The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-05-30

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nna resources, and trusted to his man
!. u,eu,ant. md 60 that; extent we erred.
ySe have learned a great lesson. w
m,,st aIl be taught In this same school
az aftiicsion. We asked you in our report
tn helm us manage 1t In the future. When
+ got here I did not like the committee, for
7 Thought it was largely composed OF men
opposed to our method Of doing business.
But soon found tint they only wanted In
formation, and have now to say that have
the warmest admiration for them all. 1t IS
an extraordinary fact that they have come 10
an unanimous conclusion. go home, SIT,
strong In the fact that instead OF cutting
down this tree In the Lords vineyard, they
say we want these same brethren IN the iu-
ture, and said we will selp you, and com,
mend this great cause to the conscience anu
the heart OF the people. II you Judge Us
BY commercial basis. I suppose we %i.l e.
to the wall, and don't care II we 40. WHILST
there should be safe commercial basss Ia
all Gods causes, yet don't regard thus Us
commercial business. If you do. then every
theological seminary, every college Ia our
land. is o failure. We do not look Tor pecu-
niary results in these matters. TINS Is
something higher, grander. we must not
thus estimate the value OF men who preach.
So we have made not failure even IL the
fipures are right. Judge Guild was to have
been here and shown that the figures are all
right. But whilst we have not been making
money we have been giving this country
the purest and best literature this land has
ever seen. We have been giving away
$4,000 worth OF good books, papers, &C.,
and so we have built up feeble SUNDAY
schools; and this, we think, the best posi-
BILE way to distribute the Church's money
The noblest thing Church can do is to give
to the poor-the children, these little evan
yelsts that travel on the wind. Can you
tell what the writings OF Thornwell mas
done? Has young man read ThornWeifs
Life and Letters that has not wanted TO i've
q higher and better life J.? 1t is great thing
for Church to have titerati. What does
Scotland owe to the books OF her people
What the Huguenot Church to her lltera.
ture? Thus we appeal to the generosity OF
our people to help US in giving our Church
a literature of our own.
Mr.. Black, who has spent his life in this
kind Of business, said il we could repair
this disaster we will still own more than
we owe; and that we ought to go on, for
we had no rival. We had a splendid field
the best in the land. We have put two adj
ditional businessmen on the committee,
and we intend to try and do our best IN the
future. We ask brethren not to take adj
vantage OF q great disaster that has sc
shocked us, not for the money lost, but tol
the shame and dishonor to the Church, to
wound us still more and throw impedl
ments in our way.
DR.. Hoge was listened to with great at
tention, and made fine impression.
DR.. Welch, of the Committee on Publ
cation, explained why they recommend thai
the house in Richmond be sold. Debt was ;
great burden; the Church ought not to have
such on it's shoulders; but we ought to give
tue committee time to pay for it if they can
DR.. Hoge moved that this General Assem-
blv appoint a committee of three OF its hes
businessmen to go to Richmond, examine
the accounts of the publication committee
and publish the result through the news
papers. This was presented as an amend
ment to the committee report.
Mr.. Kennedy said under peculiar clrcum
stances he had become more or less con
nected with this publication business. Ill
would have some things to say unpleasant
to the committee. He would not say allgh
to wound the feelings Of the late secretar.
or prejudice his cause. My past criticism
was only for good OF the Church. hat
never once, personal feeling against DR.
Baird or the comslittee. He was glad DR.
Hoge had the candor to acknowledge tina
they had been to blame in trusting too mucl
to one man. In saying this he thought n
had made the dnaende honorable. All TIT
debts, to whom and when due, Shpult
always have been brought up here. Their
is excuse for not doing it now because thu
committee has had so much on their hands
Mr.. Kennedy then went into recapitula
ton OF the debts and how they had beer
made. he said there was no dispute abon
the fact that in the past these books hat
been badly kept. Let us leave that, and tr.
to do better in future. He hoped the com
mittee could work out Of its present EN-
barrassments and go on on sound basis b!
changing the manner OF conducting TIT
business. The trouble in the past &as beer
largely attributed to its enormous expenses
The committee is not so much to blame eX
cept in trusting it all to one man. This fac
of expenses first attracted my attention ant
led me to investigate the matter. DR.. Brown
and the committee did not appreciate m!
motive. Now the plan proposed in con
tracing for sale Of books will cut doWl
expenses one half. We go to publishing
house and make contract with them t.
publish for us every book wanted by u
from our stereotype plates, and obtain
for us all put on our catalogue. We be
lieve under this arrangement we cal
obtain a royalty from every book iron
our own plates, and pay for all other book
reasonable price, and we believe IN thl
contract we can pay every dollar OF neces
sarv expense. Then all the money contri
buted by churches will come back to tn
Church in the way OF free distribution. ri
gave an example: A society now seYent.
wears old, organized for the purpose OF dis
seminating their own literature, after haYin!
gone some fifty or sixty years on one plal
found themselves bankrupt, about clever
wears ago, changed and went into the bust
ness as we suggest, and in six years pail
their debt and had money to loan. [Alr
Kennedy referred here to the American
Tract Society.] Now, why can't we d.
something of this sort'
His own view was to put the publishing
house on sale at once. But some though
we had better see if the Church cannot AM
will not paw the debt. II it will, he for on
would say God speed. If not, in reason
able time, the committee is Instructed t
sell: and we have no doubt they Will do so
There is debt on the house now Of SOM
So, O0o. A business friend reported, if
mistake not, that it was taxed at $4,000
and could be sold promptly at 100000 DR.
Baird reported it as worth $4,000, when
was not SO; the Assembly endorsed it, an,
il anv man raised bis voice he was at one
pronounced sorehead. I did not belon!
to the % told you sos" never did so
but said that the business was conducted
at enormous expense. At St. Louis som
of the brethren undertook to inquire int
the matter, and were run ever rough-shod