The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1906-07-25

uOI n
the present, neither is it historical statement of
something which took place in the past. 1t is an
action Tin accordance with the resolution of
1907 but says nothing directly about the action of
1862 The accord between the two is confined
to the nature OF the action, and has nothing on
earth to do with its effect 1t is a mistake to in
terpret it saying that all Objectionable action
against the Southern Church has been since the
reunion of 1869 null and void That is what DIR
Beatte and the Observer understand it to saw
but it does not say 1T, nor does it intend to saw it.
If it had been the purpose of the Assembly to
state historically that all action against the South
ern Church rescinded by the concurrent
declaration of 1869, it would have been easy to
have said So In that case they would have had
no use for the phrase Gin accordance with" In
its very nature the resolution is intended for fiji
ture Only III this view Of the matter can the
tense has been be accurately employed, or cor
rectly understood. elias been since the reunion
does not at all mean since the union of the Old
and New School Churches in 1860, but the con-
templated reunion between the Churches North
and South, and has been null and void" must be
referred to time in the indefinite future. That
event has not yet taken place, and the thing which
is really null and void is this resolution of 1879
1t cannot be shown that the Northern Church
has ever rescinded her political deliverances, or,
what IS OF greater Importance, yielded the right to
make them. If she had ever rescinded her DO
itical actions, or yielded the right to make them
impossibity. There would be no room for
the refusal to rescnd in 1882, if RECESSION had al
ready taken place in 1860. 1t would SEEM then
that DR.. Beattle and the Observer have been very
unfortunate III arraying witnesses, seeing that
they all testify the wrong way for them.
In 1882 the Northern Assembly in the effort to
establish fraternal relations with the Southern
Church, passed resolution, which was at first
understood to retract everything offensive against
the Southern Church; but just as the Southern
Assembly about to take action an added reso-
luton was passed which came very near putting an
end to all negotiations This resolution was call
ed the Johnson rider" and it stated, that while
the original resolution applied to heresy, schism
and blasphemy, it did not apply to disloyalty and
rebellion. The Southern Assembly should have
cut off negotiations at once, but instead of doing
SO they sent the useless inquiry as whether this
new action modified the original action They re-
ceIved the reply 1t explains but does not mod-
y This non-commttal answer, which was as
much riddle as the Johnson rider itself, was
accepted as satisfactory, and fraternal relations
4 were established. The Johnson rider, which ex-
meSsIy excepted disloyalty and rebellion, nfal-
' oy indicates what meant by the opening
phrase OF their resolution, while recedng from
no principle" and the two together announced
ndl they neither rescnded the actions, nor yield
gu the right to make them
= NOW let us inquire whether the situation is re-
k "eVed by subsequent history? The reply to Colo
MI Dung cites two instances in which the North
e." church endorsed the Old School and Southern
II NC" OF the spiritual and non-politcal character
n 900 the Church. One of these occurred before
II 'G2' however, which discounts its value.
:" Io74 several of the brethren of Missouri de
'"s to join the Northern Church, presented
n '"orial expressing their doctrinal views. The
4 o'embIy accepted this expressing their
~ "S' and add that they consider all actions in
Wv past If any, which may have been done
ty 10 these principles to be null and void"
4 ~ !" itself considered this seems plausible but
tt does it signify in view of the action of 1882,
-"'" tells us positively that the political deiv
'"'ea were not rescinded? Not only so, but if
Nh examine the resolution closely, we see that
~ conditional c1n n.,..V u