PRESBYTERIANS. 



707 



senger railroads, costing $4,446,377. There 

 are 10 colleges in the state, and 15 theological 

 seminaries, 5 medical, and 1 law, besides nu- 

 merous educational institutions of a high order. 

 The common school system was adopted in 

 1834, and has made rapid progress. There are 

 also 12 Normal school districts, in which pro- 

 vision has been made for the establishment of 

 a school. In Philadelphia the schools are un- 

 surpassed by those of any other city. 



The charitable institutions of the State are 

 on a scale of the first magnitude. 



In mineral wealth Pennsylvania is unsur- 

 passed by any other State on the Atlantic 

 coast. To these treasures is now to be added 

 an immense product of petroleum, of which 

 the flow in one region that of Oil Creek is 

 estimated at 75,000 barrels monthly. 



The Lehigh valley region of the State was 

 visited in autumn by a most destructive freshet 

 which swept everything before it. 



PRESBYTERIANS. In 1861, at the be- 

 ginning of the civil war, there were the fol- 

 lowing Presbyterian denominations in the 

 United States: 1. Old School Presbyterian 

 Church, with 176 presbyteries, 2,767 minis- 

 ters, 300,874 members (in 1862, 303,289); 2. 

 New School Presbyterian Church, with 105 

 presbyteries, 1,558 ministers, 134,760 mem- 

 bers (in 1862, 135,454); 3. The Cumberland 

 Presbyterian Church, with 97 presbyteries, 

 1,150 ministers, and about 103,000 communi- 

 cants ; 4. The United Presbyterian Church of 

 North America, with 43 presbyteries, 444 min- 

 isters, and 57,567 members ; 5. United Synod 

 of the Presbyterian Church, with 31 Presbyte- 

 ries, 411 ministers, 50,295 communicants; 6. 

 Reformed Presbyterian Church (General Sy- 

 nod), with 7 presbyteries, 56 ministers, about 

 70,000 members ; 7. Reformed Presbyterian 

 Church (Synod), with 9 presbyteries, 59 minis- 

 ters, 6,650 communicants ; 8. Associate Re- 

 formed Synod of the South, with 75 ministers, 

 9,500 members ; 9. Associate Synod of North 

 America, with 49 ministers, and 1,130 mem- 

 bers ; 10. Associated Reformed Synod of New 

 York, with 14 ministers, 1,631 members; 11. 

 Free Presbyterian Synod of the U. S., with 41 

 ministers, about 4,000 members ; 12. The In- 

 dependent Presbyterian Church (in South and 

 North Carolina), with 4 ministers and about 

 1,000 communicants. 



Of all these twelve organizations, only two, 

 the Old School Presbyterians and the Cumber- 

 land Presbyterians, had a numerous member- 

 ship, both in the free and in the slave States. 

 The former was rent in consequence of the 

 General Assembly, in 1861, passing resolutions, 

 moved by Rev. Dr. Spring, and expressive of 

 loyalty to the Constitution of the United 

 States, and of the obligation to promote the 

 integrity of the United States. The churches 

 of the seceded States declared at once in favor 

 of forming an independent church organiza- 

 tion. In December, 1861, a convention of 

 delegates from the Southern presbyteries met 



at Augusta, Georgia, to adopt a constit 

 and take other measures necessary fur the 

 establishment of a separate church". It was 

 determined that the title of the new body 

 should be, "The General Assembly o; 

 Presbyterian Church in the Confederate v 

 of America," and that "the Standing Commit- 

 tees" (in lieu of the former church " boa: 

 should be located at Columbia, S. C.. 

 Orleans, Memphis, and Richmond. The con- 

 vention also adopted an address (drawn up 

 by Dr. Thornwell) to the Church of Christ 

 throughout the world, on the reasons of their 

 separate organization. The first general as- 

 sembly of the church was held in Montgomery, 

 Ala., in May, 1862, and was attended by only 

 31 ministers and 16 ruling elders. The com- 

 mittee of foreign missions had received $14,- 

 946 ; that of domestic missions $8,984. The 

 committee on the state of religion stated that 

 not a few congregations had been entirely dis- 

 banded. 



The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was 

 not formally dissolved by the war, though it 

 was actually dismembered. Those church 

 boards which were located in Tennessee, and 

 under the control of men sympathizing with 

 secession, were broken up. As, however, 

 many Cumberland Presbyterians in the seced- 

 ed States, especially in East Tennessee, were 

 supposed to be loyal to the United States, and 

 equally opposed to secession from the church, 

 it was hoped that, in the case of a restoration 

 of the Union, the unity of the church would 

 also be preserved. The General Assembly of 

 the church met at Owensboro', Ky., and was 

 attended by about 60 commissioners. The 

 assembly declined to pass any Union resolu- 

 tions, in order to give no offence to any politi- 

 cal party, and, in the hope of seeing a reunion 

 of the church, did not appoint any new church 

 boards, but preferred to leave, for one year, 

 the wants of the church unprovided. 



The Old School Presbyterian General Assem- 

 bly met, in 1861, at Columbus, Ohio, and 

 elected Rev. Dr. Beatty, of Steubenville. Ohio, 

 moderator. A series of declarations were sub- 

 emitted by Rev. Dr. Breckenridge, of Danville 

 Theological Seminary, severely denouncing 

 secession, and enjoining the necessity of up- 

 holding the Federal and State Governments, 

 and all persons in authority, in all their lawful 

 and proper acts for the suppression of the 

 insurrection. After a long and animated de- 

 bate, the declarations were adopted by a vote 

 of 199 ayes against 20 noes. The meetii-. 

 the synods and presbyteries which wore held 

 during the year gave, almost unanimously, an 

 emphatical endorsement to the Spring resolu- 

 tions of 1861, and the Breckenridge declarations 

 of 1862. Many synods also passed strong anti- 

 slavery resolution's. The opinion in the border 

 States was divided. The Synod of Baltimore 

 expressed a cordial approbation of the Breck- 

 enridge declarations, while in the Synod of 

 Kentucky, a considerable party, headed by Dr. 



