Newspaper Page Text
390
i-s restricted, by the fundamental rules of your church, to
the one hundredth part of those who are justly and scriptur
ally entitled to be represented. Are your people incapable.:
of sell-government? Are they so ignorant or so liable tO:
corruption that you dare not entrust them even with the
elective franchise ? Ninety-and-nine out of a hundred of
your members have no more right granted them, by your ;
constitution, to act in your churches, than have their horses’
or their mules. We ask, in the language of the committee,
“Would this state ol things be tolerated by a free end intel
ligent people, in their civil and political concerns? Ifnot,
why should they tolerate it in their ecclesiastical concerns?” j
And, to the disfranchised members of this society, we would
propound another of the queries of the committee —“Do you
not desire to have the government of your churches in your,
own hands, rather than in the hands of a small minority of
persons who do not know, even if they care for your best
interests?” lfyou do, we would close with the closing rc-‘
mark of the same committee : “express your will and it must
be obeyed.” We have given italics as we found them in the
circular from which we extract.
Let not our Presbyterian brethren be ofTended at our point
ing out the defects in their ecclesiastical organization. —
Your editors, by their lofty pretensions and arrogant assump
tions, impose on us the necessity of so doing. When they
shall cease their crusade against us, we shall allow them to
pass unnoticed; but while they continue to assail us through
their own columns, and while others of their fraternity claim
of us privileges which they lake cure never to grant —the:
privilege of entering the columns of our denominational pa- 1
pers, and seeking through them to make proselytes of our
readers—we cannot, we dare not hold our peace. We de
sire to retain your good-will, but we cannot consent, by ourj
silence, to prove a traitor to the truth, that we may enjoy
your favoring smiles.
Mail Misdemeanor.— As some of our subscribers will 1
probably bo disposed to fret at us for not receiving their last’
week’s Index in season, we think it due to ourselves and the
interests of the office to state, that they are indebted to our;
mail carrier for this very just cause of provocation. Ile neg-;
lected to bring back a part of our mail bags in time for
Thursday s mail and on Satu rduy he freighted his siilkey with
mail hags at our neighbor's office, anil positively refused to]
take in ours. There were in our office, at the time, fortu
nately for us, persons not connected with our office to wit-’
ness the fact. Were we not on the very point of leaving the
office, wo would have a perfect blow up about it. This is not 1
the first injury we have received from the present miserable!
mail arrangements. The contractor on this route would do
well to have an eye to his subcontractors, or lie may lose!
more than lie will gain bv bis contract.
*
llow wb are served. —The following is a copy of a let
ter recently received. We omit names, ns we wish to do no!
injury even to those from whom we receive injury.
Mr. J. S. Baker,
Dear Sir.—Your subscription bill against has;
been received. Ile says, lie never lias subscribed or author-:
r/.i vi any person to subscribe for the Christian Index; that:
he has taken only two of the papers out of the office, and does,
not consider himself liable or willing to pay the amount of
the bill. Yours, respectfully,
VVe have been sending the paper ever since early in May
lo the individual named in the above letter. We had to pay!
for the paper sent him, hud to pay for having it printed, and for
the privilege of doing so, and have .devoted considerable per- 1
sonal labor to the preparation of its contents, all of which is;
lost—we do not even get, for the money, fiine and labor ex
pended, a “thank ye sirs.” One thing is certain—some
brother sent us the name of the individual who now refuses
to pay for his paper, for wo knew not that there was such a
man living. Similar eases often occur.
To THE FIUEXDS OF AN ENLIGHTENED MINISTRY.— We!
would say that the young brother for whom we solicited
funds has arrived. He brings with him recommendations’
that confirm the truth of all that we said of him—and we.
spoke from our own personal acquaintance with him. Will
not many of our readers feel it a privilege to unite with those’
who have already promised to aid in defraying his necessary!
expenses? We think they will—so confident do we feel of:
this, that we have assumed the responsibility of assurin'* the
Executive Committee that their reception of this brother shall
not lesson their means of sustaining those already here. We
again ask, how many will give 810—how many ss—how
many 81 —to aid this young ministering brother in obtaining;
an education. Vi e expect and ask for early responses.
To School Teachers. —Persons wanting a situation as
Teacher are referred to our advertising columns.
Revival Intelligence. —Rev. T. X. Reese writes, 1
have baptized at Cenialhathee, forty four persons at our last
three meetings. At New Hope, in less than a year, sixty
three more. The work of the Lord is going on in Western
Georgia.
We hear from a brother, who left Petersburg, Va. a week
;ago!ast Friday, that a work of grace was in progress in the :
Baptist Church in that town. Brother Reynoldson, the agent
of the Southern Domestic Mission Board, had been laboring
with the church for a week or more, very successfully- It
was supposed that about 60 had professed conversion.
ASSOCIATIONAL RECORD.
Middle Cherokee Association, Ga.— The 3d session of
this body was held with the Oothcaloga Baptist church, Oct.
20-23, 1848. The Minutes are printed in a very had form,
we suppose to save a few dollars. It is much to be regretted
that all our Mi notes are not printed in the same form, and,
jin similar style. Were this done, the minutes of our sever-;
al assoeiations might be bound together each year, and form’
a very neat and valuable volume for future reference. The!
only reason that we can conceive why this is not done, is that
brethren consult their own convenience or partialities in their
arrangements for printing, and the public good which we de
sire is therefore not secure and. We have no personal interest
in this matter —we have no pecuniary interest in the Jobs,
jdoue in our office, and if we had, such interest would soon
cease, as after the issue ofone number more our connection
with the Index Office will, in all probability, cease forever.
* Hut to the Minutes before us.
This association reports 22 churches, of which number, 0
were received at its last session ; 207 baptized; 5 churches;
‘;only report the number of colored members, the aggregate
of the five is 44—Total membership, 1181. John Crawford,;
“Mod ; Robert Russel, Clerk. The record is well made.—
’ The Circular Letter is on the “Relative Duties of Ministers
; and churches.”
The following extracts from the Minutes are worthy of
notice.
Appointed a committee of five to engage a missionary to
i ride and preach in the hounds of our Association the ensuing
I; Associational year, viz : J. N, Cate, E. M. Gault, E. King,!
I jit. Cobb and J. G. B. Adams.
Resolved, That all Ministering Brethren having the care
; of churches in our bounds, are requested to do all that they
can to establish Sabbath Schools in their diilercnt Churches, j
! when they can be made profitable, on all convenient occa
sions, and urge the propriety of attending to this duty,
j; Resolved, That we wish the Churches composing this
|l body, to prepare to express their views by their letters and
delegates, at the next session of this body, in regard to open
ing a correspondence with the “Georgia Baptist State Con
!|vention.”
Report of Committee, on Publications. —Your committee
1 on publications bog leave to report:
That, whereas, the ultimate success and prosperity of the
Baptist cause, and the safety and perpetuity of our civii and’
religious Institutions, depend upon the general diffusion of
religious knowledge and information among the people—
permit us, therefore, to urge upon this body, and through its
ji members, to the Churches which they represent, the great’
!,importance of reading and circulating in our congregations!
5 such books, periodicals and publications, as tend to promote
j the peace and harmony of our Churches, and inculcate the;
■ daily practice of Christian piety ; not forgeting, at the same
i time, the admonition of the blessed Saviour, “search the
j scriptures for in them ye think ye have eternal life.”
i Asa denomination, we would most respectfully recom
mend the reading in our families of the publications of the
“Southern Baptist Publication Society.” “Howel on com-
I munion,” “Benedict’s history of the Baptists,” the “South
i Missionary Magazine,” published at Richmond, Va., “Chris-
I tian Index,” at Penfield, Ga. ; and periodicals of similar
j character, all of which is respectfully submitted,
J. N. CATE, Chairman, Com.
Missionary Report. —Your traveling M issionary begs leave
to report:
1 have carefully read through the Old and New Testa
mrnts, labored fifty-three days, preached fifty-five sermons,
,Baptized sixty-five persons, witnessed forty Conversions,;
i j aided in the ordination ofone Deacon, and the Constitution;
|of two Churches. Respectfully submitted.
j ‘ JAMES ADAMS.
i Bl'thel Association. —We are indebted to the kind at
tention of our brother, Rev. S. Rowe, Clerk of the Associa
tion, for the following notice of the last session of this efficient’
I body:
j “I have just returned from the Bethel Association, and
am pleased to say we had a harmonious and interesting
session. Ilro. C. W. Stevens was ordained on the Sabbath
afternoon, an account of which you will receive. It was a
solemn and interesting time, and much feeling was manifest;
jin the congregation. We were happy to meet a goodly num
ber of our brethren from sister Associations. We had an
increase of six new churches, and a loss of four; gain two
—making fifty-two. An arrangement is now in progress to!
j raise a fund for ministerial education. We have the report
of a committee on that subject, which we were instructed to
jforward for publication, and which is herewith submitted.”
The following is a synopsis of the returns of the churches:
Baptized, * 390
Number of white members in fellowship 2676
Do. colored do . 686
Total . 3302
Ordained ministers, 09
Licentiates, u
Whole number of ministers, 40
Churches 52
tor further particulars I will forward you a minute as
early as possible. ‘ Clerk.
PUBLICATIONS—OCCASIONAL AND PERIODICAL.
The Theological Lectures of the late Rev. David Bogue,D. D.
Never before published. Edited by Rev. Joseph Samuel
C. F. Trey. In two volumes. New York. Lewis Colby,
1849.
Our readers will probably remember that we published,
some months ago, the prospectus of this work. The reputa
tion of the author and the extensive acquaintance of the edit
or will, no doubt, insure the work an extensive circulation.
! The lectures are mere skeletons, designed to assist in the
study of theological subjects. Subjects are presented with
their ramifications, and with references to passages ofSerip.
ture and authors. It is left to the student to clothe the skele
tons with muscles. The general reader will, of course, take
but little interest in it. The author is a Pedobaptist, andsev.
oral ol the lectures (four) are on the subject of baptism.—
lie suggests ten sources from which to derive arguments in
favor of infant baptism, and fifteen considerations to strength
cn those arguments. It is rather a novelty for a Baptist ed
itor and a Baptist publisher, and ho‘h of them ministers, to be
found giving circulation to Pedobaptist views, without noto
or comment—circulating poison without Its antidote! We
are simple enough to believe that no conscientious man ought
to aid in sending error abroad unattended by truth. We
could as soon aid i,i circulating a work that advocated Uni
versalism, l nitarianism, or Mormonism, as one advocating
that more fatal ism, Pedobaptism—more fatal, because more
popular and less suspected of evil. We are fully aware, that
,to link truth with error would greatly impede the progressof
the latter, and curtail the circulation of the book that con
tained it; and, consequently, lesson the profits of both the
editor and publisher: but we have yet to learn that “gain
is godliness.” Wo could as soon reconcile it to our con
science to retail alcohol as retail the errors of Pedobaptism—
and we think a little sooner; for the one injures principally
the body, the other the soul; the one may answer many use
ful purposes, the other is productive of no good, but of much
evil. \\ e take no pleasure in these remarks. It is painful
to u to make such a return for the kindness of the publisher
in sending us a copy of the work, but as we published the
prospectus of it, and called the attention of our readers to it,
we feel that we could not maintain “a conscience void of of
fence ’ did we not most unequivocally express our disap
probation of the act of circulating error, in its most objection
able form, without one corrective. We may be deemed over
squeamish—we connot help it. We had rather be condemn
ed of men than of God. We arc a Baptist from pinciple and
and not from policy.
We may be asked, will you condemn the whole work for a
few chapters ? We answer, Ves; and on the same princi
ple that we would reject a whole turreen of soup, that con
tained but one grain of arsenic or corrosive sublimate.
Again, we may be asked, Do you not see that the work is
commended by some of the greatest and best men in our de
nomination ? We reply very true, but we seek to regulate
our conduct by the word of God, and not by the conduct of
others; for the greatest and best of men are liable to err.—
God’s word teaches, that if any one preach any other doctrine
’ than those which it inculcates, we are not to bid him God
speed. The direction appears to us to be as applicable to
error printed as to error preached—to books as to men.
The Baptist Preacher. —The numbers for November and
December come to us under one cover. The pamphlet con
tains a discourse from the pen of Rev. J. IL Jeter of Rich
mond, Va., on “Posthumous Influence,"” occasioned by the
death of Rev. Win. Leftwich, an aged and much respected
; Baptist minister in V irginia, and one on “The glory of the
Spiritual Temple, by Bro. Win. 11. Mclntosh of Darien, Ga.,
1 also an extract on “Assurance.”
A Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Emory College..
1948. We acknowledge the receipt of a copy of the above
named catalogue. We are pleased to see that the vacancies
in the Board of Instructors have been well filled. The stu
dents are reported as follows: Seniors 19 ; Juniors 36:
Sophomores 23 ; Freshmen 38; —Total 116. The institu
tion appears to be in a flourishing condition.
A Catalogue of the Officers and Students of New Hampton
Institution. 1948.—The name of the friend to whom we are
indebted for t this catalogue was torn from the cover before it
i'came into our hands; weean therefore make no return for his
[December