St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-05-25
The Presbyterian General Assembly Con.
tinues the Good Work Which tn
Has in Hand.
Parliamentary Tactics Which Would do
Credit to the Shrewdest of
Politicians.
An Exhausting Report on the Freed
men--Several Forctble and Elo-
quent Addresses.
The Negroes Themselves Heard in Be-
half of Their Cause--Gen-
eral Notes.

10 the general public. the proceedings af
1ectlng two important branches of the be
nevolent work of the church. 1t was no
tlceable that the ministerial dignity which
has heretofore been quite prominent yester
day melted away to an appreciable extent
probably because of the heat of the discus
slons. The commissioners INDUCED in les
''tatfy, "as their eulogiStcal references Nigh
be termed, their sentences grew shorter anC
their expressions more earnest The assembly
took on more busineSs-like air and to
wards the end of the session the convention
employed parliamentary tactics to accom-
pliSh their points in a way that would have
challenged the admiration of the most asst
tute politician. Indeed, matters progressed
so far in this secular way that just before
adjournment DR.. Mcleod accused Dr.
Plerson of moving the reconsideration of g
question upon which he voted in the mega
tive. DIR. Pierson retorted that he consld-
cred himself both intelligent and honest,
and had done no such thing. DR.. Nc
Leod Immediately apologized. and
probably bloodshed was thus averted.
The devotional exercises were lee
by Rev. DR.. Tryon Edwards of New York.
An invitation to visit the state university
was accepted. Resolutions. Offered by Gen
terrain general assembly in the South to co.
operate in the centennial celebration al
Philadelphia. were adopted and ordered
telegraphed to the general assembly now in
session at Atlanta. Ga. 1t was reported
that the property in charge Of the board OF
missions of the freedmen, amounting to
S299, $50, has been carefully insured. DR..
Howard Crosby, Dr.. Tryon Edwards and
Elder John l.. Reed of Baltimore were ap-
pointed as a committee OH the reconstruc-
ton of church statistics.
THE FREEDMEN.
The next order Of the day was the report
Of the board of missions for freedmen, which
was read by DR.. Gibbons. The report re-
viewed eXhaustively the several branches OF
work in its department, and dwelt particu-
larly upon the pressing need of greater
help, lntimating that the church had not
done its whole duty towards the negros.
The committee also recommended that DIR.
E. E. Swift, Rev. w. B. Wartield, Rev.
James Allison, Rev. j. B. Lyon and Rev.
Robert c. Totten should be reappointed
members of the board when their terms ex-
pire in May. Rev. r. II. Allen, cores
ponding secretary Of the board, made the
most eloquent and forcible address thus far
delivered during the session in behalf of
freedmen. He said:
Among the negroes are 1,421, 900 voters,
holding balance of power in eight states,
controlling the election of sixteen out of
seventy-siX senators; and yet they stand un-
educated and immoral with the ballot in their
handsl Look at the opportunity for work
among these people. Without wishing to
keep one penny from going to the foreign
missions, it would seem that the inviting
field at home should receive more attention.
1t is not necessary to send missionaries across
the ocean to reach these people, to
spend time in learning their Ian
guage, to wait for years before an
interest can be even awakened among
them. You need not wait at all for results
on your labor, it will be noticeable within
twenty-four hours. The theory that the ne
gro would die out like the Indian has has been
proved fallacious. AT the close of the Revol-
utionary war there were 700, 600 negroes, at
the close of the civil war 8, $4,000, and now
there are 100000 of them and they increas-
ing at the rate of
500 BIRTHS DAY
The idea that they could not support them.
selves has proven equally preposterous. Fol
200 years they supported The chivalry of tlfe
South, and made New England rich. When
the Confederates We're selecting 8
flag design was shown to JEFF
Davis, which showed a negro sleeping
upon pile of cotton bales. He rejected il
immediately with the remark: ''There'll be
HI TO pay if that niger should ever wake
up" The negro has already awakened. He
has woke up in congress and the senate
Many of them are immoral. Who taught
them to be so? Is it strange that they are
when for 200 years marriage among them
was recognized by neither church nor state!
They have ia their natures the elements OF
good citizenship. There isn't an anarchist
nor a socialist nor dynamitcr among them.
They are native-born Americans, and have a
claim upon US above any other people. Abel
ish tho race prejudice which in this YANKEES
town keeps the colored man out Of churches.
To go to to Africa and preach the gospel to
the negroes is to make a man a hero. But to
preach the gospel to the negro in America
brings him neither honor nor respect.
HE is OSTRACISED BY SOCIETY.
Will these people make good Presbyteriansi
Their personal salvation is the first question
should be asked, but their excitable re-
lgious natures need just the strict
discipline Of the doctrines of Calvin
ism. They are natural theologians, many
of them, and will answer questions thai
would puzzle an educated minister. Asked
what PresbYterianism was, an old darkey
recently answered:
Its jess muffin but Bible truff and COM
mon sense"
An unbelever asked another darkey how
he could be in the spirit and tho spirit in him
house the house isn't in you, is it?"
NO, sab, he answered, 'but eff yo put de
pokah In de fab an let it got hot jest tech
yo' finger to it an see eff de fiah amt in de
pokah.''
Could Princeton turn out man who could
give clearer explanation of q seeming par
adox?
Whether we look at it as an evangelisted
work to elevate a race that has been in bond
age for 25O years to the dignity and purity Of
freemen in Christ, was a missionary work
with the hope and prayer that God will in
due time lead them back to their benighted
brethren in Africa, or as a patriotic work
with faith in God that He will incor-
porate them with our people and make
them Dartakers with our children in the
heritage of our FATHERS, that with us they
may work out their part in the problem of
time; however we look at it it must be with
conviction, forced upon us that it is work
of solemn and momentous bearing on our
country and on the world, which the church
of God cannot afford to neglect. 1t. is q
solemn thing to stand face to face with seven
millions OF people, three-fourths of whom can
neither read nor write, and who stand before
us pleading with outstretched hands for
churches; face TO face with thousands of
Gods poor afflicted children whom we have
deeply wronged, and who are now perishing
for lack of the knowledge and the saving
power of the Gospel of Christ. To stand face
to face with these pleading and perishing
millions, with an insufficient treasury and not
one-half of our churches contributing to its
funds while their cries for help are daily
growing more numerous.
Mr.. Allen was repeatedly applauded dur
ing the course Of his eloquent remarks
Rev. II. Nelson Payne, the field secretary
of the board, next addressed the assembly.
and was followed by Rev. Mr.. Hood. a
colored preacher of Buford, S. c., who
spoke earnestly for five minutes in behalf
of his race.
THE NEWSPAPER
question here intruded itself The report
of the committee ON publication, which
recommended the merging of the Record
and the Home Missionary, was taken up as
tho canond or1lor of huSinacc q :, c,,l,n4;