New-York tribune., 1906-05-18
DIR. CORBETT ELECTED
THREE BALLOTS NEEDED.
Ne5C Moderator of Presbyterian As-
sembIg Missionary IN China.
AZ reIearaph % rhe Trlbune. ]

I
DR.. James NJ. Barkley. of Detroit; Or. Albert 3.
Marshall, OF Minneapolis: DR.. THOMAS II. Gle
! land. Of Duluth. and DR.. John F. Hendy, OF JEFF
! ferson city, no. The election required three
! ballots.
| The Rev. Dr. Arthur j. Brown. of New York.
secretary OF the Board OF Foreign Missions,
placed the name of DR.. Corbett in nomination.
He told OF the sailing of the young missionary
and his wife on a sailing vessel for China on
July 3. 1863. They were six months on the
journey, and suffered great prlvations. When
they landed in China they inhospitably
csived and were compelled for a time to live in
an abandoned heather temple. After year or
two they We're obliged TO move out of this
building and take refuge in one less comfortable.
Forty years and more have passed. he said.
land DR.. Corbett is Of the best loved Amer
leans in the Chinese Empire. Last year, in
addition to the time which he spent in his tours
OF itineration he preached the Gospel to more
than ninety thousand Cinnamon in his street
chapel in the city of Chefoo"
Following DR.. Moffat's nomination other
names were presented by those who had been
conducting the campaigns OF the various candi-
dates For two hours the commissioners. seven
hundred OF them and hundreds of visitors
listened to euogies delivered by eloquent friends
who strove to make votes for their respective
candidates.
asked President Moffat of washington ana JEFF
ferson College. the retiring moderator. who said
in explanation that no one should be shut Off
so long as there was found man who was de-
sirous Of placing another forward for the votes
of his fellow commissioners.
A motion to close the nominations was carried
and the new ballot reform, adopted some years
ago but never used before, was put to test
Formerly the roll was called and every man was
NNo 5oUr~ ~fAo hO6V VsyaG
divided into twenty-nine sections varying in size
from thirty 70 forty members. A chairman. a
secretary and two teers were chosen for each
section. Confusion reigned for fifteen minutes
while the commissioners were electing their Sec
ond officers. and then writing upon prepared
ballots the Of their respective choices for
moderator
The votes were then collected and tahulated
and read by DR.. w. H. Roberts. the stated clerk.
DR.. COrbett led the first ballot; Dr. Barlley
was close second, with Dr. Marshall third. A
second ballot gave each Of the first two an in-
creased number OF votes. but neither had a
majority DR.. Marshall now withdrew, and his
strength was divided between the two leaders
Amid intense excitement the third and last ball
lot was ordered, when the veteran Of more than
twosoore years of service in China. was declared
elected though by very narrow margin
DR.. BarkleY. who had been following closely a
election be made unanimous. The scene which
follow "a was one that the missionary could not
see in a hundred years OF service in China. The
applause wellnigh deafening. Hundreds OF
men rose up and waved their handkerchiefs
while scores OF women, who had returned from
! their own meetings in time to see the close of
the election, Joined in the acclamation Dr.
Brown. who had nominated his friend, and DR..
McEwan, Of Pittsburg one Of the several Sec
onders of the nomination. were asked to escort
DR.. Corbett to the platform
The assembly was opened this morning with a
sermon by DR.. Moffatt upon the mission of the
Presbyterian Church. He said in part:
Our Church must regard the evangelization of
the world as the most important part of its mis-.
sion The foreign missionary work and the home
missionary work in all, their depar rtments the
eTg,Gh ids oI people within the range Of ndi
motion Of evangelism in all its productive methods
these must ever be the chief features of our work
interest energy them is e Be resaTded oa as
periods history doctTa reSee daEs 6s1
and controversies over questions Of policy have SO
6 work thesa that
chEed n pos P d or he he tey to have
equipped for the work than ours, have outstrpped
a1en 'at i te it Tsnt seI[ement 81 doctrIna diff
WHICH. taken in time make continued progress pos
sibe It is the settlement Of doctrinai diner
enoes that is TO be regretted. but the dfferences
that demand settlement Offences must needs come
they do come they must be met and removed.
Ali this may be admitted, and yet a review Of
some of these controversies makes us question
whether they really called for so much discussion
and such radical attempts at repairs. When we
consider the extreme neness of the lines that sep
arated the Church into parties we cannot avoid the
suspicion that greater degree Of interest in the
work Of evangeizing all mankind would have rem
dered the active workers incapable OF discover
ing this line of separation as they became after
work There are errors of doctrine and mistakes
of method that ought net to be lightly esteemed
interfere with the Church's great work. Christian
people who give the supreme place to tfe work of
the relative Importance Of erroneous belief BY its
relation 10 this supreme object. But often has
occurred that the been the bearing Of the
belief on some philosophIc or specujS:jye scheme me
of thought. 1t has not always been t,-ctrinal dis
CusslOn much discussion of the verbal express
sion of doctrines held by both parties IL such dis.
cussions could be confined TO the few scholars who
There is a second Church duty growing OF the
selves as His churches 20 the evangelization Of ali
nations IL Is the duty OF corporation federation
and organic union so far as the proper Conditions
may exist do not need to say anything in sup
the different churches Of Protestantisn our chief
difficulty is in determining what degree of union
should be sought. and what are proper conditions
if any interdenOminationai enterprises to which
PresbyterianS not large contributors.
But when IL Is proposed that Church organlza-
tions should federate in Christian work. II would
be satisfed that it is truly work Of evangelizatoH
mission Of the Church Church Of Christ TO en-
gage i'm every kind of work, however useful or
cites it's members TO be men and women OF the
own judgment to the kinds OF moral and benevO.
lent work they will engage in. Every member OF
cate OF civic Righteousness but he should be free
work with the political party OF his own choice and
q cO-oDOrate with members of church. Or M