Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-28
A Careful Poll of the Presby-
terry Shows He Will Be
0utvoted by the
CLOSE VOTE OF SO TO e5.
The Professors Friends Will Look
on This as a Victory, Though.
SUSPENSION FROM THE MINISTRY
Sure to Result if the Vote Is Cast as 1t
Promises to Ee.
TIE MARGIN CERTAIN TO BE SHALL

tsPEC1AL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPATcH.1
NEW YORK, Dec 27.-Within the next
two days the vexatious question whether
PROT Briggs is a hereto or not, which has
been agitating the whole Presbyterian
Church for nearly two years. will be settled
as far as the New York Presbytery Is con.
oerned For nearly three weeks the 130
odd members of the Presbytery have been
listening patiently to the evidence and
arguments of the prosecution and defense,
and tomorrow the court will reeonvene at
2 o'clock to vote on the charges brought
against the theological professor by the
committee of prosecution.
There are many preliminaries that must
be arranged before the actual vote is taken,
and these will occupy two and possibly
three sessions. When tie Presbytery has
decided just who are to constitute the court
and who are entitled to vote, tickets of ad-
mission will be given to the members Of the
Presbytery entitled to vote, and all others,
even Prof Briggs and the Committee of
Prosecution, will be rigidlY excluded from
the lecture room of The Scotch Presbyterian
Church, where the voting is to be done.
A Long Time Needed to Vote.
According to the Book of Discipline of
the Church, every member of the court has
q right to explain his vote before casting it
for or against the accused, and unless some
restriction is placed on the speeches with
which many members have primed them
selves the voting will be prolonged over an
indefinite period. Then, too, there are six
charges upon which Prof Briggs has been
tried One of these charges was split into
two by the vote of the Presbyterv and an
other was split into three. 1t was agreed
that separate vote should be taken on
each of these sub-charges, so that every
member of the court must vote nine times
on as many different charges.
If the roll of the courts is called for each
of these charges, and each man is allowed
to make a speech as his name is called, the
voting of the court may be carried into the
middle OF January. Rev. Charles L.
Thompson, of the Madison Avenue Pres
byterian Church, has plan which will be
put before the Presbytery tomorrow, which
has for its purpose the obviating of this
delay.
One Way to Shorten Up Things.
According to his proposed resolution the
roll of the Presbyt ~ will be called but
once, and each member will vote no or yes
on all the charges at once. Each member
is to have but ten minutes TO explain his
vote, under Dr. Thompson's resolution.
There has been great deal of specula-
tion in the past two weeks as to what the
verdict of Prof Briggs jurors will be.
Many of the jurors have had their minds
made up from the first. Union Theologi-
cal Seminary, through its faculty and direc-
tors, has a large representation in the Pres
byterv, and these votes will be cast to a
man for Prof. Briggs. There are many
members who have been uncompromisingly
opposed to Prof Briggs views ever since
his inaugural address was delivered, and
they have not been shaken in the least by
the long argument of Prot. Briggs
A DISPATCH reporter has made a close
examination of the roll of the court, and
from votes taken in the past and the views
expressed by many, it is possible to esti-
mate very closely what the final vote upon
the question of con viction or acquittal will
be-
The. Presbytery Evenly Divided.
The Presbytery is divided between
partisans and opponents of DR.. Briggs so
evenly that an almost perfect balance is
maintained between the two sides. There
of the court, and there are few more
names under consideration which may be
sdded tomorrow. They are Dr.. Shedd, DIR.
Psrkhurst, DR.. Paxton and one or two
others who have been absent several DAYS
in succession. Unless consent is unani-
mously given they cannot vote under the
rule of the book. The balance is so even
that these names will be enough to carry
the decision to one side or the other.
There are only three or four men in the
court whose position on the great question
is uncertain-juSt enough to leave the final
outcome in doubt. A careful canvass of the
whole court has been quietly made by
representative Of the Committee of Prosecu-
tion, but the members of the committee
will not disclose the result.
4 Close Margin at Any Rate.
As it looks now, Prof Briggs will be con-
victed by a vote of about 60 to 65. These
figures are the result of very close calcuIa-
tions. A change in two votes would be
sufficient to make the result tie, but in
this case the Moderator, Rev. DR.. Bliss,
would have the casting vote, and it is said
that his vote will be for the prosecution if
this contingency comes up.
A conviction would probably result in
Prof Briggs being suspended from the
ministry He would undoubtedly appeal
to the Synod, and from there to the General
Assembly, but in the meantime he could
not properly carry on his duties as Profess
sor of Biblical Theology in Union Sem
mary. Prot. Henry P. Smith, of Lane
Seminary, who has just been tried before
the Cincinnati Presbytery, was convicted
by the close vote of 30 to 90 The margin
in Prof Briggs case will be fully as close,
and his friends say that with the vote as
close as this the victory of the prosecution
would be but nominal one,