The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-05-19
SECOND EDITION.
4 O'clock.
IN THE NATIONS CAPITAL.
PreSbyterianS Gather in Large Numbers
at Their Annual Meeting.
INTEREST In THE BRIGGS CASE.
The Revision of the Creed to he Consid-
credible Assembly VIII BE Divided
Into ms Many Groups as the French
Chamber.

-
WASHINGTON, May l9.-The general as
sembly of the Presbyterian church in the
United States, representing 100000 com
municants and 1000 ministers, met here in
its l05th Sc ssion. The 225 local presbyteries
of the 30 synods are entitled to some 600
commissioners, as the delegates are called,
In part clerical, in part lay, and the inn
p~ortance of the chief matters TO be con-
sidered has brought many men of infu-
ence in the church TO Washington as spec
tators.
Doubtless the most prominent In the
gathering were those connected with the
famous Briggs case, in its trial before the
New York .~presbytery. First and fore
most of these, of course, was Professor
Briggs himself, aggressive and confident.
The litei airy lights OF the church shone
In full measure upon the assembly. Col
ored Presbyterians were sprinkled about
. over the church. Every nook and Granny
of the New York Avenue church was
filed, and had the capacity of the church
been twice as great it would not nave &C
commodated all who desired TO be present
On the platform were the officers: Mod.
orator, Rev. DR.. William G. Young of the
Danville Ky seminary; Rev. DIR. William
III. Roberts OF Cincinnati, clerk; Rev. DIR.
William Alvin Bartlett, chairman of the
executive committee, in charge Of all ar
rangements for the gathering.
The Sessions OF the Assembly
will continue for 10 days or a fortnight,
for the routine of UNCONVENTIONAL work
~ar.s~aa I,,a and uaVoatfV,a az lorw raNasIax-
alton. Over shadowing all other questions,
like the revision of the creed, the relation
of the general assembly to the theological
schools of the denomination, and the af-
firming resolution of the absolute iner-
rancy Of the scriptures, inherited from the
assembly of last year, and affecting the de-
cision of them. is the disposal of the case
OF DIR. Briggs, virtually acquitted at his
trial last December by the New York
presbytery. The prosecuting committee,
in theory, at least, the creature of this
~preshytery- lodged an appeal with the gem
eral assembly against the decision of its
own creator.
The Chief Objection
TO the entertainment of the appeal Is
more likely TO be that such a step would
overridelthe synod of New York, the next
higher judicial body to the presbytery, be-
fore which the case, were ii less vital and
extraordinary, would normally come. DIR.
Briggs, too, may return to his repeated
objections to the sufficiency of the orig
inal charges against him and the %ecclesi-
astical competence of the prosecuting
committee, all warned in the trial of last
December, and TO the mine of technicalities
that the book of discipline affords.
II the general assembly refuse to enter
tain the appeal, it may remand the case
for trial to the synod at its session next
autumn, as a year ago at Portland. Or,
it commanded the New York p~resbytery
on a similar appeal summarily to make
trial of the professor. If the assembly re-
ceive the appeal, it may finally dispose Of
b case on the spot or order a hearing and
virtual trial before a committees course
that would probably carry the decision to
another year.. Sooner or later, even If the
synod be directed to try the heretical pro-
fessor, the, case would surely
Come Before the Final Court
Of the general assembly, and the probable
conservative majority In the present body
is likely to press for a speedier decision.
The similar trial for heresy Of Professor
II. p. Smith of Cincinnati will hardly
come directly before the assembly.
For three years now the revision of the
Westminster confession has been before
the Presbyterian church and affected. as
the question has come to be, by the case of
DIR. Briggs and the widening differences
between the liberals and the conservatives.
there is small likelihood of any material
progress. A committee, with the presi-
don't of Princeton as chairman, was origi-
nally appointed
To Revise the Creed,
preserving strictly its Calvinistic intee-
rity, and its labors so far have pleased
neither the extreme conservatives. who
wish for no change at all, nor the extreme
liberals, who advocate wide variance from
the Westminster standards. The commit
tee, last year, laid some 80 projected
changes before the general assembly that
IL, In turn, transmitted TO the individual
presbyteries for acceptance or rejection.
Many less than the necessary two-thirds
of the whole number nave approved the
changes, concerning chiefly ''the electp
and the 'non-elect," 'effectual callingr
and the like Calvinistic dogmas. and in
such shape the whole matter returns TO the
general assembly. Meantime, the adop-
ton of some short. simple, working and
not minutely doctrinal statement of belief,
as lately proposed by the New York pres
bytery, has found, at least in the EAST, in
creasing favor.