The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-12-30
FOR PEACE OF THE WORLD
CHURCH PETITIONS PRESENTED TO
 PRES. M,KINLEY.
Six Continents-One, Too, from Pnn- Presbyterian Alliance Which Also Represents Churches All Over World Disarmament and Arbitration,
and Arbitration.

Washington, Dec. 29.-A delegation presented to the president to-day two petitions. one from the great majority of the organized Protestant Christian churches of the world and the other from the Pan- Presbyterian alliance Both petitions had been placed in charge of the Rev. Dr. William Henry Roberts, the American secretary of the Pan-Presbyterian alliance, and with him were the Rev. Wallace Radcliffe and the Rev. A. W. Pitzer of Washing ton, D. C., Rev. w. w. Barr of Phila- delphia and the Rev. J. B. Drury of New Brunswick N. J. The petition was signed by the representatives of l4o national and denominational churches, existing on all the six conti- nents, viz: The church of England, the church of Scotland, twenty-nine other churches in Great Britain and Ireland, the general of the Salvation Army, two churches in Belgium, two in Switzer- land, six in Holland, twelve in Austra- lia, twenty-eight in the United States and sixty-four in other parts of the world. Baptists, Congregat tona1ists, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians unite in their ap- proval of the petition. It asks for the reduction of the heavy armaments maintained by Christian nations ready upon provocation to go to war and set tie their disputations by bloodshed," and also requests the influence of the government of the United States in fla vor of national arbitration as substi- ute for war.
 The second petition is from the Pan- Presbyterian alliance, which also united in the first petition and which includes eighty national and denomina- tional churches throughout the world This second petition asks for per manent and peaceful method for the settlement of all controversies arising between the peoples of the British em- pire and the republic of the United States of America" The delegation in presenting the petition emphasized the fact that both originated in the United States, the first for universal disarma- ment In the year 1890, with the general assembly of the Presbyterian church, south. The delegation also stated that they were not to be regarded as 'the advocates of a policy of peace at any price" or with maintaining the opinion that all war is sinful. They quoted the Westminster confession to the effect that "civil magistrates may rightfully now, under the new testament, wage war upon just and necessary occa- Sions.'
 The president was congratulated up- on the result of the rightful war recent ly waged by the American people in the cause of justice and humanity, and the divine blessing was invoked upon him as the man ordained of God in great crisis in human history to be the leader of these people, and also to be instrumental through both war and peace for the Infringing of Christ's uni- versal kingdom. The signers of these petitions represent more than S0,000,000 of Christians in all parts of the world 25 .0OO of whom are Presbyterians The president responded cordially to the delegation saying that he favored ar bitration as between Great Britain and America, He also said that he had re- sponded promptly to the czar's proposal for disarmament, but that under the present circumstances the armaments of the United States could not be less- ened but would in any event be less than would satisfy European nations.