The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-06-09


dred nature, let us endeavOr to be patien
and use wisely and economically such re
sources as the providence of God may have
placed within our immediate reach. If oul
growth as a Church is not so rapid as We
could wish, it will be more steady and Ger
tain, and, in the end, rest upon more SOLID
aud enduring foundation.
Since the beginning of the present cur
rent year, forty Presbyteries have asked anc
received aid from the Central Committee
to supplement the salaries of feeble churches
and to assist in the support of missionaries
and evangelists. Four or five others, it Is
expected, will ask aid during the year.
One hundred and eighteen ministers, repre-
senting between three and four hundred
feeble churches, have received aid from the
general fund the present year. A number
of these are regarded by their PresbyterleS
as missionaries or evangelists, but when the
practice has become so common, as 1t IS with
us at present, of combining large number
of feeble churches under single pastor, il
| is not easy to draw line of distinction be
tween the office of the pastor and the evan
gelist. The amount granted has varied ac'
cording to circumstances from $500 to S5OO
The fest semi annual instalments of al
these appropriations have already been paid
and the second will be paid the first of Octo-
Der, provided the receipts from the churches
come in during the intermediate months as
they did in the corresponding months of the
previous year. If from any unforeseen cause
they should fail, then the Committee could
pay only pro rata. This is always under
stood when the annual appropriations are
made The Committee, of course, can dis
burse only such funds as are placed at their
disposal. 1t would be neither wise nor prac
ticable to borrow money to make up for the
DEFICIENCIES of the churches. The Committee,
however, always try to arrange affairs so as
to pay both instalments in full, and so far
as can be seen at present, they will be able
to pay the second instalment in October next.
The Committee are further able to report
that so far as can be ascertained, stated
preaching, less or more frequent, has been
maintained in all our organized churches,
except in the boundaries of the Synod of
Texas, where many are in languishing
condition from the want of Gospel ordi-
nanceS. The Committee has done all it
could, in cooperation with the Presbyteries
of Texas, to supply these deficiencies, but
as yet with very partial success. At the
same time, however, that all our churches,
with the exception just made, have been
supplied with the preaching of the Gospel,
it must be confessed that the supply has
been very inadequate to the demands of the
case. The practice of uniting a number OF
public churches under the care OF single
pastorate has been stretched to the last limit
compatible, not to say with the welfare, but
the very existence of many of these church
es. This pressure is owing to the two fold
cause of the poverty of the churches, and
the actual diminution of our ministerial
force for several years past. The churches,
there is reason to hope, are gradually recov-
ering from their prOstration, and some OF
them are now able to support pastors, but
find it no easy matter to obtain them The
diminution in our ministerial force may be
ascribed to several causes, but mainly to the
fact that, for five or six years past, the re-
movals by death have greatly exceeded the
ordinary accessions to the ministry. The
main alienation of this discouraging fact is,
that there are at the present time, according
to the published statement of the Secretary
of Education, more than two hundred and
fifty young men, in various stages of educa-
ton, preparing for the work of the ministry
If there should be no disappointment in re.
lation to this matter, we may reasonably
expect an annual accession of thirty or
forty ministers for the next six years at
least, and in this way all the waste places
in our Zion will be built up.
In making appropriations for the present
and financial year, the Committee have had
special regard to the injunction of the last
Assembly, to make the effort to raise the
salary of every laboring minister to $500
as the minimum amount. Sofar as is known,
the measure has been, or rather will be COM
pletely carried out. There are undoubtedly
ministers in the Church, whose salaries from
their congregations do not amount to this
sum, but being engaged in secular pursuits,
or having some other resources upon which
to rely for support, their names have not
been brought before the Committee for aid.
So far as the Intention of the Assembly s
Injunction is concerned, it is believed to have
been fully carried out. This is an impor-
tant step taken in the great matter of min
isterial support, and affords occasion for sim
cere gratitude to the great Head of the
Church A single case is mentioned where
minister is receiving good deal less than
this, but no aid has been asked because his
congregations are abundantly able to raise
that amount and more too, and it was justly
thought that the case ought to come under
the cognisauce of the Presbyteries.
At the same time, however, that it is a
matter of congratulation that the minimum
salary of 5000 has been attained, it must be
acknowledged that this is very inadequate
support for minister in almost any circum-
stance 1t may be well for the Assembly,
therefore, to consider the question of enjoin-
ing it upon the Presbyteries and the Cen
tral Committee to make the effort to raise
the salary of every laboring minister to
800 or $3.50 for the year 1870. If PrOvi-
dence favors our people with good crops and
general prosperity the present year; if Pres.
6yteries and Presbyterial Committees will
give the matter the full attention which its
great Importance deserves, and i. churches
will contribute as freely as their improved
circumstances would seem to justify, there
will be no difficulty whatever in carrying the
proposition into effect. In view of this
proposed enlargement of ministerial sup
port, however, Presbyteries ought to in
sist that ministers who are benefited by
this arrangement should abstain from all
secular pursuits that would interfere with
the faithful and efficient discharge of their
l .,;. ,n;nl dntinr In thn nrnsnnt condition