The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1870-06-01

it before the church by memorials, circulars,
letters and whatever they think best. We
don't want brethren to vote for this matter
out of simple courtesy to the synod of Mis-
sissippi, but if they feel, after investigating
the subject to the bottom, that it would be
advisable, then we want them to say so.
We want light; we want truth, and the glo-
~ of the Southern church-no, take that
baek-we want the glory of Christ's church,
for it is the same all over the world. We
have no hobbies; We simply want to get
light; and if there are those who are con-
scientiOusly opposed to US we want to hear
their reasons. We don't want simple
ipss DIRT. We have no Pope. We don't
want the newspapers to say simply that we
object without giving our reasons for the
objection. All this can be done on the floor
of this Assembly, for it is no new subject
1t has been discussed for the last. nine years
Some who were at the General Assembly at
Augusta well know this. A few are here
to-day and others are in their graves.
There are some of US who have, for the
last ten years felt the Importance of this:
and it is not simple ambition that has so
stirred our hearts. 1t was not ambition to
reach the temple of knowledge; though God
has given ambition, and it is laudable when
controlled, of course, by His grace. 1t is
not simply seetiOnalism; though / do want
the South to rise, for | am a Southern Pres
byterian. The dust of my ancestors lie in
the South and | want her to equal the
North in educational institutions, and her
press to be influential as any other. We
have not enough of the esprit de corps; we
have so long regarded ourselves as first that
we have become easy and let things run in
the smooth channel. We bring no plan, no
location, no crotchets of our own. We are
willing to trust the Church, but we want an
institution that will be an honor to the Pres
byterian Church on earth. It's necessity.
Science and learning are moving ahead with
giant strides. The time was when we
thought four professors were sufficient to
man any one College. How is it nOw?-
Harvard has forty-nine professors and forty
one teachers. Four professors cannot man
a College-neither can eight or ten. 1t
takes from thirty to forty, and, unless we
keep up to this, we will fall behind of course,
What Is the Old School Church to fall
behind in learning? The very idea is re-
pugnsnt. Need | refer to the Roman Cath
Ole Church, whose grand maxim is the edu-
cation of the young? Is there any one so
foolish as to believe that child educated in
a Catholic school will not be preiudiced
against Professionalism? There is our daugh-
ter, the Cumberland Church, that left us for
not altering the standard, yet she has seen
her error, and is getting ahead of US. She
now possesses the best law school in the
South. So of the Episcopalians. They
have academies, and call them academies for
the refined and the elite, and they get our
daughters to fll them. Of course they have
their influence. So of the Complexities,
whose influence We have been used to con-
slider as evil And our Methodist brethren
are discussing at Memphis the propriety of
erecting Methodist University. | want to
call your attention to few heads only:
Extracts read.-REPORTER.
Not only our brethren, but infdeHty, is
getting ahead Of us. Look at Cambridge.
They have everything but the gospel there,
and there are absolutely hundreds of our
young people in these Colleges who are ig-
norant of Christ and the Bible Can they
20 there two or four years and come back
uncOntauipatedY Why, it would be mira
eep sae i'ible from our schools, and
tSinA the time VIII come when the Bible
viii overturn State Colleges, or they will
succeed in excluding it. Therefore, it be-
hooves us TO work.
There is no heresy ike Goodness, and /
would rather have our State institutions
over-thrown than have the Bible out of them.
So these orders build up while we sleep like
the FIVE foolish virgins.
DR.. Lyon then proceeded to examine some
objections to the necessity aud feasibility of
such an undertaking, and concluded with an
urgent appeal to the Assembly to sustain the
memOrialsts.
DR.. Palmer replied briefly, sustaining DIR.
Lyon to the main. He thought the great
difficulty in the way of suIa central insti-
tuition was to be found in the fact that large
number of brethren were interested in local
institutions, and he was persuaded that I'M
less these interests could be made to har
monize, the scheme would fail. He there
fore moved that the memorial, together with
all other papers relating to the same subject,
be referred to a special committee to be
composed Of one member from each Synod,
The motion was seconded by DR.. Lyon, and
adopted
The Moderator announced the following
as the special committee:
DR.. b. NJ. Palmer, d. D., E. NJ. Green,
S. W. Davies, G. X. Caldwell, John H.
Rice, d. D., j. Henry Smith, j. W. Miller,
d. d., T. A Hamilton, Thomas H. Shelby,
r. A. Fair, ]. L. Campbell.
Four additional members were added to
the committee on Foreign Correspondence,
viz:
S. W. Davis, Synod of Arkansas. Jesse
G. Wallace, Synod of Nashville. John NJ.
Sherwood, Synod of North Carolina. John
7. Virgins, Synod of Texas.
Special prayer was then offered by Rev.
A. B. McCorkle in behalf of Rev. Mr.. In.
slee, tidings of whose illness had Just reached
the Assembly.
FOURTH DAY.