The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-02-06
THAT IS WHY REV. GEORGE
M'LELLAND WAS NOT BEFORE
THE PRESBYTERY.
WILL BE ON HAND NEXT TIME.
HE SAYS HE WILL OBEY THE
CITATION WHICH HE RE
RECEIVED YESTERDAY.
WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT HIS CASE
Matter Is One of Church Jurisdfc-
tion-RidfculOus to Talk of Inn
pairment of Mind.

The failure of Rev. George McLelland
to APPEAR before the st. Paul presby-
terry at meeting held last Thursday.
called for the purpose Of according him
nearing occasioned some surprise
among the members of that body and
caused some criticism in regard to the
reverend gentleman's action, but de-
VelOpments show Mr.. McLelland to
have been confined at the city hospital
and physically unable to comply with
the citation summoning him before the
presbytery. His arrangements had
been made to attend the meeting, but
the physicians at the hospital declined
to allow him to leave the institution.
He will be on hand, however, at the
next meeting Of the presbytery called
to consider his case. Mr.. McLelland
received this citation at the city hos
pital yesterday, and to a reporter for
the o e said last evening he should
obey it if he was able to at the time
Said he, in speaking of his case: "My
trouble arises entirely from the fact
that have had no regular charge. I
have labored in the ministry for nearly
e"SAAIS OAA , Gals dAQ CcIuC 10 Cl. raul
In answer to an advertisement for pas
tors to take charge of missionary
churches.
Ihese churches rarely pay a salary
suf1cient for a pastor to live upon, and
after trying first one and Their aother
within the jurisdiction of the ST. Paul
preSbytery, [ received permission to
preach elsewhere. The permission was
granted and in prosecuting my minis
terial labors, I have complied with all
the rules governing the presbytery. This
investigation appears to be q movement
to shelve me, perhaps, because | am
getting along in years, or probably be-
cause have no reputation back Of me
for having had charge Of some promi-
nent church for a number of years.
AS to my mental condition, any talk
OF impairment is ridiculous and cruel
While as for my actions and character.
there are no grounds upon which they
can be called into question, nor has
the presbytery attempted to do this.
The whole matter is one Of church juris-
dict1On, and the statement that my
mental condition may be inquired into
by a probate court, is without founda-
ton, as the presbytery could not move
in this matter, it being without it's
province. When this matter has been
wholly gone into I have not the slight
ated in every particular. All I desire is
to be transferred to some other presby-
terry and 1 will be able to take care
Of myself. In general 1 have no COM
plaint to- make against the members of
this presbytery, though I have receiv-
ed little encoura cement from them"
Mr.. McLelland was born in Craw-
ferdsville, Ind; fifty-three years ago.
He received his early education in the
public schools and later attended Mon
mouth college at Monmouth, Ill. He
graduated from the classical depart
ment Of this institution in 1869 and
afterward spent three years at the
Monmouth theological seminary, go
ing to Princeton for his senior year
and graduating from Princeton theo-
logical seminary in 1873. After grad
uation, he refused an appointment to
a church at Burlington, N. Y, and
later went to Franklin, Pa, where he
united with the United Presbyterian
church. Following this three-year
passionate, Mr.. McLelland began
preaching throughout different sec
tons of the country and has since, by
his own request, been admitted and
dismissed from many different Presby-
ter1es. He had been on the Pacific
coast for ten years, Immediately pre-
ceding his coming to ST. Paul.
Mr.. McLelland has been q member
of the st. Paul presbytery since June
"a, 1891, though he has never vet
pt cached sermon in this city. Short
ly after his papers were accepted by
the presbytery, he was assigned a mis-
sionary church at KaSota, but, after
preaching there two Sundays, he ap-
Piled for papers permitting him to Ia
Dor without the jurisdiction of the ST.
Paul presbytery, and again, in the YER
nacular, took to the road" He
Qahnd in
Minnesota, Iowa, Dakota, Kansas, Ne
braska and Missouri, receiving calls to
permanent pastOrateS a number Of
times, but refusing them, he says, be-
cause they offered insufficient means
of livelihood. At the spring meeting
of the presbytery, a year ago, Mr. Nc
LELAND came to st. Paul to be present
at the sessions, and, at it's close at
once began his preaching tours out
side it's jurisdiction.
This course Of action appeared some
what strange to the members of the
presbytery, and when reports Of queer
behavior on the part Of Mr.. McLelland
came from congregations where he had
preached they deemed his case one
calling for investigation. At the fall
meeting Of the body Mr.. McLelland
was cited to appear and after some
discussion he was suspended from
preaching for one year. This left him
without any means of support. Two
subsequent meetings were held to in
quire into his case At the first moth
ing was done, and at the second, that
at the Arlington Hills Presbyterian
church, Thursday afternoon, Mr.. Nc
LELAND failed to appear for the reason
that he is confined at the city hospital,
and was physically unable to do So
The presbytery, however, had no Off
cial knowledge of Mr.. McLelland's
condition. 1t was nevertheless decided
to give Mr.. McLelland one more
chance, and he was formally cited by
the clerk of the presbytery to appear
before that body in the parlors of the
House of Hope church, Tuesday, Feb.