

774 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



communication from the Assembly of the Kirk 

 inviting to union on the basis of the estab- 

 lishriient, the Assembly replied that it recip- 

 rocated the desire that Presbyterian churches 

 should make full mutual recognition of one an- 

 other as Christian churches in their work both 

 ;it home and abroad ; referred with regard to 

 the more important part of the Kirk Assem- 

 bly's minute to the reply sent on a former oc- 

 casion to a communication of the same tenor 

 which remained unanswered; directed atten- 

 tion to the resolution in favor of disestablishment 

 recently passed by the Free Church Assembly ; 

 and expressed readiness to enter upon friendly 

 negotiations if the Established Church could 

 see its way to treat the points of difference be- 

 tween its communication and the resolution 

 just cited as open for discussion. It was 

 agreed to remit to the Assembly's arrange- 

 ments committee to receive any communica- 

 tions which might be sent by the committee 

 of the Established Church; and that the com- 

 mittee, in any action it might take thereupon, 

 should be directed to have respect to the reso- 

 lutions of the Assembly. 



The case of Dr. Stuart Muir, who was 

 charged with entertaining doctrines subversive 

 of the principles of the Church, was brought 

 up for final settlement. Three of the charges 

 out of four against Mr. Muir had been proved, 

 but the Assembly, declining to proceed to the 

 extreme sentence of deposition, pronounced 

 against him a suspension sine die from the 

 ministry. In response to a communication 

 from the General Assembly of the Presbyte- 

 rian Church in Ireland respecting the situa- 

 tion in that country, the Assembly declared 

 that, while it judged it right to refrain from 

 pronouncing as an assembly upon the matter, 

 it heard the statements made with great con- 

 cern and sympathy. The Assembly resolved 

 to petition Parliament in favor of the "Croft- 

 ers' Bill." 



VIII. United Presbyterian Chnrch of Scotland. 

 The Synod of the United Presbvterian Church 

 met in Edinburgh, May 3. The Rev. Dr. Logan 

 Aikman, who had been chosen by the previous 

 Synod to be moderator for the year, having 

 died in the interim, the Rev. Dr. Duff, Pro- 

 fessor in the Theological Hall, was elected 

 moderator. The statistical reports showed the 

 number of congregations connected with the 

 Synod to be 557, with which were connected 

 181,146 members, or 1,255 more than had 

 been returned in the previous year. The num- 

 ber of baptisms during the year had been 

 9,755. The total congregational income was 

 returned at 245,637, and the contributions 

 for "missionary and benevolent purposes had 

 been 79,179. The gross income for foreign 

 missions had been 39,673, or 354 above the 

 income of 1884. The expenditures, including 

 the amount spent on Continental and colonial 

 work, had increased by nearly 2,000. Five 

 thousand pounds a year more than the present 

 income were required to carry on with effi- 



ciency the work that had been undertaken. 

 The total educated agency now in the mission 

 field consisted of 583 persons ; the whole num- 

 ber of communicants at the mission stations 

 was 12,177; and the number of pupils in mis- 

 sion schools was 13,197. A resolution was 

 passed by the Synod congratulating the Church 

 in Jamaica on having reached in February, 

 1886, the fiftieth anniversary of the formation 

 of the first Jamaica Presbytery. The contri- 

 butions to the Zenana mission had risen from 

 4,836 to 5,077. The Board of Continental 

 and Colonial Missions returned an income of 

 1,500. 



The report of the Committee on Disestab- 

 lishment expressed regret that Mr. Gladstone 

 had preferred Irish to Scottish claims for legis- 

 lation, and maintained that the movement in 

 favor of disestablishment was stronger than 

 any -man or combination of men. The Premier 

 had done what he could to put the question 

 out of sight, but even he had not succeeded. 

 Their policy was to keep disestablisment for- 

 ward, and let all parliamentary candidates un- 

 derstand that this question was the predomi- 

 nant one in the minds of the voters of this 

 Church. The Synod renewed its protest against 

 the system of giving support from state funds 

 to denominational training-colleges. In view 

 of the fact that the Duke of Hamilton had re- 

 fused a site for a United Presbyterian church 

 in Arran, a resolution was adopted expressing 

 the sense of the Synod of the "wrong use" 

 which it considered the duke had made of his 

 powers as a landlord. Transcripts of this ac- 

 tion were ordered to be sent to the Duke of 

 Hamilton and to the Secretary of State for 

 Scotland. Representations were made during 

 the discussion of the subject of " Hindrances to 

 the Progress of the Church, especially in the 

 Agricultural Districts " ; that dissenters fre- 

 quently suffered oppression and boycotting 

 from their landlords on account of their prin- 

 ciples; in consequence of which a resolution 

 was passed renewing the protest of the Synod 

 against any interference with the inalienable 

 rights of every man to choose his own church 

 connection. A committee was appointed to 

 note cases of oppression, and take action with 

 regard to them. A proposal for the formation 

 of a Young Men's and Young Women's Guild in 

 connection with the Church was approved and 

 sent down to the presbyteries. A scheme 

 providing for the introduction of members 

 and adherents of the Church to the congrega- 

 tions in places to which they may remove, was 

 adopted. Congregations were authorized to 

 select an elder to represent them in the Synod 

 from any session in the Church, instead of 

 being confined to the sessions of their own 

 presbytery. 



IX. Presbyterian Chnrch In Ireland. The Gen- 

 eral Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in 

 Ireland met in Belfast, June 7. The Rev. 

 Robert Ross, of Londonderry, was appointed 

 moderator. The statistical report showed that 



