THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

THE THIRTY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY met in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Owensboro', Ky., May 17, 1866, and was opened with a discourse by Milton Bird, D.D., from Romans xii. 19: "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

RICHARD BEARD, D.D., of Lebanon Presbytery, was elected Moderator. JOHN FRIZZELL, Elder of Tennessee Presbytery, was elected Principal Clerk, and A. E. LOVE, Elder of New Hope Presbytery, Assistant Clerk.

WAR AND SLAVERY.-J. M. HOWRY, Elder of Oxford Presbytery, offered the following resolution, which was adopted:

Resolved, That a committee be appointed, consisting of one from each Synod, to be selected by the commissioners from the respective Synods, to take into consideration the various "Deliverances" of former General Assemblies on the subject of war and the slavery question, and to make such report thereon as the harmony of the Church and the exigency of the times require.

The majority of the committee reported as follows:

WHEREAS, The blessed Saviour has said, "My kingdom is not of this world; and whereas, the great lesson is clearly taught in the sacred Scripture, as well as in our most excellent "Confession of Faith, ," that Church and State are separate and distinct institutions; and whereas, all ecclesiastical history demonstrates the melancholy truth that every attempt to blend religious with civil power has served to emasculate Christianity of its true strength, and to lessen the influence and jeopardize the very existence of the denominations that have made the experiment; and whereas, political deliverances by ecclesiastical bodies most generally produce alienation, discord and strife; and whereas, during the late civil war that deluged this once happy country with blood only a small portion of the Church could meet in the capacity of a General Assembly; and whereas, during the period referred to, there were deliverances made by a small majority of the meagre though constitutional Assemblies that then convened, which did not, in our judgment, accord with the opinions of the great majority of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church; therefore,

Resolved, 1. That it is the sentiment of the Cumberland Presbyterian

Church that Church and State are separate and distinct institutions, and that political differences are not incompatible with ecclesiastical allegiance, fellowship and unity.

Resolved, 2. That as the politico-ecclesiastical deliverances of the Assemblies of 1864 and 1865, which are hereby disclaimed, were the utterances of a small minority in contravention of what we believe the honest conviction of the great majority of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, that they can therefore have no binding force whatever on any, unless indeed upon those whose opinions may be in accordance therewith.

Resolved, 3. That though Church and State are separate and distinct institutions, yet we, as individual members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, one and all, accept in good faith the results of the late war, and acknowledge our allegiance to the Constitution and Government of the United States.

Resolved, 4. That as the institution about which unhappy differences have heretofore existed has been abolished by the power of the sword, it is the opinion of this General Assembly that all ecclesiastical legislation or preaching on that subject, except for the moral welfare of the African race, should, in the future, be carefully abstained from.

Resolved, 5. That we are grateful to Almighty God for the unity of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, that whilst other denominations have been rent in twain by political jargons the Cumberland Presbyterian Church still maintains her integrity, and, by the help of God, will stand like a rock, immovable in her principles amid surrounding change and innovation.

Resolved, 6. That we as a Church will studiously avoid, in the future, any legislation calculated to engender strife and discord; that we will do all in our power to heal any unpleasant feelings that may have heretofore existed, or that may even now exist, and that we will, in obedience to the great commission, so far as we have the ability, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," knowing no North, no South, no East, no West, but labor together as a band of brothers cemented by a common faith and a common religion until the "kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.

The minority of the committee reported as follows:

The undersigned members of the committee to consider and report on deliverances of former Assemblies touching slavery and war, being a minority of said committee and anxious still to preserve the unity of our beloved Church, beg leave to present the following report:

That they find nothing in the deliverances of former Assemblies touching these questions requiring modification or repeal; and that further action is not needed at this time, as it would, in all probability, tend only to disturb the peace and harmony of the Church.

On a motion to adopt the majority report, Milton Bird, D.D., offered the following as a substitute:

WHEREAS, According to the plain teaching of our Confession of Faith Synods and Councils are to handle and conclude nothing except that which is ecclesiastical, and are not to interfere with the affairs of the Commonwealth, etc.; and,

WHEREAS, Our civil constitution wisely separates Church and State; and, WHEREAS, It is of momentous interest to the Church to recognize, practically as well as in theory, the great truth taught by the Saviour, viz., that his kingdom is not of this world; therefore,

Resolved, 1. That this General Assembly is opposed to every movement, coming from any quarter, that looks to a union of Church and State.

Resolved, 2. That we are opposed to the prostitution of the pulpit, the religious press, or our ecclesiastical courts to the accomplishment of political and sectional purposes.

Resolved, 3. That any expression of political sentiment, made by any judicatory of our Church, North, South, East or West, is unnecessary, and no part of the legitimate business of an ecclesiastical court.

Resolved, 4. That nothing in the foregoing shall be construed as an expression of opinion upon slavery or rebellion.

The substitute of Dr. Bird was adopted by the following vote: Ayes, Ministers, 71; Elders, 41; total, 112. Nays, Ministers, 23; Elders, 17; total, 40.

The Judicial Committee reported as follows:

Ques. "Is a minister of the gospel who is a member of a church, and not pastor of the same, ex officio a member of the church session?"

Ans. We answer he is not. He might, by invitation, sit with the session as an advisory member, or even preside, but he is not ex officio a member, and has no right to vote.

Ques. "Is it in accordance with our Book of Discipline for a church session to refer the selection of a pastor to the laity?"

Ans. We answer it is. They may do so in obtaining the services of a minister as a temporary supply, but it is specially incumbent upon them to do so in the settlement of a permanent pastor.

Ques. Can two elders of a church, with a minister who is not their pastor, constitute a lawful session?"

Ans. We answer they can. And if the church is vacant, having no minister, two elders may constitute a lawful session. We know of no law to the contrary.

Ques. "Before what tribunal shall a candidate or licentiate be tried for immoral conduct?"

Ans. We answer, his probation as a candidate or licentiate, may, for any cause, be discontinued by the Presbytery, but he should be tried for immoral conduct by the session of that congregation of which he is a member.

Ques. "How long may a minister retain membership in one Presbytery and live and labor in the bounds of another?"

Ans. That the General Assembly of the Church, some years ago (the date not recollected), passed a resolution to the effect that a minister removing within the bounds of any other Presbytery, and remaining twelve months without applying to that Presbytery for membership, the Presbytery should call on him for satisfactory reasons why he had not done so within that time, and if he failed to render such reasons that the Presbytery should proceed to inquire into the case according to the Book of Discipline, chap. ií., form of process against a bishop or member. Your committee are of opinion that some exception might be made in regard to residence in extraordinary circumstances by the consent of the Presbyteries concerned.

Ques. "When an appeal is taken and filed before a church court from an action or decision of said court, does such appeal stay further action in the court until the question is decided by the higher court?"

Ans. It does stay further action until a decision is made by the superior

court.

Ques. "Has a minister, regularly dismissed from the Presbytery, with the letter in his possession, a right to a seat in the Synod to which he formerly belonged?"

Ans. He has no right to a seat in the Presbytery or Synod, though he is amenable for moral conduct to the Presbytery from which he received his letter.

Ques. "When a minister has been deposed by his Presbytery for reasons satisfactory, has another Presbytery, acting upon a petition signed by the members of the latter Presbytery, accompanied by hundreds of other names, the legal right to restore said deposed minister?""

Ans. That former Assemblies have fully answered this question in their interpretation of our Book of Discipline, that no deposed minister nor suspended minister can be restored only by the judiciary that deposed or suspended such minister or member of the Church, unless by the consent of the judicatory that deposed or suspended.

COLORED PEOPLE.-That the present condition of this people calls loudly upon every American Christian-not for the inconsiderate enthusiasm that would bestow honors which they cannot appreciate, and burden them with responsibilities which they cannot support-but, for the prompt and sober attention that will patiently and faithfully train them in their duties to God and their fellow-man in the new relation which they now sustain to society. We believe that their moral and religious destitution, take them as a whole, is perhaps greater at this time than it has been at any other period within the history of our Church. Whilst it is true that there are at this time in successful operation for their benefit many well-regulated schools, it is also true that they as yet only occupy the great centres of population, and cannot for a long time, if ever, reach the distant hamlet of honest labor or the children at the hut of the miserable vagrant. It is also true that the sudden violence of the stroke that severed the tie which bound them to their former masters, has likewise for the present dislocated the channel through which flowed to them not only many of the restraints of religion, but many of its duties and precepts.

Your committee are of opinion that no class of citizens are so well prepared, nor are those any more willing to aid them, than those with whom this people have always lived; and having this confidence we recommend the adoption of the following resolutions:

1. That the General Assembly recommend that all the Presbyteries of the Church take such steps as may be most expedient to organize for them Sabbath-schools, and supply them with suitable books and teachers.

2. That they co-operate with the American Bible Society in supplying them with the word of God.

3. That they use every means, so far as they can, to afford them the means of grace and encourage them to sustain the same, as God may prosper them. 4. That they aid them so far as they can in obtaining houses suitable for such schools and the more public worship of God.

EDUCATION. The great events which have marked our history for the past five years have materially interfered with our educational interests and operations. Some of our institutions have been closed and some even destroyed. Yet these very events in a time when many are running to and fro, and knowledge is being increased, and the prevalence of error in its multifarious forms, earnestly demand of us increased effort in the cause of education. When society is flooded with books and periodicals, and popular intelligence is advancing with astonishing rapidity, it behooves us not only to lay hold upon this important means of giving to the rising generation the blessings of a liberal training in literature and science, and of imbuing their minds with the principles of our holy religion, but to make the most ample provision for thorough training a living ministry that shall be adequate to

the great responsibilities of the times in which we live. Our Church, like all others, should be the fast friend of progress and education. While the principles of our holy religion are essentially unchangeable, it is equally true that the progress of truth among the nations of the earth is a grand exemplification of the law of progress, every age presenting great social problems peculiar to itself. It hence follows that the standard of literary qualification sufficient for one period of the history of the Church may be wholly inadequate to the demands of another period. While we believe that our fathers acted most wisely in their decisions upon the subject, and that the standard they set up was most clearly justifiable by the circumstances by which they were surrounded, it cannot be denied that the lapse of more than half a century, vastly enlarged facilities for acquiring a thorough education, the great increase of general intelligence, and the rapidity with which infidelity seeks to infuse its poison into the minds of men under the guise of philosophy, falsely so called, all demand that we, as a Christian denomination, should elevate our standard of ministerial education. We, therefore, recommend

1st. That it be enjoined on all the Presbyteries to abstain from licensing men whose education is not fully up to the standard required by our Book. The committee are gratified to be able to report that several of the colleges, academies and seminaries under the care of Synods and Presbyteries are in a prosperous condition. The agent for the rebuilding of Cumberland University reports encouraging success. The Synods of Indiana, Illinois and Iowa are united in an effort to establish a University at Lincoln, Ill., which thus far promises great success. Waynesburg College, Pennsylvania, is reported in a prosperous condition, and endowing agents are in the field' to increase the fund.

MISSIONS.-There are two Boards of Missions, one at Alton, Ill., the other at Lebanon, Tenn. The Assembly took the following action:

1. That this Assembly order the continuance of the two Boards of Missions, located respectively at Lebanon, Tenn., and Alton, Ill.

2. That the Assembly agree to take the Board located at Sonoma, California, under its care and control; Provided, that the Pacific Synod shall agree thereto.

3. That contributors be left free to send contributions to whichever Board they may prefer.

4. That missions already under the care of either of the Boards may, at the request of the missionary and the congregations, be transferred from one Board to another with the concurrence of the two Boards.

5. That when a new mission is to be established, it shall be placed under the care of the Board which may be preferred by the Presbytery in which bounds the mission is to be located.

6. That the Boards be allowed to co-operate in any mission or missions at their own discretion.

7. That the Board at Lebanon, Tenn., be instructed to inquire in the condition of the various missions and to report to the next General Assembly. 8. That this Assembly approve of the report of Rev. J. C. Armstrong, as presented by the Lebanon Board, and regret that he had to leave Constantinople, and we desire to resume that mission whenever it may become practicable to do so.

9. This Assembly calls the attention of the Church to Houston and Galveston, Texas, as very important points, and advise that missionaries be sent to those cities.