, 1881-06-19

| .. L. IL. CONSERs
HERES SY-HUNTING.
THE CASE OF PROF. EoRERTsoN SMITH.
Correspondence London Tim<x.
ED1NnUEG, May 29.-There is great intlIg.
nation all over Scotland on account of the
| decision OF the Free Church Assembly in
l'rof. Robertson Smiths case, while schemes
Of secession and of stopping the supplies by
withholding contributions to the Sustenta.
tlon Fund are being talked OF, botll in the
North and in the South. Prot. Smiths
friends held public breakfast yesterday
morning for the purpose, first, of expressing
sympathy with him, and, secondly, Of coun-
selling and encouraging their sy1npathizers in
| the Church. Their resolution is to stick by
! the Free Church, and fight out the battle
there. Defeat has not dauntetl them,
while the injustice they have suf-
| fered las increased their determine
| ton to perseyere until the wrong has
been riglited. The knowledge, too, that the
rising generation of the Church is mainly on
their side gives them the hope that n favor
able issue is only aquestion of time The
adoption of this policy is due mainly to Mr..
Robertson Smith himself, who, in his speech
i'll the General Assembly Thursday, earnestly
counseled his friends to remain loyal to the
Free Church. DR.. Waller Z. Smith said, at
tile breakfast, that Prof Smith had on Thurs
day saved the Church from rui11f which her
SO called leaders were about to bring upon
her. 4 mass of people were waiting for such
a decision rs the signal for them to drop
away from their church, but the Professors
speech had prevented tile threatened exodus.
The flag. therefore, is not to be hauled down;
OIL the contrary, it is to be nailed to the mast
The Rev. DR.. .Whytc said that he could not
agitate the question Of historical criticism in
the Church. He would rather hold his peace
about such questions. and work them into Ills
ministry,-that is, by preaching III accordance
with Prof. Robertson Smiths principles.
Prof. Lindsay, Ut Glasgow Free Church Col
Church notice that :. he took llls stand on the
critical position" lie said that ''in every
thing that Prof. Smith had said about proph-
ccy, except one point, reading it i'll his own
way: assorilE :;q 9! ! to Ills HIS mntisTs.aag he
influential one. including as it did Mr, Camp
bell. of lllite: Mr. Coquhoun, Of Ross; Mr..
c. Cowan, IF Wester Lee; Dr.: Benjamin
Bell, DR., G. E. Wilson, her Majesty's In
valha; Dr. macdonald, Of Ayr; Profs. Da-
wilson and Salmond, and many prominent
laymen.
LONDON, May 2s-To the Editor Of the
General Assembly Of the Free Church Of
Scotland has decided todrprne~rrof- Rob !
ertson Smith OF his chair, though to avoid
awkward legal questions the full salary is
to be continued. The case thus at length de-
termined has been fought out with an amount
Of bitterness and excitement of which,
as your Edlnburg correspondent declares,
it is difficult for an English reader to form
any adequate conception. Prof. Smith, as is
generally known, is Hebrew scholar of the
highest distinction, an eminent mathema-
tician, and a writer Of considerable ability.
lie is, or was till this vote removed him,
the holder Of 4 theological professorship in
the Free Church College i'll Aberdeen. !
When the new edition Of the Encyclopedia !
Britannica " was in preparation, lie was ell |
gagged to write the. Biblical articles; and |
as soon as the article ''Bib1e* appeared it !
was impugned by a party in the Free Church |
as heretical. Long debates took place, which |
resulted i'll Mr.. Smith being first removed /
from his chair, and then last May replaced in
in it, with the admOnition that lie must take |
care not again to offend against Church dis
ciplne. Shortly afterwards, however, another
volume appeared, containing All article On
the Hebrew language ami literature, and AS
this contained no retraction, but ratl< X
Of the obnoxious statements, AIR.
Smith was last October formally suspended
from the functions OF his protesSorshlp dur
Grafton of his case being reserved to this
present month of May. The breathing-time
thus allowed him was turned by the Pro-
fessor to a perfectly natural use. but one
that does not seem to haye been a',ad contsm,
course of lectures on *sThe Old Testament III
Tue Jewish Church, to be delivered in Glas-
Cow and Edinburg. The doctrines which