142
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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nation were at once withdrawn from the land, it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 <sf
such a support in the ministry; there are so
many painful exhibitions of failure in the mi
nistry as compared with what is apparent in the
failures in other professions, that the principle
is undoubtedly a correct one, that special efforts
should be made to call forth the real piety and
talent in the church with reference to this work.
■And yet there is no task more delicate or diffi
cult, and nothing in which the Church by its in
difference more decidedly res&fs the cfibrts heedful
for its own proper organization. We make no re
marks as to the plan adapted by'the/’Sfeneril'AkSj
sembly, or as to the measures proposed in carrying
out that plan. The worthy and able Secretary of
the Education Committee will*accomplish a work
worth th e life of one man—a work worth the life
of a Cornelius —if by devoting his life to it he can
secure a system well-working and effective that
shall bring as much real talent and piety into the
ministry from onr Church as that Church ought
to contribute to the world at home and abroad in
preaching the gospel of Christ. It will be worth
the efforts of such a life to arouse the Church to
a sense of its duty; to organize a plan that shall
avoid the errors of the past; that shall call 1 into
the ministry, as far as that cun be secured by any
human prudence and caution, pnly those who are
qualified for the work; and to furnish to the next
age a class of ministers that shall be fitted to the
wants of that age—a race of ministers, who, as
those of the present age shall drop into the grave,
shall be fully qualified for the duties and responsi
bilities of the coming generation. The great
principle should be qualifications, not numbers;
and the work to be done is hot to put men into
the ministry who could not get a living anywhere
else, but men who' are men.
Foreign missions.
■ A point of the 1 highest interest and importance
must come before the General Assembly-—-that
pertaining to Foreign Missions. We cannot be
lieve that the General Assembly will perform its
complete work without allowing this subject to
occupy a permanent place in its deliberations, and
among its most" important acts should be those
which are designed' to develop the resources of
the Church, aud awaken a proper interest in the
denomination, in fulfilling the last great command
addressed to the Church’by its Head and Found
er: “Go ye into all the world, and preach" the
gospel to every creature.” On this subject there
can be but two questions before the Assembly,
viz.: Whether an independent denominational
Board shall be organized; or Whether the churches ;
shall continue to avail themselves of the channel
already open, and through which we have so.long
endeavored,, not without success, to reach the hea
then world—the American Board of Commission
ers for Foreign Missions. Happily, as we think,
all occasion for agitating that question has ceased,
at least for the present, and the true wisdom of
the Assembly is to endeavor to awaken the
churches to a deeper interest in the cause of
missions, and to prevent all withdrawing of confi
dence in that Board. Oar denomination began
its separate career distinctly as a friend of co
operation in the great cause of Christian bene
volence. 'lts contributions have flowed freely
through the American Board. Through that the
churches have access to the entire heathen world.
Beyond most associations among men for pro
moting objects of charity, the American Board
has evinced eminent wisdom, prudence, sagacity,
far-sightedness; beyond, perhaps, any other orga
nization of the kind, it has secured credit abroad;
quite equal to any other association; it has been
honored by success in preaching the gospel, and
in the conversion of the heathen to Christ. The
Presbyterian Church has always had a share in its
counsels; it is honorably represented in the Board
itself; and, in our apprehension, the Board has
never given jnst. cause for the suspicion mf parti
ality in the appropriation of the funds, intrusted
to its care. It is, moreover, true that our own
denominational zeal— our lovq for Presbyterianism
as such —may find through that chaunel all that
should be asked for in our efforts to spread the
gospel among the heathen. The last General As
sembly, in reference to this;very appoint-
ed a committee to oonfer with a similar committee
to be appointed by the’Board at its annual meeting
in October last, to. oonfer together on “questions
affecting the relations of the Board to Buoh mission
aries as may prefer the Presbyterian mode of Church
government.” The Board appointed such a com
mittee. The committee of the General Assembly
were instructed '’to’lJkbposo to the Board the fol
lowing things, as essential in the view of the As
sembly to the securing of the co-operative princi
ple in conducting the missionary work:
(1.) “That it should be distinctly understood,
here and abroad, that the Board, its Prudential
Committee, and officers, interpose no obstacles in
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. ' . r
(3.) “That there .should be a free correspond
ence of our missionaries with the Permanent Com
mittee of the General Assembly.” : ' ‘
Never among Christian men was a committee
more kindly greeted and welcomed than was the
committee of the General Assembly, and never
was a more hearty response given than that which
was given: to these requests. After the fullest
deliberation on the,subjeot on the Bart of the com
mittee, the Board lilanimoMsfy adopted the fol
lowing, resolution, .tmigig others, r ecoin mended by
their committee;s«: ,!u -t:. _
“Resolved; That w< cordially assent to the thfee
propositions as abovs recited and explained, as
expressing not ouly me wishes of the General As
sembly, but the fee ings and intentions of the
American Board; relying on the wisdom and can
dor of Christian min for their full interpretation
and application.”* j ’ 1
We trust that out brethren of our own denomi
nation will regard |t as no improper interference
on our part, as conductors of this Journal, that we
have made these suggestions in our paper. We
have, as we said ig Ihe beginning of this article,
no desire to dictate to the Assembly, but we
have an earnest desire that the Assembly may
be guided- by the 4‘wisdom which cometh from
above” in its measures, and we avail ourselves of
a right, which airwave in bur denomination, of
expressing earnestly the views which press upon
our own minds and . hearts in reference to what
seems to us to -bitwise- In conclusion, we are
certain' that,' may ‘be thought; Of the
views which we haydexpressed in this article, wc
commend ourselye&tp.jthe best feelings and. the
earnest wishes; of opr own- beloved Church, when
we ask that fervent prayer may be offered that
God would guide tie Assembly aright in the im
portant matters which must come before it.
* Annual Report for 1859. Pp. 26, 27.
THE OLD SCHOOL GENERAL ASSEMBLY:
A VOICE FROM WESTERN NEW YORK.
' The 0 S. General Assembly is about to meet
in our goodly city oftßochester. Most of our ci
tizens, even the most indifferent to ecclesiastical
matters, know ther%-are two General Assemblies
of the Presbyterian 'Church,' meeting the same
day annually; and that most pf the churches and
ministers in Western New York are what' are
called “ New School.” The advent of the 0 S.
Assembly, therefore, seems to furnish an auspi
cious opportunity to answer the inquiries so fre
quently made, viz. jJTfP/iat is the difference be
tween the two they re
present? Arßwhyfjwhile havingihe same creed,
'constitution, form, (f government, they are nous; or
ever were, two bod A instead of one?
Let no one deemhie discourteous to tbe gentle
manly and Christian 1 , guests we are to entertain;
for I am on the besjt terms with whatever mem
bers of the 0. S. church I have become acquaint
ed; .but the organic acts, or public proceelings
of great public bodies, are common property.
My concern is with principles and official acts, anc;
not with men. Mji intention is to show that to
maintain the New School Church has been, and
still is, bothnedetisdrp and wise:
1 ..As, a. protest, against , revblutioriafy land un
constitutional acts put forth <by the. 0. S. party
when a majority in the Presbyterian Church.
Twenty-three years;ago, they “ exscinded ’’-—cut
off—from the Assembly and the Presbyterian
Church, without cifetion or trial, or any constitu
tional opportunity fdr hearing or defence, the three
Synods of IJtica, Geneva and Genesee, embracing,
a territory, stretehjilg'frbrn the Hudson to Lake
Erie- 378 ministers,
444 churches, and, about 40,000 communicants!
The Synod of Western Reserve was exsciuded in
like manner, swelling the number to about 400
ministers, nearly 5C[O churches, and 60,000 com
municants, all cut off, at a stroke!
This was an actjwholly unconstitutional, never
having been.sustained by any civil-court, and jus
tified by the leading spirits in the movement, by
claiming that the'church was at the time'in a
state of rcvolutioD, .and therefore that all written
constitutions, regulations and laws had lost their
force ; and those wjtq were eurioff, and others who
sympathized with >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.