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Lea diagrammes sulvants lllustrent la mAthode. t 2 3 1 t 3 4 5 6 FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLInD. ^. »s^ -^fe : I w- .:D .:- . MONTREAL JOHN C. BECKET, PRINTER AND PUBLISHER SAINT PAUL STREET* 1844. ^•'it '% ■•'>.S" ^ ■■ . . ' -.. ^ 0: ,^ « » ,' V,.' .* , .•," .- u F/oa*?) )?4^F 8" - 'Vk9,"2- M - (■■•■ , ** ;->■' the mf par per thej iish] circl XtK gen^ to oJ singl tantf A genel of fill .'♦ ,y">- r.-Jl4^ '■•.I 1 1 . ■• , 1'^ PREFATORY NOTE. J The following Pamphlet is from the pen of Dr. M'Intosh M'Kay, of Dunoon, well known not only as a pious Minister of the Gospel, but as a profound and accomplished scholar. It was addressed to his parishioners, at 'a comparatively early period of the church controversy, viz. in the year 1840, when ana^;3>eal was being made to Parliament by the parishes of Scotland, for pro- tection against the despotic decisions of the Court of Session. The grossest misrepresentations, with regard to the views and purposes of the Evangelical majority in the church, who stood in defence of the rights of the Christian people, had been zealously circulated ; and in wide and remote parishes, where the inhabitants had few opportumties of meeting together, these false accusations were in danger of being believed. To disabuse the minds of the people, the faithful pastors were under the necessity of convening their parishioners, and explaining to them the real state and merits of the question. These meetings, which were held in the parish church or school house, having been in many cases dis. persed by interdicts from the civil courts, served on them after they had assembled, the ministers had no alternative but to pub. lish the information they had intended to communicate. In these circumstances, the following address was originally composed. It is expressed in a style the most simple, and best adapted to the generality of those for whom it was written. It has been selected to occupy an early place in this series, as calculated to exhibit a singularly clear and correct view of the first stages in this impor. tant controversy. A few detached passages have been omitted, as not being of general application. An appendix has been added, with the view of filling up the outline of the narrative since the year 1 840, by a f « 8754 iMR Hr. niFATORT NOTB. brief notice of some of the moit prominent cases which have oc- curred since that period. It will thus be seen how the minor point, or claim of jorisdiction concerning patronage, gradually brought the great principle — that the Lord Jesus Christ has a right to rule in his own house, by means of his own appointing, to be invaded and denied ; and how imperative it is on every Christian Church to resist the beginnings of encroachment on her spiritual rights — to defend the outworks to the last, if she would have the citadel rest secure. » • » • . AN ADDRESS, BT Rev. Dr. Mple, if sp this id, that ilations 1834, wyers, Nor Sover- arishes Minis- iRegula- |t justice IPresen- ns were law, by 150 Pre- (01 were |e before rell and happily, and it may truly be said, the Church of Scot- land, Ministers and people, were more and more be- coming alive to spiritual and eternal things, at home and abroad. And this brings me to state now, how the present distresses of the Church have come on. The Parish of Auchterarder, in Perthshire, having become vacant, the Patron, Lord Kinnoul, presents to it a Mr. Young. The Presbytery send him to preach there, two Sabbaths or more. They appoint a day for giving the Call^ and out of a population of 3200, only two Parishioners signed th(^ Call; and out of all the male heads of families in the Parish who are communicants, almost all of these solemnly declared, that they and their families could not be edified by Mr. Young. The Presbytery accordingly told Mr. Young that they could not put him in. They wrote the same to the Patron, desiring him to appoint another. But the Patron and Mr. Young complained to the Court of Session. They took to the Civil Law against the Presbytery. Now, before going farther, I dare say it may have occurred to some of you to ask why it was, when Ministers, long ago, were put in by Presbyteries, and the General Assembly, against the will of Congregations, the people of such Parishes did not complain to the Court of Session, and take the Civil Law, when they were not getting justice from the Presbyteries and the Greneral Assembly 1 That is a very natural question ; because if the Court of Session had, or has, a right to put Ministers in, one would think they could keep Ministers out. But this is the reason. The Law of the land, which we call the Civil Law, has acknowledged by many, many. Acts of Parliament, that the laws of Christ, and of His word, are the true foundation of the •■'((»'■«'•»■- U^-;^ II i 12 Church of Scotland, and that according to that word, it is the Church itself that alone can perform spiritual duties, such as the ordaining of Ministers ; and that the Church alone, by its Presbyteries, Synods, and General Assembly, has the right to judge of the fitness or unfit- ness of Ministers to be ordained. The Church indeed might go wrong, and it is to be feared very often did so, in judgmg persons to be fit who were not fit, but yet, the Civil Law, or the Court of Session, dared not come in, and say to a Presbytery, or to the General Assembly, " You must do so and so ; we command vou." And if you, my dear friends, have your own minds aiive to the authority of the word of God, and to the doctrines and will of Christ, your own mind will tell you, that it was never intended of God that any worldly power should have any such authority in the Church of Christ, as to order its duties, or its government ; or to say to the Members of the Church, Such and such " shall be your spiritual privileges. Well, to go back to Auchterarder. Lord Kinnoul and Mr. Young complained to the Court of Session. The Presbytery were summoned there. And what did they say there? They said. We have made trial of Mr. Young, and we find him unfit to be ordained Minister of Auchterarder, according to the Regulations of the Gen- eral Assembly, because the greater part of the people, or communicants, in that Parish solemnly declare they cannot be edified by him. But the Court of Session gave judgment against them, saying that the Church had no power to make such Regulations at all ; and they ordered the Presbytery to proceed with Mr. Young's trials, that they might ordain him Mmister of Auchterarder. The Presbytery refuse to do this, saying. We have tried Mr. Young alreadv, we have found him unfit to be 'p! M rvWj: S[ o\ a^ ol tol cf S( MCMHI Lllli l H V-- 13 jrd, it Iritwil lat the reneral r unfit- indeed did 80, yet, the >me in, sembly, And if e to the nes and t it was jr should ist, as to y to the be your inoul and in. The did they [\ of Mr. iinister of the Gen- Ipeople, or ilare they ►f Session Ihurch had and they ing's trials, ihterarder. have tried mfit to be ordained as Minister of that Parish, and if the Court of Session or the Civil law be allowed to tell us who are fit persons, or unfit, then we are no longer a Church Court subject to Christ, and to the authority of His word, but subject to men, and to the World. The Presbytery sought advice from the General Assembly, which declared the Presbytery to be right. Now, here, the Presbytery and the General Assembly said and declared, so far as the Stipend, manse, and glebe go, we acknowledge the power of the Civil Law with regard to these. Let Mr. Young and the Patron take thes^as they will, under the authority of the Court of Session ; but ordain Mr. Young we cannot^ and we shall not, at the bidding of any power on earth. This was made known to the Court of Session. The Church made no opposition to Mr. Young taking the stipend, manse, and glebe. It makes no opposition till this moment to the civil law giving all these temporal things to Mr. Young ; saying and allowing that worldly laws have to do with these worldly things. But the Court of Session will not accept all this. It continues to say ; Nay, but you (the Presbytery) must proceed to ordain Mr. Young. Now, the question is here, which is breaking the law 1 The King and the Parliament never gave power to the Court of Session to force the Church to do any Spiritual act, but agreed that the Church should have liberty to do its own acts, according to its own laws. The Church, then, is surely nol rebelling against the Civil Law, or the Civil power ; but the Court of Session is endeavouring, not only to force the Church to ordain Mr. Young, contrary to the laws of the Church, but threatening the Presbytery vnth severe punishment, unless it agrees to do what the Court of Session commands it, and a law suit is raised acainst B Jij.jumec.-inf ie»«»«irii8il>r! lli 14 the Presbytery, by Lord Kinnoul and Mr. Young, asking jC 16,000 of damages from the Presbytery, besides ex- penses to a great amount, which the Presbytery has had to pay already. You know the Court of Session is the highest civil court in Scotland ; but the House of Lords has jiiVisdiction over it. Then, the General Assembly went to the House of Lords, complaining of the Court of Session, and seeking protection from that Court. But the General Assembly told the House of Lords, clearly and solemnly, that whatever they, the House of Lords, did with the stipend o( Auchterarder, the Church, as a Church of Clyist, could never consent to ordain or place Ministers in Parishes according to any worldly laws, which would be con- trary to the word of God. The General Assembly, in short, asked the House ot Lords to protect the Church from the Court of Session ; but, unhappily, the House of Lords has not done that. It said that the Court of Session was right, and the Church of Scotland wrong. What then has the Church of Scotland to do ? It ap- pointed some of its wisest Ministers to take advice with the Rulers of the nation, that the Parliament might make such a Law as would give protection to the Church in doing its duties, and such a Law as would secure to you the privilege and the right that Ministers should not be put in upon you contrary to your will.* A Patron, and that Patron the late King, gave to a Mr. Clark, a Presentation to the Parish of Lethendy and Kinloch, in Perthshire. The day for giving the Call came, and by far the greater number of the Parishioners were against him ; very few indeed at all for him. The Presbytery intimated to the Patron what had happened ; and not like the Patron of Auchterarder, the King gave * It is unnecessary now to state how fruitless were all the ne- gotiations of the Church, with a view to a satisfactory legislative ouactnivnt. s'lSa -W 15 sking J ex- B had court liction House eeking lembly f, that pend of , could arishes oe con- ibly, in Church House Jourt of wrong. Itap- ce with might Church cure to uld not ive to a [ndy and khe Call fshioners The Ippened ; jing gave 11 the ne. Ilegislatiye a presentation to another Minister, Mr. Kessen, setting Mr. Clark aside. Notwithstanding this, Mr. Clark complained to the Court of Session ; and the Court of Ssssion gave an Interdict, forbidding the Presbytery to place Mr. Kessen. The Presbytery went on, and the congregation having given Mr. Kessen a hearty, willing, Call, the Presbytery placed him as Minister of Lethendy and Kinloch, in obedience to the Law of the land and the Law of the Church. But they gave him no right, they could not, to the Stipend ; and he is without Sti- pend to this day. However Mr. Clark complained again to the Court of Session ; and the Court summoned the Presbytery before them, to punish them for putting in Mr. Kessen. The Presbytery answered the summons, and appeared ; but told the Judges, that they did not consider the Court of Session had any power over them as a Presbytery, with respect to the ordaining of Ministers ; that the Stipend was there, and the Court might do with it as it thought proper ; but that it was their duty as a Presbytery, to keep out Mr. Clark, and to put in Mr. Kessen, as the General Assembly had instructed and commanded them as a Presbytery, to do. The judges sent for the Presbytery again, rebuked them, as if they were criminals, evil-doers, and declared publicly, that if ever they or any other Presbytery should do the same again, — ^they, the Court of Session, would send to jail whoever did it, and keep them there till they would confess their fault. Now, will it do, that th^ Court of Session should have this power ? Besides this, the Court of Session made this Presbytery pay upwards of £600 of expenses, a very heavy 6ne indeed, which some of them could ill afford to pay, and that too for doing their duty. And, do you not see, that it is because those Ministers and Pre fcC" 16 ries have acted for the people, that they have suffered such things, and are threatened with so much more 1 It was not surely for their own worldly profit or benefit these Ministers acted, but for the spiritual good of the people. Another case. The Parish of Marnoch, in the Pres- bytery of StrathbogiC; became vacant. A Mr. Edwards got the Presentation to it from the Patron. The Parish- ioners knew him very well, as he had been for three years assistant to the former Minister. When the Call day came, not one of the Parishioners would sign the call but (me man. The heads of families, by very far the greater part of them, not only would not sign the call, but declared that they could not be edified by Mr. Edwards. Well, the Presbytery made this known to the Patron, and Mr. Edwards is set aside, and a Mr. Henry gets a new Presentation. But Mr. Edwards complains to the Court of Session ; and the Court gives an interdict, forbidding the Presbytery to proceed with tho trials of Mr. Henry, or to place him, however well pleased with his gifts the Parishioners may be. But this was not enough. By and by, Mr. Edwards g3t9 a declaration in his own favour from the Court of Session, the same as Mr. Young got in the case of Auchterarder. In this Presbytery, the greater number of the Ministers are in favour of Mr. Edwards, and against the people ; and they were quite glad of this onler ; and resolved to go on to settle Mr. Edwards in the Parish of Marnoch. But other members of the Presbytery complained to the General Assembly ; and the General Assembly, by its Commission, ordered the Presbytery of Strathbogie, not to proceed with the trials of Mr. Edwards. The majority however of the Presbytery of Strathbogie, seven ministers, resolved to proceed with the trials of Mr, Edwards, notwithstanding, and declared ■J ,vtw^:«aMVbu« rt*f'i 17 ffered lore 1 lenefit )f the Pres- Parish- r three ie Call ign the ery far he call, by Mr. lown to da Mr. idwards 3 Court proceed lowever nay be. idwards jourt of case of number rds, and d of this Yards in rs of the ly ; and ered the the trials esbytery eed with declared themselves ready to obey, not the General Assembly, but the Court of Session. They were complained of again to the Commission of the General Assembly ; and in December 1839, the Commission, because of the disobedience shown by them to the Church, and as the only way to keep them back from placing Mr. Edwards in the Parish of Marnoch against the will of the whole people, suspended these seven Ministers from their otBce, till the next General Assembly : and ordained the other members of the Presbytery, who had not disobeyed the Church, to meet as a Presbytery, and to call upon all Ministers of the Church and Preachers, to go and assist in supplying sermons and other duties to the seven Parishes, whose Ministers were suspended. Again, how- ever, the seven Ministers complained to the Court of Ses- sion ; and the Court granted an Interdict, forbidding all other Ministers from entering the Church, Churchyard, or School-house of any of these Parishes. This Inter- dict was obeyed ; but the Ministers called to the duty, went from Sabbath to Sabbath to these Parishes, and preached in the most convenient place they could find ; and their labours appear to have been already acknow- ledged, by much blessing upon them. Well, the seven Ministers of Strathbogie, who have been suspended, went on preaching, under the Court of Session's authority, and in direct and open defiance of the laws of the Church, and not content with this, tkey have now got another Interdict from the Court of Session, forbidding all Ministers of the Church from entering those Parishes at all, or preaching in them ; and forbidding the other Ministers of the Presbytery to meet, or do anything as a Presbytery. ., ^ In this wav, vou see, the Court of Session has sset way, you see. B * mm 'il W 18 aside, and trampled upon the spiritual authority of the Church of Scotland altogether. If this be obeyed, the Church can do no act at all of a spiritual kind, but just as the Court of Session allowH. There is an end of all Church Government and Church Laws. All is yielded up to man's authority. The Civil power may next just as well tell us, who are Ministers, what texts to preach from, and you who are members of the Church, to hear only the Ministers whom they (the Court of Session) approve of, and none else. How would that suit ? Ask yourselves. It is your spiritual benefit and good that the Ministers of the Church are seeking. Did they seek their own, they had only just to do what the Court of Session ordered, and there would be an end of it. But, then, what is now the case of Auchterarder, and of Daviot, and of Marnoch, might be your case in this, or in any other Parish next, and if the Church did, in any of these cases, what the Court of Session ordered, it would come to be the Law in every case. The ministers are putting in peril, their whole worldly goods and comfort, and now their personal liberty, on your account. In doing this they are only doing their duty, according to the word of God, in not counting even their lives dear to them. But you owe a duty to yourselves, and to this cause, for the cause is your own. Some will say to you, that the Church of Scotland is rebelling against the Law. No charge can be more untrue than that ; though it may be said by some, just from their not understanding the sub- ject, and by others, because they do not wish to under- stand it. I shall endeavour, shortly now, to show, that what the Church is doing is not rebellion, or any thing like it. The Court of Session is set up by Acts of Parliament. 19 of the all of lUoWB. Session ]t, then, f Daviot, p in any r of these lid come e putting and now |oing this word of . But , for the that the w. No may be the sub- ,0 under- Ithat what |ng like it. irliament. m The Presbyteries, Synods, and General Assembly of the Church of Scotland have just as many and as good Acts of Parliament in their favor as the Court of Session has. They are Courts as well as the Court of Session is. Now, the Acts of Parliament, that set up the Court of Session, give that Court power to judge in civil and tem- poral matters. But these Acts never gave them power to judge in spiritual matters at all. Did the Church of Scotland refuse to obey the Court of Session in civil matters that would be rebellion ; but it has not done so. The Church has said to that Court — Take the Stipends, Manses, and Glebes, and dispose of them as you think proper, we shall not interfere, or resist. But when the Court of Session comes to the Church, and says. You must ORDAIN and place Ministers, in the way We (the Court of Session) direct you j the Church could not do this without rebelling, both against its own Supreme King, and against the Law of the land too ; because the Law of the land has given power to Presbyteries, Synods, and General Assembly, to do these things ac- cording to the Laws of the Church itself, and the word of God, upon which the Laws of the Church are founded. But look to it in this way : supposing that a Presby- tery of the Church went to the Court of Session, or to the House of Lords, and said. You must decide this Civil case as we (the Presbytery) direct you ; then that Presbytery would be assuredly breaking the Law of the land, and rebelling ; and you may depend upon it that that Presbytery would very soon be punished, and justly so. And would not the Court of Session be breaking the Law, if they allowed any Presbytery to do this ? But here is now the Court of Session coming in to Presbyteries, and to the General Assembly, saying. You ■■"^^^ WJMWHtf.l 20 i tnust decide this Spintual case, or do this spiritual duty, in the way We (the Court of Session) direct you, or keep back from doing spiritual duties when We command you. Surely, then, it is not these Presbyteries, or the General Assembly that are rebelling — they are rebelled against. Besides, the Church Courts in Scotland, having, by the Civil Law, as I have stated, as much authority (even from men) to do their Spirittial duties as the Civil Courts have to do their Civil duties j it is worse than foolish to say that the Church, or its Ministers, are re- belling, because they do not as they are commanded by the Civil Court. Here is a comparison. The Court of Session has no authority or power to hang any one ; but the Court of Justiciary has that power. Now, supposing the Court of Session would say to the Court of justiciary, You must hang that man ; Would it be rebellion in the Court of Justiciary to answer no, we will not hang him, at your bidding ? No sensible per- son would call this rebellion. Or supposing that the Court of Justiciary sentenced a man to death ; and that the Court of Session should say to the Court of Justici- ary we command you to change the sentence, — would it be rebellion in the Court of Justiciary to say no, our sentence must stand ? Surely it would not. Now, the Presbyteries and the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, having their own duties allowed to them, just as much as the Court of Justiciary has its own duties set before it by the Law of the land, — when the Court of Session attempts to command these Courts of the Church, it is no rebellion in the Church to oppose the Court of Session. It is indeed a great misfortune to a country when such differences arise between Courts, and the only way is, to apply to Parliament, to set them right, any m( by peo or mad be a ch Ifth Church TIAN C duty it ( count, with yc the grea in Him, cause th In ord the tyran ecclesiasi to shew t pelled to necessarv brief noti quent to that the maintaine trayal of j following although t shown, fn sters, they was passei of almost e 'SB* 21 right. But to call it rebellion, is just a saying without any meaning at all, or it is said with a very bad meaning, by people who would like to see the Church destroyed? or made the servant of the world. It would no longer be a church of Christ. If the arm of the Civil Law is to govern and rule the Church in its spiritual duties, it is no longer a Chris- tian Church ; it will then have departed from the duty it owes to Him to whom you and I must give ac- count. Whatever may happen, I leave this testimony with you. Let us all seek the protection and care" of the great Shepherd of the flock ; and if enabled to trust in Him, He will bring us out of these ditficulties, and cause them all to work for good. ■:% APPENDIX. In order to present something like a complete view of the tyrannical encroachments of the Civil Courts on the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Church of Scotland, and to shew that the Evangelical Clergy were virtually com- pelled to adopt a course of protest and separation, it is necessary to follow up the preceding statement by a brief notice of the progress of the controversy, subse- quent to the year 1840. Let the man who imagines that the unity of the church could have been longer maintained, without a sacrifice of principle and a be- trayal of great and sacred rights, attentively weigh the following admitted facts. He vnW thus find that although the troubles of the Church sprung, as has been shown, from the laws affecting the appointment of Mini- sters, they did not cease there, but decision after decision was passed by the Civil Courts, aiming at the regulation of almost every particular of her internal government, Mh 22 i m find touching her most holy rights and privileges. It nitty ^te well to notice in regular succession, some of the more prorninent of the numeroua cases in which the collateral jurisdictions of the EcCiCMJastlcal and the Civil Power came in collision, within the last four years. I. The case of Culsalmond. The watchword of the Moderate party had been in the whole course of tho controversy, " The law of the land." " Obey tiio )m V was their unfailing argument. It was reservi u foi thiB singular case to show that they were ready, not oi^iy to disregard the law of the Church, which, >} their ordina- tion vows they were bound in all spiritual matters exclusively to obey, but to pay no higher respect to the law of the land, when it suited their purposes of agres- sion to neglect its injunctions. It had been the long established practice of the Church, and a practice recog- nised and confirmed by repeated Civil enactments, that the Can of the people should form a part of the prelimi- nary proceedings in the appointment of a Minister. This Call had, it is true, dwindled away into little more than a form ; but still the form was considered necessary in every case. The Moderate Presbytery, however, who presided at the forced settlement of Culsalmond, were not content with refusing to the people the right of the Veto, but dispensed with liic Cal* altoget^'^-^ and settled the obnoxious Licentia o, ivlr. ivliddleton, on the bare and insufficient authority of the Presentation. Even the leaders of their own party admitted that this procedure was irregular, and inconsistent with all law and custom. And yet, when the validity of the settlement was under dif fiussion in the Church Courts, the Court of Session interdicted the execution of a sentence of a Church Judicatory, which prohibited this irregularly inducted tt et ot III"" 23 for this 5i\iy to ordina- laattere t to the ►f agres- ;he long e recog- its, that irelimi- inister. }g more cessary ler, who |d, were of the settled e bare ven the cedure ustom. under ession jhurch ducted minister from preaching or administering the ordinances of religion Within the parish. Sheltering himself under this intoniict, Mr. Middleton proceeded to exercise min- isterial functions in defiance of the .luthority of the Church. Tho General Assenihly in due time rescinded the settlement, and declared it null and void. The Court of Session immediately suspended and interdicteii the sentence, thus assuming to itself the power to establish the pastoral tie, and to set a refractory Licenti;' of the Church over the cure of souls. II. Case of Stranraer. In this instance, a Presbytery found it necessary to take cognisance of the criminal conduct of a Minister within thei bounds. The Court of Session, on the application of the delinquent, inter- dicted the Presbytery from procc'ding with the trial. They disregarded the interdict, and inding the Minister in question, after a full trial, guilty of fraud and swindling, deposed him from the office of the fioly ministry, and ordered his chlirch to be declared vacant. The con- victed Swindler, relying on the Civil Power for support, persisted in retaining his charge, and there he remains to this very day. The Presbytery on the ether hand, had their stipends arrested, and suits instituteil against them for penalties in the Courts of Law. Si x Presbyteries were in this position at the same time ! in. Case of Cambusnethan. The Minister of this Parish Was libelled before the Lanark Presbytery for theft. The facts were so notorious that little or no defence was attempted, and when pronounced guilty, the culprit publicly acquiesed in the judgment. He applied, however, strange as it may appear, to the Court of Session, and when the Presbytery proceeded to pass sen- tence of deposition, an interdict appeared to prohibit the proceeding. This was of course disregarded, but 24 the confessed TAie/ continued under the authority of the Court of Session, and still contijiues, to exercise minis- terial functions, and dispense the most sacred ordinances of religion. It is unnecessary to multiply such instances. We may only allude, in addition, to the case of Urquhart, in which a Presbytery was interdicted from trying a Minis- ter, notorious through the whole country for the most gross immorality ; and the fourth case of Lethendy, in which a Presbytery was prohibited from proceeding with a libel against a Licentiate, for drunkenness, obscenity, and profane swearing. IV. Case of Stewarton. In this important case, the Court of Session, by a majority of the Judges, suspended and interdicted the establishment of an additional pasto- ral charge, in a Parish too extensive for the superinten- dence of a single Minister and Kirk Session — ^prohibited the reception of the Minister of such a charge into the Presbytery, or the institution of a Kirk Session — and for- bade any alteration in the state of the Parish as regards pastoral superintendence and spiritual discipline. The practical effect of this decision, if submitted to by the Church, would have been to extinguish about 200 pasto- ral charges, of eminent utility to the country, to annihilate as many Kirk Sessions in active operation, and to throw back the whole population of overgrown parishes (ex- tending in one case to 1 10,000 souls) on the superinten- dence of a single Minister and Kirk Session. This decision was one of those last deadly blows, which ren- dered the disruption of the Church inevitable. V. Case of Arbroath. The most holy and spiritual ordinances of religion were no longer secure from the unhallowed touch of the Secular Arm. The Civil Courta, startling as it may appear, assumed the right «f P ti al ol Pj cr thi adi Pn of loui bur; Pre utm ,>..^b»»/»TV»». "WCTT^ of the minis- nances J. We hart, in Minis- le most sndy, in iceeding jenness, ase, the ispended al pasto- perinten- .rohibited (into the -and for- regards iC. The [o by the :00 pasto- nnihilate to throw shes (ex- Lperinten- This Ihich ren- epiritual from the 'he Civil iQ right «f m 25 dictating to the Judicatories of the Church, to whom they should give and to whom they shouki refuse Christian privileges, inchiding of course admission to partake of the Lord's Supper. Mark the following. An individu- al of wealth, in the Parish of Inverkeillour, Presbytery of Arbroath, had on one occasion entered the House of Prayer, during divine service, much inebriated, and created a disgraceful disturbance. At the return of what is called, in Scotland, the " Communion season," the Kirk Session refused this man the usual Token of admission to the holy ordinance. He applied to the Presbytery for redress, but that Court having approved of the conduct of the Minister and Elders of Inverkeil lour, he had recourse to the Court of Session in Edin- burgh, and forthwith obtained an interdict against both Presbytery and Kirk Session, threatening them with the utmost rigours of the law, should they persist in prevent- ing him from partaking of the Sacrament of the Supper! Does not this fact speak volumes in itself? We might go on to show, that it was now declared to belong to the Secular Power to determine, who should sit in Church Courts, supreme as well as subordinate — that members of Assembly were interdicted frpm taking their seats, and the Assembly interdicted from receiving them — ^but it is unnecessary. Indeed, so common had ithese civil interdicts at last become, that the office-bearers of the Cliurch were liable to be interrupted by them in the most simple and peaceful duties of their calling. Nor was the Court of Session the only intruder, the subordi- nate authorities, in general, zealously followed its example. The following is a case in point. The Mini- ster and Session of the Parish of Coldbrandspath, having ►sen a few additional Elders out of the congregation, a prieior, non-resident in the Pansh» m m belonging i m rlllhM to a different communion, took upon himself, as a Justice of the Peace, to prohibit these men from per- forming any of the duties of the eldership! Are these things generally known 1 And can any man who is aware of them, shut his eyes to the fact, that prior to the disruption of the Church, the whole province ol her jurisdiction had heen violently invaded, and scarcely one function left to be performed by her Courts, free from interference and coercion ] The final and decisive blow to the liberties of the Church was given by the Decision of the House of Lords in the Auchterarder case, in August 1843. It was then declared, that the Church was bound, as by a civil obligation, to proceed in the matter of the ordina- tion and admission of ministers, at the bidding of the Civil Courts and without regard to her own sacred prin- ciples. And further, it was decided, that the rejection of a presentee in respect of the dissent of the congrega- tion, according to the fundamental principle and law of the Church, was not merely an act to which the Civil Courts might refuse to give Civil effect, but in itself a Civil wrong or offence, and to be dealt with accordingly in the Courts of Law, the members of Presbytery being held in any such case individually liable in reparation and damages to both Patron and Presentee, as for the perpetration of an ordinary civil wrong. This decision, —resting as it did on an entirely new interpretation of the condition on which the Church held its temporal ad- vantages, an interpretation of the nature of the agree- ment between the Church and State, which was never hinted at before, or that agreement would never have been mae/e— forced on the faithful Ministers of the Church the important question " Can we remain con- nected with an Establishment^ whose constitution is de- jof the r-;-fi-•^ 27 as a of the ouse of It was 18 by a i ordina- ig of the red prin- rejection jongrega- d law of the Civil I itself a cordingly ery being eparation IS for the decision, daiion of iporal ad- Ihe agree- 'as never ,ever have is of the tain con- [ion is de- clared to be such as this, and whose privileges we can only enjoy, by consenting to such terms as these?" Their situation became now most galling and oppressive. In the words of one of their number,* " An iron yoke has been wreathed around our necks, and iron fetters clasped firmly on our limbs. The State has declared it- self our master, without a check or limit on the servi- tude, save its own good pleasure. Our spiritual juris- diction has been denied and subverted, and our most solemn spiritual functions, exercised in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, declared to be merely Civil Statu- tory duties, which the Courts could compel us to dis- charge under the heaviest penalties of the law. Instead of being Christ's freemen we were declared to be man's bond-slaves, not at liberty to obey a single law of Christ without the permission of an earthly judge ! Thus it is denied that the Church of Christ has any laws of its own, any government given by Christ. It !« denied that either Ministers or people have any spiritual rights. Every act of a Church Court is declared to be a dml, not a spiritual act. Calling Ministers, settling, ordain- ing, deposing, are all discovered civil acts, regulated en- tirely by Civril Law, controlled by Civil Courts, and to be rigorously enforced bp Civil penalties ! So that a Church has no powers and no laws at all, except what are given by the legislature of the land ! This is now the declared constitution of the Church of Scotland." Surely no man can view this melancholy picture, can mark the condition to which the church was now brought — and brought be it ever remembered, by a confessedly now interpretation of the law, and the infatuated refusal of the Government even to listen to the petition of the k » Rev. HoruiiuB B^mar, of Kelso. 28 m 'I. church and the people for legislative redress? — and still persist in maintaining that the great body who now con- stitute the Free Protesting Church, could have continued consistently and conscientiously within the pale of the Establishment any longer than they did. They saw the constitution of the Church changed — her whole internal framework disorganized. The authority which the Church had always understood to be confirmed to her for ever by both the Act of Security and the Treaty of Union, was now in effect declared null and void. One after one, the usurpations of the civil power in spiritual matters followed in rapid succession, until stripped of her ancient rights, despoiled of her blood-bought liberties, the Church could exercise no sacred function, could per- form no judicial act, without incurring secular censure, or being threatened with criminal punishment. On the original principles of the Church of Scotland, the Evan- gelical clergy took their stand, and to its now altered constitution they felt that they could not consent, without in effect denying the high and mighty truth, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the alone King and Head over his Church, and his word the only law foe its government and direction. They admitted the right of the State to fix the conditions on which it should extend to the Chuich the benefits of an establishment, and now that these conditions were pronounced to be of a nature which they considered it sinful to accept, they declared that it was not for them, as servants of Him whose kingdom is not of this world, further to prolong the strife. The voice of duty called on them to separate from a church on which the unhallowed yoke of state-bondage had been laid, and in the hour of trial they faltered not. For the sake of a good conscience^ they left the homes that they loved, and cast themselves on God, even the .-..:,-^.ifM%Ki ::<:■{ 29 V con- tinued of the iw the iternal ih the to her ;aty of , One piritua\ I of her berties, aid per- ;ensure, On the ^ Evan- altered ithout [hat the ver his rnment State to to the w that nature ieclared whose ,e strife, from a ondage [red not. homes ven the God of their Fathers. They called to mind the days of old, the deeds of our Church in ancient times. They lingered not within the walls of the Erastian Establish- ment, but with a solemn protest constituted themselves into a separate, a free and spiritual communion, thus ex- hibiting to the eyes of an unbelieving world, a noble testi- mony, in behalf of the great and vital doctrines of the Headship of Christ, and the spiritual nature of His king- dom upon earth. Thus, resting on the sure basis of God's immutable truth, the Free Protesting Church is founded on a rock, and no enemy can prevail against her — the influence of her principles is growing and ex- tending, and every day is adding to her tstrength. And now, once more, the religious people of Scotland are rallying around the old Blue Banner, by which their martyred fathers stood, and on which the words are written, as in letters of fire. For Christ's Crown AND Covenant. No one can be aware of the vital difference existing between the Free and the Residuary Churches of Scot- land, without, at the same time, feeling that it is incum- bent on the Presbyterian Church in Canada to adopt a more unequivocal and decided position with respect to them, than she now occupies. It must be evident, that a system of indiscriminate connection with the two, even were it not at variance with the consistency and purity of the Church, would soon prove impracticable, and destructive of her best interests. A crisis in her history is at hand. On the firmness of the special meeting of Synod in May her prosperity must under Providence depend, and whatever be the course then adopted, it must be a decisive one. The following is an overtui-e to the Synod, passed unanimously at a late meeting of the Hamilton Presby- "'■•ai i.^a^J^aM-,-,-...AK.. M... ! ' !S !' PL m lililil Hi. 4 30 tery. It is worthy the attention of every true-hearted Presbyterian. "That considering the disruption of the Established Church of Scotland which has recently taken place, and ♦he conflicting views which are entertained by the mem- bers of the Free Church, and of the existing Establish- ment, on several important questions relating to the Government of the Church, and to the terms on which the Church can alone be lawfully united to the State, and considering the danger which might result to the best interests of the Church in this Province, from the admission of ministers holding unsound views on these subjects, the Synod, while taking such steps as they may deem fit for letting it be well understood that they act in this matter as a free and independent church, and do not directly involve themselves in the controversy carried on in Scotland, shall make specific declaration, that the following principles, which are now contended for by the Free Church of Scotland, have always been held by them as the original and unalterable principles of the Church of Scotland, and that they are still deter- mined to enforce them as principles involved in the doc- trine of the Headship of Christ, and identified with the purity and hberty of the Christian Church, viz. ; " 1st. That the pastoral relation can only be legiti- mately founded on the free consent of the people, and that, whatever the form of nomination, no pastor should be intruded on a congregation contrary to the will of the majority, with or without reasons assigned. " 2nd. That in giving effect to the will of the people in calling a pastor, and generally in all matters ecclesias- tical, the Church is responsible only to Christ — that the state has no right in any form to limit oi control the right of the people to call a pastor, or the right of the office-bearers of the Church to establish or dissolve, as they shall see cause, the pastoral relation ; and that any attempt, on the part of the State, to usurp such power, ought, at whatever cost, to be resisted as an intrusion into the ecclesiastical province, and an encroach ment on the liberties of Christ'.- Church and people. ,. :;,•#!(*;<'>-■. MMM ■f-' ' 31 legiti- j, and hould of the )eople esias- l the 1 the fthe ?, as that such IS an •ach ^ " 3d. That the only terms on which the Church and State can lawfully be united, are on the one hand, the distinct recognition by the State in tendering its support to the Church, of the perfect independence of the Church in all matters ecclesiastical, and on the other, the accep- tance of the endowments of the State of the Church without ihe compromise of any one of the rights or lib- erties with which Christ hath invested her rulers and people, and that to assent to a union between Church and State on any other terms, involves treason to Christ, — the sin of acknowledging not Christ, but Caesar, as the head of the Church. " That in accordance with this declaration, Presbyteries be instructed to require from all Ministers, Probationers and Elders, whom they may hereafter admit, a dis- tinct and unequivocal expression of their adherence to the aforesaid principles, and that for this purpose a declaration, embodying the same, be added to the usual formulas subscribed by Ministers, Probationers and Elders. And farther, that a copy of the above declara- tion of principles, and the relative instructions to Pres- byteries be communicated to the Free Church and Es- tablishment of Scotland, as explanatory of the terms on which alone their Ministers, Missionaries and Elders can be received by this Synod, accompanied in the case of the Free Church, with a letter expressive of our appro- bation of the noble stand which they have made for the original principles of the Church of Scotland — our sym- pathy with them under their trials, and our desire for the establishment of a friendly intercourse with them — and, in the case of the Establishment, with a solemn but affectionate remonstrance against their departure from the principles of the Confession of Faith, and of the Church of their Fathers." ■:^.„ im (i . «' v ■ i-i.i ' ' :..,! % ■lip; N o T x:c E ^V. />:'„,-•& '■»■: ''h^S) m:^.' A large edition of Tract No. 1, having been disppsed of, friends in the Country will see the necessity of sending in j| I their orders without delay. A second impression of No. 1 will be thrown off, if the present demand continues." ^^^'^ r 1 • if'"i tf'*»> ;i%sii^:d:;^ih o^^rr'fi *r!j *::> ";; f'i'yiis.n n::* -..r«yf:)^..: . TRACTNo.3, ;:-'^s.^::r:2f:^;; :^t it ..-.A, *>* ■V: Will shortly .appear,' containing "Farewell to Egypt," a beautiful Tract,, descriptive of the disruption of the Churqlh^of Scotland ; from the pen of the Rev. James J Hamiltoi^, of London, With an Appendix.^, ^"t,»%^|v^^ vV.V ■ ^. v '^' \:^v^Jtl;.f:\ .' J*;? --'.i^SCi- r*^:-.f I ' "* ' ■*" '•"-? '%'' ,.';,3Br^f* KfS>' .^