Nauntr *Vacate.
PITTSBURGH, DECEMBER 20,1866
TERMS...• 111.501 in advance, or in Clubs,
g 1.251 or, delivered at residences of flubenrin
berm, $1.75. See Prospectus, on Third Page*
R Ell EWA!. 5 should be prompt; a little
while haters the year expires" that we may
'rake Tull arrangements for a steady supply
THE RED WRAPPER indicates that we
desire a realms]. If, however, in the hash
of asailing, this signal should be omitted, we
hope our friends will still not forget us.
RIBEITTANCEO.—Send payment by safe
hands, when convenient. Or, send by niall,
•neiosing with ordinary care, and troubling
nobody with a knowledge of whet you are
doing. For a large amount, send a Draft, or
large notes. Por one or two papers, sand Oold
or small notes.
To MAKE CHANGE, Oend postai* Ada ll l4 l 4
or bettor stlll, mond for more papery ipay
for Seviontrimaboro, or Si foir Thirty.throo
atumlborik
DIRECT all &otters and Cossultuniestious
O, RIM. DAVID NaIEINNEV. Pittsburgh,
P .
NORTH-WESTERN SEMINARY.—Reir. Dr.
A. B. Brown has, as we learn, declined the
call to the Chair of Ecelesiology in this in
stitution.
JEFFERSON Couran—We last week
noted, in our News Department, the errone
ous report that this College was burned.
We speak of - it again, because we find the
false report still in many of our exchanges.
The buildings still stand.
TEM Rt(iMIST" of a Subscriber in be ,
half of a friend suffering under religious
despondency, is commended to the, notice
of experienced and skillful spiritual phy
sicians--especially to those who know how
to estimate the influence of a diseased body
upon a pious mind.
COLONIZATION.- The emigrant ship,
Caroline Stevens, built at Baltimore
for the Colonization Society, is completed.
Col. John Stevens, of Md., gave $36,000
toward, be; and $lO,OOO were otherwise
furnished. She is a vessel of seven hun
dred and twelve tons, and well fitted out for
emigrants and trade, and will be steadily
employed by the Society.
BOARD OE FOREIGN MissioNs.--This
Board is in very great need of funds. A
communication on the subject reached us
too late for this week's paper. Let the
churches not delay their contributions, nor
diminish their liberality. Rather let them
abound to an unwonted degree in the grace
of giving. See our Eastern Correspondence
for some important facts and suggestions.
BaPrism.—With the number of this
week, the writer of this excellent series of
Articles, proposes to suspend his labors for
a little while. We hope that he will, in the
course of a very few months, be able to re
sume the subject. The manner of treating
it is highly instructive, and the discussion
will have a happy influence, especially in
satisfying the doubting, and in training
young inquirers in Gospel truth.
REFORMED DIITCH CHITROM.—The Re
formed Dutch Church in the United States
is a strictly Presbyterian body, of the Old
School stamp. It numbers at present, 397
churches, 363 ministers, and 40,413 com
municants ; being an increase of 126
.churches, 88 ministers, and 8,204 commii
nioants within the last ten years. The
families in 1855 numbered 38,361. The
Church pays much attention to education
and missions.
SemNk OP MISSIONARTEI3.—The South
Shore, Captain Lothrop, sailed lately from
Charlestown, Mass., for Madras, India.
Among the passengers were Rev. Wm. B.
Capron, Rev. Charles T. White and their
wives, missionaries of, the American Board,
to the Madura Mission; and Mrs. A. N.
Hunt, the wife of Mr. P. R. Hunt, the
printer at that Mission. The Morning
Stair has also sailed math Mr. Hiram Bing
ham and lady, for the Sandwich Islands.
Synod of Ohio.
In accordance with their own action, the
Synod of Ohio will pest with the Synod of
Cincinnati, in the city of Columbus, on the.
4th Tuesday (the 230 of December next,
at 7 o'clock P. M., in the First Presby
terian Church, to determine the location
of the proposed Synodical College. A full
attendance is requested.
Wm. M. ROBINSON, Moderator.
Double the Subscription List.
Can this be done ? We are persuaded
that, in nearly all the congregations to which
the Bannetiand Advocate goes, it could be
done without a very great degree of labor.
Ina few it could not, because in them nearly all
are already supplied; but in some, the list
shotild lbe' increased three or four fold. Pas
tors; Will you not try ? Elders, will you not
thus have fed, every member of the flock
entrusted to you ? Readers, will not you in.
dues your neighbors to subscribe? Every fam
ily should have a religious paper. Let the
Npw-YEAx so open with you. We labor
hard, and expend much money to make our
sheet truly edifying.
Worth Imitating.
A Methodist paper fately proposed that
seine friends should order it for their poor
neighbors. One responded::
• " I like the plan; and now authorize yon
to distribute one hundred copies to such
persons as you judge deserving, and draw on
meoind the draft shall be honored."
The papers were sent, and a hundredfam
ilies -were furnished with interesting reading
for a whole. year.
Thus to distribute a good paper is one of
the most effective means of usefulness. The
newspaper will be read when nothing else
will. Religous books and tracts will be
thrown aside, and even the Bible will lie on
the shelf unopened; but the paper will be seiz
ed and read by every member in the family.
"Let The benevolent send us their fives or
tens; if . not larger amounts. For every five
dollars thus sent us, we will send a copy
leach to four poor families. We can easily
find them, through pastors who oorrespon4
with us
The Administration of Law—the " Ninety
nine Guilty."
Law belongs to intelligent, creatures. It is
given of God for their government, or is or
dained by themselves in their associated ca
pacity. An essential idea of law is, that it is
a rule, or set of rules, duly emanating from
the social power, regulating the relations
and intercourse of the members and protect
ing their persons and property, /older the
sanction of penalties. It is ordained of
God, as a means of human well•being; and to
the attainment of that end, man's experience
proves it to be an indispensable. There must
be law.
Two things are essential to the happy influ
ence of laws; first, that they be truly good;
and second, that they be really and righteously
administered. It is with the latter, the ad
ministration of law, that we have now to do;
and, not with the,principle in the abstract,
merely, but with the principle as modified,
controlled, or perverted by the use of a pop
ular maxim
In a quotation, Sept. 13th, from an admi
rable sermon by Dr. Scott, of San Francis
co, we took exception to one expression. It
seemed to us that however truthful it might
De as a simple statement, it was yet so abused
in its
,applications, that we could regard its
iteration by Christians, only with deep re
gret.
The expression disapproved of was, as
there quoted, "Let us allow ninety-nine
guilty persons to go unpunished, rather than
to punish one innocent person." Our ex
ception we expressed strongly, but with the
utmost respect toward our valued brother.
Dr. Scott replies as given on our first page
last week.
Let it be noted, that the point which we
made, was, not that the maxim is no "Rule
in law," nor that it does not contain a pre
cious truth. We made no allusion to it in
either of these aspects. It was to the use
made .of it that we objected, and to the
sanction given to that use, or abuse, by a
Christian minister. We said, "This expres
sion we utterly repudiate ;" "Save the in.
uocent, but let not one guilty man escape;"
" The certainty of punishment will deter
from crime;" "Letting the guilty escape is
the very cause of the evils under which San
Francisco now suffers." 'We spoke of it as
a "feigned dilemma ;" as " favoring the es
cape of the guilty; " as " cruel" to the "in
nocent" who were thereby made to suffer in
greater numbers. We said, " The main
use of the expression is to shield criminals."
Thus, while we were deprecating and try
ing to obviate the injurious use made of the
maxim, Dr. Scott replies as though we had
questioned its truthfulness, and tells us that
in regard to the sentence he uttered, he
btands on the platform of the Bible, the Con
stitution of the United States, and the Con'
fession of Faith." All this maybe so ; but,
as the sentence is not found in any of those
documents, the point we made, viz. its inju
rious appropriation, and hence the impropri
ety of giving it strength, is not met. And
it was the very intensity given to it by Dr.
Scott which made us notice it. First it had
been "that five guilty persons should escape;"
then, "that ten guilty persons." In this latter
degree we were familiar with it, and had
witnessed and mourned over the injury it
had done in preventing the administration of
punitive law; and hence the emboldening
of bad men, and the bringing of injury upon
the innocent.
Our respondent's questions, one and all,
as we understand them, we would answer as
he desires. His postulates, also, we admit.
The guilt of the accused is not to be as
sumed, but proved; he is to have the bene
fit of any reasonable doubt, in his ease ; the
proof and the punishment must be accord
ing to law; there is no law, human or Di-
OA, which requires the innocent to be put
to death; the true rule of expediency is the
rule of right. But, after all these admis
sions, the point is still not met. It is a
" Rule," in the administration of criminal
law, that the proof of guilt shall be clear,
and especially so in a case of life and death.
This Rule is enforced by Sir Matthew Hale,
in a maxim, that "It is better that five
guilty persons should escape unpunished,
than one innocent person should die."
Blackstone increases the intensity of the
thought, by doubling the proportionate num
ber. He makes it ten. In this form, it has
been quoted in the behalf of every culprit,
*here the shbdew of a doubt could be scared
up by ingenious counsel, and pressed upon
every jury and court auditory, since the
days of the great commentator. And now,
as though justice had not foes sufficient in
number and power to contend againbt, in
spreading her aegis over the innocent in the
community, we are called upon to multiply
the lawyer's comparison ten fold still ;
making it yet ten times more difficult to
convict than it was before.
The fact is, that the administration, of
criminal law, in our country, is already quite
too lax. It is very difficult to convict a man
of murder, arson, or robbery, though these
are almost daily crimes. Unfailing convic
tion, and an unwavering execution of the
law's penalty, would soon relieve the land;
bat where exculpatory witnesses are so easily
obtained by any gross offender, as they are
in our cities; and where juries are selected,
without due reference to intelligence and
virtue; and where a "reasonable" doubt
on the mind of any one of the twelve is
charged as sufficient to prevent a verdict, it
is extremely difficult for justice to maintain
her rights. But if we shall yet have the Chris
tian ministry step in and increase the cau
tion, and urge the doubts ten fold, we utter
ly despair of legal protection. Rogues and
criminals will have full license, under the
presumption of entire impunity, and honest
men may cease to feel safe, till desperation
shall have driven them into a combination
for self-protection. Other San Francisco
committees must, at length, be the painful
resort. Such things have been in other
frontier towns, in a smaller way; and there
QIN? be such, ere long, in larger places, and
a grander scale. To such a state are
TTTE PRESBYTERIAN BANNER AND ADVOCATE.
things rapidly tending in New York city ;
and other cities are treading, with fearful
speed, in her footsteps. A strong govern•
ment, of some kind, legal or revolutionary,
must and will be the resort of the industri
ous, the honest, and the peaceful, when
driven to desperation.
Now, it is this state of desperation which
we would avoid; and to this end we insist upon
the strict administration of justice. Have
every form possible to protect the innocent;
but have no form and no maxim to shield the.
culprit. Make not the proof too difficult,
nor nurture any false sympathy, nor cherish
any sickly sensibility which would interfere
with the prompt administration of punitive
justice; and especially degrade not the
precepts, and invoke not the spirit of our
holy religion, as the ally or the shield of
depredators upon human life.
It might be well for Christian ministers,
far more frequently then they do, to present
the character of God, and the duties which
he has imposed - on society, relative to the
punishment of evil doers. Jehovah is a just
God and an holy; he will by no means
clear the guilty; justice and judgment are
the habitation of his throne; ho will not
justify the wicked. 'And in directing men
as the executors of law, be is most strict,
making the magistrate his sword. And the
principle in his mind is, "He that justifieth
the wicked, and he that eardemneth the
just, even they both are abomination to the
Lord." The comparison is not as five, or
ten, or a hundred to one. The condemning
of the just, and the justifying of the wicked,
are made to meet alike with the Divine con
demnation.
Supposing , the maxim before us to be a
literal truth, yet' it can hardly be con
ceived of as of practical importance.. It is
hlirdly possible that there should be a case
before us where an arraigned multitude
were known to be all guilty but one, and
that that one could not be ascertained_ We
do not try and sentence men in the mass.
They are brought to the bar personally, and
the testimony is made to bear on each.
Then, let the maxims, principles, and rules
of law and evidence all have their bearing
upon the guilt or innocence of the individ
ual on trial; and judge each man by the
testimony in his own case. The maxim be
fore wi we regard, in the way in which it
has been used, as one of the most prolific
causes of preventing the conviction and
punishment of the guilty, and hence as one
of the most dangerous to the security of
life to the peacefuLeitizen.
We hence believe it to be our social and
Christian duty, to advocate the prompt and
full administration of law; to insist that
those who are in power shall be truly a
terror to evil doers, and a praise to them
that do well ; that they shall not bear the
sword in vain, but be God's ministers to
execute wrath upon them that do evil.
We cannot agree that they shall be in
dulged in any comparisons tending to the
impunity of transgressors. It is enough for
the culprit, as against honest society, that
he shall be estimated as innocent till he is
proved to be guilty, and that he shall al
ways have the benefit of a reasonable
doubt—enough that he have these advan
tages as against society when on trial,
without giving him the acquittal which
must result, however strong the testimony
shall be against him, from the suggestion
that possibly he may be innocent—did not
do the deed, had not malice prepense, was
momentarily deranged—possibly it may have
been so, and it is better that ninety-nine
guilty persons escape than that one innocent
man shall be punished, and- therefore there
must be an acquittal, or a mitigated verdict,
or a commutation, or a pardon ! Tinder such
a "Rule" for the application of law to the
accused, punitive justice must speedily be
come an utter impracticability; and a reign
of terror must be the sure , result.
And this being, as we before noted, the
manifest tendency of things, we have felt
it the more incumbent to do what in us lies,
to stem the torrent.
Trouble in the Temperance Ranks.
The liquor party have an immense amount
of ingenuity, with boldness adequate to
any undertaking which is likely to be suc
cessful, and a perseverance which never
yields. They have succeeded in defeating
or evading prohibition almost everywhere,
and in undermining, or perverting Temper
ance houses of entertainment, till scarcely a
comfortable specimen of the class is any
longer to be found.,
Their last triumph, and it is a splendid one
for them, was in the fall of the Delevan
House, in Albany. This sad event occurred
about the Ist inst. The proprietor, or Lessee,
Mr. Rossele, then issued the following no
tice in the daily papers : " Hereafter spirits
will be furnished on call to the guests at the
Delevan House ;" and on that principle he
forthwith acted.
Mr. Delevan, the owner and Lessor, un
der date of December 2d, remonstrates with
Mr. Rossele on his violation of contract, to
keep a Temperance house, and assures him
that " litigation" will be the result.
The enemies of Prohibition seem to chuck-
le with great delight, and insinuate that Mr.
Delevan will not'take the most speedy and
effective means to remedy the evil. We
trust that this reproach will be wiped away.
Mr. Lielevan, it is said, lets his house for
630,000 a year, and Mr. Rossele says he can
not raise the money, unless he may make part
of it from the sale of liquor. The rent
seems immense to country folks; and yet
the house may be worth it. It was so, esti
mated after years of trial. But if not now
worth it, when free as formerly from liquor,
the 'sum should be reduced. If, however,
as he surely did, Mr. Rossele agreed to pay
a certain rent, keeping Temperance, he is
bound to do it. He knew what the house
was worth. But if, since the lease, the val
ue of a Temperance house has fallen, so
that the rent is now unreasonable, he should
give it up; or, otherwise, Mr. Delevan
should reduce the amount. In no ease
should Mr. Possele violate his contract and
sell liquor, neither should Mr. Delevan per
mit his property to be desecrated, nor _his
fair fame to be tarnished, nor his hands to
grasp the proceeds of iniquity.
The New York Trihune is also intimat
ing that, on account of some alleged politi
cal inconsistencies on the part of some prom
inent Temperance men, it will withdraw
from the active support of Prohibition.
This we regret, though it does not cause so
much wonder. If politicians try to make
Temperance a stepping stone to influence,
they are likely to abandon it, as soon as they
find it will not answer their purpose.
A special meeting of the New York Tem
perance Society was to be held in Albany,
on the 18th inst., to determine on a course
of procedure. The result we may be able to
state next week.
The Way of Progress.
The account given on our fast page, by
"North-West," of the manner in which
Presbyterianism progresses, will be read with
pleasure. In a previous letter, to which al
lusion is made, he proposes to "take a walk
about Zion." He then notes that the prin
cipal North-Western cities do not exhibit
Old School Presbyterianism as in the ascen
dant Our New School brethren have the
large and wealthy churches in Detroit, Cleve
land, Chicago, Galena, Milwaukie, Dubuque,
and many other places. This is owing to
the fact that, at the time of the division,
the pastors of those churches, sympathised
much with the New School, and the New
England men formed a large element in the
congregations. Our churches, then, are
weak, because they are more recently
planted, and have had their, growth under
the enfeebling shadow of their Seniors; and
they have also been damaged by prejudice,
as though our efforts were obtrusive, and our
services not needed. Men are slow to per
ceive the truth, that our zeal is not the spirit
of sectarianism, bat the outgoing of deep
principle and a conscientious attachinent to
the order of the Gospel.
Still, however, there his been great suc
cess, with ever brightening prospects.
Clouds and darkness are vanishing. The
people increasingly appreciate our cause,
anti our churches multiply and flourish.
Oar correspondent, in illustration, alludes to
a church, organized ten years
. ag6 with 30
members, which last year had 120 Members,
paid their pastor well, expended near $5,000
in enlarging their house of worship, and
gave near $3,000 to the cause of benev
olence.
We hope the facts given, and the thoughts
presented in this correspondence, will in
crease the attachment of the Ilastein
churches to the Western, and strengthen all
the bonds of brotherhood.
Presbyterian Historical Society.
The .objects of this. Society seem to be
viewed with increasing favor by 'those who
bear the Presbyterian name. Six of the de
nominations bearing this name have become
connected with it, viz :- the Old and New
School Assemblies, the Associate Reformed
Synods, the Associate or Seceder, and
both Old and New Side Covenanters.
A fine array of learning and talent have been
engaged to deliver addresses before the high
est Judicatories of the associated churches,
next year. At the meeting of the Old
School General Assembly, at Lexington,
Ky.,the addreds will be delivered by the
Rev. Dr. McGill, of Princeton ; at the meet
ing of the New School General Assembly at
Cleveland, by Rev. Dr. Thompson, of Buf
falo—on the Huguenot Element in the Pres
byterian Church; before the Associate Re.
formed Synod, by Rev. Dr. Forsythe, of
Newbury, N. Y.; before the New Side Coy- -
enanter Synod, by Rev. Dr. Guthrie, of Ba
kerstown, Pa.; and before the Seceder Syn
od, by Rev. Samuel F. Morrow, of Albany,
N. Y. Who can tell what this Society may
be made the means of effecting, in the way
of Union, among all sound Presbyterians !
But able addresses' ill not be sufficient to ac
complish the purposes of the Society; at
most, they can only be suggestive and incen
tive to the labor of historical investigation
concerning the early history of ministers
and churches.
Let ministers and intelligent laymen be ac
tive in gathering up and preserving the
memory of the fathers, of the old churches,
and of the many interesting reminiscences
connected with Presbyterianism -in the
land. •
The Slave Trade.
The Southern Presbyterian, Charleston,
S. C., deprecates the agitation of a revival
of the slave trade—a subject which has been
brought forward with favor by two or three
political papers, and been recommended in his
message, by the Governor of South Carolina.
Our contemporary says
The attempt to re-open the Slave Trade, if sup
ported by any considerable number of advocates,
and any great zeal on their part, would do the
work of a fire-brand in the midst of us, to divide
our counsels and weaken our common cause. We
have, however, little apprehension that such an
attempt will be made. Our people are persuaded,
all with few exceptions, settled in their convictions
that the Trade ought not to be revived, because
it is not right in the sight, of God and on this
ground, if on no other, it is unwise and dangerous.
The Central Presbyterian, Richmond,
Va., speaks in a similar strain of the ill-con
ceived suggestion. We trust that the day
is never to come, when the measure will be
entertained with any favor.
The South Carolina Legislature has laid
the matter over. The Southern Convention
has laid it on the table, by a large majority;.
and the secular papers in general speak against
it strongly. Hear the St. Louis I?epublican :
The simple truth is, the entire South will
spurn the proposal. There has been no general
earnest speaking out on the: subject yet, for the
reason that it seems incredible that any sane man
should gravely recommend the revival of a traffic,
to condemn which, Sothern statesmen were fore
most of all, and were ready to suppress and re
strain it by severe enactments, eight years earlier
than the old Bay State was ready to -do it. But
three or four leading 'journalists in Louisiana and
elsewhere, have met the Delta, Mercury,. and
Slarulard in a proper spirit. Every one of them
denying that those papers are the mouthpieces of
any recognized leaders of Southern sentiment, or
that they have 'any decided influence in moulding
the political ()Onions or directing the measures of
tho South'ern SW'S&
Danville Theological Seminary.
The Rev. Drs. Humphrey and Hill of
Kentucky, have been lately in New York city,
soliciting aid to complete the endowment of
this Seminary. Much encouragement seems
to have been given them at the beginning
of their work of collecting funds in that
city. These brethren have issued a circular
from which we glean the• following interest
ing facts concerning this important institu
tion of the Church. The Seminary has
been supported three years, at an expense of
$10,500 ; and its funds now amount to near
ly $90,000. Vv ith the exception of $2500,
this sum has been contributed in Kentucky;
the average being about nine dollars for
each communicant in the Synod of that
State
In these three years, sixty-six young men
have received instruction at this Seminary,
of whom thirty-three have been already li
censed,to preach the Gospel. The General
Assembly, it is alleged, in founding the In
stitution, had special reference to the wants
of the West and South-West. The latter,
alone, contains an area of 529,000 square
miles—more than, one fifth of the territory
of the Union. The population of this sec
tion was,, in 1850, 4,2l3,943—including 1,-
236,250 of the colored race, nearly one fifth
of our entire population. In all this region
our ChUrch has only 382 ministers, and 29,-
594 communicants, while we have within
the same bounds, 161 vacant churches; and
very many towns and neighborhoods where
churches should be established without de
lay. The Trustees of the Seminary, under
the direction of the last General Assembly,
now appeal to the whole Church for the
completion of the work so auspiciously be
gun: And it is to be hoped that the appeal
will meet with a response commensurate with
the importance of the work. The Profes
sors in this Seminary are, Rev. R. J. Breck
inridge, D. D., Rev. E. P. Humphrey, D.
D:, Rev. Stuart Robinson, D. D.; together
with a competent instructor in Hebrew.
An Itinerant Church.
The Sunday School Union of the Metho
dist Episcopal Church in the Northern Dis
trict of Philadelphia, has adopted a novel
plan of keeping pace with the increase and
spread of population, and for enlarging the
usefulness and bounds of the Methodist
Church. It has been determined to build a
church substantially,but so that it can be taken
down and removed to another place without
difficulty. Lots are to be secured, and a
house costing about $6OO is to be put on
eactrfor Sabbath School purposes. But when
ever the Sabbath School becomes strong
enough to be a church and to build a larger
house, then this is to be removed to another
locality, and so keep up with the ever enlarg
ing suburbs. The object is most com
mendable.
Whatever difference of opinion tae,re may
be as to the success of this particular :plan,
would it be improper in this connexion,
to inquire what efforts our branch of the
Presbyterian Church is now making in Pitts
burgh and Allegheny, in the way of Sab
bath Schools and church organizations, so
as to keep pace with the rapidly increasing
population and enlarging bounds? We. Ray
revert to this subject before long.
Death of Xinisters.
Rev. Jouw G-. HOWELL died at King;
wood, Va., on the 28th ult., in the forty
_third year of his age. He was a native of
New Jersey, had entered the communion of
the Church at the age of fourteen, and
since his licensure and ordination, had been
a hborious minister. His disease was
pleurisy. He had conducted the services
of a communion the Sabbath previous to his
death. See our obituary column for further
particulars.
Rev. WILLIAM GRA.IC died at San Fran
cisco, on the 22d of October last, in his
sixty-seventh year. He was on a visit to a
son at the time of his decease. tlis ministry
had been performed principally in the city
of New York.
For the Presbyterian Banner and Advocate
A Request.
Mn. EDITOR :—Will not some kind, Chris
tian friend, through the columns of :your
paper, answer the following questions. They
come to us from one whom we have long`
known, and tenderly loved; for whose soul's
salvation we have felt deeply interested—
one for whom our tears have often flowed,
and imperfect petitions ascended. They
are words of despair, wrung from a heart of
anguish, by a sense of guilt. There is no
mercy, says that sorrowing friend, for me ;
my day of grace is past, and I continue—
why have not the prayers of pious, pa
rents, who are, I doubt not, in heaven, been
answered? for they desired daily of the
Lord, that I might be his child, and God
has said he will answer prayer; why, it is
asked again, has he not done it ? Then, as
if for momentary relief, comes in the excla
mation, 0 ! that I had died when an infant,
then I might have been saved. Sad, sad
thought; how our heart sickens when we
feel that all past efforts have been in vain,
while striving to lead the mind of such an
one to the true fountain of peace. The
writer, earnestly and prayerfully trusts that
some disciple of Jesus will gladly embrace
this opportunity of endeavoring to lead an
other inquirer into ,the path of eternal life;
by answering the objections which Satan is
ever ready to present to those' who would
Come to Christ. May these few words find
a place in the coming number of sour pa
per. By inserting them you will confer a
great favor, and much oblige a friend.
• Yours truly, ttc.,
Nov. 1201., MG. A SUBScRIDER.
Ecclesiastical:
Rev. W. G. TAYLOR, of Beaver, has re
ceived a unanimous call from the Pres
byterian church, of Tarentum, Allegheny
County, Pa.
Rev Wm. A. SCOTT; D. D., San Francisco
has been called to the Central Presbyterian
church, Baltimore,
Rev. CYRUS DIOKSON has been installed in
the Westminster Church, Baltimore.
Mr. J. NEWTON YouNG has been ordained
an evangelist, by the Presbytery of Upper
Missouri, to labor in Harrison and Gentry
.Counties.
Eastern Correspondence.
The Season of Contributions—Demanc T s on Nelc
York Benevolence—Perplexity—Explanation and
Vindication—The Foreign Board—Other Boards
—Statistics—Liberality urged.
NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 1856.
Mn. EDITOR :—This is the season of
the year for contributions to benevolent
objects in our churches and community.
The latest lingerers in Summer residences
or retreats. have returned to their homes or
hotels. Congregations have replenished
their diminished numbers. Scattered Sab
bath 'Schools have resumed their operations.
The results of the "Fall trade " have been
footed up. Approaching Winter reminds
us of the sufferings of the poor. Societies
for - their relief press their claims through
" Annual Reports," or public appeals.
Gaiety reigns in the circles of fashion, and
liberality is expected of the pious and pros
pered. The migration and dispersion of
our wealthy citizens, during the. Summer,
creates and explains the necessity for re
stricting collections for benevolent objects
chiefly to the cooler months of the year.
Even religious efforts are limited and hin
dered from the same reason; while the
stream of city life, in its various phases,
rushes on with all the greater force from its
confinement within such narrow limits.
Though much has been done to system- ,
atise benevolence, by entrusting its leading
objects to different Boards or Societies,
their name in this community continues to
be legion, while their claims are pressed
with incessant and often with annoying fre
quency. New York seems to be regarded
as the money centre, not only for the busi
ness but also for the benevolence of the
country. A stranger can, indeed, have lit
tle conception of the variety and urgency of
the demands made upon its citizens. Many
and costly as are its own public and private
charities, they are, if possible, outnumbered
by the objects which appeal, to it from
abroad. Collectors with book in hand and
smiling faces, women as well as men, beset
our merchants and others, at their homes
and at their offices, in their leisure and in
their hurry, as if fulfilling the inspired direc
tion to be instant, "in season and out of
season." They plead for. Asylums, Churches;
Colleges, Schools, Societies of various names,
and or other interests without end or num
ber. There are novices and adepts, profes
sional beggars and imposters, as well as many
worthy and excellent people, who are sin
cerely devoted to the objects they seek to
help, but which they sometimes magnify
into an importance that would overshadow
every other cause. Things have come to
such a pass in this respect, that even the
good done is evil spoken of. Some of the
benevolent are perplexed and fretted, not
unfrequently deceived and disgusted, until
they are tempted to shut up their "tender
mercies," and withhold theiraafferings alto-.
gether. Others give at random, and in small
sums, to almost every object, merely to
escape importunity and save their own time;
while those who are conscientious in the
disbursement of their gifts are often "at
their wit's end" to know to whom or to
what to appropriate them. Hardly a greater
annoyance, perhaps it might be called ca
lamity, can befall a man than to obtain .< a
reputation for liberality, while he has also
the ability and disposition to give freely.
He must go " out of the world "—at least
out of the country—wouß he enjoy comfOrt
and seclusion, or avoid a perpetual worry of
mind and loss of time, from countless appli
cations which amount to a species of martyr
dom, that must materially diminish the
blessedness of giving. On the other hand,
large sums collected in this way are
• appro.
priated to personal or unlawful ends. Num
bers doubtless are sustained by this system
in comparative idleness, yet plenty; while
important objects are damaged, and some
who come from a distance with a view of
their promotion, are received with coldness,
or even repulsed with rudeness. City pas
tors have been taxed and tormented to such
a degree, that they have been compelled, in
self-defence, to withhold their countenance
from most of these outside objects, even at
the expense of incurring' the charge of
harshness, bigotry or sectarianism. Various
remedies have been suggested, but none have
suppressed the evil which is inherent in hu
man nature, and must be expected to
continue.
This statement has been made, partly as
an explanation of the failure of many who,
at no little cost of time and feeling have at
tempted in vain to raise money in this city;
and in the hope, also, that it may deter
others from undertaking the hazardous ex
periment, when they are quite as likely to
succeed in , their own or in other communi
ties.
These remarks are not, of course, to be
understood as impugning the liberality of
New Yorkers. On the other hand, they
are proverbial for this virtue', when inter
ests of unquestioned and commanding int
portance appeal to their generosity, and as
is conceded too by the rush that is made to
the city from all quarters, and for every
variety of object. Your readers need only
to be reminded of the large sums which have.
been contributed for the relief of sufferers
by famine and pestilence in other lands or
in other cities; while many churches and
communities in the. great West can bear
witness to the discrimination, as well as
liberality of their benefactors. Not to go
beyond our own body, which is not peculiar
in this respect, for examples of objects that
are almost continually before our churches,
besides the regular Boards and Societies,
there may be mentioned feeble or mission
churches within our bounds, or served by
our brethren; one of tyhich is now calling
for fourteen, another for twenty, and a. third
for ten or twelve thousand dollars, to relieve
their indebtedness, or place them on a stable
footing. These are but specimens; while
the liberality exercised toward remoter ob
jects, is illustrated in the kindness with
which Drs. Humphrey and. Hill have been
met in their presenting the Claims of Dan
ville Seminary, for which they will doubt
less realize eight or ten thousand dollars,be
fore their efforts here are concluded. One
of our churches contributed, 'last Sabbath,
over four thousand dollars to the Board of
Domestic Missions. Another, a few Sab
baths previously, contributed between twelve
and thirteen hundred dollars to a similar
object. These sums may not be large in
proportion to the wealth of these churches,
but they testify a degree of interest in
worthy objects, as well as a disposition to
sustain theta when = fairly presented and
fully accredited.
It falls in with the drift of this letter to
state—and the fact surely should beP on
dered by the church es—that the funds of
the Board of Foreign Missions ,-
.which is
located in this city, are not thus far, ade
quate to its expenses this year. With in
creased estimates, its receipts , have slightly
diminished, as compare& with the
period last year ; and unl _
_e same
es the churches
respond more liberally to its Claims, it must
inevitably , be burdened
with debt. There
cannot .be retrenchment this season, what
ever. there may be in time to come, for its
liabilities have been ineur3id ; indeed owing.
to the high rates of exWange with. Indi g a.
and Chime, five tho'roefied &ears beyond the
eFtiwal - 1 - :=, !-: ri.:=,•lors
!,I•C‘ provi(led •. ;' e:. i 7 r
be kimwu, that - hem
an additi , r. exprmse o.f
lars, as cot:, filed with the T:llHitr, has, r.
nec essity, i
-I.,ccil incurred tilt:: pr„ :
much for ttle, derangements , ra d e, and
the distutb: - ..ictts in the East, wltich do no t ,
however, lKtertere with in;t.f•;nory wear:
thons,rh the:, materially anglncnt, i ts
Meantime, it:creased expeLditc:e-s cre
mandeci ii strengthening cOd, t.d in e.t;.11 , _
lishing ncw missions; for this work, to be
prosperow, must be progressive ; and (;(. 4 3 .
is setting his seal upon it, in ertriir,p; wide
and eirt:q:ttvl doors, and raising ttp
for the harvest. An 111:1WOLUA .Iz,iSsi(rr7
spirit has manifested itself in some of our
Theologie; , l Seminaries the prcser.t se ss i„ :
and the: , a prospect that more p ule ,:
men will oll•:r themselves for this work, tin.;,
the preset;* siAte of the funds of the Bon
will warra: -, t it in sending fortin
these indic- ions of Providence ha
cm-vied.? Shall this consecration of '-
te, t -
sons of the Church to the evan;:tt:izr.titn
the heathen be discouraged, by her wi t i„..
holding the means for their suppa?
churches, ;Is such, rather than individu t s„
must be don for the prosecution of thi ,
cause; and as the Board has dispensed with
agents for the collection of funds, paster.t•
and Sessions :must see that its elainds are pre
sented, or its resources will inevitably di
minish.
The position of this Board is not, i
deed, sin;eier in this respect. The Boards
at Philedciplaia are also embarrassed for
want of funds; while it is -well known that
The debt of the American Board, as e e .
nounced at its meeting in Newark, amounted
at that time to 836,00. De these facts in.
dicate thet the churches have grown we
in well deitoe or that they have not couetiel
the cost of these religious enterprise?
Will they, through indifference, allow thee,
to go backward, or 'would it transcend
their resources to carry them forward in a
scale far le.yoncl their present expense ars!
magnitude ? They certainly furnish eo
apology for lukewarnmees or reluctance in
their prosecution. They have benefited tiie
Church immeasurably, beyond the outlay
they hs7c cost; while their tenfold expee
sion would not transcend its resources, or
burden its members? Take, for example,
the amount contributed by cur Church rte
. past !, , eae, to the Board of Foreign Nissices,
and con.-ici;o• how small was the propor
tion compered with the number of its mem
bers. The :hole number of communieunts
reported in the Minutes of the Assembly
for 1856, is 233,755, while the whole
amount received from churches, as given in
the last Annual Report of the Board, is
s9B,4o—considerably less than fifty cats
a year, or le :a than one cent a week for each
member. But it was estimated two or three
years ago that sixty thousand members of
our churches, represented too by five hun
dred ministers, gave nothing to this Board;
and if the proportion remains the same now,
the sum contributed, divided among those
who give, amounts to only a ;rifle more than
a cent a weclz. 'And is this a burden to the
prosperous and thriving churches of our de
nomieetien ? Would it be oppressive,
should coeb member contribute, on an av
'erage, one dollar a week, and thus more
than doulde the receipts of the Board at a
stroke ? It is estimated that ;` - $BOO,OOO are
annually contributed in this country to
Foreign Missions; but how small is this
sum when divided among its four millions
of profeseir4 Christians ! Only twenty
cents a year from each one r. And how
small too is the whole amount of three mil
lions fifty-lour thousand dollars contributed
to all the benevolent enterprises of the day,
when divided not only among four millions
comumnicauts, but also . among "sixteen
millions of church-going people - ," who con
tribute- a considerable proportion of this
amount ! These statistics show that the
churehes would not be burdened should they
do far greater things for the spread of the
Gospel. They show tto that tens of thou
sands of communicants, and hundreds of
congregatiens., even in our own connexion,
must be sadly deficient in duty, in failing,
as they do, to give anything at all for the
spread of the Gospel among the heathen;
while they show that there is room for its
indefinite expansion, if the great body of
professing Christians would come up to the
work, 'with the self-sacrifice it demands, or
with the liberality of a few of its devoted
friends, by whom, if by any, the burden of
its prosecution is felt.
Sincerely yours,
From our London Corresr,ondent.
The American President and l'uVie Opinion in
England—d' Great Defaulter—lledpath and 3is
Career—Mercantile hamorality—lts Prevalence
and its Cattscs—Puldie Entertainment to Doctor
.111' Clic— Lord Panniure—The College and tia?
Student e—iTartwell .iforne's Work on the Bible,
and _Dr. Danidson's New Edition—Protest of
Hungariin Protestants .Francis Joseph's Visit
to Italy—Oppression of Italia?? Jewe—Popery
in. Madeira and Another ApostoP•
Duchess--Seene at Knight's Bridge—h r . Tate
—Postscript.
LONDON, Nov. 24, 1856.
The election for the American Presidency
has excited considerable interest in this
country, if not anxiety, not only from a
general dcnrecation of an extension of
slavery—wLich after all may not take place
—but als , ) lest the new President should
adopt a course which may be adverse to in
ternational peace. Let us hope and pray
that it may be otherwise. Christians on
both sides are bound to love one another
more aleetionately than ever; and to co
operate, as far as possible, in the grand enter
prise of the world!s evangelization. 'There
is not the slightest desire in any political
party, to i• pl6ll a quarrel" with the United
States.. The Times speaks the sentiments
of the •vast ntnjority, when it says, "For
ourselves, we can truly say, that we shall
respect the choice of the American nation,
in a matter so purely of domestic cogni
zance, and never allow any'objectior:s re
way • have entertained to Mr. • , -)r , " l ‘
principles fir profession's to prevta; a 6 .),
in with respect and candor with the acts of
the chief to.agistrate. ofa great, a friendly,
and a kindred' peordp-!'
DEFALCATIONS AND FitAtrns have been
very frequent' of .late, and one has just owe
to light ; exceeding in extent, it is feared,
most of those brought to light within the
last twelve months, unless we except Badlicr
and the _Tipperary Bank, and the conductof
the Directors of the Royal British Bark.
Mr. Redpai h, an official ha the service of the
'Oreat 1.1 7 ( Railway, after attempting to
'escape t., the Continent, and coming back
from Pais mu London, has been arrested for
f rau d s cu the Company, to the extent, it Is
said, m.t o east X 150,000. He had a salary of
only a year, but lived in a fine house in
the Regent's Park, which wasfilled with beau
tile! furniture and articles of rube ; and now
that he is in the hands of justice, he sags
that "his.house at Chester Terrace will be
worth to the Company L 10,000." Be rep
resented himself to be an extensive dealer
in the StockExchana.,„e, - .31(
his su pposed
gains there, seemed to justity his large ex
penditure. He was oistent,..tiusly liberal at
public charity dinners and at the annual
elections for co rT iv a :, A ey i ure e, Ire would,
ISE