744 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



Committee on Union with the Reformed Pres- 

 byterian Churches reported the result of the con- 

 ference that had been held on the subject with 

 the committees of those bodies. 



A committee of five members was appointed 

 to meet with committees of the two Reformed 

 Presbyterian Churches or of either of them, for 

 the purpose of forming a basis of union. An 

 overture allowing the licensure of students of 

 theology at the end of the second year's study in 

 the Assembly, having been approved by the vote 

 of the Church, was enacted into a permanent 

 law; but it was made a part of the law that 

 a third session shall be spent at the seminary 

 after licensure. Unlicensed students were en- 

 joined from accepting appointments to preach 

 while in attendance at the seminary. Overtures 

 prohibiting the licensure of students of theology 

 who are addicted to the use of tobacco and over- 

 tures relating to the ordination of tobacco-using 

 men as elders had been rejected by the vote of 

 the Church. The presbyteries were, however, 

 advised to take the use of tobacco into serious 

 consideration in determining the fitness of can- 

 didates for the office of the,ministry ; and ruling 

 elders to consider the influence of their example 

 in the matter. Provision was made for deter- 

 mining the proper presbyterial connection of 

 such congregations of freedmen as have been or- 

 ganized beyond the defined limits of existing 

 presbyteries. 



IV. Reformed Presbyterian Church (Sy- 

 nod). This Church has, according to the sta- 

 tistical reports made to the Synod of 1890, 124 

 congregations, nearly 11,000 communicants, and 

 151 Sabbath-schools', with 12,000 pupils. The 

 mission among the colored people of Alabama 

 had been extended during the year, the number 

 of home-mission stations had been increased, 

 new teachers had been appointed to the mission 

 among the Indians, a farmer had been stationed 

 there, and a mission house had been built. Two 

 congregations and a presbytery had been organ- 

 ized in the Syrian Mission. 



The Synod met in the city of New York, June 

 4. The propositions for union with the Gen- 

 eral Synod were rejected. The subordinate 

 courts were directed to see that the law of the 

 Church in reference to voting for civil officers 

 be enforced. An order was passed that here- 

 after discussions in the magazines of the Church 

 leading to the expression of opinions that are 

 contrary to the law and order of the Reformed 

 Presbyterian body be not allowed. A resolution 

 to rescind the rule forbidding the admission of 

 ministers of other churches to Reformed Presby- 

 terian pulpits was lost. A synodical commun- 

 ion was appointed to be held in 1891, at which 

 the covenant sworn to in 1871 should be re- 

 subscribed to. The Synod decided to establish 

 missions in Africa and China as soon as possible. 

 A fund of $4,000 had already been obtained for 

 the mission in China. 



V. Reformed Presbyterian Church (Gen- 

 eral Synod). The General Synod of the Re- 

 formed Presbyterian Church met in Pittsburg, 

 Pa.. May 21. The Rev. R. Blair, was chosen 

 moderator. The Committee on Union reported 

 concerning a conference which had been held 

 with a committee of the Synod of the Reformed 

 Presbyterian Church, in January, 1890, submit- 



ting the propositions which had been presented 

 by the committees of the respective bodies. The 

 proposition of the committee of the General Syn- 

 od suggested that the whole Reformed Presby- 

 terian Church place itself in the position defined 

 in the declarations of 1832, leaving the question 

 of application to different cases to be settled as 

 the cases might come up. The position of the 

 committee was approved, and a delegation was 

 appointed to attend the meeting of the Synod in 

 New York, with instructions to convey to that 

 body the unwillingness of the General Synod to 

 accept the paper presented by the Synod s com- 

 mittee, for the reasons that it was not in har- 

 mony with the terms of communion of either 

 school ; that in declaring the government of the 

 State and nation under immoral law it was 

 establishing a new standard of doctrine ; that it 

 was contrary to the decision of the Church prior 

 to the division ; and that the Reformed Presby- 

 terian Church, as a whole, had never declared 

 any position contrary to the Constitution of the 

 United States. The report of the committee on 

 the signs of the times recognized the existence 

 of many reasons for official church thanksgiving, 

 and recommended the observance of the nation- 

 al Thanksgiving Day as the Church Thanksgiv- 

 ing Day. Delegates were appointed to attend a 

 convention in behalf of church union to be held 

 in the fall. The subject of " the Token," coming 

 over from the previous Synod on a question of 

 allowing sessions to decide for their several con- 

 gregations was indefinitely postponed. 



VI. Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 

 The statistical reports of this Church made to 

 the General Assembly in May, 1890, give the 

 following footings: Number of ministers, 1,547; 

 of congregations, 2,546; of members, 138,554; 

 number of additions during the year on profes- 

 sion, 14,356; of baptisms, 9,171 of adults and 

 14,256 of infants ; number of members of Sunday- 

 schools. 74,576. Whole amount of contributions, 

 $553,033 ; value of church property, $2,420,500. 

 The accounts of the Board of Education for 

 the year were balanced at $3,308. A consider- 

 ably larger number of churches had contributed 

 to its funds than in the preceding year. Fifty- 

 four students had been aided, with a total ex- 

 penditure of $2,435. There were 193 ministerial 

 students in all the schools of the Church. 



The receipts of the Board of Ministerial Re- 

 lief, now in the ninth year of its operations, had 

 been $10,306. It had aided 80 cases of ministers, 

 widows, and orphans in the total sum of $6,600. 

 The receipts of the Board of Missions had 

 been : For foreign missions, $19,276 ; for home 

 missions. $11,080; for church erection, $2,502; 

 and other receipts, $6,708; making in all, $39,566. 

 The foreign mission is in Japan. 



The sixtieth General Assembly met at Union 

 City, Tenn., May 15. The Rev. E. G. McLean 

 was chosen moderator. The Assembly was ad- 

 dressed by a corresponding delegate of the Col- 

 ored Cumberland Presbyterian Church, who said 

 that that body, set off twenty years before as a 

 separate organization, had grown from 1 pres- 

 bytery to 20 presbyteries, with 225 ministers, 

 125 licentiates, 20 candidates, and 20,000 com- 

 municants. The attention of the Assembly was 

 drawn to the doctrine respecting the atonement 

 taught in a book on soteriology, by the Rev. Dr. 



