Newspaper Page Text
the
j Contributed
ASSEMBLY AFTERMATH.
* One is impressed with the fact that
the Assembly is a hard working body.
To digest reports on foreign and home
missions, education, publication and Sabbath
school wprk, colored evangelization,
Hible, Sabbath, societies, adults and
children's, narratives from the eighty
eight Presbyteries: prepare, consider and
rlnnt n ronnrt for tho ontiro Phn r/^Vi \ a
no small task itself. But in addition
reports on seminaries, and from ad interim
committees, and overtures whose
name is legion, to be considered and answered
(in the negative mostly), and
last and not least, the hearing and deciding
judicial cases, might be supposed
to fill up the time. And how in
addition to all the above work the Aswemblv
found time to hear eleven Calvin
addresses, averaging an hour each, and
speeches on foreign and home missions,
-evangelization, federation, is to be explained
largely by the fact that the Assembly
had a moderator, who held the
body down to its business.
I't is hard to snv whirh was mnaf
prominent feature of the Assembly?the
Calvin celebration or the "Kentucky
Case." Both were very much in evidence,
and overshadowed all the other business
of the Assembly, and undoubtedly detracted
from a deliberate consideration
of the causes. It seems unfortunate that
anything should divert from a calm and
thorough consideration of the great departments
of the very work for which
the Assembly and the Church exist.
The Calvin celebration was immense.
The guests of the occasion, Rev. Chas.
Merle D'Aubigne, of France; and Dr.
Orr, of Scotland, and Dr. Cliniton, of
Trenton, N. J., received and deserved the
thanks and admiration of the Assembly
Tor their scholarly and Interesting addresses.
Of the home speakers, the addresses
varied greatly in quality, and interest.
"Some were the warmed up rehash of
class-room lectures, while some were
great, inspiring and polished addresses.
All were learned and profound, and many
exhaustive?and exhausting.
K is worthy of remark that addresses
en an occasion like this are not expected
to be exhaustive treaties, but popular presentation
of some phase of a many sided
subject.
One would suppose that the speakers
imagined that they were making some
contribution to the permanent literature
of their subjects, when everybody knew
that it was all gotten out of the books.
The Kentucky case has been sufficiently
discussed as to its merits.
It was aptly put by a commissioner,
who said, "The sentiment is all on the
side of the complainants, but the law is
all on the side of the Synod."
In the judgment of the scribe it was
case were presented chiefly by professional
counsel. There was too much
of the methods of the court room introduced.
Each party, perhaps unconsciously,
from force of habit, showed a tendency
to ignore facta that were not exactly
favorable to his own side.
Space forbids dwelling upon the beauty
y
PRESBYTERIAN OF TiW SOUT1
of the city of Savannah, and the hospitality
of her good people; both were-,
all that could be desired in a Southern
city. For details the reader is referred
to the editorial notes.
Presbyterian ism in Savannah is h.irdly
doing what might be done in a city of
eighty thousand people. Three churches
make a poor showing lor over a century
of work in one of the most important of
Southern cities. There may be good and
sufficient reasons hut (hot i?*
it looks to a man up a tree. But the
same may be said of many other cities
in our Assembly. It would seem that
in many places, there is a failure to
grasp and grapple earnestly, and fairly
with the whole question of city evangelization,
church rivalry; pride of mere bigness;
failure to understand the true law
of the growth of the kingdom, "There
is that scattereth and yet increaseth";
false sentimental attachment to a church
or a preacher, or of a preacher for his
people and church?these are some of
the things that cause a failure to grasp
the opportunity and needs of the situation,
and cramp the growth of the church,
and cause a failure to do the work that
might, and should be done. We need to
get down to business, and not be content
merely to conduct our little church
work satisfactorily, but to wield the
whole church as the men no of ovinoroll..
ing the field within reach, be it city or
country.
The impression one lias from a meeting
of the Assembly is that of standing
at the focus of the Church's work. The
rays being concentrated from session
to Presbytery and from Presbytery to
Synod and from Synod to Assembly. It
is not exactly that way but it ought to
be.
The Assembly impressed one as rather
above the average of Assemblies. There
were no cranks in evidence and the red
tape brethren were few. The members
were able, earnest, thoughtful, conservative,
yet with a spirit of progress. The
note of evangelism rang out clear and
strong with a clarion call to the Church.
Cramer.
A LAYMEN'S VISIT TO LINARES,
MEXICO.
The Graybill Memorial Industrial School.
The writer was very glad, last week
to accept an invitation to visit the old
and wealthy city of IJnares. The Southern
Presbyterians have had a mission at
this place for many years and it is the
point recommended by the Presbytery of
Tamaulipas at its recent meeting, for
the establishment of the Graybill Memorial
Industrial School. On account of
twelve years' residence In this country,
spent continually in agriculture, horticulture
and dairying, it was thought that 1
might be of some possible assistance to
those having in charge the final selection
of property for submission to the Executive
Committee of Foreign Missions for
actual investment. It will be seen from
this that the missionaries and native
ptittiurB aua worserg nave urm raitn that
the ofrerings on "Children's Day," will
enable them to found the school which
they so much desire to establish. The
preliminaries have already begun.
Salttllo, where I live, though only a
few hours distant from the Southern
Presbyterian field, is, on account of Its
ri. June 16, 1909..
altitude, in an entirely different climate.
For this reason we have hod the pleasure
of seeing in our home, at one time
or another, nearly all the workers of
the Southern Mission. They come to us
for a little change from the long fierce
heat to the cool mountain air. In this
way we have come to know them and to
love them and to feel a strong personal
interest in their work. We could not
do otherwise for they are our own people,
and the Church which has sent them
out is the Church of our childhood and
the Church of our fathers. In setting out
on my visit, then, I was sure of falling
among friends.
On arrival at Monterey, where
change of cars is made from the Natioual
railroad to the Mexican Central, I found
the Rev. W. A. Ross awaiting ine.
Through an appointment made by the
Rev. Leandro Garze Mora, pastor of thv.
church at Linares, we were accorded an
interview with General Bernardo Reyes,
Governor of the State of Nuevo Leon, to
which the city of Linares pertains. The*
Governor is a man of advanced years
and one who has served his country in
many capacities. He is one of the most
prominent among the prominent Mexicans
of his day. The majestic and magnificent
brown slr?nt> ?inl?ii i..
completed and occupied, modern and elegant
in all its appointments, probably the
very finest .of its class in Mexico, will
be among the memorials of his progressive
administration. As I entered the
lofty portal and mounted the graceful
stairway of the lobby, at my side a native
Protestant minister and a foreign
Protestant missionary, our object being
to enlist the interest of a strong Governor
of a great State in a school to be
founded by a foreign propaganda, and to
bear the name of one who gave his life's
service to that cause, I could not but
reflect upon my surioundiugs.
Just outside the open door was the
most important city of Northern Mexico,
with tho multitudinous sounds and labyrinthine
ways of its strange busy life
Towering toward the blue, were those
far-famed peaks of the Sierra Mad re?
immense, inaccessible, changeless, mysterious,
utterly indifferent to man, the
ephemeral, whether wandering in prehistoric
years, or following the Eagle of
the Republic, or the tri-color of France,
or the Stars and Stripes of the North,
or the Lion of Spain. We saw the sun
light fall upon life sized pictures of the
heroes of Mexican history, 'beautifully
wrought in tall colored glass windows.
Looking upon them, 1 thought of the
cause for which they stood and the contest
for civil and religious freedom. As
in other States, so in Mexico, the struggle
was long and it was costly, both in
treasure and in blood. But at last she
came into her own and stands with those
who have won.
We found the Governor a very approachable
and friendly man. He first
wanted to know about the object and
aim of the school. When these were
explained to him, he expressed his great
satisfaction and said there was need for
such an institution. He then asked
whether there would be any particular
religious requirement?saying that by virtue
of his office he could not become in- .
tereated in religious work as such, and
that there was something of good in