PRESBYTERIANS. 



759 



On the subject of American slavery, your committee 

 submit that we should not view it as if it were about 

 to be introduced, but as already in existence. We do 

 not hesitate to declare that the introduction of slavery 

 was an enormous crime surpassed by few crimes that 

 have disgraced the history of the world ; and that there 

 are at present great evils connected with it, and that 

 we believe will more or less be connected with it while 

 it exists. As to the remedy for these, the greatest and 

 best minds of our country and the world have greatly 

 differed, and been much perplexed, therefore we would 

 recommend to those who, in the providence of God, 

 have been placed in connection with this institution, to 

 continue prayerfully to study the word of God, to 

 determine their duty in regard to their slaves and 

 slavery; and to those who are not thus situated, that 

 they exercise forbearance toward their brethren who 

 are connected with slavery. 



The General Assembly also appointed boards 

 or committees on publication, on missions, and 

 on education, in place of those in Tennessee, 

 and appointed some members to go to Nashville 

 to get what could be had that belonged to these 

 boards. The new board of publication is lo- 

 cated at Pittsburg; that on missions at Alton; 

 that on education at Owensboro', Kentucky. 



The minutes of the General Assembly of the 

 United Presbyterian Church present the follow- 

 ing statistics for 1863 : synods 7, presbyteries 

 45, pastors 361, ministers without charges 109, 

 29 missionaries in the foreign field, congre- 

 gations 682, families 24,880, communicants 

 54,758, increase by examination and profession 

 2,787, increase by certificate 2,093, decrease by 

 death 997, decrease by removal 2,218, infant 

 baptisms 3,752, adult baptisms 237, contributed 

 to home missions $12,085, contributed to for- 

 eign missions $16,039 ; total of contributions to 

 the various funds of the Church, including sal- 

 aries of pastors, $305,082, being an average 

 of $5.57 per member. The General Assembly, 

 in reply to a communication from the Reformed 

 Presbyterian Church to cooperate with the 

 latter for the purpose of obtaining an amend- 

 ment to the Constitution of the United States 

 that shall expressly recognize our national al- 

 legiance to God, and the supremacy of His 

 law as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, adopted 

 the following resolutions : 



Resolved, That we lament that there is not a more 

 distinct recognition of the existence of God and of the 

 supremacy of his law, as revealed in the Scriptures, 

 than it contains ; that an amendment, introducing a 

 becoming recognition of God into at least the preamble 

 or adopting clause of the Constitution, is much to be 

 desired; and that we instruct our people that it is 

 their duty, as Christian citizens, to favor and cooper- 

 ate with every legitimate effort to secure this end. 



The general synod of the Reformed Presby- 

 terian Church met in Cedarville, Ohio, on May 

 20th, 1863, and elected Rev. Dr. Crawford 

 moderator. Resolutions were unanimously 

 passed to memorialize Congress to take consti- 

 tutional steps to have the Constitution so 

 amended as to make specific mention of the 

 authority of God, and free it from all " ambi- 

 guity " on the subject of slavery, in accordance 

 with the intention of the framers and its own 

 spirit. 



The General Assembly of the Presbyterian 



Church of the Confederate States met on May 

 28th, 1863, at Columbia, South Carolina. A 

 charter or act of incorporation, passed by the 

 Legislature of the State of Tennessee, on March 

 19th, 1863, was presented to the Assembly, and 

 at once accepted. Columbia Theological Sem- 

 inary was transferred by the synods of South 

 Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama to the control 

 and management of the General Assembly. A 

 general statement of the property of the sem- 

 inary was submitted, showing that the entire 

 amount was $277,940. A report "on the sub- 

 ject of slavery and the duties growing out of 

 this relation " was presented by the Rev. Dr. 

 Lyon. The report takes ground against the re- 

 opening of the slave trade, and in favor of the 

 amelioration of the condition of the slave. One 

 of the fundamental propositions is in the fol- 

 lowing words : " Slavery ceases to be a justi- 

 fied relation when the advantages growing out 

 of it are not mutual. We must give unto our 

 servants that which is just and equal." To 

 carry out this proposition the report makes the 

 following recommendations: 1. That whites 

 and blacks worship together in churches and 

 families. 2. That slaves be never left to the 

 uncontrolled management of hirelings. 3. That 

 greater protection be given by the laws to the 

 lives of slaves, and that the testimony of slaves 

 in cases relating to themselves, be taken at least 

 as " circumstantial evidence." 4. That the mar- 

 riage relation between slaves be sanctioned and 

 protected by the laws of the State. 5. That the 

 masters everywhere be instructed that an ob- 

 ligation rests upon them to give religious in- 

 struction to their slaves. The report was or- 

 dered to be printed and circulated, and the con- 

 sideration of its various propositions referred to 

 a special committee, to report to the next As- 

 sembly. 



The subject of a union between the Presby- 

 terian bodies of the South also received favor- 

 able notice. A committee was appointed to con- 

 fer with a similar committee from the United 

 Synod of the Presbyterian Church, concerning 

 the terms of a union between the two bodies. 

 Negotiations are also in progress with the As- 

 sociated Reformed Synod of the South for a 

 union, and intimations having been received 

 of a desire of the Independent Presbyterian 

 Church to unite with the Assembly, the Synod 

 of South Carolina was directed to do what was 

 expedient and right in the matter. 



The conference of the committees appoint- 

 ed by the General Assembly and the United 

 Synod, to agree upon a basis of union, met in 

 September, at Lynchburg, Virginia. It con- 

 sisted, on the part of the Assembly, of the Rev. 

 Drs. Palmer, Ramsey, and Dabney, and on the 

 part of the United Synod of the Rev. Drs. Mos- 

 chelle, Read, and Ross. The conference was 

 entirely successful, the two committees agreeing 

 upon a doctrinal basis, and upon a proposition 

 for uniting the synods, presbyteries, and 

 churches of the two denominations. 



In the Old and New School Presbyterian 



