The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-06-16
prv Mr. uoae A. A MopERAToH.

n.
&c Sc ronresenfotiye aspect. IL was COM
.nosr,i of a minister and elder from each
nreshyterv. Sixty-two Prcsbytcries were
Tins representa-. Yet a few Of the larger |
Preshyteries sent more than one clergy man |
and one lay mar, so that the body Whencops'l' |
Yuted embraced nearly one hundred and9tty |
sitting members. As the Church thus acts on |
,he representative principal, it Is net likely
That the same men will meet again en- the
same floor. The advantage Of this rule is
that the deliberations Of the court are inde-
pendent of party and prejudice. II any
great measure lies over from one gear to IN.
other the pros and cons OF such measure
will each yesr te weighed by fresh class OF
minds, and IL becomes impossible for cliques
and parties to be found in q body thus con.
stituted.
In the mother country and in Canada,
where the General Assembly is composed OF
all the ministers of the body and one ruling
elder from each congregation. parties are
often formed and become pitted against each
other, 80 that on every great question which
arises it is generally known that if the Rev.
DIR. A B takes Que side, the Rev. DR.. G ID
will be sure to take tire opposite. In the
Southern Assembly this can never be, Us
Presbyieries seldom send the same delegates
each year.
Another characteristic Of this venerable
body was the marked dignity and fairness OF
the Moderator, DR.. Hnge. OF Richmond. He
is as gentle as q child, yet as tirm as rock
most courteous 10 all, most impartial TO each,
and most determir ed in administering to the
very letter the laws of procedure.
II maitered not whether the speaker was
DIR. P:lmer, OF New Orleans, or country
elder from some rural district in Texas, be
received the same courtesy from the Chair.
II by vote OF the House the debate WAS linn
tied to five or q ten-minute rule, the mo
ment that the clock indicated the lapse of
the allotted time the Moderator rose and
announced that the speaker must take
his seat, even though be were in the
middle of an important sentence, or even
rising to the climax Of q peroratiop. If al
lowed to speak one minute more it must be
by vote of tue House. Another character
istic of the Assembly was the superior gifts
of the eldershp. In the O,d Country and in
Canada many Of the elders are from the RI.
raj districts. and while men OF piety and
good, sound common sense, rs rule. they
are not from the educated classes Of the
Presbyterian Church. Hence, in many cases
they are unacquainted with the form Of
process " and the rules Of debate.
But in this Assembly many Of the elders
were gentlemen of the legal profession
men, for example, sucn as Colonel BilupS.
of Madison. and Colonel JIG. Gresham, Of
Macon, who are capable Of taking their po-
sition on any platform In the land, appearing
to advantage before any audience. This cha
racterstc of the Southern Assembly is some
what peculiar, and renders it an honorable
exception TO every other Assembly OF the
great Presbyterian family with which we
are acquainted.
Another characteristic of the body was the
decorous courtesy of its members. During
the entire session of this Assembly. and all
the best debates on some Of the most deli
cate questions which came up, there was not,
from the moment that the constituting
prayer was offered until the bepcdiction was
pronounced, single personally perpetra-
ted. The court : 1t ten days, holding one or
two sessions each day, and during all that
time there was not the rcmo'cst indication
OF either temper or personal alteration. Nor
was the Moderator called upon once to de-
mand the wi,hdra wal OF Il single word used
by either minister or elder in debate. The
spirit Of brotherly love was prominently
predominant in the court from the time il
opened till it closed. In this regard also the
Assembly was a model court of Chri>tS
church. Some OF the ministerial delegates
were doubtless men Of mark and wide repu.
tition.
DR.. Stuart Robinson, for example, whose
name and fsme as a preacher and an author
are known to two continents, took an active
part in the leading questions which were dis
cusSed.
During his residence in Canada, while the
war waSra9ing on this continent, he earned
for himself the highest reputation as Cos
pei preacher, ard in Toronto, the capital of
Ontario, no church was sufficiently large to
retain the crow ds which tl1cked to bear him.
When the venerable principal of KnoX's
College, VINO was known TO be desperately
opposed to the institution Of slavery, tried
to diSsuade his students from waiting on Dr.
Robipson'S ministry, he was strongly met by
the PerfsrUidum ingenium !Scotoruna, and
several of the undauuled Gdeis said to their
venerable Gamallel, " We will joost 90 to
hear the man that feeds our souls"
One of these young men, now distin-
glhshed minister in Nova Scotia, aud doing
mighty battle against the "power of dark
ness" then told US that he always went to
hear DR.. Robinson very hungry, and always
came away so full that he could hold no
more"
After the Doctors visit to Ireland we had
u letter from an old clerical friend, from
which we suhjoin the following:
"Do you know DR.. Stuart Robinson, OF
Kentucky: He has set the province of us
ter in blaze. One old elder here proposes
to raise d Supper$cription to send all tie
ministers Of Ireland to America for FIVE
years; 10 make them over again-that is, il
they can make them preach like DR.. Robin
son.
DIR. Palmer, of New Orleans, who seems
to be very closely allied to DR.. Robinson in
the way OF iralernal sympathy, though they
differed on some questions in debate. is
most genial, sngie.mlnded man-as pure as
IA angel, as simple as child, and gifted as a
sage. lie Is certainly in the most emphatic
sense Of the term the master OF the pulpit iu
the Presbyterian Church of America. We
have heard some Of the most celebrated
preachers Of England and America, but have
beard none who are so gifted in all the essen.
llal characteristics OF evangelical power. BE
thinks profoundly. de argues with logie,l
accuracy and tremendous force. He speaks
most perspcIously, and every utteraroe
commepds itself 10 the understanding anfs
lmpresses the heart OF the hesser.
We disciaim all personal .hxttery or unde- !
served eniesium as we'll as Individual dis. |
tine,'on ID selecting toe two names thus in. !
tfooueed. We have done SO because they !
are both men of mark in the Assembly; and |
because, While bosom friends in private, they !
frequently stood opposed in the debates OF
the General Assembly, which wac q marked
1haracferisiic OF the independence of thought
which prevailed in that body.
Az f'oche, Nevada, the other day, some
iauies expressed desire to in. pect the work. |