The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-29 00:00:00

THE SCOTCH CHURCHES.

While sportsmen were keeping the Derby Day on
the Epsom Downs, and advanced High Churchmen
were keeping Corpus Christi Day in St. Alban's and
kindred churches, Scotch theologians were hard at
work in Edinburgh. The " General Assembly of the
Church of Scotland " met at eleven o'clock on Wed-
nesday morning, and after a brief interval of rest,
rose at a quarter to two o'clock on Thursday morning.
This is as bad as the House of Commons itself.
During the whole of those hours one subject was
under discussion, and that discussion was
renewed on Thursday. The subject of so much con-
troversy and debate was the Right of Patronage.
The committee appointed by the Assembly last year
gave in a report recommending that the right to
nominate ministers should be transferred from the
present patrons to a board in each parish, composed
of heritors, elders of the parish, and male com-
municants ; and that in any enactment giving effect
to that recommendation provision should be made
for giving reasonable compensation to patrons.
The Assembly considered, in connection with the
committee's report, certain overtures against any
immediate application to Parliament for a modifica-
tion of the law of patronage. Dr. Pirie moved a
resolution approving of the diligence of the commit-
tee, and adopting the report generally, in so far as it
recommends that the nomination of ministers should
be vested in heritors,elders, and communicants, leaving
details to be.arranged. Dr. Pearson moved a resolu-
tion declaring that, in respect of the great diversity of
opinion in the Church upon the subject, there did
not exist any reasonable prospect for a speedy or
more satisfactory settlement of the question, and
that the combined agitation of it in these circum-
stances was unwise and inexpedient. Mr. Camp-
bell Swinton moved that the matter be referred back
to the committee, with instructions to make further
. inquiries. The vote was first taken between Dr.
Pearson's and Mr. Campbell Swinton's motions. For
Dr. Pearson's motion there voted 61 members, and
for Mr. Campbell Swinton's motion 67. The latter
was- therefore lost. A final vote was then taken
between the motions of Dr. Pixie and Dr. Pearson.
The number of votes for Dr. Pirie's motion was
193, and for Dr. Pearson's 88. Dr. Pirie's motion.
therefore, became the decision of the House.
During the debate a speech, which seems, from the
incessant laughter that it evoked, to have been very
funny, although it reads tamely enough, was delivered
by Dr. Pearson. In the course of it he made the
remarkable declaration that there was more hope of
union between the Established Churches of England
and Scotland than between the three Presbyterian
Churches of Scotland. He did not absolutely despair
of a reunion, but he felt sure that it was not
to be obtained by any such democratic
movement as the resolution with regard to patro-
nage would involve. At present, he said, there is
virtually " one Church for the great, and another
for the lowly—one for Dives, and another for Laza-
rus—onet for the centurion, another for his servant..
That desirable consummation will not be obtained
by sanctioning and abetting a democratic move-
ment and severing the sole remaining bond
of union. Let us have back the upper ten
thousand and then would follow the severed
million, and Scotland would be Scotland again."
While the Established Church was holding its
general assembly, the Free Church was also holding
its. The chief object of discussion was not patronage;
that was settled by the secession of twenty-six years
ago, but the doctrine of the Atonement, which, of
course, Dr. Candlish was prompt to expound. The
different tone adopted by the two assemblies
with regard to the Irish Church Bill is worthy
of note. Dr. Pearson, as a member of a Church that
is still established, saw in the measure a
policy " which, while it has failed to conciliate and
propitiate the Roman Catholic, has disaffected and
flisloyalised the Protestant." The Free Church
having practical experience of the voluntary and free
system, and knowing perfectly well that it will work,
looked upon the bill with the utmost equanimity.
Mr. Killen, for instance, said he had no fear that
Protestantism would suffer if Mr. Gladstone's measure
passed. He had faith in the vitality of Protestantism;
and, despite the present difficulties, he had good hope
that turbulence and murder would give place to peace
and love, and that Ireland would become once more
the isle of saints.