Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-10-01
PRESBYTERIANISM.
Proceedings of the Pan Council Yester-
day

day.
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 20.-Prof. Watts, of
Belfast, presided at the morning session of the
Pan Presbyterian council. The committee on
credentials and confessions read a oommunica-
tion from the reformed presbytery of Philadel-
phia, making application for representation
Id the council, declaring its creed to be in con-
forrnity with the confessions. and agreeing to
accept the constitution of alliance. The repre-
sentatives of presbytery were admitted.
DR.. Brownson submitted a resolution provid'
ing for the appointment of 3 committee to pre-
pare some expression that would 60 forth to
the world as the utterance of the council on
the subject of Sabbath observance. Referred
to the business committee.
Rev. DR.. j. Murray Mitchell, OF Edinburgh,
read the report of the committee of foreign
missionary work. The report discussed the
subject in all its bearings including the best
means of raising funds, modes of conducting
missionary enterprises, the relation of missions
to home churches, and SO forth. The report
suggested the establishment Of great train
ing college at Pekin, China, and urged more
energetic prosecution of mission work in
heather and pagan countries. The report
stated that 2,000.t 90 pagans had been rescued
from darkness in the past seventy years by
Protestant missionaries, and referred to the
greater facilities and advantages that may now
be enjoyed by mission work.
Rev. DR.. Parton, D. D., New York, submit
ted from the American portion of
he committee a history of mission
Enterprises connected with the following
hurches: The Presbyterian church of Canada.
United Presbyterian church in the United
states, Reformed Dutch church, Reformed
Presbyterian church, general synod, Social Re-
formed church, Presbyterian church north and
south. A summary of the statistics submitted
in the report may be thus stated: Missionaries
in field. l,195; native missionaries, 145; native
lioentiates and preachers. 118; American wom-
en- con nected with mission, 266; native teach
ers and bible readers, 1874; communicates,
1851; scholars in boarding schools, 1,69l !;
scholars in day schools, 2,9S7.
d. Wilson proposed that missionaries should
60 forward as Evangelists, establishing church
es, ordaining ministers, and organizing presby-
terys. DR.. How're while admitting the utility
or this proposition, remarked that if he enter
talned belief in such powers as that of an in
dividual presbyter OF daining ministers he
would go into tie Episcopal church, where
such ordinations are governed by carefully
drawn rules and canons, instead of being left
to the discretion of an Individual presbyter.
Rev. DR.. Hutton presented resolution set
ting forth that the council would consider 1t
timely and proper for the various churches rep.
resented IN the alliance to take such action as
may seem best TO the various churches, looking
to closer union of their respective missionary
organizations for greater cooperation in the
practical work of the mission field. The -eso-
utiOn was referred to the business committee.
John Hanson of Antrim, Ireland, presided
at the afternoon session. In a paper on the
training of candidates for the ministry, Rev.
Herrick johnson, d. D., of Chicago discussed
the methods of filling the pulpit with strong
ministry. Many men who ought to be out of
the ministry he said, arein it. While men are
men imperfectlon will of course slip through
despite the utmost care, but as little imperfec-
tion as possible should be allowed to go through.
Among the lines drawn by the speaker were the
following: First the church must have more
profound spirituality in another than spiritu-
al a, sense Il may be said
Like people like priests" Then there
a call to the ministry is directly and decidedly
from God and that it is Christ's exclusive pre-
rogative and privilege to call and send by a
movement of the Holy Spirit. None
enter the ministry who feel they can stay out
oft, and if the church would have the proper
sort of ministers she must pay for them. The
supply of ministers is not a matter of market
measuring. The cry of TOO Many Ministers"
is preposterous. This is a matter of Gods law,
not of arithmetic. Short cuts to the ministry
should be stopped. They lead to short stops. The
speaker argued that presbyteriaps should
adopt means for securing the best material and
the best facilities for its development.
The Academy of Music was crowded in tie
evening, and an overflow meeting was held in
Horticultural hall, the same speakers in both
places. The session was occupied in ten
minute addresses on the state of religion in
heather countries. Rev. Mr.. Stout, from
Japan, traced briefly the labors that had begun
twenty-one years ago with five missionaries,
and now shows fifty churches there, in which
the elect of God gather, and leo or l60 mission
aries laboring for the spread of the gospel
among the heather in that land. Christian
newspaper is now published there and carried
in Japanese mails. mir. Mckenzie, missionary
from China, said scarcely generation ago
Protestant missionaries began to enter China,
instead of Is or 90, as now.