Part 6

_Resolved_, That the Synod learn, with gratitude to God, of the great progress of the work of the Lord at Amoy, and in the region around, so that already we hear of six organized churches with their Consistories, and others growing up, not yet organized; two native Pastors, who were to have been ordained on the 29th of March last, and the whole under the care of a Classis composed of the Missionaries of our Church and the English Presbyterian Church, and representative Elders of the several churches. It calls for our hearty gratitude to the Great Head of the Church, that the Missionaries of different Churches, and different countries, have been enabled, through Divine grace, to work together in such harmony. It is also gratifying to us that these Churches and this Classis have been organized according to the polity of our Church. Inasmuch as the Synod of the English Presbyterian Church has approved of the course of their Missionaries in uniting with ours in the organization of the Church at Amoy, after our order, therefore, this Synod would direct its Board of Foreign Missions to allow their Missionaries to continue their present relations with the Missionaries of the English Presbyterian Church, and the churches under their several care, so long as the present harmony shall continue, and no departure shall be made from the doctrines and essential polity of our Church, or until this Synod shall otherwise direct.

Some, after reading the foregoing discussion, will be ready to say to us: "Your views are in the main correct. It would have been better if Synod had decided otherwise, but the decision has been made, and we must put up with it." We answer, Not so. We must obey Synod, but may not the Church change or improve her decisions? Here is one of the good things we hope to see come out of this mistake of the Church. Jesus rules, and he is ordering all things for the welfare of his Church and the advancement of his cause. Sometimes, the better to accomplish this end, he permits the Church to make mistakes. When we failed in former days to get our views made public, it gave us no anxiety, for we believed the doctrine that Jesus reigns. So we now feel, nothwithstanding this mistake. The Master will overrule it for good. We do not certainly know how, but we can imagine one way. By means of this mistake the matter may be brought before our Church, and before other Churches, more clearly than it would otherwise have been for many years to come, and in consequence of this we expect, in due time, that our Church, instead of coming up merely to the standard of liberality for which we have been contending, will rise far above anything we have asked for or even imagined, and other Churches will also raise their standard higher. Hereafter we expect to contend for still higher principles. This is the doctrine: Let all the branches of the great Presbyterian family in the same region in any heathen country, which are sound in the faith, organize themselves, _if convenient_, into one organic whole, allowing liberty to the different parts in things non-essential. Let those who adopt Dutch customs, as at Amoy, continue, if they see fit, their peculiarities, and those who adopt other Presbyterian customs, as at Ningpo and other places, continue their peculiarities, and yet all unite as one Church. This subject does not simply relate to the interests of the Church at Amoy. It relates to the interests of all the Missionary work of all the Churches of the Presbyterian order in all parts of the world. Oh that our Church might take the lead in this catholicity of spirit--instead of falling back in the opposite direction--that no one may take her crown! But if she do not, then we trust that some other of the sacramental hosts will take the lead and receive too the honor, for it is for the glory of the great Captain of our salvation, and for the interests of His kingdom. We need the united strength of all these branches of Zion for the great work, which the Master has set before us, in calling on us to evangelize the world. In expecting to obtain this union, will it be said, that we are looking for a chimera? It ought to be so, ought it not? Then it is no chimera. It may take time for the churches to come up to this standard, but within a few years past we have seen tendencies to union among different branches of the Presbyterian family in Australia, in Canada, in our own country, and in England and Scotland. In many places these tendencies are stronger now than they have ever before been since the days of the Reformation. True, human nature is still compassed with infirmities even in the Church of Christ. But the day of the world's regeneration is approaching, and as it approaches nearer to us, doubtless the different branches of the Presbyterian family will approach still nearer to each other. God hasten the time, and keep us also from doing anything to retard, but everything to help it forward, and to his name be the praise forever. Amen.

Appendix A.

Further to illustrate the unity of the Churches under the care of the two Missions, I will transcribe from the _Reports_ of the Amoy Mission, for the years 1861 and 1862.

_From the Report for 1861_. Dated Feb. 24. 1862.

Our work is so interwoven with that of the Missionaries of the English Presbyterian Church, that we cannot give a full report of the state of our Churches and out-stations without including in it a partial report of some of their stations. We have, therefore, thought it best, both on this account, and because the Churches gathered by us and by them are really one, to give statistics of both Missions with brief remarks. These, besides simplifying the matter, will enable the Church at home to become better acquainted with the real progress of the cause of Christ in this region.

_Missionaries and Assistant Missionaries of the Reformed Dutch Church at Amoy, at the close if the year_ 1861. [Here follow their names, and remarks concerning them.]

_Missionaries and Assistant Missionaries of the English Presbyterian Church at the close of the year_ 1861. [Here follow their names, and remarks concerning them.]

_Tabular View of the Churches and Mission Stations under the care of the Reformed Dutch Church, and English Presbyterian Church, in Amoy and vicinity_.

|Native | | |No. of |Rec'd Churches and |helpers | | |Church |during Mission |sustained | | |Members, |the Stations. |by Mission.|Elders.|Deacons.|Jan. 1, 1861.|year. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- First Church at Amoy | 3 | 4 | 4 | 102 | 24 Second " " | 2 | 4 | 4 | 78 | 13 Church at Chioh-be | 2 | 4 | 4 | 47 | 5 " Peh-chui-ia | 3 | 2 | .. | 25 | 3 " Ma-peng | 2 | 2 | 3 | 33 | 6 Station at An-hai | 3 | .. | .. | 7 | 23 " Khang-khau| 1 |The Church members at this Station | |are reckoned to the Church at Ma-peng. " Kang-thau | 1 |The Church members at this Station | |are reckoned to the First Church at | |Amoy. " E-mng-kang| 1 |The Church members at this Station | |are reckoned to the First Church at | |Amoy. " Chiang-chiu| 2 | -----------------------------------------------------------------------

| | |No. of | Churches and | | |Church |Under Mission | | |Members, |suspension Stations. |Dead.|Excommunicated.|Dec. 31, 1861.|Dec., 1861. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- First Church at Amoy | 2 | 2 | 122 | 4 Second " " | 1 | 1 | 89 | 1 Church at Chioh-be | 1 | .. | 51 | 3 " Peh-chui-ia | 1 | .. | 27 | 1 " Ma-peng | 1 | 1 | 37 | 3 Station at An-hai | 1 | .. | 29 | ... " Khang-khau|The Church members at this Station are reckoned |to the Church at Ma-peng. " Kang-thau |The Church members at this Station are reckoned |to the First Church at Amoy. " E-mng-kang|The Church members at this Station are reckoned |to the First Church at Amoy. " Chiang-chiu| -----------------------------------------------------------------------

|Infants |Colporteurs| Churches and |baptized |sustained | Mission |during |by Native |Benevolent Stations. |the year.|Church. |Contributions ----------------------------------------------------------------------- First Church at Amoy | 13 | 1 } | Second " " | 11 | 1 } | $471.33 Church at Chioh-be | 5 | 1 | 200.29 " Peh-chui-ia | 3 | ... | ...... " Ma-peng | 3 | ... | ...... Station at An-hai | 4 | ... | ...... " Khang-khau|The Church members at this Station are reckoned |to the Church at Ma-peng. " Kang-thau |The Church members at this Station are reckoned |to the First Church at Amoy. " E-mng-kang|The Church members at this Station are reckoned |to the First Church at Amoy. " Chiang-chiu| -----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Then come remarks about _native helpers_, not included in the above; _Schools_ sustained by each of the Missions, and by the native Churches; _Theological Class_; Students sustained by each Mission.]

_Remarks on the above Tabular View_.

The two Churches at Amoy, and the one at Chioh-be are under the care of the Missionaries of the Reformed Dutch Church. * * * * * *

The Churches at Peh-chui-ia and Ma-peng, are under the care of the Missionaries of the English Presbyterian Church. * * * * * *

The Congregation at An-hai is under the care of the English Presbyterian Missionaries. It has not yet been organized into a Church. It is so far removed from Amoy that it cannot conveniently be placed under the supervision of either of the Consistories. * * * * * *

Khang-khau is a station under the care of the English Presbyterian Mission. * * * * * *

Kang-thau is under the care of the Reformed Dutch Mission.

E-mng-kang is a suburb of Amoy. The Congregation worshiping there belongs, mostly, to the First Church at Amoy. The Station is under the care of the English Presbyterian Mission. * * * * * *

Chiang-chiu is a large city, some twelve miles or more beyond Chioh-be, and about thirty-five miles from Amoy. In times past, several efforts have been made to establish a Station at Chiang-chiu, but always without success, until during the past year. At the close of the year there had not yet been any baptisms at that Station. Since the beginning of this year, there have been several. The Church members are reckoned to the Church at Chioh-be, and are under the oversight of the Chioh-be Consistory. Both Missions work as one at Chiang-chiu. Each Mission is to furnish half the expense. To simplify the work, it was thought best that one Mission be responsible for the control of the Station, and direct the work. At present this is the Mission of the Reformed Dutch Church. If the work be prospered, it is proposed to form two Stations, one under the care of each Mission.

[The remaining part of the Report, having no bearing on the subject before us, need not be quoted.]

_From the Report for 1862._

[It will be sufficient merely to transcribe the _Tabular View_, and add one or two explanatory remarks.]

_Churches and Mission Stations under the care of the Reformed Dutch and English Presbyterian Missions at Amoy, December 31, 1862._

| | |No. of |Died | | | |Members, |during|Excommunicated | | |Dec. 31, |the |during |Elders.|Deacons.|1861. |year. |the year. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- First Church at Amoy | 4 | 4 | 122 | 6 | 2 Second " " | 4 | 4 | 89 | ... | ... Church at Chioh-be | 4 | 4 | 51 | 1 | ... " " Peh-chui-ia| 2 | 2 | 27 | ... | ... " " Ma-peng | 1 | 3 | 37 | 2 | ... Station at An-hai | .. | .. | 29 | 2 | ... " " Khang-thau|The members at this Station are reckoned to the |First Church, Amoy. " " Kang-khau |The members at this Station are reckoned to the |Church at Ma-peng. " " E-mng-kang|The members at this Station are reckoned to the |First Church, Amoy. " " Chiang-chiu|The members at this Station are reckoned to the |Church at Chioh-be. " " Go-chhng | " " Te-soa | " " Khi-be | -----------------------------------------------------------------------

|No. of |Under |Infant |Helpers |Members, |suspension |baptisms |supported by |Dec. 31, |Dec. 31, |during |Native |1862. |1862. |the year. |Church. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- First Church at Amoy | 139 | 4 | 17 | 1 Second " " | 100 | 3 | 2 | 1 Church at Chioh-be | 70 | 2 | 9 | 1 " " Peh-chui-ia| 30 | ... | ... | ... " " Ma-peng | 38 | ... | ... | ... Station at An-hai | 30 | ... | ... | ... " " Khang-thau|The members at this Station are reckoned to the |First Church, Amoy. " " Kang-khau |The members at this Station are reckoned to the |Church at Ma-peng. " " E-mng-kang|The members at this Station are reckoned to the |First Church, Amoy. " " Chiang-chiu|The members at this Station are reckoned to the |Church at Chioh-be. " " Go-chhng | " " Te-soa | " " Khi-be | -----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Of the three new Stations, Go-chhng and Te-soa, are under the care of the Reformed Dutch Mission, Khi-be under the care of the English Presbyterian Mission. The other Churches and Stations as in previous Report.]

The Board of Foreign Missions, being simply the organ of Synod, felt bound in their Report to eliminate, as far as possible, all the Presbyterian elements from the above Reports of the Mission. By so doing, we think that they, _undesignedly_ of course, keep our Church in ignorance, not only of the absolute unity of the Churches in the region of Amoy, but also of the real progress of the cause of Christ and of the Church of our order there. Among the members set down to our churches are those who belong to stations under the care of the English Presbyterian Mission, as is shown by the Tabular Views. The Church at home, not aware of this fact, gives to their Mission credit which does not belong to them; and then, when, in the progress of the work, new churches are organized at these stations, and these members are set off to them, because they belong there, the Dutch Mission is charged with deficiency of denominational feeling, in giving to the English Presbyterians that which, "by all rules of Christian courtesy and harmonious Missionary action," belongs to the Dutch Church. Is it well that we should be disputing among ourselves concerning who shall have that credit which all belongs to Christ? I know it has been asked, with disapprobation, by very high authority (not, indeed, by the Board) concerning the unity of the Churches at Amoy--"_how it came to exist at all_." In answer to such questions, let us consider one case, that of the Station, now Church, at E-mng-kang. It is near enough to the First Church, at Amoy, to be under its supervision. Doubtless, we might have said to our Presbyterian brethren, In gathering a church, we are willing to labor with you in preaching the Gospel, for no one will censure us for that, and we admit that, by all principles of our Church order, it would be altogether proper that the converts gathered in at E-mng-kang should be received and watched over by the First Church, at Amoy; but, by allowing this, there will be danger of unity between the Christians at E-mng-kang and Amoy ("that they all may be one"), which will be a violation of the important and radical distinction existing between them, because "some are supported by our funds, some by the funds of the English Presbyterians;" and then, when it becomes necessary to divide these Churches, for where there is such a radical distinction, "a division will necessarily come at some period, and the longer it is delayed, the more trying and sorrowful it will be," it will be found that the Church at Amoy can never "relinquish its powers and abnegate its authority" over the Church at E-mng-kang--therefore, rather than incur such risks of unity, we had better violate our principles of Church order at the commencement, and not allow the native Elders any responsibility in receiving and watching over the Church members. We might have acted on such principles, but shall we be _censured_ for not doing it?

Let it be distinctly understood, that I do not publish the above Reports with such remarks with any design of throwing blame on the Board of Foreign Missions. The members of it, and the Missionaries, have had no feelings towards each other but such as are altogether pleasant. Perhaps the Board, in view of all the circumstances, has simply performed its duty. I add this Appendix only to illustrate the unity of the churches at Amoy, and show that the Missionaries have acted according to the doctrines of God's Word and the fundamental principles of our Church order.

Appendix B.

In the _Christian Intelligencer_ of June 18, 1863, in the Report of the Proceedings of General Synod of Thursday, June 11, the last day of the session, appeared the following paragraphs:

"AMOY MISSION.

"Rev. Dr. Porter arose and said that he was about to utter what to himself was the gladdest and happiest word he had been permitted to speak during the Synodical sessions, delightful as they all had been. He was informed by his beloved brother Talmage, that by permission of Synod, he would like to express briefly his content, in the main, with the action which the Synod had taken respecting the Amoy Mission. It is of the Lord. He has melted all hearts together as one, for his own work and honor. We see eye to eye, and Zion may lift up her voice in thanksgiving.

"Rev. J.V.N. Talmage said he wished to express his gratitude to the fathers and brethren for all their kindness to himself and the Missionaries at Amoy. If the Synod has not arrived at the very best decision, he hoped it is the best under the circumstances. He felt no desire to disobey the Synod, nor will the Missionaries at Amoy. If we cannot organize a Classis at once, we will do the best we can. He had been defeated, and he had no qualms of conscience in submitting to the decision that had been reached."

I was willing to allow the previous, and, as I considered, very partial, report of the proceedings of Synod to pass unnoticed, but felt that I had no right to allow errors, such as are contained in the above two paragraphs, to remain uncorrected. Therefore I addressed to the editor the following note:

"_To the Christian Intelligencer._

"Mr. Editor:

"In looking over the report of General Synod, as given in the last number of the _Intelligencer_, I find a very grave mistake in reference to the position taken by me near the close of the session. A similar mistake appears in the report made to the _New York Observer_.[3]

[Footnote 3: I addressed to the editors of the _Observer_ a card, correcting the mistake which had appeared in their paper, and they published it.]

"When, in the order of business on Thursday morning, there seemed a suitable opportunity for me to address the Synod, I was sitting near Dr. Porter, and remarked to him that I wished to make such address. He said that he desired to speak first. He arose and addressed the Synod, in substance, as is reported. I was altogether surprised, for I had given him no authority to speak for me; neither had I expressed to him or any other man the sentiments he attributed to me. I felt that his speech was altogether unfortunate, for it seemed almost to demand of me a restatement of my views. But I felt, also, that it would be improper, then, to occupy the time of Synod with any further discussion, and contented myself with merely taking exception to Dr. Porter's statement, saying that I could not use the language he had just used.

"I also stated that although the Synod had not arrived at the best decision, yet _perhaps_ it was the best under all the circumstances. As these circumstances seem to be entirely misunderstood by some, I may now explain them. I had remarked in the previous debate, and still firmly believe, that the decision of Synod, if it be fully carried out, would only be disastrous in its results, as far as the churches at Amoy were concerned. But there was another disaster to be apprehended. If the Synod had allowed the work of God to proceed at Amoy, as it had always been carried forward, and with such marvelous blessings from on high, for so many years past, it was feared that some of the members of Synod would use their influence in the Church against that Mission, to such an extent as possibly to cut off the resources of the mission. Such were the circumstances to which I alluded, and I was well understood, at least by some of the members of Synod. It seemed necessary to choose between two evils. My own opinion was, and is, that the Synod had chosen the greater evil, still I was willing to yield 'the benefit of the doubt,' and therefore remarked that _perhaps_ (I used the word 'perhaps') the decision was the best under the circumstances.

"I did express for myself, and as I believed, in accordance with the views of the Missionaries at Amoy, that we did not wish, and never had wished to disobey the injunctions of Synod. Besides this, we were under obligations to do what was best for the churches under our care. If we were not allowed to do that which is absolutely best, we should do the best we could.