GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
SESSION OF 18435.
ICONCLVSION OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF
MONDAY, MAX 22. ;.
After amending the report in the manner
suggestedby Rev. Dr. Adams, there was pro
longed lastßev. John W. Mears,
of Philadelphia, said,
Would it be out of place to take the vote
by rising? We seem to be so unanimous on
the subject before us that no one has anything
to say.
A member in the body of the . church said
he trusted the report would not be adopted
without discussion.
The Moderator replied—But if all are
agreed, upon what subject can there be a dis
cussion ?
Whereupon the report of the Committee
on Bills and Overtures, upon Overture Num
ber One, was then put to the vote and Car
ried,. every member of the Assembly an
swering as a unit in the affirmative for its
adoption.
The result was received with loud applause.
. REPORTS OF SYNODICAL COMMITTEES
were next taken up and disp . osede. These
were presented aqd adopted in the following
order:
Committee on Records of Genesee. Adopt
ed.
Committee on Records of Wisconsin.
Adopted.
Committee on Records of Onondaga..
Adopted.
Committee on Records of Utica. Adopted.
Committee on Records of Minnesota.
Adopted.
Committee on Records of Illinois. Adopted.
Committee on Records of Wabash. Adopt
ed.
' The Auditing Committee reported that
they had examined the Treasurer's report
and found it to be correct, with a balance in
his .favor. Their report was received, and
they were discharged.
Dr. Spearbrought in the report of the Com
mittee on Bills and Overtures, on Overture
No. 13. This was a memorial of the Dacotah
Presbytery on the subject of giving law to In
dians, signed by S. R. Riggs, Moderator, and
M. N. Adams, Stated Clerk. The memorial
stated that all their efforts heretofore had
failed to bring such influence to bear as to
bring the Indians under the law that they
may enjoy the protection of' themselves and
of their property by law. From so large an
Assembly as the one petitioned, it would be
of great weight should an official memorial be
sent to the Secretary of the Interior and Com
missioner of Indian Affairs..
The report of the committee recommended
the appointment of a• special committee to
examine the subject and report at the next
General Assembly. The matters involved re
quired deliberation, and hence the, committee
thought it wise to defer action until the special
committee should have an opportunity to give
it a full investigation.
Dr. Newell, Chairman of the Committee
on Devotional Exercises, reported recom
mending that the Assembly should listen to
Rev. Mr. Sawyer on the subject of treason.
This was carried by acclamation. Mr. Saw
yer being absent in one of the committee
rooms was speedily found and placed on the
platform.
REV. MR. SAWYER'S SPEECH, OF EAST TEN-
NESSEE
MR. MODERATOR : I gather from remarks
made by members of the Assembly that the
object of this call upon me, is that some of
the brethren might hear a fbw of the reasons
why such definite and positive action as that
we have taken should have been taken,
and whether we can in our jddieial action
vindicate the course we have now adopted.
We are-very clear in our section of the cowl-.
try—in East Tennessee—very' clear in our
conviction of treason. We have suffered
there very much, and ministers who have
gone into this rebellion are held as pre-emi:
nent criminals. I saw a man—shook hands
with him—did not feel honored, though, by
any means—a secession minister of the Cum
berland Presbyterian Church, and said he,
" I believe the South was right. If any man
worked hard for the Southeritigenfederacy,
I did. I took seventy-five young men into
the Southern army ; I tried to conscript every
man I could." There were persons who told
me that some men ran away from the country
to prevent their being conscripted by this
Cumberland preacher, and died on their way
from exposure in the Cumberland Gap. The
children and old people hold him respodsible
fot the deaths of husband and father. A
mother came to me some days ago in Knox
ville, and said that two of her children had
been conscripted into the rebel army by this
preacher and bad been killed while attempt
ing to escape to our lines. She found her
way to the place where they had been shot,
and there, without burial, she found the re
mains of their bodies, and she knows that
that preacher there is responsible for the
murder of her two boys. We're in the habit
now when these ministers say that they want
to come home again- - --dwe are in the habit of
calling together the Grand Jury and laying
the facts of their cases before them and bring
ing in an indictment for treason. When
they get a pass to go to Illinois, or any other
State, " where the ministers don't preach
politics," they must look about them, for an
officer is.waiting for them, and when they are
ready to go he says, " I have a capias for
you. You are indicted for treason and must
go with me,"—and they go to jail. (Ap
plause.) They have not begun to under
stand yet what President Johnson means
when he says that treason is a crime and must
belkenished. (Renewed applause.)
We feel that every influential minister
there that has gone into this rebellion has
his hands dripping with the blood of at least
twelve murdered men—that is the feeling
that comes `from the very soul of the masses
of the loyal people there, and therefore they
will respond to the action of this General
AsseMbly. They. will say that you have done
right not to allow such men, dripping with
blood, to stand up again in the church in the
name of Jesus Cirist, and in the name of
purity and truth. We all have difficulties in
regard to this matter; we understand that
very well. There is. one, of these disloyal
ministers down at Chattanooga. There he
is, preiching, he says, to a few friends in his
down house. He won't go to the meeting of
I?resbytery. He does not believe in these
Lincolnites—these Abolitionists; and there
they will stand and organize trouble, but it
will amount to very little, after all. What
ever Union element there is will only work
the harder.
There was a new order of things in Tennes
see. There were brave boys who had been
hunted from their homes, and who had
shouldered their muskets in defence of the
, old flag, and they now feel that they are mas
ters above the boasted "chivalry." They
;ire to be the ruling power—those brave
hearted patriots—our brothers in this grand
struggle. While there are four just such
positive men, positive boys, in a Southern
town they will have more influence than the
whole of the aristocracy that brought on the
war. How is•it at such place's as Abingdon,
where every man, including the preacher,
went into the rebellion? How can you get
up a Union sentiment there? Why I be
lieve, with Fred. DouglaS, that God and one
make a majority. Half a dozen positive,
loyal men are worth more than the whole
disloyal population. They it is who will get
permits to trade. Our postmasters, our
judges, and administrators of the law will be
chosen from among them ; everythin g is to
be adjusted to the harmony of the Govern
ment, and there is nothing we can do that
will show more that we are in sympathy with
God, and on the side of the brave Union
patriots, than by not compromising with Jeff.
Davis or any of his infamous traitor crew.
No church will be more welcome in Eastern
Tennessee than that represented in this Gen
eral Assembly here. Our ministers will be
welcomed in all these congregations by every
man that loves the flag. The question was
brought up a few days ago in the Presby
terian Convention at Greenville, the place
where Andrew Johnson spent the earlier part
of his life, what shall be done with the mem
bers of the church. who 'have been in the
rebel army here, if the loyal people confplain
of them? The ' , reply was that as they "lad
taken the oath of allegiance to the Stte,
thereby Confessing that they were criminals
`and repented of the crime they had com
mitted, it was no more -than right and rea
sonable that they should' come before - the
Church and acknowledge there the crime
they had committed sigainst God and their
brethren. It seems but a 'reasonable thing.
I feel there is much more might be said.'
There is another phase of this matter
which will be brought before us. I have
been exceedingly anxious to get ten or twelve
Ministers to go down into Tennessee and de
vote themselves to this work. What we
want is Puritanism with its civilization. We
ain't afraid of that word there. It has'
spread blessingi over the Northern section of
our country, and we want those blessings in
the South. I believe that such , a minister
would rally round him a body of 'friends im
mediately, who would raise him a thousand
dollars to begin with. We want such a man
at Athens. The disloyal minister we had
there wanted to return, and told his friends
on the way that he was going home. Why
bless you, he has no home to go to ! 'I came
here to make this request to this Assembly
to send the 'church a loyal minister there.
Next year when they have plowed their fields
and gathered their crops they will, I think,
abundantly sustain any good,, warm hearted
minister that comes to them. We want min
isters all along that section of the rend. We
had two rebel preachers at Knoxville ' and
they had no place to come to. Up at New
market they want a man there, right off.
We had there a true-hearted, man• who stood
by his country, old Mr. Minness, and' there
was the Rev. Mr. White, a man very much
like him. They are both dead.: They were
Mordecais sitting at the gate and would not
take off their hats to any of the Southern
chivalry. (Applause.) All along that re
gion we want a dozen good men, or more,
that can start our schools. Another thing
we are suffering from which I don't see how
to remedy. Some of those rebels have died
and others have gone 'away leaving their
wives and families behind• them. Well, their
sisters and wives—those who were waited
upon by colored people not long ago—rebels,'
dreadful rebels that were bent upon starving
your brave boys and - Mends to death because
they were Union people—these women come
out to you and say, "We want you to sent"
your boy or girl to our house to school. We
are going• to start a school." There they
are I They won't sing the "Star Spangled
Banner," and are hopping about like the
frogs f Egypt. (Laughter.) We want
schools to train up children that wont be in
sympathy with the rebellion;'a gentleman
that knows how to vote; that wont stand up
there and pretend that because the States
have committed treason, they are per
fectly excusable, even though they perjured
themselves before Almighty God.
Before Mr. Sawyer sat down the case of a
Mr. Young was called up by a member of the
Assembly, and Mr. Sawyer replied that that
gentleman went down to Tennessee just about I
the time that it was fashionable to hurrah
for Kentucky neutrality and—General Mc-
Clellan. (Great laughterd - Mr. Young
wrote me that he understood we wanted a
minister, and he wished to come, and desired
to have it distifiptly understood that he would
not take the oath of allegiance, &c., &c.
But I wrote back to him that had mistaken
our type of loyalty, that we had plenty of
ministers of this sort; and he wrote back ten
pages of fool's cap (laughter) to try and con
vince me, but failed. This sort of people
may drift somewhere else, if there is a fbssil
ized body: that takes care of such fossils;
but we have a better and greater work. God
has given us a practical work to do, and 'I
am glad that this Assembly has given the
representatives of that' part of the country
from which I hail so' glorious a welcome, and
show such a readiness to do what they can to
hold up the hands of the loyal men there, and
I trust that we may bring up many more
representatives to another General Assembly,
and report additional progress in our recon
struction.
The speaker was greeted with applause as
he retired to his seat.
SPEECH OP REV. MR. LAMAR
Rev. Mr. Lamar, also of East Tennessee,
being called for, responded in a telling speech.
He' proceeded to investigate the causes that
led the apostate ministers to cast their lot
with the rebellion. The great apostacy of
the South begun with slavery, proceeded
with slavery, ended with slavery. The min
istry of the South had assumed the ground
that slavery was divine—a Biblical institu
tion—and from that they soon were ready
to take the next step and make war on
their country. The first argument in favor
of this view of slavery had been made in the
South by a Presbytempa minister. The whole
clergy of the South thereupon took it up, and
labored to convince the people of the South
that it was the doctrine of the Bihle, and
that hence they should fight and die for it if
necessary. He considered such men more
guilty than the rebel soldier, for they have
stood at his back throughout and urged him
on, telling him that it was a religious war, and
that he should plunge into it with all his valor.
They had no use for such ministers in the
church, no use for them in Tennessee. Such
ministers should have a long trial before being
taken back. Our Methodist brethren, wlen
they receive members into their churches,
give them six months' probation ; if we re
ceive these men for re-admission, we ought
to give them six years' probation. (Laughter
and applause.)
REMARKS OP REV. DR. SPEAR
The Rev. Dr. Spear, this city, in mov
ing that the thanks of the Assembly be re
turned to the last two speakers, said:—ln
your report you have taken the ground that
treason is a crime, that is to say a felony
against the State; also, that it is a sin
against Almighty God, punishable in eternity;
also, that the treason we are now Considering
is treason under the most aggravated circum
stances. If these premises be true, what an
appalling spectacle is presented to,the eye of
Heaven, to the eye of earth! What an ap
palling spectacle to go down on the page of
history, that in this nineteenth century, in all
our light, in this free country, under our free
Protestant civilization, the ministry—the
ministry of the gospel—the ambassadors of
Christ, the men by the oath of their office
bound to law and order as defined by the
Apostle in the 13th of Romans, should have
placed themselves in various ways in compli
city with this great crime against man and
against God! It is one of the most marvel
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 1865
ous things to be found in the history of our
fallen race.
Dr. Spear then related the case of a clergy
man (whose name, we understood, is Charles
H. Read, of Richmond,) whom he had for
merly known and esteemed, who was called
to a church in New York, and subsequently
called South. When the war broke out this
man made himself the bellwether of the peo
gle—boasted that his church had led the
State, and that his State had led the "Con
federacy." He has had the effrontery to re
turn to the North, and expecting to be treat
ed as before. He called on a former friend
in New York, who received him with the
words : -"I don't shake hands with traitors,"
He found it prudent to leave this city and go
further North ; but the people where he went
were so outraged when they discovered him
that they hunted-the felon from the town.
(Applause.) Now, I would have it thus with
them all. I woul have Jeff. Davis hanged,
(applause) ; I would have Lee hanged; (great
applause) ; I -would have Breckinridge
hanged, (applause) ; and I propose to go on,
not in a spirit of vengeance and malevolence,
but in a spirit of righteousness, until the
judicial tribunal of the' land shall .stand as
high as the military power 'has vindicated its
- place. (Great applause. )' The question now
before the, people was not a military One. It
was Settled when Jeff. Davis wag caught
wrapped in crinoline in the last ditch. Let
US reorganize the society of the- South on
the basis of freedom, and let us reorganize
the Christianitiof the South with the Bible
without the insult of pro-slavery advocates.
This branch of the Church would take the
ground that all of the ministry involved shall
never have any ecclesiastical status in the
church of the United - States, until by puri
fication and` reform they shall have been com
pletely quarantined; and, in conclusion, he
would like to name Rev. Mr. Lamar as :the
quarantine master,' - for he was best acquaint
ed . with the nature of the disease• and its in
fection.
• The Rev. Russell D. Van Deursen, of the
Presbytery of Athens, Ohio, spoke of his for
mer residence in Richmond, and of the great
influence of this minister, the one referred to
by Dr. Spear, in the. South, even within pis
tol shot of the headquarters of the rebellion,
and within a short walk of Libby and Belle
Isle. He concluded by remarking that we
could not wonder that patriots now refused
to take such a man by the hand, whose
hands had been lifted in supplication to God
for his curse upon liberty. and his blessings
upon slavery.
The vote of thanks to Rev. Messrs. Sawyer
and Lamar was carried unanimously.
Resolved, That to enter and occupy the
field in East Tennessee now reopened by Di
vine Providence is the - positive duty of the
Presbyterian Church . ; and, as a commence
ment of this work, that the Permanent Colt
. ,
mitten call for ten of the best pastors to'spend
the 'ensuing three months in serving - the
Church in that desolated field, under die di
rection of the'4dme Missionary Committee,
andd - that the COMmittee be directod to pay
the necessary travelling ; expenses—the same
to be' reimbursed if necessary, by the con
gregation.
After devotiona -exercises, the minutes
were read and. approved. Avery beautiful
bouquet,was on the Moderator's desk. :Rev.
Charles' Brown, the Secretary of the Com
mittee, was then announced, and read'the re
port on:the • .
MINISTERIAL RELIEF FUND. •
This plan of benevolence was organized by
the last General Asseibbly, and has for its
object the relief of disabled ministers in in
digent circumstances, and also to afford assist
ance to the needy widows and orphans of
ministers deceased. The report covers a
period of nine months, closing with the Ist
of April, the Executive Committee of the
fund having commenced their labors in July
last. The first three months were, not' favor
able to the collection of funds, owing to the
summer vacation among pastors and churches.
Also, the enterprise being new, more time
was needed to have it introduced to the 'no
tice of the churches generally. Yet notwith
standing these drawbacks, the receipts
amounted to three thousand six hundred and
thirty-eight dollars, - a portion of which has
been appropriated.to applicants, so that the
work of relievina L he needy has already been
begun. Assistair for more than forty per
sons has been asked. Among the applicants
are two clergymen more than four score years
of age, whose testimonial's for long-continued
and successful labors in the ministry are of
the highest character. Among the widows
who have applied for aid, are six who have
families of orphaned children dependent on
them, and to support whom their daily labor
is necessary and frequently in employments
unsuited to females that have been delicately,
educated. The- report closes with the hope
expressed, that during the ensuing year there
will be such an increase in the contributions
from the churches, as will enable the-Execu
tive Committee to carry out fully the bene
volent designs of the Assembly in this plan
for ministerial relief.
Rev. ..Mr..Hovey read the report of the
Standing eommittee on
MINISTERIAL EDUCATION.
The Committee on Education present en
couraging evidences of steady and religious
advance, in this work. The number of stu
dents has been enlarged, and the contribu
tions from the churches more liberal. The
committee express the belief that the nun*
hers of candidates for the ministry is largely
disproportionate to the necessities of the
churches, especially, in view of the great field
opened by the late - ,civil war.
Of the thirty-five Presbyteries from which
young men have been reported to this com
mittee, twenty-two have but one each and
eight but two each. The churches have in
creased their contributions, but the desire is
expressed that ; with a proper spiritual in
crease, all the churches would give aid.
The object of •the committee is to seek out
pious young -men Xotthe ministry, afford' pe
cuniary aid to-all who need it, and cultivate
a higher tone of piety.
The committee offer for adoption resolu
tions instructing Presbyteries' o carry cm. the
plan as adopted by the committee Pastois
andtelders are enjoined to present the matter
to all the churches.
As native talent or high mental culture are
not alone sufficient qualifications for the min
istry, persevering and faithful, prayers are
called for, that God would call andd — qualify
more to preach the Gospel.
It is embarrassing to the Permanent Com
mittee not to. know the funds to be relied
upon. The cause of education should be pre
sented earlier in the ecclesiastical year, not
to be deferred beyond the first after or pre
vious to the Sabbath for prayer for colleges.
The second rule of the Manual is recom
mended to be stricken out, and the third and
fourth rules to be united, as follows :
"It is recommended that the young men
to be aided by the Assembly's committee be
placed as soon as practicable under the care
of the Presbyteries within the bounds of which
they have their church relation, and that
they remain under their care till they receive
licenses in their Presbyterial relations, to be
made with the approval of the Permanent
Committee."
The.next resolution asks that the commit
tee be authorized to increase the amount of
the apProprialion, not to exceed thirty-three
per cent., and it be left to their discretion to
limit the amount to be received from all
sources.
TUESDAY, MAy-23—ItIf!RNXNck.
The following gentlemen were recommended
to fill the vacancy occurring by the expiration
of the regular term of service: —Rev. G. L.
Prentiss, Rev. Theo. L. Cuyler, Walter S.
Griffith, Chas. A. Davidson, and Ezra M.
Kingsley.
The names were referred back, and the
balance of the report came upLr action.
Pending the adoption of this report, Dr.
Spear requested to have recommitted to the
Committee on Bills and Overtures the papers
under consideration last evening, which was
granted.
Rev. Dr. Mills then came forward to ad
dress the Assembly on the report of the Com
mittee on. Education. He said he did not
intend to speak at any length, but thought
this was a subject of as great practical impor
tance as any that had been before the Assem
bly. The Committees on Home and Foreign
Missions come before us and tell us that thy
are hindered, and by what? The want of
men. Now, in the providence of God, our
field is widened.
Whatever may be our zeal, we must have
more men- This is the question which meets
us everywhere.---He proposed to say, but a
few words; to- state the, question clearly; arid
to start the other members•if possible. We
have a useful And wise-plan. All we have to
,do= is to put it at work. Whe churches are
willing to pay'all that is.necessary to aid indi
gent candidates for the ministry..: It does
not become us now to say to the churches,
" Stay your hands, we have enough." We
could increase the amount of our subscriptions
to $30,000, and. perhaps double it. We do
not mean to lesseu the zeal of contributors;
we mean. to 'press it. But we must go to
practical work. How? First, and mainly,
we must learn that our dependence is on God,
entirely and absolutely. He would say to the
church, as the Apostle said, "If the Lord
doth not help thee, how shall I help thee?"
We have funds, machinery, agencies. What
we now need is a ministry more emphatically
called of God. Christ gave but one instruc
tion in regard to raising - up a ministry.
"Pray you the Lord of the harvest that he
will impel forth laborers into his harvest"
God alone can put the love of the gospel in a
desire to spread it into the hearts of men.
It is . a commonplace of our orthodoxy, but
we must make it a living truth. He h.d
been advised by the experienced brother:Van
Ren'sselaer to urge the church to pray, to'Oray,
to pray. He would call attention of the
ministry to the vocation and the renewal of
the vocation. We must be awakened to a
solemn sense of our work. The'want is for
missionaries, and missionaries are made by
preaching, not oil:collection day alone, but
every 4 where and at all times, preaching .in
such a; way that the young men cannot help
feeling that they too must preach. ' A call to
the Christian _ministry has for its essential
element a perSOnal Christianity in the church.
It is thislhat we must &era.
- -
Dr. Mills eloied.l3van earnest appeal for a
higher standardJeverytvhere. •
a.kLa ;11X(13:diatiabi.
Cuyler would like the Assembly to de
cider the guestion.of theitearnbbitt excursion.
The ; boat cannot be obtained for Wednesday.'
The Committee of Arrangements and the prq4
prieters wofild. prefer Thursday.
The Moderator reminded the Assembly
that they had invited the delegates from
other bodies to address them on Thursday.
. Di. Adands said that we were.gathered here
to do the work of the 'Church, and we ought
to do-that first, and -then if we have time
take what pleasure we can. i t
r Br. Fisher thought that all work and no
play makes. Jack a dull boy, and he thought
that -an excursion would actually help the
work. Another thing : we come from all
parts of. the United,States. He never, would
forget the impression 'New York harbor made
on him when he was a. boy. As Americans,
as patriots, they ought to see the bay and its
forts. They - would be better and happier
ministers for it. Besides, the Commissioners
saw little of each other, and it would do
thein good in, this respect.
The motion to take the excursion on Thurf
day was carried, and the order of the day
was changed to Thursday afternoon.
EDUCATION AGAIN
Hon. Mr. Tyler, of ..Oswego, concurred
with Dr. Mills. It had occurred to him that
with our jare.aent wants every field could not
be occupied by a cultivated. ministry. We
cannot afford to wait to carry our candidates
through a course of Greek, Latin, and He
brew. He did not know but the Methodist
system of a local ministry would be the best
for our present work.
Rev. Mr. Copeland, of Champlain, had
seen something, of the want of young men.
He had seen many_turn aside for want of
adequate 'aid. He came from where minis
ters are needed. We have had a scarcity for
more than a year, though able to support
them. There are three points we should
carry with us: Ist. The pressing want of
more men growing on us every year. The
minutes of 1864 showed three hundred and
ninety-five vacant churches. 2d. We must
arouse young men. He believed the main
work was to be done' by the pastors, not by
organizations. We must feel our responsi
bility as individuals, asking, Who is to preach
for me when lam gone ? Press this on the
Sabbath-schools, that the, lads may 'come
after. The third point is the aid that these
young men need. Every year the cost of
education is increasing, and the difficulty in
creases with it. These young men must not
be set above dependence on their personal
efforts, but they must not be driven from
their calling.
Mr. Noble, of Minnesota, said that all over
the country, the call for the entire country
is, give us men ! Give us men ! Here in
New York, noted for her benevolence and in
stitutions of learning, there are no less than
Birk) , churches without preachers. In Penn
sylvania, over the p'rairies of the West, far
beyond, amid the territories, that great belt
4 land, extending_from mountain to sea,
where civilizati,on is now pushing forward,
the great cry is ror men. In the language of
,inother, the cry; is, "Oh, God, give us men,
men with' heads with hearts, with hands."
The gentleman then made a few practical
remarks upon he proper manner of secur
ing the men, and to educate them for God's
service. He belieVed the responsibility was
with the ministers and elders themselves,
who, if they rise to the fullness of their duty,
could alWays have young men by hundreds
in a state of preparation.
We live in iii glorious age, an age of pro
gress, a periml i lwhen even our meanest coin
is stamped "Ii God, we trust." He then
appealed to tl}e Elders, particularly to the
wealthy, to contribute of their means, to help
on the Gospel cause.
MILEAGE COMMITTEE REPORTS.
The Comnoiittee on Mileage reported that
Rev. T. J. Lamar and Elder J. J. Dixon, of
East Tennessee, have-been admitted as mem
bers of this Assembly, and whereas Mr.
Dixon was roib'ed of all his funds en route to
the Assembl-, it was recommended that the
Mileage Comthittee be authorized to pay said
expenses to. Dixon from the general fund.
Adopted. It•
The same; omtnittee reported that the
Commissionei from Dakotah was robbed on
his journey, nf the sum of $26 20. The
same course, was taken as in the previous
case. • !
THE COMMISSIONERS' EXPENSES
The follo4;note was read:—
REV: J. SittimaNG—Dear Sir:'l fear that
the contribution of the Presbyteries will come
short of paying the mileage of the Commis
sioners. I understand that some of the
wealthy members are willing to bear their
own expenses. Would it not be well that
the Moderator should give notice to all mem
niers so disposed, to give in their names to
the Committee on mileage.
Very truly, JOHN P. CROSBY, Chair'n.
- May 22, 1565.
MINISTERIAL EDUCATION AGAIN.
Dr. Hamilton urged that the education of
ministers should be made as permanent, se
cure, and honorable as that of soldiers at
West Point.
Dr. Fisher indorsed Dr. Hamilton. As to
failing, fifty per cent. of those admitted to
West Point were dropped at the end of the
second year. In the ministry not over six or
seven in a hundred failed. Another objection
is that young men if they are fit to go into
the ministry will get there, and the trial will
Strengthen and brace them. He denied the
whole thing. If than is uncertain as to his
support he cannot study, he cannot apply his
mind to those trains of thought which are
placed - before him. These need all his
strength. He.must-be totus NIL Putting
a yonng man uffbn his" lowest allowance in
college is wholly evil and evil constantly.
The Church should come:up in this matter.
Endow our colleges; found scholarships;
Put $2OOO of $3OOO in the hands of the fac
ulty. Let our colleges have a hundred such
scholarships. They would do more for the
land and fbr the spread of civilization than a
purely scientific school.
Another point: There are many parents
with "money who do not exalt the ministry at
home. They want them to become wealthy
and respectable. Consecrated parents make
the able ministers, Look at Courtla.ndt Van
Rensselaer.' . to has gone the consecra
tion? Are noM - men and women who have
laid their sons on the altar of the country
ready to lay them upon this. altar? How many
children.of wealthy men are in prep'aration
for the ministry? He would urge the pastors
to press this thing on their people.
Rev. Cheever, of Ohio, believed on this
subject, the night was far spent and the day
approaching. His doubts were fast bossing
away, for he believed God had a great work
for the church in this direction. Our colleges
had never been on such a strong basis ; " and
we were in possession of more'young preach
ers now than ever before. This Far had given
us more help •in this direction. The scenes
of war, the weary march, the bloody battles,
have wakened up our boys, and many preach
ers are being made of them. He
to
a
dull youn. man, who went away to the war,
and comeback all broken down in spirit. He
called upon the speaker and said, " I've a
great weight on my mind; cannot shake it
off." Said MeCheever "You will ever have
it, until you preach the Gospel.' ' His answer
was, "By the grace of God rII do it," and
he is doing well. The Reverend gentlenaan
thought the ministers oughtto magnify their
position more. Speak before the young less
of their trials. 'Let trials come, they are-no
thing in comparison to the great glbry and
reward. (Applause.) •
Rev. Mr. Sutton ; of Ohio, thought that
' the remarks of Rev. Mr. Cheever had touch
ed the root of the matter more thoroughly
than any other speaker.- They must remem
ber when a young man entered the ministry,
it must be borne in mind that he is not his
own, but bought with a price, that price no
less than the precious blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He advocated the preaching to pa
rents the duty of dedicating their children to
Crop. He believed in the minister being fully
consecrated to GOD.
Rev. Mr. Whitfield followed, and instanced a
case of a young man who was forced" out of
the ministry by a preacher's wife, who refused
her daughter to tlie young man, for a wife,
unless he left off the idea of preaching. He
did so, and is now on his farm. This. only
showed the necessity for a thorough conse
cration to God, for if that father had dedi
cated that boy to God, and prayed God to
raise up his son to be a preacher of the Gos
pel, there would be one minister more in the
service. .
Rev. Mr. Dickson, of Newark, referred to
the work his church had' done among the
Germans ; but great as was this success they
needed young ministers, and he would sug
gest, Are there not urn here who can exert
an influence to bring forward young men to
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ? There are
many in our foreign population who, if they
were encouraged, eould do an effective work
among their people. The same holds true
of the African population. He wished we
could - always use that term " African" in
stead of "colored," and he wished that men
of all classes could be brought forward to do
the work among their companions.
Mr. Curtis, of Chicago, followed in a simi
lar vein, illustrating how Dr. Murray was
converted from Papacy and urging the great
need of prayer.
Without taking any vote upon the subject,
prayer by Rev. Dr. Adams closed the morn
ing session.
Adjourned until 3 o'clock.
TUESDAY MAY 23-AFTERNOON
At half-past three o'clock the Moderator
called on the Rev. Dr. Hamilton to open with
prayer. Early in the session Rev. D. Mills
was overcome with weakness, and was re
moved to Dr. Cuyler's residence.
AL OVERTURE NO. 9
This overture, which was presented at the
end of the session of the previous afternoon,
was brought up by Dr. Spear, and presented
to the Assembly. In this overture it was
stated that the Synod of Albany found diffi
culty in solving certain questions which from
time to time arose in connection with the ses
sional records of admission to the church, and
they asked of the Assembly information on
this subject. In explanation, the overture
stated that the language of the church records
was:—" The following persons have been
examined by the session and received into
the church.' What was the ecclesiastical
stariAing of such persons, from the time of
such reception to the subsequent occurrence
of the sacramental Sabbath, and their public
assent to the articles of faith and covenant?
Were they members of the church or not?
The specific. points of the doubt were :
First. If they were not members, what was
the nature of the action taken by the session?
Was the action truly stated in the common
formula? Was the record complete without
a full and formal entry of the subsequent pro
ceedings? ITow, then, could the minutes of
the session embrace those proceedings if they
were not sessional? And, •
Second, If such persons were members,
then what relation did the sacrament bear to
actual admission?
Such was the extent of the knotty subject
presented to the Committee on Bills and Over
tures.
THE REPORT
In answer to the above, the committee, in
its report, made reference to the Form. of
Government, chap. ix. sec. 6, wherein it was
stated that the reception of members was the
duty and power of the church session. The
vote of that session, the committee decided,
was the essential and final act. Baptism might
be involved in or attendant on this vote of the
session, as might be the avowal of faith before
the whole congregation; but whether these
forms were used or not, the vote of the ses
sion was final and conclusiv*
THE ARGITHEbIT
Dr. Fisher thought that the report did not
fully, meet the requirements of the overture.
In his judgment the question involved was
not on the duties of the church session ex
clusively. He opposed the view taken of the
difficulty in the report, and submitted a sup
positious case to bear him out in his antago
nism to it. Suppose, for instance, a person
thus elected should fail to perform his pro
mised part—the public avowal—would he
then be a member of the church.
Dr. Spear understood that there were#two
ways of answering this overture—a simple
negative or affirmative to each question—yet
the committee had gone slightly into detail,
proposing, however, td simply lay down the
form of the law, and to leave the rest to the
good sense of the pastors, who were supposed
to be intelligent men, and who might there
fore be expected to. draw inferences for them
selves. He contended that in the Presby
terian Church there was no subsequent usage
necessary to complete the membership, be
yond the action of the session, unless there
were desired two actions for that purpose—
one preliminary, the other supplemental;
the one to push the body half through to
membership, and the other to pull it fully in.
Dr. Risher maintained in answer, that Dr.
Spear to the contrary notwithstanding, a, per
son was not by this vote admitted formally
into the Church; that the vote of the session
simply proposed such a person as a fit can
didate for membership of the Church, and
that he did not become fully a member until
he had formally acknowledged the vows irri-;
posed on him by his parents in his baptism.
Dr. Adams took the ground that a child
baptized had some relation to the Christian
Church, and, in his way of thinking, if that
child, grown to manhood, came forward and
said he wished to be a 'child of God, and the
session had passed on his action, no other act
on his part was necessary to make him a
member of the Church.
Dr. Newell, of Allen Street Church, N.
Y., stated a case in his congregation where a
sister on whom the session passed had mar
ried a Universalist and left the church. Was
she to be - justly visited with discipline as a
member of the church, which she did not con
sider herself?
Dr. Spear replied* sarcastically that al
though Jeff. Davis might consider himself
no traitor, he should be disciplined neverthe
less. The matter was very simple, and the
committee had not thought it necessary
to instruct wise men in the details of the law.
Judge Williams cited the Confession of
Faith to show that the visible Church
consists of all those throughout the world that
profess the time religion, together with the
children ; and that baptism is a sacrament o
the New Testament, ordained by Jesus
Christ, not only for the solemn admission of
the party baptized into the visible Church,
but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the
covenant of grace, ike.
Rev. Jacob Patch also took A. stand against
the report. He had often baptized persons
who had no session to examine them, and
they had been left free to join thereafter
what Church they pleased. He was sensi
tive on thig point lest the world might say
as Presbyterians they did not recognize the
admission into the Church by baptism.
Dr. Hamilton opposed this talk about bap
tism ; it was simply a remnant of the old
heresy. Baptism simply declared a person
fit for membership of the Church, but could
not make him a member by virtue of itself;
nothing but the sessional action could bring
this consummation.
Judge Williams said that by the Form of
Government of the Presbyterian Church, tl e
session is charged with the duty and have
the power of receiving members into- the
Church ; but,that it was a mistake to sup
pose that the book prescribed ansr particular
form or mode in which this was to be done ;
that in some churches it was done by k a mere
vote of the session, without a public profes
sion of faith by • the member admitted; in
other churches it is the rule and practice of
the session to admit members on a public
profession of-their faith, their assent to the
creed and entering into covenant with the
members of the Church, and, if unbaptized,
receiving the sacrament of baptism ; and
where the latter mode is adopted, they are
not members until these requisites have been
complied with. The session of a church is at
liberty to adopt either mode of admission,
and if it adopts the latter he regarded it as
strictly Presbyterian and in accordance with
the book.
Dr. Spear, undaunted by the strong array
against him, boldly avowed again his first
conviction. The session might exact what
proofs, propound what questions it pleased,
yet for all, its final action, he contended,
made the candidate a member.
Mr. Jewett thought that the overture in
question had been well timed in its presenta
tion to the Assembly, as was proved by this
discussion. The hypothetical cases raised by
Dr. Fisher and Judge Williams had nothing
to do with the case mentioned in the over
ture, and therefore the committee were not
obliged to answer them.
Dr. De Witt stated that he regarded the
baptism as an act of sacrament, and not of
government or rule.
Rev. Mr. McMillan, of Minnesota, thought
that the sessions had jurisdiction to admit
members, but had not the power to prescribe
how or on what terms they should be ad
mitted. They had no right to take away any
terms nor to impose any new ones; they
could not say that a person could be admitted
to the church simply on the payment of $5.
Before he went West he had never seen an
admission openly in the body of the church.
He hoped the repoLt would be adopted.
The stated time for the close of the session,
with five minutes extension, having passed,
the question was called for, and the report
was adopted by a very large majority vote.
The Assembly then adjourned, after prayer
by Rev. Mr. Hovey.
WEDNESDAY MAY 24-MORNING.
The Report_ on Home Missions was pre
sented by the Rev. E. E. Adams. After al
luding to the gratifying circumstances which
surrounded the Home Mission cause, the re
port calls attention to the vast territories and
the Southern States as a field for religious
labor, offering an opportunity of inaugurating
and perpetuating a mission work for our
country far greater than ever before. In Mis
souri, for instance, there are regions of fifty
miles in extent without a house of worship.
The committee, in view of these facts, re
commend a monthly periodical devoted to the
work of Home Missions. They fiirther
recommend the formation of missions for
the African people. They also recommend
that lay helpers of proper qualifications be
employed in visiting from house to house,
explaining
. the word of God, exhorting to
faith and righteousness, distributing religious
literature, and doing the necessary and pre
liminary work in the organization of churches
—such helpers to be selected and recom
mended by the Presbyteries to the Perma
nent Committee for appointment.
Mr. E. A. Lambert read the
- TREASURER'S REPORT,
showing the following exhibit:—
RECEIPTS
Balance on hand,
Donations-from churches and in
vidnals,
Legacies,
(Continued on page 172.)
$ 7,873 32
84,010 69
1,593 65
593,477 66