social or moral movement in
which the Churchman may not take his place. There is
no honest human effort in which he may not, if it be
otherwise suitable, bear a part ; but his main power to
do good, his special and distinctive "talent," is setting
forth the Christian truth. To use a bad instrument
when a good is at hand ; to emjoloy an old flint-gun
when the newest and best can be had — such a course
is, by common consent, f ooUsh either in peace or in war.
Why, then, should men armed -with that which is " the
power of God unto salvation " turn to weaker wea
pons ? Is human ingenuity to succeed where the power
of God is ineffectual ? Is human speculation to avad

660 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
where di-vine revelation fails ? WiU good be done by
ingenious essays on petty side-issues, if " the cross of
Christ " be impotent ? He who loves Zion may well
pray and labor that the Church of his affection may be
ever distinguished by her decided, upright, do-wnright,
thorough evangeUcalism. Let her ministers be " Gospel
lers." The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the sharp-cutting
instrument -with which they are to clear away -vices and
crimes. " If the iron be blunt," says the -wise man, " and
he do not whet the edge, then must he jrat to more
strength." And many a strong man is toiling -with a
blunt axe, when the sharpest possible is within his
reach. " For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
di-viding asunder of the joints and marrow, and is a dis-
cerner qf the thoughts and intents of the heart." Let
the Presbyterian Church of the future be marked above
aU by this, that her mimsters are teachers of the Word,
iu Sabbath schools, in Bible classes, in the pulpit ; let
her people be thorough in their knowledge of the Scrip
tures; let her prayers, her sermons, her literature be
rich in scriptm-e tmth ; and her energies wdl be little
wasted and her time little consumed in the temper-trying
discussion of such petty crotchets as have aU too often
vexed the community.*
* The earher Protestants were distinguished by their using their Bibles in
church. Men have heard of the great English evangelist's amazement when
he read his text in a Scottish pulpit, at the rustle of the leaves as the people
turned it up in their Bibles. ^Why have we abandoned this goodly custom of
the fathers, both of Scotland and of New England ? Why not use our Bibles
in church ? We need every help to memory iu divine things, and it is of
some importance to be able to ' ' place " the great sayings of inspiration. Noth
ing can be more pitiable than the helplessness of many a professing Christian,

THE FUTUEE CHUECH. 661
We make no apology for adverting at this point to
the imperative necessity that exists for secm-ing for our
childi-en thorough scriptural instruction in the Sunday
schools. It is pleasant to think of the homage done to
God's Word by its being read in our common schools ;
but if the American churches persuade themselves that
anything approaching to real scriptural knowledge is
thus given to any considerable proportion of our popu
lation, we fear it is a mischievous delusion. Thousands
have passed through them -with no more knowledge of
the Word than suffices for a flippant allusion, or a pro
fane reference. The Church must see to it that the
Word of her God be taught her young members, or they
will be practically ignorant of it. Nor is it at all
certain that their attendance on the Sabbath school is
an adequate remedy. Many teachers are incompetent
as teachers / and much of the Sunday-school literature
which is superseding the reading of the Bible is worse
than useless. It is mischievous. What can be the
effect of giving chddren mere stories with just enough
spice of religion to make them " Sunday books," but to
drive them to novels ? For novelettes many of these
volumes are, and often poor as such. There is little
reading, and no study of Scripture on week-days ; and
on Sabbath it is supposed to be as it should if the chil
dren are engaged with their Sunday-school books ; and so
they grow to matmity, Avith only the most superficial
ideas of the holy oracles. The years roU on, and they
go West, or to Europe, or to social circles at home, where
indifference or scepticism reigns, or where some human
when an occasion arises for finding, — say one of the minor prophets. And
yet this book is his Bible — the foundation of aU his hopes 1

662 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
- " ism " is in the ascendant, and they have no definite
knowledge to the contrary, and go with the tide. AU
this must be considered by the Church, if her chddren
are to be safe.*
And at this point let us not suppress the hope that
the catechism of the Chm-ch -wiU receive increased
attention in the training of the young. If the vows
which parents make in the act of dedicating their chil-
di-en to God mean anything, the parents bind themselves
to teach their offspring the doctrines of the Christian
religion. Do they ? Were we to ask thousands of pro
fessing Christians, " What doctrines of the Christian re
ligion have }'ou taught your children ? " we shoidd get
no satisfactory answer. If our young people were left
to learn arithmetic and grammar in the haphazard way
in which they are left to learn these doctrines, these un
ambitious attainments would be much rarer than they
are. No wonder that a speculation cannot be pro
pounded among us so silly that it shall not find follow
ers. Multitudes, and that where the population is the
least affected by the tide of emigration, have no anchor
in definite religious knowledge, and are consequently
blown about by every -wind. True, it is easy to make
flippant statements about the difficulty of learning our
catechism, and its obscurity to the young mind. The
young mind finds the multiplication-table hard ; learns
* It -win not, I trust, be thought improper to refer here to the fact that the
Scotch-Irish form so large and so reliable a portion of many a congregation, and
that it is because tbey have been so grounded in the truths of the Word, that
when they settle, instead of consulting mere convenience, they either find
out or they form a congregation where they can have the same old, definite
truths. There are, of course, many sad exceptions, but such is the general
course ; and such is its explanation.

THE FUTUEE CHUECH. 663
it as a mere matter of memory, and finds the use of it
afterwards. It is so with much of the education of
every one of us. Common sense, observation, and
fidelity to our vows aU combine to urge upon parents
the right and conscientious use of a help so valuable in
gi-ving the young members of the Chm-ch a competent
knowledge of the doctrines of the Christian religion.*
In confirmation of the views here presented, and with
general reference to the fitness of Presbyterianism to
instruct and, if we may so say, unify a people, let
the reader give a moment's thought to Scotland. Small
as a counti-y, and one half of it moor ; long harassed by
wars, intestine and foreign; in constant jeopardy from
the ambition of England, and compelled again and
again to buy her freedom -with blood, what a power
she has been in religion, in philosophy, in commerce, in
politics, and in war ! How much she has moulded human
thought, and influenced human action ! Her Church has
again and again been violently agitated, and many a se
cession has taken place in her borders. But her seceders
carry -with them her Confession of Faith, her catechism,
her forms of government and of worship, without the
slightest change. The overwhelming mass of her people
are Presbyterians. Look at England, which has also a
Church, from which an enormous proportion of the

¦* It has been shrewdly observed that the method of baptism in the Enghsh
Establishment — the placing of the responsibfiity of training upon persons who
became sponsors as a mere act of social courtesy, and who mean nothing — bas
done much to send people into the ranks of the Baptists. It is matter for
congratulation that there was such au exceUent body to receive them ; for the
rough sense of mankind ¦will always ask the value of infant baptism, detached
from parental teaching. "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them."

664 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
population, nearly a half, have seceded. But when they
have gone out they have uniformly left behind them
bishojo, prayer-book, and catechism, and adopted or set up
something entirely without all these — often conspicu
ously opposed to them. English seceders get away as
far as they can from their former system ; Scottish sece
ders, -without exception, have gone out avowedly and
actually to obtain a -pvxeT Presbyteiianism. We ad
duce this notable historical comparison, not Avith regard
to the relative goodness of either system, but as proof
that a Presbyterian Church, rightly worked, gives stabil
ity, steadfastness, ancl a healthy, safe, conservative bias
to a people. It is therefore, we humbly venture to
think, weU adapted to elevate a country like ours, — a
country whose population is so various in training,
mental habits, and tendencies, and in which change is
aU too readily presumed to be improvement.
For another feature of the Scottish population de
serves om- notice in this connection. Though repeated
schisms have weakened the " Kirk " established in the
country, the population is exceptionally homogeneous
in religious thinking. Not only is Ai-ianism, for exam
ple, unkno-wn, but even denominations elsewhere strong,
such as Congregationalism and Methodism, have hardly
found materials with Avhich to build. Whether this is
an advantage or not, may be a matter of divergent view.
The question is not material to our object. The point we
emphasize is, that Presbyterianism has held and united
the whole people. It has retained the strongest hold
on the popular mind, as evidenced by the influence of
its coui'ts. The Times newspaper, though conspicuously
unfriendly to Scotland, in a re-view of the last General

THE FUTUEE CHUECH. 665
Assemblies and the U. P. Synod, describes them as the
most influential ecclesiastical assemblies in the British
empu-e, compai-ed -with which the meetings of the Con
gregational Union and Convocation ai-e feeble. These
courts of review exercise real po-wer. They decide
cases, legislate upon questions that have interested kii-k-
sessions, presbyteries, and synods, and so have reached
the entire thoughtful mind of the country. The effect
of such an agency here ought to be the same as it has
been there — to bind the peojsle together in conviction
and sympathy ; to maintain the recollection of a real
and spiritual authoi'ity in the world ; to keep alive in
men's minds the feeling that there is a kingdom of Jesus
Christ to which and through which he speaks on earth ;
and so to give to men in a true and evangelical way
what the Chm-ch of Rome offers in corrupt and im-
scriptuf al fashion, but yet by presenting which, and so
satisfying a cra-ving of the human spirit, she commends
herself to mankind, and maintains her position.
In order to realize this high object, and become a yet
greater power for good in the country, we doubt not
the Church of the future -will seek in a higher degree to
popularize her services. And this, we apprehend, Avdl
be done, not so much by the adoption of new, as by the
i-esumption of former methods. Take, for example, the
subject of singing in divine ser-vice. In many churches
this noble function of the Chm-ch has been relegated to
a few persons, and the appearance a congregation pre
sents to an observant heathen would be that of a body
of people in a large budding, at one end of which, on an
eminence above the people, a man does all the praying

666 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
and talking, and at the other end of which, three or four
others, at a greater elevation, do aU the praising ! This
-plan is bad enough in city chm-ches, but when it is
rudely mimicked in small -viUages, as it has been seen,
it is intolerable. It recaUs Conybeare's description of
the state of matters in many English churches, where a
set of the worst reprobates in the parish bawl out " the
Hanthem," or shriek out the Psalms, out of which the
poetry has been previously extracted by Tate & Brady.
Musical faculty and moral worth do not, unhappily, al
ways go together ; and where the " voices " in the sing
ers' gallery disport themselves in the intervals of their
perfoi-mance in a way more like their week-day than
their Sabbath spheres, the farce is tui-ned into an abom
ination. We shaU live, let us hope, to see this thing
banished fi'om evangelical churches. Allthe history of
Protestantism is against it. Luther led Germany to
worship in spirit and in truth in no small degree
through the popular hymn-singing. Knox had the
Scottish people taught to praise God so thoroughly,
that a mass-meeting could sing a psalm through -without
books, and in the " parts " of the melody. The Wes-
leys, the power and value of whose work can hardly 1)e
overrated, sung Methodism into the cots and hearts of
the most inaccessible of the English population. The
spectacle of a church claiming to -win the masses, and
taking from them the one portion of pubUc worship in
which they can all unite, would be, if not so saddening,
supremely ridiculous.
It is idle to say that certain people get music of the
highest order elsewhere, and if they cannot have it in

THE FUTUEE CHUECH. 667
the chm'ch they wiU not come. The patrons of the opera
and theatre have never been of so much real value in the
Church as to be worth consulting, and least of all should
devout and serious worshippers be wronged and di'iven
away, for the aesthetic satisfaction of casual and pat
ronizing visitors to the services. Let Israel worship
God as Lie has appointed, and let the "mixed multitude"
f oUow, or keep away. But the army of the Lord is not
to change its plans for the idle pleasure of the camp-fol
lowers. And it is vain to think of -winning the world
by mere music. What is the A^alue to any church of
such acquisitions ? The week-day entertainments sup
ply the gcAuine article, and without making the church
an actual theatre, you cannot compete with them.
Whether a less formal style of pulpit address wiU be
adopted in the future, is an open question. There al
ways -wiU be in the Church probably — and to the
Church's advantage — a number of men who Avill read
sermons, Avhich by their very nature almost require to
be read. But possibly the power of the ministers, as a
Avhole, would be increased by their speahing instead of
reading their discourses. We have to get rid of the
phi-ase '¦'¦extempore preaching." There never was con
tinuous good extempore preaching. Any preaching, to
be good, must be carefully prepared, in the order of
thought, links of argument, substance of Ulustration,
and in some parts in the phraseology. It is not unrea
sonable to think that the minister can remember what
he expects his people to remember. And it is hard to
expect the audience to carry aAvay definite thought
which an educated man cannot put into inteUigible Ian-

608 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
guage and speak to them. At the same time, it must
IK it be forgotten, that no rule can be laid doAvn that wiU
apply to aU cases ; that men Avill always do their Avork
according to their aptitudes and tastes; and that the
great power that is wanted is not so much that of free
utterance or finishe'd reading, as the power of the Lloly
Ghost. When we recollect that Jonathan Edwards
read closely those sermons through which so noted a
rcAUval was produced, Ave are interrupted in our gener
alizations. God " diAadeth to every man severaUy as He
AAdlh" That the organization of the Church is adapted to
the institutions of our country, and that it can work
harmoniously Avith them, is a truth so obvious as to re
quire only statement. Again and again there has been
collision in Great Britain and on the Continent be
tAveen the ciAdl government and the churches. We see
no likelihood of such confiict here. A free church
AA'orks Avithout obstruction in a free state ; and the in
telligence, constancy, and fidelity to principle, which
the Church inculcates and fosters, constitute the best
guarantee for the stabdity and security of a people's
government. No man can possibly forecast the futm-e,
but it is not too much to hope that, with the groAAang
and consolidating Republic, there wiU also advance and
prosper a Presbyterian Church, whose influence shall
bind together and bless these United States.
For one can see no reason to anticipate any material
changes in the forms or methods of our Church. Our
brethren of other denominations, as it seems to us, find
it AAdse and proper to adopt methods — to say the

THE FUTUEE CHUECH. 669
least — ¦ very like ours, when they wish to extend their
church operations. The best and most evangelical
Episcopal missionary society has as little to do with
the bishops as it can. The "Union" of our valued
Congregational brethren in England, or here, looks to us
— and we regard it only Avith kindly interest — Uke
" feeling after " our method of concerted action. So,
when times of revival have come, the free worship for
which we have always contended becomes natural to
many who declined it before, and men pray as the
Spirit gives them utterance. No amount of religious
earnestness, so far as we can see, Avill render our ma
chinery useless, or our forms of AVorship obsolete. The
current of spiritual life cannot become so deep that '
our system shall have no channel for it. Let millenni
al knowledge and peace come in, and the simple forms
of our Church AviU well avad for the expression and
culture of religious feeling. When " the people shall be
aU righteous," they can be safely trusted to " look out
among them " men of good report for places in the
Church. When mutual love is fervent, free men can
meet and confer -without collision of temper, or viola
tion of the unity of the Spirit. The supremacy of
God's Word, the Headship of Christ over His Church
and people, the brotherhood and parity of His minis
ters, and His constant presence AAuth His Church by the
Holy Ghost, who energizes her effort and makes effec
tual the means of grace — these doctrines, for which
the Presbyterian Church has ever been a witness, wdl
not dwindle into insignificance in that coming and glo
rious time, when " the mountain of the Lord's house

670 PEESBYTEEIAN CUUECH.
shall be established in the top of the mountains, and
when aU nations shaU flow unto it " — a period of glory
and blessedness into which, we beUeve, Avdl extend the
future of the Presbyterian Church, and a period for
the speedy approach of which it is her duty and her
honor to pray and labor.

THE MEMORIAL FUND.

WmTHEOP S. GILMAJSr,
JOHN CEOSBT BEOWN,
JOKN" E. PAESONS,
ALEXANDEE WIIILLDUST,
BENJAMIN F. BUTLER,
WILLIAM T. BOOTH,
AEOHIBALD McCLUEE, Je.,
ISAAC SCAEEITT,
GEOEGE JUNKIN.

©fficars af t\)t Committee.
WESTTHEOP S. OILMAN, Chairman.
HoK. WILLIAM E. DODGE, Treasurer.
Ret. FEANK F. ELLINWOOD, D.D., aorresjpondim,g Sedy.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE M E M O E I A L FUND.
Preambles and Eesolt; tions Peesented mt Eey. Samuel W.
Fisher, D.D., LL.D., an-d Adopted in Joint Contention
BT the Membees of the Two .Assemblies, Pittbbijegh,
November 12, 1869. •
In the Providence of God, the two Branches of the Presby
terian Church in the United States of America, after a sepa
ration of more than thirty years, are again united. This event,
in its magnitude, is unparalleled in the ecclesiastical history of
this country, and almost of the world. It evidences to all men
the presence and unifying power of the Divine Spirit. A fact
so remarkable and significant attracts interest and creates ex
pectation among even worldly minds. It awakens the sym
pathies and the hopes of all Avho truly love Christ among other
denominations. It awakens hope, since it illustrates the evident
purpose of God to bring all his followers into closer union in
spirit, combine them in action for the overthrow of error and
the diffusion of his truth ; it awakens expectation, since they
¦justly anticipate on our part, from this union of resources,
spirit, aTid action, a far more vigorous assault upon the forces
of darkness, and more decided efforts to spread the Gospel
among all classes in our oavu and other lands.
To us, as a Church, it is an era in our history most memor
able and hopeful ; memorable, as it signalizes the triumph of
faith and love over the strifes and jealousies of more than a
quarter of a century ; hopeful, since it is not the result of de
cadence and torpor, but of progress and augmented strength.
It buries the suspicions and the rivalries of the past, with the
sad necessity of magnifying our differences in order to justify
our separation. It banishes the spirit of division, the natural
foe of true progress. In this union are seen the outfiashing of
a divine purpose to lead us on to greater self-sacrifice, and a
more entire consecration to the evangelization of the world.
God has elevated us to this commanding position, that we may
see His glory, and in tbe strengthened faith it inspires devote
our united resources more directly and efficiently to the sal-
vatiiui of men. New and grander responsibilities rest upon us.
Jesus summons us to a holier faith and more perfect consecra
tion. He summons this Church to answer his loving kindness
by deeds commensurate with our renewed resources. The
times are auspicious ; everywhere peace reigns; the gates are
open, and the millions of our own and other lands wait for the
Gospel. Our position is commanding; our resources great*
43

674 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
our methods of action well settled, simple, and efficient. Tlie
Spirit of God that has united us will inspire, direct, and bless
our efforts. While we maintain the faith which Paul so fully
unfolded, and our Church, in the centuries past, has, through
manifold persecution and martyrdom, so gloriously upheld, we
are summoned, as by the will of God, to arise and build, to
form new, broader, and bolder plans for the extension of Christ's
kingdom, and to enter upon and execute them with apostolic
enthusiasm. Let us, then, the ministers, elders, and members of this
Church here assembled, as in spirit standing in the presence
of and representing the entire body of believers in our connec
tion, and the beloved missionaries in foreign lands, who now
await with tender and prayerful interest this consummation of
our union — let us, in humble dependence upon our dear Ee
deemer, with deep humility, in view of our past inefficiency
and present unworthiness, and as an expression of our devout
gratitude to Him who has brought this once dissevei-ed, now
united, Church up to this Mount of Transfiguration, signalize
this most blessed and joyous union with an offering in some
good degree commensurate with the abundant pecuniary gifts
that He has bestowed on us. And, to this end, be it
Hesolved, That it is incumbent on the Presbyterian Church
in the United States of America, one in organization, one in
faith, and one in effort, to make a special offering to the treas
ury of the Lord of Five Millions of Dollars: and we pledge
ourselves, first of all, to seek in our daily petitions the blessing
of God to make this resolution effectual ; and second, that we
will, with untiring perseverance and personal effort, endeavor
to animate the whole Church with the purpose to secure the
accomplishment of this great work before the third Thursday
of May, 1871.
Resolved, further. That the Stated Clerks of the Assemblies
of 1869 be requested to publish this paper, with the names of the
Moderators, Clerks, the Joint Committee on Reunion, and the
Commissioners now in attendance, appended thereto.
This action was by common understanding rather than by
formal vote referred to the Joint Committee on Finance, and
they were expected to report to the United Assembly in May,
1870, at Philadelphia.
The Joint Committee consisted of the following persons . —
Eev. John Hall, D.D. Hon. William E. Dodge.
Eev. Chas. K. Imbeie, D.D. Hon. William Steong.
Hon. Egbert McKnight. Eev. Jonathan F. Stearns, D.D.
Hon. HovET K. Claeke. Eev. William H. Goodeich, D.D.
Mr. W. S. Oilman. Ect. Charles Hawlet, D.D.

MEMOEIAL FUND. 675
It was also understood that Hon. William E. Dodge should
be authorized, as Treasurer of the Fund, to open books imme
diately for the receipt and recording of offerings.
Eepoet of the Joint Committee on Finance eelating to the
Memorial Fund, as Amended and Adopted bt the Gene
ral Assembly at Philadelphia, Mat, 1870.
The Joint Committee was called into existence by the fol
lowing resolution of the Joint Committee on Eeunion : —
'-'¦ Remlved, That a Committee of five from each branch of the
Church be appointed to take into consideration the subject of
raising funds for the use of the United Church, and the best
methods of doing the same, and the objects to which the same
should be directed, and to report to the next General As
sembly." The Convention of the United Churches at Pittsburgh, Pa.,
further agreed, with enthusiasm, to the following resolution : —
'¦'- Resolved, That it is incumbent on the Presbyterian Church
of the United States of America, one in organization, one in
faith, and one in effort, to make a special offering to the treas
ury of the Lord, of Five Millions of Dollars : and we pledge
ourselves, first of all, to seek in our daily petitions the blessing
of God to make this resolution effectual ; and second, that we
"will, with untiring perseverance and personal effort, endeavor
to animate the whole Church with the purpose to secure the ac
complishment of this great work before the third Thursday of
May, 1871."
The action of the Committee upon these resolutions is here
with submitted.
On the subject of the Five Million Memorial Fund, the Joint-
Committee (all the members being present but two, who wf re
hindered by unavoidable engagements), after most careful and
anxious deliberation, agreed unanimously upon the following
resolutions : —
1. That, notwithstanding we find, on examination, that the
terms of the resokition adopted on the subject by the General
Assemblies recently met at Pittsburgh, Pa., do not distinctly
enjoin the duty of raising the proposed "Memorial Fund"
upon this Joint Committee ; yet, being fully persuaded that the
general voice and expectation of the Church have determined
that this service fairly belongs to the Committee ; and, further,
inasmuch as funds for this object have already been tendered
to us, we assume this to be a duty embraced within the inten
tion of the Assemblies in our appointment ; and therefore we
conclude to initiate this work at once, and to conduct it until
the meeting of the General Assembly.

676 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
2. That, in the judgment of this Joint Committee, it is not
within the intention of the Church to include in this fund the
ordinary contributions to the Church's stated work (which in
our new position should be greatly advanced), but to create and
strengthen permanent institutions at home and abroad, to meet
such extraordinary claims as arise out of our new position, and
to effect such objects as properly commemorate our union. By
these we mean —
I. Theological seminaries, colleges, and seminaries for the
education of our daughters, including buildings and endow
ments of the same ; it being understood that such institutions
shall be chartered, and shall be in connection with the Presby
terian Church.
11. Literary institutions for the raising of a native Gospel
ministry in heathen lands.
III. Chnrch buildings and manses originating subsequently
to the Union, and otherwise entitled to public aid ; hospitals
and orphan asylums in connection with the Church.
IV. Institutions for the education and evangelization of
Freedmen. y. Special contributions for the establishment of a perma
nent Sustentation Fund, M'hich shall include funds to be appro
priated for the support of disabled ministers and their families.
At the same time the Committee announced that the Hon.
William E. Dodge, as Treasurer, in accordance with the recom
mendation of the Convention, would receive donations for these
objects, and donations to be applied hereafter, at the discretion
of the General Assembly.
These resolutions were extensively published, and while
much diversity of view appears to prevail regarding details,
their leading principle appears to have secured general accept
ance, and in various quarters efforts have been inaugurated in
accordance with it.
The Committee having considered what practical measures
should be suggested to the General Assembly, with aviewto
realizing the Five Million Memorial Fund before the third
Thursday in May, 1871, according to a resolution of the Pitts
burgh Convention,
It was unanimously agreed to recommend —
1st. The appointment of a Committee for the raising and
disposition of this fund, subject to the principles now agreed
upon. 2d. That this Committee shall examine the claims of particu
lar institutions seeking to enjoy the benefit of the fund, either
by direct appropriation or their own efforts, the results of which
are reckoned as part of the fund.

MEMOEIAL FUND. 677
3d. That, in addition to other efforts, a collection be raade
in all our congregations, as nearly simultaneously as practi
cable, during the month of January, 1871, when the ministers,
having prepared the way by keeping the subject constantly
before the people in the interval, shall more especially urge thci
contribution upon them.
4th. That the Committee, constituted by the first resolution,
be instructed to prepare and forward to each congregation
through the pastor, stated supply, or session, to be laid before
each member of the congregation, a clear, distinct, and minute
plan for suhscriiing, rejMrting, collecting, and forwarding the
amounts contributed to this fund, and also to prepare and send
suitable blanks for these purposes.
5th. That our Presbyteries and Synods be instructed, at
their fall meetings, to make careful inquiry of each pastor and
elder, and know if these subscriptions have been presented
to the iiidividuals of all our congregations ; and in cases of
failure to take such measures as may best secure this result.
The following Committee was appointed the Committee on
the Memorial Fund : — ¦
Messrs. Winthrop S. Oilman, J. Crosby Brown, John E.
Parsons, Alexander Whilldin, Benjamin F. Butler, Isaac Scar-
ritt, William T. Booth, Archibald McClure, Jr., and George
Junkin. Eeception of the Memorial Eepoet by the General As
sembly AT Chicago, Mat 23d, 1871.
At three o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, the order of the
day receiving the report on the Memorial Fund was taken
up. A considerable audience of ladies and gentlemen, besides
that usually in attendence, had filled the house in all parts.
Mr. Winthrop S. Oilman, of New York, the Chairman of the
Committee, was introduced by the Moderator, amid apjjlause,
and said : —
I rise to make some explanation before the readino- of the
report. You gave us that privilege a day or two since, in the
passage of the resolution to hear the report this afternoon.
I want to say that in the progress of the work, we have, as a
Committee, sometimes had our dark days, have met with much
that is discouraging, and it seemed as though God, in His provi
dence, was about to do with the Presbyterian Chnrch, that
which He often does in His wonder-working ways — disappoint
the earnest expectation of His people, and cause them to feel
humbled before Him by failure.
But as the work progressed, and when it came within five oi

678 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
six weeks of completion, as we hoped, and we had less than a
million of dollars upon our books, we at the same time lost all
sense of apprehension. The view we had of the feeling through
out the union ; the evidences of the influences of the Holy
Spirit touching one heart and another, were so manifest that
we lost all anxiety, and rested in the hands of God, perfectly
willing. I speak on behalf of ray brethren and rayself when I
say that we were perfectly willing that it should be but three
or four millions of dollai's, if God so pleased. If you could
look into the correspondence that has corae before the Com
mittee, you would see in the incidents — the repeated incidents
of the greatest interest, especially among the poor, the offer
ings of the poor, their prayers and their self-denial — you would
see that which would lead you to say that the salt of a divine
savor was bestowed upon it in answer to our prayers. And
especially I would congratulate you, my brethren, that in the
first act of the reunited body -we agreed that it was incumbent
upon the Presbyterian Church to make a special offering of
Five Millions of Dollars fo the treasury of the Lord, and the
saving clause was put in: "And we pledge ourselves in our
daily prayers to seek the blessing of God that this resolution
may be eflectual." It is the prayers — the widow's prayers, the
orphan's prayers, the prayers of the poor — their self-denial,
and the combined influence of the whole Church, that have
brought this act to its consummation. And it teaches us a
very great lesson in the spiritual profit to the Church. The
whole interest concentrates, to my mind, in this fact — the
spiritual benefit to the Church of God.
I will not go on with any incidents, though they are very
moving, for I know you are impatient to hear the report. I
will only mention the rigid course that this Committee has
taken in counting the offerings of the Church. In many cases
clergymen have sent us a report stating : " We have contributed
BO much for general purposes, so much for our home objects,"
and below the signature would be found written, " And we
have also paid $7,000 on a church debt which you may count
in if you see proper." No, no, my friends, it is the intent of
the giver that bestows the Memorial quality, and we have act
ed upon the principle that if the Church felt any doubt whether
they consecreated it to Christ we would mark it off, and we have
laid aside many and many such subscriptions. Again, in the
great variety of views entertained by individuals in making a
free-will offering to God, of course there would be a vast num
ber of oS'erings, just outside the line, which we could not count.
I will instance one of them. A gentleman on the Hudson
Eiver wanted to make one of his princely donations in a Me-

MEMOEIAL FUND. 679
morial gift of $30,000 to a theological seminary ; but his inter- ,
est concentrated chiefiy in the theological seminary of Virgi
nia, where onr Southern brethren congregate. He gave it to
that institution — claiming that it was a Memorial offering, ac
ceptable, no doubt, to God, as anything in our treasury. But
we could not count it. This was the Memorial offering of
our own Church. (Applause.) I will not detain you longer
(I know you must be impatient), only to introduce to you our
Secretary, well known to all, the Eev. Dr. Ellinwood, who will
now read the report ; and you will be assured by it that the
Church has fulfilled her promise to consecrate $5,000,000 to
the treasury of the Lord.
BEADING OF THE EEPOET.
The Secretary of the Committee, the Eev. F. F. Ellinwood,
D.D., of New York, presented the report. It is as follows :—
Eepoet of the Peesbtteeian Memoeial Committee, Mat, 1871 .
The Committee appointed to raise and disburse the Fi-oe
MilUon Memorial Fund was organized at 47 Exchange Place,
New York, June 17, 1870, the Chairman, Winthrop S. Oilman,
presiding. It was resolved that Hon. Wm. E. Dodge be re
quested to continue the office of Treasurer, and Eev. F. F. Ellin
wood was appointed Corresponding Secretary for one year, for
the general supervision of the work. Steps were immediately
taken to lay before the churches a distinct plan for subscribing,
collecting, reporting, and remitting their offerings according to
the direction of the Assembly.
The Committee learned that during the interval between the
passage of the original resolution at Pittsburgh and the final
ratification at Philadelphia, only about $1,900 had been con
tributed to the Central Treasury, though beginnings had been
made in various forms of home work among the churches.
The greater part of the $5,000,000 was yet to be raised, and
eleven months remained for the work.
The small amount which had thus far been contributed, the
wide differences of opinion in the Church as to the uses which
should be made of the fund, and the general demand that the
people should be allowed to judge of the wisdom and necessity
of their own disbursements, rendered it plain that success could
be attained only by adopting a policy as liberal as the instruc
tions of the Assembly would permit.
The great object in view, as the Coraraittee conceived it, was
to render memorable the Presbyterian Eeunion by an enlarge
ment and strengthening of all the structural interests of the
Church as a permanent token of gratitude to God.

680 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
The motive of highest utility must be coupled with that of
commemoration. Even aside from the question of what was feasible and what
was not, — of what might succeed and what would inevitably
fail, — it seemed more important to secure the greatest possible
advancement of the kingdom of Christ than to present impos
ing results before men. Evidently no committee could realize
so large an amount as five millions of dollars without seeking
the co-operation and subsidizing the manifold interests of the
whole Cliurch. Each Synod and each Presbytery must take
np its own work ; every institution of learning raust stimulate
the exertions of its alumni and its local friends, and everyfeeble
congregation 4nust seize tlie opportunity both of quickening its
own efforts and of gaining help frora others. The Committee
have, therefore, from the first, endeavored to provoke tho dili
gence of the churches in those forms of work, within the pre
scribed classes, which in their judgment should present the
strongest claim to their liberality. They have, however, urged
particularly the general objects named by the Assembly, and
have invariably presented the highest and most spiritual mo
tives. As far as possible the Committee have been personally
represented in the various Synods and in union meetings of the
churches in the larger towns. In order to secure the more
thorough co-operation of the West and Northwest, Eev. A. G.
Eulifl'son was, on the 1st of August, appointed Western Secre
tary for the remainder of the fiscal year ; and the Committee
have had abundant reason to rejoice in the results of that ap
pointment. In regard to the range of objects contemplated in this work,
the brief outline recommended by the former Committee of Ten,
and adopted by the last Assembly, has proved to be eminently
wise, both in its comprehensiveness and in its limitations. It
confined the effort to the main departments of structural and
permanent interests, and yet forbore to enter into details which
could not have been judiciously imposed beforehand, and whicti
could only have exerted a discouraging and repressive influence.
The structural objects which were indicated by the Assembly,
were of five classes, viz. : Churches, Manses, Literary and
Theological Institutions at Home and Abroad, Hospitals con
nected with the Church, and Houses for the Use of the Boards.
What proportion of the aggregate fund should be allotted
to each of these classes the Assembly did not state; nor has
the Committee felt authorized to decide. If one class has been
found to absorb too much, and another has received too httle,
it is but an inevitable result of that discretionary freedom which
the plan necessarily involved. To these permanent objects, as

MEMOEIAL FUND. 681
distinguished from all current work, the Committee have en
deavored to confine the effort, allowing only such expansions as
were conceived to exist in the spirit of this movement as first
proposed. If in the practical exigencies of so many churches,
seeming changes have appeared in the plan, they have been
only those of natural and necessary development, as the bulb
is transformed to a rooted plant.
Thus the principle which admits a complete institution raust
be so ramified as to cover all its parts. If the friends of a par
ticular college, variously offer endowments, new buildings,
scholarships, libraries, repairs, cancelled raortages, and grants of
land, tliey must, of logical necessity, be included, though in
the outset no such variety had occurred to any mind. So of
churches, if one congregation find acceptance for a new sanctu
ary complete in all its parts and appurtenances, no principle of
justice can exclude the poorer flock who can only offer a part
of a church, as an enlargement, or a new roof, or an organ, or
a bell, or even a horse-shed or a fence.
It is true, that by such a rule some humble objects are includ
ed ; but He who, in the construction of his ancient sanctuary,
invited even such offerings asa ram's skin or a little goat's hair,
does not despise an humble gift. It is a beautiful feature of
our common Memorial, that it has harmoniously combined the
efforts of the wealthy and the poor. The affluent have given
their tens of thousands, and with equal acceptance the toiling
needlewoman has ofl'ered joyfully her mite ; the merchant
prince has drawn his check, and the converted Indian on the
frontier has given his honest score of days' work upon the walls
of God's house.
It is inevitable that the general principles governing so great
an undertaking should sometimes be abused. How could it be
otherwise, when so much of worldly motive mingles with all
the benevolence and all the services of the Church. The Me
morial work has doubtless been marred by as many exhibitions
of a selfish spirit as appear in other things ; but the degree ot
selfishness has net always been measured by mere locality, nor
by the kind of Memorial object chosen. Hundreds of the
noblest instances of self-sacrifice have been shown in humble
congregations, which were struggling to secure a sanctuary for
themselves and their neighbors about them. A voluminous
record might be given of incidents and illustrations of the most
touching character, and affording ample proof that many have
found the Memorial work a precious means of grace.
While pursuing a liberal policy in admitting the gifts ofthe
churches, the Committee have confined their own direct dis
bursements to objects of a general character, and those of tha

682 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
most pressing need. They have had no desire to secure any
large proportion of the fund to the general treasury, except as
enabling thera to meet this class of wants. They would gladly
have accomplished more in this respect than they have.
At a time when very general apprehension existed lest the
Memorial should seriously embarrass the Church Boards, many
persons in various parts of the Church expressed a desire to de
vote their Memorial offerings as special donations for the relief
of the Boards. As such gifts found no sanction in either the
letter or the spirit of the Assembly's instructions, the Commit
tee felt that they had no authority in the premises, but they
finally resolved to admit these special ofi'erings in a separate
class, subject to the action of this Assembly.
In the midst of the apprehensions just referred to, the Com
mittee have maintained a liopeful spirit. They have so con
stantly received assurances that the churches which were do
ing most for the Memorial were even increasing their gifts to
the Boards, that they have felt confident that the end of the
year would show very slight deficits in our regular benevolences,
if any at all. And it is with rare satisfaction and gratitude
that they now find that confidence fully justified.
Comparing the reports of the Boards just rendered to this
Assembly with those presented a year ago, and confining the
estimate to the actual gifts of churches and individuals, as dis
tinguished from legacies and other casual resources, they find
the receipts of the United Boards, compared with the aggregates
of the Separate Boards of the two branches last year, to present
the following gains as compared with last year : —
Home Missions, gain over last year, $16,297.25 ; Church
Erection, gain about $20,000 ; Education, deficit, $964 ; Pub
lication, deficit, $9,888 ; Freedmen, gain about $500 ; Minis
terial Eelief, gain, $13,687.27 ; Foreign Missions, gain, $37,-
296.89; Aggregate gain of all the Boards, $76,502.89.
It should be stated that the gains in the Foreign Board are
mainly due to the accession of churches formerly contributing to
the American Board of Foreign Missions ; but it should also be
said that there are still considerable amounts in the Memorial
Treasm-y for the Presbyterian Board not included in their report.
There are furthermore some differences in the time of closing
the fiscal year of the Boards, as compared with the previous
year, but these differences, together with the fact that the Me
morial report closes latest of all, will, on the whole, rather
strengthen the exliibit which is here made, and will fully es
tablish the important fact, that during the Memorial year
churches and individuals have givefi a larger aggregate to the
Boards than in any previous year of our whole history.

MEMOEIAL FUND. 683
It may be proper also to dwell for a moment upon the direct
benefit which the Memorial has conferred upon the various
causes which the Boards represent.
On the Foreign Mission field, permanent institutions have
been provided for to the amount of nearly a hundred thousand
dollars. In Church Erection on the Home field a careful estimate
shows that about six hundred churches and chapels have been
reared during the year and a half, of which only twenty-one
have reported a cost of over $25,000. About three hundred of
these, including mission chapels, have directly or indirectly re
ceived aid from the Memorial Fund. The amount which has
actually been received into the treasurv for this purpose is $96,-
282.93. The cause of Publication has only been benefited in the en
largement of the Publishing House to the extent of about
$45,300. For the Freedmen's cause less has been done than was desir
able — only about $10,000 having been reported for schools and
churches devoted to their interests.
The cause of Ministerial Eelief, aside from special gifts al
ready estimated in its own reports, has received some sraall
amounts for a permanent fund.
How far the cause of Education has been advanced may be
judged by the fact that the Church has added nearly a million
and a half of dollars to her educational appai-atus in various
permanent forms.
The relation of the Memorial effort to Home Missions is less
direct, but none the less important. The recent report of the
Home Mission Board shows that the churches under its care
have raised $228,627 for the payment of church debts. This
amount, at the safe rate of eight per cent, interest, shows a saving
to the Mission Churches, and virtually to the Mission Board,
of $18,130 per annum. But the whole amount of Memorial
contributions reported frora Home Mission churches is $339,410,
and when we add the large sums given them by others for
churches, manses, and repairs, we shall have an aggregate in
crease of not less than half a million of church property in the
Home Mission field, — the effect of which will raise many
churches at once, or very soon, to a position of efficiency and
self-support. And, finally, the Memorial effort in all our
churches, rich and poor, by removing obstacles and enlarging
foundations and quickening exertion, has prepared the way for
the future work of the various Boards beyond anything in the
history of the past.
The Committee are led to believe that not the least of the

684 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
good results of this effort has been its rallying and uniting in
fluence upon the denomination. It seems providential thatthe
reunion should have been followed by a coraraon and enthusi
astic movement, overrunning and obliterating all the old lines
of separation.
It has, moreover, strengthened our courage by the develop
ment of important principles. It has shown that there is
a responsive loyalty among us, to the projects and behests of
the Assembly ; it has demonstrated the important fact that we
are a thoroughly organized body, and that by our Presbyterian
polity even so great a mass may be marshalled and wielded in
¦the great work of Christian conquest. Nor can it be doubted
that the experiment of this Memorial year has -permanently e\\-
larged the scale of benevolence among us. Whatever may be
said of the use which the churches have made of their gifts,
the great and notable fact is, that such vast amounts of money
have been given at all for religious purposes, and given mainly
with a sincere desire to accomplish the highest good. It is not
a light thing, that in this worldly age, and amid the business
discouragements which have marked the year, and with the
current expenditures of all the churches still continued, and
with seven regular boards to be maintained in full operation,
so many extra millions of dollars should have been contributed
for the permanent interests of Christ's kingdora. The fact it
self is the best possible monument of reunion. The spectacle
of such a movement is full of encouragement and hope.
And lest it should be said by any that these are not extra
amounts ; but that we have only recorded the average structural
work of average years, the Committee have been at some pains
to learn what has been done outside of the Memorial reckoning;
and they find that by the common impulse, which, even under
protest, could not wholly be resisted, raore than two millions ot
dollars, not included in this report, has been raised during the
Memorial j^eriod for the same kinds of work. There is abun
dant proof that the five millions which it was resolved to raise,
may be set down as a clear gain above all previous years of our
history as a Church. The Committee are free to confess that
even their highest hopes have been more than reahzed in this
respect. And when they contrast the discouragements that
hung over their early efforts, with the general response that has
at length been given, they are impressed with the fact that the
result is due not to skilful management, nor to faithful labors,
nor to any human influence, but to the special power of the
Spirit of God moving so many hearts in all parts of tbe land
to a common effort.
It is due to some of the best men in the Church, who from

MEMOEIAL FUND. 685
the first have doubted the policy of such a movement, to say
that they have nevertheless, in other ways, helped forward the
cause of Christ in proportionate degrees. It is partly owing
to the special efforts of such that the Boards have been so well
sustained. The Committee rejoice in their labors also, nay,
and will rejoice since every way God is glorified.
In reviewing the labors of the year the Committee take
much pleasure in acknowledging the great assistance afforded
them by the weekly religious press of the denomination. Per
haps never before has the power of the religious press in pro
moting great Chnrch enterprises been so fully illustrated. To
human view it is difficult to see how, without this valuable
ao-ency, the work of the Coraraittee could have been accora
plished. To The Evangelist, The Presbyterian, The Interior,
The Observer, The Herald and Presbyter, The Banner, and The
Occident, the thanks not only of the Committee but of the
whole Church are due for their efiicient aid. The Committee
would also make grateful mention of the fact that furnished
offices have been placed at their disposal during the year by
Phelps, Dodge & Co., and that similar courtesies were tender
ed them by Brown Brothers & Co., and others in New Yoi-k.
In presenting the actual statistics of the work, it should be
premised that, owing to the tardiness ofthe returns from many
churches, our report is necessarily incomplete. Much work
known to have been accomplished is too late for this presenta
tion. Some of the returns also have been so indistinct that a
satisfactory comparison of college reports with those of churches,
with a view to avoiding repetition, has been wellnigh impossi
ble. And as the Committee have preferred to err on the safe side,
they have in all cases of uncertainty ruled out college reports,
though fully persuaded that by this means $200,000 is excluded
frora their footings.* Owing to the same difficulty no account
has been made of the reports of special Memorial gifts returned
by the Boards, and by the Woman's Societies. Large sums,
also, gathered from individuals for churches in the West, have
been excluded on account of uncertainty, though it is believed
that many of them have not been reported by donors. It was
the first intention of the Committee to report individual donors
in some cases by name ; but the difficulty of a proper discrim
ination has been found to be so great that such names are sim
ply entered on the Memorial Eecords, while to the public they
are reported in the aggregate, under a general miscellaneous
head. The classification of money received and reported thus far
is as follows:— For New Church Buildings, $3,236,475.61;
*Some of these have been Included in the final footings given August 1st.

686 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Manses, $683,884.05; Eepairs and Enlargement, $733,707.60:
Payment of Debts, $1,083,478.72 ; Instituiions of Learning, $1,'
405,548.66 ; Permanent Institutions in Foreign lands, $93,-
509.96; Special Gifts to the Boards, $60,340^.40; Hospitals,
$48,665.35 ; Eelief Fund and Sustentation, $41,150.46 ; Presby
terian Houses, $46,882.37 ; Amounts not specified by the
Churches reporting it, $162,681.10 ; Expenses of the Commit
tee, $11,175.63. It is with profound gi-atitude to God that the
Committee announce as the total amount reported up to 12
o'clock to-dav, SEVEN MILLIONS SIX HUNDEED AND
SEVEN THOUSAND FOUE HUNDEED AND NINETY-
NINE DOLLAES AND NINETY-ONE CENTS.*
Dr. Ellinwood said in the course of reading the report :
And here I wish to say personally one word which I am sure
our beloved and honored Chairman would never have permitted
me to embody in this report. I want the Assembly and the
Presbyterian Church to know how far we have been indebted
for the success of this work to the faithful labors of Winthrop
S. Gilman. (Applause.) Even at the risk of intruding upon
feelings, the delicacy of which I well know, I should not feel
that I was doing justice to myself, or to what I regard as de
manded in the case, if I did not state that nearly through the
whole year he has labored side by side with me in duties proper
ly belonging to the secretaryship. I feel that the Church has a
sort of common right in such examples, and that they ought to
be set on a candlestick, that others seeing them may glorify
our Father who is in Heaven. (Applause.)
Upon the conclusion of the reading ofthe Eeport, a hymn
of praise arose from all the assembly in the building spontane
ously : " Praise God, from whom all blessings fiow."
The Moderator then called upon the Eev. Dr. John Hall, ol
New York, to lead the Assembly in prayer. There were few
whose faces did not bear the traces of the deepest emotion,
while all stood as thanks were returned to Heaven.
PEAYER BT DE. JOHN HALL.
Our Father who art in Heaven, the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and God of our fathers ! We have trusted
* FuU ammint reported August 1st, 1871 : — Churches, $3,343,953.11 ; Manses,
$691,709.4.5 ; Eepairs, &c., $746,309.65 ; Payment of Debts, $1,108,933.91 ; In
stitutions of Learning, $1,460,619.84; Permanent Institutions in Foreign
Lands, $94,619.98; Special Gifts to the Boards, $63,780.40; Hospitals,
149,665.85 ; Eelief Fund and Sustentation, $44,044.31 ; Presbyteriar Houses,
$46,882.37; Amounts not designated, $172,158.60; Expenses of the Commit
tee, $13,407.98 ; Total, $7,833,983.85.

MEMOEIAL FUND. 687
in Thee, and Thou hast not suffered us to be confounded. Many
a time we have come to Thee with trembling lips and with
fainting hearts to offer petitions and supplications with strong
crying ; and now, O God, we come to Thee with joyful thanks
giving and hearty praises that we may bless and magnify Thy
holy Name, and adore Thee together as a God that is faithful
and that keepeth covenant, and that doth not let one word fall
to the ground of all that He hath spoken unto his people. Thou
art our God, and we will praise Thee. Thou art our fathers'
God, and we will magnify Thy holy Narae. 0_ God, we bless
Thee for what Thou hast done for us as a Church. Thou hast
wrought all these works for us, Thou hast poured out upon us
Thy Spirit. Thou hast helped us to gain this victory over self
ishness ; and we bless Thee and praise Thy holy and adorable
Name. 0 Lord, we acknowledge before Thee that Thou givest
us the power to get wealth, and Thou dost work within us to will
and to do of Thy good pleasure.
For Thy mercy in bringing us together ; for the joy of our
happy reunion ; for the inspiration in our hearts leading us to
enter upon this undertaking, we bless Thee and praise Thee
together here to-day.
And now we thank Thee, Heavenly Father, that what was
conceived in hope and in gratitude has, through Thy great
goodness and mercy, been realized so richly in the midst of
us to-day. For surely Thou hast done for us exceeding abun
dantly above ail that we hope or expected at Thy hand ; and
so we bless Thee. Again we raise our Ebenezer together, again
we say before Thee and before the world : " Hitherto hath the
Lord helped us."
God Almighty, we thank Thee for the grace given to our
brethren who have been engaged in collecting these our offer
ings; we bless Thee for the patience, the wisdom, the diligence,
the zeal, and the prayerfulness with which they have been en
abled to prosecute this work ; and now we pray on their behalf
that there may corae back abundant blessing into their souls.
We beseech Thee, Lord, strengthen them and help them for
yet greater services in the cause of our precious Master. We im
plore Thy blessing upon all the agencies, and all the institutions
that are to be strengthened, or that have been strengthened al
ready through this Memorial work; we pray that those who are
engaged in conducting them may be baptized with the Holy
Ghost. God Almighty, we supplicate Thy blessing upon all
the friends, our beloved brethren, who have contributed to thia
Memorial Fund. Lord, bless the rich. Save them from trust
ing in uncertain riches ; and. Lord, bless the poor who have
given of their poverty. May there corae into their own souls

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

seven-fold blessing. Give them a renewed sense of Thy fa
vor, and the abiding spirit of adoption within them ; and, 0
God, give them grace we beseech Thee, give to all our brethren
who have been engaged in this work, grace to maintain that
standard of Christian liberality to which in Thy goodness and
mercy Thou hast raised us during this year.
And now, 0 God, upon our beloved Church — the Church
for which Thou hast brought us, to labor and to pray — we sup
plicate Thy divine blessing. O Lord, save her from trusting
in material resources. O Lord, keep her from entering into
her work in the spirit of a secular corporation. O Lord Jesus,
our King and Head, fill us with Thy Spirit, and enable us to
do Thy work in the way that Thou dost approve, through the
means of Thy Truth, and to the glory of Thy Name. And
when, as this day. Thou dost enable us to look upon anything
as completed, Lord Jesus, save us from the folly and the sin
of arrogating the credit to ourselves, and help us to bring our
tribute of homage and thanksgiving by laying it at Thy feet,
and saying: To Thee, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to
Thy Name be the glory.
And now, as ministers and as elders ; as the members of this
General Assembly, Moderator, and members, we do together
afresh consecrate and dedicate ourselves unto Thee, Fatlier —
our Father — that we may be guided, and directed, and kept by
Thee continually— that we may live to the gloi-y of that Sav
iour by whose redeeming work we have been saved, and that we
may strive and toil forward in the power of that gracious and
Divine Spirit who has come upon us in some raeasure, and who
has strengthened us to do that over which we rejoice to-day.
So may we be helped in life and in death, in our hearts and in
our homes, in our pulpits and among our people, in our Presby
teries and in our Assemblies may we be helped to give glory to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
Almighty God, we supplicate Thy blessing upon all sections
of our Church and upon every department of the Christian
work, both at home and abroad. Pour out Thy Spirit upon
our seminaries ; baptize our professors and instructors of the
young with the Spirit of grace and wisdora. Oh 1 make us,
we beseech Thee, as a Church a mighty spiritual power over
this whole land ! And we supplicate Thee for the country at
large. Surely Thou hast blessed us richly, and laid us under
great responsibility. Unto us Thou hast given a good land
and a large, whose mountains are iron and out of whose hills
we may dig brass ; Thou hast clothed our pastures with flocks,
and our valleys with corn ; Thou hast given to the people
abundance of bread, and Thou hast raised us and strengthened

MEMOEIAL FUND. 689
US and kept us as a nation, and hast lifted us to a high place
araong the nations of the earth.
For this we praise Thee. And, 0 God, we praj'^ that this,
our beloved Church, the Church of our fathers, m-ay be the
happy and honored instrument, in Thy hand, of blessing this
entire nation ; of purifying the public sentiment ; of enlighten-
ins: the public darkness; of guiding national influences; so
that, ourselves in peace and in righteousness, we may be made
an unspeakable blessing among all the nations of th.e earth. 0
Lord, continue among us, as a Church, this sweet brotherly
love. O Lord, give us more and more of the spirit of forbear
ance, the spirit of magnanimity, the spiritof mutual confidence
and cheerful trustfulness. O Lord, make us strong in common
sympathies, comraon aims, common desires. 0 Lord, make us
strong through the indwelling ofthe Divine Spirit; let the
power of Christ continue to rest upon us. Eeceive our thanks
givings, pardon our sins. Lord, forgive the sins of our lives ;
and when any merely human motive has entered into the per
formance of this great and high duty, the consummation of which
we witness this day. Lord, forgive the sin we beseech Thee, and
accept the service and the sacrifice that Thy people bring to
Thee, and in them and in their labors, be Thou, O Lord, glori
fied. We ask these things in the name of Jesus ; that precious
Name through which we present our thanksgivings and our
praises. And unto the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost,
one Supreme Jehovah, be glory and homage, dominion and
power, world witliout end. Amen.
The Eev. Dr. Eells, of Cleveland, said : It is manifest from
this paper just read by the Secretary, that there are some details
rendering the work of this Committee not yet complete. I move
that the report we have just heard, and which has so muck
thrilled us to-day, be accepted and referred to a special commit
tee of the usual number, to be appointed by the Moderator.
A committee was accordingly appointed. Dr. Eells, chair
man. In due time Dr. Eells presented the following report,
which was passed unanimously by a standing vote of the As
sembly. Repoet of THE Special Committee on the Memoeial Fund.
The Convention of the United Churches at Pittsburgh agreed
with enthusiasm to the following resolution : —
Resolved, That it is incumbent on the Presbyterian Church
in the United States of America, one in organization, one in
faith, and one in effort, to make a special offering to the treas
ury of the Lord, of Five Millions of Dollars ; and we pledge
44

690 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
ourselves, first of all, to seek in our daily petitions tlie bless
ing of God to make this resolution effectual ; and second, that
we will, with untiring perseverance and personal effort, endea
vor to animate the whole Church with the purpose to secure
the accomplishment of this great work before the third Thurs
day of May, 1871.
The Joint Committee reported this resolution to the General
Assembly at Philadelphia, and recommended that a committee
be appointed to raise and disburse this Memorial Fund, the con
tributions to be limited to the objects specified in their farther re
port. This recommendation was adopted, and the coraraittee was
appointed, whose report of a year's service has so thrilled this As
sembly and the whole Church — the further consideration of
which was referred to this Committee. The details of their
work as respects responsibility, devotion, energy, and patient
toil, can be known only to the honored brethren whose names
will for ever be identified with the result. The result itself is
grand, perhaps without parallel — viz., that $7,607,499.91 were
contributed to the Fund during the year, besides more than
$2,000,000 which were given for objects that might properly be
included within the list adopted, but which, because of the
choice of the donors, or for reasons growing out of the strict
construction of their rules, the Committee did not feel at liberty
to include in the Fund ; and at least $200,000 given to various
educational institutions, which were not reckoned, lest the
amounts composing this sum might possibly have been reported
by the churches, and thus be duplicated, though this was not
likely; — making a total of what the Church has really given
during the year to be $9,807,499.91 — or, in round numbers,
which will hardly be below the truth, $10,000,000. A notable
fact connected with this Memorial gift, moreover, should be
ever borne in mind — viz., that it is not laid on the altar at the
sacrifice of the regular benevolent work of the Church, but in
addition to contributions to our Boards, in the aggregate
" greater than in any previous year of our history."
Such is the condensed record of a work, among the most re
markable, all things considered, of all that are mentioned in the
annals of the Church. Your Committee will not be expected
to present again in detail the items and facts of the admirable
report given into their hands. Yet there are some inferences
from these, and some considerations respecting them, which
they commend to the attention of the Assembly.
1. It is manifest that the great success of this effort has been
largely dependent on the wisdom and efficiency, and Christian
spirit of the gentlemen who formed the "Memorial Fund Com
mittee." It is difficult to conceive the magnitude, and in some

MEMOEIAL FUND. 691
phases of it, the perplexity of the attempt to obtain and wisely
distribute $5,000,000 on such conditions as were imposed upon
this Committee. That it should have been done at all is a mar
vel. That it should have been done with such rare ability, and
satisfaction of the Church, and manifest approbation of her
Head, may well excite our gratitude and praise.
2. This great success leaves no doubt that there is among our
members a degree of love to Christ, and love for our Church ;
a willingness on the part of the rich to give of their abundance,
and on the part of the poor a desire to give through their self'
denial towards the complete equipment of Zion in all her de
partments for the service of her Lord, and for the salvation of
men, which may be trusted in any future emergencies, or when
there is urgent necessity for advance. We have been too ready,
perhaps, to say that Presbyterians have little zeal for the vigor
ous progress of their own denomination. We have been ex
pected to aid in the support of union and voluntary agencies
for the spread of the Gospel, and the redemption of the world.
Nor should we wish to be hereafter unworthy of the honor on
this account which others have been free to render. But we
have not been known to have such " esprit de corps," such re
liable and self-sacrificing, and general, sanctified self-love and
regard for our distinctive organic peculiarities as is now most
clearly demonstrated. We have known — the world has had
proofs — that Presbyterians love Christ, love Christians of every
name, love the common cause in which all Christians should
ever take an abiding interest. Hereafter, while we would love
neither Christ nor Christians of every name, nor our common
cause any less, but even more, we can point to the history of
this glorious year for proof that Presbyterians love intensely,
enthusiastically, and, because of its vital connection with the
glory of Christ and the success of His kingdom, the Presby
terian Church. We can raake this fact the basis for more ex
tended and permanent agencies for evangelization. We can
make it a new point of departure, as respects our whole future
career. We can trust our people respecting the sublime mis
sion we believe our denomination should accept, in the current
religious history of our nation and the world.
3. As intelligent preparation for great eflBciency implies the
purpose to attempt it, we may assume that the Church intends
to enter upon the broader work, for which both the spirit she
has manifested aud the effort she has made have prepared her ;
and her leaders may be bold in their plans for progress if they
are prudent and wise. Pastors and elders in our separate
churches — Presbyterians within their bounds — our Boards, in
in prosecuting the more general work of the denomination, may

692 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
take this marvellous exhibition, which will grow upon us as
we contemplate it, as their warrant for the hearty co-operation
of our members, of all classes, in any carefully digested schemes
for extension and doing the Master's will. There is great
promise of growth, and consequent usefulness, in this outpour
ing of money. It has taught the people that, with the blessing
of God, it is easy to do great things ; that even improbable
things may be achieved by the Church ; that liberality is itself
a blessing. It has taught them that the poor are of import
ance, even in money-giving, as well as the rich. It has culti
vated a more general interest in the benevolent work of the
Church, because a much larger number have stock in the means
by which it is to be proraoted. Prayer is raore earnest, intelligence
is raore universal, the ear of the whole nuraber is more sensitive
to appeals, and while recklessness and zeal without knowledge
will result as ever before, true forecast and prudent calls for
advance will meet cheering and eager response. Your Com
mittee feel that this is the marked and special lesson of this
success. It is the clear summons of our Lord, through the
Church, to those who are her leaders, that they be men pre
pared for the events with which Providence is burdened. It is
the assurance He vouchsafes, that whatever piety requires for the
prosecution of its ends, it shall not be withheld.
4. Although a large portion of our churches have contributed
to the Fund, and the Committee have been persistent in their
efforts to induce all to have a share in the gift, there are some
that have neglected the opportunity, and sorae that have
been obliged to postpone action till it was too late, according to
the provision of the resolution that the books be closed on the
third Thursday of May. For every reason it is desirable that
these churches be perraitted to place themselves on the roll,
while it is also important that the date first proposed be the
end of the proper work the Coraraittee had in hand. This
may be done by the publication of a supplemental list of
churches, to include all that may send their reports before a
certain fixed date of the coming year, the churches designating,
as before, the objects to which they wish their contributions to
be applied. It is suggested for such churches that, so far as
possible, they bestow tiieir gifts for the special benefit of the
regular agencies of the Church, as such gifts are to be added
to the Memorial Fund by the direction of this General As
sembly. ,
5. The figures of the Memorial Committee are to be relied
upon as correct in all their particulars. But it is to be regret
ted that there has been no uniform rule adopted by the Presby
teries respecting their report of the sums given to different

MEMOEIAL FUND. 693
objects. Some report Memorial offerings also in the columns
of their statistical tables, and others make no such report So
that these tables cannot be a fair exhibit of what has been
done during the year for the several departments of Church
advance. Your Committee are not able to suggest any practi
cable remedy for this misfortune, and therefore are content with
this mere reference to it. For reliable particulars concerning
the distribution of the Memorial offerings, we raust examine
the detailed report, and list of churches, to be published by the
Committee. Having alluded to these inferences and considerations, among
the many that might be presented, we conclude our report by
recommending that the Assembly adopt the following resolu
tions : —
1. That we devoutly thank Almighty God, of whom come
both riches and honor, and who also can give strength unto all,
so that they may be able to offer willingly after this sort, that He
has inclined our people to lay this Memorial gift upon His altar.
2. That we thank our brethren who have served the Church
on the Committee — the most satisfactory results of whose wis
dom and patience and work is given us in this report — for their
fidelity and devotion in the discharge of this sacred yet diffi
cult duty to which they were called, while we feel that this
result must be their most worthy reward.
3. That we congratulate the Church upon such proof of what
she is able to achieve, and of her raore complete equipment for
the future, upon the iDroad threshold of which our reunion has
placed her, with the promise of great success ; and that the
contribution of so large a sum of money, in addition to the
support of the regular agencies of the Church, leaves no doubt
that she can hereafter answer any demands which the increased
and more active piety of her merabers may make upon her
wealth. 4. That while there is evident need of even more money, espe
cially for the relief of our new churches — six hundred of which
are believed to be still without houses of worship — and for the
greater success of our home and foreign missionary work ; and
while we believe the Church is willing to respond to this neces
sity, the raising of this money may now be accomplished by
the JBoards of the Church, and the continuance of any special
agencies for this purpose will not be wise.
5. That we accept this report of the Coraraittee as evidence
of their completed work, yet that the Committee be continued
till the session of the next General Assembly, that they may
superintend the details that may still require their attention,
and make their final report to that body.

694 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
6. That as there are some churches which, for various reasons,
have been unable to make their reports, yet desire to have a
place among those contributing to this Fund, the Committee be
requested to delay the printing of the roll of churches and indi
viduals so contributing, till the first of August next. That be
fore that date any churches or individuals may have opportunity
to report for regular insertion, any sums that may have been
given previous to the third Thursday of May, and all others
may report what they desire to be added to the Fund, their
names and gifts being printed in a list that may be regarded as
a supplement to the regular report.
All which is respectfully submitted.
Signed by the Committee. James Eells, Ckai/rmwn.

CHAPTER XVIII.
EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL SKETCHES.

STATISTICS OF THE CHURCH (OLD SCHOOL BRANCH)
SINCE 1837. By the Rev. David Irving, D.D.
A GENERATION has passed away since our Church became two
bands. The forces which divided it did not arrest the life and aggressive
action of the two separate parts. Each gradually took up an inde
pendent position, and sought in its own way to advance the interests
of the Redeemer's kingdom. Each at the outset had its own defined
policy, which has either been modified or enlarged to meet new de
mands or a new order of things ; and each has been brought, as the
result of a thorough and intelligent experience, to see eye to eye, as
to the best mode of conducting the work and the varied schemes of
the Church.
But it is only with one branch of the reunited body we have to
do, and to show in figures, as far as these can express its vital forces,
the things accomplished by it.
Energy and an enlightened denominational zeal has marked the
ecclesiastical life and history of the Old School branch. Holding to
certain great principles of action before the disruption, it has steadily
and with an increasing devotion maintained them since. This has
not interfered -with what it regarded as outside efforts. To humane
and philanthropic enterprises it has given, through its local churches
and individual gifts, much generous sympathy and aid, and it may be
truly said that no portion of Christ's Church, according to its numeri
cal strength, has done more for such movements than the members
of the Presbyterian family in this land. A small part of what the Old
School has done in this line of effort may be seen in the "Miscella
neous " column of its " Minutes,'' which amounts in the last three
years to $1,211,654. This smn is mainly the result of congregational

696

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

collections; the steady outflow of individual donations cannot be
estimated. It took time for each branch to settle do^wn into a healthy and work
ing condition; hence the Minutes of 1838 can give no just estimate
of the relative strength and state of the two parties. These can be
gathered more truly from the published records of 1840, when each
knew its true place and the number of its friends and adherents.
The undivided Church made the following report in 1837 :

i

i

0

1

Membebs.

I

s

8

s

X

«

a.

3

0

0

23
135
2,140
z8o
244
2,86s
220,SS7
The following is the statistical report of the Old School in 1840 ;
s
i
a
1
%
a
X
Members.
a
ES
s
3
K
P.
s
i3
a
5
17
96
1,221
185
199
1.763
126,583
From this period until 1869, the last time when its Minutes as a
distinct organization were issued, we have thu-ty working years, in
cluding that of 1840 ; dividing this into three equal portions, and we
have the following results :
s
li
1
H
oi
a
1
1
a
Q
Membeks.
H
(0
c^
z
i
;3
6
8
1849
^3
X22
1,860
252
364
2,512
200,830
l8S9
33
168
2.577
297
493
3,487
279,630
1869
27
143
2,381
187
376
2,740
258,903
EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 697
In the first decade there is a gain of 6 synods, 26 presbyteries, 639
nunisters, 67 licentiates, 165 candidates, 749 churches, and 74i247
members. In the second decade there is a gain of 10 synods, 46
presbyteries, 717 ministers, 45 licentiates, 129 candidates, 975
churches, and 78,800 members. In the third period there is a de
crease of 6 synods, 25 presbyteries, 196 ministers, no licentiates,
117 candidates, 747 churches, and 20,727 communicants.
This last period covers two important secessions from the body.
One of these in 186 1, when 10 synods, 45 presbyteries, embracing
741 ministers, and 1,134 churches, with nearly 76,000 communicants,
in what was then called the Confederate States, withdrew, and were
organized into a separate Churdi; the other in 1866, when the larger
portion of the churches in Kentucky, and about one-half of the
churches in Missouri, embracing some 10,000 members, ceased to be
enrolled as an integral part of our Church. This last period, though
showing from the causes specified a loss in the aggregate, was yet
equally with the others a reaping time, and considering all the cir
cumstances in our national and ecclesiastical affairs, was one of the
richest results and most decided growth. Thus 370,589 members in
the three decades were admitted on profession of their faith into
communion with the church. In the first were received 93,546 on
examination; in the second, 139,657; and in the third, 137,386.
Taking the first twenty years, when a comparison only can be drawn
between the relative increase of the Old School Church and that of
the country at large, and we have this interesting fact, that whilst the
increase of population in the latter from 1840 to i860 was 81^ per
cent, the advance iu the membership of our Church was 131 per
cent. At the time of the separation the Church was engaged in evange
listic efforts at home and abroad. The organizations aided were both
ecclesiastical and voluntary. These were not, however, as numerous
and comprehensive as the schemes instituted and fostered by each
branch in later times. Three prominent causes were aided by those
who adhered to the Old School body, and these were in one form or
another under ecclesiastical control, ¦viz., Foreign Missions, Domestic
Missions, and Education. As soon as the division took place, the
Western Foreign Missionary Society was transferred to the General
Assembly, and through it as the Board of Foreign Missions has the

698 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Church sought the evangelization of Jew and Gentile, of Romanist,
Pagan, and Mohammedan. The " Board for the Publication of Tracts
and Sabbath-school Books," afterwards changed to the " Presbyterian
Board of Publication," was transferred, under the name of " The
Presbyterian Tract and Sabbath-school Book Society," from the Synod
of Philadelphia to the care of the General Assembly in 1838, and be
came one of the accredited agencies of the Church. The Church
Extension Committee, afterwards called " Board," was instituted by
the Assembly in 1844, and continued under the direction and over
sight of the Board of Missions till 1855, when it became a distinct
body, and was located at St. Louis. The sixth bene^volent scheme
of the Church was inaugurated by the General Assembly in 1849, to
meet the wants of disabled ministers and the widows and orphans of
deceased ministers. The funds for this object were disbursed by the
Board of Publication upon the recommendation of presbyteries, and
afterwards they were transferred for distribution to the trustees of the
General Assembly. The seventh ecclesiastical agency is the Assem
bly's Committee on Freedmen, authorized by the supreme judicatory
ofthe Church in 1864, but which did not get into active and effective
working until the following year.
It will thus be seen from this simple statement that the benevolent
schemes of our Church have more than doubled since its separate and
independent action, and that they cover very broad and imiJortant
interests, both in themselves and in their immediate bearing upon the
extension of Christ's own cause among all classes and in all lands.
In their support many hearts have been enlisted, and for their ad
vancement and success much Christian activity, generosity, self-
denial, and prayer have been given and consecrated. Such offerings
have been blessed to many souls, and have been a great spiritual
power in the Church itself
In summing up fhe contributions of our Zion to the different spe
cified objects, we can only gather up the amounts contributed directly
to the respective Boards and Committees, but these are far from
embracing the Church's gifts to these causes. Thus the Board of
Education receives a small part of what is generously bestowed upon
this important work. This may be seen from a comparison of the
Minutes of the General Assembly with the published statements of
the Board. The latter reports for the last three years a total of

ESPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 699
$123,507; the former sets forth $815,720, as given in this time for
this object. A great disparity is also seen in Church Extension
and some of the other causes, but even these columns in the " Min
utes" fail to exhibit the majority of individual gifts and private sub
scriptions to various interests of tlie Church. But, taking simply the
reports of die different Boards, etc., and we have the following facts
and figures : domestic missions.
This Board has received, from 1838 to 1870, $2,548,965. It is
impossible to tell the number of missionaries who have been aided
throughout the length and breadth of the land, the number of
churches brought into existence, sustained and made self-supporting
by its gifts, and the number that but for its steady aid would have
died. EDUCATION.
This Board, for the various departments aided by it, has received,
from 1838 to 1870, $1,357,335, and has assisted in this time 2,761
candidates for the ministry, as well as extended help to schools and
colleges. the BOARD OF PUBLICATION,
Leaving out of ¦view its large sales, and what it has accomplished by
its sound Hterature, has received for its colportage fund, etc., from
1840 to 1870, $561,927. CHURCH extension.
During its eleven years' connection with the Board of Missions, it
aided 382 churches to complete their buildings without debt, and
obtained in contributions $68,544. In the fifteen years of its sep
arate existence it has raised $515,287, given help to 1040 churches,
and secured free from debt property worth $3,575,500; making
a total of receipts $583,831, and of churches assisted 1422.
the DISABLED MINISTERS' FUND
Reports a total of donations given by the Church, from 1849 to 1869,

700 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
at $199,788. The number of ministers, widows, and orphans relieved
and cheered by this fund cannot be given, but the numbers reported
each year make in the aggregate 422 ministers, 586 widow-s, and 62
families of orphans. The number assisted for 1870 is 64 ministers,
91 widows, and 13 families of orphans. The receipts for the past year
were $36,774. The total of the Permanent Fund is $41,442.
THE freedmen's COMMITTEE
Has received from the churches, during its five working years,
$135,264, has organized 75 churches, has 76 schools, and 57 build
ings for church purposes. In its churches are gathered 5,264 commu
nicants, and in its schools 5,220 pupils.
FOREIGN MISSIONS.
In 1831 the Western Foreign Missionary Society was organized
at Pittsburg, Pa. This society received till 1837, from churches
and individuals, $92,362 ; then it was transferred to the General As
sembly, as has been already stated. From 1838 to 1870 the Board
of Foreign Missions has received from all sources $5,296,365 ; but
omitting what it has acknowledged from Government school funds
for the Indians, Bible and Tract Societies, etc., the amount from the
Church, including legacies, is $4,379,879.
The following were transferred > to the Board by the Western For
eign Missionary Society: 3 missions, 7 stations, 11 missionaries, 6
male and 27 female assistant missionaries; in 1870 the Board has 21
missions, 67 stations and sub-stations, 84 foreign missionaries, 15
ordained native ministers, 8 licentiates, a large number of candidates,
8 foreign male and 87 female assistant missionaries, 199 native assis
tants, 12 presbyteries, 54 organized churches, with a membership as
far as reported of 2,047. In the different schools, day and boarding,
are 7,465 children and adults. The receipts of the past year have
been $271,940. Besides these results, the property of the Board in
New York, and the property reared and gathered for missionary pur
poses in different lands, would cost to-day, to obtain them, at least
$350,000. The vast sums contributed for theological seminaries and colleges

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 701
in the past thirty years, and the influence of tiiese upon the growth
and efficiency of our Zion, cannot be estimated. Never in its his
tory were there such noble gifts and such Christian givers as are now
within its pale, b'at never had our branch such large resources to
consecrate to the cause of Christ and humanity. In 1858, when the
membership of our body was almost the same as in 1869, the aggre
gate of all its reported contributions for benevolent and congrega
tional purposes was $2,544,692; but the whole amount in 1869 was
$4,526,281, showing a vast difference in these two periods and in
favor of the present.
The total number of books and tracts issued by the Board of Pub
lication from its organization to 1870 is 15,132,788. Last year
1,765,000 copies of the "Sabbath-school Visitor" (a semi-monthly),
and 175,00 copies of the "Record," were printed. Within the
same time 42,500 copies of the pamphlet " Foreign Missionary,'' and
about 720,000 copies of the children's " Foreign Missionary,'' were
issued. A church thus orgamzed and equipped, possessing such life and
zeal, guided throughout its various departments by like faith and
principles, animated with the same spirit, and seeking the same end,
is capable of still greater achievements ; as these facts show, it has
been steadily putting forth new life and ppwer, and never was it so
capable of doing great things for God as at the present time. If
figures are in themselves dry and bald, still, as in the case before us,
they are expressive of thing's done, and if rightly viewed they contain
the seeds of events that are yet to be developed. The '" spolia
opima " for God and eternity are to be gathered. May some future
statistician show by facts and figures the wonderful impulse given to
our church life, benevolence, and deeds from the year 1870.
By a reference to the statistics of the Consolidated Church, which
we give upon a succeeding page, it will be seen that its Benevolence
received a stimulus even greater than was anticipated by the consum
mation of the Reunion. The efforts of the Committee on the Sus
tentation Fund and the Committee of Benevolence and Finance have
done much to produce this result.

702

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

STATISTICS OF THE CHURCH (NEW SCHOOL BRANCH)
SINCE 1837. By the Rev. Edwin F. Hatfield, D.D.
The history of the New School branch of the Church, during the
period of the disniption, has been so well and fully written and put
on record in another portion of this volume, that very little remains
to be stated. A few brief statistics will complete the picture.
When the disruption became an accomplished fact in 1838, it
found this portion of the denomination utterly unprepared for a sep
arate existence. Such a result they had not contemplated. They
opposed the excision of 1837, and sought to maintain the integrity
of the body. They clung to the hope to the very last, relinquishing
it only when the breach appeared to be irreparable. Consequently,
they were compelled to enter upon their distinct course, without
records, without funds, without any organized agencies to carry for
ward their operations (save such as were furnished by co-operative
associations), and even without any well-defined plans for the future.
In these circumstances, it was found impossible to publish, in con
nection with the Minutes of 1838, any detailed statements of the
condition of this branch, thus rudely broken off from the parent tree.
The Statistical Reports of the Presbyteries fell into the hands of the
other branch, and were published in connection with the Minutes of
their proceedings.
The first tabular statanent of the denomination called " the New
School," appeared in 1839, in connection ¦with the published Minutes
of the Assembly of that year. Excluding the baptisms and funds,
the following figures, taken from the " Summary View " of the Statis
tical Reports, give some idea of the composition of the body at that
date :

i

CAm

Z

ui h

u

Communicants.

S

z

0

<

S

p<

1-1

U

0

85

1,181

105

43

1,286

100,850

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL.

703

These figures, however, are not reliable. On examining the roll,
it is found that ten Presbyteries are included improperly, and must be
deducted. The table thus corrected would be as follows :

a

oi

I
m
i
8
\
i
3 z
t
1
Communicants.
PM
z
8
0
6
75
1,093
95
43
1,260
97.033
A reference to the Statistical Reports themselves shows that the
returns from the churches were very imperfect. A large number of
them failed entirely to report the number of communicants ; so that
the whole number of church members was much greater than here
appears, probably by one-tenth at the least. This would show a total
of 106,736 communicants, which probably is a near approximation
to the true state of the case.
The number of the Synods can be gathered only from the roll of
that year. It thus appears that seventeen Synods were represented,
in two cases by only a single Presbytery, the remaining presbyteries
adliering to the other branch ; so that but fifteen Synods are to be
reckoned as attached to the New School branch at the disruption.
The progress of the body may properly be measured at equal in
tervals of ten years, covering a period of thirty years to the Reunion.
In 1849 the following summary view was given :
s
(/ife
1
iXu
Communicants.
K
D
>
in
Ph
s
a
"
5
20
104
1. 453
130
58
1. 555
139.047
Th.s was the period of Triennial Assemblies, and many circum
stances conspired to retard the growth of the body during the whole
decade, as has already appeared in the Narrative History ; yet the
growth was very gratifying.
704

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

At the expiration of another period of the same number of years,
the Minutes of 1859 exliibit the following tabular statement :

ui

i
>
z
<P
a
Pi
Communicants.
K
m
P.
s
i-l
u
U
23
108
1,545
134
370
1.542
137,990
The progress of the body would appear from this statement to
have been slower than in the previous decade. But it is to be borne
in mind that in the year 1858 the Southern Synods, in their zeal for
the conservation of the system of slavery, and in obedience to the
behests of the slaveholding aristocracy of that portion of the country,
separated from their brethren at the North, and walked no more with
them. The returns from the Synod of Virginia for a previous year
are included in the summary of 1859. The other Synods had been
dropped from the roll. Had these Synods also been reported in 1859,
the footings would have been as follows :
tn
!
(A[I]E->
1
<H Z
Q2
6
1
0
Communicants.
27
122
1,641
136
333
1,721
147,664
Comparing this statement with that of 1849, it is seen that the
denomination, notwithstanding the difficulties and discouragements
with which it had to contend, elsewhere circumstantially and truth
fully related, had made considerable progress, and had fully -vindicated
its claims to an honorable recognition among the ecclesiastical powers
of the land.
Another period of ten years covers the remainder of the separate
history of the two branches. The summary for 1869 exhibits the
following results :
EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL.

705

a
^
1 Q
g
SP
1
<
u
COMMUNICAMTS.
K
8
S
w
P^
rt
a
u
u
24
"3
1,848
116
303
i»63i
172,560
This last decade shows but a small growth in the number of Synods
and Presbyteries, the tendency being not to an enlargement of their
number, but to an increase of their strength. The number of licen
tiates and candidates, owing probably to the absorption of such a
vast host of young men by the army and navy during the War of
the Rebellion, had actually decreased. But a large addition had been
made to the ministry, the churches, and the communicants. The
Reunion finds this part of the Church in a most healthy, thriving
condition. In respect to funds for -the promotion of the great schemes of the
Church and for the support of pubUc worship, it is not possible to
give any tabular statements with any sort of accuracy. This part of
the Church, it is well known, was distinguished for its adherence to
the co-operative system of benevolent actisn. It is but recently that
it has established boards of its own, and withdrawn from the volun
tary societies in part. With the exception of the funds for the As
sembly, no reports were rendered by the presbyteries of the sums
contributed by the churches, either for their own support or foi pur
poses of benevolence, until the year 1853, at which time the denom
inational spirit began to be more fully developed. The returns of
funds contributed for that year were as follows :
Assembly.
Home Missions.
FoH. Missions.
Education.
Publication.
$3,990 40
$62,058 38
S53.143 25
$28,922 88
$34,535 39
These returns included, under each separate head, all that was
given in every direction in that particular line. Latterly they have
been principally restricted to what was given to the boards and com
mittees of the Church, while gifts to outside associations and objects
45
ro6

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

have been mostly included under a miscellaneous head. Several new
columns have been introduced, and among them one exhibiting the
sums expended for congregational purposes — the sums expended on
themselves by each congregation. The returns for 1869 are as fol
lows :

z0I
i 0
S

J,z2
s ee*

Iu
1

§In

0I
0

i

i

<

J<§<i
(3

oiD§z
8

¦$142,377

$116,364

$29,492

$14,491

$43,013

$18,966

$12,594

$12,998

$2,866,940

$363,298

The sum total, thus reported as contributed by the churches within
the year preceding the meeting of the Assembly of 1869 — the last
year of the separate existence ofthe two branches — is $3,620,533.
As the history of the rise and progress of the denominational
spirit is elsewhere so fully given, it is not deemed necessary to go
more fully into the details of the sums given from year to year, espe
cially as the returns from the presbyteries have, until recently, been
quite defective in these respects. Enough is here given to show,
that, at the time of the Reunion, this branch of the Church had at
tained to a most commendable development of its energies and
resources, in the extension and building up of the Redeemer's king
dom on the earth.

BRIEF SKETCHES OF THE MEMBERS OF THE "RE
UNION COMMITTEE." By the Rev. James H. M. Knox,
D.D.
The gratitude of the Chnrch ¦will ever render illustrious the names of the Re
union Committee of 1866. The work they performed in bringing together the
two branches of the now United Church is fitly commemorated in the fifth chapter
of this volume. It is the object of these sketches to furnish simply the outlines of
their biography. Their names are given on page 426.

ESPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL.

707

THE REV. JOHN M. KREBS, D.D., New York City.
For incidents ofhis life see Biographical Sketches, etc., page 326.
THE REV. CHARLES C. BEATTY, D.D., LL.D., Steubenville, Ohio.
Charles Clinton Beatty, son of Col. Erkuries Beatty, was born near
Princeton, N. J., in the year 1800. His father was an officer in the army of the
Revolution. His grandfather, the Rev. Charles Beatty, was an eminent minister
of the Presbyterian Churcli. He was educated at the College of New Jersey at
Princeton, and in the Theological Seminary in the same place. He was licensed
to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, in January, 1822, and
on October ist of the same year was ordained as an evangelist, with a view to
missionary labor in the West. Having spent seven months in the States of In
diana and Illinois, he received a call to the First Presbyterian Church of Steuben
ville, Ohio, May, 1823. He was installed pastor in October, 1823. In this
charge he continued until the spring of 1837, when his health having failed, the
church reluctantly accepted his resignation. Shortly after, his health having im
proved, he commenced the enterprise of a second church in Steubenville. A
church edifice was erected and a church organized in 1838. Here he ministered
at first as partial supply, and then as pastor until the summer of 1847. He has
since acted as minister-at-large among the churches of the Presbytery and its
neighborhood. The honorary degree of S.T.D. was conferred upon him by
¦Washington College, at Washington, Pa., in 1840, and in 186 1 the same institu
tion conferred upon him the degree of LL.D. At the meeting of the General
Assembly in Columbus, Ohio, in May, 1862, he was elected Moderator. He has
been a director of the Western Theological Seminary from its organization ; and
for the p.ast eight years he has lectured in the same Institution. Dr. Beatty
has been the recipient of numerous appointments from the General Assembly. He
was a member of the Committee on the Revision of the Book of Discipline, ap
pointed in 1857, and Chairman of the Committee on the Board of Publication, ap
pointed by the General Assembly of 1862, and which made its report at Peoria
in 1863. In 1 866 he was appointed on the Committee on the Reunion of the
Presbyterian Church, and in 1869 the General Assembly, at its adjourned meeting
in Pittsburg, Pa., appointed him on the Committee on the Reconstruction of the
Church. In 1829, in co-operation with his wife, Dr. Beatty commenced the
Female Seminary at SteubenviUe, Ohio, which has ever smce been under his
superintendence. In the Presbyterian Church no man is held in greater veneration and love than
Dr. Charles C. Beatty. His life has been a pre-eminently useful one. In every good
work he has been forward. Washington College and the Theological Seminaiy
at Allegheny City have partaken very largely of his cares, toils, prayers, and bene
factions. To each of these institutions he has given $50,000, having very lately
endowed the Chair of Theology at the Seminary at Allegheny with the munificent
sum of $35,000, in addition to $15,000 that he had previously bestowed upon the
Institution. In the work of Reunion Dr. Beatty has been engaged with all tha

708 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
ardor of his nature, and he rejoices over nothing so much as that he has been
spared in the good providence of God to see the work for which he labored so
earnestly consummated so grandly.
THE REV. J. TRUMBULL BACKUS, D.D., Schenectady, N. Y.
J. Trumbull Backus, son of E. F. Backus, was bom in the city of Albany,
N. Y., January 27, 1809. He was prepared for college at the Albany Academy,
and graduated at Columbia College, in the city of New York, in 1827. He re
ceived from that Institution the degree of A.M. in 1830. He pursued his the
ological studies at Palnceton from 1827 to 1830, at Andover from 1830
to 1831, and at New Haven during the last half of the year 1832. He
was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of New York in 1830.
He was ordained and instaUed pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of
Schenectady, N. Y., by the Presbytery of Albany, in December, 1832. He
received the honorary degree of S.T.D. from Union College in 1847. He has
been a member of seven General Assemblies, and has served the Church on many
important Committees. He was one of the Committee that prepared the Hymnal.
He was unanimously elected Moderator of the First Reunited Assembly of 1870.
In the discharge of his duties in this high office he gained the commendation of all
his brethren, for the impartiality, suavity, and dignity -with which he presided over
the deliberations of the Assembly.
THE REV. PHINEAS D. GURLEY, D.D., Washington, D. C.
See Biographical Sketches, etc., page 336.
THE REV. JOSEPH G. MONFORT, D.D., Cincinnati, Ohio.
Joseph Glass Monfort, son of Rev. Francis and Sophia (Glass) Monfort,
was bom in Warren County, Ohio, December g, 18 10. His father, who was for
many years pastor of Hamilton, Ohio, and Mount Carmel, Ind. , was of Hugue
not ancestry, and himself was bom in Adams County, Pa. Dr. Monfort grad
uated in Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1834. He pursued his theological
studies in 1835 and 1836, in Indiana Theological Seminary, at Hanover, Indiana.
In 1836 and 1837, he, in connection with Dr. W. L. Breckinridge, established and
edited the " Presbyterian Herald " at Louisville, Ky. He was licensed to preach
in September, 1837, by the Presbytery of Oxford. He preached six months in
Hamilton, Ohio, from the date of his father's resignation of that charge. He
received and accepted a caU from Greensburg, Ind., in 1838, and was ordained
and mstalled pastor of the churches of Greensburg and Sand Creek by the Pres
bytery of Indianapolis, in April, 1839. The church of Greensburg divided a
few weeks before his call, soon after the Assembly of 1838. He resigned his
charge in October, 1842, on account of the division. In two years after he was
agent for the Theological Seminary at New Albany, Ind. In October, 1844, h«
was recaUed to Greensburg, both divisions of the congregation uniting in the in

EXPLANATOEY AifD STATISTICAL. 709
vitation. This caU he accepted, and remained pastor at Greensburg untU Jan
uary, 185s, when he was mvited by the vote of the Synod of Indiana, and by a
circular letter signed by a large majority of the Synods of Northern Indiana, Cin
cinnati, and Ohio, through the agency of Rev. Drs. E. D. MacMaster, J. E.
Thomas, and J. M. Stevenson, to become the editor of the " Presbyterian of the
West," Cincinnati, from which the Rev. Dr. N. L. Rice had recently retired.
He has since conducted this paper, first changing its name to "The Presbyter,"
and in October, 1869, uniting with the New School paper at Cincinnati, under
the name "Herald and Presbyter." He was Stated Clerk of the Presbytery
of White Water from its erection until his removal to Cincinnati.
He received the honorary degree of S.T.D. from Centre College, Kentucky, in
1853. For many years he has been a member of the Church Extension Commit
tee and of the Boards of Domestic and Foreign Missions, and a Trustee of Han
over CoUege, Indiana. For several years he was a Director of the Theologi'-al
Seminai-y of the Northwest, and he is now a Trustee of Lane Theological Sem
inary, at Walnut HiUs, Cincinnati.
For ten years Dr. Monfort has been an eamest advocate in his paper of the
reunion of the Presbyterian Church. He was the author of the Newark paper on
Reunion, which was signed by seventy ministers and forty Ruling Elders in at
tendance upon the General Assembly in 1864. He was the founder and editor of
the " Reunion Presbyterian," in 1865. He was the author of the paper adopted
by the General Assembly of 1866, proposing negotiations for reunion. He was
appointed by the General Assembly of 1866 a member of the Joint Committee on
Reunion. He was the author and mover of the supplementary action of the Gen
eral Assembly in Albany in 1868, proposing to the other Assembly a change of
the Basis, so as to make its doctrinal theories the standards pure and simple. He
was the author of an article in the "American and Presbyterian Review" which
was sent to aU the ministers of both Churches, proposing union upon the stand
ards alone as. the proper basis.
THE REV. WILLIAM D. HOWARD, D.D., Allegheny City, Pa.
William D. Howard, the son of Caleb and Julia (McCartee) Howard, was
born Ul Philadelphia, on July 28, 1814. His father was a native of New England
and his mother of Pennsylvania. Her ancestors belonged to the Society of
Friends. At the age of fifteen he became a member of the Second Presbyterian
Church of Philadelphia, then under the pastoral care of the Rev. Joseph Sanford.
In the foUowing year he began his studies with a view to the ministry, in the Man
ual Latin Academy at Germantovra, Pa. When this Institution was merged into
La Fayette College at Easton, he removed to that place and continued his studies
there. In 1833 he retumed to Germantovra, and pursued theological studies
under the superintendence of the Rev. Dr. 'WUliam NeiU. He was licensed to
preach by the Second Presbytery of PhUadelphia, in October, 1837 ; and on March
13, 1S3S, he was ordained and instaUed pastor of the Presbyterian Church in

710 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Frankford, Pa. His ministry in Frankford was a highly successful one. In
1849 he received a caU from the Second Presbyterian Church of Pittsburg.
This caU he accepted, and was installed pastor of the church by the Presbytery ol
Ohio, on May i6th, 1849. With this church he stiU remains. Under his min-
i.'itry it has greatly prospered, and increased largely in numbers, Uberality, and effi
ciency. He received the degree of S.-T.D., in 1853, from Washington CoUege,
Pa. For several years Dr. Howard was a Trustee of Washington CoUege. He is
now, as he has been for a. number of years. President of the Board of Trustees
of the Western University of Pennsylvania, located in Pittsburg. In 1849 ^^
was elected a Director of the Western Theological Seminary at AUegheny City,
and this position he still holds. For many years he has been a member of the
Boards of Foreign and Domestic Missions of the Presbyterian Church. Since
the organization of the General Assemulj "s Committee on Freedmen, Dr. Howard
has been a member of it, and was for the first year its Chairman. This place he
resigned, under the impression that he would leave Pittsburg for Cincinnati. In
1 85 7 he preached a sermon before the General Assembly at Lexington, Ky., by
appointment of the previous Assembly, in behalf of Domestic Missions. This
discourse was afterwards published by the Board. Dr. Howard is the author ol
many sermons published by request. A number of these were preached before
tlie Synod of Pittsburg, the others were delivered on various special occasions —
as instaUations, in commemoration of deceased friends in the ministry, etc.
Dr. Howard remains in Pittsburg, though he has repeatedly been solicited to
leave for charges in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York. In 1866 he had a
most urgent caU to the First Church of Cincinnati, which he thought it his duty
to accept, but the Presbytery, in response to the eamest desires of the church ol
Pittsburg, unanimously declined to dissolve the relations between Dr. Howard and
them, and the result has proven that the decision was a wise one ; for few things
are better known than that no man is more beloved than is this pastor, or more
abundantly useful
THE REV. WILLIAM E. SCHENCK, D.D., Philadelphia, Pa.
William Edward Schenck, the son of John C. and Ann B. (Hutchinson)
Schenck, was bom at Princeton, N. J., March 29, 1819. His ancestors
came to this country from HoUand about the year 1 730. They first settled at
Flatlands, L. I. , but soon removed to Pleasant VaUey, Monmouth County, N. J. ,
where Garrett Schenck, at that time the head of the family, had purchased a large
tract of land. Garrett Schenck was a Ruling Elder in the Reformed Dutch Church,
and through his exertions mainly the Reformed Dutch Church at Holmdel was
founded. He was also a member of the Provincial Legislature. One of his
descendants, the grandfather of the subject of this notice, removed to the vicinity
of Princeton, and purchased a large farm there. The ancestors of Dr. Schenck for
seven generations were pious persons, and members, several of them ruling elder >,

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 711
of the Church. He received his education at Princeton, at the academy of th»
Rev. Robert Baird, D.D., at Edge HiU, then under the care of the Rev. Robert
Patton, D.D., in the College of New Jersey, entering the Freshman class in 1834,
and graduatmg in 1838. On graduating he devoted himself to the study of law,
which he pursued for more than a year under the care of James S. Green, Esq. ,
of Princeton. Before the end of this time his religious views underwent a change,
and he united with the First Presbyterian Church of Princeton, of which the Rev.
Benjamin H. Rice, D.D., was pastor. He soon afler decided to study for the
mmistry, and entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton, from which institu
tion he graduated in 1842. He was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presby
tery of New Brunswick, AprU 27, 1842. By the advice of the Rev. Archibald Al
exander, and the Rev. Richard Webster, of Mauch Chunk, Pa. , he devoted the sum
mer after he had received license to missionary work among the coal-mining popula
tion of SchuylkiU County, Pa. Returning to Princeton, he was caUed to be the pas
tor of the Presbyterian Church of Manchester, Monmouth County, N. J. This caU
he accepted, and was ordained and installed by the Presbytery of New Brunswick,
February 28, 1843. In 1845 he was invited to undertake a new church enter
prise in the city of New York. This invitation he accepted, and the Hammond
Street Church was organized, in which his labors were largely blessed. In the
midst of his labors in New York, in the beginning of 1848, he received an eamest
call to become the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Princeton, N. J.
In this call aU the Professors of the CoUege and of the Theological Seminary
warmly united. He was instaUed at Princeton, May 7, 1848. During his pas
torate there the church received numerous accessions, especiaUy in 1850, in which
a powerful revival occurred, which added to the church more than eighty persons.
While Dr. Schenck was settled at Princeton, those eminent and venerable men.
Dr. Samuel Miller and Dr. Archibald Alexander, died, and he was called to at
tend upon them in then: last hours upon the earth. In AprU, 1852, Mr. Schenck
was induced to leave Princeton to accept the office of Superintendent of Church
Extension in PhUadelphia. This office he held for two years, when he was elected
Corresponding Secretary of the Board of PubHcation, and entered upon the duties
of that office November i, 1854. In this position he has now served the Church
with faithfulness and ability for nearly twenty years. He received the honorary
degree of S.T.D. from Jefferson College in the year 1859.
In 1862 the General Assembly elected hira Permanent Clerk.
THE REV. VILLEROY D. REED, D.D., Camden, N. J.
Villeroy D. Reed, the son of Kitchel and SaUie (Dibble) Reed, was bom in
GranviUe, Washington County, N. Y., AprU 27, 1815. His patemal ancestor
was ¦yohn Reed, an officer in Cromwell's army, who, after the Restoration in
England, fled to this country and settled on a farm in Norwalk, Conn. From
this place his grandfather, after the Revolutionary war, removed to Northern New
York, then a wUderness. When he was five years of age his father removed to

712 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
J^ansmgburg, N. Y., where he was brought up. At the age of tweh'e he was re
ceived into the First Presbyterian Church of Lansingburg, then under the pastoral
care of the Rev. Samuel Blatchford, D. D. From this time he was very anxious
to prepare for the ministry, but many difficulties were in his way, because of the
straitened pecuniary circumstances of his father. At the age of fifteen he taught a
district school to secure funds for college ; and from that time till he was licensed
to preach he taught more or less every year. In September, 1832, he entered
the Junior Class of Union College, Schenectady, N. Y. , and though compeUed to
labor in various ways to procure the means to meet his expenses (for he never
obtained any assistance from the Church), he graduated in 1835 with his class, and
with as high a grade of scholarship as any other member. He was tutor in Union
CoUege for one year. For more than a year he taught an academy in Waterford,
N. Y. WhUe thus engaged he studied Hebrew with Professor Taylor Lewis, of
Union College, and Theology as he best could. He was licensed by the Presbytery
of Troy (O. S. ), in the Synod of Albany, August 29, 1838. After his licensure he
entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton, N. J., and graduated in 1839.
He accepted a call from the Presbyterian Church of Stillwater, N. Y., and was
ordained and instaUed pastor of the church by the Presbytery of Albany, Decem
ber 18, 1839. Here he remained, with many tokens of the Divine favor upon his
ministry, till the spring of 1844, when he received and accepted a call from the
church of his youth, the First Presbyterian Church of Lansingburg, over which he
was installed by the Presbytery of Troy, July g, 1844. He continued in Lansing
burg fourteen years, during which the church greatly prospered. In the autumn
of 1857 the Synod of Iowa elected him President of Alexander College, estab
lished at Dubuque, Iowa. This invitation he accepted after six months' delibers-
tion, being strongly urged thereto by the Rev. Drs. Van Rennsalaer and Chester,
at that time the Secretaries of the Board of Education of the Presbyterian
Church. Against the remonstrances of his church, the Presbytery, with whom the
decision was left, decided that it was his duty to go ; and accordingly he left his
pleasant home and strongly attached people, to devote, as he thought, the remain-
mg years of his life to educational and missionary labors beyond the Mississippi.
The times, however, were not propitious. The coUege suffered in the finanqial
tornado which soon swept over the country, and it became evident that its opera
tions must cease, for a time at least. In this crisis Mr. Reed was invited to
preach at Buffalo, N. Y., as supply for six months of the church of which the
Rev. Dr. Jolm C. Lord was, as he is stiU, the pastor, and afterwards in organiz
ing and preaching to Calvary Church in connection with the effort of Mr. George
Palmer, who soon after built the elegant edifice on Delaware avenue (now the
pastoral charge of the Rev. Alexander McLean), and presented it to the Church.
"While at Buffalo, it became evident that the coUege enterprise must be aban-
.doced, and Dr. Reed accepted a caU from the First Presbyterian Church of Cam
den, N. J. , over which he was instaUed pastor by the Presbytery of West Jersey,
November 20, 1861, where he still remains.
The honorary degree of S.T.D. was conferred upon him by Union CoUege,

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 713
Schenectady, July 29, 1858. Dr. Reed has been for some years a member of the
Board of Domestic Missions, and has served upon its Executive Committee.
THE REV. FREDERICK T. BROWN, D.D., St. Paul, Minn.
Frederick T. Brown, the son of WUliam and Eleanor (Lyons) Brown,
was born in West Carlisle, Coshocton County, Ohio, where he lived till six
months before leaving home permanently for school His father's father was a
native of Germany, and was a minister of some branch of the German Church.
His father became a member of the Presbyterian Church of St. Clairsville, Ohio,
early in life, and later was a raling elder. His mother was from the north of Ire
land, was connected with the Arbuthnots, and had Huguenot blood in her veins.
She was an eminently godly woman, but always cheerful and pleasant. His
parents were married in St. ClairsviUe, and there his brothers, Rev. J. C. Brown,
D.D., Colonel W. L. Brown (kiUed at Bull Run), and Rev. H. A. Brown, of
Va., were born. When the famUy removed to Coshocton County the country
¦wm as wUd as Colorado and Montana now are, and he grew up familiar with
Indians, hunters, himting, fishing, and nature in aU its wildness. A good deal of
this passed into him and became part of him, and is probably the reason why he
has always enjoyed most a Western and frontier life. He was sent to the prepara
tory school of Jefferson CoUege, at Canonsburg, Pa., in 1840. There he remained
two years and a half, or to the end of the Freshman year. In the year 1842 he
entered the Sophomore class of the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, N. J.,
where he graduated in 1845. I" ^^^ ^^^ °f t'^^ s^"i6 y^^r he entered the Theologi
cal Seminary at Princeton, and remained one seminary year. Then, at the request
of Dr. Robert Baird, and under the auspices of the Foreign Evangelical Society,
he went to Geneva, Switzerland, to study there, if the way were clear, to remain in
Europe, preaching to some French or other church. After counselling freely with
Dr. D'Aubigne, Malan, and others, he was convinced the scheme was not practic
able, dissolved his comiection with the Society, returned the money advanced, and
more, and remained to study as he thought best. After good part of two sem
inary years there (and having traveUed a good deal on the Continent and in Eng
land) he returned to the United States, and spent another term at the Seminary
at Princeton. He was licensed and ordained as an Evangelist by the Presbytery
of Logansport, in the Synod of Northern Indiana. The spring and summer of
1S47 he spent in Dayton, O., supplying the pulpit of the Furst Chm-ch during Dr.
W. C. Anderson's absence in Europe. In the fall of the same year he accepted a
caU to the First Church in Madison, Ind. In the spring of 1853 he went to
Cleveland, O., organized the Westminster Church, and remained there tUl the
breaking out of the war, when he resigned to serve as chaplain in the army. In
1862 he was caUed to the Bridge Street Church, Georgeto-wn, D. C. Here he
remained three years, and resigned to accept an urgent call to Chicago, 111. After
continuing in Chicago a short time, he resigned, and soon afterwards accepted a
call to the Central Church of St. Paul, of which he was pastor for several

714 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
years. In 1864 he received the honorary degree of S.T.D., from La Fayettt
CoUege, at Easton, Pa.
THE REV. J. EDSON ROCKWELL, D'.D., Brooklyn, N. Y.
J. Edson Rockwell, the son of Warren and Sarah R. (WeUs) Rockwell,
was bom at SaUsbury, Vt., May 4, 1816. His father's father, who for nearly
twenty years represented his native town in the Legislature of the State, and his
father were both successively deacons in the same church at East Windsor, and
were descended from a pious ancestry, who, as early as 1626, came from Yorkshire
to the colony of Massachusetts for their attachment to the Puritan faith. Warren
RockweU died at an advanced age hi Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1866. He was a man
eminent for his intelligent piety and devotedness to the service of his Saviour, whom
he imitated most closely, " in gomg about doing good." His son passed his aca
demical studies at the Hudson Academy, Hudson, N. Y., to which place his
father removed in the spring of 181 7. In this academy he was a schoolmate
of Gen. H. W. HaUeck. He graduated at Amlierst College, Mass., Aug.
24, 1S37, and at the Union Theological Seminary, June 30, 1841. He was
Ucensed to preach by the Presbytery of Columbia, April 21, 1841, and was
ordained and instaUed, by the same Presbytery, pastor of the Presbyterian Church
of Valatie, N. Y., October 13, 1841. He remained with this charge until called
to the Hanover Street Presbyterian Church, ¦Wilmington, Delaware, over which
lie was installed. May 4, 1847. Neaily four years later, on the 13th February,
185 1, he was instaUed pastor of the Central Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn,
N. Y., then located on WiUoughby street. Here Mr. Rockwell remained seventeen
years. When he entered upon his duties in Brooklyn, the membership of the
church was only one hundred and twenty. Under his ministry eight hundred were
added, of which nearly one-half was by profession of their faith. In September,
1S68, he reraoved from Brooklyn to Stapleton, S. I., at the caU of the First Presby
terian Church of Edgewater, to which he stiU ministers. He received the honorary
degree of S.T.D. from Jefferson College, at Canonsburg, Pa., in 1859. Dr.
RockweU has been a constant contributor to the religious and secular press. He
is the author of several works, viz. ; " Sketches of the Presbyterian Church,"
"Young Christian Warned,'^ "The Sheet Anchor," "The Visitor's Questions,"
"Scenes and Impressions Abroad," and "Seed Thoughts." Besides these, he
has pubUshed a number of sermons and addresses, delivered on special occasions ;
among which may be mentioned, " A Plea for the Eldership," " Clirist Wallung
on the Water," " The Christian's Work and Rest," " On the Death of President
Taylor," " On the Death of President Lincoln," " Fmitfulness in Old Age."
He has been for sorae years a member of the Board of Publication, and at one
time was the editor of "The Sabbath School Visitor," published by the Board.
He was appointed a member of the Committee on the Reunion of the Presbyte-
jdan Church by the General Assembly of 1867, in the place of the Rev. Dr.

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 715
Krebs, who was incapacitated by the illness which terminated in his lamented
death. THE REV. THOMAS BRAINERD, D.D., Philadelphia, Pa.
See Biographical Sketches, etc, page 387.
THE REV. WILLIAM ADAMS, D.D., LL.D., New York City.
William Adams, the son of John Adams, LL.D., and Elizabeth (Ripley)
Adams, was bom in Colchester, Connecticut, January 25, 1807. His parents
removed in his infancy to Andover, Mass., where his father became the Principal
of Phillips Academy. Few men have lived of more rigid and conscientious integ
rity than John Adams, and few educators have been as distinguished in the train
ing of youth who afterwards were eminent in the various spheres of active and
professional life. Dr. Adams lived to the great age of ninety-one, to enjoy the
abundant evidence that his labors were not in vain. He was a descendant of the
old stock of Henry Adams, which has given two Presidents to the United States.
His wife was a lineal descendant of Governor Bradford, of the May Flower.
Their son was educated at Phillips Academy, Andover, from which he enterea
Yale CoUege, New Haven, and graduated in 1827. His theological studies were
pursued in the Theological Seminai^y at Andover. He was licensed to preach in
Boston, by the Suffolk South Association, in the spring of 1830. Iraraediately
after leaving the Seminary, in September, 1830, he was invited to the pastorate
of the Congregational Chm-ch in Brighton, Mass., where he was ordained and
installed iu February, 1831. Leaving that place, because of the illness of his
v/ife, he was invited to become the pastor of the Broome Street Church in the
city of New York, in the summer of 1834. This invitation he accepted, and he
was installed over the church in November, 1834, by the Third Presbytery of
New York. In 1853, the church erected a new and splendid building on the
comer of Madison avenue and Twenty-fourth street, in which Dr. Adams
continued to preach until his election as President and Professor in Union Theologi
cal Ss;minary in 1S73, after a pastorate of forty years in the same congregation. He
reLtived the honorary degree of S.T.D., in 1842, frora the University of the
City of New York, and of L.L.D. from "The College of New Jersey," at Prince
ton, in 1869. Dr. Adams has occupied a very prominent position in the Presbyte
rian Church frora the time he entered its ministry, and has received from the
C^hurch many marks of its appreciation of his abilities and virture. He was Mod
erator of the General Assembly which met in the city of Washington in the year
1852, and has been a most influential member of several of the standing commit
tees of the General Assembly frora the time of their organization. His published
works consist in part of sermons printed inthe "National Preacher" and in
paraphet form. Among these is one to the memory of Professor Moses Stuart,
which " is a beautiful wreath laid by a grateful pupU upon the grave of his beloved

716 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
teacher and intimate friend." Besides these, he has published several volumes
which have had extended circulation, and are highly appreciated by the Christiai
community, alike for the perfectness of their style and the ability with which their
important themes are treated. These are, "The Three Gardens,'' "Thanksgiv
ing Memories of the Day, and Helps to the Habit," and " Conversations of Jesus
Christ with Representative Men."
Dr. Adams' life has been spent chiefly in his study and among his own people,
he having little taste for ecclesiastical affairs. The Assembly of i866, which met
in the city of St. Louis, however, having appointed him on the Committee on
Reunion, he earnestly engaged in its duties, vrith signal honor to himself, and with
great influence in furthering the end in view. Perhaps it is not too much to say
that his speeches delivered in New York and Pittsburg, both as Commissioner from
the General Assembly of his own Church to the General Assembly of the other
branch, and as member of the Committee on Reunion, contributed most power
fully to the conviction which seemed finally to become unanimous, that Reunion
was safe and right, and raost glorifying to God. In New York, in which city he
has resided so long, his name is identified with many institutions of learning and
benevolence, and his fame as a good man and devoted to good, bringing to the
promotion of every right cause rare abiUties both of mind and heart, is through
out the land, and " in regions beyond."
T'HE REV. EDWIN F. HATFIELD, D.D., New York City.
Edwin F. Hatfield, the son of Oliver S. and Jane (Mann) Hatfield, was
born in Elizabethtown, N. J., January g, 1807. His father was a descendant of
Matthias Hatfield, one of the founders of the tovm in 1665. His mother was a
descendant of John Woodruff, another founder of the town, and of John Ward, Jr. ,
and Richard Harrison, founders of Newark, N. J. He made a public profession of
his faith in Christ in the Central Presbyterian Church of the city of New York, on
March 25, 1827. He graduated at Middlebury College, Vt., in 1829; studied
theology at the Seminary in Andover, Marss., 1829-31 ; was licensed to preach the
Gospel by the Third Presbytery of New York, October 6, 1831, and ordained by
the same Presbytery at New York, May 14, 1832. From October, 1831, to Feb
ruary, 1832, he preached at Rockaway, N. J., as an assistant of the Rev. Barnabas
King, D.D. ; and from March, 1832, to September, 1832, at Orange, N. J., as
an assistant of the Rev. Asa R. Hillyer, D. D. ; was pastor of the Second Presby
terian Church of St. Louis, Mo., frora October, 1832, to February, 1835; ofthe
Seventh Presbyterian Church of New York, from July, 1835, to February, 1856 ;
and of the North Presbyterian Church of New York, from Februar)', 1856, to
October, 1863. Resigned and retired from the pastoral work on account of loss
of health. Remained one year in retirement, when he became special agent of
the Union Theological Seminary in New York, December, 1864, and in the fol
lowing year obtained for the Seminary an endovroient of $150,000. Two years
were then occupied in -writmg and preparing for the press a " History of Elizabeth,

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 7l7
N. J.," 702 pp.,8vo. In May, 1868, he took the place ofthe Rev. Dr. Kendall,
Secretary of the Presbyterian Committee of Home Missions (abroad for his
health), tUl October, 1868, from which time he has been Secretary of the Freed
men's Department of the sarae Coraraittee. In January, 1870, he again became
special agent of the Union Theological Seminary to raise $500,000, of which sum
he has already secured the one-half. He has been Stated Clerk of the Third Pres
bytery of New York since October, 1838, and of the General Assembly since
May, 1846. He received the honorary degree of S.T.D. in 1850, frora Marietta
College, Ohio.
Dr. Hatfield's pastoral Ufe was a most active and fruitful one. During his
ministry in the Seventh Churdi in New York, 1556 persons were received into
the communion of the church on examination, and 662 by certificate from other
churches ; and in all other respects the church was greatly strengthened. The
same devotedness which he displayed as pastor he has carried into the other work
which has been devolved upon hira, and amidst his activities he has found tirae to
becorae the author of a number of valuable works, of which the principal are,
" Universalism as it is," 1841 ; " Memoir of Elihu W. Baldwin, D. D.," 1843 ;
"St. Helena and the Cape of Good Hope," 1852; and "The History of Eliza
beth, N. J.," 1868. He is now engaged in providing suitable accommodations
for Union Theological Seminary, on the grounds recently purchased on Harlem
Heights, and completing the endo-wment of the Seminary.
THE REV. JONATHAN F. STEARNS, D.D., Newark, N. J.
Jonathan F. Stearns, the son of the Rev. Samuel Steams, was born in
Bedford, Mass., where his father was pastor of the Congregational Church, his
only charge, for a period of forty years. He was prepared for coUege at PhiUips
Academy, Andover, Mass. ; was graduated at Harvard College, Cambridge, in
1830; and studied theology partly at Andover Theological Seminary, andpartiy
under the direction of his father. He was licensed to preach by the Woburn As
sociation in Massachusetts, in October, 1S34, and was ordained, and installed
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Newburyport, Mass. , by the Presbytery
of Londonderry, in the Synod of Albany, on September 16, 1835. Beneath the
pulpit of this church repose the remains of George Whitefield. In 1836 he was a
commissioner frora the Presbytery of Londonderry to the General Assembly in
Pittsburg. His ministry at Newburyport continued fourteen years. In Octo
ber, i84g, he accepted a call from the First Presbyterian Church in Newark,
N. J., and was instaUed pastor of that church by the Presbytery of Newark in
December of the same year. He stiU continues the honored pastor of this import
ant and ancient charge. He received the degree of S.T.D. from the College of
New Jersey, at Princeton, in the year 1850. He was Moderator of the General
Assembly which met in Harrisburg in the year 1868. Dr. Steams is a member
of several of the committees of the General Assembly for prosecuting the work of
the Church. He is also co.anected vrith literary and benevolent institutions in

718 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Newark and other places, and is widely known as a foremost man in the Churdi
in promoting every good work.
THE REV. PHILEMON H. FOWLER, D.D., Utica, N. Y.
Philemon H. Fowler, the son of WUliam and Margaret Fowler, was bora
in Albany, N. Y., February g, 1814. He was educated at the Albany Academy,
Hobart CoUege at Geneva, and the Theological Seminary at Princeton, N. J. ;
entering college in 1828 and graduating in 1832 ; entering the Theological Sem
inary in 1833, and graduating in 1836. He was licensed to preach the Gospel by
the Presbytery of Albany, on October 15, 1835, and ordained by the same Pres
bytery, sine titulo, in 1836. He was caUed to the Second Presbyterian Church
of Washington, D. C. , before leaving the seminary, and remained in charge of the
Church without instaUation from the autumn of 1836 to the autumn of 1839 ; at
which tirae he accepted a call from the First Presbyterian Church of Elmira, N.
y . , over which he was installed pastor. In this charge he continued till the close
of the year 1850, when he accepted a call to the First Presbyterian Church of
Utica, N. Y. , in which charge he still continues. The degree of S. T. D. was
conferred upon him by the University of Norwich, Vt. , and, afterwards, the same
honor was conferred upon him by WUUaras College, Mass. In l86g Dr. Fowler
was Moderator of the General Assembly which met in May in the Church of the
Covenant, New York, and held an adjourned meeting in November in the Third
Presbyterian Church of Pittsburg, Pa. At this Assembly the Reunion of the
Presbyterian Church was consumraated, araid scenes of gratulation andjoy which
must be forever memorable in the annals of the Church. Dr. Fowler occupies a
position of great influence in the Church. His congregation is large and active.
He'is a trustee of Hamilton College, at Clinton, N. Y., and of the Theological
Seminary at Aubum, N. Y. He is also a Corporate Member of the American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
As a meraber of the Joint Coraraittee on the Reunion of the Presbyterian
Church, his practical wisdom and good sense, combined with courteous raanners
and a catholic Christian spirit, made his services of great value.
On two occasions Dr. Fowler has visited Europe. During the summer of 1S6S
he represented the General Assembly of his Church in the Assemblies of the Free
Church of Scotland and the Presbyterian Church of Ireland.
THE REV. JAMES B. SHAW, D.D., Rochester, N. Y.
James Boylan Shaw, the son of James and Margaret Shaw, was bom in the
city of New York in the year 1808. He was among the first chUdren on whose
heads the venerable Gardiner Spring laid his hand in baptism. He was fitted to
enter the Sophomore class in Yale CoUege, and then entered the office of a physi
cian and attended a course of medical lectures. After that he entered the office of
Thomas Addis Emmet, and commenced the study of the law. When he was

EXPLANATORY AND STATISTICAL. 719
about to be admitted to the bar, the Lord touched his heart. He united with the
Brick Church of New York in i82g. In 1834, having been previously licensed to
preach the gospel, he was ordained by the Presbytery of Genesee, and installed
pastor of the church at Utica. For thirty years he has been pastor of the Brick
Church of Rochester, which reported to the General Assembly which met in 1869
in the Church of the Covenant, New York, 1264 members. The CoUege of West
ern Reserve conferred upon him the honorary degree of A.M., and in 1852 the
University of Rochester gave him the degree of S.T.D. In 1862 he was elected a
corporate member of the American Board of Comraissioners for Foreign Missions.
He was Moderator of the General Assembly which met in Brooklyn in 1865. He
is a Trastee of the Theological Seminary at Auburn, N. Y. , where he graduated
in 1832. He was a raember of the General Assembly of 1837, when the act of
excision was passed, and that, as a member of the Joint Committee on Reunion,
he has had a part in healing the breach, he counts the greatest honor of his life.

THE REV. HENRY L. HITCHCOCK, D.D., Hudson, Ohio.
Henry L. Hitchcock, the son of Peter and Nabby Hitchcock, was born al
Benton, Ohio, October 31, 1813. His father, who settled in Northern Ohio in
1806, was judge of the Supreme Court of the State for twenty-eight years. He
also held other important public positions at different times, as member of the
State Legislature and of the House of Representatives in the Congi-ess of the United
States. Dr. Hitchcock received his academic education at Benton Academy. In
September, 1829, he entered the Sophomore class of Yale CoUege, and graduated
in 1832. For two years after graduating he taught in Benton Academy. He
then spent one year in theological studies, reciting to his pastor, the Rev. Dexter
Witter, after which he was a student in Lane Theological Seminary, Walnut Hills,
Ohio. He was licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Grand River,
Synod ofthe Western Reserve, July 25, 1837. He was ordained and installed by
the sarae Presbytery over the church of Morgan, Ohio, Noveraber 29, 1837. In
June, 1840, he was dismissed from this charge to accept a call from the Second
Presbyterian Church of Columbus, Ohio, which had then been organized a little
more than one year. He commenced preaching in Columbus, July, 1840, and was
installed pastor of the church, Noveraber 24, 1841, by the Presbytery of Marion
(afterwards Franklin). In this charge he reraained fifteen years, during which the
church became strong and influential, and the Third Church of Columbus was
organized from its membership. This church afterwards became Congregational,
and is now a large and useful church. Dr. Hitchcock became President of Western
Reserve CoUege, Hudson, Ohio, in July, 1S55, in which position he stiU remains.
In addition to the duties of the Presidency, he is the pastor of the College Church,
which under his ministry has recovered from its depression, and attained a good
degree of prosperity.

720 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

THE REV. ROBERT W. PATTERSON, D.D., Chicago, III.
Robert W. Patterson, the son of Alexander and Sarah (Stevenson) Patter
son, was bom in Blount County, Tennessee, January 21, 18 14. His literary course,
preparatory and coUegiate, was pursued hi lUinois College, at JsicksonviUe, lUinois,
and his theological course in Lane Seminary, Walnut Hills, Ohio. He was licensed
by the Presbytery of Cincinnati in the spring of i83g, and was ordained by the
Presbytery of Ottawa, Sept. 14, 1842 ; and at the same time he was installed pastor
of the Second Presbyterian Church of Chicago, of which he is still the .honored
and beloved pastor. He received the honorary degree of S.T.D. from Hamilton
CoUege at Clinton, N. Y., in July, 1857. He was Moderator ofthe General As
sembly in i85g, at Wilmington, Del. He has been the recipient of numerous
appointments from the Church of which he has been so long a prominent minister.
The congregation which he serves has grown to be one of the largest and most
effective in the country, and for years has been recognized as a power in the land.
Dr. Patterson has been a Trustee of the Lake Forest University at Chicago, from
its organization, and for several years was a Trustee of Blackburn University.
THE REV. HENRY A. NELSON, D.D., St. Louis, Mo.
Henry A. Nelson, the son of Seth ' and Sophia (Aspinwall) Nelson, waa
bom in Amherst, Mass., Oct. 31, 1820. His great-grandfather, grandfather, and
father were successively deacons in the Congregational Church at Milford, Wor
cester County, Mass., the first-named being ordained to that office m 1748. In his
seventh year liis parents removed into the State of New York. They died in Cort«
landville — his father February 5th, 1857; his mother in i860. His father
was a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church of that village for more than twenty
years, untU his death. He was prepared for College at the Cortland Academy in
Homer, N. Y. , of which S. B. Wooiworth, LL. D. , now Secretary of the Board
of Regents of the University of New York, was then Principal. He graduated at
Hamilton College, July 29, 1840 ; received from the trustees of that institution the
degree of A.M. in 1843, ^""i the honorary degree of S.T.D. in 1857. In 1S66 he
vvas in-vited to the Presidency of the College.
After graduating, he spent three years in teaching in Eaton, N. Y., and in Ho
mer, N. Y. He entered the Theological Seminary at Aubum in October, 1843,
and graduated in June, 1846. He was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Pres
bytery of Cortland, in the church of Preble, in the summer of 1846. He was
ordained by the Presbytery of Cayuga, and installed pastor of the First Presbyte
rian Church of Aubum, N. Y., July 2g, 1846. In the autumn of 1856, he was
installed pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of St. Louis, Mo. In April,
1868, he resigned that charge, ha-ving been elected Professor of Systema iic and
Pastoral Theology in Lane Theological Senjmary, Walnut HUls, Oliio, in which
* Born at Milford, Mass., Aug 2, 1776. He removed to Amherst, Mass., in 1815.

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 721
ofiici he was inaugurated May 13, 1868. He was a member of the Genera!
Assemblies of 1850, i860, 1867, 1868, and was Moderator of that of j867in Roch-'
ester, N. Y.
THE REV. GEORGE F. WISWELL, D.D., Philadelphia, Pa.
George F. Wiswell received his coUegiate education at Middlebury CoUege,
Vermont, and graduated from the Union Theological Seminary, in New York, in
1844. He was ordained in June, 1845. He has been settled in Southhold and
PeekskUl, N. Y., and in Wilmington, Del., and is now the pastor of the Green
HUl Presbyterian Church in PhUadelphia. After the death of the Rev. Dr. Brain
erd he was appointed a member of the Reunion Committee, and attended all the
sessions of the Committee after the first.
He received the honorary degree of S.T.D. in 1866, from HamUton College,
Clmton, N. Y. JAMES M. RAY, ESQ., Indianapolis, Ind.
James Mitchell Ray, son of Andrew (from Kippen, Scotland), and Mary
McWhorter (McChesney) (of New Jersey) Ray, was born at Caldwell, N. J.,
December 23, 1800. After preparatory education in the city of New York, he
was two years at Columbia College, until 1814, when the famUy removed to Bal
timore, Md. , and thence to the West.
In October, 1821, when the city of Indianapolis was laid out, Mr. Ray was the
clerk at the first sale of its lots. In 1822 he was elected Clerk of the Circuit
Court ofthe county (Marion). In 1829 he was re-elected Clerk and Recorder,
which office he resigned in 1 834 to accept the appointment of Cashier of the
State Bank of Indiana at its organization, and also that of Clerk of the Commis
sioners of the Sinking Fund, who had charge of the income of the stock in the
Bank held by the State. In the management of these Commissioners the profits to
the State reached the sum of three and a quarter miUions (3,250,000) doUars,
the interest on which is forever pledged to the support of the common schools of
the State.
These offices he fiUed until the charter of the Bank expired and the Bank of the
State of Indiana was chartered. Of this bank he was chosen cashier in January,
1857. This position he held until after the resignation of the presidency by the
Hon. Hugh McCuUoch and George W. Rathbone, Esq., when he was elected
President. Tliis office he has continued to hold tiU the present time.
In the beginning of the late civil war, Mr. Ray was one of the three State Com-
missionerS who successfully negotiated two mUUons (2,000,000) of Indiana War
Loan bonds, for the equipping, arming, and forwarding the volunteers of In
diana to the field. During the entire period of the struggle he showed his deep
interest in his country's trouble by his services as treasurer, at Indianapolis, of tha
46

722 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Christian Commission, ofthe Freedmen's Commission, and ofthe Indiana Soldier's
and Seaman's Home.
Mr. Ray was elected superintendent of the first Sabbath School in IndianapoUs,
in April, 1823. He united vrith the First Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis in
October, 1828. He was chosen elder of the church on October 17, 1830; which
office he stUl holds, in this, the fortieth year of his service. He has served as
Commissioner of his Presbytery at several sessions of the General Assembly. In
1866 he was appomted on the Joint Committee on the Reunion of the Presbyte
rian Church. In the deliberations of this Coraraittee he took an active and import
ant part, especiaUy at the unportant and decisive meeting held in PhUadelphia m
1868. When, in 1838, afler the division of the Church, fifteen members of the First
Church of Indianapolis withdrew to organize the Second Church, under the Rev.
Henry Ward Beecher, at the instance of Mr. Ray a certificate of good standing
was unanimously given to the withdrawing members, with kind expressions of
love, and desire for their prosperity, and the continuance of brotherly affection ;
and at the same tirae a fair division of the property of the First Church was satis
factorily made. These fraternal desires have been happUy fulfilled. In thirty-
two years, these churches, with their offspring, have dwelt together in love and
peace, and have been equally blessed. There are now in Indianapolis eight
churches, four of each branch of the Church, now privileged to unite undfer one
banner, in narae, as well as in heart.
HON. ROBERT McKNIGHT, Pitt.sburg, Pa.
Robert McKnight, son of ¦WiUiam and Catharine McKnight, was bom in
Pittsburg, O., January 27, 1820.
He prepared for College at Xenia, O. , where he spent four years under the in
struction of the Rev. Hugh McMiUan, and near Pittsburg, where he was two
years under the instruction of Daniel Stone, Esq. He entered the CoUege of
New Jersey, at Princeton, in 1835, and graduated in l83g.
In l83g, after graduating frora college, he entered the office of Richard Biddle,
Esq., as student of law. Admitted to the bar of Allegheny County, Pa., in 1842.
He was a member of the Common Council of Pittsburg in the years 1848, 1849,
1850, and during the last two was President of the Council He was elected to
the House of Representatives of the United States in 1858, and in the Thirty-sixth
Congress served on the Coraraittee of Elections. He was re-elected to the
Thirty-seventh Congress, and was a raeraber of the Committee of Foreign Affahs.
This committee reported the bill for the recognition of Hayti and I jberia, in favor
of which Mr. McKnight addressed the House, and which became law. For his
services in behalf of the Liberian Republic he received a token of thanks from the
three Comraissioners of Liberia. In the same Congress he was placed on a joint
commission with two Senators and two Representatives, Captain Dupont, U. S. N.,
and Major-General Gareschie, U. S. A., to examine and report as to the com-

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 723
pensation of aU officers of govemment, civil, naval, and mUitary. After leaving
Congress, Mr. McKnight served as Vice-President of the Western Branch of the
Christian Commission, which effected such great benefit for the troops during the
late civil war.
He united with the Central Presbyterian Church of Allegheny City (Rev. Dr.
Plumer, pastor) in 1S54. He was elected and ordained ruling elder in the sarae
church in March, 1S57. He transferred his membership to the North Church of
AUegheny City (Rev. Dr. A. A. Hodge, pastor) in 1868, and was elected elder in
that year. He still sei-ves in this office in the North Church. He was a Commis
sioner to the General Assembly in Pittsburg in 1865, in St. Louis in 1866, and in
Albany in 1868. In 1862 he was elected Director of the Theological Seminary at
Allegheny City. In 1866 he wa's appointed on the Joint Committee on Reunion of
the Presbyterian Church. In 186S he was appointed on the Committee on Re
union ofthe Old and New School and United Presbyterian Churches. In i86g,
with the Rev. Drs. Beatty and Musgrave, he represented the Assembly of his own
Church in the General Assembly then in session in the Church of the Covenant, in
the city of New York. By the General Assembly of 1869 he was appointed on the
Committee to investigate the affairs of the Theological Seminary at DanviUe, Ky. ,
and in the discharge of that duty visited Kentucky. This Committee reported at
the adjourned meeting of the Assembly in Pittsburg, and the report was unani
mously adopted. At the adjourned meeting of the General Assembly in Pitts
burg, Mr. McKnight was appointed on the committee to inquire and report on
the best means of raising and distributing funds for the reunited Presbyterian
Church. Mr. McKnight's Ufe has been one of honor and usefulness, both in Church and
State. HON. SAMUEL GALLOWAY, LL.D., Columbus, O.
Samuel Galloway, the son of John and Margaret Galloway, was bom of
Scotch-Irish parentage, in Gettysburg, Adams County, Pa., in 1811. His father
was an elder of the Presbyterian Church for more than thirty years, first under the
pastorate of the Rev. William Paxton, D.D., at Marsh Creek, Pa., and after
wards under the pastorate of the Rev. David McConaughy, in Gettysburg. Mr.
Galloway lived in Gettysburg tUl the death ofhis father, in 1829. Soon after this
he removed to Ohio, and completed his education at Miami University, at Oxford,
where he graduated in 1833, -with the highest honors of his class. In 1833-34 he
taught a classical school at HamUton, Ohio ; and in 1835 he was chosen to supply
in part the department of Ancient Languages in Miami University, made vacant
by the resignation of Dr. W. H. McGuffey. In consequence of iU-health, he
relinquished that position in 1836, and for a year engaged in agricultural and other
active pursuits; after which he resumed teaching, first at Springfield, O., and in
1839-40 as Professor of Ancient Languages in South Hanover CoUege, Ind.
His health again faUing, he retumed to Ohio, and commenced the study of law at

724 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
HiUsboro. He was admitted to the bar in 1842, and in 1843 removed to ChUli-
cothe. In 1844 he was elected Secretary of State, and removed to Colimbus, in
which city he has since resided. In 1851 he resumed the practice of law. In
1854 he was elected a member of the National House of'Representatives, and
participated prominently in the political conflicts arising out of the Kansas diffi
culties. As Secretary of State, Mr. GaUoway was ex-officio Superintendent of Common
Schools, and in that capacity his personal efforts and his annual reports to the
Legislature inaugurated a new era in the history of public instruction in Ohio, and
entitle him to a high place among the educational benefactors of the State. His
eloquent advocacy of the dairas of teaching to a much more honorable and lucra
tive consideration than it had received, of a higher standard of qualification for its
duties, of teachers' institutes and associations, of county superintendency, of an in
dependent State superintendency, of school Ubraries, and generally of the undeni
able value of education both to the public and individuals, arrested the attention
> >f public men, and prepared the way for the associated and legislative action which
loUowed. Of the State Teachers' Association, which was formed in December,
1847, he was elected the first president, and has often responded to invitations to
address educational conventions and associations. In all philanthropic movements
he has always taken a very prominent part, although his special line of study and
activity has been in the sphere of political life, and law. In his own chosen field,
before a jury, the bench, or the people, a competent witness has vfritten, Ohio has
among her Uving orators not one more versatUe, effective, or popular.
In 1S33, Mr. Galloway became a meraber, in fuU communion, ofthe Presbyte
rian Church of HUlsboro, O., on profession of his faith in Christ. In 1859 he
was elected an elder of the Westminster Church of Columbus, O. He has been
three tiraes a Commissioner to the General Assembly: in i86o at Rochester, N.
Y. ; in 1864 at St. Louis, and in 1865 at Cincinnati. He has been a Durector
of the Western Theological Seminary at AUegheny, Pa., and of the Boards of
Domestic Missions and PubUcation.
HON. HOVEY K. CLARKE, Detroit, Mich.
Ho-vey K. Clarke, son of Hovey and Sarah (KUbum) Clarke, was bom in
Sterling, Mass., July II, 1812. His school days were spent mainly in the academies
at Utica and Clinton, New York, and in " Phillips," at Andover, Mass., fi^om
1821 to 1828. From 1816 to 1831 his home was in Utica, N. Y., then five years
m Canandaigua, N. Y., and in 1836 he came to Michigan, in which State he has
since resided ; in Detroit since 1852. He was first elected an elder in 1837, in the
Presbyterian Church at Allegan, Mich. Since that time he has hdd the office in
the Reformed (Dutch) Church in AUegan, in the Presbyterian Church m Mar
shaU, in the Second (now Fort Street) Church and the " Westminster" Church in
Detroit. He has been a Commissioner t6 the General Assembly in Cleveland, Ohio,
in 1857; in Rochester, N. Y., in i860; in Philadelphia in 1861 ; in Columbus,

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 725
Ohio, in 1862 ; in Peoria, III, in 1863 ; in St. Louis in 1866; and in Cincinnati in
1867. He was elected a member of the Board of Domestic Missions in i86o,
1864, and 1868, and of the Board of PubUcation in 1867 to fiU a vacancy, and in
1868. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Theological Seminary
of the North-west from 1865 to 1869. In 1866 he was appointed a member of
the Joint Committee on the Reunion of the Presbyterian Church.
HON. GEORGE P. STRONG, St. Louis, Mo.
George P. Strong, the son of the Rev. Henry Pierce and Laura (Clark)
Strong, was born at Woodbury, Conn., December 17, 1812, but resided the most
of his life previous to going to college at Vienna, Ontario County, N. Y. , where
his father was settled in the ministry for many years. He entered HamUton Col
lege, at Clinton, N. Y., in 1 83 1, but left at the coniraenceraent of his Sophomore
year, and studied at Canandaigua, in order to enter the Senior Class at Yale Col
lege in the fall of 1833. IU-health prevented this purpose from execution, and he
never retumed to CoUege.
In 1835 he went South, and spent eighteen months in teaching in the
State of Kentucky. In the summer of 1836 he united with the Presbyterian
Church, in Elkton, Todd County, Ky. In the faU of the same year he removed
to Clinton, Hinds County, Miss., and united with the Presbyterian Church of
that place. In 1839 he was elected and ordained elder of the CUnton Church. In
the fall of 1840 he removed to Port Gibson, Miss., and connected hiraself with
the Presbyterian Church of that place, and served it in the office of the eldership
frora 1840 or 1841, untU his reraoval to St. Louis in 1852. In St. Louis he united
with the Westminster Church. In 1853 a union was effected between the West
minster Church (Old School) and the Pine Street Church (New School). Mr.
Strong was on the coraraittee to effect that imion, and drew the " Plan of Union.''
The first condition was, that the united chm-ch should be received under the care of
the (Old School) Presbytery of St. Louis. This was done, and the united church
retained the name of "The Pine Street Presbyterian Church." In 1853 or 1854,
he was elected an elder in that church, which office he stiU continues to hold. The
church prospered in great harmony under the pastoral care of the Rev. S. B.
McPheeters, until the war broke out in i86i. Then the pastor and a large por
tion of the church, -with aU the elders, excepting Mr. Strong, sympathized with the
South : this occasioned a long and bitter controversy, which resulted in the with
drawal of nearly all the members who sympathized -with the Govemment. When
the war was over, the session of the church caUed to the pastorate a chaplain in
the Southern army, who was instaUed. Mr. Strong appealed from this action to
the Presbytery, and it was set aside ; and Mr. Strong and the members adhering to
the General Assembly were recognized as " the Pine Street Church " and Session.'
The majority repudiated the action of the Presbytery, and united themselves to
the party knovra in Missouri as the " Declaration and Testimony " party.

726 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
He was admitted to the Bar in 1840 in Mississippi, and since 1843 ^^ ^^ P^-
sued his profession as a la-wyer without interruption.
The only civU office Mr. Strong has held is that of member of the Constitution
al Convention which framed the present Constitution of the State of Missouri.
In that Convention he was chairman of the Committee on Emancipation, and
brought in the Ordinance of Emancipation which passed January nth, 1865, mak
ing Missouri a free State. He was also Chairman of the Standing Committee on
Education, and drew the artide on Education as it now exists in the Constitution.
During the war for a time he held the comraission of major, and for a year was
on the staff of Gen. Edwards in the service of the State of Missouri.
During the late war Mr. Strong was very active in sustaining the Government
of the country. He has repeatedly declined nominations for office, as Judge of the
Supreme Court of Missouri, and Governor of the State.
PRESIDENT ORMOND BEATTY, LL.D., Danville, Ky.
Ormond Beatty, son of Adam and Sarah Beatty, was born in Mason Coun
ty, Ky., August 13, 1815.
His early education was received chiefly in the town of Washington, near which
his father resided. In 1832 he became a student in Centre College at DanviUe,
Ky., under the presidency of the Rev. Dr. John C. Young, and graduated in
September, 1835. In 1835 he united with' the Presbyterian Church at DanvUle.
In 1844 he was elected an elder of the First Church of DanviUe, and served in
the office untU 1852, when he became an elder in the Second Church, which was
organized in that year. He was a Commissioner to the General Assembly in Nash-
viUe, Tenn., in 1855, in St. Louis in 1866, and in Cincinnati in 1867.
In 1836 he was elected Professor of Chemistry in DanviUe College, Ky., in
wliich position he continued untU 1870. Iu September, 1870, he was elected
President of the coUege.
HON. JOSEPH ALLISON, LL.D., West Philadelphia, Pa.
HON. HENRY W. WILLIAMS, LL.D., Pittsburg, Pa.
Henry Warren Williams, the son of Warren and Elizabeth Stanton (Gal
lup) WiUiams, was bom in Groton (now Ledyard), New London County, Conn.,
January 20, 1816. Both of his parents were merabers of the Congregational
Church, in which his father was Deacon for a number of years before his death in
1843. He was a man of the strictest integrity, and a Christian of devoted piety.
His mother is stiU Uving, a woman of great energy, sound sense, and correct
Christian life. He attended common school till he was about fourteen years of age.
In the faU of 1831, he commenced preparatory studies for a coUegiate course at
Bacon Academy, Colchester, Conn. , where he remained two terms. In the spring
of 1832 he went to Plainfield Academy (Plainfield, Conn. ), where he remained tiU
the faU of 1833, when he entered Amherst CoUege (Amherst, Mass.), from whiili

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 727
he graduated in 1837. In coUege he took and maintained throughout his entire
course a very high rank as a speaker, a writer, a debater, a logician, and meta
physician, whUe because of his raany virtues he was one of the most popular of
his dass. After graduating he taught for one year at Southwick, Mass. In
March, i83g, he entered the office of Walter II. Lowrie, Esq. (now ex-Chief Jus
tice of the Suprerae Court of Pennsylvania), of Pittsburg, Pa., and studied law un
der his direction until May, 1841, when he was adraitted to the Bar of Allegheny
County, Pa. He practised his profession with increasmg success, as a partner
of his preceptor, until Mr. Lo-wrie was appointed Judge of the District Court of
the County, and then ¦with WiUiam M. Shinn until October, 185 1, when he was
elected Associate Judge of the District Court for the county of Allegheny, for ten
years from the first Monday of December, 1851. At the expiration of his term.
Judge WUliams was re-elected for a second term of ten years. He remained on
the bench of the District Court tiU October, 1868, when he was appointed by
Gov. Geary a Judge of Supreme Court, to fill the vacancy occasioned by
the resignation of the Hon. 'Wm. Strong. He took his seat on the 26th day of
October, 1868. In October of the foUowmg year (1869) he was elected Judge
of the Supreme Court for the term of fifteen years from the first Monday of the fol
lowing December. This office he now holds. Judge WUUaras united with the
Thhd Presbyterian Church of Pittsburg (Rev. D. H. Riddle, D.D., pastor), March
I, 1840. He was elected elder May 12, 1S5S, and ordained July iS, 185S; at
which tirae Rev. H. Kendall, D.D., was instaUed pastor, in place of Dr. Riddle,
resigned. He was a raember of the General Assembly at 'Wilmington, Del., in
1S59; at Brooklyii, N. Y., 1865, at St. Louis, Mo., 1S66; at Rochester, N. Y.,
1S67. He was elected Corporate Member of the American Board of Comrais
sioners for Foreign Missions at the annual meeting in Pittsburg in 1869. .The
honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by Amherst CoUege in 1866.

HON. TRUMAN P. HANDY, Cleveland, Ohio.
Truman P. Handy, son of WiUiam and Eunice Handy, was bom in Paris,
Oneida County, N. Y., January 17, 1807.
He united with the Congregational Church of Paris HiU, N. Y., on profession
of his faith in Christ, at the age of 13 years.
He was elected elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Cleveland, Ohio, in
1833 ; and in June, 1844, in the Second Presbyterian Church of Cleveland ; this
latter he now serves in this office.
He was a Commissioner to the General Assembly at Wilmington, Del., in 1859,
at St. Louis, 1866, and at Rochester in 1867. He was appointed on the Com
mittee on the Reunion of the Presbyterian Church in i866, and attended aU its
meetings. He is a Trustee of the CoUege or.the Western Reserve, Hudson, Ohio. For
thirty-five years he has served as a Sabbath-school Superintendent in Cleveland,

728 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
In his business relations he has been cashier and president of banking institutions
in Cleveland for thirty-eight years.
MR. ROBERT W. STEELE, Dayton, Ohio.
Robert W. Steele was bom in Dayton, Ohio, July 3, 1819. He graduated
at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, under the Presidency of the Rev. George Jun
kin, D.D. He united -with the First Presbyterian Church of Dayton in 1841, and
removed his membership to the Third Street PresbjMierian Church in 1842. He
was ordained an elder in the Third Street Presbyterian Church, January 22, 1854,
and has served that church in this office untU the present time.
He has been a meraber of the Board of Trustees of Miami University, and a di
rector hi Lane Theological Seminary, at Walnut HUls, Ohio. For twenty-five
years he has been a meraber of the Board of Education of Dayton, Ohio. He is
a raember of the Board of Agriculture of Ohio, and one of the five citizens of Ohio
appointed by the Governor to constitute " The Board of State Charities," whose
duty it is " to investigate the whole system of the public charitable and correctional
institutions of the State, and recoraraend such changes and additional provisions
as they may deem necessary for their economical and efficient administration."
HON. EDWARD A. LAMBERT, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Edward Augustus Lambert, son of WiUiam A. and Jane Lambert, was bom
m the city of New York, June 10, 181 3. He united with the Central Presbyterian
Church of New York, on profession of his faith in Christ, in 1830.
He was one of thirty-two young persons who organized the Third Free Presby
terian Church of New York, in December, 1831, the Rev. Dirck C. Lansing, D.D.,
pastor. This church was afterwards known as the Houston Street Presbyterian
Church, of which the Rev. Samuel D. Bturchard, D.D., became pastor. At a subse
quent time it was removed to Thirteenth street, between Sixth and Seventh ave
nues, where it is at present located, and is one of the largest and most flourishing
Presbyterian churches in the city of New York. In 1846 Mr. Lambert removed to
Brooklyn, New York, and connected himself with the South Presbyterian Church,
then newly organized (the Rev. Samuel T. Spear then and stiU pastor). In 1857
he vrith others organized the Park Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, now known as
the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D.D.,
pastor. He was ordained an elder in the Houston Street Church in 1837, and he
held the office in the South Presbyterian Church and Lafayette Avenue Chmch,
Brooldyn. In this latter church he is now serving.
In 1855 the General Assembly appointed him a member of " the Church Exten
sion Committee." In 1S61 he was appointed by the General Assembly a mem
ber of " the Committee of Home Missions," and of this Committee he has been
Treasurer since its organization. In 1866 he was appointed by the General As
sembly a member of the Coraraittee on " the Reunion of the Presbyterian Chvirdi.''
Mr. Lambert has had several very importanUand responsible positions in civU life.
In 1853 and 1854 he -was Mayor of the city of Brooklyn. He was one of the

EXPLANATORY AND STATISTICAL. 729
original trustees of the New York State Inebriate Asylum, and was appointed by
the Legislature as one of the committee to select a location. He was a Com
missioner to the General AssembUes of 1855, 1862, 1866, 1868, and 187a
HON. JACOB S. FARRAND, Detroit, Mich.
Jacob Shaw Farrand, son of Bethuel and MariUa (Shaw) Farrand, was
bom Ul the town of Mentz, Cayuga County, New York. His father was of
Huguenot, and his mother of Puritan descent. In 1825 the family emigrated to the
then territory of Michigan. When he was thirteen years of age, the subject of this
sketch went to Detroit, then a place of two thousand inhabitants, and there he has
since remained. In 1832 he made a public profession of his faith in Christ, and
united -with the First Presbyterian Church of Detroit, of which the Rev. George
Duffield was so long the pastor. With this venerable man it was the privUege of
Mr. Farrand to be on terms of the most intimate intercourse for the period of
thirty years. In 1856 he was ordained to the office of ruling elder in the First
Presbyterian Church of Detroit, in which position he still remains. He was a.
Commissioner to the General Assembly of 1863 at Dayton, Ohio, and of 1S69
at New York and Pittsburg. He was a member of the Joint Committee on Re
union appointed by the Assemblies, 1866, and also of the Committee of Confer
ence on the same subject appointed by the Assemblies of 1869. The same As
sembUes placed him on the Joint Committee on the reorganization of the Board of
Domestic Missions. In 1870 the General Assembly elected him member of the
Board of Directors of the Theological Seminary of the North West, at Chicago.
From the time of its appointment he has been a meraber ofthe Synodical Com
mittee of Church Erection, and he is now on the Synodical Committee on the
Memorial Fund.
For many years Mr. Farrand was the receiving agent in Detroit of the A. B.
C. F. M. He has been the President of the Detroit City Missionary Society, and
he is now President of the Wayne County Bible Society.
He has always been actively engaged in Sabbath-school work.
He has served the State, as well as the Church.
From 1841 to 1845 he was deputy coUector of customs for the port and dis
trict of Detroit, then extending from below the city of Detroit, around the shores
of Lakes Huron and Michigan, including the city of Chicago. On the organiza
tion of the MetropoUtan Police by the Legislature of Michigan he was appointed
one of the Commissioners, and was elected President of the Board, which position
he still holds. For eight years he has been a meraber of the Board of Education of
the city of Detroit ; for four years he has been a member of the Comraon Council
of Detroit  one year its presiding officer ; and for a short tirne he was the acting
Mayor of the city. For years he has been a meraber of the B Dard of Water Cora
missioners of the city of Detroit, and is now its President. He is President of
the First National Bank of Detroit, Vice-President of the Mutual Life Insvurance

730 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Corapany, Treasurer of the Detroit Gas Light Company, and since its organization
he has been a trustee of the Harper Hospital
For forty years he has been engaged m the drug business.

ILLUSTRATIONS, DOCUMENTS, ETC.
1. THE ILLUSTHATIONS OF THIS VOLUME.
Moderators of 1837, 1869, 1870.
THE REV. DAVID ELLIOTT, D.D., LL.D.,
moderator of the general assembly of 1837, BEING THE LAST ASSEMBLV
previous to the division.
DAVID ELLIOTT,
Son of Thomas and Jane (HoUiday) Elliott, was bom February 6, 1787. His
parents were both of Scotch-Irish descent, whose ancestors for several gen
erations, as far as known, belonged to the large Presbyterian family. His father,
Thomas EUiott, was bom in EnniskiUen, Fermanagh County, Ireland, but came
to this country with his parents when a small boy, about the year 1730. He was
brought up in the vicinity of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where his father purchased a
farm, on which he resided. His ancestors participated in the conflicts between
the Protestants under WiUiam of Orange and the Roman Catholics under James
of England, in which the EnniskiUen Dragoons so greatly distinguished themselves.
Dr. EUiott's mother, Jane HoUiday, was bom in the County Do^vn, ia the North
of Ireland, and came over to this country with her famUy some time after his father.
When arrived at manhood, his father purchased and resided on a farm some twenty
mUes north of CarUsle, in Sherman's VaUey, now Perry County, Pa. There he
and his mother became acquainted and were married. He was their youngest
child, and was bom at the famUy home, February 6, 1787. His early years were
spent at home on the farm untU about his fourteenth year, much of his time at
such schools as the neighborhood furnished. About that age he commenced his
dassical studies under the Rev. John Coulter, pastor of a church in Tuscarora Val
ley, Mifflin County, Pa. He was a fine classical scholar. With him he continued
about eighteen months, when he spent a year or more in the town of Mifflin, under
the tuition of Andrew K. RusseU, aflerwards a minister of the Presbyterian Church

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 731
in the State of Delaware. Before he went to college he spent a year — frora AprU,
1805, till April, i8o5 — in Washington, Pa., as an assistant teacher in the academy
there, in connection ¦with the Rev. Matthew Brown, afterwards the Rev. Dr.
Matthew Brown, the distinguished and weU-known President of Washington, sub
sequently of Jefferson, CoUege.
Having returned home m AprU, 1806, he entered Dickinson CoUege soon after,
and graduated in September, 1808, having, before entering college, attended to
the studies of the Freshman and Sophomore classes, and prepared to enter the Junior
class, when he entered college. Soon after leaving college he commenced the
study of theology under the direction of his pastor, the Rev. John Linn, of the
Presbytery of Carlisle, and father of the late Jaraes Linn, D. D. , of Bellefonte, Pa.
The latter part of his course of three years he read under the direction of the
Rev. Joshua WiUiaras, D.D., of the sarae Presbytery. There were then no Theo
logical Serainaries, but the Presbytery required three fuU years of study before
license, and the examinations in Presbytery were much more searching and rigorous
than at present.
Dr. EUiott was licensed by the Presbytery of Carlisle, in the last week of Sep
tember, 181 1, and spent the foUo-wing winter under the direction of the Presbytery
in itinerant labors within its bounds, in which there was a vast territory entirely
destitute of the stated ministrations of the gospel Having preached a few times
in the church of Upper West Conococheague, now Mercersburg, a call was made out
for hira and presented at the spring meeting of the Presbytery in April, 1812, which
he accepted, and entered upon his labors, although his ordination did not take
place tUl the fall meeting, October 7th, the Presbytery meeting only twice in
the year. At his ordination, the Rev. Dr. Jno. McKnight, previously of Nevf
York, preached and presided, and the Rev. Dr. McConaughy, afterwards Presi
dent of Washington CoUege, Pa., gave the charges to both pastor and people.
Shortly after his acceptance of the caU to this church. May 14, 1812, he was
married to his late wife. Miss Ann West.
In accepting the pastorate of this church, he became the iraraediate successor of
the Rev. John King, D.D., the fourth Moderator ofthe General Asserably ofthe
Presbyterian Church, A.D. 1792, and a very able man. Here he labored for
nearly eighteen years. In the fall of 1 829 he received and accepted a caU to the
Presbyterian Church of Washington, Pa., and removed there in the month
of November of that year. There he became the successor of the Rev.
Obadiah Jennings, D.D., a man weU knovm throughout the Church, who had
abandoned a lucrative practice at the bar to becorae a preacher of the gospel of
Christ. He also was a Moderator of the General Assembly, A.D. 1822. 'When
Dr. EUiott went to Washington, the coUege was suspended, and the trustees,
being anxious to resuscitate it, offered hira the presidency, which he declined ; but
the Board not being able to find a man to undertake it, he agreed to act as presi
dent untU a suitable person could be procured. That position he occupied for fi
year and a half, assisted by two young men, Messrs. Alrich and Smith, just com
mencing their professional career. Providence smUed upon their labors, and at

732 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
the end of eighteen months Dr. EUiott -withdrew, and passed the college, with 120
students, into the hands of Dr. McConaughy, a man of talents and ripe scholar
ship, and whose presidency was eminently successful.
During his pastorate at Washmgton, he was elected by the General Assembly
of 1835 to the professorship of Ecclesiastical History and Church Govemment
in the Western Theological Seminary at Allegheny. This, for various reasons, he
declined ; but at the special and urgent solicitation of the Board of Directors, he
agreed to hold the appointment in his hand for further consideration and consulta
tion by the friends of the Seminary. While in this position, Prof. Halsey proposed
that if he. Dr. EUiott, would come into the Seminary, he would relinquish the chair
of Theology and take that which Dr. EUiott had declined, but which he preferred.
In this the Board of Directors joined him, and although Dr. Elliott long hesitated as
to the path of duty, he finaUy agreed to accept. This arrangement having been con
firmed by the next General Assembly, he resigned his charge at Washington, and
entered upon his duties in the Seminary on the roth of June, 1836, the number
of students at that time being about twenty-five. The circumstances of the Sem
inary then, and for many years afterwards, were very discouraging. One professor
after another was elected, but before long resigned, and left the faculty. Like
actors in a, drama, they appeared on the stage, but soon departed — and Dr.
ElUott has been heard to say that he was often tempted to go also. But he felt
that the Institution was of too great value to the Church to be thus abandoned,
although at various times scarcely a glimmering of light could be seen through the
darkness by which it was enshrouded. He encouraged the hope, however, that
the Head of the Church would in due time appear for its deliverance and eleva
tion to a larger sphere of usefulness. This hope has been verified, and the Sem
inary has its thousand or more of alumni abroad in the Master's vineyard, doing
their Master's work. To Him be the praise !
Dr. EUiott received the degree of D.D. from Jefferson CoUege in the year
1835, and that of LL.D. from Washington College in 1847.
He has been a warm friend of the Reunion, and lives to congratulate the Church
at the attainment of it, and- stiU brings forth fruit in old age whUe training young
men for the ministry of the gospel
THE REV. MELANCTHON W. JACOBUS, D.D., LL.D.,
Moderator ofthe General Assembly (Old School), 1869, being one of the Assem
bUes that prepared and sent down to the Presbyteries the Basis of Reunion, which
was finaUy adopted, and the last Assembly known as Old School,
[From the Appendix Volume of The Princeton Revie-iv.}
Melancthon Williams Jacobus was bom September 19, 1816, at Newark,
N. J. He entered Princeton CoUege (Sophomore class) in his fifteenth year, and
was graduated in his eighteenth year -with the first honors of the College. After an

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 733
interval of a year at home, he entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton in
1835, and having completed his course, he was invited to remain as an assistant
to Prof. J. Addison Alexander, in the Hebrew department. He acted in this
capacity during an academic year. When the year was drawing to a close, he re
ceived a unanimous and urgent call from the First Presbyterian Church of Brook
lyn to become its pastor. The church was involved in the stmggle which ensued
upon the rupture in 183S in the General Assembly, and it feU to his charge to
buUd it up amidst very pecuUar difficulties. He was instaUed pastor in the fall
of 1839. In January, 1840, he was married to the eldest daughter of Samuel
Hayes, M.D., of Newark, N. J. He labored successfuUy in Brooklyn during
eleven years, in which time the church was weU established as one of the most
flourishing churches of the Presbytery. A beautiful and expensive edifice was
erected on Fulton street, which was afterwards vacated for a more quiet and cen
tral part of the city ; and a superior sanctuary of stone was built on the corner of
Clinton and Remsen streets, which is stUl occupied by the congregation of that
church. In the fall of 1850 the health of the pastor broke down under the severe duties
of the charge, and the church made Uberal provision for releasing him, and sup
plying his pulpit, for a year's absence in foreign travel. He went -with his wife
through Europe, into Egypt and Palestine and Syria, to Damascus, returning by
Constantinople and Greece, and arrived at home in September, 1 85 1, after a year's
journeying among classic and Bible lands, to the great advantage of his health.
During his absence, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, at their
session in May, 1851, elected him as " Professor of Oriental and Biblical Litera
ture " in the Theological Seminary at AUegheny, Pa. He was now thirty-six
years of age. Finding his health inadequate for the pulpit and pastoral work, and
feeling himself called of God to enter upon the new field, in an interior climate,
with furniture such as he was known to possess for the professorship, he entered
upon his duties in AUegheny in the opening of the year 1852. The Presbytery of
New York, when caUed upon to dissolve the pastoral relation, made most compli
mentary notice of his laborious and successful work in Brooklyn, and few -wiU for
get the touching speech of the venerable Dr. Spring in making the motion. He
made a second tour of Europe in 1866.
Already in Brooklyn in 1848, during the toU of his pastorate, he had prepared
and published his first volume of "Notes on the New Testament," entitled
" Matthew, ¦with the Harmony." This volume was received ¦with so much pubUc
favor, and with the Catechetical Question Book accompanying, supplied so impor
tant a need, that, in the Professor's chair, with larger and richer materials from
Bible lands, where he had made personal observation ¦with advantage, he issued
a second volume, " Mark and Luke," in May, 1853.
In 1856 he published a. very valuable Commentary on John ; and this was fol
lowed in 1859 ¦with a stiU more elaborate Commentary on the Acts of the Apos
tles. In 1862 the Notes on the Gospels were republished in Edinburgh, Scotland,
by Messrs. Oliphant & Son. Their very extensive circulation in this country, and

734 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
the great favor -with which they were received in the churches, warranted the
British publishers in this undertaking.
In 1S64-5, the two volumes on Genesis were issued from the press of the Ameri
can publishers, the Messrs. Carter of New York. They e-rince great labor and re
search, and in a brief space furnish a mass of material. And his special fitness for
this latest work, where so many great questions were to be grappled, at the thres
hold of Divine Revelation, was already indicated by his review of " Bush on Gen
esis" in the Priticeton Review in 1839.
In 1852 the degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by Jefferson College, and
he was honored with the degree of LL.D. by the Collie of New Jersey in 1867.
He had the happy distinction of being Moderator of the General Assembly in 1869,
the last Asserably of the Old School Church introducing the Reunion. He pre
sided in the great Assembly at New York, and at the adjourned Asserably at Pitts
burg, vrith marked dignity, suavity, and success, and was credited with haring
made raost happy and eloquent responses to the several delegations frora other
bodies, and from the New School Assembly ; and he wiU be remembered not only
as presiding with his brother Moderator at the Reunion jfubilee in Pittsburg, but
as most happily introducing the nuptial formula, and appealing to the venerable
Dr. EUiott (Moderator at the disruption) if he knew of any reason, just and suffi
cient, why the parties might not lawfully be united.
He is the author of " Letters to Governor Bigler (of Pennsylvania) on the Com
raon School Systera," in controversy -with Bishop O'Coimor of the Roman Catho
lic Diocese of Pittsburg ; also of a tract on " Universal Salvation,'' published by
the Presbyterian Board of Publication in Philadelphia ; also of a public debate vrith
Bishop O'Connor on the relation of the Romish Church to Free Institutions, and
of a controversy ¦with "The Pittsburg Catholic'" (the late Rev. Dr. Keogh) on
" Indulgences," published in the Pittsburg Despatch.
In February, 1858, Dr. Jacobus was caUed to the pastorate of the Central Pres
byterian Church of Pittsburg (formerly the Fifth Presbyterian Church, wliich had
been dissolved), and, beginning ¦with a membership of nineteen persons, he has
gathered around him, during ten years, a flourishing and weU-established church,
which he still continues to serve, in addition to the duties of his professorship.
The foUo-wing articles are from his pen :
1839. Bush on Genesis.
1845. Concordances.
THE REV. PHILEMON H. FOWLER, D.D.,
Moderator ofthe General Assembly (New School), 1869, being one ofthe Assem
blies that prepared and sent down to the Presbyteries the Basis of Reunion
which was finaUy adopted, and the last Assembly known as New School. [See
sketches of the members of the Revmion Committee, page 718.]

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 735

THE REV. J. TRUMBULL BACKUS, D.D.,
Moderator of the First Reunited General Assembly. [See sketches of the mem
bers of the Reunion Committee, page 708.]

CHAIRMEN OF THE REUNION COMMITTEE OF 1866.
The steel plate by Ritchie, on which are seen the portraits of Drs. Krebs,
Brainerd, and Beatty, would have contained also the portrait of Dr. Adams, but
for the fact that his picture appears in the group of the. Joint Committee of
Conference of 1869, in which he labored so earnestly and successfully, and of which
he was the chairman. At the request of numerous brethren of both of the late
branches of tlie Church, the place thus left vacant is filled by the portrait of the
much-beloved and lamented Dr. Gurley, whose patient efforts for Reunion aU ac
knowledge. Dr. Krebs was the Chairman of the Reunion Committee, Old School,
of 1866. Dr. Brainerd was the Chairman of the Reunion Coraraittee, New
School, of 1866. Dr. Beatty succeeded Dr. Krebs, and Dr. WUliam Adams suc
ceeded Dr. Brainerd. When the Committep of each branch combined with tha
pther, and both became one Joint Committee, the Rev. Dr. Beatty was elected as
its Chairman, and the Rev. Dr. Hatfield was chosen Secretary.
THE REV. JOHN M. KREBS, D.D.
[See Biographical Sketches, page 326.]
THE REV. THOMAS BRAINERD, D.D.
[See Biographical Sketches, page 387.]
THE REV. PHINEAS D. GURLEY, D.D.
[See Biographical Sketches, page 336.]
THE REV. CHARLES C. BEATTY, D.D.
[See Sketches of the Reunion Committee of 1866, page 707.]
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE OF 1869.
The members of the Joint Committee of Conference of i86g, appointed by
the General Assemblies meeting in the Brick Church and the Church of the Cov
enant, New York, are represented in this volume by their portraits in groups of
five each. A Ust of their names may be found on page 481.

736 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

VIEWS OF CHURCHES, ETC.
the certificate of reunion.
This certificate was drawn up by Henry Day, Esq. , of New York, whose ser
vices in the judicatories of the Church and in the Committee of Conference ol
1869, have greatly promoted the Revmion. The document appears in the hand
writing of the Rev. Dr. McGill, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Old
School, from 1862 to its consoUdation with the other branch. The signatures are
those of the officers of the two Assemblies of 1869.
P. H. Fowler, Moderator, N. S. M. W. Jacobus, Moderator, 0. S.
Edwin F. Hatfield, Stated Clerk, Alex. T. McGjll, Stated Clerk,
N. S. O. S.
J. Glentworth Butler, Permanent W. E. Schenck, Permanent Clerk,
Clerk, N. S. 0. S.
William E. Moore, Temporary Clerk, R. K. Rodgers, Temporary Clerk,
N. S. O. S.
Geo. a. Howard, Temporary Clerk, N. S.
old PRINCETON COLLEGE.
This picture is a reproduction of the appearance of Princeton CoUege as it
stood prerious to its first conflagration. It is taken from the fac-simile of a " plate
iu the new American Magazine for March, 1760, published at Woodbridge, in
New Jersey." The original plate has beneath the picture of the coUege the
words. Aula Nassovica. Above, upon a scroll, is seen the motto, Dei Sub
Numine Viget.
Princeton CoUege is dear to the Presbjrterian Church not only because it is
closely associated with its history in this country, but stiU more since it has trained
so many of its ministers. Princeton Theological Seminary owes its origin to
the friends and patrons of Princeton College, and it is because of its relations to
that institution and to the work of educating young men for the ministry that the
view of it in its earUer days is presented,
THE memorial VIGNETTE.
This magnificent steel-plate engraving is emblematic of the Reunion. In the
far distance beneath the beams of the rising sun are seen the head waters of tlie
Presbyterian river. It is soon separated by a rock of division, and flows for a
brief time in two streams. Soon rejoined it grows vrider and deeper, untU another
separation occurs. After a longer interval it is happUy reunited where the glorious
Lord becomes to it a place of broad rivers. The church in the foreground is the
Third Church, Pittsburgh. Joyful bands are seen marching in from opposite sides,
hereafter to praise God together as one harmonious company of beUevers.

EXPLANATORY AND STATISTICAL. 737

AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
This picture is a copy of an exceUent stereoscopic view of the Seminary. The
number of its graduates who are now pastors, or serving the church in other
spheres of usefulness, is so large that it is believed many -wiU be pleased to see a
picture of Aubum Seminary in this volume.
THIRD CHURCH, PITTSBURG, PA.
Here the General Assembly, New School, held its adjourned meeting, Novem
ber, 1869. It was also the scene of the grand Reunion Convention and Jubilee,
after the declaration of the adoption of the Basis of Union, Friday, November
I2th, 1869. [Se? pa^e 592.]
THE REV. ASHBEL GREEN, D.D.
[See Biographical Sketches, page 251.]
THE REV. JAMES RICHARDS, D.D.
[See Biographical Sketches, page 371.]
CHURCH OF THE COVENANT, NEW YORK.
Here the General Assembly, New School, of 1869 met. [See page 418.]
FIRST CHURCH, PITTSBURG, PA.
Here the General Assembly, Old School, held its adjommed meeting, Novon-
ber, 1869. [See page 553.] FIRST CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA.
Here the First Reunited General Assembly convened. May, 1870. [See page
S97.] BRICK CHURCH, NEW YORK.
In this church the General Assembly, Old School, of 1869 convened. [See
page 489.]
2. PAPER PREPARED AND SIGNED BY MEMBERS OF THE
GENERAL ASSEMBLY, OLD SCHOOL, AND OTHERS, New
ark, N. J., 1864, REFERRED TO ON PAGE 422.
Newark, N. J., May 27, 1864.
The ministers and elders of the Presbyterian Church, represented by the General
Assembly now in session iu this city, feel called upon to express their confident
47

738 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
conviction that the time has come when measures should be initiated to promote
the reunion of the two branches of the Presbyterian Church which were separated
in 1838. The questions over which they differed and divided have mainly passed
away. They adopt the same views in opposition to slavery. There is now no
difference of opinion in regard to the propriety of ecdesiastical supervision in con
ducting educational and missionary operations. After having been separated for
more than a quarter of a century, they adhere alike to the old constitution.
Their rainisters and ruling elders receive and adopt the Confession of Faith in the
use of some prescribed forra. Whatever differences in doctrine may have existed
at the tirae of separation there is reason to believe have mainly passed away. It
is believed that the great majority in each branch " sincerely receive and adopt the
Confession of Faith, as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Scriptures,"
and approve of the sarae govemraent and discipline. On this basis we may re
unite, mutually regarding and treating the office-bearers and church courts of each
as co-ordinate elements in the reconstruction.
There are difficulties in the way of repairing the breaches of Zion which must
be met and overcorae by well-considered raethods and in a spirit of forbearance
and prudence. Reunion cannot be accomplished, nor is it to be desired, without
the restoration of a spirit of unity and fraternity. 'We believe that this spirit
exists, and is constantly increasing. That which should first engage the attention
of the friends of reunion should be to find out how far unity of sentiment and kind
ness of feeling prevail. Where these exist, they should be cherished and strength
ened by meeting together for the purpose of interchangnig views, and using means
for final union.
By way of ascertaining the riews of the rainisters, ruling elders, and churches,
and of caUing out, organizing, and concentrating public sentiraent, so as to open
the way for organic union as speedily as possible, we propose the foUowing
measures :
1. We recommend to Presbyteries and Synods the appointment of correspond
ing delegates to attend the Presbyteries and Synods of the other branch, as a meas
ure adapted to develop and promote the spirit of union.
2. We recommend union meetings of Presbyteries and Synods of the two
bodies wherever practicable, such as were held by the Presbyteries of St. Law
rence and Ogdensburg, as furnishing the best means of ascertaining how far a spirit
of kindness and confidence has been restored, and to what extent a desire for re
union prevaUs.
3. We recommend that Church Ses.sions, Presbyteries, and Synods that are in
favor of reunion take action on the subject, and express and publish theu- views.
4. We recommend conventions of the friends of reunion at important points,
to be composed of ministers, ruling elders, and others, to consult together and to
declare their views.
5. We respectfuUy request the conductors of the religious journals of the two
Churches to open their columns to the publication of communications and reports
<f diurch courts and other meetings in favor of reunion.

EXPLANATOEY AND ST.^TISTICAL. 739
6. We would recommend to aU concerned to discourage the organization of
weak churches of the two branches, where only one is needed and can be sup
ported, and especiaUy where missionary aid is required to sustain them ; and we
commend the union of such churches where they exist.
7. We recommend, in the language of the General Assembly of 1863, at
Peoria, "That the ministers of the two branches of the Chmrch cultivate frater
nal intercourse and free interchange of -riews, and in aU suitable ways encourage
and aid one another in the appropriate work of the ministry ; and that the mem
bers of the one or the other branch connect themselves with existing congregations
of either, rather than give their influence and their aid to bodies whose princi
ples and form of government are foreign to their o-wn."
8. We earnestly recommend to aU to seek, by prayer to the Head of the
Church, that the Divine blessing may rest upon aU efforts for the accomplishment
of this desirable object.
Ministers — Septimus Tustin, Washington, D. C; J. G. Monfort, Cincin
nati, Ohio ; T. N. HaskeU, First Church, East Boston ; J. A. Steel, Topeka,
Kansas ; W. S. Rogers, Oxford, Ohio ; George Hale, Pennington, N. J. ; Shel
don Jackson, Eochester, Minn.; A. McElwain, Indiana, Pa.; N. V. Morrow,
Van Buren, Ohio; Arthur Burtis, Buffalo, N. Y.; L. MerrUl MUler, Ogdens
burg, N. Y.; Alfred Nevin, Philadelphia, Pa.; George C. Bush, Hackettstovm,
N. J.; A. O. Rockwell, Pittsburg, Pa.; E. B. Raffensperger, Toledo, Ohio;
Samuel Steel, HUlsboro, Ohio; Alfred Taylor, Bristol, Pa.; W. B. Stewart,
Pottstown, Pa.; C. V. McKaig, Candor, Pa.; S. McC. Anderson, Davenport,
Iowa ; J. H. Pratt, Athens, Ohio ; John Johnson, SybertsviUe, Pa. ; EmUius
Grand Girard, Ripley, Ohio ; John Robinson, Ashland, Ohio ; M. L. Wortraan,
Perrysville, Pa. ; A. E. Thomson, MarysviUe, Ohio ; Thomas W. Hynes, Green-
viUe, 111. ; E. W. Wright, Delphi, Indiana ; C. K. Thomson, Lebanon, Indiana ;
Thomas S. Crowe, JeffersonviUe, Indiana; J. M. Stevenson, New York, N. Y.;
B. Johnson, Oxford, Wis.; WiUiam C. Roberts, Columbus, Ohio; J. H. Mc-
Uvaine, Princeton, N. J.; E. WUson, Philadelphia, Pa.; J. W- Heynes, Hudson,
Michigan ; M. Barrett, Newton, N. J.; H. L. Craven, St. Charles, Minn.; J. D.
Paxton, Princeton, Indiana ; D. A. Wilson, Ironton, Mo.; S. M. Templeton,
Delavan, Illinois ; W. R. Marshall, Baltimore, Md. ; WUson Phraner, Sing Sing,
N. Y.; Joseph F. Fenton, Washington, Mo.; B. S. Everett, Stroudsburg, Pa.;
Alex. McA. Thorbum, Malta, N. Y.; Algernon Sydney MacMaster, Poland,
Ohio; James A. McKee, St. Anthony, Minn.; James AUison, Pittsburg, Pa.; J.
H. Nixon, Indianapolis, Indiana; Randolph A. De Lancey, Boston, Mass.; I. N.
RendaU, Oneida VaUey, N. Y.; W. T. Adams, El Paso, lUinois; Jos. Piatt,
Waveland, Indiana; EdsaU Ferrier, Florida, N. Y.; S. H. Stevenson, GranvUle,
lUmois; Ml A. Hoge, Cleveland, Ohio; Joseph W. Hubbard, Bridgeton, N. J.;
E. Slack, Cincinnati, Ohio ; N. C. Burt, Cmcinnati, Ohio ; I. N. Candee, Gales-
burg, lUmois ; BeUvUle Roberts, Rochester, N. Y. ; S. P. Scovd, Springfield,
Ohio ; John Wray, Rockdale MUls, Pa. ; James TuUy, BaUsto-wn Spa, N. Y. ;

740 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Edward E. Ranldn, Newark, N. J.; Samuel J. Baird, Woodbury, N. J.; John Y.
Allison, Areola, lUinois ; David M. James, Budd's Lake, N. Y.
Ruling Elders — C3n:us Falconer, HamUton, Ohio ; Daniel KeUey, Buffalo,
N. Y. ; J. M. Chambers, Burlingame, Kansas ; W. Shepard, Rochester, N. Y. ;
E. Crosby, Bath, N. Y. ; Joseph Gorrell, Ossian, Indiana ; Nehemiah Dodge, Mt.
Joy, Pa. ; E. J. BeaU, New PhUadelphia, Ohio ; J. G. AUen, East Springdale,
Ohio ; Robert W. Pratt, Salem, Illinois ; Stanley Matthews, Cincinnati, Ohio ;
Wm. Taylor, Findley, Ohio ; Noah Evans, HUlsboro, Ohio ; W. Seawright,
Frankfort, Indiana ; A. J. Hays, Charleston, Indiana ; Martin Ryerson, Newton,
N. J.; T. 'W. Lockwood, Detroit, Michigan ; Charles N. Todd, IndianapoUs,
Indiana ; John Morehouse, Dayton, Ohio ; George Hurlbut, Ogdensburg, N. Y. ;
W. Helphenstein, Washington, Ind.; J. W. Sutherland, Kirkwood, Mo.; B. S.
Disbrow, Trenton, N. J.; James Patton, Reeraersburg, Pa.; Jaraes H. WUson,
Prairie City, UUnois; James Ayers, Toulon, lUinois; Thompson BeU, Zurick,
Iowa; Mattliias Osbom, New Providence, N. J.; Eustus H. Smith, St. Louis,
Mo.; John S. Furst, Cedar Springs, Pa.; James M. Briggs, Mt. Gilead, Ohio;
Wm. Byram, Liberty, Indiana; J. 'W. Kennicutt, Boston, Mass.; S. Wittlesey,
Toledo, Ohio; J. H. McGrew, Piqua, Ohio; J. H. Whiting, Mt. Pleasant,
Iowa; James P. WaUace, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Charles E. Lathrop, Washington,
D.C.; A. Eldridge, North White Creek, N. Y. ; John Ogden, MUwaukee, Wiscon
sin ; James Rankin, DunningsviUe, Pa. ; Charles FuUer, Scranton, Pa. ; John D.
Stokes, Beaver, Pa.
3. THE PITTSBURG CIRCULAR, 1868. Referred to on page 500.
This circular, it is believed, exerted an important influence in behalf of the Re
union, and paved the way for its general acceptance upon the basis finally adopted.
It was first suggested and proposed by the Rev. Dr. James AUison in the Presby
terian Banner. It took definite shape and execution al a conference of Dr.
AUison, Drs. Paxton, A. A. Hodge, and Jacobus, Dr. D. McKinney, and several
others consenting. The first part of the paper was written by the Rev. A. A.
Hodge, D.D., and the remaining portion by Dr. Allison. A few verbal altera
tions were afterwards raade by the brethren who were present at the meeting at
which it was signed. CIRCULAR ON REUNION.
The late General Assembly, which held its sessions in Albany, after having re
ferred the Basis reported by the Joint Committee to the consideration of the pres
byteries, declared, by a unanimous vote, their decided preference for the Common
Standards of the Presbyterian Church without qualifying clauses of any kind, as
the doctrinal basis of the reunited Church. When this was reported to the Gen
eral Assembly sitting in Harrisburg, although by reason of the previous departure
nf many of their members they were unable formally to reconsider their former

EXPLANATORY AND STATISTICAL. 741
action, yet by a very large majority of their remaining members they also ex
pressed their preference for the change proposed.
In view of these facts, the undersigned desire to raake known their very decided
agreeraeut with both these General Assemblies in preferring that the Westminster
Confession and Catechisms, vrithout qualification, should be the only doctrinal
basis of the reunited church in the future.
I. Because the Common Standards, -without qualification, have been from the
first the basis of both churches, and their adoption consequently will involve no
sacrifice of principle nor of consistency upon the part of either.
2. Because it is known to have been the first choice of our New School breth
ren, and is now preferred by an overwhelming majority of both branches.
3. Because its adoption in preference to the Doctrinal Basis reported by the
Joint Committee will conciliate the cheerful acquiescence of very many who acted
with the minority in the late General Asserably.
4. Because it has already been approved by the New School, Old School.
United, and Reformed Presbyterians in the Philadelphia Convention, and its
adoption will therefore greatly facilitate the ultimate reunion of all branches of
the hitherto divided Presbyterian family in the United States.
5. Because it wiU avoid aU ground of litigation with respect to church property
of every kind.
6. And, finally, because the adoption of the common Confession and Catechism,
without qualifying clauses, will facilitate instead of delaying our reunion with the
other branch; since, as the adoption of this basis involves the creation of no new
"constitutional rule," nor any modification in any pre-e.ristent rule, it is self-
evident that, provided it is in the meantirae indicated as the preference of the
Church, it raay be adopted by the two General Asserablies of 1869, and made the
basis of reunion by a simple resolution.
On the other hand, the adoption of the doctrinal basis reported by the Joint
Committee, however well intended, may be divisive in its tendency. It is very
complex in its terms, and is already interpreted in different senses by different
parties. It is a new basis, altering, in terms at least, if not in spirit, the established
formula of subscription. Being a modification of the ancient constitutional form
of subscription, it cannot be made binding by a mere resolution of the General
Assemblies, but must receive, according to the plan of the Joint Committee, the
suffrages of three-fourths of the presbyteries of both branches. It is the first
choice of neither party. It is more or less seriously objected to by a large por
tion of the Old School, and is conscientiously protested against by a respectable
minority. It is believed to be especially distasteful to the great body of the
United and Reformed Presbyterians, and its adoption by us would therefore em
barrass and tend to postpone our reunion with them.
Therefore vve recommend that the presbyteries adopt, as far as they may be
able, the other parts of the basis, and that all presbyteries which may prefer this
proposed article to the one now in the basis of agreement give expression of their
desire that the two branches should unite on this basis; and that presbyteries

742

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

which may prefer the basis of the Joint Committee, but who are ¦willing to unite
on the basis proposed, give expression to that -aiillingness, asking that if it shall
appear that a majority of the presbyteries desire the doctrinal basis here proposed,
or are ¦willing to accept it, the General Assembly may adopt such measures as, in
its wisdom, may be deemed best to secure the concurrence of the General Assem
bly of the other branch ; smd that the stated derks of the presbyteries report their
action to the next General Assembly.
We hereby most respectfuUy ask our Committee on Reunion, whose pmdence,
vrisdom, patience, and great desire to act so as to subserve the highest interests of
the Church we most highly appreciate, either by correspondence or personal inter
course vrith the Committee on Reunion of the New School, to secure a recom
mendation to the presbyteries of both branches, to adopt the suggestion made
above, so that simultaneous and undivided action may be taken by the presbyteries
in both branches. ministers.

David McKinney,
David Elliott,
W. B. McIlvaine,
S. C. Logan,
James I. Brownson,
J. B. Bittinger.
James M. Platt,
Richard Lea,
S. M. Henderson,
Robert Carothers,
Elliott E. Swift,
John Gillespie,
W. W. Eells,
A. A. Hodge,
Jno. Launitz,
C V. McKaig,
James Allison,
Williamson S. Wright,
s. f. scovel,
A. C. McClelland,
John Kerr,
S. J. Wilson,
M. W. Jacobus,
J. E. "Wright,
L. R. McAboy,
T. X Orr,
Joseph Smith,

Ohio Presbytery.
AUegheny City Presbytery.
Ohio Presbytery.
Lake Presbytery.
Washington Presbytery.
AUegheny City Presbytery.
AUegheny City Presbytery.
Ohio Presbytery,
BlairsriUe Presbytery.
BlairsvUle Presbytery.
Allegheny City Presbytery.
Ohio Presbytery.
Ohio Presbytery.
Allegheny City Presbytery.
AUegheny City Presbytery.
Ohio Presbytery.
Allegheny City Presbytery.
Logansport Presbytery.
Ohio Presbytery.
Ohio Presbytery.
Ohio Presbytery.
Ohio Presbytery.
Ohio Presbytery.
Allegheny City Presbytery.
AUegheny City Presbytery.
Allegheny City Presbytery.
BlairsviUe Presbytery.

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 743
W. D. Howard, Ohio Presbytery,
James A. Reed, 'Wooster Presbytery.
A. M. Reid, SteubenviUe Presbytery.
Wm. A. West, Carlisle Presbytery.
ruling elders.
John Sample, BlairsriUe Presbytery.
David Robinson, Ohio Presbytery.
T. H. Nevin, AUegheny City Presbytery.
J. B. FiNLAY, Saltsburg Presbytery.
Pittsburg, Pa., June 25, 1868.
4. SPEECH OF THE REV. GEORGE W. MUSGRjVVE, D.D., LL.D.,
IN Presenting the Report of the Co.mmittee of Conference,
ETC., General Assembly, Old School, 1869. Referred to on
PAGE 522.
The follovring speech was delivered by the Rev. G. W. Musgrave, D.D. , LL. D.,
Chairman of the O. S. Committee of Conference, on the occasion of the presenta
tion ofthe Report ofthe Joint Committee of Conference, to the Old School General
Assembly sitting in the Brick Church in the City of New York, May 27th, 1869 :
Mr. Moderator, — It affords me great pleasure to be able to report a Plan of
Union between what are loiown as the Old and New School bodies, and to be able
to say that our report is tmanimoits, and is signed by every raember of each Com
mittee. The Joint Committee report three pajiers to the Assembly. 1\\z first is
a Plan of Union, containing the Basis, vvhich will be sent down to the Presby
teries for their acceptance or rejection. The second paper is a declaration, made
that there may be a good understanding Ijetween the two branches. This paper
is not a compact or covenant, but is a recommendation of certain arrangements as
to Seminaries, Boards, etc. It is no part of the Basis or Terms of Union. It
only recommends certain arrangements as suitable to be adopted. The third pa
per is one recommending a day of prayer to Alraighty God for his guidance and
presence, that Presbyteries raay be under the Divine influence when they come to
vote upon this momentous question. The report has been printed, and will be
distributed as soon as read. It has not been circulated before, because it was
feared that members would be so much engaged in the reading of it that they would
not listen to it vvith sufficient attention. I wiU novv call upon the Secretary of the
Committee to read the Report.
[The Report having been read, Dr. Musgrave proceeded :]
I have already, Mr. Moderator, made a very brief explanation of the character
of tlie three papers submitted by the Joint Committee. But I wish to inalce a few
additional remarks vrith respect to each of them consecutively.
The first paper, as you wUl notice, is the Plan of Union, containing the basis
upon which it is proposed this union shaU be effected. That basis is to be over

744 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
tured to the Presbyteries, and is the only paper which vriU be sent down t the
Presbyteries to be acted upon by thera. This basis is our common Standards — is
the Confession of Faith, including, of course, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms,
agreeably to former decisions of the General Assembly, they being regarded as in
cluded in the expression, " our Standards."
reunion on the standards.
Now, sir, this is simple. We shaU have but one question before us. Are we
prepared to approve of the reunion of these two Asserablies upon the siraple ba
sis, the Confession of Faith, our coraraon Form of Government and Discipline,
the doctrines and the polity which both of the branches receive and adopt ? 'Well,
sir, T ara compelled to say that, much as I have desired this union for great objects
and for the glory of God, I would never have given my consent to this union upon
any other conceivable basis. My objection to all the overtures heretofore sent
down was that they add something to the Standards ; and, to say the least, they
were ambiguous, were liable to be differently construed, and, in my judgment,
opened the door for the introduction of errors vvhich no sound Calvinist will ever
agree to endorse. Give us our pure, time-honored, scriptural Standards, and then
we can all stand upon them as the rock upon which our fathers have ever stood,
and upon which I pray Alraighty God our successors will ever stand till the end
of tirae. Now, sir, we have had a frank and a very kind interchange of opinions
in the Coraraittee. We have been, as your representatives, allow me to say, faith
ful to the trust coraraitted to us, loyal to Christ and to God's truth. We have
said that when we raake the Standards' the basis of this union, vve raean what we
say — these Standards, nothing else, nothing raore, and nothing less. We have
said that we raean to maintain the system of doctrines taught in those Standards,
because we believe them to be according to God's Word, with constancy and
fidelity. In other words, we meant and wanted to be understood that we never
intended to allow brethren to impair the integrity of that systera. If any such
errors are propagated, those who are engaged in it must expect to be disciplined.
We wUl maintain, God helping us, the purity of doctrines taught in our blessed
Confession. That is distinctly understood, and I rejoice that in the preamble to
one of the papers we distinctly announce that we recognize each other as sound and
orthodox bodies, thus advertising to all the world that the reason vvhy these two
great branches of the Church are to be united is because vve believe each other to
be orthodox, and sound in the faith. So that it musi be plain enough that a uni
ted Church, founded upon our Confession, each branch recognizing the other as
sound and orthodox, v\'iU never tolerate heresy. Why, sir, I have not changed my
theological views and my conscientious convictions of duty in the least degree in re
gard to that, and though I raay not live long, I will endeavor, as in the past, by
God's grace, to defend and maintain the purity of our doctrines. That is under
stood, that we receive the Confession sincerely, and that we mean to maintain and
defend it.

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 745
On the other hand we have understood each other on the question of liberty.
We have said to our brethren, " You have possibly misunderstood our branch.
You, through some representations made in the papers by anonymous writers es
peciaUy, have received the impression that the Old School church will tolerate no
difference of opinion ; that we are obliged, every man as before his God, to accept
the ipsissima verba theory ; and that any man who undertakes to review, or to
state or iUustrate doctrines in any degree different from those of Princeton, for
instance, is to be considered as a heretic, and to be disciplined." Well, we have
disabused them of that. We have said, " Bretliren, there have always been
shades of difference in the Old School Church ; and in a body of such inteUigent
and conscientious men there must of necessity be differences of opinion." Why,
sir, as long as men think at aU — and may the day never come vvhen one man shall
think for aU the rest — as long as men think, they wiU differ in some respects.
Now, sir, we have said to thera that we understand that there is to be allowed in
this united Church a reasonable degree of liberty ; that men are not to be made
offenders for a word ; that we will not encourage persecution, or needless pro.se-
cution, if you prefer it, but will allow just such liberty in the united Church as has
been freely aUowed in the Old School branch of the Church. Well, that satisfied
them. Now, sir, we understand each other. We are both sound, orthodox bodies,
pledged to that old Confession, understanding each other that we mean to main
tain it in its integrity ; and on the other hand, that we vvill aUow all reasonable
differences of opinion — that is to say, such differences as are consistent with main
taining the integrity of the system. No opinion is to be tolerated that would be
subversive of our system of doctrine. Thus we arrived at a harmonious conclu
sion, and, so far as I could judge, every man in that Joint Coraraittee agreed tliat
this was fair and just, and I think it is. What more can we ask than that this ba
sis should be our common Standards, with this understanding between the parties,
that it is not to be received insincerely, with reserve; that there is to be no tole-
r.ation of material doctrinal differences, while a reasonable liberty will be allowed ?
I thank God that we have reached this result. Now I can subscribe to it for one,
with aU my heart ; and, sir, I vvould be glad if the other Calvinistic and Presby
terian bodies would unite vrith us upon this same broad, solid, scriptural basis.

-WHY REFER TO THE PRESBYTERIES ?
Now, you vriU ask why the Coraraittee recommended that this Basis should be
sent down to the Presbyteries, and why we did not propose to consummate thi>'
union here and now. Well, a word of explanation. I think our Committee were
of opinion that, if it had been expedient, these two General Assemblies would have
the constitutional right to effect this union at once. That is certainly the opinion
of the Chairman of the Coraraittee. And though I have great respect for those
who have expressed a different judgment, nevertheless God has so made me that I
am obliged to do my own tliinking. Often I can agree vvith Princeton ; I am very

746 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
happy to agree vrith the brethren I respect and love, and with whom I have co
operated, some of them at least, for forty years or raore. But I must somehow
or other do my ovvn thinking, and I believe that this Assembly has the right to
consummate this union at once, if it chose to do so, because there is no constitu
tional change proposed. Yes, if you have a Smith or a Gurley amendment, if you
have anything else than the simple Confession, then I agree that in order to make
it legal the change must be approved by the Presbyteries ; but when no constitu
tional change is proposed, there is no necessity for that.
Then, second, we have precedent. Novv we know that it has been argued
that, although the Associate Reformed Church was united without sending the
question down by overture to the Presbyteries, yet it was a small body. Why,
Mr. Moderator, that is strange logic to me ! Does the size of a body affect the
principle involved ? If the Assembly had the constitutional right to unite with
that independent denomination, without asking leave of the Presbyteries, cer
tainly the size of the body does not affect the principle. Theft is theft, whether a
raan steal a penny or a miUion ; and so vrith everything else.
Ah, but then it is said that that reference is unfortunate, because the union was
unhappy ! Why, that is stUl stranger logic to me ! What would you think.
Moderator, of a man who would gravely undertake to argue that the consumma
tion of a certain marriage was unlawful, because the union of the parties was un
happy ? Is there any logic in that ? Certainly not. I ara clearly of opinion that
this Assembly would have had the right to do it.
WeU, then, even admitting that in a case of this sort, where such great interests
are involved, it would be proper to considt the Presbyteries before consummating
union, has not this been done ? Have you not, as a matter of fact, akeady over
tured the Presbyteries tvrice ? Has not a large majority of your Presbyteries de
clared, in answer to your overtures, that they approve this union, provided you
would omit one or two amendraents in the first article ? Novv, I submit that it
loolcs to me soraething like a quibble to say that the thing has not been overtured.
It has been. The Presbyteries have answered, and they have said, " Yes, you
may do it ; we will approve of it, provided you wiU •rait one or two amendments
in the first or doctrinal article."
Well, notvrithstanding such are my own views, and I believe I am expressing the
views of the entire Coraraittee of Conference appointed by you, nevertheless we
thought that it vvould not be expedient to undertake to consuraraate the union at
once. Some tliirty, perhaps speaking correctly, as some gentleman has undertaken
to count them, thirty-one Presbyteries, sorae of them the largest and intellectually
and morally among the most influential in our body, have said that this thing
would be either unconstitutional, for that was the voice of sorae, and in others
that it would not be judicious or wise, and they have insisted upon it that it ought
to be overtured to thera before it is consummated. Well, sir, it was our opinion,
decidedly my own, that we ought to defer to the views and the feeUngs of these
brethren, and send the thing down to them. Why, sir, we don't want an inliar-
nionious union. We don't want to get up a contest at the very outset vrith regard

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 747
to the constitutionality of the union when it is perfected. We don't want to sour
these brethren, or to force thera into antagonism with us. No, sir. We hope,
and now I wiU say that I am very sanguine in my hope, that the great mass of
those bretln-en, if you send it down, will all express approval of it, and come into
the union heartily, and so we vvUl have an harmonious union, which wUl vastly
promote our happiness and efficiency ; so that I am gi-atified at this comproraise,
if I may so express it. Instead of domg the thmg at once, send it down, and let the
brethren have what they daim as rights — the opportunity of expressing their judg
ment. But, sir, whUe we were wiUing to delay this matter for so important a purpose,
we felt that there were other interests, great and enduring, that ought to be con
sulted likewise, and that we ought not unnecessarUy to postpone this raatter. In
stead, therefore, of providing that the next General Asserably shaU count the votes
and take the order according to the instructions of the Presbytery, we propose to
adjourn the Asserablies — - these Asserablies now sitting, to the raonth of Novem
ber, giving the Presbyteries the opportunity of voting in October, so that next
November, haring received their answers, if they are favorable, as I doubt not they
-wiU be, then in November the Asserably can take such order as wUl enable the As
sembly of 1870 to be an Assembly of the United Church, raaking arrangements for
the manner in vvhich that Asserably shall be organized.
REASONS FOR TWO-THIRDS VOTE.
WeU, now, sir, a word of explanation in regard to a change which you perhaps
have noticed. Hitherto we, the Coraraittees, have recoraraended that three-fourths
of the Presbyteries shall be necessary to determine this question, and we seriously
considered that point, and after the raost mature deliberations it was thought that
under existing circumstances, and in view of the great interests involved, a two-
thirds vote was more proper and judicious. It did not seera to us to be right to al
low a minority of one-fourth to govern the Church in the settlement of this grand
question. Minorities have govei-ned the world, the Church of God ; and, sir, in
direct accordance with one of our fundamental principles, we thought a majority
should govern. Why, sir, even with respect to constitutional changes, our Govern
ment demands nothing more than a majority vote. It is not right that a small mi
nority should control and govern the Church of God. There are, sir, we also re
mark, some Presbyteries from which we do not hear, vve know not from vvhat
cause. It is not peculiar with respect to this question. Sorae have noticed it for
many years. No matter what questions you send down to the Presbyteries, therf
wiU always be a number of them that wiU raake no response ; and unfortunately
our Government requires us to count them as dissenting. Now, sir, if I have been
correctly mformed, for I have been out of the house on these Committees almost
aU the time during your proceedings, I cannot therefore speak, perhaps, with that
accuracy that I might if I had been present and heard the thing ; but I understood
that some thhty Presbyteries sent up no report. Well, now, are all those thirty

748 PEESBYTEELVN CHUECH.
Presbyteries opposed to Union ? I don't believe it. I can't believe it. And yet,
sir, in counting the votes, you must count thera as dissenting. You can only count
the votes for and against, aud the question must be determined by the majority ol
the votes returned. WeU, sir, that is a very grave consideration in this matter.
If v/e could be certain that aU Presbyteries would make a return, then perhaps it
would not only be safe, but wise and proper, to make it three-fourths.
But, sir, knovring that in aU previous time many Presbyteries failed to send up
a report ; and even upon this question of Union, that has so stirred the hearts of
the great inasses of our people throughout the length and breadth of the land, even
on this gi-and question of Union, thirty Presbyteries, if I am rightly informed, send
no answer to your overtures — thirty-five, the Stated Clerk tells rae, and that in
creases the weight of my argument — thirty-five Presbyteries ! . — as i prudent men
we thought it would not be judicious to mea.sure the result by requiring a three-
fourths vote, if aU the Presbyteries should not be heard from. Not that if I were
certain that three-fourths of aU the Presbyteries would not sanction this thing, I
would seriously doubt whether the time had come for us to consummate it. But
I felt, like my brethren of the Committee, I felt unwilling that thirty-five negligent
Presbyteries, or owing to the miscarrying of their responses, or to the neglect of
their stated clerks, or from any cauae, — that thirty-five silent Presbyteries should
turn the scale against the consummation of this blessed Union. No, sir, we looked
at it carefuUy, and vve thought that two-thirds is the proper number, and I trust
the Assembly will agree with us. Surely, frora what we know of the great heart of
the Presbyterian Church, whose pulsations are felt in every section of our land,
surely, if two-thirds of these Presbyteries say aye, we ought to take it as the voice
of God in his proridence.

CONCURRENT DECLARATION
Now, sir, m regard to the articles contained in the second paper, caUed the
Declaration, etc., I have already stated to the Assembly that that don't form a part
of the Basis. They are not a compact or covenant, but they suggest to the Assem
bly what are suitable arrangements. I vrill not repeat what I have said, except to
call your attention to that important distinction. They are not terms of the union.
They may be annulled or modified, as any future Assembly may deem proper. We
told our brethren that we were unwiUing to tie the hands of the future Church of
God, and I for one was very decided upon that point ; and I will say to you that I
would have risked, yes, risked the failure of this Union at the present time, rather
than concede that these articles should be unchangeable, though I cannot foresee
that there wUl be any necessity in the future to change them. I am neither a
prophet, nor the son of a prophet ; but I think I have some little common sense,
and I felt that it would be unsafe for us to imperU the future by trararaeUing the
Church of God, preventing it from exercismg its liberty and from dealing vrith cir
cumstances as they might arise in the providence of God. Sir, we were very de-

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 749
dded and determined that those articles should not form a part of the compact,
but that they should be suggestions and recommendations, in order that the Presby
teries should get an understanding between the parties. But, sir, it is due to fair
ness that I should say, and I repeat it now publicly, in order that it may have a
response frora this house, we did say to these brethren, ' ' We wUl not consent to
make these articles a covenant ; we won't adopt them as a legal compact, binding
upon the future ; yet we are acting in good faith and as honorable men, and vve
say to you that we will not change them at any future time without obviously good
and sufficient reasons." And I, for one, will feel bound in honor to maintain
those articles, so long as they can be maintained without serious detriment to the
interests of the Church of God ; and I hope this Asserably will understand it so, in
all honor and in good faith, when we have said that we proposed these arrange-
raents, that we did not intend that they should be ephemeral, nor that we should
take advantage of our numerical majority and alter them to conform to our pe
culiar interests and vrishes. No, I told the brethren of the other side that they
could trust my Church ; that they were men of honor and good faith ; and if you
ratified this thing, you would stand by it, and future Assemblies would stand byit,
until in the progress of events some good and sufficient reason shoidd exist for
their modification. SAFETY ON THE PROPOSED BASIS.
Now, sir, I have but a few more words. Perhaps I have already occupied too
much tirae ; but my apology is in my official relation to the Committee. Permit
me to say a few words in regard to the general subject. I believe that the basis we
have proposed is perfectly safe for the Church of God. If I thought otherwise, I
would not advocate it, I would not consent to it. In my conscience and before
God, I believe that the doctrines of our beloved Church are safe on that basis. I
believe that the whole body of the other branch are orthodox, in our sense of that
word. That there are some men among them, as perhaps among us, whose theol
ogy neither you nor I could endorse, I admit ; but if we wait to consummate this
union untU we are ready to endorse the opinions of every man, we ¦will wait cer
tainly untU the mUlennium.
No, sir, there is no perfect Church on earth. No matter how long you would
wait, why, sir, you would never have it. I venture to say that if you would not
organize this General Assembly untU you were s.atisfied that every raan — . every
rainister and every ruling elder constituting your constituency — untU you would
believe that every man of them, dergy and ruling elders, were perfectly orthodox,
you would never have a General Assembly of the Old School Presbyterian
Church !
Now sir, aU that I cared for was that the law should be right ; that if any
opinions were propagated which seemed to us to be inconsistent vrith an honest
subscription to our standards, we should not be obliged to try the man upon a

750 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Gurley law, or upon a Smith law, but upon the old law of our Westminster Con
fession. If the law is right, it is our fault if we don't justly apply it.
Well, SUT, so much for that. I believe they are sound and orthodox as a body,
just as I believe vve are. I wiU not go into any detail here. Suffice it to say.
Moderator, I have considered it my duty, as an individual, to satisfy my own con
science vrith respect to that vital point, not simply on account of my past persona]
history, and my public testimonies on this subject, but in the fear of God, and in
order that I might discharge my individual duty to Christ and to God's people. I
have carefuUy endeavored to satisfy my own mind with regard to that vital pomt.
It would not be proper for me to state the process which I adopted — the methods,
nor to detaU the operations. AU I shaU say to my brethren is tills : that vrith no
undue prejudice for or against them, I have endeavored to inform myself as to the
character of the other branch ; and the result has been that I for one am satisfied
that they are substantiaUy sound, and that there is no material difference between
us ; and that as to those points upon which we divided, thirty odd years ago, they
have aU passed away. We are no longer troubled with them, and they wiU not
corrupt us. CHANGE OF CIRCUMSTANCES.
Why, sir, the change of circumstances is almost radically entire. I wiU not
enter into that, lest I should speak too long. There were causes in operation
from 1828 up to 183S which we had good reason to dread, and which were un
doubtedly corrupting and revolutionizing the Church of God. I have never said,
because I have never felt, as some men have said and doubtless felt — I have never
said that I regretted the part I took in that early conflict. .Sir, were we to meet
in the same circumstances, I would repeat, God helping me, the same conduct. I
will rebuke heresy now, as I did then. I would resist any attempt to revolutionize
the Presbyterian Church and to make it Congregational. I wUl do it now vrith as
much vigor, if I have stiU left the mental and physical strength that I had thirty
odd years ago ; at any rate I would do it vrith all the power that God would
give me.
Sir, the circurastances are different. We are not caUed upon to watch the
Horae Missionary Society and the American Education Society. We have not
got to watch the notoriously unsound Congregationalists, who were undoubtedly
at that time spreading sentiments which were grossly offensive to Old School men.
Sir, that day has p3.ssed away. These brethren have their Committees of Mis
sions, their Education and Publication Committees. They are prepared to con
soUdate them with our Boards, and to act together with us on ecclesiastical princi
ples. WeU, vdluntaryism has ceased to have any influence, as have also the
imsoimd CongregationaUsts. And I qualify my remark always when I speak of
CongregationaUsts, because there are two classes of them ; there is a class of
CongregationaUsts who are orthodox, sound men, eminently pious men, whom I
wotUd welcome into the Presbyterian Church, for they are Presbyterians, as weU
as Calvinists in then- views. 'Why, sir, such men I have no suspicion of. I vriU

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 751
receive them vrith open arms to my heart. All I ask is for a man to be a good
Calvinist, and a thorough Presbyterian, and a sound Christian, and I don't care
from what quarter he comes, whether from the North, or the East, or the South,
or the West. Somehow or other, I have such an affection for all the famiUes of
real Calvinists and Presbyterians, that I can take in all New England that is
sound, aU the Canadas, and Great Britain, and Ireland, and the whole world
Some men like to repeat- that remark of Whitefield, that there will be no Presby
terians and no Methodists, etc., in heaven. Well, sir, I don't know any more
about heaven than Whitefield did, as I have never been there. I don't know ex
actly what form of worship they have, but I have an idea that it wiU be Presby
terian. And, brethren, I wUl give you my reason. I don't say I never have
expressed an opinion vrithout thinking I had a good reason for it ; but I think I
have in this case, and the reason why I think their worship will be like ours in
heaven is because I believe that our mode of worship is what God inspires ; that
we have the principles and the examples of the apostles and prophets ; and as God
inspires this simple forra of worship here, I suppose he will approve of it there.
But certain I am of this, or more certain I should say, that we will all believe the
doctrines of Paul when we get to heaven. I believe what Augustine and John
Calrin taught ; but I would not like myself to say that we will all be Calvinists in
heaven. But I wiU say this, that we will aU believe in accordance with the reve
lation which God gave through the Apostle Paul, and by that I understand Cal
vinism ; and therefore I think that we shall all have that system of doctrines in
heaven. Why, sir, I have another reason for it, if this is not too rauch out of the
way. No raatter how much certain denominations raay differ from us specula
tively and when in controversy, if you just get them to pray — I don't mean in
heaven, for you can' t get there yet, but on earth — ask these good Methodist
brethren to pray right after they have been talking about Calvinism, and if they
don't pray Calvinism I will wonder. WeU, get their hymns, and when they come
to worship God in that part of the service, why some of the purest and best
Calrinism that you vrill find anywhere you vrill find in sorae of their hymns. They
don't know it by the name. Well now, sir, I argue that the work of the Spirit
must correspond with his teachings in his Word. We have not the doctrines and
the experiences of the saints in heaven ; but we see the teachings and the work of
God's Spirit on the minds and hearts of his people upon the earth.
NO VALID OBJECTIONS.
WeU, sir, enough for that. I ara satisfied that we can safely unite, because we
ire orthodox, both of us, and I think too that we ought to do it, because we are
•agreed. Why, sir, a man ought to give some grave reason, and obviously good
leason, why this union should not be effected, because it is so natural, it is so
proper in itself; the parties are really at one —just as I hold that no man can reach
forty-five vrithout being married, and be excusable, without a good reason ; for a
man ought to give a good reason. If it is not his fault, he is not to blame. WeU,

752 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
now, ray logic on that subject is this. I premise that no raan shovirs more foUy than
vvhen he undertakes to be vriser than God. That is an axiom. Now the Almighty
has said, " It is not good for man to be alone ; " and therefore a man ought to have
a good reason. Paul had a good reason — agood reason, and so have some others
of God's people. WeU now, sir, it is not for me to publicly teU what Paul's rea
son was, or the reason of anybody else ; but, sir, there is the argument. Now j
say that no man is justified in voting against this union, this marriage if you please,
between these two parties, unless he has a good reason for forbidding the banns.
Why, sir, if two were to come up here and want to be married, and somebody
were to say, I object to it, wouldn't you, Mr. Moderator, ask hira why? Certainly
you would, and if he couldn't give a good reason, you would proceed. So I would
take it. No man can vote against his own creed. We have fixed it so, I won't
caU it a trap, that a man must have a prodigious amount of moral courage, I
won' t say impudence, to vote against hiraself, against his own creed. Now, sir, if
we put anything else to it, he might object to it ; but, sir, haven't you, before God
and his Church, dedared that you receive and adopt the Confession of Faith ? for
that is the creed. THE ADVANTAGE AND THE DANGER.
The time has come when this thing ought to be settled, because it is proper and
right in itself — and now I come to my last reraark. I sometiraes speak longer
than I should. An old Scotch woman was told that her new preacher read his
sermons. She was told to go into the gallery and she would find it to be true.
She did so, and sure enough she found that in the big Bible he had a little paper
book, and when he came to the end she was fairly boUing over. When the minis
ter remarked, "I will enlarge no further," she squealed out, "Ye canna; the
paper is oot ! " Now, brethren, it has never been my habit to read, and of course
not to write, and I could teU you sorae funny things about these pressmen who
wanted to get a copy of the sermon that I preached. Why, bless your souls, said
I, not a line have I written. But the press went and pressed me untU, vrith the
aid of an amanuensis, I fiUed up the heads. I am not in that predicament now,
and therefore may talk too long. I wUl try to be short for the remainder of the
time. I do not want this union simply because I think it is the wUl of God, and
because I think it is safe, aud proper, and natural ; but I want it for the great
work that we have before us. Now, m my official position, perhaps I have been
able to appreciate this more sensibly than many of my brethren ; for I have cries
for help, pleas for raen smd means, in aU quarters of this great land. WeU, sir, it
has been my duty to study the map of our country, and to keep myself acquainted
with its raoral destitutions, and oh, the weight that these things have upon our
spirits ! So much to do, so weak, and so little power to do it -vrith 1 In behalf of
milUons of souls I implore you to combine your forces for the conquest of this land
and the evangelization of the world ! Oh, what a power there wiU be in this com
bination, not simply by real multipUcation, according to otir numerical strength I

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 753
Why, that is not the half of it. It is not that you are to have in one Church so
many more men and so many more dollars ; but, sir, you are to have a spirit there,
you are to have a faith there, you are to have an enterprise there, and energy and
courage, which are so much needed in this grand work before us. It is not always
the large army that is the most effective. It may be disorganized ; it may be dis
couraged. Soraetimes a much smaUer host, united vrith mutual confidence, wiU
attack and overcome the far larger force, by dint of discipline and spirit. Now,
sir, I think that if this union is consummated you wiU infuse a spirit of hope, of
faith, of zeal, of renewed courage. All our rainisters, aU our elders, aU our people,
wiU have a heart ; and that is vvhat we want. They will have a heart to work, and
there is no teUmg what good may be accomplished. Why, sir, there is not an
infidel, there is not a Jesuit in this land that would not rejoice at the failure of
this attempt at reunion ! They delight in our divisions'; they lament our unions ;
yes, I have thought that I could trace the hand of a Jesuit in many an artide that
I have read in the Protestant papers within the last thirty-eight years. Sir, you
know what a Jesuit is, and therefore I need not describe Mm. But, sir, they
dread the Presbyterian Church more than all others combined. One of their
priests once said to me, " '^e.hate the Methodists, but -we fear you." Fear you !
Now, sir, in order that you may give a blow to mfidelity and Sabbath desecration,
that you may give a check to Romanism, in God's name reunite these hosts, that
you may do battle in the name of King Jesus. Only let us guard, brethren, against
one teraptation. Just as sure as you live, if it proraotes vanity, and ambition, and
self-sufficiency, God vrill frown upon it. That is now about the greatest danger
I apprehend. It is that if we consummate this union we vrill feel proud and self-
sufficient. Oh that God would keep us frora that sphit ; that he would make us
humble, and help us to realize ovr absolute dependence upon him ; and that he
would give us the spirit of prayer after the union as weU as before it ; that he would
make it a bles.smg to the Chm-ch and to the world ! May God speed this happy
work, and this year not close untU this union is declared effected !

5. PASTORAL LETTER OF 1869. By the Rev. M. W. Jacobus, D.D.,
LL.D. Referred to on page 546.
The General Assemblies of both Branches of the Presbyterian Church in the
United States of America, to the Presbyteries and Churches under their
care :
Beloved Brethren, — You are already inforraed of the successive measures
which have been adopted during the last three years, designed to effect an organic
union of the two great branches of the Presbyterian Church in these United
States. The several conferences and overtures of preceding Committees and As
semblies haring accoraplished rauch in the interest of rautual understanding and of
Christian confidence, the two General AsserabUes recently convened in the city of
48

754 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
New York fotmd themselves ready, very promptly, to agree, as they have agreed
vrith signal unanimity, upon a basis of Reunion.
This basis is simply the doctrinal and ecclesiastical basis of our standards, here
tofore and now comraon to both branches — " the Confession of Faith and Form
of Govemment of the Presbyterian Church in the United States," without note
or comment, vrithout restriction or qualification. Each body, equaUy vrith the
other, recognizes and abides by this platform, as the natural and constitutional
ground for those claiming to be Presbyterians ; and as the true, safe, consistent
and unchaUengeable ground for these two bodies coming again to be one.
We have commingled our prayers and praises as one Assembly, and we have
communed together at the table of our comraon Lord as one " body in Christ ; "
and vve believe that the spirit of love and concord has been shed down upon us,
leading to this good result.
The great questions of our cherished forraulas, which are solemnly propounded
in the licensure and ordination of ministers, and in the ordination of ruling elders
and deacons, namely: "Do you believe the Scriptures, etc.?" "Do you sin
cerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith of this Church, as containing the
systera of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures? " and, " Do you approve of the
govemment and discipline of the Presbyterian Church in these United States?" —
these vital questions are here addressed by each to the other of these great bodies.
And as to each of these questions each of these bodies responds to the other, and
to the world, vrith an unqualified Aye ! Several items, not in the basis, are ap
pended as "Concurrent Declarations of the General Assemblies of 1869." They
express certain mutual understandings to be carried out in good faith, though not
of the nature of a contract.
So simple a plan, and so constitutional, vrith such unanimous adoption by your
representatives in both Assemblies, seemed to some to warrant an immediate con
summation. But unanimous as were the General Assemblies, they were not
disposed to deny to any presbytery the free expression of its opinion and suffrage,
even though this may seem to have been given already in advance.
Accordingly it was ordered that the plan of Reunion above described should
be transmitted to you for your formal and official approval. It only remains that
you take prompt and harmonious action upon it, such as is indicated by the action
of your delegates, and that you send up to the respective General AssembUes
your Presbyterial ratification ; and then the separation which has lasted nearly half
the century thus far, and almost a whole generation, wiU be happUy ended, and
we shaU surely gird ourselves for a new stadium of our caieer in the work and
service of our Lord.
We beg you to notice that, inasmuch as the affirmative vote of two-thirds of
the presbyteries connected vrith each Assembly is requisite, each presbytery must
act, or be counted in the negative. And action must be taken definitely, on or
before the 15th day of October; and a statement of the vote of the presbytery
must be certified to the stated clerk of its Assembly, prior to November 1st. And
besides, in order to secure transmission, the Commissioners should bring up in

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 755
hand to the adjourned meeting of the Assembly in Pittsburg, on the loth of No
veraber, a duplicate certificate of the action of their respective presbyteries.
And now, brethren, do not the tiraes demand of us such organic consolidation,
when the forces of antichrist are everywhere organizing union against the Lord
and against his anointed, and when the rallying caU for an Ecumenical Council
goes forth from Rome, that would fain muster her recruits from the Protestant
ranks for the great coming conflict? Our best answer to the Pope's Encyclical
wUl be our Reunion in November, in season to be communicated to the Papal
conclave at the Vatican in December. We are loudly summoned to reunite now,
when such gigantic enterprises are on foot to subvert our holy reUgion, when all
fonns of misbelief and disbelief are banding their forces to destroy the Christian
faith, to break down the Christian Sabbath, to demoralize society, and to root
out our blessed Christianity from the world ; when Romanisra, Rationalism, and
Ritualism make up the Trine Falsehood vvhich denies all that is vital in our
doctrine and worship ; and When the great Deceiver goes forth, in all the earth,
with sleepless enei-gy, to instigate kings and peoples to all the horrid orgies of
Atheism. At such a feai-ful crisis ought any evangelizing energy to be wasted or
misapplied ? At the moment of final conflict, is it not a woful mistake to turn
our guns against battalions of our own army, who come to join our ranks, bearing
aloft our banners ? Our Confession dweUs much upon " the communion of saints"
(see chap. 26).
And if there should be any dissent from the plan so unanimously agreed upon
by your representatives, then is it not the true Presbyterian loyalty that a minority
should defer, in aU good conscience, and in aU Christian charity, to the Presbyte
rial majority — " following after the things that make for peace, and things where-
vrith one may edify another"? (Rora. xiv. 19).
And now, beloved brethren, let us not boast ourselves, as if by the mere force
of such a compact our great work could be achieved ; else, like Jacob in his
success with the wrestling angel, the sinew of the thigh wiU be shrunk, and we
shaU be sent halting on our way (Gen. xxxu. 25, 31, 32). Nor, on the other
hand, let any one foster suspicions or stir up strifes. Even torches of truth may
be mischievously placed so as to set on fire the standing com, and vineyards, and
oUves, that give such glorious promise of harvest (Judg. xv. 4, 5). And then
remember that even greater than Faith and Hope is Charity (i Cor. xiii. 13).
To exercise an intelligent Christian confidence, to cultivate a higher style of
piety for pastors and jjeople, and to derise and execute liberal things for Christ
and his Church — these are the urgent demands of this jubUant occasion.
And finaUy, dear brethren, for this great united, reunited Presbyterian Church
in these United States, stiU opening her arms to receive other members of the
same noble famUy who " have obtained lUie precious faith with us," what a stu
pendous work is set forth, which we may enter upon and achieve ! Our own land
is pleading for our united and aggressive action. Moral elements, good and bad,
are seeking their affinities. Unevangelized masses, in our teeming cities and on
our -wide frontiers, are retaliating upon our neglect of them, by claiming license

756 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
under the name of liberty, and threatening our free institutions. Meanwhile the
ends of the earth are marveUously brought together, as if in eager waiting to see
the salvation of our God. And as if to rebuke the slowness of our Foreign Mis
sionary work, the idolatrous populations of Asia arc tlironging upon our Pacific
coast. Is it not high time for us, as a Church, to move in solid phalanx upon the
enemy's works? Can we afford longer to divide our forces and weaken our de
fences, by working apart ? And shall not tliis Church, to vvhom God has com
mitted, as vve believe, a special deposit of his truth, gird herself anew, at this
loving impulse, to disseminate this truth in all lands and languages ? In such a
day of his power, shaU not his people be vriUing (free--will offerings. Psalm ex.
3), as when the pfeople of Israel " brought the Lord's offering to the work of the
tabernacle of the congregation, men and women, as many as were willing-hearted,
and brought bracelets, and ear-rings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold " ?
(Exod. xxxv. 21, etc.) Wealth that has long been withheld will flow forth, as we
trust, in a new consecration, and our excellent Presbyterian systera will be operated
vrith new efficiency in aU its departments. We fondly believe that not only our
merchant princes, but the masses of our merabership, touched by this spirit of
Revival, and hading this new era in the annals of our Church, will bring forward
their munificent thank-offerings, to supply the treasuries of our boards and com
mittees ; to endow and eq-iip our theological seminaries ; to sustain our impover
ished ministry ; and against all negative and false Christianity to bear aloft the
standards of the Presbyterian Church, its Confession and Catechisms, with its free
government and its simple. Scriptural worship for the salvation of the world.
We have only, in conclusion, to beg your observance of the secojtd Sabbath in
September, recommended by both General Assemblies as " a day of fervent and
united prayer to Alraighty God, that he would grant unto us all the spirit of coun
sel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord," and that he
would enable us, in the new relations now conteraplated, "to keep the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace. "
" Pray for the peace of Jerusalera. They shall prosper that love thee."
" Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one
toward another, according to Christ Jesus ; that ye may, with one mind and one
mouth, glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore
RECEIVE YE ONE ANOTHER, AS CHRIST ALSO R.ECEIVED US, TO THE GLORY OP
God " (Rom. xv. 5-7).
Signed by the yoint Committee.
M. W. Jacobus, P. H. Fovn.ER,
Moderator, O. S. Moderator, N. S.
G. W. Musgrave, Wm. Adams,
A. G. Hall, j. f. Stearns,
Lyman H. Atwater, R. W. Patterson,
Willis Lord, S. W. Fisher,

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 757

H. R. Wilson, Jas. B. Shaw,
Ministers. Ministers.
Henry Day, W. Strong,
Robert Carter, Daniel Haines,
Chas. D. Drake, Wm. E. Dodge,
Wm. M. Francis, J. S. Farrand,
Jno. C. Grier, Jno. L. Knight,
Elders. ¦ Elders.

6. RESOLUTIONS WITH REFERENCE TO OTHER PRESBY.
TERIAN BODIES. Referred to on page 547.
Resolutions passed by the General Assembly (N. S. ), Pittsburg, November,
1869: Resolved, That, rejoicing in the imraediate Reunion of the two Presbyterian
Bodies so long separated, vve would gladly hail u Para-Presbyterian Union, em
bracing all branches of the Presbyterian family holding to the same Confession of
Faith and Form of Government.
Resolved, That all uniting with us may freely enjoy the privUege of using such
songs of praise to Almighty God as their consciences may dictate, as indeed is
aheady aUowed to and variously enjoyed in and by the several congregations now
in our communion.
The Old School Assembly adopted the former of the above.

7. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE WITH THE
AMERICAN B. C. F. M., APPOINTED BY THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY, NEW SCHOOL, 1S69, including the action of the
Prudential Committee of the A. B. C. F. M. Referred to on
PAGE 615.
The General Assembly, convened in the Third Presbyterian Church, Pittsburg,
Pa., in the month of November, i86,g, anticipating the formation of a Board of
Foreign Missions for the united Church, appointed a Committee, consisting of the
Ministers, J. F. Stearns, Robert W. Patterson, and R. R. Booth, and the Elders,
Robert S. WiUiams and William E. Landen, " to take into consideration our rela
tions to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, and report to
the next Asserably such measures as to them may seem proper and expedient, for
the adjustment of those relations to the new posture of our affairs."
This Committee, having attended to the duty assigned them, as far as their cir
cumstances vvould permit, now beg leave to present their Report :
The relations between the General Asserably of the Presbyterian Church and
the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions have been from the

758 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
*
begiiming intimate and fratemal. The Board, immediately afl:er its organization,
submitted to the Assembly " the expediency of forming mi institution simUar to
this, between which and us there may be such a co-operation as shall promote the
great object of missions among unevangelized nations. " As the Asserably declined
the proposal, preferring, for reasons assigned, to have for the present no separate
organization for that object, the original corporators of the Board, who were all
of the Congregational denomination, elected into their body, at the first meeting
after their incorporation, "eight of the more distinguished members of the Pres
byterian Church," among whom we recognize with interest such naraes as Samuel
MUler, Eliphalet Nott, Elias Boudinot, James Richards, and Ashbel Green.
" The amalgamation of the United Foreign Missionary Society with the Board,
in 1825, gave occasion for a formal and emphatic recognition of the Board by the
General Assembly." This Society had been formed, in the year 1817, by a Joint
Coraraittee of the General Asserably and the General Synods of the Reformed
Dutch and Associate Reformed Churches. The Assembly, in 1826, formally rati
fied the engagements which had been made by the two missionary bodies, and, in
accordance therewith, recommended the Board to "the favorable notice and
Christian support of the Church and people under its care. "
The relations thus established remained undisturbed till about the time of our
disruption ; after vvhich the Old School Assembly had its own Board of Foreign
Missions, whUe the New School Asserably continued as before to maintain its con
nection with the American Board.
During the whole period of more than thirty years that followed that event, the
relations of the two last-named bodies have been emmently satisfactory. The
Board has always recejj'ed the comraunications of the Assembly with fraternal
courtesy, and shown a ready disposition, as far as practicable, to comply with its
wishes ; and the Assembly, in a. corresponding spirit, has received from time to
tune the delegations of the Board, and commended that institution to the confi
dence and co-operation of the churches.
In the year 1859, the Asserably, desirous of coming mto closer connection with
its missionaries on the foreign field, and of securing there a fuller proportional de
velopment of our ecclesiastical polity, so far as might be consistent with other in
terests, appointed a Committee of Conference to attend the next meeting of the
Board, and lay before it the foUowing proposition, viz., " The Assembly desires:
" I. That it should be distinctly understood here and abroad, that the Board,
its Prudential Committee and officers, interpose no obstacles in the way of the
formation of Foreign Presbyteries.-
" 2. That the appointments of missionaries should be so disposed, wherever it
is wise and practicable, as to facilitate the formation of such Presbyteries.
" 3. That there should be a free correspondence of our missionaries with the
Permanent Committee of the General Asserably."
To aU these propositions, after full exaraination by a Committee, and free dis
cussion in the open meeting of the whole body, the Board gave an affirmative
answer. Diumg the ten years that have smce elapsed, the Assembly, has relied

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 759
upon the engagements contained in them with unquestioned confidence ; and, it
less of fruits have resulted from them than vvas at first expected, it has been, we
have reason to believe, because such results could not well be secured in existing
circumstances. We now come to the "new posture of our affairs " conteraplated by the Assem
bly in the appointment of this Committee.
The Coraraittee, having carefully considered the whole subject, are clearly of the
opinion :
That the time has come vvhen an effort should be made, as far as may be con
sistent with the fullest liberty of individual contributors and churches, to concen
trate the counsels, the energies, and the contributions of the whole united Cliurch
in the work about to be carried on by our Foreign Missionary Board. Reluctant
as we are to sever the bonds which have so long and happily subsisted, the Com
mittee are confident that nothing vvould be gained, and much may be lost, to the
common cause by unnecessary delay. In pursuance of this conviction, at a meet
ing held in the chapel of Mercer Street Church, New York, March Igth, 1870 —
Present, Ministers, J. F. Stearns, R. W. Patterson, and R. R. Booth ; Absent,
Elders R. S. WiUiams and R. E. Landen — after prayer and free discussion on the
subject referred to them, the Coraraittee resolved :
"i. That, in the judgraent of this Coraraittee, it is desirable and iraportant
that a fair proportion of the Missions of the A. B. C. F. M. should be transferred
to the Board of the united Presbyterian Church.
" 2. That in order to a harraonious and satisfactory transfer of any portion of
these missions to the Board of the Presbyterian Church, it will be necessary to
leave the missionaries, now connected with such missions, at liberty to retain their
present ecclesiastical relations, in case they should prefer to do- so.
"This liberty should be accorded to the Congregational missionaries who may
be and continue in such missions ; and also, in case of the formation of Presby
teries on the foreign field, to such Presbyterian missionaries as may prefer to re
main members of the Presbyteries in this country to which they now belong.
" 3. That it should be fidly understood by all parties, that the same liberty thus
provided for, in the case of Congregational missionaries to be transferred to the
Assembly's Board, should be granted by the A. B. C. F. M. to such Presbyterian
missionaries as raay stUl continue with the missions of that Board."
The first of these resolutions was deemed essential, in justice to ourselves and
the Board, as well as for the most successful prosecution of our future missionary
work. With so raany missionaries in the field, and so large a work begun in com-
mon, with the expectation of our continued co-operation, vve could not, in all fair
ness, withdraw our contributions without taking with us a corresponding part of the
responsibilities of the work. On the other hand, after having contributed largely
in men and money to the building up of this great missionary enterprise, and,
during a period of thirty years, assisted to carry it forward to its present advanced
position, it vvould be m.anifestly unreasonable that we should go out empty-handed,
leavln" behind all the results of the past and the accumulated facilities for the

760 PEESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
future. Indeed, it would be quite impossible for us to carry with us into the new
organization our churches and individual contributors, if in making the change
they raust give up their whole present working force, and separate themselves from
the beloved missionaries, the precious sons and daughters of the Church.
The other two resolutions were deemed iraportant, as an assurance to the mis
sionaries that, in changing their external relations from one Board to another, they
wiU not be required suddenly to change their missionary policy, of which, from
long experience in their particular fields, they must, in many cases, be the best
judges ; nor to sacrifice their ecclesiastical preferences, or break their present eccle
siastical connections. Were this required, some, it is -to be feared, who vvould
otherwise gladly cast in their lot with us, vvould think it wisest to remain as they
are. In respect to two at least of the points involved in the foregoing resolutions, vve
are happy to say that we have the concurrence of the Joint Committee of the two
Assemblies on Foreign Missions, as will appear from the following extract from
their minutes furnished to us, and of which the former was read by us to the Pru
dential Committee previous to their action :
"Resolved, That the Joint Committee desire that our Church, tlirough its reor
ganized Board of Foreign Missions, shall be understood as ready to assume a
portion of the existing Foreign Missionary work now conducted by the A. B. C.
F. M., proportionate to the contemplated transfer of resources under the new
ecclesiastical arrangement, the most careful regard being had to the interests and
efficiency of the existing missions, and to the feelings of the missionaries.
"Resolved, That this Committee recommend to the General Asserably the pass
age of the following resolution :
" Resolved, That the Assembly hears with sa.t'sfaction that there is a good
prospect of the transfer of a certain portion of the Foreign Missions, now under
the care of the A. B. C. F. j\l. , to the Board of the General Assembly ; and that, in
view of the transitional and exceptional nature of the contemplated arrangements,
the Asserably vvould leave a liberal discretionary power to the Board, and to the mis
sionaries who are to be received, in reference to their policy and ecclesiastical re
lations." With these riews, the Committee adjourned, to meet at Boston, May lotli ;
and aiTangements having been made for a Conference vvith the Prudential Com
mittee of the A. B. C. F. M., raet at the Jlissionary House — Present: Mmisters,
J. F. Stearns and R. R. Booth, and Elder, R. S. Williams — and were cordially
received by that body. The object of the interview was to explain the views of
the Committee of the Assembly, ascertain those of the Prudential Committee, and,
more especiaUy, to secure the co-operation of the latter in detei-mining and carry
ing into effect the changes that are desirable.- After a fuU and free discussion of
the points involved, in which the Assembly's Committee-disclaimed all desire to in
terfere in the slightest degree vrith the judgment and preferences of the missionaries,
or to pursue any claims on the part of those whom they represented, to the detri
ment of any of the missions, or the hindrance in any respect of the common cause.

E.5PLANx<lT0RY and STATISTICAL. 761
the Prudential Committee adopted, as the expression of their views and intentions,
the following paper, vvhich is herewith submitted to the Assembly :
" At a meeting of the Prudential Committee of the American Board of Commis
sioners for Foreign Missions, held at the Missionary House, Boston, May 17th,
1870, the action set forth in the following minute was duly taken, to wit :
" 'The Prudential Coraraittee have heard with pleasure the statements and sug
gestions of Dr. Stearns, Dr. Booth, and R. S. Williams, Esq., a Committee of
the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (N. S.), appointed at Pitts
burg, November nth, i86g, to take into consideration its relations to the A. B.
C. F. M. , and ' ' report to the next Assembly such measures as to them may seem
proper and expedient for the adjustment of those relations to the new posture of
affairs; " and, in response thereto, they adopt the following resolutions :
I. " ' Resolved, That the thankful acknowledgments of the A. B. C. F. M. are
due to the Presbyterian chm-ches for their cordial and unwavering co-operation
during a long series of years, whereby our resources at home and our efforts abroad
have been greatly enlarged.
2. " ' Resolved, That while vve are unable to anticipate, without regret, the
withdrawal of friends who have been so steadfast and helpful, we sincerely rejoice
in the conviction that, by reason thereof, the work which the American churches
are doing in heathen lands is to receive at once a new impulse, and to yield in
coming years a more abundant harvest.
3. " 'Resolved, That the Prudential Committee gratefully recognize the gener
ous confidence which these friends have reposed in them, as the Directors ad in
terim of the affairs of the Board, thereby enabling them to consider the questions
which have come before them, irrespective of their denominational bearings, and
simply as missionary problems.
4. " 'Resolved, That we cheerfully concede the right of the missionaries to take
a release from their connection with us, upon their personal application, and to
seek a connection with the Presbyterian Board ; not that the organization which
we represent is unwilling or unable to support thera in case they choose to reraain
with us, but in order to leave theip uninfluenced in their choice ; with the under
standing that their privileges as rainisters of the Lord Jesus Cluist are to be fully
recognized as heretofore.
5. " ' Resolved, That we vriU cheerfuUy co-operate with the Coraraittee of the
General Assembly, m arranging for the withdrawal of such a proportion of the
missionaries connected vvith us as wUl satisfactorily represent the interest of that
part ofthe Presbyterian Church vvhich has hitherto acted vrith the A. B. C. F. M.
in the prosecution of our common enterprise, so far as it can be done without in
juring the work in any field, or interfering with the preferences of any of the mis
sionaries. 6. " 'Resolved, That, m case aU the missionaries in any field shall come undei
the care of the Presbyterian Board, the Prudential Coraraittee wiU convey thereto
the property heretofore in the occupancy of such missionaries, and wiU discontinue
their endeavors in such field.

762 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
7. "'Resolved, That, in case a part of the missionaries in any held shaU wish
to transfer their relations to the Presbyterian Board, without desiring a change of
location, vvhile a part shall vrish to remain in their present relation and their pres
ent work. It wUl be the aim of the Prudential Committee to adjust the various
questions which may arise, with sole reference to the highest interests of the mis
sionary enterprise.
8. " 'Resolved, That the Prudential Committee avail themselves of this occasion
to say, that they have never recognized any distinctions araong their brethren in
the foreign service, but have felt for aU the same affection, and have reposed in aU
tlie same confidence ; and that they shall part from those who may desire a
release with profound regret, and with earnest supplications that the blessing of
Him who is " Head over aU things to the Church" may be vouchsafed to them
more and more.
9. " 'Resolved, That a copy of this minute be sent to aU the missions of the
A. B. C. F. M.'"
Thus far the Committee have had no correspondence with any of the mission
aries on the foreign field, and are not able to state their views. Considerations of
propriety and delicacy seemed to require that no such correspondence should be in
stituted till the views of the Prudential Committee should have been ascertained;
and this object, owing to unavoidable circumstances, could not be effected tiU near
the time of the meeting of the General Assembly. They can easily suppose that
obstacles may arise m this or that mission, which otherwise might be expected to
become connected with the Assembly's Board, raaking the transfer difficult, if not
for the present impracticable. Nor are they able to judge, until after a closer ex
amination, vvhat portions of the missionary field can, or ought, in all fairness and
Christian prudence, to be so trausferred. The contributions of that part of the
Church, hitherto connected with the American Board, have been for the last ten
years about one hundred thousand dollars per year, and the number of Presby
terian missionaries employed about fifty, besides missionary assistants. It can
hardly be supposed that all these missionary brethren and sisters, or this full pro
portion of the raissioiis established, can be withdrawn consistently with the princi
ples by which, as we are aU agreed, this transaction should be governed. Tlie
work of the Board has been sustained in coraraon by the two sister denorainations
composing its raerabership. The funds of both have gone into the same treasury,
and been expended in the same fields. The missionaries have been assigned to
their respective places, with reference chiefly to their fitness for the work required
or the needs of the raissions ; and, while retaining each his own ecclesiastical rela
tions and preferences, have labored side by side in loving brotherhood. The Pres
byterian missionaries, being a minority of the whole force, will perhaps be found in
the minority on most of the fields, and it may not be easy to, separate them.
Still it is confidently believed, that, with such disposition, as we may expect to
find on the part of our missionary brethren, to make any sacrifices consistent with
higher clairas, for the sake of corapleting and giving strength and efficiency for the
work of Chri it to our happy reunion, and especially vvith the co-operation cheerfully

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 763
promised to the Coraraittee of the Assembly by the Prudential Committee in their
fifth resolution, such a proportion as vrill on the whole " satisfactorily represent the
interest of that part of the Presbyterian Church which has hitherto co-operated w ith
the A. B. C. F. M. in the prosecution of the common enterprise," raay be, with
the concurrence of all parties, withdrawn and transferred. Indeed, vve are
assured, by some weU entitled to express an opinion, that several of the missions,
among whidi are one or two of the choicest and most valuable fields in the whole
missionary domain, are already predisposed to the transfer, and may, with pru
dence and the manifestation of a liberal spirit on our part, be soon gathered under
the new banner of the reunited Presbyterian Church.
It caimot be denied that, to most of us, vvho have so long been accustomed to
identify alraost the American Board with the cause of missions itself, with whom
the very name of that Board has been a name of honor and household affection
from our infancy, the sundering of the sacred tie will be a painful process. Indeed
we cannot, while we live, cease to honor and love and pray for the prosperity of
that good old mother of American missions among the unevangelized nations.
But why should churches, or missionaries, or individual members, at a crisis lil-.e
the present, hesitate to dissolve one sacred tie for the sake of perfecting another, to
which the providence of God so manifestly and wonderfully points us?
With these views, the Committee vvould respectfully recoraraend to the Assem
bly either to continue thera in service, or appoint some other, as they may see
fit, with instructions to pursue the negotiations already begun, and, with the con
currence of the Prudential Committee, make arrangements for the transfer to the
Assembly's Bpard of Voreign Missions, now about to be constituted, such portions
of the missions of the American Board as, on the principles vvhich are herein ex
pressed, may and ought to be so transferred.
In conclusion, they vvould beg leave simply to remind the Assembly, and through
them the churches hitherto co-operating vvith the American Board, that the finan
cial year, for which the Assembly of the New School at Pittsburg, last Novem
ber, made provision for the continuance of contributions to that Board, does not
end tiU some time in the month of August next. J. F. Stearns, Chairman.
8. THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON RECONSTRUCTION AND CON
SOLIDATION, APPOINTED NOVEMBER, 1869, AND REPORT-
ING IN MAY, 1870. Referred to on pages 602, 612.
[From the Report of the Joint Committee of Conference, i86g.]
2. This Committee recomraends that a Special Committee of five from each
branch of the Church sliaU be appointed to take into consideration the affairs of
each of the Boards and Comraittees of both liranches of the Church, and to re
coraraend to the Assembly of the united Church, next to be held, what changes are
required in said Boards and Committees.
3. That each Assembly shaU also pass the foUowing : Whereas, it is apparent

764 PEESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
from the size of the two Assemblies that some changes must be made ui the pres
ent method of representation ; therefore, Resolved, That each of the. Assembliea
of 1869 shall appoint a Coraraittee of five, to constitute a joint committee of ten,
whose duty it shaU be to prepare and propose to the General Assembly of the
united Church a proper adjustment of the boundaries of the Presbyteries and
Synods, and the ratio of representation, and any amendraents of the Constitution
which they may tiiink necessary to secure efficiency and harmony in the administra
tion of the Church, so greatly enlarged, and so rapidly extending.
[From the Old School Assembly.]
I. The Committee on Reconstruction, to define boundaries of Presbyteries and
Synods, etc., etc. — . Rev. G. W. Musgi-ave, D. D., Rev. Charles C. Beatty, D.D.,
Rev. Cyrus Dickson, D.D. Ruling Elders, Henry Day and W. M. Francis.
2. On Foreign Missions. — Rev. John C. Lowrie, D. D., Rev. William M.
Paxton, D.D., Rev. S. F. Scovel, D.D. Ruling Elders, John B. Skinner and
Martin Ryerson.
3. On Domestic Missions. — Rev. G. W. Musgrave, D.D., Rev. D. A.
Cunningham Rev. D. McKinney, D.D., Rev. J. T. Backus, D. D., and Ruling
Elder Ii. D. Gregory.
4. On Publication. — V.tv. W. E. Schenck, D.D., Rev. W. P. Breed, D. D.,
Rev. E. R. Craven, D.D. Ruling Elders, George Junkin and John T. Nixon.
5. On Education. — Rev. WiUiam Speer, D.D., Rev. S. J. NiccoUs, D.D.,
Rev. S. C. Logan, Rev. George Hill, D.D., ^-cvi Rnliiig p,lder R. S. Kennedy.
6. On Church Extension.— Rev. H. R. WUson, D.D., Rev. A. A. E. Taylor,
Rev. Oscar A. HiUs. Ruling Elders, J. C. Havens and Jesse L. WUUaras.
7. On Disabled Ministers' Fund. — Rev. George H.ile, D. D., Rev. Alexan
der Reed, D.D., Rev. T. H. Skinner, Jr., D.D. Ruling Elders, Robert
Carter and A. B. Belknap.
S. On Freedmen.— V.e\. A. C. McCleland, Rev. E. E. Swift, Rev. A.
McLean. Ruling Elders, John McArthur and J. E. Brown.
9. The Committee to raise Funds. — Rev. Jolin Hall, D.D., of New York,
Rev. C. K. Imbrie, D.D. Ruling Elders, Winthrop S. GUraan, Sr., Robert
Mcl-Cnight, aud Hovey K. Clarke.
[From the New School Assembly.]
I. 0.\ Reconstruction :
Rev. Samuel W. Fisher, D.D., LL.D., Rev. Robert W. Patterson, D.D.,
Rev. Edwin F. Hatfield, D.D., Rev. Conway P. Wing, D.D., and Rev.
Joseph F. Tuttle, D.D.
2. On Raising Funds :
Hon. WUliam E. Dodge, Hon. WUUam Strong, Rev. Jonathan F. Steams,
D.D., Rev. WUUam H. Goodrich, D.D., and Rev. Charles Hawley, D.D.

EXPLANATORY AND STATISTICAL. 765
3. On Home Missions : 1
Rev. WUliam Adams, D.D., Rev. Henry KendaU, D.D., Rev. Arthur
MitcheU, Hon. Henry W. WUliams, LL.D., and Hon. Jacob Farrand.
4. On Foreign Missions :
Rev. Henry A. Nelson, D.D., Rev. Robert R. Booth, D.D., Rev. Franklin
A. Noble, Hon. Joseph AUison, LL.D., and Mr. Isaac Scarritt.
5. On Education :
Rev. James P. WUson, D.D., Rev. John G. Atterbury, D.D. , Rev. Edward
D. Morris, D.D., Mr. Alexander Whilldin, and Mr. Truman P. Handy.
6. On Publication :
Rev. Zephaniah M. Humphrey, D.D., PvCv. J. Glentworth Butler, D.D.,
Rev. John W. Dulles, Mr. Janies M. Brawner, and Hon. John S. Knight.
7. On Church Erection :
Mr. George W. Lane, Rev. Frank F. Ellinwood, D.D., Rev. Cornelius H,
Taylor, D.D., Mr. Oliver H. Lee, and Mr. Sarauel T. Bodine.
8. On Ministerial Relief:
Rev. Thomas J. Shepherd, D.D., Rev. Charles Brown, Rev. James B.
Shaw, D.D., Hon. Charles Noble, and Mr. Robert W. Steele.
9. On Freedmen :
Rev. Samuel M. Hopkins, D.D., Rev. Edwin F. Hatfidd, D.D., Rev.
Herrick Johnson, D.D., Mr. WiUiam Thaw, and Mr. Joseph W. Edwards.

STATISTICS OF THE CHURCH FOR THE YEAR ENDING
MAY, 1S70.
Synods  51
Presbyteries  259
Candidates  54'
Licentiates  338
Ministers  ,  4,238
Licensures, reported  141
Ordinations, reported  93
Installations, reported  ^  247
Dissolutions of pastoral relations, reported  224
Ministers received from other bodies, reported  44
Ministers dismissed to olher bodies, reported  16
M inisters deceased  73
Churches  4,526
Churches organized, so far as reported  133
Churches dissolved, so far as reported  33
Chuiches received from other bodies, so far as reported  14

766 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

Churches dismissed to other b.-'dies, so far as reported  lo
Added to the churches on examination  32,003
Added to the churches on certili^-ite  21,447
Whole number of communicants  446,561
Baptisms of adults  10, 122
Baptisms of infants  16,476
Sabbath-school membership  448,857
contributions.
Horae missions, so far as reported  $366,274
Foreign missions  328,847
Education  246,8g8
Publication  42,040
Church erection  2io,g39
Ministerial reUef  '. 53,832
Freedmen  51,845
General Assembly  32,645
Congregational  6,416,165
MisceUaneous  690,636
Sum total  $8,440,121

STATISTICS OF THE SOUTHERN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
FOR 1869 AND 1870. 1869. 1870.
Synods in connection -with the General Assembly  11 11
Presbyteries  54 55
Ministers  857 840
Licentiates  49 53
Candidates  124 161
Churches  1,460 1,469
Licensures.  21 16
Ordinations.  18 14
Installations  36 52
Pastoral relations dissolved  33 40
Churches organized  28 33
Churches dissolved  6 14
Members added on examination  4,47° 5,048
Members added on certificate  2,710 2,851
Total number of communicants  79,96l 82,014
Adults baptized.  1,160 1,5^9
Children baptized  3>378 3,555
ChUdren in Sabbath schools and Bible classes.  42,284 47,317
Amount contributed to sustentation  $38,814 $49,002
Amount contributed to foreign raissions  18,657 23,269
Amount contributed to education  33, igi 34,209
Amount contributed to pubUcation  7,900 10,279
Amount contributed for presbyterial purposes  I0,IIS 12,247
Amount contributed for congregational purposes  605,164 676,432
Amount contributed for misceUaneous purposes  60,559 66,917
Whole amount contributed  774,400 872,355
Churches not reporting number of members  215 206

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 767

REPORT

Committee on the Heidelberg Catechism.

Adopted un.animously by the General Assembly of 1870. Referred
to on page 634.
To the Moderator and merabers of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America :
Your Committee respectfully reports :
The paper placed in its hands is in the following words :
" Whereas, The Heidelberg Catechism unquestionably states and defends the
doctrines of God's word, held by our own in common with the other Reformed
Churches, and inasrauch as the Reformed (late Dutch) Church has by an act of its
General Synod formally placed the Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Assera
bly by the side of this, its own Standard, allowing its churches to raake use ot
either one at their option ; therefore
" Resolved, That this Asserably is of opinion that if any churches desire to era-
ploy the Heidelberg Catechism in the instruction of their children, such usage may
be permitted."
The Heidelberg Catechism takes its name from the University and city where it
originated. It possesses an honorable position among those standards that have
been approved of God as mighty aids in the reformation and advancement of His
Church. Heidelberg, a city of the Grand Duchy of Baden, in the circle of the Lower
Rhine, on the left bank of the Neckar, is the seat of a University, which is one
of the oldest in Germany, founded by Rupert I. in the fourteenth century. In
this University, Zacharius Ursinus, who was educated at Wittemberg, under Mel
ancthon, became professor of phUosophy and theology in 1560. He was so much
allied to Calvin in his Scriptural views upon baptism and the Lord's Supper, that
he was called "the Sacramentarian." This learned theologian vvas appointed by
the pious Frederick III., Elector Palatine, to compose a Catechism which should
exhibit the doctrines of Calvin, whose foUowers that prince welcomed to his do
minions, and recommended as religious teachers.
In order of time this Catechism foUowed Calvin's, and it preceded that of the

768 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
Westminster Divmes by eighty-five years. Luther's celebrated Catechism was
sent forth in 1529, Calvin's in 1536, the Heidelberg Catechism in 1563, o-.i the
basis of which the Zurich Catechism was drawn up in i63g for the Reformed
Church of Gerraany. The catechism of the English Church, generally ascribed
to the authorship of Cranraer, with the exception of the part relating to the sac
raments, afterwards added by Overall, belongs to the year 1549, whilst the Vv^est-
minster Larger and Shorter Catechisms were sent to the House of Commons, the
former in 1647, and the latter ia 1648.
In preparing the Heidelberg Catechism, Ursinus vvas ably assisted by Caspar
Olevianus. This godly man and sound theologian had been a disciple of Calvin,
and adopted and advocated his views in favor of a Presbyterian form of church
government as based upon the teachings of Holy Scripture. Beginning life as a
student of the science of law, he became a teacher, and, whUe yet a layman,
delivered an earnest, evangelical sermon on justification by faith in Jesus Christ.
In 1561 he was appointed court preacher and professor of theology at Heidelberg.
The Heidelberg Catechisra, coraposed thus by the direction of a pious prince, has
been styled " the flower and the fruit of the German Reforraalion." It is plain,
spiritual, adapted to the coraprehension of the unlearned, and throughout experi
mental. In its form it is subjective, raaking the individual who repeats its answers
to say continually, "I," and "me," and "we," and "us." As Dr. Chalmers in
his " Institutes of Theology " admirably divides the whole subject-matter of Chris-
tianityinto " The Disease," and " The Remedy," so does this standard begin with
the " Misery of Man," and having explained and illustrated this misery, proceeds
to set before its learners in all their beauty and preciousness the gospel provisions
for " Man's Deliverance." It teaches clearly the sovereignty of Alraighty God,
and that He gathers, defends, and preserves His Church from the beginning to the
end of the vvorld. It refers throughout to the particular redemption of those who
believe in Jesus, and who are in common partakers of Him, and ofall His riches
and gifts. It insists upon the total depravity of our fallen nature, and upon our
need to be regenerated by the Spirit of God ; while it establishes and confirms to
all true believers in Christ the Scriptural assurances that in His manifold benefits
their Omnipotent Saviour will comfort them, and will abide vvith them forever.
The Heidelberg Catechism expounds the creed, it affirms and maintains the
doctrine of the Trinity, it vindicates the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, it de
fines the office and the operations of the Holy Spirit, it declares that the believer
is justified only by faith in Jesus Christ, it renounces any dependence upon Bap
tism or the Lord's. Supper as in theraselves saving ordinances, and, whUe explain
ing and recoraraending the use of preaching and of discipline, it enjoins good
works as exhibitions of real gratitude ; enforcing the authority, and enlarging up
on the requireraents of the Decalogue, it teaches also the efficacy of sincere suppli
cations while expounding the several petitions of the Lord' s Prayer.
Such in brief are some of the many exceUences of this venerable standard of
doctrine and compendium of Christian duty, written by Calvinists, under the direc
tion of a Calrinist, and used by Calvinists in the training and education of Calvin-

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 769
ists — a Presbyterian instruraent in every respect, and containing the raarrow of the
Gospel as interpreted by Presbyterian dirines.
It need not surprise us then, that Frederick III., when before the Diet at Augs
burg, said with comraendable zeal, " As for this Catechism, it is all taken from
the Bible, and it is so weU fortified with marginal proof texts that it has not yet
been overthrown, and I have good hope it never wiU be in all time to come. And
if any one can show it wrong from this Bible which I now hold in my hands, I am
ready to hear him, great or small, friend or foe, and to answer him frora out of
that Holy Book." This pious Christian hero made several changes in the plan of
the Heidelberg Catechism with his own hand, and in the second edition the
eightieth question, " What difference is there between the Lord's Supper and the
Popish mass ? " was added at his instance the answer to which concludes with the
words, " so that the mass at bottom is nothing else than a denial of the one
sacrifice and sufferings of Jesus Christ. ' ' The final phrase as it now stands he after
wards appended when the Council of Trent anathematized those who would not
acknowledge the mass to be of divine authority, and in it he pronounced the same
" an accursed idolatry."
That the Heidelberg Catechism differs from the Westminster Catechism in va
rious ways as to forra, is not more evident to the superficial glance than to the pro
foundest search is the fact that both it and they unquestionably state and defend
the doctrines of God's word held by our own in common with the other Reformed
Churches. It is not probable that any other than the Westminster Catechisms wiU ever be
received in our Church as standards. They are conceded to be an integral part of
our very Constitution. The time and the circumstances of their composition, the
piety, leaming, and skUl of their authors, their comprehensiveness and complete
ness, vrith the wonderful compactness of their phraseology, from which one hardly
dares to take, to which one needs not to add a word, recommend them so entirely
to its mmisters, rtUing elders, and people, that with reference to them the unani
mous verdict of the Presbyterian Church wiU doubtless be the same in the future
as m the past ; — we ask no better helpers among the uninspired productions of the
vrise and devout than these ever to be admired and revered Catechisms of the
Westminster Assembly of Divines.
The Reformed Dutch Church, which has inherited from its HoUand origin the
love and the use of the Heidelberg Catechism, permits also by official sanction the
employment of the Westminster Catechisms in its Sabbath schools and famUies.
Certainly more than one-third of its congregations— according to some more than
one-half of them,— thus constantly use it. NaturaUy allied to our own in doctrme,
and in Church poUty, with forms of prayer not unlike those current in the Presby
terian Churches of earlier days, while cherishing as a traditional trust the Heidel
berg Catechism as the authorized formula of its instruction, the Reforraed Church has
not failed also to avail itself of the labors of those divines who, without translation
from other tongues, ancient or modern, prepared in the English language the
Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms.
49

770 PEESBYTERIAN CHUECH.
By a reference to the Minutes of the General Synod of the Reformed Protestant
Dutch Church in America, for 1839 (see Minutes, vol. v. p. 261), we find
that in the organization of a Board for Sabbath-school supervision, the Synod
makes as to its members this deliverance : — " They shall endeavor to promote in
struction ra the schools in the principles of divine truth, as they are exhibited in
the catechisms and other standards adopted by thfe Synod of the Reformed Dutch
Church and the Westminster Assembly." This deliberate endorsement of the
standards of the Westminster Assembly has the raore value as following directly in
the line of earlier testimonies from the most venerated fathers of our respected
sister Church. Not to mention the views of others who might be quoted, the late
honored and widely-beloved Dr. John H. Livingston, often styled '"The father of
the Reformed Dutch Church" in its present organization in America, as free of
the control of the Church of HoUand, as early as 1783, in a letter to Dr. Eilardus
Westerloo, expressed his strong desire that some genius equal to the task might
arise to draw up and press on to success a plan for uniting all the Reformed
Churches in America into one homogeneous body. Although the difficulties in the
way of such a project seemed at that time insuperable, with his usual strong faith
and buoyant confidence that what ought to be done by Christians can and will be
done, he says : " I humbly apprehend that this will be practicable ; and I yet hope
that I wUl see it accomplished." The inference from this letter and his other
published utterances upon a subject now of so much interest to our own lately re
united church, is that the first steps in such a work are to be taken by the
churches in recoraraending, as far as they accord with Holy Scripture, each other's
symbols. Nor is the Reformed (Dutch) Church the only one that cherishes among its tra
ditions an affectionate veneration for the Heidelberg Catechism. This symbol
also belongs, perhaps by a prior claim, to the Reformed (late German Reformed)
Church in the United States. This respected portion of the Lord's flock — another
of that sisterhood of churches, which for more than three centuries has, with ours,
through days of martyrdom and exile, borne its constant testiraony to the faith
once delivered to the saints, though not speaking, it may be, as fuUy through its
official channels in commendation of our standards as the Reformed (Dutch)
Church, yet has not failed to exhibit its sympathy with their doctrine and order.
In this very city, on the occasion of the three-hundredth anniversary of the Heidel
berg Catechism, a committee of a convention of the highest judicatories of the
German Reforraed Church put upon record its cordial admiration of, and esteera
for, the Westminster Confession and Catechisms. In this document it declares
that, " The churches of the Heidelberg Catechisra and of the Westminster Confes
sion have good reason to feel theraselves united by bonds of no ordinary tenderness
and strength. Both by their external history, and by their inner constitution and
econoray, are they placed in dose and vital relations to each other. The earliest
bonds vvhich united Heidelberg and Westminster were wrought and cemented in
the heat of fiery trials. Such bonds shoiUd rivet hearts closely and inseparably
together."

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 771
If this utterance, although not coming to us with the weight of its ecclesiastical
sanction as a Synod, may yet be deemed to reflect the sentiments of the ministers
and merabers of the (German) Reformed Church, we may not in connection with
this subject appropriately overlook it.
And, in this hour of our glad reunion, when the watchmen see eye to eye, and
the Lord brings again Zion, similar language is not surely irrelevant on our part to
testify our respect and veneration for a time-honored symbol of faith and compen
dium of religious practice, dear to so many Christian hearts in these kindred com
munions. Your Committee has taken some pains by correspondence and personal inquiry
to learn whether there exists among us as Presbyterians any unwillingness that
churches. Sabbath schools, or families should, if desiring to use the Heidelberg
Catechisra in the task of religious training, thus employ it ; and it can discover on
the part of our mos^ trusted divines, whether in the office of teacher in the schools
ofthe propliets, or in that of pastor among those now serving our congregations,
but one opinion. And this finds fair expression in the language heard in the last
Assembly, when the subject vvas introduced to our attention, namely, to the effect
that where any desire to employ this Scriptural formula of Christian doctrine
and duty for the purposes of godly instruction, they should be perraitted to do so.
On every hand your Committee has been encouraged to present for your action
the declaration of our full confidence in this venerable Catechism. Suggestions
have also been made to its members that it would not be inappropriate also at this
time to add the Assembly's endorseraent of other symbols that derive their descent
from the Heidelberg Catechisra, and exhibit vvith like fidelity the sarae essential
doctrines and duties. These are especially the Gallic Confession and the second
Helvetic Confession.
These and others of similar value, however, not being mentioned in the paper
put into its hands by the last Assembly, your Committee has not felt at liberty to
suggest any resolutions with reference to thera.
Your Coraraittee cannot but be aware that many indications exist to give prom
ise that before many years have passed by, other churches, closely bound to our own
by coraraon doctrine, the same ecclesiastical usages, and a simUar history of sacrifi
ces and witness-bearing in defence of the simple truth of the Gospel, may desire to
unite more closely with us or araong themselves, in bonds that -will demand no con
cessions on either hand, while they allow the continuance of the sarae forras of
worship and plans of instruction that now obtain in their respective coramunions.
But without comment upon such probable or possible unions, which some well
read in the signs of the times predict to be near at hand, it cannot surely do any
harm for us as a Church to say publicly in our Assembly what is daily heard among
us in our seminaries and pulpits on tliis subject. Should, for example, such an
honored body as either of the Reformed Churches ever be found approving of a
more organic union with our ovvn, it wiU be a happy feature in a compact so aus
picious that each party to it discovers that its highest judicatory has placed side by
side the doctrinal standards of both. AU discussion as to the respective claims

772 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUEOH.
and value of each of their formulas being thus removed, each one of them vriU be
brought to the practical test of its intrinsic value for the purposes of instruction.
The one best adapted for more common use in schools and families will be gener
aUy so eraployed. While the other, not less precious, nor less venerated, wUl
prove also its exceUences under such circurastances of study as can make its em
ployment more conducive to spiritual edification.
But should we not live to see such unions proposed or consummated, if in the
providence of God they reraain ever unsought, our beloved Zion will suffer no in
jury by placing upon its records the simple statement of our confidence in the sub
stantial agreement of our own with the doctrinal standards of our companions in
the great conflict vvhich, as feUow-soldiers, we are now waging against evU under
the sarae glorious Captaui of salvation. The enemies of the truth, whether they
look upon us frora the side of a corrupted form of nominal Christianity, or from
that of rationalism and infidelity, must mark our union in one line of battle, and
beneath one banner, and be shamed to silence in the attempt to carp or cavil at
our supposed differences and divisions.
Beliering, then, that no possible evdl can result from placing upon our record ex
pressions of confidence in reference to the standard of the Reformed Churches in
America, your Coraraittee respectfully recommends the following resolutions :
1. Resolved, That this General Assembly recognizes in the Heidelberg Cate
chism a valuable Scriptural compendiura of Christian doctrine and duty.
2. Resolved, That if any churches desire to employ the Heidelberg Catechism in
the instruction of then: children, they may do so with the approbation of this As
sembly. 3- Resolved, That this Assembly cordiaUy rejoices at the continued and increas
ing eridences of agreement and of union among those whose symbols maintain in
common the faith once delivered to the saints.
G. S. Plumley, \
R. K. Rodgers,
J. H. M. Knox,
A. B. Belknap,
Edward J. Fox,

- Committee from the Assembly of 1869.

the rev. SAMUEL W. FISHER, D.D.
Dr. Fisher was bom in Morristown, N. J., AprU 5th, 1814 ; was fitted for
coUege at New Canaan, Ct. ; was converted a few weeks before he entered Yale,
where he was graduated ui 1835 ; spent one year in Middletown, Ct. ; two years
in Prmceton Theological Seminary, and one in Union Seminary, New York. Be
fore leaving the seminary he was caUed to the pastoral charge of the Presbyterian
church hi West Bloomfield, N. J., where he spent three and a half years.
He was next three and a half years in the pastoral cha-.-ge of the Fourth Presby
terian Church, Albany, N. Y. In 1847 he becarae pastor of the Second

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 773
Church in Cincinnati, succeeding Dr. Lyman Beecher. In 1858 he was elected
to the presidency of Hamilton CoUege, and held that office untU 1866, vvhen he
becarae pastor of the Westminster Church, Utica, N. Y., in which office he con
tinued untU May nth, 1870, when he was stricken down with the disease (paraly
sis) by which he was disabled untU his death, which occurred on Sabbath morn
ing, January i8th, 1874. Dr. Fisher was a most godly Christian, and was
abundantly useful in every station which he was called to occupy. His labors
as a pastor at West Bloomfield, at Albany, at Cincinnati, and at Utica, were
greatly blessed of God to the upbuilding of the congregations to which he minis
tered, and his memory is gratefuUy regarded by them. As President of HamUton
CoUege his services were highly esteemed, especially as directed to bringing the
coUege into closer and more advantageous rel.ations with the churches of the region
that surrounds it. The Christian life of Western New York thus owes a large
debt of gratitude to the prayers and successful efforts of Dr. Fisher.
Dr. Fisher was deeply interested in the comraenceraent and progress of the Re-
tmion movement. From its initiation he was its hearty and efficient friend. By
personal correspondence, and by communications to the religious press, he zealously
and judiciously hastened it forward, and, when the " Committee of Conference " was
appointed, it was deemed a graceful and deserved tribute to his acknowledged abU-
ity and services that his name was placed With its distinguished members.
His efforts in the labors of this Committee were abundant, and were crowned
with success. When the Assembly of 1869 met for the second tirae at Pittsburg
to consummate the Reunion, Dr. Fisher presented the paper in which occurs the
proposal of the Memorial Fund of Five MilUon DoUars. [See page 568.]
After his paralytic attack, Dr. Fisher bore his heavy affliction with a cheerful
Christian resignation, and for three years at his residence at College HiU, Ohio,
seemed ripening for the heavenly home. On the day preceding his death. Dr.
Fisher selected the hymn to be sung at the family worship, and joined in the singing
with aU the animation of his days of health. It was the last song of praise that he
sang on earth. It was Bonar's sweet poem,
" Thy way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be."
One to whom Dr. Fisher ministered Christian consolation in her sorrow many
years ago, reraerabers that his cheering words to her then were, ' ' I am sure that
the Sabbath is a very good day to go to Heaven in. " Surely it is pleasant to think
that he has now found it so.

774 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

SYNOD OF COLORADO.

The progress of the Presbyterian Church in this new and important field is full
of interest. The small seed out of which has grown a large tree, w.as planted
when Rev. Lewis Hamilton, the first Presbyterian minister who visited Colo
rado, arrived at Denver. He commenced preaching on Sunday, June I2th,
1859. He was followed by a number of brethren who successfully labored on
this field. On December 15th, 1861, the first Presbyterian Church, O. S., was
organized ; and on January ist, 1864, a neat and commodious building was dedi
cated to the service of God. Several ministers labored in turn on this field, untU
May, 1870, wheu.Rej-. W. Y. Brown, frora the Presbytery of Huntingdon, and vvith
a commission from the Board of Home Missions, settled here. His efforts issued
in the dedication of a new church building, which cost no less than $12,200, a large
part of which was paid by the people of Denver. Simultaneously with this impor
tant event. Rev. Mr. Brown was installed pastor. A church was organized at
Centra) City, by Rev. Lewis Hamilton, on January 26th, 1862. In February
and September of the following year, two churches were severaUy organized at
Black Hawk and Boulder Valley. In Noveraber, 1868, a portion of the First
Presbyterian congregation at Denver was organized as a Church by the Presby
tery of Chicago, N. S. , which again in less than two years was received into the
Presbytery of Colorado. Under the able and faithful guardianship of Rev. Shel
don Jackson, the IUustrious raissionary superintendent of the West, a great many
churches have been organized from tirae to time, in places of growing influence.
These, as yet, represent small numbers, but with the constant influx of popu
lation, they vvill undoubtedly grow into large, flourishing, and self-sustaining
churches. The success of Mr. Jackson iUustrates the importance of every Synod
having a Superintendent of Horae Missions, who will seize upon points of promise
and organize and build churches to meet ths wants of future times.
pan-presbyterianism.
This is almost a new term. It is only novv making its way into the currency of
words, and the idea of it is generally credited to Rev. Dr. McCosh, President of
Princeton College, N. J. Our readers, in the course of their perusal of this
work, must have been frequently struck with the close resemblance between the
Presbyterian Churches throughout the world. Whether the members of the vari
ous churches are aware of it or not, it is evident that Presbyterians aU over the
globe are one — havmg "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." And yet every

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 775
separate Presbyterian sect has its own Synods and Presbyteries, and there is no
common gi-ound on which the Presbyterian Churches throughout the world can
meet. Within recent years the practice has grown of the Presbyterian Churches
sending to one- another delegations carrying their fraternal greetings and prayers.
Much good has sprung frora this, especially in the mutual interest created between
the Presbyterian bodies of America, and those of the mother country. These
deputations are becoming so numerous, and involve the consumption of so much
time in the expression of necessary courtesies, that little good can be obtained
frora thera in the way of counsel, or in the consideration of questions of Christian
work, or of Church polity or worship, which are of universal interest. It is felt
that there is room for Presbyterian councils to be held — say every three years —
in some leading city, whose members would be representatives of all the Presby
terian Churches in the world. And when we consider the wonderful success of
the Conference of the Evangelical AUiance, so recently held in the City of New
York, not to speak of its powerful influence for good, we may vvell be assured of
benefit and blessing flowing from such Presbyterian CouncUs, to vvhich we have
aUuded. The day is not far distant when the idea wUl be embodied in practical
form.

The Presbytery of Egypt, in connection with the United Presbyterian Church,
transacts its business and keeps its records in the Arabic language. At a late
meeting there were present, as members of Presbytery, eight ministers (six of
whom were missionaries and two natives), and five native elders.

THE valleys of THE VAUDOIS. [Frontispiece.\
The well-wrought wood engraving selected as the frontispiece of this volume,
gives at one comprehensive glance a good impression of the valleys of the 'Vaudois,
often styled the cradle of modem Presbyterians. Here the Vaudois reared their
children, and impressed upon thera the teachings of pure and primitive Chi-is-
tianity.

MARTYRDOM OF A VAUDOIS. [Opposite page 1.]
The picture opposite page i, represents the martyrdom of one of the Vaudois.
It is eno-raved from an ancient painting, and vividly exliibits what became in one
age a frequent spectacle. A pious and Bible-reading servant of God is exhorted
to worship the crucifix and to deny his Lord. But in vain. The shaven priests
bid their soldiers and servants to encircle him with fagots, and these once kindled,,
he soon joins the noble army of martyrs, with Stephen crying, " Lord Jesus, re
ceive my spirit."

776 PEESBYTEELAN CHUECH.

POPE PIUS IV. WITNESSING THE DEATH OF PASCHAL. [Page 21.]
During the papacy of Pius IV. , who was Pope in the sixteenth century, the re
formed religion became that of the state in Scotland. The chiefs of the clans,
the doctors of the universities, and many of the nobles and other leading men of
the nation, met in Edinburgh, and threw off their allegiance to the Holy See of
Rome, and raade public proclamation of their adhesion to the reformed faith.
Pius IV. was accustomed to witness the tortures of many victims, who refused
obedience to his idolatrous commands. An ancient engraving of which this cut is
a copy, represents hira thus engaged at the martyrdom of Paschal.
OLD GREYFRIARS CHURCH, EDINBURGH. [Page 57.]
The scene of the signing of the solemn covenant of 1638, is here represented.
The tombstone on which it was laid for the signatures of the multitude, is seen in
the foreground. EMBLEM OF THE WALDENSIAN CHURCH. \_Page 73.]
This vvas a favorite seal or design of the Waldensian Church. It represents a
lily, held down by thoms, which might seera destined to crush it. It however
emerges, saying, as it were, "I corae forth,'' and flourishes in perfect vigor and
beauty. SEAL OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. [Page I48.]
This combines the cross with the brazen serpent, emblems that well represent
the mission of the Presbyterian Church in this western continent. It holds up the
cross that the eye of faith may look, and life come frora beholding Christ, who
was lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness.
SEAL OF THE PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. [Page 250.J
This seal, farailiar to all readers of the exceUent books published by the Presby
terian Board of Publication, has a raotto that weU expresses the objects and suc
cess of this Board. "Let there be light," is what it constantly says, as it sends
forth from its presses an abundance of sound and Scriptural literature to bless the
world. MAP OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
This map is sixteen and a half inches by twenty-two inches in size, and repre
sents all the Synods, Presbyteries, and Churches of the Presbyterian Church in the
United States of America. It is reduced, by the photo-engraving process, from
the large map prepared at a considerable outlay by the Rev. Dr. Henry M.

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 777
Field, editor and proprietor of the "New York Evangelist." Dr. Field cour
teously aUowed the publishers of this volume to avaU themselves of this valuable
map. They have accordingly expended a large sum of money to place it, inclosed
in a neat cover, in the hands of every subscriber to "The Presbyterian Church
throughout the World."
THOMAS CHALMERS, D.D. [Referred to on page 46.]
Thomas Chalmers was bom at Anstruther, Fifeshire, March 17, 1780. At
the age of twelve, he was sent to St. Andrew's University, where he studied suc
cessfully ethics, mathematics, and political economy. Licensed in his nineteenth
year, after pursuing a vride range of study at Edinburgh, he was ordained in 1803,
pastor of KUmany, in Fifeshure. Here he mmgled, for a time, scientific studies
vrith his ministerial duties, but in i8og gave himself to his great work of preaching
the Gospel with singular energy and success. In 1815 he became pastor of a par
ish in Glasgow, where the effect produced by his oratory vvas compared to that
which was produced by the eloquence of Demosthenes. Here he preached and
pubSshed his " Astronomical Discourses," twenty thousand copies of which were
sold vrithin a year. His success in his parish was only equalled by his triumphs in
the lecture room as Professor of Moral Philosophy at St. Andrew's, and subse
quently as Professor of Theology at Edinburgh for fifteen years. Prominent in
the debates that caused the establishment of the Free Church of Scotland, he was
elected its first Moderator. He died, universally esteemed and lamented, at Mom-
ingside, near Edmburgh, May 31, 1847.
ROBERT s. CANDLISH, D.D. [Referred to on page 47.]
Robert S. Candlish was brought up for the ministry of the Established
Church of Scotland. In 1834 he was placed or instaUed as a rainister in the Pres
bytery of Kelso. Thence he was called to the parish of St. George, Edinburgh.
WhUe thus laboring and with distinguished success, the raemorable discussions
commenced that resulted in the formation of the Free Church of Scotland. Dr.
Candlish became a leader in these discussions. In the Free Church he at once at
tained a high position, and he is always named as one of its brightest ornaments.
Araong his raost useful published works may be named the foUowing : " Candlish
on the Atonement," " Contributions to the Exposition of the Book of Genesis,"
an ¦" Examination of Maurice's Theological Essays," and "Life in a Risen
Saviour." THOMAS GUTHRIE, D.D. [Referred to on page 47.]
Thomas Guthrie was bora at Brechin, July 12th, 1803. He was sent when
four years old to a school kept by James Stewart, a man remarkable for his piety,
as weU as his amiable character. His college days were spent at Edinburgh, from
1815 to 1824, and he studied mathematics under Sir John Leslie, aud moral phil-

778

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUUCH.

sophy under tbe celebrated Dr. Thomas Brown. He was licensed by the Pres
bytery of Brechin, in 1825. He spent several months at P.aris as a student, and
attending the classes of Gay-Lussac, and other distinguished professors, gained
considerable insight into the physical sciences. Not immediately on his return
obtainmg a parish, he accepted eraployment for two busy years in the bank agency
of David Guthrie & Sons, in his native town. A most earnest, dUigent, and
successful ministry foUowed at Arbirlot, from 1830 to 1837. In this country
charge. Dr. Guthrie so trained his vvonderful powers for pulpit oratory, that,
when he vvas transferred in 1837 to Edinburgh, he at once took rank as u re
markably original and powerful preacher. He succeeded Dr. Anderson as one of
the rainislers of the Old Greyfriars Parish. He soon ceased to be a coUeague,
and entered upon his life work as a preacher to the poor as weU as the rich, and
a constant laborer for the neglected raasses of the great city which was his home.
As one of the founders of the Free Church of Scotland, and as one of its most elo
quent and distinguished divines, Dr. Guthrie was known throughout Christen
dom. His recent death has saddened many hearts in America, where it was hoped
that he would be seen in connection vrith the Conference of the EvangeUcal
Alliance.

S. W. Fisher, D.D.

A. G. H.-ai, D.D.

OS

CO<CQ
oH

H

GENERAL STATISTICS OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

Synods.

Pres
byteries.

Churches.

Ministers.

Elders.

Deacons.

Members.

Population.

Lutherans.

National Branches.

Churches.

Ministers.

Population.

Scotland.

36 57
59 4 I
S
12

198 37
41
320 45 4
12
36 8
II
"ei 107

2,711 1,268 566
9.163 651 54
228
418 20 37 5
10
1,826
2,050 50
1,060
"'"ie

2,841 1,017 656
8.23s 604 27
198
330 62
114 17
10
1,826
2,050 so
721
" "ie

16,611 4,447 2,478 1,665 300 II
""ie

10,657 1,549
6,195
' 2,608

843,455 135,037 116,656
857,461 65.203 5,188
17.803
38,661 1,418
1,836 50
500
2,096,146 3,030
1,912,153 1,000
630,000
1,567,003
18,415,876 26,920

3,218,613 664,685558,238
3,050,714 471,946 20,752 71,212
177.922 2,000
11,145 500
12,500
2,100,000 2,000,000 3,000
1,000,000 1.567.003
18,900,000 30,000

2,128 12
5,113 933 232
1.514

1,644 12
3.61S 933 303
1.531

England 

Ireland 
America, U. S.. . .

757.637 29,651

West Indies, etc. .
Africa, W. & S. . .
Australasia 
China and Japan. ,

1,200 445

Belgium 
....
Holland 
Scandinavia 
Austria 
Italy, Spain, etc. .
Russia 
7,626,449 1,865,829
4,000,000 303,000
Switzerland 
Germany 
Piedmont 
5.995.557
Total 
146
880
20,133
18,774
25.528
21,009
26,735.396
33,860,230
9,932
8,038
20,579,768
780

PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.

STATISTICS OF PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES IN U. S.

Churches.

Synods.

Pres
byteries.

Churches.

Ministers.

Accom
modations.

Members.

Amount
contribut
ed last year

Presbyterian, Northern.
Ditto, Southern 
United Presbyterian. . .
Reformed Presbyterian.
Cumberland Ditto 
(Dutch) Reformed. ..
(German) Ditto 
Associate Secession 
Ditto Reforraed 
Synod of Missouri 

35 IO 722 I

4654
 5
19
29

4.730 1,545 755 136
820481
1,290 183
214 72

'829 160
1,116 *H476 116 80

2,565.949 211,068273,697

468,164 91,208 72,806
3S.OOO80,00067,123
128,771 16,00012,000

$10,086,526 1,083,799 869,136
1,334,264 69,970

Total 

421

320

10,226 2,128 1,366 49

8. 13 1
1,644

3.050,714 757.637
371.899 20,316

977,172
3=3.825 108,122 5.680

13,443,695

Kindred Churches
Lutheran 
Union 

Total 
481
320
14,369
10,626
4,200,566
1.414,799
STATISTICS OF CHURCHES IN SCOTLAND.
Churches.
Synods.
Pres
byteries.
Churches.
Ministers.
Elders.
Deacons.
Members.
Parishes.
Church of Scot
land, (Estab
lished.) 
Free Church. . .
United Presby
terian Church.
16
16 I
84 71
35
1,250 88s492
1,300 948 523
5.6546,500
4.157
6.500
403,889 268,000 160,630
1,124
Total....
33
180
2,627
2,771
16,311
6,500
832.519
The other churches in Scotland represent the difference between these figures and those in the Gen
eral Table above for Scotland.
STATISTICS OF CHURCHES IN CANADA.
Churches.
Synods.
Pres
byteries.
Churches.
Ministers.
Elders.
Deacons.
Members.
Canada Pres. Church 
Church of Scotland 
Ditto, Synod of Mar-
atime Provinces 
Ditto, Lower Provinces. .
I
17II 6
11
346140 37
130
..'°?
1,665
2,608
46 343
Total 
I
45
653
EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTIOAIi. 781

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN MEXICO.

For more than twenty years it has been the policy of one branch of the Presby
terian Church to do its work in Papal countries through its own Mission Board,
and the General Assembly of 185 1 pointed out the importance of missionary effort
in Mexico and Central America. With the reunion came the question whether
this should be the policy of the united Church, or whether it should follow the ex
ample ofthe late N. S. branch by working through an outside voluntary organization,
involving a heavy expense for collecting agencies. It was plain that both methods
could not long be pursued together. The solution of this question was precipitated
in the spring of 1871 by the withdrawal of the Congregational churches from the
American and Foreign Christian Union. It was now felt by all other denomina
tions supporting that Union, that the time was near when they would be compelled
to do missionary work in Papal lands through their own Boards, and accordingly
the General Assembly, which met about that time in Chicago, reiterated the recom
mendation that the Board turn its attention to the Papal countries of our ovra con
tinent. To this action the Board responded by a circular, issued in the following
autumn, declaring its intention to enter Mexico and the other countries named, as
soon as means and men could be found. In that circular the Board distinctly de
fined its intended policy with respect to the occupation of the Mexican capital
In no other field occupied by the Presbyterian Board has faithful labor been so
richly rewarded as in Mexico. In a single year twenty-one congregations have
been gathered, varying in attendance from 30 to 250 each. Mexico City, in the
south, and Zacatecas in the north, are the chief foci around which these little
flocks cluster. The number of American missionaries is now seven, viz. , Rev. M.
N. Hutchinson and wife, and Miss E. P. Allen, at the capital ; Rev. H. C. Thom
son and wife at San Luis Potosi ; Rev. Maxwell Phillips and wife at Zacatecas.
A part of the year Rev. P. H. Pitkin and wife were employed, but they have now
retumed to this country. At Toluca, 45 miles south-west of the capital, an Eng
lish layman, Mr. James Pascoe, is laboring as a missionary of the Board with
very marked success. His little congregation has grown from 20 to about 150.
On a recent occasion 125 partook of the communion. Toluca, as well as the
small congregations at Capulhuac and Metepic, have experienced bitter persecution

782 PEESBYTEEIAN CHURCH.
at the hands of a Papal mob instig.ated by the priests. Other congregations in the
vicinity of the national capital are those of Tisapan, Contradcre, Rio Grande, San
Pedro del Martic, and Morelos. Another has been formed at Vera Cruz, on the Gulf
coast, nnd there is an Indian congi-egation on the eastern border of the lake, adja
cent to the city. Some of these congregations have exhibited a very creditable dis
position to self-help. In others, proprietors of manufacturing establishments, and
even commandants of garrisont, have contributed liberally toward the support of
schools and public worship.
At Zacatecas, the other centre of operations, 500 miles north of Mexico City,
another congregation, numbering 250 persons, was organized in December Last.
Measures are to be taken at once for securing a permanent place of public worship,
and in this effort some of the most prominent citizens of the place have signified
their readiness to assist. Sixty miles north-east of Zacatecas, in the mining town
of Cos, is the oldest and largest congregation connected with the Presbyterian
Board. It was transferred two years ago from the American and Foreign Chris
tian Union, though it never had the care of a missionary until about a year since.
Its growth has been spontaneous. Even the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's
Supper have been administered by laymen chosen from its own ranks. This congre
gation has a neat chapel, and sustains a Sunday school of 130 pupils. There are in
connection with it also, a boys' day school of 60 pupils, and a girls' school of 45.
There is, moreover, at Cos a printing press, from which is issued a weekly relig
ious paper, whose influence is already felt in many parts of the Republic. About
26 adults have been baptized at Cos within a few months, besides several children.
On a recent occasion 150 partook of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
Other congregations around this northern centre are located at San Luis
Potosi, Salado, Fresnillo, Tecoletes, Jerez, Cruces, and Guadaloupc. These
congregations vary in size from 50 to 100. The numbers of baptisms in these
northern fields, during the summer and autumn, have been about 85 adults and
20 children. While only the places above named have thus far been visited,
there are others iu which a similar work might be done, but for the lack of funds
and of men. Since the overthrow of Maximilian, the poUtical reaction of the
country has been attended by a religious reaction. Large numbers of the people,
anxious to throw off the long-endured tyranny and corruption of the Spanish
priesthood, are ready to receive the Bible, and in many a hamlet they are found
meeting in private houses for worship and for the study of the Word. It has been
the policy of the Presbyterian Board and its missionaries to place little reliance
upon converted Mexican priests, but rather to raise up a class of young men
selected from the laity, who, with at least a partial theological training given by
the missionaries, shall be employed to preach in the small country congregations.
In the early beginnings of missionary work it was found necessary to employ
priests, who claimed to have been converted ; but a foundation of Jesuitical ante
cedents is seldom suited to the superstructure of a sincere and earnest mmistry of

EXPLANATOEY AND STATISTICAL. 783
the Gospel. The success gained in the training of young laymen has been most
satisfactory. The Board has adopted the plan of projecting its work on a scale of economy
and self-help, which shall prepare the people for a self-supporting church work in
the future. No greater mistake could be made than to begin the work of Mexican
evangeUzation by the purchase of grand cathedrals confiscated from the Papacy by
government, and by establishing a grade of expenditure which the people them
selves can never perpetuate or extend. Plain and substantial structures should be
secured, especially in the cities, and in this respect our Mexican Mission is as yet
deficient. But the purchase of the best cathedrals by the Protestants has been
objected to by President Lerdo, as likely to exasperate the Papal party.
It is the policy of the Presbyterian Board to encourage simple forms of worship,
plain and inexpensive chapels, and in aU things that strict economy which is suited
to a poor people ; to cultivate self-reliance and liberality on the part of the con
gregations themselves ; to train up a ministry from the young men of the land ; to
qualify a corps of native teachers, male and female, to give instruction in primary
schools, etc. The whole work proceeds upon the principle that what Mexicans
need is a Protestant Church, wholly their own, to be in the near future supported
and extended by themselves. This line of effort has thus far proved eminently
successful in gaining the confidence of the people, and in stimulating their own ex
ertions. Meanwhile, the prayers of aU who love the cause of a pure Christianity should
be offered on behalf both of the missionaries and of the truth-loving people who,
in the face of persecution, are trying to maintain the standard of the Cross. It is,
perhaps, best on the whole that the Mexican Church, in its infancy, is tried, as
were the Apostolic Churches, by the fires of persecution. No less than seven of
our little congregations have been beset by Catholic mobs, and in some cases
deaths have foUowed. The stoning of worshipping congregations, the purchase
and destruction of Bibles and religious books, are common occurrences.
A late dispatch through the secular press announces that one of our missiona
ries. Rev. Maxwell Phillips, of Zacatecas, has been assaulted and maltreated by a
band of assassins, led on by a priest. Evidently the Catholic Church, wherever it
is not restrained by a strong and prevailing Protestant sentiment, is the same that it
ever has been since the days of the Inquisiticfti. But its mistaken outrages in
Mexico will only further the spread of the truth. The relation of Church and
State has been abolished, and naturally the Protestant movement will gather the
support of the whole liberal party of the country. The great advantage thus
gained will appear in strong light, when it is remembered that the old constitution
declared that the Roman Catholic religion was, and ever should be, the religion
of the country ; that no other whatever should be tolerated. There are some
among us even yet who are not clear that Protestant missionary effort is needed in
Mexico. For such the following description is quoted: "The Mexican Church

784 PEESBYTEEIAN CHUECH.
as a church," says Lempriere, " fills no mission of virtue, no mission of morality,
no mission of mercy, .no mission of charity. Virtue cannot exist in its pestiferous
atmosphere. The code of morality does not come within its practice. It knows
no mercy, and no emotion of charity ever nerves the stony heart of the priesthood,
which, with an avarice that has no limit, filches the last penny from the diseased
and dying beggar, plunders the widow and orphans of their substance as well as
their virtue, and casts such a horoscope of horrors around the death-bed of the
dying miUionaure, that the poor superstitious wretch is glad to purchase a chance
for the safety ofhis soul, by making the church the heir ofhis treasures."

INDEX.

A. B. C. F. M., 615.
Abeel, John N., 253.
Abingdon Presbytery, 134.
Abington, 115.
Act of Banishment, 44.
Adams, W., 214, 426, 472, 481, 552,
565, 627.
Adopting Act, 117.
Advertising Sermons, 368.
Ajcrd, John, 52.
Aitken, E., 312.
A Kemfis, Thomas, 97.
Albigenses, The, 8.
Alexander IIL, Pope, 11.
ALBXAijDER, A., 135. 258, 338.
H. C.,264.
J. A., 265.
J. W., 263, 310.
S. D., 266.
Allen Street Church, N. Y., 378.
Allison, J., 426.
F.,596.Patrick, 131.
Allentown, 129.
Alva, Dnie of, 99.
American Bible Society, 189.
American Presbyterian, The, 245.
Amwell, N. J., 123.
Angrogna, Council of, 19.
Annan, E., 313.
Appoquininy, 115.
Argyle, Marquis of, 44.
Arnold of Brescia, 101.
" Articles of Perth" annidled, 42.
Assembly, General, of 1837, 153,
161 ; '38, 153 ; '39, 203, 207, 359 ;
'40, 164, 203; '42. 164; '45, 162;
'46, 163, 208, 2lO, 228; '47, 211,
213 ; '49, 163, 213, 239 ; '50, 229 ;
'51, 213 ; '52, 163, 214 ; '53, 229 ;
'54, 164 ; '57, 225, 230, 333 ; '60,
226, 334 ; '61, 163, 176, 232 ; '62,
163, 233, 421 ; '63, 180, 421 ; '64,
163, 170, 237, 422 ; '66, 423 ; '67,
287, 841 ; '68, 441 ; '69, 469, 489,
547 ; '70, 593.
Assembly, Triennial, 155.
Atwater, L. H., 481, 524.
Auburn Seminary, 137, 198, 610.
Augsburg Confession, 96.
Augustine, Saint, 7.
Augustine, the monk with forty
associates, Coming of, 59.
50

AbsTRiA, Presbyterian Church in, 107
Eeformation in, 110.
Backus, J. C. , 623, 634.
J. T.,426, 601,626,708.
Baird, John, 52.
Balch, Dr., 313.
Baldwin, John C, 241.
Theron, 242.
Baltimore, Presbytery of, 131.
Banishment, Act of, 44.
of Irish pastors, 54
Barnes, A., 389,405.
Bartholomew's Day, 72, 103.
Beatty, C. C, 426, 464, 472, 516,
626, 707.
C, 726.
Beecher, L., 383.
D., 383.
H. W., 338.
Beggabs of HoUand, 99.
Beman, N. S. S., 216, 414.
Benevolence, Systematic, 164.
Bethel, 181.
Beza, Theodore, 103.
Bible, Printing of, iu New Jersey,
128.
Bible, WicMifle's, 60.
Bible Society, American, 136, 189,
279.
Bible Society, Fii-st in U. S.,.254.
Biblical Ekpository, 382.
Bibliotheca Sacra, 382.
Bilney, Thomas, 62.
Biographical Sketcues, 0. S., 251.
N. S.,356.
Bishops ordained, 44.
Blackburn, G., 869.
Bladensburgh, 131.
Blind Preacher, 132.
"Blood's Plot," 54.
Boardman, H. A., 334.
Boards of the Church, 192.
Bohemia, Evangelical Church. 108,
536.
Book of Discipline, 190.
Bostwick, David, 125.
Bound Brook, 129.
Bowling, Miss, 815.
Boyd, A. H. H., 175.
Brainerd, T., 387, 426.
Breckinridge, E. J., 165, 183.
John, 270.

786

LNDEX

Brick Church, N. Y., 134, 506,
535.
Broadway Tabernacle, N. Y. , 395.
Brooks, Emma, 342.
Brown, F. T.,426, 713.
John, 62.
W. H., 426.
Bucer, Martin, 65, 102.
Buell, Samuel, 133.
BuBTALO Creek, Va., 181.
Bullard, A., 220.
Burns, Dr., 167.
Calvin, John, 7, 76.
His Institutes of Theology,
78.
Calvinism, 79.
Cambridge, Synod of 1646 at, 113.
Platform, 113.
Campbell, J. N., 313.
The Missionary, 174.
Candlish, E. S. , 47, 777.
Oannon, Dr., 337.
Cape May, 115, 180.
CiRLmVILLB, 370.
Carlisle, 130, 395.
Caebickpbrgus, 53.
Carter. E., 464, 481, 511, 578.
Catbohism, 68, 116.
Assembly's, 70.
Heidelberg, 767.
Centre College, 370.
Chalmers, Dr. Thos., 46, 777.
W., 167.
Chambers, Ellen D., 829.
Chance Ford, 181.
Charitable Contributions, 53.
Charles I. , 52.
Accession of, 69.
Charles V., 98.
Chartiers, 181.
Chbsier, Dr., 384.
Christian Advocate, 355.
Church Erection, 220, 404, 621.
Church Extension, 223, 631.
Church Government, 70. Directory of,
in Elizabeth's reign, 67.
Church Members, Dismission to the
world, 189.
Cincinnati, 388, 388.
Ci^RK, L., 424.
Clarke, H. K., 426.
Charles J., 556.
Eobert A. , 556.
Claverhouse, 45.
Cogswell, Catharine, 334.
Cohansey, 115.
Coligny, 103.
College of New Jersey, 355.

Colonization Society, 186, 189.
Colorado, Synod of, 774.
Columba, 58.
Columbus, C. 421.
Committee Ad Interim, 307.
Communion Services, 117.
Concurrent Declarations of '69, 483,
526.
Conference Committee of '69, 470,
511.
Conference Committee, Eeport of,
481.
Confession of Faith, 35, 70, 117,
206.
Confession of Faith in Ireland, 49.
Conformity in Ireland, 49.
Congregationalism, Disappeara
from the Old School, 159.
Congregational Union, 135.
Constantine and Methodius, 107.
Convention, Presbyterian National
Union, of '69, 195, 435.
Cook, Henry, 129.
Cornbury, Lord, 114.
Cornelius, Dr., 898.
Council, Irish, 49.
Covenant, Church of, 505, 517, 531.
Covenant, First, 30 ; national, 37 ;
its renewal, 51.
Cox, S. H., 360.
Craw, Paul, 25.
Crbb, T. a., 556.
Cromwell, 70.
Cross Creek, 131.
CULDBBS at lona, 23.
Cumberland, Va., 131.
Cummings, Charles, 135.
Cunningham, Hugh, 52.
Dr. J 167.
Darling, W., 216.
Davies, Samuel, 126.
Day, H., 464, 481, 511, 536, 651, 575.
Declaration and Testimony, 182.
Declarations, Concurrent, 198.
Deep Eun, 130.
Delaware CoUege, 362.
Derry, Siege of, 55.
Detroit, 395.
Eesolution, 229.
Dickinson, E. W., 329.
Dickson, Cyrus, 601.
DiLWORTH, Joseph, 556.
Disabled Ministers' Fund, Secre
tary appointed, 163.
Discipline, Book of, 68.
Doctrinal Tracts, Committee on.
240.
Doctrine, Differences as to, 153.
Doddridge's Eise and Progress, 138.

INDEX.

787

Dodge, W. B., 472, 481, 512, 559,
576, 638.
Dominic, 15.
Drake, C. D., 481, 511, 574.
Duffield, George, 130, 391.
Dutch Church, 136.
Dutchess County, Presbytery of,
184.
Dwight, T. W., 431.
Education, 68, 137, 163, 338, 618.
in Ireland, 56.
Elder, Derivation of word, 3.
John, 130.
Elders, EuUng, 2, 164.
Classes of, 2.
Eotation iu office of, 166,
653.
in the Jewish Economy, 3.
Elliot, David, 559, 602, 730.
Ely, E. S., 313, 365. ¦
Emblems, 100.
Emigration of Presbyterians to
America from Ireland, 51, 56.
England, Presbyterian Church in, 58.
Mission to, 59.
First Presbytery in, 67.
Engles, Mary, 316.
W.,309, 310, 823.
Erasmus, 61, 97.
Ervina, 366.
Ethelbert, 59.
Evangelical Alliance, 168, 175,
548.
Evangelicalism in Ireland, 48, 49.
in England, 58.
Evangelist, New York, 220, 245.
Evangelization from the Bast, 107.
Ewing, John, 189.
Extempore Preaching, 667.
Faber, Vicai-General,76,
Farrand, J. S., 438, 481, 512, 739.
Fisher, S. , 358.
S. W., 316, 481, 512, 772, 778.
Foote, John A., 549.
Foreign Missions, 240, 612.
Form of Government, 207.
Fowler, P. H., 216; 426, 553, 596,
718.
Fox, B., 336.
France, Evangelical Church of, 106.
Presbyterian Church in, 101.
Persecution in, 101 .
Francis, W. M.,481, 511.
Frederick, The Elector, 87.
v., 110.
Frbe Church, Secession of, 47.
Freedmen, 622.
Freehold, N. J., 115, 121.

Freeman, The Missionary, 174.
French Presbytery, in London, 65.
Fryth, John, 62.
Fulton Street Prayer-meeting, 174.
Fund, Memorial, 561, 633.
Galloway, S. , 426, 723.
Garret, Thomas, 68.
Geddes, Jenny, 41.
General Assembly, 2, 32.
of the Confederate States, 178.
First, of the Free Church of
Scotland, 47.
of Glasgow, 51.
Genevan Bibles, 66.
German Philosophy, 377.
Eeformed Church, 143.
Germany, Presbyterianism in, 80.
Gesenius, 381.
Gilbert, E. W.,358, 361.
Gilpin, H. D., 317.
Gray, J., 816.
Great Eebellion 1641, object to
destroy Protestantism, 52.
Great Valley, 130.
Greek Church, Missionaries from,
107.
Grbbn, a., 185, 251, 308.
H. W.,431.
Grier, M. B. , 310.
J. C, 481, 512.
Griffin, E. D., 323, 365.
Gurley, P. D., 183, 336, 424, 426.
Amendment, The, Circum
stances of its introduc
tion, 439, 498.
Guernsey, Synod at, 64.
Guthrie, James, 44.
Thomas, 777.
Hageman, John F., 270.
Haines, D., 431, 481, 512.
Hall, A. G., 481, 511, 778.
John, 543, 559, 571.
Hamilton, Patrick, 35.
College, 241, 373, 380.
Hampton, John, 114.
Handy, T. P., 426, 727.
Hardwick, 129.
Harper and Brothers, 321 .
Hatfield, E. F., 213, 426, 601, 716.
Heidelberg Catechism, 634, 767.
Hengist and Horsa, 58.
Henry IL, 103.
VIIL, 49.
Heresy in Ireland, Statutes asrainst,
48,49.
Hbrron, WilUam A., 556.
Hill, W., 366.
Historical Eeview of the Church,
Old School, 149 ; New School, 198.

788

INDEX

Hitchcock, H. L., 426.
Hodgb, C, 334, 484, 436.
Holland, Eeformed Church of, 97;
Confession of Church of, 99.
Holmes, Sarah H., 329.
Home Missionaries, 128.
Home Missions, Committee of, 186,
228, 239, 612.
Home Missionary Society, 206.
Howard, W. D., 426, 709.
H'JDSON, Presbytery of, 134.
Huguenots, 103 ; Banishment of, 105.
Humphrey, Z. M., 549.
Hungary, Presbyterian Church in,
107 ; Persecutions in, 111.
Huss, .lohn, 108.
Hyde, Dr., 358.
Independents, 66.
Indulgences, 87.
Innocent III., 12.
Inquisition, Origin of, 15.
lONA, Island of, 20, 59.
Ireland, Emigration, from 56 ; Sus
tentation Fund in, 56 ; First Presby
tery in, 52 ; Missionary Fund in,
55.
Irish Council, 54.
General Assembly, 169.
Jackson, WUliam, 114.

Jamaica, L. I., 113.
Jambs I. , Accession of, 68.
Janew-W, Jacob J., 254.
Jefferson College, 367.
Jenny Geddes, 41.
Jerome of Prague, 109.
Jessup, W. , 216, 405.
Johnson, the Missionary, 174.
Dr., 338.
Joint ConiiTTBE, 511, 521.
Communion Season, 584.
JONBS, C. C, 170.
J. H., 304.
Jubilee Thanksgiving, 163.
Judd, G. N. , 366.
Junkin, D. X., 339.
G., 290.
Kent, ChanceUor, 211.
Kentucky Churches, 184.
Kingsley, Ezra M., 601.
Knight, J. L., 481.
Knox, John, 28.
J. H. M., 706.
Krebs, J. M., 318, 326, 426, 707.
Lake Forest Institution, 243.

Lambert, E. A., 426, 728.
Lane Seminary, 206.
Lasco, John a, 64.
Lateran, Council of, 12.
Laud, Archbishop, 50.
League and Covenant, 43.
Leavitt, H. H., 463.
Lebanon, 131.
Lbfbvre, 102.
LeoX., 91.
Lewis, G., 167.
LExraoTON, Va., Presbytery of, 133.
Lincoln, Abraham, 179, 238, 341.
Lind, J., 327.
Liturgy, 190.
in Ireland, 49.
Livingston, John, 52.
" Log College," 119.
Lollards, of Kyle, 35.
Londonderry, N. H., 113.
Long Island,* 115.
Lord, D., 481.
W., 481, 511.
Louisville, Presbytery of, " Decla
ration and Testimony," 183, 183.
Luther, 80 ; His theses, 88 '
Lutherans, 80, 96.
Lyon, G. A. , 216.
Magie, D., 285, 360.
JMaidenhead, 115.
Makemie, Francis, 114.
Manses, 190.
Mansfield, 129.
Marriage, action of Assembly, 188.
Marietta College, 243.
Martyrs, in Mary's reign, 65.
Maryland, Presbyterians in, 113.
Marysville College, 241.
Mason, John, 216.
JohnM., 321, 363.
E., 358, 362.
Mather, Cotton, 112.
Maynard, H., 216.
McCord, JohnD., 556.
McCorklb, W. a., 394.
McCormick, C. H., 173.
McCoy, S. F. 601.,
McDowell, J.-, 281, 828.
W. A., 289.
McGrbgore, James, 113.
Mcknight, E., 426, 463, 473, 517,
722.
McLbod, Norman, 540.
McMuLLBN, the Missionary, 174.
McWhorter, 129.
Melancthon, 91, 102.
Melville, Andrew, 36.
Memorial Fund, 561, 683, 673.
Mendham, 129.

INDEX.

789

Mercersburg, 180.
Methodists, Welsh Calvinistic, 535.
Preachers' Meeting, 536.
Methodius, 107.
Metuchen, 129.
Mexico, Presbyterian Churoh in, 781.
Miami University, 404.
Middle Spring, 130.
Miller, S., 136, 267.
Mills, H., 375.
T. A., 211, 213, 315.
Millenarianism, 188.
MmisTERiAL Belief, 240, 308, 622.
Ministry, Demission of, 188.
Missions, in Ireland, 56.
Home, 186, 162, 218.
Foreign, 161, 014.
Moderator, of O. S. Assembly of 69,
510, of N. S. Assembly of '69, 511.
Monfort, J. G., 426, 463, 708.
Montrose, 130.
Morehead, Gen. J. K., 556.
Morristown, 129, 858.
Murray, Earl, 35.
N., 820.
J., 320.
Musgrave, G. W., 472, 511, 516, 551,
504, 743.
Nantes, Edict of, 105.
Nassau Hall, 126.
National Covenant, third renewal of,
51.
Navarre, Henry of, 103.
Neander, 881.
Neill, W., 276.
Nelson, H. A., 426, 720.
Neshaminy, 119, 130.
Netherlands, the, Presbyterian
Church in, 97.
Netherlands, the. Inquisition in, 98.
Newark, 358, 371, 422.
New Brunswick, 129.
Presbytery of, 119.
New Castle, Presbytery of, 115.
New Providence, 129.
New School, test their title, 156.
did not desire the sepa
ration of 37, 199.
efEorts for reunion, 202.
New Testament, Tyndale's, 62.
Newtown, 114, 116, 130.
New York, Social Entertainment of
'69, 471.
Synod of, 124.
Nisbet, Dr., 268.
North Garden, Va., 131.
Nott, E., 272.
Ogden, J. , 216.

Oldcastle, Sir John, 61.
Old School and Nbw School, Eel-
ative strength in '37, 155.
Old School and New School, Suit
at law between, 156.
Old School and New School, Dif
ference between, 157.
Old Side and New Side, 152.
Orange, 129. Prince of, 55.
Ormond, Duke of, 54.
Oswald, 59.
Overturing to the Presbyteries,
529.
Parliament, Long, 70.
Paris, Ky., 403.
Party Names, 149.
Pastoral Letter, 546.
Pastors, 4.
Paterson, 359.
Patriarchal form of govemment,
2.
Patrick, St. , 48.
Patrick, Hamilton, 25.
Patterson, J., 366, 388.
E. W., 216, 426, 481,
512, 525, 720.
W., 830.
Patuxent, 115.
Pbbles, Thomas, 52.
Permanent Committee on For
eign Missions, 240.
Persecutions, in Italy, 15.
of James II. , 45
Peoria, 180, 421.
Petbr of Brays, 101.
Waldus, 8.
Peters, A. , 866, 504.
Philadelphia, Arch Street Church,
411.
First Presbyterian
Church, 594.
Presbytery of, 115.
Pine Street Church,
388.
Synod of, 116.
Philip H., 98.
Phillips, W. W., 801, 311,
Pittsburg, 131.
Ciccular, 500, 740.
First Church, 553.
Third Church, 592.
Plumer, Dr., 334.
Porter, W. M., 442.
Postlethwaitb, M., 318.
Potts, A., 319.
G., 816.
G. a,316.
Prelacy, 71.

790

INDEX.

Prentiss, G. L., 682.
Presbyterian —
Doctrines, 7.
National Union Convention,
498.
Publishing Committee, 240.
Quarterly Eeview, 245.
The, 264, 310.
The Word, from Presbyter, 1.
Presbyterian Church —
Associate Eeformed, 138, 141.
Cumberland, 141.
General Statistics of, 779.
in America, 112, 139, 780.
in Canada, 144, 780.
in Ireland, 48.
in Mexico, 781.
in Scotland, 20, 780.
Eeformed, 138.
Eeformed Synod, South, 141.
Southem, Committees of, 142.
Foreign MUssions of, 143.
Theological Seminaries of, 142.
United, 138.
Presbyterianism among the Puri
tans, 112.
in America, Pro
hibition of, 114.
Presbyterians, iu the British Em
pire, 73.
Number of, 2.
Where found, 2.
Presbyteries, in America, in 1816,
136.
in 1825, 137.
Presbytery, 1.
Associate, 46.
First in America, 115.
First in Ireland, 52.
Founded by Columba,
23
EeUef, 46.
President of the U. S., Letter to,
234.
Eeply to the Letter, 235.
PRiiHTivE Christianity, 12.
Prime, E. D. G. , 514.
S. I., 463, 514.
Princeton, 129.
CoUege, 56, 126, 375, 786.
Seminary, 186, 160, 172,
174.
Theology, 160.
Progress, Human, 150.
Protest of 1868, Answer to, 457.
Protestant, Title of, 98.
Providence, Va., 131.
Psalmody, 136.
Psalms iu Metre, 116.
Publication, 161, 615.

Puritans, 66. Presbyterianism the, 112.

among

Eahway, 129.
Eay, j. M., 426, 721.
Eayner and Guy, 12.
Eba, Samuel, 556.
Eebellion, Tbe Great, 53.
Ebconstruction of the Old School
in '38, 159.
Ebconstruction, Joint Committee
on, 602, 60." 763.
Eeed, Isaac, 137.
V. D., 426, 464, 601, 711.
Eeese, B. J. , 324.
Eeformed (Dutch) Church, 143, 541.
Theological Seminaries of, 144.
Eehoboth, 116.
Eepentance, 88.
Eesby, John, 14.
Resolutions in New School Assem
bly relating to the state of the
country, 288.
Eeunion, Committee of '66, 340, 426.
their Eeport, 428.
their Eeport m '68, 443.
Address of January, '69, 466.
Sketches of, 706.
Eeunion, Certificate, 736.
First Action for, 433.
Initiative Movement, 495.
Plan of, 483.
Preparation for. 419.
Progress of, 194.
. Eesolutions of '66, 424.
Social, 514.
. Terms of, in '68, 447.
Vote in 0. S. Assembly,
'69, 538.
Vote in N. S. Assembly,
'69, 588.
Vote of the Presbyteries
on, 548.
Eichards, J., 306, 858, 871.
EoBms9N, E., 379.
David, 556.
Rockwell, J. E., 438, 714.
Eodgers, John, 125.
E. K.,550.
Eodiger, 381.
Eoe, Azel, 129.
Eomish Baptisms, 189.
Eoss, F. A., 175.
J., 313.
Eough, John, 29.
Eound Hill, 181.
Euling Elders, Theories as to, 165.
Eutgers Street Church, N. Y.,
134.

USTDEX.

791

Sabbath Schools, 661.
Sautre, WiUiam, 61.
Saxons, 58.
Schenck, W. E., 426, 710.
Scotland, 20, 152, 167, 559, 663.
Scott, John, 52.
Scriptures, More use of the, 660.
Seaton, Alexander, 26.
Separation, Disadvantages of, to
New School, 201.
Grounds of, 152.
Session, 1.
Setauket, 116.
Seward, W. H., 236.
Sharswood, G., 431.
Shaw, J. B., 426, 511, 512, 718.
Shedd, W. G. T., 457.
Sigismund, Count, 102.
Simpson, James, 52.
Singing, in PubUc Worship, 666.
Skinner, T. H., 895, 410.
T. H., Jr., 524.
Slavery, Doctrine of Old School on,
136, 168.
Eelations of New School
to, 228.
Its Eemoval aids Eeunion,
420.
Slaymaker, Faithful, 393.
Smith, A. D., 215, 216, 378.
H. B., 196, 433.
Joseph, 396.
Snow Hill, Md., 114.
Social Eeunion, 685.
Societies, Voluntary, 191.
Society for promoting CoUegiate and
Theological Education at the West,
342.
Solemn League and Covenant, 53.
Sorbonne, CoUege of the, 77.
Southern Presbyterian Churoh, 185,
537, 540, 627.
Spencer, A., 814.
Spires, Diets of, 95.
Sports, Book of, 69.
Spottswood, 38.
Spring, Dr. G., 177, 321, 829, 849,
359, 523, 534.
Sproat, Dr. James, 139.
Statistics, of Old School, 695.
of New School, 703.
of Consolidated Church,
765.
of the Southem Churoh,
766.
Starr, F., 405.
P., Jr., 400.
Stearns, J. F., 426, 481, 509,512,
524, 536.
Steele, E. W., 436.

Stevens, Col. Wm., 113.
St. Louis, 398, 428.
Strong, G. P., 426, 725.
W., 431, 481, 513, 573.
Stuart, Geo. H., 556, 559, 577.
M., 380.
Students of Divinity, 68.
Suffolk, Presbytery of, 188.
Switzerland, Presbyterian Church
in, 74.
Indulgences in, 75.
Synagogue, 4.
Synod, Provincial, 71.
The, 1.
Taylor, S., 216.
Temperance, 135.
Tennents, The, 119.
Tennessee Churches, 134.
Tetzel, 87.
Theological Sbminaribs, 609.
AUegheny, 137, 172.
Andover, 380.
Aubum, 172, 206, 243, 371,
787.
Chicago, 173.
Columbia, 172.
DanvUle, 173.
Lane, 137, 172, 206, 387.
New Albany, 172.
Princeton, 171, 331, 337.
Union, 172, 206, 364, 365, 378,
381.
Union, Va., 137, 172, 881.
School for Germans, 245.
Theology, New School, 248.
Theses, Luther's, 88.
Thirty Years' War, 110.
Tholuck, Dr., 381.
Thornwell, J. H., 165.
Tours, CouncU of, 11.
Toussaint, Pierre, 102.
Transubstantiation, 76.
Transylvania, Presbytery of, 134.
Trenton, N. J., 129.
Twelve Conclusions, 61.
Tyndale, WUUam, 62.
Uniformity, Act of, 71.
Union CoUege, 337.
United Presbyterian Church of Eng
land, 78.
United Synod of the Presbyterian
Church, 231.
University of Vermont, 862.
Valois, Margaret of, 103.
Vandyke, H. J., 628.
Van Eensselaer, C, 880.
S., 380.
Vaudois, 16, 101.

792

ESTDEX.

Wabash CoUege, 242.
Waddell, James, 132.
Waldenses, 18, 19.
Descent of, 8.
Persecutions of, 12.
Waldus, Peter, 8.
Walker, E. J., 317.
Wallace, Dr., 228.
Wall Street Churoh, N. Y., 134.
Wandsworth, 67 ; Orders of, 67.
Ware, Dr. , 358.
Washington Monument, 214.
Webster CoUege, 400.
Wbbk of Prayer, 175.
Welsh, Dr., 46.
Welsh Tract, 115.
Western Education Society, 217.
Foreign Missionary Society,
161.
Eeserve CoUege, 242.
West Hanover, 131.
Westminster, Assembly, 70.
Standards, 166.
Weston, 401.
White, H., 376.
Preaching of, 378.

White Clay Creek, 115.
Whitefield, 131.
Wickliffe, John, 25, 60.
William of Orange, 45, 98.
Williams, H., 420.
Wilmington, 361.
Wilson, Joseph M., 190.
B. T.,315.
H. E., 481, 511.
Wirt, W., 132,314.
Wishart, George, 37.
Wiswell, G. F., 438, 731.
Witherspoon, John, 137.
WOODBRIDGB, N. J., 375.
Woodbury, N. J., 130.
WooLSEY, Cardinal, 61.
Worms, Diet of, 92.
Wylie, S. B., 317.
Yale CoUege, 331.
YORK, 181.
Zurich, CouncU at, 75.
Zwingli, XHrio, 74 ; Doctrines of, 75.

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