Evening journal., 1907-05-15
WILL MAKE
CHURCH LAWS
Important Business to Come
Before the Presbyterian
General Assembly

Commissioners of the Presbytery Of |
New Castle left yesterday for the one |
hundred and nineteenth general as
sembly Of the Presbyterian Church IN /
the United States. which meets in Col !
umbus Ohio. tomorrow. The commits
sioners from New Castle Presbytery, 1
as stated yesterday, are the Rev. w. |
II. Bancroft, the Rev. c. L. jefferson, /
General Charles Bird and George Rom /
mel
In this assembly commissioners from
the former Cumberland Church, which |
severed it's relations with the general |
assembly about 100 years ago and is
now reunited, will be present to the
number of 800, thus increasing the
number of commissioners to 1000 The
reunion brings the number of COM
municants up TO 1304,O73, Sunday
school membership - 1,204,907 and
number of ministers "a 9.362.
The moderator, Rev. Or. Hunter Cor
bett, having returned to China, where
he has been a missionary upward Of
30 years, Rev. DR. Robert +. Coyle, Of
Denver the last preceding moderator.
will preside until a new moderator IS
elected. The opening sermon, accord
ing to the compact Of the union, will
be delivered by Rev DR.. Landrith. of
Nashville. Tenn, the moderator of the
former Cumberland Church
May Combine Boards.
Besides the annual reports Of the
boards having charge Of the mission
airy and benevolent work of the church.
there viii be a report Of a special CON-
mittee appointed by the last General
Assembly to take into consideration
the expediency of combining several
Of the existing boards, reducing the
number from eight to three or four,
and also to take into consideration the
whole question OF possible improve
ment in the executive and administro-
tive functions and aeencies Of the
church. Rev. Dr.aJarnes d. Moffat,
/ president of Washington and Jefferson
/ College and a former moderator, is
the chairman of this committee. It rs
understood that it will be only re.
port of progress, more time being re-
quired to come to a satisfactory con.
clusion as to the matter of CONSOLE
1 dation of the boards.
Tt is expected, however. that the re-
port viii recommend the enlargement
Of the powers and functions Of the
moderators. synods and presbyteries,
providing for the moderator af all such
bodies an executive commission. OF
which he shall be the Chairman, and
/ making him during the term Of his
office the executive head I'm fact of
/ the ecclesiastical body appointing him.
/ At present the moderator OF the as
sembly has practically no power after
the assembly at which ne was elected
! adjourns. The proposed change, IL
adopted would make the moderator
the executive head during the interval
between assemblies.
There probably viii be adopted by
vote Of the presbyteries an amended
form of government and a provision
for permanent judicial commissions in
the assembly synods and presbyteries
whose function shall he to try judicial
cases not involving constitutional ques-
tions, thus saving the time of the
church courts when in session and
placing the trial of such cases under
circumstances where there can be
more time for deliberation and less dis
traction from the interference of Other
/ business.
Church and Labor.
The evangelistic work throughout tn,
church viii also receive attention. The
report for the year will be presented
by John H. Converse. OF Philadelphia
chairman Of the committee, and plans
for an increasingly aggressive worl
viii be formulated.
one of the most interesting popular
meetings under the auspices of the as
sembly viii be held next Sunday after
noon in the interest of the church's re
lation to the labor problem. The prin
cipal speaker will be Rev Charles Stel
zle. who is the superintendent II
charge Of the question Of church an'
h labor, under the assembly's board c
home missions.
Rev DIR. William Henry Roberts, o
Philadelphia. for many years the stateI
clerk Of the assembly, is likely to b.
the next moderator.