The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1875-03-24

1.-The fourth and last condition of this correspon-
dence was the uneqnivoca retraction of the impu'
tatiOns against ourselves industriously circulated
throughout Christendom. This we would have
clearly Disseminated from personal resentment or
an unforgiving spirit 1t is compelled by proper
sense Of self respect, and due regard to the honor
of our church 1t is the homage which we are
constrained to pay to truth and history We cannot
accept, even by implication the charges with which
the records of both wings of the United Assembly
are filed. Extending, as they do, to heresy and
blasphemy, they are of the nature of judicial ac-
eusations, which must either be sustained or with
drawn. The respect and honor and Christian
love- with which We are approached in this over
ture, are certainly inconsistent with the belief of
these grave imputatious. If not believed to be
true, they should be cancelled, much more for the
sake of those who have pronounced them than our
selves, who have so long borne the reprosch. How
ever this may be, any form OF intercourse, while
they remain upon record, would be taclt ac-
quiescence in the same, and submission to the
dishonor which has been cast upon the name OF
our people and of our Church"
That is what Dr. Lyon said in 1870, and that is
the view by which he expected this Conference to
be conducted Hsu! guam mutatus ab lilo
That will do for the Pastoral Letter but there is
more elsewhere. La August, 1878, DR.. Lyon ad-
dressed, through the Central Presbyterian letter
to Rev. DR., E. T. Baird, in which, referring to the
overture Of the Baltimore Assembly Of that year. he
says :" | am in favor of our next Assembly ap.
pointing committee, not of ertrenae men already
committed against all kinds of friendly intercourse,
and all conference on the subject, but of wise,
moderate men, untrammelled uninstructed, against
whom no one can urge any reasonable objection.
This being done, will state in the third place that
if that committee. after deliberate and prayerful
conference with the Baltimore Committee, should
report iD taeOr of frsterns correspondence and
hope they wiz then shall be in favor of It, But
if they report against it, then | shall be against
it." (Central Presbyterian. August 10, 1873
Now there is but one escape from the clinch Of
this extraet-s plea that the committee was not
such one as filed the bill. We might feel some
embarrassment on this point if DR.. Lyon had not
fore tailed it by such an emphacal declaration that
the difficulty cannot be personal at that point
Then will he tect to the others? We assert posi-
lively that if there was. in reference to this mat
ter, an extreme man on that committee, then the
whole Church is extreme-batng the handful a.
ready referred to. There was not one commit
ted against all kinds Of friendly intercourse. 1t
Dr. Palmer and Others at Louisville or since, were
OF the opinion that conference was not advisable
it was simply because they thought the things
preventing friendly relations we're so plain and
we'll known by the Northern Church, that they
ought first 10 take them fairly out of the way,
and then fraterna correspondence would follow at
once. This was presented in the paper of our As
sembly at Louisville. If there is any Southern
Presbyterian committed against all friendly In.
tercourse" we have never seen or heard Of him.
Certainly he was not on this committee, unless
they spoke falsely when they declared in their first
paper" We take the earliest occasion to say that
il these existing causes can be removed, and such
raternal relations established, the result will be
viewed with sincere qualification by this committee
and by the Church which We represent" And,
more to the same purport elsewhere.
This article is already long, but few notes re-
main upon some of the points presented in the
communication reviewed.
l. Ii the "infuriated political demagogues" Of
the Northern Church, of whom he speaks, Us it
safe in Mississippi to use such words?) are "set
aside, and the wise and moderate men" are now
the guides and councillors, then what difficulty
is there in setting wrong to right? These wise,
good men may cot be personally responsible for
what Dr. Crosby says it is now the general opinion
l.. ~ k,,k - oat,o
pacity they are Why not rectiiy it2 There are
searching questions that might be put in just there
but we forego them.
DR.. Lyon says that the Northern Committee
officially declare to u.s. that by null and void,
and other equally significant utterances they mean
to include and wipe out literally every thing often
sive to Us, &c. If any such declaration was made
it escaped the most searching examination of the
whole Committee, including two gentlemen of much
legal acumen, and used to scrutinize phraseology
with the utmost nicely. Ga the contrary that
Committee were extremely careful not to commit
themselves or their Church to any such position.
This has been so often shown, it is not worth while
to repeat it now. We know precisely what we say,
and can completely establish it.
3. The right of man to put his own construc-
ton upon his own language" is to be admitted,
but with limitations If he calls you liar and
scoundrel, and pleads that he only meant you were
mistaken, and liable like all mortsls to do wrong,
he can hardly get off upon his right of construc-
ton" He must retract his language. This rule
Of right has no application to offensive imputa-
tions, unless IN themselves ambiguous. 1t null
and void" are ambiguous when applied to the i'm.
putations upon our Church Though we are unable
to see how they meet such things at all it is Ger
tain that the Committee never went so far as to
construe them as signifying disapprOval of their
odious accusations. There is not trace of any
such thing. And Just there is the point of the
whole matter. When finally brought to it, they
expressly refuse to do that. 1t is simply i'm
possible to escape from this; and in view of it
we beg leave to ask Dr. Lyon whether after
locking at his attempt here to fritter away and
pare down this point made and maintained
by the committee of his Church, as a demand
every way righteous and due to our Christian hon
or he can turn with comfortable stomach to the
Pastoral Letter he sent out to the reviled but no.
bic hearted Christian men and women Of his own
Southern Presbyterian Church, in which he. as
one Of the guardians of their Christian honor said
to then, The fourth and last condition of this
correspondence tCas the untqaivocal retraction of
the imputatious against ourselves, industriously
circulated throughout christendom. - 1T is i'm
PEELED by proper sense Of SET respect, and due
regard to the honor of our Church" Alas, for
thee my brother"
lie asks, "Does any one believe that had
friendly relations been established on the terms of
fered it would not have been generally acceptable
to the Church? ?" That simply beats ALL Any one
IL.