The Sun. — 1869-05-29 (London, England)

THE SCOTCH CHURCHES.  While sportsmen were keeping the Derby Day on the Epsom Downs, and advanced High Churchmen were keeping Corpus Christi Day in St. Alban's and kindred churches, Scotch theologians were hard at work in Edinburgh. The " General Assembly of the Church of Scotland " met at eleven o'clock on Wednesday morning, and after a brief interval of rest, rose at a quarter to two o'clock on Thursday morning. This is as bad as the House of Commons itself. During the whole of those hours one subject was under discussion, and that discussion was renewed on Thursday. The subject of so much controversy and debate was the Right of Patronage. The committee appointed by the Assembly last year gave in a report recommending that the right to nominate ministers should be transferred from the present patrons to a board in each parish, composed of heritors, elders of the parish, and male communicants ; and that in any enactment giving effect to that recommendation provision should be made for giving reasonable compensation to patrons. The Assembly considered, in connection with the committee's report, certain overtures against any immediate application to Parliament for a modification of the law of patronage. Dr. Pirie moved a resolution approving of the diligence of the committee, and adopting the report generally, in so far as it recommends that the nomination of ministers should be vested in heritors,elders, and communicants, leaving details to be.arranged. Dr. Pearson moved a resolution declaring that, in respect of the great diversity of opinion in the Church upon the subject, there did not exist any reasonable prospect for a speedy or more satisfactory settlement of the question, and that the combined agitation of it in these circumstances was unwise and inexpedient. Mr. Campbell Swinton moved that the matter be referred back to the committee, with instructions to make further . inquiries. The vote was first taken between Dr. Pearson's and Mr. Campbell Swinton's motions. For Dr. Pearson's motion there voted 61 members, and for Mr. Campbell Swinton's motion 67. The latter was- therefore lost. A final vote was then taken between the motions of Dr. Pixie and Dr. Pearson. The number of votes for Dr. Pirie's motion was 193, and for Dr. Pearson's 88. Dr. Pirie's motion. therefore, became the decision of the House. During the debate a speech, which seems, from the incessant laughter that it evoked, to have been very funny, although it reads tamely enough, was delivered by Dr. Pearson. In the course of it he made the remarkable declaration that there was more hope of union between the Established Churches of England and Scotland than between the three Presbyterian Churches of Scotland. He did not absolutely despair of a reunion, but he felt sure that it was not to be obtained by any such democratic movement as the resolution with regard to patronage would involve. At present, he said, there is virtually " one Church for the great, and another for the lowly—one for Dives, and another for Lazarus—onet for the centurion, another for his servant.. That desirable consummation will not be obtained by sanctioning and abetting a democratic movement and severing the sole remaining bond of union. Let us have back the upper ten thousand and then would follow the severed million, and Scotland would be Scotland again." While the Established Church was holding its general assembly, the Free Church was also holding its. The chief object of discussion was not patronage; that was settled by the secession of twenty-six years ago, but the doctrine of the Atonement, which, of course, Dr. Candlish was prompt to expound. The different tone adopted by the two assemblies with regard to the Irish Church Bill is worthy of note. Dr. Pearson, as a member of a Church that is still established, saw in the measure a policy " which, while it has failed to conciliate and propitiate the Roman Catholic, has disaffected and flisloyalised the Protestant." The Free Church having practical experience of the voluntary and free system, and knowing perfectly well that it will work, looked upon the bill with the utmost equanimity. Mr. Killen, for instance, said he had no fear that Protestantism would suffer if Mr. Gladstone's measure passed. He had faith in the vitality of Protestantism; and, despite the present difficulties, he had good hope that turbulence and murder would give place to peace and love, and that Ireland would become once more the isle of saints.