PRESBYTERIANS. 



769 



be left exclusively to the native chiefs. These 

 recommendations were adopted. 



Another subject which engaged attention 

 prominently involved the question of the ad- 

 missibility of certain views expressed in a 

 volume called " Scotch Sermons," which was 

 published in 1880. The volume included twen- 

 ty-three sermons by thirteen authors, in which 

 religious questions were considered from the 

 liberal and worldly scientific, as distinguished 

 from the strict theological point of view. In 

 one of these discourses the Rev. W. L. Mac- 

 Farlane, of Lenzie, assuming to point out in 

 what sense the Scriptures are authoritative, 

 had expounded the views of those who hold 

 that the Bible is not true because it is authori- 

 tative, but is authoritative because and in so 

 far as it is true. In another discourse, the same 

 author, considering what are the essentials of 

 Christianity, the truths which can not be shak- 

 en, expounded, as between the blind adherents 

 of traditional dogmas and the thoroughgoing op- 

 ponents of Christianity, the views of those who 

 welcome the criticisms of theological dogmas 

 by scientific men as " instrumentalities, some- 

 what rough in their operation, by which the 

 religion of Christ is being purified from the 

 corruptions which have attached themselves to 

 it." The Presbytery of Glasgow, to which Mr. 

 MacFarlane was attached, hud referred the case 

 of the sermons to a committee ; the Synod, on 

 appeal, had sustained its action, and the case 

 was now brought up on appeal from the Synod. 

 The case appeared to the Assembly to leave it 

 open to doubt whether Mr. MacFarlane had in- 

 tended to express the views objected to as his 

 own, or only representatively as those of a 

 party whose attitude he was defining, without 

 committing himself to it. The Assembly de- 

 cided to recall the finding of the presbytery ; 

 pronounced the sermons defective in statement 

 and blameworthy ; warned the ministers not to 

 be chargeable with such teaching; and required 

 Mr. MacFarlane to answer whether he dis- 

 claimed the identification of his own views 

 with the doctrines objected to, whether he re- 

 gretted that his sermon had given occasion for 

 doubts as to the soundness of his teaching, and 

 whether he would endeavor to avoid giving 

 occasion for offense in the future. Mr. Mac- 

 Farlane gave a satisfactory answer to the ques- 

 tions, was admonished by the Moderator, and 

 the case was declared ended. 



XI. FREE CIIUROH OF SCOTLAND. The Fi- 

 nance Committee of the General Assembly re- 

 ported that the total receipts of this Church 

 for the year ending March 31, 1881, had been 

 590,333. 



The entire income of the Education Com- 

 mittee was 1.355, and fell considerably short 

 of the requirements of the scheme. 



The increase of the Widows' and Orphans' 

 Fund was 98,190. It had received legacies 

 amounting to 2,455. The whole amount of 

 accumulated funds was 265,711. 



The Sustentation Fund Committee had re- 

 VOL. xxi. 49 A 



ceived 171,976, and had 149,597 available 

 for equal dividend. Of 1,097 ministers, 899 

 were on the platform of the equal dividend, of 

 whom 796 were drawing the full year's divi- 

 dend. 



The Committee for the Highlands and Islands 

 had received 8,879, and had had a year of 

 successful work. 



The Home Mission and Church Extension 

 Committee reported a deficiency for the year 

 of 1,631. It had 32 church-extension stations 

 and charges, 6 territorial missions, 25 charges, 

 and 80 congregational missions. 



The sum of 98,200 had been subscribed 

 toward the Church Extension Building Fund 

 of 100,000, which the General Assembly had 

 undertaken to raise, and 48,249 had been 

 paid in to it. 



The receipts for the various Foreign and 

 Colonial Missions for the year had been : 



For missions to the heathen and Mohammedans 58,015 



For missions to the Jews 10,014 



For continental missions 4,124 



For colonial missions 4, 189 



Total 74,342 



This showed an increase of nearly 5,000 in 

 the year. 



The missions are in India, South and Cen- 

 tral Africa, the New Hebrides Islands, and 

 (medical) Syria, and employed 36 ordained 

 European and 11 ordained native missionaries, 

 with assistant missionaries, teachers, evangel- 

 ists, catechists, etc., swelling the whole num- 

 ber of Christian agents to 488. They embraced 

 25 principal and 104 branch stations, with 3,600 

 communicants in 35 congregations, and 13,138 

 students and scholars in 6 colleges and 191 

 schools, of whom 416 were university under- 

 graduates; 425 adults and 262 children had 

 been baptized or admitted on profession during 

 the year. The native contributions and fees in 

 support of the works of the missions had been 

 9,097. 



The General Assembly of the Free Church 

 of Scotland met at Edinburgh May 19th. The 

 Rev. Dr. William Laughton was chosen Moder- 

 ator. The new moderator, as if anticipating 

 that the chief business of the Assembly would 

 be the consideration of the case of Professor 

 Robertson Smith, referred, in his opening ad- 

 dress, to the impatience exhibited of confes- 

 sional restraints ; and said that while the con- 

 fession was by some unduly exalted, as though 

 it were on a level with the Bible, there was a 

 limit, on the other hand, and it would not do 

 to yield to the skeptical spirit and tendencies 

 of the age. There must be no compromise on 

 the supernatural revelation of the Divine Word 

 and on those principles of revelation clearly 

 and unequivocally asserted by the " Confession 

 of Faith." A case came up involving a decision 

 of the Presbytery of Dundee, prohibiting the 

 use of a harmonium in a church at Broughton 

 Ferry. The Synod, to which the case was ap- 

 pealed, had, without hearing the presbytery, 



