New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-08-14

men. to administer all the vested interests Of
the Church founded in 1913
While the Lord Chief Justice and three other
judges concur with the Lord Chancellor after
stating their opinions in their own way. there
ere two dissenting voices. Lord Macnag hten
and Lord LindIey express dissent from It in
opinions grounded upon the power Of the Cen
eral Assembly Of the Free Church to alter doc
trines. TO revise standards and TO control its
own destinies. Was she from birth" asks
Lord Macnaghten, incapable Of growth and
development? Was she, in a word a dead
branch and not living Church," Instead Of
laying stress upon the establishment principle
in Dr.. ChaImers's addresses or upon obscure
passages in the Westminster Confession, which
can only be regarded as counsels of perfection,
he extols the spiritual independence of the
Free Church and its inalienable right to be
guided by its own experience ard to centre upon
a new sphere of development He does not
question the Lord Chancellors proofs that at
the time Of the disruption of the Church in
Scotland DR.. Chalmers and his associates sim
oerely believed in the establishment principle
even when they were seeding from the Es-
tablished Church; but he contends with great
force that time went on and the splendid
voluntaryism of the Free Church placed it on
a level with the body from which they had
academic profession of faith in the principle of
a connection between church and state. He
also accepts the conclusion of the Scotch judges
that the assembly had power to relax the strin-
gency of the dogmatic formulas, so as to keep
within the fold the most enlightened and toll
Grant among its probationers The majority of
the judges who have reversed the decisions of
the Scotch courts do not set their faces against
growth and development OF opinions in religious
bodies, nor do they question the right of the
Free Church Assembly TO change its beliefs.
What they say is that when men subscribed
money for particular object and left II behind
them for the promotion Of definite principles,
their successors have no right to divert 1t from
the original purpose
The Fcotch reply TO the final decision Of the
House Of Lords viii probably be that good law
may be very poor sense. DR.. Chalmers may
have shrunk from calling himself a champion
Of the voluntary principle Just the Weseys
insisted that they were not Nonconformsts.
but only sincere and earnest churchmen; but
he, as they did carried his work outside the
Established Church. and those who followed
him became convinced OF the superior efficacy
IF the voluntary system. After the revolt Of
lS43 the Established Church in Scotland re-
formed its procedure purified its administration
and multiplied its activities in overcrowded fac
tory towns and lonely reaches of the coast. Lay
patronage was abolished. the independence of
ecclesiastical courts was established congrega-
tons were allowed to choose their own minis
tiers, and nearly all the grievances of which DR..
Chslmers complained in his day were removed.
If The establishment principle were as important
the Lord Chancellor and his associates as
sert that it was ar the beginning OF the Chal-
mers movement why was there not. as time
went on. a reunion between the Free Church
and the Established church, Why did the As
senbly Of the Free Church by great majority
sanction reunion with the United Presbyterians
who had always stood cut for the voluntary
principle? The only answer to these practical
questions is that the Free Church. in the evolu-
ton Of its progress found itself fin closer. sym
pathy with voluntary than with established
CARNATIONS. 1t began with a protest against
voluntary support and with professions Of faith
in a pure and decent established church. and
1t ended with unqualified acceptance of the meth
DDS OF earlier sepaTatists-the United Presby
terisns. AS the expectation Of forming a new
connection with the state was disappointed,
there was increased satisfaction with the opera
ton OF the system OF voluntary support Ex-
perience determined the whole course Of devel-
opment Of this vigorous religious body. and
there could never have been any intention on
the part Of generous Free Church men that their
wealth should be placed at the disposal of
small group OF Highland ministers with ig-
norant Gaelic congregations. Nj.