ffri,ginat tommintiratina
WOMAN'S RIGIITS.-11.
Rev. IT.— W— B. •
SIR : —As a first light for the subject,
I will give you that of revelation : to which the
Martineau philosophy is not particularly defer
ential, but which a Christian people cannot afford
to disregard.
" Let us make man in our image," said the
omnific word. Not man and woman as two, but
man, as both in,one; foreshadowing, it seems to
me, a unity of some sort in the practical career
of the sexes. And, that there might be no mis
take about it, an express decree was. added,
"they shall be one flesh."
What sort of unity, then, was it to be? Of
course not literally physical. That was impossi
ble. It was consequently to be moral, the only
conceivable alternative. But is what bearing and
extent?
One limitation is clear enough: it was not to
merge the individualities of the. parties with res
pect to the divine government; for' , they are
, everywhere 'spoken of in Scrip tnre 'aS.responaible
each for.himself = "He 'that believes shall be
saved." '!,The soubthat, sinneth, it, shall
Another limitation may be guessed : in things;
indifferent, -which God's government allows, and
man's pays 'no regard to; 'the, parties 'rre respec
tively free to dc; their pleasnre; their intercourse
with' each other, and with society arorind them, i
bring in such things wholly unembarrassed.
Subtracting these particulars we perceive` the
range of action that remains under the two-one
ordinance; that is, when the liberty of the con
jugal pair is joint only; a liberty in which, as in,
business partnerships, there is but a single per
„sonality between them to any legal intent, and to
all 'the ends of human government- the two, An
the very terms of the ordinance, are one.
the field of practical .economics. And in this
bearing, nothing could be happier4or the peace
and order of families and thrbugh them, of the
Commonwealth, thaa the divine arrangement
. so
explicitly decreed. ,
The question then will be upon the allotinent
of the headship; as between the . domeatie partners,
for conducting their affairs: For Ahese partners
bring permanently such, and by a bond which
neither of them, nor both together, can dissolve,
provision , mnst necessarily be made , for ' differen
ces of judgment in regard to' business measures;
that is,
"to determine beforehand whose will or
judgment shall be the controlling one; in other
words, which partner shall be head of the con
cern for legal purposes. A point of great mope*,
to which the divine wisdom could not be indiffer
ent, Accordingly . the Operetta announcement was
made at once to the woman :,-Thy desire. shall be
tq thy husband, and Ire shall, rule over thee.”
Sir, I am afraid the .skepticism of some of our
females of the Martineau School,-; may be traced
to a secret quarrel of heart with this announce
ment. Valuiogpersonal power as the infinite
mind does not value it, they.regard the.husband
as unduly preferred; whereas, the arrangement
is purely economical, designed equally for the
good of both parties and their children; involv
ing, consequently, no disparagement of ,the wife,
no favoritism towards the husband, and only
yielding to the plain exigencies of the case an
indispensable conformity.
The skeptical objectors do not, in, general, go
back to the original institution of the marital
headship, but ,feed their discontent with the
fiesher language of the Apostle: " Wives, submit
goOrseloes to your riiiehusbands'ai,to,the d ;
for the husband is the head of the wife, even as
Christ is the Head of the Church." Or, as ,ano
ther Apostle has it, "Likewise, ye wives, be in sub.
frction to your own husbands;. that if any obey
not the word, they also may, without , the word,
he, won,". &c., " while they behold your chaste
conversation coupled with fear." These Scrip.
tures are read, it seems; with distas.te• and impa
4eqce. They are looked upon as injurious. Sub
orlination is mistaken for, degradation. And
when the sacred penman goes on to some'details
of,practical propriety under the rule,, saying,
" Let the woman, learn,in „silence ; I suffer not
tcoman to teach, not to usurp authority over the
man, but to be in silence" (i. e. in popular assem
to bursting, and reimll ion ,
blies); impatience swells
breaking out defiantly in public ,lectures and de
clamations, wherever listeners can be got together
to hear them.
I do not stop,to argue, against this : I only say,
at present, that it is contrary to ,the, order of
things established by the Most High, and made
a basis of detailed instruction in the letters of his
apostolical servants. To a Christian I minister,
Sir, the facts are their ownargument.
„WitA,regard to the, remaining, topic, the divi
sion of laßbr, revelation rather- adopts nature's,
law than advances one exclusively its own— Its
teaching-kere,is mainly by implication and ex=
ample. . When Abraham had invited the angels
to stay for some refreshment, "he.hastened . into
th e t en t to Sarah, anti , eaid, 'make ready quickly
difee ' ll.l tegattrs B , 0 1. fine nze4,,knfati, it, and make
cake; upon the hearth.'" ller
,place was there,
inside, and cop,king one of her functions. I n .
householdlia spoken of repeatedly, i n
jr,.... 4 fei,eßc to the, wife, as," her household;" never,
I believe, as the household of the husband. And.
4ewish interpretation assigned her tnrescrvedly
.the home province of duty. In the language
of the Mishna, it was her business " to grind corn"
(then an in-door employment,) "to bake and wash,
to cook, and suckle his child, to make his bed, and
work in wool.." Agreeable to which is Paul's di
rection to Titus, to have the young women taught
to be discreet, chaste kPepers at home (dexoupobc,
housekeepers, or rather, as I think the true read
ing is, dmov a araUc, houseworhers,) good, obedient
to their own husbands," &c.
Thus, Sir, we have three cardinal regulations
in the matter, two of them expressly instituted,
and all sanctioned, by . the highest authority: they
are, unity of person in married life; headship of
the husband, representing that unity; and, indus
trial provinces so' allotted. to the parties as to place
timidity and weakness of frame within doors, 'out
of harm's way,:and :send health and strength
abroad to grapple 'with the sterner realities of
- -
Do you think, Sir, they are bad regulations.?
Do you doubt their connection with the diVine'
government? Do yhMfeel'at liberty to disregard
them?
But let us view the subject.next in what our
female malcontents probably deem its worst and..
most odious light, the laws of the land. If it will
stand this test.weneed , nOt despair of it. •
Well,' Sir, the laws of the land, with' all their
" barbarism!' adopt thepreeise,ord'er of things•
which infinite wisdom has..established. In im:'
plicit deference to that wisdom, they regard the
husband and the wife as a personal unit tot all"
businessintents, taking shim for the.'sole rePre
sentative thatrunity, while her individuality
is covert, that is; merged,:and out of sight. , ,:Her
walk of life, too, is, iditheir, judgment, at home
under the dorriestic,rooft;,while of his active du- ,
ties the exteruitl world , is,necessarily the main
theatre, , 411 which Sppears to me just .as
should be ;though the freethinking; of .the age
finds fault with it, and some ,few ,of unr State'
legislatures (who ought to bein petticoats).lave,
made several inroads upon , it. •
The details of our jurisprudence ,on the subject,
are of.vast extent and variety, and full of nice
distinctions which it would take volumes 'to de
velop systematically; but as the complaints of the,
fault-finders turn ,mainly 'upon. two or three par-.
tictilars, they. will ,not hold' us long.
It is true, that when a: woman, has goods or:
chattels, and marries without reserving them, to:
herself (which is always at her• option) "they go:
with her into a man's hands;? that is, , they' fall;
as of course under.the marital headship. Not,
however, for the husband's exclusive behoof, but
for the, common advantage, of both, and their off
spring., He is the legal provider for all; and if
she contributes a mite to his means, it surely is,
nothing amiss. Her landi if she have any, y do
not pass to him , , save only as to the current rents
and profits accruing from them; which again he
receives rather as the family steward, than
any intent of undue pe,rsot4l enrichment) a
re
source is part, for the expenses of theboUsehold
—' ,her household." ,
And where, Sir, is the lvrong of thisY or the
grievance ? Cannot she trust him with the man
agement of her pelf? He 'is bound to provide
flit the family; is she afraid will misapply 'her
cOntribution applicable to that object ? or does
she g,rudge him the relief' of being permitted' tO
add , her pennies to the:earnings of his twin toil'
in fulfilling the obligatibn heisUnder ? I thought
he was
she
darling. If not,' Why' Marry him ?
Could she give hibi her 'body, her 'life, an'd yet
fear to make hini the Custodian of her purse 7 I
do not understand it. "Is not the life 'more than
meat, and`the body than .raiment ?" Who Can
solve meltbe riddle, of a woman more •carefui
about " her property " than 'about thii'very
bernacle of her soul 4-
And then a ouriatisf faet How
many 'women bring property to their ':htsbairds;
0.4 n
comparea wan tnose ` who do' not?
.I.otippgse,no,t
-one in five hundred... Generally,sßeaking, they
are led to, the altar,young, and from beneath the,
parental roof; having expectations, , ; pn.ssibly,
but seldom much if anything }n• hand .As then
the laws'are wade (or should be) for fapts in their
generality, and not in their caprices,,l do, not see
that monied women, who are commonly of mature
years, and can put their treasures under lock and
key by antenuptial contract if they choose, de
serve much commiseration, when ,, having chosen
to omit that precaution, they find, too lase that
instead of being monied women still, they have
let fall their precious rhino " into the hands of a
man with themselves.", They have their choice;,.
and, what room is there for complaint afterwards ?
. ,But let us see, now what a woman gains by
wedlock and whether it be not equal and ag Q od
deal more than equal, to any losses which the
laws inflict.
In the, first place she gains apersonal discharge
(during cgerture)..from. al/ h-r debts and, lia
bailees. Thq head partner takes that burden
(sometimes not a small one) off her hands.
In the next place (if he is able to provide for
her) she is , freed from the
.necessity of self-main
tentpwe. All that he has, or can earn, is pledged
in law for the security of this advantage. And
it is a thing of some moment. We may jndge of
it from the difficulty most singledife females are
known to experience in securing a decent liveli
hood by. their own exertions. We may also judge
of it from the pitiable seramblings of myriads of
the other sex after appointments in the public,
service, no matter what the grade; I.,had almost
said, no 'matter what the compensation, provided
only that it be enough to keep soul and body to-
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1869.
gether ; the vital point being, that it is a certainty,
relieving the painful anxieties of a doubtful self
dependence.
In the third place she acquires a right of dower
in the husband's real estate; inchoate while they
both live, consummated by his death and her
widowhood ; a right that attaches upon all the
land he has when she marries him, and upon
every inch he adds to it by subsequent purchase
or inheritance; an indefeasible right, which noth
ing can take from her, and which often crowns
her with plenty for the rest of her days.
Well, Sir, putting these things together,• and
setting off against them the one instance in five
hundred, in which the wife brings something
noteworthy to her husband, please strike the ba
lance, and.tell me how it stands. I mean, the
balance of substantial gain or loss in 'general
averagc. • ,
Deliverance from every kind of legal liabilities
debts; contracts, torts, misdemeanors, crimes even,
not amounting to treason or murder-is- secured
by.marriage• to all 'wives witbout'exception. To
the: far greater portion of them, marriage obviates
theAlistressing care of self-maintenance, supply
ing them,witb, at least, aka necessary wherewithal.
to eat and to put on.,..And finally, : not a few.,of
their number pass,sby. marriage, from a state of
dependent existence: to one .pf ; ease_ and • com
petency, if not of, affluence 3, labile others become
affluent by , ,the success of, their husbands in busi
new; their very wi4o,whood;,should it occur, be
ing• sure,ig many cases, of awahundant provision
for the whole sequel of .* •
I ask you, SirrtkaYe, husbands any correspond
ing 'benefits If-sp, please point them out,for I
am not aware. of them Instead-of thatiriddance
of Tesponsibifities, the weaker, ,of r , the
conjugal . par r ties rejoice's, the stronger ,is doubly
enegrubered,;• the ,relief pu one side being effected
bye mere transfer qf bur:l64oQ the other; The h us
band has two to answer for, now, l i n place of one be
fore. So in thematterof'Avelilipods,hereemption
from care is but a duplication of his troubles, for
he ;14as now
_t,p.,,care•for bpth. Iti, the rare case,of
marrying a ,woman who has property, his duty as
pregider, for the family c is.of course; facilitated by
that ,cirpumstance. nd.,if his • w ife ; bring him.
children, ay well as lan4,-.lae vslll have, besides the
issues of the land during.wedlook, ,lifts freehold
in it after ;her death, ;should, vsnrvive her—a,
just arrangement, in case ofibis obligation
,to sup
port and.educate ; the children:,‘T,hspe advantages
may once in awhile fall I to his lot , ;. but I can
think of inne.,else. -
.
Verily,.if the,laws are partial, it.is mot to the
husband. Verily, if l it y hey are cruel, it is ,not to
the
-'',FROM WILMINGTON.
BROTHER NEARS :-t-I. felt-deeply the. remarks
'mad"?pt. Ayno4,Tegarding l the great need of: a
revival of relig, on ip 914 la,nd,.that .the Chuich
might have . Lower to contend sueCes*fully agaNt
the increase•oftworldlinem; recklessrteseaud high
handed crime sp,rampant everywhere, not,excep
ting even your Awn peaceful city. These facts
confront us : 1. Intemperance, 2,frands,, , 3: sui
cides, 4-horrifying _murders were never ,more
prevalent, 5 4 . the ehurch in many-legalities,. espe
cially in ,large.eitties, is abandoning 'the , field to
Satan, and -" wickedest ; meu"are•- ; offering him
reeking sacriflces of. youth, and virtue on the
very platform where A„.crucified Redeemer was
held up in, the preached gospel. tOne . such I
could name , irt your , ciwn city where my• honored
covenanter, kinsmen , pledged themselves .in sol
emn league and,covenanti to stand up for .Jesus
When the enemy comes in like a. • flood, if.. all
Christian hearts werepnly united in prayer' for a
revival, surely the Spirit of the Lord would lift
up a standard,vagainst,him. Isa. 59 19. If the
Church is ever to,possess the land; if a nation
is to be born'lin a day and•multitudesito , flock to•
Christ, it will surely_he when God's Spirit comes
down upon ; the church in,great power.- ,
We have no:right to say how :it shall_ come,
whether in, " still, small voice or in ; " a rush
ing, mighty ,w,jn,d," but we:stave reason, revela
tion, and encouragem,uut„to warrant in asking
and-expecting that it will come. •
Aad:now ; that.the two (I- ) resbyterian•churches)
have agreed in the,fullest:sense, of that- word, to
ask feria new baptism-.of the Holy Ghost, upon
the united ,cliurolk may,,,we not liave this most
needed gift f Trorn.the. elevated,. spiritual tone,
of our ,Synod--greatlyfostered,by.tikegenial at
mosphere at York, I have been expecting cheer- .
ing reports from many, of our eopgregations.
To the honor of, our covenant-,keeping God,, I
gratefully record His goodness . to my own little.
flock. H At our September Communion, forty,
members were added to our. number. : ; .Among,
them ,I baptized a fa,ther and. his married daugh
ter, 'Last Sabbath ; -morning, thirty more were
added ;'seven .of these, were .baptized, among
whom were a mother and her two grown daugh
ters. Though the day waS.unfavorable, the house
was, densely packed, and for, two hours•the most
absorbed interestAvas manifest in the whole com
munion service. At,the scloseof the evening ser
vice, a husband and wife followed me into the
street to ask if• they could not now have the
privilege of being enrolled among the Lord's
people. Our church door is always open, and
believers may enter at any time
, as well as at
communion. Eighty have been received in :the
past six months.
The first anniversaries of the ChUrch and
Sabbath-school were moat encouraging. A deficit
of $lOO was subscribed as fast as the people could
write their names, and the year closed without
a cent of debt.
The ladies held a festival for three evenings,
and rived $9OO. Preparations are going on
for the erection of a new edifice as soon as spring
opens. " The General Assembly's Missionary
Society" has been organized, and the West
church is falling into line with all the spirit and
promptne,ss,of a young recruit.
On the sixteenth inst. the Presbyterians of
Delaware are to celebrate the late marriage - at
Pittsburgh by a prayer-meeting at the First
church in .the morning ; a communion service at
Central in the afternoon, and a mass meeting at
Hanover street church, in the evening..
'Dec. 1869
REV A . M. STEWART'S - LETTERS
That, we are a great people, a • nation highly
favored and holding. a position in the wor'ld's
history not only in advance, but above any; and
all others is manifest from the burdens laid upon
us by tl,le,,Gcovernor, of the nations. To us,—
" E Plu'ribus Unum ”=seems allotted by Erovi
denpe the solving, of nearly all the knoity pro
blems accumulated through man's wayviardness
—problems, too, which for many generations
have occupied the minds and ,perplexed the
judgments of earth's wisest children. Such as:
—Whether, man, in large societies , was capable
of self government;
,whether Church and State
could be entirely separated, Yet work together ill
harmony,-,—an imperinm in imperio; whether the
safety,of the community could tolerate the free
doin of - tlte, pipit,- the bar,. and. the press;
whether every man has a, right tp,,himself and
the pursuit, of his own happiness --,which pro
blem -has been solved. . within the lastdecado so
effectually and by-such profuse blood letting that
there, wi„ll,he no need for its repeating in the
,fu
ture
,history of the nations. A seemingly greater
problem • than the latter, remains, and by an In
creasing pm4ur9 4 tiernands a, ,solvipg v and this
strongly in our pwn Republic. Spiritual freedom
or despotism.. The subjection of conscience to
man or to G,od---Poperypr Protestantism. How
this solution is to, be reached without a more
profuse
. shedding. of blood than in.,con,neetion
with physical slavery ou'r, limi:ed foresight, is
unable at present to discern.
The ea,ption,for this and,a few succeeding let
ters : These people also obtrude thumselves for
an American solution. • And this, too, in aman
ner at.once.new, bold,, persistent ami . perp!exing.
has,hitherto,,heen said and written on
this, prolific ,theme,,and much continues to be
spoken and•printed. Aitherto,,in my communi
cations for the press from , the Pacific side, this
i ii,rreat theme, has . been left with scarce, a refer
enus yet. not
,w,ithout , careful uhser.vation and
noting. 411 which may at present.assist in wri
ting with more intelligence.
H. W. W.
WestiVird from this harbor of San 'Francisco
'some five or
. six
, thousand miles , across and
through the. ,hlarids of the PaCific, is 'an empire
whose origin current history doeA not' chroniele.
Such a hiVe of humanity is it, as' to compiise 'a
third of earth's peoples'. 'A rade, not of:" celes
tials " as fancifully - Viiiiedlii themselves; but
,whO Alight be nibrUfitTywdesigniitek‘,‘ rineharige.4-
laigely mul
tiply,. any" , volume,' they ' , cast its, letter& in solid•
metal and call it "stereotype - ' 5 " un'e6ngeable
typ4. libr a thousand or two. of years these
'ceunties mlllionA, of the Fast have been stereo
typed, guttered,. grooved, immobile. Yet - 1141 the
land seem no longer able to bear its, multitudes
or furnish
,them,with-even the, simplest food., r
In the advance of,, civilization from hast to
West,. led and guided by the Star of Bethlehem,
two _immense , ocean steamers cross from San
Franciscoononthly, to China and return. As the
breaking, oat of, waters, so have her crowded,
cramped people thus found an outlet to this Pa
. cific coast. As never before, the ,old and new
world, meet. The ; effete civilization ,of the East
comes in contact with the rigorous -life and the ,
advanced energies of the Caucasian race and of the
Christian's God. All the results of ,this strange
'contact ; the keenest eye cannot now see nor the
shrewdest intellect guess.
The true characteristics and Condition of these'
hordes from the East seemlardly to have been
fairly or fully written, either by fliend or enemy
of Chinese eniiiTaticon. •
They are verily and emphatically heathen ;
bringing with them to our shores all the filthy
habits and a.bominationa pertaining •to every na
tion which knows not; God. Tbe living, lasting
portrait of such a people 'is drawn by Paul in
Romans 1 21-32. From one vice in 'Paul's sad
catalogue these'celestiali do seem to'be'exemPt,
and it covers a multitude of sins.- They " HonOr
Father and. Mother," which is the first; yea only
commanamea with promlse; and hence they
have been long upon the land'given them.
They are poor, scraggy, inferior specimens of
physical humanity compared with'Ang,lo SaxonST
Their females are pitiful even conteMpt
ible'specimens-' of Woma:nhood=eraimped and
.
dwarfed both in boil and mind. Far more'of
those miserable Women have come 'or Men•
brought to our Pacific side than seems generally
GEo. H. ,SMYTH
JOHN .C4HINAIVIAN.
CkIINA.ME?,7.
WHO,. AND WHAT IS JOHN
CHARACTER
to be understo )d. Brought not as wives but fur
the worst of all purposes. And this not as un
willing subjects of deceit, of violence and of
lust; but of seeming choice, as they unblushing
ly glory in their shame.
While passing through the Chinese quarters
in various towns in Nevada and California, once
and again.has been witnessed the precise coun
terpart of the " Foolish Woman," as described
by Solomon, Prov. 9: 13-15. Nor can the
morals of the men be much in advance, else
would not so many of those poor women be here
under Buell ecouditietks..o Secret and abominabl e
vices are common, &wog them.
Willi' all Weir quiet - drudgery and money
making, their increase in worldly means, com-
Ports' , t ind appearance'is but little apparent, save
among avery few. Thoir earnings are larg, e ly
sqUanderell in ,tiq prActice of various degradi n ,
,
vices. They'are eager Oid,,reckless ghtublers.
They loo l k and aet'as an inferior race. They are
sycophantie,yet,eviaentlyeonceited, proud and
ciuietlY inierpretation of their
feelings is, that we are the barbarians, and should
be learning of , them and not they of us • and
that no crentleman can be dressed without his
head'elosely shaved and his pig -tail dangling be
hind him.
This is a partial description of John as seen
by the writer. Other' sides, phases, conditions,
coming aspects; with theories and spelulations
will be giTen hereafter. enough surely already
to show wh a t an additional weight our American
Christianity is called to carry in moulding all
this accumulating mass of debased heathenism
into the family - of Jesus.
San Francisco, Nov. 19, 1869
NORTHERN 'OHIO.
R,ErvNjopr, rkowr rr WK.
ORS ,
. 1
_By, invitation of the Presbytery of . Western
Reserve, the Presbytery of Cleveland and Por
tagetmet :tliem - in joint session in the Lecture
Room of ,Westruinster church; Cleveland,. Nov.
24th; 4860. ,„ After a season of devotion together,
l and of congratulation over ,the, union of the, two
branehes, of the prps )? yterian Church in . these
United States; they. proceeded at onie to con
sider the, work .that, now ~de,velves upon the
united Presbytery., Pr, _Goodrich gave a state
ment in regard,to the condition of the field hith
erto occupied hy the. Presbytery of Cleveland
and Portage. The field is large, including the
tlaree,eounties of; Cuyahoga, Summit and ,Por
tage, and a portion of the county of Medina.
There are three, churches formally connected
with us; which are, so' reduced, that they have
made,no effort to live for years past. They are
probably too near death to; be revived. There
are, perhaps, two. that will make re-union an ex
cuse:to leave., us. The rest are strongly attached
to Presbytery, and some of them are 'contempla
ting a . change of organization, so as to be fully
Presbyterian. There is lunch work needed upon
this field. And • the united Presbytery should
endeavor to: cultivate it „better,,than it, has been
in the past. ,
Rev. F: Maginnis and others gave some ac
count of the workiin theTresbytery of Western
Reserve. It extends_over a;•much larger field
than the Presbytery of -Cleveland• and Portage.
'Attention was• called especially' to- then condition
of.' the' Westminster church, Cleaveland.
Weak' and somewhat embarrassed. Its •pastor,
Rev. Mr". Lewis, has just f-been dismissed, and
the members of the church arerather discour-
'The'pastois and ; elders-of the city were ap
poin'tecl a Committee-to. consider the ease and
recommend some course* tb olze pursued. -There
are two Or three -points in the city where ef
forts-have been made to, establish Presbyterian
churches. If the members of the Westminster
church will consent to .occupy one of these
point's, they can become a self sustaining church
at 'once!. Members of 'the - other Presbyterian
churches would join in ,sufficient numbers to,
make them independent. Perhaps the same
thing can be accomplished cin. itspresent locality;
but it is not so hopeful of immediate suecess.
Another small church, seven or' eight :miles
east of the city, was ease commended to the sym
pathY and aid of the united 'Presbytery.' Their
case was referred to the e.'ionarnittee appointed to
consider the claims Of the Westminster; church.
Pktsbytery of Cleveland
and Portage made arrangements for the installa
tion of Di.. Eells as pastor of the 2d Presbyterian
church of Cleaveland, on the 16th of Dee'. 1869.
Rev. D W: Sharts, of Wassonville Mission
church, is so far recovered from the effects of his
late sickness, as to be able to resume his labors.
Rev: E. Curtis, pastor of the Presbyterian
church of NewbuTgh, has. been laid aside from
labor,for several weeks, and is not yet able to re-
some it
—A Baptist pastor, who has
_seen long and
honorable service, writes to The Watchman. at .d
Reflector,. that " the number is constantly in
creasing in the ranks of the clergy and laity of
our denomination, who long to see 'a closer union
of all Christians, and.who, because they can find
no injunution to the contrary either in the law
or the Spiirit of Christ, believe that there .is no
more fitting place to showeorth this union than
at the sacred table of our common Lord.