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conversant with that subject, about fifteen years ago, and is still reiterated, that many of those books were taken away clandestinely in barrels, and baskets, and bags, and boxes, by the "friends of the union !"

As soon as the question was decided, one of the partisans, Mr. A., hastened from Philadelphia to New York, as was judicially proved, if I recollect aright, and had the remaining volumes of the library packed up, that they might be transferred with all despatch to the Theological Seminary at Princeton. Mr. F., one of the elders who opposed the discordant match, and had sternly forbidden the bans, also hurried off from the General Assembly, or the Synod, and procured an injunction from the Chancellor of New York, against the removal of the library. When the process was served, the return was this-"Non est; de bonis non."

From that period to the present time, those loving friends have been exactly related like the prophetical delineation of the tribes of Israel" Ephraim envied Judah, and Judah vexed Ephraim"-Isaiah xi. 13; notwithstanding, as they profess, they all believe "the communion of saints." At length, the remaining 2,500 volumes which had not surreptitiously been conveyed into private libraries, have been restored to the primitive owners, by the decision of the civil tribunal.

It is very humiliating to Christians, that it should be necessary to counteract the unholy machinations of Church Courts in our country, by an appeal to the secular authority. That complex violation of decency and the gospel well may justify the sincere use of the humiliating

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declaration and prayer of the prophet of Tzars,-Lamentations v. 16-18, 21,-"Wo unto us, that we have sinned! For this our heart is faint; for those things our eyes are dim. Because of the mountain of Zion which is desolate; the foxes walk upon it. Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned !"

REFORMED DUTCH GENERAL SYNOD.

One circumstance which occurred at a late meeting of the General Synod of the Reformed Dutch Church in Philadelphia, proves, that whenever the opportunity is afforded, every ecclesiastical assembly will "turn aside unto their crooked ways."

ROMISH EXORCISM.

At a prior meeting of the Synod, according to the proceedings at the time referred to, this question had been discussed-Is the popish ceremony of christening, the gospel ordinance of baptism? A report was made by the committee, to whom that matter had been referred; and that point was so extremely knotty, that the "dominies" would not decide, that a series of ritual buffoonery, expressly devoted, as the Romanists say, to exorcise the devil, is not symbolical of the "washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." They, therefore, referred the inquiry to their successors; who after a year's deliberation might fairly be supposed competent to reply determinately to that embarrassing puzzle!

When in the usual routine of the synodical proceedings, the report was introduced for deliberation, a motion was instantly made virtually to dismiss the whole subject. The only cause which was offered for that evasion, upon a grave and important practical query, was this "That subject at the former Synod was introduced, and the report, also, was written by a foreigner.”

"To him they agreed;" for the discussion which was designed to evince, that popish mummery is not a Christian ordinance, was rejected, with their other refuse materials.

Well-"I says, says I"-that is right comical! Here are men assembled, some of whom, to use their own discordant title, are foreigners. The mover of the resolution is the son of foreigners; and most of them, probably the children or grandchildren of foreigners. Within the memory of man, they imported their chief dominies from Holland, Not many years since, and the practice now is scarcely extinct, they performed all their praying, singing, preaching, and ministration of ordinances, in a foreign language. Yet they deliberately refuse to bear a new and important witness to the truth, notwithstanding the exigency of the times demands it, because one of their own brethren, who was branded as a foreigner, whether truly or not, had been appointed to present a report upon an interesting subject, which had been referred, as it appeared upon the record, by the classis of New York to their General Synod.

While I was cogitating over that perplexing matter, as I thought of the motley association of foreigners in the Re

formed Dutch Church, the words of Daniel passed through my mind "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"

That exhibition was more anomalous and surprising, because the Reformed Dutch brotherhood formally repudiate all the morbid and Romish attributes of Church Courts; and expressly deny in theory, while they disown in practice, the cardinal principles of antichristian interference with the rights of individual Christians, and the privileges of the separate churches. To their hitherto steadfast adhesion to that fundamental mainspring of Christian fellowship, I have no doubt that they owe all their existing peace and union as a confederated body, while the other denominations are at deadly strife, and in confusion. I earnestly hope, notwithstanding an occasional effort to the contrary by some members, that they will strenuously resist every attempt to transform pacific meetings of the brethren into turbulent assemblies, where wranglers may brawl, and Rabbis contend for the preemi

nence.

DECISIONS OF CHURCH COURTS.

Many recent meetings of Ecclesiastical Judicatures and their collateral assemblies of conflicting partisans, have disclosed very little Christian love and truth. Notwithstanding, to incurious and unsuspecting observers of their proceedings, all may appear to be conducted with impartial gravity. If, however, a topic on which men may conscientiously differ without excitement arises for debate, and especially if it be the appeal of an injured individual

against the unhallowed exactions of the Rabbis in an “inferior judicatory;" then the prophetic departure from the faith may be discerned, and there have been sometimes heard "seducing spirits, speaking lies in hypocrisy."

Partiality and prejudice generally decide all personal controversies. The spirit of the clan never was more unequivocally exemplified by a tribe of Scottish Highlanders, than it is openly displayed in some Church Courts.

When the case of William McCalla was appointed for a hearing in the Presbyterian General Assembly of 1815, a minister of that city, who was in the secret, proclaimed, before the investigation of the cause commenced, that his appeal would be dismissed, although the synodical decision was not only self-evidently unrighteous, but in reality the appellant had never been on trial, except his claim of right could be so denominated. How could that minister declare so accurately the result? He knew Mr. McCalla's real offence was this, that he was too unruly to be a "Jack" for some of the Kentucky Rabbis. He also understood the nature of the questions which were intermingled with the appeal, the party-politics, and the conformity to the world, which were to be discussed-and from the list of members he at once perceived, as is always the case in every Church Court upon all grand moral decisive questions, that the majority would determine contrary to rectitude.

It was not less openly said at the commencement of the Assembly in 1817, that George Bourne would be released from the fangs of the menstealers-while in the year 1818, it was just as positively affirmed, before the same case was called, that he would be maltreated. Why were those

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