Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-07-31
Correspondence Of the Yorkyille Enquirer.

EDINGURGH, SCOTLAND, July 12.-On
Thursday night, the 3rd instant, at about
half past 10 o'clock, the Pan-Presbyterian
Council, after a series of sessions continued
through eight days, adjourned. The meet
ing was certainly a very pleasant one,
and will possibly do great deal Of good.
Ministers of the gospel and ruling elders
were present from all sections of the world,
and although great many papers were read
and many speeches delivered, not single
word was said which wounded the feelings
of any one. 1t was clear as MONDAY that
although among the members of the Council
there were very conflicting views, each one
seemed to claim the privilege of giving free
expression to his opinions, and to accord the
same privilege to every other member OF
the Council. Whether these Councils will
be productive of any real good depends upon
many things. If the effort is made to unite
all who claim to have adopted the general
principles of the Reformation without ma
king the Bible, as the Reformers did, the
rule Of faith and practice, it is to be hoped
that the effort will prove failure. The
divisions which now exist in the church are
greatly to be deplored, but these divisions,
undesirable as they may be, are rather to be
endured than to hastily unite into one Or
ganization bodies of Christians whose faith
and practice are in open conflict in matters
of vital importance. If all the churches
now in connection with the Pan-Presbyte-
rian Council would 60 to work, in earnest,
TO reform themselves, so as to make, by Di-
vine guidance, their creeds conform in doc
trine and practice to the word of God, then
a union can be formed which will contribute
to the glory of God and the spread of the
everlasting gospel. 1t is fact that there is
not at present an organized body of Chris
tians in the world whose practice does not
need reformation. In practice the tenden-
cy for, perhaps half century, has been to
ignore the Bible in matters of freligion. Ev-
cry sensible man must see that the only
platform on which all believers can unite is
the Bible, and that they may understand
mental doctrines of the Bible, must be for
mulated into creed.
The meetings Of the Pan-Presbyterian
Council enable the various churches COM
posing that Council to discover how far and
in what they disagree. If all these bodies
will, in the fear of God, expunge from their
creeds, and eliminate from their religious
practices, everything not sanctioned by the
word Of God, a union productive of great
good will be formed; otherwise, the Pan
Presbyterian Council will, in all probabili-
ty, be productive of great evil. 1t will be
with much hurt to the cause of
pure evangelical religion.
In the entertainment of the Council, the
people of Belfast covered themselves with
honor. No people could have done better,
and few would have done as well. l sup
pose that the meeting of the Pan-Presbyte-
ri 10 Cn1nni1 RI RI manila
fast and the Presbyterian Church of Ireland,
less than ten thousand dollars.
The speech-making in the Council was, as
is the case in all assemblies, whether politi-
cal or ecclesiastical, confined to few of the
members. Some men take great pleasure
in hearing the sound of their own voices
They overrate their abilities and are silly
enough to attempt to mould the opinions Of
others. AS rule, those men who speak on
every subject which comes up, are men who
think but little. Impudence, in their case,
supplies the place of sense. Very few young
men made themselves at all prominent in
the Council. Nearly all the work was done
by men who have passed beyond the merid-
ian of life. Old men, as we'll as young men,
are often ambitious of distinction, and fire.
quently exhibit weakness which is pain
fully disgusting. During the sessions of the
Council, some good speeches were made, but
l do not think that, with one or'tWO eXcep-
tions, any of the speeches could be regarded
as truly eloquent, and many of them were
dull and uninteresting. The
English language was spoken as l never
heard it spoken before, and as no one, eX
cept a foreigner or Scotchman, can speak it.
The foreigners, that is, those who do not use
as their vernacular language, the English,
are to be pardoned when they murder the
language; but no excuse can be made for
the professors in Scotch Universities.
On Friday, July the 4th, all the Scotch
Irish members of the Council assembled at
st. Enoch's Church, at II O'Clock. This
was appropriately called the Scotch
Irish Reunion. Considerable enthusiasm
was manifested by the Scotch-Irish dele
gates, and very considerable interest was
manifested in the Reunion by the people of
Belfast. The house was we'll filled. A
large map of the United States, rather Of
North America, was hung behind the speak
ers' platform, and everything assumed the
nervous appearance of genuine United
States celebration. Southern and Northern
men took their seats on the same platform,
and for the time, at least, the distinction be-
tween Democrat and Republican was abso-
lutely ignored. Several papers of merit
were read and some thrilling speeches de-
livered, but the papers were generally too
long, and that restless nervousness, which
an n-ScOtch-1rishman
soon became manifest. The readers of pa
pers were forced to give up the reading of
their essays. The most conspicuous figures
on the platform were Drs. James McCosh
and John Hall. Both these men have
worldwide reputation. DIR. McCOsh said
he was a Scotchman by birth, and both an
Irishman and a Scotchman by adoption,
having lived sixteen years in each Of these
The ravages of time are seen on
the form of DR.. McCosh. He is feeble with
the load of years of labor. DR.. Hall is per-
haps the most vigorous man who has been
in attendance upon the Council. He is
more than six feet in height, heavy built,
will weigh not less than two hundred pounds,
only moderate amount of slightly grey
hairs. Both physically and intellectually,
he is large man well kept.
On Friday, at O'Clock in the evening, a
very large number of the delegates to the
Council embarked on the steamboat ALigd-
tor, for Glasgow. At about half past on
the morning of the 5th, we reached the city,
and took lodging at the Cockburn Hotel.
The city of Glasgow is built on the Clyde,
by which it is divided into two sections.
The portion on the north side of the Clyde
is by far the larger. The population Of Glas-
gov was, in 1881, 674,O9 1t is thought to
be at present something more than 100000.
The city, with its suburbs, covers more than
five thousand acres of land. The history Of
Glasgow, it is said, dates back to the year
y. d., $50, when st. Mungo built a cell near
Molindinar Burns ravine, about a mile
north Of the Clyde. The building material
generally used in all parts of the city is a
fine grained, siliceous sand
stone This stone admits Of being polished
nearly in IN equal degree with that of the
finest marble. In the old portions of the
city the buildings present a Weather-Worn
and haggard appearance. The buildings of