atnevican Nrcsinterian tutott ttanstliot TEBRODAY I SEPTEMBER Op MO. JORN W. NEARS, EDITOR. AISIIOCIATLD WITH ALBERT BARNES. I GEORGE DUFFIELD:3n THOMAS BRAINERD, r JOHN JENKINS, HENRY DARLING; I THOMAS,J. SHEPHERD, THE GREAT HARVEST. The farmers of the wheat-producing States of our country are resting from the largest harvest of that important staple that has yet been pro duced. It is calculated to reach 230 millions of bushels. Besides the amount, the quality of the 111:ain is described as uncommonly good. The suede of the farmer is a scene of rejoicing. The blessing of plenty has lightened his heart, and irradiated his countenance. God is the giver of wealth. The capital, the ingenuity, the labor of men without his blessing will be in vain. Unless the earth yield her increase the wheels of human enterprise, sooner or later, must come to a stand still. So it has been in the newer regions of our country,for thdaitthreeyearthespecially. Somme- Ave shortcomings in crops have crippled the ener gies of the giant West, and brought the entire community to the verge of commercial ruin: The tide of emigration has been turned backward; new settlements have been abandoned; dwellings, warehouses, and wharves have been closed and deserted; great prospects of growth have been sadly disappointed; in some places not only has money, but the very necessaries of life also been scarce; congregations once flourishing and ex panding, have benne few and enfeebled, and the ordinances of religion have disappeared, or have been maintained at martyr-like sacrifices. But the tide is now turned. There is grain in vast quantities in the West. Through the unwonted atmospheric variations of the season, beneath skies now flaming with the red banners of the aurora borealis, now flashing with the sudden glare of great meteors, and now darkened with the shadows of the sun's eclipse, secure in the protection of the Ordainer of all things, the destined crop has risen, and multiplied, and ripened , to THE GREAT HARVEST OEIBOO. And valuable as it is in it self, its value is likely to be greatly enhanced by the denial of these blessings of plenty to other countries, dependent upon similar products of the field. We have a vast surplus, computed by one authority at seventy-four millions of bushels, but we are likely to be called on for supplies by less favoured nations. We have abundance, and there will be an active demand for it. And what a scene of activity will our country present as, in obedience to this demand, her burdened granaries unlade themselves, and, from the valley of the Mis sissippi to the Atlantic sea-ports, the outward flow of grain taxes high-road and by-road, rail, river, and canal, man-power and horse-power, wind and steam, to their utmost capacity. What a stimulus to mercantile activity, and to all the financial, postal and news-disseminating agencies connected with it, will be furnished. Towns will revive, railroads, Communities, and individuals will shake off their three-years incubus of debt, churches will he built, ministers will be called, emigration will be resumed, and the_hdglitnesa of a wide-spread I _teear.elB 7 -4.1i1-le grii[witir raw Ewa except - lova - Ir' over our land • • • The great harvest is past. The immense and precious crop is safely gathered in. There is per haps not a farmer among 'hundreds of thousands who has neglected this opportunity or suffered his crops to perish from perverseness, or indifference. The interests at stake were too great. Most of them toiled under the conviction that the crisis of their affairs had come, and that as they met it now, would be their entire temporal future. They toiled, gathered in their harvest, and are saved. Plenty shall smile upon their households. Bur densome obligations are lifted from their minds and their estates. They are happy men. Who now perceives that there is a great and rich spiritual harvest, which God brings, in this life, to ripeness for every man, and which must now be reaped or forever after be lost? The di vine favor, opportunity for reconciliation with God, union by faith with Christ, the regenerating and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, son ship and heirship with Christ in an eternal in heritance, things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, —these are the fruits which spring up in the gospel field from the seed of Christ's blood, ripen ing for, and within the reach of every man. Now sinner, is your time. Enter into this rich harvest field and reap. Buy off, with its abundant and precious ingathering, the crushing debt which rests upon your soul, and is threatening to overwhelm you. You have reaped other harvest-fields, and have gathered but . ashes. You have sown to the flesh, and of the flesh have reaped corruption. Yon have grown poorer and more embarrassed in this profitless and toilsome tillage. Lo, the waving fields of divine truth and gospel remedies white for the harvest! Thrust in your sickle and reap. It may be the crisis of your soul's affairs is come. If the fruits of soother reaping be not better than the past, you may at once be proclaimed a spiritual bankrupt; the writ that cannot be evaded may issue against you. The adversary may de liver yOu to the Judge; and the Judge deliver'you to the , officer, and you be oast into prison. And from `thence, casting back your agonized gaze, and calling to mind the abundant and precious oppor tunities you had neglected, you shall exclaim: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. A TIME TO WORK. Play-time is over, and the boy-men are coming back to their sober tasks, and to the steady dis cipline of every day life. Happy times they have had. Some have strolled by the sea-beach and listened to the many toned voice and "count less l'aughter" of the ocean; some have even ridden upon his crest, and wandered, Ulysses like, over many kingdoms and cities of men. Some have penetrated remote wilds, such as still remain in the heart of civilization, have threaded narrow Streams, toiled over portages, glided upon the bosoms of mountain-girded lakes, and passed days, and nights, and Sab baths out of reach of their fellow-men. Some have sailed on our great fresh water seas, and beheld the new world of the north-west, drawing in long breaths of life-enkindling oxygen in that healthful climate the while. Congregations are gathering in the sanctuary, families are return ing to realize anew the sacredness of home-ties, and to enjoy the blessings of a well-ordered Christian household once more. Recess is. over; the bell has been rung, and now the busy hum of more serious and profitable occupations be gins. IThus early let us remind the church, whose officers and members have shared largely in these recreations, that the time to work has come. The body is invigorated and freshened, and the spirit is prepared for more energetic and efficient operation. Worldly concerns will now renew their claims. Mercantile interests will grow more active and pressing. Politicians will ply their trade with redoubled ardor. Mill wheels will revolve, spindles will whirr, loaded trains will hasten, plow and barrow will cross and recross the field. In this stirring specta cle of secular activity, shall the church be found inactive P When men awaken in the pursuit of every secular interest, shall Christian men show no quickening? If men feel the time for recre ation passed, and the time for work arrived in every other sphere, shall they make the kingdom of Christ the only exception ? Ah I what a long vacation in that work some of us have in dulged in I How briefly and inefficiently have we labored, when we labored at all I How feebly have we realized our responsibility for individual effort, and what drones in the hive have we been I Talk of vacation I We can scarcely say we have been in the vineyard at all. But whoever we be, whether drones hitherto, resting most of the time, or active laborers, just come back to the familiar 'Scene of our efforts, We cannot too early realize that our work must be resumed again. We need to put to ourselves some questions. We need to look around upon our field, and forward to its probable wants, ca pacities, and opportunities. We need to lay our plans prayerfully, wisely, thoughtfully. Shall we have a blessing on our field this fall, this winter? Shall we plod along in the ste reotyped way, content to see little or nothing done for the salvation of souls and for the Mas ter's cause ? Or shall we, by the divine favor, through earnest seeking, attain a spirit of fer vent, humble, importunate prayer? Shall we, as the consequence of an unreserved self-conse cration, of faithful, personal effort, of direct scriptural preaching, behold God's people awakened, and sinners roused to a sense of their danger ? Shall the revival influence, reflected back from the old world perchance, stir the multitudes of our own land once more, or shall God, in some new mode of his wonderful work ing, or by the faithful use of- the established means of grace, and by the more concentrated and efficient working of the particular church instrumentalities, pervade the land with the sense of his gracious presence? Let us be ready for him, however be may display his power. Let us work in a prayerful, waiting spirit. Let us courageously expect a bless ing. Let us remember that we live in no ordi nary period of the Christian dispensation, when God is seemingly willing to use, to great spiri tual ends, every apriropriate instrumentality, and every prayerful, waiting servant. As a church, we need to be reminded that it is time to work. We make no very flattering exhibition in our last statistics of working effi ciency as a church. Our contributions are an exception, perhaps, as church liberality goes, but our additions on examination, so far as re ported, give an average of less than four to each minister and each church, and but one to every twenty-six or more church members. This, it is true, is a-very deective statement; about one -071.13 of otri t.ba-K-t... . ..,„ .. ..x... . . . , .. . , . of which are known to have had considerable ac- i cessions. Deducting these delinquent churches, we would not reach an average of six to each church. . , We do not introduce this statement as dis couraging. It is but slightly, if any, different from the usual rate of growth of the leading Presbyterian branches of Zion. It is very far, indeed, behind the growth of last year. It is very far behind what it can and ought to be every year. To many chgches far greater num bers bare been added; to many, less; to some, none at all. We might be far more efficient. We have the truth. We have it in a shape to meet the wants and. to reach the consciences, especially of the great middle class of society. We have an educated ministry. We have out lived greater trials and greater excitements, as a church, than we shall meet with again. We have settled our leading questions of church polity. It is time now to work. What we need is a spirit of prayer, and humble self-consecra tion to the great business of saving the souls of our fellow-men. What say you, brethren? Shall the present working season find us all en gaged more devotedly than ever in the deter mination that, by the help of God, so far as in Ds lies, we will bring up our church to a higher standard of efficiency, we will cultivate our own field more faithfully, and by becoming all things to all men,, will, by all means, 'save some ? THE AXBRIOAN BOARD The financial year of this institution closed on the 31st of July last. It requires some time to gather up reports from various and remote agencies, and even at this date information in re gard to some special contributions is wanting. But happily, enough is known to relieve the reli gious community of the fears of continued or even augmented financial •embarrassment . with which the close of the last year was anticipated. The contributions and legacies received in July amount to the enormous, and we believe, unpre cedented sum of $70,303,77, giving a total from August Ist, 1859 to July. 31st, 1860, (exclusive of contributions for the debt not yet fully known) of 1.355,041,05. The last Missionary Herald con tains the following : " It is very gratifying to be able to say that if sums which are confidently ex pected shall be received, the accounts for the last year will be closed with little or no balance in the treasury." This is indeed gratifying. Not only the imme diate supporters of the Board, but the' friends of missions and of the cause of Christ of every name and in every part of the world must feel that this result is matter for devout thanksgiving. It will take a weight from many a toiling mission ary's heart, and send him more hopefully and happily to his work. It will be a new evidence of God's gracious regard for the prayers of His people, and a new encouragement to pray and not faint. It will give a brighter hue to the jubilee services of next October. But there are ques tions which cannot be repressed, and there are positive regrets and disappointments that mingle unbidden with our rejoicings. There arc ques tions which our Churches should hear, and which even those who contribute largely to the Board should regard as addressed to themselves. Why this lack of spontaneity in giving to Foreign Nis- Isions? Why must this great cause fall repeatedly into embarrased circumstances, and be involved in ;t4ll.".. :: ,xititit..---V....t i t011..tt,t.,;......it* . ' , i .4.44 .. -:- - A tufo t e 6ratt.gtii4,t, some degree of peril before a sufficient sum can: be raised? Why can a sum of money, by no means great in view of the acknowledged ability and liberality of the Church, be raised only under extraordinary pressure, by newspaper appeal, by conventions and apportionments, and not in the quiet and regular methods of beneficence recog nised in Scripture and generally found sufficient for each undertakings ? We do not put these questions to the Board so much as to its support ers. 'We fear that a beneficence which rests upon such extraordinary and extra-Scriptural incen tives, will not be permanent. Streams which have to be supplied by such violent, artificial means will soon run dry when these means are with drawn. Missions to the heathen cannot be sus tained by them. Christ's ascending command cannot be executed by a Church, which has to be roused to it by such appeals. We believe the missionary work under the di rection of the Board has enjoyed no considerable extension during the year, in the specific mean ing of the term. That is, no new fields have been entered—no new region of darkness pene trated. Few, if any re-inforeements have been sent to existing missions, because the state of the treasury has not allowed it ; on the contrary, there is serious talk of retrenchment—of work ing upon a scale more exactly proportioned to the regular income , so as to avoid debt .. Some mis alone may, under this policy, be actually abandon ! ed. We do not know that this will be the ease ; we hope not. But to litnit existing missions, to forbid growth and to refuse to enter upon the new fields which Providence is so wonderfully opening to missionary enterprise, would be suffi ciently distressing and humiliating. It would operate disastrously upon the beneficence and de votedness of Christians at home. Ilaxingless to do, there would be a diminution of the sense of responsibility and a falling off of contributions. Theological students inclined . to the missionary work would be discouraged, and their attention would be diverted to the field at home to such an extent as tOmperil the existence of the mission ary spirit in our seminaries. Declining in our seminaries, it would diminish in our Churches, and piety itself, and every department of Chris tian character and activity would suffer. We can not afford to have the Board enter upon a course of retrenchment fraught with such consequences. We must labor to prevent it. We must strive to keep up • the Foreign Missionary spirit' in our Church. But is there nothing that can be done to give our church a higher and steadier form of bene ficence in. this cause? Is there no practical me- thod of obviating difficulties or of correcting er rors ? Can no new course - be taken giving pro mise of greater efficiency, scriptural in its cha racter, and based upon a faller, juster view of human nature, particularly of so much of it as is concerned in the support of the American Board? Surely there is a call for some higher exercise of practical Christian wisdom than has yet been manifested in this department of its operations. Meanwhile, while prayerfully wait ing for some such development, we lay before our readers the suggestions of a correspondent of the Boston Recorder on this subject, which, we think, will commend themselves as pertinent and valuable. This correspondent (J. P. B.) believes that "the previous policy of the Board has been very defective," and he suggests that we incorporate in its modus operandi the prin. ci Ile of "tbe_indi ,, mual chum es to heathkdom." "The direct dual effort of each-church at home for an ind vidual church or missionary station abroad; this to be followed by an explicit report of the church abroad to the donating church or churches at home." Upon this principle he expatiates, using many familiar and apt illustrations. He says.: If a man gives a tract to an individual, and learns afterwards that he was converted by it, he is more incited to give tracts in future than if he had heard of many conversions from tracts given by others. So it would be with the mis sionary work; if an individual or church could so contribute its funds that the individual or church would know when good is done at the stations aided by them, it would be of incalcu lable worth as an incentive to future donations. Who believes that the farmer would buy much of a fertilizer that he had to sow by throwing it up into the air, not knowing where it fell 7 Some one might tell him that on some remote part of his farm thore was more grass or grain, but that would not satisfy him. He would want to sow it upon one piece of land, and not'on;th ' e adja cent piece, that he might see just what 'it did. If he could do this, and could see the effect of the expenditure of his money, he would buy more the next year. Just so the church would do, if she could know that her expenditure was blessed to the salvation of men. The missionary stations are scattered over the world ; the expenditures, wants, and needs of each are known. The church at home is made up of individual churches, and these are united into Consociations and Presbyteries. What each church contributes is known; alse, what each county contributes is known. Here, then, are sufficient data:for adjusting each church or group of churches to the different missionary stations: This done, the American Board could perform its legitimate work; viz.: it could be the hand - Co take the money from the church and it over to the missionaries. The mission aries should then write to the church or churches that support them, and give a minute account of the work as it is prospering among them. Let such letters be received by our churehes written by the missionaries themselves, and they would ,do more to electrify the churches.. with a burning zeal for the mission cause,sthan all the "Missionary Heralds" that the Boston and New York express trains could draw in a-month. I would as soon think of giving a man an elec tric shock through a wall of bees' wax one huti dred feet thick, as to think of electrifying the churches at home with a zeal for the mission work through a printing press .No, we want to have the missionaries speak directly td our churches. We want the missionary, before he leaves this country, to knoirwhat church or churches are to support him and - pray for him. Let him go, and take those brethren and sisters by the hand. Let them pray together, and then let lint go to Africa, and beating hearts will go with him, fer vent prayers will follow him, and multiplied means will be joyfully contributed for his sup port and the success of the work. Let the mis sionary on his temporary return to this"country know just where to go to find the warm-hearted friends who have supported ,him in days past, and to whom he has become 'endeared by cor respondence. I think it is stated that Henry Ward Beecher's church, last year, gave hut one, hundred and thirty dollars to the cause of missions. Now why is it that a church of One thousand five hundred members has given to little to this ob ject, when it gives so liberally tp buy slaves and the like? I will tell you. When Mr. Beecher brings the case of a slave before F his church, he brings the slave himself if possible. He then states the case with all its antecedents, and it is understood, if the money is- raised, and the slave purchased, it will be announced from the desk, and the donors will Ina?' what theirme ney has 'done. • Let Mr. Beecher have the same chance to say, "You know, brethren, we are supporting ,Mr. A. in China as . a Christian missionary. have read to you his letters; you know what his wants are. The sum that onght to be raised to-day for him is one thousand five hundred, and we ought not to shake the tree bat once." Pulling out his own cash.book, - be says, "Let us settle-this ationee." And it would he done. But let tbe appebtbe 'for that indefinite, infinite space or eolid called, the "World," and you will get only the contemptible one hundred and thirty dollars. STATEMENT AND APPEAL OP THE PRES BYTERIAN 'PUBLICATION COMMITTEE. The Members of the Presbyterian Publication Committee make their brethren an urgent appeal for a hearing, and for such' treatment as their manse justifies. The last General Assembly earnestly recom. mended that a sum not less than twenty-five thou sand dollars be now raised f4the Publication Com mittee by the churches,'as Jrk addition to its pre sent limited and entirely initdequate' capital. For this recoramendatio ' , the Committee are grateful to the .A:seembly. For the fulfilinent of the recommendation, they 1 ok to their brethren, the pastors, elders, and 'me, hers of the churches. That these, their Conatipetits, should acquaint themselves with ' the aials, the wants, and the claims of their own Cemiittee, seems to be - an act of bare justice. 'I - For this enit theithowlrd you copies of their last. Annual RiPort i -to *llia they beg the atten tion of 'yourself ':and your Session, asnontaining a statement of the-present! position of an under taking in which alike the l interests and honor of the denomination are involved:: In In the words °fillet Report, "They once More appeal to their brethren ( ~ for the moral and pecu niary support toltich,the course upon which, the de nomination has eliterovii imperatively' demands. At the bidding• of the churches, as represented in the. General Assemhy, they are members of this Committee. - As.'sudb,a they give it their time, their anxious thouglits, their sincere prayers,. "By the direction - , of the Assembly, they have entered into heavy pecuniary obligations, for which they, as members'of tho Committee, are personally liable. The3r have sought to carry out faithfully the instructions given to them, looking to the churches for the necessary means.' But •they are compelled plainly' to say; that they:- have not re ceived the support Whieh they 'deem theinielves entitled to expect._ Fidelity to 'truth forbids your Committee to refraik from this statement., every respect, except this, the prospects of the Cowl, mittee are most cheertmg. But they must have a working capital, or leaVe- the work, undone, and submit to the disgrade Which failure would entail. They are most willing lo undergo any reasonable amount of anxiety and labOr for the promotion of the interests, of the \ chiii:6ll they love, but they cannot assume the peculiar liabilities of so serious an undertaking in the absence of a working capi tal as its base. "This is a. burderwhich it is notlust that the Assembly should inliose, nor they assume. • The denomination must enable theiVo carry out the instructions' Which they receive; or release them from their responsibility. They ask not for funds to invest in presses -or bincleriei,-,or in any of the machinery of printing or book-making. These the Committee do not design to own. - Nor do they ask for the means`of meeting the current ex penies of their organization, or of paying for the Presbyterian Ho - ulitchis airead the ro ert . p y,, or_,aucli a work inviapital-as wilt: I trbikth4ll to fulfil the instruc tions of the ASS 1 . 4. lo meet the demands, and fulfil the duty of th lurch" . It was in response o this appeal that the As sembly resolved. upon r. . , ing immediately-not less than $25,000 as an additlon_ to the working capi tal at the disposal of the Committee. To those familiar vtith the work of publishing, and with the amountyX capital employed by other similar institutions,ll will not be necessary to say that this sum is a small ; ile for the purpose pro posed. But it is as ; krge,,probably, as it is wise to attempt to raise at the present time.. It is, how ever, as small a sant is could be safely named as the basis of the Assenibly'sPiablication enterprise. It is absollitely'needfid to its success. Hitherto the operations of the Committee have been cramped by the;flack of capital. They need, a suitable workingv . capital to venable them;to issue Erlich otiginal 'books-and tracts 'as will aid the pastors o' our denomination in ;mi. ul plementini , their p , it lahers by the use of the press, and, in meeting the many novelties and he resies which assaitthim . from without, and under mine the faith of thelilock. - ; TheY need it to be able to remunerate the,best writers of our body wish works which are the fruit of precious time and ought. .: They need it to be 'ble to' put into the hands of our' pastors and frontier iniesioneries those expOsi dons and defences of our doctrines and our ' ,tion, the want of whiph they freqnently feel and deplore. ~, v' : ', 1 They need it to 'be' able to republish valuable works, representing 'air .doctrinti and church or der, so as to bring them more readily within 'the reach of . our people. They need, it to bel'ible to furnish families and - Sabbath Schools' witil 4 Catechisms, Hymn Books, and volumes `which iliey may purchase without fear. They need it to Wable to provide the: aids which shall give life; 4ignity, spirituality and har onony to the woraltiviif , God's house. v v.' They need it,itrattti) enable them to do, in some measure that ivhich, in' this respect, is' due to ourselves and •to the world lying in wickedness, on the part of a body - of Christians:so large; so in telligent, so influential; and yet so widely scattered and so largely a missiopatichurch. SHALL IT. HE DONE? That it ought to be t done can hardly be ques tioned. ,That it can be done is .undeniable.. ; We cannot confess the inability to do what .an;equal number' of Methodiste,'or 'Baptists, or Christians of any other name,.woilld esteem - a trifle. 11 " . _ But shall it be done? in reliance .upon Di vine Providence, .the Committee hold , not. only that - .it-should and can be done, hut also that it will be dOne! • In obedienee to theinstruCtions of the General Assembly,they . ippeal to the ehprolkee for their co-operation in:this effort. They appeal to, them with confidence. They do not believe that their brethren will suffer-the resolutions of the Assembly and the claims of the Committed to`pass unheeded and unmet. Their appeal is not to the strong churches" and to the ." -but each church, and to every pastor, elder, and church member. They ask thel aid of all, not Merely as a measure of Sue cess, but that all may be interested in the effort *and ,in its success- r thai all may he identiffedivith it and pivforit. Whilst there is in this appeal a peculiaoclaim upon the rich for large gifts; and whilsCsiich gifts k;Sied'for "by the 'Committee. and the churches, it is yet hoped and earnestly sought, that EVERY CHURCH will identify itself, by a contribution, with this movement for the use of the Press by our own - beloved branch of the church of Christ. The month of October is specially designated by the Assembly for this collection. Is it too much to ask that each church Session should now de - signate a Sabbath in . that or some other month of the present year for .this purpose? Is it too much to expect that pastors will make this one of the wants of the year, and that they will urge the members of their churches, collectively and individually, to do their part in this effort? Good wishes will not pay bills. Shall not the. Press-of the denomination now be fairly set to. work? A united movement will do it. All that is needful is for each to do his part. Hoping soon to hear from you, We are, dear Sir, Yours truly, ALBERT BARNES Chairman JOHN W. DULLES, Secretary. P. S.-4n the midst of many worthy calls, it will be easyfor this one to be overlooked and neg lected; but our brethren must bear in mind that on attention to it, in a large measure, depends the vigor of our Publication movement and the real use of what has been hitherto done and given. • THE NEW RULE OF THE AMERICAN HOME MISSIONARY SOCIETY. REPORT OP THE ASSEMBLY!S . MON. '• In our comments upon this report, we last I spoke of the action of the Society towards the 1 Alton Presbytery. That action was'the abandon 'Anent of their old' and eatablished policy of yield ing to each Presbytery or auxiliary the control of the field'inurldch they operated. Another new principle involved in it was, the holding of each church aided, responsible for the Manner in . which all the other churches associated with it in the Presbytery, disposed of their benefac tions to'Home Missions. All the feeble churches in Alton Presbytery were stricken from the American Society's list at a blow, because, while they' still contributed according to their ability, leading chureheS in the Presbytery chose to oPerate through the Church 'Extension Com mittee of our church. Other eases of the'exercise of arbitrary power sfmilar to this, speedily occurred. A process of excision was inaugurated which threatened to 4.. b ecome universal, and which indeed was based upon principles that, in their legitimate exercise, must have required the exclusion of every church con nected with our body from the enjoyment of the Society's''benefactions. Our Commission thus sums up the cases, and states the new principles 'on which the Society Was acting :- - The churches connected with the Presbytery of Milwaukee were exclided from aid, because one principal church, that of Milwaukee, gave.its col lections to a feeble chirch at its side; those of the Presbytery of Alton, because the Presbytery, ceasing to be auxiliary, employed 'a large part of the funds raised by its abler churehes,-)ust as it had always done :before,.to sustain its itinerating missionary; those of Wabash and Schuyler, fora similar cause, with the additional reason, in the ease of the latter, that "leading members of the Presbytery had publicly declared themselves against co-operation;" and, more recently, those of 'Monroe Presbytery, for the same cause, together with an alleged co-operation with the Church. Ex tension Committee. From these facts, with the reasonings of the Home .Missionary lournal; we 1 constrained `to the conclusion that the princi pi, now set up is suostantiary ttus : — `ni - if if any ec esiastical body, or any of the clauren tic ed With the same, do any other work in the department of Home Missions, except through the Seciety, or expend, or' contribute any money to aid in such Work, all the churches connected with such ecclesiastical bodies, are to be denied aid, on that account, from the funds of the Society. The inconsistency of this 'action with the funda mental principles and early policy of the Society, is plain to the most careless observer. We need only 'call to 'mind the fact that before the division of the - Presbyterian Church, Synods and Presby teries freely recommended to the churches under their carol+) contribute either to the A. H AL S., or to the , Assembly!s Board, or to both as they saw fit, and that the Executive Committee approved of this' course, and sent missionaries to labor with in the bounds; andunder the care, of such Pres byteries ands Synods: when. =they were wanted, without a• word Of objection. ' The' Commission saythat they applied to the . . Executive Committee for an explanation of 'these new' measures, but they received - no explicit an swer to their inquiries. They say i We are aware that it has been asserted in the Home`Missionary for July, 1859, p. 81, that "the principles in question are not new—they were adopted more than thirty years ago, and have. since been uniformly and impartially .applied." But we have searched in vain for them in the publica tions:Of the Society; and`the committee, in answer to' oar inquiries, have not -pointed US to a.single source, from which we derive information to that effect. We ask the Assembly to compare the re cent rule of the committee with what we have pre sented under the haad of FUNDAMENTAL Pninot- Prins, 8d specification, respecting the entire freedom, assured to all: Parties in the co-operation, to eon 'tribute to the Society, more or less, in part <min whole, just as they should see fit; and the explicit declaration of the Committee, made in constituting the Central Agency, that they "have no desire, did they possess the power, to assume the control -of missionary operation's on: the field specified, any further than shall be ,conceded to them by the confidence ,of the public." . Nor do we find the principles in question in actual Operation during the Society's past history. The Committee hive not, in . compliance with,our request, pointed • us tua single instance of, their application to any ecclesiastical body, Presbyterian or Congregational; prior to their recent application to-our Hie, Presbyteries of Alton, Wabash, Schuy ler; Milwaukee, and Monroe. Nor have we, in all the, researches we have been able, to make, found' on record, except these, a single instance of their application as a basis of exclusion. 011 the contrary, We find abundant evidence, all over the field of the Society's operations, that these princi -ples have been, repeatedly: and openly disregarded, and, are so at this-moment, and yet no act of ex elusion. has been inflicted on that, account. No thing is more 'common in' New England, if we are rightly informed, thaifor churches-or Associations to assist feeble churches outside: . of the , Home Mis sionary Society's appropriations, or for churches connected with, such Associations, to contributetto other Societies pursuing Home lissionary work. In the State of Illinois, at this moment, a large part' of the principal Congregational churches are contributing a part, or the whole, of what they raise for this, cause, to the American; Missionary Association. Comparing the Report of that Soci ety,. with that of the American Homo - Missionary Society, and the Contpegationat 'Year Book re stsectively; for 1857, we find; out of 128 ministers, acknowledged as.Conicregational in the Year Book, 25, are enrolled as missionaries on the Report of the American' Missionary. Association, and thirty are 'efirolled as life-meinbers of that Association. Aiming the life-members, who had been such by payments to its treasury, are some of the promi nent ministers of .the State. • And yet instead of an act of, exclusion ,against all . the, missionaries connoted with the Associations tO which they be long, we',fiiid 22 of the remaining nynber enrolled as missionaries of the-Aineiiban.Rome Missionary Society. The Association ba4Missionariei, and , exploring missionaries, on the-very field * occiipieu -by our Presbytery of Alton. By their last t report, it appears, that they are paying-special attention to that field. And, by their recent acknowledge ments of receipts, it appears, that the principal 'Elgin, churches pf Ra l g s *gl i i Elgin, Peoria, Quincy, and many other places, are still, as they have been during nine or ten years at least, in full co-operation with it; thus diiertj jug funds, which might otherwise be given to the American Home Missionary Society.' ',And, among the officers, are to be found such names as Edward Beecher, D. D., President; J. Blanchard, Vice- President; Rev. W. W. Patton, Corresponding Secretary, and Rev. J. E. Roy, Recording Secre tary. Have the missionaries, belonging to the same Associations with these gentlemen and' their associates, been cut off from,aid from the Ameri can Rome Missionary Society, because the churches on the field do not contribUte according to the full measure of their ability We hate not heard . of such exclusion. , Nay, we do not demand that they should be so excluded. ,Only we must say, that the new position of.the Society towards our Presbyteriess,eents to its utterly untenable, and void even of the semblance of iipatielity. HOWARD' ST. CHURCH, SAN' FRANCISCO• We learnfrom recent numbers: of the Pacific, r that this important enterprise under the pastoral charge of Rev. S. H. WILLEY, is in a highly flourishing. condition. The Church had been closed for a season for repairs, and was re-opened , on 'Sabbath, the 22d' of July, with interestingser vicesr in which clergymen of various denomina tions cordially united. . We, learn that the im» provements involved .an expenditure of $5OOO, every cent of which has been paid in. "The:edi flee is now one of the neatest. and, pleasantest of the city Churches. The building, has been lengthened. 20 feet, making-its.dimensions 76 by 40 feet. Ar basement lasi.been excavated and finished in five apartments., Ten years old,_ our fast.. folk have deemed...this af venerable. church. Remodelled, adorned, and repaired, it is now Lone of the, most cheerful in the city. • " Monday rlight a spirited sale was made of . the choice of seats. Premiums amounted to $615. A number of seats are yet for rent, and we are glad to see that there is a good demand for them. " The Howard Street Church is now in a very influential position, and is destined tit? maintain it. With remarkable unanimity, pastor 'and people have labored together for the last ten years. While all the pioneer churches in California have been obliged , to seek Ile! pastors, Mr. Willey is one . of three protestant ministers who have re mained with his first church to, the present time —God grant that decades may pass, and pastor" and people, as now, be found one in interest, power, zeal and success in giving the Gospel to the masses." The .tenth anniversary of the ,Sabbath School of the Church was also held in the evening of the same Sabbath. The report is deeply interest ing. In'that state, particularly in the earlier pe riod of its history, the, Sabbath School was called on to fill a large place in the absence of parental training and home influences. The Howard Street School, which was opened May 19th, 1850, with thrie teachers and four scholars, has a history proving it to have been an efficient agent in sup plying the large , deficiency , in the religions train ing of the young of that city. The Report says ,A large portion of the scholars at this ,time brought into the school, were under bad influen ces at home. Butlhe children were attracted by the kindly deportment of the, teachers. We have knowledge now of six girls who were at this time 1n ... 4#70"t0 attend Two were.without a.father - ; butiad - adissi it ed mother mho often drove them • fICKCI , tile= house to seek protection.--TWo others , were urged al most with force, to . forsake Sunday schools and the course they were there taught to pursue. But neither threats nor persuasion could induce them _to 'forego the pleasure they experienced in the in tercourse there held. The bad Influences of six days could not obliterate the impressions of the short session and -the hasty visit of the teacher. Christianity shining forth in the words and acts pf those with whom they were _thus occasionally associated, presented , attractions which , their daily. experience , could mot weaken. . They have all grown to womanhood in lives of virtue, And all are happily married,; while some of their parents fill dishonored graves and the ethers are lost sight INSTITUTION rcoi cOLOILED MUTES AND BLIND PERSONS. . IMPORT OP THE COMMITTEE OE EXAMINATION. We, the Undersigned, having attended the ex amination of the Deaf and Dumb and- Blind co lored children under the tuition of Di. P. - H. Skinner in the Village of Niagara City, • have great pleasure in attesting to the 'general pie fteieney of the - pupil& The children 'rea'd with "considerable ease from the Raised Lettered Volumes issued by the Bible SoCiety; their .ac quaintance withthe English Grammar was' tested, and their progress was plea Sing; in'tlic Sign-Lan , guage the Deaf and' demb ansiered with ease and grace, and committed' td - writing • on - the Black Board appropriate , replies to- . every question ;pro- The children are acqUiting the art'of Printing ; they . can set up the types and perform all the other operations-essential to the trade of Printing with remarkable`facility. and , accuracy. They •are also acquiring the Elements,of Arithmetic; and their knowledge of Divine Truth must , gratify every in telligent mind. , • We recommend very cordially Dr. Skinner and his hatitution to the.sympathy,and, benevolence of the public, assured , that in .contributing to Aid this enterprise they will appropriate their , money to a most deserving. object and help to:sustain and cheer an unjustly vituperated man. , • ; , Niagara City, N r Y., August IQ, =Signed., Az - h - tpAu., • -Pastor of the Presbyterian church,,, drzogara -Falls,. N., Y. DARWIN" W., SHERTS Pastor of the Congregational church, 7 4 4.94ra Pity, AK y. We are in receipt at this office e f a ; sin ali monthly paper, published at this institution; called :The Niue, and the Blind. The Editoris a blind :man; the compositors are deaf :and dumb); the presswork is performed by the blind'i the pipers are _folded by the blind and wrappedoby mutes. It is an interesting and eurionasheet. AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. PENNSTIVAIkiLVBRAidIi. : The quarterly feport^of:ll. N:''Thisisell, the su perintendent of this Brifich,"einbodies the details 'of the persouarlabbii, Sales, and -grants of 9rcol porteurs on this field, Showing that in the quarter ending Jelib 1, including sales at the depogitory, they eirculatedlOVer $11,400 wgrtb ' of imblicatiens, addressed 677 public meeting, ‘ made 42;241 fa mily`visi s,' united iu prayer'eitaereligii;utlicon , • versation with 34:',316-44those families, 5,924 of which, embracing nearlY 30,000 souls, habitn. the . jmuse of gotknn the Sabbath, an d 2,319 Of them had'im. Jig& ; One colporteur, whir, has labored_ fourteen y earn , 14,;tiRitell,n&I.-PY:er3-10113A101kir.and Hun terdon counties, and many of them repeatedly; an d in thiSAMis had.--furnish4l them by sale with 112,000'vOlunres, or $14,000 worth, and distri. tinted 1 1 000;000 -pages. His circulation bad an nually increased, and the last quarter it exceeded any quarter since, he,jr,egan„his work. Another, wholad vidite;l-384 families, and con versed and prayed with 296 of them during th e quarter, relates an acconnt•of the conversion of an intelligent gentleman by the blessing Of God o ti the reading of the American Messenger. Another, describing the destitution of his field, says religious books would never go into some parts of it unless carried by the colporteur. Per sons bad shown him'tracts and books which he had sold them three or four years ago, which had been the means of their conversion., Some had been !active in promoting Sabbath-schools. Seven colporteurs, during their connection with the Society, report the or,ganizatiOn of 125 schools. Many other cheering facts might be enumerated, ' if our limits would permit. During the . mcpths r of May, Junk; Aug July the Committee._ have: ;commissioned 120 - .colporteurs, includin74 students , to 'prosecute this work iu twenty-three. states. Will not all who appreciate the gospel as a means of salvation give' this work their prayers and efficient co-operation? THE APPEAL, •4F THE' PUBLICATION .COWTTEE: wilfb In another column, e found the'appeal of this ' committee to our` churches. ,The General Assembly at Pittsburg, with entire unanimity, endorsed their plan of raising fimds for a working capital, and called upon the Churelies for a con tribution of 4i25,000. ThiiWonld be an average of twenty cents from each niember of the body. Let each church, even ,the:smaliest, aim at double that amount for ea . & of itumembers;let each in dividual connected'With'the 'Church aim at from five to My times the amount; let us altogether resolve that the sum named shall be raised, and it will be done; and one of the chief'enterprises of our-Church" will - be4iiiViihere it - has never yet been, on its: feet. Eprroirs,TAK E A large ntimlu;r•ofbpOlca,-reCiiirid during our temporary absence4r - pm, ) the city, will receive due notice in our next week's. c9lumne. The ECLECTIC FliatiZlNE OE FOREIGN LII'E RATintE.—V. Bidwell,:Editat and Proprietor. Sept., 1860. New York, .;11 ) ulilialted at No. 5 Beekman street. The eiergy Of the proprietor is unabated, and` he tells nsltlie meeting with the iaoreased , "patronage which (we Say) it' deserves. Besides the rich'ireati gathered froth the English Reviews 'and' Magazines,' ire have two admirable engravings -- -one of ThackeinVand the other of the three 'great English lieformbri,..Bidley, Crea mer., and Latimer rThe piesent number , begins then volame for the current yeer, and the 50th of 4he Series.- The Editor - hopes to be able to %lye Mr the "counterfeit "Presentraent . "' 4 of the man of the time, Garibaldi,' in .••the neatnnmbnr. Itionsmir_ MaGAzura--Ne• 0 - MaV;. Septgeibe - faB6o- '-Aineng the glue mated-Articles' "A:Summer . , inT: New England," with-the ever welcome sketches of ".ForteCrayon." -The "Four Georges UUThankeray; have reached .` • George , the, Second.: The Amnia ;illustrations are flatter': even, Than usnal,•whie4lii saying a great -would suggest_ ,o3.,'atnew.,and. improved " feature'' , in :the inagazine, ,their , lerdire omission in -future. Syria. 7 --LArzer, Accousrm-- 7 The Boston Traveller has a letter from Syrian, correspondent, dated Beirut, truly 28 from• which we extract as follows: There are now eighteen vessels of war in the har bor, all of them ito situated that their guns bear , di rectly upon the town. kierybOdy iWneW (in the qui'viiieforari occupation of the ..countiTby -French- troops, as- news has been received that several thousand have left Frarice for this; place. ,t It ie greatly to be ; feared that suchian.,occupation cause bloody ,scenes, in,the interiorcities, but if wan Inuit, come, letit,come, "occupation of Syria would be the _signal of the rennivalof the 'sick man' from the stage of action. Damascus is still in a Meit'deplorible'iondition. Nothing like peace; or safety has yet been restored ii, The , .new , Governor ',General seems.to be smoking hie. pipe withorttconcero- leaving, the government of the, city to therapb: lettor„frotn....that. city, dated July 16th, , says: The, dogs are eating the unburied dead ..Robbers still ransack the ruins:: *romen; g frls and children are still slaves in the powei• of the - ruffians who spoiled_ their'hoboes, murdered their protectors; and brutally carried , them' off. . • In the streets wirmeet former acquaintances, dis guised in the.dress and turbans pf Moslems.: The miserable,. crushed, naked, skullcing, survivors know not what to door whom,to trimt. ,*am. and anxiety swallow up sorrow for the murdered. The past is like a horrible and incredible diam.. The future is darkness, terror, and despair. In the morning we Say, ‘c Would to God it ireie• evening,» and in the evening we say, "Would to God thatii weie%morn Our Anglo-Amerieun,ridief committee.is, doing the WO* Rf: thaQ99 , ll. Nearly two .thousand *Alan haye,been raised.On Beirutby the Snglielt and American residents, but this little stock is nearly ex hausted.. . . . . 'Hundreds of families nie dependent upon its cha ritlei for theii bread, 'an& we earnestly hope 'that 'this appeal nude by tbe'•exitniaittee will meet with *arm and generous rearined. .t,The King:7pf Gres& sent,.aSew days ago, 2,000 barrels of.biseuits. Adviees from - ,Damascus to the sth of August state that Fund Pasha had surrounded the Lebanon with troops, and threatened tie and sword if the Drwe Sheikhs dianot stiirender in two days. Twenty had - aireAybigeaen, andnearly eight hundred other Pottlirit l nWilits 'had Seen made. A thousand Ca ine) loads of Plundered propirty has also been No' Yore& ThS Sultan was about to address another autogralth lotaz to England and Frsarelon the subject of Syria, e,xpresaing his desire to have the sole punishment of Ihe offenders. Tbe latestdepatehes from Deyrout (August 15tH} , state that Syria was tranquil ; but in the environs of . , Damascus attemrits against the'life and property of the Christians were, of daily occurrence. Iri a ripeeeh. the Sultan had es" pressed 9,:reboliatioW:to .Lpunish the Syrian offenders most mistily. The contributions in New York for the r elief of the sufferers in Syria, urcount to $lO 622, of which $8,500 has been' remitted: Another remittance will be`fOrWardWelneaclaycaty:tte'Aiiibia; tt Which leaves Boston o • ' Sep. 6, it, . , n tJ• .s
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