622 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



frween the two brandies of the Presbyterian Church 

 at the North, now so happily consummated, present 

 an auspicious opportunity for the adjustment of such 

 relations : therefore, be it 



Resolved, That a committee of five ministers and 

 four elders be appointed by this Assembly to confer 

 with a similar committee, if it shall be appointed by 

 the Assembly now in session in the city of Louis- 

 ville, in respect to opening a friendly correspondence 

 between the Northern and Southern Presbyterian 

 Churches, and that the result of such conference be 

 reported to the General Assembly of 1871. 



Resolved, That, with a view to the furtherance of 

 the object contemplated in the appointment of said 

 committee, this Assembly hereby reaffirms the " Con- 

 current Declaration" of the two Assemblies which 

 met in the city of New York last year, namely: 

 "That no rule or precedent which does not stand 

 approved by both bodies shall be of any authority in 

 the reunited body, except in so far as such rule or 

 precedent may afiect the rights of property founded 

 thereon." 



Resolved, That one minister and one elder of this 

 committee, appointed by this Assembly, be desig- 

 nated as delegates to convey to the Assembly now in 

 session at Louisville a copy of these resolutions, with 

 our Christian salutation. 



The committee appointed to raise the me- 

 morial contribution of $5,000,000 among the 

 members of this Church proposed a subscrip- 

 tion for $1,000,000 free-will offerings of ten 

 cents each week for fifty weeks. The institu- 

 tions designated by the General Assembly to 

 receive aid are, theological seminaries, col- 

 leges, and chartered schools; literary institu- 

 tions for the raising of a native Gospel min- 

 istry in heathen lands ; church buildings and 

 . parsonages ; hospitals and orphan asylums ; 

 institutions for the education and evangeliza- 

 tion of the freedmen; the establishment of a 

 Permanent Sustentation Fund. 



II. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE UNITED 

 STATES (SOUTH). The General Assembly of 

 the Southern Presbyterian Church met in 

 Louisville, Ky., May 18th. The Kev. Drs. 

 Backus and Van Dyke, and Mr. William E. 

 Dodge, delegates from the Northern Presby- 

 terian Church, presented the fraternal resolu- 

 tions adopted by the General Assembly of that 

 body, and addressed the assembly, stating that 

 they came not to ask for reunion, not to ask 

 for immediate correspondence, but to ask the 

 appointment of a committee to meet a similar 

 committee appointed by the Northern Assem- 

 bly, and confer respecting various matters and 

 questions of jurisdiction and property-rights 

 between the two assemblies, and secure, if 

 possible, the adjustment of all differences be- 

 tween the two bodies on a basis that shall bo 

 just and honorable to all parties, and worthy 

 of Christian men. An answer was given, say- 

 ing that the Southern Church does not approve 

 of union with the Northern Church, because 

 it is a total surrender of all fundamental doc- 

 trines, and embraces all shades of belief. The 

 Southern Church is the only surviving heir of 

 true, unfailing testimonies, and there are im- 

 passable barriers to official intercourse between 

 the two Churches. The pastoral letter sent 

 out to the churches by the General Assembly 

 claimed that, whatever obstructions may be in 



the way of fellowship, they were not created 

 by the Southern Church, and that they could 

 not allow themselves to be placed in a false 

 position before the world. 



The rival synods in Kentucky that which 

 adheres to the Northern General Assembly, 

 and that which belongs to the Southern 

 Church appointed committees to consult and 

 endeavor to agree upon some plan by which 

 the disputed questions in reference to Centre 

 College could be adjusted satisfactorily. The 

 committees have had several friendly confer- 

 ences, but have not been able to unite upon 

 any basis of settlement. 



The statistics of the Southern Presbyterian 

 Church for the year ending April 1, 1870, were 

 as follows: Synods, 11; presbyteries, 65; 

 ministers, 840; churches, 1,469; candidates, 

 161; licentiates, 53; communicants, 82,014; 

 baptisms, 5,084; Sunday-school scholars, 47,- 

 817; contributions: sustentation, $49,002; for- 

 eign missions, $23,269 ; education, $34,209 ; 

 publication, $10,279 ; presbyterial purposes, 

 $12,247; congregational purposes, $676,432; 

 miscellaneous purposes, $66,917. Total, $872,- 

 355. Two hundred and six churches failed to 

 report the number of their members. 



III. UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NORTH 

 AMERICA. The " narrative of the State of the 

 Church " adopted by the General Assembly of 

 this body, while it reports the Church flourish- 

 ing in many respects, notes a decrease in the 

 number of ministers. The net decrease of the 

 year preceding the meeting of the General 

 Assembly was ten. Fifteen died, and twelve 

 were dismissed to other denominations. The 

 subject of union with the Presbyterian Church 

 has been under advisement, and favorably con- 

 sidered. Committees of conference upon the 

 subject, representing the two bodies, were to 

 meet at Pittsburg early in 1871. 



The statistics for the year ending May, 1870, 

 were as follows : 



The number of licentiates is 36 ; students, 

 55; baptisms, 4,498; officers and teachers in 

 Sunday-schools, 6,820; scholars, 43,227; con- 

 tributions for home missions, $25,999 ; foreign 

 missions, $40,079; freedmen's missions, $10,- 

 066 ; education, $6,080 ; publications, $2,089 ; 

 church extension, $14,806; Assembly's fund; 

 $1,605; aged ministers' fund, $1,305; salary 

 by congregations, $384,816; congregational 

 purposes, $264,155; salary by Assembly, $23,- 

 731 ; general contributions, $76,176. Total, 

 $812,553. 



