760 PRESBYTERIAN: THE CASE OF PROFESSOR W. ROBERTSON SMITH. 



7,826 ; steamers, entered, 1,869 ; cleared, 2,083. 

 The merchant navy, in 1880, consisted of 498 

 vessels, including42 steamers. The total longt h 

 of railways in operation in September, 1880, 

 was 780 miles, and there were 280 miles more 

 in course of construction. The number of post- 

 offices in September, 1880, was 863, of which 

 47 were on the islands. 



The total length of telegraph lines, conti- 

 nental and insular (Azores), in 1878, was 

 2,660. The number of offices in September, 

 1880, was 191, seven of these being in the Isl- 

 and of Madeira. 



Considerable irritation prevailed throughout 

 the kingdom in March, 1881, against the author- 

 ities at Lisbon, who, without sufficient provo- 

 cation, dispersed a crowd issuing from a meet- 

 ing hostile to the Cabinet. In the Chamber of 

 Peers the Opposition brought forward a vote of 

 censure on the Government on account of the 

 Lorenzo-Marques (Delagoa Bay) Treaty, and 

 their hostile attitude was approved by the Por- 

 tuiruese press. The King received delegates 

 from meetings held at Oporto, Braga, Regoa, 

 and Coimbra. The resistance against the Lo- 

 renzo-Marques Treaty and against the income- 

 tax continuing persistently, it was resolved by 

 the Cabinet to take severe measures against the 

 popular demonstrations, which were every day 

 getting more violent and more anti-dynastic. 



The Cortes were adjourned on March 30th 

 till the 1st of June, with the avowed purpose 

 of shelving the Delagoa Bay Treaty which was 

 certain to pass the House of Peers within a week 

 had the Houses continued sitting. The minis- 

 try, which had thus declared against the treaty, 

 was presided over by a member of the Cabi- 

 net which negotiated the treaty. Three of its 

 members refused to vote for the treaty in 

 the Chamber of Deputies. Fresh negotiations 

 were demanded by public opinion, which had 

 taken up the cause of Transvaal independence. 

 Thus the question was postponed sine die. 



In October their Majesties of Portugal were 

 visited by the King and Queen of Spain. The 

 meeting took place on the morning of the 8th, 

 at the village of Valencia de Alcantara. The 

 interview had no political significance, but was 

 only regarded as a friendly meeting of neigh- 

 boring monarchs to lend eclat to the inaugu- 

 ration of a new railway line of the Madrid, 

 Caceres, and Portugal Company, by which the 

 distance separating the respective capitals is 

 reduced by about one third. After breakfast 

 the royal train left for Cdceres. Here the 

 reception was truly enthusiastic, and never, 

 perhaps, has King Alfonso had more reason 

 to congratulate himself on the loyalty of his 

 people. 



PRESBYTERIAN. THE CASE OF PROFES- 

 SOR W. ROBERTSON SMITH. The case of Pro- 

 fessor W. Robertson Smith came up before the 

 General Assembly of the Free Church of Scot- 

 land on the presentation of the action of the 

 Commission of the General Assembly in Octo- 

 ber, 1880, suspending him from the exercise of 



his functions as a professor in the College of 

 Aberdeen, and was also brought forward in 

 thirty-seven overtures relative to some of its 

 aspects. The history of this case during 1880 

 has already been given in the u Annual Cyclo- 

 paedia " for 1880, but it may help to an under- 

 standing of the further proceedings briefly to 

 review it. Shortly after Professor Smith had 

 received the admonition of the General Assem- 

 bly for the publication of expressions in his ar- 

 ticle on the Bible in the '' Encyclopaedia Brit- 

 annica," which the Assembly considered too 

 loosely and inconsiderately made, and had 

 agreed to respect the wishes of the Assembly, 

 another volume of the Encyclopedia had ap- 

 peared with articles by Professor Smith on 

 " Haggai " and " Hebrew Language and Liter- 

 ature," containing expressions of a similar 

 character to those which had been considered 

 objectionable in the former article. Professor 

 Smith had explained that these articles had 

 been written and were in process of publica- 

 tion, and beyond his power to recall them, be- 

 fore the Assembly had taken its action, and 

 whatever lack of respect they might seem to 

 show to that action was only apparent ; bet 

 the subject attracted the attention of the 

 Church, and was referred, in due form, to the 

 commission. The attention of this body AVJIS 

 also drawn to an article on " Animal Worship 

 and Animal Tribes among the Arabs and in tic 

 Old Testament," which was published in the 

 " Journal of Philology." The committee of 

 the commission to whom the subject was re- 

 ferred reported, October 27th, that 



" The questions raised by these writings of Profes- 

 sor R. Smith are questions which aflect that authority 

 of the Supreme Standard of the Church which is as- 

 serted in, and assumed throughout, the ' Confession 

 of Faith.' The committee do not impute to Professor 

 E. Smith the intention of assailing the integrity and 

 authority of Scripture in the writings they have exam- 

 ined, but the statements made by him in many par- 

 ticulars are such as are fitted, and can hardly fail, to 

 produce upon the minds of readers the impression that 

 Scripture does not present a reliable statement of 

 truth, and that God is not the author of it : and it 

 greatly concerns the character and credit of the Free 

 Church to make it clear, in opposition to any such im- 

 pression, that she holds firmly, and will maintain, the 

 infallible truth and authority of Scripture as the Word 

 of God." 



In proof of this, they cited passages in which, in 

 their opinion, (1) the books of Scripture were spoken 

 of in an irreverent manner ; (2) in which the books of 

 Scripture were spoken of in such a way as to render 

 it very difficult for readers to regard God as the author 

 of them; (3) which naturally suggested that Scripture 

 did not give an authentic narrative of facts or actual 

 occurrences ; and (4) which discredited prophecy in its 

 predictive aspect. 



Professor Smith's explanation of his conduct 

 was pronounced untenable, and the commis- 

 sion decided, by a vote of 270 to 202, to remit 

 the matter to the Presbytery of Aberdeen, to 

 protest against the Free Church being impli- 

 cated in the promulgation of such principles, 

 and, pending the transmission of its report to 

 the Assembly, to instruct Professor Smith not 

 to teach his classes during the winter Bes- 



