courtesy manifested by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, direct the members of the committee to report to the General Assembly, their resolution approving the articles of union between the two bodies, and referring them to their presbyteries for consideration, and to express their confident hope of their ultimate adoption by this synod." In May, 1822, it appears from the records of the General Synod, that they had under their care five presbyteries, viz. one of Saratoga, one of Washington, one of New York, one of Philadelphia, and one of Big Spring. To the synod of this year, the presbytery of Saratoga reported, that they deemed the proposed union to be inexpedient; the presbytery of Washington gave their opinion that the proposed union "would be inexpedient under present circumstances;" the presbyteries of Philadelphia and New York approved of the proposed union; and the presbytery of Big Spring "determined to advise synod not to close the union on the basis of the articles agreed upon by the conferring committees," the four ministers composing this presbytery being equally divided on this subject. On the 17th of May, the synod record the fact, that they "Received and read a letter from the Rev. E. K. Maxwell,stating that the Rev. Messrs. Boyse, Johnston, and himself, of the presbytery of Saratoga, were not present when that presbytery disapproved of the proposed union with the Presbyterian church, and that they are in favour of it." Ŏn the 21st of May, 1822, having had the subject before them for one year, and having discussed it during a considerable part of five days, the General Synod resolved, "that this synod approve, and hereby do ratify, the plan of union between the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and the Associate Reformed Church, proposed by commissioners from said churches." "The question was put, in committee of the whole, and decided in the affirmative," say their records, by "yeas 8, nays 5." The recorded yeas on the final decision in synod, were Messrs. Forsyth, Dickey, Duncan, Nourse, Patterson, Martin: the nays, Forrest, Otterson, Lefferts, Smith, and M'Cullogh; while, Phillips, M'Leod, Blake, and Lind were silent. Messrs. Phillips, M'Leod, and Blake have since united with the General Assembly, and the Rev. Mr. Lind, at this same meeting of synod, drafted an eloquent report in vindication of the transfer of the library of the General Synod to the united Theological Seminary at Princeton; and Dr. Lawrie, the moderator, stated his concurrence in the final decision. The committee appointed by the General Assembly on this subject in 1823, were satisfied from evidence presented to them, that all the members of the synod, who were silent on the vote, were at that very time favourable to the union, while they thought it inexpedient then to give any vote; so that the General Synod were divided in opinion, in the proportion of eleven for the union to five against it. The right of the synod to decide in this matter, was clearly implied by the recusants in their taking part in the debate and decision, without questioning the competency of the synod to decide in the case. Of their confirmation of the proposed union, the General Synod duly informed the General Assembly on this same 21st day of May; and the Assembly resolved, that they received this communication with great pleasure; and inasmuch as the different presbyteries under the care of the synod, could not appoint delegates to attend the present General Assembly, the delegates to the synod were invited to take their seats as members of the assembly; and on the 23d of May, four members took their seats accordingly. On the 22d of May, the five members of the General Synod, who opposed the union, entered their protest against the measure, on the records of the synod; but in that pro test they do not complain of the act of the synod as being unconstitutional. On the same day, the General Synod adopted a pastoral letter, in which they say, "To prevent mistakes it may be proper to premise, that the design of referring questions of general interest to presbyteries, is not that presbyteries may decide definitively thereon; but to prevent improper haste, and to prepare the way for the members of the supreme judicatory to make up their minds, and decide on the fullest information, as their consciences shall dictate, agreeably to the word of God, and the standards of the church. The judgment of a majority of presbyteries, is no certain evidence of the opinion of the majority of the church, as presbyteries may be very unequal in numbers, and may decide by very unequal majorities. It would be a perversion of every principle of order, that in deciding a question of general interest, the vote of a small presbytery, carried by a small majority, should weigh equal to a large presbytery, determining almost unanimously on the opposite side." In this manner the synod expressed their opinion of their own constitution of government, which decrees, page 507, concerning the General Synod, that it is "the province of the General Synod, to decide questions respecting doctrine and disciplineto bear testimony against errors and immoralities-to correspond with other churches; and, in general, to preside over the religious interests of the church at large. But no regulations intended to be universal and permanent shall be established, with out previously transmitting them to the several presbyteries, that they may have time to consider and report their judgment thereon." The constitution nowhere says that a majority of the presbyteries shall decide on any subject referred to them, nor was this doctrine ever asserted, so far as we can learn, by any of the presbyteries or ministers of the General Synod, until after the dissolu tion of said synod. Indeed, the reports of the presbyteries under this synod imply,, that they considered themselves as having no other power than that of giving advice and expressing their judgment on those universal and permanent regulations, which might be decided on by the synod: and it appears from their records, that it was the uniform practice of the synod to decide according to its own wisdom, after receiving the judgments of presbyteries on matters referred to them. On the 23d of May, 1822, the General Synod, "Resolved, that all the minutes and documents, together with a complete series of the published extracts, belonging to the General Synod be, and they hereby are directed to be by the clerk deposited with the session of Spruce street church, subject to the future disposal of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church." On the last named day, "the synod finally adjourned." At the time of their uniting with us, the five presbyteries belonging to the General Synod, contained thirtytwo ministers; of whom thirteen, viz. Messrs. A. Proudfit, R. Proudfit, Denham, G. Mairs, D. C. M'Laren, W. M'Auley, Forrest, J. Mairs, Otterson, Scrimjour, Junkin, Smith, and Brown, were opposed to the union; and seventeen, viz. Mason, Dickey, Gray, Duncan, M'Lean, Lawrie, M'Innis, Phillips, M'Leod, M'Gimsey, Clarke, Mulligan, Maxwell, Johnston, Boyse, Lind, and Strong, were known to be decidedly in favour of the union. To the last number may be added Dunlap and Wallace, who are believed to have been on the same side of the question. The Rev. Mr. Junkin has since become a member in our connexion; and on the day after the union, the Rev. Mr. Arbuckle was ordained over one of the former churches of the associate body, and has united with the Assembly. This General Synod was not an incorporated, but an ecclesiastical body, which had established a theo logical seminary by its own synodical This seminary was under the complete control of said synod; which solicited, chiefly by the Rev. Dr. John M. Mason, and received, or purchased for the use of its Theological Seminary, a valuable library. This library was not private property, belonging to any individuals composing any judicature or portion of the church; but was held by the General Synod, as trustees for their Theological Seminary. The General Synod was the only body in existence which could dispose of this library; and in good faith they were bound to appropriate the same, according to the intention and gift of the donors, for the use of the Theological Seminary under their care. The Theological Seminary under the care of the General Synod, was in May, 1822, by the deliberate act of that synod, and by the consent of the General Assembly, amalgamated with the Theological Seminary at Princeton; so that the Theological Seminary once under the care of the General Synod, is now, to all intents and purposes, one with the seminary at Princeton; and the library, in law and in equity, ought to have been, as it was, transferred to Princeton, that it might still be used by the Theological Seminary (existing still, but in a new form,) for the use of which the books were originally presented to, or purchased by, the General Synod. The synod had a constitutional right to consolidate their seminary with ours, and this they did; so that the library would of right have been transferred to Princeton, after the consolidation, even had the synod never dissolved, and had not a single member of that body become a member of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. (The remainder in our next.) We think it not foreign to the design of our work, to insert a short biographical sketch of the present Pasha of Egypt, taken from the London Literary Gazette. The advancement of civilization and the arts in Egypt, is intimately connected with the progress of Christianity. Our missionaries have, we believe, already found the present Pasha to be more tolerant than any of his predecessors. "The Pasha of Egypt is a very extraordinary character. By birth a Greek, and enslaved in his early youth, he enjoyed no advantage of education; but in the course of his administration of the government of the celebrated province at present under his control, he evinces the wonderful effects which may be wrought by a mind naturally sagacious and energetic. Having established himself as a military chieftain, too formidable to be controlled by the Divan of Constantinople, he has of late years devoted himself to commercial enterprises, which, if his life be spared, or if they are continued after his death, must tend to the speedy recivilizing of the ancient parent of the arts and sciences. He first directed his attention to the cultivation of sugar, of which he grew a considerable quantity; but as the quality was coarse, by the aid of a Scotch agent he established an extensive sugar refinery, the produce of which has occasionally been found a matter of anxiety to the European dealers in refined sugar in the Levant. In the course of the process of refinement he had occasion for a steam-engine, with which, we have been informed, he was supplied by the British Ministry, who wished to conciliate his favour by so acceptable a present; which, however, we have been told, he pretended he wished to possess only as an object of curiosity. "At a later period, an English gentleman, high in his confidence, advised him to turn his attention to the cultivation of cotton. He accordingly procured from the United States, in separate quantities, so as to produce no alarm, several tons weight of the best cotton seed, which he has sown in different spots on the banks of the Nile, favourable to the growth of the cotton plant. His success in this new speculation has hitherto been decisive. A few months ago, a hundred bags of his cotton was sold at Liverpool, and is found, on working, to be superior to the Sea Island cotton. Several vessels have within these few days cleared out from Liverpool to Alexandria, where he has thirty thousand bags ready for sale; and his next year's crop is expected to be one hundred thousand. If the civilization of his people is within many degrees commensurate with his progress in agriculture, so that they can take a tolerable proportion of our manufactures in exchange for the raw material, Jonathan may look about him. At present the purchases are made from the Pasha in hard dollars. "It will easily be believed that the rising power of this extraordinary man is viewed with extreme jealousy by the Porte. Accordingly, a short time ago, the Grand Signor sent an agent with a couple of executioners, with instructions to bring his head to Constantinople; but the Pasha's spies gave him speedy intelligence of the danger that awaited him. He made preparations accordingly, and the ministers of death, instantly on their arrival in Egypt, and before they could display the fatal firman, were deprived of their heads, which the Pasha pickled and sent to the Sublime Porte, with a history of his providential escape from the plots of assassins. Since then he has remained unmolested in the prosecution of his grand and useful designs, and all And from the chambers of the East Is there a God? Yon rising sun An answer meet supplies; The warbling lark, in realms of air, Is there a God? Hark! from on high I In every wave that rolls. I read a record of his love, Man, beast, and herb, and flower. The sultry sun has left the skies, His works aloud impart; Inscribe them on my heart : FROM THE LONDON MAGAZINE. who wish well to the progress of ci- THE SECOND ADVENT OF THE SAVIOUR, vilization in Africa, will pray that he may live a thousand years. "The Pasha, we further hear, bought from Rundel and Bridge the Pitt diamond, and has paid for it. The diamond was lately consigned to the care of the captain of a British ship of war." FROM THE LONDON MONTHLY MAGAZINE. Answered by an Appeal to Morning, Noon, The Lord shall come! but not the same Can this be He, who, wont to stray Go, tyrants, to the rocks complain, Reviews. SERMONS FOR CHILDREN; DESIGNED gion, we fear not a shipwreck of their ΤΟ PROMOTE THEIR IMMEDIATE PIETY. By Samuel Nott, jun. In the Christian Advocate for March, of the last year, we reviewed and recommended a little volume of sermons under the foregoing title. As a second volume now appears, we hope that the former has been in demand; and that thus the hopes of the pious author have been realized, and his labours in some measure rewarded. The discourses in the present volume are of the same cast and character with those of its predecessor. Their titles are, 1. God's care of childhood. 2. Piety in the morning. 3. Piety at night. 4. Patience. 5. A sinful tongue. 6. Selfexcusers. 7. Children's worldliness. 8. The sin of vainglory. 9. Let it rain. 10. The reading of the scriptures. 11. Brotherly unity. 12. Prayer. 13. Death in childhood." We shall give no extracts from the sermons; but the conclusion of the introduction, which is addressed to parents, we recommend to the very serious consideration of every father and mother who may read this article. It is as follows "We are well aware of the prevailing notion, that children cannot be sufficiently stimulated by Christian principles and views; or, as we might justly express it, that they need the delusions of the world, as a motive for their activity, and a security to their success in life. Let us be ware, however, lest we become practical unbelievers, in that rich assurance, 'Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.'-Lest we declare it necessary to do good that evil may come; lest we justify ourselves in educating moral beings with a lie in our right hand; and, under God's government, find a necessity for deposing him from the affections and the obedience of his creatures. "FIRST of all, let us educate our children for God and for eternity. Did we doom them thus to affliction and penury, we would not regret it, in view of their duty as moral beings, and of their interest as immortals. Yet, if we educate them on the strictest principles of reliVOL. II.-Ch. Adv. temporal interests. a "If the good things of the present life afford a stimulant to exertion, we certainly do not deprive them of their power, by minds of our children with their compaconscientious endeavour to impress the rative worthlessness, and with the supremacy of religious claims and interests. "Every worldly good is sure to have its greatest zest, as well as to furnish the most permanent enjoyment, when the mind is most chastened and subdued by religious considerations. And it is no more certain that the excessive indulgence of the sensualist diminishes the pleasures of the senses, than it is that a preference of this world to God diminishes the enjoy. ment which the world affords. On the same principle, temperance, and not excessive indulgence, furnishes the strongest motive to industry; and a chastened, Christian, we had almost said heavenly, view of every worldly blessing, will be a more steady and effectual stimulant than any delusion. "In this view it might well be questioned whether it be good policy to appeal to the love of praise as the grand stimulant in education. Is it, for instance, fluence? After all the skill which is emfound to possess a steady, permanent inployed in meeting the voracity of chil dren, by creating artificial honours, and scattering them thick along the whole path of education, must not the parent or teacher be ever on the watch, and at the toil, to prevent the stimulant from losing its power? Is it felt by the mass of those to whom it is applied? Are not rather the great majority in most schools and colleges still unmoved to exertion? Can it be at hand in the detail of life? How often, and sometimes in very melancholy instances, has the promise of youth been disappointed, for the lack of that praise of men, to the excessive love of which they had been educated. There is a very common, and perhaps a very unnoticed alteration in the progress of life, when this artificial and excessive stimulant is removed. Among those who felt its power, what multitudes leave off studying and learning, as soon as they get away from school. How few are striving to become better informed. "We are sufficiently well acquainted with the universal reason, that, amidst the cares of life, people have no time or opportunity for study and improvement; a reason proved entirely futile, by the few but decisive instances of cheerful, regu2 R |