PRESBYTERIANS. 



673 



sponded that it saw no reason for reopening 

 the question. Concerning the question of dis- 

 establishment, the Assembly resolved that, re- 

 affirming the principles set forth in the findings 

 of recent Assemblies, it declares the conviction 

 that, " with a view to justice, peace, reunion 

 among Presbyterians, and healthy action of 

 the churches, as well on their own members 

 as on the conduct of national affairs, disestab- 

 lishment and disendowment are essential." It 

 added that it considered that the settlement 

 of the question had been too long delayed, and 

 that the time had come to press it energetically 

 upon the Legislature. The subject of aiding 

 and encouraging efficient ministers, and consid- 

 ering how the Church "may deal effectually 

 with cases in which it has become manifest 

 that the ends of the Christian ministry are not 

 being fulfilled," was referred to a special com- 

 mittee. The Assembly resolved to petition Par- 

 liament in behalf of the distressed crofters of 

 the Highlands ; also in favor of a " local-op- 

 tion" law for Scotland and against the opium- 

 traffic. A proposition was approved to endeav- 

 or to raise 40,000 to aid in the extinction of 

 congregational debts, the grants from which 

 shall not exceed half of the debt. 



X. Alliance of Presbyterian Churches. The third 

 General Council of the " Alliance of Reformed 

 Churches throughout the World holding the 

 Presbyterian System " met in Belfast, Ireland, 

 June 24. The opening sermon was preached 

 by the Rev. Prof. Watts, of Belfast. The 

 Committee on Statistics presented a report 

 which, while it was acknowledged to be in- 

 complete, showed that there were included 

 among the churches designated in the title of 

 the Alliance 63 organized bodies, 1,207 pres- 

 byteries, 186 synods, 28,821 congregations, 1,- 

 561 mission-stations, 21,251 ministers, and 6,- 

 750,460 communicants. The missions of the 

 same bodies return in the aggregate 1,065 for- 

 eign agents, 2,625 native agents, and 72,396 

 communicants. The functions of presiding of- 

 ficers were discharged by different members at 

 the several daily sessions. The committee 

 which had been appointed at the council 

 which met in Philadelphia in 1880, to con- 

 sider the desirability of defining the consensus 

 of the Reformed Confessions, as specified by 

 the constitution of the body, made a report, 

 embodying the record of its deliberations on 

 the subject, and its correspondence with vari- 

 ous representative Presbyterian bodies, and 

 announcing its conclusions to be adverse to the 

 attempt to frame such a consensus. The re- 

 port said, regarding the grounds on which this 

 conclusion was based : 



The advantages which might arise from a satisfac- 

 tory definition of the consensus seem to the committee 

 for the present outweighed bv its risks and difficul- 

 ties. Some of these might be differently estimated by 

 different minds, such as the problem of translating the 

 venerable language of documents that have become 

 almost sacred into the phraseology of the nineteenth 

 century, of curtailing in form without change of spirit, 

 of reflecting creeds that are not in all things identical 

 TOL. xxiv. 43 A 



by a representation in which nothing shall be missed, 

 on the one hand, and set down to unfaithfulness or 

 retained on the other, and charged to blind tradition- 

 alism and insensibility to modern progress. But there 

 are other dangers which are harder to surmount. From 

 the nature of the case, it is not easy to distinguish, in 

 idea and in fact, two kinds of definition, the one of 

 which would be merely historical, and the other the 

 utterance of a new and living creed by the Alliance. 



The Council, with a reservation against com- 

 mitting itself to all the reasoning by which the 

 conclusion of the report was reached, and while 

 thanking the committee for the service it had 

 rendered, adopted as its finding, " that it is in- 

 expedient at the present time to attempt a defi- 

 nition of the doctrinal consensus of the Re- 

 formed Churches." The Cumberland Presby- 

 terian Church, which had sent delegates to the 

 previous session of the Council, had been de- 

 clined admission because it had failed to pre- 

 sent a full and satisfactory statement of its 

 doctrinal position. Having adopted the con- 

 stitution of the Alliance, it had during the 

 interim between the sessions perfected a re- 

 vision of its creed, and prepared a definite 

 statement of its position for the information 

 of the Alliance. Upon the report of the com- 

 mittee to whom the subject of its admission 

 was referred, the Council decided, " without 

 pronouncing any judgment on the Church's 

 revision of the Westminster Confession and 

 shorter catechism, to admit the Cumberland 

 Presbyterian Church into the Alliance," and 

 to invite the delegates already present to take 

 their seats. Delegates were also admitted 

 from the Reformed Church of the Province of 

 Austria, the Synod of the Secession Church of 

 Ireland, the Presbyterian Church of Jamaica, 

 and the Free Evangelical Church of Geneva. 

 A minute was adopted, expressing appreciation 

 of the exceeding great value of union and co- 

 operation in foreign missionary work ; and re- 

 joicing that the churches connected with the 

 Alliance had generally expressed an earnest 

 desire for as large a measure of such union and 

 co- operation as it was possible to maintain. The 

 subjects of the constitution of mission presby- 

 teries, and the relation of the mission churches 

 to the home churches, and of the adoption of 

 means for the removal of hindrances to mis- 

 sionary work in the various fields, and for 

 the deliverance of preachers and converts from 

 persecution, were commended as matters de- 

 serving special attention, and committees were 

 appointed to consider them in connection with 

 other topics and present them before the sev- 

 eral churches. Recognition was also given to 

 " the amount of union already realized or in 

 progress in China, Japan, South Africa, Trini- 

 dad, and New Hebrides." The organization of 

 the Alliance was perfected by the institution, 

 with a specification of its particular duties, of 

 an executive commission, to be appointed by 

 the Council at each meeting, to consist 



Of not fewer than fifty mem bers, a quorum of which, 

 to consist of seven members in each section, shall re- 

 side within reach of a convenient place of meeting, 

 which shall have for its chief purpose to carry out the 



