Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-13
THE BRIGGS APPEAL
Made to the General Assembly by the
Committee of Prosecution
HAY NOT BE ENTERTAINED AT ALL.
Great Interest in the Question Coming Up
in Portland Pretty Soon.
SURE TO BE A SPIRITED DISCUSSION

eral Assembly of the PRESBYTERIAN Church
in the United States was ever more fateful
to the Church at large, or excited more in
terest, than the one which is to open at
Portland, Ore, tomorrow week-Thursdav,
May 10. Aside from the great interest taken
in the revision OF the confession of faith,
the celebrated Briggs case, as it is called
the question, substantially, whether DR..
Briggs is orthodox or unorthodox in his
teachings as professor of Systematic The
ologv in the Union Theological Seminary,
as Judged by his writings-will also come
before the Assembly, and on the decision or
determination reached by the General As
sembly in that case depends, according to
very general belief, whether there shall be
another division in the Church, division
between the old and new school, and the
consequent creation or organization OF an
other church.
The Briggs case cannot very well come up
in the General Assembly until the 23d in
stant, and it is more than likely it will not
be reached until the end of the month-that
is, until the General Assembly is well into
the second week of its session.
The Appeal May Pc Ignored.
The only way in which it can come before
the Assembly is on the appeal of the prose-
cutting committee of the New York Presby-
terry against the decision of that body dis
missing the case That appeal will prob
ably in the first instance be referred 10 the
Judicial Committee. when appointed.
The General Assembly, however, may de-
cline to entertain the appeal. In any
event, it will be very difficult for the Cen
eral Assembly to prevent a discussion, to
some extent, on the merits of the case, even
on the question whether the appeal shall be
entertained or not.
1t is believed that the committee of prose-
cution will find themselves checkmated at
the General Assembly by the complaint to
the Synod of DIR. Briggs and his friends
against the ruling of the Piesbytery last
fall, when the case against him WAS dis
missed. 1t will be remembered that after
the case was dismissed motion was made
10 dismiss the committee. The Moderator
declared the motion out of order on the
ground that the committee was a committee
of prosecution, representing the Presby
terian Church in the United States of
America, and therefore an original party in
dependent of the Presbytery.
A Complaint to the Synod.
On an appeal being made to the House
against that ruling, the Moderator was sus-
tanned by a note ot.64 to 81 Against that
of a complaint to the Synod. That body
meets next autumn. According to the
law of the Church that complaint acts as a
stay, and in the opinion of many Presbyter-
ians well yersed in the law of the Church,
the General Assembly must in obedience
to its own laws, reject the appeal of the
committee against the decision of the Pres
bvtery, while the question is sub -iudice be-
fore the Synod, and, in the language ofone
! Il
committee of prosecution off again home" p"
The complaint of Dr. Briggs and his
friends to the Synod against the ruling of
Presbytery has been regularly made. 1t |
shows clearly the strength of DR.. Briggs
position, and also the interesting fact that |
the Presbytery has already practically re- |
versed its own Judgment in the matter. |
According to section S5 of the Book of |
Discipline, whenever a complaint, in cases |
non-judicial, is entered against a decision |
OF q iudicatory, signed by at least one |
third Of the members recorded as present
when the action was taken, the execution of
such decision shall be stayed until the final
issue OF the case by the superior judicatory.
Two Strings to the Bow, at Least.
The complaint of DR. Briggs and his |
friends against the ruling referred to has |
been regularly taken, all the forms accord |
ing to the Book of Discipline having been
complied with, and it is believed that it |
will prevent the General Assembly enter |
tanning the appeal of the Committee of |
Prosecution, especially as that committee
has itself also a complaint before the Synod |
in the same matter, and are thus appealing
on the same matter to two different bodies |
at the same time. They are supposed to
have taken that course so that if they fail
before one judicato-y they can fall back on
the other
The most interesting thing. however, in
the complaint of Rev. Dr. Briggs and his |
friends against the ruling of the New York !
Presbytery on the question whether the |
committee of prosecution was an original |
party or not, is the fact that it is signed by |
ia members of the Presbyterv, many more |
than the required number The Modera-
tors ruling, it will be remembered, was /
sustained by Ga votes to 81, the total num- |
Der of those voting being therefore 121. OF |
these ia signed DIR. Briggs complaint, |
thereby practically reversing the Presby |
terys ruling, and consequently overruling |
the Moderator by &c TO 80. From this it is
clear that many who voted on the question |
Of sustaining the decision of the Chair have |
changed their minds, presumably because |
they did not understand the question. The |
question, shall the Chair be sustained? is |
always decided without debate.
Basis of the Briggs Complaint.
In their complaint to the Synod, Dr. |
Briggs and his friends, say:
The committee, being a creature of Pres.
bytery, had no right to appeal from the de-
cision of Presbytery in voting by large
majority (4 to S9) to dismiss the aforesaid
case. Yet this, the action of the Presby-
terry in sustaining the ruling of the Modera-
tor, as above, permitted them to do. BY
II lic Of Ia ba
terry Is placed in the absurd position of
being compelled to defend its own action in
dismissing case, not against the complaint |
OF any individual, nor against the appeal of |
one who has suffered personal uetriment by
q judicial decision, but against q committee
which was appointed by and derives all its
authority from the very body against whose
Judgment it now proposes to maintain its
opinion. This anomalous situation results
from the action OF the Presbytery in sus-
tanning the Moderator.