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