The lihericaH Pfeshyterian GENESEE EVANGELIST. A BBUGIOtrS, AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER, W THE ErTEREBT OF THE Constitutional Presbyterian Church, PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY, * » AT THE PKESBYTEHIAN HOUSE,; ", lift! Chestnut Street, (2d Story,) Phiiadelphin. Sflv. JOHN W. KEANS, Editor and Publisher. LAW OP . BAPTISM. The various smaller, treatises on Bap-' t-isis i#sued-by spur Btlblicationi Uommit-; tee have ranked among'the very best ■works of the kind. Theyliare nOw added a more complete treatise on the same: subject—that Written by Dr. Hall while a pastor in Norwalk, Cohn., and ori ginally published by his congregation.. The circulation of this treatise was very extensive at time, but the plates were destroyed by fire or lost, and the author, now Professor in Auburn Semi-, hary, having revised and amended the text, presented the copyright to the. Publication Committee, who have again stereotyped and issued the treatise. It is divided into five principal parts: I. Principles of Interpretation; 11. Scriptural modes of Baptism; 111. Dis sertations upon particular points toiich ing the Interpretation of the word 11 BaptizelV. Scriptural authority, for Infant Baptism; V. Objections an swered. The Utility of Infant Bap tism vindicated. The discussion under these divisions: is thorough and spirited. The absurd extremes of enthusiasts for immersion, the inconsistencies of which different advocates for the doctrine are guilty, the immoderate and unseemly preten sions of the new version men and their uncharitableness , towards the sup porters of King James' version, are keenly analyzed and exposed by the author. Perhaps ' the dignity .of a treatise on a scriptural doejp’ine and a leading Christian ordinance is some what compromised by the controversial tone of the writer; but' for daily practical use by pastors who are met by bigoted and active proselytised, running right across their path, this vSffy . fea ture of the book is doubtlesss a recom mendation. "We regret to seein a revised edition such an inelegant sentence as “Here lies the tug. ” (p.. 29.) But trivial defects like these cannot hide the great excellehcies of the book which giyes proof of a thorough scholar- We regard as of especial* value, those (Jiscussions which bring tint the process by Which the Greek language was &dkpted ! to express the novel ideas of Judaism and tif Christianity. Immer sionists have gone sadly astray in their neglect of this very important branch of the inquiry. The hook is brought out in very neat style by the Committee in a 16mo of 221 pages. PRAYER A BUSINESS. Not a few persons who admit the duty and privilege of prayer fail to re cognize its place as a means of success. Prayer is a work; it should he reckoned among the powers of the world as really US muscular or brain work; as strategy or hard fighting. We are prone to go to prayer as a form and to hurry to our bu siness Afterward as the reality, whereas prayer is part of the business itself, We complain thiat our business leaves ns no our business when we omit prayer, as truly as wh° n we omit posting our' accounts ■ or withhold the-proper amount of manual labor from our frisks. When we fail in business, or when ouraifairs become vex- atious and- our work goes behind-hand. we can give this or that account of the i: failure or trouble, but does it occur to us .. as one of the 'Causes, that we have not • T used the instrumentality of prayer as we should? When the good cause meets ' with drawbacks, and rebellion still defies : , ,tfchet armies of the nation, how prone are wo to search: out the cause, in, the inef ficiency of generals, and tho stupidity of the combinations, bnt we too slowly come to the question whether Christian people of the land have been praying as they should. We ought calmly to reckon prayer as among our daily, most practical, most ef ficient modes of business. We should set it down as indispensable to success. We should get rid of all that false .feeling ■ which regards it as an • interruption, and which instigates, ns to a. hurried dis -2 -posal of it, if in the least.degree crowded. - . That we ought always to spend a long in prayer, we do not affirm." We know well that the crowding prayer of ten suffers, is not so much from absolute want of time, as from ah under-estimate •of the value of prayer, and from a false distinction drawn between it and our daily- activity. What we plead for is, that it shad have its fair share of time,. Series, Vol. I, Dfo. 11. (and be recognized cordially as ,a most ef ficient part of our daily work. ; I Nothing can. do us so much good in oiy b2?'uess, or more certainly assui-c us of success, as the favor of God. Nothing :is potent in, O’ir affairs, or in those of the nation and .the army, as his Provi dence. Nothing can lead us so uner ringly through God’s world,: as a spirit in harmony with the divine mind, - and; which ..constantly, .prays: Thy will be done. Such a spirit is quickened to dis cern the indications of his will. It at- ! tains calmness, self-possession, conscious;, security. Pride and selfishness and self will blind the judgment—and they are the very opposite of a prayerful spirit/ Prayer is the identification of the human with the divine will. It is 1 the going up—the exaltation—of our. being and our powers in union with the: divine nature. It is not inactive snbmis-j Sion and resignation; not rusting away in silly quietism, but acting out our powers in the sphere in which w e ai’e placed, as by the promptings, and for the high ends of - God. , True prayer ..and prayerful la bor cannot well be distinguished, but are: the complements of each other. Trad prayer encourages, clears; and cheers 1 the mind, and prompts. to the highest,! noblest, most heroic labor. Only that labor which is steeped in prayer pro- 1 duces living,, lasting results. In fact, we reach a right estimate of prayer, when; ■we regard it as the most.pqtent agency' hi:the earth, the mightiest instrument a human arm can wield, when ,we have faith in it as above : all our. material and human means, and as reaching and ebj listing the energyc>f Omnipotence. j Let us therefore feel that we have ■ ■ ' ■ ■ .if done nothing in any private or public qnj terprise, if we have not prayed. Let us regard with suspicion, those, schemes to which we have hastened and in which we have become absorbed, to the • exclusioii or the serious hindrance of our prayers! Let us convict, ourselves of a serious de ficiency in our business ,princip]e§7—if wb undervalue, or overlook prayer, as a prigae, agency, of success. Let. ns view -fche_wecesritv/jaf_mxtsier -in. the light- of common sense, no less t uSTrrn-c< iUßCieiicc and religion. And above all, when a work of such magnitude an,d of such vast and ever-expanding and with so clear a subordination to the aims and movements of Providence, as our war, is on hand, let us beware of blaming or praising men, of putting stress, upon resources, skill and at least before we have humbly iuid fervently at tempted to do our .part in the spirit of prayer. By true prayer we shall really be contributing to the success of the cause; nor can we truly pray without , also effectually working in bur sphere. I A CARD TO THE CHURCHES OP THE SYNOD OP PENNSYLVANIA. Allow me to call your attention to fact that the fiscal year of tlie Perma nent Committee of Home Missions closes on the Ist of May nexfr Accord ing to the action of’ the Synod At Washington, D. 0., circulars have been forwarded to all the churches of Synod, urging the necessity of liberal collec tions during the year. Hast year, many of our churches contributed nothing to this cause. It is hoped, for the credit of our Synod, as well as for a far higher motive that no church will fail iii this duty this year. 1 ; We have, according to the minutes of the last General Assembly, $4 church tis within Our bounds, and but 27 have, up to the present time, reported collec tions. - Fifty-seven have to report within the ensuing two and a half months; or fail -to comply with the recommend'a- ; J j ie gy no (j, A number'of these 57 #so a y S punctual and liberal, and hear from them in March or April. It would be gratifying to us all to find, when the report of the Home Mission Committee is made to the next General Assembly, that not one of our churches has failee to'make a collection for this object: Our confidence of suc cess in this matter is placed on the pastors and elders. If they are inter ested in the cause, their, churches will -be enrolled among those that have contributed to Home Missions during the year. Collections may be sent directly to Edward A. Lambert, Trea surer, Ho. 150 Nassau street, New York city, or to my address, 1334 Chestnut Chestnut street, Philadelphia-; ROBERT ADAIR, Associate Secretary. % Philadelphia, March 14, 1864. PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 1864. If there are‘any three/States in the union 61\ which the disloyal faction of the North has relied, as likely to furnish; exceptions to the prevailing- harmony and to render entire unity in the spirit and counsels of the nation,'a¥this crisis,; impracticable, they are New York; New? Hampshire and New Jersey. The,atti tude of these States, until a' very recent period, has encouraged them to cling to their otherwise forlorn hope of; being, able to seriously embarrass the Govern ment, to render service to their “ South ern friends,” and to bring to pass a humiliating revolution, in the direction of compromise and for the prolongation of the doonied life of slavery and the pro-slavery party of the country. In these States they built their nests and brooded over the eggs, that were' to hatch out into formidable movements. With the help of the mistakes and re verses which are unavoidable in-all great, wars, aided by panics in the commercial, world, and by speculators in the precious, metals, supported by the popular vote as previously given iri these States, they expected to develop their faction into a powerful party of malignahts, andgreatly to'embarrass, if not wholly to discomfit the loyal, the brave and the good of the land. . : it is' in the light of these great expec tations that we - read and estimate' the recent elections in each of these doubtful States. We rejoice in results which-are so subversive of these expectations.- New York has just decided, hy a generous ma jority, to allow her soldiers in the' field to vote —a measure which settles the policy of that State," so far as the broad principles for which, we are contending .are concerned. Only two towns in that State are known, at this writing, to havC voted against the amendment. The votes of a corrupt city will hot hbrCafter .suffice to. place over an unwilling State a- half-hearted man, who quails before a mob, or pets them, from political consid eration, as his. “ friends.” ' New Hamp shire, which gave last year a majority for the Union of less than six hundred, -f.,- • ~• -i ' V _ a... • u fcW+Sirtf : very decided position, as was hoped by some and feared by others, astonished both parties by rolling up A ten-fold greater majority for the Union than she gave last year. Gov. Gillmorfe has been re-elected by a majority approaching sik thousand ; ten of the twelve State Sena tors are republicans, with a majority ‘in the House, on the same side, of eighty Representatives. A single 1 election' 1 in: one, of ,the leading townships : of 'New Jersey, last week, shows even 'more de cided Union gains, And may, we think, he viewed as indicating the- improved, state of feeling prevalent in that Com monwealth 'f ; We see in these elections indications of the settled feeling of the North. While the fierce enthusiasm which burst out with the opening of the war, arid: which died away in the gigantic failure of the Peninsula campaign of 1862, wfis followed by A not unnatural'reaction, the sober second thought ofthe.people, fostered by the discreet etiurse tif 'the? President, steadily gains in depth and determination, and accepts with-calm ness the great responsibilities of this conflict as appointed by an overriding mysterious arid beneficent Providence. In 1861 the disloyal of the North fell upon a rock and were broken ; in 1863 and 1864 the rock falls them and is grinding them to powder: PROM OUR ROCHESTER OORRESPON DENT. A slight change in the order of ser-. vices lias been pleasantly inaugurated in the , Central Church of this city,- Rev. F. F. Ellinwood’s. The object was two-fold; first, to secure, if possi ble,.a greater promptness in attendance, upon church; and. secondly, a hiorC' general sense of responsibility and A' deeper interest in respect to all its ex ercises. To this end the congrgation were specially invited and urged' all to he in'their places at the moment ap- : pointed for beginning the service, and then after a brief voluntary on the or gan, all to stand and join in the first-ex ercise, which is the singing of that grand old stanza, “ Praise God from whom all blessings flow,*Ac. Next comes the invocation by the minister, the entire bongregation still Standingreverently bowing their heads. THE LATE ELECTIONS. ORDER OF SERVICES. Genesee Evangelist, INTo. 030. Then follow'thc reading of the Scrip tures and a voluntary i»y t- 1 ® choir, the congregatiori sittijig. Next prayer, then notices,fand then a familiar hymn, sung to a fanjiliar tune, in which all the congregation are specially requested to join, .w/bile .standing. It is “against the law;’' minister to select, any thing but a familiar hymn at this sing-, dng, or :for the choir to sing anything fcutia tune in, which all can ordinarily; join- : , ■- |By givi ugiout that all the congrega tion ar.e, expected thus to unite in the opening service, it is already seen that Some of the ijardy ones have been quick ened- —a larger number are in their places in good season, and seem to take an. increased interest in the services, even from jthe start, feeling .evidently that there is.something for them to do, as well as to and hear. The change is not great er violent, and so far seems to work well. The same order prevails, we believe, in the Second Presbyterian Church, of Cincinnati. Although we have long used this grand old doxology for a closing, rather than an opening; service, yet it is hot necessarily of .thej nature of a dismission, arid in spite of a little awkwardhessjat first, we can soon get used to it; and if it secures the double end confeihplated, —greater punctuality and a ’ deeper interest inj the services of the sanctuary, no one can regret the change. TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT IN SYRACUSE, The ball is;still rolling. The quick ening on the subject of temperance, of which we have spoken, has extended to Syracuse. , A series of temperance meeting; has . been held in the City Hall, new interest has been awakened in regard : to the prodigious evils ofintemperance and the imperative necessity of doing something, if possi ble, to cheek those evils. The plan of. a society ha.s been adopted, with a tee total pledge, engaging the members npt onlyto abstain themselves from the use, manufacture or sale of intoxicating li quors as but also to strive to prevent, and example, intem!- noli ti - cal influence also in such a waytopro-- mote the desirable ends. .Ac. :u; tee of one from each relig ious speitip' in Syracuse, was appointed to circulate the pledge, and procure -funds to : on the society’s opera tions. A Lecture committee has alsp been apppjnted, by which we understand 'that worli is meant, hard work, aggres sive, and. lejrsevering. Great good, we trust, wil Be accomplished; ahd as the ball se'enii' tb be rolling this way, we hope tha experience same sus IRdchestef too, will, ere long, a grand quickening on the set. Surely there is need, if idge from the inebriety which Iy greets us, with its bloated we may j almost at we pass up and down our visage, a streets. •• But'sdj e will tell us that the temper ‘iuation has been pretty thor ried already, and still there he as much drunkertness~as tyhat is the use of further effort; iVoction ? " We answer, has not ierance movement saved thou fellow mortals from all the hor m intemperate life and a drunk aath? Has it not paid already ,he effort made ? By continued iv'may we not save thousands And is there any other way ? anee reft oughly 5 seems ever, so in that the ten rors of] ards’s for all A GOOD THING IN ADAMS. Tfiiough the munificent liberality of 4 h3®§ leading citizens, the pleasant off Adams, in Jefferson County, peritoijeßsed with a first class eduea i.- institution. General Solon D. Sur Torford offered some time since to give a suitable building for such, a pur pose! valued at. $13,500, provided the citi? ms V° u ? d raise ® 10 ) 000 t( ward an end iwment. The young and earnest pas or o||he Presbyterian church, Kev. Gr. y, Mackie, and other citizens, took holjl of t&e enterprise with a will, and the amount has been secured, and an application for a charter made to the the University. It is to be called, i| ;: honor of the principal donor, the “ IjCuhgerford Collegiate Institute.’ 7 The large and fine building thus, given,'is already prepared, or nearly so, for occupancy; a numerous hoard of trustees has been appointed, and with a coinpetent Principal, and a suit able staff of assistants, we do not see why ttis beautiful village may not at once have' one of the largest and best schools to be found in any part of the State. Adams is a beautiful milage, of some three thousand inhabitants, on the railway,,sixty miles north of Rome, and ten miles south of “Watertown. Long may her new school flourish' and do all for her .prosperity which her: most sanguine anticipations fiave ima gined. ■ ; COMPLIMENTARY, The Rev. Simon J. Humphrey has been dismissed from the pastoral charge of, the First Congregational Church of Beloit, Wis„ to accept the appointment of the American Board of Foreign Mis sions, as District Secretary for the North-west, to reside in Chicago. The action of the church in reluctantly part ing with their beloved minister, and of the Convention by which he was dis missed, are highly complimentary to Mr; Humphrey, and show that he is just the man for the new and responsi ble post which he is to occupy. The resolutions of the Convention express; the highest respect and esteem for Mr, Humphrey, as an able, scholarly, judi cious man, and a devoted Christian, affectionately commending him to the! confidence of the churches in that im-; portant and interesting field, as one everyway peculiarly qualified for the 1 work to which lie is now-called. ENLARGEMENT. The independent Congregational Church, in the pleasaiit village of Fair port, ten miles east of Rochester, are about to enlarge and improve their house of worship, by an addition of some sixteen feet to itß length, and by a Lecture room upon the rear. The people of this plebsUnt society seem to he takiiig hold of the- enterprise with a good degree of spirit, and intend to ef fect a substantial and lasting improve!-; ment. Success attend them. ’.. ; FRUIT TREES, Few, pbrhaps, realize what an enor- : mious nursety -business is Carried on in and around Rochester. It is said that three-fifths of all the nursery trade of the United States is 1 transacted in this city ; that the orders are greater than ever this year; and that five millions of Jumes willMprobahlv he- shintrie.d fi’om.thta point-urn tn«jng,-' lu rariuu.^2p CTT -OTrbr i iare~ country and to Canada. Extensive as! our nurseries are, the demand threatens to be greater than the supply. Those who want fruit!trees must send sopnTor go without. REVIVAL. IN LEROY. The blessed work of grace in this place, of which to, made mention last week, is thought to; be ■ spreading and deepening. It commenced in the Meth odist church, under the labors of a most excellent , pastor, , and has extended to other denominations. Rev. Mr. Ellin wood, ever ready, even beyond his strength, to help in every good word and work, has gone up to spend a few days this week, to preach in the Pres byterian church. It is confidently be lieved that a large number, especially pf Rochester, March 11, 1864. Ptu'S ni mt Donations, '&c. — Rev. Henry A. Ros siter of the. First Church Grocneastlc, Ind., acknowledges through the Herald. a donation of §lOO from his people. —— Rev. J- Conrad, of Blue Earth, Minn., tells the Herald of a donation visit in that remote region, netting him over §6O. —The Church and Congregation in Augusta, 111., have recently paid their debts of about $BOO, procured a musical instrument for the Church, added §2OO to the salary of their pastor, and have made him a handsome donation.:—— '■Within a few months the Church of South Orange, N. J., has discharged its entire indebtedness, contributed about $1,500 to objects of benevolence, made a present of $2OO to a pastor, 'Rev. J. Allen Maxwell, and defrayed the usual church expenses. The First Church in South Bergen, New Jersey, founded 1856, have recently paid an in debtedness of $8,400. They have , a good habit of paying the pastor’s salary quarterly in advance. —— Rev. George Spaulding, of Tyrone, acknowledges through the Evangelist, a donation from his people, which did not at all surprise him, of $126. Mr. James W. Coleman was ordained and installed pastor of the church of Darien, Conn., a new Presbyterian en- - TOEUMMS. By mail, $2.00 per annum, in advance. ** “ 2.60 “ “ after 3 months. By carrier, 50 cents additional for delivery. Ten or more papers sent by mail to one church or locality, or in the city to one address By mail, $1.60 per annum. By carriers, 2.00 '* « To save trouble, club subscriptions must commence at the same date, be paid strictly in. advance, in a single remittance, for which one receipt will be returned. Ministers and Ministers’ Widows supplied at club rates. Some missionaries at $1 per annum* Postage. —Five cents quarterly in advance, to be paid by subscribers at the office of de livery. terprise in the border of New England, on Sabbath, March 6th. Rev. F. W. Williams presided, Rev. H. B. Smith, D. D., preached the sermon, Rev. J. Spaulding gave the charge to the pastor, and Rev. J. B. Waterbury. D. D., that to the people. . The Stamford Churoh, also in Con necticut, has recently lost, by resigna tion, its pastor, Rev. Dwight K. Bartlett, under circumstances far more honorable to preacher than people, if the follow ing from the Hartford Religious Press be correct: Rev. Mr. Bartlett, of the Presbyte rian Church in Stamford, preached his farewell discourse to that people on Sab bath, February 14th. Reason why he left; because secessionism fettered the pulpit. A large number of the church in favor of slavery, but a small clique have always contrived to make the church look pro-slavery-ward, and could not stand anjr other polities in the pulpit- than the Union as it was and Die Constitution as it is, and the least up holding of the Government- possible, and less favor, prayer for, or kindness toward the black man.: . The Mercer Street Church, N. Y., nobly maintains, as yet, its down town position. From the. late annual dis course of the pastor, Rev. R. R. Booth, it appeaM>tibeaVsl4;oOC(,iiaye Men con tributed by the congregation to various benevolent caused ■„ during the year. This is exclusive of a, collection ©f sl,loo, made before the sermon, for the United States Christian Commission. $2,000 have been added to. the salary of the pastor, wlijeh is paid quarterly, ip advance. : Ordination of a Chaplain for; thi Corps d’Afrique by the Buffalc Presbytery.-—An. interesting ordina tion 'service took' place on Monday, March 7, at the La Payette Street ; Church, Buffalo. The Buffalo Presby tery, having convenedfor that purpose solemnly set apart Rev. Benjamin F. Randolph, (colored) for the office of the ministry. Mr. R. has been for some time past the principal of the colored school in .this city, and we learn, has been highly esteemed as a teacher. Previous to his employment here, he spent some time as a student at Oberlin. He now proposes to de vote himself to a chaplaincy in the as soon as an opening such work, that the hon forred his ordination.. The invocation, reading of the scriptures and prayer were by Rev. Joel F. Bingham. The ordination sermon, which presented ■plainly and earnestly the doctrines of tbe church, was by Rev. Dr. Chester, Moderator of the Presbytery. Dr. Chester put to the "candidate the usual' constitutional question's. Rev. Dr. Seacock made the ordaining prayer, Rev. Dr. Clarke gave the charge, and Rev. Dr. Smith pronounced the bene diction.. Among the ministers present and assisting in the service, waß Rev. Dr. Stillman, Stated, Clerk of the Pres bytery. The occasion was one of much interest and solemnity. —Buffalo Advocate. The Mew Church Edifice at Mew Albany, Ind., Eev. W. S. McCarer pas tor, was with. Mew Albany Journal, of the finest public buildings in the State: Genesee. The material is brick, handsomely stuccoed; the style composite, Morin an prevailing. Its greatest length is about one hundred feet, and its breadth in front of the towers 67 feet and back of the towers, 60 feet. The front of the building is flanked by two towers, respectively 90 and 180 feet high. The basement is elevatod some two feet above the level of the ground, with »' cellar under nearly the whole building,, makiiig it perfectly , dry. The base ment is divided into' six rooms, a lec ture-room, which will accommodate 450 persons, two Bible Class rooms, am Infant, school room, a Parlor and Pas tor’s study. The main Audience Boom, which is reached by four flights of stairs, is 70 by 58 feet, and is designed to seat comfortably about 700. persons. There are 140 pews. The music gallery is self-sustained, baying a handsomely curved front of paneled work of white oak, white pine and black walnut. The pulpit recess: iB a beautiful arch surrounded by elaborate moulding. The platform is elevated only about two feet from the floor, and the pulpit itself is composed of white and slightly shaded marble, the base and crown being darkest, and was .the- gift of .Mr. M. A. Lawrence, of this city. It is a magnificent piece of sculpture, valued at $5OO. The arched windows are of the richest stained glass, the prevailing colors of which are ruby, purple and blue, which give the whole-room an ex ceedingly gorgeous appearance.. The organ, which is one of the finest in th* West, we have already described. It was purchased of the celebrated manu facturers, W. B. Simmons* Co., Boston, and cost about eighteen hundred dol lars. Oli TXBS.