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A VIEW 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 
 
VIEW 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CHURCH OF SCOTLAND 
 
 BY THE LATE 
 
 GEORGE^HILL, D.D. 
 
 PRINCIPAL OF ST. MARY'S COLLEGE, ST. ANDREWS. 
 
 THIRD EDITION, 
 WITH THE ORIGINAL APPENDIX ; AND NOTES, 
 
 BY ALEXANDER HILL, D. D. 
 
 MINISTER OF DAILLY. 
 
 EDINBURGH : 
 PRINTED BY JOHN WAUGH, 
 
 PRINTER TO THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 AND SOLD EY 
 
 WAUGH AND INNES, 
 
 BOOKSELLERS TO HIS MAJESTY. 
 
 MDCCCXXXV. 
 
PRIITCETOIT 
 8EC.JUN 1881 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 To the third edition of a View of the Constitution 
 of the Church of Scotland, some Notes are subjoined, 
 which various changes that have taken place seemed 
 to render necessary, or in which I have ventured to ex- 
 press an opinion on one or two points connected with 
 the administration of ecclesiastical affairs. With 
 the work itself, as it is one which is often appealed 
 to as an authority, I have not presumed to interfere. 
 The only change upon it, which it would not be 
 absolutely trifling to notice, is the omission of a note 
 in page 119 of the second edition, in which the 
 author mentions his having borrowed several of his 
 expressions from a small publication by the late Dr. 
 Finlayson. 
 
 ALEX. HILL. 
 
 Manse of Dailly, 
 Dec. 23, 1834. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I PUBLISHED, in 1803, under the name of 
 *' Theological Institutes," a work consisting 
 of three parts. The first part was the out- 
 line of a course of Lectures prepared for 
 the purpose of introducing those who hear 
 them to an acquaintance with the science 
 of theology. The second part was a de- 
 lineation of the constitution of the Church 
 of Scotland, meant to furnish young men 
 with some preparation for the discharge of 
 those official duties to which that constitution 
 may call them. The third part contained 
 counsels addressed to students of divinity, 
 respecting those functions by which a minis- 
 ter of the Church of Scotland is distinguished 
 from other office-bearers of that church. 
 
 Some of my brethren have suggested to 
 me, that it is expedient to publish the 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 second part separately, as affording- those 
 who may take little interest in the first or 
 third parts, a more distinct view of the 
 ecclesiastical establishment of Scotland, than 
 is to be found in any other treatise ; and 
 from deference to that suggestion, I now 
 present to the public a portion of a former 
 work. 
 
 I have not found it necessary to make 
 any material corrections upon the first edi- 
 tion. In the fourth section, I have given a 
 more minute detail of the manner in which 
 business is introduced into the General As- 
 sembly ; in the seventh section I have 
 enlarged the account of the augmentations 
 of stipends, and of the widows' fund ; and 
 to the Appendix I have added copies or 
 abstracts of some recent Acts of Parliament, 
 very interesting to the ministers of the 
 Church of Scotland, and also a note con- 
 taining the substance of what I stated in 
 the third part of the Theological Institutes, 
 respecting the Maintenance of the Poor in 
 Scotland. 
 
 Even with these additions, I am sensible, 
 that the view here given of the provision 
 made by the state for the Church of Scot- 
 land, will appear to many of my readers im- 
 perfect. But if they wish to follow the 
 train of decisions upon the controverted 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 points of the subject, I have the satisfaction 
 of referring- them to Mr. Conn ell's Treatise 
 on the Law of Scotland respecting Tithes, 
 a work in which the learned Procurator for 
 the Church, with a kindly attention becom- 
 ing- his office, has furnished the ministers of 
 the Church of Scotland with particidar and 
 authentic information. 
 
 I do not expect that all the reasonings 
 and opinions, which occur in this delineation 
 of the constitution of the Church of Scot- 
 land, will coincide with the sentiments of 
 every person who has canvassed the subject. 
 But of the statements of facts which it con- 
 tains, I offer this general voucher, that I 
 write upon a subject intimately connected 
 with my profession, and with the leading 
 pursuits of my life ; and that my brethren, 
 who can easily resort to the authentic sources 
 of information, would deem me unworthy 
 of their society, if I were capable of intro- 
 ducing wilful misrepresentations into a di- 
 dactic treatise. 
 
 St. Mary's College, St. Andrews, 
 September 22, 1817. 
 
P '--> T TT p r, ,-v> 
 
 t*-' -U A\_ 
 
 \THEOLOGIOi\Li' 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Sect. I. — On the Connexion between the Cliurch and 
 
 the State, .... 1 
 
 II. — On the General Principles of Presbyterian 
 
 Church Government, . • 19 
 
 III. — On the manner in which Ministers are ad- 
 mitted into the Church of Scotland, 33 
 
 IV.— On the Judicatories which compose the Con- 
 stitution of the Church of Scotland, . 48 
 
 V. — On the distribution of Power amongst those 
 
 Judicatories, . . . .03 
 
 VI, — On the Objects of the Judicial Power of the 
 
 Church, .... 67 
 
 VII. — On the Provision made by the State for the 
 
 Church of Scotland. . . 89 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. I. — Act seventh of the first Parliament of James 
 VI. I5G7. — Admission of Ministers of Laik 
 Patronages, . , . . 107 
 
 II. — Act 1592, c. 114. — Ratification of the Libertie 
 
 ofthe Trew Kirk, . . .108 
 
 III. — Act 1592, c. 114. — Unqualified persons being 
 
 deprived, the Benefice vakis, &c. • 111 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 No. IV.— Act 1690, c. 5.— Act ratifying- the Confession 
 of Faith, and settling Presbyterian Church 
 Government, . . . 113 
 
 V. — Act 9. of General Assembly 1697. — Commonly 
 
 called the Barrier Act, . . 113 
 
 VI. — Act 1707, c. 6. — Act for securing the Protes- 
 tant Religion, and Presbyterian Church 
 Government, . . . , IIG 
 
 VII.— Act 1707, c. 9.— Act anent Plantation of 
 
 Kirks and Valuation of Teinds, . 117 
 
 VIII.— Act 1808, c. 138.— Act for defining and regu- 
 lating the Powers of the Commission of 
 Teinds, in augmenting and modifying the 
 Stipends of the Clergy of Scotland, . I'^Jl 
 
 IX. — Act 1810, c. 84. — Preamble and Abstract of 
 an Act for augmenting Parochial Stipends 
 in certain cases in Scotland, . . 129 
 
 X.-— Act 1672, c. 13.— Act for the Ann, . 131 
 
 XI. — Act of the General Assembly 1759, Sess. 5. 
 
 — Act against Simoniacal Practices, . 132 
 
 XII. — Note respecting the Maintenance of the Poor 
 
 in Scotland, . . . . 134 
 
 Notes by the Editor, . . . - 137 
 
=fROPERTy Of 
 
 PRINeSTOH 
 
 RECJUN 188 i J, 
 
 OP THE 
 
 CONSTITUTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 SECT. I. 
 
 ON THE CONNEXION BETWEEN THE CHURCH AND 
 THE STATE. 
 
 The sentiment of religion, which distinguishes man 
 from the other inhabitants of the earth, has a power- 
 ful influence upon his character and his condition. 
 It extends the sphere of his enjoyments ; it gives re- 
 finement and elevation to his affections, his pursuits, 
 and his hopes ; and it administers the most soothing 
 and permanent consolation under the afflictions of life. 
 An acknowledgment of the existence and providence 
 of superior beings, overawes those headstrong passions 
 which know no other control : it unites rulers and 
 people in subjection to a common sovereign : and, 
 enforcing the performance of their reciprocal duties, it 
 co-operates with human laws in preserving the peace 
 and order of the community. From thence too is de- 
 rived the solemnity of an oath, that appeal to an in- 
 visible witness, the Almighty Avenger of wrong, which 
 stamps upon engagements, promises, and declarations 
 
 B 
 
VIETT OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 a sacred character, which the most hardened wicked- 
 ness seldom dares to despise. 
 
 In every civilized country there has been a general 
 impression of the utility of those principles of natural 
 religion, which, if they were rightly understood, and 
 universally believed, would form the cement of civil 
 society ; and under this impression, what to every 
 man is the most important personal concern, became 
 also the care of the state. The wisest heathen philo- 
 sophers said, that the foundation of laws ought to be 
 laid in a belief of the being and providence of the gods'. 
 Ancient legislators sought to derive from heaven the 
 most venerable sanction to their laws ; and the rulers 
 of states, regarding the care of what concerned the 
 gods as one of the first objects of legislation and go- 
 vernment, took under their protection the temples, 
 the auguries, the sacrifices, and the oracles. 
 
 As all speculations concerning the being, the pro- 
 vidence, and the moral government of God, which are 
 conducted by the unassisted powers of reason, neces- 
 sarily abound vrith error, those great principles could 
 not enjoy the public national support which the states 
 of antiquity wished to give them, without being blend- 
 ed with the absurdities, the superstition, and immor- 
 ality of the established systems. But in one small 
 district, divine revelation, separating the truth from 
 every approach to falsehood, incorporated with the 
 ceremonial and judicial law of a chosen people, just 
 notions of the Supreme Being : and the great plan 
 of divine providence in selecting the children of Israel, 
 embraced a future period, when the faith of Christ 
 should impart the same advantages in ' much larger 
 measure to all the nations of the earth. The pecu- 
 liar doctrines by which " the gospel of Christ is the 
 
OP THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 6 
 
 power of God unto salvation to every one that bellev- 
 eth,''' involve a complete revelation of the great prin- 
 ciples of natural religion, which are essential to civil 
 government ; and the institutions of the gospel dis- 
 seminate those principles in a manner which more ef- 
 fectually preserves them from adulteration, and is 
 infinitely better fitted to reach the understanding and 
 the heart, than any mode of instruction, or any form 
 of worship, which the world had formerly possessed. 
 For some ages, indeed, the rulers of states lent their 
 aid to the bigotry of those who, from attachment to 
 the established religions, were the avowed enemies of 
 the new system. But the same prophets who an- 
 nounced its appearance, had declared, that it was not 
 always to continue an object of persecution. As the 
 Jewish princes are praised in the Old Testament for 
 their care of the law and of the worship of God, so 
 David, looking forward to the reign of his illustrious 
 descendant, says of the Messiah, " The kings of Tar- 
 shish and of the isles shall bring presents ; the kings 
 of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts ; yea, all kings 
 shall fall dovrn before him :""* And the evangelical 
 prophet Isaiah introduces the Lord God thus speak- 
 ing to the church which he was to gather from the 
 heathen. " Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the 
 Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people ; and 
 kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens 
 thy nursing mothers ; they shall bow down to thee 
 with their face toward the earth. ""-f- When Constan- 
 tino, therefore, adopted the faith of Christ as the na- 
 tional religion, and when his successors in the Roman 
 empire, and in the different kingdoms into which the 
 
 • Psalm Ixxii. 10, 11. f Isaiah, xlix. 2i2, 23. 
 
4 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 empire was divided, strengthened by various regula- 
 tions the connexion which he had established between 
 the Christian church and the state, they were the in- 
 struments of ftdfitling one part of the ancient prophe- 
 cies respecting" :the propagation of Christianity, by 
 affording the church of Christ a protection and support 
 similar to that which the law of Moses enjoyed 
 under every king who walked in the ways of his father 
 David. 
 
 A connexion between the church and the state, 
 notwithstanding these authorities and recommenda- 
 tions, has been severely reprobated. While the ene- 
 mies of religion have studied to divert the public 
 attention from the offensive and mischievous nature 
 of their principles, by disguising their hostility to re- 
 ligious establishments, under pretensions to liberality 
 of sentim.ent and enlarged toleration, many who pro- 
 fess an earnest zeal for the stability and success of the 
 gospel, have asserted, that it stands in no need of 
 forming any connexion with the state, and that its pu- 
 rity is always contaminated by so unnatural an alliance. 
 The reasons of this assertion may often be traced in the 
 private resentm>ents or the political situation of those 
 from whom it proceeds : The assertion is dictated to 
 some by that spirit of innovation which is weary of the 
 present institutions of society, without having any 
 distinct apprehension of what is to be substituted in 
 their place ; and with others, it is merely the rash ex- 
 pression of an opinion which has been formed without 
 due attention to the violence of the human passions 
 and the course of human affairs. We may often ob- 
 serve an indifference about religion, which, fostered 
 by the multiplicity of the business and amusements of 
 life, proceeds to open profanity ; a turbulence, which 
 
OP THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 5 
 
 derives pleasure from interrupting, upon every capri- 
 cious impulse, the serious occupations of others; a 
 rashness of speculation and love of singularity, which 
 delight in attacking truths the clearest, the most im- 
 portant, and the most generally received ; and a de- 
 pravity of heart and obstinacy in wickedness, which 
 regard with contempt and aversion an authoritative 
 system of pure morality. Now, if we combine all 
 these circumstances, and allow to each its due weight, 
 we shall not feel ourselves entitled to presume, that the 
 pious zeal of the friends of Christianity will, in every 
 age, be sufficient to defeat the designs of its enemies : 
 But, while we rely with entire security upon the pro- 
 mise of him who said, that " the gates of hell shall 
 not prevail against his church," we shall thankfully 
 acknowledge his wisdom in employing, as an instru- 
 ment of fulfilling his promise, this salutary appoint- 
 ment, that civil society, in return for the support 
 which it derives from the pure principles of religion 
 inculcated by the gospel, sliall concur with Christian 
 zeal in repelling every outrage. Ecclesiastical power, 
 feeble and unarmed when opposed to the violence of 
 man, is aided by the authority of human government. 
 The blasphemy and open impiety, which shock the 
 feelings of good men, which corrupt the young, and 
 unsettle the minds of the multitude, are restrained by 
 those punishments which the civil magistrate can 
 inflict. The day upon which Christians have, from 
 the beginning, assembled for public worship, is guard- 
 ed by law from profanation ; worshippers are secured 
 against any rude interruption ; the ministers of religion 
 are protected in the celebration of the ordinances of 
 the gospel ; and the regular ministrations of an order 
 of men recognised by the civil constitution, furnish a 
 
6 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 continual exhibition of the doctrines and the duties of 
 true religion. Christianity becomes a part of the law 
 of the land, which no man is permitted to revile, or 
 openly to attack : The profession of it is an inheritance 
 which we receive, together with our civil liberties, from 
 our fathers ; and the succeeding age has the same se- 
 curity for the transmission of this as of any other part 
 of their inheritance. 
 
 If all who agreed in receiving the faith of Christ, 
 had also agreed in the interpretation of Scripture, the 
 connexion between religion and the state would in- 
 volve no other principles than those which have now 
 been explained. But as, even in the days of the 
 Apostles, opinions were propagated of which they ex- 
 press high disapprobation, so, in succeeding ages, 
 there have been controversies respecting the fundamen- 
 tal doctrines of Christianity ; there have been con- 
 tradictory systems with regard to the form and polity 
 of the Christian society ; and some Christians have 
 understood so little of the spirit of the Gospel, as to 
 propagate opinions subversive of all government, 
 whilst others submitted to a foreign dominion, whose 
 pretensions often interfered with the regulations of 
 that civil government to which their allegiance was 
 due. These different tenets and practices of Chris- 
 tians produced separate communities, sects, or divi- 
 sions, who, generally annexing more importance to the 
 points upon which they differed than to those upon 
 which they agreed, regarded one another with mutual 
 jealousy and dread, as corrupters of the true faith. 
 It vras impossible for the magistrate, understanding 
 by that word the supreme civil power in the state, to 
 avoid making a distinction amongst those separate 
 communities. In every independent state, where the 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 7 
 
 voice of the people was not overpowered by an iron 
 despotism, or counteracted by circumstances of a very 
 peculiar nature, the religious community to which the 
 majority belonged put in an irresistible claim for the 
 public favour ; and the magistrate, not finding himself 
 at liberty to extend the same civil advantages to 
 Christians of all denominations, was guided and limit- 
 ed in his choice by existing circumstances, and by 
 the train of events. As the number of Christians in 
 the Roman empire probably had no small influence 
 in determining Constantine to renounce the religion 
 of his fathers ; so it was the state of the public mind, 
 with regard to the controverted points, which generally 
 directed his successors in giving their support to one 
 of the contending parties : It was the indignation ex- 
 cited amongst all ranks by the corruptions of the 
 church of Rome, which emboldened the rulers ofpro- 
 testant countries to throw off the yoke ; and it was 
 the impression made upon the inhabitants of those 
 countries by the tenets of particular teachers, or by 
 collateral circumstances, that gave to the connc'xions 
 then formed between the church and the state, those 
 different shades of Calvinism and Lutheranism, of 
 Episcopacy and Presbytery, by which they are still 
 distinguished. The magistrate followed the voice of 
 the people ; in other words, the connexion which any 
 particular state formed with religion, was agreeable to 
 the will of the state. It was a connexion with that 
 system of opinions, and that form of church polity, 
 which were there accounted most conformable to the 
 spirit of Christianity, best adapted to circumstances, 
 and likely to communicate in the most effectual man- 
 ner those advantages which religion is fitted to impart 
 to society. 
 
U VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 Such being the history of the connexion between 
 the church and the state, the discussions to which this 
 subject has given occasion naturally arrange themselves 
 under the two separate heads, of religious establish- 
 ment, and religious toleration ; the first comprehend- 
 ing what respects the connexion between the state 
 and that form of Christianity which it has adopted ; 
 the second, what respects its treatment of other 
 forms. 
 
 I. A connexion between the church and the state, 
 produces a religious establishment. 
 
 Soon after the Roman emperor declared himself a 
 Christian, he said to an assembly of the ministers of 
 the church, '' *You are appointed by God overseers 
 of those things which are within the church, and I 
 of those which are without."'"' In these few words 
 Constantine expressed with considerable accuracy the 
 leading principle upon which every religious establish- 
 ment ought to proceed. Those things that are within 
 the church, preaching the word, the administration of 
 the sacraments, the exercise of ecclesiastical discipline, 
 and all the other offices which minister to the spirit- 
 ual improvement of Christians, are committed to those 
 persons who, according to the appointment of the 
 Lord Jesus, are to continue till the end of the world 
 the successors of his apostles, and concerning whose 
 qualifications and duties particular directions are given 
 in his word : those things that are without the church 
 
 * T/MBig fxsv Tojy etffc^ Tr^g Jjcrv.TjC/ac, lyo) hz ruv r/log -jTro 
 Qza '/M&i?a,fisvog sOTCxo-roj. Eusebius de Vita Constantini, lib. 
 4. c. 24. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 9 
 
 are left to the care of the civil magistrate, who affords 
 the ministers of Christ, in the performance of their 
 offices, that protection and countenance by which they 
 may be rendered more respectable in the eyes of the 
 people, and more effectual instruments of general 
 edification. 
 
 In the application of this obvious principle, much 
 controversy has arisen concerning the limits of civil 
 and ecclesiastical power. There were times, when 
 the ministers of the Christian religion almost in every 
 country, forgetting that the power committed to them 
 by the Head of the church is purely spiritual, usurp- 
 ed an authority inconsistent with the rights of 
 sovereigns, and with the order of society. At the 
 Reformation, when some of the powers which had been 
 exercised by the pope were dissolved, and some were 
 transferred to other hands, it became a matter of much 
 discussion and of difficult settlement, who should 
 succeed to the branches of ecclesiastical authority 
 which Protestants judged it proper to retain ; and 
 there is not a perfect uniformity as to the manner of 
 distributing those branches between the church and 
 the state. With respect to all points of mere order, 
 it must appear to every enlightened mind a matter of 
 indifference, whether the enactments are made by a 
 civil or an ecclesiastical power. With respect to other 
 points concerning which the church would have exer- 
 cised her inherent powers had she been unconnected 
 with the state, she may choose to submit to the re- 
 gulations of the civil magistrate, from a conviction 
 that the end for which those powers were given her 
 is most effectually attained by this submission. So 
 long as the ministers of religion are not disturbed or 
 enslaved in performing, according to the directions of 
 
10 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 scripture, those parts of their office which promote the 
 edification of Christians, it would be very unwise to 
 revive the undefinable questions which formerly agi- 
 tated the public mind. They are required, by the 
 genius and the precepts of the gospel, to exercise an 
 accommodating spirit in every case where it does not 
 interfere with sacred obligations ; and they forget the 
 duty of Christians and of good subjects, if, for the 
 sake of an uncertain imaginary good, they introduce 
 those substantial evils which must arise from every 
 attempt to unsettle the foundations of a religious es« 
 tablishment. 
 
 There are two general points respecting the authori- 
 ty of the state in matters of religion, which are im- 
 plied in the idea of a religious establishment. 
 
 First, the civil magistrate is entitled to know the 
 opinions of the community of Christians to whom he 
 imparts the benefits of an establishment. He adopt- 
 ed that community in preference to others, from the 
 knowledge which he then had of their tenets ; and if 
 they were to embrace opinions essentially different, he 
 might see cause to withdraw that preference. Hence, 
 confessions of faith, which, ecclesiastically considered, 
 are an exposition of the truth prepared by the society 
 of teachers to direct their own ministrations, and to 
 warn the people against error, become a declaration 
 to the state of the opinions and principles held by the 
 ministers of the established religion ; and subscription 
 to confessions or articles of religion, is a solemn pledge 
 to the civil magistrate, that they will not, without his 
 knowledge, make any change uppn that system of 
 doctrine which had received his sanction. .According- 
 ly, divers acts of parliament enjoin, that every person 
 w^ho administers the word and sacraments in the 
 
OF THE CHURCH OP SCOTLAND. 11 
 
 church of England, shall openly subscribe the thirty- 
 nine articles. And at the Revolution, the same acts 
 of parliament which settled Presbyterian church go- 
 vernment in Scotland, ordain, " That no person be 
 admitted or continued hereafter to be a minister or 
 preacher within this church, unless that he subscribe 
 the Confession of Faith, declaring the same to be the 
 confession of his faith." 
 
 Secondly, the civil magistrate is entitled to take 
 care that the established church does her duty, and 
 that none of her regulations and acts disturb the 
 public peace. The form of the religious establishment 
 generally provides some mode of exercising this su- 
 perintending power. In one of the thirty-nine articles 
 of the church of England, it is declared, that the 
 synods and councils, where those regulations and 
 orders which may affect the public tranquillity are en- 
 actedj shall not be gathered together without the 
 commandment of princes: and the Church of Scotland, 
 in her Confession of Faith, declares what, in effect, 
 comes to the same thing, that the civil magistrate has 
 power to call synods, to be present at them, and to pro- 
 vide, that whatsoever is transacted in them be accord- 
 ing to the mind of God. It will always be the wish 
 of every person who understands the true interests of 
 the community, to avoid even the appearance of a 
 collision between the powers of the church and the state. 
 But if the church derive essential benefit from the 
 state, it is agreeable to common sense and common 
 equity, that there should be some mode in which that 
 supreme power, which is the guardian of the whole 
 community, may be exerted, as circumstances shall 
 require, in order to prevent the church, which is a part 
 of the community, from neglecting those duties, for the 
 
12 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 sake of which she enjoys protection and favour, or from 
 exercising her rights in a manner which appears hurt- 
 ful to the state. 
 
 Scotland and England having been separate king- 
 doms at the time of the Reformation, a difference of 
 circumstances in the two countries led to different 
 religious establishments ; and when they were incor- 
 porated into one kingdom by the treaty of union, 
 the same regard to the inclinations of the people of 
 Scotland, to which Presbytery owed its first legal 
 establishment in this country, produced a declaration, 
 to which both kingdoms gave their assent in the most 
 solemn manner, that Episcopacy shall continue in 
 England, and that the Presbyterian Church-govern- 
 ment shall be the only government of Christ's church 
 in that part of Great Britain called Scotland. With 
 some variety in the manner of connexion between the 
 church and the state, and with considerable difference 
 as to the measure of public favour, both churches en- 
 joy the essential benefits of an establishment ; that is, 
 both are incorporated with the state, so as to make a 
 part of the constitution. In Scotland, the Confession 
 of Faith is ratified by act of Parliament, which, 
 without adding any confirmation to the truth of the 
 doctrines therein contained, gives security for the con- 
 tinued profession of them. Those meetings of the 
 office-bearers of the church which Presbyterian govern- 
 ment implies, are recognised by law ; and the sentences 
 which they have a right to pronounce, are supported 
 and enforced by civil authority. The ministrations 
 of the established teachers of religion in the places 
 provided for public worship, are not only protected 
 from insult, but commended to the respect of the 
 people. The teachers are maintained by the state ; 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 13 
 
 and the emoluments annexed to their office, being a 
 freehold which they enjoy under the protection oF 
 law, cannot be withheld by the caprice of the multi- 
 tude, or the oppression of the great. When they 
 who preach the gospel depend for their subsistence 
 upon the good will of those to whom they minister, 
 they are laid under a strong temptation to flatter the 
 prejudices or inflame the passions of the people ; and 
 if the firmness of an enlightened virtuous mind enable 
 them to withstand the temptation, they and their 
 families may be reduced to severe distress : Whereas 
 the fixed provision for the clergy of the established 
 church, while it delivers them from the humiliating 
 condition which embitters the lives and innpairs the 
 usefulness of many dissenting ministers in England 
 and Scotland, may be regarded as a national blessing ; 
 because, by rendering them completely independent of 
 the opinions and maxims of the world, it leaves them 
 at perfect liberty, in fulfilment of the sacred obliga- 
 tions derived from the authority and example of the 
 Shepherd and Bishop of souls, to declare the truth as 
 it is in Jesus, and to oppose their influence to pre- 
 vailing vices. 
 
 II. A connexion between the church and the 
 state may be accompanied with religious toleration. 
 
 Toleration was a word for many ages unknown in 
 ecclesiastical history. The church very early availed 
 herself of that accession of strength which she derived 
 from an alliance with the civil power, in persecuting 
 those who refused to adopt the opinions which she 
 declared, or to conform to the ceremonies which she 
 ordained ; and while her censures consigned to eternal 
 punishment all who were guilty of v\hat she called 
 
14 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 heresy or schism, she delivered them to the secular 
 arm, that they might suffer in this world those evils 
 which the magistrate can inflict. Hence arose the 
 bloody contests amongst the different sects of Chris- 
 tians in the Roman empire, conducted more after the 
 most savage manner of war, than with the weapons 
 which become theological disputants. Hence arose 
 the horrid court of inquisition, which the influence of 
 the church of Rome established in many of the king- 
 doms of Europe, by whose iniquitous judgments, those 
 who differed^ or were suspected to differ, from the 
 tenets of the church, lost their estates, were confined 
 in dungeons, were subjected to every kind of torture 
 which the ingenuity of malice could devise, and were 
 sometimes consumed in the flames with the solemnity 
 of a sacrifice. Hence too arose, after the Reforma- 
 tion, those hardships to which many worthy men were 
 exposed, during the reigns of Elisabeth, James, 
 Charles I. and Charles II. for not conforming to the 
 ceremonies retained by the Church of England. The 
 acts of uniformity, both in England and in Scotland, 
 proceeding upon this principle, that ''it conduces to 
 the peace of the nation, and to the honour and pro- 
 pagation of religion, that there should be an universal 
 agreement in the public worship of God," required all 
 ministers to use the common Prayer Book, declared 
 places of worship where it was not used to be unlawful 
 meetings, and subjected all who attended them to se- 
 vere penalties. This persecuting spirit was not pe- 
 culiar to any description of Christians in those days. 
 The Presbyterians had complained loudly of what they 
 suffered before the civil war. But when the troubles 
 of the times conducted them to supreme power, they 
 adopted the principle of uniformity in its full extent ; 
 
OF THE CHURCH OP SCOTLAND. 15 
 
 they spoke of toleration as a deadly sin ; and they 
 conceived that civil power could not be exercised in a 
 manner more acceptable to God, than in enabling 
 them to accomplish the purpose of the Solemn League 
 and Covenant, by extirpating popery and prelacy. 
 The friends of Episcopacy complained in their turn ; 
 but they were not reformed by their sufferings. For 
 as soon as the restoration of Charles II. put the sword 
 in their hands, they began to employ it against the 
 Presbyterians ; and one great business of the Parlia- 
 ments of Charles II. in England, and of his Privy 
 Council in Scotland, was to support the Established 
 Church, by compelling attendance upon her worship, 
 and by punishing all who, upon any pretext, resorted 
 to what were then called conventicles. 
 
 The blessed chancre which the glorious Revolution 
 
 o o 
 
 produced upon the character of our government, ex- 
 tended its influence to the connexion between the 
 church and the state. That indulgence to the con- 
 sciences of others which had been avowed by the In- 
 dependents as their principle, but which every other 
 sect had reprobated, was adopted by the legislature at 
 the Revolution ; and the prejudices of the people have 
 gradually yielded to the steady operation of law, and 
 the progress of science. In Scotland, while Presby- 
 terian govornment was established, as being agreeable 
 to the inclinations of the great body of the people, 
 those of the Episcopal communion were protected by 
 law against any molestation from the zealous Presby- 
 terians ; and the disabilities which they formerly in- 
 curred by worshipping God according to their con- 
 sciences, are now completely removed. In England, 
 although it is a part of the religious establishment, 
 confirmed by the treaty of union, that the most im- 
 portant civil ofiSces in that country are open only to 
 
16 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 those who give legal evidence of their being members 
 of the Established Church ; yet Protestant Dissenters 
 are exempted by the Toleration Act from all penalties, 
 civil or ecclesiastical, for their non-conformity to the 
 Church of England ; and instead of that subscription 
 to the doctrinal articles of the Church of England, 
 which that act prescribed to Dissenting ministers, they 
 are now only required to declare, that they receive 
 the Scriptures as the rule of their doctrine and prac- 
 tice. The benefit of the Toleration Act was with- 
 held from Papists, not because their theological tenets 
 were conceived to be false, but because their subjec- 
 tion to a foreign power rendered them dangerous to 
 the state. But the Catholics of Great Britain having 
 of late years disclaimed the name of Papists, or even 
 of Roman Catholics, having solemnly disowned the 
 power of the Pope, and having professed that alle- 
 giance to the civil government which is inconsistent 
 with the principles of Papists, are now delivered from 
 many of the disabilities to which they were formerly 
 subject. Blasphemy, an open denial of the Trinity, 
 and reviling the Christian faith, are crimes punished 
 by the magistrate, as hurtful to the essential interests 
 of society ; and he is ready to chastise any such at- 
 tack upon the established religion as tends to dis- 
 turb the public peace. But the religious opinions 
 of those who live inoffensively are not inquired after. 
 The law, both in England and Scotland, takes under 
 its protection all places where Dissenters of any de- 
 scription assemble for worship; and Christians are 
 understood to be accountable for their interpretation 
 of Scripture, and their mode of worship, o];ily to him 
 who is the Lord of conscience.* 
 
 * Note A. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 17 
 
 Such is the liberal system under which we have 
 the happiness to live. By this conjunction of a reli- 
 gious establishment and an entire toleration, the state 
 enjoys the salutary influence of the faith of Christ, 
 without subjecting individuals to any hardship. The 
 pillar of truth is erected in the established church : 
 but those who entertain doubts concerning the truth 
 of what is inscribed upon that pillar, may resort to 
 the teachers of another society, where they think they 
 will find doctrines more agreeable to Scripture. A 
 certain mode of worship is statedly observed in the 
 established church : but those to whom there appears 
 a superfluity, a deficiency, or any exceptionable cir- 
 cumstance in the regulations and ceremonies which 
 constitute that mode, are at liberty to join in com- 
 munion with Christians whose worship they consider 
 as more conformable to divine institution. A legal 
 maintenance is provided for the ministers of the esta- 
 blished church, which affords a security that the ordi- 
 nances of religion shall be regularly administered, and 
 the Gospel preached to the poor : but those who do not 
 choose to avail themselves of this legal provision, are 
 allowed to make their own terms with the teachers 
 whose ministrations they attend. 
 
 Here is authority blended with liberty, in a man- 
 ner most agreeable to the reasonable nature of man, 
 and to the genius of the Christian religion. Civil 
 government lends its aid to the church, yet does not 
 impose its favours : the kings of the earth bow before 
 Jesus, and do him homage ; yet his kingdom still 
 appears not to be of this world, and " the Lord's free- 
 men"* do not subject their consciences to any other 
 master. The bitter animosity which has generally 
 • 1 Cor. vii. 22. 
 
18 VIEW OP THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 attended theological controversy, and which the exer- 
 cise of a persecuting power necessarily fostered, is 
 now happily mellowed by Christian charity, and the 
 disciples of Christ have learned to differ, without hat- 
 ing or even despising one another. Although the 
 members of the established church defend their rights, 
 they do not consider the various sects who exist by 
 the toleration as their enemies : they readily admit, 
 that there may be much piety, and worth, and learn- 
 ing amongst those with whom they do not ordinarily 
 communicate ; and instead of holding, in the language 
 of former times, that separation is of itself a deadly 
 sin, they conceive it possible, that the ends for which 
 Christians are commanded " not to forsake the assem- 
 bling of themselves together,'" may be attained by 
 those who conscientiously withdraw from the esta- 
 blished religion of their country. 
 
 It would ill become the ministers of the Church of 
 Scotland to be behind the other members of that 
 church in sentiments of candour and charity towards 
 the Dissenters. Yet they must not forget, that it is 
 the duty of their place never to give any countenance 
 or encouragement to divisive courses. They repay to 
 the state the advantages which they derive from the 
 establishment, by explaining and enforcing those pre- 
 cepts of the Gospel which inculcate obedience to civil 
 authority, and a spirit of peace and subordination. 
 And while the ministry, which they have received 
 from their INIaster in heaven, implies a sacred obliga- 
 tion to " give none oifence to the church of God, to 
 bear with the infirmities of the weak, and to please 
 every one for his good to edification,'''' they are led, 
 by the situation which they hold in society, to con- 
 sider it as the object of their ambition, that the esta- 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 19 
 
 blished mode of teaching which the state hath pro- 
 vided shall never cease to be recommended to the at- 
 tention and the good opinion of the people, by the 
 learning, the virtues, the accomplishments, and the 
 diligence of those to whom it is committed. 
 
 SECT. II. 
 
 ON THE GENERAL PRINCIFLES OF PRESBYTERIAN 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 When the Apostles received from Jesus a commis- 
 sion to make disciples of all nations, they were in- 
 vested with certain extraordinary powers, which the 
 extent of their commission required. It is admitted 
 by all Protestants, that a great part of the apostolical 
 powers ceased with the persons to whom they were 
 committed ; and it is the peculiar tenet of Presbyte- 
 rians, that that right of exercising inspection and rule 
 over Christian pastors, which w^as implied in the uni- 
 versal commission of the Apostles, and which, in their 
 hands, was not liable to abuse, is one of those extra- 
 ordinary powers which were not transmitted to their 
 successors. Presbyterians hold, that preaching the 
 word, dispensing the sacraments, and exercising eccle- 
 siastical jurisdiction over Christians, are functions 
 which, in all ages, belong to the office of a Christian 
 teacher ; that the right of performing every one of 
 these ordinary functions was conveyed by the apostles 
 to all whom they ordained ;* that the persons who, in 
 • 1 Peter V. 1, 2, 3, 4. 
 
20 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 the New Testament, are indiscriminately named 
 presbyters and bishops,* had the right of conveying 
 to others all the powers with which they had been 
 invested ; and that every person who is ordained is as 
 much a successor of the apostles as any Christian 
 teacher can be. 
 
 It will be admitted by every person acquainted with 
 ecclesiastical history, that the form of government 
 which is called Episcopal, has, from very early times, 
 generally prevailed in the Christian church. For, 
 although bishops and presbyters appear to be con- 
 founded in Scripture, and in the writings of the apos- 
 tolical fathers, yet, in the second century, the name 
 of bishops was appropriated to an order of men who 
 possessed exclusively the right of ordination and ju- 
 risdiction, and who were the overseers of those whom 
 they ordained. And from the second century to the 
 time of the Reformation, this order of m^en continued 
 to exist almost in all parts of the Christian world, and 
 was regarded with respect and submission, both by the 
 clergy and the laity. But the first reformers, who 
 believed that the distinction between bishops and pres- 
 byters has no foundation in Scripture, and who wished 
 to apply an effectual remedy to the abuses which ap- 
 peared to them to have arisen, in the progress of hu- 
 man ambition, from the practice of investing bishops 
 with powers superior to presbyters, did not consider 
 the antiquity or universality of that practice as any 
 reason for its being continued. Recurring to what 
 they accounted the primitive Scripture model, they 
 laid the foundation of Presbyterian church-govern- 
 
 * llfifflhi^ifoi, 'Ettictkoi-oi, Acts XX. 17, 28 J Titus i. 5, 7. See 
 Campbell's Lectures on Church History 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 21 
 
 ment in this principle, that all ministers are equal in 
 rank and power ; and they did not admit any official 
 preference but that which is constituted by voluntary 
 agreement for the sake of order. 
 
 In Jerusalem, Ephesus, Corinth, and other prin- 
 cipal cities which the apostles visited, they ordained 
 a number of presbyters, either because they found 
 that the Christians could not assemble conveniently 
 in one place, or because they wished to provide for 
 the future increase of believers. These presbyters, 
 having the charge of the spiritual concerns of all the 
 Christians in the city where they resided, and being 
 ready to embrace every favourable opportunity of 
 communicating the knowledge of the Gospel to the 
 inhabitants of the adjoining regions, would naturally 
 hold frequent meetings, that individuals might re- 
 port their success, and that all might consult about 
 the most prudent methods of promoting their com- 
 mon object. In those meetings it was necessary that 
 some one should preside. If neither an apostle was 
 present, nor any person invested by an apostle with 
 the inspection of that city, one of the presbyters would 
 be called to the office of president ; and whether this 
 office was considered as the right of the senior pres- 
 byter, or went by rotation, or was conferred by elec- 
 tion, it would imply during its continuance a kind of 
 superiority over the other members. 
 
 This early pattern Presbyterians profess to have 
 followed in the construction of those meetings of the 
 office-bearers of the church which are characteristical 
 of their government. In some of the churches upon 
 the Continent, where a number of presbyters have the 
 charge of a city or district, there are superintendants, 
 praepositi, or inspectors, who are appointed for life to 
 
22 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION" 
 
 preside in tiie council of presbyters, but who, having 
 no other superiority than that which is implied in the 
 office of president, and no powers or privileges essen- 
 tially different from those which belong to presbyters, 
 are only accounted primi inter pares. In the greater 
 part of Presbyterian churches, from a jealousy, lest, 
 under the form of superintendency, some kind of pre- 
 lacy might be introduced, the parity of ministers is 
 guarded by the frequent election of a new president 
 or moderator, who, when his term is expired, returns 
 to an equality with his brethren. A body of presby- 
 ters, having a moderator, who conducts the proceed- 
 ings, and executes the sentences, is considered as 
 competent to perform all the acts which, in Episcopal 
 government, belong exclusively to the bishop. It 
 tries the qualifications of candidates for the office of 
 the ministry : it confers orders by the imposition of 
 hands : to those who are nominated by persons hav- 
 ing right of nomination, it grants the investiture of 
 the sacred office, or induction into the charge of a 
 particular parish ; and it exercises inspection and 
 jurisdiction over the pastors of all the parishes within 
 its bounds. 
 
 In teaching, in dispensing the sacraments, in pre- 
 siding over public worship, and in those private 
 functions by which he ministers to the comfort, the 
 instruction, and the improvement of the people com- 
 mitted to his care, a pastor acts within his own parish 
 according to his discretion ; and for his discharge of 
 all the duties of the pastoral office, he is accountable 
 only to the presbytery from whom he received the 
 charge of the parish. But in every thing which 
 concerns what is called discipline, the exercise of that 
 jurisdiction over the people with which the office- 
 1 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 23 
 
 bearers of the cliurcli are conceived to he invested, a 
 Presbyterian minister is assisted by lay elders. They 
 are laymen in this respect, that they have no right 
 to teach, or to dispense the sacraments ; and on this 
 account they form an office in the Presbyterian church 
 inferior in rank and power to tiiat of pastors. They 
 generally discharge the office which originally belong- 
 ed to the deacons, of attending to the interests of the 
 poor. But their peculiar business is expressed by 
 the name ruling-elders; for in every question of juris- 
 diction within the parish, they are the spiritual court, 
 of which the minister is officially moderator ; and in 
 the presbytery, of which the pastors of all the parishes 
 within its bounds are officially members, lay elders sit 
 as the representatives of the several sessions or con- 
 sistories. 
 
 Although the three texts* commonly adduced to 
 prove that, in the days of the apostles, there were 
 ruling presbyters distinct from preaching presbyters, 
 may seem, when taken by themselves, to affiard but 
 a slender or doubtful foundation for that opinion ; 
 yet, from an enlarged view of the history of the 
 church it will appear^ tliat Calvin proceeded upon 
 the most respectable authority, when, in 1542, he 
 admitted lay elders into church courts. Amongst 
 the Jews there were several persons called rulers of 
 the synagogue; one of whom, who had the name of 
 the minister or angel of the church, presided in public 
 worship, while the rest were joined with him in the 
 government of the synagogue. We know that the 
 first Christian congregations were, in respect of the 
 mode of worship, formed upon the plan of the Jewish 
 
 • Rom. xii. 8. 1 Cor. xii. 28. 1 Tim. v. 17. 
 
24 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 synagogues ; and by a direction contained in one of 
 the epistles of Paul, we are led to believe, that in 
 respect of government also they followed the same 
 pattern. *' Dare any of you, having a matter against 
 another, go to law before the unjust, and not before 
 the saints ? Is it so, that there is not a wise man 
 amongst you ? No, not one, that shall be able to 
 judge between his brethren ?'*''* An attention to the 
 sentiments of the people in every exercise of pastoral 
 authority, was dictated by the situation of the church, 
 at a time when Christianity was persecuted by the 
 ruling powers, and when the pastors depended for 
 their subsistence and protection upon the good will 
 of their hearers. Accordingly, the meaning and the 
 propriety of the recommendation which the apostle 
 gives to the Corinthians, are illustrated by many 
 passages of early Christian writers ; from which it 
 appears, that the trial, the condemnation, and the 
 absolution of delinquents, were transacted in pre- 
 sence of the people, apucl plebem ^miversam, praesente 
 et stantiiim plehe, stantibus laicis, and that, in the 
 primitive state of ecclesiastical discipline, there were 
 sometimes respectable men deputed by the multitude 
 of believers scattered over a large district, who con- 
 curred in the sentences pronounced by the synods. "I* 
 
 The admission of lay elders into church courts 
 having the sanction of these early authorities, Calvin 
 thought it expedient to revive this primitive practice, 
 as an effectual method of preventing the return 
 of inordinate power in a superior order of clergy. 
 With some variation in name or in privileges, the 
 office of lay elders is found in all the Presbyterian 
 
 • 1 Cor. vi. 1, 5. 
 
 f King on the Primitive Church, Part I. chap. vii. and viii. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 25 
 
 churches upon the continent. Ever since the Re- 
 formation, wliich in this country was conducted upon 
 the general principles of Calvinism, it has formed an 
 essential part of the constitution of the Church of 
 Scotland ; and it has been productive of very import- 
 ant advantages. To the readiness with which the 
 elders undertake the office of deacons, Scotland is 
 indebted for the easy maintenance of her poor ; for 
 men who live amongst the people with a kind of in- 
 spection over them, are qualified to distribute the 
 funds provided for the support of the poor, with a 
 proper attention to their real necessities, and without 
 waste. The presence of a respectable eldership in 
 the parochial consistory has a tendency to vindicate 
 the exercise of ecclesiastical discipline from the charge 
 of partiality, and to render it an instrument of gene- 
 ral edification, by procuring a ready submission to 
 every sentence. The eldership may also correct that 
 love of power, of which clergymen have often been 
 accused. If we should at any time discover a desire 
 to act as judges or dividers, and to employ, for the 
 gratification of our own ambition, avarice or resent- 
 ment, the spiritual powers with which we are invested 
 for the good of others, a firm union of the lay mem- 
 bers in the church courts would effectually defeat 
 every scheme of ecclesiastical tyranny. 
 
 These advantages of an eldership depend, in a 
 great measure, upon the character and condition of 
 the persons by whom the office is held. The exercise 
 of censorial power requires a prudence, a delicacy, 
 and an acquaintance with the world, which are seldom 
 found in the lowest orders : and if all the lay elders 
 o»f the Church of Scotland were mean unlearned men, 
 they would probably bring, from their ordinary habits 
 c 
 
26 VIEVv' OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 anci views, the unwise, iliiberal, and violent spirit, 
 which has often exposed to contempt the decisions of 
 ecclesiastical assemblies. But if a clergyman is able 
 to prevail upon persons to take part in the office of the 
 eldership, whose situation gives them some influence 
 in particular districts of the parish, and who, with 
 unblemished morals, possess sound sense and good 
 temper, he v.ill have the happiness of knowing, that 
 no kind of church government is better calculated to 
 conciliate the res.pect and good will of the people, to 
 restrain their vices, and to minister to their improve- 
 ment, than that in which a faithful and diligent 
 pastor, who m.aintains the dignity and independence 
 of his own office, is supported by the co-operation of 
 a body of ruling elders in those matters which belong 
 jointly to his office and theirs. 
 
 We learn from the 15th chapter of the book of 
 Acts, that a question which had divided the church 
 of Antioch was submitted to the decision of the 
 apostles and elders met at Jerusalem, who having 
 pronounced a solemn decree upon the subject, sent 
 it to the churches to be preserved and obeyed. This 
 early instance of the subordination of ecclesiastical 
 courts is understood to give an apostolical sanction to 
 the practice of appeal in the conduct of ecclesiastical 
 business ; and Presbyterian government, proceeding 
 upon the general principle, that " in the multitude 
 of counsellors there is safety," gives those who con- 
 ceive they are aggrieved by the sentence of a paro- 
 chial consistory, the right of appeal to a superior 
 court, commonly called the Presbytery, composed of 
 tbe ministers of all the parishes within' its bounds, 
 and of lay representatives from the consistories. In 
 small states, such as Geneva, the purposes of church- 
 
OF THE CHURCH OP SCOTLAND. 2/ 
 
 goveninient are fully attained by the parochial con- 
 sistories and one consistory of presbyters ; for while 
 the parochial consistories exhibit, in opposition to the 
 spirit of fanaticism, a standing ministry, a gradation 
 of powers, and a superiority in those who teach above 
 those who only bear rule, the consistory of presbyters, 
 in opposition to the spirit of Independency, maintains 
 the subordination of single congregations to an eccle- 
 siastical court. But when Presbyterian government 
 is established in a country so extensive as Scotland, 
 the facility with which it is desirable to conduct 
 church-business, requires the erection of many sepa- 
 rate Presbyteries ; and this multiplication of courts, 
 by enlarging the scale of subordination, and extend- 
 ing the right of appeal, in the manner that will be 
 explained in a following section, renders the form of 
 government more perfect. 
 
 In stating the general principles of Presbyterian 
 government, it is impossible for an inhabitant of 
 Britain to overlook a question which agitated the 
 m.inds of our forefathers, concerning what was called 
 the divine right of Episcopacy and of Presbytery. 
 Upon one side, it was contended, that bishops are, by 
 the appointment of God, a distinct order from pres- 
 byters ; that Episcopacy, being of apostolical institu- 
 tion, ought never to be laid aside ; that ordination is 
 not valid wlien conveyed by a college of presbyters 
 without a bishop ; and that the sacraments adminis- 
 tered by persons who have received this defective or- 
 dination do not fulfil the pur])oses for which they 
 were instituted. On the other side, it was contended, 
 that the Presbyterian form of government is delineat- 
 ed and prescribed in Scripture, as a rule to which all 
 tlie members of the church of Christ arc bound to 
 1 
 
28 vie;v op the constitution 
 
 submit till the end of the world, and consequently 
 that every other form is unlawful. A conviction of 
 the divine right of Presbytery produced, during the 
 commotions of the seventeenth century, the Solemn 
 League and Covenant, which was subscribed by many 
 of all ranks in England and Scotland, who swore, 
 with their hands lifted up to the Most High God, 
 that they would endeavour the extirpation of Pre- 
 lacy. And when the Presbyterians attained supreme 
 power, they fulfilled this oath by many unjust and 
 violent deeds. A conviction of the divine right of 
 Episcopacy, to which Charles I. was accounted a 
 martyr, and which all who trode in the steps of 
 Archbishop Laud zealously inculcated, was one cause 
 of those persecutions which the Presbyterians endured 
 during a great part of the seventeenth century, both 
 before the civil war commenced, and after the Resto- 
 ration. And now that the progress of science and 
 good government has exploded the horrid practice of 
 persecution for conscience' sake, the same principle is 
 the foundation of that contemptuous language with 
 regard to the Presbyterian church, which often pro- 
 ceeds from the zealous friends of Episcopal ordina- 
 tion, and which sometimes appears in the writings of 
 able divines, men in other respects profound and en- 
 lightened. 
 
 While every Presbyterian is bound to resist an 
 opinion which represents the ministers of this Na- 
 tional Established Church as intruders into the sacred 
 office, and which unchurches the people of this coun- 
 try who attend their ministrations, he is not obliged 
 to recur to the opinion held by the Presbyterians of 
 the seventeenth century, but may rest in a system 
 more liberal than either opinion. This system pro- 
 
OP THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 29 
 
 ceeds upon the following principle, which was first 
 explained by Hooker, in the third book of his Eccle- 
 siastical Polity, and was afterwards demonstrated by 
 the learned and profound Bishop Stillingfleet, in the 
 treatise which he entitled Irenicum. Although 
 church-government is of divine appointment, that is, 
 although the powers which it implies were not created 
 by the state, but are conveyed from the Lord Jesus 
 through those whom he ordained ; yet the New Tes- 
 tament does not prescribe any one particular form of 
 church government in such a manner as to render an- 
 other form unlawful. By comparing incidental pas- 
 sages in the history of the journey ings of the Apostle 
 Paul, with the information which can be collected 
 from his Epistles, we may form a conception of the 
 plan of government which he established in some 
 churches. But the book of Acts does not enable us 
 to follow that Apostle through the whole of his pro- 
 gress ; and of what was done by the other apostles, 
 who, in the execution of their universal commission, 
 visited different quarters of the world. Scripture gives 
 little information, and ancient writers speak very ge- 
 nerally and uncertainly. Our knowledge upon this 
 subject, therefore, only extends to a part of the prac- 
 tice of one apostle. But we draw a conclusion which 
 the premises by no means warrant, when we infer, 
 that what was done by one apostle in planting some 
 churches, was done by all the apostles in planting all 
 churches. The presumption is, that instead of fol- 
 lowing one uniform course, they would, in every city, 
 accommodate their establishments for the edification 
 of the Christian converts, and the future increase of 
 believers, to the numbers whom they had added to 
 the church, to the population of the city, and to the 
 
30 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 qualifications for the different ofTices -which those 
 whom they found there appeared to possess ; and that 
 they would leave many things to be settled as the 
 future occasions of the church might require. From 
 Paul's appointing Timothy and Titus evangelists, 
 with inspection over the ministers of P]phesus and 
 Crete, w^e may clearly infer, that such inspection, 
 which, in the particular circumstances of those 
 churches, was expedient, is not in itself sinful. But 
 it appears to be held forth rather as an example of 
 what may be done, than as a binding rule ; and it 
 does not furnish any proof that every Christian church 
 is incomplete without a similar appointment. The 
 directions in the New Testament concerning the 
 qualifications of ministers, and the right discharge of 
 their office, are equally applicable to the Episcopal 
 and the Presbyterian forms ; and the exhortations 
 and rules concerning the establishment and conduct 
 of church-government, are sufficient to correct the 
 abuses to which all different forms are liable. 
 
 This liberty in regard to the forms of church- 
 government, w^hich seems to be warranted by all that 
 we know of the practice of the apostles, is agreeable 
 to the genius of Christianity, and is essential to its 
 character as an universal religion. Moses might de- 
 liver to the one nation, of which he w^as appointed 
 lawgiver, a code of ecclesiastical, as well as of politi- 
 cal and judicial institutions. But the apostles, who 
 v/erc sent to .s;ather converts out of all countries, 
 could not adopt any form of ecclesiastical polity that 
 was equally applicable to the infant churches v/hich 
 v.ere then planted, and to the national churches 
 which were afterwards to be established ; and any 
 attempt to bind upon Christians a particular form of 
 
OF THE CHUUCH OF SCOTLAND. 31 
 
 church-government, must have proved an obstacle to 
 the propagation of Christianity amongst all the na- 
 tions who found that plan incompatible with their 
 civil constitution. The gospel, therefore, preserves 
 upon this subject the same just and delicate attention 
 to the nature of a reasonable being, and the varying 
 circumstances of the human race, which pervades the 
 whole system. Instead of creating, by the divine 
 institution of any form of church-government, a pre- 
 text for sedition or disaffection to civil rulers, it in- 
 spires such sentiments, and delivers such general 
 precepts, as may, in all different situations, furnish 
 the most perfect directory for the government of the 
 church ; and it leaves every nation which embraces 
 the gospel, to proceed under the influence of the true 
 spirit of that religion, in accommodating their form 
 of church-government to their political constitution ; 
 so that the two, moulded together by human wisdom, 
 may conspire in preserving the public tranquillity, 
 and promoting the spiritual and temporal good of 
 those who live under them. 
 
 By the Revolution settlement, Presbyterian go- 
 vernment was established in Scotland, not as being 
 of divine right, but as being agreeable to the inclina- 
 tions of the great body of the people of this country ; 
 and by far, I trust, the largest proportion of the 
 members of the Church of Scotland hold the liberal 
 sentiments upon which the w^ords of this settlement 
 proceed. We do not contend, that there is an in- 
 separable connexion between popery, the grossest 
 abuse of church-government, and that superiority of 
 a bishop above presbyters, called prelacy, which, 
 although not prescribed in the word of God, may be 
 adopted for the sake of convenicncy : We do not 
 
32 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 consider it as any part of our duty to Christ, the 
 Head of the Church, to endeavour the extirpation of 
 prelacy : We do not think ourselves called upon to 
 exaggerate the defects which we observe in the En- 
 glish episcopacy, or to depreciate the advantages 
 which may be derived from it ; and we are sensible, 
 that, in a country such as England, a change from 
 episcopacy to presbytery may be highly inexpedient. 
 But although, with these views of the subject, we 
 feel no disposition to take the Solemn League and 
 Covenant ; yet, at the same time, we stand firm in 
 that opinion which every minister of the Church of 
 Scotland declares at his ordination, that the Presby- 
 terian government and discipline of this church are 
 not only lawful, but founded in the word of God, 
 and conformable to the model exhibited in t'le pri- 
 mitive times of Christianity. We contend, that we 
 are successors of the apostles, invested with all the 
 powers which, of right, belong to any ministers of 
 the church of Chris.t. We put a very high value 
 upon the independence which Presbyterian ministers 
 enjoy, by not being placed under the inspection of 
 any one of their brethren. We study, by our gene- 
 ral conduct, and our attainments in literature, to 
 maintain the honour of that dignified station which 
 we hold ; and we shall always be ready to defend by 
 argument, the only weapon which we desire, or 
 which, in such a cause, we think it lawful to employ, 
 that form of church-government which was establish- 
 ed in Scotland at the Revolution, and which the 
 treaty of Union hath declared to be the unalterable 
 government of Christ's church in this part of the 
 United Kingdom. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 33 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 ON THE MANNER IN WHICH MINISTERS ARE ADMIT- 
 TED INTO THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 In the Church of England, persons presented to a 
 benefice are tried, ordained, admitted, and inducted 
 by authority of the bishop : in the Church of Scot- 
 land, this office of a superior order of clergy devolves 
 upon a college of equals, acting by their moderator. 
 But by whomsoever the office is performed, the idea 
 of an established church implies, that, in the admis- 
 sion of its ministers, the laws of the state concur with 
 ecclesiastical authority. 
 
 The information that belongs to this important 
 branch of the constitution of the Church of Scotland, 
 may be arranged under four heads, — the trial of the 
 qualifications, — the presentation of the patron, — the 
 voice given to the people, — and the solemn deed of 
 the Presbytery. 
 
 Trial of ^ ' '^^^ ^^^^ ^^ *^^^ ^^^^^ require those 
 
 the Quali- who enter into the Established Church, to 
 tications. take the oaths of allegiance, in testimony 
 of their attachment to the civil government. But 
 they leave the church in virtue of the powers derived 
 from its Divine Founder, and agreeably to the di- 
 rections delivered by his apostles, to try, examine, 
 and finally decern with regard to doctrine, literature, 
 and moral character ; and upon any question respect- 
 ing those jx)ints, they do not admit the possibility of 
 appealing from an ecclesiastical to a civil court. Ac- 
 cordingly the church, in her standing laws, prescribes 
 the previous education of intrants to the ministry, the 
 
34 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 araoiint of the testimonials which they must bring 
 from the Professors under whose inspection their edu- 
 cation was conducted, the nature of the exercises 
 which they have to perform for the satisfaction of 
 those by whom they are tried, and all the other pre- 
 requisites, in order to their obtaining what we call a 
 licence to preach tlie gospel. V/hen a student has 
 gone through a full course of philosophy in some vmi- 
 versity, and has, after finishing that course, continued 
 to prosecute the study of divinity for the time pre- 
 scribed, he may be proposed to a presbytery, in 
 order to be taken upon trials. But the church, with 
 a becoming jealousy of her most sacred right, does 
 not permit presbyteries to take any student upon 
 trials without the consent of a superior court, known 
 in Scotland by the name of the synod ; by vvhich 
 means, if a report unfavourable to the character of 
 the candidate has arisen in any of the presbyteries 
 of which the synod is composed, his trials cannot 
 proceed till the matter be inquired into. If presby- 
 teries are guilty of oppression in trying those w^hom 
 the synod allows them to take upon trials, redress 
 may be obtained by an appeal to their ecclesiastical 
 superiors : but as there is more reason to apprehend 
 that presbyteries will discover too much facility in 
 the trial of young men than too much severity, they 
 are wisely invested with powers ample, and, in some 
 respects, discretionary, lest the apprehension of being 
 wantonly brought into emxbarrassment and trouble 
 for acting according to their conscience, might prove 
 an additional temptation to remissness in the dis- 
 charge of an important duty. 
 
 As the Church of Scotland does not sustain a 
 licence granted by the dissenting classes in England, 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 35 
 
 or by any community of Christians in foreign coun- 
 tries,* all those whom she considers as licentiates 
 are persons of whose character, literature, and abili- 
 ties some presbytery had the fullest opportunities of 
 judging ; and who, at the time of their being licensed, 
 testified their attachment to the doctrine, worship, 
 discipline, and government of this church, by sub- 
 scribing the subjoined formula. f They are under 
 
 * Act 9th, General Assembly 1779. " The General As- 
 sembly, upon the report of their committee for overtures, finding 
 that a considerable majority of the presbyteries of this church 
 have now agreed to an overture anent persons going to be 
 licensed and ordained without the bounds of this church, did 
 thereupon agree, without a vote, to turn the said overture into a 
 standing act ; and accordingly the General Assembly did, and 
 hereby do, enact and prohibit all persons educated or residing 
 within the bounds of this church, from going out of its bounds 
 to obtain licenses to preach ; and prohibit all preachers, licensed 
 by this church, from going without its bounds to obtain ordina- 
 tion, unless they are called to a particular congregation in another 
 country : and enact, that licenses obtained in that manner shall 
 not be received, or have any effect in this church ; and such 
 preachers as contravene this act, shall forfeit the license formerly 
 given them, and be no longer entitled to the privileges which 
 belong to a preacher of the gospel in this church." 
 
 -|- By Act 10th, Assembly 1711, the licensing, ordaining, and 
 admitting any who shall not subscribe, before they be licensed, 
 ordained, or admitted respectively, the formula here subjoined, is 
 prohibited and discharged. " I do hereby declare, that I do 
 sincerely own and believe the whole doctrine contained in the 
 Confession of Faith, approven by the General Assemblies of 
 this national church, and ratified by law in the year 1690, and 
 frequently confirmed by divers Acts of Parliament since that 
 time, to be the truths of God ; and I do own the same as the 
 confession of my faith. As likewise I do own the purity of 
 worship presently authorised and practised in this church ; and 
 also the Presbyterian government and discipline, now so happily 
 established therein ; which doctrine, worship, and church- govern- 
 ment, I am persuaded, are founded upon the word of God, and 
 agreeable thereto. And I promise, that, throush the gnice of 
 
36 
 
 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 the inspection, and, in some respects, subject to the 
 orders of the presbytery within which they reside ; 
 and the nature of their situation is properly expressed 
 by the ecclesiastical name probationers ; a name 
 which reminds them that the course of their studies, 
 as well as their general conduct, should be directed 
 with a view to their future establishment, and that, 
 during the time of their probation for the ministry, 
 although they have no right to dispense the sacra- 
 ments, they may improve their talents for composi- 
 tion and elocution, by preaching occasionally, as they 
 are called. 
 
 In the Church of England, neither priest's nor 
 deacon's orders are conferred without a title ; that is, 
 without a connexion with some place where the sacred 
 office is to be exercised, and from whence the person 
 who applies for orders may derive a maintenance. 
 But it is impossible to demand the production of such 
 a title from those who are proposed for trials in a 
 church, which does not admit of a plurality of bene- 
 fices having the cure of souls, which requires every 
 minister to reside in his parish, and presum.es that he 
 is to do the duty himself A probationer, therefore, 
 
 God, I shall firmly and constantly adhere to the same; and, to 
 the utmost of ray power, shall, in my station, assert, maintain, 
 and defend the said doctrine, worship, discipline, and government 
 of this Church, by Kirk- Sessions, Presbyteries, Provincial Sy- 
 nods, and General Assemblies; and that I shall, in my practice, 
 conform myself to the said worship, and submit to the said dis- 
 cipline and government, and never endeavour, directlv or indi- 
 rectly, the prejudice or subversion of the same. And I promise 
 that I shall follow no divisive courses from the present esta- 
 blishment in this chin-ch ; renouncing all doctrines, tenets, and 
 opinions whatsoever, contrary to or inconsistent with the said 
 doctrijie, worship, discipline, and government of this church,' 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 37 
 
 unless he be engaged to assist a clergyman disabled 
 by age or sickness, remains without any regular em- 
 ployment, or fixed charge, until he receive a presen- 
 tation to a church. He then undergoes a second 
 trial before the presbytery, to whom the presentation 
 is addressed. He is required by them to repeat his 
 subscription to the formula ; and if they find that he 
 is not qualified in respect of doctrine, literature, or 
 moral character, their sentence, declaring him unqua- 
 lified, unless it be reversed by their ecclesiastical 
 superiors, renders his presentation void. 
 
 Presenta- ^- ^^ ^^^^ Y^^^ 1565, an Assembly of 
 tionofthe the Church, which prepared matters for 
 Patron. ^j^g establishment of Presbyterian govern- 
 ment in Scotland, expressed most accurately, in a 
 message to Queen Mary, their opinion concerning 
 the proper method of settling vacant parishes. " Our 
 mind is not, that her majesty, or any other patron, 
 should be defrauded of their just patronages ; but we 
 mean, whensoever her majesty, or any other patron, 
 do present any person unto a benefice, that the person 
 })resented should be tried and examined by the judg- 
 ment of learned men of the church, such as are the 
 present superintendents : and as the presentation unto 
 the benefice appertains unto the patron, so the colla- 
 tion, by law and reason, belongs unto the church ; 
 and the church should not be defrauded of the colla- 
 tion, no more than the patrons of their presentation ; 
 for otherwise, if it be lawful to the patrons to present 
 whom they please, without trial or examination, what 
 can abide in the church of God but mere ignorance ?''''* 
 When Presbyterian government was established, the 
 
 * Petrie's Cliurch History, p. 349. 
 
38 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 spirit of this message was followed out in the acts of 
 the parliament of Scotland, 1567 ^^^ 1592,* by 
 which '' the presentation of laick patronages is re- 
 served to the just and ancient patrons ; and presby- 
 teries are bound and astricted to receive and admit 
 whatsom.ever qualified minister presented by his ma- 
 jesty or laick patrons."" When Presbyterian govern- 
 ment was revived at the Revolution, an act of the 
 Scots parliament 1690, c. 23, constituted the heri- 
 tors and kirk-session of every parish, patrons ; but 
 that act w^as repealed by an act of the British parlia- 
 ment 1712, c. 12, which restored patrons to their 
 ancient rights ; declaring, '^ that the presbytery of 
 the respective bounds is obliged to receive and admit 
 in the same manner, such qualified persons as shall 
 be presented by the respective patrons, as the persons 
 presented before the making of the act ought to have 
 been admitted ;" and at the same time providing, 
 " that in case the patron of any church shall neglect 
 or refuse to present any qualified minister to such 
 church that shall at any time be vacant, for the space 
 of six months after such vacancy shall happen, the 
 right of presentation shall accrue and belong for that 
 time to the presbytery of the bounds where such 
 church is, who are to present a qualified person for 
 that vacancy, lanquamjure devoluto.^'' 
 
 The Church of Scotland complained of this act as 
 an invasion of its privileges, made various ineffectual 
 efforts to obtain a repeal of the act, and during a great 
 partof the last century gave annual instructions to the 
 commission of the General Assembly to make due ap- 
 plication to the king and parliament for redress of the 
 
 * See Act 1567, c. 7, and 1592, c. 114, in Appendix. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 39 
 
 grlevai^ce of patronage, in case a favourable opportu- 
 nity for so doing should occur. But since the year 
 17^4, this article has been left out of the instructions 
 given to the commission. A great majority of the 
 members of the church, both ministers and laymen, 
 are now convinced, that patronage affords the most 
 expedient method of settling vacant parishes ; and 
 whatever difference of opinion may still prevail upon 
 the question of expediency, few pretend to doubt that 
 patronage is the law of the land, interpreted and con- 
 firmed by various decisions of the civil courts, and by 
 the uniform train of the judgments pronounced by 
 the church during a long course of years. 
 
 Patronage would be a grievance, if the patron had 
 it in his power, by neglect, or from any improper 
 motive, to keep a parish long vacant. But the law, 
 with a becoming attention to the religious instruction 
 of the people, has empowered the presbytery, if the 
 patron does not present for the space of six months 
 after the commencement of the vacancy, to take s^ich 
 steps as to them appear proper for supplying the va- 
 cant parish with a minister. 
 
 Patronage might be made an instrument of op- 
 pression, if it implied a right to compel a person to 
 enter into the church, or to move against his inclina- 
 tion from one charge to another. But this evil, which 
 had been felt and complained of upon the revival of 
 the right of patronage, was effectually removed by the 
 following clause of the act 1719, c. 29- " Whereas 
 great obstructions have been made to the planting, 
 supplying, or filling up of vacant churches in Scot- 
 land with ministers qualified according to law ; pa- 
 trons presenting persons to churches who are not 
 qualified, by taking the oaths appointed by law, or 
 
40 VIEW OP THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 who, being settled in other churches, cannot, or will 
 not accept of such presentations : Be it enacted, That 
 if any patron shall present any person to a vacantchurch 
 who shall not be qualified, by taking and subscribing 
 the said oath in manner aforesaid, or shall present a 
 person to any vacancy, who is then or shall be pastor 
 or minister of any other church or parish, or any per- 
 son who shall not accept or declare his willingness to 
 accept of the presentation and charge to which he is 
 presented, within the said time, such presentation 
 shall not be accounted any interruption of the course 
 of time allowed to the patron for presenting ; but the 
 jus devolutum shall take place, as if no such presen- 
 tation had been offered ; any law or custom to the 
 contrary notwithstanding." 
 
 The right of patronage would be productive of the 
 most pernicious consequences, if a person holding that 
 right were permitted to receive a sum of money as a 
 compensation for the exercise of it. But the abhor- 
 rence of simoniacal practices is in this country so 
 strong and general, that reports and suspicions of such 
 practices are extremely rare : And the Church, by the 
 laws against simony, which she orders to be read to 
 every candidate for obtaining either a licence or a set- 
 tlement, holds forth a warning and a pledge, that all 
 her vigilance and authority will be exerted in prevent- 
 ing that corruption of the morals of the clergy, and 
 that complete degradation of the whole order, which 
 would advance with rapid strides, if the moderate en- 
 dowments provided by the ecclesiastical establishment 
 of Scotland were to become a matter of traffic* 
 
 The Church would have reason to complain of pa- 
 
 * See Appendix; No. XI. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OP SCOTLAND. 41 
 
 tronage, " if it were lawful to patrons to present whom 
 they pleased.'" But the ejffectual remedy against the 
 abuse of patronage is found in the absolute and final 
 powers as to the trial and qualifications of ministers, 
 which, having been conveyed to the church from the 
 Lord Jesus, are recognised by the acts 1567 and 
 1592, which established Presbyterian government in 
 Scotland, and also by the act 1719, c. 29. the last 
 British statute upon the subject, which, in the con- 
 cluding clause, declares and enacts, " That nothing 
 herein contained shall prejudice or diminish the right 
 of the church, as the same now stands by law esta- 
 blished, as to the trying of the qualities of any person 
 presented to any church or benefice.'" A licence is 
 the stamp of the church, declaring that a person is 
 qualified to receive a presentation. She has herself 
 to blame if the stamp be improperly affixed ; but her 
 privileges are completely secured against invasion, 
 when the choice of patrons is by law restricted to those 
 whom she has licensed to preach the gospel, and when 
 it is competent for her to extend her trial to those 
 particular qualifications which local circumstances 
 render indispensable. The church has found, since 
 her own act in 177^? that a presentation granted to 
 a person who had obtained his license from one of the 
 dissenting classes in England, was void, and that the 
 patron was bound to present another.* She has 
 found that a total ignorance of the Gaelic language 
 
 • Assembly 1798, session 5th. *' The AsseniMy found, that 
 Mr. James Gary, presentee to the parish of Brerhin, has not 
 gone through that course of University education in piiilosophy 
 and theology which the laws of this church require, as necessary 
 for all the probationers thereof: that the certificate of license 
 and ordination he has produced from three Protestant Dissenting 
 .Ministers in England, cannot, in consistency with the laws of the 
 
42 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 disqualifies a person from officiating in some districts 
 of Scotland ;* and I have no doubt of her having a 
 right to find, that a natural incapacity of being heard 
 in the place of worship where a parish assembles, is a 
 legal disqualification for being minister of that parish. 
 While the power of the patrons is thus limited by 
 the powers of the church, the right of patronage is 
 effectually guarded against capricious invasion : For, 
 unless the church-courts find the presentee not qua- 
 lified, " they are bound and astricted to receive him.*' 
 In the year 1592, when Presbyterian government ob- 
 tained a legal establishment in Scotland, it was pro- 
 vided by law, that " in case the presbytery refuses 
 to admit ony qualified minister presented to them be 
 the patron, it shall be lauchfull to retain the haile 
 fruits of the said benefice in his awin hands.''-j- And 
 the civil courts applying this ancient statute in diffe- 
 rent cases, have found, that if a presbytery refuse to 
 admit a person presented by the legal patron, for any 
 other cause than a want of sufficient qualifications, 
 and proceed to settle another, their sentence has not 
 the effect of giving the minister whom they settle a 
 right to the emoluments of the benefice ; but the pa-- 
 tron is entitled to retain the stipend in his hands, in 
 
 church, be held as qualifying him to accept a presentation to any 
 parish in this church : and that the deed of the presbytery of 
 Chanonry, of September 5, 1796, laid before the presbytery of 
 Brechin along with the presentation, was rash and unwarranted, 
 and did not qualify him to accept of that presentation : There- 
 fore remitted this cause to the presbytery of Brechin, directing 
 them to pronounce, at their next meeting, a sentence, refusing to 
 sustain the presentation to Mr, Gary, in respect that the presen- 
 tee is not qualified according to the laws of the church." See 
 also Session 8, of Assembly 1793. 
 
 * Assembly 1772, session 9. 
 
 ■f See Act J 15, 1592, in Appendix. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 43 
 
 the same manner as if the parish had continued va- 
 cant. 
 ,^ . ^ 3. The idea of a riMit in the whole 
 
 V OiCG of ibc • • 1 1 " 1 ' 
 
 People congregation to appoint and ordain their 
 
 own minister, belongs to the Independ- 
 ents or Congregationalists, is inconsistent with the 
 principles of Presbyterian government, and has been 
 often disclaimed by the Church of Scotland, both in 
 ancient and in modern times. The idea of a right 
 in the people to elect a person to be presented to the 
 presbytery, that in consequence of that election he 
 may by them be ordained and admitted, is inconsist- 
 ent with the nature of the religious establishment of 
 this country, in which the state, by reserving to the 
 patrons their ancient rights, ascertains a particular 
 mode of inducting into the church those who are to 
 receive the legal emoluments. The idea of a right 
 in the heritors and elders, as representatives of the 
 parish, to elect a minister, arises purely from the act 
 of the parliament of Scotland 1690, c. 23, which, in 
 the preamble of the British statute 17^2, c. 12, is 
 said to have proved inconvenient, and to have occa- 
 sioned great heats and divisions. That act is now 
 repealed ; and although, from the influence which the 
 heritors and elders may be supposed to have in their 
 respective parishes, it ought always to be consider- 
 ed as a matter, not of courtesy only, but of prudence 
 and propriety, to solicit their concurrence, the settle- 
 ment of a presentee does not depend upon their consent. 
 Yet the constitution of our church, regarding the 
 inhabitants of a parish as deeply interested in the 
 character of the person who is to minister to them in 
 holy things, has not overlooked them in his settle- 
 ment, but in two different ways affords them an op- 
 
44 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 portunity of expressing their sentiments. Before a 
 presbytery, to whom a presentation is addressed, take 
 the candidate upon the second trials, which, if a pro- 
 bationer, he is, by the laws of the church, required 
 to undergo, they appoint him to preach in the pa- 
 rish church : And whether he is a probationer or an 
 ordained minister, they assemble there upon a day, 
 of which notice had been given to the parish at least 
 ten days before ; and, after a sermon suited to the 
 occasion by one of their number, they inform the 
 people, that a presentation in his favour has been 
 received, and ask them to subscribe a paper named a 
 call, inviting him to be their minister, and promis- 
 ing him subjection in the Lord.* It has been the 
 immemorial practice of the Church of Scotland, by 
 appointing the moderation of a call, to give the peo- 
 ple an opportunity of encouraging the labours of their 
 future minister, by addressing to him this invitation ; 
 and in consequence of this practice, one of the legal 
 steps in the settlement of a minister, is a sentence of 
 the presbytery sustaining the call. But, whatever 
 was the state of matters at the time when the practice 
 began, it is now understood, that a call may be sus- 
 tained, however small the number of subscribers. For 
 although the matter was long vehemently contested, 
 and is still occasionally the subject of discussion, the 
 church-courts have shown, by the train of their deci- 
 sions during the greater part of the last century, that 
 they do not consider themselves as warranted by law 
 to refuse admission to a presentee upon account of 
 any deficiency in the subscriptions to his, call. 
 
 The second way in which the constitution of our 
 
 * Note B. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 45 
 
 church providcvS for the voice of the people hcing le- 
 gally heard in the admission of their minister, is hy 
 giving the inhabitants of a parish a right to appear 
 as accusers of the presentee. At any time durin^r 
 the course of his trials, they may give in to the pres- 
 bytery a libel, charging him with immorality of con- 
 duct, or unsoundness of doctrine. When they pre- 
 sent the libel, they bind themselves, under pain of 
 ecclesiastical censure, to prove it ; but the presbytery 
 is not at liberty to proceed to the settlement till the 
 libel be discussed. After the trials of the presentee 
 are finished, all who have any objections to his life 
 or doctrine are summoned, by a paper read from the 
 pulpit, which we call an edict, to appear on the day 
 appointed for his ordination, which is at the distance 
 of not less than ten days from the reading of the edict, 
 and rnay then, without the formality of a libel, state 
 their objections as matter of charge. The charge will 
 be disregarded by the presbytery if it is frivolous ; and 
 as proof must be instantly adduced, the edict does not 
 afford any occasion of vexatious delay ; but it gives 
 persons the most unacquainted with the forms of busi- 
 ness an opportunity of stating their personal know- 
 ledge of any circumstance in the character and con- 
 duct of the presentee which renders him unworthy of 
 being a minister of the Gospel ; and by exhibiting 
 the jealousy with which the constitution of our church 
 watches over the qualifications of intrants, it furnishes 
 a lesson of circumspection to all who direct their views 
 to the church. 
 
 4. If no bar has arisen in conse- 
 
 fhi!'prevb''ter''^ quence of the edict, the presbytery 
 
 proceed, upon the day of which notice 
 
 had been given, with a solemnity corresponding to 
 
46 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 the riature of the ministerial office, to complete the 
 settlement of the presentee. After a sermon suited 
 to the ■ occasion, one of their nmnher, who had 
 been appointed to perform that service, in their 
 presence, and in the face of the congregation, pro- 
 poses to the presentee the questions appointed by 
 the 10th act of the General Assembly I7II to be 
 put to ministers at their ordination ;* and having 
 
 * Questions to be put to ministers at their ordination. "1. 
 Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- 
 ment to be the word of God, and the only rule of faith and man- 
 ners ? 2. 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 ? And do you acknow- 
 ledge the same as the confession of your faith; and will you 
 firmly and constantly adhere thereto, and, to the utmost of your 
 power, assert, maintain and defend the same, and the purity of 
 worship as presently practised in this national church, and as- 
 serted in the 15th Act of Assembly, 1707 ? 3. Do you disown 
 all Popish, Arian, Socinian, Arminian, Bourignian and other 
 doctrines, tenets and opinions whatsoever, contrary to and incon- 
 sistent with the foresaid Confession of Faith ? 4. Are you per. 
 suaded that the Presbyterian government and discipline of this 
 church are founded upon the Word of God, and agreeable there- 
 to ? And do you promise to submit to the said government and 
 discipline, and to concur with the same, and never endeavour, 
 directly nor indirectly, the prejudice or subversion thereof, but, 
 to the utmost of your power, m your station, to maintain, sup- 
 port and defend the said discipline and Presbyterian government, 
 by Kirk-sessions, Presbyteries, Provincial S}mods and General 
 Assemblies, during all the days of your life ? 5. Do you pro- 
 mise to submit yourself willingly and humbly, in the spirit of 
 meekne.-s, unto the admonitions of the brethren of this presby- 
 tery, and to be subject to them, and all other presbyteries and 
 superior judicatures of this church, where God in his providence 
 shall cast your lot ; and that according to your pt)wer you shall 
 maintain the unity and peace of this church, against error and 
 schism, notwithstanding of whatsoever trouble or persecution 
 may arise ; and that you shall follow no divisive courses from 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 47 
 
 obtained by his answers the declarations, promises, 
 and engagements which that act requires, he proceeds 
 to invest him with the full character of a minister of 
 the gospel, conveying to him by prayer and imposi- 
 tion of the hands of the presbytery, all the powers 
 implied in that character. He then, in name of 
 the presbytery, receives and admits the person thus 
 ordained, to be minister of the vacant parish ; by 
 which deed the presbytery, in the execution of the 
 office committed to them as a branch of the Kstab- 
 lished Church, constitute a connexion between him 
 and the inhabitants of that parish, which gives him 
 a legal title to the emoluments provided by law for 
 the person who officiates there, which, during its sub- 
 sistence, renders him incapable of holding any other 
 charge that has the cure of souls, and which, during 
 his life, can be dissolved only by the act of the church, 
 either accepting his resignation, or deposing him from 
 the office of a minister, or translating him to a differ- 
 ent charge. 
 
 If the person presented had been formerly ordained, 
 it is not competent to repeat the act of ordination. 
 
 the present established doctrine, worship, discipline and govern- 
 ment of this church ? 6. Are not zeal for the honour of God, 
 love to Jesvis Christ, and desire of saving souls, your great mo- 
 tives and chief inducements to enter into the functions of the 
 holy ministry, and not worldly designs and interest ? 7. Have you 
 used any undue methods, either by yourself or others, in procur- 
 ing this call ? 8. Do you engage, in the strength of Jesus 
 Christ our Lord and Master, to rule well your own family, to 
 live a holy and circumspect life, and faithfully, diligently and 
 cheerfully to discharge all the parts of the ministerial work, to 
 the edification of the body of Christ? 9. Do you accept of and 
 close with the call to be pastor of this parish, and promise, 
 through grace, to perform all the duties of a faithful nMiiister of 
 the gospel among this people ?" 
 
48 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 But he is required by the presbytery to declare in 
 face of the congregation, that he consents and adheres 
 to the declarations, promises and engagements im- 
 plied in his answers to the questions which were put 
 to him when he was ordained ; and he is then re- 
 ceived and admitted minister of the parish. 
 
 In this manner does the constitution of the Church 
 of Scotland preserve the rights of the church, of the 
 patron, and of the people ; and from the union of the 
 three in the settlement of vacant parishes, there is 
 every security which the nature of the case admits, 
 that no minister shall enter into this church who is 
 deficient in essential qualifications, and who may not 
 hope, by the blessing of God upon his assiduous 
 labours, to render himself acceptable and useful to 
 those over whom the Holy Ghost hath made him an 
 overseer. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 ON THE JUDICATORIES WHICH COMPOSE THE CONSTI- 
 TUTION OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Kirk- Sessions. The lowest judicatory in the Church 
 of Scotland is the kirk-session ; composed of the min- 
 ister of the parish, who is officially moderator, and of 
 lay-elders. New elders are chosen by the voice of 
 the session. After their election has been agreed 
 upon, their names are read from the pulpit, in a paper 
 called an edict, appointing a day, at the distance of 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 49 
 
 not less than ten days, for their ordination. If no 
 member of the congregation offers any objection upon 
 that day, or if the session finds the objections that arc 
 offered frivolous, or unsupported by evidence, the 
 minister proceeds, in face of the congregation, to or- 
 dain the new elders ; that is, to set them apart to 
 that office by prayer, accompanied with an exhorta- 
 tion to them, and an address to the people. Accord- 
 ing to the ancient laws and the universal practice of 
 the church, elders are required, at the time of their 
 ordination, to declare explicitly their assent to all 
 that is contained in the Confession of Faith.* The 
 session is legally convened, when summoned by the 
 minister from the pulpit, or by personal citation to 
 the members. But it cannot exercise any judicial 
 authority, unless the minister of the parish, or some 
 other minister, acting either in his name, or by ap- 
 pointment of the presbytery, constitutes the meeting 
 by prayer, and presides during its deliberations. It 
 has a clerk of its own nomination, and an officer to 
 execute its orders. 
 
 . The number of parishes which may 
 
 ) eries. p^j^p^gg j^ presbytery is indefinite. In 
 some of the populous districts of Scotland, there are 
 thirty ministers in a presbytery : in some remote situ- 
 ations, where a few parishes cover a great district, not 
 more than four. As the General Assembly has the 
 power of disjoining and erecting presbyteries at its 
 pleasure, their bounds may be altered, or their num- 
 ber increased, according to the change of circum- 
 stances. At present, there are seventy-eight presby- 
 
 * Act 7th, Assembly 1G90. Act 11th, 1694. Act lltl;, 
 1700. Act 4th, 1720. See sentence of General Assembly in 
 case of Dundee, 1800, Session 7th. 
 
50 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 teries in the Church of Scotland.* A presbyterjr 
 consists of the ministers of all the parishes within the 
 bounds of that district, of the Professors of divinity- 
 if they be ministers, in any university that is situated 
 within these bounds, and of representatives from the 
 kirk-sessions in the district. Every kirk-session has 
 the right of sending one elder ; so that unless there 
 be a collegiate charge, or an university within the 
 bounds of the district, the number of ministers and of 
 elders in any meeting of presbytery may be equal. 
 Independently of the local business of the district, 
 which generally requires frequent meetings in the 
 course of the year, two meetings are necessary for the 
 annual choice of its representatives in the General 
 Assembly ; one, at which a day, not less than ten 
 days distant, is appointed for the election ; another, 
 at which the election is made. A moderator, who 
 must be a minister, is chosen twice a-year. The 
 presbytery has a clerk of its own nomination, and an 
 officer to execute its orders. 
 
 Provincial Three or more presbyteries, as the mat- 
 Synods, ter happens to be regulated, compose a 
 provincial synod. There are at present fifteen pro- 
 vincial synods in the church ; most of which meet 
 twice in the year.^ Every minister of all the presby- 
 teries, within the bounds of the synod, is a member 
 of that court, and the same elder who had last repre- 
 sented the kirk-session in the presbytery, is its repre- 
 sentative in the synod ; so that the number of mini- 
 sters and of elders may be equal. Neighbouring, 
 synods correspond with one another, by sending one 
 minister and one elder, who are entitled to sit, to 
 
 * Note C. t ^^0^6 ^- 
 
OP THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 51 
 
 deliberate, and to vote with the original members of 
 the synod to which they are sent. At every meeting 
 of synod, a moderator, who must be a minister, is 
 chosen. A synod has its own clerk and officers. 
 
 General The highest ecclesiastical court is the 
 
 Assembly. General Assembly. 
 
 The nine hundred and thirty-six ministers who 
 enjoy benefices,* and possess ecclesiastical authority 
 in Scotland, attend personally the presbyteries and 
 synods into which they are distributed ; but they sit 
 in the supreme court by representation ; and the 
 proportion which the representation of the several 
 presbyteries in the General Assembly bears to the 
 number of parishes within each presbytery, was 
 settled not long after the Revolution, in the fol- 
 lowing manner r-f* " That all presbyteries consisting 
 of twelve parishes, or under that number, shall 
 send in two ministers and one ruling elder ; that 
 all presbyteries consisting of eighteen parishes, or 
 under that number, but above twelve, shall send 
 in three ministers and one ruling elder ; that all 
 presbyteries consisting of twenty-four parishes, or 
 under that number, shall send in four ministers 
 and two ruling elders ; and that presbyteries consist- 
 ing of above twenty-four parishes, shall send five 
 ministers and two ruling elders : that collegiate kirks, 
 where there use to be two or more ministers, are, so 
 far as concerns the design of this act, understood to 
 be as many distinct parishes ; and that no persons 
 are to be admitted members of Assemblies, but such 
 as are either ministers or ruling elders." And as the 
 
 • Dr. Singers' Statement of the numbers, &c., of tbe Clergy 
 of Scotland. 
 
 t Act 5th, Assembly 1694. 
 
52 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 number of the ministers of Edinburgh continued to 
 increase after the Revolution, it was provided by a 
 subsequent Act,* '' That each presbytery whose num- 
 ber doth exceed thirty ministerial charges, shall send 
 to the General Assembly six ministers and three rul- 
 ing elders.'" The sixty-six royal burghs of Scotland 
 are represented in the General Assembly by ruling- 
 elders ; Edinburgh sending two, and every other 
 burgh one : and each of the five universities in Scot- 
 land is represented by one of its members, who may 
 be either a minister or an elder.-j- 
 
 According to this proportion of representation, the 
 General Assembly, in the present state of the church, 
 consists of the following members :— 
 
 Ministers representing presbyteries, . 200 
 Elders representing presbyteries, . . 89 
 
 Elders representing royal burghs, . 67 
 
 Ministers or elders representing universities, 5 
 
 361 
 
 It appears from this list, that if all the three hun- 
 dred and sixty-one members of Assembly were pre- 
 sent, the majority would be ministers : but in the 
 Assembly 1806, the fullest I ever witnessed, there 
 sat only three hundred and twenty-two. There had 
 voted in the competition for a vacant office, on the 
 first day of meeting, three hundred and fourteen. 
 
 * Act Ctb, Assembly 1712. 
 
 t By Acts of Assembly 1641 and 1704, tbe' Scots kirk of 
 Carapvcre was empowered to send commissioners to the General 
 Assembly : but that establishment was abolished some years ago 
 ])y the iJatavian republic. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 53 
 
 The moderator, the two candidates, who were mem- 
 bers, and one other member who was present, did 
 not vote, but four members arrived on some of the 
 following days.* 
 
 The General Assembly, so respectable from the 
 number and the description of the persons who com- 
 pose it, is honoured with a representation of the Sove- 
 reign by the Lord High Commissioner, whose pre- 
 sence is the gracious pledge of protection and coun- 
 tenance to the established church, and the symbol of 
 that sanction which the civil authority of the state is 
 ready to give to its legal acts. 
 
 The Church of Scotland claims the right of meet- 
 ing in a General Assembly, as well as in inferior 
 courts, by its own appointment. But it also recog- 
 nises the right of the supreme magistrate to call 
 synods, and to be present at them ; and the two 
 rights are easily reconciled, when there subsists be- 
 tween the church and the state that good understand- 
 ing which the true friends of both will always study to 
 cultivate. As, by the constitution of the Church of 
 Scotland, the ecclesiastical business of the country 
 cannot be conducted without the frequent meeting of 
 General Assemblies, the Act 1592, which established 
 Presbyterian government, declares, that " it shall be 
 lawful to the kirk and ministers, every year at the 
 least, and oftener, j^^o re nata, as occasion and neces- 
 sity shall require, to hold and keep General Assem- 
 blies :" and the Act June 7j 1 690, which restored the 
 Presbyterian church government, ratified and esta- 
 blished by act 1592, " appoints the first meeting of 
 the General Assembly of this church, as above esta- 
 
 • Note E. 
 
54 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 blished, to be at Edinburgh the third Tuesday of 
 October next to come, in this instant year 1690." 
 In pursuance of these acts, the General Assembly 
 meets annually, now always in the month of May. 
 On the first day of meeting a moderator is chosen ; 
 it has a respectable establishment of clerks and offi- 
 cers ; it continues to sit ten days, and is then dis- 
 solved, first, by the moderator, who, in the name of 
 the Lord Jesus, the King and Head of his church, 
 appoints another Assembly to be held on a certain 
 day in the month of May of the following year, — and 
 afterwards by the Lord High Commissioner, who, in 
 his majesty's name, appoints another Assembly to be 
 held upon the day which had been mentioned by the 
 moderator. 
 
 The times of electing members of Assembly, and 
 %h.e forms of the instruments of their election, which 
 are called their commissions, are precisely regulated 
 by acts of Assembly ; and a strict conformity to the 
 regulations prescribed by these acts is indispensable. 
 
 On the evening before the Assembly meets, com- 
 missions are lodged with the clerks, who prepare from 
 them a roll of Assembly, to which they are afterwards 
 instructed to add the names of members whose com- 
 missions are given in on subsequent days, and from 
 which they are instructed to erase the names of those 
 whose commissions are found informal. 
 ., On the day appointed for the meeting of Assembly, 
 which is always a Thursday, the Lord High Com- 
 missioner goes in state to the High Church of Edin- 
 burgh, where a sermon is preached by the moderator 
 of the last Assembly ; after which his grace proceeds 
 to state to the Assembly-house, which is an aisle of 
 the High Church, where a throne is prepared for his 
 
OP THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 :55 
 
 yeception.* The moderator of the last Assemhly opens 
 the meeting by prayer, the clerks read the roll of 
 members which they had prepared, and one of the 
 ministers upon that roll is chosen moderator. 
 
 The first business of the new moderator is to re- 
 ceive a communication from the throne, of the com- 
 mission appointing the nobleman who delivers it to 
 represent the sovereign, and of a letter from the sove- 
 reign to the General Assembly. After the royal 
 commission and letter are read by the principal clerk, 
 and ordered by the house to be recorded, the Lord 
 High Commissioner addresses from the throne a 
 speech to the Assembly, and the moderator, in their 
 name, makes a suitable reply. 
 
 The court being thus constituted, a committee is 
 appointed to prepare an answer to the king's letter ; 
 and if the General Assembly judge it proper, in the 
 circumstances of the times, to present an address to 
 the sovereign, the same committee is instructed to 
 frame a dutiful and loyal address, embracing the 
 topics which had been suggested in the motion for an 
 address. Another committee is appointed to examine 
 commissions. Both committees meet on Thursday 
 evening. 
 
 The clerks having, upon Thursday, been directed 
 by the Assembly to divide, under the inspection of 
 the moderator, all the members upon the roll which 
 they had prepared into two great committees, — the 
 committee of bills and the committee of overtures, — 
 the names of the members upon each committee are 
 read by the clerks in the Assembly upon Friday— a 
 meeting spent in prayer — during the intervals between 
 two of the addresses to heaven, offered by the minis- 
 
 • Note F. 
 
OO VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 ters v/hom the moderator calls to pray : additions are 
 made to each committee, as other members arrive. 
 These two great committees hold their first meeting 
 on the evening of Friday, the second on the evening 
 oF Saturday, the third on the evening of Monday. 
 They meet afterwards as they are appointed, and no 
 business comes before the Assembly but through them.* 
 
 To the committee on bills are given in all papers 
 relative to private causes which come from the infe- 
 rior courts. To the other committee are given in 
 overtures, that is, propositions from synods, presby- 
 teries, or individual ministers, for a new law of the 
 church, for the repeal of an old law, or for any regu- 
 lation or exercise of ecclesiastical authority v/hich cir- 
 cumstances appear to require. Either committee 
 may refuse to transmit to the Assembly what is laid 
 before them ; but the business may be brought in 
 under the form of protest. Although they have not 
 the absolute power of excluding any matter from the 
 consideration of the Assembly, the resistance which 
 they make to the introduction of it is a call upon the 
 Assembly to examine with a degree of suspicion what 
 is thus resisted. 
 
 Upon Friday, ministers are named to preach before 
 his grace the Lord High Commissioner, in the High 
 Church of Edinburgh, on the two Sundays during 
 his commission. 
 
 Upon Saturday, the General Assembly examines 
 the answer to the king's letter, and the address to 
 the king, if any had been ordered ; which, having 
 been prepared by the committee appointed for that 
 purpose, pass through the committee of overtures, 
 and form the first part of its report to the Assembly. 
 
 * Note G. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 5^ 
 
 The committee on commissions having been also in- 
 structed to report to the committee on overtures, any 
 objections made to commissions form the second part 
 of its report, and occupy the attention of the As- 
 sembly before it can enter upon any further business. 
 Upon Saturday or Monday, as the case happens, the 
 Assembly, having discussed the objections to com- 
 missions, receives other parts of the report of the com- 
 mittee on overtures, and the report of the committee 
 on bills ; and proceeds to make such arrangements as 
 the nature and extent of the two reports render ex- 
 pedient. 
 
 In discussing business the General Assembly has 
 adopted some of the forms necessary in all great 
 meetings, the observance of vi^hich, supported by the 
 authority of the moderator, and the general feeling of 
 the house, is commonly sufficient to preserve a be- 
 coming degree of order. Upon a division, the sense 
 of the house is collected by the names on the roll 
 being called by one of the clerks, and the votes, as 
 they are given, being marked by the principal clerk, 
 under the eye of the moderator. 
 
 Counsel are heard at the bar of the Assembly 
 when it is judging private causes, but not when it is 
 discussing overtures, which are matters of internal 
 regulation ; and, although most of the questions which 
 come before a church court may be presumed to be 
 not of general, but of local concern, yet occasions 
 often arise when the education and habits of the cler- 
 gy, together with the legal knowledge and extensive 
 information possessed by some of the lay-members 
 who take part in the discussion, render the debates in 
 the General Assembly an interesting object of atten- 
 tion to all classes of the community. 
 
58 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 Sul)ordination of In order to understand the consti- 
 Judicatories. tution of the Church of Scotland, 
 it is necessary to consider the four courts which have 
 been described, as they are bound together by that 
 subordination which is characteristical of Presbyterian 
 government. 
 
 In all governments conducted by men, wrong may 
 be done from bad intention, from the imperceptible 
 influence of local prejudices, or from some other spe- 
 cies of human infirmity. To prevent the continued 
 existence of wrong, it is provided, in every good go- 
 vernment, that sentences which are complained of 
 may be reviewed ; and although there must be a last 
 resort where the review stops, the security against 
 permanent wrong will be as effectual as the nature of 
 the case admits, if there is a gradation of authority, 
 by which those who had no concern in the origin of 
 the proceedings, have a right to annul or confirm 
 them, as they see cause. This is the great principle 
 of our republican constitution, which does not invest 
 any individual with a control over his brethren, but 
 employs the wisdom and impartiality of a greater 
 num.ber of counsellors to sanction the judgments, or 
 to correct the errors of a smaller. 
 
 When presbyteries pronounce decisions with re- 
 gard to manses and glebes, they act in a civil capa- 
 city, discharging a function which the law of the land 
 has committed to them for the benefit of the Estab- 
 lished Church ; and their judgments, possessing an 
 authority which is derived merely from human law, 
 may be afiirmed or reversed by the civil courts. But 
 every ecclesiastical business that is transacted in any 
 church-judicatory, is subject to the review only of 
 its ecclesiastical superiors, and may come before 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 59 
 
 the court immediately above it in four different 
 ways. 
 
 „. , ^ , . 1. The superior court may take 
 
 Riffht of control m ^i. u • i • v 
 
 a Superior Court. !^P }^^ busmess by an exercise ot 
 its inherent right of superintend- 
 ence and control. For in testimony of that subordi- 
 nation of judicatories which pervades the Church of 
 Scotland, it is a standing order, that the books, con- 
 taining the minutes of the inferior court, shall be 
 laid before the court immediately above it. In the 
 ordinary course of ecclesiastical transactions, this is 
 often neglected. But a superior court may, at any 
 time, issue a peremptory mandate for the production 
 of the books of its subordinate judicatories ; and hav- 
 ing the whole train of their proceedings thus regu- 
 larly submitted to its inspection, it may take such 
 measures, as, upon this review, appear to be necessary, 
 in order to correct errors, to redress wrong, to enforce 
 the observance of general rules, and to promote the 
 edification of the people, in the several districts 
 within its bounds. 
 
 Reference ^* ^"^^^^ ^" inferior court entertains 
 doubt, or apprehends difficulty and incon- 
 venience, it sometimes declines giving a decision, and 
 refers the matter upon which it had deliberated to 
 the superior court, whose wisdom may solve the 
 doubt, and whose authority may obviate the incon- 
 venience. In this case, the members of the court 
 which had referred are not precluded from sitting and 
 judging with the court to which the reference is 
 made, in the same manner as if it had come from 
 any other quarter. Although inferior courts are en- 
 titled, by the constitution, to refer to the court above 
 them, and although a reference may, in some cir- 
 cumstances, be highly proper, it is, generally speak- 
 
CO VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 lug-, more conducive to the public good, that every 
 court should fulfil its duty by exercising its judg- 
 ment ; and it is not creditable for judges to refer in 
 any case where suspicions may be entertained, that 
 the reference arose from a desire to retain the right 
 of voting in the superior court. 
 
 . 3. When a party conceives that the 
 
 judgment of an inferior court is unjust 
 or erroneous, he is entitled to seek redress by appeal- 
 ing to the court above it. The appeal, if conducted 
 in the regular manner which the laws of the church 
 prescribe, stops the final execution of the judgment, 
 brings the whole proceedings of the court which had 
 pronounced the judgment under review, and sists the 
 members at the bar of the superior court ; that is, 
 they are not entitled to deliberate and vote in the re- 
 view of their own judgment ; but they are called to 
 state, in such manner as they think proper, the rea- 
 sons upon which their judgment proceeded ; so that 
 the sentence appealed from is commonly defended be- 
 Ibre the superior court, both by the party who con- 
 sidered it as favourable to his interest, and also by 
 the members who concurred in pronouncing it. If 
 the members of an inferior court have acted according 
 to the best of their judgment, and with good inten- 
 tion, they incur no blame although their sentence be 
 reversed ; but they are answerable to the superior 
 court for every part of their conduct in the business 
 brought under review, and they may be found de- 
 serving of censure. 
 
 . 4. It is possible that the judgment of 
 
 ' an inferior court may be favourable to the 
 
 views of the only party v/ho had sisted himself at 
 
 their bar ; that it may do no wrong to any individual ; 
 
 or that the party who is aggrieved may decline the 
 
OP THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 61 
 
 trouble of conducting an appeal ; and yet the judg- 
 ment may appear to some of the members of the court 
 contrary to the laws of the church, hurtful to the in- 
 terests of religion, and such as involves in blame or 
 in danger those by whom it is pronounced. In this 
 case, the minority have a right to record in the mi- 
 nutes of the court their dissent, by which they save 
 themselves from any share of the blame or the dan- 
 ger ; and they have also a right to complain to the 
 superior court. This complaint brings the whole 
 proceedings under review, and sists the members who 
 concurred in the judgment, the complainers, and all 
 parties, at the bar of the superior court ; and if the 
 complaint appear to be well founded, it may have the 
 eifect, not only of bringing censure upon those who 
 concurred in the judgment complained of, but also of 
 reversing that judgment, and placing matters in the 
 same situation in which they were before the judg- 
 ment was pronounced. It was, in my remembrance, 
 a matter of doubt, whether, if there was no appeal by 
 a party, a complaint from the minority of a court 
 could have the effect of reversing the judgment of 
 the majority. But the doubt has been completely 
 removed by a number of decisions in different years, 
 conformable, in my opinion, to the nature and reason 
 of the case ; and it is now understood to be part of 
 the law of the church, that upon a complaint from 
 the minority of an inferior court, the court of review 
 may dispose of the sentence complained of, in the 
 same manner as if it had been brought before them 
 by the appeal of a party.* The members of every 
 
 * The sentence here subjoined will serve as an example how 
 far the effect of a complaint may go. Assembly 1798, session 8. 
 " A dissent and complaint by Mr. Robert Home at Pohvarth, 
 
62 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 church judicatory are thus taught to consider them- 
 selves as guardians of the constitution ; they are call- 
 ed to attend, not only to the particular business con- 
 cerning which they judge, but also to that general 
 interest of the church, which, in the eye of parties, 
 may be of little importance ; and they have the satis- 
 faction of knowing, that by discharging their duty 
 with intelligence and firmness in the inferior courts, 
 they may, in the end, obtain full redress of the injury 
 which the church might have sustained by judgments 
 in which parties were willing to acquiesce.* 
 
 Dr. Robert Douglas at Galashiels, and others, from a sentence 
 of the synod of Merse and Tiviotdale, of 24th October last, 
 respecting the settlement of Mr. James Young in the parish of 
 Legertwood, heard : Two several motions were made, and the 
 roll being called, and votes marked, the Assembly, by a great 
 majority, found, that Mr, James Young was not qualified, ac- 
 cording to the lav/s of this church, to accept the presentation to 
 the church of Legertwood ; and therefore reversed the sentence 
 of the synod of Merse and Tiviotdale in October last, com- 
 plained of, recommending to the presbytery of Lauder to sustain 
 that presentation -. found, that the presbytery of Lauder acted 
 with great irregularity in proceeding, as they stated at the bar, to 
 admit Mr. James Young upon the Gth of December last, not- 
 withstanding the dissent and complaint of several members of 
 the synod : Annulled all the proceedings of the presbytery of 
 Lauder in relation to the settlement of the parish of Legertwood, 
 subsequent to the meeting of the Synod of Merse and Tiviotdale 
 in October last ; rescinded the settlement of Mr. James Young, 
 and declared the parish of Legertwood vacant, as if no such set- 
 tlement had taken place. The Assembly appointed an extract 
 of this sentence to be sent by the moderator in a letter to George 
 Kerr, Esq. of Moriston, patron of the parish of Legertwood ; 
 and appointed the presbytery of Lauder to meet the second 
 Thursday of June next, in order to appoint supplies for the 
 %'acant parish of Legertwood." 
 * Note H. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 63 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 ON THE DISTRIBUTION OP POWER AMONGST THE 
 JUDICATORIES OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 In delineating any constitution, it is necessary to 
 explain the manner in which the three powers known 
 by the name of the Judicial, the Legislative, and the 
 -Executive, are distributed and exercised. 
 Judicial 1- The judicial power of the church 
 Power, appears in the infliction or removal of 
 those censures which belong to a spiritual society. 
 This power is not intrusted by the constitution of 
 our church to the minister of a parish ; for, while he 
 performs various offices in his personal capacity, it is 
 only when he sits in the kirk-session as moderator, or 
 acts by their authority, that he exercises the judicial 
 power of rebuking, of suspending, or excluding from 
 the privileges of the church, and of absolving from 
 censure. While those inhabitants of a parish who 
 are of the communion of the Established Church, 
 are thus secured from suffering by the caprice of an 
 individual, they are also guarded against the intru- 
 sion of a neighbouring jurisdiction. They arc placed 
 by the constitution, under the inspection of the kirk- 
 session of their own parish : there the judicial power, 
 when it is exercised with regard to laymen, must 
 originate ; and no other ecclesiastical court is entitled 
 to interfere in the first instance : although every 
 judicial discussion before a kirk-session may ascend 
 through the gradation of judicatories, so as to be 
 finally decided by the General Assembly. 
 
 The office of a minister being superior to that of 
 
64 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 an elder, and the minister of a parish being officially 
 the moderator of his own kirk-session, he is not amen- 
 able to their jurisdiction. His immediate superiors 
 are the presbytery from whom he received the charge 
 of his parish, who have a title, at any time, to in- 
 quire in what manner he performs his official duty, 
 who exercise a censorial inspection over his whole 
 conduct, and who are the only court before whom it 
 is competent for those who wish to appear as his ac- 
 cusers in an ecclesiastical process, to lodge any com- 
 plaint against his doctrine, or his moral character. 
 Ministers, besides being liable to the same censures 
 as other Christians, may be suspended from the ex- 
 ercise of their ministry, or deposed ; and, in conse- 
 quence of the connexion between the church and the 
 state, a sentence of deposition, regularly pronounced 
 by the church-courts, deprives a minister of that right 
 to the stipend and other emoluments which he ac- 
 quired by his admission, and renders his parish vacant 
 in the eye of law. 
 
 It is a matter of essential justice, that every man 
 who is to be tried should know the shape which his 
 accusation must assume, and the form in which he 
 is required to make his defence. The strict observ- 
 ance of a known established mode of trial is peculi- 
 arly necessary in the judicial proceedings of the 
 church, where sentences which affect the character and 
 comfort of the parties, and which deprive a minister of 
 his usefulness and his freehold, are pronounced by 
 large popular assemblies, the members of which, not 
 being conversant in legal discussion, are in danger of 
 deciding from som.e strong present impression. One 
 of the first objects to which the Church of Scotland 
 turned her attention after the establishment of pres- 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 65 
 
 byterian government at the Revolution, was the state 
 of her judicial proceedings ; and what is called the 
 form of process, a code of laws which regulates the 
 manner of commencing, of conducting, and of ter- 
 minating processes for censure, was enacted by the 
 church in the year 1707- I" 17^^75 Lord Robert- 
 son, who was then procurator for the Church of Scot- 
 land, and who, after filling that office for many years 
 with high reputation, became one of the Lords of 
 Council and Session, made an attempt to obtain the 
 sanction of the church to a more perfect code, into 
 which he had introduced various improvements, pro- 
 ceeding upon the liberal accurate ideas which are con- 
 genial to his mind. The attempt failed of success: and 
 from the difficulties with which it appeared to be -at- 
 tended, there is no great reason to hope that we shall 
 soon obtain the enactment of any law of the church, so 
 complex as the case would require. But we have the 
 satisfaction of thinking, that our form of process is in 
 many respects excellent ; and that with the help of 
 those explications which some parts of it have already 
 received from practice, and with a due attention to the 
 rules of Christian prudence and charity, it may be 
 executed in such a manner as to attain the great pur- 
 poses of a judicial code.* 
 
 2. Every judicatory is occasionally 
 ][i^g;«^^^^^^^^ called to enforce the laws of the church, 
 by making such special enactments, in 
 conformity to those general laws, as are suggested by 
 the circumstances of the district under its jurisdic- 
 tion ; and church-courts, like all others, have a right, 
 within certain limits, to regulate the forms of their 
 own proceedings. It is not to such partial enact- 
 
 • Note I. 
 
66 
 
 VIEW OP THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 ments or regulations that we refer, when we speak of 
 the legislative power of the church. We apply that 
 term to the power of making standing laws concern- 
 ing matters of general importance, which are binding 
 upon all the mem.bers and judicatories of the church. 
 From the first establishment of Presbyterian govern- 
 ment in 1560, till some years after the Revolution, 
 such laws proceeded from the sole authority of the 
 General Assembly. But an act of the church in the 
 year ] 697? which we are accustomed to call the bar- 
 rier act, prescribes the following mode of enacting 
 permanent and standing constitutions. The proposal 
 of making a new general law, or of repealing an old 
 one, which, in our ecclesiastical language, is termed an 
 overture, originates with some individual, who general- 
 ly lays it before his presbytery or synod, that, if they 
 approve, it may be sent to the General Assembly as 
 their overture. The General Assembly may dismiss 
 the overture, if they judge it unnecessary or im- 
 proper, or adopt it as it was sent, or introduce any 
 alteration which the matter or the form seems to 
 require. If it is not dismissed, it is transmitted by 
 the General Assembly, in its original or its amended 
 form, to the several presbyteries of the church for 
 their consideration, with an injunction to send up 
 their opinion to the next General Assembly, who 
 may pass it into a standing law, if the more general 
 opinion of the church agree thereunto, that is, if not 
 less than forty presbyteries approve.* 
 
 The barrier act,-[- according to its own preamble, 
 was intended " for preventing any sudden alteration, 
 or innovation, or other prejudice to the church, in 
 either doctrine, worship, discipline, or government, 
 
 * Note K. f See Appendix, No. V. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. (J7 
 
 now happily established therein :"*' and any person 
 who considers the momentary impressions incident to 
 all large bodies of men in the heat of* debate, or in 
 their zeal for a particular object, will not think it ad- 
 visable that a court so numerous as the General As- 
 sembly, which sits once a-year for ten days, should 
 have the uncontrolled power of making standing laws 
 upon the spur of the occasion. At the same time, it 
 must be acknowledged, that the operation of the barrier 
 act tends to produce great tardiness in the legislation 
 of the church. For some presbyteries neglect to send 
 any opinion ; others disapprove ; others propose al- 
 terations ; so that many years sometimes elapse before 
 the consent of forty presbyteries can be obtained to 
 the whole complex proposition that was transmitted 
 to them. The remedy for this tardiness is found in 
 that legislative authority which seems to be reserved 
 to the General Assembly by the barrier act. The 
 Assembly 1695, which prepared the overture that no 
 new acts relating to the doctrine, worship, or govern- 
 ment of this church be made, until they be first trans- 
 mitted to the several presbyteries, does in the mean- 
 time revive the acts of the former Assemblies made 
 thereanent ; and the Assembly 16975 "pon the same 
 day on which it converted the overture of 1695 into 
 a binding rule and constitution to the church, does 
 obtest and beseech all the ministers of this church 
 *' to consider how much it is their duty to give punc- 
 tual and exemplary obedience to all the acts and ap- 
 pointments of the Assemblies thereof." Accordingly, 
 ever since that period, when the immediate enactment 
 of the new law proposed in an overture appeared essen- 
 tial for the good of the church, the General Assembly 
 has exercised the power of converting the overture 
 
68 
 
 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 into what we are accustomed to call an interim act ;* 
 and it is acknowledged by all who understand our 
 constitution, that, till the meeting of the next As- 
 sembly, such temporary enactments are binding upon 
 all the mem.bers of the church. If presbyteries dis- 
 approve of them, they will express their disapproba- 
 tion in the opinion which they transmit ; and the 
 voice of their representatives in the next Assembly 
 will prevent the re-enactment of the overture. The 
 power, therefore, of passing interim acts cannot pro- 
 duce permanent evil ; it generally has the effect of 
 rousing presbyteries to consider the overtures trans- 
 mitted to them ; and, in many instances, the tempo- 
 rary regulations by which this power of the General 
 Assembly had applied an immediate remedy to evils 
 under which the church was suffering, have acquired 
 the authority of standing laws, either by the tacit ac- 
 quiescence of the church during a long course of years, 
 or by the explicit approbation at length obtained 
 from a majority of presbyteries.f 
 
 * Assemblies 1711, 1719, 1731, 1737, 1739, 1742, &c. &c. 
 
 -f- The act of Assembly 1711, concerning probationers, and 
 settling ministers, never received the explicit approbation of the 
 presbyteries of this church ; but being generally observed, it 
 came, by long and uniform practice, to be considered as constitu- 
 tional law. A more distinct and comprehensive act anent licens- 
 ing probationers, was first introduced in the year 1740 ; and after 
 undergoing various alterations in the Assembly, and being trans- 
 mitted for many successive years, was, in consequence of the ap- 
 probation of a majority of presbyteries, converted into a standing 
 law by the Assembly 1782. The act respecting chapels of ease 
 may be mentioned to the honour of the Church of Scotland, as 
 an example of presbyteries being effectually roused by circum- 
 stances that require promptitude and vigour. The increasing 
 wealth and population of various districts of Scotland having pro- 
 duced many applications for chapelsof ease, there being no public 
 law upon this novel subject, and different presbyteries having erect- 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 69 
 
 . 3. The General Assembly, from its first 
 
 Power/^'^ meeting under the authority of Parliament 
 
 in the year 1560, assumed the direction of 
 
 ed chapels of ease upon plans widely dissimilar, and in some in- 
 stances dangerous to the ecclesiastical and civil establishment, it 
 was judged necessary to introduce into the Assembly 1796 an 
 overture, founded upon the report of a committee, which had been 
 appointed by the Assembly 1795 to consider the subject, " that 
 presbyteries shall not pronounce a final judgment upon any petition 
 for the erection of a chapel of ease, until they shall have received 
 the special directions of the Assembly thereon." This overture 
 having been adopted by the Assembly 1796, was transmitted to 
 presbyteries for their opinion, and was at the same time enacted as 
 an interim order. It was re-transmitted and re-enacted by the As- 
 sembly 1797 ; and a considerable majority of the presbyteries of 
 the church having transmitted to the Assembly 1 798 their opinions 
 in favour of the overture, it was, by that Assembly, within two 
 years after its being introduced, enacted into a standing law of 
 the church. See Acts of Assembly 1798, session 6. 
 
 There occurred lately a stronger example of the sense of pub- 
 lic duty correcting the tardiness incident to our mode of legisla- 
 tion. The General Assembly, from considering the circum- 
 stances of the case, had, in a few recent instances, given per- 
 mission to a clergyman holding a professorship in an university, 
 to hold, at the same time, a parochial charge in the country. 
 In many parts of Scotland, apprehensions were entertained that 
 this permission might introduce abuses hurtful to the interests of 
 religion and literature ; and the desire became very general that, 
 by a law regularly enacted, an effectual check might be given to 
 H practice which was considered by many as a most serious evil. 
 In compliance with this desire, the General Assembly, May 22, 
 1816, appointed the committee of overtures '* to prepare an over- 
 ture for preventing the improper union of offices, to be reported 
 to the Assembly." The overture prepared by the committee 
 was produced and read, May 25, 1816 ; " and after a few amend- 
 ments made upon it, the Assembly agree, without a vote, to 
 transmit this overture to presbyteries for their opinion, and, in 
 the mean time, they convert the same into an interim act." The 
 committee appointed by Assembly 1817 to class returns to over- 
 tiu*es, being able to report, " that a n)ujority of presbyteries have 
 given their consent to the overture relating to tlie union of 
 offices j" the General Assembly, I\Iay 28, 1817, within twelve 
 
70 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 the ecclesiastical business of the nation, which it 
 managed, first by superintendents, and afterwards by 
 the presbyteries which it erected in the different dis- 
 tricts of the kingdom. In the Second Book of Dis- 
 cipline, which was agreed upon in the Assembly 1578, 
 and inserted in the registers of Assembly 1581, it 
 specified minutely the powers of presbyteries and 
 synods ; and nearly the same powers described in that 
 book were confirmed by the act of Parliament 1592, 
 c. 114, which has been properly termed the law of 
 the land respecting our ecclesiastical constitution.* 
 The powers thus committed to the inferior judicato- 
 ries of the church of Scotland, are exercised by all of 
 them in the ordinary discharge of their duty ; and in 
 the trial of candidates for the ministry, presbyteries 
 are in a special manner the executive ofiicers of the 
 church. But the supremiO executive power remains 
 with the General Assembly, which having, in concur- 
 rence with the state, given at first to the inferior ju- 
 dicatories all the ecclesiastical powers which they pos- 
 sess, still, according to the powers which, in the Se- 
 cond Book of Discipline, it reserved to itself, " pre- 
 scribes the rule how the other two kinds of assemblies 
 should proceed in all things ; and generally, concern- 
 ing all weighty affairs that concern the weal and good 
 order of the whole kirks of the realm, interpones au- 
 thority_thereto/l_rin the exercise of these powers, the 
 GeneraFAssembly often issues peremptory mandates, 
 summoning individuals and inferior courts to appear 
 at its bar. It sends precise orders to particular judi- 
 
 moiiths after its being introduced, " did enact and ordain that 
 the said overture shall be held and acted upon, in all time com- 
 ing, as a standing law of this church." 
 * See Appendix, No. II. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. ^1 
 
 catories, directing, assisting, or restraining them in 
 the discharge of their functions ; and its superintend- 
 ing controlling authority maintains soundness of doc- 
 trine, checks irregularity, and enforces the observance 
 of general laws throughout all the districts of the 
 church. / As the decisions of the General Assembly, 
 which constitute the common law of the church, may 
 give a false interpretation of the statute-law, so the 
 orders of the General Assembly may infringe the con- 
 stitutional liberties of the separate judicatories. But 
 when an opinion comes to prevail throughout the 
 church that the General Assembly has acted impro- 
 perly, the representatives sent by the presbyteries to 
 future General Assemblies will give decisions of an 
 opposite tendency ; and acts will be passed in the 
 ordinary course of legislation, applying the proper 
 remedy to the abuse of authority, and preventing the 
 repetition of that abuse. The executive power may 
 err in the church, as in the state ; and in both, the 
 errors of the executive are corrected by the voice of 
 the legislative. 
 
 " The General Assembly," says the Reverend Pro- 
 fessor Finlayson, in the Heads of an Argument in 
 support of the Overture respecting Chapels of Ease, 
 with which he favoured the public in the year 1797? 
 " is the corner-stone of our ecclesiastical government. 
 The powers which originally belonged to it have con- 
 tinued to be exerted occasionally through the whole 
 period of its history. In the last century, its arm 
 appears almost everywhere, directing the course of 
 ecclesiastical procedure. And even in the present 
 century, after a more settled state of things has ren- 
 dered its interpositions less frequent, we see it still 
 exerting the superintending and legislative authority 
 
72 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 with which it is vested, whenever necessity or the 
 general good requires. The existence of this autho- 
 rity is essential to the unity and vigour of our politi- 
 cal system. Without it the church of Scotland would 
 soon lose its glory, and separate into a number of petty 
 independent jurisdictions, scattered over the districts 
 of the country, unequal to their own defence, and in- 
 sufficient for the purposes of an ecclesiastical establish- 
 ment."" 
 
 The settlements of vacant parishes have furnished 
 the most important occasions for calling forth the ex- 
 ecutive power of the General Assembly. Ever since 
 the establishment of the Church of Scotland, and par- 
 ticularly since patrons were restored to their ancient 
 rights by the act 1712, presbyteries, even when they 
 did not find any defect in the personal qualifications of 
 the presentee, have often, from a supposed deficiency 
 in his call, from regard to the wishes of the people, 
 or from some local circumstances, delayed or even re- 
 fused to settle him. When the matter is brought 
 before the General Assembly, that supreme court, if 
 satisfied that the conduct of the presbytery was not 
 warranted by the laws of the church, interpones its 
 authority, and enjoins them to proceed with all con- 
 venient speed, according to the rules of the church, 
 to receive and admit the presentee minister of the 
 vacant parish. If the reluctance discovered by the 
 members of the presbytery appears to be such that 
 they cannot safely be trusted with any discretionary 
 powers, the General Assembly appoints the particular 
 days of their meeting, in order to take the steps pre- 
 vious to the settlement, prescribes the whole course of 
 their procedure, and constitutes them, in that particu- 
 lar case, the ministerial officers of the General Assem- 
 
OF THE CKURCH OF SCOTLAND. 'JS 
 
 bly, who are not allowed to exercise their own judg- 
 ment, but are required implicitly to obey the instruc- 
 tions given by their superiors. As the existence of* 
 the society depends upon the maintenance of this 
 paramount authority, ministers have often been cen- 
 sured, and sometimes deposed, when setting their own 
 judgment in opposition to that subordination which 
 the constitution implies, and which their solemn pro- 
 mise at the time of their admission bound upon their 
 conscience, they have finally refused to oomply with 
 the orders of the supreme executive power. 
 
 It may be impossible for a court which sits only 
 once a-year for ten days, to decide all the questions 
 that are brought before it ; and circumstances may 
 occur in the intervals between General Assemblies, 
 which call for the interposition of the supreme execu- 
 tive power of the church. The constitution of the 
 church of Scotland, therefore, is completed by the 
 commission of the General Assembly ; a court com- 
 posed of the moderator and all the members, with the 
 addition of one who is named by the moderator, 
 which meets after the Assembly is dissolved, without 
 the representation of the sovereign, and may be con- 
 sidered as a committee of the whole house. The 
 General Assembly gives power to the said commission- 
 ers, or their quorum, which is declared to be thirty- 
 one of their number, whereof twenty-one are always 
 to be ministers, to meet within the Assembly-house, 
 the first day after the dissolution of the Assembly, 
 and thereafter the second Wednesday of August, 
 third Wednesday of November, and first Wednesday 
 of March, and oftener, when and where they shall 
 think fit and convenient, with power to choose their 
 own moderator ; and it empowers them finally to 
 
 £ 
 
74 VIEW OP THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 determine, as tliey shall see cause, in every matter 
 referred to them by the Assembly ; appointing, 
 however, that no private processes be determined 
 except at the four stated diets, and that what shall 
 be determined at one diet of the commission, with 
 relation to private causes, shall be unalterable by 
 any other diet thereof, and shall continue in force 
 till disapproved of by the General Assembly. As 
 amongst the annual instructions given to the com- 
 missioners, they receive a general direction " to 
 advert to the interest of the church on every occasion, 
 that the church, and present establishment thereof, 
 do not suffer or sustain any prejudice which they can 
 prevent, as they will be answerable," they may find 
 it expedient to m^eet oftener than at the four stated 
 diets ; and a commission is legally constituted at any 
 time when thirty-one of the commissioners, whereof 
 twenty-one are ministers, finding themselves assem- 
 bled in any place, proceed to choose a moderator. It 
 has been usual for the moderator of the last Assem- 
 bly, upon the few occasions when an extraordinary 
 meeting of the commission has been held, to give pub- 
 lic notice, at the desire of some members, of the day 
 upon which it appears to them expedient to m.eet. 
 But there is no reason to think that the moderator of 
 the last Assembly, by withholding his compliance 
 wdth that request, can restrain the commission from 
 meeting, or that it would be incompetent for the com- 
 missioners to act, although circumstances should pre- 
 vent a quorum of their number from assembling upon 
 the very day which he had named. As the commis- 
 sion is a delegated court, the commissioners are ac- 
 countable for all their actings to the next General 
 Assembly, who may reverse their sentences, and find 
 
OP THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 7^ 
 
 those who concurred in them censurable, if it shall 
 appear that they have exceeded their powers ; that is, 
 have either meddled in any other matters than w^hat 
 were committed and referred to them, or acted con- 
 trary to the acts and constitution of the church, or 
 to the prejudice thereof. But, within these limits, 
 the commission is vested with the executive authority 
 of the General Assembly ; and, by carrying into effect 
 the sentences and judgments of the church, has, in 
 many important cases, maintained that subordination 
 of judicatories in wdiich consists " the unity and vi- 
 gour of our political system." 
 
 From this delineation of the constitution of the 
 Church of Scotland, it appears that the distribution 
 of power amongst the courts of which it is composed, 
 is artificial and skilful. The judicial power ascends 
 through all the courts, terminating in the General 
 Assembly : The legislative both originates and ends 
 there, w^ith this restriction upon the exercise of it, 
 that, without the concurrence of a majority oi^ pres- 
 byteries, the General Assembly cannot enact any 
 standing law : The supreme executive is lodged in 
 the General Assembly, whose orders direct and con- 
 trol the inferior branches, until the whole body de- 
 clare that they are illegal. In this distribution of 
 power, there is sufficient energy and vigour for the 
 dispatch of business ; there is a tardiness only w^ith 
 regard to that which of all things requires the most 
 deliberation, the enactment of permanent laws ; and 
 there is a provision made for the constitutional ope- 
 ration of that jealousy natural and proper in all re- 
 publics, by which the rights and liberties of the infe- 
 rior branches are defended against encroachment, and 
 the General Assembly, however respectable by the 
 
76 VIEW OF THE C0N8TITUTI0X 
 
 description of its members, and the various offices 
 assigned to it, is effectually restrained from making 
 innovations. This constitution gives the ministers of 
 the Church of Scotland a voice in framing those re- 
 gulations which are enacted to direct their conduct : 
 It affords them such opportunities of displaying per- 
 sonal talents as are unknown under Episcopal govern- 
 ment, and it has a tendency to form that manly, en- 
 lightened, and independent mind, which becomes all 
 who are employed in the ministrations of the sacred 
 ofHce. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 ON THE OBJECTS OF THE JUDICIAL POWER OF THE 
 CHURCH. 
 
 After the general account given in the preceding 
 section of the manner in which power is distributed 
 among the judicatories of the Church of Scotland, we 
 shall attain a more intimate knowledge of the eccle- 
 siastical constitution of this country, if we take a par- 
 ticular review of the objects in relation to which the 
 judicial power is exercised. 
 
 When Protestants speak of the judicial power of 
 the church, they ought never to forget, that the fu- 
 ture and eternal punishments of sin are in the power 
 of God, and that the judgments pronounced by the 
 church can inflict only censures and external penal- 
 ties. The Lord Jesus having required his disciples 
 
OF THE CHURCH OP SCOTLAND. 77 
 
 to unite in a regular society, hath invested the rulers 
 of that society with the office of* admitting those whom 
 they judge worthy, of admonishing and reproving 
 those who are admitted, and of suspending or exclud- 
 ing them from the privileges of the society. To the 
 persons employed in this office he has left directions, 
 for the observance of which they are accountable to 
 him ; aud he will give his sanction to the acts which 
 they perform agreeably to his directions. As he has 
 not left them any promise of infallibility, they may 
 unintentionally, or from corrupt motives, pronounce 
 unjust sentences. But this inconvenience, which is 
 incident to every exercise of power vested in the hands 
 of men, does not affect the final salvation of his sub- 
 jects : And even with regard to external privileges, 
 it is not without remedy : For as " Christ, through 
 the Spirit," in the words of our Confession of Faith, 
 '' worketh when, and where, and how he pleaseth ;"" 
 so Christians are justified, in cases of necessity, in 
 resorting to an extraordinary method of enjoying that 
 comfort and edification which the established order of 
 the church was destined to convey to their souls. 
 
 The judicial power of the church, when exercised 
 conformably to Protestant principles, in consistency 
 with the sovereign authority of Christ, and the liber- 
 ties of his disciples, may be considered as legitimately 
 extending to the three following objects, gross immo- 
 rality, heresy, and schism. 
 
 1. The constitution of the Christian 
 aft ^^^^^^7' *^^ credit of religion, and the con- 
 duct of the apostles, teach us, that every 
 flagrant transgression of the laws of Christ calls for 
 the censures of the church : Yet there has been at dif- 
 ferent times a rigour in the discipline of the church 
 
78 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 which appears to us excessive, and which the temper 
 of our times w^ould not bear. The early Christians, 
 exposed both to obloquy and to persecution, employed 
 this discipline as a method of vindicating their society 
 from the imputation of secret crimes, and of deterring 
 the m.embers from apostacy ; and the circumstances 
 which produced this zeal, although they cannot jus- 
 tify, may excuse the rigour. In the third century 
 Novatian, going far beyond the severity of the primi- 
 tive discipline, taught that every sin committed after 
 baptism, fjnd particularly the guilt which Christians 
 contracted by joining in the v;orship of idols, excluded 
 for ever from the communion of the church. In the 
 fourth century the followers of Donatus, who mingled 
 some private causes of separation with this general 
 principle, refused to hold communion with any church 
 which re-admitted those who had once committed a 
 heinous sin, and regarded as invalid the baptism and 
 ordination conferred by any society of Christians who 
 had rendered themselves impure by such re-admission. 
 Soon after the Reformation, the Anabaptists, reviv- 
 ing the principle of Novatian and Donatus, taught 
 that the Christian society, whose character is holi- 
 ness, ought to be inaccessible to sinners, and that 
 any branch of that society, which permits a person 
 who is not a saint to remain in its communion, ceases 
 to be a part of the Church of Christ. 
 
 The principle of the Donatists and Anabaptists is 
 incompatible with the present state of human nature, 
 which does not admit of perfect virtue in any indivi- 
 dual, far less in a large society ; audit is contradicted 
 by the exhortations and reproofs which the apostles 
 addressed to the churches in their days, and by the 
 confessions of sin which Christians are directed to 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 7^ 
 
 offer when they assemble themselves together. M'e 
 look indeed for a time when the church, which 
 Christ washed in his blood, shall be presented by 
 him to his Father holy and without blemish ; and 
 we believe that none shall be found members of the 
 invisible church hereafter, who do not follow after 
 holiness upon earth. But as the endeavours of the 
 best are attended with much imperfection, and as the 
 visible church, according to the description given in 
 several of the parables of our Lord, is to continue till 
 the end of the world a mixed society, we are fully 
 aware that the discipline exercised by its rulers, un- 
 less it be relative to the present state of things, will 
 convert one of the medicines which the Lord Jesus 
 hath provided for the frailties and trespasses of his 
 disciples, into an oppressive, unmeaning, and capri- 
 cious tyranny. 
 
 In that temperate exercise of discipline which the 
 general practice of the Church of Scotland recognises 
 as congenial to her constitution, care is taken to 
 avoid every appearance of intermeddling officiously 
 with those matters that fall under the cognizance of 
 the civil magistrate : no solicitude is ever discovered 
 to engage in the investigation of secret wickedness ; 
 counsel, private admonition, and reproof, are em- 
 ployed in their proper season ; and the public cen- 
 sures of the church are reserved for those scandalous 
 sins which bring reproach upon religion, which give 
 offence to the Christian society, and which cannot be 
 overlooked without the danger of hardening the sin- 
 ner, of emboldening others to follow his example, 
 and of disturbing and grieving the minds of many 
 worthy Christians. Even with regard to such sins, 
 the temper of modern times has adopted the sentence 
 
80 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 of the lesser rather than what is called the greater 
 excommunication ; that is to say, we choose rather to 
 suspend from the privileges of the church, and par- 
 ticuiprly from a participation of the Lord's supper, 
 than, by a public sentence, to declare that the sinner 
 is cut off from the communion of the church, and, 
 according to the expression of the apostles, " deliver- 
 ed unto Satan.'' In England, the sentence of the 
 greater excommunication is pronounced by the spi- 
 ritual courts in the course of transacting the multi- 
 plicity of civil business which the constitution of that 
 country commits to their judgment. In Scotland, it 
 is appropriated to the sins of which the church, as a 
 spiritual society, takes cognizance ; and it is rendered 
 the more awful by being very unusual. When the 
 offender, instead of being reformed by the sentence of 
 the lesser excommunication, presumptuously persists 
 in his former sin, we are directed to proceed, with 
 the greatest possible solemnity, to the greater excom- 
 munication. Yet even this sentence is not under- 
 stood to have any effect in dissolving the relations of 
 civil life : it leaves access to various means of refor- 
 mation ; and it is removed by the sentence of absolu- 
 tion, which the church is always ready to pronounce 
 upon satisfying evidence of repentance. 
 
 In prescribing the manner of making profession of 
 repentance, a prudent accommodation to circumstances 
 may be expected from those who know the spirit of 
 that evangelical precept, " Let us follow after the 
 things which make for peace, and things wherewith 
 one m.ay edify another." In many situations more 
 good arises from the dread of public rebuke, than 
 from the rebuke itself; and there is always the want of 
 wisdom in defeating the end of church censures, by 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 81 
 
 requiring what we know will not be complied with. 
 In this country especially, where the civil magistrate 
 does not afford his aid in giving effect to excommu- 
 nication, it becomes the office-bearers of the church 
 to allow full time for the operation of all lenient me- 
 thods of reclaiming offenders, before they proceed to 
 that extremity which circumstances may sometimes 
 render indispensable, but which it is desirable to 
 avoid, for this reason, amongst many others, that 
 whatever opinion may be entertained with regard to 
 the sentence of excommunication, whether it is re- 
 spected or despised, the church has not the power of 
 doing any thing more. 
 
 Heresy. 2. Although protestant churches, re- 
 nouncing every claim of infallibility, do not presume 
 to impose upon the consciences of Christians any 
 articles of faith which are not revealed in the word 
 of God ; yet they consider themselves as invested 
 with the office of mterpreting Scripture, of publishing 
 the truths there taught, and of guarding the people 
 against error ; they think that they derive from the 
 example and the directions of the apostles, a clear 
 warrant to regard unsound doctrine as an object of 
 the judicial power of the church; and they sometimes 
 proceed to inflict the highest censures upon those 
 who are guilty of heresy. 
 
 But there are two limitations of this exercise of 
 ecclesiastical discipline, which, to the Church of 
 Scotland, appcc. - to be prescribed by protestant prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 First, Heresy, when considered as a legitimate 
 object of church-censure, denotes, not the entertain- 
 ment of a false opinion in the mind, but the publi- 
 cation of that opinion by discourse or by writing. 
 
82 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 Those who are admitted to join in communion with 
 the church, profess, by partaking of the ordinances of 
 religion as administered by her office-bearers, that 
 they approve of the doctrine which she holds. We 
 consider this profession as a sufficient evidence of 
 their faith ; and we think that the church goes be- 
 yond her province, when, by collecting suspicious 
 circumstances, she attempts to expiscate their senti- 
 ments. Hence we condemn those inquisitorial pro- 
 ceedings, by which the formidable tribunals erected 
 in the Church of Rome presumed to judge the se- 
 crets of men''s hearts. Disclaiming a tyranny which 
 invades the prerogative of the Almighty, and dis- 
 turbs the tranquillity with which every man has a 
 right to enjoy his own opinions, we consider those 
 only as liable to the charge of heresy, whose zeal in 
 the propagation of opinions contrary to the doctrine 
 of the church, has a tendency to lead others into 
 what she accounts error, and to excite those animo- 
 sities and altercations which have ever attended the 
 general diffusion of controversial discussions in theo- 
 logy. By judging and censuring such persons, the 
 church gives notice that she disapproves of their 
 doctrine, and, in execution of the office committed to 
 her, warns Christians of the danger of being led 
 aside from the truth, and holds forth to their atten- 
 tion the faith once delivered to the saints. 
 
 Secondly, Heresy, when considered as a legitimate 
 object of church-censure, must respect some funda- 
 mental and pernicious error. The Arminians ap- 
 pear to us to sacrifice that unity of faith which we 
 consider as essential to the Church of Christ, when, 
 framing their creeds in the most ambiguous terms, 
 they represent fraternal charity as a sufficient bond 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 83 
 
 of union amidst all possible diversity of theological 
 sentiments. But, on the other hand, we blame 
 the endless multiplication of heresies in the church 
 of Rome, as an unnecessary and unjustifiable en- 
 tanglement of the disciples of Christ : We think 
 that it is possible to state, in no great compass, the 
 errors which are fundamental, and the truths in which 
 all who hold one faith ought to be united ; and we 
 are unwilling to charge with heresy those who readily 
 subscribe to the great doctrines which are plainly 
 taught in Scripture, although they do not admit the 
 justness of all the explications, distinctions, and rea- 
 sonings which have been employed in the statement 
 of those doctrines. There is great respect due to the 
 diversities of understanding and of education ; to the 
 freedom which every man of research claims to a cer- 
 tain degree as his right ; even to the wanderings of a 
 speculative mind : and the divine simplicity, wuth 
 which the truths characteristical of the gospel are 
 there proposed, seems intended to leave room for 
 those who •' judge of themselves what is right,"" to 
 differ in their mode of conceiving the truths, while 
 they unite with cordiality in defending them. 
 
 c , . 3. That power of making enactments, 
 
 Schism. , . A , . . o PI 
 
 by Its own authority, in matters or order, 
 
 and in circumstances respecting the conduct of divine 
 worship, which is conveyed to the church by the prac- 
 tice and the directions of the apostles, ought always 
 to be exercised in a manner conformable to the charac- 
 ter of the Christian religion. A simplicity of external 
 observances is dictated by this luminous principle,* 
 " The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but 
 
 • Romans xiv. 17. 
 
84 VlE\y OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 
 A tender consideration of the infirmities, the preju- 
 dices, and scruples of our brethren, a kindly solicitude 
 to enlighten the consciences of the weak, and a readi- 
 ness to grant every indulgence and concession not 
 inconsistent with order, — all this is a branch of that 
 gentle, condescending, accommodating spirit which 
 the apostles learnt from their Master, and which he 
 has prescribed for the government of their successors 
 ^11 the end of the world, in these gracious words : 
 ^' Whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that 
 believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone 
 were hanged about his neck, and that he were drown- 
 ed in the depth of the sea. Take heed, that ye de- 
 spise not one of these little ones ; for I say unto you, 
 that in heaven their angels do always behold the face 
 of my Father which is in heaven.^"* 
 
 The same attention is not due to those who revile 
 both the regulations enacted by the church, and the 
 authority from which they proceed. It is impossible 
 to read Neale's History of the Puritans, v,^ithout in- 
 ferring from the account given by that able and zea- 
 lous apologist, that among the puritans of former 
 times, there were many who covered a factious spirit 
 under the pretext of a scrupulous conscience. Such 
 men "• know not what manner of spirit they are of." 
 They have no title to complain if the church employs 
 her censures in counteracting the disorder and division 
 which they wish to propagate ; and she is commanded 
 to w^arn them of those judgments which shall hereafter 
 be inflicted upon them that are contentious. 
 
 But those who refuse compliance with edclesiastical 
 regulations seldom wait till, by a judicial sentence, 
 they are cast out of the church ; they choose rather 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 85 
 
 to withdraw from her communion ; and that separa- 
 tion, which, by those whom they leave, is generally 
 branded with the name of Schism, they defend as a 
 matter of conscience. It does not become a Protes- 
 tant church to regard this defence as an inadmissible 
 plea, which may be rejected without examination. 
 For the first Protestants separated from the church of 
 Rome, because she required the belief of doctrines 
 which they proved from Scripture to be false, and 
 imposed the worship of images, the adoration of the 'f 
 host, prayers to saints, and many other observances 
 which the Scripture declares to be idolatrous. To 
 those who entertained such apprehensions of the 
 church of Rome, separation from her was a duty 
 which they owed to their Master in heaven ; and in 
 as far as any Protestant church follows the example 
 of the church of Rome, by imposing unlawful terms 
 of communion, in so far does her conduct render se- 
 paration from her lawful. The power implied in 
 church-government would degenerate into an oppres- 
 sive humiliating tyranny, and might lead Christians 
 to act in contradiction to the light of their con- 
 science, if in every possible case they were obliged to 
 yield obedience. The rem»edy is found in the right 
 of forming separate congregations ; and the remedy 
 is complete, because every person, who accounts it 
 sinful for him to remain in the communion of the 
 church, is emancipated as soon as he withdraws. 
 
 The name of schism, therefore, is reserved for 
 separation proceeding upon some frivolous reason, 
 which is often merely a pretext for gratifying the 
 passions of ambition, avarice, resentment, and envy. 
 When attachment to particular teachers forms Chris- 
 tians into parties, they fall under the censure which 
 
86 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 Paul addressed to the CoriRthians. *' I hear that 
 there are contentions and schisms among you. Every 
 one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and 
 I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided ?" 
 When the separation proceeds upon the idea of form- 
 ing a more perfect establishment, it is seldom duly 
 considered that no human institution can be fault- 
 less, and that the evils which necessarily arise from 
 schism far counterbalance any advantages which may 
 be expected from improvements not essential to the 
 constitution of the church. When Christians sepa- 
 rate because the discipline of the church does not 
 appear to them sufficiently strict, they act as if the 
 comfort and benefit derived from the ordinances of 
 religion depended upon the character of those who 
 partake with us, or as if the purity which the Ana- 
 baptists require in the church of Christ could be at- 
 tained on this side of the grave. And when their 
 only complaint is a dissatisfaction with some regula- 
 tions of the church concerning matters acknowledged 
 to be in themselves indifferent, they forget that it is 
 impossible to frame any regulations of such matters 
 which will meet the prejudices and opinions of all ; 
 that obedience to competent authority, enjoining, for 
 the sake of order, what is not unlawful, does not im- 
 ply a sacrifice of Christian liberty ; and that the new 
 congregation cannot exist and attain the purposes of 
 its institution, without some exercise of the same au- 
 thority. 
 
 Whatever be the nature of the frivolous or corrupt 
 motives which give to separation the character of 
 schism, the conduct of all who deserve the name of 
 schismatics is blameworthy. It does not correspond 
 to the descriptions of the catholic church, which 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 87 
 
 is said in Scripture to be " one body,^' in which there 
 ought " to be no schism ;" it is opposite to the exhor- 
 tations and entreaties in which the apostles recom- 
 mend unity and peace ; and in all ages it has ap- 
 peared to the church deserving of the same reprehen- 
 sion and censure which the apostles directed against 
 a similar spirit in their days. 
 
 While the Church of Scotland, by the simplicity of 
 her worship, makes less demand upon the obedience 
 ^f those who belong to her communion than almost 
 any other church, she does not fail to warn them of 
 the evil of schism, and to employ every Christian me- 
 thod of preserving them from a situation in which 
 they naturally imbibe that rancour towards all who 
 differ from them, that attention to things of inferior 
 importance, and that self-sufficiency or spiritual pride, 
 which are the general characters of schismatics. But 
 when, notwithstanding the united influence of pru- 
 dence, condescension, and authority, separate congre- 
 gations are formed within her bounds, she does not 
 forget that her judicial power with regard to them 
 comes to an end : She is far from attaching to all 
 who have been baptized and educated in those congre- 
 gations the same blame which belongs to the authors 
 of the schism ; and she never returns that bitterness 
 and abuse, which, so long as they retain the worst fea- 
 tures of schismatics, they are, upon all occasions, ready 
 to direct against her. 
 
 With respect to the churches of different countries, 
 there can be no exercise of judicial power, and there 
 is no other judgment recognised by the spirit of the 
 gospel, but the judgment of charity. Every national 
 church is a whole society within itself, independent 
 of every other, and invested with a full right to regu- 
 
88 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 late its own concerns. But amongst all of them there 
 is a bond of union formed by their subjection to the 
 same Lord, and their profession of the same faith ; 
 and upon this union is founded that spirit of love 
 which ought to pervade all the churches of Christ, 
 that brotherly correspondence by which they may 
 often promote the comfort and edification of one an- 
 other, and that " holy fellowship and communion of 
 saints in the worship of God, which, as God ofFereth 
 opportunity, is to be extended unto all those, who in 
 every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.**'* 
 This communion certainly supposes a consent in the 
 great articles of the Christian faith ; but it does not 
 imply, either a perfect agreement as to every disputa- 
 ble point of doctrine, or an uniformity of rites and 
 ceremonies. It is a just and enlarged idea of the 
 venerable Irenaeus, that the diversity of external ob- 
 servances amongst those who hold the same great doc- 
 trines illustrates and confirms the unity of faith :-(■ 
 And all, who understand the true nature of that great 
 society which is constituted by the followers of Jesus 
 in every land, have learnt not to judge their brethren 
 in respect of days, and meats, and drinks, points of 
 doubtful disputation, and matters of order; but amidst 
 those differences which are unavoidable in the present 
 state of human nature, they are "perfectly joined to- 
 
 * See Confession of Faith, chapter 26. 
 
 •f- In plurimis provinciis, multa, pro locorum et nominum di- 
 versitate, variantur, nee tamen propter hoe ab Ecclesiae Catholicae 
 pace atque unitate aliquando discessum est. Firmilianus apud 
 Cyprianum, epist. 75. § 5. 0/ f^iv ya^ oio-^tt uiav fi/u-tp-iv onv uvja; 
 nyiftuuv, it Ss Swa, oi 2s xxi tXiuvx;^ — vavji; ifjv i pnv-vtrxv' f) oiy.^Mvia 
 r/is VTirtioii Tt}v oi/.ovoia.v r>); -prttiu; avvt?ri7i, Irenceus apud Eus- 
 
 ebium, lib. 5. cap. 24. 
 
 1 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 89 
 
 gether in the same mind, and in the same judgment ;'" 
 and " speaking the truth in love/"' they " endeavour 
 to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.'' 
 
 SECTION YII. 
 
 ON THE PROVISION MADE BY THE STATE FOR THE 
 CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Before Christianity enjoyed the countenance of the 
 State, the funds of the church consisted of offerings 
 which arose purely from the piety and zeal of the 
 first Christians ; and out of the amount of these offer- 
 ings in any district, the ministers of religion in that 
 district were maintained, the expenses necessarily at- 
 tending the public assemblies of the Christians were 
 defrayed, and a portion was always set apart for sup- 
 plying the necessities of the poor. 
 
 After Christianity became the established religion 
 of the Roman empire, piety, or vanity, or superstition, 
 enriched the church with numberless donations and 
 endowments ; and the whole system of popery was cal- 
 culated to bring into the hands of the clergy, and to 
 detain there for ever, a very large portion of the wealth 
 of every Christian country. In those states of Europe 
 which separated from the communion of the church 
 of Rome, causes which enter deeply into the history 
 of the Reformation diverted into other channels part 
 of the wealth of the church ; and as there was much 
 variety in the circumstances and the measure of that 
 diversion, the provision at present made for the Chris- 
 
90 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 tian church in the reformed states of Europe does 
 not always correspond to the finances of the different 
 countries. The two established churches of Britain 
 differ widely from one another, both in the proportion 
 of the general wealth of the country allotted for their 
 support, and also in the manner of collecting and dis- 
 tributing that proportion. The revenue of the Church 
 of England forms an interesting branch of the politi- 
 cal economy of that country : And a delineation of 
 the constitution of the Church of Scotland, necessarily 
 comprehends some account of the provision made for 
 the existence, the independence, and creditable sup- 
 port of that form of church-government which, agree- 
 ably to the statutes passed at the Revolution, and to 
 the treaty of union, every succeeding prince, by his 
 coronation-oath, binds himself to maintain and pre- 
 serve. 
 Provision for the The Church of Scotland being the 
 Church as a So- organ by which the state coramuni- 
 "^^y* cates with the people of this country 
 
 in matters respecting religion, the state has, in differ- 
 ent ways, provided for the respectable appearance of 
 the church as a society. The church receives annually 
 from the Exchequer of Scotland the sum of L. 1000.* 
 Out of this sum are paid L.lOO to the moderator of the 
 Assembly for the expenses incident to his oiRce ; the 
 salaries of the procurator and agent of the church, the 
 law-officers, to whose advice both the supreme court 
 in the course of its deliberations, and presbyteries in 
 the conduct of their business, have often occasion to 
 resort ; the salaries of two clerks, whose attendance 
 upon the General Assembly ensures the orderly tran- 
 saction of business, and gives dignity to the supreme 
 
 • Note L. 
 
OP THE CHURCH OP SCOTLAND. 91 
 
 court ; and the salaries of the door-keepers and infe- 
 rior officers, who execute the summonses and orders of 
 the General Assembly. The surplus which remains 
 after these payments, is generally applied in assisting 
 clergymen to carry on those processes, which they are 
 often obliged to undertake, in defence of the rights of 
 the church. As the person of the Sovereign is repre- 
 sented in the General Assembly, there is issued out 
 of the same fund from which the annual revenue of 
 the church is taken, the sum of L.'iOOO, in order to 
 defray the expenses incident to that dignified station : 
 And the Established Church is honoured with a far- 
 ther expression of royal favour, in the emoluments 
 annexed to the offices of his Majesty's chaplains for 
 Scotland, and the Deans of the Chapel-royal, which 
 are always conferred upon ministers of the Church of 
 Scotland, 
 —for places of As Christians are commanded "not 
 public worship, to forsake the assembling of themselves 
 together,'' the idea of an established church implies a 
 legal provision for the erection and reparation of places 
 set apart for that purpose, where the members of the 
 established church may conveniently attend public 
 worship. Most of the old churches were built in the 
 times of popery ; and the state of things is now so 
 completely changed, that many points of controversy 
 often occur upon this subject. But, by a train of 
 decisions interpreting and applying the law, it is now 
 clearly understood, that neither the size of the fabric, 
 nor the money to be laid out in building or repairing 
 it, are left to the caprice of individuals, without legal 
 redress for those who conceive that they are aggriev- 
 ed ; and if the land-holders and the other inhabitants 
 of a parish cannot agree, the courts of law determine 
 
92 VIEW OP THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 the measure of accommodation which the circum- 
 stances of the parish require, the distribution of that 
 accommodation, and the allotment of the expense 
 amongst the diflPerent orders of the inhabitants, 
 —for the main. As the church of Christ includes, 
 tenance of the by the constitution which it derived 
 Clergy. £j.q^ '^.g (Jiyine founder, an order of 
 
 men who are supposed to devote their time and their 
 study to the discharge of the duties of the pastoral 
 office, and who have both a natural and a divine right 
 to m.aintenance from those for whose good they labour, 
 a very important part of the provision made by the 
 laws of this country for the ecclesiastical constitution 
 of Scotland, respects the stipends and other emolu- 
 ments enjoyed by the ministers of the established 
 church. 
 
 When the law of Moses separated the children of 
 Levi to do the service of the tabernacle, it gave them 
 no inheritance in the land of Israel : but, besides the 
 first fruits and certain portions of the offerings, it gave 
 them all the tenth in Israel, which they received as 
 their inheritance. It was an opinion held, and zeal- 
 ously defended for many ages, that the tithes, or, as 
 we call them in Scotland, the teinds of the produce 
 of the ground, and of what is acquired by personal 
 industry, belong, of divine right, to the Christian 
 church. The opinion is now so generally exploded, 
 that it is unnecessary to state the arguments upon 
 either side. But as all the countries in Europe, 
 where Christianity has been established, have recog- 
 nised the authority of that ordinance of the Lord de- 
 clared by his apostle, '^ that they which preach the 
 Gospel, should live of the Gospel ;" * so their respect 
 * 1 Cor. ix. 14. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 93 
 
 for the Mosaic institution produced, in the original 
 form of their religious establishment, such an imita- 
 tion of the provision made for the sons of Levi, that 
 the tithes came to be considered, by law and practice, 
 although not of divine right, as the patrimony of the 
 church. In the countries which acknowledged the 
 dominion of the pope, the tithes, although seldom 
 completely appropriated to the maintenance of the 
 parochial clergy, were always destined to some religi- 
 ous or charitable purposes. At the Reformation, 
 many of those purposes were declared superstitious ; 
 the monasteries and cathedral churches of Scotland, 
 which had held a great part of the teinds of the king- 
 dom, were demolished ; and their revenues were either 
 rapaciously seized by the nobles who had conducted 
 the Reform.ation, or were disposed of by the sovereign 
 in grants of various forms, and were sometimes con- 
 verted into temporal lordships. Individuals of many 
 different descriptions became, in this way, titulars of 
 teinds, that is, were invested with that right of draw- 
 ing the tithes which had originally belonged to a 
 monastery, to a cathedral church, or to some ecclesi- 
 astical person. The remonstrances of the reformed 
 clergy upon this subject met with little attention ; 
 and, notwithstanding the zeal for the destruction of 
 popery, which at that time pervaded all ranks and 
 orders of the state, the men whose discourses and mi- 
 nistrations amongst the people had been the chief 
 instrument of accomplishing the change, and whose 
 plan of ecclesiastical discipline was cordially adopted 
 by the state, received but a scanty provision. Kven 
 then, however, it was understood that the teinds are 
 subject to a perpetual indefinite burden in favour of 
 the parochial clergy. Various commissions, or com- 
 
94 VIEW OP THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 mittees of the Scots parliament, appointed in the 
 course of the sevententh century for this special pur- 
 pose, granted relief to ministers out of the teinds, 
 according to circumstances : and when the seat of 
 parliament was removed by the treaty of Union from 
 Edinburgh, it was judged expedient to constitute the 
 lords of council and session an established and fixed 
 judicature, to determine in all affairs and causes which 
 had form.erly been referred to the cognizance of those 
 commissions.* 
 
 In order to understand the present system for pro- 
 viding the ministers of the Church of Scotland with 
 an adequate stipend, it is necessary to take into view 
 the three following circumstances. 
 
 Titulars of Firsts The burden of this provision 
 Teinds. falls not upon the landholders, but upon 
 the titulars of teinds. In numberless cases the land- 
 holder is not the titular of his own teinds ; but while 
 the stock is his, the teind of the stock belongs to the 
 crown, or, in consequence of grants from the crown, 
 to some individual, or some corporation. Sometimes 
 the teind is drawn in kind by the titular ; sometimes 
 it is held in lease by the landholder, at such yearly 
 rent, and for such a number of years, as had been 
 agreed upon at the commencement of the lease ; some- 
 times it is ascertained for all time coming at a fixed 
 value, which the landholder pays annually. The 
 minister's stipend, being in all cases payable, not out 
 of the stock, but out of the teind, is only a part of 
 what is due from the landholder to the titular. Any 
 increase of stipend is a diminution of what the titular 
 formerly received, but is no addition to the burden to 
 
 * Appendix, No. VI. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 95 
 
 which the landholder was previously subject ; and it 
 is not a matter of importance to him, whether he pays 
 w hat is due for his teinds to the titular, or to the pa- 
 rochial minister. 
 Valuations and *S'ecoH^/y, The landholders of Scot- 
 sales of Teinds. land are placed by law in a more fa- 
 vourable situation with respect to the payment of their 
 tithes, than the subjects of any other Christian state. 
 When teinds remain with the crown, or when they 
 have been granted for the support of ministers, col- 
 leges, or hospitals, they cannot be sold. But, with 
 these exceptions, a landholder who is not the titular 
 of his own teinds, is entitled to prosecute before the 
 Court of Session for a sale of them ; and, upon such 
 process, the titular is obliged to sell them to him at 
 the moderate price of nine years purchase of the 
 valued teind-duty. By this sale, the stock and teind 
 are united in the same person, or the landholder be- 
 comes titular of his teinds; and, in this new capacity, 
 he is subject to the burden of maintaining the paro- 
 chial minister, which did not affect him in his former 
 capacity of landholder. When the teinds of his 
 land are held by persons against whom he cannot 
 bring a process of sale, or when he does not choose to 
 purchase, he may value them, that is, he may lead 
 a proof before the Court of Session, of their present 
 value, and the valuation once made by authority of 
 the court, according to established rules and practice, 
 ascertains the quantity of victual, or the sum of money, 
 in the name of teind, payable out of his lands in all 
 time coming. This privilege, which the landholders 
 of Scotland have enjoyed since the days of Charles I. 
 removes the great objection commonly urged against 
 tithes. In other countries, after the landholder has 
 
96 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 improved his lands, a person who had no share in the 
 expense, the labour, or the risk, comes in to share 
 with him the advanced rent. But in Scotland, after 
 the landholder has valued his teinds, however much 
 the rent of his lands may rise by the improvements 
 of agriculture, or the extension of manufactures and 
 commerce, the increase is entirely his own, because 
 the teinds never go beyond the rat(* at which the 
 valuation had fixed them. 
 Augmentations Without successive augmentation* 
 of Stipends. of Stipends, the ministers of the esta- 
 blished church would not remain in the same relative 
 situation as when presbyterian government was esta- 
 blished at the Revolution. Since that time, there 
 has been a continued increase of the revenue of the 
 landholder, the wages of the labourer, and the earn- 
 ings of the manufacturer. But if, while all other 
 orders of men are getting forward in the general pro- 
 gress of the country, the stipends of the ministers of 
 the established church vrere to be stationary, the 
 accumulation of national wealth, by sinking those 
 who minister at the altar into abject poverty, would 
 render them contemptible, and the church would 
 soon be supplied only out of the lowest orders of the 
 people. It is a branch of political wisdom to save 
 the established clergy from a degradation, which, by 
 allying them to those who have nothing to lose, might 
 render them dangerous to the state, or at least indif- 
 ferent as to its welfare and stability. If the land- 
 holders of Scotland, in the valuations and sales of 
 teinds, have derived much benefit from the fixed 
 judicature appointed at the Union, it is reasonable 
 that ministers should have access, by the sentences of 
 that court, to all the funds which the constitution has 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 97 
 
 destined for their support ; and if those legal funds 
 should prove inadequate, the necessity of the case will 
 call for the interposition of the legislature to make 
 such further provision for the ministers of the esta- 
 blished church, as may place them upon the respect- 
 able footing which, in a wealthy flourishing country, 
 that name is supposed to imply. 
 
 The legislature has proceeded upon the liberal 
 views now stated. For the act February 21, 1707?* 
 which appointed the Lords of Council and Session to 
 determine in all valuations and sales of teinds, author- 
 ized them to grant augmentations of ministers' sti- 
 pends. The act June 30, 1808,-f* defined and regu- 
 lated their power in augmenting and modifying 
 stipends ; and as it empowered and required them to 
 establish rules and regulations for abridging the forms 
 and expenses of citations of heritors and others, and 
 for ascertaining the facts and circumstances of the 
 case, their Lordships did, by an act of sederunt, July 
 5, 1809,1 establish regulations for executing, with 
 as much expedition and as little expense as possible, 
 the business committed to them by the acts of Parlia- 
 ment 1707 and 1808. 
 
 But even after every facility was thus afforded in 
 giving a minister access to the funds destined for his 
 support, it is manifest that where the teinds were 
 exhausted, that is, where he already drew all that by 
 law they could be called upon to furnish, the powers 
 of the commissioners of teinds necessarily failed. Nor 
 was this an imaginary evil ; for there were above fifty 
 parishes in Scotland, in which the provision for the 
 
 * Appendix, No. VI. f Appendix, No. VII. 
 
 * Appendix, No. VIII. 
 
S8 VIEW CF THE CONSTITCTION 
 
 ministers was very small, yet, from circumstances 
 constituting a legal exemption of some of the temds, 
 and from the low valuation of the rest, no redress 
 could be had. To remedy this very hard situation, 
 upon the motion of the late Spencer Perceval, Esq. 
 a virtuous and lamented statesman, an act was passed, 
 June 15, 1810, for augmenting parochial stipends in 
 certain cases in Scotland. The first paragraph of 
 this act, which explains the liberal views of the 
 legislature, and an abstract of the subsequent pro- 
 visions for carrying their intentions into effect, will be 
 found in the Appendix.* 
 
 . From the act 1810, it may be presumed, that no 
 stipend in the established church is at present below 
 L.150, an income which, although far inferior to the 
 emoluments of those who succeed in other liberal pro- 
 fessions, places all the ministers of the established 
 church above absolute want ; and by giving many of 
 them a considerable addition to their former stipends, 
 raises them from the extreme penury under which 
 they had laboured.-f- By the act 1808, a point, con- 
 cerning which doubts were formerly entertained, is 
 now clearly established, that, in all parishes vvhere 
 there are legal funds, it is competent for the Court of 
 Teinds to grant successive augmentations ; and some 
 security is given to the ministers of those parishes, 
 that their stipends shall keep pace with the progi'ess 
 of the country, by their being allowed, within twenty 
 years after having received one augmentation under 
 this act, to state to the court appointed to hear them, 
 the circumstances which render it expedient that they 
 should receive another. 
 
 ■ i^ppen'dix, No. IX. -f Note L. 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 9D 
 
 When the commissioners of teinds, upon hearing 
 the circumstances of the case, determine to augment 
 a stipend, they grant first a decreet of modification, 
 fixing the quantity and the description of the stipend, 
 which, except in very particular circumstances, must 
 be wholly modified in grain or victual ; and next 
 a decreet of locality, apportioning the stipend 
 among those who are liable in payment. The title 
 to the augmented stipend commences from the date 
 of the summons with which the process of augmenta- 
 tion had commenced ; and the complete right con- 
 veyed by the decreets of modification and locality, is 
 effectually protected against the operation of injustice 
 or bad humour, by various regulations of law, which 
 render the eviction of all that is due to the minister 
 easy and expeditious. 
 
 The law of Scotland provides the min- 
 e ean -g^^^. gf gygj-y country parish with a dwell- 
 ing-house, called a manse, a garden, a 
 glebe, of not less than four acres of arable land, de* 
 signed out of lands in the parish near the manse, and 
 with grass, over and above the glebe, for one horse 
 and two cows ; and with the out-houses necessary for 
 the management of his small farm. As the Act, 
 James VI. pari. 3, c. 48, declares, that the manse 
 and glebe shall be marked and designed by the arch- 
 bishop, bishop, superintendant, or commissioner of 
 each diocese or province, upon whose testimonial being 
 presented by the minister, the Lords of Council and 
 Session are instructeil to direct letters, charging the 
 former occupiers to remove, and entering the minister 
 to possession ; as the Act, Charles II. pari. 1, sess. 
 3, c. 21, ordains, that the heritors of the parish, at 
 the sight of the bishop of the diocese, or such minis- 
 
100 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 ters as he shall appoint, with two or three of the most 
 knowing and discreet men of the parish, build com- 
 petent manses to the ministers ; and as, by the set- 
 tlement of presbyterian government in Scotland, the 
 presbytery has come in place of the bishop, all appli- 
 cations concerning manses and glebes are made, in 
 the first instance, to the presbytery of the bounds. 
 After taking the regular steps suitable to the nature 
 of the business^ which, as a civil court specially con- 
 stituted for that purpose, they are called to discuss, 
 the presbytery pronounce a decreet ; and their sen- 
 tence, unless brought by a bill of suspension before 
 the Court of Session, is binding upon all concerned. 
 In primitive times, the bread and 
 
 Ele^riltf "* '""^^ ^^^^^ "^ ^^^^ ^"^^^^'^ Supper were 
 brought by the faithful, with their other 
 offerings. After Christianity assumed a more regular 
 form, the bishop applied part of the patrimony of the 
 church, which was placed under his management, in 
 providing all things necessary for public worship. 
 In the Church of England, it is ordained, that the 
 bread and wine for the communion shall be provided 
 by the curate and church-wardens at the charges of 
 the parish. In Scotland, it is understood, that the 
 same fund out of which stipends are allotted to the 
 clergy, is subject to the burden of furnishing com- 
 munion-elements. The donations of pious persons 
 have, in some parishes, allocated a particular sum for 
 that purpose. But when a minister represents to the 
 Court of Session, that there is no such allocation, or 
 that the sum allocated is not sufficient, and when the 
 court finds that the teinds are not exhausted, it is 
 accustomed to grant out of that fund, in proportion 
 to the extent of the parish, and the supposed number 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 101 
 
 of communicants, such a sum, under the name of 
 communion-elements, as may ensure to the parish the 
 stated celebration of the Lord's Supper, by indemni- 
 fying the minister for the bread and wine that are 
 used, and for the extraordinary domestic expenses 
 which arise from the mode of administering that or- 
 dinance in this country. 
 
 The Ann. ^y ^^^^ provision for the ministers of 
 the Established Church which has now 
 been explained, the law of Scotland means to preserve 
 them in a decent independence, to prevent them from 
 being entangled in disputes with their parishioners, or 
 in a multiplicity of secular business about the mode 
 of collecting their stipend, and to give them that se- 
 curity and quiet which may be supposed most favour- 
 able to the successful discharge of the duties of their 
 sacred office. And the law, considering them as sti- 
 pendiaries, who have nothing more than is necessary 
 for their maintenance, and who may be presumed un- 
 able to lay up any money for the extraordinary ex- 
 pense of sickness and death, humanely extends its 
 attention beyond the life of a minister, by giving to 
 his family what, in our law, is called the Ann.* 
 If he had survived the 15th May, he was entitled, in 
 his own right, to the half of the crop, then supposed 
 to be sown ; and his widow, his children, or his ex- 
 ecutors, are entitled, in right of the Ann, to the other 
 half. If he had survived the 29th of September, he 
 was entitled, in his own right, to the whole of the 
 crop, then supposed to be reaped ; and his widow, 
 his children, or his executors, are entitled, in right 
 of the Ann, to the half of the next crop. The half- 
 
 • See Appendix, No. X. 
 
"10'2 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 year's stipend that becomes due while the steps for tl?e 
 induction of a new minister are going forward, is thus 
 arrested by law, and given, in the time of their deep- 
 est affliction, to the representatives of his predecessor. 
 The humane provision of law which 
 
 Rind"^ gives the widows, children, and executors 
 of ministers a right to the Ann, has been 
 followed out by the Widows' Fund. This wise and 
 salutary scheme, which originated in the accurate 
 calculations of the late Dr. Webster, received the 
 sanction of Parliament in ]744, was improved and 
 extended by two subsequent Acts of Parliament, and 
 v/as established on its present footing by an Act made 
 in 1814, For which the Church of Scotland will 
 always with pleasure embrace every opportunity of 
 acknowledging that it is indebted to the benevolent 
 views, and the generous, able, persevering exertions 
 of the Reverend Dr. Nicoll, minister of Strath- 
 martin, in the presbytery of Dundee. 
 
 By former Acts, every minister possessed of a be- 
 nefice in the Church of Scotland, and every person 
 possessed of an office in any of the Universities of 
 St. Andrews, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen, 
 was suf}ject to one or other of the annual rates therein 
 specified : the widow was entitled to an annuity cor- 
 resp(mding to the rate he had chosen : and his chil- 
 dren, if he left no widow, were entitled to ten years 
 of the annuity which v.ould have been payable to kis 
 widow. Under the able and vigilant management of 
 Dr. Webster, while he lived, of his worthy successor, 
 the Rev. Sir Henry MoncreifF Well wood. Baronet, 
 and of the trustees of the fund appointed by Par- 
 liament, after payment of the annual expenses of 
 manaqement of the annuities to widows, and the 
 
OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. 103 
 
 provisions to children, there has been accumulated 
 the capital of L.l 00,000, which was lent out on 
 proper security. Parliament had declared, that, 
 after the capital attained that amount, all further 
 accumulation should cease ; and contributors being 
 called upon, according to the directions of parliament, 
 to give an opinion as to the future disposal of the sur- 
 plus revenue, had determined, that it should be ap- 
 plied solely to the benefit of the widows of contri- 
 butors. 
 
 But the annuities and provisions, fixed by former 
 Acts of Parliament, had, from the increased expense 
 of living, and the decrease in the value of money, be- 
 come v*'holly inadequate for the purpose of these Acts. 
 To remedy this great and increasing evil, recourse 
 was again had to the authority of Parliament ; and 
 by the Act 1814, the following important improve, 
 ments upon the fund, applicable to payment of annui- 
 ties and provisions, received the sanction of Parlia- 
 ment. 
 
 1. An addition of twenty pounds per cent, on the 
 present annual rates of contribution.* 
 
 2. A voluntary subscription among the contri- 
 butors.-f- 
 
 3. A contribution of ten pounds payable by every 
 person admitted for the first time to a benefice in the 
 church, or to an office in any of the Universities in 
 Scotland. I 
 
 * The four annual rates, to one of which every Minister and 
 Professor is now subject, are L..3, 3s., L.4, 14s. 6d. L.C, Gs., 
 L.7, 17s. 6d. 
 
 -f- The Trustees report to Assembly 1816, that the total 
 amount of this subscription, in aid of the new fund, is L.87G0, Is. 
 
 ij: The sum of L.IO, the contribution of which, by every suc- 
 ceeding intrant, has now become a matter of legal obligation, is 
 
101 VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION 
 
 4. A grant or the bishops' rents in Scotland, the 
 neat amount of which is reported by the trustees to 
 Assembly 1816, as being L.^OJo, 9s. 2d. 
 
 5. A grant of the vacant stipend arising in any 
 period subse([B3nt to crop 1813.* 
 
 6. Permission to apply to the purposes of this 
 Act, the unappropriated balance which had accumu- 
 lated in the hands of the trustees, after the capital 
 attained the prescribed amount, including such volun- 
 tary donations as had been added thereto.-[- 
 
 These various improvements upon the fund com- 
 mitted to their management, will enable the trustees 
 to follow the directions of Parliament, by increasing, 
 after six years, at certain intervals specified in the 
 Act 1814!, the annuities of widows, and the provi- 
 sions of orphan families. " It being the true mean- 
 ing and intent of this Act, that there shall always be 
 attached to the capital stock such an increasing sum 
 or revenue, as may admit, from time to time, of an 
 advance in the annuities of the widows and orphan 
 families of contributors in some degree corresponding 
 to what may be the expense of living, and to the 
 consequent exigencies of their situation.'"" 
 
 It is distressing to persons of a scanty income to 
 be obliged to lay up yearly, even so small a sum as 
 any of the increased rates. But in return for this 
 
 nearly the average of the vokmtary subscription of contributors 
 in aid of the new fund. 
 
 * The vacant stipend, which, by the law of Scotland, the 
 patron was bound to apply, at sight of the heritors, to pious pur- 
 poses within the parish, is, by the Act 1814, given, when it does 
 arise, to the trustees, to be applied to the purposes of the Act. 
 
 -|- The Trustees report to Assembly 1816, that the amount of 
 the accumulating fund, as ascertained by a minute of their Com- 
 mittee, is Ii.5895, 5s. 
 
OF THE CIIL'RCH OF SCOTLAND. 105 
 
 hardship, the widows of contributors, by the succes- 
 sive additions to their annuities, will hencelbrth be 
 preserved from that wretchedness and dependence, to 
 which, before the institution of this fund, they were 
 often reduced. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 No. I. 
 
 Act ^th of the 1st Parliament of James VI. holden at 
 Edinburgh, Dec. 1567? hy James Earl of Miirray, 
 Rege?it. 
 
 Admission of Ministers of Laik Patronages, 
 
 ** It is statute and ordained be our Soveraine Lord, with 
 advise of his dearest Regent and Three Estaitis of this 
 present ParHament, That the examination and admis- 
 sion of ministers within this realme be only in the 
 poAver of the Kirk, now openlie and pubhckly profest 
 within the samin : The presentation of laik patronages 
 alwaies reserved to the just and auncient patrones : And 
 that the patroun present ane qualified persouU;, within 
 sex months, (after it may come to his knowledge of the 
 decease of him quha bruiked the benefice before), to 
 the superintendant of thay partis quhair the benefice 
 lyes, or uthers havand commission of the Kirk to that 
 effect, utherwaies the Kirk to have power to dispone 
 the samin to ane qualified person for that time. 
 
 " Pro\ddiiig, That in caise the patron present ane 
 person qualified to his understanding, and failing of ane, 
 aneuther within the said sex months, and the superin- 
 
108 APPENDIX. 
 
 tendant or eommissioner of tlie Kirk refasis to receive 
 and admit the person presented be the patron^ as said is^ 
 it sail be lesum to the patron to appeale to the superin- 
 tendent and ministers of that proAdnce quhair the bene- 
 fice lyis;, and desire the person presented to be admitted, 
 quhilk gif they refuse, to appeale to the General Assem- 
 blie of this haill realme, be quhome the cause beand 
 decydedj sail take end as they decerne and declair. 
 
 No. II. 
 
 1592, c. 114. bei7ig the Jirst Act of the I2th Parliament 
 of James VI. holden at Edinburgh June 1592. 
 
 Raii/icatioi of the Liber tie of the Trew Kirk; of Gen- 
 eral and Synodal Asse^nblies ; c)f Presbyteries ; of 
 Discipline. All laws of Idolatrie ar abrogat. Of 
 Presentation to Benifces. 
 
 '• Our Soveraine Lord, and Estaites of this present Par- 
 liament, following the loyabil and gude example of their 
 predecessoiu's, hes ratified and appreeved, and, be the 
 tenore of this present act, ratifies and apprevis all liber- 
 ties, privileges, immunities, and freedomes quhatsumever, 
 given and granted be his Hieness, his Regents in his 
 name, or onie of his predecessours, to the trew and 
 halie Kirk presently established within this realme, and 
 declared in the first acte of his Hieness' Parliament, 
 October 20, 1579 : And all and quhatsumever acts of 
 parliament and statutes made of before be his Hieness 
 and his Regentes, anent the libertie and freedome of the 
 said Kirk ; and specially the first act of the parliament 
 halden at Edinburgh, October 24, 158], Avith the haill 
 particular acts there mentioned, quhilk sail -be als suffi- 
 cient as gif the samin were here expressed, and all 
 uther actes of parliament made sensyne in favour of the 
 
APPENDIX. 109 
 
 trevv Kirk: And sicklike, ratifies and appro vis the 
 General Assemblies appoyntcd be the said Kirk ; and 
 declares, that it shall be lauehful to the Kirk and min- 
 isterSj everie zeir at the least, and oftener, pro re natd, 
 as occasion and necessitie sail require, to hald and keepe 
 General Assemblies : Providing, that the King's Majes- 
 tic, or his Commissioners with them, to be appointed be 
 his Hienesse, be present at ilk General Assemblie be- 
 fore the dissolving thereof, nominate and appoynt time 
 and place quhen and quhair the next General Assemblie 
 sail be halden ; and in case naither his Majestic nor his 
 said Commissioners beis present for the time in that 
 town quhair the said General Assemblie beis hadden, 
 then and in that case it sail be lesum to the said General 
 Assemblie^ be themselves, to nominate and appoynt time 
 and place quhair the next General Assemblie of the Kirk 
 sail be keiped and halden, as they have been in use to do 
 thir times bypast. And als ratifies and appreivis the Sy- 
 nodal and Provincial Assemblies, to be halden be the said 
 Kirk and ministers twise ilk zeir, as they have bene, and 
 are presently in use to do, within every province of this 
 realme : And ratifies and appreevis Presbyteries and Par- 
 ticular Sessions appoynted be the said Kirk, with the haill 
 jurisdiction and discipline of the same Kirk, aggried upon 
 be his Majestic, in conference had be his Hienesse with 
 certain of the ministeres conveened to that effect ; of the 
 whiikartickles the tenour folio wes. — Maters tobeintreated 
 in Provincial Assemblies: Thir Assemblies are constituted 
 for weichtie matters, necessar to be intreated be mutual 
 consent and assistance of brethren within the province, 
 as need requiris. This Assembly hes power to handle, 
 ordour, and redresse all things omitted or done amiss in 
 the particular Assemblies. It hes power to depose the 
 office-bearers of that province, for gude and just cause, 
 deserving deprivation. And generally, thir Assemblies 
 lies the haill power of the particular elderships quhairof 
 they ar collected. — IMaters to be intreated in the Pres- 
 byteries: The power of the Pres]>yteries is to give dili- 
 
110 APPENDIX. 
 
 gent laboures in the boundes committed to their charge, 
 that the kirks he keeped in gude ordoiir ; to enquire di- 
 ligentlie of naughtie and ungodlie persons ; and to travel 
 to bring them in the way againe, be admonition, or 
 threatenings of God's judgments or be correction. It 
 appertain es to the eklerschippe, to take heed that the 
 Word of God be purelie preached within their boundes, 
 the sacraments richthe ministred, the discipHne enter- 
 teined, and ecclesiastical guddes uncori-uptlie distributed. 
 It belongs to this kind of assemblies, to cause the ordi- 
 nances maid be the Assemblies, Pro^sdncialles, Nationalles, 
 and Generalles, and be keeped and put in execution, to 
 make constitutions quhiik concerns to tt^ztov in the Kirk, 
 for decent ordour in the particular kirk qidiair they go- 
 veme ; providing that they alter na rides maid be the 
 Provincial or General Assemblies, and that they make 
 the Provincial Assemblies foresaid privie of the i-ules 
 that they sail make ; and to abolish constitutiones tend- 
 ing to the hurt of the same. It hes power to excom- 
 municate the obstinate, formal process being ledo; and 
 due interval of times observed. — Anent particular kirks, 
 gif they be lauchfuUy ruled be sufficient ministerie 
 and session, they have power and jurisdiction in their 
 oANii congregation in matters ecclesiastical. And de- 
 cernis and declaris the saides Assemblies, Presbyteries, 
 and Sessiounes, jurisdiction and discipline thereof afore- 
 said, to be in all times cumming maist just, gude, and 
 godlie in the selfe, notmthstanding of quhatsumever 
 statutes, acts, canone, civill, or municipal lawes, made 
 in the contrare. To the quhilks and everie ane of them 
 tliir presentes sail make expresse derogation." — Follows 
 a repeal of '' divers acts of parliament maid in favour of 
 the Papisticall Kirke, tending to the prejudice of the li- 
 berie of the trew Kirk of God, presently professed yviih- 
 in this realme, jurisdiction and disciphne thereof." — 
 *' Item, the Kingis Majestic, and Estaites foresaids, de- 
 claris, That the 129th acte of the parliament halden at 
 Edinburgh, May 22^ J 584, sail na wise be prejudicial! 
 
APPENDIX. Ill 
 
 nor derogate onle thing to the privilege that God lias 
 given to the spirituall office-bearers in the Kirk, con- 
 cerning heads of religion, maters of heresie, excommuni- 
 cation, collation or deprivation of ministers, or ony sik- 
 like essential censours, specially grounded and liavand 
 warrand of the AYord of God. Item, Our Soveraine 
 Lord, and Estaitis of Parliament foresaidis, abrogatis, 
 cassis, and annullis the act of the same parliament, halden 
 at Edinburgh the said year, 1584, granting commission 
 to Bischoppes, and utheris judges constitute in ecclesias- 
 tical causes, to receive his Plienesse presentations to bene- 
 fices, to give collation thereupon, and to put ordour in 
 all causes ecclesiastical, quliilk his Majestic and Estaites 
 foresaidis dedans to be expired in the selfe, and to be 
 null in time cumming, and of nane availl, force, nor ef- 
 fect. And therefore ordainis all presentations to bene- 
 fices to be direct to the particular Presbyteries in all 
 time cumming, with full power to give collation there- 
 upon, and to put ordour to all maters and causes eccle- 
 siasticall within their boundes, according to the discipline 
 of the Kirk ; providing the foresaid Presbyteries be 
 bound and astricted to receive and admitt quhatsumever 
 qualified minister presented be his majestic or laic pa- 
 t rones." 
 
 No. III. 
 
 1592, c. 115. Being the 2d Act of the 12th Parliament 
 of James VL, holden at Edinburgh, June, 1592. 
 
 Unqualified Persons being deprived, the Benefice vakis ; 
 and the Patron not prcse?ita?id, the Right cf Presenta- 
 tion perteinis to the Presbytery, but prejudice of the 
 Tacks set be the person deprived. 
 
 " Our Soveraine Lord, considering the great abuses 
 quhilkis ar laitlie croppen in the Kirk, throw the mis- 
 
112 APPENDIX. 
 
 behaviour of sik persones as ar provided to ecclesiastical 
 functions, sik as parsonages and vicarages, ^^'itllin onie 
 parochin, and thereafter neglecting their charge, ather 
 leave their cure, or els committis sik crimes, faultes or 
 enormities, that they are found worthie of the sentence 
 of deprivation, ather before their awin Presbyterie, or 
 else before the S}Tiodall or General Assemblies ; quhilk 
 sentence is the lesse regarded be them, because albeit 
 they be deprived of their function and cure wdthin the 
 kirk, zit they think they may bruik lawfullie the pro- 
 fites and rentes of their saidis benefices induring their 
 liferentes, notwithstanding the said sentence of depriva- 
 tion : Therefore our Soveraine Lord, with advise of the 
 Estaites of this present Parliament, declaris, that all and 
 quhatsumever sentences of deprivation, ather pronunced 
 alreadie, or that happens to be pronunced hereafter, be 
 onie Presbyterie, Synodall or General Assemblies, against 
 onie parson or vicar within their jurisdiction, provided 
 sen his Hienesse coronation ; all parsones pro\'ided to 
 parsonages and vicarages, quha hes voit in Parliament, 
 Secreitt Councelland Session, or provided thereto of auld, 
 before the Kingis coronation, (and Maister George 
 Young, Archdeane of Saint Andrew's being speciallie 
 excepted), is and sail be repute in all judgments ane 
 just cause to seclude the parson before provided, and then 
 deprived, from all profites, commodities, rentes, and 
 dewties of the said parsonage and "\icarage, or benefice 
 of cure, and that ather bee way of action, exception, or 
 reply : And that the said sentence of deprivation sail bee 
 ane sufficient cause to make the said benefice to vaik 
 thereby. And the said sentence being extracted, pre- 
 sented to the patrone, the said patrone sail be bound to 
 present ane qualified person of new to the kirk within 
 the space of sex months thereafter : And gif he failzie to 
 do the same, the said patrone sail tine the richt of pre- 
 sentation for that time allanerlie ; and the 'richt of pre- 
 sentation to be devolved in the hands of the Presbyterie 
 within the quhilk the benefice lies, to the efi^ect that they 
 
APPENDIX. 113 
 
 may dispone the same, and give collation thereof to sik 
 ane qualified person as they sail think expedient. Pro- 
 viding always, in case the Presbytery refusis to admitt 
 onie qualified minister presented to them be the patrone, 
 it sail be lauchfull to the patrone to reteine the haill 
 tVuites of the said benefice in his awin hands. And 
 further, his Hienesse and Estaites forcsaidis declairis, 
 that the deprivation already pronunced, or to be pro- 
 nunced, by onie Presbyterie, Synodall, or General As- 
 semblies, against onie of the parsones or vicars foresaidis, 
 sail na wayes hurt or be prejudicial to onie tackes law- 
 fully set be that person deprived before his deprivation, 
 to quhatsumever persones." 
 
 No. lY. 
 
 1(J90. c. 5. Being the Jiff h Act in the second Session ()f 
 the Jirst Fcwliament of William and Mary, holden at 
 Edinburgh, April 25, 1690. 
 
 Act ratifijing the Confession of Faith, and settling Pres- 
 bi/terian Church Government, June 7; 1690. 
 
 " Our Sovereign Lord and Lady, the King and Queen's 
 Majesties, and three Estates of Parliament, conceiving it 
 to be their bound duty, after the great deliverance that 
 God hath lately wrought for this church and kingdom, in 
 the first place to settle and secure therein the true Pro- 
 testant religion, according to the truth of God's word, 
 as it hath of a long time been professed within this land; 
 as also the government of Christ's chui-ch within this 
 nation, agreeable to the word of God, and most condu- 
 cive to the advancement of true piety and godliness, and 
 tlie establishing of peace and tranquillity Avithin this 
 realm : and that by an article of the Claim of Kiglit, it is 
 <kclared, that Prelacy, and the superiority of any office 
 
114 APPENDIX. 
 
 in the Chiircli above Presbyters, is, and hath been a 
 great and insupportable grievance and trouble to this 
 nation, and contrary to the inclinations of the generality 
 of the people ever since the Reformation, they having 
 reformed from Popery by Presbyters, and therefore ought 
 to be abolished : Likeas, by an act of the last session of 
 this parliament. Prelacy is abohshed: Therefore, their 
 Majesties, with advice and consent of the saids three 
 Estates, do hereby revive, ratifie, and pei^petually con- 
 firm all laws, statutes, and acts of parliament, made 
 against Popery and Papists, and for the maintenance and 
 preservation of the true reformed Protestant religion, 
 and for the true Church of Christ mtliin this kingdom, 
 in so far as they confirm the same, or are made in fa- 
 vours thereof. Likeas they, by these presents, ratifie 
 and establish the Confession of Faith, now read in their 
 presence, and voted and approven by them, as the pub- 
 lic and avowed Confession of this Church, containing 
 the sum and substance of the doctrine of the reformed 
 Churches ; (which Confession of Faith is subjoined to 
 this present act). As also, they do establish, ratifie, and 
 confirm the Presbyterian Church-government and disci- 
 pline : That is to say, the government of the Church by 
 Kirk-sessions, Presbyteries, Provincial Synods, and Ge- 
 neral Assemblies, ratified and established by the 114th 
 act, Ja. 6, Pari, 12. anno 1592, entitled, Eatification 
 of the Liberty of the True Kirk, &c. and thereafter re- 
 ceived by the general consent of this nation, to be the 
 only government of Christ's Church within this king- 
 dom; revi\ing, renewing, and confirming the foresaid 
 act of parliament, in the whole heads thereof, except 
 that part of it relating to patronages, which is hereafter 
 to be taken into consideration ; and rescinding, annulling, 
 and making void the acts of parliament following." Fol- 
 low" the titles and dates of divers acts ,of parliament. 
 " With all other acts, laws, statutes, ordinances, and 
 proclamations, and that in so far allenarly as the saids 
 acts and others generally and particularly above men- 
 
APPENDIX. 115 
 
 tioned are contrary, or prejudicial to, inconsistent witii, 
 or derogatory from the Protestant religion, and Presby- 
 terian government now established ; and allowing and 
 declarinof that the Church-cfovernment be estal)lished 
 in the hands of, and exercised by these Presbyterian mi- 
 nisters Avho were outed since the 1st of January 1661, 
 for non-conformity to Prelacy, or not complying with 
 the courses of the times, and are now restored by the 
 late act of parliament ; and such ministers and elders 
 only as they have admitted or received, or shall here- 
 after admit or receive : And also, that all the said 
 Presbyterian ministers have, and shall have right to the 
 maintenance, rights, and other privileges by law pro- 
 vided to the ministers of Christ's Church wdthin this 
 kingdom, as they are, or shall be legally admitted to 
 particular churches. Likeas, in pursuance of the pre- 
 misses, their Majesties do hereby appoint the first meet- 
 ing of the General Assembly of this Church, as above 
 established, to be at Edinburgh, the third Thursday of 
 October next to come, in this instant year 1690. And 
 because many conform ministers either have deserted, or 
 were removed from preaching in their churches preced- 
 ing the IStli day of April 1689, and others w^ere deprived 
 for not giving obedience to the act of the Estates made 
 in the said 13th of April 1689, entitled. Proclamation 
 against the owning of the late King James, and appoint- 
 ing public prayers for King William and Queen ]\Iary:" 
 Therefore their Majesties, with advice and consent fore- 
 said, do hereby declare all the churches deserted, or from 
 which the conform ministers were removed or deprived, 
 as said is, to be vacant, and that the Presbyterian mi- 
 nisters exercising their ministry within any of these pa- 
 roches, (or where the last incumbent is dead), by the 
 desire or consent of the paroch, shall continue their pos- 
 session, and have right to the benefices and stipends, 
 according to their entry in the year 1689, and in time 
 coming, ay and while the Church as now established 
 take further course theremth. And to the effect the 
 
116 APPENDIX. 
 
 disorders that have happened in this Chui'ch may be 
 redressed, their ^Majesties, -with advice and consent fore- 
 said, do hereby allow the general meeting, and repre- 
 sentatives of the foresaid Presbyterian ministers and 
 elders, in whose hands the exercise of the Chiirch-go- 
 verament is established, either by themselves, or by such 
 ministers and elders as shall be appointed and authorised 
 visitors by them, according to the custom and practice 
 of Presbyterian government throughout the whole king- 
 dom, and several parts thereof, to try and purge out all 
 insufficient, negligent, scandalous, and erroneous mini- 
 sters, by due course of ecclesiastical process and censures ; 
 and likewise for redressing all other Church disorders. 
 And further, it is hereby provided, that whatsoever mi- 
 nister, being convened before the said general meeting, 
 and representatives of the Presbyterian ministers and 
 elders, or the visitors appointed by them, shall either 
 prove contumacious in not appearing, or be found guilty, 
 and shall be therefore censured, whether by suspension 
 or deposition, they shall ip.w facto be suspended from, 
 or deprived of their stipends and benefices. 
 
 No. y. 
 
 Act 9tk of the General Assembly 1697j, commonly called 
 the Barrier Act. 
 
 The General Assembly taking into their considera- 
 tion the overture and act, made in the last Assembly, 
 concerning innovations ; and having heard the report of 
 the several commissioners from Presbyteries, to whom 
 the consideration of the same was recommended, in order 
 to its being more ripely ad^^sed and determined in this 
 Assembly : and considering the frequent practice of for- 
 mer Assem])lies of this church, and that it will mightily 
 conduce to the exact obedience of the acts of Assemblies, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 117 
 
 that General Assemblies be very deliberate in makino- 
 of the same, and that the whole cliurch have a previous 
 knowledge thereof, and their opinion be had therein, 
 and for preventing any sudden alteration or innovation, 
 or otlier prejudice of the church, in either doctrine, or 
 worship, or discipline, or government thereof, now hap- 
 pily established : Do therefore appoint, enact, and de- 
 clare, That before any General Assembly of this church 
 shall pass any acts which are to be binding rules and 
 constitutions to the church, the same acts be first pro- 
 posed as overtures to the Assembly, and being l:>y them 
 passed as such, be remitted to the consideration of the 
 several Presbyteries of this church, and their opinions 
 and consent reported by their commissioners to the next 
 General Assembly folloAving, who may then pass the 
 same in acts, if the more general opinion of the church 
 thus had airree thereto. 
 
 No. YI. 
 
 1707, c. 6. Being the Sixth Act in the Fourth Session 
 of the First Parliament of Queen Anne, holden at 
 Edinburgh, October 3, I706. 
 
 xict for Securing the Protestant Religion and Presby- 
 terian Church-government, January 16, 1707. 
 
 '•' OuB Sovereign Lady and the Estates of Parlia- 
 ment, considering, that by the late Act of Parliament 
 for a Treaty \nth England, for an union of both King- 
 doms, it is provided, that the Commissioners for that 
 treaty should not treat of or concerning any alteration 
 of the worship, discipline, and government of the 
 Church of this Kingdom, as now by law established ; 
 which treaty being now reported to the Parliament, and 
 it being reasonable and necessary, that the true Protes- 
 
118 APPENDIX. 
 
 tant religion, as presently professed within this kingdom > 
 mth the worship, discipline, and government of this 
 Church, should be effectually and unalterably secured : 
 Therefore, her Majesty, mth ad\qce and consent of the 
 said Estates of Parliament, doth hereby establish and 
 confirm the said true Protestant Religion, and the Worship, 
 Discipline, and Government of this Church, to continue 
 without any alteration to the people of this land in all 
 succeeding generations : And more especially, her Ma- 
 jesty, with advice and consent foresaid, ratifies, approves, 
 and for ever confirms the fifth Act of the first Parliament 
 of King William and Queen Mary, intituled. Act ratify- 
 ing the Confession of Faith, and settling Presbyterian 
 Church Government, with the haill other Acts of Parlia- 
 ment relating thereto, in prosecution of the declaration 
 of the Estates of this kingdom, containing the Claim of 
 Right, bearing date August 11, 1689: And her Ma- 
 jesty, with advice and consent foresaid, expressly pro- 
 vides and declares, that the foresaid true Protestant Reli- 
 gion, contained in the above-mentioned Confession of 
 Faith, mth the form and purity of worship presently in 
 use -v^ ithin this Chm'ch, and its Presbyterian Church 
 Government and Discipline, that is to say, the Govern- 
 ment of the Church by Kirk-Sessions, Presbyteries, Pro- 
 vincial S^Tiods, and General Assemblies, all established 
 by the foresaid Acts of Parliament, pursuant to the claim 
 of right, shall remain and continue unalterable ; and 
 that the said Presbyterian Government shall be the only 
 Government of the Church within the Kingdom of Scot- 
 land. And further, for the greater security of the fore- 
 said Protestant Religion, and of the worshij), discipline, 
 and government of this Church, as above established, her 
 Majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, statutes and 
 ordains, that the Universities and Colleges of St. An- 
 drew's, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, as now 
 established by law, shall continue within this kingdom 
 for ever ; and that, in all time coming, no Professors, 
 Principals, Regents, JMasters, or others bearing office in 
 
APPENDIX. 119 
 
 any University, College, or School within this kingdom, 
 be capable, or be admitted or allowed to continue in the 
 exercise of their said functions, but such as shall own and 
 acknowledge the civil government in manner prescribed or 
 to be prescribed by the Acts of Parliament : As also, that 
 before or at their admissions, they do and shall acknow- 
 ledge and profess, and shall subscribe to the foresaid Con- 
 fession of Faith, as the confession of their faith, and that 
 they will practise and conform themselves to the worsliip 
 presently in use in this Church, and submit themselves 
 to the government and discipline thereof, and never en- 
 deavour, directly or indirectly, the prejudice and subver- 
 sion of the same; and that before the respective Pres- 
 byteries of their bounds, by whatsoever gift, presenta- 
 tion, or provision, they may be thereto provided. And 
 further, her Majesty, vnth advice foresaid, expressly 
 declares and statutes. That none of the subjects of this 
 kingdom shall be liable to, but all and every one of them 
 for ever free of any oath, test, or subscription within 
 this kingdom, contrary to, or inconsistent with the fore- 
 said true Protestant religion, and Presbyterian Church 
 government, worship, and discipline, as above establish- 
 ed ; and that the same, mthin the bounds of this Churcli 
 and kingdom, shall never be imposed upon or required 
 of them in any sort. And lastly. That, after the decease 
 of her present Majesty, (whom God long preserve), the 
 Sovereign succeeding to her in the Royal Government 
 of the Kingdom of Great Britain, shall, in all time 
 coming, at his or her accession to the Crown, swear and 
 subscribe, that they shall inviolably maintain and pre- 
 serve the foresaid settlement of the true Protestant reli- 
 gion, with the government, worship, discipline, rights, 
 and privileges of this Church, as above established by tlie 
 laws of this kingdom, in prosecution of the claim of 
 right. And it is hereby statute and ordained. That this 
 Act of Parliament, with the establishment therein con- 
 tained, shall be held and observed in all time coming, as 
 a fundamental and essential condition of any Treaty or 
 
 I 
 
1 20 APPENDIX. 
 
 ITnion^ to be concluded l3etmxt the tv/o kingdoms, vdtli 
 out any alteration thereof, or derogation thereto in any 
 sort, for ever. As also, That this Act of Parliament 
 and settlement therein contained^ shall be insert, and 
 repeated in any Act of Parliament that shall pass, for 
 agTceing and concluding the foresaid Treaty or Union 
 betwixt the two kingdoms ; and that the same shall be 
 therein expressly declared to be a fundamental and es- 
 sential condition of the said Treaty or Union, in all time 
 coming." 
 
 No. YII. 
 
 1707. c. 9. being the Ni}ith Act in the Fourth Session of 
 the First Parliament of Queen Ann, holden at Edin- 
 burgh, October 3. 1706. 
 
 Act anent Plantation of Kirks and Valuation of Teinds, 
 February 21, 1707- 
 
 '^ Our Sovereign Lady, and the Estates of Parlia- 
 ment, considering the gTeat prejudice that does redound 
 to this nation, through the want of an established and 
 fixed Judicature, which may cognosce and determine in 
 such causes and things, as by fonner Parliaments were 
 refen-ed to their Commission for Plantation of Kirks and 
 Valuation of Teinds, and through the loss of the Regis- 
 ters of the Comt, Avhich were burnt in the fire that hap- 
 pened in this place : Therefore, her Majesty, and the 
 said Estates, do hereby empower, authorise, and appoint 
 the Lords of Council and Session, to judge, cognosce, 
 and determine in all affiiirs and causes whatsoever, which, 
 by the Laws and Acts of Parliament of this kingdom 
 were formerly referred to, and did pertain to the juris- 
 diction and cognisance of the Commissioners formerly 
 appointed for that effect, as fully and freely in all re- 
 spects as the said Lords do or may do in other civil 
 
APPENDIX. 121 
 
 causes : And particularly, but prejudice to the generality • 
 foresaid, to determine in all valuations and sales of 
 teinds, to grant augmentation of ministers' stipends, pro- 
 rogations of tacks of teinds, to disjoin too large parodies, 
 to erect and build new churches, to annex and dismem- 
 ber churches as they shall think fit, conform to the rules 
 laid down, and powers granted by Act 19th of the Par- 
 liament 1633, 23d and 30th Acts of the Parliament 1690, 
 and the 24th Act of the Parliament 1693, in so far as 
 the same stand unrepealed ; the transporting of kirks, 
 disjoining of too large paroches, or erecting and building 
 of new kirks, being always with the consent of the he- 
 ritors of three parts of four at least of the valuation of 
 the paroch whereof the kirk is craved to be transported, 
 or the paroch to be disjoined, and new kirks to be 
 erected and built, the minister in the mean time to serve 
 the cure in the present kirk of the paroch : And for that 
 effect appoints the said Lords to meet and sit each Wed- 
 nesday in the afternoon during the time of session, and 
 to call and discuss the said causes summarily, conform 
 to a roll to be made up and kept of the same." Follows 
 pro\dsion for supplying the lost registers ; appointment 
 of macers to the commission. " Lastly, It is hereby de- 
 clared. That this present Act and Commission shall be 
 su])ject, nevertheless, to such regulations and alterations 
 as shall be made by the Parliament of Great Britain." 
 
 No. VIII. 
 
 Act 1808, c. 138. 
 
 Act for defining and regulating the Powers of the Com^ 
 mission of Teinds, in augmenting and modifyi?ig the 
 Stipends of the Clergy of Scotland. 
 
 Whereas by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland, 
 in the year one thousand seven hundred and seven, in- 
 
 G 
 
122 APPENDIX. 
 
 tituled, Act anent Plantations of Kirks and Valuation 
 of Teinds, her Majesty Queen Anne and the Estates of 
 Parliament empowered, authorised, and appointed the 
 Lords of Council and Session to judge, cognosce, and 
 determine in all affairs and causes which, by the laws 
 and acts of the Parliament of Scotland, had been refer- 
 red, and did pertain and belong to the jurisdiction and 
 cognizance of Commissioners formerly appointed for 
 that effect, as fully and freely in all respects as the said 
 Lords did or might do in other civil causes ; and cer- 
 tain powers therein mentioned were particularly granted 
 by the said act ; and it was thereby declared that the 
 said act and commission should be subject nevertheless 
 to such regulations and alterations as should be made 
 by the Parliament of Great Britain : And whereas it is 
 expedient, that the powers of the said Lords of Council 
 and Session, as commissioners aforesaid, should, in some 
 respects, be defined and regulated ; may it therefore 
 please your majesty that it may be enacted ; and be it 
 enacted by the King's most excellent majesty, by and 
 with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and 
 Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament 
 assembled, and by the authority of the same, that, 
 from and after the passing of this act, it shall not be 
 competent to the said Lords of Council and Session, as 
 Commissioners aforesaid, except as after specified, to 
 augment or modify any stipend which shall have been 
 augmented or modified prior to the passing of this act^ 
 until the expiration of fifteen years fi-om and after the 
 date of the last final decreet of modification of such sti- 
 pend. 
 
 II. And be it enacted, that no stipend which shall 
 be augmented or modified by a decree after the passing 
 of this act, shall be again augmented or modified until 
 the expiration of twenty years from and after the date 
 of such decree or modification thereof; nor shall any 
 such stipend be augmented or modified at any future 
 period until the expiration of twenty years from and 
 
APPENDIX. 123 
 
 after the date of tlie lust decree of modification thereof 
 respectively. 
 
 III. Provided always^ and be it enacted, that in 
 all processes of augmentation or modification in which 
 the days of compearance had elapsed, and which 
 shall have been called in court prior to the twelfth day 
 of March one thousand eight liundred and eight, and 
 which shall continue to depend before the said Lords 
 of Council and Session, as Commissioners afore- 
 Siiid, at or after the passing of this act, it shall be 
 competent to the pursuer either to suspend the same un- 
 til fifteen years shall have elapsed from the date of the 
 last preceding decree of modification, or to prosecute 
 the same to a conclusion forthwith : and that it shall be 
 competent to the said Lords of Council and Session, as 
 Commissioners aforesaid, either to grant or to refuse to 
 gTant an augmentation in any such cases, or to pro- 
 nounce or to refuse to pronounce a decreet of modification 
 therein : Pro>4ded always, that if the stipend in any 
 such depending case shall be augmented or modified by 
 a decreet after the passing of this act, the same shall not 
 be again augmented or modified until the expiration of 
 twenty years from and after the date of such decree of 
 modification thereof; nor shall any such stipend be 
 augmented or modified at any future period, until the 
 expiration of twenty years from and after the date of the 
 last decree of modification thereof respectively. 
 
 lY. Provided further, and be it enacted, that this 
 act shall not be deemed or taken to extend to any case 
 Avhere a decreet of modification having been pronounced 
 by the said Lords of Council and Session, as Commis- 
 sioners aforesaid, prior to the passing of this act, the 
 subject matter whereof shall be depending, either upon 
 petition to the said Commissioners, or upon appeal to 
 the House of Lords at the time of the passing thereof, 
 or where it may be competent to present such petition 
 or such appeal against any such decreet of modification, 
 but every such case may be proceeded in and brought 
 to a conclusion ; and a petition or petitions may be pre- 
 
124 APPENDIX. 
 
 sented to the said Commissioners therein, or an appeal 
 may be taken to the House of Lords as heretofore, and 
 the same may be prosecuted \vith. regard to said petition 
 or appeal in the same manner as if this act had not 
 been made. 
 
 Y. Provided always, and be it enacted, that in such 
 cases aforesaid, "vvhere there shall be a final decreet of 
 modification, no such stipend shall be again augmented 
 or modified until the expiration of fifteen years from 
 and after the date of the final decreet of modification 
 thereof, pronounced by the said Lords of Council and 
 Session, as Commissioners aforesaid. 
 
 YI. Provided likewise, and be it enacted, that where 
 such stipend shall, at or after the expiration of the said 
 fifteen years, be again augmented or modified by a de- 
 cree, after the passing of this act, it shall not be again 
 augmented or modified until the expiration of twenty 
 years from and after the date of such decree of modifi- 
 cation thereof, nor shall any such stipend be augmented 
 or modified at any future period, until the expiration of 
 twenty years from and after the date of the last decree 
 of modification thereof respectively. 
 
 YII. Provided fiu'ther, and be it enacted, that in all 
 cases whatsoever where an augmentation or modification 
 of stipend shall have been or shall be applied for, and 
 which shall be judged of, or a decision pronounced 
 therein, after passing of this act, by the said Lords of 
 Coimcil and Session, as Commissioners aforesaid, it shall 
 and may be competent to them to refuse to augment or 
 modify any stipend in any such case, either on account 
 of there being no legal fund of augmentation, or on ac- 
 count of the circumstances of the case ; and it shall and 
 may be competent for any party or parties to propone 
 all relevant objections in every case whatsoever Avhere 
 an augmentation or modification shall be 'applied for, 
 and which objections shall be determined by the said 
 Lords of Council and Session, as Commissioners afore- 
 said, as heretofore. 
 
APPENDIX. 125 
 
 VIII. And be it further enacted, tliat every stipend 
 which shall be augmented after the passing of this act 
 shall be wholly modified in grain or victual, even al- 
 though part of the whole thereof shall have been pre- 
 viously modified in money, or although part of the whole 
 of the teinds shall be money teind, unless where it shall 
 appear necessary, on account of the state of the teinds, 
 or on account of the interest of the benefice, or on ac- 
 count of the nature of the articles other than grain or 
 victual which have been in use to be delivered in kind 
 as stipend, that a part of the said stipend should be mo- 
 dified not in grain or victual but in money, or should be 
 modified in such other articles as have been in use, to be 
 deHvered in kind as stipend. 
 
 IX. And be it further enacted, that in the case of 
 every decree of modification which shall be pronounced 
 after the passing of this act as aforesaid, it shall and 
 may be competent to the said Lords of Council and 
 Session, as Commissionei"s aforesaid, and they are here- 
 by authorized and required to convert the said money 
 stipend or money teind into grain or victual, save and 
 except as aforesaid ; and to make such conversion into 
 grain or victual according to the fiar prices of the kind 
 or description of grain or victual into which the same 
 shall be converted, as appearing from the fiars of the 
 county or stewartry struck for each year, in virtue of 
 authority from the sheriff or Stewart in which the parish 
 shall be situated, upon an average of such fiar prices 
 for seven years preceding the date of the decreet of mo- 
 dification, and exclusive of that year in which such 
 decreet of modification shall bear date. 
 
 X. Provided always, and be it enacted, that where 
 such parish shall not be altogether situated in the same 
 county or stewartry, or where no fiars applicable to the 
 kind or description of grain modified shall be struck in 
 the county or stewartry, wherein such parish is situated, 
 it shall be competent for the said Lords of Council and 
 Session, as Commissioners aforesaid^ to convert the said 
 
] 26 APPENDIX. 
 
 money into grain or victual, according to the average of 
 tiie aforesaid seven years of tlie fiar prices of two or more 
 of the adjoining counties, or of such stewartry, county, 
 or counties, as they shall deem most suitable in the cir- 
 cumstances of the case. 
 
 XI. And be it further enacted, that it shall not be 
 competent for the Lords of Council and Session,, as Com- 
 missioners aforesaid, where a stipend shall, after the 
 passing of this act, be modified in grain or "vdctual, in 
 whole or in part, to authorize the minister to receive the 
 same or any part thereof in kind, but that it shall only 
 be competent for them to decree the value thereof to be 
 paid, or for him to receive the same in money, according 
 to the fiar prices of the kind or description of grain or 
 victual into which the same shall have been modified, 
 fis appearing from the annual fiars of the county or 
 stewartry in which the parish, the stipend of which shall 
 have been so modified, shall be situated, struck in virtue 
 of authority from the sherifl:' or stcAvart, for that crop or 
 year for which such stipend, modified in grain or victual, 
 shall be payable. 
 
 XII. ProAdded always, and be it enacted, that where 
 any such parish shall not be altogether situated in one 
 and the same county or stewai-tr}^, or where no annual 
 fiars applicable to the kind or description of grain or 
 victual modified, shall be struck in the county or steAv- 
 artry wherein such parish is situated, it shall be compe- 
 tent for the said Lords of Council and Session, as Com- 
 missioners aforesaid, to fix upon and specify two or more 
 of the adjoining counties, or such stewartry, county or 
 counties, as they shall deem most suitable in the circum- 
 stances of the case, according to the annual fiar prices of 
 which stewartry, county or counties, they shall decree 
 the value thereof to be paid in money. 
 
 XIII. Provided always, and be it enacted,, that where 
 there shall have been or shall be different rates of annual 
 fiar prices for any county or stewartry, district or place, 
 struck in virtue of authority from the sheriff or stewart. 
 
APPENDIX. 127 
 
 tlie said conversion from money into grain or victual, 
 and from grain or victual into money, in all of the cases 
 aforesaid, shall he made according to the highest annual 
 fiar prices struck in virtue of authority from the sheriff 
 or Stewart for the said county, stewartry, district, or 
 place. 
 
 XIY. Provided always, and be it enacted, that tlie 
 right of any heritor to surrender his valued teind in 
 place of subjecting his lands, to the amount of the sti- 
 pend localled upon them, shall not be taken away by 
 what is herein enacted. 
 
 XY. And be it further enacted, that from and after 
 the passing of this act, the said Lords of Council and 
 Session, as Commissioners aforesaid, nine being a 
 quorum, instead of meeting in the afternoon of each 
 Wednesday as heretofore, shall meet at ten of the clock 
 in the forenoon, upon the second Wednesday which shall 
 happen after the Court of Session shall have met for the 
 dispatch of business in the months of November and 
 May in every year respectively ; and at the same houi', 
 once a fortnight, on Wednesday, duiing the sitting of 
 the Court of Session, and at such other times, and on 
 such other days, in the months of December, January 
 and March, not being any of the days upon which the 
 Court of Session meet for the dispatch of the business 
 of the said court, as the said Lords of Council and Ses- 
 sion, as commissioners aforesaid, shall find necessary or 
 proper for executing the powers committed to them by 
 this and the said in part recited act. 
 
 XYI. And be it enacted, that it shall be la^^ful for 
 the said Lords of Council and Session, as commissioners 
 aforesaid, and they are hereby empowered and required 
 to establish rules and regulations for abridging the forms 
 and expense of citation of heritors and others, and for 
 ascertaining the facts and circumstances of the case, 
 and to establish regulations for executing the business 
 committed to them by the said in part recited act of 
 the Parliament of Scotland, and by the present act 
 
128 APPENDIX. 
 
 with as mucli expedition and as little expense as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 XYII. And, in order to guard against collusion, and 
 also in order that no processes of augmentation or for 
 modification of stipends shall be raised on the ground 
 of alleged collusion, be it further enacted, that every 
 minister insisting in the process of augmentation shall, 
 after the passing of this act, besides citing the heritors, 
 also cite the moderator and clerk of the presb}i:ery of 
 the bounds, and fui-nish them with a statement of the 
 amount of his present stipend, and the addition to the 
 stipend which he means to crave, in order that the pres- 
 bytery, if they shall judge it proper, may appear as par- 
 ties to the process ; and, in the event of the presbytery 
 entering no appearance, the minister shall forthwith 
 transmit to the moderator or clerk of the presbytery a 
 certified copy of the interlocutor pronounced by the 
 court ; and it shall be competent to the presbytery, with- 
 in five months after such interlocutor is pronounced, to 
 enter an appearance, and to shew, if they shall see cause, 
 that the decree of modification pronounced is collusive 
 and prejudicial to the benefice : proAdded, that if the 
 presbytery shall enter an appearance in such process, it 
 shall be competent to the court to subject the minister 
 insisting in such process, in the whole or any part of the 
 expenses of process incurred by the presbytery. 
 
 XYIII. And be it further enacted, that all the powers 
 given and granted by the said in part recited act to the 
 commissioners thereby appointed, shall remain and con- 
 tinue in force, and receive such and the like effect as 
 they do at present, excepting in so far as they are altered 
 or repealed by this act. 
 
APPENDIX. ]29 
 
 / 
 
 No. IX. 
 
 Preamble and Abstract of Act 1810, c. 84. 
 
 Whereas by an act of the Parliament of Scotland, 
 made in the year 1633, intituled, '' Anent the rate and 
 price of Teinds," and by another act of the Parliament 
 of Scotland, made in the same year 1633, intituled, 
 '' Commission for Valuation of Teinds not valued, rec- 
 tifying the Valuations of the same already made, and 
 other particulars therein contained, " it was statuted, 
 ordained, and declared, that all heritors and liferenters 
 of lands in Scotland should be entitled to have the 
 teinds or tithes of their lands valued at certain fixed 
 rates, to be paid for the same in all time to come : and 
 whereas in many parishes in Scotland, where the stipends 
 of the parochial ministers are payable out of the teinds 
 or tithes, in consequence of the depreciation of the value 
 of money, the stipends of such parochial ministers have 
 become inadequate to their support and maintenance ; 
 and on account of the valuation of teinds which have 
 taken place, no funds exist out of which future augmen- 
 tations of such stipends can be gi'antcd : and whereas 
 in several parishes, Avhere the stipends of the parochial 
 ministers are payable out of funds and revenues separate 
 and distinct from the teinds, such stipends have also 
 become inadequate to the support and maintenance of 
 the ministers thereof, and no funds exist out of which 
 such stipends can be augmented : and whereas it is ex- 
 pedient that means should be provided for augmenting 
 the stipends of each of such ministers as aforesaid to it 
 yearly amount or value of one hundred and fifty pounds 
 sterling, and it appears that an annual sum, not exceed- 
 ing ten thousand pounds sterling, will [)e sufiicicnt t(» 
 carry these purposes into effect: — iMay it therefore please 
 your Majesty, that it may be enacted, &c. &c., that from 
 and after the passing of tliis act, there shall in every 
 
ISO 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 year be set apart and appropriated in the hands of his 
 Majesty's Receiver-General and Paymaster in Scotland, 
 out of the public revenues and money received and col- 
 lected by him, an annual sum, not exceeding in the 
 whole the sum of ten thousand pounds of lawful money 
 of Great Britain, to answer the purposes of this act, to 
 be applied in manner herein after mentioned. 
 
 The act directs, that as soon as conveniently may be, 
 there shall be made up, from the accounts sent by dif- 
 ferent presbyteries, under the authority of the Lords of 
 Council and Session, a list of all the stipends which do 
 not extend in their yearly value to the sum of L.150 
 Sterling, and which cannot be augmented to that extent 
 under the laws at present in force, and of the sums ne- 
 cessaiy to augment each such stipend, including its pre- 
 sent annual value, to the annual amount of L.150 Ster- 
 ling, provided that the said augmentation shall not ex- 
 ceed in the whole the sum of L. 10,000 Sterling. That 
 the Lords of Council and Session, having heard every 
 minister who thinks himself aggrieved by this list, and 
 liaving adjusted and settled the same, as to them shall 
 seem just and expedient, shall order it to be recorded in 
 their books, and shall send a certified copy thereof to the 
 Barons of his Majesty's Exchequer in Scotland, who 
 shall appoint it to be forthmth recorded in their books, 
 and shall thereupon issue a precept or warrant addressed 
 to his Majesty's Receiver-General and Paymaster in 
 Scotland, to each of the ministers of the respective pa- 
 rishes mentioned in the list, for payment to such mini- 
 ster of the annual sum that, according to such list, is 
 necessary to augment his stipend to the annual value of 
 L.150 Sterling. That the augmentations by this act 
 granted shall be payable by two half-yearly payments, 
 at the tenns of Whitsunday and Michaelmas in each 
 year, and the first half-yearly payment thereof shall be 
 due and payable for the half year im^mediately preceding 
 the term of Whitsunday last. That the rights and in- 
 terests of the respective ministers who may be entitled 
 
APPENDIX. 131 
 
 to the augmentation to be granted under tlie authority 
 of this act, sliall, in case of their decease or removal, 
 cease and determine at the same terms of Whitsunday 
 or Michaelmas, and in the same manner, as the right 
 and interests^ of the clergy of Scotland in their other sti- 
 pends cease and determine by the law of Scotland ; and 
 that the rights and interests of their successors to the 
 said augmentation shall commence at the terms of AV^hit- 
 sunday or IMichaelmas immediately preceding their ad- 
 mission to their respective churches or parishes, in the 
 same manner as the rights and interests of the clergy of 
 Scotland in their other stipends do commence by the 
 law of Scotland. 
 
 No. X. 
 
 1672. c. 13. Being the ThirtecTith Act i?i the Third 
 Session of the Second Parliament of Charles II., 
 holden at Edinburgh, June V2,, 1672. 
 
 Act for the Ann, due to the Executors (f Bishops and 
 Ministers. 
 
 '* The King's INIajesty, judging it necessary for the 
 good of the church, that such a stated and equal course 
 be taken for clearing and securing the ann due to the 
 executors of deceast bishops, beneficed persons, and 
 stipendiary ministers, as may be suitable to the interest 
 of the executors, and no discouragement or hinderance 
 to the planting of the vacant benefices, doth therefore, 
 with advice and consent of his Estates of Parliament, 
 statute and ordain, that in all such cases hereafter, the 
 ann shall be an half year's rent of the benefice or stipend, 
 over and above what is due to the defunct for his incum- 
 bency, which is noAv settled to be tlms, viz. If the in- 
 cumbent survive Whitsunday, there sliall belong to them 
 
1 32 APPENDIX. 
 
 for their incumbency the half of that year's stipend or 
 benefice, and for the ann the other half ; and if the in- 
 cumbent survive Michaelmas, he shall have right to that 
 whole year's rent for his incumbency, and for his ann 
 shall have the half year's rent of the following year : 
 and that the executors shall have right hereto, without 
 necessity or expenses of confirmation. 
 
 No. XI. 
 
 Act against Simoniacal Practices, 
 
 Edinburgh, May 30, 1759. Sess. 5. 
 
 The General Assembly, taking into consideration a 
 representation of the Synod of Angus and Meams, re- 
 lating to bargains betwixt patrons or heritors in parishes, 
 and candidates for the ministry, or the friends of such 
 candidates, and the great danger which may thence arise 
 to this church, do hereby enjoin the several presbyteries 
 in this church, in order to prevent such practices for the 
 future, to take all proper measures to discover if any 
 such have happened in their bounds ; and if, upon in- 
 quiry, it shall be found, that any minister or probationer 
 hath obliged himself, or that his friends, before his settle- 
 ment, and in order to procm-e the same, have obliged 
 themselves, upon the account of the candidate, that he 
 shall not, during his incumbency, commence any process 
 against the heritors for augmentation of stipend, repa- 
 ration of manse, office-houses, or enlarging his glebe, or 
 shall have become bound in any sum or sums of money, 
 or any prestation, to the patron or person connected 
 with the patron, in order to procure the presentation, or 
 to the heritors or others concerned, in order to obtain a 
 concuiTcnce wath the said presentation, or otherwise to 
 procure a call to a vacant parish, or has entered into any 
 
APPENDIX. 133 
 
 Simoniacal paction or practice for that effect : that such 
 presbytery lay a representation of the said matter before 
 the General Assembly^ that the Procurator for the 
 Church may have orders to raise and carry on a process 
 of reduction of such bargains or obligations before the 
 Coui't of Session : and also the General Assembly do 
 hereby declare it a just cause of deposition in ministers, 
 and of taking away the licence of a probationer ; and or- 
 dain presbyteries to proceed to such sentences against 
 all such ministers and probationers, as shall be hereafter 
 found to have either entered into such bargains them- 
 selves previous to their settlements, or who shall after 
 their settlements homologate the deed of their friends. 
 And it is hereby enacted, that if any such Simoniacal 
 practices as are mentioned and described in this act shall 
 be carried on by any person or persons whatever, in or- 
 der to the promoting or procuring any benefice or office 
 in this church to any minister or probationer, though 
 without his consent or approbation ; and if such minister 
 or probationer shall, at any time, be told or informed 
 that such practices have been, or are carried on, or pro- 
 posed to be carried on for the purpose aforesaid, and 
 shall not make discovery or intimation thereof to the 
 presbytery of the bounds at their first meeting after he 
 shall receive such information, then, and in that case, he 
 shall, if a minister, be deposed, and, if a probationer, be 
 deprived of his license. And further, the Assembly ap- 
 point this act to be read by all presbyteries to every per- 
 son before he be licensed to preach the gospel, and to 
 every candidate for a settlement in their bounds, before 
 they take any steps towards his settlement. 
 
134 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. XII. 
 
 Note respecting the mainteiiance of the Poor in Scot- 
 land. 
 
 The maintenance of the poor is a burden for which 
 the law of Scotland makes provision, by committing to 
 the heritors and kirk-session of the parish the power of 
 laying on an assessment for that purpose ; it constitutes 
 them the legal trustees for application of the sum as- 
 sessed; and it places all the funds, w^hether in land or 
 money, which are vested in the kirk-session for behoof 
 of the poor, under the control of the heritors, who have 
 a right to be present at the distribution of them, and 
 without whose consent no part of those funds oan 
 be alienated, or removed from one kind of secm'ity to 
 another. 
 
 But, in most parts of Scotland, a regular assessment 
 for the poor is unknown ; and, except in large to^vns, 
 the permanent funds, aided by the voluntary collections 
 on the Lord's day, are generally sufficient, not for invit- 
 ing persons to come upon the poor's roll, or for super- 
 seding the assistance which ought to be given by the 
 relations of the distressed, but for preserving the poor 
 from the extremity of want. 
 
 It ought, however, to be understood by all concerned, 
 that the effectual and frugal method of providing for the 
 poor, which is peculiar to this part of the united king- 
 dom, is not imposed by any legal obligation, but is the 
 fulfilment of a labour of love, in which all are called to 
 take a part. Upon the first day of the week, a collec- 
 tion for the saints, according to the spirit of the direction 
 of the apostle, (1st Cor. xvi. 1, 2,) is conjoined with 
 public worship; and the people give wilHngly, every 
 one as God hath prospered him. The minister is not 
 bound by his ordination vows, by the laws of the church, 
 or the laws of the land, to act as an administrator of the 
 
APPENDIX. 135 
 
 funds belonging to the poor in his parish, and lie may 
 meet -with a degree of persecution in this business so 
 vexatious, as to justify him in self-defence, after giving 
 an account of his former management, to resolve to 
 discontinue it. But such cases rarely occur. By his 
 stated visitation of the parish, he is acquainted with the 
 situation of the aged and infirm, which often continues 
 for years with little variation. By the reports of the 
 elders fi-om the diftcrent districts of the parish, he is 
 informed of occasional distress. By the assistance of 
 the elders voluntarily undertaking the office of deacons, 
 he ensures a judicious and humane application of the 
 weekly distributions ; and by appealing, when needful, 
 to the generosity of those who are willing to commu- 
 nicate, he is commonly able to provide a supply for 
 the extraordinary demands which arise from an un- 
 usual measure of sickness, or from the pressure of hard 
 times. 
 
 The several parts of this ultroneous labour are ren- 
 dered easy, pleasant, and creditable, by that cordial co- 
 operation of all ranks which disposes the disciples of 
 Christ by love to serve one another ; they become irk- 
 some when the great body of the people, for whose sake 
 they are undertaken, from unreasonable prejudices 
 against the establishment, join some of the forms of 
 secession in this country, and, leaving their poor to 
 the care of the establishment, contribute all they can 
 spare to the maintenance of their teachers ; and they 
 become unavailing, when, instead of the rich and poor 
 meeting together for Christian worship, the wealthier 
 inhabitants of the parish withdraw the benefit of their 
 example from those places where it might be of most 
 use to the public; and by withdrawing also their weekly 
 collection, hasten the necessity of those assessments for 
 the poor which the experience, and the complaints of 
 our sister kingdom, might teach us to regard as a for- 
 midable evil 
 
NOTES 
 
 BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 Note A^ p. 16. 
 
 By the repeal of the Test Act in 1828, and by the Catholic 
 Relief Bill in 1829, penalties for non-conformity to the 
 Church of England have been abrogated, and the most 
 important ci\'il offices, with very few exceptions, are 
 now open even to the Catholics of Great Britain and 
 Ireland. 
 
 Note B, p. 44. 
 
 Very considerable obloquy has been thrown upon the 
 author in consequence of his manner of describing " a 
 call." Again and again this has been adverted to in 
 recent debates, and the obnoxious expression has been 
 quoted, often with significant tones, as marking his 
 almost open contempt of the thing which he thus char- 
 acterized. All this is natural and allowable, considering 
 the warmtli with which these debates were conducted, 
 and the effect which allusions of this kind mig^,t be ex- 
 pected to produce upon a mixed or popular meeting. 
 But it was scarcely to be looked for that in a grave in- 
 quiry into patronage, which was ordered by the Com- 
 mons House of Parliament, such a question as the fol- 
 lowing would occur ; " Are you aware of any distin- 
 guished person of the church having denominated the 
 call, 'a paper named a call'?" The question has the 
 
138 NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 appearance of being put for the purpose of shewing that 
 the language of the "^ distinguished person " refen-ed to 
 was highly disrespectful and contemptuous towards "the 
 call." The honourable member by whom the question 
 was proposed, had very probably heard that the lan- 
 guage which he quotes had been used. He can scarcely 
 have read the w^ork in which it occurs with the attention 
 to which it is entitled. He would other's%'ise have found 
 that the mode of expression, so offensive to him, is not 
 used peculiarly in regard to " a call," that it is in fact 
 the common mode of description employed, and that, 
 unless the author can be charged mth a design to hold 
 up to ridicule and scorn some of the most solemn 
 foi-ms of procedure in the Church of Scotland, he must, 
 in fairnesS;, be acquitted of all sinister intention in 
 what he says of "a call." Thus, in explaining the 
 steps to be taken for the induction of a minister, p. 45, 
 or for the ordination of elders, p. 48, he speaks of "^a 
 paper read from the pulpit called an edict." The ex- 
 pression may be unhappily chosen ; but, independently 
 of the evidence which these other passages bear that it 
 was used hondjide, or without any disparaging pui'pose, 
 those who knew the author must be aware that it was 
 foreign to his mind to treat disrespectfully, by either 
 action or word, any thing w4th which the church w^as 
 connected. His regard for the church, and his habits 
 as a churchman, forbade it. His whole character stood 
 opposed to it. Insinuations of every kind he disliked, 
 and discountenanced in others. What he reprobated in 
 them, he would have disdained to practise himself. His 
 opinion upon any subject he stated openly and plainly, 
 mth the gentleness w^hich was famiHar to him, but with- 
 out circumlocution or evasion, or any underhand pro- 
 cess. His views of " a call " he did not conceal. In his 
 place in the General Assembly he often explained them. 
 In itself, therefore, it would have been a work of super- 
 erogation, uncongenial to his character, and most un- 
 seemly in a plain, didactic production, designed to make 
 
NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 139 
 
 such as choose to examine it acquainted \^'ith the con- 
 stitution of our church, to have employed, on any one 
 of the subjects of which he treated, a form of expression 
 which was meant, in a covert or insidious manner, to 
 convey that in the opinion of the author the subject was 
 trifling or contemptible. 
 
 Whether his views of " a call " would have admitted 
 of any modification whatever ; whether he would have 
 been disposed to give greater latitude in objecting to a 
 presentee than the church-courts of his days were will- 
 ing to allow, it is impossible to say. But if an opinion 
 may be hazarded, it may be presumed, from the closing 
 act of his pubhc life, that he would not have been back- 
 ward to concede all that could be expected from him 
 consistently with his principles. At the bar of the 
 General Assembly he appeared in support of both the 
 settlements at Kingsbarns and Kilconquhar ; because in 
 his estimation the presentees to these parishes were 
 qualified persons, and there was no law to prevent them, 
 although they were professors at St. Andrews, from 
 holding a parochial charge at a distance from it. But 
 when he found that the feeling throughout the church 
 was strongly against such appointments, he was himself 
 the franier of an overture, wliich was subsequently con- 
 verted into a law, that, as it is essential for every min- 
 ister of the Church of Scotland to reside in his parish, 
 it shall not be competent for a professor in any univer- 
 sity to hold a parochial charge, which is not situated 
 within the city which is the seat of that university. 
 This closing act of his public life does not indicate an 
 unwillingness to yield where it was possible for him to 
 do so. 
 
 But whatever might have been the case respecting 
 him, there is nothing to prevent those who adhere to 
 his principles from following a course, which, in the 
 present circumstances of the church, it is not improba- 
 ble that he would have pursued. A sacrifice of their 
 principles is not to be looked for or asked. And to the 
 
140 NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 recent enactment of the General Assembly respecting calls, 
 if it shall retain what they account its objectionable form, 
 it may be impossible to reconcile them. While the law of 
 patronage remains, patrons have a right to insist that 
 their presentees shall not be set aside without a judgment 
 on their qualifications being pronounced ; and this right 
 the General Assembly, even were it fortified by the 
 consent of presbyteries, has no power to abridge or re- 
 voke. Had the law been altered by the State to the 
 efioct that patrons and parishioners should communicate 
 together, before a presentation is issued, and that along 
 with every presentation there should be laid on the table 
 of the presbytery satisfactory information that a majority 
 of heritors and elders, or of heads of families in com- 
 munion with the chui'ch, did not dissent from the ap- 
 pointment, the expediency of the alteration might have 
 been questioned, but the power to efioct it would not 
 have been doubted. The church would have had to 
 acquiesce, and would still have had its peculiar duties 
 to perform. But here is the church stepping bej^ond 
 its own province, and legislating where, as the law now 
 stands, it has no title to interfere. Its legislation too is 
 considered not only as an invasion of the rights of patrons, 
 but as an invasion also of the rights of its ovm. judica- 
 tories. It belongs to presbyteries to judge of the 
 qualifications of presentees. But this judgment is trans- 
 feiTed in the first place to the people, and presb3rteries 
 are reduced to this degrading condition, that, without 
 inquiry being made, or reason being assigned, or any 
 other exercise of mind being allowed, but what consists 
 in reckoning the number of those who dissent, they 
 may have to reject a presentee, although in their con- 
 science they may at the same time beUeve not only that 
 he is a worthy person, but also that he is likely to be 
 useful and successful as a minister of Christ. In these 
 circumstances the objections to the recent enactment of 
 the General Assembly may appear insurmountable. 
 If the powers of the church-courts were, on the one 
 
NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 141 
 
 hand, not to be so stretched as to interfere with the law 
 of the land, and consequently, when exercised, to be 
 either nugatory or to produce a collision between the 
 civil and ecclesiastical judicatories ; and on the other 
 hand, not to be so curtailed, as in a very important 
 respect to be \'irtually annulled, there should be no 
 hesitation in giving every fixcility to the people for 
 making their sentiments known in a matter of so much 
 interest to them as the appointment of a pastor. It is 
 agreed on all hands that they have a voice in the ap- 
 pointment. The difference of opinion respects the ex- 
 tent to which their voice should reach. Let the advo- 
 cates on either side weigh calmly and dispassionately 
 the sentiments and \aews of those who oppose them. 
 Let victory be less their object than the adoption of 
 measures in which all may concur, and by which the 
 stability and peace of our Zion may be secured. In 
 this spirit there will be little danger either that what is 
 really for the good of the church will be overlooked, or 
 that, in any case, matters will be pushed to such ex- 
 tremity as to cause discontent and division among those 
 who ought, in times like the present, to be cordially 
 and closely united. The one party will not blindly ad- 
 here to modes of proceeding, which a liberal intei-preta- 
 tion of the laws admits of being altered ; and the other 
 party will be un^villing, by the precipitancy of their 
 counsels, to alienate their brethren, or fill them with 
 alarm, or throw any impediment in the Avay of their 
 hearty co-operation in whatever may conduce to the 
 welfare and extension of the church. 
 
 Note C, p. 50. 
 
 At present there are eighty presbyteries in the Church 
 of Scotland. The two new ones are the presbyteries of 
 Burravoe and of Greenock. By the admission of minis- 
 ters of chapels of ease to a scat in presbyteries, one or 
 
142 NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 more of tliese judicatories now consist of above thirty- 
 six members ; and it ^^^J1 consequently be matter for 
 consideration, whether a new act should not be passed, 
 similar to Act 6, of Assembly 1712, so as to caiTy on the 
 proportion between the representation of presbyteries in 
 the General Assembly, and the number of parishes in 
 each presbytery. 
 
 Note D, p. 50. 
 
 There are now sixteen provincial synods in the church, 
 the presbyteries of Lerwick and Burravoe having been 
 constituted into the synod of Shetland by an Act of 
 Assembly, 1830. 
 
 Note E, p. .53. 
 
 The churches in India have the privilege of sending 
 two representatives to the Assembly. And there are 
 additional members from the lately erected presbyteries. 
 The result of introducing the ministers of chapels of 
 ease is not yet kno^^^l. But, exclusive of them, the 
 number of members in the General Assembly is 369. 
 
 Note F, p. 55. 
 
 For several years after the author's time the Assembly- 
 house continued to be an aisle of the High Church ; and 
 small as the place was, it was not very often that all its 
 benches were occupied. It had the advantage too of 
 bringing the members compactly together, and of ena- 
 bling almost any speaker to be distinctly heard in all its 
 comers. On particular days, however, whfen questions 
 of public interest were discussed, it was excessively 
 crowded, and much inconvenience and interruption to 
 business were experienced. It became consequently a 
 1 
 
NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 143 
 
 desirable object that the Assembly should be relieved 
 from such amioyances. In the recent changes upon the 
 fabric of St. Giles' church, which have swept away the 
 ancient aisle, it was designed that a part of the building 
 should be appropriated to the General Assembly ; but, 
 unhappily, the place, after being fitted up at considera- 
 ble expense, was almost immediately abandoned. At 
 present, therefore, there is no Assembly-house. The 
 meetings of the supreme ecclesiastical court have, for 
 some years past, been held in churches, which are by 
 no means well-adapted for them. 
 
 It is satisfactory to think that, notwithstanding the 
 failure which has occurred in St. Giles's, hopes arc held 
 out that suitable accommodation will be provided for 
 the General Assembly ; and it is much to be desired 
 that these hopes may be speedily realized. 
 
 Note G, p. 56. 
 
 The Committee of Bills, and the Committee of Over- 
 tures are now appointed at the first sedenint of the 
 Assembly, and meet so as to give in their reports on 
 the following day, Friday, when there is, as usual, a 
 diet for prayer ; and after it is over, there is a second 
 session for the arrangement and dispatch of business. 
 
 Note H, p. 62. 
 
 Doubts have arisen of late with regard to the effect of 
 a dissent and complaint, whether it goes the length of 
 sisting procedure. An overtm-e for inquiry into the 
 subject was brought to the Assembly 1831, and a com- 
 mittee was in consequence appointed to investigate it. 
 There is no record of the labours of that committee, as 
 its report was made verbally. The subject was after- 
 
144 NOTES BY thp: editor. 
 
 wards recommended to the attention of the Committee 
 on the Form of Process. 
 
 The precedents for fifty years back are, with one 
 exception, in favonr of the doctrine laid do^ATi in the 
 text, that a complaint has the effect of sisting procedm-e, 
 and may obtain the reversal of a sentence pronounced 
 in an inferior court. 
 
 According to that doctrine, a very considerable power 
 is conferred on the minority of a court. It is a power 
 which it is not usual for a minority to enjoy; and 
 which may be abused by being employed on frivolous 
 occasions or for vexatious purposes. But the check 
 which is thus given to a minority over the conduct of 
 their brethren is a valuable part of our ecclesiastical con- 
 stitution. It imposes a necessity for having the most 
 common and tiivial matters ordered according to law ; 
 and it shews the church to be anxious that all its pro- 
 ceedings should be rightly conducted^ and that the in- 
 ferior courts should be guarded in every possible way 
 against the neglect or the improper discharge of their 
 duties. 
 
 In the case of a complaint, which should be made 
 only when the judgment of an inferior court appears to 
 be at variance with the law or the constitution of the 
 church, there is even stronger reason that procedure 
 should be sisted, thrm when a private party thinks him- 
 self aggrieved, and enters an appeal. For in the former 
 case it is the majus bomim ecclesics that is concerned. 
 Were the effect of a complaint merely to bring the 
 judgment complained of under the review of a superior 
 court, and were procedure to continue not\rithstanding 
 a complaint, the right to complain would often be of 
 little avail. Ultimately indeed there might still be a 
 reversal of the sentence complained of. But it is pos- 
 sible also that the very evil, which it was the object of 
 the complaint to prevent, might be carried into effect 
 before the superior com-t had an opportunity of meeting, 
 or that matters might get into such a state, from the 
 
NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 145 
 
 additional steps that were taken, and the new interests 
 that had become involved, and the more complicated 
 difficulties that had arisen, that, supposing an injury to 
 have been sustained, the superior court would have a 
 very painful and embarrassing, if not an impracticable, 
 duty to jjcrform in redressing it. 
 
 Inconvenience will doubtless be felt from complaints 
 having the effect of sisting procedure. Delays may be 
 occasioned in the adjustment of matters, which it would 
 be desirable to settle with all expedition. But evils of 
 this kind it is difficult to avoid under any system what- 
 ever. And surely it is better that there should be 
 temporary inconvenience, and even partial suffering to 
 indi\'i duals, than that from the ascendency of party, or 
 from f[ivour for particular measures or particular per- 
 sons, the character of the church- courts should be 
 lowered, and their proceedings should become irregular 
 and confused. 
 
 Complaints, it is true, may be frivolous or vexations. 
 But, even so, there does not appear to be great danger 
 to the general interest of the church from their having 
 the power of sisting procedure. The history of the past 
 does not Avan-ant any apprehension of the kind. It 
 cannot be agreeable to members of an inferior court to 
 appear publicly as complainers of the conduct of their 
 brethren, men in whose society they live, whose charac- 
 ters are known and respected, and whom many will be 
 disposed to think as likely as they are to be versant in 
 the law and the constitution of the church. Every 
 complaint besides must have ground shewn for it in 
 the higher court to which it is caiTied ; and if there it 
 should be found that the complaint has originated from 
 any cause, save from a conviction that the proceeding 
 complained of was wrong in itself, there can be little 
 doubt of such dissatisfaction or such censure being ex- 
 pressed, as vdW constitute a warning for the future, not 
 only to the individual complainers, but also to others, 
 •gainst following a similar course. 
 
14;6 NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 Note I, p. 65. 
 
 Several overtures for amending the Form of Process 
 were sent to tlie General Assembly in 1814. The de- 
 liverance upon them was simply a recommendation to 
 those who transmitted them to consider the sketch of a 
 new Foim of Process, which was drawn up by the 
 Procurator in 1786. 
 
 The subject was again taken up a few years ago, with 
 the design of alteiing the Form of Process, in so far as 
 it relates to charges against ministers. But the attempt 
 was almost as unsuccessful as that which is mentioned 
 in the text. With the exception of a change v.hich 
 makes it competent for an inferior court, notwithstanding 
 any appeals, to continue procedure till it finds a libel 
 relevant, the mind of the church seemed to be decidedly 
 adverse to the proposed alterations. The Committee on 
 the Form of Process is annually renewed by the Assem- 
 bly. But its attention has latterly been confined to 
 arrangements for the conduct of business in the House. 
 
 The attempts to improve or amend the Form of Pro- 
 cess have probably failed, because the alteration which 
 they sought to eifect was so great as to give alarm to 
 the church. It is not surprising that the recent attempt 
 vras little encouraged, when it is considered that a 
 principal part of the projected plan was to deprive 
 presbyteries of their judicial power, and persons accused 
 of their right of appeal, beyond an appeal on the rele- 
 vancy of a libel. The objects contemplated in this plan 
 were, first, to relieve presbyteries from the very awkward 
 situation in which they are liable to be placed, when 
 they feel themselves necessitated, for their own vindica- 
 tion, to serve a minister with a libel, and, .secondly, to 
 prevent the delay, which, in cases of libel, is too apt to 
 arise. 
 
 It is obviously an unbecoming and a most undesirable 
 
NOTES liY THE EDITOR. 147 
 
 situation when a presbytery is compelled to act both as 
 accuser and as judge ; and none will be more anxious 
 for such an alteration of the law as may prevent its ever 
 occurring, than those who have had occasion to fill it. 
 But is it necessary, for the purpose of extricating pres- 
 byteries from this situation, to deprive them of their 
 prerogative of judging, and to constitute them merely 
 accusers of the brethren ? It would not be for tlie re- 
 spectability or the usefulness of the inferior courts to do 
 so. Nothing is more clear than that Presbyteries are 
 the inspectors and guardians of the office-bearers, as 
 well as of the people, within their bounds. It belongs 
 to them to inquire into their conduct, and, according to 
 the observations which they make, to employ proper 
 means for checking or removing what is wrong. To 
 prevent them from exercising this power, and to prevent 
 them in the most important use of it, would be to sink 
 the character of presbyteries, and through them to wound 
 or weaken the church. Besides, to make them only 
 accusers, and to take from them the right of dealing 
 with a case of libel, would be to put it out of their 
 power to perform one of their most important duties. 
 Every church-com-t is essentially a court of conscience. 
 The presbytery is particularly so. Its object, in all parts 
 of its proceeding against any individual, is to bring him 
 to a sense of his guilt, and to encourage and engage 
 him to repentance. But how can this be effected, if the 
 only character in which the presbytery appears is that 
 of a party in the case? To transfer the power of judg- 
 ing from presbyteries, either to the Assembly, or to any 
 committee or court which the Assembly might appoint, 
 would, moreover, be to go directly in the face of another 
 fundamental principle of our ecclesiastical constitution, 
 viz. that which requires the gradation of courts to be 
 observed. 
 
 It is not then by such a plan as was lately proposed 
 that the evils or defects of our judicial code can be re- 
 moved. Some of them are inherent in oui system as a 
 
148 NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 church, and "vvill never be entirely eradicated from it. 
 And, happily, after all, they are not very formidable. 
 The church has existed and flourished in despite of 
 them ; is regarded with affectionate reverence still, and, 
 under God, has been the instrument of good. To pre- 
 serve her constitution is our first object. Our next is to 
 effect such improvements on her mode of procedure, or 
 on the administration of her laws, as may be safely and 
 consistently made. 
 
 The following hints are submitted with much defer- 
 ence, in order to induce a calm consideration of the 
 subject. 
 
 To relieve presbyteries from the anomalous and dis- 
 tressing situation of being at the same time accusers 
 and judges, might not something be done to divest them, 
 in part at least, of the first of these characters ? To 
 divest them of it entirely seems impossible. Their 
 episcopal function makes it essential for them to attend 
 to the conduct of every one of their members, and to 
 institute inquiries and proceedings wherever there ap- 
 pears to be cause for them. In the event, therefore, of 
 a fama against a minister, it must always belong to 
 them to make themselves acquainted with its rise and 
 broachers ; and having satisfied themselves that there is 
 ground for a fama, it must be for them also, if no pri- 
 vate party comes forward with a libel, to say that the 
 minister should be put upon his trial. Thus fai' the Form 
 of Process should be strictly adhered to. But, from 
 this point, might not farther procedure in the presbytery, 
 might not the prosecution, in short, be carried on by the 
 church collectively, without any violation of the funda- 
 mental principles of our constitution, and with very 
 considerable advantage to all concerned, — not only to the 
 presbytery, but also to the party at the bar, who labours 
 at present under this serious evil, that when, the pres- 
 bytery are his libellers, he has to plead his cause without 
 being exactly aware of the ground that is to be taken 
 against him, or rather of the manner in which the 
 
NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 1 49 
 
 ground is to be occupied? The cliurcli has a law-officer^ 
 to whom the office of public prosecutor might be as- 
 signed, and who, on information being given to him that 
 a presbytery had deemed it necessary that a libel should 
 be served on a particular minister, might take his own 
 precognition for the purpose. 
 
 The opinion of the procurator as to the necessity for 
 a libel might not coincide with that of the presbytery. 
 But whether this was the case or not, it would only be 
 due to the person accused, that he should have an op- 
 portunity of rebutting the charges against him, and that, 
 if the presbytery had acted on erroneous or insufficient 
 information, his character should be vindicated in the 
 most solemn and decisive manner. 
 
 The change upon the situation of a presT)ytery, by 
 committing the prosecution of a libel to the procurator, 
 would not by any means be a complete one. Their 
 previous inquiry may, doubtless, give a bias to their 
 minds ; and the very suspicion of this being the case, 
 would make it peculiarly imperative on them to be 
 guided solely by the evidence to be led before them. 
 But their situation, it is plain, would be infinitely pre- 
 ferable to what it is at present. They would have but 
 one character to sustain. Instead of labouring first to 
 make out a case, and then endeavouring to ascertain 
 whether they had succeeded in doing so, their only con- 
 cern would be to act as upright and conscientious judges. 
 They would not be committed as parties. The lii^el 
 would not be theirs. It would not lie at their door to 
 substantiate and prove it. 
 
 The framing of a libel is a business which probably 
 no presbytery performs without legal assistance. The 
 sooner, therefore, that it is put altogether into the hands 
 of a professional man, the better. And what professional 
 man but the procurator can the church employ ? 
 
 It is not a very onerous duty which would thus be 
 imposed on him. Libels against ministers are really of 
 rare occurrence. It is grievous to think that they 
 
1 50 NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 should ever be necessary. The very idea of a minister, 
 who ought to be the instructor and the pattern of be- 
 lievers, being accused of scandalous sins, is so painful, 
 that a case of the kind takes up a great deal of the 
 public attention, and is not speedily forgotten. It is 
 looked at, as it were, through a magnifjdng glass, and 
 under the impression of its hon'ors, there is perhaps a 
 more unfavourable opinion entertained of the ministers 
 of our church as a body, than is wan-anted by facts. 
 Dming the procuratorship of Sir John Connell, which 
 lasted twenty-four years, there were only eight cases of 
 libel, perhaps it should be said, only seven. They came 
 indeed repeatedly before the Assembly upon different 
 points, which were the subjects of appeal ; and there 
 were consequently, dm-ing the time that has been men- 
 tioned, sixteen or seventeen questions connected ^vith. 
 libels. But of the seven or eight original libels, out of 
 which these questions arose, two were brought before 
 the presbytery by private parties, so that, in these, the 
 presbj^tery had no other character to sustain but that of 
 judges ; and one, which occupied the Assembly for five 
 successive years, after having been begun by the pres- 
 bytery, was withdrawn, and was served anew at the in- 
 stance of parishioners. If we may judge, therefore, by 
 the period alluded to, the labour which would be de- 
 volved on the prociu'ator by assigning to him the con- 
 duct of cases of libel commenced by a presbytery, would 
 be light indeed. It would be only, of com'se, while 
 these cases were before the presbytery, that he would 
 need to appear; and there does not seem to be any 
 reason why he should not act by deputy, if other avoca- 
 tions do not admit of his leaving Edinburgh at the pre- 
 cise time when his presence would be required. 
 
 The delay incident to cases of libel is a great evil in 
 the administration of our judicial code. One case has 
 been already mentioned as having engaged the attention 
 of the Assembly for five years. A more recent one 
 occupied the church-courts for a still longer time. If 
 
NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 151 
 
 the gradation of coui'ts is to be observed, some delay in 
 disposing of cases of libel is unavoidable. The liberty 
 of appeal is so great, and that liberty is so skilfully used 
 by members of the legal profession, that they can scarcely 
 fail to be protracted. Objections may be taken to the 
 admissibility of witnesses, or to questions proposed ; 
 and it may depend on particular witnesses being ex- 
 amined, and particular questions being asked whether 
 additional witnesses shall be called, or additional ques- 
 tions shall be put. It is thus in the power of the person 
 libelled to cause very considerable delay by successive 
 appeals ; and it is quite obvious that, in some instances, 
 his case might be materially prejudiced, or the opinion 
 of his judges be biassed, were his appeals to be disre- 
 garded, and evidence, which it is possible that the su- 
 perior court might pronounce to have been inadmissible, 
 to be heard. Delay is thus interwoven vdih oui- judicial 
 system. But still moans may be found for preventing 
 it from being excessive. 
 
 The General Assem])ly is in the practice of ordering 
 the inferior courts to proceed in the face of appeals, so 
 as to finish the investigation of a case, but to sist pro- 
 nouncing a final judgment till the appeals be disposed 
 of. This is a strong measure. If it were to be adopted 
 as an invariable rule of proceeding, it w^ould take the 
 power of judging finally of a case out of the hands of 
 the inferior court, and it might at times bear hard, as 
 has been stated, upon the person libelled. But circum- 
 stanced as the church is, it is a measure which may 
 occasionally be resorted to M'ith advantage, and which, 
 if not indiscriminately employed, will be admitted by 
 presbyteries themselves to l)e wise and beneficial. 
 
 Some use might be made of the meetings of the com- 
 mission to prevent appeals upon points of evidence from 
 protracting a case to a very long period. Thus, when 
 the Assembly has found a libel relevant, its deliverance 
 might bear that the conmiission is empowered to receive 
 appeals upon such points^, whether in regard to the 
 
152 NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 admissibility of witnesses, or in regard to particular 
 questions ; and that such appeals, when taken in pres- 
 byteries in June or July, shall be made to the meeting 
 of the Commission in August ; and when taken in the 
 autumn synods, or in presbyteries subsequent to these 
 synods, shall be made to its meeting in March. There 
 would thus be considerable progress, even in a single 
 year, towards finishing the evidence, by the presbytery 
 entering upon it in summer, so as to give an opportunity 
 for appeal to the Commission, and resuming it in 
 autumn before the meeting of S}Tiod ; and, in the event 
 of no appeal to it, canying on the investigation between 
 that time and March. There would still be another 
 meeting of presbyteiy, after the Commission in March, 
 when the investigation might be renewed ; and if the 
 case were again carried to the Assembly, the supreme 
 court would be able to judge, from the nature of the 
 previous appeals, whether the strong measm-e already 
 adverted to should be employed, so as, by the end of 
 another year, to have the whole case ready for a final 
 judgment. 
 
 Note K, p. 66. 
 
 From the change in the number of the inferior courts, 
 it is now requisite, in order that any overture may be 
 passed into a standing law, that it should be approved 
 of by more than forty presbyteries. 
 
 Note L, p. 98. 
 
 It was certainly the intention of the Act 1810, that no 
 stipend in the established church should be ufader £150. 
 But, notwithstanding, there is probably not one of the 
 small li\angs which amounts to that sum. The decrease 
 in the price of grain, since the annual value of these 
 
NOTES BY THE EDITOR. 153 
 
 livings was estimated, is very considerable ; so that the 
 sum, which in 1810 was sufficient to augment each of 
 them to £150, (and it is the only sum which can be 
 drawn for them from the Exchequer,) does not now 
 answer the pm-pose. The attention both of the church 
 and of the government has for some years been drawn 
 to this subject. It is only an act of justice that the 
 stipends, which it was intended to increase to £150, 
 should not be allowed to sink below that sum. But is 
 there not reason that they should be augmented to a 
 larger amount ? It is hard upon those who hold them, 
 that the incomes of their brethren should from time to 
 time be increased, and theirs should not only be station- 
 ary, but be far below the ordinary stipends of the church. 
 It is ungenerous to exact of them the important duties, 
 which the ministers of religion are called to perform, 
 and to make their remuneration so scanty, as not to 
 relieve them from much anxiety about their worldly 
 affairs, and scarcely to enable them, when they have 
 families, to educate their children, and to maintain a 
 respectable appearance. If it is good service which the 
 Church of Scotland renders to the state, if that church 
 deserves to be upheld in practical vigour, can it be wise 
 policy to let any of its ministers sink so low, on account 
 of pecuniary circumstances, as to be objects of commi- 
 seration to many of their people, and to be merely toler- 
 ated by the great ? 
 
 THE END. 
 
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