ilintritau fazinjtErian. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1867 PRESBYTERIAN lIBION CONVENTION. Preliminary Prayer Meeting. A prayer-meeting preliminary to the Convention was held on Tuesday evening, November sth, in the First Reformed Presbyterian church, Rev. Dr. Wy lie's. The pastor presided. There was a very en couraging attendance, although many of the dele gates to the Convention had not yet reached the city. After singing a Ptialin (Rouse's Version was the only book used during the entire meeting of the Convention, altlibugh occasional hymns were vol unteered) and reading a passage of Scripture, Dr. Wylie gave his views upon the general subject of union, taking the ground that the divided condition of the Christian Church was Sinful, and that organ ic union was conteriiplated in the prayer of Christ for the unity of his people. After prayer and sing ing, the meeting was thrown open for voluntary ex ercises. Rev. .0.• Chiniquy, who:waS on the plat form, spoke impressively of the great embarrass ment felt by a priest leaving the Romish Church and looking fOr. the true Church tuniing 'the various bodies of Protestantism. Each denomination de clared the other to be in error, and even the Old School mould say that the New School' taught damnable error,.l- and the. New-Schoo would warn against the Old. The ex-priest's address, delivered in his broken way, was a very *effective appeal for Protestant unity. The other marked address of the evening was from 11ev. B. W. Chidlaw of the (N. S.) branch, in Ohio.. .Mr. Chidlaw_ pled, in his fervid electrifying way, for unity in the face of the com mon foe. He , spoke of the rival English Captains in the same fleet, whom the commanding officer, on the eve of an action, summoned together .to his own vessel, and there, without argument, pointed them first to the enemy's line of battle bearing down upon them, then to the flag waving aboVe them, and fi nally bade them go and both do their duty,' The whole audience was thrilled by, his impassioned ap plication of this incident to the divided sections of the Presbyterian body. At 9 o'clock the . meeting was brought to a close. Mr. George El. Stuart an nounced that the great body of the delegates would make their typpearpice to-morrow. He also said he would venture to appoint an Elder's prayer-meeting at 9 o'clock in the morning, to be followed by the. proper opening prayer-meeting of the Convention at ten. THE CONVENTION. Wednesday Morning—Prayer Meeting. At 10 o'clock, the Chair was taken by Rev. B. W. Chidlaw and an hour was spent in devotional exer cises, which were of a -deeply interesting Character. Rev. Dr. Evans, of the Old School Synod of Cin cinnati, arose and-made an earnest appeal in behalf of the union of all the different branches of the Pres byterian Church in the United States. He Said that not one member of the Church in twenty in his sec tion of the country was opposed to union. Scarcely an elder in the Miami Valley opposed it. All were w:lling to come together on the great doctrines com= mon to all the branches of the Church, while each individual church will be privileged to follow its own peculiar forms. At a recent session of the Cin cinnati Synod, there was not one dissenting voice on the question of union, We should do away with our little differences. In active piety we have al ways been one. Why, then, should we waste our time and our energies in petty dissensions? Rev. Samuel Sawyer, of East Tennessee, thought we should profit by the mistakes of the past. He came from one of the battle grounds of the Church. He would mention an incident of one of the old con flicts. Two of the representative leaders were the only two men in that section that wore a wig. One . of them wgs holding a protracted meetin • Ri• h 4 • . . an . lost. Ili: • erian • rother heard of his misfor tune, and mounting his horse he rode over and of fered him his wig till the close of the meeting. The controversial brother was affected even to tears, but presently his zeal "for the faith once delivered to the saints" -grew upon him, and he uttered some harsh and offensive things, when father Balch be came indignant and withrew his kind offer in the following words : " And now, Sir, you shan't have the wig, either," and so fathr Doak had to worry through the meeting bald headed. Much as we ad mire the good qualities of these venerated men, we cannot refer to such scenes but with pity and sad . - ness. In the days of Rev. James Gallagher, personally known to many on this floor, an old lady of New Providence, Tennessee, was asked whether she was New School' or Old School. Her reply was, " thank the Lord that when I joined the Church I had'nt sense enough to know the difference--I just joined Gallagher." Are there not thousands in all branches of the Church militant who "joined Gal lagher ?" And are we not justified in the belief that the world is to become wiser and better? Some years ago, continued the speaker, I was ral lying Sunday School children in New York city and stumbled-on a man loading a wagon with bottles of beer. " Have you any children for the Sabbath School," I inquired. "No," he answered. "I don't believe in Sunday Schools. They are a sprout of free agency. If the Lord wanted to have Sunday Schools, he could carry them on without our help." " Are you a member of any Church ?'' I respectfully asked. "Yes, the Muggletonian," was his reply. Of course I was at the end of my row. I had heard of almost everything else but Muggletonians, but when I reached my library and took down Buck's Theological Dictionary, there it was, "Mtiggleto nians, disciples of one John Muggleton," a three cornered minister of, England, who switched off on some side track, and here were some of his follow ers on this side of the Atlantic. Perhaps it is no lack of charity to believe or to affirm the opinion that every Church will not float down to the millen nial ages. Will the Hard .Shell Baptist body, for example, ekist there ? Let us suppose one under fall headway in the Millennium, with its broad banners flying,' an ti- te mperan ce , anti•prayer meeting, anti-: Sabbath School, anti-mission," would not the fol lowers of Christ put their pries under it and push it back towards the dark ages whence' it started? Many church organizations may, before that time, go by the board ; many be essentially modified, and then fused into unity with such as come nearer to. the divine word. Profiting by the errors of the past, may we not hope that in this Convention the stream of divine love shall rise to such a flood-tide as to bear off all the blind bridles, that we may be enabled to see eye to eye, and grasp by the hand and press to the heart every Christian brother. A recess of ten minutes was then ordered. TempOrary Organization. The Convention was called to order by the Rev. W. W. BARR, and Mr. G. H. Stuart, of Philadelphia, was appointed temporary Chairman, and the Rev. Dr. Archibald, of New York, temporary Secretary. The One Hundredth Psalm was sung. and prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. BLAIR, of the United Presbyterian Church, and a portion of the fourth chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians read. Mr. STUART addressed to the Assembly the follow ing words of welcome : Fathers and Brethren—ln the name of our once crucificed and now ascended Redeemer, we hail your coming to-day. We helleveit is the harbinger of better days for our now divided Church, and tbr the . cause of Christ in the .land.:This is the first general.convocation ofPresbyterian Churches in this THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, NONTEAIBE 14, 1867. country. We hail yOur appearing in the midst of us, we believe every delegate has come up in the spirit of fervent love to' Christ—that you believe in the unity of the Churell, and that you are praying that the divisions which now keep brethren of the same faith apart, may speedily be removed. We rejoice in your gathering together in the city of Phil adelphia. In the name of all the Presbyterian Churches here, we welcome you to this city—to our hearts, to our heart of hearts, to our churches and our pulpits, and gladly hail you ad brethren and fel low-servants of Christ. Mr, Stuart then gave a sketch of the proceedings which had resulted in this meeting, and read the resolutions of the Synod of the Reformed Presbyte rian' Synod; cal lin 7 'this Convention; which are as follOWs Whereas, The interests-of the cause of Christ re quire us, at this time, to inaugurate measures to heal Zion's breaches, and to bring into one the di vided portions of the Presbyterian family; therefore, Resolved, That this Synod recommend to the sev eral Presbyterian judicatories, now met, or soon - to meet, to unite with us in calling a general Conven tion of the Presbyterian - Churches of the United States, to meet in the city of Philadelphia, on the second Wednesday of September, next, or at such time or place as may be agreed upon, for prayer and conference in regard to the terms of union and com munion among thevarious branches of-Abe Presby teri'an ' - Resolved, That we recommend that said Conven tion shall consist of a minister .and a ruling elder from each Presbytery. ) Resolved; That certified copies of,this action be im mediately communicated, by the - Clerk of Syn d, to the bodies.included in this call. - Resolved, That each body represented in said Con vention .phall, without, respect to. number .of dele gates, be entitled to an equal vote on all questions submitted for decision. Resolved, Thatthe. delegates appointed by the Pres byteries of this. Church be require& to! report to this Synod, for its action; at its next meeting, the result reached by the Convention. Resolved, That Rev. J. N. McLeod, D.D., Rev. T. W. J. Wylie, D.D , and George. FL '8 tuant, Esq., be, and they are hereby appointed a ComMittee of Ar rangement and Correspondence in regard to such Convention. At a subsequent:meeting, the time of the Conven tion was changed to November 6th. The objects of the Convention t Mr. Stuart contin ued, are prayer and conferenCe in regard to the union of the Presbyterian Churches in this country. 0 I that we could feel the lull value of prayer. It seems to me that Payson caught a glimpse of the value of prayer when he said, as he stood near the kingdom of glory, that if he was permitted to return to the earth again, he would spend the half of his life in prayer. If this spirit of prayer is here, our conference will be sweet, and pleasant, and usefal. Remember the purposes of this meeting. We do .here come ere to set up denominationa banners; Union is the order of the. day in the nations. Union is the object for which we have just been contend ing in this land. I never knew the value of union until I stood on the battlefields, and heard men speaking to those who were standing in their grave clothes of. Jesus and his salvation, and singing to gether the songs of Zion. Satan is, brethren, mar shalling his forces. Christ is calling us to come to gether. A voice conies from the Old World, Where the Presbyterian Clrfirches are seeking a union of their forces. It Wines, too, from the graves of Brain erd and John-M. Krebs, the Chairmen of the com mittees of the Old aid New-school churches now joined together in glory. The eyes of men are upon us. I hope that the spirit which has pervaded the prayer-meetings will guide our deliberations. I use not the words of man,•but the words of holy Scripture, in invoking upon you the blessing of God —praying that Christ may dwelt in your hearts by faith, that ye beingsLirrt ie and breadth, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abun dantly above ail that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the Church of Christ Jesus, throughout,all ages, world without end. Amen. The following were fixed upon•as the hours of the meetinofgo the Convention :—from nine, A. M., to twelve; from three, P. M., to half-past five ; from seven to adjournment for the day: A Committee on. Credentials was appointedi'con sisting of the following persons :—Rev. Messrs. Shy dam. J. Few Smith, Gyms Dickson, Wallace, Mc. Leod, A. B. Miller. Elders —J. Peters, J. B. Pin neo, William Blair, William Rankin, Jr. George H. !Ana/4, was appointed President. of the Convention by acclamation, and the Rev. Dr. Ar chi bald made Permanent Secretary. A Committee on Permanent Organization was ap pointed, Rev. Geo. Duffield, Jr., Chairman. Adjourned with prayer' by Dr. Breckinridge. AFTERNOON SESSION-PERMANENT ORGANIZATION. Opened with prayer by Dr. Hatfield. The Coih mittee on Permanent Organization repotted the fol. lowing list of officers, which was unanimously adopted:" • President—George El. Stuart. of Philadelphia. Vice Presidents—Rev. Messrs. William Davidson. Charles Beatty, Samuel W. Fisher, John N. McLeod, David Cooper, J. H. Suydam. Secretaries—Rev. J. D. Archibald, D. D., Rev. R. D. Harper, D. D., and Rev. W. T. Eva. They also proposed the names of two delegates from each body represented, as a business commit tee. . This proposal was vigorously opposed by Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge, as likely to tie the hands of the body. He preferred freedom in offering Sug gestions by every member of the body. What was the_ use of this Committee? Mr. Duffield. The Doctor himself is named as one of.the members. Dr, Breckinridge, from some cause, seemed to re gard this as an insult, and spoke contemptuously of bin Duffield as"" that young man!" (Mt Duffield's son, was ordained to the ministry in this city last Tuesday.) The Business Committee was appointed, as fol lows: . , Business Committee—Rev. A. G. - Wallace and R. C. Stewart,'Esq., Rev. R. J. Breckinridge and Hon. Charles Drake, Rev. H. B. Smith, and Hon. Henry W. Williams, Rev. J. M. Schenck and Joseph Camp bell, Esq., Rev. W. S. Bratton and William Blair, Rev. A. M. Miller and Robert Carr, Esq. Rev. Dr. John Hall, late of Dublin, now of New York City, and Rev. C. C. Chiniquy, were invited to seats as corresponding members. Rev. Dr. Eggleson (0.8.) Moved that a commit tee of two from each body represented, be appointed to prepare a Basis of Union. Dr. Breckinridge ob jected- in strong terms. • Being invited to the plat he continued in violent characteristic language, de claring it to be a futile undertaking to unite five different denominations. He spoke of this- body as composed, in the main, of delegates froM the Old School Church and from certain offish oots from the Old School. He referred in the most disparag,ing man ner to the pending attempt to unite the Old and Nov School bodies, and declared that none of us here would live to see it effected. "No l Mr. Moderator !" he exclaimed, "if you should live to be a thousand years old you would not see*. As for the mem bers of the New School Joint Comtnittee, I know little or nothina of ,thern ; but it is perfectly no torious that there c is not a learned theologian on the Old School Coinmittee." Calls of order. Mr. Stuart. I hope our revered lather will be in order. Dr. Breckinridge, (with asperity.) I did not come here to be lectured be you. This comes of putting a lay-man in the Chair. [Here the speaker was (mite overwhelmed with hisses. some were for having him continue. A voice: " bet him speak as a representative of the Old School.' Cries of "No f Noll Dr. Breckinridge. If this body is to he governed by intrigue the curse of God will rest upon it.. With every evidence of discomfiture, the once famous champion of-exscinding bigotry, awkwardly retired from the platform, and was heard of no more. except to be prayed for. Dr. Musgrave of .this city followed, favoring the appointment of the Committee, and expressed hopefully upon the prospect of forming a satis factory basis. All he wanted front the New School was an honest Subscription to the Confession of aith. He apoligized for his "son Robert:" The motion for the appointment was carried. Rev. W. S. Breton of the Reformed Presbyterian Church moved, that inasmuch as the Convention had departed from the plan proposed by the Synod Of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, thiaConven 7 tion be regarded a 9 the Convention of the day. Rev. Dr. John N MeLeOd:O fthe Reformed Ch uroh; desired to-lay-before the Committee on Credentials certain documents more fully exhibiting the intent of the Reformed "Synod in calling this Convention: The question.was..asked w4ether these documents had all -been published when it appearing that . . some of them had not been, it Was; argued that this Convention could' not go behind the publialied'call for its assembly. Pending the consideration of the motion, the Co nvention adjourned. . • • ' ' 'EVENINa SESSION • - • Opened with prayer, by ReV. Dr. Steele of'Ohio. The . discussion of Mr. Bratton's resolution. de claratory of the sk;tus u of the body was.resumed. of Carlisle,thought the Reformed branch did not WISIf to chntrol the action of the Convention and,at all events he questioned. the right of examinin tbe l roceedings of the Synod. To meet the Main question involved in the present discussion, Rev. pr. Fisher ; of.Utiea., offered a sub stitute for ,the resolution of Mr. BrattOn, providing that, in all - cases lfivOlvin. direct 'action on terms Of the basis of union; tee Vote of die Convention • . shall 'he ,taken chureho4, and in other cases in the ttsuai manner„ unless other Wise directed by the majority; The resolution was agreed to. The Committee on the Basis of Reunion was an nounced, as follows: Rev. Dr. Eggle:on and Mr. A. E. Chamberlain, Old School ;, .Hey. Dr. Fisher and Hon. Judge Williams. New School ;,.Rev. J. Y. Scouller and Mr. William Getty, United Preabyterian, Mr. Ja mes.C. Reforthed Presbyterian ; key. J. W. Schenck and Mr. James Peters, Reformed Dutch, and Rev. D. Miller . and Mr. Robert Carr, Cumberland Presbyterian. At, was now voted to go into Conference for Expression of Views. Rev. Mr. :Blair; of the U. P. Church, said we were all agreed that . the doctrinal basis should be the 'Westminster Confession and Catechism. It only remained to settle the question of Psalmody, in which his denomination had the most interest. Rev, Dr. L. M. Miller, (0. 5.,) of Northern New York, referred to the early and frequent Conferences on Union held by the Old and New School bodies in his section, and mentioned the late Judge Fine as a warm friend of union. He testified to the general preparedness of the people of both branches in that section for the Reunion. Rev. 0. E. W. Leonard, of lowa, (N. S ,) referred to the disadvantages under which both branches suffered, in his section, from the fact that neither was strong enough alone to provide proper 'educa tional fag i [ICI es- x----. 3 rezir.:_ uren or rroteatants W - are going to Roman Cath olic churches. if once united, the Presbyterians could maintain an institution of the right sort. In his opinion the masses of bOth the leading branches in that section were ripe -for union. Rev. C. P. Wing, orCarlisle, Pa., (N. S.) said there were great fears on the part of many that the union attempted between the two principal branches of the Presbyterian Church in this -country would fail, With these fears he did not share. Certain periodicals of the Old School had expressed sus picions and demanded fuller statements as. to the orthodthty of the New . School, but there was. evi-' &nee Of a willingness on the part of New School periodicals to meet and satisfy this demand. To his mind this fully met the exigency of the case and removed the only great obstacle between the two bodies. saints what is Rev. Dr. Marshall, (0. S.,):of Ohio, said he had been a member of General Assembly . with tbe de parted Brainerd in the exciteinents which rent the Church, but be was free to admit — that there had been a wrong spirit manifested on both sides in that controversy. There was a lack. of the Spirit of Christ. FOrhimself he believed in the soundness of the great mass of the New SJhool body. Dr. Mac Dill, (U. P.,) of Ohio, followed.. - - The Chair here called on Dr. Bodge to lead in prayer. A psalm was sung and Prof. henry B. Smith was called on to. follow in another prayer. Just at this point it was announced that the Con vention of Evangelical Episcopalians, now in session in Epiphany Church, was praying for this body, and it was suggested that we should reciprocate the fraternal, act. Accordingly Prof. Smith prayed earnestly for the blessing of God upon that body. Rev. Dr. Shedden, of Rahway, argued for conces sion of disputed points. Rev. W. W. Barr, (U. P.,) presented a paper as a basis of union which was definite, but iMpractica ble, involving a demand that all the other branches should substantially come to the platform of his Church on Psalmody and Close Communion. George Stuart, the Chairman, said - lie would also read his speech as an offset to the speech of his brother. which he did not like, but it was a speech Which he himself had not written. Amid much curiosity, Mr. Stuart proceeded to read the follow ing letter: Edinhurg, October 16th, 1867.—My Dear Mr. Stuart:—Yourletter showing that the Union leaven is at active work among the brethren in America, reminded me of the words, "As a cup , of cold water is to a thirsty sOnl, so is good news trom a far coun try." I am one of those who cling to the theology of our fathers, my motto being, to quote again the words of Scripture, "Thus saith the Lord, stand ye in the way and seek and ask fbr the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." • • But - while in this age of doubts and daring specu lations, adhering more tenaciously than ever to the old theology, I would never place natters of infer ence, often remote. inference that belong only to, the forms and outworks of our faith, on the same level with truths that are of clear revelation and of sav ing import. Yet this, the cause of many unhappy separations, is an error to which man is prone. The tendency of the Church, as proved by her past his tory, has always been to do what our Lord condemn ed in the Pharisees and has described in these words, "Teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Here, it appears to me, has lain the difficulty in tile way or Union, both in your country and in Mine, and it, ejoices my , heart to find that our Pres byterian churches, enlightened and moved, I trust, by one divine Spirit, are becoming more alive tashe duty of distinguishin g . between faith and formse tweet) what God's .S pirit has revealed and man's rea son has inferred; between the doctrines of the Bible and what I may call, without offense, " the tradi tion of the elders." Do not fancy that I set little store. on the views and en-touts of our forefathers. I cherish the memory of thc:,,c men, and hold them in the high est admiration ; but T cannot give you a better proof of that, than my conviction that they, had they lived in our own day, would not have allowed the differences which have too long separated our Pres byterian bodies, to separate, to divide, and weaken them. Men of great catholicity and breadth of view, who "had understanding of the times," they would have accommodated themselves to these in all matters of Mere Christian expediency. They tolerated differences on minor points; they admitted certain questions to be What are called " matters of forbearance;" they regarded customs, however venerable for age, as of no imperative authority, and refused to regard anything as unchangeable and in fallible but the word of God. I am confident : that union, as tioW proposed among the Presby terian beldieS, would have - been the Counsel of all our great reformers.. There is an old Scotch song, which, describing a time when Scotland's back was at the wall, says-- "0 for one hour of Wallace. wjghtl And in these days when 'Ritualism and Rationalism are nialing such havoc in. the Church or Christ, and union among his sound and faithful.followers is so imperatively demanded, I am often disposed to cry, Tor one hour of Knox,. or Cal Fin, or of some other great olil champion of the 'faith;to heal 'our unhappy divisions, and gather the separate, and of ten rival_ churches into one united and unanimous phalanx 1" I rejoice to say that the prospects ofnitch a union here are growing brighter and brighter. The cur rent runs with unabated, and indeed growing force in that direction. yetit - is nat without a measure of anxiety that I, and many others, look to the inarCh of events in Amerida. Here, in order to ob street the progress 'of this cause; some are stirring up the ashes of old controversies, and appealing to old prejudices.- They may as well attempt, L believe, to arrest the rising tide as stop the contemplated union. Still the news that the good work had, been. Consummated in AmeriCa would greatly contribute to cheer the handsof friendsi and weaken the hands of tile - opponents ofunion on Ibis side of the dtlan- . tic. May We hoar of that Boo! Tho'Lord hasten it in his own time ! • • .Some• two . months ago, I attended •the sittings of the Evangelical Alliance, at Amsterdam. Would that all good men in your country and mine saw • thinas with the eyes of distinguished representativeS a n t& foreign Evangelical Churches, whom I met there. With what astonishment did they hear of any oppOsition to the proposed umoriecif our Presbyterian Chnrches.- How little . in the eyes 'of these distinguished men, these impartial and unpre judiced judges, seemed the points on. which the op ponents.of union ,stood. My intercourse with them but confirmed me ill the opinion Pe.nuneiated so far hack as the period of the disruption, and haVe ever since adhered 0, that there is no' valid . excuse or scriptural ground for the' unendowed Presbyterian - Oh arc hes •remai ni ng rt. Let us' pray that God would pour out on your churches and ours the spirit of our blessed Lord; and also of Him, the great Apostle of the Gentiles, who, liberal without being latitudinarian, tolerated Much greater differences of opinion Within the churches he planted that any found within those now aiming at union. • Were our Presbyterian churches, - both here and itrAmerica, united together, and weresuoh a corres pondence established between them as would insure their vigorous and harmonious action, both in the old world and the new, What a power for good were this? We would go - down on the ranks of heathen ism, priestcraft; error and oppression "terrible as an Besides binding our churches, we should, as every good man will- wish, bind the two countries more closely together, rendering nugatory all .the attempts of wicked men to sow discord between us, and alienate those from each other who should live in perpetual - amity, and fight side by side the world's battle for gospel truth and universal liberty. Let me hear how the work goes on in your churches. May- the Lord. bimseif. preside in their assemblieS; making their places at His feet glorious, r and pour out on "assembled elders", such floods of light and !bye that they shall see eve to eye and face to face. Ever yours, &c., Jl Tuomis GITTRHIE. Rev. M. C. Sutphen, said—The First Napoleon sagely remarked that we should march at the head of the ideas of our age. Now, what is the great principle which gives tone and tenor to the move ' ments of the present century ? it is Union. This is manifest in thecivil world. What but, this in spired Prussia to that wondrous' campaign which gained thirty victories in twenty days, and more ef fectively changed the map of Europe than all the wars of the great Bonaparte? What but this in spiration after national unity precipitated that sig nificant conflict now raging ar and the walls of Rome? What but this led our country triumphant ly through the fearful struggle just te.rninated? And this obtains in the ecclesiastical world. Reference 'has been made to the union of the forces of infidel ity. Look also at. what trinendouri sacrifices of doc trine and discipline Prelacy is - maintaining union I Now, if Episcopacy recognizes.uniOn as so neceasa ry that she will compromise even her Protestantism, should we not seek it when no sacrifice of.essential principle is demanded? If Prelacy has sacrificed 47hrist to the unity of the Ch,urch, should we sacrifice Chri.st to the divisions of the Church? 0 ! let us march_ at the head of this controlling idea of our age 1 Let us discern the signs of the time: A basis is offered. in our common Confessions. A venerable father, on behalf of the Covenanter bodies, says thi sufficient. Tifitclaim of my-own. Churc h. is simply an honest subscription thereto for system of doctrine. Such'subscription on every hand is tendered. Let us avail Ourselves in time of this great irresistible principle, and not destroy ourselves by our divisiOns. One word more. It is written, " They that do his will shall know of the doctrine." Methodism even is working itself into orthodoxy. What we need is to advance the whole, line, in order that the few minor, non-essential differences which remain may be removed. Dr. Stevenson, of New York, offered the follow ing, which was pa ,, sed ''Resolved, That the Convention sends its cordial salutation to our Episcopal brethren now assembled in Convention in this city, praying that grace, mer cy, and peace may rest upon them from god, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. The Convention then adjourned. ISEVOND DAY.-NORNING. The prayer-meeting was largely attended. and was of the .deepest interest. Robert Carter, Elder, (of New York) plead for free intercommunion between different branches of the Church, and spoke of the blessed influence which had accompanied the cele bration of the Lord's Supper; as engaged-hi by him in Episcopal, Presbyterian and other churches.. Rev. Cyrus Dickson, (O. 8.) of Baltimore, said Before he left home, he had cut out of a paper a statement made by Dr. Smith to the Evangelical Alliance. He would read only that portion pertain ing to the bodies represented on the floor of this house. The Presbyterian bodies in this country have now 5,000 churches and 6 ; 3 00-ministers, and about - 700,000 - comindniearits. The children and other them beriorthcse families were soiree' five mi I lions,,in all, which were under our care._ The Re formed Duta Church have. 444 churches, 461 min isters and 58,0 10 'members: So that' we may -say with safety, that we represent five million, o f 1 ,,„ pie, live thousand churches, and seven thousan:i ministers. These immensely increased members and resources immensely increased our respensibililv over that of the primitive A poitolic Chur..h, cause we had the same promise: Lo II am with you always, even unto the end of the world, " a n d the same Holy Spirit to go with us when we preach the Gospel, working the same signs and wonders by bringing the nations to Christ. God had two ways of uniting his people. 11 5 poured out his Holy Spirit upon hisministers and people, softening their hearts, removing their preju dices and inclining them to unity and love. If they yielded to the Holy Spirit and acquiesced in the in fluences of his grace, he sent them peace and pros perity, If they acted otherwise, He employed his providence to discipline and compel them to come together. . The speaker said, that on his way home from Presbytery, where he had received the appointment to this Convention, he had passed a blacksmith' s shop. He there saw a cart-wheel which had been running all summer, dried up and loosened by the heat of the July and August months, spokes and felloes and'hub all loose. After turning and wedg ing the spokes and felloes, having heated the tire, and taking a little out of-it, the blacksmith applied it to the wheel. As it'contracted, it brought spokes and felloes, and hub, all together, willingly or un willingly. God is getting Vie faggots all ready, to heat the. tire to bring his people all together. Many thingn' Indicate that wel,vere on the eve of worse times thah we 'have yet seen in this country. These things threatened' because we were regardless of our duties and obligations, and unless we came up to the demands of the hour, they, would ha upon us. Where the speaker lived, it used to be called a border state. They were on the margin and in the midst of millions of people in regard to whom he supposed we had been praying, for years that God. Would open a door of access to them. But when He had "opened this door by the calamities or our tremendous struggle,: we were tiotTeady to take ad vantage of it. And when tinder the influence of God's Spirit, they had . like blind'men, been feeling for the letters which should tell thencof God and or salvation. there . ,was scareily,a cor.o•al's gnarl ready to give of their means to send them the Gos pel. AnA th . e..re was vivzti- :rBs than a corporals guard willing to - go and teach them, in comparison with - the five thousand churches and seven thousand ministers here represented. These people have been by God's providence, elevated to the privilege of citizenship, and are daily influencing our constitu tions and forms of government. It was in view of this our soleinn.duty as well as for our highest in tere-t and safety to evangelize and educate them. We were meanwhile wasting our men and money, in planting little churches in places too feeble to sustain them. There were often ; too, three or four churches of the denominations present on this floor, who were in a single town of five hundred or seven hundred inhabitants.. The ministers wasted their strength, and their wives and children suffered for support in places where one man only was needed. At every little cross-roads and four corners with a black smith shop each denomination wanted to be repre sented. • .Let us-act on the same principles as wise business-men - do, not to open four stores where there were customers for 'only one, and not to have more blacksmiths' shops than there were horses to shoe. Home Illissioni cannot support men at this rate. We are wasting our resources in attempting it. There are places beyond which want the Gospel. Let us not rob them. Let one only have the place. A'brother before him had prayed, for the Holy Spirit as "a spirit of light" to be poured upon the Convention. But we needed him not merely as a spirit of light but as a spirit of love. We already knew a thousand times more than we practised. What we needed was the Holy Ghost to work in 119 the loVe of the truth;_ it was necessary for us to feel rour~;~..nsltsitity in this respect and let that, there fore, be the. burden of 'our prayer. Rev. Dr. McLean then led in prayer, remember ing the work in which the Committee on "Basis of the Union" were then engaged in an adjoining room, that they might present such a report as would be endorsed by the Convention. At the resumption of business, ministers and el ders of the different branches 'of the Presbyterian Church present with the - Convention, not delegates, were invited to seats - as Corresponding members, and their names were called for. Roll of Members. [We regret to say, the Roll has not yet been put in a shape for publishing.] The Committee on Credentials presented their re port ; there were 180 Old 5ch001,.78 New School, 2t; United,.2o Reformedf Presbyterian, 5 Cumberland and 4 Reformed Dutch.churches represented. A committee was appointed to convey the Chrii tian salutations of this "Convention to the Episcopal brethren, as voted last evening. The committee consisted of the following persons :—Rev. Dr. H. B. Smith, Rev. Dr.. Stevenson, Hon. C. D. Drake, Rat. Carter. . An invitation to visit the Union League was ac cepted. The Conference on Terms of Re-union was re su med. Dr. Davidson, said that he bad all his life desired a union of all Protestantism in this country. but that he thought it impracticable, and he had also hoped for a union of the various branches 'lsf the Presbyte rians, which he believed perfectly practicable, if we have a mind to work. Two or three plans have al ready been submitted; one, that we should seek an Evangelical alliance of the Presbyterians ; another h= to form a basis of union which meets with some fa vour on the part of the delegates. He believed that this Convention ought to make the effort for a union. The speaker then offered a resolution that the minis ters be directed to request their church courts to ap pOint a committee of three, which shall constitute an aggregate joint. committee., to meet at a time and place to be agreed upon, to agree upon a basis of union, which they shall submit to the consideration of the various churches for their adoption. Rev. Dr. Donaldson thought this the best plan that had as . yet been presented, and seconded a motion that the resolution be referred to the Committee on the Basis of the Union . . Rev. Dr. Macllfasters, of .Ohio, thought this reso lution Would accomplish more than - any thing that had been offered, and he wished that the committee would return it in a short time for action by the Convention. The Rev. Dr. Musgrave, (0. S.), of Philadelphia , was opposed to referring the paper in question to the Committee on a, Basis of Union, as a positive instruc tion. He thought such action would be a confession that the Convention could do nothing towards effect ing a union except to refer the matter back to the people. lie believed that the Convention was as competent now to settle this question practically as it will be in five or ten years hence. The speaker believed there was no differences either in doctrine or government, between the branches of the Church, and that they were now prepared fora union. lA`` plause.) If union is practicable, it is desirable. The time has come for a strict and organic union. (Applause.) For his part he wished to be known 'ly a thorough Calvinist and a thorough Presbyterian• He had never felt so happy in his life as during the sessions of the Convention. He would thank (.10d if the .committee would tiring us a sound basis on which .we could unite. Such would be its moral in fluence, that all the churches would be led to adopt it He was not so sanguine' that every individu tt would believe in such an organic basis - of the union. Some might stand out together in the cold for a time. But when • they Saw how comfortable we were in side, and - that Ithe door was still kept open, they M='!l
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