142 gftjtskgtmua %tm%n ImeL THURSDAY, MAY a, 1860. D. C. HOUGHTON, 1 JOHN W- MEARS, J *DITORS AIIOCIATBD WITH ALBERT BARNES. I GEORGE DDFFIELD J B . THOMAS BRAINERD, 1 JOHN JENKINS, HENRY DARLING, ' THOMAS J. SHEPHERD, THE NEXT GENERAL ASSEMBLY. We claim no right to dictate to the General Assembly of oar church, or to any other eeclesias tloal body] yet, in common with all others, we think ourselves at liberty to make suggestions in reference to matters pertaining to the welfare of the church, and we should be unworthy of a place as publio journalists, if, in common with other conductors of the press, wo were not able to make suggestions that would be worthy of attention. Our denomination has never occupied a position so well fitted to inspire confidence and to encourage hope, as ft will do, at the' time of the meeting of the coming Assembly* It has become in a good degree consolidated. Its position is defined. Its relation to Other denominations, and to the great questions of the age, has become understood. Its resources are increased and increasing. Great questions which threatened to convulse and rend it, have beau met, discussed, settled. Among the other denominations of the land it occupies an impor tant position; it has a place —a mission; it has a work to do distinct from the work assigned to the Episcopalian, the Methodist, the Baptist, the Lutheran denominations, and the other branches Of the great Presbyterian body. It has resources in respect to talent, wealth, learning, piety, posi tion, not inferior to any of them, and superior to most of them; and if the influence of our denomi nation were at once withdrawn from the land, it could not but be felt by all that love the common cause of religion, that a chasm would be made whioh no one of the other denominations, and whieh not all of them together/could fill up. Sad And criminal as were the aots which led to the organization of this separate body of Presbyterians in our land; much as we have cause to com plain of the injustice and wrong done us by those who divided us from themselves, and much as we have reason to lament the existence of the spirit on their part which tends to perpetuate the wrong, and to exclude us from the ordinary courtesies due to great Christian denominations, yet, instead of dwelling on this in our recollections, and pro voking to wider separation, it is better, leaving our brethren to pursue their own way, and with out seeking to augment difficulties which will certainly come upon them, to give ourselves to the great task whieh God in his providence has assigned to us among the denominations of his people in this land and age. 1 We regard some things as settled. We are Presbyterians, and arc to be known, honored, treated, as suoh. Our rights as such have been recognised in ail places, and before ali tribunals, Where an opinion on the subject is of any value. If we are not formally declared and recognised as the u Succession” in the divided Presbyterian body, it is true that our brethren of the other branch of our denomination are also not thus recognised, and true that whatever was regarded as appertaining to Presbyterianism when the de nomination assumed a distinct form and place in our land, appertains to both these bodies alike. It is settled that we are to be a* denomination in our country. All hope of “disintegrating” us; of dividing us between the Old School and Con gregational denominations; of “detaching ” so many churches from our body as ultimately to “absorb” us, must by this time have been seen to he so vain, that we cannot believe that ft is now seri ously entertained by any reflecting men in the denomination from which we have been separated. The policy of our denomination on many points is settled. The agitation of the slavery ques tion we regard as substantially at an end. Our position is understood. All those that regarded it as necessary for their own comfort or useful ness to leave us on account of that position, have left us; and those that are disposed to return from that portion of the church—as some df them will be—and all who will come among US from the Old School body on aeconnt of the views entertained on that subject in that denomination—as not a few may yet do, will con nect themselves with us, understanding the posi tion they are to occupy, and will come among us, not for strife, but for peace. That great question —the question about the consistency of slavery with the Bible —is already re-opened in the Me thodist denomination; it will be opened in the Episcopal church; and before our Old School brethren there is a dark and tempestuous cloud rising, and a storm gathering—a cloud more dark, and a storm more fierce by far than any thing that has assailed the New School branch of the church. These things settled—these difficulties Otit of the way, the great work now before us as a denomination is consolidation and development. The prominent subjects, we think, which must come directly or indirectly before the next Gene ral Assembly, and, perhaps, several successive Assemblies, will be Home Missions, Publication, Education, and Foreign Missions. HOME MISSIONS. We oonsider the present arrangement on the subjeot of Home Missions to be such as to demand no immediate or material change. In other words, we think that the existing arrangement fairly represents the views of our church at large, at pre sent, and needs no essential modification. It may he that it is the purpose of the American Home M is sionary “ Societyusing that word “ Society” now as we are compelled to use it in modern times, as indicating one or more master minds that control corporations and committees that are. elected by themselves, or as a matter of form —it may be that that “Society” designs to drive off the Presbyterian Churob, or to bo arrange the affairs of the “Society” as to compel -the Presbyterian Church to withdraw from it, and to leave the possession of the field to the Congregationalists; but it has not yet done it, and we are not at liberty to assume that this is its design. We are publicly on good terms with the Society. We owe much to It. We have derived great advan tages from it. If fairly administered, it is an organization eminently adapted to spread the gospel over the great uncultivated fields of our country, and not necessarily antagonistic to Pres byterianism. There is, also, a very large part of our denomination that has entire confidence in the Sooiety; and a sudden rapture with that So ciety would produce disastrous consequences from which it would require a long period to recover. Policy and honqr—the remembrance of former kind and friendly relations, and of the good that has been done by their united efforts, as well as real love for our Congregational brethren with whom we have so long acted; the love which we have for our own denomination, and the higher love which we sbonld cherish for our common Christianity; the principles which wo have all along distinctly avowed on the subject of co-ope ration' in religion, should prompt us not only to fulfil all our plighted engagements with the So ciety, but to avail ourselves of all that there is itt an organization so well fitted over the fields to which we are specially invited, the gfeat principles of the gospel of Christ. At the same time, we apprehend that the con stitution of the Church Extension Committee of our church, fairly represents the present feeling of the church, meets its wants, and leaves nothing to be desired. Its powers are so large already by the acts of the General Assembly, as to meet all the cases whioh cannot be met from any other source, and to furnish a channel for the contribu tions of all who are not satisfied with the rules of the American Home Missionary Society. We happen to Jcnoio that the Committee is most rigid on the only true principles on which its operations can be conducted with propriety and safety: namely, (1,) To construe the instructions of the Assembly literally and rigidly , and in. no case to go beyond those instructions; and (2,) Never to go in debt; never to make an appropriation in reference to which they have not the funds on hand, or in certain prospect, to meet it when it becomes due. This arrangement we think meets the exact wants of the church at the. present time. It represents the feelings of the church, It is adapted to the development of our resources. It is an arrangement of which our Congregational brethren have no right to complain, for it is one on whioh they have been acting all along in dis bursing the separate funds of the .Connecticut Missionary Society, and in cases of numberless private benefactions. It has none of the evils which would attend an entire disruption with the American Home Missionary Society, and the creation of a Board of Domestic Missions of our own denomination. We would not, therefore, “drive the wedge” of separation from our Con gregational brethren. If they choose to do it, let the responsibility be with them. But we have faith in our New England brethren, who, as a body, have always been true to us, and who have never desired or sought* any thing in relation to our church but its peace and its prosperity. PUBLICATION CAUSE. The interests of the publication cause, in our apprehension, demand not less the attention of the Assembly than the cause of Home Missions. Indeed, to our view, the success of that cause, and the question whether the Committee will be able to go on with the duties intrusted to it, may depend entirely on the course which shall be taken by the next Assembly. In com mon with other denominations, our church has undertaken in a direct, regular, and' systematic manner, to call to its aid the press in the diffu sion of truth, and in defence of the great princi ples which are maintained by ns as a denomi nation ; but, if we are not mistaken, our church, as a church, has shown less interest in this cause, and done less to encourage and sustain the Com mittee in the work intrusted to it, than any other denomination. Prom the nature of the case, this cause cannot be made as popular as the cause of missions. It eannot so directly en list the sympathies of the great mass of the people. It must depend more on an appeal to the intelligence of the Church, and found its main hopes on those who can see and appreci ate the value of sacred literature. And yet it can hope for success only as the denomination shall take an interest In the cause, and come up to its support. The difficulty in the case is, that the denomination, as such, has as yet taken no interest in the publication cause. The church has never been awakened to its impor tance. There is no spontaneous movement; there is no voluntary contribution of help; there are no warm and hearty acts of co-operation with the Committee in carrying out the objects intrusted to it by the Assembly. The burden has come upon a few, and that bnrden cannot be borne much longer. The Presbyterian House was secured almost entirely by funds raised in Philadelphia. A large part of the funds placed at the disposal of the Committee has been raised in Philadelphia. Quite recently, in order to save the Committee from ntter bankruptcy, and to prevent the necessity of going into liqui dation, the-sum of ten thonsand dollars 'was raised in this city, one half of which was contri buted by one gentleman. But that effort can not be made again. It will not be possible to make that appeal again, even though the con sequence should be that the whole operations of the Committee should be suspended forever. It is absolutely necessary, therefore, if our branch of the Presbyterian Church desires the continuance of the operations of the Committee, that the General Assembly should take effect ive measures to sustain those operations, and that the churches should come up to the aid of the Committee. There is a point beyond which no class, of public servants should be required to “make brick without straw,” and that point is now reached, we apprehend, in the labors of the Publication Committee of orir denomina tion. And yet, no true friend of our common Christianity; no lover of our church; no one who can appreciate the value, and the power of the press; no one who looks upon the success which has attended the same efforts in the Methodist Church, and in the other branch of our own denomination; no one who looks at the wealth and intelligence of our own deno mination; and no, one who values the troth, could look bat with burning shame, and with a sense of the deepest sorrow, upon the failure of this part of oar plans, or could fail to hang his head in confnsion and mortification, if it shonld be proclaimed throughout the land that the Hew School branch of the Presbyterian Church has not zeal enough to sustain a cause requiring so little and yet so vital to every interest of the denomination. this, in our appre hension, must occur, unless the General As sembly shall originate some effective movemont by which this cause can secure the hearty co operation of the churches. We speak strongly on this snbject, because we have been in a situ ation to know something of the anxiety, the toil, the solicitude, the burden attending the duties of the Committee; and while we doubt not that the members of that Committee are willing to endure any reasonable amount of la bor, and to come together to any reasonable extent with heavy hearts, and under the feeling that the churches take no interest in their work, there is a point beyond which such labor ceases to be reasonable, and a point beyond Which the burden cannot be borne. The Committee have no special interest in the matter. They are merely the servants of the church to perform a work assigned to them. If the church does not Sttutkati fftjesiftgiemti: atid #jetuj>c£ dtfMJjflibt, wish them to perform that work, it has only to say so, and they will feel that their doty is done. It is our honest conviction, that the action of the coming Assembly will determine this matter finally. EDUCATION POE THE MINISTRY. There is no interest ip our church which lan guishes so much as the cause of education for the ministry. A variety of reasons has contri buted to render this cause unpopular, and to make it difficult to awaken the interest in it which its importance demands. Perhaps there is intrinsic unpopularity in the cause, from the general feeling in our country that young men should make their way to the ministry as they do to other professions; that, as in other pro fessions, so in this, the supply will be likely to be equal to the demand; that where there is a fitness or proper qualification for any calling in life, a young man will find some way, by his own exertions, to enter on it; that while some may be debarred from entering the ministry by the difficulty of preparing for it, this loss more than compensated by the character of those who do struggle into it by their own efforts; and that the tendency of aiding young men to enter a profession, rather than compelling them to rely on their own efforts, is rather to foster the love of ease, and to make them feel that they - have a claim to be aided through life, rather . than to stimulate their own efforts, and to de velop talents that would be valuable in the mi nistry. .The indifference—the manifest cold ness-—towards the cause of education for the ministry produced by these considerations, has been increased by the injudicious efforts made to increase the mere number of ministers of the gospel, and by the undoubted fact that, in the struggles and rivalries between the Secretaries of the American Education Society and the Presbyterian Board in 1831 and onward, not a few were persuaded to enter the ministry who, while they might have been ornaments to the fraternity of broom-makers shd brush-makers, showed that they had no special qualifications for preaching the gospel. And yet the principle; we think, is a sound one, that it is right and proper to seek out and aid young men with reference to the minis try; There is buried talent in the church which may properly be called forth. There are young men who are truly pious, who may properly be assisted in securing an education with reference to this great employment. There anjthose who never would struggle through alone, who may be assisted in their struggles with no detri ment to their piety or to the cause of religion. There are, too, so iriauy inducements to enter other professions in our land, and so few to en ter ibe ministry; there is so much in the other callings of life that appeals to young men, and so little in the ministry that appeals to them; ✓there is so much prospect of a comfortable sup port in other callings, and so mnch doubt them, never having admitted the authority of the revolutionists, though in a majority, to rob them of their chartered rights, or to take possession Of the government.: Institu tions and property of the Presbyterian Church have continued to'this day, “ testifying to both small and great," pgainst tbe deep injustice and iniquity of the exsqinding acts. To have submit ted to-all this -tamily; woulcLhave. been to admit to all theworldthat we deserved such treatment. 2. The existencfe'of the N. S. Church is a-pro test against the charges made against us, as a rea son for our excision, which were as follows, viz.: “ Great errors in doctrines, and gross irregularities in practice, prevailing to an alarming extent.” - But we.cannot properly treat this topic without admitting that the'Qld School Church stands just ly chargeable with having opposed and brought into disrepute one of the most glorious revivals our country has ever seen. The history ofohr churches from 1825 to 1837, abounds in revivals. In the General Assembly’s “ Narrative of the State of Religion in 1826, thirty five congregations} besides one whole Presbytery, were reported as having enjoyed revivals, in this portion of our State. Of the year 1881 it has been estimated that npjt less than 100,000 souls in our country wjere converted to God. It was indeed a year of the right hand of the Most-High.” The whole territory of Chenango, Cortland, Cay uga, Geneva, Niagara, and parts of Onondaga, Tioga, and Bath Presbyteries, were pervaded with a mighty work of graee. Ad ditions were made to the churches as follows : In Geneva Presbytery, more-than' 1800; in Buffalo, 900; Genesee, 900; Rochester city, 1,225 (685 io the city;) Niagara, 600; Ontario, 410. In the whole Synod there were 4,035 additions;: 74 churches were blessed and strengthened, and 9 or 10 were founded' in waste places. The three Presbyteries of Cayuga, Cortland and Tioga re ceived the,'same *yeur 2,100. members. V In 1838, 83 congregationSj between Syracuse and Buffalo,- were bieSf with revivals; in 1834; more than 40 in the single Synod of Genesee; and in 1837, not less than 36. ' These figures do not cover the whole, of the ex scinded district, but they serve to illustrate the great work of divine grace during the years the o. S. branch of the church was planning and marshalling its forces for the. work of excision. The history of that revival has never been written. Western New York was rapidly filling up with an enterprising, though' necessarily some what heterogeneous, population, thoroughly roused on the subject of religion, and with an eagerness to hear the gospel that it would he refreshing to witness agaiu. Tillages and cities were springing up along her great thoroughfares with wonderful rapidity, and more preaching was demanded than all the preachers on the field could do. It is not surprising, therefore, that some measures, whether judicious in themselves or not, should have been carried; and that a few preachers, unsettled and mostly uneducated, should go astray, was but fair to expect. _lt was so in the days of Lntber and of Edwards. It has always been so. But it was not true that “ Great in doctrine, and gross -irregularities in practice , were prevalent to an alarming extent.’’ And to have tamely submitted to the exscinding acts would have written m guilty of the charge, or base cowards, not daring to deny it.> “Of the few reprehensible to these charges,”; says one who.knew, “a considerable proportion' were from other "parts of the country not under the jurisdiction of the Presbyteries in this region, and many of them had no connection with any Presbytery. The Presbyteries were all working against whatever of disorder and irregularity there was to be found, and working out of their ranks every man who defended it. To out off without ceremony, citation, or trial, all these churches at such a time, under the vague yet weighty charge already named, could not fail to bring the work into disrepute; could not be construed otherwise; than as opposing it. I care not what may be said to the contrary, or what dice discrimination may be attempted be tween the revival and ’its' abuses or excesses; the history of the times proves conclusively, that the exscinding party did not admit—did not believe that this: was a. great work of God; they called it “wildfire,” “extravagance,” and “fanaticism;” they believed it to be spurious, and opposed it as such ; : ; and -they denounced, in no measured lan T guage the measures employed in promoting re vivals: they held'up the men who had been" most active and suecessfulin promoting them, to public reproach: they looked with' doubt and suspicion on the religion which sprang from revivals.” But times' have changed—we may almost say the tables are turned. The conservatives have become the radicals. The Christian heart of the Oid School' church, erampedand smothered under the ribl bf its own system-for a score 1 of years, has thrown off the load, and measures is “danger ous” add “irregular” as any we were ever guilty of, (not that we find fault with, or believe that either these or those are wrong,) are now freely employed and defended in that church, and “ new measures,” and “sensation sermons,” and “sensa tion preachers,” or “evangelists,”or “revivalists,” find their boldest advocates there; while we, alas! depressed by ; the condemning sentence of our brethren of that branch, have been vainly trying to promote revivals according to their criticisms! But these revivals in ..Central and Western New York have borne the test of time. They have given character to this whole .section of country. Large numbers, now persons of influence and power in our-churches; were converted in them. And from this point westward td the Mississippi, and beyond, the life of many a church is the re sult of the same gracious work. The colleges, and the seminaries felt its influence—the ranks of the ministry were filled, and many, very many, in our church, now in the prime of life and in the midst of their-usefulness in the ministry, were converted at that time. ■ A silent acquiescence in the. exscinding mea sures would have been a lasting shame to ns who had witnessed and shared in thatgreat and. gracious work; arid how could we have answered it to God if we had allowed his cause to fall under such a blow? Hence, though after a delay of twenty-three years, we are glad our O. S. brethren are coming among us, into the very heart of the exscinded district, to see for themselves. They are most welcome. As they p.ass back and forth in this most beautiful and highly cultivated part of the country, we hope they will note the intelligence of the people —observe the institutions of learning— spend a Sabbath or two in some of the New School churches, not only in Rochester, but also in the neighboring cities and large towns —witness the full congregations and orderly worship of the heritage they madly threw away. We promise them cour teous attention and generous hospitality wherever they go. We know that .many who thus come among us were not actors; in; the exscision; and we are willing to admit that those who were, did the act “ ignorantly in unbelief.” But- let these remember that the charges on which the exscind ing acts are based have never been retracted, or those acts rescinded; they stand on record unre pealed, the organic’deeds of the body of which they are now constituent elements., It may be God will give them, grace to amend the record, or charity to confess their errors and unpaternal mis deeds. Till they do, any abandonment of our independent position is injustice to history, and 'treachery* to the' ca'nse of-God. » 3. We maintain our church to defend the good name of good and great men that were wronged by the exscinding acts. At a blow, in-» manner unconstitutional and ; unheard of, were cut off from the Presbyterian church such reverend fathers as Richards and Mills of Auburn Seminary—and Aikin, Adams, Condit, Robinson, Wisher, Hopkins, Smith, Parsons, Barnard,, Lathrop, Hay, Hill, Louns bury, Fisher, Gridley, whose praise was in all the churches; and many others, younger men, but equally laborious, successful, and sound in the faith. The “ turning off” of these men was the loudest possible proclamation that they were “unsound'in doctrine” or "irregular in | practice.” We know they were not, and we ex ist to protest against the' outrageous madness , of the men who thrust them out of the Presby- ; teriau church. And if we are sons worthy of such sires we shall protest while their memory lives. They were faithful, godly men ; and, as to their style of preaching, I venture to say that the records of Presbyteries, giving an account of the great revival of 1858, are by no means as clear and explicit as to the preaching of ! Evangelical and Calvihistic doctrines as were■ those which contain an account of the revivals from 1825 to 1837. If we had space we could quote from the records of the Assembly, from those of various Synods and Presbyteries, in confirmation of this remark. And hence a re gard for truth and justice and the cause of God impelled us to stand by, these men. It was a terrible blow when the whole weight of- the 5 to Presbyterian church was hurled against them. It staggered, it stunned them, and whatever other causes contributed to it I cannot say, 0 it is a significant fact that the revival cease with the exscinding act, darkness rolled overt ® church, and it was twenty years before ig broke in upon Zion again! , , 4. The existence of the If S. Church has ee»K a great gain to Presbyterianism and to the cause of Christ in Central and Western If. T. ® blow which cut us off, so blindly struck, wo have resulted tenfold more disastrously than it has done, but for the wisdom of the N. fa church. They saw at a glance, and the wonder is that the exscinding party had not sagacity to see,that the portion of the church thus exscinded and thrust Out could never be won back to an affectionate union with that party. The ex cision involved the disintegration of all the Synods and Presbyteries cut off; It was in tended and expected that they would fall ; to pieces, and the dismembered fragments, by some new principle of cohesion, elect to unite toge ther again. Every man had fallen under sus picion, and no one could regain the standing he had in the Presbyterian Church, but to come back with virtual confession; and submit to. an actual Presbyterial examination. It-is easy to see that many wonld' have refused—some would have remained independent—some 1 would have gone to Congregationalism. In such an un settled state; of affairs,-the bond broken which had held the churches together, there-.would have been a great loss of strength. ’Besides, if any of the churches had overcome all scruples and elected to return, it would have been the oldest and largest churches which were in the cities and large villages where Presby terianism was the strongest. ’We should then have had the large places against the small— the city against the country, and the religious interests of Central and Western New York would have been divided. Neither could have been strong, and many a church would have died for want of sympathy and care. The hand of God has been no where more manifest in our history than in the almost una nimous resolution of the ministers and churches to stand together and maintain the Presbyteries and Synods in their original integrity. It was not what the O. S. party expected. But the wisdom 'of the measure is apparent. God was in it, and he mo ved Other portions of the church to stand by them also, It saved the churches from a ruin which had been inevitable but for ■( i ,->,l 4 such a choice. It held them together during the storm, it saved many a feeble church from extinction, and many a.strong one from internal commotion and division. It was a great gain to the cause of Presbyterianism itself, for which the O. S. church has never thanked us—nay, they have done every thing to this very hour to carry out the original intent, fraught with mischief, and it was a great gain to the cause of the Re deemer, for which the New School fathers will not fail of their reward! We have preserved and carried beyond the reach of danger many a church which the influence of the excinding act, legitimately carried out, would have destroyed forever!, But there is another aspect of the ease which shows the hasty rashness of the exscinding party viz.: the infliction of punishment antes their unof fending children. More thana quarter of a cen tury the fathers in the Presbyterian church had' been conferring With the fathers of New Eng land' about some plan of union for their members in the new settlements. 'The General Assembly proposed a plan which was accepted by the Asso ciation of Committees,'and virtually by all New England. Some of the churches —not the Presby teries or Synods —of New York; were formed on that plan. The Presbyterian church out of New York became dissatisfied with it, and charged upon it the “disorders” and “irregularities’’ which they imagined to exist. But, instead of negotiating with the other contracting power, the associations of New' Eoglarid; for the abrogation of the* “ Plan of Union,” they turned upon us and cut tis off from the church, without a moment’s notice. The parents quarrelled, and' they saw us, their children, together in this beautiful portion of their common heritage; and they compromised the difficulty by turning us out of house and home, and then fell to loving each other again with all the tenderness of their first espousals! ‘ : ' 1 ; This Was a new method of visitingtheiniquity of the fathers upon the children j an application of the doctrine of original sin' which we have not seen justified by .any reference to the ‘‘ Confession of Faith.” When God rebuked David for numbering the people, and 70,000 had been slain, the King said, “ Lo 1 have sinned, and /have done wickedness; but these sheep, : what have they done ?” - f • Would to God that the authors of “Excision ” had had the heart of David, when they saw 60,- 000 (neatly an equal number) cut off from the church, by their hasty scheme. (To be continued.) WASHINGTON CITY CHBfiCHES Messrs. Editors:—ld my short note of last week, -I mentioned the fact of the present work of renovating, enlarging, and every way improving two of-our most important church edifices in the city of Washington. A few further facts in* re gard to one of these, now in wyposesaion, may 5 not be uninteresting, in addition to what has al ready been communicated. I refer to the Fourth Church, of which the Bev. J. 0. Smith, D/.D.,;has for a period of twenty years been the laborious, successful pastor. Earing this period, I find it stated, Dr. Smith has received to his communion 792 members, giving off members at different times, and largely, to other new enterprises started in the city, and his people having aided liberally to wards the erection of their edifices. I am credi bly informed that the Assembly’s church, (Bov. A. G. Carothers) was built on the personal responsi bility of the Pastor of the Fourth phutreh, aided by Mr. Oarotbers. Ten of its members haye gone forth to preach the gospel, and twp are now in preparation for the ministry/ The church hi always maintained a reputation for liberality accord ing to its means. In the .days of our necessity, here in Baltimore, this church, as . did’also Dr Sunderland’s, responded to it liberaily. / The present repairing and enlargement of their church edifice will. cost. fc» One half of this amount the church will be able to raise, and friends of the church elsewhere have the privilege of aiding in the completion of the work. The pastor of the church, lam informed, contributes one .fourth of his year’s salary to the enterprise. This enlargement will add 36 pews to its present capacity, ahd will make it, i„ all respects, a comfortable and desirable house of worship, - - ■ The improvement,in the First Church, Bev. Dr. Sunderland s, is also pn a large scale, amounting indeed to almost a rebuilding. The expend will probably not fell short of twenty or twenty-fiv* thousand* dolfarar particulars in regard to this enterprise, I am not now able to give, but i t is in every way a worthy testimony to the enter, prise of those who have it in charge. The churches in Washington labor under some difficulties, which perhaps others do not experience to so great an ex . tint Gimsborce of trial arises out of the relation ofmany of their members to the national govern. s mbntrtebWrinf ithiiiiiable to removals upon every incoming administration. Stdl the churches are mowing, and all the,Pastors are proving themselves “workmen that need not be ashamed,»-may the Spirit of heavenly grace abide with, and greatly bless and prosper them all. Baltimore, April 27th, iB6O. EDITOK'I TABLE, THE BIBLE AliD SOCIAL EEFOKMJ or, tee Scrip, tures. as a Means of Civilization-, By K- JH. lyler, a 5 M., of Fulton, New York, Iteitadelphia, 1860, James Challen & Son. 12m6.> pp* 36®. It has been so long regarded the special duty and prerogatiye of the commissioned religious teacher to expound, elucidate and defend the Scriptures, that we seldom look for those of other professions to distinguish themselves as expound ers of rei%ion.; : several books of this character. have appeared- We have lay ser mons, and 'a Cbristiansoldier studying and com menting .on the teachings of the Prince .of Peace. This is as it should be. Religion is.the principal thing. It is intimately connected with ail that promotes and secures man's highest interests in this world, as well as reveals his destiny in the world to come. A comprehensive study of Chris tianity elevates the jthpulhj&i ef men to a higher and more sublime pitch, and enables him to see the symmetry, beauty, and harmony that must exist between nature and God, between the re vealed laws of God and the discoyered laws of science. The Bible is the commune vincvfam which unites and binds to one, harmonious system all knowledge, art and virtue.. .. Civilization, free dom and progress begin .with the Bible, and po, liticians, lawyers, statesmen, men who would be nefit mankind and elevate the race, must use the Bible as the ehief mid, mpsfc reliable instrument for this purpose. Therobject. of thin treatise is to sfaqw|hjls,iand it is all the more acceptable as it comes from one who is a judge of the law. If onr lawyers, judges, governors, and all in position and authority would go to the Bible for their, principles*of action and their models of virtue, we would surely he a nation blessed of God. CRITICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS BSSAYS, Col lected and Republished. By Thos. Carlyle. In Four Volumes: - Boston: Published ter Brown & Taggard, i 860.. 12m0., pp. 491—480—480—624. For sale by J. B. Lippincott & Co., No. 40 NorthFoiurth Street. Carlyle was the master reviewer of his day; with a quaintness of style sometimes fastidious and often grotesque; common sense andsterling thought bursts on tlie reader like an avalanche, and beau tiful gems sparkle afresh at every turn. He looked at' subjects as the naturalist examines a specimen in his collection. Nature’ not only has laws and a specific mode of existence, but the higher forms of culture, literature, philosophy, science, all have their laws of construction, of action, of beauty. Law, method, symmetry, are the perfection of art as well as of nature. ' * Carlyle will always be read by thinking men: his thoughts will be ahsorimd and re-producedlSy the natural law of secretion, so that he will live in multifarious forms and languages in successive generations; in this sense his books will he ever living, retaining the power of re-production. We are glad to see them re-issued in this coun try in so elegant and beautiful a style. We like to see good and valuable books well printed and bound. " - ; : - ■ This edition has been'revised and annotated by the author, and printed on the finest tinted paper, at tlie “Riverside Dress" of Messrs, fioughton & Co., and is fully equal to any specimen of book making yet produced in this Cottptty. It has a copious index, and a new portrait en- Purpose for this edition; from a minia ture of recent date. 1 ! : - It is put up in cloth for $5.00, for the four vo lumes. In calf and Turkey morocco, from $lO.OO to $14.00. THE MARBLE FATJN;or,the Romance of Monte JBera. By. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Author of “The Scarlet Tietterj>’ etc., etc. In Two Votnme*. Pp. 253 f?,, JBpston: Ticknor & Fields. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippmcott & CO. For seven or eight years the popular pen of Hawthorne has experienced a recuperative repose, which has raised expectation, and intensified the feelings of curiosity and interest at the announce ment of another work from this distinguished aud popular American writer/ t The scene is removed from the read and ro mantic life of America, and laid in Italy, amidst the associations of a classic age, the ideal perfec tions of beauty and the real specimens of ancient and modern art. It has to do with art and artists, and has somethiugof the interest of a book of travels in Italy, and a criticism upon the nurnc rous samples of art. Indeed the book itself is ar tistic in the highest degree. Its plot, its charac ters, its movements, its mofalß, are all ideal, a Creadon, made fascinating by its beautiful de scription and charming language. There is.so inuch of the mysterious and unreal worked into the plot with thht whiclTis artistic and valuable in criticism, as to preclude the idea of a universally popular book. It will beyead and pronounced dull and even a bore by those who have been captivated by the previous efforts of Mr. Hawthorne, q uL is?o, lrtt Adolphe Monod iroisieme Edition. Pans, Ch. Meyrueis & Co. 1559. These discourses are fine specimens of the style, spirit and power of the well-known author. They present the character and wort of Paul in a form at once imposing and attractive. Paul is chosen as a type of the,Christian character, which the author regards as essential in promoting the in yyard purity and 1 , efficiency of the Church in our day. The discourses arc, 1. Son oeuvre; 2. Son Christianisme ou see larmes,; 3. Sa conversion ; .Sa persynaiite pit sa faiblesse; 5. Sonexempk- For sale by F. A. Leypoldt, 1323 Chestnut Street. ’ ' WEtSH ISTEttATE OF TOM PAINE- An intelligent "Welsh woman, on having .attention.called fo the interesting series of li ters on Tom Paine by Dr. Cox, which have ap peared in our columns, remarked that her coun trymeu’s estimate of the character of that noto riouß unbeliever was in perfect accordance with that .presented in those articles. To expr esa more emphatically their abhorrence, they actu ally went to the trouble of having the initials o* his name, “T. P.,” stamped upon the heads «• .their shoe-nails, that they might have the q ue: tionable satisfaction of treading them under ft 1 ’ 1 at every step, as often as they had nails in tlw ;r shoes. lay 3, H. Dunning.