Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1880-06-03
TIE CASE OF REV. ]. E. WHITE.

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church of the United States, which has been
recently in session in Charleston, adjourned on
Monday last. Shortly before the adjournment,
the case of Rev. J. E. White, of Chester, was
taken up and disposed of. From the NeuS
and Courier of Tuesday, we copy the following:
The report of the judicial committee on the
case of the Rev. j. E. White, of Chester, was
then taken up and the Assembly proceeded
to the trial of the case in the manner and
form prescribed by the constitution. The re-
port of the committee was read and adopted,
the recommendations OF the commttee Delng
voted upon Seriatim.
DR.. Smith, acting as Moderator, then pro-
ceeded to constitute the Assembly into
Court of Appeal, as provided by law, but was
interrupted by the Rev. Jahleel Woodbridge,
who entered his protest against hasty and ILL
considered action, and declared that the AS
sembly should understand what it was eX-
pected to do before it went into the trial of a
case, none of the merits of which were known
A motion to reconsider was made and the
case was more fully stated.
Mr.. White then made a statement OF his
case, and said that the only question involved
was simple matter-has an appellant right
to be heard. He claimed right of hearing
before the courts of the church, only that and
nothing more. He quoted the practice gov
erning appeals in the civil courts, the doc
trine of the Bible in this regard the old RO-
man law and the uSages of the church courts
to sustain him in laying his grievances before
the General Assembly and in asking it to
order the Synod of South Carolina to reverse
it's action and to hear his case upon its merits.
Mr.. Collins thought it was wrong to give
Mr.. White chance to argue the right OF ap-
nt to matter
hand.
The Moderator ruled that Mr.. White had
a right to state his case in his own way, and
that Interruptions were out of order.
The Rev. Mr.. Woodbridge wanted to know
exactly what was before the Assembly. A
bag had been brought into the house with
something tied up in it, and no one knew
whether it was a cat or pig. He wanted to
know what kind of case the court was try
ing.
A recess of twenty minutes was taken at
this point, after which the committee on cor
reSpOndence nominated DR.. j. B. StrattOn, OF
Mississippi, as a delegate to the Presbyterian
Alliance, instead of DR.. Robertson, resigned,
with the Rev. Mr.. Flynn, of Nashville, as al
ternate; DR.. Woodrow instead of DR.. Girar-
deau, resigned, with the Rev. H. NJ. Scudder,
d. d., of Kentucky, as alternate. The nomi-
nations were confirmed and the report adopted.
Mr.. White resumed his statement, saying
that he had gone before the Presbytery OF
Bethel, which had refused to hear his case.
He then appealed to the Synod, which dis
missed the action Oh the ground that it was
out of order. He asked the judgment of the
General Assembly.
The Rev. J. B. Mack, D. D., appeared for the
Synod of South Carolina He said that the
matter was not between the session of the
Church and Mr.. White. That had been deci-
ded Not between Mr.. Whiteand DR.. Plumer,
who had written letter for him; that was
between them as private individuals Nor was
it with the PreSbytery of Bethel, because the
Presbytery had taken up the letter, and given
it hearing, and from it's decisions in the case
no appeal or complaint had been taken. He
reviewed the action of the PreSbytery from
which there was no appeal, and could have
been none But the Presbytery voted to grant
the appellant a hearing, although he had failed
to conform to the law regulating such matters,
and when the hearing was granted he dissent
ed The Synod of South Carolina refused to
take up the matter. The appellant had not
given the ten days notice of appeal required
by the laws of the Church. Even if there was
ground of appeal, Nh. White had no right to
appeal, having waived that right. Since his
suspension by Presbytery he has been preach
ing, and has no right to continue his case or to
beheard in the courts of the Church from the
ministry by which he has been depossd. This
matter has been going on for three years, and
the Presbytery and the Church had been har-
rassed, while the country had been flooded by
documents from Mr.. White bearing upon the
case. The speaker thought it was time to put
an end to the matter.
DR.. Adger also appeared for the Synod of
South Carolina, and went over substantially
the same ground as Dr. Mack He said that
the Presbyterian Church had always held to
the strict construction Of the law. The ap-
pellant in this case has forfeited all his rights
under the law. At the meeting Of the Pres
bytery, called to consider this matter, no
motion had been made to take up the case,
no action had been taken, nothing whatever
ha6 been done. He hoped the General AS
senbly would stop this matter. 1t has
harrassed the Church for many years. Every
attempt to restore Mr.. White by extra con-
stitutonal means will retard the matter and
proiong the disturbance. If the Assembly
should send back the case it would keep up
the fight for years. The proper way would
be for Mr.. White to go back to the Presbytery
and profess penitence, and then if he should
not be restored to his office he should bear his
disappointment with resignation.
Mr.. White, in reply, said he only asked for
justice and fair hearing, and that dishonor
HllSlll Hul De pldceu upon Il SerNdHl VI lHt
Lord. He then entered into review of the
case. He said he had not entered his appeal
in writing before the Presbytery of Bethel,
but he had made it orally in five miputes
after the action Of that body. He had not
sent up his appeal to the Synod in the time
prescribed by law, because he could not get
an answer from the clerk as to the secret
proceedings of the Presbytery, part of
which would constitute one ground of his
appeal.
DR.. Mack said that Mr.. White had not made
his appeal for seventy-five days after the
meeting of Presbytery. He did not do it
then until after Judge Mackey had refused
to issue writ of prohibition against the
Presbytery, the Judge declaring that he could
do nothing but commit the PreSbytery to Jail
The roll was then called and the vote was
taken. The Assembly refused to sustain the
appeal of Mr.. White by vote of II to ? and
so the motion for a new trial was refused.
The facts of this case, as related by Mr.
White, are as follows:
Mr. White was tenant under the right of {
surviving trustee, with whose knowledge ant
consent he occupied the parsonage connected
with the church at Purity, some two mile:
distant from Chester Village. The Churcl
was indebted to him the full value Of the prem
ises. and he asked for an honorable settlement
which was denied him. The session sent VI
complaint to Bethel Presbytery, new claim
ants asserting ownership to the premises il
dispute, and should have joined issue will
the surviving trustee, by whose permission
Mr.. White occupied the premises. He offer
ed to submit the whole matter to arbitration
which was ten times resisted by the new claim
ants of the property. Instead Of going int
the civil courts they carried the matter before