Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1872-05-02
COM MUNICATIONS.
ACARD.

AND TRIBUNE:
DEAR SIRs.-I have noticed a CON-
munication of -" in the Patriot of last
week which casts some reflections upon
your most excellent paper, as we'll as upon
myself and the Church of which l am
Pastor.
That communication proposes to be an an
swer to your very kind and compliment
tary notice of myself in your last issue.
While 1 will not descend from my dignity,
as a Minister of the Gospel to enter
into q controversy with al anonymous
writer in a secular newspaper, yet L
would be profoundly ungrateful to you as
well as untrue to my Church did l not
state some facts, since misrepresentation
have been made.
In regard to the facts which you stated
in your kind notice, [ will say over my
own signature, goa are cOrTcct.-''J' has
rather mixed things. When | was called
to the pastorate of this Church, from one
in the suburbs of Brooklyn, N. Y. this
tional General Assembly. as every one
knows. There were some members who
sympathized with the South during the
war, who were dissatisfied with, and main
tanned that the Church was unlawfully in
the present connection.-"J" mixes things
which occurred six and seven years
with things which occurred more recently.
And if he is n young lawyer, we advise
him to study his case more fully. at the
time 1 took charge of the Church, five
years ago, there was no Southern Church
here, yet there were some who sympa-
thized with that branch of the Church.
These we're organized or r~e-organized as
they would say. into such a Church at the
formal proposition was made in writing
by the Southern Chur5 ia. That is the
first proposition of the kind presented to
my Church session. That PROPOSE
ton was a limited Independency and
the answer to it will be seen In
that document on file in the Clerk
& Masters Office. The session refused
that proposition of independently because
it was unpresbyterian and would not work,
harmony to the Church, however, ut the
same time kindly inviting them back,
'~'oficers as officers and members as men,
bers." While the decision of the dis
pulc Ccu tuc thO OiSduiLdlioaS muSt
be made before the Court. yet it is proper
to state that an ''inspection of the docu-
ments filed and to be filed, in the case re-
ferred to. will not show that two-thirds of
the original Presbyterian Church in this
place opposed any ecclesiastical connec-
ton with the Reunited General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church in the United
States of America"
The statement of 81" has been fire.
q%uently made. We therefore say that it
is a mistake. This will appear when we
consider that only thirty members were
irregula1y dismissed because they had
gone into that organization in 1868,
while the membership which remained
upon our rolls was IO5. Ever since that
organization our membership has contin-
ued to be double that of tho Southern or
But after that first PROPOSE
ton of a limited ~Independency was re-
jected by the officers of any Church, the
suit was brought for the Church property.
Then the next proposition was sug-
eested by our lawyers. That PROPOSE
ton was that the Churches unite, and at
let the majority decide the Church
That was rejected by the South
crn Church because they said it would be
equivalent to bringing them into u CON-