gb.r. :k:trilrric:4o....-.....:..):ktiA1i John. AliVeir 16july 68 New Series, Vol. V, Nc,.. $3 00 By Mail. $3 50 By Carrier. 50ots Additional after three Months. puritan . ..irt5...8t.01:4% T URSDAY, .11ARC11„:26; Ig6B. WHAT CONSTITUTES:A PARISH? The recent trial. of Bev: Stephen TI. Tyng has brought, into activity some long dormenkclaims, which have more than a.denominatidnal , interest. If the canon :underWhich he was disciplined was rightly interitete,d l bk the court, the . parochial system of therEpiscopal Church. in this country involves. anl 'assumption .'of 'territory and persons, which is simply an outlaw!, upon .our .American ideas (if deneminatioral eqUidity.: "That' it?.-Wai .1 • rightly interrireted, we do ;not; „believe; the .Isiew ,l(o" rk diocese at least, : the ,cutistruetiOn given must. temain ,the,..operative one,. until changed. hy.ghe action of; the General Convention —an event ,of Which we suppose therels"un mediate hdpe , . The parish systemof the Churekof ,E'nglatid gives to the_ incumbent of each parish; a fixed territory, makteg all the , persons there residing to become - parislaiOners. Whey - allay be seaters,dis coinut,ll,iiitiiiitis, iu Presbyb or I%.te the (list tutei''the4arish ohurah, or accept the services of the incumbent - ; still they 'belting tolliiipitrishrund are his parishioners. `.l.`hi..is l ihe l ,parciehiaireirtingenaent for a Suite Church, andtVOtildieconie . a neceasity, if any necessity for a sta.'s establishment•existed. But, until the exhuming,_ ofthis old canon, we had supposed that, in this couqtry, and under our voluntary sYstem,,this claim to 'pastoral au thority over territory as s,uch, waslil?arislon i ed. 11`,e had supposed that the Episcopal CiDireli• here, it not content to cast Wolf us au iudefen,4ble spiritual usurpation, had at least q.uietly.dropped it as an imprauticability. • • •••• • . In this counir;, the true idea of a parish is that which assigns to a pastor the persmis. -and families who usually attend upon his- ministra tions, as being pl'operly his Pgrtkhiouers: it ac counts no p,ersous as such simply beeauseho,l their proximity to his church. Tue church en Washington bquare in thiti city, maybe, and tact is, attended: by families_who a.dOzen squares distant, and within one squar`Of anOther church of the saute order., , t iorritorially they might be claimed by the latter, but-intact they are Rover thought of except as belonging to the parish of the termer. And we believe .it ., was in , evidence that precisely this state of' things exists in New Brunswick, between thltparish of Dr. Stubbs, the prosecutor of Mr. Tyug for the of feuee of idli•mlion and his nei , libOnteetee ivhfo united with..bim iu the-protest. Tile Episcopal churches of this city may each 'have its territorial parish: we, know not, havr 'this ,is but we are sure that if every Episcopal family is really a resident of the parochial territory' orthe parish whose worship it attends, a .city, map with the parish boundaries marked; would 4•'•it rich puzzle fur a geographer. We,preautue, fat::t in the case is, that, on' the .prinbipai of territorial in trusion—thd only charge against` a day passes in which ,the Episcopal: clergy of Philadelphia or New York; in their'performiince of sonic of the serviees,ofihe Church, are not'mak ing exactly the legal intrusion 'which Mr. Tyng made in the parish of Dr:' Stubbs: it is,a,st i ate of things which, ander thexelig ions liberty enjoyed in this eountrris unaitiOidable---tiothiug less. .reb ple will noi,,,subinit, to.atert,itorial parish relation, as a thing of prescription. They will; on the one hand, choose' their ovVri th 9 other hand, they,will reside in.,wore or . less proxituitil , to the place of itswcreh;ip;- I .i they , please. •,, • • The principle on which.' Dr. Stubbs. founded, his complaint, and which;while the deCikion the court stands unreversed,suust he accepted in the New York , diocese astalaw-or'the'illpiscopal Church, is the English 'one Whic4 % ii3s,'We j have said, gives •the' rector a territory with every dweller upon it, as his' parish: ''Mr."Tyng, itr truded upon ,the: parish of Pr. Stoh,s,.not by entering • his :church, not by going . 4otig -the families of hie Congregation with ptivate offi ces, or calling-them u, .together. at some place for schismatic servieePitnit _acceptingi an invitation to -,preach` An. IC71164:110 ,4ehurchi located within the , :geograpktioal: ltmitei of •said' parish. Of course elegy - one ' presuings, the real offence to hava_hflen Interdenominational Fraiernization; bat as this Wis-cittifulty leftjont of the iudietnrent; and ia544#4a1?44, - ;04 1 -0ed, we take only the d04.3' umentary,yiew of the case ;, and that makes inetktable this idgidafleffect of the complaini,--that Dr. Sltubbs etaints that, un der the Church lam, the Methodist Church there i 9 a part of his', parish„ that the people of the , • • ~ congregatten to whom : Mr. Tyng preactiett, , er.as t least SO Maitrori kbemras tota. within - !: . tory, are his parishioners, and are under his ec clesiastical jurisdiction as their rector. And the' logical result of the decision of thecourt is to to give thisponstrous assumption the - imprimatur of the diocesan authority of New York! We 'suppose there' are dioceses in this 'country in which such a ceanplaint'n'tiuld have been promptly dis Missed. We know that , sdme of the Episcopal clergy around us, including men of .the highest consideration, incur .precisely the:.same exposure to pros'6chtion, but the . ); are'not molestecNr likely to be. But the 'evenChere naked, is one of a . ..c series of movements which' are working the Churgh. 'concerned toward some 'mire decisive and• unmistakable positionr on the points at issue. (f . thelCi6 the inimericar strength to . carry; out • . - anti ' , n‘afe- O • tisnis it will ere ion& co'/ des, develop itself by mere .specific canons. If, on the other hand, those bishops,and .clergy._who are desirous of Servjlig;:the, cause of our common Christianity, 4herever and whenever the truce? (lonian cry calls them, find theMselves able to command a .vote, they will sweep , aside' these technical embarrassments, as relicsof the darkneßS Miich is' past, now' that the light shineth. di)", belin•A:'that ManyTreneral Conferences will pass, before 'either more and : :sharper restric tions willbe i laid.Upon, the. Low-A:lhu.rehi,elergy or- they wilPtdisenthrall the Church ab 1.. whole from this bondage to effete canons, and in offipial Ministrations and holy cordiality, walk 'hand in hand with the entire "sacramental host of Gpd.S elect," THE MEETING OF THE JOINT COMMIT.- Th E has vangelat of last week a much fuller rppert of the meeting of the Committees on Re union, than appears• in any of our. other; contem , poraries. We were aware-of all the facts stated, and more, but Were pfev nted from publishing them and.others by ii - fiehno• Of`what was due Co the ciretunstances and wishes ,saf, the Committdes themselves, and to •_the -Assemblies .which they represent. But us` thee() facts have been made pnblic, We -think our readers may ,as-well lie made acquainted with them. We, fthe'iefiiie copy from the Evangelist arnisina that Dr. Pat tersurr,- I*n before thepLatvae 'was re - tiched, now finds T hinkself rinablet ti . p - ObV i e h lie,understands t of the asis,—as it,- g as no su - ciently guardinc , our Presbyterian liberties: He , prefers the plan agreed tipen,last Year. -, The Old School Committee met a day 'pa ad vance, for separate consultation: 'When both came together, they presented certain points on whieh,they desired a modification of, the •basis formerly adopted. This led -at once to a full ex planation on both sides. Brethren on both sides felt it-due to eaeh'other, and to the great bbdies which they represented, to be perfectly outspo ken. Hence they " kept back nothing." Every latent suspicion that lurked in the corner of any heart, was brought to light. I ,The 86eol brethren told all their doubts and fears. On our side the Committee were equally,phAn. Dr. Pat terson, though sineerely - desirous of union, if it could_ be a truaand,cordial one, with no mitntal reservations, whatever, was not yet blind. to the difficulties in.the way: If there were to be " guar antees" for " orthodoxy" on one aide, there should be guarantees for "liberty" on.the other. He was not willing to surrender a pa'rtiele of that liberty iu Christ, in which our churches had en joyed such a blessing from on was - a valuable accession to the Committee that he could be preaent, not only on account of his own personal iufiuence, which is deservedly great, hat, - as hg represents the 'Northwest. :Other brethren were ,If the unien was to take place, it Was not M be One.iii whichthe New School men were merely, .to ,be tolerated, but oup in which both parties,were id be equals in every re spect.:;t , These declarations had their effect. It is due to truth to say, that, this mutual frankness dis closed such a divergence of' views, that at one time those wbo were most desirous of union, felt' very doubtful of the result. . They had been in session two days, and Still they could, otsee their ,Way , to a perfect avreement " Their hearts were anxious and troubled, lest:: [Weir labors bad • , - been id vain. ' But'phe third day brought lia.ht. After dis , .cussion had been exhalisted, Dr. Gurley, _of Washington, who had come to Philadelphia in great feebleness, yei` r ivho was anxious to be wes efif meeting, whirls night be the hist 'could Ptteria, , arose wad'affered'h resoldtion that . a clause be L iiigeited in „ the doctrinal basis, Which 'LLwl,illeriVii4ting that the Calechisms, our'reek "rdiedstaildaids as a, Church,..should bp held in intd,,,a-ritS and in their fair hiStotteal, that in' the 'net - brined o'r Cal viniki6,eitise,” yet granted fail liberty to both sides - in "explaining and 11- lustratidg'" those doctrines of' the u-ospel. This cut the 'k not atmide., The resolution'was adopted untitiinic". - All felt that there could be no ( longer any o' union in a Church 'which had Villa - proved itself at once prthodbx and free. tfigiledi,ffidultie's Were'thus mei: and it be gan to - aftigethat they wouldfie ov63orn i e; the tide oefeelin g , which had beeWrestraiiLed, - 11egan 'to.ii 4 geand overflow. As they bowed together in thatiksgiving to God, the voice of prayer was mingled with weeping; and at — the close of the laieetina•, as'they were about to part, they stood PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 1868. 0p . ,: and joining hands; Song together the glorious doxology • " Praisa ifroni. Whom , all blessings flow." • THE PERMANENT , COMMITTEE ON FOR- MISSIONS. ,. The Pprmanent c i opwittee on Foreign , sions desires' to.remind the Standi:ng,Counaittees and Stated ClJerks or Presbyteries , af•the impor. tined of their forWardinistatenients i frce'the Presbyteries; so th 4 thetOintnitt'ee !nay be able . • . • d L VI , make a full and satisfactory ' report to t the I, neral Assembly.: Such. stutemeats shouldobe Ad dressed to the Secretarrtat 258 Bmadiay; New York) so as to reach it the latek.t','l:4''the .Y +'s • r • " first day of May. IJO - The Counuittee also wcuhl culltbe attention of Presbyteries; pastors, andlChurchreessions,to the earnest appeal of , the Jest; ASsenibly for an .. on-f ward movement, in all the congregations Hader its care, in the 'grey t catiSeof 'Foreign Missians. - The Assembly, qxp,rcwsl its •‘• I cern" that thik-cause does not receive . a lar i ger support; and declared its se'atitnett , to :bet that ait WoUld , be disisttous beyond ensure to` the piety and power of oni,Clisiireit", W4Ve j the prevail that ta,prowitd.hcme evangelization our foreign work