ramEtitait trztrOtrian.
THURSDAY, MAY 31, 1866
GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
(Continued from the Second Page.).
FIFTH DRY
TUESDAY, May 22.
The hour of morning devotion was appro
priated to prayer, withaccompanying re
marks, for the Divine blessing upon Foreign
Missions.
On. resuming business,
its delegates Assembly re
ceived the reports from ts delegates to the
various bodies with which it has fraternal
correspondence.
Dr, Adams, delegate to the New Hamp
shire Association of Congregational Ministers,
forwarded a communication, which was read
by the Clerk, stating that in his visit he had
found many who were among his earliest and
best friends. The New Hampshire -pastors
of the Congregational churches were generally
men of culture, of generous spirit, and ardent
in their piety. Dartmouth College, which,
although not sectarian in its character, was
mainly under the Congregational care, was
in a prosperous condition. There was a de
sire on the part of all the ministerial laborers
to reciprocate a friendly feeling, and to culti
vate fraternal relations. Their churches had
been visited by revivals during . the past year,.
and one of the most encouraging features of
these New Hampshire churches is the fact
that many of the young men leave their
farms to study for the ministry l and when
prepared for the work, appeared in the East
ern and Middle States, and in all the large
cities of the Union, as well as in missionary
fields, and were found to be among the most
eminent and efficient workers of the Church.
Rev. Daniel March, delegate to the Gene
ral Associatiort.of'MassaChusetie, „reported
that he had. tireso,ted theChriegatt saluta
tions of the Assembly to, the As' iodation of
Massachusetts, on the 27 , 1 of June last, and
was received with tokens and expressions of
Christian cordiality, and that he had appro
priately declared the eminent and distinctive
doctrines of the Church in carrying forward
every department of Christian work, and es
pecially with reference to Tutting forth re
newed efforts to promote unity of the chur
ches,.and the evangelization of our whole
country, and that to such sentiments the
— Moderator replied in ferini — of — Cordial sym
pathy. He, as a delegate, was, charged
to Say that the only rivalry which they would
attempt with us should be to see whether
Presbyterianism or Congregationalism could
do most for the good of our common Century
and for the glory of our Lord.
Dr. Nelson, delegate to the 0. S. Assembly,
reported as follows ;
ST. LOUIS, May 22, Ifi66.
To the General Assent* of the . IVeSigtericeri,
Church, sitting in the First _Presbyterian
Church, St. Louis:
BELOVED BRETHREN : I have the honor
and pleasure to report that I have presented
to the General Assembly sittingin the Second
Church tne commission with which I was
honored by our General Assembly of last
year, to convey to that body the fraternal
salutations of our own.
I was received by the Moderator of that
body, Rev. Dr. Stanton, with a degree of
fraternal kindness quite remarkable, both
personally and officially.. I was abundantly
satisfied by the reception accorded to me, and
I. am sure that the published report of Dr.
Stamen's address will abundantly satisfy all
my constituents. ,
I need not speak of the delightful meeting
of thetett off.tr, subsequent even
ing, to the members of this Assembly who
were present, -butt may' be permitted most
thankfully to say that it seemed to me that
the clock of Presbyterian history then struck,
ringing in a new era of peace, and love.
Most respectfully, H. A. NELSON.
Rev, Henry F. Ray,. delegate horn the
General Convention of Vermont, was then
presented to the Assembly. He, came as
bearer of salutations 'of the Convention, a
body nutuberingabout2oo churches, and some
17,000 communicants. They were - with:us in
membership in the great °Calvinistic : family;
with us in the activity of the missionary
spirit, and had given to our Church men not
a few, some of them highly etninent—Prof
Shedd; for example. . There is," said he,
"one more bond between us which I believe
must ever unite us, and that is represented
by the symbol above your own seat, We
. love you, brethren, be: ause , you hive set '
forth unmistakably youespririt as the spirit
of liberty, as the spirit of freedom, as a law
abiding and government-loving Church, and
could we of the,free green M.ountaiti air do
- else than love the body planting itself on the '
r Deelaraoou which we have ?heard from you;
for the last iew years? We 'Must love you.,
We hope;to claim your regard in the future.
We bid you,, as a Church.-reforming,
intelli
-gent body, go; forth; -oecupyi as iTtrovidenee
shall open to you—we never will envy—we
never will-try to sußplant,you it' we can only
labor wirlt you, we will almost be content to
follow after you, ifl.God. will speed you is the
„great work which devolves upon you."
The Moderator reSponded to `theaddress
in pleasant cud suitable 'terms.
The Stated Clerk then stated the contents
of a letter from; 'Rev.':Federick Monod, with
regard to the uuion of the Evangelical Chur
ches of France, from which it appeared that
the time of meeting had been changed to
October if; ;066 ; a new ,abd important'
step had been taken toward the separation
between the EvangeliStie and. the, Liberal
parties in the Established Prqtestant Char
(hes. The meetings had lost their pastoral'
and Christian character, and had changed
into exciting and unprofitable discussions.
They had pronounced their own dissolution
by a vote of 162 to 50, after.which 'knew con
ference . was . immediately organized, The
letter, alter reference to national affairs, closed
with' the following sentiment : " G-41 grant
Congress,
all, beginning ;with the President and
Congress, the whldom which is first pure,
then peaceful, justice to all„eharity to all,
,and malice to none,, ,
your, glorious
. practiced, "; ;. , ; •
; 001tit.E8PONDMO.E WITS-SCOTLAND.
The chief interest of the morning was cen
„tred i 4 the reception of Prof. McCosh, and
the, opening of a correspondence With the
Church from which he came—the Free
Church of Scotland. The proceedings began
with the reading of the following letter from
the General Assembly of that Church.
"To the General Assent* of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States, N.
"DEdit CaursTrAN Thurnnpui: We take
advantage of the meeting of= our General
Assembly at present convened, to greet you
cordially in the name of the -Lord. We feel
constrained to do so in consequence of the
singularly , momentous_ character of recent
events in your country, and of their ruigto
rvlnfluenee on your respectiiie Chiirches.
, „may be premature .to say much, as ttke echoes
of war_have scarce yet died away, and the
. future may be, in other Way 8 71149 eventful as
these four years of c onflict ; but, , without
anticitaiting Providence, we hive a plain.
Christian duty to discharge r in consequence
of what falls already withirt the province of
history. •
” God has assuredly been, speaking toyour
country by terrible things in righteousness.
The ploughshare of war has gone deep into the
soul of your people. You have been long
familiar with scenes of bloodshed, such as
the world never saw before, and we pray God,
if consistent with his holy will, it may never
witness again. But, even in this respect,
good has come out of evil ; for the agony and
ruin of war have opened up to you many new
fields of Christian philanthropy. We refer
in particular to the work of your Christian
Commission,' with its rich provision for the
temporal and spiritual wants of your soldiers
and sailors ; and we hope that all churches
s hall profit by this noble exhibition of Christian
love in a singularly arduous and self sacri
ficing sphere of labor.
" We have special pleasure in referring to
the sympathy lately awakened on behalf of
America among all classes in Britain, by the
assassination of your great and good Presi
dent ; and we adore the Most High, who has
thus turned one of the blackest crimes of our
age into a means of softening down asperities
of feeling, of correcting grave misunderstand
ings, of fusing the hearts of nations in love,
above all, of calling forth in full measure the
prayers of Christ's people on this side of the
Atlantic on behalf of your sorely-stricken
land. We rejoice that your country is to have
rest from war, and that the restoration of I
peace is to be followed by the abolition of
slavery. No words could better, ex
_press our
views than those of your lamented President,
written in April. 1864: 'I claim not to have
controlled events, but confe,s plainly that I
events have controlled me \ Now, at the end
of three years' struggle, the nation's condi
tion is not what either, party or any man
deviled or expected. God alone can claim it.
Whither it is tending seems plain. If God
now wills the removal of a great wrong, and
wills also that we of the North as well as you
tif-the South, shall pay fairly for our oomph.-
city
in that wrong, impartial history will find
therein' new causes to attest and revere the
justice and goodness of God.' The divergence
of sentiment and action formerly existing
between you and lie as to, this question thus
ceases, and we give the glory to. Him,. who
is righteous in all His ways ant:lll'olnm all
His works. As there is really nothing now
to prevent a complete and cordial Understand
ing between the British and the American
Churches, we take the earliest possible op
portunity of giving utterance to this convic
tion and desire of our hearts.
.Our prayers
shall rise with yours to the throne of grace in
asking for your rulers and your people all
heavenly wisdom in dealing with one of the
weightiest social problems ever presented to
any country for solution. We shall watch
with the liveliest interest the future history
of the negro race within your borders ; and
you have our best wishes for the success of
every scheme bearing 'on their temporal or
spiritual welfare. We are by no means for
getful of our former share of national guilt as
to negro slavery, and it would ill become us
to judge - you harshly or unadvisedly. But,
Hit - ie'righe and-proper that we-should encour
age you by our British experience—for the
abolition of slavery in our. West India Islands
removed, a great stumbling-block out of our
,oath—it led to a marked quickening of the
public conscience—it gave our country a far
higher Christian place <among the nations,
apd-it,enabled all the churches to proclaim
with fullness and sincerity the Gospel of sal
vation through Him, who came to undo the
heavy burdens and to break every yoke. We
have uo doubt that your churches will be
I ready to follow where Providence now points
the way.
As the General Assembly of the Free
Church of Scotland, we have every cause to
reciprocate sentiments of brotherly kindness
and charity toward members of the same
Presbyterian family with ourselves. We
must all feel the necessity for closer fellow
ship between churches that have a common
language, a common ancestry, a common faith.
Presbyterianism would therebybecome vastly
more influential for good. would bulk
more largely in the eye of Christendom and
every section of our ecclesiastical common
wealth would get enlargement of heart by
partaking of the heritage of truth and grace
common to all. We beg to add that the
greate.4 advantage would follow from the oc
casional visits of accredited deputies from
your churches to us, and from us to you.
We have much to learn from your varied
schemes of Christian usefulness in dealing
with a state of society so different from ours;
and we know from the testimony of Dr. Duff
and many others that in the field of heathen
ism there are no missionaries of more truly
apostolic' spirit than• those sent forth by the
churches of America. You on your part
might also find it not unprofitable to study
the working of Presbyterianism in Scotland,
fragrant as our beloved country is with the
memories of the martyrs, and, earnestly con
tending, as it still does for the faith once
delivered to the saints. We must not forget,
however, that there are other churches
beyond the circle of Presbyterians, with which
we ; 'desire to cultivate a spirit of concord, and
from the field of whose experience we seek to
gather -like precious fruit. Let us provoke
one another to love and to good works. Let
usi strive, as in the fire, to ,prevent at any
subsequent time the' possibility of estran_ge
ment between our respective nations. Let
us pray:that the same blessed Spirit, poured
.down so largely on your land during the period
of your revival, may become the living bond
dimity and peace between us. And let us
ever realize the solemn fact that, humanly
Speaking the Christian interests of the world
hang mainly on the efforts put forth by
Christ's people in Great Britain and America.
" And :now, dear brethren, we beseech the
God of all grace to overrule these shakings of
the nations for the upbuilding of that king
dom which cannot be moved; and we affec
tionately commend you to Him who will give
strength to His people, and who will bless
His people with peace. For of Him, and
through Him, and to Him, are all things—
to whom be glory forever and 'ever. Amen
"Signed in name and by authority of the
Free Church of Scotland, at Edinburgh, the
thirtieth' day of May, in the year one thousand
eight hundred atid sixtY-five, by James Begg,
aro., Moderator of the General Assembly of
the Free Cliurch of Scotland."
Dr. Hatfield moved that this communica-
Am,be accepted, and that a reponse be pre
pared' by a committee appointed by the
Moderator, to be sent to the Free Church of
Scotland, and that this communication be
.
printed in the appendix to the 'minutes of
:thie Assembly. Adopted.
'Dr. Hatfield then read a communication
signed by Rev. Robert Buchanan, D.D., Rev.
,Tames Begg, D.D., H. Wellwood Moncrieff,
and others of the Free Church of Scotland,
- introducing to American Christians Rev. Dr.
McCosh, of Belfast, Ireland. Dr. Hatfield
stated that James McCosh, LL.D.,was pre
sent, and on his motion ' Dr. McCosh was
invited to address the Assembly.
The Assembly rose to receive Dr. McCosh
as he ascended the platform. His address
was marked with deep feeling and earnest
ness, and was listened to with profound atten
tion and rewat, and greeted with frequent
applause. He explained that he did not
come officially as a delegate from any churcl.,,-
bat, wearied with his writing and his classes,
having visited repeatedly the Continent, and
not feeling inclined to go there again, he , f e lt a
longing to spend his vacation in visitut 2 some
g
new country; that he might have a i•
of the future that is before the vv . e
had taken part with this great no° „i on i n it s
great straggle. hislittle field of influence,
both as an author and speaker , he h a d de
FIE AMERICAN PRRKBYTERIAN , THURSDAY, MAY 31, 1666.
dared his attachment to the cause, and had
never for a moment doubted of our success.
He was anxious to see the country engaged
in the great work of reconstruction, Such
were the motives which induced him to come
to this country; but when it became known
among his friends that he was about to pro- I
ceed to the United States, he received com
munication after communication, asking that
he might accomplish another end. y The
Evangelical Alliance had a meeting for the
special purpose, and enjoined upon him to
say to American Christians how much it was
desired, on account of that Alliance, that the
American and British churches should be
brought into a more thorough understanding
and unity. His friends forwarded to him the
letter which had been read. He had been
received by the two bodies that have met
in this place in a way altogether dispropor
tionate to his position as an individual, but
nevertheless accepted it all because he knew
it 'proceeded from genuine and loving hearts,
and because he regarded it as a declaration of
respectful feeling towards the British chur
ches. He would take care to repeat this to
the British churches, and he.knew the gene
ral body of them will receive it with joy.
He declared that America and Great Britain
were bound together by strong bands—were
one in race, one in liberty, and one in the love
of education,. and especially and above all,
one in believing in one God and one Saviour ;
that the Presbyterians in both countries were
one .in faith, discipline, and polity generally.
He referred to the troubles of the Church in
Scotland, and to some facts in his own history,
illustrating what the churches in Great
Britain had to contend with, and passed to
the present condition of the churches. The
Free Church of Scotland, though not a nu
merous body, had contributed for the year
ending May Ist, 1865, the sum of .E 350,000
for the support of the Gospel ; had, set going
a general sustaining fund for poor congrega
tions, a benevolence instituted by Dr. Chal
mers, which had been carried on with great
vigor and liberality, and to which the church
contributed in 1865, £lBO,OOO, and for 22
years ending May, 1865, the total sum of
£6,000;000. The Free Church of Scotland
had been instrumental itv,bringing about a
state of things that looked to the union , of all
the churches of like faith and government,
not only in the United Kingdom, bu4 r iti the
Colonies, and the speaker took the opportuni
ty to say that the British churches were most
anxious to he in some way offidally connected
with the Presbyterian bodies in this country,
by having delegates reciprocally accredited to
the General Assemblies, who might have a
voice on the more important questions of
general interest to the church.
The Moderator replied in a few words, say
ing that at the present he would not attempt
to reply to the practical suggestions of Dr.
McCosh, but on behalf of the General Assem
bly he welcomed him among us, and hoped
he would remain during the session of the
General Assembly.
The suggestion of Dr. MeCosh on the sub.
jest of an exchange of delegates, was referred
to the Committee (Rev. Dr. A. B. Smith,
chairman) having in charge the rahswer to
the letter from the Free Church.
The remainder of the morning, and the
entire afternoon, were taken up with the re
port of the Standing Committee (see yester
day's proceedikgs) on Church Erection.
Ruling Elder Scarritt, of the Presbytery
of St. Louis, moved to reconsider the action
of the Assembly whereby it voted to accept
the report of the committee, and to go into
its oonsideration article by article, aid stated
that he did so for the purpose of moving the
adoption of' the following plan :-
1. To repeal, as to the guidance and con
trol of the future operations of the commit
tee, all present laws or instructions of the
2. That this committee be the channel
through which our denomination may do its
work of church erection as fully and finally
as it does its home missionary work through
its Home Missionary Committee.
3. That this committee may Treely lean and
donate its funds for the erection of churches
according to its ability, and the need of the
churches, making its own rules, only limited
as follows ;
First, It shall execute its duties, both in
respect to its present and future funds, in
conformity with the spirit of its trust and the
obligations of its charter.
Second, It shall not reduce the fund by
donations to a less amount than $lOO,OOO.
Third, It shall not loan or donate to any
one church 'an aggregate sum of more than
$3OOO.
Fourth, That it shall not charge interest on
loans until from and after the maturity of the
debt.
Fifth, That loans shall not be for a longer
term than five yoara, reasonably secured on
real estate.
4. That this Assembly appoint a secretary
or agent, who shall be to this 1k ork what Dr.
Kendall is to the Home Missionary work.
Mr_ Scarritt addressed the Assembly at
length in regard to the management,of the
fund, claiming that the existing plan looked
more to the continuance and reservation of
the fund than to the building of churches,
and illustrating the need of a change in the
plan of administering the fund by reference
to the congregation of Webster Grove. Was
opposed to the adoption of the report of the
committee, because it wouldn't build the
churches.
Dr. Humphrey stated that the committee,
in framing the report and recommendation,
was in full sympathy witu the last speaker in'
the desire to make the utmost amount of
money available for the erection of churches,
and claimed that those were in the cities
could understand the scam: of the case as well
as those in the country t'er they were bon
tinually receiving appli • • tens for assistance
which press upon then the necessity which
he has urged today, aid' it certainly is their
desire to relieve the people from these in
cessant calls, though they would be willing
that they should give more than they have
been accustomed to give in a desultory way.
It had been the desire of the committee
throughout to propose and bring forward to
the Assembly such a plan as wen!d secure the
largest possible amount for the churches, and
on such terms as would be most favorable to
them. He stated that the plan piked no
restriction upon the trustees in loaning any
amount whatever to any church, if they con
sidered in their judgments as business men
that the church could afford to give good
security for the money. He explained at
length the difficulties that arose from churches
contracting loans, both as it regarded the ,
churches themselves and the fund.
Dr. Clarke opposed the plan as recom
mended by the committee. lie claimed that
this $lOO,OOO should, in the shortest possi-
Me time, be put into the form of churches,
and not cor4inued in the form of a fund; that
the chorales of the East , would respond to
all oar, when once this amount was exhaust-.
ed; `.,hat of the $5OOO proposed to be ex
pended each year, Missouri would receive two
anal a half per cent., and asked what kind of
r.s provision that was for church erection in
tins great State? Proposed that the whole
amount should be loaned out to churches in
average sums of $lOOO for ten years, which
would build at least eighty churches within
the next year, and, as the yearly installments
became due, and were paid, it would build
eight.churehes each year thereafter.
The report was advocated- by Judge Wil
liams, of Pittsburgh, and optiesed by Mr.
Ilebard, of lowa City, and Mr. Tindall, of
Washtenaw Presbyteries.
Hon. John A. Foot, in few words, referred
to the fact that, by the terms of the plan, no
change could be made in it except by the
vote of two-thirds of all the members on the
roll of the General Assembly. One of the
most able committees Which our body can
furnish, including two eminent jurists, have
been employed three days on the subject, and
have recommended the utmost enlargement
of liberality in the disbursement of the fund
which they believe the law, or the purpose of
its founders will allow. Under these circum
stances there is no hope of getting the requi
site vote in favor of any other plan, and
after a day or two, it cannot be secured even
for this, as there will not be left here two
thirds ofi all upon our roll. We must pass
this, and do it soon, or go back to the old
plan.
The debate was here arrested by the hour
of adjournment.
The Moderator appointed the following as.
the Committee of Arrangements, for the
next General Assembly;
Rev. J. B. Shaw, D.D.. Rev. J. W. Camp
bell, Rev. C. P. Bush, and Louis Chapin.
SIXTH SAN.
WEDNESDAY, May 23
Morning Session.
Great interest was excited in the morning
prayer-meeting by requests from three different
parents, each for a eon in course of education,
that he might be graciously prepared for, and
inclined toward, the ministry of the Gospel ;
also the request of an aged father, a member of
the Assembly, for the - conversion of a son now
in Congress.
Report of the Standing Committee of the Gen
eral Assembly, of 1866, on Church Erection.
By the twelfth annual report of the Trustees
of the Assembly's Church Erection Fund, it is
painfully apparent that this fund is but imper
fectly accomplishing its original design. The
amount of the fund in 1856 was $lOO,OOO. Now,
after ten years' use, it has increased' to $127,-
000, $BO,OOO of which, at least, remains in the
hart& of the Board; subject to the call of the
churches_ Year by year, the applications for
aid became fewer. But $2,755 was taken from
the treasury last year in the form of loans; and
but $4OO in the form of donations. Meanwhile
thezeceipts from the churches, on account of
loans, donations, and interest, have been over
$7,000, which addeAto the interest accruing on
the fund itself—neirly ,Jooo—constitute an
actual increase of the unemployed fund, after
deducting expenses, &c., of abbut $7,000:
The reason of this is not that the aid which
might be afforded by this fund is undesired.
The more wealthy churches in all our large
centres have been besieged with applications
for assistance in church building, as pertina
ciously as if there was no fund for that purpose
in existence. Large amounts have been given
in answer to such appeals by the very churches
which originally contributed' to the now ne
glected treasury, from which it was expected
all feeble churches would draw. So pressing,
in fact, have . been the applications,.that it is
manifest that the whole fund, if accessible on
terms favorable to the churches, would soon be
completely absorbed.
The reason of such neglect must be looked
for in the practical working of the plan on
which the fund has been administered: The
plan was most carefully devised. It embodied
the wisdom of some of the most eminent men
in our Church. For the period when it was;
adopted it was most excellent. But since its
adoption a great change has taken place in our
position and circumstances. The last ten years
have been revolutionary. The nation has trem
bled under the shock of war. We have passed
through financial embarrassments and borne
the brunt of a struggle which has cost our
chuiches some of their choicest blood. Debts
incurred for the erection of houses of worship
have become burdensome. The churches have
in many instances been depressed by the very
means through which to gain strength. Obli
gations to the General Assembly have often
been borne, under the disadvantage of contrasts
drawn between the policy, upon which our plan
of church erection, and that of some of our sis
ter denominations, is based. The result has
been that the fund has fallen into disfavor.
churches needing assistance have been advised,
in some cases, by Synodical or Presbyterial
action, not to encumber themselves with loans
such as others bad found it so unpleasant to
bear and so difficult to pay.
At the same time, the cost of building has so
enormously increased that $2OO form but a
comparatively insignificant item in the expense
of constructing an ordinary house of worship—
worth applying for, indeed, but not desired
tinder the conditions upon which it was to be
obtained.
There is, therefore, an imperative call for a
modification of the plan of administering our
church erection fund, and this call becomes the
more imperative when we consider that the
rapid extension of the lines of traffic has made
cities of villages, and villages of - hamlets.
Where, ten years since, it was supposed a few
'hundred dollars would_ suffice for the wants of
the people, us many thousand dollars are now
found to be insufficient. An almost unantici
pated necessity has arisen to establish churches
at key-points, and t, provide them with com
modious and attractive sanctuaries. The spirit
of the times has, changed. A new impulse,
felt by all denominations, has been given to
domestic missions. Looking toward the glow
ing future of our country, we are incited to
new exertions for its evangelization. Among
the ruling ideas of the. day this is.prominent—
that to provide a church edifice is almost as
important as to provide a missionary, and that
the work of church erection must be carried
forward upon, the same enlarged and liberal
scale which is adopted for the support of min
isters of the Gospel. Were the ideas false one,
to resist it would be like stemming the currents
of the Mississippi in a flood but your Commit
tee believe it to involve a true principle, though
it, like all other running ideas, is liable to un
natural freshets.
This Assembly has assumed the work of do-
Mestic missions, as it had not when its church
erection fund was established. Then that work
was committed to the American Home Mission
ary Society.
Now that we have entered this field side by
side with our sister denominations, we must
carry on our work with an energy and a liber
ality like theirs.
In view of these considerations, your Com
mittee believe that could the wholefund be im
mediately scattered among our feeble churches,
in the form of donations, without interest or
return of any kind, while the churches aided
should remain, in our connection, the effect
would be most happy. This we belive to be
desired by many on the floor of this Assembly.
Were such a course possible we should favor
it. But a careful examination of the whole
case, has brought your Committee to the stub
born conclusion ' so often reached by others
who have surveyed the same ground, that such
a disposition of the fund was rendered impossi
ble by the very terms on which it was collected.
It was to be a permanent fund. To destroy its
permanency would be a breach of trust which
might and which ought to be legally resisted.
The legal opinions submitted to the Assembly
by the Board of .Trustees, place this position
beyond reasonable dispute.
The question therefore is, how the mode of
administering the fund shall be so changed as
to make it most useful to the churches. After
mature deliberation your Committee recom
mend the abandonment of •the system of loans
and the adoption of that of donations upon the
following plan, viz. :
1. That the whole of the funds now i n th e
hands of the Board, together with such receipts
as may return in fulfilment of pledges from the
churches already aided by loans and donations,
and together with whatever may, be hereafter
contribUted to the fund, be securely and per
mariently invested.
2. That the accruing interest be annually
distributed by the Board on proper conditions
and in proper proportions, to churches apply.
ing therefor, in the form of donations without
interest and without pledge of return, except
in case the church or congregation thus assisted
shall cease to be connected with the General
Assembly, or their corporate existence shall
cease or their house of worship be alienated,
except for the building or purchase of a better
I house of worship.
As supplementary to this, your Committee
recommend that a collection be taken annually
1 by all our churches, to be forwarded to the
Treasurer of the Board, to be \used by them in
the same manner as the accruing interest of the
fund.
The necessary amendments of the Assembly's
plan, together with all essential details, are sub
mitted herewith. It is believed that in these
changes no legal principle is sacrificed and that
the utmost practical efficiency in the use of the
fund is secured.
Your Committee' cannot but regard it as a
providential indication of the wisdom of these
proposed changes that they have been suggest
ed to several different minds without concert,
and that they have been regarded with favor
before this by those high in position in our
Church, atl will be seen by reference to the re
port of the special committee to whom the
whole subject was referred by the Assembly of
1863.
Your Committee would also recommend to
the Assembly to consider the expediency of
appointing a General Secretary of the Board,
whose duty it shall be to discharge the functions
in this Board which are discharged in the
Committee of Home Missions by its Secretary.
It becomes our duty to nominate three Trus
tees to fill the places of Rev. J. Few Smith,
D.D,, Rev. Samuel D. Burchard, D.D. and
William A. Booth, Esq, whose term of office
is soon to expire. We cordially recommend
that the same gentlemen be reappointed.
A few overtures have been referred to the
Committee upon the consideration of which we
ask further time.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
Z. M. HUMPHREY, Chairman.
ST. Louis, May 21, 1866.
Rev. Van Nest called for a division of the
report in relation to the supplementary clause
of the report, which was not agreed to.
Rev. Win. Niles deprecated the slighting
allusion which had been made to the fund yes
terday. It had cost much sacrifice and great
labor, and was the result of large benevolence,
and lied done much for the prosperity of the
Church. It was a noble fund in its origin,. and
had been nobly administered upon the princi
ples on which it was established. Although he
believed that it was a fund which should be
given away, yet they met with this particular
difficulty—it was a permanent fund and could
only lie loaned„. The plans of other churches
in the huid`wettbut the resultof this fund, and
they had follow.ilfi in the, course pursued by this
branch of the church, although in a somewhat
different'way. The fund sintelts commence
ment had aided many churches, andlone.much
good. It was collected at great sacrifice.
Clurches had given to it with the earnest de
sire which characterized the Church of Christ—
not only the churches that.were wealthy bat the
churches that were in poverty. This fund of
$lOO,OOO was a good thing to have about, and if
we desired to make some arrangement one of
these days it would be a very good asset to put
in; but after all the fund is not . accomplishing
what it was desired to accomplish. Circum
stances have changed, and it is desirable that a
great deal more money should be expended by
oar churches in building sanctuaries. New, the
question is, what will you do with this fund?
The objections to the plan are three-fold. First,
there was the old idea of loan—it was all loan
and no gift—and was becoming more distaste
ful to many of the churches. Another objec
tion was the smallness of the gift, donation or
loan. This, he was glad to say, the committee
proposed to modify, but, after all, it resolved
itself into that one great objection, that' of a
loan. The committee had three distinct pro
positions before them. First, to give the whole
fund away, but distinguished legal talent had
been consulted and had said this could not be
done. One said it could be done ; a second
said it could be done; a third said if it was
given away the trustees would be liable for the
fund, and applications would Ve made before
the Courts for an injunction ; so, no matter how
much the Assembly might desire to give the
whole fund away, they could not do it. The
next plan presented was to enlarge the old plan,
but still this was a system of loaning on an en
larged scale. Many churches would not touch
it no matter how large tt e amount, if they were
obliged to give security for its return. A gen
tleman in the Synod of Missouri said, they had
come to the conclusion that what they gave
should be given as a gift. There was loud and
long call for a radical change in the plan, and
it would not benefit the Western churches un
less there was a radical change. By the opera--
ation of the old plan, churches were estranged
instead of their h.earts being drawn towards us,
and it was because of this system of loaning,
which had proved a failure. By the operation
of the plan, there was presented the spectacle
of the whole church selling one of its own indi
vidual churches for the purpose of keeping up
a fund. Again, if the Assembly by a unani
mous vote agreed to lend all of the $,100,000 - to
the churches, they could not do it for they were
restrained by the Courts. The plan proposed
was siiply
. a plan of giving, and he was in
favor of giving all that the law would let us give,
and churches should not expect to receive any
more than the law would let us give. I there
fore come back upon the plan of the committee;
to give away the interest on the $lOO,OOO. If
some individual was to rise up and give us the
interest on $lOO,OOO, how many would rise up
in their places and thank him for doing so?
Now this is the money of the church. Let us
not divide it up into 21 per cent. for the Synod
of Missouri, for the Board can if they see fit,
give it to any one of the churches in Missouri.
The Synods of New York and Pennsylvania do
not want their money, but the old plan or any
enlargement of the old plan is a failure.
The only practical alternative is to give away
all that we have a right to give, and not to loan
it, and this interest on this $lOO,OOO is all that
can be given away without going into a legal
contest, which would perhaps, cost us a great
deal more than the interest. We have now a
nest egg of say $BOOO to $lO,OOO to begin with.
Dr. Humphreys stated that there was about
$lOOO not yet paid into the permanent fund,
which might be appropriated in this way.
Dr. Parsons inquired whether it was not com
petent to loan the whole fund of $lOO,OOO or
$127,000 upon terms of WO or $2OO to each
church.
Mr. Moderator—Only in accordance with the
Plan-
Mr. Niles—We cannot donate or loan more
than one-fourth of it at one time, which is, ac
cording to the meaning of the plan, a loan in
reality- I propose to give away what we can
legally give whether it is one cent or $lO,OOO.
So far as the principle is concerned it is essen
tial for carrying on our enterprise and for the
sacred interest of the Church of Christ L if we
wish to keep pace with other churches. It is of
vast importance that this fund be supplemented.
When we send our missionaries out, we must
send them money enough to build churches, and
we must appoint a secretary to go to the churches,
and plead with them to raise money to assist
these men, in raising churches, and, in this
way, we shall have a mighty fund increasing
with the necessity of the case. When this fund
is exhausted, then wilt come in applications in
distressing language, asking that aid may be
afforded, and then will be the opportunity for the
secretary to go before the churches with these
twenty-five applications written in this distress
ing language, and say to them, we want money
to build these church% and we want you to
give us $40,000 or $50,000 or a $lOO,OOO to
assist these feeble churches of this land in bnild
ing. a house of worship, and I tell you the
churches will give it until we shall have five
millions of money, the interest of which shall
be expended in building churches. The Me
thodists, Old School Presbyterians and Congre
gationalists are moving in this matter, and we
must be up and doing. If we adopt this plan,
it will accomplish the work as well as it is pos-
sible for us to accomplish it. If you do not
adopt the plan proposed there will be nothing
done for another year—no churches built and
no applications for money, and if there was,
they probably would not be granted.
Hon. John A. Foot—l move that at half-past
11 o'clock the Assembly proceed to take a vote
upon the report of the committee.
The motion was agreed to.
Dr. Knox—l move that all speeches up to
that time be limited to five minutes.
The motion of Dr. Knox was also agreed to.
Mr. Van Nest offered the following substi
tute :
Ist, Resolved, That the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church, sitting in the First
Presbyterian Church of St. Louis, in May,
1866, do hereby, enjoin upon the Presbyteries
under its care, or within its jurisdiction, at
their first meeting respectively after this injunc
tion shall reach them, to answer the following
inquiry : Shall the General Assembly make ap
plication to the Legislature of the State of
New York for a repeal or such a modification
of the charter of the church erection fund as
that the fund can be donated to the feeble
churches belonging to it, without bond or mort
gage, for the purpose of erecting houses of
worship, on the express condition that, as soon
as in the Providence of God they are able to
do so, they shall return it to the treasury of
the church for a similar use in other cases.
2d. Resolved, That the General Assembly, at
this session ' appoint a committee, to be located
in New York, with the Stated Clerk of the As
sembly as its chairman, whose duty it shall be,
as soon as it is practicable, after three-fourths
of the Presbyteries belonging to this Assembly
shall officially notify the Stated Clerk of the
Assambly that they respectively have affirma
tively replied to the above injunction of the
Assembly, to make the aforesaid application to
the Legislature of the State of New York for
aforesaid purpose
2d. Resolved, That the above committee shall
report to the General Assembly, to meet at the
Brick Church in the city of Rochester, on the
third Thursday of May, 1867.
Judge Williams inquired whether a substi
tute was in order at this time when the Assembly
had agreed to take a vote at a certain time.
Mr. Moderator—A motion to substitute is in
order at any time.
Judge Allison—The substitute is wholly im
practicable. The General Assembly, the Fret
byteries, or the State of New York through
its Legislature has no power to touch that fund
or to divert it from the purpose for which it
was created. If the Legislature of the State of
New York was to pass a law it would be of no
effect, because it would impair a trust for a
special purpose.
Mr. Van Nest—My object was to bring it be
fore the courts, for we will never get through it
until it is legally decided. •
Dr. Clark—l rise to a point of order. The
substitute proposes to do what is unlawful or
impossible. It is therefore certainly out of
order.
Mr.- Benedict—The only point is that of trust.
You accepted the trust, and the trust still re
mains, and it throws it back upon the Assem
bly, whether haviag . aecepted that trust, they
will violate every "pnneiple of honor, honesty,
and Christian obbgationv disregarding that
trust upon which thii money was committed to
their hands. You have - the phYsical power to
do this but you may be met by mj_unctions from
the courts of every State in the Union, because
there are donations from every State in the
Union.
The act as passed by the Legislature of New
York only gave legal existence to the Board of
Trustees, and you are still bound to protect
that trust, and never to give a dollar away ex
cept under the seventh section or resolution as
published in the digest, which provides for the
manner in which the money shall be distributed.
Dr. Clarke suggested that the resolutions be
read.
Mr. Benedict then read the resolutions found
in the digest as part. of the proceedings of the
General Assembly of 1853.
The seventh resolution which governs the
distribution of funds, is as follows:
Resolved, Each Synod, through its Commit
tee on Church Erection,
of which the Stated
Clerk of the Synod shall be ex officio Secretary,
shall draw on the Church Erection Committee
for such portion of the fund as has been alloted
to it, in such sums as it shall, from time to
time, loan or donate to particular within its
boudds. But no draft shall be made for any
portion of the fund alloted to it, until where
the money is loaned each particular loan shall
have been definitely agreed upon, and sufficient
security in bond and mortgage or personal note
shall have been duly executed and placed in
the hands of Stated Clerk of said Synod, who
shall with his draft transmit a statement of the
loan thus made, and the security taken; nor
shall any draft be made until such accompany
ing statement, satisfactory to the committee,
shall have been received ;
'Provided, That the Church Extension Com
mittee of each Synod, when in their estimation
the circumstances of the case demand it, may
also donate to feeble churches within their
bounds, or remit on previous loans, such sums
as they shall judge proper ; not to exceed,
however in the aggregate, a sum equal to one
fourth part of that amount appropriated to said
Synod for the current year. And the Church
Erection Committee shall pay the drafts for
such donations in the same manner as for the
loans above authorized_ All moneys thus do•
skated or remitted to be secured on the house, in
case of a change in the ecclesiastical relations
of the church thus aided.
Provided further, That all churches to whom
moneys are thus donated or remitted shall take
an annual collection in behalf of the church
erection fund, at least until they shall have thus
repayed the amount which was granted them.
No interest shall ever be demanded for any
moneys loaned to congregations from this fund
until by the terms of the loan, the principal
has become due.
The vote was taken on Mr. Van Nest's sub
stitute, and it was declared lost.
Rev. Mr. Fowler—The West are interested
in this matter ,
_ and it is the best thing we can
do to adopt the report of the committee. The
committee looked into this matter considerately
and dispassionately, let us therefore respond to
their judgment. if we can only give away the
interest let us do that, and then rally around the
the next proposition which is to raise $50.0 00 ,
or $lOO,OOO, if they ask it. My brother says
he cannot go to the rich men of his congrega
tion for money when we have a fund on baud.
The Tract Society had a fund of $lBO,OOO, yet
thousands of dollars are given away every year
for this purpose.
Dr. Clarke offered the following amendment
to article 14 of the report of the permanent
committee:
The Board shall not in any case loan or do- -
nate any portion of the fund to any congrega
tion, unless such congregation own, in fee
simple and free from all legal incumbrance,
the lot on which their house of worship is
situated, or on which they propose to build -,
nor shall any loan or donation be made for the
payment of any debt, except that which may
have been contracted within one year previous
in erecting a house of worship.
The amount loaned to any congregation shall
never be more than one-third of the amount
contributed for the house and lot, nor shall the
amount given to any congregation exceed one
fourth of the amount contributed for their
house and lot; nor shall such a loan and dona
tion be made to the same congregation. The
donations within the boundaries of any Synod
shall never be more than one-fourth of the
amount appropriated to that Synod.
Judge Allison approved the report. He
desired to say to the churches we will give you
what we can, bat we don't want to pat you
under bonds. We don't want to encourage yon
to build houses of worship and then, if you
can't pay back the money loaned you, to send
the sheriff to sell your house. We don't want
to sacrifice the child we have nearished in that
way, or to present the spectacle to other
churches that a
_particular church is a repudi
ating church. bie thought, if the 'Board of
Trustees did their duty and were faithful to