The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-12-15
A Practical Deduction.

The only reminder we have OF the
meeting ofthe Evangelical Alliance held in
New York recently is voluminous report of
its proceedings containing the powerful
addresses of several of the most eminent d.
vines in the world whose eloquence was in
spired by the Importance of the occasion.
It is true that Bishop Cummins' conscience
was so awakened there that he at once de-
clared against and came out from the Epis-
copal church and has set up for himself. But
this movement is not directly in harmony
with the spirit and purpose of the Alliance
which, five understand correctly, is to Sc
cure unity of action and effort among the So
called Evangelical churches and to break
down the high partition walls between de-
nominations, but rather the opposite, since
Bishop Cummins proposes to add another
to the numerous church divisions which sup
port Independent organizations.
If the spirit of the Alliance could be car
ried into practical effect, the casual OBJ
server can see, if the churches do not, what
happy results would follow. To-day there is
hardly small village in the country that has
not two or three church edifices, and as many
societies struggling feebly for life. In many
cases the buildings are in a dilapidated con-
dition, and in Maine it is safe to say that not
over two-thirds of them are constantly occu-
pied. Not a third of the societies, in our
moderate sized villages and country towns
have pastors, and these are SO poorly paid and
shamefully treated that poverty and neglect
cripple their efforts. A small and fault-find-
ing congregation land the smaller generally
the more fault-fnding) aud small salary
tardily or never paid, will, in time, tell upon
the most jealous and hopeful of pastors.
The Evangelical Alliance tells us that all the
points upon which the churches claiming
that name differ are non-essentials-th or
namentation of the structure of their belief.
If this be the fact and if the various feeble
churches believe it, they should unite in
smaller towns to form one society that would
have decent proportions and present front
to the enemy that would command his re-
spect rather than provoke his derision.
There are scores of villages and towns in
Maine struggling to support three church
organizations with three pastors and yearly
growing weaker in the unnatural effort
which, if they should unite, could make a
strong society, support an able clergyman and
contribute liberal sum for outside char
tiles.
Nor does it end here; each church must
have its seminary and college, and the result
is in Maine, that we have three colleges to
support, where one far better than either of
them would be nearly selfsupporting. And
what is more deplorable, the competition be-
tween these institutions and similar ones in
other States, for students, is so sharp that the
standard of the preparatory course has been
so lowered that practically young man can
enter, who has only smattering of Greek
and Latin with no general information or
culture and with the merest acquaintance
with elementary studies. The natural result
is superficial or rather artificial scholarship.
The Evangelical Alliance has not yet dealt
with this important subject; but those who
sympathize with its purposes must clearly see
that the labors of this international assoeia-
ton will be useless, if it fail to devise some
measure to consolidate and utilize efforts now
wasted by lack of system and organization
based on the broad platform upon which they
all profess to stand.