UNITARIANS. 



795 



UNITARIANS. The first National Conven- 

 tion of the Unitarians of the United States, as- 

 sembled in New York on April 5th, in pur- 

 suance to a call from the Committee of Ten 

 (3 ministers and 7 laymen), which had been 

 appointed at the special meeting of the Amer- 

 ican Unitarian Association, held in Boston, on 

 December 7, 1864. The Convention elected 

 the following officers : President, Gov. John A. 

 Andrew, of Massachusetts ; Vice-Presidents, 

 Hon. T. D. Eliot, of New Bedford ; Hon. John 

 G. Palfrey, Cambridge, Mass. ; Hon. Wayman 

 Crowe, St. Louis; Hon. Ichabod Goodwin, 

 Portsmouth, N. H. ; Hon. A. A. Low, Brook- 

 lyn ; Hon. William C. Bryant, New York ; Rev. 

 Orville Dewey, D. D., Sheffield, Mass. ; Rev. E. 

 S. Gannett, D. D., Boston ; Rev. George W. 

 Hosmer, D. D., Buffalo. Secretaries, Rev. E. 

 E. Hall, Boston; Rev. Carleton A. Staples, 

 Milwaukee; J. A. Frothingham, Esq., Brook- 

 lyn. Treasurer, H. P. Kidder, Esq., Boston. 



Reports were made to the Convention from 

 the American Unitarian Association, the West- 

 ern Conference, the Maine Unitarian Confer- 

 ence, the Meadville Theological School, the 

 Unitarian Association of New York, the New 

 Hampshire Association, the Sunday-school So- 

 ciety, the Massachusetts Evangelical Missionary 

 Society. The Committee on Credentials re- 

 ported 190 congregations, represented by 379 

 lay delegates, and with few exceptions by their 

 pastors; also delegates from several associa- 

 tions. Rev. Dr. Bellows, chairman of the Com- 

 mittee of Twelve, to whom were referred all 

 doctrinal points, reported the following consti- 

 tution for adoption by the Convention : 



Constitution of the National Unitarian Convention. 

 PREAMBLE. Whereas, The great opportunities and 

 demands for Christian labor and consecration in- 

 crease our sense of the obligation of all disciples of 

 the Lord Jesus Christ to prove their faith by self- 

 denial and by the devotion of their lives and p'osses- 

 sions to the service of God and the building up of the 

 kingdom of his Son : 



ART. 1. Therefore, the Christian churches of the 

 Unitarian faith here assembled unite themselves in a 

 common body to be known as the National Confer- 

 ence of Unitarian Churches, to the end of reor- 

 ganizing and stimulating the denomination with 

 which they are connected to the largest exertions in 

 the cause of Christian faith and work. 



ART. 2. This National Convention shall be com- 

 posed of such delegates elected annually, not to ex- 

 ceed three from any church, including its minister, 

 who shall officially be one, as any of our churches 

 may accredit to it by a certificate of their appoint- 

 ment. 



ART. 3. The American Unitarian Association, the 

 Western Conference, and such other theological, 

 academic, or humane organizations in our body as 

 the Conference may see fit to invite, shall be entitled 

 to representation by no more than three delegates 

 each. 



ART. 4. The Conference shall meet annually at 

 such time as it may designate at its successive an- 

 nual sessions. 



ART. 5. The officers shall consist of a president, 

 six vine-presidents, three secretaries, an honorary, a 

 recording, and corresponding secretary, and a coun- 

 cil of ten, half ministers and half lavmen, who shall 

 be elected at each meeting, to holcl their office for 

 one year and until their successors are appointed. 



ART. 6. The Council of Ten shall hare charge, 

 during the intervals of the annual sessions, of all 

 business having reference to the interests of the Con- 

 ference, and intrusted to it by that body, which is 

 hereby declared a purely advisory one. 



ART. 7. The National Conference, until further ad- 

 vised by its experience, adopts the existing organi- 

 zations of the Unitarian boay as the instruments of 

 its power, and confines itself to recommending to 

 them such undertakings and methods as it judges to 

 be in the heart of the Unitarian denomination. 



ART. 8. The foregoing constitution may be amend- 

 ed at any regular meeting of the Conference, by a 

 vote of not less than two-thirds of the delegates ac- 

 credited thereto. 



After an animated debate, the constitution 

 and the preamble were adopted. Mr. William 

 Cullen Bryant, from the Committee on Patriotic 

 Resolutions, reported the following : 



Resolved, That this Convention give solemn thanks 

 to Almighty God for the success with which He has 

 crowned the arms of the United States in the war for 

 the suppression of a most wicked rebellion, for the 

 very near prospect of peace, and for the opening 

 which is made by the extinction of slavery for the 

 diffusion of Christianity in its true spirit, as a religion 

 of love, mercy, and universal liberty. 



The words "and universal liberty " were 

 added on the motion of the Rev. J. S. May. 

 The resolution was then adopted by rising. 



The Convention resolved to raise, during the 

 coming year, and hereafter annually, the sum 

 of $100,000 for denominational purposes, and 

 to raise another $100,000 for the endowment 

 of Antioch College (Yellow Springs, Ohio), 

 which, by a recent amendment of the charter, 

 had passed from the joint control of the Unita- 

 rians and the Christian Connection under the 

 sole control of the Unitarians. A great differ- 

 ence of opinion was found to prevail among the 

 members as to the person of Christ and the 

 doctrine of the Unitarian Church, though it led 

 to no open rupture. The following resolutions, 

 which had been offered by A. A. Low, were 

 referred to the Committee of Ten : 



That this Convention should claim the assent of all 

 who participate in it to the following fundamental 

 doctrines : 1. Belief in the Holy Scriptures as con- 

 taining a revelation of God to man and as deduced 

 therefrom. 2. Belief in one God the Father. 3. Be- 

 lief in one Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, the Son 

 of God, and His specially appointed messenger and 

 representative to our race, gifted with supernatural 

 powers, approved of God by miracles and signs and 

 wonders which God did by Him. 4. Belief in the 

 Holy Ghost, the Comforter. 5. Belief in the forgive- 

 ness of sins, the resurrection from the dead, and life 

 everlasting. 



In accordance with a report of the Com- 

 mittee on Nominations, the following were 

 chosen officers of the National Conference, un- 

 til the next annual meeting: For president, 

 Governor Andrew; vice-presidents, Messrs. 

 Hosmer, Palfrey, Low (of Brooklyn), Goodwm, 

 and Dewey ; honorary secretary, Mr. Carlton ; 

 corresponding secretary, Mr. Hale ; recording 

 secretary, J. H. Frothingham. For members 

 of the council, Messrs. Bellows, Carter, Par- 

 tridge, Eaton, Clarke (of Boston), Eliot, Low 

 (of Massachusetts), Sawyer, Hepworth, and 

 Mayo. 



