The Sun.
London, England, 1838-03-06 00:00:00

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND

(FroM the Scotsman of Saturday last.)
The opinions of the judges regarding the Auchterarder
case are exciting great interest ameng all classes of the corn-
:nullity. It is well known that the prosecutor in this action
received a presentation from Lord Kinnoul to the parish of
Auchterarder, and that the people, in the exercise of the veto I
conferred on them by authority of the General Assembly in
1634, rejected the presentee. The latter applied to the Pres-
bytery to he taken on trial, es it is called, with the view of !
being inducted to the charge. He contended that it was not
competent to refuse this request, on the ground that the Cc.
neral Asembly had no power to enact the veto law under which
he had been rejected by the people. The Presbytery refused
to allow him to preach his trial sermons, thus supporting the
authority of the Assembly. The presentee then applied to the
Court of Session to have it found that the Assembly had no 71
power to interfere as they had done with the rights of the
patron to present a candidate ; that the peoole had no power
to reject his presentee ; and that the Presbytery had no t!
power to refuse hearing his trial sermons, as the preliminary
step to his being inducted into the charge. From this
sketch of the case it is evident that the question strikes 1
at the very root of the assumed power of the Church to legis-
late in matters regarding the appointment of her own minis-
tors, and hence that it must be a question of immense import-
ance in its ultimate results. After being debated by counsel
at great length, we believe for several weeks, the Judges
commenced delivering their opinions on Tuesday, and occu-
pied the whole of that and the three succeeding days from
about eleven to half-past three o'clock. Only eight of the
Judges have yet stated their opinions on the case, and five '
have still to follow. The speeches are delivered according to
the seniority of the Judges, and the Grst seven Judges oa the
roil have all declared in very strong terms against the assumed
power of the General Assembly. The eighth in rotation,
Lord Fullerton, yesterday declared in favour of the power of
the Church to pass the Veto Act; and it is expected that. at
least other two Judges—whom it would not be quite decorous.'
to name, as they have not yet spoken—will take the same view
of the question. But the case is in effect decided, a majority,
of the whole Judges having already spoken, or rather read:-
long judicial pamphlets against the assumed power of the
Church. It is difficult to foresee all the effects of this.
By these opinions the Church has been completely divested or
every shadow of independent power, and held up to the. world
as the mere creature and abject slaVe of the State. An agita-r
tion for the total abolition of patronage will, in all probability,:
commence among the more independent section of the Church
but after the opinions which have been pronounced, we suspect'
there never can be the slightest chance of its being carried
the House of Peers, even if it could get through the House,
of Commons, of which we entertain great doubts, One re
suit, in all probability, will be, that many who care more for
religion than State alliance, will leave the Church and join'
the Dissenters. Another result likely to arise is, that the"
decision will be a source of great annoyance to the Tory Mem-
bers of Parliament for Scotland, who, with a very few excep-
tions, will be found determined opponents of the abolition o
patronage, while many of their supporters among the lower
classes of the constituency will be as strongly in favour of its
abolition. There can be no doubt, however, that public opi-
nion will, to a considerable extent, prevent any great abuse o
patronage ; and that, generally speaking, Ministers will be
appointed who are agreeable to the people.