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fail in accomplish hi £ it * end . I ask , yvov \ d parents- now send forward their Children to the ministry as freely as fhey won Id have done some years agr > ? It there were a test of fakh laid down ,, tb ^ y would see their way , and might think proper to accept of it \ btnf that they will submit to the wVH of your Committee ,- is by no means probable . The consequence will be , that talen-t and- true pietv will be
kept off . The question is not on what term * , or with what opinions young men will be admitted ; but it is whether thi& Committee be the fittest plan * or whether some other m-ight nod be devised ,. I beseech yo * to give the matter full and fair consideration , and shew to the world that foil are not adopting a measure inconsistent with the gospel . What did rmr church do before this time ? Were
there Avista in our body a hundred years ago , whew no such Committee existed ? I would suggest that the power be lodged in the hands of Presbyteries . I do not intend to move on the subject , but would be glad that some other
person would take it up . Presbyteries have a right to make every inquiry that your Committee can make ; and by entrusting them with that power , I wo « 4 d hope to see every good enjd answered , and an end put to the unfortunate distractions which have prevailed in our body .
** I was surprised to hear some gentlemen state that this- Committee is merely a Presbytery . I think it would have been better for them to come forward and avow candidly that it was merely a matter of expediency . This , in reality , is the true state of the case ; but we have no right to legislate unconstitutionally for the purpose of expelling any
man . Now , let any man shew me that this measure is according to scripture , according to your constitution , or even according to common liberty-. I view the measure , not as a question of doctrine , and I believe it to be unconstitutional and unscriptural , and 1 therefore feel boniui to ^ oppose it- 1 would return to our former rules , aud leave ifc to the Presbyteries to question the yoiwitf men . The case of Geneva may be cited against
me ; but there subscription was either practised merely as a matter of course , or not attended to . lu this country ,, we have the example of Presbyteries enforcing subscription , aud such Presbyteries never sent out any young man infected with errors in doctrine . " [ The foregoing is but a faint outline of one of the most eloquent and impressive speeches delivered during the course of the Synod . ] Mr . S . Dill spoke at great length , in
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order to prove the scriptvralky and cw *~ » titutionaUty of the Overture * . He rebntted the charge of diimnishlng' the authority of scripture , as alleged by trie Remonstrants . He charged" the Unitarians and Avians with opposing tfee authority of Christ to that of Paul , and one text to another , iw order to neutralize both ; with stating that the epistles are only to be taken as epistolary writing * not intended for the use of posterity .
Mr . Winning , of Kingscourt , admitted the existence of great evils-in the constitution of the Synod , and he ascribed their origin to the laxity of discipline that formerly prevailed . When he wa » tocensed by th « Tyrone Presbytery , no subscription of * any kind was required of him . Scill , though he coincided with the spirit of the Overtures , yet there
appeared to be in them much that was objectionable . If it should be asked , Hasthe Presbytery * right to examine young " men ? it would be answered , It has . Has tlie Committee also a power of examining them ? It has ^ Hence , if a difference of opinion should tak « place between the Presbytery and the Committee , it becomes a matter of serious concern for
the Synod to determine to which of them a preference should be given . The case of America had been cited ; but that , in reality , gave no countenance to the present procedure , because the American church vested the right of examination ' exclusively in the Presbytery , though it went the full length of the Overtures in regard to personal religion . He held in his hand the Constitution of the
AmeTiean Presbyterian Church , and on its authority he made his statements . After a great number of remarks on the disunited state of the Synod , and its resulting e vvls ^ Mr . Winning proceeded to specify those parts of the Overture to which he chiefly objected . As a healing measure , he wished the Committee abolished , and the right of examination vested in Presbyteries , as formerly .
Mr . John Brown rose to move an amendment , for the purpose of bringing the Synod back to its original constitution . He did not conceive the Committee to be so objectionable as had been alleged , fu Rome , it was usual to appoint a Dictator on extraordinary
occasions ; and , in the same way , the usual constitution of the Synod might be suspended for a time , aud an extraordinary Conamitjee be appointed . There should , however , be a jealoun watch kept over ito ; aud if-the Presbytonivs were to choose the members , that might be a sufficient safeguard . His view , however , was , that
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fnteUisrencr . — Synod of Winter % 43
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1830, page 143, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2581/page/71/
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