The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-05-28
ALEyANpER BONE OF WHEELING,
An Interesting Letter from His Pen lu
RsSardtO the DOinVs Of the PreSby.
terrain General Assembly,
How the Work OF n solemn Sanhedrim,
Of which SIC WAS n Member. Met
It's Death at the Hands OF
lhc Assembly.
SARATOGA SpRlxGs, May "a, 1919.

ltIInl SIllICl HSlg Sh Nhu FS6h AASN
This whole region Of country may be
ulled a temple Of Nature, and there seems
to be an inspiration resting on yon on your
arrival here ~springins from the murmur of
the water fall, the ripple on the lakes, tho
leaping springs, and the song of the war.
blens among the branches Of this foliage
shaded town. Wherever you 90 for miles
around you meet beauty and lOveliness,
You feel like looking from Nature up to
God" and the memory Of Millions lines
comes to your lips, "These arc thy works,
Parent Of all good" II is indeed a place
well adapted for the convocation here
assembled.
The present assembly Is the largest ever
convened In the United States, and In
cludes delegates from oil parts Of the
country, and from foreign lands, India,
China, Syria, Africa The opening hymn,
"All people that on earth do dwell"
horne oil tho wings OF Old Hundred, went
up in devotional praise from that great as.
sembly, andifthe melody Of those strains
sound so sweet in the church militant,
what will they be in the church triups
plant? Rev. Francis L. Patton, y. D., l..
l.. d., OF Chicago, preached the opening
sermon from John /, II. lie is u man OF
great talent, study and research. His ser.
mon has been Published, and f-4evelops
the scholar and the Christian.
Rev. Henry JesSup was elected modera-
tor for the current year. Dr.. Jessup, like
his predecessor, is a man Of power, refine
ment, highly educated and possessed OF
fine executive qualifications. His name is
u household word in the church; his field
of labor is in Syria, where he expects
shortly to return, pretering rather in &C.
cordance with his mission to preach the
gospel to the benighted heather, where
he has great success, than to "beHin at Je-
rusalem" lat home). He is a mar evil
IDENTIFY raised up for a special work in his
,lGy, and the church and the world will see
the fruits OF It.
The usual appointment Of Committees
on Records, Ovcrtures and other objects
were duly appointed and their reports
were very encouraging and satisfactory.
Home and Foreign Missions and the other
benevolent boards OF the church showed
them to be in a prospecting condition, re-
markably so considering the times.
The overture on representation sent
down TO the churches IRON the former AS
sembly having been rejected by q large
majority Of the Presbyteries, the question
WAS again called up and a committee OF -
APPOINTED, thirty.six ministers and thirty
six elders, being a minister aud elder from
each Synod, to submit some plan to har-
mdhiZe the churches on this important
question. The objections to the former
Overture were these: The plan submitted
was not in accordance with equity and the
iOrAl OF church government, while many
thought it better to let we'll enough alone.
The other party considered the number
Of commissioners TO the Assembly toe
large, in view first OF expense, and the
Inconvenience OF accommodating so large
= body. The committee (oi which your
correspondent happened to be oneJ met in
the Town Hall Of Saratoga, New York, by
order Of the Moderator with closed doors.
Wespent a part OF two days thus closeted
and looked upon as a kind Of Sanhedrim.
There were as many three minute speech
Is as might have electeda man to be Pres
itent OF the Great Republic, but after
While we got to seeing AYE to aye"
and stood 81 to 5; that Is, we agreed to
make the basis 4S instead of q, in chapter
II in the book, thus giving the reduction
lists their demand, and the orthodox party,
rs we expected. would have their objec-
ton removed. We all felt Except the five
brethrcnl We had reached q general con.
~cluSiOn, a glorious result, in being able TO
gApple with this great question and pro.
mote harmony among all the brethren
I'VE did not think those five over there
amounted to much; and gathering up
our documents and papers, and pull
ing back the bolt OF the door, we marched
in Rlet to report TO the General Assembly,
and when we entered within the door
they looked at US about as a courtroom
audience does when the jury comes down,
But "the best laid schemes O. mice and
men gang aft aglee," and, to be brief, the
D. DIS and the LII. DIS, and a good many
without any DIS, took hold OF our careful
deliberations and our profound conclu.
Sions, and by the time we rot
through our debates and points
Of order and amendments, and PROPOSE.
tiOns to 'lay on the table," our arduous
Iabors vanished like a dream, and the as.
sembly decided by a large majority that
they did not want nor need any overtures
sent down; that the glory OF the assembly
was its greatness and that to lessen its
greatness was equivalent to lesseninS its
influence. Some of us limited at biennial
meetings, (all judicial cases to be DISPOSED
OF i'll synod, but we found that we tho
sixty.seven, were in the assembly what the
five uta short time before were In commit.
tee in the Town Hall, and several speakers
stated that we had found a place to accom-.
modate all the assembly, making Saratoga
the Jerusalem OF the churches,
This ended the overturCs! 1t was killed
dead, but perhaps like the old hunter over
on the CatSlill mountains from being
asleep it may awaken up before twenty
years.
The next topic which seemed to create
unusual interest and which occupied much
time and enlisted warm discussion was
the proposition TO consolidate the freed.
mems fund into the Board Of Home Mis-
SiOhs. At half.past twelve to-day the vote
was finally taken. resulting in a majority
Of 905 TO let the FrGedmcnTs Board remain
rs II Is, amidst great applause.
h reports from our missionary fields
are truly encouraging, and we think II the
skeptical on those points had been here
they would have had the question an.
swered, where is the promise OF his com.
inge" Here on our platform stood noble
men, commissioners from Syria, India,
Egypt, Japan, Africa and the isles Of the
seas men from the mountain ranges Of
the Waldenses and the valleys Of the
Piedmonts. There were quite a number
OF our educated freedmen present, black
as ebony, and had you been here during
their addresses you would have been sal.
isfied that the problem had been solved
and that the negro is q man not only phys.
icalfy but intellectually, and that what
grace can make Of a white man it can also
makeof a black man. n,I- !.
The women's Missionary Societies are
spoken OF sin all the churches" They are
doing a great and unccasing work in ali
evangelical denominations. Delegations
from the Dutch Reformed, Methodist
Enisrnnnl EnmhnrlnnA D-n.knIn-...S-