great; and that the danger of a still far- ther retrograde is imminent. It is for Christ's own people—for those who are re- deemed by the Saviour's precious blood, to say whether the work shall go forward, or whether our missionaries shall *die off, and none fill their place. BOARD OF PUBLICATION. The disoussion of the affairs of this Board was peculiarly interesting. It did nut partake of any of that unpleasantness which, on some former occasions, mingled with the inquiry into the Board's affairs. None of its officers took the floor to pre- vont. relbrm. And the reforiiia which have been provided for are great and good. The Special Committee appointed by the Xa- sembly last year, had visited the Board and made a very thorough investigation of its affairs. They had gone to work in earnest. They listened patiently to those who thought improvements could be made, and with candor weighed suggestions. The result was, one of the ablest reports which we have ever heard read in the As- sembly. This report was drawn up by Rev. J. M. Lownir.,.D.D., of Ft. Wayne, Indiana te and, with the Board's report, was put into the hands of an able ComMittee, of which Dr. HICHOOK, of Scranton, Pa., was Chairman. The result was, some very judicious propositions for• reform. These the Assembly adopted, with but slight al terations. The resolutions are given in our report of proceedings this week. They embrace the following changes; all, as seems to us, beneficial. And they are sub, atantially those for which we and others ) have contended, and endured much rs- preach. 1. The Secretary is made Editor, with out any increase of salary; saving to the Board $1,200. 2. The Secretary's salary is ordered to be his whole emolument. The deposit wi,th the Presbyterian Annuity Company, which was to the Secretary's benefit, is ordered to be withdrawn. We are not certain of the amount, but say $5,000, making a saving of $3OO, the annual interest. 3. Treasurer's duties are transferred to the Superintendent of Co'portage ;. saving his salsky of $l,OOO. 3. Duties of Publishing Agent are trans . & ferred to the Superintendent of Depository) saving a salary of $2,000. 6 No allowance is to be made for com munications to the S. S. Visitor. This will save $360. • 6. The office of Solicitor is abolished; saving $lOO. 7. The Periodical Department is to be put under one man, who shall find his &0., at his own expense. Salary 81,300; saving to the Board $4OO. Thus in salaries alone the Board will save $5,260; and our knowledge of the business assures us, as the Committee felt confident, that a full supply of officers and help it still provided for, for all'the pres- ent business, and for a considerable in crease; and when the business shall great 4. increase, there will be no more labor needed than can be performed by clerks and porters, at moderate salaries. 8. There is _to, he no more increase of capital, except on the stereotype plates o f new books. This. -*ill be a saving of the interest on $237;40, that is, of $14,220; making a total saving of $19,480 annually. This sum can be appropriated to gifts, to an increase of Colportage, or to a cheapen ing of the books. We would prefer that Colportage should be limited to the dona tions of the churches for that business; and that the saving above shown, should be appropriated partly to gifts to the poor ) and partly to a cheapening of the books. BOARD 01' EDUCATION This Board has charge of the moving cause, instrumentally, both of Church con• tinuance and Church progress. It deals with the vital influence. This is increased by the Board's wisdom and success ;. and declines and loses power and energy by the Board's feebleness. Ministers are the prime necessity. Ministers we must hays. Without them we have no-pastors, no evan gelists-, no churches, no missions. With out them, no seed is sown, and no harvest gathered ; with them, they being numer ous and possessed of the spirit of Christ, we have all things. With them we have congregations, gathered and sustained; church edifices erected and filled ; mission aries, domestic and foreign. We have the seed-sowing, and the cultivation, and the harvest, and the in•gathering. With them we attain, as individual Christians and as an evangelical Church, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. ' We would not here intimate the thought that this Board is indispensable io our having such a ministry. We regard it as but one of the instrumentalities. It is, however, a' very important one. Let the Church then—let all the people strive to make this Board just what it should be, and sustain it heartily. As God has favors for his Zion, he will be%tow, as we believe, a large portion of them through this Board. The annual report of the Board gives a total of 318 candidates. Of these, 165 are in their Theological course ; ;and 1.53 in Academies and,Colleges. , The receipts . during the year for the can-, didates' fund, were' $44,848.17. ' The bal ance on hand, on May let, was 84,486.34. It is pleasing to kild97 that. the Board has met all its obligations, and has this avi deuce of growing in favor with the church es, that its receipts the last year were near ly five thousand dollars greater than in the year previous. CORRESPONDENCE WITH EVANGELICAL BODIES. Delegates from the Reformed Dutch Church, the United Presbyterian Church, - the New School Presbyterian Church, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, were present in the- ASserebl3r this year ; ,and tendered their fraternal , greetings. All were cordially received, and Delegates were apPointato represent' us in their several General Assemblies. The correspondence is cordial, and promises great benefits. To each of those Churches we dismiss minis ters and members w"o may wish to unite with them, and from them our Presbyteries and congregations receive ministers and members on certificate, just as they would from our own. This is Christian union, and is as inti mate, perhaps, as would be profitable just now. We have a few spirits among us who wish to prepare the way for an amal gamation of Old School, New School, and United Presbyterians. If all were of one heart and one mind, we would say, join in one 'ecclesiastical body. And if the aim were to produce that oneness of juugment and feeling, we would say, Amen. But such 'unity of sentiment does not exist; and the efforts to which we allude, have no tendency to produce it. We hence 'prefer living with those br-thien, as good, friend. ly, and loving neighbors, rather than to enter with them into one house, and on a joint farm, and to have a common govern ment. In matters merely of a family char acter, let ea3h family arrange its own affairs. In matters which require coUpera tion, let all lend a helping hand: When a member of either family finds himself iso lated from his own, and near to one of the otheri, let him then and there cast in his lot, and perform his part, and enjoy the benefit. The War. The operations in the South-West for I the last few weeks, have been very effec tive. The contest for Vicksburg has been a real struggle. At the time of our wri ting, (Friday at Peoria,) we have no certain tidings of its capture, but the prospects of the army were highly favorable. Our news columns will give the latest reliable:infor mation. Gen. Grant has had fighting moat of his way from. Grand Gulf to the rear of Vicksburg. The losses on both sides have been severe. Many brave rn men have fallen. Many are maimed for life. Many widows, parents, and near friends of the soldier, will mourn. Patriotism calls for resigna• tion, and also claims new sacrifices; but' still the heart must bleed when tender ties are severed. 0 for peace. We pray for peace. But it is peace under the adminis tration of law that we desire. Such a peace must be conquered. You van never coax robbers to cease from plundering. They must be restrained by the terrors of penal laws, well enforced. 'So you can never soothe rebels into peaceful and obe dient citizens. They must be conquered. The sword must do its work.; and while it is employed by the hand of justice, some of those who wield it must fall. We sym pathize with the sufferers. There are many repots of movements of the enemy's fumes in a combination threatening Washington. The movement is . possible, but we think not probable. Nor do we think it likely that General Hooker will make much advance for some time Neither army is strong enough wisely- to move upon the other with the view. of cap turing its capital, and both are likely to be too cautious to risk a 'decisive battle. We still look in vain for an advance into Eliist Tennessee. The rebels occupy South eastern Kentucky and Cumberland Gap; and Rosecrans has not .an adequate force to move upon Bragg. Events. at Vicksburg are likely to affect the l rlilit4ve position of Bragg and Rosecrans. These events must develope something. new in that region shortly. Operations against Charleston, and on the Gulf, are not indicated among the things near at hand: ‘, ECCLESIASTICAL. Rev. JOHN PRYSE'S Post OfEoe address is changed from Church Hill, Trumbull County, Ohio, to New Lisbon, Colum bianUCounty, Ohio. Mr. HENRY B. TowssEND was ordained by 2d Presbytery of Philadelphia, and installed in the Conshohocken church -on the sth inst. For the Presbyterian Banner. The Way,,the Curate from ,the goontry Got to hail": DEAIi,BANNEIt: When a duty is imposed on us, it is well for us to determine wheth er we will do it, and how and when it will be done. Now, sir, the Presbytery ap pointed me,as one,,to representthem in the Assembly the time was fixed, but the mode of going, and the manner of acting when there, was left to myself. Well, necessity is an imperious mistress, and will not allow us to consult our own pleas ure. I had travelled by every mode in vented, or, at least practised from the stilts or.staugibs so common in the , hey,. ,of school-14T frolic al id * fun, up 'to the 'tem. pest'speed of the steam bar. Necessity de terniined the latter as my mode of travel. This' is a Mode suited to the.hurry of Wei ness, but not to Pleasure. It is too fast to see the country, too noisy to hold agreea ble conversation, too tremulous to read ; but necessity said - yon must take it, and.`B,o I did. .On Monday, the 18th of May, I left my home, which to me is, the happiest place in the worhi, and- the garden of Ohio. I took the cars at a station, the very name of which, indieatei peace and brotherly , kind ness, (names, are not always expressive of the qualities of things); I got on board at 7 A. M.' The driver gave the brown horse the spur; he snorted, started at the Slow ox pace, increasing rapidly to a full gallop, his iron sinews strained to their highest tension, his steel hoofs. clattered a • e, deafening jargon, e whilstins scalding breath spouted from his burning lungs through his brazen nostrels, like an enraged fiery dragon, clearing all before him, until the driver drew the rein and brought a Stand still at a dingy city on the banks of the Muskingum in ; the centre of smokedom, a, Place thiph is not excelled by =any town for whiskered beaux:and dashing,fiells. I there ,ehanged, ears, taking theroal e for Cincinnati: by way of Wilmington. x We passed highly cultivated farms, smiling villages, ant1...4 country generally : _hoying the unniistakible marks of indastr3r;--thrift and the homes oLhappiness i and peace. My, travelling . nnt npaginn was if well i hnilt six footer, though of :the Clerical order, yet of a decidedly miiitery , phisj;trhieb_ad4ed PRESBYTERIAN BANNER.---WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 1663. greatly to my feelings of security, as in the• event of auy difference of views in refer ence to the all absorbing topic, " the state of the country," and how to mend it, strong hands would avail more than hard argument. t was much surprised at the conversation between two of the plain working men in the employ of the Com pany. The one was an Irishman, whom, from the brogue on his tongue, I took to be Catholic, and shall call Pat; the other, I learned from their talk, had charge of the wood department of a certain section—a plain man in working habit. They talked about their business—how hard the chtbage of times bore upon them. Pat said he had so much more to pay for this and that ar ticle necessary for living, that if the times did not soon change he would have to seek other employ. The woodman said that he could not clear a dollar a week. They nat- urall, reverted to the cause of this troub le. Pat said he thought this trouble might have been saved ; and after all the fighting and blood, what had we gained ! He wished it was made up. The wood man then be gan a course of argument that surprised me no little. He said that God Almighty had sent his Son into the world when it was in rank rebellion against him.; that he sent him of his own accord, unasked for by the rebels and in a case of no profit to Clod in any way:; adding that if God Almighty could condescend to ask the rebels to cease their.rebellion, and entreat them to accept of terms of peace, he thought that the North might condescend to offer terms of peace to the South— It: then occurred to him, that when terms of peace were offered by Him who came to publish peace, those in• high places rejected it, whilst the com mon people heard it gladly. My travelling companion directed my at tention to - a man a few seats ahead of Its, who was puffing a cigar. He suggested to me, as I was the older and had the gray beard, that I should remind the smoker "that it was against the rules to smoke in the car ; but as I felt that the reverence for gray hairs in this nineteenth century. inspired much less fear than the evidence of physical force sufficient to compel re spect, I left that invidious office to my young friend, who very promptly tapped the smoker on the shoulder, and informed him that he was transgressing. Whether from,conscience, or some other motive, he Closed his smoke • pipe. What right has any man to contaminate the air I breathe, More than to befoul the water I drinir or, poison the . bread I eat ! If • men in gen tlemen's garb, and aspiring to genteel so ciety,• cannot conquer those filthy habits, let them take their place with Pat, Pom pey, and Morteuch, regaling themselves from the brown jug and cutty pipe We were now dashing along the margin of the Miami, rich in fertility as the val ley of the Nile. We were soon in Pork opolis, originally dubb.al AntivsaAville ' by some pedant, I presume. It is called in our geographies, Cincinnati; by others, the Queen City, a city set not on, but on the side of, a hill. We put up at the Denison House, on Fifth Street, took the cars next morning at 7 o'clock, from the'Mississippi and Ohio Railroad depot, having through tickets for Chicago by way of Indianapolis, Lafayette, and Michigan - oity. Our way was down the Ohio to Law renceville, that beautiful water, once bear ing on its bosom the surplus productions of the North to the sunny South, and re turning the products, of the South to the North. This once crowded highway seemed now deserted; but one solitary craft was afloat on this- river, from Cincinnati to Lawrenceburg, and that a flit boat floating with the current. We here struck out from the river, tak ing up a small stream leading through a, poor and hilly region which seemed to be intended by nature for the wild turkeys, panthers, and untamed beasts of the wilder ness, but whose prerogatives have been in fringed upon by man; does not some poet call him the tyrant of the world ? Our cars received accessions of brethren of the mystic tie," who were having a grand meeting 'in Indianapolis, Capital of the State of Indiana. As we approached` - the Capital, the soil and improvements grew much better; rich pastures, with lowitig herds and bleeting flocks cheer the farmer toiling in planting broad fields of corn to support them in the dreary months of Win ter. This beautiful couhtry gives support to the Capital, which has risen up like en chantment, equalled by few for the, rapid ity of its growth, or the beauty and taste of its buildings, and 'the imposing grandeur of its public. eflifices. But we. hastened on through a rich and delightful country, to, Lafayette; here we exchanged cars, malr inga good bargain in the operation. These cars are the most perfect to insure comfort, in Summefor Winter, I have ever seen; in .the Summer, when the cars raise and run in a cloud of dust, the doors and windows are kept shat; .and by- a most ingenious triyanee, ft, constant stream of air is kept Peering into the cars, keeping the air, constantly fresh and, pipe,' whilst the, dust is absorbed hy a large Water 'tube under the bottom .of the car. In Winter, the car is' heated by steam -eb' that the passengers' .feet are always kept warin, and • the oxygen of the air is not exhausted by keeping up the fire. Oar progress, about 30 miles north of La fayette, was arrested by broken ears which had been smashed by the breaking or an, axle the day'before. Though much damage was done to the train,,,yet,ne 'one was seri ously injured. Night caught 'us before we got to-Michigan City, the beauties or de formities of, which,werehidden from us by the dark mantle of night. After much im patient delay-we got under weigh for Chi cago, that great emporium of the lakes. It was after 12 o'clock at night' when we at, rived. Finding our way as best we could to the Brigga House; where .'I was in hope of gadina in bed a sweet oblivion of my day's toils and disappointments ; to my utter dismay I found that the vacant rooms and beds were pretiocupied . . I'was offered a bunk; I did vnot take it, hut stepped across to the Central House, 'oilers I got the only remaining unoccupied bed and room. I turned in, and soon - forgot my fatigues - in- sweet, sleep, blest. sleep, which gives rest to the troubled -head that wears a crown, and soothes the aching heart of the peasant in his humble shed. After spending the day in seeing the city, atB:3o P. M. I'took the Rock Island Railroad for Peoria, where I arrived, used up for-want of sleep, at.s A. M., breakfasted at the Fal ton House, and then felt ready for the As sembly. Iht;; the Prwlqt'arlan Lainentable Death Wednen t day Morning, May 20th, as Mr. JAMES DUNCAN WARD, of the firm , of James Ward & Co., of Niles, Ohio, at tempted to step on the coal trail] , while' passing the Niles Depot, in order to go early to ?Girard on ,hustness, he fell, and several oars ran over hie legs, crushing 'them' very badlf of which injuries he died about one o'Sisek tho