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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atra raproduit en un seul clichA, II est film* A partir de I'angia supArleur gauche, de gauche A droite, at de haut an baa, an prenant la nombre d'imagea nAcaaaaira. Lea diagrammes sulvants lllustrant la mAthode. ■j0 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ctbntrg KINOSTON, ONTARIO ■f :*. ■ * FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND, f^ ^ •4i .:^l-: Vi *,! far m ■tt f.i \. ■: ^ - ^-rfm^"^^ r- ,r- -'■: W 'I ! M .♦"V ><»* ■ ■♦-» 4-.^^^^ ■ A. * #•■ .; ■ T "i '.i--'^^?!*,'- i t X V- i*mr.J: sp^ ! . PREFATORY NOTE. J*- It ia uimeeefliary to waste a word in praise of the following ad- mirable tract. In vivid and truthful description, in solenm pa. thos, and forcible illustration, it is worthy of its author — it is wor. thy of the mighty event it is intended to commemorate. The disruption of the Church of Scotland will take its place on the page of history, as th^ most important movement of the age in whieh we Uve. Already its influence is felt ever the whole Chris- tian worid. Scotland has in the good providence of Grod been put to a solemn and eventful trial, and now her bosom is agitated — ker whde frame convulsed by a movement worthy of her best and purest days. Blind indeed must that man be, who cannot perceive the perfect similarity between the recent struggle in the Church of Scotland, and the noblest passages of her former history — who cannot see that the fundamental principles, for the main- tenance of which the protesting ministers of 1843 were virtually driven from house and home, are in truth the very same for which the church contended centuries ago, and which the Pres. by terian people of Scotland have ever held most pre(»ous. The reader will bear in mind, that the following tract was writ, ten in June 1843, very shortly after the disruption took place ; since which period, the Free Protesting Church has continued to advance with gigantic strides, becoming every day more deeply rooted in the affections of the people, and proving herself to be, though disestablished by the State, no less emphatically the ** Na- tional Church of Scotland." The Protest read in the General Assembly, on the I8th May 1843, and signed by the ministers and elders who have left the Establishment, has been appended. It deserves every attention and study, both as a valuable historic document, and as exhibit- ing in a concise form thc^e inya^ons on the ancient eonstituiion 118755 IV. and rights of the Church, which rendered a disruption inevitable. To this Protettt no answer has ever appeared. The Reoianent Assembly, after the disruption, instructed the Commission in June to prepare an answer. The Commission in June postponed it to Au. frust — from August its consideration was deferred till November, and at last it was passed over altogether as not requiring a reply ! Such is the fact ; and the Protest goes down to posterity un. answered, because in truth unanswerable. Neither have the grievances there protested against been at all redressed. Lord Aberdeen's new Act, by which every step in the courts of the re. maining Establishment is now carefully regulated without indeed the slightest reference to a higher authority, and a more endur- ing code of laws for the government of the Church, has failed in shielding the Establishment from the evident signs of hastening decay. Its only effect has been to deprive the Christian people of any real control over the appomtment of their pastors, and to vest in Presbyteries an arbitrary, inquisitorial and unprecedented power. Did space permit, somo striking instances of the working of this new system might be taken from the proceedings of the Establishment Presbyteries. The Established Church of Scotland with its now altered constitution, is no longer the ** Church of our Fathers." , >::, ■■■..■. - ' ■- ■■ -v^' ■ E w v!>:^f ■ # \ - - : ^ ^ . -._ I '•- ■■■'A liK '■>'J- 0'P »n inevitable. le Renoanent |ion in June to 'ed it to Au- November, •in fir a reply .' osterity un. * have the fWed. hord i« of the re. hout indeed lore endw as failed in r hasteninif ian people on, and to recedented 16 working Jfifs of the f Scotland wch of our '.S-J ■ '•^:^1 . -,H. ■ :? l.'t '^f j-f,' • t ■- ■'.' >4 . » ; --.4 ' '■*' - f^ i -J , - ' ' ^T •ttl . Ui«v FAREWELL TO EGYPT. -»»A»,»»»<»^aB .»»»»>. » >- ** By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Paraoh's daughter ; esteeming the repruuch of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt : for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsriok Egypt."— (Heb. xi. 24, 26, 27.) It has been remarked with truth, that a recent ruin is never romantic. The fresh marks of the pick-axe and crow-bar speak of violence in a language too distinct to be pleasing ; and it is not till time has passed his soften- ing hand over the rough work of the spoiler, that you can look at it with an ii terest that includes no pain. Fresh-fallen plaster and shattered doors and timbers still smoking are not poetical ; and it is not till the grey lichen has weathered over the chipped and fractured stones, and the wall-flower is clinging high on the tower, and the cold arum and adder's tongue are growing in the sunless recesses, that the ruined convent or castle grows picturesque — so picturesque in the disguise of mysterious time, that you tread with pensive step and swelling heart on ruins which when recent would only have been counted rubbish. We fear, that the tale we are about to tell labours under this disadvantage. It is recent ; for the catastrophe occurred last month. And it is too A # -■-uj'^ '•'*^»»H»;?mf!tfe55iji 6 true ; for in little more than a day's journey the reader may see for himself all its sad details of desolate sanctu- aries and forsaken homes and weeping families. But it is co-temporary history. It is a tale of the times, and the russet light of antiquity is not fading over it. And, therefore, some who garnish the sepulchres of the Cove- nanters, and build the tombs of the Puritans, may grudge a stone to this modern cairn. But when we reflect a little longer, and remember that it is not so much a tale of ruin as of restoration — when we consider that this disruption of the northern Establishment is the resuscita- tion of the National Church, the revival of the Kirk in the energy of its first reformation, in the purity of its second reformation, and in the catholicity of this, its third, reformation, we almost forget the privations with which it has been purchased, and rejoice that it is such a modern story. There are readers who value truth so much as to hail a living testimony ; and who can understand how the same faith which carried Abraham out ofUr, and Moses out of Egypt, may still enable men, at the call of God, to ^^ go out" from endeared associations and friend- ships, even when they know not whither, and " refuse" distinctions and enjoyments which sense most values. To such readers we inscribe these lines. It was in November, 1842, that the capital of Scotland witnessed such a gathering of its clergy as had not met since the time, two hundred years ago, when the National Covenant was framed. Every one felt that it was a solemn emergency which brought together, in the dead season of the year, from distant glens and storm-girdled islands, such a company of Scotland's most devoted ministers. It was a solemn emergency. They met to consider whether they could conscientiously remain the ministers of the Scotch Establishment any longer ; and all mu we m. ma ha( he reader (e sanctu- Butit mes, and t. And, le Cove- ay grudge reflect a ch a tale that this esuscita- irk in the ts second ts third, th which I modern much as and how Vr, and e call of i friend- refuse" values. 'cotland not met rational was a \ e dead girdled levoted met to lin the ) and 'i I all felt, that in the decision to 'which they came, not to much the comfort of many hundred households, as the welfare ot the national Christianity was involved. It may be right to mention in a few short sentences what had brought it to this conjuncture. The Church of Scotland was founded on the principle, that not only is the Bible the only rule of faith, but the only statute-book by which the Lord Jesus would have His Church on earth governed. It assumed that Christ Himself has given certain office-bearers for the adminis- tration of His Church, and that He has given to these office-bearers their Directory, their only book of Canons in the written Word. And it farther assumed, that in the adminidtralion of the Church, civil rulers and secular magistrates ought not to interfere with the servants of Christ, but should leave it to them to rule Christ's house — His Church on earth, according to Christ's own laws. And it still farther assumed that in the event of the Church entering into any connexion with the State — accepting an endowment for instance — the Church was not at liberty to surrender any spiritual privilege as the price of protection, or pecuniary support. This was the theory. And at the Revolution, this theory became the statute-law of Scotland ; and at the Union, it was stipu- lated that this should abide the statute-law of Scotland for ever. Well, nine years ago, the General Assembly, whose counsels, in consequence of the wide revival of Evan- gelical religion, had become more Scriptural, restored to the communicants in the different parishes of Scotland a privilege which they enjoyed up to the Union, and for some time ailerward, the right of being consul^d in the appointment of their ministers. In the event of a 6 majority declaring that the individual ofiei'ed to their acceptance was one by whose ministration they could not profit, the Assembly ordaihed that the vetoed candi- date should not be inducted, but that the patron of the parish should be requested to give the people the offer of another minister.* In the progress of certaih civil suits which arose out of this ecclesiastical law, it was not only declared by the secular courts, that the General Assembly did not possess the statutary power to confer this privilege on the people of her communion, but the civil courts went on^ to claim powers over the Church courts, at which many stood aghast. For instance, the Court of Session drew a line round certain districts of country, and said to the ministers of the Establishment, " We prohibit you from preaching here under pain of imprisonment." It took its stand at the door of the Church Courts, and prohibited certain members from taking their places in Presbyteries and Synods. It imposed a crushing fine on a Presbytery for refusing to ordain a man to the ministry of a parish where, out of 3,000 inhabitants, all, save two, deprecated his admis- sion. And, not content with inflicting pains and penal- ties on Presbyteries, it had at last descended to the discipline of separate congregations, and tampered with the sacredness of the communion-table. The Church began to see too plainly that not a vestige of separate jurisdiction was left to her, and that in endeavourng to restore the liberties of her people she had lost her own. It was in consequence of the intolerable pressure of these encroachments, and the sanction given to them in the Court of highest appeal, that the Convocation of * The Crown-lawyers of the day assured ihe Oeneral Assembly that the passing of such a law was within their competency. In this opini(;n five uf the thirteen Scottish judges afterwards concurred. rl ■v)ii«)nH* lu their could caruli- of the offer of il suits as not reneral > confer )ut the hurch ce, the riots of ihment, pain of of the rs from is. It ising to out of admis- penal- to the d with church parate ^•ng to own. ure of lem in ion of that the » five of Tm Ministers assenibled in November 1642. They met in a place ol worship from which the public was excluded, that no one might be restrained from speaking freely among his brethren by the restraint of a stranger-audi- ence, and that no measure might be precipitated by the urgency of popular impulse. Every step was taken with caution, deliberation, and much prayer ; and it was very affecting in the solemnity of devotion, and in the freedom of these brotherly communings, to find the same truths which had evaporated into thin abstractions, in the lan- guage of controversy, returning in living realities ; and to see that it was neither Church -power nor popular rights 60 much as the prerogative of a mu h-loved Saviour, for which they had been contending. Successive days of consultation ended in a last appeal to the Legislature of the country. It was represented that the recent en- croachments of the civil courts within the spiritual pro- vince, were inconsistent with the liberty wherewith Christ hath made his people and their pastors free. It was alleged that by subverting ecclesiastical discipline they would eventually destroy the Established Church. It was urged that international faith demanded a remedy ; for all these infringements on the Church's liberty were contrary to the stipulations of the Union Treaty. And, in conclusion, it was intimated, that should this final appeal be met by a refusal — rather than consent to dis- regard the voice of a Christian congregation imploring protection for themselves and their children against the intrusion of an obnoxious presentee — rather than pur- chase the benefits of an endowment by the omission of any Christian duty, or the surrender of any spiritual privilege; they would sacrifice their earthly all, and seek for themselves and their people, on the broad ground of 10 British toleration, that liberty wlych they could not find within the pale of the Established Church. This document, with the signatures of more than 400 ministers, was laid before Parliament last spring. Every- thing that patriotism and principle could do was done to obtain a candid consideration for the Church's claim of right. But though the constitutional grounds on which that claim was founded were never touched, in the emphatic language of a Minister of State, it was thought necessary to put an " extinguisher" for ever on such pretensions ; and consequently, although the Constitu- tion of the kingdom demanded it, and the majority of Scotch Members supported it, that claim was by a vote of Parliament rejected.* As soon as the final decision of the Legislature was known, it was the hope of many that the Genertil Assembly at its first Meeting would tender a formal resignation of its rights and privileges as an Established Church into the hands of Government. To prevent this no pains were spared. Under various pretexts Presby- teries were interdicted from meeting to elect Commis- sioners, or their representatives when chosen were dis- charged under civil pains and penalties from claiming their seat in the Supreme Judicatory. Whilst, intimi- dated by the prospect of worldly loss, a few who had once espoused the non-Erastian cause turned back in the day of battle. It, therefore, became requisite to adopt another course, and sever all connexion with a Church which, in such circumstances, would not sever its con* nexion with the State. Edinburgh is one of those cities which seem designed * Three several times did ttie Government stifle the discussion of the wrongs of the Church of Scotlandj in the House of CGmmons: One hoaring was at last obtainedi and the Votes of the English members decided her fate. HE --jA»,-r.'\7--^i 11 not find [than 400 Every- done to claim of •n which 9 in the I thought on such Constitu- ijority of )y a vote lure was Geneml a formal tablisbed vent this Presby- ^ommis- ^ere dis- claiming I intimi- ^ho had k in the adopt Church ts con- Bsigned »n^ of tho ; uottririf tier fate. las the arena of mighty incidents. Commanding that wide prospect of fertile fields, and of the far-stretching ocean, which is itself enlarging to the soul ; overhung by |tall piles of ancient masonry, and hoary battlements, rhich only speak of other years ; looking up to ever- lasting mountains which carry the thoughts aloft or far fon into the future ; and with the solemn shadows of the [ancient capital diffusing a sedateness over the elegance ^ of the modern town, Edinburgh is essentially an historic city — a city familiar with great events, and a proper place for their transaction. On the morning of the 18th May it iidd the look as if such an event were coming. People were early astir. When the hours of business came, men either forbore their wonted occupations, or plied them in a way which showed they had as lief forbear. Holyrood was one point of attraction, for the yearly gleam of royalty was flickering about its old grim turrets and through its gaunt open gateway. The scarlet yeomen with their glancing halberts, and the horsemen curvetting in the court of the resounding " Sanctuary," announced that the representative of majesty was within ; and a stream of very various equipages was conveying down the Cannongate professors from the college, and red-gowned magistrates from the council-chamber, law- yers from the Parliament-house, and lairds from all the Lf^.hians, besides a long procession of doctors, and min- isters, and burgh-elders, all resorting to the palace to pay their homage to His Grace the Queen's Commissioner. fProm Holyrood they marched to the High Church. This i venerable fabric seemed also to renew the days of old. /^ Beneath that canopy where James, of pedantic memory, i used to sit, and sometimes dispute with John Durie and I Patrick Simpson, sat the representative of royalty, and, all around, the gallery was garnished with the parti- ■ l-;:''-' ^i «lfc,»f'-* r 12 coloured pomp of civic functionaries, whilst the area was filled with that grave and learned auditory which no other occasion could supply. The discourse,* " Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind," was a production which, for wise and weighty casuistry, for keen analysis of motive, and fine discrimination of truth, and for felicity of historic illustration, would have been a treat to such a congregation at a less eventful season. With the solemn consciousness that in the " full per- suasion" of their own minds they had decided in another hour to take a step in which character and worldly comfort and ministerial usefulness were all involved, each sentence came with a sanction which such sermons seldom carry. When the service was closing, the audience began to disperse with a precipitation which contrasted strangely with the fixed earnestness of their previous attention ; for the place appointed for the meeting of Assembly lay at some distance, and members were anxious to secure their seats, and on-lookers as anxious to get near the spot. In the Assembly-hall many of the gallery-spectators had sat nine weary hours, when at last the rapid entrance of members by either door announced that the service in St. Giles was over, and languid countenances were again lighted up with expectation. It did not look like the opening of a General Assembly. There was not the usual vivacity of recognition, and that bustli to and fro and ferment of joyous voices which on sue occasions keep the floor all astir, and the audience ali^ alive. Either side was serious. The one party had that awe upon their spirits which men feel when doing a great work. Of the other party, some had that cloud * Preached by the lata MnHAratcr, the Rev* ^X» >Vc!i?h« it hfift since been published. * J). ilst the area >ry which no urse,* " Let lind," was a asuistry, for tion of truth, have been itful season, e « full per- d in another ind worldly II involved, uch sermons closing, the ition which ess of their ted for the nd members i-lookere as r-spectators t the rapid ed that the untenances hd not look rhere ^^as lat bustliiig 1 on suclk idience alk party had y ^hen doing that cloud it hfit since ■M 13 pon their consciences which men feel when they are oing a wrong work — when they see others doing what lut for want of faith themselves should have been doing ; d others more honest, consistent Erastians of the old hool, had something of a funeral feeling, sadness in rting with opponents whom they respected, and a for- ding impression that when these were gone away, it ould scarcely be worth while remaining. 1 At last the jingle of horse-gear, and the measured nee on the pavement, with the full near swell of the umpet, seemed to say in the words of the national elody, " Now's the day, and now's the hour." The artial music ceased, and the Assembly rose, for Her ajesty's Commissioner had entered. The Moderator engaged in prayer, and as soon as that prayer was ended, .and the members had resumed their seats, amidst the breathless silence which prevailed, he went on to say, " According to the usual form of procedure, this is the time for making up the roll ; but in consequence of cer^ tain proceedings affecting our rights and privileges — pro- ceedings which have been sanctioned by Her Majesty's Government and by the Legislature of the country, and more especially in respect that there has been an in- fringement on the liberties of our Constitution, so that we could not now constitute this Court without a violation of the terms of the union between Church and State in this land, as now authoritatively declared, I must protest against our proceeding further. The reasons that have led me to this conclusion, are fully set forth in the document which I hold in my hand, and which with permission of the House, I shall now proceed to ead." He then read the protest,* and having laid it on e table, bowed towards the throne, and withdrew, ^ ' ' ■ .1 ■ ■ ii I fc , I -J ■ — __________——— — ■■ — • — *Se8 Appendix. B 14 Man by man, and row by row, all to the left of the chair, arose and followed. An irrepressible shout of gratulation from the multitude in the street announced that the vanguard was fairly " without the camp ;" and orderly and slowly retiring, in a few short minutes all were gone. Looking at the long ranges of vacant forma from which the pride of Scottish genius, and the flower of Scottish piety had disappeared, there were few spec- tators who did not feel " The glory is departed." It was a striking sight to see the dark line for half a mile together, moving down the steep declivity which leads to the valley of Leith Water. In the distance stood, bright in its polished freshness, the new Assembly Hall, on which they had turned their backs for ever. On either side was the crowd of lookers-on — thronging windows and balconies, and outside stairs j some cheer- ing, and others lifting their hats in silent reverence, some weeping, many wondering, and a few endeavouring to smile. And in the middle of the street held on the long procession, which included Welsh and Chalmers, Gordon and Buchanan, Keith and Macfarlan, Alexander Stewart and John Macdonald, Cunningham and Candlish, every- thing of which a Scotchman thinks when he thinks of the Church of Scotland. Humble in its original destination, and prepared in haste, but of vast dimensions, and crowded with an eager auditory, their new place of meeting was emblematic of that new dispensation in the history of the Church of Scotland which had now begun. The emblems of Royal patronage were absent. There was neither canopy nor throne. No civic pomp was seen. Magistrates had laid aside their robes of office, and none of Scotland's nobles had come. But the heart of Scotland was there, and it was soon borne in on every mind that a greater left of the ) shout of nnounced rap;" and linutes all cant forma the flower few spec- ?5 for half a vity which 3 distance Assembly s for ever, —thronging )me cheer- ence, some -vouring to )n the long rs, Gordon er Stewart ish, every- i thinks of •epared in Lh an eager )lematic of Church of [iblems of ler canopy Jtrates had Scotland's ivas there, | a greater 15 [than Solomon was there. None who heard them can ever forget the fulness and world-forgetting rapture, the [inspiration of the opening prayers ; and when that mighty mltitude stood up to sing,* it seemed as if the swell of vehement melody would lift the roof from off the walls. |And when at last the adjournment for the day took place, and in the brightness of a lovely evening, the dif- ferent groups went home, all felt as if returning from a a Pentecostal meeting. A common salutation was, <' We have seen strange things to-day." Some, con- trasting the harmony and happiness of the Free Assem- ibly with the strife and debate of other days, could not help exclaiming, " Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity !" Many remembered the text of Dr. Chalmers' sermon six months before in opening the Convocation, " Unto the upright light shall arise in the darkness." And at the family worship of those memorable ejvenings such psalms as the l*24th and 126th were often sung, and were felt Itp be " new songs." . ., ■' u It would be pleasant to dwell upon many of the features of the Free Church Assemblies; especially on those deputations and messages of sympathy and con- gratulation which they received from so many Churches, and on those tributes of approbation and encouragement which coming in from so many quarters made them recognise the good hand of the Lord upon them. But we have only room to state, that Tuesday, the 23d of May, was, after special devotional exercises, employed in subscribing the " Act of Separation and Deed OP Demission," by which ^TO Ministers did " Separate FROM AND ABANDON THE PRESENT SUBSISTING Ec- * ?aalin z)ii. 3-5.<^0 send th^ li^ht forth and ihf trutb, Sic. 16 CLESIASTICAL ESTABLISHMENT m ScOTLA^n), AMD RENOUNCE ALL RIGHTS OR EMOLUMENTS PERTAINING TO THEM BY VIRTUE THEREOF." Though subscribed with the utmost calmriess and alacrity, it would not be easy to estimate the sacrifice which that Deed of Demission implied^ It is something to renounce the dignity of an Established Church, and the comforts of an endowed une< These Ministers did both, and some will best understand the sacrifice when told, that the gift thus laid on the altar is a reveniie of more than a Hundred Thoitsand Pounds a-tear* But this is a very gross and v^ulgar way of starting it. For who will estimate in pounds and pence the home- ties which have since then been broken? Who will put a price on those hallowed recollections which cluster round every manse and church — all the more tender and manifold in proportion as a man of God was the presid- ing spirit there—round the manse where infancy wa» Cradled and childhood made merry, and opening youth first learned to tread with thoughtful and meditative step — the country manse, on whose roof-tree rested the blessing of many a passer-by, and from whose quiet chambers ascended, heard by God alone, the prayer of the pious wayfarer turned aside to tarry for a night, and through whose study windows streamed at winter's early morn the radiance of his lamp, who, like his Master, had risen up a great while before the dawn, to meditate and pray I What money will buy back the joy of those sanctuaries, whose Sabbathrmemories aie now strangely mingled with the thought of their new occu- pants — the sanctuary, where, one by one, the Eikanahs and Hannahs of the village presented each loan from the Lord, and dedicated the infant Samuel to him who answers prayer — ^the parish church, where family by the m^ LAND, ANO PERTAINING ilmriess and he sacrifice is something hurch, and [inisters did rifice when revenue of )S A-TEAR* of stating it. 3 the home- Who will hich cluster i tender and I the presid- nfa»cy was- ening youth Ktative step rested the 'hose quiet sprayer of night, and t winter's ^9 h'ke his J dawn, to ick the joy s aie now new occu- Elkanahs n from the him who family by n family sat the rural population, the happy nriatrbri at the head, and the toil-worn hardy father at the foot of their allotted pew, and the olive-plants between — ^the church 9t whose window waved, ampler each opening spring, [the branches whose pleasant shadow spake of better ■trees and that higher house of God where these be planted, and round whose walls are sprinkled the grassy mounds where the fathers sleep, but where many of the children now must not sleep— ^the church which has the consecration which the Angel of the Covenant alone can give — traditions of worthies who preached and wrestled there-^recollections of Peniel meetings. New Year sermons, and communion seasons when God was in the place — ^birth-place associations of men who believe that it was there they were born again 1 Many a noble manly heart was like to burst that recent Sabbath, when minister and people took their last look of the beautiful house where they and their fathers had worshipped, and gathering up their psalm-books and Bibles which had lain on the book-board so long, they left the vacant pulpit, and the empty pews, " a place in which to bury strangers." But with all its griefs and privations- — though in some parishes arbitrary land-owners have refused the humblest hut 10 the " outed" ministers, and have prohibited their tenantry from affording them an asylum ; and though many congregations have no other prospect than that of worshipping, like their covenanting ancestors, in the open air — still the sacrifice has been amply repaid in blessings of a nobler kind. v ; 1. It is a solemn testimony for truths It is something to have impressed on the mind? of men more deeply the truths, that God alone is Lard of the conscience, and Christ alone Head of the Church; and that the relaium '■tW 18 between a pastor and a Christian Congregation is some^ iking too sacred to be formed without the consent of either party, . ,, .., 2. It may remind the world that there is yet « faith in the earth." It is long since by faith Abram left Ur, since Moses forsook Egypt. It is long since the eleventh chapter to the Hebrews was written. It is even long since " by faith" the Puritans esteemed " the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt," & since the Covenanters << endured, as seeing him who is invisi- ble," So incredulous had the world become, so ignorant of the existence of any heaven-sustained principle like faith, that up to the last morning, worldly men were bettmg that not fifty would secede ; and, doubtless, judging by themselves, even ministers of the Gospel assured the world, that their solemn protestations not- withstanding, not a hundred would fulfil their pledge. It is well that worldly men and ministers should learn that a class of men exists whose " Yea," is " Yea." 3. It has secured great advantages for the evangeliza- tion of Scotland. The Free Church has the best of the Ministers, and the mass of the people. It has also the goodwill of the other evangelical communions, and in co-operation with them, the field of Scotland is now before it. Clerical etiquette, and ecclesiastical trammels, and civil interdicts, will not now restrain its Ministers. Broad Scotland is their parish, and the last verses of Matthew's Gospel their commission ; and we trust that many people who have long sat in darkness will now see a great light. 4. It has elicited to a wonderful extent the sympathy and fraternal regard of Christian men, and Christian Churches* The kindness and affectionate fellow-feeling of the people of God at home and abroad, have been abundantly exhibited ; and the Free Church Ministers i»:>'--' seas mhavl w 19 consent of yet « faith m left Ur, e eleventh even long sproach of ," & since [> is invisi- so ignorant Jciple like men were doubtless, le Gospel itions not- ir pledge. 3uld learn fea." angeliza- 3st of the I also the s, and in d is now rammels, linisters. verses of rust that now see jrmpathy christian i^-feeiing ve been linisters and people have rejoiced because of the consolation. One expression of this kindness has been of a peculiarly seasonable and affecting nature. Many Dissenting con* gregationsin Scotland, Independent, Seceding, Wesleyan, have lent their respective places of worship, and even changed their customaiy time of meeting for the accom* modation of their Free Church friends. 5. It has opened a great deep of liberality among the Christian people of ScotL id. The Free Church is emphatically the Church of the Christian PEorLS, Comparatively few of the noble and wealthy adhere to it ; and the exertions which its members have made are scarcely surpassed by the self-surrender of Us Ministers. One eminent legal practitioner has devoted a fifth of his income for life to the cause. We lately heard of a pious man in humble life, who, by his own hard labour, had amassed a considerable sum, and presented nearly the whole of it, ;e500, to the Free Church Funds. There was a poor woman in a parish where most of the land belonged to a hostile proprietor ; and in his zeal to pre- vent the adherents of the Free Church from rearing a place of worship, this proprietor endeavoured to buy up all the smaller properties. This poor woman's only support was derived from a small parcel of ground, little worth, but for which the rich man in his eagerness offered an enormous price. The poor woman withstood the temptation, though such a fortune had never been within her reach before. She said, " From my Maker I got it, and to my Maker I give it back." And on the spot of ground thus given, a Free Church will now be built.* And just as many Ministers are content to lodge ♦ The *' proprietor" a]luded to is His Grace the Duke ofBuccIeugh. Th« name of the " poor womaii" is Janet Frascr, who will be remembered with honor throughout broad Scotland, when His Grace shall be long forgotten, «r remembered only as a persecutor of religion. Finding it impossible to bribe the pioua woman, the Duke endeavoured to detect some legal flaw in fa«r title to b«r small " Kail-yard,*' but here also ha was foiled. And now in mean abodes, and even to send their families to distant places, that they may not be compelled to quit the •cene of'their wonted labours ) so many of their people in their turn have made corresponding sacrifices, have abridged their comforts, changed their dwellings, and sold their possessions, that they may aid in this blessed work. Never did the people of Scotland offer to any eause so willingly. '"■■■■ ' . *^ .^:v/ So abundant have the people's contributions been, that some may imagine no foreign aid is needed. It will be enough in a single sentence to say, that nothing can be more remote from the fact, than such a supposi-^ tion. To build five or six hundred churches in the humblest style requires a large immediate outlay^ Scot-^ land is a country comparitively poor j " not many rich, not many noble," are yet numbered among the adherents of the protesting Church, The people have done enough to show their ardent zeal, and enough to give them a claim on the sympathy and energetic support of Christian men elsewhere. But in the emphatic words of a com^ munication last week received from Edinburgh, '< unless they are most liberally, munificently^ and promptly assisted, the cause will deeply suffer, and many of our Ministers and people will be exposed to the most cruel hardship." j JS:''il ff^n is.!:> .iAi.l^i? ^■;Q. ,«».' % comfortable church is erected on that precious ^pot, free of encumbrance or debt, through the munificnnt assistance of an English lady who becauis acquainted with this singular case, and who, though attached to a different comipunion, Icnew how to distinguish between ducal meanness and humble niagnaiifoiitjn The same nobleman it was, who prohibited the people of another parish from meeting for public worship on a piece of barren moor, or rather marsh, and forced them to assemble, Sabbath after Sabbath, on ihe public highway, at a place where three roads meet. The people of Scotland are now in some cases not allowed even the bare hill-side on which to worship Ood— the public high-way, and the tangled sea-beach ** within high waier mark," are the only spots on which they are permitted to meet for prayer and praise, and to hear the Gospel preached* How infatuated the men who imagine, that by persecution like thia. thev can rule the con. iciences of a free and religious people 1 How radically Bad must that cause bo, which not only requires but glories is such support ( .^U/_ '-J.! :\ii'n ■'.-; n^fiiHl lea to distant w quit the Iheir people [fices, have _ S and sold lis blessed Ifferto anf •! ;:'■ n-i' j;-j( •5)1 l^i .'-t ;, <;!'.^;f •i. u.^ *;■,,•»!<(;.'» '•:•>" ions been, eeded. It lat nothing 1 supposi- les in the ly* Scot-, nany rich, adherents ne enough 'e them a Christian f a com-!- t " unless promptly ly of our lost cruel cuRibrance 1)0 becaus a different nd humble '■ people of rren moor, ibbath, on people of ton which " wiihin d to meet inratuated * ths con» bat cause i THE PROTEST > N V >;i{f- '«., ,.f-^'^>v,«' /Z^a^r til M« General Assembli/, on the ISth May, 184S« • J, I- 1 - .. . . , .^ '■ •". "■ Wb, the undersigned Ministers and Elders, chosen as commissioners to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, indicted to meet this day, but pre- cluded from holding the said Assembly by reason of the circumstances hereinafter set forth, in consequence of which R Free Assembly of the Church of Scotland, in accordance with the laws and constitution of the said Church, cannot at this time be holden,— Consider, that the Legislature, by their rejection of the Claim of rights adopted by the last General Assem- bly of the said Church, and their refusal to give re- dress and protection against the jurisdiction assumed, and the coercion of late repeatedly attempted to be ex- ercised over the courts of the Church in matters spir- itual by the civil courts, have recognised and fixed the conditions of the Church Establishment, as henoeibr- ward to subsist in Scotland, to be such as these have been pronounced and declared by the said civil courts in their several recent decisions, in regard to matters spiritual and ecclesiastical, whereby it has been inter alia declared,—. '■'■ ' ''•'■■■•' — ^^-- ■-'"-^■■« 'n/^v'i.^":;;./- • ^''■'^' 1st. That the courts of the Church as now es- tablished, and members thereof, are liable to be co- erced by the civil courts in the exercise of their ) spiritual functions ; and in particular, in their admis- l sion to the office of the holy ministry, and the con- stitution of the pastoral relation, aid that tbey are 'V 22 'to be compelled to intrude ministers on re- claiming congregations in opposition to the funda- mental principles of the Church, and their views of UiO Word of God, and to the liberties of Christ's people. Sd. That the said civil courts have -^w^^r (o in- terfere with and interdict the preach! 'ig ot tiit: gos- pel and administration of ordinances ^ authorized ^'',and enjoined by the Church con .. .f the Establish- \ , ife ^^* '^^^^ **^® said civil courts have power to J. .suspend spiritual censures pronounced by the Church ^,,courts of the Establishment against ministers and t; probationers of the Church, and to interdict their execution as to spiritual effectSi functions, and privi- lo^es* ;• ' ' ^•' ^ . '■ ' - ,'*'n ^ •-, ■ ,*/'',,■">' ., 4th. That the said civil courts have power ict ...^reduce and set aside the sentences of the Church courts of the Establishment, deposing ministers from , ^^ the office of the holy ministry, and depriving proba- ^^tioners of their license to preach the gospel, with reference to the spiritual status, functions, and prin- ciple^ of such mi Js'-f^'s aTid probationers — restoring them to the spiri* liJ ^.u ': and ..tutus of which the ,i Church courts had deprived them. ;,,^ iu'ictiii^n n **; i , {kit £th. That the said civil courts have power to determine on the right to sit as members of the su- preme and other judicatories of i the Church by law established, and to issue interdicts against sitting and .^c voting therein, irrespective of the judgment and, de- ^1 termination of the said judicatories. . f > ' .: ' 6th. That the said civil courts have power to ' supersede the majority of a Church court of the Es- ^ .labiishment, in regard to the exercise of its spiritual SXPSi"' m^ 23 funclioriij as a Church court, and to authorize tb« mini '^ity to ex rcise the Raid functions, in opposition to the court itself, and to the superior judicatories of the Establibhment. 7th. That the said civil courts have pow^^'- to stay processes of discipline pending before courts >f the Church by law established, and to interdict sucU courts from proceeding therein. 8th. That no pastor of a congregation can Nf ., admitted into the Church courts of the Establish- ment, and allowed to rule, an well as to teacii, agree* able to the institution of the office by the Head of the Church, nor to sit in any of the judicatories of the Church, inferior or supreme, and that no add. tional provision can be mad^ for the exerdfee of spiritual discipline among members of the Church, though not affecting any patrimonial interests, and no alteration introduced in the state of pastoral su- perintendence and spiritual discipline in any parish, without the coercion of a civil court. ^ , .( .All which jurisdiction and power on the part of the said civil courts severally above specified, what- ever proceeding may have given occasion to its ex- ercise, is in our opinioi), in itseli inconsistent with Christian liberty — with the authority which the Head of the Church hath conferred on the Church alone. And further f considering that a General Assembly, composed in accordance with the laws and fundamental principles of the Church, in part of commissioners themselves admitted without th6 sanction of the civil court, or chosen by Presbyteries, composed in part of members not having that sanction, cannot be constitu- ted as an Assembly of the Establishment without dis- 24 i- regarding the law and the legal conditions of the same as now fixed and declared. And/urtheTi considering that such commissioners as aforesaid would, as members of an Assembly of the Establishment, be liable to be interdicted from exer- cising their functions, and to be subjected to civil co- ercion at the instance of any individual having interest who might apply to the civil courts for that purpose. And considering {yxrihtiTy i\\?X cWA coercion has al- ready been in divers instances applied for and used, whereby certain commissioners returned to the Assem- bly this day adpointed to have been holden, have been interdicted from claiming their seats and from sitting and voting therein, and certain Presbyteries have been by interdicts directed against the members prevented from freely choosing commissioners to the said Assem- bly, whereby the freedom of such Assembly, and the liberty of election thereto, has been forcibly obstructed and taken away. And further y considering that, in these circumstances, a Free Assembly of the Church of Scotland, by law established, cannot at this time be holden, and that any Assembly, in accordance with the fundamental princi- ples of the Church, canTiot be constituted in connection with the State withoif|: violating the conditions which must now, since the rejection by the Legislature of the Church's Claim of Right, be held to be the conditions of the Establishment. ' And considering that, while heretofore as members of Church judicatories ratified by law and recognised by the constitution of the kingdom, we held ourselves entitled and bound to exercise and maintain the juris- diction vested in these judicatories with the sanction of the constitution, notwithstanding the decrees as to the same ssioners as bly of the rora exer- o civil Co- ng interest Purpose. >n has al- and used, he Assem- have been rem sitting have been prevented ud Assem- y, and the obstructed umstances, »d, by Jaw d that any »tal princi- jonnection ons which ure of the conditions members 'ecognised ourselves the j uns- anction of ees as to 25 matters spiritual and ecclesiastical, uf the civil courtf, ecause we do not see that the State had required sub- iiission thereto as a condition of tiie Establishment, ut, on the contrary, were satisfied that the State, by he acts of the Parliament of Scotland, for ever and nalterably secured to this nation by the Treaty of nion, had repudiated any power in the civil courts to ronounce such decrees, we are now constrained to cknowledge it to be the mind and will of the State, as ecently declared, that such submission should and does brm a condition of the Establishment, and of the pos- ession of the benefits thereof; and that as we cannot, ithout committing what we believe to be sin — in op- position to God's law — in disregard of the honour and authority of Christ's crown, and in violation of our own solemn vows, comply with this condition, we cannot in conscience continue connected with, and retain the benefits uf the EstabliAhment to which such condition is attached. We, therefore, the ministers and elders aforesaid, on this, the first occasion since the rejection by the ,| Legislature of the Church's Claim of Right, when the commissioners cho«5en from throughout the bounds of the Church to the General Assembly appointed to have been this day holden, are convened together, do pro- test, that the conditions aforesaid, while we deem them contrary to and subversive of the settlement of Church Government effected at the Revolution, and solemnly guaranteed by the Act of Security and Treaty of Union, are also at variance with God's word, in op • position to the doctrines and fundamental principles of I the Church of Scotland, inconsistent with the freedom essential to the right constitution of a Church of Christ, and incompitible with the government which He, a«. C ■ m <»• =-^i«i*- iirri M •^ 26 the Head of hid church, hath therein appointed distinct from the civil magistrate. ..^ , , ,, And we further protest, that any Assembly con- stituted in submission to the conditions now declared to be law, and under the civil coercion which has been brought to bear in the election of commissioners to the Assembly this day appointed to have been holden, and on the commissioners chosen thereto, is not and shall not be deemed a free and lawful Assembly of the Church of Scotland, according to tbe riginal and fun- damental principles thereof, and that the claim, declar- ation, and protest, of the General Assembly which con- vened at Edinburgh in May, 1842, as the act of a free and lawful Assembly of the said Church, shall be holden as setting forth the true constitution of the said Church, and that the said claim, along with the laws of the Church now subsisting, shall in nowise be af- fected by whatsoever acts and proceedings of any As- sembly constituted under the conditions now declared to be the law, and in the submission to the coercion now imposed upon the Establishment. And, finally, while firmly asserting the right and du- ty of the civil magistrate to maintain and support an establishment of religion in accordance with God's word, and reserving to ourselves and our successors to strive by all lawful means, as opportunity shall, in God's good providence, be offered, to secure the per- formance of this duty agreeably to the Scriptures, and in implement of the statutes of the kingdom of Scotland, and the obligations of the Treaty of Union as under- stood by us and our ancestors, but acknowledging that we do hold ourselves at liberty to retain the benefits of the Establishment while we cannot comply with the conditions now deemed to be thereto attachcd^-we % r ■g»''#'' 'W^' .^'' m |c(l distinct ibly con- ieclared to has been ers to the jolden, and and shall ly of the il and fun- m, declar- phich con- of a free shall be jf the said the laws ise be af- f any As- '' declared coercion t and du- jpport an th God's 3es8ors to shall, in the per- iires, and Scotland, s under- nng that mefits of ivith the [led*— we 27 .,1'SW if PROTEST, that in the circumstances in which we are .^placed, it is and shall be lawful for us, and such other iprconiniissioners chosen to the Assembly appointed to have been this day holden, as may concur with us, to withdraw to a separate place of meeting, for the pur- jpose of taking steps for ourselves and all who adhere Jto us — maintaining with us the Confession of Faith and standards of the Church of Scotland, as heretofore ^understood — far separating in an orderly way from the ^Establishment ; and thereupon adopting such measures |a9 may be competent to us, in humble dependence on ^God*s grace and the aid of the Holy Spirit, for the ad- fvancement of his glory, the extension of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour, and the administration of the I affairs of Christ's house, according to his holy word : and we do now withdraw accordingly, humbly and solemnly acknowledging the hand of the Lord in the things which have come upon us, because of our mani- fold sins, and the sins of this Church and nation ; but, at the same time, with an assured conviction, that we are not responsible for any consequences that may follow from this our enforced separation from an Establish* ment which we loved and prized-^through interference with conscience, the dishonor done to Christ's crown, and the rejection of his sole and supreme authority as King in his Church. '^ :^«.- ...««i m * *.: »•■■■;» ■ i!!<«j ^ 4 ^% -'^-^^f '^^^^ ' ■ ■' ^, "^*'^" «» reasons which led them and their brethren to separate from ide f Scottish Establishment, and to receive the free will offerings of all ^ ,^ their friends in this Province, who are willing to contribute to the ' ■: •• Central Building Fund of the Free Church." The following u V " Ni%'"^v 'i>f';^ '?? '•■'''■ v^'*>tt''r'-:: ■ ' '■ ,- .' ' *''■' V ' ''* i^t- THE PROPOSED ROUTE. . ^i * '*' Tuesday, April 9 Niagara^ .» A ' -Wednesday," 10 TorontOf "-* ' Thursday, " 11 , Hamilton^ * \ , Friday, " 12 Toronto, ^, * ,.'. '*', Saturday, " 13 Cobourg,' Sabbath, " 14 do. ^^^ Monday, " 15 do. "^ '■«^ Tuesday, " 16 Kingston, 'm ' .jj Wednesday," 17 do. ^ i;f * Thursday, " 18 Brockville,^. t|J * ^. Friday, " 19 Prescott, i| /* ' Saturday, " 20 Cornwall, }& ; ^ Sabbatli, " 21 do. ., ^ /i Monday, " 22..... Lochiel, v ^' # Tuesday, " 23 St. Andrews, Wednesday," 2 Me Montreal ^ Quebec. ;;i| .% % Perth has been reluctantly left out of the above plan, on ac count of the very limited time of the Deputation, and its diffi- culty of access at this seapon ^i the year. It is probable however ' that a part of the Deputation, after visiting Montreal and Quebec, ' «#<-* will visit the By town and Perth districts. It is expected that those districts where tfie Deputation will not be able to hold a meeting, will not be backward in sending in their contributions ' to the support of this great and sacred cause. % h • ' *■■