II. THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE. The Assembly shall also, at every meeting, appoint a committee to be styled the Judicial Committee, whose duty it shall be to take into consideration all appeals and references brought to the Assembly, to ascertain whether they are in order, to digest and arrange all the documents relating to the same, and to propose to the Assembly the best method of proceeding in each case.-1819, p. 718. III. COMMITTEE ON POLITY OF THE CHURCH. Resolved, That a Committee of seven members be appointed on the polity of the Church, and that it be referred to this Committee to examine and settle the true roll of the Presbyteries and Synods connected with the Assembly; and that they receive the reports of the several Presbyteries on amending the Constitution of the Church.-1840, p. 7, N. S. IV. ON FOREIGN MISSIONS. V. ON HOME MISSIONS. XI. ON MINISTERIAL RELIEF. XII. ON FREEDMEN. To these Committees are referred the reports of the several Boards, etc., together with the whole subject to which they pertain, to report to the Assembly at as early a day during its sessions as is possible. XIII. ON CORRESPONDENCE. To this Committee is referred the matter of correspondence with other Churches; they also nominate to the Assembly delegates to corresponding bodies. XIV. ON THE NARRATIVE. That the General Assembly take measures to bring into distinct view at its different sessions the situation of the Presbyterian Church under its jurisdiction in the United States of America, with respect to the state of religion in the different Presbyteries, and the most probable expedients for reviving and promoting the essential interests of Christ's kingdom in the world; whereupon Resolved, That it be recommended to each Synod to enjoin it upon the respective Presbyteries within their bounds, to specify the above particulars in the annual reports which they make of the state of their respective churches, to be laid before the General Assembly at its stated meetings.— 1792, p. 59. Narrative to notice the Decease of Ministers. Resolved, That the narrative on the state of religion annually contain a notice of the decease of all the ministers of our Church who may have been removed by death during the preceding year; and the several Presbyteries are ordered to incorporate with their reports on the state of religion, made to the Assembly, the case of every such removal within their bounds.-1822, p. 38. XV. ON LEAVE OF ABSENCE. a. Resolved, That, as a standing rule of the Assembly, a committee of five be appointed, whose duty it shall be to consider all applications for leave of absence, with power to decide on the same, in place of the house, and with instructions to require in every case satisfactory reasons for the necessity of such absence, and report to the house, at the commencement of every session, the members so dismissed; and that an appeal to the Assembly may be made in any instance of refusal on the part of the Committee to grant the application.-1833, p. 390. b. A memorial was received from the Presbytery of Sydney, requesting the Assembly to take order against granting its members leave of absence. Whereupon, Resolved, That the Committee on Leave of Absence be instructed to give leave to members of the Assembly to be absent from the sessions only for manifestly sufficient reasons; and, in general, for such reasons as have arisen since the Assembly has convened.-1843, p. 173, O. S. c. [The Committee] wish to be instructed as to the degree of strictness which they shall observe in refusing leave of absence to members. The Committee were instructed to apply the rule rigidly.--1847, p. 394, O. S. d. Early Leave Forfeits Mileage. It is, in the opinion of this General Assembly, highly important that commissioners should not be appointed unless it shall satisfactorily appear to the several Presbyteries that they design to remain throughout the sessions. That in order to procure as far as possible this desirable object, it be and it hereby is ordered that no commissioner who shall obtain leave of absence within the first six days of the sessions shall be entitled to receive anything from the commissioners' fund, unless the General Assembly shall order otherwise, when the reasons of the application are given.-1827, p. 207. e. Injunction on Presbyteries. The Committee would present to the consideration of the General Assembly as a serious evil the frequent applications on the part of the commissioners, especially of elders, for permission to return home within a few days after the coming together of the Assembly. We believe that, according to the constitution of our Church, the ruling elders are essential parts of our Church judicatories; and if so, it is as important that they be present during the whole sessions of the judicatory as at its opening. Many of them have their traveling expenses paid by their Presbyteries with a view to secure their attendance, and yet comparatively few are willing to remain till the Assembly is dissolved. The Committee have remarked that these applications for leave most commonly are made, not by those whose residence is far off from our place of meeting, but by those who can reach their homes in a few hours. Under these views, the Committee are often embarrassed in regard to their proper course of duty. They would be kind and indulgent, but they desire too to be true to the trust committed to them; and they respectfully suggest to the Assembly the adoption of the following resolution, viz.: Resolved, That the Presbyteries, in the appointment of commissioners to the General Assembly, be directed to use great care and diligence in the selection of such ministers and ruling elders as will be willing and able to remain during the entire sessions of this body. [Adopted.]-1842, p. 21, O. S. XVI. ON MILEAGE. Resolved, That the members entitled to mileage shall give to the Committee on the Commissioners' Fund, within three days after the appointment of said Committee, in writing, their names, the names of their Presbyteries and their distance from home to the Assembly; and if any member neglects to comply with this resolution, he shall forfeit his portion of said fund. And that no member may be ignorant of this resolution, the moderator shall read it as soon as the Committee on said fund is appointed each year.-1818, p. 687. The Committee on Mileage reported in part, when it was Resolved, That the commissioners from Newburyport, Clinton and Madison be struck off from the list of applicants for a portion of the commissioners' fund, on the ground that their respective Presbyteries have paid nothing into this fund.-1833, p. 404. See above, d; also under chap. xxii., sec. iii. XVII. ON FINANCE. Resolved, That a standing Committee of Finance be appointed, to whom the treasurer's account (of the trustees) shall be referred.-1842, p. 8, O. S. XVIII. ON DEVOTIONAL EXERCISES. Resolved, That it be hereafter a standing rule of the General Assembly to spend the first Wednesday of their sessions in religious exercises, as follows, viz.: It is recommended that each member should spend from eight till nine o'clock A. M. of that day in secret devotion. At ten the Assembly shall meet together, and spend a season in prayer, praise, reading the Scriptures and exhortation. In the afternoon there shall be a public meeting of the Assembly, with all who may choose to convene with them, to engage again in religious exercises. Each Assembly shall, at an early period of its sessions, appoint a Committee to make arrangements for the observance of this day in conformity with the above general plan. Resolved, That it be recommended to the churches under the care of the General Assembly annually to observe this day, or such parts of it as they may respectively judge proper, as a season of special prayer in the closet and in social or public nieetings; to ask for the presence of God with the General Assembly, and for the special influences of his Spirit to descend upon the churches under their care and upon the world of mankind, and that the earth may speedily be filled with his glory. Resolved, That it be recommended to Christians and to the churches, in the annual observance of this day, as far as may be convenient, to fix upon the same time with the Assembly for secret devotion and for public worship.-1828, p. 239. [The usage now is to appoint ministers and elders of the churches in the place where the Assembly is next to meet as the Committee on Devotional Exercises and Arrangements; their report is made at an early day during the session of the Assembly. The following are standing rules:] 1. The Lord's Supper is to be celebrated by the Assembly on the evening of Thursday, the first day of their sessions. 2. The evening of Friday, the second day of their sessions, is assigned to a popular meeting in behalf of the Sabbath-school interest of the Church. 3. The first Tuesday of the sessions is appropriated exclusively to the consideration of the home mission work of the Church, with a popular meeting in the evening of the same day. 4. The first Wednesday of the sessions is appropriated in like manner to the foreign mission work of the Church, with a popular meeting in the evening of the same day. III. Any fourteen or more of these commissioners, one-half of whom shall be ministers, being met on the day and at the place appointed, shall be a quorum for the transaction of business. IV. The General Assembly shall receive and issue all appeals and references which may be regularly brought before them from the inferior judicatories. They shall review the records of every Synod, and approve or censure them; they shall give their advice and instruction in all cases submitted to them in conformity with the constitution of the Church; and they shall constitute the bond of union, peace, correspondence and mutual confidence among all our churches. 1. The Assembly will not Ordinarily Decide Questions in Thesi. a. But while the General Assembly is invested with the power of deciding in all controversies respecting doctrine and discipline, of reproving, warning or bearing testimony against error in doctrine in any church, Presbytery or Synod, or of suppressing schismatical contentions and disputations, all such matters ought to be brought before the Assembly in a regular and constitutional way. And it does not appear that the constitution ever designed that the General Assembly should take up abstract cases and decide on them, especially when the object appears to be to bring those decisions to bear on particular individuals not judicially before the Assembly. Neither does it appear that the constitution of the Church intended that any person or persons should have the privilege of presenting for decision, remonstrances respecting points of doctrine, on the conduct of individuals, not brought up from the inferior judicatories by appeal, reference or complaint, and this especially when such remonstrances contain no evidence whatsoever of the facts alleged, but mere statements, of the truth or justness of which the Assembly have no means of judging, inasmuch as a contrary course would allow of counter and contradictory remonstrances without end.--1822, p. 50. See 1870, p. 28. It is inexpedient to consider cases in thesi. b. It is ordinarily undesirable for the General Assembly to decide questions in thesi which are liable to be brought before it in its judicial capacity, as it may thus virtually prejudge cases of discipline; it appears better that it should ordinarily follow in this respect the uniform practice of civil courts to decide legal principles only on actual cases presented.— 1856, p. 213, N. S. e. Overture No. 13, being a request of the Rev. Samuel C. McCune that the Assembly would answer various questions connected with judicial processes in the lower courts. The Committee recommend the following answer: These questions pertain either to supposed or to actual judicial processes. In either case it is not deemed proper that the Assembly should give specific answers to them. Adopted.-1866, p. 47, O. S. d. Overture No. 28, from the Presbytery of Santa Fé. (1.) Is it in accordance with the spirit and Constitution of the Church for a Board or Committee of the Assembly to receive complaints against the character and conduct of a minister without giving him full information on the subject, or refuse to do so when asked? (2.) What course should the Committee on Missions of a Presbytery take when a missionary sent into its bounds by a Board of the Assembly refuses to occupy the field assigned him by said Committee? (3.) Is it the province of a Missionary Presbytery to designate the field of labor of its members or of a missionary sent into its bounds by any Board of the Assembly? or does this right of desiguation belong to the Board sustaining the missionary? The Committee recommend no action, inasmuch as it presents the case in thesi, and the questions involved will probably be settled ere long by the action of the Board of Foreign Missions. Adopted.-1872, p. 73. [See at large under sec. v., below. Powers of the General Assembly and Book of Discipline, chap. vii. throughout.] V. To the General Assembly also belongs the power of deciding in all controversies respecting doctrine and discipline; of reproving, warning or bearing testimony against error in doctrine or immorality in practice in any church, Presbytery or Synod; of erecting new Synods when it may be judged necessary; of superintending the concerns of the whole Church; of corresponding with foreign churches on such terms as may be agreed upon by the Assembly and the corresponding body; of suppressing schismatical contentions and disputations; and in general, of recommending and attempting reformation of manners, and the promotion of charity, truth and holiness through all the churches under their care. I. DECISIONS AND DELIVERANCES ON DOCTRINE. 1. Case of Samuel Harker. A reference was brought into the Synod from the New Brunswick Presbytery respecting Mr. Samuel Harker, one of their members, as having imbibed and vented certain erroneous doctrines. The further consideration of this affair is deferred till the next sederunt.-1758, p. 283. [The matter was continued from year to year, Synod endeavoring to remove the difficulty and bring Mr. Harker to a sense of his error. In 1761, Mr. Harker printed and published his views, and the Synod (1762) appointed a Committee to examine the book, who reported next year.] The Synod proceeded to consider Mr. Harker's principles, collected from his book by the Committee, which are in substance as follows: 1. That the covenant of grace is in such a sense conditional that fallen mankind in their unregenerate state, by the general assistance given to all under the gospel, have a sufficient ability to fulfill the conditions thereof, and so by their own endeavors to ensure to themselves regenerating grace and all saving blessings. 2. That God has bound himself by promise to give them regenerating grace upon their fulfilling what he (Mr. Harker) calls the direct condi tions of obtaining it, and, upon the whole, makes a certain and an infallible connection between their endeavors and the aforesaid blessings. 3. That God's prescience of future events is previous to and not depend |