AMERICAN PBESBTTEBIAN , Gooatitatioiial Presbyterian Church. PUBLISHED EVEBY THURSDAY AT THE PRESBYTERIAN HOUSE, 1834 Chestnut Street, (2d story,) Philadelphia. &ev. John W- Hears. Editor and Publisher OHEISTIAE ENTEBPBISE. Our age is full of the excitement of bold and great undertakings. The activity and energy of naen, in. every department of life, are aroused as” perhaps they, never were before, since the days of Columbus and Luther. From • love of adventure, from' scientific ardor,' from the selfish mo? tives of commerce, from personal ambi tion, men are ready to undertake almost any thing. They ascend the frozen sum mit of Mount. Blanc, they penetrate the unknown regions of Africa, they explore the icy seas of the poles, they build great works, they meet natural obstacles with triumphant exploits, they make the subtle elements, air, water, light, electricity, their servants, they bring the ends of the earth together, they invent, they improve, they plan, they execute. The business, scien tific, and literary world is full of enter prise. While there is much' to interest us •in this animated scene, it presents also much to excite the fear, the pity, and even the repugnance of the true friend of man and child of God. Looking beneath and be yond the seemingly splendid results of WQjldly activity, how much of the narrow est selfishness does he deteet in itp moving principles. How strong 'and prevalent is the grovelling motive of covetousness 1 How are the souls of men wrapped up in self-interest! How reckless of any life, any treasure, any knowledge, any distinc tion, save in the present are the mass of those who make up the busy worid. Attd how the poor are crushed and wronged as they contribute their humble and indispen sable share to the splendorus, the pleasures, the achievements of the great! But.the thoughtful man looks also be yon’d’the apparent successes'of thd-present. Mere worldly .success,he knowsisbut tem porary. The of the selfish worldling, and of the neglecter and opposer of the tnith,-pass awaylike the tower of Ba* bel, the hanging gardens of Nebuchadnez zar, the splendors of Tyre and Babylon, the heathen terqpJes-of Greece and: Borne, or ; stanS in desert-loneliness dike the : Cyclo pean ruins der of his Providence, be deserted, its po pulation will disappear, and alt the natu ral, advantages it can offer for trade will mot avert the judgment of ita desolation. Does Christianity discourage enterprise ’then'.? Or are the Christian, nations of the -world enterprising in spite of their Chris 'tianity, and the heathen, stupid and un ambitious in spite of their heathenism? The idea cannot for a moment be enter tained. What then is the real relation of Ttrue religion to business enterprise, and -secular activity ? In truth, it opens channels and removes obstacles out of the way of man’s active tendencies. It re strains the barbarous nature, and trans forms the savage instincts,- and introduces into the.intercourse of men, those princi ples of justice without which man has no encouragement to labor. But while it thus furnishes and consecrates the ele ments of civilization and the conditions of human enterprise, it forbids man to regard these as his supreme end. It admonishes him not to allow the-spirit of worldly en terprise to become the Master Passion of his soul. It aims to cool the blind fever of excitement in which men so generally live and labor. It holds before us a sphere of life infinitely higher and more import ant than the present. It whispers in' the ear of the excited pursuer of this world’s good: “ What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world. and lose his own soul ?” And again: “ Take no anxious thought, saying, what shall we eat? or what shall we drink? or wherewithal jShall we be clothed ? But seek ye first the ifrtpdnm of God and his righteousness, and stU«these things shall be added unto you.” Once attain tho point of subordinating all things, to tills kingdom of God, once beoome Christ’s, then' this whole matter of worldly activity will fall into its pro- New Series. VoL I, No. 3. per place j all things will be yours—the world, life, death, things present, things to come. Then with free sweep, with lofty hounding purpose, but not with reckless ness and 1 ' wild excitement, we can push oar worldly enterprises; which are no more ■ worldly, and exult* in their'success as for the glory of God, or submit to their fail-" ore as-none-the less for his glory. - Enterprise is of the very essence of Christianity. Divine life and energy dwell in the religion of Christ. It ever forgets the . things which are behind—its past achieve ments* and? presses towards unattained ob jects beyond. Like leaven, it still works towards-the circumference. It presses with its-benign influence towards every tribe, and' nation, and individual of our race. What sufferings has it not enabled its~;diseiples to bear, what dangers to face, what toils-to undergo* what adventurous journeys-to undertake into unknown re gions,- what discouragements to overcome, what wonderful successes to accomplish, from the days of Paul to the age of mo dem missions, in every region under the face ,of‘ heaven I The Church of Christ summons- her members to enterprise in ' her behalf.. It: is enterprising men that she needs,. She rejoices when any of her, true sons shows power to lay oot and execute • vast worldly, plans, the fruits of which, he has beforehand consecrated to Christ: .Site rejpices when.new, and wider, and bolder schemes of usefulness than. any kno,wn:intbe past ure wjsely entered upon. She rejoices at eveiy fresh development of. executive talent, at every new adapta tion of- means to the changing necessities of. time and place, at every proof given'of ,a fuller understanding of the grandeur and the difflou-ltyof the , work of converting the. world.. - ... i Such a. spirit of Christian enterprise has been showfa by the Bishop of Londbn, in his-proposition, to raise, during ten years, (the'great sunr of on'e million pounds - ster- ■ 'ling, for the evangelization of the metro polis!: It-is shown in-the manner in-wbich some of.our laymen.- in:this city aveem ,ployingr.their great wealth for Christ, in clc arc f indebtedness -in of i the oity, particularly in: neighborhoods most needing these evangelizing infhiences. ! It appears in the energy with which de | nominational enterprises necessary to the | healthful development - of each branch of the church are being prosecuted j iathe de termination to leave no department of the church’s work unrepresented on inade quately endowed. In religious.Jiterature, in home and foreign missions,. the same enterprise appears; and in eftpiag with the peculiar exigencies, religions, moral, and physical, to free and to.,bond, to the nation present and prospective, brought upon us by the war, the Christian church of our country has shown, an energy, promptness, and liberality, worthy of her best days. Especially are thoae-who-hpid prominent places in the church, orrwho,possess great wealth and influence,- called to cultivate Christian enterprise. Witb.them it main ly rests, whether the Christianity of our day shall be enterprising, Surely such persons cannot, ait-this-period of quicken ed thought and high achievement in the world, rest content with, pursuing an old, out-worn routine- of service, with giving in the old measures, and without reference to, new and higher opportunities I Nay 1 it: behoves as many as believe themselves al ready to be liberal and enterprising, after every fresh, step which they have taken, to be willing to forget the things which are behind, and to reach for those that are before; to inquire again and’ again, what greater, nobler, bolder work have I the ability or the opportunity to accom plish still for Christ; in short, to carry into their Christianity the very spirit which thrills and prompts the busy world to its great undertakings. The church dare not slumber now, nor be content with her present position; the world must not shame her by more zealous endeavors, and more rapid advances after perishing good. The world will not be content to.outiStrip,. but will turu-to crash her, by- its secular ism, its science—falsely so-called—its ma lignant opposition.- Christianity mast prove its divinity by leading and over mastering the world, or it will fall, like the obsolete systems of paganism, unno ticed amid the tumultuous rush of the peo ple after learning, wealth, and empire. What then, let us ask, are the particu lar works which a spirit of Christian en terprise in our church would incline as at PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY,, this time to undertake? We answer: it is plainly demanded-of Ustfo' complete at once, the endowment of our Publication Committee;: we need-to give a> more ear* nest and liberal -support to the pioneers of our church in' Home Missionary fields, and-to consider, and'wisely, aneen : an umqirref ' The gale ‘6f the first and seoehd days of* the year, Which seemed to sweep over the entire country, came down with such fury on this village, as to upset chimneys and unroof buildings, as though tie furies were holding grand carnival. Half of the-roof of the Lecture jßqom of the First Presby terian Church was tom fronuits place, and deposited in the street; • bat strange to say* the rest of the edifice-was uninjured. On the first Sabbath'of the year also, the storm was still raging with', such violence that many of the churches remained closed through: the - day. And on the second Sabbath, although some ,days of compara tive quiet had there was but little improvement. The snow -was falling fast, and the howling .winds were driving itfuriously in every direction, so completely filling , the air that one could see but little way, while many of the-streets were piled full of drifts,'.which leidea serious embargo on all locomotion. I>b was the most 1 wintry scene our eyes have looked upon in many long years. Those, however,, who are jealous for the- reputation of these northern regions, telS us that the storm is most unprecedented! They.would not have, us think, for a moment, that these four days are a . fair, specimen of their winter, -•weather. And we are entirely willing to. -believe every word, they say,-knowing that, as one swallow does not make, a summer, so one storm does not maka*a winter. ; . In spite of storms, this body carried on their annual meeting, and a large ontnber of the members were present; in the First Presbyterian Church of Watertown, on Tuesday, January 12thV It was- opened with a sermon by Rev. G. W. Mackie, of; Adams, after which Rev. A. T. Young was appointed Moderator. ' > This Presbytery is not large, and ; is, sadly depleted just at the present tmiejby the loss of four of its oldest and ajjiest pastors. We. have before spoken of the death of Bev. Peiffr -Snydevy who for sixteen years the able,, acceptableland beloved minister of . the Second Presby terian Church of this .village ; bu t-we, had not realized how suddenly he was oijled away, He died on the.morning of the holy Sabbath, jrtjst as we doubt.not ho would have chosen to die, if he had had his way. He preached, as usual oh the preceding Lord’s day. He was in the street, much as usual, and attending tQ : the ; POHDEBT. PRESUSTERY OF WATERTOWN. January si, m 4, duties-pfJpS'qflflihg, until Thursday, three daym.bnljj the grand release came from ail wSrdly tbfl! He died with harness on.. • ' The ii&tistiffilxl ciurch are still feeling the feenly. We doubt if itini^ed L ©four best such a hold on {fie* respect, and 1 the affection of a people as-3kfr. Snyder bad; here. And the fact of their beihgs engaged' in the enterprise of bufldihg a new churcfr makes, the lose nfiore'-severe. They regarded their patstdr august themftH- tc carry the' enterprise through. By very strenuous effortp, the' lending- consider able hid> they had raided JI’SSOtM). 1 A\ new and ‘ more desirable' locatSmy as- they judged.wus selected' for' th£*new' ediffee. A, neat tasteful brrek'strueturscfiftyfeet bjr seventy;> with Lecture "Rooisv* upon tfee rear, was commeneed. ; The"walls' were nearlyup, when winter dtopped>the work, and assi&removed tS# pastor tQririsever ;Sasting,rest. We should have' ordered Otherwise, but in the eMf we shall know thht it wis'better just as it fei • The Ghuroh and' have both J passed strong' reso--- litionijpf respect for' J th'e i deceased, 5 and 1 aad condolence for his afflicted &Nily. fe l^(s^'FHfecCquKOEli two- arein deep- For twenty-erven years; the- Bi&i Jaofflc Brayton has -served therm se so pleasantly?; bO * acceptably? J thdt'lhey have scarcely bdda discordtetr or a jarring note stf all that - tiine?f and! they had supposed that- 1 eontifisb to serve -them in tßbsame'deHgM ful maaoer for a long -time to come: They regw3sd him as a “fixture,* 1 'a part' eft themssves. The .idea therefore of ar changiffi-shocking to themjj almost mon- Mr.--Brayton never fcati-any other c)iargfc, He came here a« young--man, > diregjjy.from.the Seminary/succeeding his brqtltesjn-law, B.ev. jGteo. Sr-Boardman, noiyuf Cazenovia; and has grown gray in He has buried'ibd< fathers, hapfieedthe children, and gone In and out before, them with the grace of=a perfect geatlhigftn, and a Christian pastor All love Mot, an 4 he loves them. THeiidea of ?*fersf p'sp : ful tp mis'/tas’ well $• toNSbrn. ' *'■’ his health is not geod | and his wife's-health such as absolutely to require somemhange. It is for her-sake, more particularly, that he feels constrained to breakup, and remove for the*-present to Albany, where' she may be among her own friends, and entirely free from scare. The bestlwishes .of this entire"cbnamunity will tenderly follow them both wherever they go; \and many prayers will ascend for theijp? speedy . restoration to complete and.for their continued .prosperity and usefulness. The pastoral relation,' between Dr. Brayton and the First Pres~ bytefian Church in Watertown was for mtliy and by mutual consent dissolved on* the> lSth day of January* 1864. Next; Sabbath hp preaches his farewell sermon* 4tfid here we may add, that £his church hp&hjid but three pastors-r-first, the Rev. Mr*; its organization in 1868. GongvefftUional Chureh to 1821, when a Presbyterian Church, and Rfev. Geo. S. Boardman. became the .pastor,-and-served in that.capacity until IBSI. Mr. Brayton succeeded him almost 1 at’once upon his leaving*,and has remained until the present time. .The Second Presbyterian Church was organized in 1831, and has had four pastors; first, Rev. James R. better knfowm as an eminent.teacher, now residing at Geneva; second,. Rev. Marcus Smith, now preaching at Collamer, N. Y.; and third, Rev. W. E. Snox, now the able and well known pastor @f the large Presbyterian Church at Rome; and last* Rev. Peter •Snyder,*wnow member of the General Assembly and Church of the first bom, whose names ace..written in' heaven. On whom the maatie c shall next fall does not yet appear. OTHER CHANGES. Tfcside these t wo emfiieift pastors, Mr. Sitycter, taken away from t^pKurehes.of this Presbytery, Rey. Jos. irutaliUd; who ifas been for twenty years minister of the church in Chaumont, has stdfete'd so much from ill-health in the past he* has been constrained, to ask f Rev. W. Mackie, Commissioner in place oft Kev. J. A. Canfield, who *has removed beyond the bounds of Presbytery, and therefore resigned his unfinished- term.. Dr. Brayton, in consequence of hte contemplated' Fe rn oval, resigned the offices of Stated Clerk and Treasurer OfiP'resbytery, which he has held for twenty? years, and the duties of which he most aeccurately and acceptably, and Rev. R. G, Keys, of Watertown? wfcs appointed,im bis place. Rev. A. T. - Young was ajg>- pointed “ Presbyterial Agent,” according: 'to recommendation of-the last General Assembly, to look after "the interests ;p£ ' Foreign Missions. Watertown is a delightffil«place, of some ten thousand inhabitants. It enjoys a fine water-power; is engaged in manufacturing; is Surrounded with a fine agricultural region, its staples being.butter andcbeese. The village has also a good .Academy,, under the chargprof.Rev. Geo. TfpVfc LL. D., who ; wa^ i: :a long tiine the .able and successful principal of, the large institution iu r Fiankßn,-N'..Y.; it Is Lightedwith gas, supplied with ample .water-works; is tastefully laid out; amply ornamented with fine;dwellings and shade..trees; well supplied', with "hotels, churches and other public buildings; and better than all has an intelligent Christian population. Happy fs he that hath his lot among them. We judge also that a good degree of briskly that many towns : t have already filed their quota, and all ihtend to do so, without any draft. And ITncle Abraham may depend upon boys to stand by him until th eight is dohe’ and well done. Genesee. Watertown - K T., January, 14th, 186|^ iPBATEENAL NOTICES PEON NEWS , • . • PAPER SOUBOES, | The-following are some of the notices of our recent enlargement taken from last; week’s exchanges. , Tlfse Press of this city, speaks in the following cordial manner: The American Presbyterian- —organ of, the New School bvaneh of that numer ous denomination—has wrought a change in its form, size, and file general complete ness in all its departments, that makes, it one of the very best religious journals* in the country. It is sow a handsome, large, eight-page paper, beautifully printed, and evincing a degree of vigor and newspaper enterprise that cannot fail to increase its circulation and influence. We congratu late its able editor and publisher* Bev. John W. Mears,, upon this auspicious change and improvement of his papen ‘ The Moravian, of this State says* The Americas Presbyterian* edited by Rev. J. W.. Mears,.. at Philadelphia, comes to. us this .week'