The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-02-17
For THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
Mr.. McCormick's Vindication.

Reverend and Dear Brother,-.In your paper
early this winter, you published an extract from
Mr. Mccormick letter, declining to pay the fourth
instalment of his munifcent donation of 500, 900
to the Northwestern Seminary, in Chicago, and
you accompanied that extract with most appro
pirate and intelligent view of the case. Your
readers WILL therefore, be fully prepared to appre-
cate another letter of his, which has just appeared
in the North western Presbyterian. This is a
reply to letter of DIR. Willis Lord, Professor of
Theology in the North western Seminary-wel
characterized by the editor of the Presbyterian as
''of great length and severity" You may see
your way clear to publish the whole, or the greater
part of Mr.. McC s letter. but lest you may not, it
has occurred to me as highly desirable, that some
brief summary of it, should be laid before your
readers. There are important principles under
lying the question at issue, and, irrespective of the
interest they may feel in the position of one whose
career has reflected honor on his native State, and
who has distinguished himself by his liberal bene
factions in aid of her leading institutions, they
NAV be gratiied to know something of contro-
versy growing out of the efforts of one party to
with the interests of political Radicalism, and of
the other to preserve it in those ola Christian con
servatism in which it was founded.
DR.. Lord introduces his letter with particular
recital, by documentary statements of the terms on
which Mr.. McC.s donation was made, and the
effort of his whole production is to show, that in
declining the proposed payment, he has broken
faith and dishonored his bond. 1t was only neces-
sary for Mr. Nee. to show by the we'll established
facts in the history of the case in the Assembly of
1859, when the Seminary was established, and the
donation received, that not only was this donation
given, but accepted, for Seminary which should
sustain the policy of the Church, adopted in 1886
DIR. Rice, the author of the paper then adopted
by the Assembly, and which had, for fourteen
years, been the accepted doctrine of the Church,
was after a protracted discussion with DR.. Nc.
Master, the exponent of the opposite view and
candidate of theoppoSte party, by an overwhelm-
ing majority, elected Professor in the Seminary.
No one, either of the majority or minority, had
any doubt that the Assembly thus accepted the
donation with the implied pledge, not that the
Seminary was to be an outpost or defender of
slavery but an institution for training Gospel min
isers so far as that question was involved in the
doctrine of the Church. misunderstanding, as
erroneous, all attempts to legslate on the subject
one way or the other. That DIR. Lord, whatever
reticence he had previously observed, and however
Informally unpledged, had accepted office with the
profession of concurrent convictions, Mr. McC.
shows by DR.. Rices testimony, and from other
we'll established sources. He had expressed graf
ifcation on the defeat of DR.. Mem. and his views,
and shortly after entering on his duties, in pro-
posed exposition on the Epistle of Peter, he had
fully sustained the position of the Church; he
was very prominent in disclaiming all utilization
with Abolitionism, as represented in the Congre-