The American Presbyterian AND GENESEE EVANGELIST. A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER, IN THE INTEREST OF THE Constitutional Presbyterian Church, PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY, AT THE PRESBYTERIAN HOUSE, 1334 Chestnut Street, (2d Story,) Philadelphia. Rev. JOHN W. NEARS, Editor and Publisher. CONTENTS OP INSIDE PAGE'S. SPCOYD NOE—FAMILY: Christ Knocking at the Poor Man's Door—Sitting on the Shore—Matches. Chapter [V—Family Worship— 'l he Boy who Conquered—The Harp in Weave]] —A flood Provider—l am so Glad for I am a Sad Child— Cast al on Christ. THIRD PAGE—EDITOR'S TABLE : ICliot's Hours of Sorrow—Bibliotheca Sacra. Sham. LANEOUS: The American Prospect—Progress by Revo lution—U. S. Christian CCIMMISS1011: SIXTH P. 4 OE—CORRESPONDENCE: Open Air MeettogF, No. V—Letter from Utah Terri tory—The True Ideal of" the Poet—Dr. Winslow's Great Work. MOEN= Pea:: Religions World Abroad : Great Britain—Frince—Bel gium--Switzerland—ltaly—Germany—Papal America Turkey—lndia--Greece. A SIMPLE AND A SOLEMN DUTY. The time is rapidly drawing nigh when every. American who enjoys the Tight, will be called upon to cast his vote in the most important Presiden tial election since the days of Washing ton. It is worse than idle; it is false beyond our conceptions, to represent the issues at stake in this civil contest 38 unimportant, as involving no high principles, as mere matters of party, in which good men may be indifferent. 'They who do so, have shut their senses to the mighty movements going on around them. Never should the heart .of patriot and philanthropist beat more .quickly, never should he be more keen ly alive and alert, never should he feel it so important that all the energies of the nation should be gathered for a de •cisive blow for the everlasting princi ples of justice, of human rights, and of government, than in this critical hour. We verily believe the vote of the Ame rican people, one week from to-day, will decide—not the paltry question whether a rude or a' polished' man, a Republican or a Democrat, 'shall occupy the Presidential chair for the next four _years—but whether the dial-plate of time in two hemispheres shall go back half a century ; whether base, brutal, wicked, bloody rebellion in the interest -of slavery, when almost utterly over thrown, shall be warmed again into life by offers of conciliation ; whether New England, with her commanding intelli gence, her enterprise, her liberality, her piety, her martyr love of truth and freedom, shall be shamefully driven from the Union, as the only obstacle to a firm and lasting affiance of the States on the basis of. the. Vied Scott decision, the Fugitive Slave Law and the Charles ton platform of 1860 ; whether we shall be true to the manly and Christian principles of our forefathers in founding this Republic, or whether we shall bow at the shrine of Southern slavery and "subvert this nation to. be a mere inStru ment of its unholy ambition ; whether we shall have an untrammelled press, a free pulpit and a pure gospel,an elevated .and outspoken Christian sentiment, or a worse subserviency to slavery in the press, a more timorous and hopelessly muzzled pulpit and a more deeply de bauched public sentiment than ever; whether our offices of trust and power shall be in the hands of true men, or whether we shall be overrun with a swarm of rebel sympathizers, base' minions of Jeff. Davis, secret conspira tors for the overthrow ,of the Union, miscreants of the mob, " friends" of Gov ernor Seymour, picked men of the Woods , the Voorhees, the Longs, the Pendle tons, the. Walls and the Vallandighams .of the North, a crew more loathsome and pestiferous than the frogs of Egypt; whether we are to have a simple, vigor ously conducted, and successful war, promising a speedy and lasting peace, based in righteousness and resting firm ly upon the vindicated authority and nationality of the Union, or whether, as the clear-headed Count Gasparin says : " the state of war, the taking up of arms at every moment, the South and the North unceasingly on the-alert, the necessity of great standing armies, and, in the end, the renewal of the pre sent conflict in conditions a hundred times worse." In a word, whether we are manfully to persist in the endurance of our present trials for a righteous and noble cause, or whether we are to play false to the great trust committed to us for humanity, and weakly to 'yield, to the clamours of our baser natures, our covetousness, our cowardice, our love of ease, our prejudices of race, and shamefully abandon the confliet. Such questions as these are coming to pe proof before the American people. Every true man may rejoice that, he has a voice in this weighty decision. Every vote cast for Kr. Lincoln 'is a declara tion for liberty, for law, for humanity, given at an hour when the 'world needs it more deeply than it has done for half a century past. 2knig . cit4 : o....7....t . rsiioitkian New Series, Vol. I, No. 44. THE SUPPORT OF THE dLERGY Many congregations are nobly stand ing by their pastors in the present emergency. Many, supplemented the great deficiencies in their salaries of the current year by generous gifts, or as we should rather say by just provisions made in the early part of the year. And they will doubtless rejoice to do it again at the opening of the new year, if they have not already put the increase in the form of a permanent addition to the salary. Rural congregations, espe cially, will find it a very easy matter, by furnishing supplies, to lighten in a material degree the burdens of their pas tors.. As almost everything purchasa ble is held at the gold standard of value; it should be the-aim of congregations to reach that standard in their dealings with their pastors. This standard is accepted in regard to foreign mission aries, but currency is in fact worth no more to ministers at home than to those abroad. We give no more to our pas tors or to our Home Missionaries, if we give on the old standards, than to those for whom- we must buy, exchange.. It is, a Matter of the greatest moment that the churches should be fully alive to their duties in this particular. Should the clergy and their Wallies suffer ex tensively froni neglect, should our Home Missionaries--already as a class the poorest paid for their great services to religion and civilization of any set of men—be subjected to still greater bur dens, and. be driven, crushed, overwhelm ed and' starving from the ministry to secular employments in any considera ble numbers, the damaging effect would be felt for generations to come. If we would assure ourselves of a succession of competent laborers in the ministry, we must let our youth see that the Church stands by her servants in times of severe pressure. We must use this very period to fix the impression that the church priieS their services and esteems them highly in love for their works' sake. The youth of the Church, and especially the sons of"our clergy, must not be disheartened and disaffect ed toward the ministry as a profession by new and darker views of its trials. The ministry must not be set before them as more than ever a scene of trial and martyrdom, when the , Cliurch itself is more prosperous and wealthy than ever. God will punish the Church which is faithless to its duties in this respect, by suffering its youth to turn* away to secular pursuits, and by bring ing upon it, years afterward, a dearth of ministers, a famine of the word. We are inclined to believe that the church generally is not unmindful of its responsibitities - to the , ministry at this time. Our own columns from week to week, and especially about the com mencement of the year, and the col umns of every religious paper in the North testify to this fact; the reso lution of the American Board at its last meeting, putting its operations on the. gold standard, as well as its large re ceipts for the year just closed, prove it. The acts of most of our judicatories on the subject, look to the same end. Yet there are many cases remaining of pc: culiar hardship on the part of ministers, and, we fear, of scandalous meanness on the part of the churches. We have just heard of a Presbyterian pastor, a man of culture, refinement and ability,*compelled to leave his charge on Long Island, on account of the ill-health of his wife, broken down in part by the hard work; which the inadequate sup port received from her husband's large and prosperous congregation, imposed upon her. From his six Months' salary paid him as he left, was scrupulously deducted $l2 for the services of a single Sabbath, lacking of the six months which he could not remain to fulfill His family physician, a member of the congregation, living within fifteen min utes' walk of the parsonage, before the pastor left, collected his bill at the rate of $3 a visit t These , are some of the hardships and petty deeds that sel dom come to light, until some over charged heart breaks bounds and pours them out in a whole volume of " Shady side." We earnestly hope, for the henor of our churches and the future prospects of the ministry that they aro few in number and diminishing. say- A Concert of Secret Prayer for the blessing of God upon the coining Election is proposed to be observed between 5 and 9 o'clock on Tuesday morning. PHILADELPHIA,'THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1864. The wood cut here presented is the second of a series that will appear in our columns, marking the progress of church erection in our denomination in this city. It is a matter of congratulation, truly, to see in our midst four handsome stone church edifices, comple ted, or near completion, in th's fourth year of terrible war. We refer to those of the North Broad, the Olivet, the Tabor, and the Wharton Street Presbyterian Churches, This latter building is an appropriate monument to the memory and Christian munifi cence of the late Mrs. Mary Cornell, a member of the First Church. Mrs. Cornell, at her death, a year or two. since, devised in trust a certain portion of her estate; to be expended; at the discretion of the Session of the First Church, in the erection of a Presbyterian house of worship within the limits of the city of Philadelphia. With admirable judgment - a selec tion was made of a site at the north-east corner of Ninth and Wharton streets ; and a neat, substantial building, of Trenton brown stone, erected, occupying a lot of 100 by 78 feet 6 inches, and seating over five hundred persons. The cost of - the whole was a little over $20,000; the First Church supplementing the legacy of Mrs. Cornell by $2OOO. The house was dedicated, without eneumbrance, on the ist of May, 1864, and the minis eterial charge committed to Rev. J. Garland Hamner. Since then he has been preaching as the Apostle when he went into Asia Minor—gathering his own congregation and the nucleus for a church. On the 17th of October an organization was effected by a Committee of the Fourth Presbytery of Philadelphia, under the name of the Wharton Street Presbyte rian Church ; constituted with a membership of forty-two persons, received by letter from other churches. The first communion of the new-born church, on Sabbath afternoon week, the 23d ult., was a season of delightful and solemn interest. The First Church, omitting their own service, came in a body, with their pastor—Rev. Albert Barnes—and sat with the -little flock around the table of the Lord. The presence 'of the Holy Spirit, presiding with gracious influences over' this whole undertaking was there peculiarly manifested in the reception from the world, upon profession of their faith, of twenty-four precious souls. A Sabbath School, with a roll of 600 children, is another feature of promise, and a happy auxiliary in this goodly enterprise. . Such is the seal that God has been pleased to put upon the faith of his handmaid, and of' those who have labored to execute her intentions. ,Are there not many more godly men and women able and willing to build a Muse of worship for Jesus Christ ? We observe that the weekly 'journals of the other branch of the church are engaged in discussing this topic. The Presbyterian of this city, two weeks ago, contained a communication of over two columns length, apparently ffegigned to answer the important question placed at the head: WHAT IS THE BASIS OF RE:- TJ"NioN ? The irapressipn left, and we suppose intended to bo left, by the article was that nodoctrinakbasis for re union exists. The writer asks whether indeed doctrinal differences between the two branches ".have:mainly passed away," as asserted in the report of the Newark Committee, some time ago published in our columns. Morespecifi cally he asks whether we 'have come to an agreement on the dectrines of impu tation, the precise nature and i'alue of Christ's sufferings and the inability of the sinner for self renovation,and Oliver ance. He says: , "Is ihere no halting nor, wincing in either branch, on the doctrine of absolute election, of divine decrees and govern ment, of the sinner's inability, while a free moral agent ? Does neither branch exhibit no trace Of the Arminian taint Of the synergistic theory Of regenera tion Our opinion is that while there may be real, there are certainly no serious differences in doctrine between the two schools such as should keep them asunder; no differences betweenthemgreater than prevail between ministers and members in each branch, and are ignored in the every day practice of each. But there is a class, especially in the other branch, who find their highest intellectual pleas ure in dwelling upon minute Ethades of theological opiniorwho grow' tenacious of every point in their system, who al most believe that Scripture was given for the support of the ipsiesima verba of their views, who are intolerant of any shades of difference, and who ":make'a man an offender for a word." The true question, so far as mere 'doctrine is con cerned in this matter &Union, is not so much whether the doctrinal views of either branch have materially changed, as whether this intolerant class' still do minates the other branch of the church, or, whether the great majority have undergone such a raddification and made such advances in catholicity as to toler ate real diversities of sentiment, and ad mit the existence of non-essentials ; to re cognize a true Calvinism wherever its grand cardinal features, such as divine sovereignty, personal elebtion, the perse verance of the saints, total'depravity, are held, no matter what differences in the W in FAMPLINIF= 111113336 ; 001 41 1 3'4 1 450Z413111149:01ZIO:01 BE-UNION AGAIN. Genesee Evangelist, Tqc0..003. philosophy of subordinate points prevail, and to be prepared fox full and cordial fellowship with those who are known to differ from them on the subordinate points, while agreeing with them on those and similar essential dogmas. The settling of this question will go farto determine the prospects of a. Union between the two bodies. Meanwhile we may and can live in the exercise of all the courtesies proper between Chris tians of kindred organizations, and we sincerely hope nothing may arise to mar our present amicable relations. TO PASTORS IN THE SYNOD OF PENN- SYLVANIA. We last week commenced sending a number of pastors in this Synod, each, a couple of extra copies of the American Presbyterian, as proposed at, the late meeting-L-these copies - to be employed as aids in presenting:the paper to the notice ; of such of their, people as are yet unsupplied. We shall continue to send them every week until the close of the year, unless otherwise directed by the pastors. The postage of them has'been prepaid in each instance, at this office. Pastors in or out of the Synod who are not supplied, and who would like to enter upon the arrangement will send us their names. Among the remarkable developments which the critical condition of the slave holders' rebellion has broUght out, is that which relates to the use of negroes as soldiers. It may not be of any use to draw attention to the extreme in consistency of the position taken by the rebels of the South and their sym pathizers of the North on the subject. There is another view, howeVer, which is worth presenting. The Richmond Enquirer, of October 6th, said : " Whenever the subjugation of 'Virginia or 'the employment of her slaves are alternative positions, then certainly we are for making them, sol diers, ,and giving freedom to those ne groes that escape the casualties of battle." Now it hits been stoutly maintained that slavery is the greatest possible blessing for the negroes of the Sduth and one argument, against all "abolition ists" is, that of their inhumanity in curs ing the blacks with freedom. But now it is proposed to give to such of the negroes as may serve in the rebel army and escape destruction, their free dom. That is, say the rebel presses, let us, as a reward, the highest we can give those who have risked life and every thing for us, let us give them the great est possible curse, their freedom ! , faro of tite Oman. ORDINATION AND INSTALLATION.--Mr. George Smyth, licentiate, was ordained and installed pastor of the Sixth (Is land) Church, Washington City, Sun day, October 16th. The services were conducted by the Presbytery of District of Columbia; as follows : Rev. J. N. Coombs presided and proposed the Con stitutional questions; Rev. T. B. Mc- Falls preached the sermon, on Neh. 13: 10, 11. Subject, Religion with its forms essential to the welfare of society and stability of a nation: Rev.l. C. Smith, D. D., delivered the charge to the pas tor, and Rev.W. B. Evans, Ilia charge to the people. A very large congrega tion was in attendance and great inte rest manifested, auguring well for the ftiture of the church. We may add that Mr. Smyth's examination was well sus tained in every part, and that under God a career of great usefulness in this field may be expected for the young brother, who is a cousin of the veteran, John C.,Smith, D. D. A correspotulent in Washington send ing us another account of the installa tion, remarks " We have further to state in relation to this church, that on Saturday eve ning previous to the important service above narrated, was concluded a fair which the ladies of the congregation had held for two weeks , and from which the handsome sum of fourteen hundred and sixty dollars was realized, deliver ing the church from debt and leaving two hundred dollars for repairs soon to be made. "We are also informed that these energetic people pay their new pastor more than double the rate of salary they have heretofore considered themselves able to pay, and have in all respects come up to the work of reviving and building up this hitherto languishing church ; and that great unanimity and a delightful spirit of Christian brother hood lend a charm and a power to their well directed zeal, affording a guarantee, with the blessing of God, of future pros perity and influence." , REV. CHARLES ANDERSON has remov ed from Sennett, to Union Springs, Cayuga County, New York, where cor respondents will please address him. SYNOD Or MINNESOTA.—We notice in the Christian Herald's report of the pro ceedings of the late meeting of this body, that avery effectivemode of forwarding the interests 'of our Publication cause was adopted, to wit, the establishment of a depository at St. Paul, in charge of Mr. W. S. Combs, bookseller. We also notice the following wholesome and Presbyterian recommendation in regard to the press " Whereag, A good religions newspa per is of great assistance to the pastor in" his regular ministerial work, and in every respect in the family, promoting intelligence, quickening faith, deepening and enlarging sympathy : "And Whereas, There are a great many families within our bounds, re ligious and others, who are without a religious newspaper, therefore, "Resolved, That we recommend to our ministers and elders 'to take the matter intoserious consideration, and to'do their utmost towards putting a good religions newspaper of our order, as' soon as may be, into every family within the sphere of their operation and influence." In regard to Home Missions, the re port says " There has been advance action taken. A Synodical Agent or Mission -ary, Rev. Mr. Ruliffson, has been em ployed, who has visited some of our most important points which were des titute of any Calvinistic Church, and has gathered up a nucleus from the debris of a former organization, or organized anew churches that are now loudly calling for men to statedly break to them the bread of life." SYNOD OF Oui - 0.--This Synod met in Circleville, Ohio, on the 30th Sept. The Committees on Home and Foreign Mis sions reported higher contributions, to each of the causes, than in any former year. From the Synodical narrative, we take the following paragraph " The contributiong to the various be nevolent objects have been larger than in any previews year, and this, notwith standing the heavydraft made upon our people in behalf of the sick and wound ed of the army, and to encourage enlist ments by the payment of large bounties. We are rejoiced to know that great unanimity prevails among litany of our churches, in sustaining the Government, in this crisis , of our national history. So far as we know,. our ministers, without -'T'P.FLMS Per annum,in advance : /37- Mail, 83. By Carrier, 83 50 _Fifty cents additional, after three months. Clubs.—Ten or more papers, sent to one address payable strictly in advance and in one remittance : By Mail, $2 50 per annum. By - Carriers. $3 per annum: Ministers and Ministers' Widows, $2 in advance. Rome Missionaries, $1 50 in advance. Fifty cents additional after three months. Beiaittanees by mail are at our risk. Postage,—Five cents quarterly, in advance, paid by subscribers at the office of delivery. ADVERTTSENLESTS. 12% cents per line for the first, and 10 cents for the second insertion. One square, (ten lines) one month $3 00 two months 550 three " 7 sft sir " 12 00 " one year 18 00 The following discount on long advertisements inserted for three months and upwards is allowed:— Over 20 lines, 10 per cent. off; over 60 lines, 20 per cent.; over 100 lines, 3314 per cent. off. an exception, give it their cordial sup port. Some have gone themselves, and others have given their sons to the army, to aid in crushing out rebellion and treason, and conquering a righteous and lasting peace. All have sent forth the noble young men of their churches and congregations, bidding them gird on their sword in the righteous cause, and following them with their benedic tions and their prayers." We copy also the following action which; not of choice, bat of dire neces sity, is so painful a _topiein most of the ecclesiastical meetings of the present year: " Resolved, That the churches within the bounds of Synod, whose supplies re ceive a part of their support from the Home Missionary Committee, be urged, in view of the increased cost of living, to increase the salaries of their minis ters, and the Synod urges $7OO as a standard at which all those churches should aim." SYNOD OP NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY.—This, the largest Synod in our Church, held its annual meeting in Honesdale, Pa., commencing on the 18th ult. The opening sermon was preached by the retiring Moderator, Rev. Charles S. Robinson, of Brooklyn. Rev. FranCis B. Wheeler, of Poughkeep sie, was elected Moderator, and Rev. E. W. French and S. Mandeville, Tempor ary Clerks. All the established benevo lent enterprises of our Church received the earnest attention of the Synod, and for the first time standing Committees were appointed on each of them. The Synodical sermon was preached by Rev. Thomas S. Hastings on an assigned theme—" Praise in the Sanctuary." The churches of the Synod were urged to enlarge the salaries of their pastors, commensurate with the increase of the cost of living. A notice of the proceed ings in an exchange says : " Among the special items of business, none elicited a deeper interest than an overture from the third Presbytery of New York, on the reunion of the two branches of the Church. It was referr ed to an able Committee (one from each Presbytery) of which the Rev. S. P. Wilson, D. D., of Newark, was Chair man. In their report they took the ground that everything should be done by us, consistent with our providential relations, of an honorable nature, to pro mote this great end; that, while it did not become us to institute measures er propose overtures, to be offered to the " other branch," we should distinctly and emphatically assure them that we were ready to receive and welcome any proper overtures on their part, and would lay no obstacles in the way, but rather remove them. A deeply interesting dis cussion ensued, in which Drs. Wilson, Crosby, Stearns and Hatfield, Messrs. Hastings, Robinson, and others, took part, resuting in a unanimous adoption of the report, expressed by rising. The effect was most happy and hopeful. In the midst of the discussion came the tidings of Sheridan's great victory at Strasburgh, Va., which 'was received with grateful demonstrations of ap plause, followed by the singing of 'My country, 'tis of thee,' etc." OUR CHURCH IN EAST TENNESSEE.- The Rev. Dr. Hatfield, in a communi cation to the Evangelist, says : " In your issue of September 29, you favored your readers with the proceed ings of the Presbytery of Union, at their recent meeting in Knox County, East Tennessee. It was highly gratifying to learn that, after a few years of bitter experience in the way of secession and rebellion, they had resolved to return to their former connection, and ask again to be numbered among our loyal Pres byteries. At the time of their leaving us they numbered eighteen ministers, and bad under their case thirty-one churches and nearly two thousand com municants. The most of these churches, it is hoped, will be saved from the awful wreck of the,rebellion. So far as the state of the country will permit, they will each of them be visited by our missionaries, and-encouraged to resume their former position and privileges. The Presbytery of Kingston, at their, late meeting in Cleveland, Tenn.,"have resolved to fol low the example of the Presbytery of Union. Our missionary, Rev. S. W. Elliott, has just forwarded a certified copy of the resolutions then passed. They speak for themselves. It is clear that these churches have had enough of secession, that they loathe it, and gladly return from their wanderings to their civil and ecclesiastical allegiance. At the time of their separation from us the Presbytery numbered seven ministers, and had twenty-one churches under their care. The Presbytery of Holston occupies the extreme Eastern section of Tennessee, and adjoins the Presbytery of New River, higher up the Holston Val ley, in Virginia. The territory of these two Presbyteries is mostly occupied by the rebel army, and nothing can now be done for their recovery. As soon as the authority of the United States govern ment is restored, these two Presbyteries will in all probability return to us, and so the whole synod _of East Tennessee be restored to their place in our connec tion?!
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