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warm regard for Presbyterian order and doctrine. The Puritan party really be lieved that it was unjustifiable to attempt to meet these war-like preparations by demonstrations of the same character. They thought, if they still devoted their energies to the cause of missions, and the progress of piety in our own church, and in the country at large, God would protect their

cause.

The Puritan party learning that if the moderator and clerks should assume to carry out the unconstitutional acts of 1837, in the organizing of the Assembly of 1838, it would be clearly a conspiracy to deprive them of their rights, appeared by their commissioners and organized the Assembly, at the appointed time and place, in a legal and constitutional manner. The Scotch party also organized, and each body proclaimed itself the regular constitutional "General Assembly of the Pres byterian Church of the United States of America." The party that had exscinded the four synods to secure to themselves a future majority, retained all the funds and property of the church, amounting to more than three hundred thousand dollars.

The General Assembly in its session in 1838, appointed six new trustees, in accordance with the act of Corporation, passed by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, in 1799. The new trustees thus appointed, instituted a process in law, requiring of the trustees who had been superseded "To answer to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by what warrant they claimed to have, use, and enjoy the franchises and privileges of Trustees of the General Assembly."

The General Assembly of 1837, convened in Philadelphia. It was distinctly understood, previously to the meeting, through a convention of that party, that if they could secure a majority, some measures would be adopted which would disable, ever thereafter, the moderate party in the church. The desired majority was obtained. They first abrogated the Plan of Union, and then declared four synods, viz. those of Utica, Geneva, Genesee, and the Western Reserve, out of the Presbyterian Church. The "Plan of Union" did not make these four synods, it only made the people Presbyterians, and the General Assembly constituted the synods. When "The Plan of Union" was abrogated, it became obvious that those churches, which were partly or wholly Congregational, must lose their connexion with the presbyteries; but how synods and presbyteries lost their Presbyterian character by the removal of what little remnants of Congregationalism had remained in them till that time, it is difficult to conceive. In-"the Assembly which held its sittings in deed it is quite anifest that the whole movement was made, as was admitted by a principal leader of the party at the time, for the simple purpose of preventing a future majority of the other party. These four synods, comprising about five hundred ministers, and six hundred churches, and sixty thousand communicants, were attempted to be cut off from the Presbyterian Church, because, if the opposing party was not thoroughly broken by such an excision, the Scotch party would never have a majority on that floor again.

After passing these resolutions, the majority took effective measures to retain the records, and the funds of the church, by passing an order requiring the clerks to pledge themselves not to receive the commissioners from the exscinded synods, in the formation of the next Assembly.

After a full and impartial trial before a jury, a verdict was rendered in favor of the plaintiffs-the Puritan party: “that is," as explained by the presiding judge,

the First Presbyterian Church, (a portion of which had been cut off in 1837, without trial,) was the true General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in the United States of America, under the charter."

The counsel for the defendants applied to "the Supreme Court in Banc" for a new trial. After hearing the cause, Chief Justice Gibson ordered a new trial. Various delays occurred. The General Assembly is satisfied with the moral effect of the decision rendered by a jury of their countrymen, and has withdrawn the suit.

The reasons for this withdrawment are various. First, the General Assembly is willing to sacrifice something, and even much, for peace. But the great object of the trial has been secured. The Constitutional party definitely offered to leave all the funds in the hands of the exscind

ing party, if they would allow the separation to be a division of the church rather than an expulsion of nearly one third part of the whole, so that its church property should not be at the mercy of the exscinders, whenever even a small minority might see fit to rise up and claim it from those who had produced it to secure to themselves and their children the ordinances of the gospel. This they utterly refused. The Assembly preferred to secure the right to the churches which they had built, by testing their right to be considered the law successors, according to the charter. The result is known. An enlightened court and jury, before whom the merits of the cause on both sides were fully and ably manifested-THE ONLY TRIBUNAL WHERE THE CAUSE EVER WAS TRIED UPON ITS

MERITS-were prompt and unanimous in our favor. After the new trial was ordered, several suits were commenced, by small minorities attempting to take, by course of law, the sanctuaries which our people had erected before the division. Every one of these cases that came to an issue was decided in our favor.

The award of the Court in Banc, Chief Justice Gibson presiding and pronouncing the opinion of the court, in the case of the Presbyterian Church of York, Pennsylvania, while it has for ever settled the occupancy of church property in that State on the proper basis, has so clearly treated of the main question at issue, between the parties in the action we have withdrawn, and so correctly in the main has it eclaircised and settled them, that we are comparatively content with the award, inasmuch as IT EXPLAINS, QUALIFIES, AND IN EFFECT MORALLY OVERRULES, THE POSITIONS BEFORE ADVANCED, by the same court, on the motion previously "affirmed absolute," for a new trial.

States from the Federal Union, for the adoption of an anti-republican form of government. * *** That the Old School party acceded to the privileges and property of the Assembly, was not because it was more Presbyterian than the other, but because it was stronger; for had it been the weaker, it would have been the party excluded."

The Scotch party retain the funds and property. Individuals of the party have intimated a willingness to restore as much of these funds as was contributed by the Puritan party. There is no doubt they would be more happy if it were done; but how to perform that which they desire, they find not, The funds are of little consequence. The period of deep excitement has passed away. Some great advantages have accrued from this unhappy division of brethren. The accusations of heresy have ceased, and events have shown that either party would gladly strengthen itself with receiving to its arms any clergyman of good standing in his present position. An interchange of public service in one another's churches has already commenced, and there is every reason to hope that the time is not distant, when the kindest and most fraternal intercourse will prevail universally between these two branches of the Presbyterian family.

Names are of minor consequence; yet they exert an influence; and the present relations of these two bodies demand the exercise of Christian courtesy and kindness in the appellations by which they shall distinguish one another. The General Assembly of the Puritan party has been termed the Constitutional General Assembly, to distinguish it from those of the exscinding body, and this has been justified on the ground that the jury so decided. But it is to be remembered that a final decision has not been had, and it is adapted to wound the feelings of some to fix such appellations upon the two parties. They are now two churches. The division may be advantageously contemplated as one of the events ordered by an all-wise Providence.

In that award, allusion is distinctly had to those positions, as leading to the absolute affirmance of the motion; and this result is explained as follows: "It was not because the minority were thought to be any thing else than Presbyterians, but because a popular body is known only by its government or head. *** Indeed, the measure [the exscinding violence] would The Assembly of the Scotch party seem to have been as decisively revolution- holds its sessions annually. That of the ary, as would be an exclusion of particular | Puritan party meets only once in three

years. There can be no offence in call- | it has been done for the sake of setting ing one the Annual Assembly, and the other the Triennial Assembly.

The numerical strength of the two churches is not greatly unequal. The Triennial Assembly carries forward its charitable operations wholly by means of voluntary associations, in which it co-operates with other denominations. Its contributions to foreign missions are made chiefly to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions; those for our own country are through the American Home Missionary Society. It has no denominational tract society, preferring to act with its Christian brethren of other churches in the American Tract Society. The church has raised up, and has now under its care, four theological seminaries, viz. those of Auburn, New York, and Lane Seminary, at Cincinnati, and the Theological Seminary of Maryville, East Tennessee, together with a theological department in the Western Reserve College, and all in a highly flourishing condition. In respect to colleges and institutions of secular learning generally, the Presbyterian Church prefers to act with all its countrymen, without respect to denominations, any further than to secure in such institutions a proper regard for sound morals and true religion. Associated naturally with the population of New England, the difference of forms of ecclesiastical polity cannot prevent a natural co-operation with the sons of the Pilgrims, in disseminating Christianity with less of exclusiveness and sectarian character than belongs to any other body of Christians.

It remains to be seen whether there is sufficient of liberality and charity in the age to justify such a procedure, or whether this generosity of the Presbyterian Church shall be met with such an amount of exclusiveness, as to receive an impulse while imparting one, and thus to become assimilated in this respect to the sects by which it is surrounded.

The General Assembly has under its care 19 synods, 101 presbyteries, and nearly 1500 ministers.

In concluding this statement it may not be improper to remark, that when other denominations have been alluded to,

forth distinctly the character and position of the Presbyterian Church. Not a wish has been indulged to wound the feelings of other communions. The prelatical churches, from which we differ so widely on the great principles of ecclesiastical lib erty, we nevertheless regard as churches of Christ, and would as cordially invite them to our pulpits and our communion, if they would reciprocate our kindness, as we do the clergy and communicants of other denominations, and we feel even an unaffected grief that they should be prevented by their system from meeting us as the ministers of Christ, and members of the Church Universal. We would gladly have passed over all allusion to the divisions of our own church in 1838; but it seemed otherwise impossible to make a fair statement of the characteristics and condition of the Presbyterian Church. We have aimed to avoid all of fence in speaking of the parties as leaning respectively towards the strictness of the Scotch Church, and the readier tendency to yield and to assimilate with others manifested by the descendants of the English Puritans. It cannot be denied, that many Presbyterians originally of the Scotch school, both clergy and laity, as the Synod of Virginia and others, are among our most liberal constitutional Presbyterians, nor that some of the clergy and people born and educated among the Pilgrim sons of New England, are among the straitest class of those connected with the church of the Annual Assembly. We only mean a general characteristic of the parties as such, when we give them these appellations. With that church the writer, as an individual—and he is confident the same may be said of most of his brethren has no personal difficulties. He has been for a term of five years together connected with a presbytery, in which nearly every member sympathised with that party. The kindly intercourse enjoyed with his brethren of Louisiana will not be easily forgotten. If we have spoken of our own church as the true constitutional Presbyterian Church, it was not to question the rights of others. It was only because we really think it such. ! Undoubtedly others think differently with

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