The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1839-05-23

bylsrisn eongFegaiion 10 seitie 1cnsIs-
r,,iau.l minister, or . Presbyterian min.
l.usr 10 be settled By . Congregational
ehareh; bot desc provided Coz no Eseeg.
n,,ion Il The people in charge - part 81
he PrssbH body--si least lhes
save lhsm 10 representation ~ % gov
s,nmcnl. Daa the fourth allowed . mix
~ eorrrrssi.on 10 seisle = minister 81
,;,her ,,.a.slElasllan; and Il committed
he ssssrnmsnt Of Il 10 . standing CON.
mit,se. bot with > right 10 appeal 10 The
b,dg of male COMMANDMENTS II the az
reliant were . congrsgallonsllsi. or Ia
he PresbyleTy ii he were PIcsbyteIi.
an. Now, il is evident. ihe Assembly
designed that every such congregation
should belong 10 The fresbyiery As an an,
iegranl PsrI Of il; Tor II ITS minister were
a ConeTegstioualisi. an no Tsy eennee-
Ted with the Presbyterian church. u
would be impossible 10 refer the appel
Is.e jurisdiction 10 any PresbyieIy IN
PARTICULAR. This alone would show thai
il was designed 10 place such . eongre-
sation in ecclesiastical connexIon with
The Preshylery Of The district; but IL Is
uol All. Ii vas expressly provided IN
conclusion. that il The " said standing
committee Of any church. shall depuie
one Of themselves 70 attend the Presby.
terry. he nav have The same right 10 cit
and act 10 the PEesby,ery as a ruling ell
def Of the Presbyterian Church" For
what purpose il the congregation were
nnl 10 PTssbyierisl fellowship
Il is said that this JAS representations
was preLicaled oil the appeal Trecedensly
mentioned; and that the exercise OF II
was 10 b. restrained TO the trial OF it.
The words. however, we're predIcsled
without restriction; and an implied linn.
ita.ion Of their meaning, would impule
10 the Assembly the injustice Of allowing
a party 10 SIT in his own cause, by intro.
ducing into The composition Of the APP
pelIaie court, part Of the subordinate
one. That such an implication would be
Inconsistent with the temper displayed
BY the Assembly on other occasions, is
proved BY the order which il took as ear
" as 1891. in the case Of an appeal from
the sentence Of the Synod OF Philsdel.
phis. whose members il prevented from
voting on The question. (Assembly's DI.
gesi, p. $780,. as we'll as by lis general
provision. that .'members OF judica.o.
Is may not vote in the superior judicaIo-
~ on a question Of approving or disap.
proving their records. I'D. page 333.)
The principle has since become rule
of the constitution, as appears by the
Book Of Discipline, chap. VII. sec. 3.
paragraph IL. As the representatives. Of
those anomalous congregations therefore
could not 81, in Judgmen, on their own
controversies. i. is pretty clear that il
was intended they should be represented
generally. else they would not be repre-
scented al all IN the councils ofihe church,
by those who might not be Presbyteri-
ans; and that 10 effect IL. the principle Of
Ptesbyterial ordination was Ia be relax
cd. as regards bUIh the ministry aud eld-
ershiP; aud il is equally clear that had
The Synods been cited 10 answer for the
consequent relaxation as an offence. they
might have lriumphan,Iy appeared at The
bar Of the Assembly with the Plan Of
Union 10 their hand. That body, how
ever. resorted to the only constitutional
IeRsJy in its power; il fell back. so TO
speak. or lis legislative jurisdiction. in
the exercise OF which, the Synods were
cOupeienlly represented and heard by
their commissioners.
Now The apparent injustice Of the mea.
cure arises from the contemplation Of il
as judicial sentence pronounced sgsins,
parties who were neither cited nor heard
which il evidently was not. Even
as legislative act, il may have been
hard one. though certainly constitutional,
and strictly just. IL was impossible TO
eradicate The disorder by any thing less
Than dissolution Of those bodies with
whose existence lis roofs were so inter.
woven as 10 be inseparsble from il, leav-
ing their elements TO form new and
less Heterogeneous combinations. Tho
deprived Of Presbyierisl organization, The
Presbyterian psrIs were not excluded
from the church. provision being made
fns them. by allowing them to attach
themselves 10 The nearest Presbytery.
]. il said there is no. sufficient evil
dehes 10 establish the fac. that the ex.
scInded Synods had actually been cnn
sliluted on The Plan Of Union, in ord.
er 10 have given the. Assembly even
legislative Jurisdiction. The testimony
Of the Rev. Sir. Squier, however. shows
ihs, ia come of the three which were
within the state Of New York. congrs-
ga'ons were sometimes consiitutd with
out elders; aud the Synod Of the Wes-
tern Reserve. when charged with delin-
quency on tia, head. instead Of deny.
ing 'he fact. promptly pointed 10 the
fiaa Of Union for its justification. But
whal matters it whether the fact we're
actually VIA. the Assembly supposed it
70 oeE u that body proceeded in good
iaIIh. the validity of its en1ctmen, cannot