BNB AIIERICAN PRESBYTIIIAN AND GENE - SEE EVANGELIST. A Religious and Family Newspaper, IN THE INTEREST OP THE Constitutional Presbyterian Church. PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY. AT THE PRESBYTERIAN HOUSE, 1.-34 Chestnut Street, (2d story./ Philadelphia. Bev. John W. Wears. Editor. and Publisher. ginuriran ttolrgitritni. THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 1866 ILLUSTRATIONS OF HUMAN NATURE IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE TRIAL AND DEATH OF CHRIST. 111. Looking more closely at some of the in dividual figures in this wonderfully varied group, we find in Pilate a type. of character which has not yet exhausted itself. He is the ruler who, in dealing with the most solemn interests and questions, knows no higher standard than the narrowest and most immediate expediency; ,who, instead • .of meeting a responsibility .fairly, uses every device to shift it to other shoulders, and to postpone a settleinent to later times. He allows a mere threat of popular insur rection to alarm him from the plain path of duty; he is more afraid of the rage of men than the wrath of God; he will sacri fice his clearest convictions, he will give over the friendless innocent, the evident victim of envy, to the power of his mur derous enemies, and will even be the tool of their malice rather than run the risk of losing political elevation. Worldly-minded men utterly absorbed in present good; men whose official position has filled them with pride ; whose connec tion with a great national power has made them oblivious of that power 'which is 6 higher than the highest," like Pilate, are incapable of a just conception of spiritual interests and persons falling under their jurisdiction. Only the faintest gleams of the dread reality passing under their eyes are permitted to them. Only the divine dignity itself, in the bearing and in the very submission of Jesus, could have made the hard, unbelieving, unsusceptible heart of Pilate, encased in' selfishness and• Roman pride, start, as once or twice it did during the trial. The momentary gleam, the half awakened conviction of something super human disappeared, and the unmitigated worldling comes again upon the scene. The proud rulers of the world think it not part of statesmanship - to take religion into account as true. They have no more idea of acknowledging Jesus as the rightful Sovereign of the nations, and of conforming their policy to his requirements and to the advancement of his kingdom, than had the representative of imperial Rome, when this Jesus stood before him, as a poor and friend less Jewish enthusiast, a culprit on trial for his life. Nay, if it will make for their temporary advantage; 11' it will satisfy the turbulent crowd; if it will promise a longer lease of power, they are perfectly willing that be should be crucified again. And 0 ! how many times, in the exer cise of so-called statesmanship, have princi ple and truth, have Christ's cause, his Church and his poor, been sacrificed - by the rulers of the world in the promotion of their selfish ends. And in the heat of par tisan strife, how lightly is his command ment esteemed, and how quickly is the plainest course of right abandoned, if it is suspected of proving a hinderance to party success Where is the party, where is the national policy in the World, which is not stained with injustice persisted in for expediency's sake ? And how rare are the instances of rulers in any way depend ent upon popular favor, or in' subordinate positions, who have simply sought and ren dered justice to all men, without distinction of rank or race ! •An incense of instinc tive, undying reverence goes up to such il lustrious exceptions the world over. How much more likely are we to have enough of hesitation, and vacillation, and of feeble essays in the direction of justice, to prove the existence of conscience, to excite for a moment, the hopes of the good and the chagrin of the bad, but with the certainty in the end of an utter betrayal of the high interests at stake ! And the spectacle of the one absolutely holy member of our race, the incarnate God, the author of thousands of benefac tions to his contemporaries, made the vic tim of organized, unrelenting, and murder ous injustice, crushed by the operation of the forms of law • which were designed for the protection of the innocent, hurried . from one tribunal to another and delivered 'lnto death by one who, in the same breath, Pronounced him faultless; what'is this but a prophecy of the mockery of justice by persecutors of every age ? The midnight arrest, the annoying and .urgent questions I '3' which the accused should be provoked to incriminate himself, and the very pretext of zeal for the Church which seemed to warrant the proceedings, are a picture, in advance, of that awful, accursed instrument of ecclesiastical malignity—the inquisition. Here is the first in the, long line of fierce and bloody assaults and horrible perversiotls of justice which a corrupt Church and the tit= New Series, Vol. 111, No. 33.. heathen world, hove visited upon the purest and best of. theirace. Again and again has the 'true criminal sat, like Jeffries, on the judgfes seat, while the majesty of innocence has stood silent and helpless, like Baxter, in the culprit's place before him. PRESENT POSITION OF HOME MIS SIONS IN OFR CHURCH. There are five distinct 'departments of effort in the field of Home Missions, as con templated by the Committee of our General Assembly: 1. The Home field proper; that which is at our doors in the older parts of the Church, among the uncared for masses of our cities, in the remoter parts of almost every parish and presbytery. 2. The new States and territories in the West and Northwest. 3. The mineral regions. 4. The South, including the Freedmen; and 5. The Germans. Each of these fields might be, and indeed needs to be, viewed by itself; each has marked and important peculiarities; each, in a thorough system of Home Missions, would have its own bureau and subordinate scheme of manage ment. Included now in a single plan,:it becomes necessary to state and to dwell upon them analytically, before the people become aware of the magnitude of the work of furnishing the Gospel to a nation and a country like ours, and at a time like the present. We have really five great enter prises on hand, under the seemingly simple designation of *" Home Missions." • Cer tainly, words often conceal as much truth as they convey. And we do not think it too much to say, that five times the effort, and five times the means ought• to, and can be effectively employed in Home Mis sions above what our Church is now doing. And, perhaps, nearly five times the number of men now on the ground, could be pro vided with fields of labor in one or other of these departments, if they should present themselves. The greatest work that Christian or philanthropist can do for the country, is to supply a pure Gospel, without distinction, to all classes of its population. It is to keep pace, in the enlargement of that sup ply, with the rapid increase of the country, and the constant onward, movement of its settlements. It is to see to it, that the spirit of worldly eirtiiiprise doter -not out strip the zeal of the' Church ; and that blind avarice, joining hands with godless profanity, Sabkath-breaking,infidelity and immorality does not give character to in cipient States and territories, before the Church and the ministry has had time to cast in the salt and the leaven of grace. In prayer, in faith, in personal consecra tion, and in liberal giving, as well as in or ganization and effort, the Home Missionary enterprise of the Church should show a real grandeur ; should convey an over whelming impression of earnestness and consecration on the partrof the members. Each feeble Home Missionary, toiling and buffeting with the difficulties of his field, should have the comfort of feeling that the warm and prayerful sympathies of a whole Church, mighty in faith and fully awake to the greatness of the work, is behind him. Cause should never, even for a few days or weeks, be given him to fear that he is for gotten or forsaken of his brethren. It is a burning shame that the home missiona ries of a powerful Church should ever be in straits for the merest necessaries of daily life. What are the facts in our own denomina tion ? Much progress we have made, from year to year. The foundations of our de nominational work, laid in fears and anxie ties, are no longer visible. A vigorous and well-appointed Committee,with its Secretary and Assistant Secretaries, and its Exploring Missionaries, East and West, now takes its place beside the old established enterprises of the Evangelical Church, as an efficient co-laborer on the field. At the last meeting of the General Assembly, " the Committee were able to present a most encouraging report. The whole number of missiona ries was sixty-one more than the preceding year. Fifty churches had been organized. Three-fifths of the whole number of mis sionaries only had sent in the statistics of their labors, but even they reported nearly three thousand converts. Thirty-three hun dred had united with their churches, about two thousand and fifty, more than half of the whole number, on profession of their faith." Still, we fail to see in our Church, that clear and thoroughly aroused consciousness of the grandeur of the work and of our own responsibilities, which the case demands. Not $BOOO a month, not $96,000 for the year, were contributed by the whole Church; not six cents per month, on the average, for - each member to the cause, which, if anything, is to, achieve the salva tion of. our country.. It should not have been PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, AEGUST 16„ . 1866. . lessthan a quarter ofa ' million of dollars in the year. • And we wait, and almost every Home Missionary waits, for some indication of vitality in the Church Erection Enterprise, as remodeled by the last General Assem bly. Many a mission grovels in weakness, is exposed to such vicissitude as a corres pondent describes in the case of lowa City Church, or tumbles from hopeful beginning into ruin, for lack of efficiency in this in dispensable adjunct of Home Missionary effort. The last number of the Presbyte rian .Monthly e speaks of Church Erection as now in a "transition period," the atten tion of the Trustees being directed to a proper investment, of the .funds in hand. _Nothing is said of the new Secretary which the General Assembly required to be appointed, nor of efforts to collect addi tional funds to be given to needy churches. For the interest of Honie Missions, we hope this " transition period" will, be brief, and that we shall see unmistakiblg indications of vigor and efficiency in this department, which, for various reasons, have never yet been shown, but which are indispensable to the full and prosperous development of our Church life. The Home Missionary Committee report but $2500 received in June, and yet their needs are $lO,OOO a month. Not unlikely the deficiencies in July, and August will prove quite as large. Here there is work for us to do. Let us see to it, that our part is fully done, in making amends for these comparatively barren months. And let us devote ourselves afresh to prayer, labor and giving, for this great object; and when we have advanced, so as to be out of sight of our present low and inadequate views of the work, let it still.be our earnest prayer to God to enlighten us and the whole Church to the grandeur of our calling as evangelizers of the Great Republic of the New World. - LONDON AND NEW ORLEANS. On Monday, July 23, the population of mighty London swarmed in myriads to Hyde Park to make a demonstration in be half of an,extension of the right of suffrage. Their cause- had been defeated by a bare majority-] in Pailiainent, and %their',,oppo nents held the reins of goVernment. The Tories, emboldened by their accession to power on such an issue, had fallen to dreaming of eras of despotism centuries gone by. Because they had, by a few, votes, succeeded in postponing a little while the question of allowing a greater propor tion of the inhabitants a voice in the*gov ernment, they seem to have jumped to the conclusion that long-conceded rights, like that of popular and peaceable assembly for the discussion of political matters; had fallen to the ground, or become involved in nice legal questions as to locality. It looked very much as if they had resolved,. and felt strong enough to carry out their resolution, not even to allow the popular discussion of popular suffrage, and as if they hoped utterly to defeat the latter by forbidding or greatly embarrassing the for mer. The result was an almost perfectly harmless, and yet most' formidable, demon stration of the people. Finding the gates of Hyde Park closed against them, they broke down the walls and railing, and made themselves-masters of the ground, in spite of a body of police 1500 strong. No arms were •used and no considerable display of passion was made. But the popular feeling was of the most determined character. Doubtless the utter futility of such oppres sive attempts on English soil, and the as surance ,felt by every one, that the Tory ministry would be compelled to 'recede from such an absurd position, prevented the outbreak of violence. But if the Tory ministry attempt. to play the part of Bis mark in Prussia, London will be the scene of tumults and violence more disastrous than those just witnessed in New Orleans. One week after the London demonstra tion, on the 30th of July, a riot upon pre cisely the same question, of extending the right of suffrage, broke out in New Orleans. And not only did those in power there purpose to prevent the extension of suff rage, but as with the Tories of England, they determined to break up a convention assembled to discuss the measure. To be sure, the convention claimed State authori ty, and expected to initiate changes in the organic law on the subject; but their op ponents denied their claims and viewed them as a mere voluntary deliberative body. Being by accident in power, almost as the Tories were in London, they used against these friends of an extension of suffrage, the whole repressive machinery of civil government. And it is a most singular and not very comforting coincidence, that the enemies of equal rights have recently come int o power, in the only two great free governments on the globe. But here the parallel ends. 'The Tories in London were without the sympathy of the lower classes; those classes were the very aspirants for political power, whom the Tories were aim ing to defeat. In New Orleans; these being already in the enjoyment of the • suffrage were on the Tory side, and fought with bloody vehemence against its extension to a class they regarded as lower than them selves—the freedmen. In New Orleans, the class which, for four yearEi, had fought to keep the negroes in slavery, now renew ed the fight when the question of their right to vote was raised. 'The rebel masses in America, unlike the 'maf3ses of the Brit ish population, have been in close sympathy with the Tory. leadera of England through the war; 'and, is dew appears, they are in thorough sympathy still; while- the sym pathy of the British masses and their lead ers was, and is, with the loyal men of the North; first, in their effort to free the slaves, and now, in their purpose to enfran chise all who are worthy among them. Both riots, therefore, in London and in New Orleans, separated only a week in time, belong to precisely the same move ment of the age. The riot in New Orleans was bloody, passionate, diabolical, because prejudices of race, questions of loyalty and disloyalty, reminiscences of war, and, above all, the iniquitous encouragement of the authorities in Washington, mingled with its other elements.' It was bloody, because the authorities had with them the great mass' of the IoW White population in their crusade against' the convention. But the same great questiOn of impartial suffrage, of a just distribution of power, and of the - elevation-of all worthy individuals to a po sition of political responsibility and inde pendence in the State, was at the bottom of both of these disorderly movements in the, old world and the new. We are more advanced than England toward the full solution of the question, having commenced our national existence at a point far beyond what the mother country even yet seriously aims to reach. It is devoutly to be hoped that we shall reach the goal without encountering any • , More 'bloody or violent- scenes. Have oter ,, ,all, learned nothing since the cie fier struggles between patricians and plebeians in heathen Rome ? Must the Christian world go through the same dreary, blood-stained round, before govern ments are adjusted upon the principles of righteousness and equality ? It is no wild.propheey, but it accords with all the teachings of history to declare that, as the refusal to give the colored man his free dom led to war, so, the refusal to allow him' his rightful place in the govern ment may lead to another war. Rebellion can never be crushed out, until it is con cedld that a loyal black man has a better right to vote than a bitter and obstinate while rebel. NiklV ORLEANS RIOT. We may State in brief as the conclusions generally reached in regard to this melan choly affair, Ist. The proposed Convention to remodel the Constitution of Louisiana, claiming to be a continuation of the Con vention of 1864, is considered of very doubtful legality by loyal men. 2d. The meeting of the friends of the Convention, held on the Friday previous, July 27th, in which the extension of the suffrage was, boldly advocated, greatly exasperated the rebels,'and led them to form their plan of violent interference. 3d. Violence was obviously no part of the plan of the Con vention. It was evidently the purpoae of the rebels to crush the whole movement in hlood, if necessary. 4. Whether the police fitapted out with the intention of using violeice to the members of the Con vention, or of betraying them to the mob, we do 'not undertake to say. On their way to 'accomplish this, they were met and hin dered by the negro friends of the Conven tion; which exasperated them. The negroea they slaughtered indiscriminately. The members of the Convention they either could not or would not protect from the crowd. Two of them--Dostie and Rev. Mr. Horton,--received their death wounds while in the hands of the police. Others, like Ex-Governor Hahn, were desperately wounded under similar circumstances. The police and the rebel mob seem to have got hopelessly intermingled. 5. The Con vention met under the sanction of the loyal GoveAior of the State. It might well have regarded its i eg i quite as high in authority as the Mayor of t he city, and especially such a Mayor as John T. Monroe. It was no s lo b. It did not threaten the public peace. Only those who suffered themselves to get into ungovernable rage atits objects, and who cherished the old pro-slavery hate of free speech were thus dangerous. Against Genesee Evangelist, No. 1056. them, the Mayor may well have summoned his police force. But the legality or gality of a Convention meeting under the sanction of the highest officer of the State, was not a matter for a city official to settle. He had no right to touch it. Rather was it his duty to furnish it protection. Nor was it a matter in which President John son should, on his own theory of recon struction, have allowed himself to interfere. 6. President Johnson did interfere, throw ing the whole weight of his personal influ ence and sympathy with the rebel Mayor and mob, and against the entire loyal ele ment of the State. He did an act, for the like of which Gen. Butler would have sent any man in New Orleans, when under his rule, to Fort Jackson; an act looking to the stirring up of the New Orleans mob against the loyal men and the freed people there. 7. The military, although perfectly adequate to the work of preserving peace, never made their appearance till the work of blood was over. Was there ever such wanton, guilty neglect; such atrocious faithlessness to high responsibilities, as this suffering some hundreds of boys in blue to remain inactive, while loyal men, white and black, were falling under the knives and pistols of a rebel mob; cheering for Jeff. Davis and Andy Johnson, showing the rebel colors and led by Mayor Monroe? This was the worst scandal in the whole series of scandalous occurrences. General Baird did at last bring the military on the scene. Why could he not have done it three hours before ? ADDITIONS ON PROFESSION. The two Presbyteries in and adjoining our city, reported each over four hundred additions on profession during the late ecclesiastical year. This is a larger num ber than was reported by any..other Pres bytery in the body—a result as surprising as it was gratifying; for during the revivals of the winter and spring, many felt as if the Churches of the city, especially, were almost by passed in the distribution of bless • ings. It would seem that that the outward and the spiritual progress have been simul taneous, although not enjoyed in an equal degree by all. OUR CHICAGO CORRESPONDENT. NEW CEEIIROH3S:=4,3AGO A new church has recently been formed by a committee of the Chicago Presbytery, in the southern section of the city. It prospects are flattering in a high degree. The portion of the city in which it is located is now.suburban, but it is rapidly improving. Beautiful groves overspread it with shade, and its geographical relation to business centres will ensure its speedy occupancy by citi zens of the best class. The church is small as yet, but is imbued with . the spirit of Christian enterprise. It is pro posed to erect, at once, a house of wor ship, and to engage the services of as able and faithful a minister as a liberal salary and the many attractions of the field will command. It will be but a few years before. what is now called " Oakland" will be covered with the abodes of taste, intelligence, and wealth. This is the ninth of the New School churches in Chicago, all of which are in a prosperous condition. JOLIET About a week since, a church was formed in this thriving town. The com mercial importance of Joliet is derived mainly from the fact that near it are the immense quarries from which the build ing stone used so extensively through out the Northwest is taken. It is a fine-grained limestone, erroneously called marble. It has not the crystalline structure of marble, bat resembles it in appearance. It is susceptible of a smooth and beautiful finish, and may be wrought into ()Very graceful form. When 'first taken from the quarry, it .is, in color, a delicate drab, a pleasant neutral tint, called by fresco painters, French gray. Exposure to the atmosphere gives it a creamy shade. It can be cut in blocks large enough for monoliths life Cleopa tra's Needle. A few days since I saw, in one 'of our cemeteries, a shaft of it nearly fifty feet in height. It is used for the purposes for which stone is re quired—broken into fragments for a McAdam road—split into slabs for pavements—artistically wrought into vases and pinnacles and statues. The supply is absolutely inexhaustible. Up to this period there has been no Presbyterian church in Joliet. A Con gregational church was founded there many years ago, but its minister has al ways been connected with the Presby tery of Chicago. Rev. Lewis H. Loss was long its pastor. He was succeeded by Rev. John Kidd, a Scotchman of remarkable ability in the pulpit. He has just closed his ministry there, and is about to take charge of a neighboring congregation. Circumstances which it IS/ Per annum, in advance: By Mail, $3. By Carrier, ItS 50 0 friftg cents additional, after three months. Clubs.—Ten or more Papers sent to one addreas. payable strictly in advance ar.d in one remittance. By Mail, $2 50 per annum. By Carrier. $3 per annum. Ministers and Ministers' Widows, $,2 50 in advance. Home Missionaries, $2 00 in advance. Remittances by mail are at our risk. Postage.-Five cents quarterly, in advance, paid by subscribers at the office of delivery. Advertisements.-12% cents per line for the first, and 10 cents for the second insertion. One square (ten lines) one month V 4 no -• two months 6 54 three months 7 5* six months 12 u 0 one yar 1 the following disc e ount on long advertisements, 8 inoo - serted for three months and upwards, is allowed:— Over 20 lines. 10 per cent. off; over 50 lines. 20 cent.: over 100 lines, 33% per cent. is not necessary to detail, have led to an interruption of harmony in this church. It has been for time apparen that thPinterests of religion would lit promoted by a new organization. The result will be a Congregational church having strictly Congregational connec tions, and a Presbyterian church by its side, each of them stronger than the old church has ever been. The community is large enough for both; indeed, evan gelical religion has really suffered for want of a second church to gather ele ments which would not crystallize about the old nucleus. The new church is weak at present, both in numbers and inewealth ; it will grow speedily strong. EVANSTON This is the most important of the sub urban villages within easy reach of Chicago. It is twelve miles north of the city, on the shore of Lake Michigan —a pleasant and attractive place for those who desire the quiet of the coun try for home, and the excitements of the .city for business. The reigning religious influences of the place have hitherto centered about the Northwestern Uni versity (Methodist) which is located here_ An effort was made three or four years ago to gather a Congregational church under the shadow of the Univer sity, but with no Permanent success. Gradually a cluster of Presbyterian families was collected, and the project of forming a Presbyterian church was discussed. It seemed desirable, if poo Bible, to bring together all of the two denominations. It was, therefore, agreed, after consultation, to adopt the some what doubtful expedient of a union church, and such a church bas been formed. Probably a more thoroughly "in dependent" church never existed. It was formed under the eyes of two Presbyte rian ministers, both from Canada, yet they can hardly be said to have formed it. In the evening of the day of its or ganization, one of these ministers, Rev. Mr. Duncan, was installed as its pastor; clergymen from different denominations, Presbyterian, Congregational, Methodist, and Baptist, assisting in the exercises, yet not installing the candidate ; for they acted neither as presbytery or council, but simply . performed the parts assigned to them by the church. The church has a strictly Calvinistic creed. It articles of goverpment are what used to be called, in Wisconsin, Presbygational. A " Committee of Dis cipline7aappointed, to whom all mat ters of order are entrusted, as to a ses sion. There is, however, a liberty of appeal from their decisions to the church itself. There are also deacons who dis charge the usual functions of that office. The church will have no ecclesiastical connection. The pastor will join the Presbytery of Chicago. It remains to be seen how such an arrangement will succeed. The church is enterprising in its action, and pecuniarily liberal in its views. It gives its pastor a salary of $2OOO. He is said to be a man of de cided ability. A house of worship is to be erected forthwith. IMPROVEMENTS . The edifice of the Eighth Church in Chicago is rapidly rising. It will be a tasteful and commodious structure. The Seventh Church, occupying what was until recently missionary ground, ia about to enlarge and adorn its sanctuary at an expense of four or five thousand dollars. A new organ is also to be intro duced into the building thus improved. MOW. `l . notice in your last issue an extract from the speech of Dr. Humphrey, of Kentucky, befoie his Presbytery, in which he expresses doubt as to the pos sibility of union between the two bran ches of our Church. There is no ques tion that such a doubt prevails some what extensively, especially among the Old School churches on the border; but from a somewhat intimate acquaintance with the sentiments of Old School men, I judge that the doubt does not always proceed from, and is not generally asso ciated with, hostility to union. Dr. Humphrey's officiating at the joint com munion of the two Assemblies is not in consistent with the expressions of his speech. There are many on both sides who are skeptical as to the present pos sibility of such a union as is alone desi rable. Ido not myself feel certain that the report of the joint committee of thirty will be favorable to an immediate union. rl)he "My Policy" of our Presi dent is not conducive to that sentiment which much exist that a union may be perfect. So long as political issues ex ert-their divisive influenbe upon our ec clesiastical bodies we must walk apart. When the old leaven of slavery is thor oughly purged from both sides, we shall readily come into one path—move in one phalanx. WABASH. CHICAGO, August 11, 1866 A COMMUNICATION on the late distin— guished Chief of the Cherokee nation, JOHN Ross, has been prepared by - a competent. hand, and will appearin our next
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