PRESBYTERIANS, 



701 



port tn tin- (Jeiieral Assembly any pract ical pro- 

 posals toward reunion ainl tin- reconstruction <>l 



Scottish I'lvsl.uerianism which may IK- eom- 

 Illllliiciltt d to it. 



\. i nited Presbyterian Clmn-li of Scot- 

 land. -The Synod mel in Kdinlnirgh, May '{. 

 Tin- Uev. Dr. Andrew IlcndciM.ii, of I'ai-lcy, 

 wasehoscn moderator. The condit ion of teach- 

 ing and doctrine in the college liall was a prom- 

 inent Milijcd considered. Complaint having 

 licen made liy tlie students of the inellicieiicy of 

 one of the pri.fo.snrs, a committee appointed at 

 llu' preceding meeting of the Synoil to inquire 

 into the matter had taken the opportunity to 

 examine the work of the college us u whole. 

 The work of the principal was approved. In 

 the professorship of Ilclirew the committee sug- 

 gested that the work might lie widened, and 

 more satisfaction given in teaching students to 

 deal with those prolileius in recent discussions 

 that must he fairly and intelligently and rever- 

 ently dealt with. The complaints made- liy the 

 students had borne chiefly against the teaching 

 from tin- chair of the New Testament Kxegesis ; 

 jind this tlie committee found had been faulty 

 from excess of merely grammatical comment. 

 with insiitlicient treatment of the scope and 

 purpose of the New Testament writings; iib- 



eence of a regular coarse oi instruction in New 

 T-stament introduction; incomplete statement 

 and defective treatment of t lie special difficulties 

 arising from modern criticism : besides some 

 faults in detail and method. The College Com- 

 mittee was authori/.ed to report to the Synod 

 ;;11 complaints alTeeting the teaching of heresy 

 within the college, and, in the event of its being 

 decided that there was a case that demanded 

 inquiry, to begin such processes as might be 

 thought necessary. 



The report on* disestablishment renewed the 

 testimony of the Synod in favor of religious 

 ecmality, and expressed the conviction that union 

 of the Presbyterian churches of Scotland could 

 bo effected only on the basis of freedom from 

 State connection and support. The report on 

 Salibath observance mentioned the spreading 

 tendency to secularize the day by fashionable 

 entertainments and Sunday concerts, and the 

 practice of ministers of traveling on Sunday by 

 train or other hired conveyances to meet their 

 appointments, as painful indications of disre- 

 gard for the Lord's day. It had been found im- 

 possible to obtain, even among members of Par- 

 liament friendly to Sabbath observance, one 

 who would introduce a bill for the diminution 

 of Sabbath postal labor. An overture was re- 

 ceived from a presbytery of Cape Colony in ref- 

 erence to extending missionary work into the 

 new sphere of British influence extending north 

 to the Zambesi. 



The income of the Foreign Missionary Society 

 for the year had been I 1 :} 1 , 1 .:!)):!, and its expendi- 

 ture 80,806. The report showed that the num- 

 ber of missionaries had gradually increased from 

 42 in iwio to M in 1870. 80 in 1880, and 117 in 

 1890 ; and while the number of native congrega- 

 tions in 18(50 was :;.", with U'.'.)r> members, it was 

 now 96, with 15,7!! members. In 18(50 the na- 

 tive contributions amounted to 2,662, and in 

 1890 to 13.005. In 1860 there was 1 native 

 minister, and in 1890 there were 20. 



\I. I'lesbytorlun Mikirrh In Inland. 

 The statistical report* of tlu> < Imi 

 increase for the \car of . r >? commm,. 

 families, 1.19U stipend p\rr>. 'J!i? pu: 

 Sal 'I. at It schools, U ministers. !) licciitiai. 

 1 student. The total income of the ( him h i.a.i 

 increased from l^J^i'c'ii |. ,, r |,y fit,.. 



.V.'..'. Ten thousand pounds sterling had 

 added to the Sttstciitalion Fund. Id-ports were 

 made to the (ieneral A-.-mbly from the foreign 

 missions in India anil China', the JcwH 

 tineiital. and colonial missions, ,,iid tin- In-h 

 Home Mis>ji,n. The capital of the Agi-d and 

 Infirm Ministers' fund had been rais ( d, by tin- 

 aid of the Jubilee fund, to nearly i'T MX). 



The (ieneral Assembly met in'l.clfast, June 1. 

 The Kev. N. M. Brown. I). I)., was chosen mod- 

 erator. The provisional arrangement made in 

 1880 concerning the use of instrumental music 

 in church services having expired by limitation 

 <,f five years, the subject again claimed attention. 

 This arrangement provided that whi;. 

 tions which already had instruments should le 

 permitted to continue to use tin in. no more in- 

 struments s-hould be introduced. The commit- 

 tee to which the subject was referred ni 

 that the working of the arrangement had been 

 satisfactory, and that while instruments had 

 In en disused in some congregations, none had 

 been added. In accordance with the recom- 

 mendation of the committee, the compact was 

 renewed for another five years. The principles 

 of temperance were represented as making a 

 solid advance in the Church, with an exhibition 

 of greater-energy in promoting them, as well as 

 an increasing number of abstainers, and a grow- 

 ing sentiment in favor of a closer restrict. 

 the liquor traffic. 



XII. Presbyterian Cbnreh in England. 

 The statistical reports of this Church, as present- 

 ed to the Synod inMay, show the number of mem- 

 bers to be 05,688 : of pupils in Sunday schools. 

 79,282, with 7,373 teachers; value of church 

 property, 1,508.629. The income of the Church 

 was returned at 239,284, against i'W-l.Ni.'i in 

 1890. 



The Synod met in London, April 27. The 

 liev. J. Monro Gibson, D.I)., was chosen moder- 

 ator. The Committee on the Confession of Faith, 

 which had in the previous year asked the Synod 

 to approve a revision of the articles of Faith (see 

 " Annual Cyclopu'dia " for 1888). now presented 

 for approval a draft of an appendix to the same, 

 dealing with parts of the Confession Mich as 

 those relating to worship and baptism which 

 could not be defined as doctrine. A new formu- 

 la \\as offered, to be signed by ministers and 

 licentiates, requiring assent to the " body of 

 doctrine" contained in the Confession, as set 

 forth in the new articles of Faith. The appendix 

 was referred to the presbyteries. A communi- 

 cation from the American (iem-ral Assembly 

 suggesting the preparation of a consensus erred 

 was referred to the Committee on the Con! 

 of Faith. A report was sent down to pnsl'\- 

 teries giving to the presbytery authority . 

 ject to appeal to tlie Synod, in case of inefficien- 

 cy or unsuitability of ministers, after exhaust- 

 ing ordinary means of remedy, to dissolve tin- 

 pastoral tie! With it was sent an overture ar- 

 ranging for vi-itation of congregation*. 



