642 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



standing of the churches and members of the South- 

 ern Assembly as Christians and Presbyterians, such 

 an application of them would be unjust to them 

 and would be disapproved and regretted by us} and 

 further to reaffirm explicitly, in harmony with the 

 repeated and emphatic deliverances of former As- 

 semblies, our hearty willingness and our earnest 

 and sincere desire for the reestablishment of frater- 

 nal relations between the two bodies on terms and 

 conditions which shall be mutually honorable and in 

 the spirit of Christian charity, forbearance, and broth- 

 erly love, and that we wait, in charity and hope, the 

 early coming of the day when we shall again mingle 

 with our brethren of the Southern Church in Chris- 

 tian fellowship and cooperation. 



A motion was made to strike out the word 

 "present " from the resolution, but was reject- 

 ed by the Assembly. Near the close of the 

 session a letter was received from a member 

 of the Southern General Assembly, which was 

 then in session at St. Louis, stating that, if the 

 word " present " were struck out, the South- 

 ern Assembly would appoint fraternal dele- 

 gates. It was decided that such action would 

 be out of order, as the subject had already 

 been considered and fully disposed of. The 

 Committee on the Federal Union of Presbyte- 

 rian Churches, or Presbyterian Confederation, 

 made a report of their proceedings. A meet- 

 ing of committees of various Presbyterian and 

 Reformed bodies had been held in New York 

 City, and had prepared a draft of a constitu- 

 tion for the proposed Confederation, to be sub- 

 mitted to the General Conference to be held 

 in London, July 21st. They recommended as 

 delegates to the Conference the Rev. Messrs. 

 R. M. Patterson, of Philadelphia ; O. W. 

 Thomas, of the Presbytery of Chester ; S. 

 M. Hamilton, of New York ; James McCosh, 

 LL. D., of Princeton, N. J. ; J. H. Munro, 

 D. D., of Philadelphia ; T. H. Robinson, D. D., 

 of Harrisburg, Pa. ; John Hall, D. D., of New 

 York; A. 0. McClelland, of Pittsburg, Pa. ; and 

 Messrs. William E. Dodge, Jr., Morris K. Jes- 

 sup, John Wanamaker, and J. Blair Scribner. 

 The Assembly also, "in view of the fact that 

 the question of calling a Presbyterian Council 

 was suggested in the Assembly of 1873, and 

 further considered in the Assembly of 1874, 

 and answered in the Assembly of 1875," ap- 

 pointed the moderators of these three Assem- 

 blies, viz.: the Rev. Howard Crosby, D. D., 

 LL. D., 1873 ; the Rev. Samuel Wilson, D. D., 

 LL. D., 1874 ; and the Rev. Edward D. Morris, 

 D.D., 1875, together with the stated clerk, the 

 Rev. Edwin F. Hatfield, D. D., as delegates to 

 the London meeting, with power to substi- 

 tute or add to their number ministers or lay- 

 men. The following overture, providing for 

 what was called a term or rotary eldership, 

 had been submitted to the Presbyteries by the 

 General Assembly of 1874: 



ART. VIII. If any particular Church, by a vote of 

 members in full communion, shall prefer to elect 

 ruling elders for a limited time in the exercise of 

 their functions, this may be done ; provided the full 

 time be not less than three years, and the Session be 

 made to consist of three classes, one of which only 

 shall be elected every year; and, provided, that 



elders once ordained shall not be divested of the 

 office when they are not reelected, but shall be en- 

 titled to represent that particular Church in the high- 

 est judicatories, when appointed by the Sessions or 

 the Presbytery. 



The number of Presbyteries connected with 

 ths General Assembly was 173, of which 87 

 constituted a majority. Answers to the over- 

 ture had been received from 139 Presbyteries, 

 of which 100 had answered in the affirmative, 

 36 had answered in the negative, and three 

 were returned as equally divided. It being 

 shown that a majority of all the Presbyteries 

 had answered in the affirmative, the overtures 

 were declared as an additional section of the 

 form of government, and as a part of the con- 

 stitution of the Church. 



The committee appointed by the General 

 Assembly in 1873, and continued in 1874, to 

 confer with a committee of the General Synod 

 of the Reformed Church in America, reported 

 that that Church declined to enter into nego- 

 tiations for union, but would consider plans for 

 cooperation in certain departments of work. 

 The committee were continued, and were au- 

 thorized to confer upon this subject. The com- 

 mittee appointed to consider the subject of par- 

 ticipation in the Centennial Celebration of 

 American Independence reported that they 

 had designated the Rev. A. J. Macgill, D. D. ; 

 the Rev. E. H. Gillette, D. D. ; the Rev. Samuel 

 Wilson, D. D. ; the Rev. E. P. Humphreys, 

 D. D. ; and the Rev. William Adams, D. D., to 

 deliver five of the historical discourses contem- 

 plated in the plan for a celebration which had 

 been adopted by the previous General Assem- 

 bly, and that these gentlemen had all accepted 

 their appointments. The historical sketches of 

 the several boards and other agencies estab- 

 lished by the General Assembly would be pre- 

 pared by persons designated by the boards and 

 agencies. The Assembly reiterated its former 

 declarations on the subject of temperance. 

 Parents were advised to pay greater attention 

 to the religious instruction of children at home. 

 The Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to 

 Animals were commended. 



The Rev. E. D. Morris, Moderator of the 

 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church 

 in the United States of America, was born 

 in Utica, N. Y., in 1825, and was graduated at 

 Yale College in 1849, and at the Theological 

 Seminary at Auburn, N. Y., in 1852. He was 

 afterward pastor of the first Presbyterian 

 Church at Auburn, until 1855, when he ac- 

 cepted a call to the Second Presbyterian Church 

 of Columbus, Ohio. In 1868 he was called to 

 the chair of Ecclesiastical History and Church" 

 Polity in Lane Theological Seminary, Cincin- 

 nati, Ohio, and in 1874 he succeeded the Rev. 

 Henry A. Nelson, D. D., as Professor of Sys- 

 tematic Theology in the same institution. 



II. PKESBYTERIAN CHTJECH IN THE UNITED 

 STATES. The following is the general summary 

 of the statistics of this Church, as published in 

 the "Minutes of the General Assembly of 1875." 



