PEESBYTERIANS. 



699 



failure of the present effort, reappointed the 

 committee with instructions to watch for any 

 opportunity of kindly co-operation and inter- 

 course with other Scottish Churches. A depu- 

 tation from the Synod of the Presbyterian 

 Church in England in connection with the 

 Church of Scotland was received, and the As- 

 sembly, in answer to the appeal made to it, 

 resolved to allow the Synod to he represented 

 in future Assemblies. This Synod was en- 

 deavoring to secure an Aged and Infirm Min- 

 isters' fund of 3,000, of which it was hoped 

 that a half would be contributed by the Church 

 of Scotland. The report on Patronage Com- 

 pensation showed that several patrons had not 

 claimed compensation for parishes formerly in 

 their hands. An overture in favor of rescind- 

 ing the acts requiring elders to sign the Con- 

 fession of Faith was considered, after which the 

 whole matter was referred to a committee to 

 report upon in the next year. The subject of 

 providing a hetter method than the present 

 system of superintending ministers in the dis- 

 charge of their parochial duties by means of 

 schedules of questions to be answered, was 

 remitted to a committee. The Committee on 

 Temperance expressed satisfaction that that 

 cause had made marked progress during the 

 year. The Church of Scotland did not, how- 

 ever, take that place in the promotion of tem- 

 perance that it might take. A Jubilee address 

 to the Queen was adopted, and a day of 

 thanksgiving for the prosperous continuance of 

 Her Majesty's reign was appointed. The As- 

 sembly decided to send a delegate to attend 

 the jubilee celebration of the Belgian Presby- 

 terian Church. 



IX. Free Chnrdi of Scotland. The statistical 

 reports made to the General Assembly showed 

 that there were in this Church 1.019 regular 

 charges, of which 100 were collegiate, with 16 

 professorships and 1,144 ministers. The num- 

 ber of members had increased by 778 during 

 the year, and was now 331,242. 



The total income of the Church for the year, 

 exclusive of the widows' and orphans' schemes, 

 had been 564,442, showing a decrease of 29,- 

 607. The whole amount of the widows' fund 

 was 249,114, and the amount of the orphans' 

 fund 65,115. There were upon these funds 

 232 widows entitled to 46 a year each, 129 

 children entitled to 24 each, and 12 receiving 

 36 each. The year's contributions to the Sus- 

 tentation fund had been 172,125. Eight hun- 

 dred and seven ministers were receiving the 

 equal dividend. The Church Extension Build- 

 ing fund had made grants of 4,011 for build- 

 ing, rebuilding, and enlargement to 17 churches, 

 and had on hand for future distribution a little 

 less than 30,000. The expenditure of the 

 Aged and Infirm Ministers' fund had exceeded 

 the income by 2,000. The whole amount ob- 

 tained by the ten collections appointed to be 

 made throughout the Church by the last As- 

 sembly was 17,931. The gross income for 

 the year for foreign missions had been 81,538. 



The mission fields were in India, South Africa, 

 Syria, and the New Hebrides. 



The General Assembly of the Free Church of 

 Scotland met in Edinburgh May 19. The Rev. 

 Dr. Robert Rainy, Principal of New College,. 

 Edinburgh, was chosen moderator. In his in- 

 augural address the moderator presented a re- 

 view of the social and religious progress dur- 

 ing the last half-century. A report on religion 

 and morals was submitted, which represented 

 that great improvement had taken place 

 throughout the Church in regard to Church 

 attendance, temperance, and social purity. An 

 address to the Queen on the occasion of her Ju- 

 bilee was adopted. A communication from the 

 Established Church committee on Church in- 

 terests to the Assembly Arrangements Commit- 

 tee was taken up. In it, the former committee 

 refused to meet in conference on the questions 

 of establishment and endowment, but suggested 

 a conference on the basis of the claim of right 

 and the recent abolition of patronage. The Ar- 

 rangements Committee had replied that it could 

 not accept a conference on the grounds pro- 

 posed. The Assembly approved the report of 

 its Arrangements Committee, and, while recog- 

 nizing the friendly intentions of the Established 

 Church Assembly, declared that any proposal 

 to the Free Church excluding from considera- 

 tion the solution namely, disestablishment and 

 disendowment declared by the Free Church 

 to be necessary, must be regarded as totally 

 unfitted to promote a worthy, intelligent, and 

 harmonious settlement of the subject. The 

 Assembly further declared on the direct ques- 

 tion of disestablishment that, "continuing to 

 adhere to the grounds of separation from the 

 state which were embodied in the disruption 

 of 1843, and impressed with the strong and 

 various public grounds which point to dises- 

 tablishment as the only solution of the Scottish 

 Church question, it resolves again to petition 

 in favor of disendowment and disestablishment 

 in Scotland." The committee on federal rela- 

 tions between the Free Church and the Pres- 

 byterian Church in England reported favoring 

 such arrangements as should make ordained 

 ministers of the latter Church open to calls on 

 the same terms as those of the Free Church, 

 and attendance at a divinity hall of the Eng- 

 lish Presbyterian Church to be held equivalent 

 to attendance at a Free Church college ; and 

 that in missionary operations each Church 

 should conduct its own work, but aim at com- 

 bined efforts in regard to the same missionary 

 enterprise. The Assembly approved of this 

 report, declared it desirable to federate with 

 the English Church as recommended, and or- 

 dered a committee appointed to prepare an 

 overture on the subject for submission to the 

 presbyteries, and to communicate with the 

 Presbyterian Church in England. A measure 

 was approved giving to the presbyteries the 

 power, in case of continued inefficiency of a 

 minister, to dissolve the pastoral tie ; and mak- 

 ing five years, instead of three, the period for 



