The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-05-28
rhc NenlcLIey Nundny Case.


The Se"icEley sunday Case.
The readers oi The lSrELLIaRNcER
know something about this celebrated
case 1t ia that oil the editor oil the Pitts
bnrEh SrHddy LEADER who is a member OF
the Presbyterian Church upNt seWickley,
The synod and Presbytery to which the
church there belongs directed the Session
to proceed to discipline the editor OF the
Leader unIess he stopped publishing a
Sunday paper. This the Session refused
to do, claiming that they had the right
10 determine whether the editor should
or should not be disciplined For this
recusancy the sewlcEley church was ar
ralgned before the General Assembly
now sitting at Chicago, AMI the case was
relerFct to committee Tor report
The committee made their report on
last Friday which report, together
with the long debate that took place, Is
fully reported in Saturdays Chicago pa
pers. The pastor OF the sewickIey church
took part in the debate, and protested
against the report OF the committee,
which, by the way, sustained the action
Of the Synod and PresbyIcry As hereto.
fore taken against the church. He ex.
plained that the editor OF the Pittsburgh
Sunday Leader did not look upon the
Sabbath "a Jewish institution, but held
that since the standard OF the church
in regard to the Fourth Commandment
had been adopted great changes in the
world and in the minds Of Christian men
had taken place on that subject. lie
called attention 10 the fact that the
case was very grave one, not
because OF its own intrinsic i'm.
portance, but because OF the wide
reaching application Of the principle in
volved. The publication Of Sunday news.
papers was only one way oi trenching
upon the doctrines oi the Presbyterian
Church in regard to the Observance Of
Sunday. The Assembly could not ignore
the fact that in these days there were nu:
meEous great and important industries
with which the membership OF the Church
was conneCted-such, Tor instance, as
railroads, and that il they undertook to
lay down a decision in the 'Sewickley case
itmust be one that woald meet the re.
quirementR Of the age.
Judge MooreheNd, OF Pittsburgh, took
the same ground. lie himte!f was a.
strict Sabbaiarian. He dad not buy Sun
day papers nor read them, but he wa"
nevertheless, in great doubt about pass
ing resolutions that might cause serious
embarrassment to the membership OF the
church throughout the country. These
were the days Of Sunday street cars Sun
day trains, Sunday blast furnaces, and
various other similar investments OF
capital, and he was not prepared to see
the church all over the land arraiSning
its members for taking stock in these in
dustries. The proposed action was
frauBht with serious consequences to the
peace and prosperity oI The church.
Despite these protests, however, the As
sembly adopted !the report toithe commit
tee by an overwhelming majority. The re-
portrecommen DIS l)tnat theAssembIy re-
affirm tile resolutions adopted by the
Synod and Prcsbytery, setting forth the
binding obligations ol the fourth COM
mandmcnt as expounded in the standard
Of the Presbyterian Church, that any re-
spOnsible participation in the publication
or sale OF SUNDAY newspaper is incon-
sisIent alike with obedience to Gods law
and with membership ofthe Presbyterian
Church (2) that it is entirely within the
constitutional authority OF the Presby-
terry TO direct the Session Of church
under its care to proceed to discipline
any member OF said church, and that n
Synod may reatlirm such instructions on
the reference OF case asking for advice;
lSl that the sewickley Church were
bound to carry out the plain meaning Of
the instructions Of the PrC,bytcry Of ALE.
ins r. a., Ill. .ro ;nsnNis;an, " a,J I,",