Litchfield enquirer., 1866-07-12
GENERAL ASSOCIATION AND THE SCoNNEcTIcUT HOME MISSIONARY m sOCTETT 8

= c. [
 Edisoes cf Enquirer:
 { Your Enquirer" duly attended the Qener- Il Association had at Winsted on the 18th ult ;. bu. he has been mo st dilatory in reportins Moderator of this assembly, Rev AZ. Chese- brough of Glastonbury, Scribe, Rev NJ M G Dana of Norwich, assisted scribs Rev W K, Bassettsof Warren, Chairman of Committee on ovsrtures Rev R P Parker of Hartford The Association continued in session from Tuesday at l2 o'clock, till Thursday evening. A large number of clergy were present; among them Presi dent woolsey. Professors Fisher, Dwight and Day of Tale College. About every hevev olent Society in the nation was represented on the occasion each agent being allowed five minutes to set forth the claims of his society. Rev. Eus.is, however was allowed all the time he chose to occupy, to tell his experience South, and what he accomplished while there. Pres- dent Woolsey presented the customary report on the state of religion in'the commonwealth.
 Revivals have been more extensive the spast twelve months than during like period for years. An unusual number of clergymen have died during the year" Among those who felt'n mature years were Drs. Dutton and Cleavelsnd of New Haven; among the
 young and promising Rev Barnes of Darian.
 and Brooks of Unionvill Rev. Loomis of Man
 chester naid beautiful tribute 10 tho memo.
 ry of the Summer6eld like young divine, Rev.
 Jonathan Barnes. large amount of busi-
 ness was disposed of during the session. Some
 was oose up, aud considerable done for by
 being laid upon the table A proposition to introduce a lay clement into the Association
 was objected to in a sensible speeeh'by Dr..
 Bacon of New Haven. One good point made.
 was, that laymen could not be members of
 such body without bringing in their politics.
 The grand reason why the General Associa-
 tion has been so outspoken for tho right was
 that it had never had among it's. members any
 Hon. 5 Horatio seymours. Washington Hunts,
 and "Tom Dick and Harry" to raisss the ..old
 Harry" Prayer of the petitioners not grant
 ed. One of the mos. exciting topics of the
 session respected the Board of Directors of
 the Connecticut Home Missionary Society.
 ihfs Board would seem to have become a
 house of bishops who act through Bishop W
 H Moore, late of Newtown. This latter gen.
 tleman receives one thousand dollars a year,
 his travelling expenses being paid by the So- ciety also, his business being to look after some twenty-six churches in about the same capacity that Bishop Williams looks after the churches n the Connecticut diocese. But
 while the episcopal ruler is acceptable to all his Aoeks, our Congregational bishop does not give entire satisfaction to his diocese He not only breaches the gospel to his twenty six churches when he can, but he demands their property tax lists and writes 'hem down good Christians or poor. according ss they pay one per cent, more or less. The pastors of these score and six churches he require. These under shepherds must tell how many prayer meetings they conduct in village and suburbs, how many sick people, and we'll peo- pie they call on quarterly. for purposes other than secular. To prompt to duty, they are required to answer deoslogne of qnsst ions trimonthly. And win the decalogue goes this edict: "Whose. offsnds in one point is guilty of all " The Barkhamsted chuch fails to respond to some one question and 1t has forfeited it's mission aid for two quarters. The Riverton church members fail to pledge one per cent of their property aid of preaching
 and that church is struck of the list. Fertu-r na'sly its able pastor, Rev Holley, is financial ly able to live without any salary if need be. And the Rev. Gates tho other recusant,--one of the best ministers in the state,-byg virtue of a patrimony lives in his own purchased hsuse. The demand made in tho General As. socistion was that the churches aided by the Missionary Society be accounted ss honest. as pious ss the churches in general: that their respective pastors be deemed competent to manage their own church afairs without Q bishop that they be excused from telling whether they fare on codfsh or msckerel and that it be optional with them to pay one per cent of their taxable property or one and one quarter per cent. in aid of preaching ss might seem to them best. The latter sum is paid by the Barkhamsted church. The proposi- ton to modify the Bishops decslogus vas car risd. It was also voted td.t div CTS trans- gressions of it the past year it is only one year old) should be psrdoned. The other de- mands were eonsidered, but finally laid on the table. since their entertainment would have reelected on the wisdom of the Board 1! These matters are of public interest. The self sustaining churches will in due time con- sidsr whether 1t be expedient to pay fifteen hundred dollars to bishop to preach an oc- casionsl sermon 70 twenty six churches and hunt sp the tax lists of the church members
 We know of one church which has already expressed its disapprohstion of the spisoopate by pledgine that it's nex' appropriation in aid of, Home Mission sha'l be given to some church in IT State. of its own choice. They insist that their funds shall not be dispensed
 under the bumilia,ing conditions required by
 the Board We honor their decision.
 During the discussion of these matters in / oR s-