The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1871-06-07
GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
[RErOsrED FOR THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
THIRD DAY-CONTINUED.
The Proposed University,

mOu0uto VI VHO ASotmOly 0AluO III O 10"
explanations which l trust may remove diff
iculties from the minds of respected breth-
ren. | think the reading and attentive con-
sideration of what comes after in the report
of this Convention, would of itself go far to
remove those difficulties.
| shall not presume that it is necessary to
argue before this Assembly or any other
body of Presbyterians, the Importance of
the greatest possible thOroughness and ex-
eellenee in the education of our young men.
1t has ever been the characteristic of Pres
byterians, like one of their great human
founders, the Apostle Paul, to say: "Nei-
ther count we ourselves to have attained, nor
to be altogether perfect" Progressive i'm
provement is the characteristic of the Pres
byterian Church: and wien they do things
well, as II is, uspa y rhe. credit to do, they
Immediately show their worthy ambition by
trying to do still better This is Just the
feeling which seems to pervade our people
in this Convention with reference to the
higher education.
will make a second remark, which will
meet the concurrence of every member of
the Assembly: 1nat our colleges, not only
in Virginia, but throughout the South and
West under Presbyterian auspices; are doing
excellent and invaluable work for their coun-
try and their Church; and yet there were
none of them, up to the time of the war, Il
mention this as the epoch of their prosperi-
ty,) whose friends did not desire for them a
fuller development, a better equipment, and
a higher usefulness. There was in all of
them room for Improvement; since the war
there is more room, because they are crippled
by public calamities.
Now, sir, l apprehend that the friends of
advancement in the great work of education,
looking around upon the wants of their
country and their Church, took this simple
view of the matter: The several sections of
the Church in the time of Onr secular pros
perity found themselves not strong enough,
apart, to gain that full excellence and that
high equipment which we believe to be desi-
rable. Georgia could make Oglethorpe
most respectable and useful institution;
Georgia crippled and ravaged, seems to be
unable to make it as good as in her honOra-
bic ambition she Graves to do. So, of all
the other schools Now then, the natural
suggestion which seemed to cross the minds
of a number of men was this: That in order
to meet the wants of our people for more
thorough training Of at least a part of our
young men, and thus remove any discredit
from our cause as failing in our hereditary
progress and high aims; in order to offer
higher education, somewhere at least, there
must be a concentration of our weakness;
that inasmuch as one section. was too weak
to do this honorable work alone, it must
some time or other engage the cooperation of
its neighbOrs, and many weak ones would
make one strong one. But, through what
centre of crystallization can this combina
ton of honorable effort akeplace? Through
what influence or agency could sectional ef
forts be combined for this worthy object ?
And now, it seems that our respected brother,
DR.. Lyon, whose theories and principles are
not embarrassed by any difficulties about
ecclesiastical education in secular things, in
looking around to 6nd some such general
agency which would have the moral power to
concentrate effort, saw this General Assem-
bly,. He felt disposed to reach his hand to
it, and put his hand in the hand of this AS
sembly and ask its guidance and aid to give
this centre to concentrate the effort of Pres.
byterians. We found that we were met by
the conscientious objections of brethren to
this theory of secular education under the
hand Of the Church courts. Many of US
sympathized with that objection strongly.
The question then which was to be solved
by this Convention land | will say, which
found its solution in the wisdom of the AS
sembly of 1870 was this: How can the
concerted influence and wisdom of the lead
ing minds of the Church be made centre
of aggregation for this great work, without
involving the supreme court of the Church
in what so many of us conceive is unconsti-
tutional work? Can the end be gained with
out this sin against principle? The Assem-
bly, Of 1870 said: Perhaps it can, and by
the expedient Of a conventiOn-not an &C.
clesiastical coUrt-but a convention of men
of influence in our Zion. And now we have
humbly and mOdestly endeavored to follow
on in the line of that solution, and to adopt
the Presbyterians of the South that CON-
bining influence, that trust and confidence,
which this great Assembly would so abun-
dantlv provide, could it do so consistently
with the restrictions of its Constitution.
That is our aim. And it is in that direction
that this report proceeds, in asking from the
General Assembly no action, no legislation
which the Assembly is to enforce by its ex-
ecutive agents, but only a species of coun-
tenance, such as will give the first impulse to
a great combined movement in the hands of
our people, not as Church court, but as a
people | offer this as an explanation which
it seems to me may disarm some of the diff
culties in the minds of brethren.
Now, let me proceed to another point
the supposed inconsistency in the article
now under consideration, is that, on the one
hand, it recognizes a difference of Judgment
and lack of readiness to embark in the
cause Of great Church Institution; and,
on the other hand, seems to entrap the
Church into that embarkation. Now, to my
mind, the solution of this supposed incOn-
sistency is in these facts The great project
was at first thrown before the mind of the
Church in this form-as project for the
Assembly to legislate upon and to execute
through its agents-.as project for which the
Assembly should tax all our Presbyterian
people throughout our bounds. For meet
ing that tax or general levy on the benevo-
lenee Of our people, we found the Church
unprepared. We were not prepared for it
ourselves. We recognize Its impropriety
both now and hereafter, and that is what we
mean when we say that we waive that theory
that whole project, as project for which
the mind Of the Church is not prepared.
Hauir, th,,s rnade this nlaar snrrnnAer rrn