The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1876-06-16
SAVANNAH, GA.
The Resolutions Of the PreAby terIan Gen
eraI Assembly On the EdInKbugh
Council -'' FradernaI ReIatIOnA''
with the Northern Church
Position of Roth OrEnniza-
IiOna ON 7 hat subject.

I
that, before the close of the mornin,
, session, the resolutions which had beef
under discussion since Saturday morniD,
had been adopted by rising vote o
seventy-eight to hirty-nine--precisel,
twO-thirds Here are the resolutions il
full, as modified and passed:
Resolved, That this assembly hereby
expresses its approval, in general, of the
proceedings of the conference held al
London in July last, composed of the
representatives of large portion, some
fifteen thousand congregations, of the
of the Presbyterian churches of the world
Resolved, That the assembly approves
of the general tenor of the constitution
of the new alliance providing for gen
eral Presbyterian council, TO be held
every three years.
Resolved, That this assembly will ap.
point delegates to represent the Presbyte-
rian church in the United States in the
general council, to be held in Edinburgh
in 1877, provided that this appointment
| of delegates shall not be understood as
pledging any funds of the church to de
! fraying the expenses of the delegates to
| the council.
Resolved, That the delegation so ap-
pointed shall select from their own num-
ber members to prepare any papers con-
cerning the condition and position of our
church, to be spread upon the records of
the council, and, in case the delegates be
unable to attend the council, they are
hereby authorized to represent our
church in such official letter as they may
agree upon.
Il. was so desirable to have unanimity
in our church--scattered as it is over
more than million square miles of ter
ritOry-and so important to present to
the world united front in spirit of
concord and brotherly love, that, this
morning, Rev. DR.. Moses ID. Hoge, of
Richmond, Va, proposed the following
additional resolution, and requested that
not one word should be said upon it by
the friends of the measure which was
successful yesterday; but that its
opponents should freely say whether this
concession, made for harmony, was ac.
ceptable. Rev. John B. Adger, DID,,
of South Carolina; Rev. Joseph Bard
well, of Mississippi Rev. J. B. Carne,
of Tennessee, and another very hand
somely reciprocated the kind spirit of the
majority, and it was passed unanimously.
No, there was one dissenting vote, and
he would not down." even for the sake
of harmony--Rev. w. w. Brimm, of
Eastern Texas. The following is the
resolution:
Resolved, That lin appointing delegates
TO the general Presbyterian alliance, it |
is with the distinct declaration that it is
not to be regarded as another and higher |
court, but as an assemblage of commit
tees appointed by the several bodies
which they represent for the purpose of |
joint conference and joint report, and for |
such action as belongs to an association
Of delegates thus constituted.
FRATERNAL RELATIONS.
The session tonight, from s to 1890
o'clock, was occupied in the discussion of
the delicate subject of fraternal relations
with the northern Presbyterian church.
1t was sprung, somewhat Unexpectedly,
by report from the committee on bills
and svertures in reference to an over
ture from the Presbytery OF st. Louis,
asking the assembly to take some action
to remove misappEehensiOn among our
people as to the true position of our
church.
1t may be well to explain what is
meant by the term "fraternal relations"
in its ecclesiastical sense. 1t is quite
usual in this country for churches or de-
of kindred faith and polity
20 send Christian greetings to each other,
when not in a representative capacity or
is a church-cOurt to deliberate for the
interest of the church at large. This is
lone by electiHg, or designating, at each
Meeting one or more delegates to each
such corresponding body, who shall at
end at its next meeting, and, when suit
IDLY introduced, address the moderator
md body in handsome spirit, rendering
Christian salutatiOns, frequently adding
| short account of the statistics, growth
md prospects of the church represented.
The moderator replies in like handsome
erms, and the general good feeling be-
,ween the two churches is thus kept up
md stimulated. No such relations have
,ver existed between the northern and
southern Presbyterian churches, for the
Tery obvious reason that, in certain de-
iverances during and after the war the
he former body (then two bodies known
Is Old School and New SchoOl) used
larsh and illiberal language toward their
brethren in the south, which the latter
AN not forget and will not excuse until
o some extent apologized for and dis
vowed. The former charged the latter
With being "churcb organized in the
interest of rebellion, and of slavery"
llso with "schism," and with holding {
opinions "heretical and blasphemOus," 7
md directed their church sessions not to '
eceive as members persons coming from
he south unless they should repent of 5
heir sins of rebellion and slavehOlding. |
Is the excitementOf the times gradually
ooled down, and calmer days returned, I
epeated movements by the northern as
emily were made towards concihation I
nd compromise. But they have been
90 proud and spirited, have shown too
title moral courage thus far to make the
mende honorable, even in a greatly
modified form, and the southern brethren G
viii not fraternize until some satisfactory s
Y xplanation, disavOwal or disapproval of {
heir action, or apology in some form, is c
1ade .