gramtan gmhgtman.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1865.
Bible Work in New Jersey.—Cum
berland County, N. J-, has, for long
years, maintained a vigorous auxiliary
of the American Bible Society. It has
secured the generous service of leading
civilians in the county—not alone the
cheap patronage of their names-, -toth an
occasional money contribution, but their
personal efforts to give life and interest
to it. Hon. Judge Elmer, of the Su
preme Court of N. J-, and Hon. John
T. Nixon, well known in the State and
National Legislature, are of this class.
The former is, we believe, President of
the Society. There lies before us a
handbill, notifying us that the Semi
Centennial Anniversary of the Society
« will be held in the grove of the Old
Stone Church in Fairfield, on Tuesday,
August Ist.” Judge Elmer, and the
National Society’s Secretary Taylor, are
among the speakers nanied. We hap
pen to know the material of Cumberland,
and so are sure that Tuesday was a day
of rare interest at the Old Stone Church.
We could not close such a notice as
this, without mentioning the years past,
when this Society was so deeply indebt
ed to the services of that most amiable
Christian and faithful worker for Christ,
the late Francis 0. Brewster, of Bridge
ton.
Baptist Principles.— When we talk
about the principles of a denomination,
giving to them a denotninational name,
we always suppose ourselves speaking
of those which are distinctive of such a
denomination, or lying at the base of its
denominational existence. We notice
that Rev. Alvah Hovey, D.D., is run
ning through the National Baptist a
series of articles, headed "First Baptist
Principle,” " Second Baptist Principle, V
&c. Going on as they have begun they
are pretty likely to take the circle of a
Christian theology, inclusive of the
points which are the common ground of
evangelical Christians. Take for exam
ple the one reached last week, the
“ Third Baptist Principle.” “ Every
man has a right to obey the will of God
as revealed to his own mind and con
science by the Scriptures.” The writer
of course, has no thought of claiming,
for his denomination the monopoly of
such an article of faith, but when he an
nounces it as a Baptist Principle, any
ordinary reader understands him as
about to discuss a point, the affirmative
of which constitutes a Baptist, and which
non-Baptists of course ignore. W.e sug
gest to our really worthy cotempoi;ary,that
so infelicitous a heading ought at least to be
so explained as to relieve the denominar
tion of the savor of the wholesale ex-'
elusiveness which it would seem to im
ply.
"Slavery. —ln this Union slavery has’
now no legal existence, except in Ken
tucky and Delaware. Whatever the
terms of the re-admission of the revolted
States may be, it seems to be a foregone
conclusion, both with them and at Wash
ington, that thqy must come with con
stitutions which forever forbid slavery.
It will not be many months before the
assent of the requisite number of States
to the Constitutional Emancipation
Amendment will be obtained; but in the
meantime it seems to be a race between
slavery itself and that amendment, whe
ther the former shall run itself to no
thing, or whether the latter shall kill it.
In Kentucky, according to the report of
the State Auditor, the case stands thus:
In 1864, the slaves in that State num
bered 203,907 who were valued in the
tax books at $34,179,246, an average
value of about $l7O each. Returns re
ceived for 1865 from seventy-nine coun
ties report 125,860 slaves, valued at $5,-
726,209, an average value per head of
$45 50. In Delaware .no sane man
would now give the former price of one
able-bodied slave, for alKthat can be
-mustered in the State, and, as things
are, there is probably not a man who
would care a nickle for retaining the in
stitution, except for his spite against the
Government.
Presbyterian Papers in Richmond.
—ln the days of yore, the Central
Presbyterian was the principal Southern
organ of the Old School Presbyterians.
When, at the outbreak of the rebellion,
the pressure of the Northern loyal sen
timent drove Dr. Converse, with his
Christian Observer, “to his.own place,”
his paper became avowedly, what ’it be
fore substantially was, the organ of"the
United Synod, the Southern secession
from our New School General, Assem
bly. During the progress of the rebel
lion, the Old and New School Southern
Presbyterians found their treasonable
adhesions stronger than their theological
repulsions, and so became fused into the
C. S. A. General Assembly. This left
for the fusion two papers in Richmond,
where but one was needed, and where,
for the time being, even one could only
live a starving life. The preemptory
right to existence belonged to the “ Cen
tral, n but Dr. Converse was a Yankee,
with even more than the ordinary shifti
ness and tenacity for a living which eha
ract erisethe New Hampshire character,
and hence was not likely to give up. The
great fire finally came to his aid. The
Central was burned out, while the Chris
tian Observer was “providentially pre
served.” , It resumed publication, issuing
temporarily a bi-weekly yellow sheet, by
measurement exactly half the size of the
American Presbyterian, and, - Federal
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN. THURSDAY. AUGUST 3, 1865.
currency having come into use, reduced
the price from $lB to $4 a year, pro
mising a weekly issue as soon as means
for its circulation could be raised. So
he seemed to step into the field as the
sole organ of Southern Presbyterianism
in Richmond—perhaps in the South.
But there was grit in the Central, af
ter all. Three weeks since it reappeared
—size and price Bame as the Observer
—and, like the latter, lifting the South
tern ecclesiastical flag in opposition to
the alleged purpose of the old General
Assembly to extend itself over the
South. It claims the field of Southern
Presbyterianism, and heralds that claim
over such endorsing names as Rev. Drs.
B. M. Smith, M. D. Hoge, T. Y. Moore,
and —shade of the United Synod!—
Charles H. Read, and P. B. Price.
We refer to these matters simply as a
phase in the condition of affairs which
may, in the end, have some bearing upon
ecclesiastical construction. Simply be
cause we like to see the world good
natured, we might hope that the Obser
ver and Central will work in the same
field without friction,, but if so, the ex-
Northerner will belie his antecedents.
A-WORD TO THE PRESBYTER.-
We owe an apology- to our worthy
Cincinnati cotemporary of this name.
As long ago as June we made a remark
to which the Presbyter took exception,
and courteously, but explicitly insisted
upon something further from us. We
laid aside the paper intending to attend
to it when making up our next issue. It
got mislaid, and being out of the way
was, amid an unusual pressure of cares,
forgotten. The mislaid paper has, at
the moment of this writing, accidentally
turned up, reminding us of a neglect for
which we are truly sorry, as we had no
intention of treating so really good a
Christian co-worker with rude silence.
The subject qf complaint is this:—
Speaking of a' communication in the
Banner of the Covenant, relating to cer
tain matters in the K,. P. Church, upon
which the. editor of that paper; animad
verted, we said that it took “ exactly
the ground of the Old School in the
controversy which culminated in 183 1 !,
that any relaxation of the ipsissima verba
of a confession shall be treated as'a
heresy. Of this the Presbyter says :■—
We are surprised, at such a charge as this
against the Old School. They never took the
ground “that any relaxation of the ipsissima
verba shall be treated as a heresy.” It is an
injurious as well as an unfounded accusation.
We call for proof. A few may havfe held the
doctrine, but we never knew one who did.
New School were charged by the Old School,
or by some of them, with holding to the con
fession “for substance of doctrine,” and
some may have so held at the time of the
division. We presume that few held these
views, which are at the opposite extremes.
To charge them at this day, we doubt not
would be doing injustice to both churches.
In 1858 Dr. .Hoge wrote in the Princeton
Remeio in reference to the ipsissima verba
theory: “It is a’perfectly notorious fact that
there are hundreds of ministers in our church,
and there always have been such ministers,
who do not receive all the propositions con
tained in the confession of faith and cate
chisms.” He says, x moreoyer, that to require
it “would have strangled £he church in its in
fancy, and would kill it nowin a week.” We
are_ confident, moreover, that no ecclesiastical
action can be found that teaches the doctrine
charged against us. The discussions in the
time off the controversy and division do not
indicate that the Old School are liable to such
a charge. We call upon the American Pres
byterian to prove or retract what it has
published, or at least to publish this denial of
it,
r
To take up the above article for com
ment would probably be the beginning of
a discussion with which we suppose that
neither the Presbyter nor ourselves wish,
in the present state of things, to en
cumber our papers. The term ipsissi
ma verba, as applied to a subscription to
a creed, as generally used, has rather a
technical than literal meaning, and rep
resents so close an adherence to the de
tails of doctrine expressed, as leaver no
margin for dissent. It is in distinc
tion from the form' of subscription agreed
upon and laid down in minor matters,
in the Adopting Act of 1129, viz:
“ Agreement in, and approbation of the
Confession of Faith,” etc., etc., “as
being, in all the essential and necessary
articles, good forms of sound words and
systems of Christian doctrine.” If the
distinction here made was not the ani
mus of the prosecutions for heresy du
ring the stormy periods of our Church,
we are entirely at sea respecting our
own ecclesiastical history, and if the
men who, in their way, piloted the Old
School through that storm, would not
then have denounced the above quotation
from the Princeton Review, and “pitch
ed into,” the writer, we have mistaken
them. The Presbyter admits that a few
may have held the doctrine, and so long
as, few or many, there were enough of
them to remfethe Church, we see no way
to meet the request kindly made, -that
we should retract the passing- remark to
which exception has been taken. We
very cheerfully comply with the last al
ternative proposed, arid publish above
the Presbyter’s denial of it.
GIVING AND . GETTING.
A man who gives in proportion to his
means is more likely to succeed in business
than a niggard or a miser; he takes a larger
and more comprehensive view of men and
things than such persons, and is more likely
to weigh rightly the-probabilities of success
m this or that undertaking. But there is
another class of objectors who say that they
prefer doing one thing at a time. They
had set their mind, they said, upon accu
mulatmg a certain sum, and they wished,
to be let alone until they had succeeded in
accomplishing their object ; when they had
dpne that, then, but not till, then, they
would.retire from business and devote all
their energies to giving. Well, 1 believe
that if a-ihan does not Begin to give when
he begins to get, or thereabouts, he will
never begin to give at all. The two things
must go side by side; they must, be com
panions in the way through life.— Dr.
Francis Crossley.
A PHILADELPHIAN IN VACATION.
The following was not written for pub
lication, but that makes it all the better
for the many friends of Brother Adams,
who would like just such a talk with
him in the hours of the unbent bow.
Hence we take our liberties with it, and
will settle the matter with him when we
see him.
East Concord, N. H., \
July- 25th, 1865. /
lIVIIKR THE APPLE TREE.
Dear Friend Mears:—There are
times when one must think, and times
when he must speak. With me, just
now, the pressure of thinking and speak
ing is oyer for a season, and I am dis
posed topour out ink and words in the joy
.ousness of my rebound from that pres
sure. Now for the trees, the chickens,
and the hay-making. I, don’t care a
rusty cent for all the theology of the
schools. I wouldn’t have a/logical pro
cess in my brain on aby consideration ;
and I would as soon have the cholera as
make a speech. ,
It is reported of one of our old Ando
ver Professors that he used to repair to
his barn, and alone, turn summersaults
on ,the hay. That were too Violent for
me: I prefer to be stretched at length on
the grass or carpet, and let the world
bluster. We had a delightful Com
mencement at Hanover. The popularity
of Dr. Smith is evinced by the increase
of funds and pupils. The salaries of
the Faculty are increased each two hun
dred dollars this year. About forty
young men. have been admitted to the
Freshman class, and others are coming.
Prize speaking and orations by tin graduar
ting class were good. Much att rntion is
now given to rhetoric and orato y under
the instruction of Professor Sanborn.
The orations before the different sicieties
were highly praised. Hon. Chief Justice
Chase was present, and gave zes.to the
occasion. He:, is a noble mail Dr.
Massey, fronr~London, was my compan
ion at the President’s board, lie is a
genial, intelligent, good man. He has a
clear and just appreciation of our jnational.
life and destiny. He deserves our atten
tions and love. The poet Saxe pas in
his most humorous vein. Never\before
did the Alumni revisit in such numbers
their Alma Mater. j
I find that three of my classmates
departed this life during the pastlyear.
They, with others, Who died in the
service of their country and of God jwere
worthily commemorated. The Alumni
voted to raise $50,000 for the purple of
erecting at Hanover a Memorial Hu} to
the honor of the beloved men of the in
stitution who had fallen in the war. Gen.
Sheply, Governor of New Orleans,(was
present,.and spoke eloquently therefor.
Chase subscribed $5OO. Long may old
Dartmouth live. Give our love tP all
friends. \
l
Tours affectionately, 1 \
A GOVERNOR EXPOUNDING* SCRIP-
TURE.
The . Tennessee Parson,
Urownlow, has his own times with the
repentant rebels, who claim a full resto
ration to their - political rights without
submitting their repentance to the estab
lished ordeals of sincerity. They quoted
to him the Scripture parable of the prod
igal son, especially that part of it in
which the father puts upon him the best
robe, etc Whereupon. ’ ‘ the ' (Governor
puts on the parson’s coat, and. gives
them the following exegesis and applica
tion of the parable:—
First—The Prodigal Son did not secede ;he
went with his father’s consent, Snd, as the
Scriptures indicate, with, his blessing. Next,
he went ; _he did not stay and villify the old
man in his own house. He asked for some
thing to start him in the world; he. did not
present a pistol to the old man’s breast and
demand his greenbacks or watch. He received
the portion his father gave.him; he did not
press it —a modern Southern name for . steal
ing. And receiving it, he started out ‘ ‘to seek
his fortune.” He did not retire to the south
side of the old man’s farm, and join a band
of robbers who were plundering the old man,
apd his. law-atjding neighbors. Receiving
his portion, he quietly took his journey into
a far country. Finally, he repented of his
folly, not because the old man whipped him
into repentance, but because be “ came to
himselt” and saw that he had wasted his sub
stance in riotous living. He went back home,
not with murder in his heart, boasting how
many he had killed, and threatening what he
would do, but he bowed down in honest con
trition, and ’asked all sorts of pardon. He
didn’t return saying, I have- fought you
four years, and until I was overpowered,”
but he went back crying “Father, I have tin
ned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am
no more worthy'to be called , thy son,” and
imploringly said. “Make me as one of thy
hired servants.” He went home, because,
throughout his entire course of riotous -living,
his heart was there, He .did not return. de
manding his “rights,” his property and
his baek rents. He did not ask instant par
don upon the faith of an oath of amnesty,
but proposed to prove his repentance genuine
by his works. ■
The story of the Prodigal Son is one of sin
cere, deep, heartfelt and voluntary repentance
for a great wrong. Do our. returning rebels
come repenting of their unparalleled crimes ?
As long as rebellion showed any signs of suc
cess did they show any signsrof repentance?
■Are they coming back because they love the
Union, or were about to “perish with
hunger ?” All who return peaceably to their
homes, cultivate friendly relations, and abstain
from hostile acts, discountenancing every at
tempt at . disorder, should be met .with' the
same spirit, and treated with leniency When
they manifest a hostile spirit, make them bite
the dust.
Ip we lift up our eyes to heaven, His
glory shineth forth; if we cast them down
upon the earth, it is full of
The hills and the valleys rejoice and sing;
fields, rivers and woods resound His; praise.
Ilefas nf nut ffi[raw]re;s.
Sabbath Evening Udion Prater Meet
ing.—We hear that a meeting of this kind is
maintained through the sujnmer in Rev. Dr.
T.. J. Shepherd’s Church, Buttonwood
street above Fifth, in this city. We record
with great satisfaction any arrangements for
keeping us from spiritual stagnation during
the “vacation” dearth. A friend who was
present at the meeting above named last Sab
bath evening, informs us that the attendance
was good, and the services animated.
Mineral Point, Wis.—We learn,
through some scraps of information
coming along with a business letter, that
our church in* this place, the pastorate
of Rev. E. B. Miner, is enjoying thrift,
spiritual and temporal. At the com
mencement of Mr. Miner’s labors there,
one year ago, there was a membership
of sixty-two, of whom ten we reported as
absent. The attendance upon the Sab
bath-school was less than one hundred.
This last, teachers included, is now more
than-two hundred. During the year,
the additions to the church have been—
by fetter, eleven, and by profession, six
teen. The whole membership, not includ
ing those reported absent, is now seventy
nine. The church is liberal to its minis
ter, the value of donations of one kind
and another, during the year, being not
less than two hundred dollars. There
was a protracted meeting held last win
ter with good result^!
. Cincinnati.—We learn that the
Second Presbyterian Church in this city,
(late Dr. Thompson’s,) has failed in the
effort to secure Mr. Ganse, of New York,
as a pastor. Mr. Ganse feels himself
too deeply rooted in his present pastor
ate, and too much needed ,in his eccle
siastical connection, (Reformed Dutch,)
to be at liberty to obey the call.
Interesting Services.—The Pres
bytery of Detroit held a special meeting
in Pontiac, on the afternoon of the 29th
ultimo, and by a unanimous vote re
ceived the Presbyterian Church of that
place under their care. This church haß
been ever since its organization, a period
of more than twenty years, connected
with the .Old School, but had recently
resolved, with only one dissenting vote,
to change its connection, believing that
such a step would add much to its
strength and prosperity. The occasion
was one of deep interest to all concerned.
,In the evening, Rev. W. H. McGiffert,
formerly of North Adams, -Mass., who
has been laboring jvith the Church for
a month past, having been regularly re
ceived from the Presbytery of Albany,
N. Y., was installed pastor. Introduc
tory exercises and constitutional ques
tions by the Moderator, Rev. Mr, Hill,
of Birmingham; sermon by Rev. Dr.
Hogarth, of. DetroitoYrom 1 Cor. xiii.
13 ; the installing player was offered by
Rev. Mr. Goven, of Brandon; charge to
the newly-constituted bishop by bis
brother,, B.ev. J, ,N. McGiffert, of Sau
quoit, N. Y.; charge to the congrega
tion, by Rev. W. A; McCorkle, of De
'tgoft'; benediction by the pastor. The
seWices throughout were most solemn
and impressive, and the house was
crowded to its utmost capacity, and
many were unable to obtain. admission.
R— Evangelist.
.* Ordinationin California.—We learn
fronf The Pacific, that Rev. J. M, Alex
ander, a licentiate of Maui; Sandwich
Islands, was ordained by San Jose Pres
bytery to the gospel ministry, at' San
Leandro, on Sabbath, the 11th June.
Sermon by Rev. E. G- Beckwith. Mr.
Alexander is laboring at San Leandro
with encouraging prospects.
E. E. Adams.
Sad News of a California Pastor.
—We mentioned some months since the
election of Rev. Wm. M. Martin to the
pastorship of our church in San Jose,
and the favorable prospect of a pleasant
and useful service there. Sickness in
terfered with his installation at the ap
pointed |j.me, and we now read with
pain,]in The Pacific of June 2T, that he
remains in San Francisco “with little
prospect of a recovery. ”
On applications received from the Churches
they serve, the following ministers were com
missioned by the Presbyterian Committee of
Some Missions at their last regular meeting,
June 10, 1865. Twenty-eight of whom were
under commission last year:—
Rev. J. R. Presbyterial Mission
nary, Missouri.
“ C. Hudson, Ellsworth, N. Y.
“ J. E. Long, Hublersburgh and Scott’s
Mills, Pa.
“ George M. Life, Nichols, N. Y.
“ 0. W. Norton, Somerset, Mich.
“ W. M. Kain, Weston, Mo.
“ B. Russell, Tyrone and Sugar Hill,
New York.
“ A. D . Jack, Shiloh, Gilead, and Frank
lin, Ind.
“ W. S. Taylor, Petersburgh and Deer
field, Mich.
.“. J- G. Kanouse, Cottage Grove, Wis.
“ J. L. French, Batavia and Bantam,
Ohio.
“ H. 0. Howland, Girard, 1 Pa. j
“ A. Conejßraceville, Ohio.
“ Joseph* Wilson, Pleasant Prairie, His.
“ G. G; Smith, Montana Exploring Mis-
sionary.
“ A. Herrick, Mundy, Mich.
“ P. R. Knine, Virgil, N. Y.
“ G. M. Smith, Texas Valley, N. Y.
“ W. M. Martin, Virginia City, Nevada.
“ H. Ward,'Minneapolis, Minn.
“ J. W. Elliott, East Tennessee.
“ P.'S. Davies, Birmingham, Pa.
. “ Isaiah Reed, Nevada, lowa.
“ O. M. Legate, Carthage, N. Y.
“ E. P. Parsons, Constableville, N. Y.
“ Jas. Knox, Cedar Rapids, lowa.
“ J. A. Prime, Troy, W. Y,
“ W. Jones, Eolla, Mo.
“ P. Griffes, Carlton, N. Y.
“ X. Betts, Vienna, Ohio.
“ Marcus Smith, Collamer, N. Y.,
Presbyterian Rooms, 15.0 Nassau Street,
New York;
HOME missions.
THE LATE BISHOP POTTER.
The estimation in which this deceased
divine was held by the Christian public
at large, justifies our laying before our
readers a notice of his services and cha
racter from the secular press. It is an
example of the strength with which he
had intrenched himself in the affection
of the whole community around him.
We copy the following from the Evening
Bulletin, of this city:—
Bishop Potter was originally engaged in
mercantile pursuits in this city, as salesman
in the book store of his brothers, Sheldon and
Paraclete Potter, whose establishment, under
the firm of Sheldon Potter & Co., in Chest
nut street, below Third, is well remembered
by many of our citizens. He was a native
of New York State, having been born at
Beekman, now Lagrange, Duchess County,
July 10, 1800. After a short residence in
Philadelphia, as we have stated, he entered
Union College, New York; he graduated in
the year 1818, became a tutor in the same
College in 1819, and was elected Professor of
Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in that
institution in 1821. He, studied for the min
istry, and was elected deacon in 1821; and
priest in 1824. He was elected President of
Geneva, now Hobart College, New York, in
1825, but did not accept the appointment.
In 1826 he was called to ,the rectorship of St.
Paul’s Church, Boston, where he remained
■for five years. He was then elected Vice-
President and Professor of Moral Philosophy
in Union College, New York.' In that insti
tution he remained for fourteen years. Dur
ing that time he recieved the degree of Doc
tor of Divinity from Harvard University and
Gambier College.
Upon the suspension of Bishop H. U.
Onderdonk from the Episcopate of Pennsyl
vania in 1845, he was elected by a large
majority of the Convention to fill the vacancy,
the laity voting unanimously in his favor.
He waS nominated by Rev. Dr. Suddards,-
after a long and exciting contest between Drs.
Tyng and Bowmanj on the 23d of May, 1845,
and was elected on the first ballot. His.con
secration took place on the 23d of September
of the same year, and he at once entered on
the arduous duties of his office. After twelve
years of incessant labor his vigorous constitu
tion succumbed, and in the spring of 1858 he
went abroad and spent a year principally in
the south of Prance and Italy, returning
greatly improved, though not thoroughly re
stored to health. Since that time he has
taxed his strength to the utmost to keep pace
with his constantly increasing duties, but al
though ably assisted, first by Bishop Bow
man and afterwards by Bishop Stevens, he
has at last sunk under the burden of care and
responsibility which for twenty years he has
so nobly borne.
' The tokens of his work are everywhere
around us. In the most immediate field of
his official labors there are many monuments
of. his great.and rare abilities. The Episco
pal Church in Pennsylvania has trebled itself
in the number of its clergy, parishes, and
communicants,- under . his administration.
Numerous educational and charitable institu
tions have grown up under his fostering care,
and-many others have been transformed into
a condition of vigorous usefulness that they
never knew until lfis master-hand was laid
upon them. "The Church Hospital, the
Divinity School, and the Protestant Episco
pal Academy, are three institutions of great
importance to which owe their existence
mainly to his influence.
But Bishop Fbtter was too large-hearted a
man to confine .himself within the pale of his
own denomination. The Colonization Society,
the Pennsylvania Bible Society, the Asylum
for Imbecile Children, the Deaf and Dumb
Institution, .the Magdalen Asylum were all
objects of his deepest interest, and his bene
ficent influence was largely felt in them all
If the Episcopal Church sustains an irrepara
ble loss in the death of its revered Diocesan,
the city of Philadelphia has also lost a citi
zen whos' broad philanthropy has been felt
and recognized, to an extent which has rarely
if ever been exercised by any one who has
gone before' him. His catholic and liberal
spirit made its mark upon our community
very soon after be came among us, and men
of all creeds and professions, united to bear
testimony to the worth of this truly great
man.' As a patriot, a philanthropist and a
Christian gentleman, Bishop Potter would
have stood in the foremost rank, .even if he
had occupied the position of a private citizen
in the community.
•We cannot trust ourselves to speak of
Bishop Potter in' his personal and private
■relations, within the limits of this hurried
sketch. For twenty years "has this good man
twined himself about the very heart-strings,
of those who have been privileged to know
him well. His character was all cast upon a
grand scale, was a simple, indescrib
able digmty jBBt. him, both in person and
manner, whicParways reminded us, as no
other man ever did, of Washington. The
mitre and the lawn sat upop him so easily
and so naturally that they seemed to borrow
rather than to lend official dignity. A gen
tle gravity of manner never tailed to repel
improper familiarity, while a cordial friend
liness attracted, with an unconscious force, all
who came within the circle of his influence.
He was gifted with a rare degree of itesdom,
a quality which never fails to command re
spect, and which in him was perhaps the
secret of his greatest power. The manage
ment of his vast Diocese called for a constant
exercise of this striking trait of his character,
and his wonderful success in adjusting deli
cate and difficult questions, in reconciling
discordant elements and in promoting a
spirit of harmonious co-operation between
men, once widely separated by conflicting
opinions, attest how admirably he was
adapted for his post. His administrative
ability in organizing and stimulating all man
ner of charitable and religious work was, of
the very highest order, and the impress of
his power in this particular department will
long be felt throughout the State. “He
rests from his labors and his works do follow
him.”
There is no official vacancy caused by his
death, as_ Bishop. Stevens becomes the pre
siding Bishop without further legislation.
There were none of, his large family with him
at the time of his death, except his wife.
His youngest son, who accompanied him on
his voyage, as far as Panama, returned to
Hew V ork from that place. His remains
will be brought home for interment.
MONROE DOCTRINE.
We have been frequently asked to give
a succinct statement of what the 11 Monroe
Doctrine,” so often spoke of, really is. The
occasion of the declaration on the part of
Mr. Monroe, at that time President of the
United States, was the correspondence be
tween Mr. Canning, English Minister of
Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Bush, American
Minister to the Court of St, James, in
1823, in reference to the interference of
the French Government in the affairs of
the Spanish American Colonies, Jn his
f s n 9 n o Ua L Me ?! a S e t 0 Congress, in December,
} , OIBOe utteranoe to the
two following sentiments, which have ever
trine’’ k “ OWn “ th ° “ Monroe Doc-
A n- 1 ; Jkat it was impossible for the
Allied Powers to extend nheir political
system to any part of America without en
dangering our peace and happiness; and
equally impossible, therefore., that we
should behold such interposition with in
difference.” \
“2. That the American Continent, by
the free and independent condition which
it had assumed and maintained, was hence
forth not to be considered as subject for
future colonization .by any European
Power.” — Pres. Banner.
lUligunt* IttWligme.
PRESBYTERIAN.
The Huntingdon Valley Church. —Our
friends in that most delightful spot, Hunting
don Valley, about ten miles from Philadel
phia, are enjoying the blessing of God on
their church. The church, an offshoot iroin
the old Abington Church, was organized
about five years ago, under the pastoral care
of the Rev. George J. Mingins. When Mr.
Mingins left it for the service of the Christian
Commission, the Rev. Jas. B. Kennedy was
called to the pastorate. It has prospered un
der his ministry to such an extent as to be
well filled, and generally in .prosperous con
dition. Over twenty members have been
added to its communion within the last year,—
Presbyterian Standard.
Prosperity.—They have inHlinoisa town'
ofabaut 1000 inhabitants, in which the United
Presbyterians have a church, of which the
pastor, through the Pittsburgh organ of that
church, gives the followingreffeshingreport:—
During our last communion season we had an
addition of twenty-seven to our membership.
Daring the last fifteen months we have re
ceived eighty-five members. A goodly num
ber.of these were received on profession of
their faith, and some of them had not in early
life enjoyed the advantages of a religious edu
cation. . We have in regular attendance upon
the ordinances of God’s house a large number
of those who until recently seldom entered a
house of worship. We have a good Sabbath
school, and a Bible class of more than forty
young men and women, many of whom "are
in families of no ecclesiastical connection.
We have during the winfer an average atten
dance of about fifty atourweekly p-ayer-meet
ing. At this, season of the year the attend
ance is not so large. Tne Board of Home ’
Missions aided us last year \o the amount of.
$l5O, but we are now self-sustaining.
Well Represented in tee Arms. —The
Rev. I. N. Candee, D.D., inuhe course of
his recent address to the Cumberland Presby
terian Assembly, as tlie.delegatCof the Gen
eral Assembly, said: —“Four soils and ason
in-law have been in the Government service,
and one has returned home sick. \ have now
three sons and a son-in-law in the service of
my country. Some of them have Men id a
score or more of battles, one in two or three
battles where every soul around and ’behind
himwas.shot down, and he left standingkalone,
yet unharmed.” • ■ \
A New Orleans Secessionist Pastor
Back again.—The New Orleans newspapers
announce the return of the Rev. Dr. B. M/Pal
mer, pastor of the First Presbyterian church
of New Orleans, to that csty. He has tAen
temporarily, filling the plate of the late Br.
Thornwell, in Columbia Seminary, and afto
acting as pastor of the Presbyterian church in
Columbia, South Carolina. \ \
Proposed Renewal, op aGreat Solem
nity.—A Committee of the General Synod
of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, in the
United States, consisting of Re*. Drs. Wil
son, T. W. J. Wylie, and otheh, have, in
obedience to the order of the Synod, over
timed to the lower judicatories the'following
interesting proposition:—That the Oiyenant,
which was adopted as the oath of God,in the
city of Philadelphia, in the year 18(3, be
taken at the next annualmeeting of the SjuoS:
that in the. interim, the people be prepamj
by the ministrations of the pulpits through
out the. whole church, and by the prayers m
both ministers and elders, and alPthe peopled
for a copious outpouring of the Holy Ghost, so\
that the hearts of all maybe “stirred up,” \
so as that “ they shall come and do work in \
the house of the Lord of hosts their God
that the Thursday immediately following the
day of the opening of Synod, be observed as '
a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, and
that the following day be appointed for read
ing and subscribing to the Covenant! Itis fur
ther proposed “that the Covenant when taken
by us, shall be presented to our ecclesiastical
connections in tne British Isles, and\to the
evangelical churches in this land, and through
out the world; and that all who duly take it
shall be entitled to communion and feliwship
the one with the other in sealing ordnances,
as well as in acts of official ministration. ’ ’
We are unable te state what is tfr sub
stance of this Covenant, not having,‘or a
long time past, had our attention turnedo it.
We see, however, appended to this propsal,
a resolution that it be printed with the oin
utes, which we suppose will soon appear.
are sorry to infer, .from the resolution quted
above,, mat'the taking of it is to be maddhe
condition of inter-communion and particia
tion in ministerial services with otor
churches. We should be glad to learn tat
we have misinterpreted it. . In other jeßpecj,
we should look upon the scene which the &-
nod will present, if the proposal is carrij
out, as one of high Christian sublimity. \
REFORMED DUTCH.
Board op Foreign Missions—The foJ
lowing, is an extract from the Report of the
Committee on Foreign Missions, submitted
to and adopted by .General Synod at its recent
session.
The sum total of receipts during the .past
year amounts to 22. Of this sum
$2,300 was given by the American Bible So
ciety, leaving $79,738 22 as an amount con
tributed by our people to the advancement of
tbis cause. At tbe close of the last fiscal year
a debt of $lO,OOO weighed heavily upon’the
Board: but in response to special effort, it
was swept off, and the hope-was that the
Board should this year be able to come before
Synod without a similar feature in the front
of its report. But facts exist and circumstan
ces control, irrespective of human preferen
ces. The Board closes tbe year in debt to a
serious amount. The amount borrowed upon
securities of the Board, added to other obli
gations, makes the present indebtedness some
$12,000 or thereabouts.
Moreover, the Board, at this moment, are
in pressing need of funds to pay their mis
sionaries. The liabilities for the next thirty
days will be about $7,000. There is not the
half of the sum named in the hands of the
easurer, and there is no way of borrowing
o e on ! y 001115(5 , therefore, left —to which
the Synod is shut up—is to bring the matter
before the whole Church, so as to secure the
prompt, vigorous, and simultaneous action of
all the churches of the denomination.
episcopal
Away to his Work.-The Con
says :-Rev. George Whipple, abrother
ot the bi&hop, who has been at Faribault for
some months, W& family passed through this
gity on briday last, en route for his new field
of labor at Hawaii, Sandwich Islands. He
will remain m New York until the arrival of
the bishop, when he sails for his far-off haven
accompanied by the prayers and good wishes
of his friends. /
Ite-pRDiNAWON.-On the, 18th uk, the
Kevi J. W. Bonham, formerjy a minister of