The Osceola times., 1876-06-10
SAVANNAH, GA.
esai Assembly On the EaiagbHgh
Council -" frateraal Relassens''
with the N0rshern Church
Psslti0n Of Both Orgaatsa-
teAua That NuhleRf-

| with the Nortbern Church
| Pssitien OF Both Orgaaisa-
| tiess On That subject.
| Correspondence Of the Courier-Journal.
mentioned in my letter of yesterday,
that, before the close of the morning
session, the resolutions which had been
under discussion since Saturday morning
had been adopted by rising vote OF
seventy-eight to thirty-nine-preciscly
twO-thirds. Here are the resolutions in
full, as modified and passed:
Resolved, That this assembly hereby
expresses its approval, in general, of the
proceedings of the conference held at
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 no ap-
pointed shall select from their own num-
Der 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.
1t was NO desirable to have unanimity
in our church scattered rs it is over
more than million square miles of ter.
ritory-and No important TO present Ia
the world united front in spirit Of
concord and brotherly love, that, this
morning, Rev. d.. 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 wa,
successful yesterday; but that it'
opponents should freely say whether thi,
concession, made for harmony, was &C
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,,in appointing delegates
10 the general Presbyterian alliance, it
is with the distinct declaration that IL 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 misapprehension among our
people as to the true position of our
church.
II may he well to explain what is
meant by the torn "fraternal relations"
in its ecclesiastical sense. II is quite
usual in this country Tor churches or de-
nominations OF kindred faith and polity
TO send Christian greetings TO each ether,
when not in representative capacity or
as church-court to deliberate for the
interest of the church at large. This is
done by electing, or designating, at each
meeting one or more delegates to each
such corresponding body, who shall at
tend at its next meeting, and, when suit
ably introduced, address the moderator
and body in handsome spirit, rendering
Christian salutations, frequently adding
a short account of the statistics, growth
and prospects of the church represented.
The moderator replies in like handsome
terms, and the general good feeling be-
tween the two churches is thus kept up
and stimulated. No such relations have
ever existed between the northern and
southern Presbyterian churches, for the
very obvious reason that, in certain de
liverances during and after the war the
the former body (thcn two bodies knowr
as Old School and New SCHOOL, used
harsh and illiberal language toward theil
brethren in the south, which the latter
can not forget and will not excuse unit
: to some extent apologized tor and dis
avowed. The former charged the lattel
with being "church organized in tn,
interest Of rebellion, and of slavery :
also with "schism," and with holdinl
opinions "heretical and blasphemous,