The American Preshjterian
AMD ”
GENESEE EVANGELIST.
RELIGIOUS AJJD FAMILY SBWSPAPER,
w nmaasT of tb*
Constitutional Presbyterian Church.
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY,
THE PRESBYTERIAN HOUSE,
1331 Chestnut Street, (3d Story,) Philadelphia.
Stv. JOHN W. HEARS, Editor and Publisher.
CONTENTS OP
jQdiyiduaUsm and Cen- U. S. Chris. Commission 275
iralization, II 274 “ They’re Dear Fish to
Prolaniiy- 274 • Me”........ 278
Thomas Chalmers, V11..274 The Maskers..... 278
Dearth of Relie. 1nte1....274 The Handsome Rebe1....278
Tendencies to Presbyte- Israel Benton’s Blessing27B
rian Union 274 Dhuleep 5ingh........ „278
Editor’s Tsb's,... 275 Religious World Abroad 279
Pres. Union in G. Britain276|
PEACE WITHOUT ABOLITION.
Some of Mr. Lincoln’s weaker and
shorter-sighted friends, among whom we
are sorry to name the Times of New
York and the Press of Philadelphia, are
trying to prepare the minds of their
loyal readers for a peace with the rebel
lious South in which the abolition of
slavery shall not he a sine qua non. The
singular inappropriateness of their argu
ment, coming upon the heels of the
President’s declaration that the integrity
of the, Union and the abolition of slavery
are the two preliminaries to any dis
cussion of Peace Proposals, is apparent
to every one. Their effort to qualify
the language of the President so that it
shall not be . inconsistent with the with
drawal of the latter condition, is silly,
and damaging to the good sense and
honor of the President, so far as it is
believed.
We do not believe he will withdraw
that condition. He was slow in reach
ing his present attitude towards slavery;
he is inot the man to abandon a moral
position he has once cautiously assumed.
He ’will not, for the gratification of
timid and narrow-minded politicians,
drag down the nation from that high
and honorable place, that vantage ground
which, by his proclamation of January
1, 1863, he gave it, in the eyes of all
nations and upon the pages of future
histqry. By that great act, he placed
the nation, in this contest, unequivocally
upon the'side of freedom. In fighting
for Union, we thenceforward fought
avowedly for human liberty; and every
oppressed and fainting victim of human
tyranny, the world over, saw, took
heSWr, and Uspoused our cause as his
own.
But it was as no mere, philanthropist
that Mr. Lincoln wrote that immortal
document. He did it as a political man,
as Chief Executive officer of the Govern
ment he was sworn to uphold, as" Com- ;
mander-in-Ohief of the Army and Navy
of the .Union. For reasons applicable
in ieach of these departments of duty
andequally in force to-day as then, he
proclaimed liberty to tfip slaves of rebels,
viz r beoause slavery is the soul of the
rebellion; because slavery is incompati
ble with the due subjection of the master
to rightful authority; because the per
petuation of slavery is the perpetuation
of our quarrel and the sure overthrow
of a republican form of government.
Peace wi th’ont abolition would be nothing
but an unquiet, short-lived trace; a
make-shift for the hour. Those who
are Unwilling to give up slavery, may
be set down as unwilling to give cordial
support to the Government.
Such a man as General Butler, who
engaged in the war as a Pro-slavery
Union man, soon came to the most
opposite and decided convictions on the
subject. In his memorable farewell ad?
dress to the people of New Orleans—a
document which deserves to be placed
beside Mr. Lincoln's Emancipation Pro
clamation—he says to the rebellious
population of the city:
Tjiere is hut one thing that at this
hour stands between you and the Go
vernment, and that is slavery: ,
And in his address in Fifth Avenue
Hotei,New York, January Bth, 1863,
!
’This is hot a rebellion against us, but
siffimy a rebellion to perpetuate power
in the hands of a few slaveholders.
The war can only be successfully prose
cuted by the destruction of slavery,
which was made the corner-stone of the
confederacy.
If these views are correct, we must as
&qon think of yielding the Integrity of
the. Union as the Abolition of Slavery
in treating of peace. In yielding the
latter, wo do indirectly but surely yield
tfie"fiornier. Peace and Union are mere
jqje dreams while the system of slavery,
oh '.any great scale, remains to harden
and brutalize the masters ; to accustom
themi! to,, absolute, unquestioned., power
o¥S»'theirrfellbw-m0n;?to unfit them for
sharing in the exalted and responsible
duties ol self-government in the Re
public; and to becbme an element of
enfiless intrigue and demoralization in
our political contests. Oat with it!
For the love of heaven, Mr. Lincoln,
sow that yon have your mailed foot
INSIDE PACES.
H H ypP H H H B* V H IHLjL • H 7 >,H > H-vB | /
New Series, Vol. I, IST©. 35.
upon the hideous, pestiferous, writhing
monster, do not let him slip away from
you until the last gasp is out of his
body! Do not let an opportunity to
bless mankind such as was never put in
the hands of mere mortal before, slip
Out of your hands, and cast a sombre
hue over the page of your country and
your fellow-men’s history, which the
gladdened muse was about to write
down in colors that would have beauti
fied all the coming annals of time!
But stay! Is this a time for 'the
North to be discussing such an infamous
retrogression when even European ty
rants are showing positive signs of
progress? Shall the North be found
entertaining the project of withdrawing
abolition from the conditions of peace,
at the very moment when the courts of
the old world are insisting upon it as a
condition of recognition? If the fol
lowing from the London correspondent
of the N. Y. Herald he true —and it is
not a thought that could be fathered
upon the mere “ wish” of tnat journal—
then - the contrast is very singular, and
discreditable to us. The item is as
follows, under date of August 10th :
“The Emperor of the Drench has just
informed Mr. Slidell that he never will
recognize the rebel States, (even should
they achieve their independence, de
facto,) unless they determine to abolish
slavery and engage that all the children
born of 6lave parents .shall be free, and
that ‘ slavery shall he totally abolished
and cease within ten years from the
date of recognition.’”
The correspondent adds: “ You may
be assured that the above statement is
true in every particular.”
We do not expect the N. Y. Herald
to be ashamed that an American journal
could he so far oiitdone by the Imperial
Ruler of Prance in determined attach
ment to the simple principles of human
liberty, but there are editors of truly
loyal and decent journals whose cheeks
should tingle at tlie amazing contrast.
Let us hear no more upon republican
soil, of leaving two millions'of human
beings in the deep bondage of American
slavery for the sake of saving our
free (?) country and maintaining it as an
asylum for the oppressed from every
land.
Such gross unfaithfulness to the prin
ciples for which wo are contending
cannot but he met by the frown of God.
A SABBATH BREAKER'S CAREER.
. -The Great Eastern steamship began
her career by a Sabbath morninglauncli.
What degree of excuse the owners may
have thought they had, under the pecu
liar circumstances, we know not; certain
it is is, after a painful and expensive
delay of many weeks, the vessel was
allowed to leave her ways on the Lord’s
day. An enterprise designed to embody
the last and highest results of modern
labour and was thus divorced
from religion, and became a type of' too
much that goes to constitute modern
progress in this sphere of human activity.
Is there not some significance in the
fact that this grand enterprise is a
failure, and has been, from beginning to
end, one of the most complete and crush
ing failures that the world has ever
seen ? Should; not men take yarn ing of
the issue of the enterprise, which seemed
to want no element of success but hum
ble dependence on the.divine favour?
And will not the whole scheme of modern
progress some day find itself utterly
swamped—a great, helpless, lumbering
rwhelk, compelled to confess itself bank
‘rupt, and to call on other means and
influences to extricate it from its misera
ble plight ?
; ; A. cptemporary, in a sketch of the
vessel’s rather humiliating history, says:
; On the 5 first trip, when only two days
out from port, a hurricane swept over
her, broke and bent the paddle wheels,
and broke the rudder! The Bhip became
unmanageable, and lay like a log on
the water, pitched about by the tremen
dous force of the waves, and seemingly
helpless, and liable to founder at any
moment. For three days it was im
possible to do anything for the relief of
the ship, which was the sport of the
tempest. On the third day, it appearing
that the ship’s officers and engineers
were unable to invent any practical
method of steering theship, a temporary
apparatus was suggested by a passen
ger, Hamilton E. Towle, of Boston. By
great labor it was rigged up and applied,
and the, ship was taken safely into
Queenstown.
Referring to the recent sale of the
Vessel at auction, the writer says :
This magnificent vessel, which was
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1864.
to do so much for the commerce of the
world, which was to enlighten mankind
as to the proper method of navigating
the ocean, which was to he able to
come from Europe to the United States
in five days, haslalsified every prophecy
made in her behalf. The enthusiastic
Britons who put their money in the
great Ship Company have lost every
penny of their investments. Over one
million of pounds have been spent upon
the project, and debts are yet unpaid.
The interests of shareholders, original
and preferred, and of bondholders and
common creditors are all swamped.
This vessel, which cost so much money,
which might have been a source of
income and a great assistant to legiti
mate trade, was lately sold at auction
in Londonfor the triflingsnmof £25,000.
An amount was pledged to preferred
creditors, which, with law expenses, left
a balance of £l5, which infinitesimal
remainder is all the assets from which
any dividend can be extracted in favor
of the owners of the immense claims
which exist against the company.
In another part of our paper, will be
found some remarks from the Evangeli
cal Repository, on the prospects for a
union of the Presbyterian churches in
this country in one ecclesiastical organi
zation. They are particularly signifi
cant because of their source, coming
as they do from a branch of the church
(United Presbyterian,) which has been
decidedly tenacious of its own distin
guishing traits, and cautious respecting
its associations.
Concerning this ■whole subject, wo
have, from the first hour of its agita
tion, held some views respecting the
most promising mode of moving to
wards an organic Presbyterian union,
which we have not yet seen well brought
out in any of the discussions. We may
hereafter give more deliberate expres
sion to them. . , ..
For the present it will suffice- to say
that, instead of commencing it piece
meal, we would begin by opening nego
tiations on the broadest scale. We
shall heartily go' in with any fair plan
for the re-union of the so-called Old
and New School organizations, and shall
rejoice whenever it is properly accom
plished. But w.e have-all along regard
ed that as too narrow an enterprise. It
would still leave the Presbyterian church
in. this country a divided church, and
some of the highest ends expected from
the union—particularly the moral re
sults—would fail short of attainment.
There would still remain outside several
worthy and important Presbyterian
bodies, such as the Reformed Dutch,
the two Scotch organizations; and we 1
are not sure but some of the German
churches should be in the schedule, and
perhaps some others. The first three
of those named- ought unquestionably
to have a place in a general Presbyteri
an consolidation.
There has been bo little reflection
upon the subject in this wide light,that
wo suppose many are ready to say that
a,proposal of this magnitude would de
lay the object in view; that these small
er bodies are not prepared for union with
us. Let us do what we more probably'
can—consolidate the Old and! New
Schools, and let the others come in as
they are ready.
■ Just here lies one of oar strongest
reasons for striking for the; remotest
issue first. We believe it will be the
speediest method of attainment. Wo have
no question but that a re-union of the.
Old and New School churches can be
hurried through very soon, especially .if
the negotiations are not-nice: on the
f subject of terms. But we have serious
doubts whether such a partial Presbyte
rian union would not retard a complete
one, and the more so, from , the very
fact that the new organization would be
such an overshadowing power among
those which remain outside. It does
not accord with our observation of hu
man nature or of facts, that large bodies:
most readily absorb small ones. The
less inequality there is between parties,,
the more free is the confidence with,
which they approach each other in ne
gotiation. The weak are jealous of the:
strong, and often see, or think they see
a want of magnanimity in propositions
which, if made by an equal, would never
have excited distrust. Proposals which
are really generous, both in spirit and
kind, have, to their imagination, a wood
en horse aspect, and they “fear the
Greeks even though bringing gifts.”
Hence the. most favorable hour for pro
posals of union is when there is, in point
PRESBYTERIAN UNION.
of strength, the least distance between
the parties.
It is also suggestive that the agita
tion of this subject of Presbyterian
union In the old country, has reference
to it on the broad scale. Itwas started
by the United Presbyterian Church in
Scotland, and from them proceeded the
invitations to a conference, not only of
the Fifeo Church, but of the Presbyterian
bodies throughout the kingdom. They
will eventually he successful, in good
part, jf not in the whole, but the more
sucess ful in part because they attempted
the whole.
So're truly believe it would be on
our side of the Atlantic. If we would
ripen, different branches of the church
for union, bring it before them as a really
contemplated purpose. Success may after
all be [less than perfect, but it will be
more extensive in proportion as the ef
fort spreads itself for the whole.
We repeat our readiness and hearti
ness for any fair re-nnion of our own
and the Old School branches of the
church, but we sincerely believe that
the highest interests of our glorious
Presbyterianism will be well served if,
by a short waiving of that limited good,
we can better grasp the more sublime
enterprise of one grand consolidation
of the Presbyterian strength and moral
power in this land.
FIVE THOUSAND FAITHFUL MIN-
ISTERS,
At a very moderate calculation in va
rious parts of the North, are this mo
ment-, in the deepest perplexity as to
the means of supporting their families
during the coming fall and winter. In
the present stage of prices, their sala
ries are whplly inadequate, even to the
very modest and limitedvstyle of living,
which in;’the best of times they could
maintain.; Then, new books, new clothe
ing, means of properly educating their
childrenj were wanting. Then, they
.foared Tailing in debt. Now, the wolf
is at' tipeir doors, gaunt and hungry;
ihe question -is one of starvation; it is
one pf broadband meat and fuel, and of
fiannel-and muslin, of shoes and stock
ings; of indispensable warmth and de
cenoy. Some ministers have enjoyed a
fair increase of salary; others have re
ceived honorary contributions which;
for -((lie time being, have answered the
saute purpose; Very few even of these
classes have been placed ;in a position
financially equivalent to that held be
fore; the late great advance in the ne
cessaries of life. But we speak for
those who-have not even enjoyed this
partial -relief, and who are trying to;
struggle’along under the now nominal
salary of former days;—home mission
aries, whose appropriations are no great
er than they were a year ago; pastors
• of- charges, that never
catch, a generous impulse from [abroad,
whose members perhaps expect the
pastor, Tff' pay Mm double, -prices for
jheir" farm products out of the same
Stiflgs pittance that they-''gave him
years ago. We ask every congregation
in city and country, solemnly and
promptly to inquire into the facts, and
to do the fair and just and Christian
act of doubling the old salary of the pas
tor. Do it either by special, contribu
tion or as a settled policy, do it either
in money or in goods, but do it by all
means, and you will he certain to enjoy
a sense of having done a most impera
tive, and important duty. Suffer not
your pastor to he unnerved by the most
distressing apprehensions; set his mind
speedily at rest, and he will labour foi’
you with a new zeal and efficiency
which will reward yon a hundred-fold.
The. Home Missionary p'olicy of the
church .must be generously adapted to
this -great change.. Our contributions,
must be enlarged to meet the exigency.
If our. foreign missionaries may not bo
deserted in the crisis, but must,,be paid
in gdld,:we do not see why the rule wifi
not'apply to our home missionaries and
pastors generally. We cannot afford to
sacrifice either class of labourers.
The faithful, believing servant of God
jft the ministry need not despond, even
in'the gloomiest hour. The Master
whom- he serves is almighty, all-wise
and all-good. The trials which he
chooses to lay upon him will be accom
panied with a sufficiency of grace and
strength. Providence will be found en
listed .on his side, and all things shall
work together for his good. The, church
will not desert or prove unfaithful to
Genesee Evang-elist, No. 954.
the ministry in such a crisis. What
ever of prosperity she enjoys the min
istry will receive its proportionate share.
PSALMODY.
TheUnitedPresbyterian Church in this
country, (one of our Scotch branches,)
at their late G-eneral Assembly,took ear
nest action on the subject of Psalmody.
The congregations of this Church have
retained the use of Rouse’s version up
to this time, but with a growing feeling
of its non-adaptation to the intelligence
of the age. Its want of poetic diction
and lyrical emphasis, and its general
literary deficiencies, have rendered the
necessity for improvement imperative.
At the same time this church
disposition to relax its principle on
the subject of Psalmody. That princi
ple is, that for Divine worship, only the
inspired Psalms are to be sung, and those
in a version as closely literal as the mear
sures of music will allow. This bars out
all those pieces which, in the books in
common use, take the distinctive name
of Hymns, and also those looser versions
of the Psalms in which literalism is sac
rificed to poetic taste.
The Assembly met the case by the
appointment of a Committee, of which
Rev. R. D. Harper, of Xenia, Ohio, is
chairman, to procure and report an en
tirely new version. Another step was
taken which, for efficiency and promise
of accomplishment, exhibits a practical
good sense and a real earnestness to
wards the accomplishment. We refer
to a resolution empowering the Com
mittee to offer a premium for the best
version or part of a version of the
Psalms which can be obtained. This is
followed by a call from the Committee
upon the churches for the means of of
fering a premium of from Five to Twenty
Thousand Dollars for such a version.
We do not exactly like to apply to any
of the policies of the Christian Church
the proverb, “Money makes the mare
go ;" still, taking things as they are—a
shift to which Providence sooner or later
shuts us all up—we think our “United”
brethren have put themselves in the
way of a handsome accomplishment of
the desideratum in hand.
We should not be surprised if results
of wider* value than the mere edification
of one branch of our Presbyterian family
ensue. Not that we expect a disuse of
Hymns, so called, although we know
not how wide may be the rebound of
Religious taste, after a little more ex
travagance in their number, and a little
more strain after , mere sestheticism of
tone. But as the whole history of im
proved Psalmody has been one of revi
sals and change, we shall look with
deeper interest to this effort to unite
those greatly desirable elements, beauty
of expression and close versification, on
account of its riot improbable value to
future revisals of other Psalmodies of
the Presbyterian Church.
THE GREAT NAVAL VICTORY.
The very morning after the day of
National Humiliation and Prayer, the
rebels witnessed an overwhelming an
swer to our prayers in the triumph of
the national fleet over the stolen forts
and vaunted war vessels of Mobile har
bor. Treason once more lowered its
foul ensign, and traitor eyes beheld an
other proof of the insufficiency of their
most potent and skillful defences against
the determined assaults of the agents
of law and good government. Appall
ing to the rebel sight must have been
the triumphant procession of the great
‘emblems of national power andauthority
past their huge but; harmless fortifica
tions, and amid their , terror-stricken
and sinking fleet. ,; The rebel dispatches
tellms of only one vessel of their fleet
which was unharmed and was trying to
escape to the city!
Mobile indeed may not yet be captur
ed, as the bay is too shallow to admit
the approach of our heavy vessels, and
the fortifications immediately about the
city are reported to be of considerable
strength, but the victory is already im
portant and adds another to the many
proofs of the marvellous efficiency of the
American Navy. All honor to Admiral
Parragut and his brave officers and men !
May they soon add Mobile to New Or
leans in the illustrious catalogue of their
achievements. .
Rev. William W. Newell, Jr., has
been engaged as supply for the Presby
terian Church in' Cooperstown, N. Y.
TJESIvTS:
By mail, $2.50 per annum, in advance
“ « _ -00 •< « a f ter g mont!l3 .
By earner,' 50 cerhs additional ior'd.eiiver^'.-
GXjtJßfcS.
Ten or more papers sent by' mail to one-
Church or locality, or in the city to cue
By mail, $2.00 per annum.
By carriers. 2.50 *■
To save trouble, cluo subscriptions must
commence at the same date, be paid strictly in
advance, in a single remittance, for which "one
receipt will he returned.
Ministers and Ministers’ Widows supplied at
clubrates. Home missionaries at sl.6oper an.
Postage. —Five cents quarterly in advance,
to be paid by subscribers at the" office of de
livery.
A JEWISH MOVEMENT.
Within the past few years, some en»
terprising Jews in Europe, have inaug
urated an effort foranlsraelitish Union,
for protection and progress, on a world
wide scale, independent of nationalities,
or national or local politics. Pour years
ago the “ Universal Israelite Alliance
intended for this object, was organized
with seventeen members. It has re
cently held its third anniversary in
Paris, with a membership of three thou
sand. It has active. committees dis
tributed on both Continents, with the
vie w of using the whole force of the
Union for obtaining a redress of griev
ances. There are portions of the world
where these political grievances of the
Jews are yet real, and where we wish
the Union entire success in the effort for
abating them. We should he puzzled to
name any grievance of the Israelite
just around us here, unless the license
to fleece the “rest of mankind," un
scrupulous of the manner how, be such.
advertisements of soldiers, now so com
mon, asking for correspondence to re
lieve the soldier’s privation of social
life, &c. A Wisconsin lieutenant wites
that “ all answers to such invitations
are laughed at, and subjected to the
jeers of officers and soldiers," He com
eludes by adding, “ Write to your own
and tried soldier friends and .relatives,
and none other.” >
Rev. T. H. Dysart, pastor of the
United Presbyterian church in Urbana,
Ohio, died a few days since from an at
tack of camp dysentery; brought on
while laboring in the army,as a delegate
of the Ghistian Commission. ; .
flims »f flte itowete.
The First Presbyterian Church in
East Orange, N. J., a new organization,
has just completed: And dedicated a fine
houße of worship. Rev. J. P. Wilson,.
D. D., of Newark, preached, the dedica
tion sermon. On the 2d ult. Mr. Fergus
L. Kenyon, Licentiate, was ordained as
pastor of the church, by the Presbytery
of Newark. Sermon by Rev. J Hoyt,
o£ Orange; charges by Rev. Dr. Poor
and Rev. F. FI Ford, of Newark. The
Second Church of .Orange contributed
mainly the material of which this church
is composed. . ,
Ms. C. M. Livingston, a graduate of
Auburn Seminary, was. ordained an
Evangelist by the Genesee Valley Pres
bytery, on the 9th ult: Mr. L. has for
the last few months been supplying the
pulpit of >the Congregational Church in
Wellsville, N. Y., where ,the ordination
exercises took place. 3 .
Home Missions op our Church.— We
feel a very unpleasant - surprise upon
learning that during the last month
(August) the receipts of our Home
Missionary treasury fell ■ considerably
behind those of the corresponding month
last year. This result is the more un
welcome from the fact that the general
rate of increase through the earlier
months of the year had warranted the
Committee to enlarge its scale of effort,
especially in the regions of the moun
tains and on the shores of the Pacific.
The falling off is doubtless largely owing
to the straits of the American Board,
and the consequent flow of the sympa
thy of the churches in that direction
just at this moment. It will be a happy
day for the cause of Christ; when his
friends learn to make a; practical lesson
of the admonition, “ These ought y& to
have done, and not to leavg the other
undone.” 5 Our Home Mission Commit
tee, with the full approval of the Church,
is committed to a system of effort
which, under God, shall impress the
broad West, and we expect their con
stituency to feel, with them, the fullness
pf the responsibilities in the case.
Ordination of Evangellsts. —The
Presbytery of Athens, on the 9th iilt.,
ordained to the work of the Gospel
ministry, Mr. Ezra 3). Shaw, licentiate
of the Third Presbytery of New York,
and Mr. A. J. McKim, licentiate of the
Presbytery of Cincinnati. s Sermon by
Rev. C. Merwin ; charge' to the Evange
lists by Rev. C. C. Hart. Mr: Shaw is
engaged as stated' supply at Wiikesville.
Mr. McKim’s destinatiou is Lima, S. A.,
where he expects to labor in the service
of the American and Foreign. Christian
Union: