PRESBYTERIANS. 



671 



ment" had, within two years, been approved 

 with great unanimity by a large majority of 

 the presbyteries, thereby becoming the faith 

 and government of the Church, it was the 

 sense of the Assembly that it was unwise to 

 agitate the subject of change so soon after this 

 had been done. The Assembly, therefore, ad- 

 vised all its judicatures and individual members 

 to desist (at least for the present) from motions 

 having that end in view. 



VII. Canada Presbyterian Church. The General 

 Assembly of the Canada Presbyterian Church 

 met in Toronto, June 4. The Rev. Prof. 

 MacLaren was chosen moderator. The Home 

 Mission Committee (Western section) reported 

 the progress of their work in the Province of 

 Quebec, as well as in Montreal and in the 

 Northwestern settlements. The Committee of 

 the Eastern section, whose jurisdiction covers 

 the maritime provinces, returned an increase 

 of twenty-five per cent, in the number of 

 members connected with the stations. The 

 French Evangelization Committee reported 

 that it had employed 54 missionaries of all 

 grades, including 11 colporteurs, 19 ordained 

 missionaries, and 22 missionary teachers; and 

 that they had 17 mission-schools with 537 

 pupils, 42 mission-fields, and 78 preaching-sta- 

 tions, with 965 families and 934 persons of 

 French origin in full communion with the 

 Church. It had also a mission to the Italian 

 people in the city of Montreal. A paper in 

 the Frsnch language was published under the 

 direction of the committee. The mission was 

 believed to be one of the most difficult in the 

 world. The Foreign Missionary Committee re- 

 ported on the condition of the missions in 

 Eromanga, New Hebrides,' where the gospel 

 was preached in every part of the island, with 

 24 schools and 195 adult members; Trinidad 

 (to the coolies), where 1,800 children were en- 

 rolled in the schools, and the people contrib- 

 uted an average of $12.60 for each communi- 

 cant ; and in Central India. A committee was 

 appointed to mature a plan for the union of 

 the two Foreign Missionary Committees (those 

 of the Eastern and Western sections) into one. 

 Among the more important questions discussed 

 in the Assembly was one concerning the pow- 

 er of the Assembly in the matter of the insti- 

 tution of new theological colleges and theo- 

 logical professorships. An overture was pre- 

 sented from the Synod of Hamilton and Lon- 

 don, asking that no new college be instituted, 

 and no new chair be founded in an existing 

 college by the Assembly alone. The Assembly 

 receiving the overture, expressed its approval 

 of the part relating to new colleges, but de- 

 clined to deal with the question of power to 

 institute new professorships. A declaration 

 was adopted to be submitted to the presby- 

 teries, but without committing the Assembly 

 to its conclusions, embodying the following 

 points on the subject of marriage with a de- 

 ceased wife's sister: That the Mosaic law of 

 incest is of permanent obligation, and marriage 



ought not to be within the degrees of consan- 

 guinity or affinity forbidden in the Word ; that 

 the proposition that " a man may not marry 

 any of his wife's kindred nearer in blood than 

 he may of his own," is not sufficiently sustained 

 by the authority of Scripture ; and that church 

 discipline shall not be exercised in regard to 

 marriage with a wife's sister, wife's aunt, and 

 wife's niece. An overture was received from 

 the Synod of Montreal and Ottawa, deprecat- 

 ing the evils of party politics. It declared that 

 partisanship, by interfering with the exercise 

 of fair-mindedness in regard to public men and 

 public questions, and by inducing a spirit of 

 distrust, tends to undermine the love for truth 

 and loyalty to truth in the community ; that 

 by engendering and fostering a spirit of strife 

 in connection with political issues, it seriously 

 disturbs the exercise of the love and good-will 

 that ought to prevail in a Christian land ; and 

 that, by demanding unswerving obedience to 

 the interests of party, it prevents the free and 

 honest expression of opinion at the polls and 

 in the halls of the Legislature. The Assembly 

 expressed its general sympathy with the spirit 

 of the overture. A deputation was appointed 

 to wait upon the Government of the Dominion, 

 with reference to the violation of the Lord's 

 day by the postal department, in forwarding 

 and distributing mails, by railway companies, 

 and by military companies and other organi- 

 zations in public parades. The Assembly, 

 expressing a hope for the ultimate total ex- 

 termination of the liquor-traffic, reiterated its 

 approval of the principle of the Canada Tem- 

 perance Act of 1878, and recommended its 

 adoption. It also advised the formation of 

 temperance societies in congregations, and in- 

 structed the presbyteries to hold annual con- 

 ferences on temperance. A congratulatory 

 resolution was adopted relative to the union 

 of the Methodist churches in Canada. 



VIII. Chnrch of Scotland. The Committee on 

 Christian Liberality of the Church of Scotland 

 reported to the General Assembly that apart 

 from seat-rents the contributions and legacies 

 amounted in 1883 to 316,420, as compared 

 with 326,201 in 1882. The condition of the 

 more important funds of the Church, as shown 

 in the reports of the committees having them 

 severally in charge, was in brief as follows : The 

 income reported by the Committee on Education 

 on the aggregate accounts was 26,534; and 

 the total expenditure was 26,734. Favorable 

 reports were made of the training colleges for 

 male and female teachers. The total receipts 

 of the aged and infirm ministers' fund had'been 

 3,493. The capital fund at the close of 1883 

 was 14,265. The Endowment Committee re- 

 turned a revenue of 11,236, and reported that 

 six new parishes, having a population of 9,800, 

 had been endowed and erected. The Commit- 

 tee on Patronage Compensation had paid dur- 

 ing 1883, 1,713, and in the whole term of its 

 work, 10,723, to presentees in payment of 

 reductions made by patrons from them. Of 



