, 1874-04-23

will rocoiyo, tho tllanss Of all retlcoting porsons
1saat mud Vest. North and South.
PROF. PAT1oN's AMENDED INDICTMENT.
Prof. Patton, having amended Ills Indictment
agatnst Prof. Swing, onco moro returns to the
conflict, at,d on this indictment, which Prof.
Patton mny possibly understand, tho trial will
commonco two woohs honco. What liuo Of do
fenso Prof. Swing may adopt, 1t Ia not within
tho limits oven Of conjooturo to Say. Whilo
Prof. Fatton has boon rs yociforous as |
guinoa-hon Prof. Swing Inns boon Hilont as an |
oyster. porbapH, like Dr.. Patterson, Dr.. swazey.
md other venerable authoritioH In ProBbytorian |
doctrine, llo Inns boon trying to understand Pat
toms version Of tho creed. Pcrlaaps 10 has |
boen struck dumb with aatoniahmont that |
It was reBorvod for this young man |
to discover tho horoay which Ind Escaped |
tho notice of tho fathors Of tho Church, who |
have expoundod tho creed In this city over g
quarter Of century, aud woro preaching their
faith in Presbyterian pulplts when Prof. Patton
WAS In his awaddling-clothes.
Ono OF tho principal allegations which Prof.
Patton makes against Prof. Swing, aud which
loads him to tho conviction that Prof. Swing is q
hereto, is that Of ambiguity in tho onuncation
of doctrnal points, and this allegation ls Of 30
much consequence that ho ropoats 1t aoVera1
timos. Even assuming that this may bo truo,
aud that Prof. Swing Ii obscure in Ills statement
OF tho cardinal 'points Of Presbyteriansm and
tho "details Of tho Confession OF Faith, wherein
ls Prof. Patton any moro fortunate In
tho first instance, ho drew up an
indictment which was go defective, 80 thoologic-
ally illegal, and 60 obscure, that tho proahytery
would not accept 1t. or allow him to prosecute
Prof. Swing upon 1t. Now that ho laa amondcd
it, md substituted specific declarations for gen
era1itios, and cited chapter, aud yorHo, aud pas
sage whorein Prof. Swing Inns shown himself
hotcrodoz is ho my less obscure or ambiguous
in his onunciations Of what Is not Presbyterian
doctrine than Prof. Swing has been, according to
Prof. Patton, in Ills enunolatiou Of what is
Presbyterian doctrine? Is there any membor Of
tlo presbytory, Prof. Patton excepted. who can
rise in lis place aud deliberately aBsort Tint ho
understands tho DRIFT aud force Of these wordy
specifications, and that ho can vote intolllgently
upon Prof. Swings guilt or innocenco7 Docs
Prof. Patton himself understand what he Ia
talking about7
These arc entirely pertinent questions, and
they concern tho Presbytory much moro than up
poars upon tic surface. Those Of our readers
WHO hnvo lad tho time mud tho patience, ut this
! season of houBe-cloaning, to wade through these
specifications, must have observed TINT tho very
head and front, the Alpha and Omega, Of thom
| is Unitarianiam, whateycr that may be. Unita-
| rianiHm il Prof. Pattons bcto noir. However, far
Prot. Patton may wander away in seeking to
franc specification, he inevitably returus to
| Unitarianiau,. Like tho composer, lo modulates
into many koys but he always closes his move
| mont In tho original key. His prot. 6wing's)
references to doctrine ''admit easily Of con-
Atruction in accordance with the theology Of the
Unitarian denomination" "Leading Unitarian
minister's to~yyit tho Rev. r. Laird Collier and
the Rev. Minot J. Savage, have affirmed that biz
preacling ta substantially Unitarian" Ho was
Advertised to lecture and did 1ecturo, IN MD Of
Unitarian Chapel. He has written articles to BhoN
TINT Robert Collyor and Robert Patterson proact
substantially the same Gospel. He ha8 declared
to tho Roy. Robert LAIRD Collier "that he agreot
with him (Collier) in his theological views" Ant
10 on, through specification aftor specification
They all hinge upon tbis dreadful fact Of Uni
tariauism. It crops out in allueionB to DOCTRINE
and to poraons. He cannot allude to tho 1at'
Ma,y Price Collier, John Stuart Mill, Mozart
Penelope and Socrates, Catherine Of RuRsia
Victor Cousin, Guizot, Voltaire, Paine, o
Froudo without Immediately enyeloping thor
in this cloud of Unitarinniam, as tho outtlo-aa
darkens tho water with Its inky fluid, and the
, seeks to gain advantage Of its opponent b
, retiring into it's obscu1ity. So all-peryadin
is this Hlbbo1eth OF Unitarianiem in Prof. Pal
toms specifications, and so essential is It to hi
prosecution, TINT he obstinately insisted upo
having the testimony Of the noy. Robert Lair
Collier, either orally OR by deposition before til
} | trial commenced. notwithstanding the exproaae
! wish Of tho Ptosbttory that tho trial ahoul
y commence at once. And yot, notwithstandn
t the fact TINT UuitarianiBm Is the essence Of Il
O Aoresy Prof. Patton charges, IN no part Of thol
a specifications does lie inform uR .olat Unitarian
e isns is or, in other words, Of what onfcnso Fro
r. Swing is guilty. It will not do for Prof. Pa
o ton to provo negative IN tic forthcomi1
~ trial. 1t will not do for him to pro-
i that Prof. Swing omits certain points
It doctrine, or that ho does not proach Presbyto1
s ansfn. II he docs not preach prosbyteriauism,
a must provo what l1o docs preach, and, bcforo
It can provo that ho proachoa Unitarlanism,
10 must be prepared to show what Unitarianism
n Prof, Patton aayB III hia frat specification, til
~ Prof. Swings doctrines aro vague md a1nblg
IT ous, and, therefore. caBily admit Of constru
80 tion In accordance with tho "Unitarian thas
I'd ogy." It Ia, therefore, Incumbent upon him
show what this theology ia, mud to nlako it Gle
D. that Prof. Swing is preaching this thoolot
..n,.,,~, u, .o,r 4t,ot oo,, M ~, nv. Il