CONGEEGATIONALISTS. 



149 



In deference to the wishes of many members of the 

 board and members of my mission, I can again heart- 

 ily assure you that I filial! feel such restriction as 

 ought to influence a Christian man who is accustomed 

 to respect, so far as he conscientiously can, the wishes 

 of his associates, and is accustomed to study the 

 things that make for peace. That I am such a man 

 my missionary brethren heartily testify. Moreover, 

 I shall carefully bear in mind the divergent views 01 

 the constituency of the board and the solicitude of 

 many, and shall do what I can to satisfy all. But I 

 assume that you understand mo as otherwise return- 

 ing with such liberty of thought and speech as is en- 

 joyed by evangelical ministers at home, and as free 

 from pledges. Therefore, I gladly accept the oppor- 

 tunity to return to India to renew my work in the 

 sarnc'spirit and devotion as in the past. 



On the same day of the date of this letter, a 

 communication was inserted in the newspapers 

 by Mr. Hume, declaring his intention to return 

 to India and reiterating the expressions of the 

 letter. In view of these documents, the com- 

 mittee reaffirmed its action, which had been 

 based on the fact that " Mr. Hume in letters 

 and statements was understood by the com- 

 mittee to give reasonable assurances that he 

 would work in harmony with the wishes of the 

 Mission as expressed in their letter of October 

 28, 1886." The letter here referred to had 

 been received from the members of the Marathi 

 Mission at Ahmednuggar, India, and contained 

 expressions of high regard for Mr. Hume, and 

 testimony to the value and efficiency of his 

 labors, with the intimation of a desire that he 

 should return ; to which was added : 



We were, however, surprised and grieved at his 

 utterances at Andover, which have been so widely 

 published. We have no sympathy with the senti- 

 ments he there expressed. We believe that the teach- 

 ing of a future probation here, even as a hypothesis, 

 would be extremely harmful to our work. While, 

 therefore, the question of his return must be decidea 

 by the Prudential Committee, we wish to say that we 

 would gladly welcome brothei Hume back to occupy 

 the position he held before and to teach the same doc- 

 trines as before, provided that he avoid the preaching 

 or teaching of any speculation in favor or a future 

 probation. 



Upon the action of the board at its meeting 

 in 1886 approving the course of the Prudential 

 Committee in acquainting itself in the doctri- 

 nal fitness of candidates for appointment as 

 missionaries, the committee had adopted the 

 following minute : 



1. The question of appointing certain candidates 

 whose applications for missionary service indicated 

 that they accepted under some form of statement the 

 hypothesis of a probation after death for those who 

 have not had the gospel revelation of Christ during 

 the earthly life, came before the committee last year, 

 and the committee decided that it was not expedient 

 at present to make the appointments. 



2. This action of the committee was severely criti- 

 cised in certain quarters, and was brought before the 

 board at its last annual meeting, accompanied by a 

 definite statement as to the course pursued by the 

 committee, with the reasons for that course. 



S.^The board, after prolonged deliberation and dis- 

 cussion, v. tr.l with emphasis that they approved of 

 the caution exercised by the commtitee on the matter 

 under debate, and reco'mmended the exercise of the 

 same caution in the future. 



4. The prcM-nt committee therefore has no option 

 matter, except to follow the instructions of the 



board and to decline to appoint candidates who hold 

 these views. 



In accordance with these principles, of 101 

 cases of applications which had come before 

 the committee for decision, 71 had received 

 appointment. 



Of the 30 persons who did not receive appointment, 

 the reasons relating to 23 had no connection with de- 

 fective or erroneous doctrinal views. Of the remain- 

 ing seven, one had been postponed in order that fur- 

 .thcr time might be given for thought, particularly as 

 to the scriptural teachings upon the conscious exist- 

 ence of the wicked after death ; two had been de- 

 clined on account of the avowal of their belief in 

 universal salvation ; one who particularly desired 

 appointment as missionary teacner to Japan, had 

 been declined on account of serious doubts as to the 

 existence of a personal God, and three had expressed 

 such views in relation to the hypothesis of probation 

 after death that they seemed to the committee to be . 

 included in the class referred to in the action of the 

 board and in the minute of the committee. The ac- 

 tion of the committee in all these cases was, as usual, 

 taken in view not only of the correspondence involved, 

 but also in view of the reports of personal interviews 

 with the candidates, which, of course, cover impres- 

 sions and statements not reduced to writing. 



The precise action of the committee in rela- 

 tion to the cases involving doctrine was given 

 in full, together with the correspondence that 

 had been had with the parties. Concluding 

 its report, the committee said that it was its 

 serious conviction, confirmed by many years' 

 experience 



That the commonly received doctrines of the churches 

 which sustain the missions of the board include the 

 scriptural teaching of the decisive nature of the pres- 

 ent earthly probation as related to final character and 

 destiny. It has also been a recognized principle with 

 the committee, that whenever any proposed action 

 would, if adopted, be, in the judgment of the com- 

 mittee, contrary to the conscientious convictions of a 

 large part of the constituency of the board, it was not 

 expedient to recommend such action. These consid- 

 erations, which directed the course of the committee 

 during the preceding year, have continued to guide 

 them during the year now under review, with the 

 added emphasis of what they regarded as the decisive 

 and helpful instructions of the board itself at its last 

 annual meeting. 



With regard to the question of the expe- 

 diency of calling councils of the churches to 

 determine upon the doctrinal fitness of candi- 

 dates, the committee reported that the practice 

 of seeking the advice of councils had been 

 adopted in the early days of its organization, 

 but had been abandoned because it had seemed 

 to be needless, and also because it had been 

 adopted without due regard to ecclesiastical 

 regularity. Since then, the committee's dis- 

 cretion in the matter had not been questioned 

 until the present issue arose. It was shown 

 that while councils were Congregational insti- 

 tutions, the board was not exclusively Congre- 

 gational, but included Presbyterians among its 

 members, its missionaries, and the contributors 

 to its funds. To make fa n denominational 

 and ecclesiastical body would be a breach of 

 trust as toward these persons. Councils are 

 not bodies of sufficiently extensive jurisdiction 

 to assume the responsibility for the appoint- 

 ment of missionaries. Composed of local 



