Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-10-21

SEMINARY AND TIE GENERAL AssKMBLY-yoTE
OF THE WASHINGTON MINISTER'S.
Brief religious exercises marked the open
ing OF the first business days session Of
the synod Of Baltimore, which was begun this
morning in the lecture room of the Church of
the Covenant. Rev. DR.. Hemstreet of BaIti-
more led in prayer, and then the moderator,
Rev. Joseph T. Kelly Of this city, announced
that the synod was ready for business. There
was large attendance Of ministers and elders,
constituting the membership of this important
body Of the Presbyterian church. Rev. DR..
Hamfin, who has charge of the arrangements for
the meeting of the synod, made a number of an
nouncements. A number of communications
were received and referred to the appropriate
committees.
A resolution offered by Rev. W. W. Campbell
OF Baltimore asking that the minutes of the
synod OF 1854 be amended So TO give full
and complete statement was referred tc the
committee on bills and overture. The resolu-
non had reference to Mr. Campbelrs own case
growing out Of the dissolution of his pastoral
relations, and he said in explanation that all he
desired was a fair statement of the facts
AN ECHO OF THE BRIGGS CASE.
An echo Of the Briggs case was heard when
Judge Drake offered resolution that the gen.
eral assembly be overturned to dissolve the re-
lations existing between that body and the
Union Theological Seminary of New York city.
The resolutions in full are as follows:
Whereas the Union Theological Seminary
in the city OF New York, when it was an indie
pendent institution, administered upon its
own indep pendent charter" memorialized the
general assembly of the Presbyterian church
in the United States of America to be pleased
to adopt it as a rule and plan in the exercise of
- hr,l .,,I .t~Al ~
eral theological seminaries," that the board of
directors of each seminary should be author
lied to appoint all professors for the same
and that mo such appointment should be con-
sidered as a complete election if disapproved
by majority vote Of the assembly, and
Whereas the said seminary, in its memorial
agreed that If the said plan should be adopted
by the assembly the seminary would conform
to the same, and the assembly did adopt the
plan, whereby there was formed between the
two bodies a compact, the effect of which was
to bring the seminary TOR the first time into
ecclesiastical connection with and under the
ecclesiastical supervision Of the general assem-
bly,; and
Whereas after that seminary had for twenty
years enjoyed the benefit of said compact and
said connection, its board of directors, on the
hrst occasion Of disapproyai by the assembly
OF its appointment Of a professor, repudiated
it and refused to submit to the control which
itself had offered to and vested in the general
assembly;
Therefore, the synod of Baltimore overtures
the general assembly to make formal decla-
ration of the entire severance of all relations
between it and said seminary.
TRYING TO SAVE TIME.
Judge Drake was about to proceed with an
argument in favor of this resolution, when DR..
Hamlin asked that he yield the floor in order
that a motion might be made. The Judge said
thaf hQ tlrax has n
lin said that it was likely the time of the synod
would be fully occupied with business, and that
as this resolution would no doubt give rise to a
long debate, and as the members of the synod
were pretty familiar with all the facts he would
move that q yea and nay vote be taken without
debate.
JUDGE DRAKEs ARGUMENT.
This proposition, however, was not accepted
by Judge Drake and he proceeded with his re-
marks. making long and full argument COW
ering the history of the relations between the
seminary and the general assembly. He ar
gued that the charter of the seminary gave the
power to make the Compact with the general
assembly giving the latter the right of veto
over the appointment of professors. This veto
power he showed had been given to the gen.
eral assembly and in the action OF the trustees
OF the seminary in adhering to the appointment
OF DIR. Briggs Judge Drake maintained that the
seminary had repudiated this compact. He
the seminary that DR.. Briggs had simply
been transferred from one chair to
another and he had, therefore, not
been appointed. Judge Drake asked if he had
not been appointed how could he now be con-
sidered member of the faculty. He argued
regarded by the seminary in their announce
ment of the transfer of DIR. Schaff in 1885, when
he was spoken of as being appointed.
ONLY A LAWYERS OPINION.
ripple Of laughter passed over the assem-
blage when Judge Drake referred to defense
Of the seminary made by a lawyer as merely an
opinion of a lawyer, which could be what You
pleased to have it, added the Judge As he has
had lifelong experience both as LAWYER and
judge, this hit at the profession was evidently
appreciated by the ministerial audience in the
light of an admission from the inside.
Judge Drake went on to argue that the COM
pact was essentially between two spiritual
bodies and involved the law Of God as ex-
pressed in the eighth commandment Thou
to contracts between men. and the speaker
argued that whatever the law of New York
might be, . violation Of such a compact was
opposed to the Divine law. The power of the
assembly to make such contract, he said, had
been questioned in the opinion given by Mr.
Henry Day Of New York, which opinion, the
judge said, had been Endorsed by the directors
OF the seminary.
THE ASSEMBLY WITHOUT LEGAL RECOURSE.
1t was suggested by DR.. Hamlin that the di-
rectors had subsequently obtained other legal
advice, but Judge Drake retorted that this ad-
ditional legal information was to the same pur-
port. DR.. Hamlin did not pursue the argu-
ment and Judge Drake went on to say that il
was rather late for the seminary to discover
twenty years after making q compact that IT
had no legal right to make such acompact He
considered such conduct rather doubtful, to say
the least. In his opinion more courteous. a
fairer method would have been for the semi
nary first of all to have asked the general as
sembly to rescind the compact In the present
he said, the assembly was entirely
without legal recourse. as it could not
dismiss DR.. Briggs and could not change
the personnel Of the. seminary directors
Two courses he thought were now open to the
do nothing and submit or to cut
loose from the seminary. He maintained that
those In favor Of the first course would vote
against his resolution and those advocating the
course would vote for the resolutions
He thought that the general assembly of the
church could not afford to be
slapped in the face by small body Of twenty
eight The church would be humiliated, and
he therefore was of the opinion that the re-
lations with the seminary should be dissolved.
A xEA-ASD-xAY VOTE ASKED.
When Judge Drake concluded Dr. Hamlin