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:
PREFATORY REMARK.
The Author, who has some confidence in the correctness
of the views set forth in these Brief Notes, has been in-
duced to publish them, in the hope that the Unity of the
Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Canada may be pre*
served entire, on the ground of its own Independence.
Whatever may be the judgment formed on ihe causes that
have given rise to the Disruption in the Parent Church,
and on the conduct of parties previous to, and since, that
event, it cannot be of a nature to warrant the separation
of any one from the Canadian Church, which stitl holds to
its original constitution. No difference of opinion respect-
ing difficult and complicated proceedings, which have oc-.
purred on a scene so distant, and of which few among us
have very full and perfect information, shouldbe allowed
to interrupt that harmony which has hitherto prevailed a-
mong us, and which is so essential to the spiritual edifica-
tion of our people. Although decidedly inclined to Free
Church principles, as the genuine /jfptf of Presbyterianigm,
he desiderates no sort. of alliance between the Synod of
Canada and the Free Church, beyond that of Fraterni-
ty ; and though he cannot but condemn that course which
the Moderates in the Assembly have, as he thinks, in utter
infatuation, pursued, yet he is not of opinion that the Sy-
nod of Canada, as an independent judicature, is called to
take any farther step in rcfcrtnce to the Establishment,
unless it be that of renewed Protestation and ReSp^t-
FUL Remonstrance. — <* For my bretJiren and tomptt*
n(>ft« sakes^l will noto say y Peace be within thee. BeclaUse
of the House of the Lord our Gf^d^ I will seek thpgdodJ'
ROBERT MACGJLL.'
Niagara, Canada West, ,
12th Murch, 1944.
liwi^li^Jl
01:
I '■, !
I
m
*S )P
THE RELATION
oy
BIH3B S^ESr®® ®3f (SAMJ^W^
to
THIS OBURCB OF SCOTLAND
The extraordinary events which have recently occurred
in Scotland, by which the National Church — esteemed
one of the Best and Securest in Christendom — has been
rent into two great rival sections, have awakened an ear-
nest desire in many to be informed of the precise nature
of that Connexion which subsists between the Synod of
Canada and the Church of Scotland, and how We may
be affected by the Disruption. The question appears to
us a very simple, one. The following outline of our own
views will readily suggest the course of a fuller investiga-
tion to those who may bo disposed to enter upon it.
I. What is the Church op Scotland with which wk
CLAIM Affinity.
The Church of Scotland may be regarded, firsts as a
Church of Christ ; and secondly, as an establishment. As
the former, her character is tound in her acknowledged
standards of doctrine and discipline ; as the latter, it is
defined in the statute of her Incorporation. As the former^
she continues to exercise alS her prerogatives, like any other
vnestablished Christian Church^-^such as the ordaining and
the sending forth of Missionaries, the extending herself
into other lands, and the co-operating with other Uhristlan
Churches for the advancement of true religion in th9
^
LND,
occurred
esteemed
has been
i an ear-
e nature
Synod of
We may
ppears to
our own
[ivestiga-
it.
iIGH WK
rst, as a
ent. As
iwledged
er, it is
former,
ny other
ling and
herself
'hristjan
in the
world. But in her established character she has engaged
to perform specific duties within the Kmgdom of Scotland,
to which specific privileges and restrictions are annexed
by the State. Of these may be named the religious su-
perintendence of parishes as divided by law, and the right
to the temporal provision connected therewith : but she
cannot alter the boundaries of parishes, nor in any way
augment or alienate the tiends, nor confer the name or
privileges of ministers of the Church of Scotland on any
who are not really ministers of the establishment In this
character she is only an ecclesiastical corporation estab-
lished by parliament,existing under a civil statute, enjoying
certain rights and privileges in order to the performance of
certain specified duties, and it is not competent for her to
deviate in any instance from its provisions.
When any of her ministers or people go beyond the
Kingdom of Scotland, to which, as an establishment, the
national Church is limited, their connexion with it ceases ;
her superintendence and jurisdiction cannot follow them.
Yet as a Church of Christ she is bound to follow ihem and
to provide for their spiritual wants to the utmost of her
ability ; to send with them, or after them, ordained minis-
ters ; to sustain them by pecuniary aid, to afford them her
counsel ; and although she cannot admit them into formal
connexion with herself as an establishment, she can recog-
nize them as her expatriated children, as her true lineal
descendants, as one with her by '* adhering to the same
standards of doctrine, and maintaining the same forni of
worship and government ;" and she may test*":' to the
world her maternal solicitude, and declare to ^ ^ who in
any way lend them a helping hand, ** inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done
it unto me." ^
On this ground pf a recognized filial relationship, ihie
British Government has of late lent its countenance and
aid to some of our Colonial Churches. Although known
to it that the Church of Scotland could not extend itself as
an establishment to the Colonies, yet it has been disposed,
op the ground, no doubt, of the Treaty of Union, as welt
as jthe high estimatipn in which the Church of Scotland
i)«f Jbee^ Jbf<Md« to ack|ipwledg;e such congre|;ations in the
» i
Cofomesy jjust as if they had a real and formal conDezioii
%Uh the parent church, and in curt though inaccurate
fan guogp, they have been styled, **The Church of Scotland
in the Go\onleaJ' Thus, ia the Bill for the settlement of
the Clergy Reserves, we find one-third of the half granted
to the Church of Scotland, not lo the e^/o^ZtsAed Church
of Scotland, but to the Synod of the Presbyterian Church
of Canada, held to be her representative, and entitled to
whatever advantages may flow from that connexion.
It is of importance, therefore, to distinguish the ground
on which the State and the General Assembly have agreed
to recognize the Synod of Canada, as the representative
of the Church of Scotland. Clearly it was not because
there was any real ecclesiastical connexion, involving ju-
risdiction on the one part and submfseton oil the other ;
but because the Synod at its original formation consisted of
ministers from the Church of Scotland ; and because these
ministers by their ordination vows, and their Synodal
constitution, were bound to adhere to. the standards and
government of the parent church.
It was, moreover, perfectly clear to all parties^ that the
ecclesiastical independence of the Synod, which was fully
understood and admitted at its original formation, would
more and more display itself, as our body increased. The
ministers at first composing it were all from Scotland, but
no one imagined that this would continue to be the case in
all future time. The spiritual destitution of this country
required that the Synod should admit qualified ministers,
whatever might be their country ; and that the most stren-
uous exertions should be made to educate young men for
the ministry. By such measures the original character of
the Synod woufd soon be changed ; ft woufd cease to be
Scottish, it would become Canadian : and within a genera-
iion or two, national pecuFiarities and' predilections would
become extinct. Not that the Synod will lose its original
issenttai character. \t will, as nrny tie fbndjy hoped,
continue to be such a Church of Christ in Canada, as the
Church of Scotland is in ^^cotland, adhering steadfastly to
UiiB taniv standards, and diffusing the same spiritual bles-
il^ngs^among, jh9 peoplp ^ evjsr bearing distinct marks, and
>k^^-.i.:__ ^ grfttefoi lecolleetioiiy of its ^ottiah orlgtik
^
,-*''*
fT
Dnneziod
laccurato
Scotland
iment of
granted
{Church
Church
ntitled to
DO.
e ground
re agreed
sentative
because
Iving ju-
e other ;
misted of
use these
Synodal
ards and
that the
Was fully
n» would
Jd. The
fland, but
e case in
country
ninistersy
3st stren*-
men for
ractef of
se tt> be
: genera-
ls would
original
y hoped,
Ei^ as the
Ifastly to
ual bles-
rks, and
orlgtik
tf it b^^titMy tberefora* tkttt we atcT toiiiii^etfid with xha
Ctitirdb tif 'SMIan^f rattier in her character cf a Church
of Christ, than in that of an eataUiabnient, it ia of moment
To dia^rimiiiiitte what U peculiar to her in each of tfaeae
diaraeterVf that we may maintain that which ia uniTorta!
and penmnent, and reject that which is non-essential and
local. Her universal and permanent characteristics, are
to be found in her CoNrasaioN Awn Catecaismb ; in
her Books or Discipline, in her Dimcctobt and Foem
OF Chubcs Govekhhent. The accidental and the local
peculiarities, which are not adapted to our circumstances,
are the legal conditions by which she holds of the state
as an ^atablished church, and by which her natural
freedom as a Christian church is restricted. It is
out of these latter peculiarities that all her recent troubles
have arisen. But as they are connected with that part
of her constitution which we cannot copy, not being
like her established, we are not required to take part
in the controversies arising out of them. We shall be
better employed in offering up fervent prayer to God
that the Church of our Fathers may be delivered from all
evil, and be perpetuated in purity from age to age, a source
df spiritual life to our native land.
The Church of Scotland, then, viewed as a Church of
Christ, and part of His spiritual kingdom, is constituted in
obedience to His supreme authority, under those office
bearers which he has appointed, and for the edification of
its members in things divine and spiritual. As such it
cannot derive any authority from kings and Parliaments ;
it cannot without dishonor to Christ's supremacy admit
their interference either to add or to alter a pin in that
spiritual tabernacle which God hath erected and not man.
The Church of Scotland has uniformly held these princi-
ples, and declared it contrary to the allegiance which she
owed to hidr divine Master to sanction any usurpation of
authority in this spiritual kingdom by the secular power.
Thus, in her Cattfession ch. XXX:— **The Lord Jesus as
King and Head of His church hath therein appointed a
government in the hand of church officers, distinct from
the civil magistrate;" and in the Second Bookof DiidpUit^.
^'Thie power eccleeiastieal floweth immediately from God,
ond the mediBtor Jeius Chrift, apd if tpiritu^ qqI haWDg
a temporal bead on the earth, but only Cl|4fif(iK $1^ .^y
apiritual Kiiig and Crovernor of his liirk'^
In the civil establishment oif religion in Sootlpiml tb^Pt
fundamental principles were distinctly recognized by tb^
State. Previous to 1^67, when her coQstituiioOf franad
by her own spiritual office-bear^rsy was presented to Par-
liament AS that which she held and approved, ahe had
been exercising fully and entirely all her functions as a
church of Christ, without any connexion with or aupport
from the state. The reformers of that time, at the bead
of whom was Knox, were not men who would have sur-
rendered this principle (or any temporal provision, or to
please any King or Parliament. The principles of the
reformation had pervaded the land, and the state was very
well pleased to leave to the church herself the modelling of
her spiritual constitution, and to ratify it by law when pre-
sented to it. The Church of Scotland therefore is not the
creature of an act of Parliament. The civil legislature
only ratified the union between Church and State, op terms
that had been agreed upon by the church, and of which
her own spiritual independence was'*the basis.
The Act 1592, <«commonIy called the great Charter
OF THE Church op Scotland," while it confirms the pre-
ceding statutes passed in favor of the church, unhappily
bound the yoke of patronage upon the church and people*
It should be remembered that this act was passed in an age
in which very extravagant ideas were entertained uf the
Toyal prerogative, which was stretched to the extreme limits
of arbitrariness in matters both ecclesiastical and civil.
The success of the Sovereigns in the sister kingdom of
England, also, doubtless inspired James VI with the hope
of obiaining, what he very much desired, a supremacy io
all the eoclesiastical affairs of Scotland.*
A nearer approximation to that perfect spiritual inde-
pendence asserted in her standards was attained by an act
of the Scottish Parliament in 1649, by which patronage
waa ab olished, *'as being unlawful and umammUUtle b^
lAei
ties
poin
juris
folio
and
prov
by
con]
seric
olea
cert
time
the vfor4 of Oodf and ccntn$ry to ih$ doeirinet and liher*
ties of tku ehureh.** And becauia th?i rulo for the «p*
pointment of minitters was clenrljr within the tpiritual
jvrisdiction, the Parliament remitted it to the church in the
following terms : '^And because it is needful that the just
and proper interest of congregations and Presbyteries, in
providing of kirks with ministers, be clearly determined
by the General Assembly, and what is to be accounted a
congregation having that interest ; therefore* it is hereby
seriously recommended unto the next General Assembly*
clearly to determine the same, and to condescend upon a
certain standing way for being a settled fule therein in ail
time coming."
Without adverting to the intermediate period in which
the conduct of the state towards the church underwent vari-
ous changes, we come to the act 1690 for abolishing Prelacy
(which the infatuated Stewarts perseveringly laboured to
iorce upon the Scottish nation,) and for establishing Pres-
byterian Church Government In the same year an act
was passed, abolishing patronage, and declaring that ** in
case of the vacancy of any parish, the heritors of the
said parish, being protestants, and the elders, are to name
and propose the persons to the whole congregation, to be
either approven or disapproven by them" — their reasons
to be stated, if they disapproved, and to be judged of by
the Presbytery. These two acts constitute the Revolution
Sbttlement of the Church of Scotland, ratified and
confirmed by the Treaty of Union between Scotland and
England in 1707, and statuted to ** remain and continue,
unalterable^'
It is evident from the second and fourth questions in the
formula of Ordination, that the Church herself *iill holds
to the ReooluHon settlement as the true legal form of her
establishment. The second question refers to doctrine and
worship', and is as follows :-***Do you sincerely own and
believe the whole doctrine contained in the confession of
Faith, approven by the General Assemblies of this church, '
and ratified by law in the year 1690, to be founded upon the
word of God ; ^nd do you acknowledge the same as the
eonfession of your faith ; and will you firmly and con-
stantly adhere thereto, and to the utmost, of your power
ttttartv -nmilittiiii and ^fonii'tiie Miney imd the purity of
wdrsbip as prmieiitly pnbRlried in tbit na^oiml church»and
atflerted in act 15^ A&seoibly 1707, entitled, • act against
innovation in the worship of God I' '' The fourth ques*
tion of the formula refers to government and discrpluie,
and is as follows : — ** Are you persuaded that the Presby-
terian government and discipline of this church are founded
upon the word of God, and agreeable thereto, and i^o you
promise to submit to the said government and discipline, and
to concur with the same, and never to endeavour, directly or
itidiroctly, the prejudice or subversion thereof, but to the ut-
most of your power, in your station, to maintain, support
and defend the said discipline and Presbyterian government
by Kirk-sessions, Presbyteries, Provincial Synods, ari
General Assemblies, d'jring all the days of your life ?"
This formula of ordination was framed and adopted by
act of Assembly 1711, and is conformable to the revolution
settlement in 1690, as ratified in 1707 by the Treaty of
Union. The Synod of Canada uses the same formula in
ordination. It is, therefore, common to both, and expres-
ses the views of both as to the fundamental principles of
the church.
The Church of Scotland, however, is not n )w in the
precise state which her ordination formula cot emplates,
and as established at the Revolution and by the . reaty of
Union. Not more than five years had elapse (1712)
when this CuDdameBtal and '^unalterable" conditic i of the
Treaty was violated hy the machinations of e i infidel
minister,* and the perfidy of a subservient parli$ .i3nt,and
patronage which had been formerly declared, * "^latcful
and unwarrantable by the word of God^ and contrary to
thf- doctrines and liberties of this church,'' was revived,tn
despite Of the protestations of the Greneral Assembly and
the voice of the Scottish nation. The Assembly continued
her protestations annually, until 1784, against this act| as
a violation of national faith and an infringement of the
'inalienable rights of a christian people. From that year
until 1884, in consequence of the ascendency of modbba-
TiSM, the Assembly ceased formally to protest against pat-
• See App9ndix,NeteA.
urity of
ircti,and
agiftindt
th ques-
iscrpline,
Presby-
founded
d uo you
line, and
rectly or
to theut-
suppbrt
rcrnmont
ods, ar j
r life ?"
opted by
evolution
reaty of
rmul^ in
d expres-
iciples of
•w in the
emplatesr
reaty of
\ (1712)
' I of the
I infidel
.'!3nt,and
ntrary to
evivedyin
nbly and
s^ntinued
is act, as
nt of the
hat year
MODBSA-
ainst pat-
n
h>Tiaiget krid to ii^ek i^drefio Ibr th« wfong that fA& hem
inflicted on the Charch, btit a faithful band within her, stHI
ebntintied to ^^sigh i(nd cry,'' because of the abominafiOB.
With the view of abating the evils of patronage, the
General Assembly' in 18S4 passed the Veto-Law, which
gave a negative voice to the people in the election of their
rninister, nnd secured the great principle, *Hhai no minit-
ter should he intruded into a congregation contrary to the
toiee of tks major part of the commtmieantsy Various
circumstances led to the adopting of this measure at that
pinrticularconjuncture. Within the church, vital religion
had been greatly revived, and church accommodation to a
larger extent was required than what the law provided for;
without the church, the passage of the reform Bill, a few
years previously, had given a larger expansion to the
spirit of liberty. In short the condition of society in
Scotland had undergone a total revolution. Had it been
tiie same in 1834, as in 1712, when the great body of the
landholders and patrons were Presbyterians, and the great
body of the people in a conditio^i approaching to serfdom,
a modified form of patronage might not only have been
endurable, but, in some respects, beneficial. Under a
monarchical government and an ancient aristocracy ,and a
lengthened gradation of tank and property, it is hardly con-
ceivable that the right of electing ministers,whose incomes
were mostly drawn from the landlord, should be committed
to the cottars and binds, which it virtually would have been
had the Hgiu of vote been limited to actual communicants.
No analogous instance could be found in the then existing
frame-nrork of Scottish society. The elective fran-
chise in the stale was limited to a very small number of per-
sons. The law of patronage, therefore, made the eoclesi-
asitcal franchise analogous, that is, it placed it in the hands
of the Crown, and the great landed proprietors. But the
Condition of society in Scotland in 1834 was vastly differ-
ent. The elective franchise had been extended to all
classes of the people ; the spirit of liberty which growi
Wit^i intelligence and reviving religion had gained strength;
the genius of Presbyterianism, always tending to the as-
sertion of popular rights, had acquired greater energy.
In these circumstances, it was not to be imagined thai
n
patronage would aland lunaasailed. But there were other
^iisea. The aristocracy oir Scolland ia dot wbatit oace
wa$» It 16 DO longer Presbyterian; it is bow An-
glicised in its character and religion. Most of the
ariatoc racy are not only resident in England; they
have become English by their engrafting upon English
atocks. 3ootland is not now ti^etr country ; it is only a
province of England, where their estates lie, and in which
the relij^ioas peculiarities of the people are indulged accoT"
djhtg to ancient custom. Such an aristocracy can have no
very strong hold upon the affections of the people, and the
exercise of their rights as patrons will always be looked
upon with suspicion, and is very likely to be exercised
without much deference to the popular wish or well-being.
The full time, therefore, had come, /or the modification
of the law of patronage. The church had every dispos-
ition to deal gently with t7, doubtless out of regard to the
large number who held that modified patronage was not
an evil, and also from the great improbpbility of their ob*
taining the concurrence of the state, if they should trench
at all on what are held to bo the civil rights of patrons.
With the diificuities of her position full in view, and with
the advice of the highest legal authorities in the state,
and in conformity with what she held to be her inherent
and conslituiional rights, she enacted the Veto Law. The
civil courts decided that this was an infringement of the
patrimonial rights of the patrons ; the church maintained
her ground ; frequent collisions ensued between the civil
and ecclesiastical courts ; the administration of the day,
though frequently invoked, would bring no relief: the
DISRUPTION followed, and has left the fabric of the estab*
iishment in ruins.
An important question arises : which of the two sections,
now familiarly known as the Residuary, and the Free
Church, is truly the Church of Scotland, as defined at the
revolution settlement. Those who maintain that the Church
of Scotland is always that which is presently acknowledg-
ed by the state, will find it within the walls of the estab-
lishment. On the other hand, those who look for a church,
possessing all the characteristics of Mar «6fa&/<>M0M^^
reoalutionf possessed of undoubted spiritual independence,
re other
it oQce
I9w An-
of the
; they
Eogliah
only a
n which
id accor^
have no
and the
looked
xercised
lUbeing.
ification
dispos-
d to the
veas not
heir ob*
i trench
patrons,
nd with
le statCt
inherent
w. The
I of the
intained
le civil
he day,
ef: the
> estab*
ections,
) Feee
d at the
Church
Dwledg-
) estab-
shurch,
idenc^i
18
&nd ff«t from tike yoke of patronage, Will find it in the
Free Churelik . Many are of the opinion that the time will
speedily oome, when even the state will acknowledge and
redress those wrongs wbieh have enforced her separation.
It is not, however^the object of this inquiry to show which
of the two parties have the better claim to be regarded at
the Church of Scotland on the ground of constitutional
law, and the maintainance of those conditions on which the
establishment was based at the revolution, and confirmed
by the Treaty of Union. The state, of course, decides in
favor of the **Resiouart,'' and whatever quarrel may be
with the state for this decision, and for the mournful cau-
ses which have rendered such a discrimination necessaryt
the Residuary must be held bv us as the Church of Scot-
land, established by law ; as that church with which we
stand in a filial relation ; a relation which, slight as it is,
it would be inexpedient and undutifui to seek to dissolve,
on any other ground, than an open and manifest departure
from the fundamentals of those common standards by
which the Church of Scotland and the Synod of Canada
are equally bound as affiliated churches of the Lord Jesus
Christ. •
But this can never be a barrier to the Synod's entrance
into fraternal correspondence with the Free Church of
Scotland, with which we have so many personal ties, and
to the ministers of which our Church in Canada is under
so many obligation8,-->to say nothing of the yet undetermi-
ned question, which multitudes, however, have already de-
termined in their own minds, that she, the uncompromi-
sing though disinherited advocate of the principles of the
revolution settlement, is the true Church of Scotland, ac-
cording to that treaty, to which a nation's faith was so'
lemnly pledged, that it should ** remain and continue un-
alterable.''
II. WnAf to THE fRiyE RELATION WHICH THE pRESBY-
TBRiAN Church op Canaoa holos in rbsfect op the
Church op Scotlano.
Previous to 1881, several congregations, professing ad-
* Set Appendis, Nots B«
I«
ft
■'i
Kornioa to the Church of 8ootlafi4rluidbe€iQ,.f6riiM|dtA
Oanada^ but ro bond of unity subsisted amongv them ;
they had no ecclesisstKuil ju(Qlicatu,fes save the Session in
each congregationy nor had they ever been recognized in
any form by tiie parent church, though the ministers had
iieen ordained bv Presbyteries in ^Scotland, and their mem-
bers generally had been adherents of the national Church.
In that year, a Convention of ministers and elders met
at Kingston and formed themselves into a Synod and four
Presbyteries, assuming the title of Thb Pkesbyterun
Chorch OF Canada, in connexion ^jfFu the Church of
Scotland, — ^ ^leaving U to the Venerable^ the General As"
€etnbly^ to determine the particular nature of that cqnnexr
ion which shall subsist between this Synod and the Generfitf-
Assembly of the Church of Scotland,^'
What our designation should be, gave rise to very
lengthened and warm discussion. Some wished the Sy-
nod to be wholly independent of the parent Church, and
proposed that the title should be, "The S^ .ai> op the
Presbyterian Church op Canada." Some wijhed that
we should be incorporated with ttie parent Church, like the
Presbytery of Calcutta, and the reserving clause yfjks inr
sorted in our minute with the hope on their part that re-
presentation in, and incoiporation with, the General As-
sembly, would be conceded.* Others sustained the reser-
ving clause in the hope that some relation of fraternity
might be established between the parent Church and the
colonial, from which the latter might derive assistance
in the procuring of ministers, and the means of sup-
porting them. A fourth party consented to the va'ue
conditienality annexed to our assumed title, because \\ was
agreeable to the parties holding the preceding views, and
the insertion of it secured unanimitv at a time when it was
exceedingly desirable ; but foreseeing, nevertheless, thai
the parent Church could not and would not admit any co-
lonial church into incorporation with her, and to represen-
tation in her Assembly, and asserting that our self-assvmed
connexion with her could not be any thing but nominaL
4,. Time has confirmed the correctness of the opmions of the
first and last of these parties. It is now admitted on all
Hbo Appendix, Note C.
t
lent
««ioii in
nized in
^rs had
)ir K9em-
I!hurch.
ars mejt
nd four
fTERI4N
URCH OF
sral As"
conTiessr
Gener^
to very
the Sy-
I'ch, and
► OP THE
bed that
like th^
was ii>
that re-
leral As-
le reser-
FERNITY
and the
isistance
t>f pup-
ie va^ue
36 \*. was
ws, and
n it WHS
)^9r thai
any co-
jpresen-
%s8vmed
linaL
IS of the
\ on all
Inuldf that our eonoexibn with the Cbttroli of Scotland is
but nomiita/, audthat the eoeleaiastieal independence of the
gynod of Ganada ia a mattefnot to t)e gainayed.
It inay be established on the following grounds :
1. That the ministers and commissioners of oongrega-
lions» who met in Convention, m order to constitute the
Synod, though all when in Scotland connected with the
Established Church, yet were in Canada, both in fact and
law, beyond its jurisdiction, at the period that this step was
taken.
2. That the Synod was a self-constituted body, which
did not derive its powers from the General Assembly, but
these resulted from that inherent and constitutional right,
which belongs to all Presbyterian ministers and congrega-
tions placed in similar circumstances.* c^^^j
3. That this inherent and independent right is plainly inv-
plied in the terms used in the first clause of the Dec/ara-
twy Enactment which reached this country in July, 1833.t
4. That this Declaratory Enactment does not define,
and the General Assembly never has attempted to define,
what the Synod left to its determination, the nature of our
connexion with it;. because, strictly speaking, no freshy-
terial connexion did or could subsist : Recognition on the
part of the Assembly, on the ground of certain conditions
prescribed to the colonial churches, would be the more ap-
propriate term.
5. That although the determination of this question was
left in indefinite terms to the General Assembly, that ve-
nerable body could not have placed the Synod of Ganada
in any relation implying dep^mdence and jurisdiction^
without granting to it incorporation and repreaentattxtn —
privileges that could not have been conferred upon any
colonial church consistently with its own Charter of In-
corporation.
6. It is quite clear, moreover, from the correspondence
held with leading members of the General Assembly, that
such a connexion wasnever contemplated by them. |
* See Appendix, Note D.
•^ See Appendix, Note E.
:|; See Letters in Appendix, Note C, and several of the same
ienor were received from other leading ministers of the Charch.
7. All the proviBioni of the Bedamtorj EnaelnbeDt tf^
eonrormable to tbeae views of the perfect independence of
the Synod. It declafes what Is proper and eatpMmt ;
recommenda^ but does not enjoin; never speaks of con-
nexion or jurisdiction ; evidently ai^ticipates a time when
•Ten its reeomnundatione simU he inapplicable to our eireuin^
stances : and appoints a committee for giving advice and
assistance, if we shall ehooie to ask them. Here is a/ro-
temal relation^ but manifestly no preabyterialenmeaiion,
8. The framers of this Enactment knew far better our
true position in regard to the Church of Scotland, than we
did ourseives ; and it is not to be doubted that, had this
document reached the Synod in 18S1, instead of 1833« it
would have substituted for the self-asmmed and unautho-
rized clause ** IN CONNEXION WITH THE ChURCH OP SCOT-
LAND,'' which forms part of its present title, the far more
appropriate description, which the General Assembly itself
has used, ** adhering to the standards of the Church of
Scotland, and maintaining her form of worship and go-
vemment,^^
9. This latter clause clearly describes our true character
and position. There are some points connected with the Es-
tablished Church of Scotland, as it now exists, which many
of our ministers and people, both at home and in the colo-
nies, utterly renounce and condemn — most of them grow-
ing out of the grievance of patronage. In short, when we
speak strictly and technically of the Church of Scotland,
we understand it in the sense in which it is used in the
ordination formula, and particularly in the second question
of it. [Seepage 9.]
10. Ever since the formation of the Synod, it has acted
as an independent judicature ; nor have its actings ever
been called in question by the General Assembly, though,
in at least ^oe remarkable instances, the Synod had gone
in advance of that position which the Declaratory Enact-
ment had recommended it to assume : — 1, the admission of
Presbyterian ministers from other bodies ; 2, the licensing
of probationers ; 3, the education of young men for the
ministry ; 4, the appointing of new regulations for the
course oT theological study ; 5, the entrance into corre-
spondence with othel* Presbyterian churches ; — acts as
tie^
idenoe of
of obn-
ne when
r eireuiii»>
vice and
is afro-
leaiion.
etfer our
than we
had this
1833, it
unautho-
)r ScoT-
far more
ibly itself
Church of
' and. gO'
character
th the Es-
ich many
the coio-
jra grow-
when we
Scotland,
;d in the
question
bas acted
ivgs ever
t though,
md gone
y Enact-
lission of
licensing
n for the
for the
;o corre-
-acts ai
anMuiymlW proT^n,^ the (Bxereiso oC eeoleiiastieal j^df-
kvr((i,c^iy)d jurilKiielioa oier tb9 ^SyncM^ w;ii|^t.laeD'r|M^^,
raUdk'ahd i^epresebUktion, to heUher ebiild ma Sym)4 li#^
yteldea to lit without a, dao^roai apo. unwarifiiiiedL tiirp .,
rebder or its bWii'anrf iha peopIeVtbiiritiial rigbtt an4 Iibar^ ',
tiefc\
III. WHCTasa TRI TIMPOKAL ADVAMriOIS WBICH THS 11
STl^db HAS OBTAINSD raOM THB GoYBRNUBNTi OB ANY ,^
OTttKK >AltTr, UNDBR ITS PBB8ENT DESIGN ATION» MAT BB '
Putrilf tBRlt BT ANT MBASUBBS LIBBLT TO BB ADOFTBD..
Th'ekd consist of small parcels of land, bestowed uppn a
few congregations ; of small sums of money granted in
certaltl cases' to aid in building churches; of an i^nniial
allowance to certaiil ministers ; and of the right to a cer-
tain portion of the proceeds of the Clergy Reserves
Tne'Continued possession of these advantages will de-.
petid Upon the fulfilment of the conditions on which they.
weYd bestowed, of which the fundamental element is ** ad*
heHhgto the standards o( the Church oF Scotland :" a>^
departure from these would imply a forfeiture of the ad^
vantages*
It ought to be remembered that these advantages were
not claimed, and they were not obtained, solely on th^.
grCund of our connexion with the Church of Scotland, but
on our rights as Scotchmen in a British colony, under the
Treaty of 0nion. The claimants, doubtless, asserted theik*
adhetenee to the national church according as it might be
understood conformably with that treaty, and with the
laws and constitution of the church as then established.
No capricious and arbitrary denial of bf.cognition, or
declaration of non- relationship Kith a colonial church, if
such were possible, on the part of the General AsbembI),
can abrogate the rights of the subjects of the kingdom of
Scotland, as guaranteed by the Treaty of Union, These
remain as established in 1707, whatever revolutions the
charch may undergOi or whatever may be the character of
its proceedings.
w
i?r
To tiippote ah eitreme eate. Were tlie ^jfnoi'io ^0fi>ff e^. ^
that.tlie existing ef tablishment of Scoilana, on Meovttt of .
her practical defedtion from her ttandarda, or oh aCGpQqt
of tHe hewinterpretation of the laws affecting her,aBcl'tb^ ,
new legislation of the British Parliament in her afiaii^
wihoiU her eonaenU is not the church establishment of thp
ReTbTotion settlement, as recognized ih the formula of or-
dination, and that on account of fundamental changes It
could not acknowledge her to be the true Church of Scotr
land ; a declaration to this effect, whether made in isrrpr,
or on true grounds, could not affect the essential character
of the Synod of Canada, or endangjBr any of her temporal
interests, so long as she herself unequivocally maintained
her original position, and faithfully adhered to the common
standards. If this opinion on a case soextreme be cor-
rect, no steps are likely to be taken which will endaiig^t
the tomporalities of the Canadian church.
IV. What the General. Assembly and the Stnoit
OF Canada mioht be at liberty to do, (occupying
BACFI an fNDEPENDENT POSITION, THOUGH STANDINO TO
EACH OTHER fN A CLOSE FRATERNAL RELATIONSHIP,) IN
CERTAIN SUPPOSED EMERGENCIES.
1. If the proceedings of the Synod were manifestly at
variance with the standards of the Church of Scotland, it
would be competent for the Assembly to declare that her
relationship to the Synod was annulled. Such a declara-
tion, supposing that the grounds were valid, would through
iha intervention of the eivil courts here have the effect of de-
priving tho church of all the advantages thatshe possessed
in virtue of that relationship. But apart from any such
dticiaratioQ by the General Assembly, the same deprivation
wairid frvllew, were an action instituted by any eompetenl
parties in tho proper civil court for malversation of trust.
The property and privileges of the churchare helilon cer-
tain conditions, and to apply them alienmrly might be the
ground of a civrl action.
2. On the other hand, if the General Assembly should
fail into heresy, or depart from the standards of the eh urcb
to which it la bound by its const! lution, a» well as the
j^'\i
y.'X>.
(• !Ui>''.rf »•
i5?
i (•'.'•
Bomit Qf
and'th^
t aflSini^
It ol* tlip
a of or-
anges It
of Scot-
n errpr^
aracter
RRiporal
intaihed
sommoR
be cpr-
ixlan^^c
Stnoit
lUPTIMO
iiNO to
IP,) IN
J*** ■ ■
estly at
land, it
lat her
leclara-
li rough
tofde*
isessecSl
y such
lyation
ipeteol
trusL
^n cer-
be the
</«■<
ihoulct"
hurcb
%» ibe
;Jet%
8ynO^ It wptild bo equally ooropetent for tbe latter to dSi*
elare iti connexion with sMch ah Attembly dteaolved* and
yet ^old all the advantages originally received in yirtuo of
that conupiion, because it consists not in the intercouisa.
of persons, but in an adherence to the common faith.
8. Butdifierences of a less important kind may arise;
whi^b, though not sufficient to warrant a declaration ot*
non*intercourse, might yet place the parties in an attitude
of opposition. The causes of her present disruption may
be held by some to be of this kind. The Church of Sco(«
land still professes to adhere to her standards ; yet, as is
alleged, the ** Residuary" has connived at the encroach-
ment of the civil courts upon the fundamental liberties or'
the church. If this were proved to the satisfaction of the
Synod, and so resolved, it would not be inconsistent with
mutual relations, for the Synod to send a letter of protesta-
tion and respectful remonstrance to the General Assembly..
V. One OR TWO mSCONCBPTIOIfS RECTIFIED.
1. ** 1 am resolved to remain no longer a minister of the"
Church of Scotland,^* exclaims a poor Canadian minister,
with the interdicts of the Court of Session in his eye, and
the warm zeal of Free-Churohtsm in his heart. Patience^
Brother, take heed; you need put yourself to no trouble on
this account ; — you never were a minister of the Church of
Scotland- — at best you are only from it. Some one of her
Presbyteries conferred upon you the ^^mini^terium vagum^'^
and sent you away <* Cree :*' that is all you have derived
from her, and all the connexion you have with her. You
are not surely inclined to renounce the ministerial charac-
ter with which she invested you, and which she will never
take away from you without some graver otib nee than any
with which you are chargeable. It wiii' be time enough to
consider the question of a change in your ecclesiastical
connexion, when you return to<yaur native country. Ini
Canada, you never were in boiKta^o ; the interdicts of the
Court of Session don't extend so iur. Jealous as you ara
of spiritual independence, be thankluJ lor the posseiesioii
of it. Pity those that have it not up to the measure of yotir
wishes ; audif Providence bad blessed you with, the floeanv,,
w
I jf^fliwy iacrifiqct, «82riii % % of fife jr^t |ib^
ppfrtriul of the world who woul<I criu^i thei?^ •
~. •'i hotd to /Atf jBi/dS^i^Am^^^' exclau
Jl, •*/ hold to the J^tu^ish9fu^t/^ exclam^ ab^^ri
'^hkcoUfnother Church of VfuiitMJ* Very we|I, l>rother,
you use your liberty. No one can conopel > oii to believe
that Shb \b not the true oW mother who is at preseiit sit-
ting within the deserted wallst not^ithstaii^idjg^ all that the
deserters have asserked in their *^ claim ojp kioHTSt^ ancl
in their deed of **oimi8Sion and SEpARATioN.''— But at all
e vents, you do not mean that you wi^l hold to the church
establishment as if you were really a part of it, seeing yju
are no pari of it at ally by its own declaration. You can-
not mean this. Nor do >'ou mean that you entirely ap-
prove of the whole course which those who now constitute
ihe establishment have pursued in recent controversies I
**No, sir, but 1 mean by my adherence an approver oC
mother church, as the best estahlishmeht in the world /"
Very well ; you are entitled to hol^ that opinion, and I
rather think the fioryest Free-Church man will agree
with you in it, notwithntanding the abominations by which
in hi;, judgment the national church has been defiled. But
there are some things, brother, connected with the
present establishment, that you surely do not fully ap-
prove : as for instance, unlimited patronage, — the late
pndeniablo intrusions of the Court of Hession into the spi-
ritual domain, — the restraints laid upon church-ex tension
by the degradation of the quoad sacra ministers 1 ^* No,
sir, I don t approve of these things ; I wish a remedy to be
provided for them.'' Very well. Who can deny your
right to hold these opinions with such limitations ; and why
should not you and your brother on the other side, who are
Adhering substantially to the same object, as defined in the
j6rdination formula, not continue to dwell in unity and love,
on the free, and scriptural, and truly Cburch-of-Scotland
ground, which the Synod of Canada occupies ?
8. And ** What shall we do ?" exclaim a group of sturdy
backwoodsmen, crowding around their minister as he cornea,
out of his log church, after having faithfully expounded t(>
them the doctcine of spiritual independence—*' What shall
we do f Shall we hold hii the * Old Residnary»^orgo mtH
^9 111%
|It jbrotnert
to beliefe
^rese'ot sit-
itl that the
tb/' and
But at art
e church
e'eing y-jti
You can-
tirely ap-
constitute
roversics ?
)provaroC
e world /''
on, and I
vill agree
by which
iled. But
with the
i fully ap-
—the late
to the spl-
•extension
? ^♦No.
nedy to be
leny your
and why
, who are
led in the
' and love,
-Scotland
of sturdy
he cbnnea
ouoded t(>
^hatshali
r g^ imth
ih$ • JF>e# Church V V «< Oh, Donald, Donald," saya the
minister mildly to the chiof speaker, ** what clatter is this
you are continoally making about 'the Strathbogie mini*
sters,' and ' the Marnoch case,' and the • interdicts,' and
the 'disruption,' and *the Free Church,' and Mhe Resi-*
duary,' and * shall we stay in V or •will we oo out V
How, Donald, can ye either stay in, or go out, when you
are not in at all ? and you have not been m the Church of
Scotland since you left the quay of Greenock. And have
you not been an elder of the Free Church in the Scotch
Block of — ever since you came to Canada, and long
before the Free Church of Scotland was dreamed of by
(hose who now talk most loudly about it ? You at least
are not afraid of patronage and Csesar. in these backwoods.
If you should ever return to Sutherland, it will then be
your duty to consider whether you ought to hold to the
Establishment, or join the Free Church, but you need not
perplex youi^self or ybar neighbors about the question
here; only, Donald, if you can spare it, and if you please
you may even stretch a point to spare it, you may send the
prree of the young heifer you sold on Friday, to help your
old fellow parishioners in Sutherland, whom the factor
Wishies to compel to worship God in a way that may please
the Duke, though they know, perhapfl fully as well as his
Grace, how God is to be worshipped. We cannot stand/
my good friend, any violation of the rights of conscience— -
we must help them* The price of your heifer, and of two
or three busnels of wheat from each of your neighbors ia
the Block, will be a stone in their kirk. * Less dirif Do'
ndidt and ml(ur tooo»^ '^
y. Concluding REMAaxs.
i3y a careful comparison of notes on this subj^t among
those ^ho full)^ uhderstind it — by keeping in View the ee-
seritial Wieritfs of the case— by rejecting inaccnrate bhd
udd^fihiiidd^pressipnd which we have brbught from fitur*
n^tfye^hd. >ittd'iiirhich «rO not appropriate* to our cir^oiw-*^
stances in Canada— it will be admitted that we occupir an
iftdep^iidenf M!itt(^' ait'pd^^^bf l»e .ChirT^iaii dhtlfdb^ fn
ihuZh^yf&tmm ib%g mnimm^ mmwti^^
OUT standards, we may correspond fi[ith any other churchy
and disapprove and remonstratet as may be deemed ri]g;ht
and dutiful, without putting any of our interests in peril.
It would indeed be a grievous and intolerable hindrance
to Presbyterianism in this colony, were the church courts
here to be held bound to approve or to follow all the pro-
ceedings of the Scottish Establishment, or to take any part
in the troubles that arise within it in consequence of its
connexion with the State. We^re connected with it rather
in its character of a Church of Christ, than in that of an
Establishment. It exibted in the former character long
before it was connected with the State, and all its standards
were formed prior to this connexion. It is in its non-
established condition, therefore, that we find its true model;
this alone we are under obligations to copy, and this only
is adapted to our circumstances.
Give us, then, this model, free from those peculiarities
which have grown up around it in consequence of its civil
establishment ; — give us this model of scriptural Presby-
terianism, and it will in progress of time secure for itself
on establishment in the understandings and in the afl&c*
tions of the people of this land ; — purify it from all mere
nationality, and let it be conformed in all things ** to the
pattern showed upon the Mount," ocd within less than a
century the Synod of Canada may comprehend under its
pastoral superintendence a church mere numerous than the
national establishment of Scotland ever had under its wing.
Closely connected as the great body of the Preabyterian
community in Canada are with Scotland, and dear as its
xhurch is to us, we are constrained to look with intense in*
terest on the issue of the struggle going on there. It is
not to be doubted that the ecclesiastical vsformation will
advance ; that the establishment will either be ** re-model-
i»BD* OR ovbbthrown;" but be it the one or the other, the
Church of the Scottish nation will never be consumed--^
she will rise fresh and renovated from amidst the fiery tri-
bulations through which- she is passing. There are many
sound meiA and true yet within the eaUbllpbment,. altboMgW
* To rsmoddl, wonld only bt to restore the Cbttrsh lo its cea^
stitaOooal and Isgtl erivilegts. Set Apptnais, I^ets A.
'M'nm
*'i
r churchy
ned right
1 peril,
lindrance
ch courts
the pro-
any part
ce of its
it rather
lat of an
cter long
standards
its non-
le model;
bis only
uliarities
its civil
Presby-
for itself
pe afiec^
all mere
" to the
8 than a
inder its
than the
its wing,
byteriaa
ir as its
ense in»
>. It is
iion will
-MODEL-
^er, the
umcd— -^
iery tri-
e manr
IthpiigW
its CQU^ '
(fbey bad not the courage to be martyn. The m'iglvif
talent of the Free Church will be plied unweariedly for her
leformation ; and if the Church of Scotland shall sui vlve
as a national established church, its new treaty of con-
nexion with the State will be more enlightened and scrip-
tural than any that Jemes VI., and modern statesmen of
his school, have ever yet favo^^red. And is tt too muoli
to hope that when the grievances which have given rise
to the various sccessions are removed, the entire Presbv-
terianisro of Scotland may be harmoniously united withr»
the same fold f
There are other denominations also, which, by some
slight modification of their respective peculiarities, might
be attracted within the circle of fraternal eo-operatiofit if
•not of incorporation* There is a strong affinity between
the Free Piesbyterianism of Scotland, and the Congrega-
tionalism of England. What shouM prevent their union ?
It would be of immense advantage to the cause of truth.
Were such an union efiected, the old Puritanism of Eng-
Isnd might yet lift its •head ; another Westminster Assem-
bly might be convened, and another national Covenant
entered into under better auspices than the former. Then,
again, Free Churchism and Methodism are practically
within sight of each others the^oe points, calmly and mo-
derately interpreted by the wisest of both parties, might
not prove an insuperable barrier ; more akin in their prac-
tical operations, they will become -more akin in their sen-
timents. A good understanding, •and a frequent commu-
nion between these bodies, would have a powerful influ-
ence in advancing the reformation, and in promoting the
■unity of the Church Catholic. This hope makes ode look
upon them with a kinder eye and a warmer charity. The
unity of the Church will be ratified on Bible and Mission-
ary ground. Events prognosticate its approach.
May it not be that the Supreme Head of the Church,
>* who holds the stars in his right hand,'** has constrained
tbo^ faithful men of the Free Church to get out from mi
•estaiblishment so coerced by the recent encroachments of
jthe civil power that it could neither extend nor reform it-
tielf, not only that Ihe work of reformation may be carried
ioa mote eirectuanyin.ScotIand ^ but Ihattheir example .«ii
24
spirit may be diffused into other lands, where thoChufch is
atiU in bondage tOiCsBsar, that they too may be stirred up
to assert their spiritual independence, and come forth into
that liberty wherewith Christ has made them free ?
The progress of the Protestant Reformation has been
checked and marred by State control more than by any other
cause. Worldly politicians taking the Church under their
protection have formed and fashioned her for their own
ends, heedless of the great end for which she is ordained
, of God, and of the divine rule by which she is to be go-
verned. The complete purgation of the errors and cor-
ruptions of by-gone times will not be etFected while these
Uzzahs touch the ark ;T-the work must be done by cleaner
hands.
The experience of every branch of the Church, since
the Monk of Saxony began his career, plainly testifies that
without freedom and independence in all spiritual matters
no Church can either reform itself from ancient corrup-
tions, or long maintain itself in purity and usefulness. In
Scotland, a strenuous effort is now being made to assert
this spiritual independence as the inalienable right of the
Churchy and the patrimonial inheritance of every Scotch-
man. Who can turn away his eyes from the arena, or
look with indifference upon the combatants ?
On this continent — in this colony — we fully enjoy all
the advantages for which they are contending. But in the
Church, as in the State^ independence amon^ &n ungodly
people will very certainly degenerate into iawlessnesg
This is the side OQ which our danger Hes. The spirit of
insubordination tHat spurns at the sceptre of Ctesar, will
not meekly submit to the yoke of Christ. Let it be in-
scribed on every pillar of the Church,— let it be engraven
OR the soul of every worshipper within it, that the freedom
with which Christ has made us free must be regulated by
^ laws of His kingdom — and wo be to the people that in*
fringe them, ** In the keeping of lua commandmentt lhir$
■•?-j h-fi'^tff i^i^'
* f? tfi:'^.
r.;^;--Khinri,
•>i)i:
E2 Church is
stirred up
^ forth into
ee ?
k has been
y any other
under their
their own
is ordained
is to be go-
rs and cor-
while these
> by cleaner
urch, since
estilies that
ual matters
ent corrup.
fulness. In
ie to assert
right of the
ery Scotch-
arenai or
\y enjoy ail
But in the
an ungodly
lawlessnesB
he spirit of
!^sar, will
let it bo in^
>8 engraven
ihe freedon>
tgulated by
ipie that in*
menu thir$
^0»;t
ATP matrix.
>ii
y
ai *»; »»
The Kirk of Scotland was established by the good
Regent Murray and the Parliament of Scotland, and wrested
the charter of her liberties from the despot James VI. b^
moral energy, with the exception of patronage, which wjvs
still laid on her. Finally, at the Revolution settlement
William re-enacted that charter, but abolished patronage.
Thus the Kirk of Scotland was eitablished, received her en-
dowmmts, and ihe protection of law, from her native King
and Parliament; and its constitution, as settled at the Re-
volution, received the sanction of the Scottish State, and be-
came part of the constitution of this country.
Then came the Union ; the ministers and people were
afraid that this would open up the Kirk to innovations from
the feelings of Englishmen in favour of prelacy, which they
theipselves abhorred, and hence arose the violent opposition
to the Chion : mostof all did they feel uneasy at the prospect
of the temporal affairs of the Kirk being mana^^ed by those
who are called lords spiritual, and thus be reduced to the ne-
cessity of seeing the Kirk unacknowledged by the State and
bereffc of its endowments, or of submitting to its arrange-
ments bein^ forced upon them according to the opinions of
the C!n^li«h prelates who had a seat in the Parliament which
was abojut to be called into existence as supieme over the
whole Island.
To secure, therefore, tlie constitution of the Kirk^ itsesta*
blishment and endow men ts^ and, in short, to place thesO
beyond the roach of the English members who were sup*
poseato be itostile to them, the Scottish Parliament passed
the Act of Security, securing the Kirk of Scotland in hei^
worship, doctrine, discipline, ami governurent according to^
the Revolution settlement, which act was incorporated into
the Treaty of Union, and declared in that Treaty to be>
a fundamental and essential condition of the IJnioni to con*
tinue fpr ever. t,
For what purpose, then, were these stipulations roacte^
f^ey Were clearly restrictions upmi the power of the BritisU
raiiiament. Placing them heyunrl their leacli as ilitinaHsH"
e^Ujpoliticnl ritrJUs of the Kirk and people of Scotland, anid
i^nich the British Parliament should have no power totuibi
MtUe ad'te catenas »'> -^qtiit
£ffii^iet tarn haec scil rBtus vincula Proteus.
It
Evil men may in one sense be said to be stronger than
:good men— no moral restraint can bind tkem ; so the security
of a treaty could not secure the Kirk from the hands of those
who showed the low standin^i; they held in creation by their
freedom from the control of right.
Bolingbroke and his party came into power through the
influence of a tiring-woman.* To prepare the way for the re-
turn of the Stuarts to the throne, they passed an actanent
patronages, with a lying preamble, and thus broke the treaty
which had just been signed, and passed an act beyond their
powers, and of the most unconstitutional kind.
If it be true, as I conceive it most undoubtedly is, that
the British Parliament have not the constitutional power to
deprive us of our endowments and our Kirk's constitution*
then the British Parliament cannot insist upon what they
know to be tUtra vires.
I noticed by chance in the Courier newspaper an article
upon this same question. It hints, at the ena, of a now ad-
justment of the compact between the Chui'chand the State.
Does the Courier think we are mad ? No : we will main-
tain our rights and the constitution of the Kirk as they were
settled at the Union. — Extract from a letter in the London
Olobe, Sept. 6th., 1S40.
IMM'ti
and
pies
canm
titem
notd
their
with
Besid
a true
trine!
The Princeton Review, animadverting upon the hostile
attitude which some leading organs of the Free Church have
assumed towards the Establishment, as if no communion
were to be held with it, and ** the parish minister were to
be regarded as the one excommunicated man of the district,*^
thus remaTks-:~<*This course, if right, will be found expe-
dient ; if wrong, it must prove disastrous. We are con-
strained to think it wrong, because it proceeds on the false
assumption that the present Established Church of Scotland
is not ft diurch Vf Jesus Christ. That this is a false assump-
tion is to us plain, because according to the common stan-
dards of the Free and of the Established Church, andaccordr
ing to the common doctrine of Christendom, and the plaiii
teaching of the scriptures, a church is a body of men profess-
ing the true religion. That the Established Church dp
profess the true religion is plain because they have the very
same Confession of Faith, and therefore make the very sajiie
profession that is made by their seceding brethren . If it b^
said that they differ a« to the intportant doctrine of the lorji^,
•hip .of .Christ over hiscf rnu e rinswer is, first, tl^t both
•;i*# 1^1' jf \-' » *;
■^-f^-
ronger than
the security
nds of tho9e
ion by theiir
hrough the
y for the re«
act anent
e the treaty
eyond their
\y is, that
il power to
institution^
what they
an article
a new ad-
the State,
will main-
they were
he London
he hostite
urch have
>nimunion
r were to
district/'
II nd expe*
are con-
I the false
* Scotland
9 assump-
Qon Stan-
id accordr
the plaiii
n profess*
^urch dp
the very
BIT saMe
If it ben
the lordn
ilyt both
fkvrties'bold to the same verbf^l statement of that^ doctrine,
and diflfer only as to the application of it, or as to the princir.
j^les which flow from it; and secondly, that admittin|r the
Establishment. to be in error as to that doctrine, such error
cannot work a forfcitute of their church state, unless ic cutt
tliem off from Christ 9nd the hope of salvation. iThis it can-
not do, because, according to the scriptures, all who repent of
their sins and put their trust in Christ are in a state of union
with him, and of course in a state of grace and salvation.
Besides, the doctrine that a church is not to be refsarded as
a true church of Christ unless perfectly pure as to its doc-
trines, is inconsistent with our common standards; it is
inconsistent with the Bible, and with common sense, and the
common judgment of the people of God in all places and in
all ages. There fs also a glaring inconsistency, in making
the practical recognition of the spiritual independence of the
church necessary to its very existence, with the past and
present conduct of these brethren themselves. It may even
be doubted whether, according to their principles, the Church
of Scotland itself, before the passage of the Veto Act, had not
practicalI;|r|for many generations (?) renouncedthis very doc^
trine of spiritual independence ; for it had not onl^ submitted
to the domination oi the state, but had lent its aid in crush-
ing the rights of the people, and the independence of the
church courts, which It now so nobly vindicates."— Those
who are at a distance can form a much more dispassionate
judgment of both parties, than these parties can do of each
other ; and it is gratifying to find so distinct a testimony in
favor of the Church of Scotland, as still a church of Christ,
notwithstanding her defections, from writers who have ad-
vanced much farther in their notions of eccTesiastical freedom
than the most innovatir^ of the Free Churchmen of Scotland
are yet prepared to go.
c
The author of these bribf notbs, in the days of his inex-
perience, belonged to this class. In a letter addressed to a dis«
tinguished Ministerof the Church of Scotland, in 1831, imme*
diately after the formation of the Synod« he expressed himself
thus :— « It will greatly promote the interests of our Church
ill Canada, w^re the General Assembly distinctly to recog-
nise our Synod, ai in connexion with the ^.hurch, and Ap-
point some means by which the connexion may not b«
meiiely nbminal, but real. As you will learn from our
roiiitttes and thei accompanying memorial, thedeterminatioiv
of thifi natiijs of our relation iB%ft entirely to (he Gentral^
Ik
|be C^eneral ARSdtbbiy should receive it r^j^ieserfttffitiit frolii
Qur Church every' alternate year, and that a Goiniiifssidiiei'
Irqqs (he General Jkssennbly shoiild vi^it the Sy Hod df Oatm-
(ia every second or fourth year. In this way our cotineiTfon
iwith the Parent Church would be morn certainly presfe^ved,
and qur influence with the Imperial Government thi'oUgh
^e Assembly woUld be greater. It is desirable that the
legislators of our church should speedily come to some de-
cision on the ({uestion. Whether the General Assen^ly can
e;i[tend its jurisdiction beyond Scotland into terHtoties ac-
quired since the Union ? ' The Church of England foutid no
difficulty in uniting Canada to the Diocese or Canterbury ;
biit the establishment of the North seems more tiitiid. Jf,
however, they are in doubt about the matter, and think
Presbyterianism a system worth contending for, the timid
inight petition for a parliamentary sanction to receive their
owa colonial churches under their jurisdiction ; for it is
neither Christian nor politic that our Mother Church should
shut herself up within her own little fortress^ and refuse to
extend protection to, a^id to form alliance with, those who
naturally belong to her.** Biefore this letter could have
reached Scotland, one was received from the eminent ihiniit-
ter to whom it was addressed, containing the following sen-
timents : — " I hope that ere now you have met together
and formed yourselves into a Synod on the principles of the
Church of Scotland, and that the Committee ot the General
Assembly in reporting to the next Assembly may have it in
their power to recomi^ehd the Synod br Church iti Canada
to the protection of the Church of Scotland. You should
rigidly adhere to the constitution and government of the
parent church, that you may without hesitation be recog-
nized, if not as a branch of, at Jcast as a branch itrom, our
truly scriptural establishment. The right of sending repre-
sentatives cannot be granted, and if conceded, would do
more harm than good* It seems to be very generally ad
mitted that the Presbytery of India is a gross anomaly, and
tlmt it would be much l>etter to. withhold the right of repre-
0^ivtation to the Assembly. You ^ill^ govern yoiirselyes
eeeiesiastieally far better thap we can do.*^ , Id anoilier
letter, dated 26th May, 1832, at^ the time when ^he JCNielara-
lory Enactment was prepared.by tbf^ Aifseixibly taibewapt
down to Presbyteries, he sajf refpiMtMigU:-~'*4ti§!m>t
proposed thaty ou should hav&the fm\ii offending irf p|r^|i«
taUvet. The Prioeipal C^acfarlanX an^|, I,|}tlieve>a%the
lbadui($ men of the churcihj afre epiiVinoed tjti^i ifi ^ IfoVlPf
a repreientation to the churches io India, ihe Asaembly ex<
eteded its powem an4 commitM a ffreat. error. A,tUc|iin&;
£l&ifeatM'ri^p^jrtanc<) id fesMihc^, I should tiiitilt th^
riinf ioir tiejpresdMatlbii ^n ejW ratlier llian a good ; or if do8«
Miniikd and not usedt a mere s^w thing, that you would be
better whhout. Brides the right of representation could
icareely eJKist, or rather Goutd not at all exist, without the
ri j;ht of superintendence and government on our part ; and it
Wqi^Idnot be easy to exercise such superintendence over
courts on the other side of the Atlantic* See, fur example,
bow t^ePresbytery of Edinburgh are bothered with the Pres-
bytery of Calcutta, and how difficult ihey have found it to
attend to complaints from that quarter, and to redress the
e'Tiis complained of." Again, in July, 1883 :^<< I sliall look
With expectation for the promised account of your Sjr nod's
proceedings in August. If I mistake not the institution of
that Court, and your Presbyteries under it, have done good
to the Presbyterian (Church of Scotland^ cause in Canada*
In the eye of the government you are an organized and uni«
ted body. They appear to acknowledge you as such, and
you owe it more to your own exertions than to those of your
friends in Britain, that there is now an approximation to a
more equal distribution of the good things between you and
the Church of England in Canada."-— Xc/^crt/rom*<A< i?cv<>
Dr» Patrick J\Iacfarlane, of Greenock,
The following extracts from the Memorial addressed by
the Synod to tlie General Assembly on its formation, may
serve to illustrate the nature of the Synod's relation to the
Assembly. No reply, as we recollect, was ever received
to this Memorial, and, generally speaking, all the com-
munications of the Synod were treated by the Assembly
in the same wav.
** * Your Memorialists in tthus addressing you, primarily
design to inform you of the formation of an Ecclesiastical
Union among themselves ; and in terms of the resolution by
which they were constituted into a Synod, to submit to you
the determination of the precise relation which the Synod
shall have to your Venerable Body ; and withal to crave the
counsel of your matured experience, and the aid and encou-
l^gement w.hich you may be able to extend towards them.
Your Memorialists holding firmly to |he aiithorized stand*
ards of the Church of Scotland, Jiayjcpps^ered their %€lt«
t
ilS
♦
(.
vl
dS^Oetl^ntoii Mtti^iiMmai re wit bf M e«l^ T^
0|i Chuveh poUe7» yrbich Uief en^rUin,'am/tbie, JBO^fiMm
•pir^al ofice #itli whi^ thejr litve beetii inv«9td^, l4 ^^'h'-
nectlpn witb the ciroumstanoe^C thnr Uririg in t^e.£a^'
Prpvkices; and Ihey have ^cGpidingly united, tbi^mBeiF'fii
into a Synod, branched out intofoar ffistlJAct Fre^b^^ri^ :,
aqd a union flowing out of a bigherprtncipl^ cbaA inereetx^
pediency, will, they confidently hope, 4hTough^ the PiVina
bleitsing, remedy evils under which their Churches h^?d>
hitherto laboured, and cooduce to the planting of nevr
Churches. • ♦ * * *
Those and other obvious considerations appeared to*
your Memorialists to justify their forming themselves into a,
Synod— And your Memorialists humbly hope that this step
shall obtain the sanction of your Venerable Body: and your
Memorialists respectfully await your decision as to the pfir-
ticular nature of that connexion which shall subsist between<
this Synod and your Venerable Assembly— confident, that
their Churches will not be left by you fn a less favoured'
situation to the Established Church of Scotland, than that
in which the Episcopal Church in these and other foreign
parti stands to the Established Church of England. * *
E
DECLARATORY ENACTMENT.
Passed by the €fenerai Assembly ofths Church of Scot'
land, May, 1833.
'. T- t
;«i;if:i
That it is ftropet and expedients for Ordained Ministers of
the Church* of Scotland connected with fixed Congregations
in any ot^ the British Colonies, to form themselves, where
circumstances permit, into Presbyteries and Synods, adker-
ing to the Standards oj this Church, and maintaining her form-
of iVorship and Government.
That no Minister should befecelved as a Member of any
such Presbytery or Synod, when first formed, who has not^
been ordai'i^d by a PresByterv of this Church ; tuat to
Minister of this Church should fie afterwards received ^.^ ai
Member, who does not come specially recommended from-'
thePresbyterytyywhomhe was ordained, or where he has last
resided ; and tliat no Probationer of this Church should re-
ceive ordination from any such Pl'esbyt^ry, except on bis
producing extract of Licence, with a testimonial of his good
character, from the Presbytgrysf Pre?^^ ♦«»*•;?»«! w?»»'«n w^ioso
▼H
i iitereetx-
Ke Piviiici
5 of nefT
leared to<
Ives iuto a,
Lt this step
and your
the p^r-
tt between^
Jenty that
1 far bu red.
than that
3r forei{[;n
J. • *
».»-^
of Scot'
iiom^ he hit imiM* down to the tiino of bit fotvioe Seot*-
Tliafif «• iMf $xpedtent for such Preabyteriaiy tn fA< pr<-^
Mnf iN(tfl< V* ^f^ttcotton tn tlu nalonUff to exerciie the power
of Lieetisinfl: Probetioners ; but that Licentiatee of the
Cfiureh of Scotland, who shall be ordained by any such
Presbytery to a particular charf^e in the osanner above de-
scribed, shall remain in full communion with the Church of
Scotland, and retain all tlie rights and privileges which
belong to Licentiates or the Ministers of this Church ; and
that Members of Congrei^ticms under the charge of Minis-
ters so ordained shall, on coming to Scotland, be admitted
to Church privileges, on the production of satisfactory certi-
ficates of their moral character from the Minister and Session
of the Congregation to which they have belonged.
That it is earnestly recommended to all Ministers and Pro-
bationers cf this Church, who remove to those Colonies
Uvithia which such Presbyteries are constituted, to put
themselves under the inspection of the Presbytery of the
bounds within which they may reside ; and in the event of
Itheir returning to this country, t»produce Testimonials fVom
Isuch Presbyterj^ or Presbyteries of their character and con-
jduct during their absence.
That a stan^ng Committee shsll be named by the General
lAssembly, to correspond with such Churches in the ColonieM,
for the purpose cfgivinsc advice on any question with regard tor
yhich titey may choose to consuit the Ohurck of Scotland^ and
iffording them such aid as it may be in the power of the*
Dommittee to give in aU matters affecting their rights andi
interests.
inisters of
;regations
8, where
ds, adker-
l her form-
er of any
10 has notr
tuat !:o
ivec! H.^av
deii from'
e has last
hould re-
)t on bis
his good
5n w^oso
''••■•'•: ■•^jt^
S.!'... ,.>.,..•..<