St. Paul daily globe., 1893-05-25
is A DRAWING CARD.
An Immense Crowd Gathers
to Hear the Opening Of the
Briggs Trial.
70.
Many Ladies Remain All Day
in the Galleries for Fear
OF Losing Their Seats.
The Prosecution Opens the
Ball by a Presentation OF
Charges Alleged.
DR.. Briggs Occupies the Floor
in His Own Behalf Up to
the Adjournment.

WASHINGTON, May 24.-Foreign mis-
sions is subject which is not likely 10
provoke ary lleretical utterances, so the
general spectators were not so much III
terested in this mornings session or the
general assembly as in those OF the
afternoon session, when the assembly
sat as a high court to consider the ap-
deal i'm the Briggs case. Still the mem
bers of the assembly seemed to have a
deep interest in the subject of foreign
missions. the work in which the church
has spent over a million dollars during
the past year. Close attention was paid
to the reports as they were read. and the
stirring speeches that followed were ap-
pauded. The assembly got through a
good deal of work in the morning. The
peremptory order for the afternoon was
the Briggs case, and the assembly is now
to devote itself to that, if it abides by It's
decision of yesterday, until 1t is finally
settled. The second days proceedings
in the considering of the case passed OIL
quietly. An audience that tested the
capacity of the church gathered to hear
the arguments, many of the ladies re-
naming in the galleries from early
morning throughout the day. The full
membership of the prosecuting COM
mittee of the New York presbytery
were present, and Prof. Briggs was
sustained by the immediate presence of
Dr. d. X. Frazier, Of Newark. a trustee
of Union seminary; Prof. Francis
Brown, of the faculty Of the seminary,
and Judge S.M. Gutcheor, of Detroit.
At the afternoon session Moderator
Craig convened
The Assembly as a Court.
Rev. George ID. Baker, chairman, re-
ported that the judicial committee
unanimously recommended that the
prosecuting committee be allowed one
hour to open its case: that five hours be
given to Prof. Briggs. and that the COM
inittee be gwen two hours in which to
close, to be extended, if desired to four
hours. AS DR.. Briggs ascended the
platform the quiet Of the vast audience
was intense. His remarks were but
preliminary, and his opening sentence
was spoken with a distinctneSS that
penetrated the entire house.
Il regret" said he, ITO come before
you in this hot weather with a req uest
for more time. The Importance of the sub
ject, however, requires 1t. and am glad
the committee has conceded II. l will
shorten it so far as l can. My argument
on the basis of the printed appeal will
consume four and a half hours, and l
have allowed myself half-hour in
which To reply to any argument which |
may not have anticipated" Dr.. Briggs
then went on to say that he had num-
her of complaints now before the New
York synod aud still more to be present
ed to it, and he thought he ought to
have the permission TO have them read,
the same as was given, as he asserted,
to the other side. With the understanding
that he would be permitted to have them
printed, DR.. Briggs said that he would
not tire the assembly with reading them
now. Dr.. Craig reminded the speaker
that he was just now discussing ques-
tion of time only, and that when lie
came to that point in his argument
where he might desire to introduce these
complaints the moderator would inter
rogate the house as to what it would do.
DR.. Briggs remained standing as if un-
certain whether to proceed or not, but
the moderator cut short any Intention
DR.. Briggs may have had of continuing
by saying: "rhe time is accepted"
The assembly thus having given DR..
Briggs all he had asked. Rev. w. f.
Birch. chairman Of the prosecuting
committee, took the floor.
The Prosecution.
After touching upon the history of
the case, Dr. Birch said that the general
assembly entertained the appeal OF the
committee on prosecution and sent
down a decree to the Presbytery of
New York defining the limits of its lib
erty with respect to this case. The de-
cree of the general assembly ordered
the preSbYtery to try the case upon Its
merits, and gave 1t liberty to amend the
indictment i'll accordance with the gen.
eral nature of the same. Thus the
presbytery was free only to examine
the charges, weigh the testimony aud
decide to sustain or not sustain. The
decree of the general assembly was not
as 1t transcribed its own proper func;.
ton as trial court by recording its un-
willingness to express its approval of
the critical and theological views which
were the basis of the charges. The
presbYtefy acquitted the defendant on
the ground that although he might
Deny That Moses Wrote the Law
which the gentle Christians observed,
although there were cases where church
and reason could do W nat the Bible
could not do, enable man TO find God,
yet that such statements did not trans
gress the limits of liberty allowed un-
der the constitution of the Presbyterian
church to scholarship and opinion. We
are here to invoke this supreme court
to put an end to the dissension and dis
putation which the New York presby-
terry vainly endeav0red to silence, first
by the dismissal of the case against DR..
Briggs. and, second, by the acq Initial
of DR.. Briggs, qualifying both the dis
missal and the acQuittal by the
positive disclaimer of any ap-
proval of the controyerted state
ments of the inaugural address as
to critical or theological views and
manner of expression. The form in
which the final Judgment Of:the presby-
terry was returned gives the impression
that the alleged errors of Prot. Briggs
were unimportant. ana that no essential
doctrine had been contradicted. There
had been a tendency to minimize the
full force of the Indictment. The errors