The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1906-07-06

opinion and preference deprive,
of any of their rights and privil
eyes as Cumberland PresbYterians
Those rights and privileges, wheth
er of property or service and ad
ministration, are lost to those ONLY
who finally renounce allegiance t
the Gun b 9 land Presbyterian
Church and profess to have be
come, by means of the so-calleC
union or otherwise, members o.
the Presbyterian Church U. S. A.
No presbytery, comprising Cum
berland Presbyterian Churches
can by majority vote or even by
unanimous resolution convert it,
self into presbytery of the Pres
byterian Church U. S. A.; and nc
Synod, comprising Cumberland
Presbyterian presbyteries, can by
majority vote or even by unani-
nous resolution convert itself into
a synod of the Presbyterian Church
u. S. A.
Cumb erland Pre- sbyterian
Churches within a certain terri
torial boundary constitute a Cum
berland Presbytery presbytery;
and certain designated Cumberland
Presbyterian presbyteries consti-
tute Cumberland Presbyterian
synod, and neither of these has
power to make itself anything but
what it is at the beginning, name
ly, Gum berland Presbyterian
body, or to transfer itself or any
of its constituent parts into an
other denomination.
To make presbytery of the
Presbyterian Church U. S. A. to
begin with, and to make a Synod
of the Presbyterian Church U. S.
A., there must be presbyteries of
the Presbyterian Church U. S. A.
to begin with. The larger body
can not he different in denomina-
ton from the smaller bodies COM
posing it; nor can it lawfully
change itself, or them, or any of
them, from one allegiance to an
other, any more than a Grand
Lodge of Odd Fellows, or change
subordinate lodges of the one or
Ter into those of the other order.
Therefore, all members of a
Cumberland Presbyterian presby
cry, or of Cumberland Presby-
erian synod, who, by minority or
or unanimous action,
leny allegiance to the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church and profess
allegiance to th Q Presbyterian
Church, U. S. A., thereby become
eceders and lose all their rights
md powers as such members. Nor
AN they, after such secession or
from a Cumberland
Presbyterian presbytery or synod,
awfully assemble themselves to-
,ether and transact business as a
,resbytery or synod of the Pres
,yterian Church u. S. A., first
because they were not elected to a
,resbytery or synod of that de-
nomination, and secondly because
hose electing them were not them
elves of that denomination, and
hirdly because that denomination,
n the case supposed, has made no
,all for the meeting of its presby.
cry or synod.
Even the General Assembly of
he Cumberland Presbyt erian
Church, at Decatur, ILL.,, though
avoring the so.called union by a
vote, did not pretend to
rave the power or to exercise the
light of converting itself into a
5eneral Assembly, or other body
,r iudicatory of the Presbyterian
church U. S. A. 1t claimed to be
Cumberland Presbyterian Gen
,ral Assembly to the last and in
hat name alone attempted to tran
act business. Much less than that
,ody if possible have Cumberland
Presbyterian presbyteries or syn
IDS the power to convert them
elves into presbyteries or synods
# the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.
Take courage, understand and
arI .A~.nI