,,history  ,,and  ,,ecclesiastical      
,,relations  ,,of ,,the  ,,churches ,,of
 ,,the ,,presbyterial ,,order1  ,,at    
,,amoy1 ,,china4  ,,by  ,,rev4 ,j4,v4,n4
 ,,talmage1  ,,missionary ,,of ,,the    
,,prot4 ,,ref4 ,,dutch ,,church4  ,new  
,york3 ,,wynkoop1 ,,hallenbeck          
,,thomas1 ,,printers1 #aac ,,fulton     
,,st4 #ahfc4     ,,preface4   ,to the   
,ministers1 ,elders1 and ,members of the
 ,reformed ,dutch ,church3  ,it is      
proper that ,i give some reasons for the
 publication of this paper4 ,the        
importance of the subject of the        
ecclesiastical organization of the      
churches gathered in heathen lands1 ,i  
conceive to be a sufficient reason4     
,those who may differ in regard to the  
views set forth in this paper1 will not 
dispute the importance of the subject4  
,instead of the questions involved      
having been settled by any of the       
,presbyterian ,denominations of this    
country 7the ,dutch ,church included    
among them71 by experiments in ,india or

 any other heathen land1 very few of the
 churches gathered from the heathen1 by 
these various ,denominations1 have yet  
arrived at a stage of development       
sufficient for practical application of 
the experiment4 7,see foot-note1 page   
#afj47 ,there are1 however1 a few       
mission churches1 where the subject is  
now becoming one of vast practical      
importance4 ,the ,church at ,amoy stands
 out prominent among these4 ,with the   
continuance of the divine blessing there
 will soon be many such4 ,hence the     
importance of the discussion1 and its   
importance now4  ,many experiments have 
been made in reference to the best way  
of conducting the work of missions4 ,the
 ,church has improved by them1 and has  
been compelled to unlearn many things4  
,we are continually returning towards   
the simple plan laid down in ,god's     
,word4 ,as the ,church by experiment and
 by discussion has thus been led to     
retrace some of her steps in the        
preliminary work of missions1 should she

 not be ready to take advantage of      
experiment and discussion1 in reference 
to the ecclesiastical organization of   
the mission churches1 and stand ready to
 retrace some of her steps in this      
second stage of the work of missions1 if
 need be1 in order to conform more fully
 to the doctrines of our ,presbyterial  
church polity8 ,i would use the phrase  
,scriptural church polity1 but ,i       
suppose it is the universal belief of   
our ,church1 that ,presbyterial polity  
is scriptural4 ,at any rate1 it is the  
duty of the ,church to examine the      
subject carefully4 ,she has nothing to  
fear from such examination4 ,she should 
fear to neglect it4  ,in addition to the
 importance of the subject in itself    
considered1 ,i have other reasons for   
discussing it at the present time4      
,there are mistaken impressions abroad  
in the ,church1 concerning the views and
 course of your missionaries at ,amoy1  
which must be injurious to the cause of 
missions in our ,church4 ,it would seem 

to be a plain duty to correct these     
impressions4 ,i will quote an extract   
from a letter1 ,i recently received1    
from an honored missionary of a sister  
,church3  ,i have heard much1 and seen  
some notices in the papers of the battle
 you fought on the floor of ,synod1 and 
would like to hear your side of the     
subject from your own mouth1 as the     
question has also been a practical one  
with us4 99 99 99 99 99 ,we have our own
 ,presbytery1 and manage our own        
business1 and insist on not having too  
much of what they call the new science  
of ,missionary management2 a science    
which1 ,i believe1 has been cultivated  
far too assiduously4 ,it was this1 more 
than anything else1 which kept me from  
going out under the ,a4,b4,c4,f4,m41 and
 to ,amoy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i hear1      
however1 from some1 that what you and   
the brethren there had formed1 was some 
sort of loose ,congregational           
association4 ,if so1 ,i must judge      
against you1 for ,i believe in the jure 

divino of ,presbytery 7or ,classis if   
you choose so to call it71 and ,i think 
you and they should have been allowed to
 form a ,presbytery there1 and manage   
all your own affairs1 and that your     
,boards at home should be content to    
consider themselves a committee to raise
 and send on the funds4 ,but it is hard 
for the ,d4 ,d's and big folk at home to
 come to that4 ,they think they must    
manage everything1 or all will go wrong2
 while how little it is that they can be
 brought to know or realize of the real 
nature of the work abroad2 and then it  
is the old battle of patronage over     
again4 ,those who give the money must   
govern1 and those who receive it must   
give up their liberty1 and be no longer 
,christ's freemen4  ,this is only a     
specimen1 one of many1 of the mistaken  
impressions abroad in the ,church       
concerning the views and doings of your 
,missionaries4 ,may we not1 must we not1
 correct them8 ,the letter also         
illustrates the evils resulting from    

allowing mistaken impressions to remain 
in the ,church uncorrected4 ,there has  
long been an impression in our ,church  
that the ,a4,b4,c4,f4,m4 interfered with
 the ecclesiastical affairs of our      
missions4 ,we have been informed that   
several of our young men1 before our    
,church separated from that ,board1 were
 deterred thereby from devoting         
themselves to the foreign ,missionary   
work4 ,the writer of the above letter1  
probably having more of the ,missionary 
spirit1 was not willing1 on that        
account1 to give up the work1 but was   
led to offer himself to the ,board of a 
sister ,church4 ,the ,mission at ,amoy1 
and our ,church1 have thus been deprived
 of the benefit of his labors by means  
of an erroneous impression4 ,when we    
learned the fact of such an impression  
existing in this country1 we endeavored 
to correct it4 ,in our letter of #ahef1 
to ,general ,synod1 we called particular
 attention to the subject4 ,here is a   
part of one sentence3 ,it seems to us a 

duty1 and we take this opportunity to   
bear testimony1 that neither ,dr4       
,anderson1 nor the ,prudential          
,committee have ever1 in any            
communication which we have received    
from them1 in any way1 either by        
dictation1 or by the expression of      
opinions1 interfered in the least with  
our ecclesiastical relations4 ,we failed
 to get that letter published1 and ,i   
find the erroneous impression still     
prevalent1 working its mischief in the  
churches4  ,but to return to the subject
 of the mistaken impressions concerning 
the views of your ,missionaries at      
,amoy4 ,these impressions would have    
been partly corrected in the ,church1 if
 the report of the proceedings of       
,synod1 in ,the ,christian              
,intelligencer1 had been more correct on
 this subject4 ,that paper states1 that1
 on ,friday evening1 ,rev4 ,mr4 ,talmage
 then took the floor1 and addressed the 
,synod for nearly two hours1 but does   
not give a single word or idea uttered  

by him4 ,it is careful to report the    
only unkind words against the           
,missionaries uttered during that whole 
discussion1 which1 with this single     
exception1 was conducted in a spirit of 
the utmost ,christian kindness2 but does
 not give a word of the remarks made on 
the ,friday evening previous1 on that   
very subject1 in justification of their 
course4  ,it seems to be a duty1 though 
painful1 to speak particularly on this  
subject4 ,look at the following         
language3 ,i know that we are told that 
the hybrid organization i4e4 the        
,classis1 a court of the ,church of     
,christ1 at ,amoy which now exists is   
every way sufficient and satisfactory2  
that it is the fruit of ,christian love1
 and that to disturb it would be rending
 the body of ,christ4 ,here one might   
ask1 how it came to exist at all1 seeing
 that this ,synod spoke so plainly1 and 
unambiguously1 in #aheg2 and ,i1 for    
one1 cordially concur in the remark of  
the elder1 ,schieffelin1 that the       

brethren there 'deserve censure4' ,we do
 not censure them1 nor do we propose to 
do so2 but that they deserve it is      
undeniable4 ,but the point is1 how can  
our disapproval of the mongrel ,classis 
mar the peace of the ,amoy brethren8    
,this language was used by the          
,president of ,synod1 after asking      
whether the ,synod was ready for the    
question1 the question being about to be
 put1 when an attempt to answer it      
seemed altogether out of place4 ,in all 
the circumstances it seemed almost like 
the charge of a judge to a jury4 ,i do  
not say that there is any improper      
spirit manifested1 or opprobrious       
expressions employed in this language1  
or that the ,president did wrong in     
waiting until the discussion was over   
before he uttered it1 or that the       
missionaries are not deserving of such  
severe censure--of all these things let 
the ,church judge--but ,i do say that   
the spreading of such language and such 
charges broadcast1 before the ,church   

and before the world1 demands that the  
missionaries be heard in self-defense1  
or1 which is all they ask1 that they be 
allowed to state the facts and views    
which guided them in their action4      
,doubtless it was an oversight that such
 a one-sided report on this subject     
appeared in ,the ,christian             
,intelligencer4 ,at least it was not at 
all designed that injustice be done to  
the ,missionaries1 but1 unless they be  
allowed to speak for themselves1 is not 
injustice done them8 ,it seemed to me   
that a very mistaken impression         
concerning the views expressed by me1   
near the close of the session of ,synod1
 was also conveyed by the ,report4 ,this
 ,i attempted to correct by a note to   
the editor1 but even the right of       
correcting my own sentiments and        
language was refused1 my note garbled1  
and1 as ,i thought1 my views again      
misrepresented4 ,more than this1 the    
implied charge is published to the world
 that ,i am seeking to excite dissension

 among the churches1 and opposition to  
the constituted authority of ,synod4#a  
,it would therefore be great dereliction
 of duty to return to my field of labor1
 allowing my own views1 and the views of
 my co-laborers1 to be thus mistaken in 
the ,church1 and such serious charges   
against our course unanswered4 ,i am not
 aware that any censorship of the press 
has been authorized by ,general ,synod4 
,surely if others are allowed to be     
heard for us we should be allowed the   
right to be heard for ourselves4 ,we    
were unable by writing from ,amoy to get
 our views before the ,church4 ,i must1 
therefore1 while in this land1 endeavor 
to make them known4  ,footnote #a3 ,if  
this language seem too strong or        
uncalled for1 see ,appendix ,b1 at the  
end4  ,i have been advised by some to   
delay the publication of this paper a   
few months1 until we learn the effect of
 the decision of the last ,synod on the 
,mission at ,amoy1 and see what course  
the ,church there may feel compelled to 

adopt4 ,i do not see the force of such  
advice4 ,whatever may be the course of  
the ,church there1 the intrinsic merits 
of the question will be unchanged       
thereby4 ,besides this1 ,i cannot afford
 such delay4 ,i have been looking       
forward to as speedy return as possible 
to that field of labor4 ,would it be    
right to leave the whole subject to the 
eve of my departure1 and thus shut      
myself off from the possibility of      
defending or further explaining my      
views1 if such defense or explanation be
 called for8  ,i have been asked1 ,why  
not bring this subject before the       
,church through the columns of the      
,christian ,intelligencer8 ,this        
question1 after what has been said      
above1 need not now be answered4        
,doubtless the editor is responsible for
 what appears in his columns4 ,the only 
resource left the ,mission seems to be  
the one ,i have chosen4  ,i regret the  
necessity of discussing the subject1    
since the action of the last ,synod1 but

 we could not discuss it previously     
without running counter to the same     
advice which would now restrain us4 ,i  
do not at all suppose1 however1 that by 
the course ,i am taking ,i shall become 
guilty of disobedience to the authority 
of ,synod4 ,neither should it be the    
occasion of creating dissensions in the 
churches4 ,the discussion of any        
important subject in a proper spirit is 
neither opposed to the doctrines of the 
,sacred ,scriptures1 nor to the         
doctrines of the ,dutch ,church1 and ,i 
am willing to leave it to those who may 
read the following pages to decide      
whether there be in them any            
manifestation of an improper spirit4    
,we1 and those who differ from us1 are  
all seeking the same end1 i4e4 the glory
 of ,god through the advancement of his 
cause4 ,all that ,i ask for myself and  
co-laborers is an impartial hearing4    
,perhaps1 in order to guard against any 
mistaken impression1 ,i ought to add    
that the relations between the          

,missionaries and the ,board of ,foreign
 ,missions of our ,church1 have always  
been of the most pleasant character4    
,whatever have been their differences of
 opinion on this most important subject1
 or on any other subject1 they have not 
caused1 so far as ,i am aware1 the least
 interruption of that warm ,christian   
friendship which has always existed1 or 
been the occasion of one unkind         
utterance in all their mutual           
correspondence4 ,why not so8 ,cannot    
,christians reason with each other1 even
 on subjects of the highest moment1 in  
such a spirit as not only to avoid      
animosities1 but even to increase       
personal friendship8 ,if this paper     
should prove the occasion of discussion 
in our ,church1 let me express the hope 
that such discussion will be carried on 
in such a spirit4  ,j4,v4,n4 ,,talmage4 
,bound ,brook1 ,n4,j41 ,october1 #ahfc4 
,,history  ,,and  ,,ecclesiastical      
,,relations  ,,of  ,,the ,,churches ,,of
 ,,the ,,presbyterial ,,order1  ,,at    

,,amoy1 ,,china4   ,the first           
,protestant ,missionaries at ,amoy      
arrived there in the year #ahdb4 ,they  
were ,dr4 ,abeel of the ,american       
,reformed ,dutch ,church1 and ,bishop   
,boone of the ,american ,episcopal      
,church4 ,after these there arrived     
,missionaries of the ,london ,missionary
 ,society1 of the ,american             
,presbyterian ,church1 of the ,english  
,presbyterian ,church1 and others of the
 ,american ,reformed ,dutch ,church4    
,bishop ,boone soon left ,amoy1 and no  
others of his ,church have since then   
been stationed there4 ,the ,american    
,presbyterian ,mission was removed to   
other parts of ,china4 ,at the present  
time there are three ,missions at ,amoy1
 viz43 the ,missions of the ,american   
,reformed ,dutch ,church1 of the ,london
 ,missionary ,society1 and of the       
,english ,presbyterian ,church4  ,the   
,missionaries of the ,london ,missionary
 ,society are ,independents or          
,congregationalists1 and have organized 

their churches after the ,congregational
 order4 ,thus their churches form a     
distinct ,denomination1 and nothing     
further need be said of them in this    
paper4  ,the first ,missionary of the   
,english ,presbyterian ,church at ,amoy 
was ,dr4 ,jas4 ,young4 ,he arrived in   
,may1 #ahej4 ,at that time there were   
two ,missionaries connected with our    
7,r4,d4,c47 ,mission1 viz43 ,rev4 ,e4   
,doty1 on the ground1 and ,rev4         
,j4,v4,n4 ,talmage1 absent on a visit to
 the ,united ,states4 ,there were then  
under our care six native church        
members4 ,five of them had been baptized
 by our ,missionaries at ,amoy4 ,the    
other had been baptized in ,siam1 by a  
,congregationalist or ,presbyterian     
,minister of the ,a4,b4,c4,f4,m4  ,dr4  
,young1 being a physician1 and not an   
ordained ,minister1 instead of          
commencing an independent work1 inasmuch
 as our doctrines and order of church   
government did not essentially differ   
from those of his own ,church1 very     

naturally became more especially        
associated with us in our work4 ,a      
school under the care of our ,mission1  
of which ,mr4 ,doty did not feel able to
 continue the charge1 was passed over to
 his care4 ,he also rendered medical    
assistance to the ,missionaries1 and to 
the ,chinese1 both in ,amoy1 and by     
occasional tours in the country4 ,in his
 labors he was usually assisted by      
native ,christians under our care4  ,the
 first ordained ,missionary of the      
,english ,presbyterian ,church1 at      
,amoy1 was ,rev4 ,william ,c4 ,burns4   
,he joined ,dr4 ,young in ,july1 #ahea4 
,while he rendered considerable         
assistance to the brethren of the       
,london ,missionary ,society1 being     
ready to preach the gospel at every     
opportunity1 providentially he became   
especially associated with us1 and with 
the native ,christians under our care4  
,a remarkable outpouring of the ,spirit 
of ,god had accompanied the labors of   
,rev4 ,mr4 ,burns1 in his native land4  

,so the remarkable outpouring of that   
same ,spirit in ,amoy1 and vicinity1    
occurred sometime after his arrival1 and
 much of this good work was manifestly  
connected with his labors4 ,the         
permanent work in the country around    
,amoy commenced through his             
instrumentality1 in connection with     
native members of the church under our  
care4 ,we desired him to take the charge
 of that work1 and gather a church at   
,peh-chui-ia1 under the care of the     
,english ,presbyterian ,church4 ,but1 at
 his urgent request1 we took the        
pastoral oversight of the work in that  
region1 administering the sacraments to 
the native converts4  ,rev4 ,james      
,johnstone1 of the same ,mission1       
arrived in ,december1 #ahec4 ,he        
undertook the care of the church being  
gathered at ,peh-chui-ia1 assuming1 in  
behalf of the ,english ,presbyterian    
,church1 all the expenses thereof1 we   
continuing the pastoral oversight until 
such time as his knowledge of the       

language should be sufficient to enable 
him to relieve us4  ,in consequence of  
the ill-health of ,dr4 ,young1 he and   
,mr4 ,burns left ,amoy1 in ,august1     
#ahed4 ,mr4 ,johnstone1 in consequence  
of ill-health1 left in ,may1 #ahee1     
before he was able to relieve us fully  
from the pastoral care of the church at 
,peh-chui-ia4  ,rev4 ,carstairs         
,douglas1 of the same ,mission1 arrived 
at ,amoy in ,july1 #ahee1 and           
immediately entered on the work of ,mr4 
,johnstone1 we continuing the pastoral  
oversight of the church at ,peh-chui-ia1
 until his knowledge of the language    
enabled him to assume it4  ,before the  
brethren of the ,english ,presbyterian  
,church were able to assume pastoral    
responsibility1 the work spread from    
,peh-chui-ia to ,chioh-be4 ,it was      
thought best that we take the charge of 
that station4  ,after the departure of  
,dr4 ,young1 all the ,missionaries of   
the ,english ,presbyterian ,church1 for 
several years1 were unmarried men4      

,therefore1 they resolved to devote     
themselves more especially to work in   
the country1 leaving to our especial    
care the church in the city of ,amoy1   
and the one out-station at ,chioh-be4   
,amoy was still necessarily their place 
of residence4 ,all their work at ,amoy  
was in connection with the church under 
our care4 ,in the country we assisted   
them as we had opportunity1 and as      
occasion demanded4 ,they did the same   
for us4 ,in fact1 we and they have      
worked together as one ,church1 and     
almost as one ,mission1 with the        
exception of keeping pecuniary matters  
distinct4  ,more recently the ,english  
,presbyterian ,mission was reinforced by
 one member with a family1 and it seemed
 a proper time for them to commence more
 direct work at ,amoy4 ,a very populous 
suburb 7,e-mng-kang7 was selected as a  
suitable and promising station4 ,they   
assumed the immediate care1 and all the 
expense of it1 employing1 as at all the 
other stations1 indiscriminately1       

members of their own or of our churches 
as helpers4  ,we are not afraid that our
 ,church will ever blame us for working 
thus harmoniously1 and unitedly1 with   
our ,english ,presbyterian brethren1 and
 we feel confident that none of her     
,missionaries would consent to work on  
any other principles4 ,if there be any  
who1 under similar circumstances1 would 
refuse thus to work1 this would be      
sufficient evidence that they had       
mistaken their calling4 ,if any blame is
 to be attached to the course the       
,missionaries have pursued1 it is not   
that they have worked thus in harmony   
and unison with the ,english            
,presbyterian brethren1 but that they   
have failed to keep the churches under  
their care ecclesiastically distinct4   
,some do feel inclined to censure us for
 this4 ,it must be1 however1 because of 
some great misapprehension on their     
part4 ,the ,synod has distinctly uttered
 a contrary sentiment1 i4e4 that the    
course of the ,missionaries is not      

censurable4 ,we do not believe that our 
,church1 when she understands the true  
state of the case1 will ever censure us 
on this account4 ,it would not be       
according to the spirit of her ,master4 
,he prayed that ,his people might be    
one1 but he never prayed for their      
separation from each other4 ,when       
separation is necessary1 it is a        
necessary evil4 ,but more of this       
hereafter4 ,our ,church might well have 
censured us1 if we had adopted lower    
principles as her representatives in    
building up the ,church of ,christ in   
,china4  ,the first organization of a   
church at ,amoy under our care1 by the  
ordination of a ,consistory1 took place 
in #ahef4 ,the ,missionaries of our     
,board then on the ground were ,doty and
 ,talmage4 ,mr4 ,douglas was the only   
,missionary of the ,english             
,presbyterian ,church4 7,mr4 ,joralmon1 
of our ,church1 arrived between the time
 of the election and the ordination of  
office-bearers47 ,when the time came for

 the organization of the ,church1 we    
felt a solemn responsibility resting on 
us4 ,we supposed it to be our duty to   
organize the ,church in ,china with     
reference simply to its own welfare1 and
 efficiency in the work of evangelizing 
the heathen around4 ,believing 7after   
due deliberation7 that the order of our 
own ,church in ,america would best      
secure this end1 of course we adopted   
it4 ,we did not suppose that we were    
sent out to build up the ,american      
,dutch ,church in ,china1 but a ,church 
after the same order1 a purely ,chinese 
,church4 ,how much the growth and       
efficiency of our ,church in this       
country has been promoted by retaining  
7rather inserting7 the term ,dutch in   
her name1 ,i will not now attempt to    
discuss4 ,i suppose the principal       
argument in favor thereof is found in   
the fact that our ,church1 in the first 
instance1 was a colony from ,holland4   
,the ,church in ,china is not a colony  
from ,holland1 or ,america4 ,we must    

not1 therefore1 entail on her the double
 evil of both the terms ,american and   
,dutch or the single evil of either of  
these terms4 ,your ,missionaries will   
never consent to be instrumental in     
causing such an evil4  ,we had already  
adopted the order and customs of our    
,church at home1 so far as they could be
 adopted in an unorganized ,church4 ,the
 ,english ,presbyterian brethren had    
adopted the same4 ,they found that there
 were no differences of any importance  
between us and them2 the churches being 
gathered under our care and under       
theirs--growing out of each other and   
being essentially one--neither we nor   
they could see any sufficient reason for
 organizing two distinct denominations4 
,especially had we no reason for such a 
course1 inasmuch as they were willing   
even to conform to our peculiarities4   
,we most cordially invited ,mr4 ,douglas
 to unite with us in the organization of
 the ,church1 and he as cordially       
accepted of the invitation4  ,in        

reference to this subject ,mr4 ,douglas 
wrote to their ,corresponding ,secretary
 as follows3 ,i need hardly say that    
this transaction does not consist in    
members of one church joining another1  
nor in two churches uniting1 but it is  
an attempt to build up on the soil of   
,china1 with the lively stones prepared 
by the great ,master-builder1 an        
ecclesiastical body holding the grand   
doctrines enunciated at ,westminster and
 ,dort1 and the principles of           
,presbyterian polity embraced at the    
,reformation by the purest churches on  
the continent and in ,britain2 it will  
also be a beautiful point in the history
 of this infant ,church that the        
under-builders employed in shaping and  
arranging the stones1 were messengers of
 two different 7though not differing17  
churches in the two great nations on    
either side of the ,atlantic4  ,the     
course of ,mr4 ,douglas met with the    
decided approval of their ,secretary1   
and1 as he had reason then to believe1  

and has since fully learned1 with the   
approval of their ,church4  ,we also    
sent a communication to our ,church1    
addressing it to ,general ,synod4 ,we   
directed it to the care of one of our   
prominent ministers1 for a long time    
,secretary of the ,board1 with the      
request that it be laid before the      
,church1 using language as follows3 ,you
 will1 doubtless1 receive this paper    
some months before the time for the next
 meeting of that ,body ,general ,synod4 
,we would suggest therefore1 that the   
paper be published1 that the members of 
the next ,general ,synod may have the   
matter before them1 and be the better   
prepared to make such disposition of it 
as the subject may demand4 ,we feel that
 the subject is one of very grave       
importance1 c4  ,our communication was  
laid before the ,board of ,foreign      
,missions4 ,they designated it a        
,memorial1 and decided that they had no 
right to publish it4 ,of course we had  
no means of publishing it ourselves4 ,it

 was laid before ,synod among other     
papers of the ,board4 ,the action of    
,synod on the subject was as follows    
7,minutes of ,synod1 #aheg1 pp4         
#bbe-bbg73  ,among the papers submitted 
to the ,synod is an elaborate document  
from the brethren at ,amoy1 giving the  
history of their work there1 of its     
gradual progress1 of their intimate     
connection with ,missionaries from other
 bodies1 of the formation of the ,church
 now existing there1 and expressing     
their views as to the propriety and     
feasibility of forming a ,classis at    
that station4 ,in reply to so much of   
this paper as respects the establishment
 of individual churches1 we must say    
that while we appreciate the peculiar   
circumstances of our brethren1 and      
sympathize with their perplexities1 yet 
it has always been considered a matter  
of course that ministers1 receiving     
their commission through our ,church1   
and sent forth under the auspices of our
 ,board1 would1 when they formed        

converts from the heathen into an       
ecclesiastical body1 mould the          
organization into a form approaching as 
nearly as possible that of the ,reformed
 ,dutch ,churches in our own land4      
,seeing that the converted heathen1 when
 associated together1 must have some    
form of government1 and seeing that our 
form is1 in our view1 entirely          
consistent with1 if not required by1 the
 ,scriptures1 we expect it will in all  
cases be adopted by our ,missionaries1  
subject1 of course1 to such             
modifications as the peculiar           
circumstances may for the time render   
necessary4 ,the converts at ,amoy1 as at
 ,arcot and elsewhere1 are to be        
regarded as 'an integral part' of our   
,church1 and as such are entitled to all
 the rights and privileges which we     
possess4  ,and so in regard to the      
formation of a ,classis4 ,the ,church at
 home will undoubtedly expect the       
brethren to associate themselves into a 
regular ecclesiastical organization1    

just as soon as enough materials are    
obtained to warrant such measure with   
the hope that it will be permanent4 ,we 
do not desire churches to be prematurely
 formed in order to get materials for a 
,classis1 nor any other exercise of     
violent haste4 ,but we equally deprecate
 unnecessary delay1 believing that a    
regular organization will be alike      
useful to our brethren themselves1 and  
to those who1 under them1 are training  
for the first office-bearers in the     
,christian ,church on heathen ground4   
,as to the difficulties suggested in the
 memorial1 respecting the different     
,particular ,synods to which the        
brethren belong1 and the delays of      
carrying out a system of appellate      
jurisdiction covering ,america and      
,china1 it is enough to say3--7#a7 ,that
 the ,presbyterian ,church 7,o4,s47     
finds no insuperable difficulties in    
carrying into operation her system which
 comprehends ,presbyteries and ,synods  
in ,india as well as here2 and 7#b7     

,that whatever hindrances may at any    
time arise1 this body will1 in humble   
reliance upon the divine aid and        
blessing1 undertake to meet and remove  
them as far as possible4 ,the ,church at
 home assumes the entire responsibility 
of this matter1 and only asks the       
brethren abroad to carry out the policy1
 held steadily in view from the first   
moment when our ,missions began4  ,the  
following resolutions are recommended3  
,resolved1 #a4 ,that the ,synod view    
with great pleasure the formation of    
churches among the converts from        
heathenism1 organized according to the  
established usages of our branch of     
,zion4  #b4 ,that the brethren at ,amoy 
be directed to apply to the ,particular 
,synod of ,albany to organize them into 
a ,classis so soon as they shall have   
formed churches enough to render the    
permanency of such an organization      
reasonably certain4  ,it should be      
noticed that1 in the foregoing ,report1 
which was adopted by ,synod1 the most   

important question--the vital           
question--of our communication1 i4e4 the
 unity of the churches under the care of
 the ,english ,presbyterian             
,missionaries and of us1 is entirely    
ignored2 and consequently1 without the  
fact being stated1 we were directed to  
divide those churches1 and form a part  
of them into a distinct ,denomination4  
,if the ,english ,presbyterian ,church  
had disapproved of the course of their  
,missionaries in uniting with us in     
organizing the native churches with our 
peculiarities1 we think even that would 
have been strange4 ,it would have       
appeared to us as though they were      
sacrificing some of the essentials of   
,presbyterianism for the sake of        
non-essentials1 for1 in our             
organization1 they found all that they  
hold essential in doctrine1 order1 and  
customs4 ,suppose the position of the   
two ,missions had been reversed1 they   
had been first on the ground1 and when  
we arrived we found the ,church being   

planted and beginning to grow up after  
their order4 ,if we had found in the    
,church thus growing up all that we hold
 essential and important1 even though it
 had some little peculiarities which    
were theirs and not ours1 ought not our 
,church to have permitted us to work    
with them1 as they have been permitted  
to work with us8 ,if such be not the    
true ,christian spirit1 than we frankly 
confess that we know not1 and despair of
 ever learning from the ,word of ,god1  
what the ,christian spirit is on such a 
subject4 ,but whether such disapproval  
on the part of the ,english             
,presbyterian ,church would have been   
strange or not1 it would not have been  
so strange as was the decision of our   
,church1 that the churches organized by 
the ,english ,presbyterian brethren and 
by us--all one in fact1 growing out of  
each other1 and all adopting our order1 
should not be organically one4 ,hence1  
when we learned from our ,board the     
decision of ,synod1 we felt 7correctly  

or incorrectly7 that there must be some 
misapprehension4 ,surely our ,church    
cannot have correct views of our        
position1 and our course of proceeding4 
,hence1 we returned answer to the ,board
 as follows3--7,letter dated ,december  
#bc1 #aheg47  ,after speaking of our    
hearty approval of the course of our    
,church in separating from the          
,a4,b4,c4,f4,m41 though as individuals  
we took our leave of that ,board with   
feelings of sadness1 we remarked3  ,it  
seems proper to us also1 on the present 
occasion1 to allude to a subject deeply 
affecting the interests of the little   
,church which ,god has graciously       
gathered by our instrumentality from    
among this people4 ,this ,church is now 
small1 but we trust that1 with a        
continuance of the ,divine blessing1 the
 'little one' will soon 'become a       
thousand1' and the 'small one a strong  
nation4' ',the ,lord will hasten it in  
his time4' ,we love this ,church1 and   
cannot but watch over her interests with

 jealous care4 ,besides this1 the ,great
 ,shepherd has made us under-shepherds1 
and commanded us to watch over the      
interests of this flock4 ,we gave a     
brief history of our work1 and an       
account of the present condition and    
peculiar circumstances of the churches  
here under our care1 and stated at      
considerable length our views in        
reference to the future ecclesiastical  
relations of these churches1 in a paper 
prepared for the information of our     
,church at home1 and addressed to       
,general ,synod4 ,the facts thus        
communicated ought to be known by the   
,church4 ,it seems to us very           
unfortunate that that paper was not     
published according to our suggestion4  
,it stated facts of grave importance4   
,if we could have had a representative  
in ,general ,synod1 the previous        
publication of our paper might have been
 unnecessary4 ,but1 without such a      
representative1 it was hardly possible  
that the subject1 by a single reading of

 so long a document1 could be brought   
before the minds of all the members of  
,synod with sufficient clearness4444    
,therefore it is not strange that some  
of the important points in the paper    
should have been entirely overlooked1   
and also that certain grave             
misconceptions should have got abroad in
 the ,church concerning the views       
expressed by us4  ,so far as we can     
judge from the report of the proceedings
 of ,synod1 as given in ,the ,christian 
,intelligencer1 one of the most         
important considerations--perhaps       
altogether the most important           
mentioned--why the ,church1 gathered by 
us here1 should not be an integral part 
of the ,church in ,america1 was entirely
 overlooked4 ,that consideration relates
 to the unity of ,christ's ,church4 ,our
 ,saviour prays3 ',holy ,father1 keep   
through thine own name those whom thou  
hast given me1 that they may be one as  
we are one4' ',that they all may be one1
 as thou1 ,father1 art in me1 and ,i in 

thee1 that they also may be one in us3  
that the world may believe that thou    
hast sent me4 ,and the glory which thou 
gavest me1 ,i have given them1 that they
 may be one1 even as we are one4' ,will 
our ,church require of us1 will she     
desire that those here who are          
altogether one--one in doctrine1 one in 
their views of ,church order1 and one in
 mutual love--be violently separated    
into two ,denominations8 ,we cannot     
believe it4 ,suppose the case of two    
,churches originally distinct4 ,by      
coming into close contact1 and becoming 
better acquainted with each other1 they 
find that they hold to the same         
doctrinal standards1 and they explain   
them in the same manner2 they have the  
same form of ,church government1 and    
their officers are chosen1 and set apart
 in the same way2 they have the same    
order of worship1 and of administering  
the sacraments2 all their customs1      
civil1 social1 and religious1 are       
precisely alike1 and they love each     

other dearly2 should not such churches  
unite and form but one ,denomination8   
,yet1 such a supposition does not1 and  
cannot1 even after you allow all the    
likeness and unity between the two      
churches it is possible to conceive of1 
represent the circumstances of the      
churches gathered by us1 and by our     
,scotch brethren of the ,english        
,presbyterian ,church4 ,our theirs and  
ours ,churches originally were one1 and 
still are one2 and the question is not  
whether those churches shall be united1 
but1 shall they be separated8 ,possibly 
7not probably7 the question will be     
asked1 why were these churches allowed  
originally to become one8 ,we answer1   
,god made them so1 and that without any 
plan or forethought on our part1 and now
 we thank him for his blessing that he  
has made them one1 and that he has      
blessed them because they are one4      
,that misconceptions have got abroad in 
our ,church concerning our views1 we    
have abundant evidence from various     

private letters4 ,they were written with
 the most kindly feelings towards us1   
but evidently under the impression that 
we find difficulty in organizing our    
churches according to the order of the  
,dutch ,church4 ,we have never found any
 difficulty of this kind4 ,it is true   
that when we were called to the solemn  
duty of commencing a church organization
 in an empire containing one-third of   
the inhabitants of the globe1 we gave   
the subject of church polity a more     
careful investigation than we had ever  
before given it4 ,the result of this    
investigation was a cordial 7and1 as we 
think1 intelligent7 approval of the     
order and forms of our own ,church4 ,we 
have commenced our organization         
according to the order of the ,dutch    
,church1 and we expect to proceed1 as   
fast as the providence and grace of ,god
 lead the way1 after the same order2 and
 we use the forms of our own ,church4   
,our ,presbyterian brethren unite with  
us in these things4  ,but it is not     

strange that such misconceptions should 
be spread in the ,church4 ,they are the 
necessary result of publishing certain  
remarks made in ,synod concerning our   
paper1 without publishing the paper     
itself4  ,in the ,report of the ,synod1 
,synod's ,board1 ,board of ,foreign     
,missions1 it is said3 ',it would have  
been well if the memorial had been      
placed1 in a printed form1 in the hands 
of the ministry4 ,this they the         
,missionaries suggested1 but the ,board 
felt it was purely a ,synodical         
matter--that they could not act in the  
case4' ,with all due respect1 and with  
the kindest feelings1 we desire to make 
three remarks on this subject4 ,first4  
,we do not understand the principle on  
which the ,board felt called upon to    
decide whether our letter should be     
published or not4 ,it was not addressed 
to the ,board1 nor sent to the care of  
the ,board4 ,the opinion of members of  
the ,board as individuals might have    
been asked1 but we suppose that the     

,board in their official capacity had   
nothing to do with the paper4 ,secondly4
 ,inasmuch as the paper emanated from   
us1 if 'it would have been well' to have
 had it published1 our suggestion was a 
sufficient warrant for its publication4 
,the responsibility would have been     
ours4 ,it had not yet become a          
,synodical matter4 ,afterwards it would 
have been a legitimate question for the 
,synod to decide whether they would     
entertain a paper coming before them in 
such a manner4 ,this question might well
 have been left to ,general ,synod4     
,thirdly4 ,a short time previous to the 
writing of that paper1 unless our memory
 is greatly at fault1 a communication   
was received from the ,arcot ,mission   
7or ,classis of ,arcot71 addressed to   
,general ,synod1 which was thus         
published1 according to the request of  
the ,arcot brethren1 and without the    
authority of ,synod4  ,our position is a
 somewhat painful one4 ,we desire to    
give offense to no one1 and we do not   

wish to appear before the ,church as    
disputants4 ,we have no controversy with
 any4 ,we have neither the time nor     
inclination for controversy4 ,we are    
'doing a great work' and cannot 'come   
down4' ,yet1 our duty to these ,churches
 here1 and to the ,church at home1 and  
to our ,master1 demands of us           
imperatively1 that we state fully and   
frankly our views4 ,we have the utmost  
confidence in our ,church4 ,we have     
proved this by endeavoring to get our   
views fully known4 ,and we feel grateful
 for the spirit of kindness towards us  
manifested in the action of ,synod1 and 
also in the letters received from       
fathers and brethren in the ministry1   
notwithstanding their misconception of  
our views4 ,but1 we have also learned1  
how easily our views may be mistaken4   
,in our paper1 addressed to ,general    
,synod1 when discussing the difficulties
 in the way of the ,synod's jurisdiction
 over churches so far removed in time1  
distance1 and circumstances1 we         

remarked3--',will written correspondence
 supply the place of representation8 ,it
 would place our ,classis under great   
disadvantages4 ,there must usually be a 
delay of one or two years on every      
subject on which there is need of a     
decision by either ,synod4 ,if anything 
is not understood1 or is misunderstood1 
in our communications1 there will be no 
one to explain for us4 ,difficulties of 
this kind1 from want of knowledge of the
 civil and social circumstances of this 
people may frequently occur4 ,could we  
have representatives from among us1 they
 could usually be easily explained2 but 
without this representation1 they can   
only be explained by a long             
correspondence1 which may cause years of
 delay4' ,the whole of this             
misunderstanding1 which has arisen out  
of our first communication1 and the     
length of time and the amount of        
correspondence which may yet be         
necessary1 before we can see 'eye to    
eye1' give a striking illustration of   

the force of these remarks4  ,so far as 
the preamble and resolutions of the     
,synod of #aheg embody the doctrines1   
and what we supposed to be the policy of
 our ,church1 we heartily agreed with   
them4 ,of course we were pained to see  
that they implied1 that1 in organizing a
 ,church at ,amoy1 we had not proceeded 
according to the order of our ,church1  
or had found great difficulty in doing  
so4 ,this was altogether a mistake1 and 
was already producing evil results4 ,we 
think there is another mistake in the   
preamble4 ,it seems small1 but because  
of this fact1 and of its plausibility1  
it has done more1 perhaps1 than anything
 else in leading our ,church into the   
false position which she seems now to   
occupy4 ,therefore1 we should examine it
 with some care4 ,it is the assumption1 
as a matter of course1 that1 the        
converts at ,amoy are an integral part  
of our ,church1 in this country4 ,what  
made them so8 ,is it because they were  
converted through the instrumentality of

 the preaching of our ,missionaries8    
,this is a new doctrine1 that a convert 
as a matter of course belongs to the    
,church of the preacher through whose   
instrumentality he has been led unto    
,christ4 ,perhaps it was the doctrine of
 some of the ,corinthians1 when they    
said1 ,i am of ,paul1 and ,i of         
,apollos1 c41 but it was not the        
doctrine of the ,apostle who reproved   
them4 ,besides this1 how shall we know  
which of them were converted through our
 instrumentality8 ,the ,english         
,presbyterian brethren and ourselves    
have preached indiscriminately4 ,is it  
because they were baptized by our       
,missionaries8 ,but many of them were   
baptized by the ,english ,presbyterian  
brethren4 ,they have baptized in our    
churches1 and we in theirs4 ,if they be 
an integral part of the ,dutch ,church  
in ,america1 they are also an integral  
part of the ,presbyterian ,church in    
,england4 ,we1 it is true1 baptized a   
majority1 say two-thirds4 ,are they1    

then1 two-thirds of an integral part in 
,america1 and one-third of an integral  
part in ,england8 ,no4 ,the whole is a  
fallacy4 ,each individual ,church there 
is an integral part of the whole of     
them4 ,all together1 they form an       
integer4 ,they might by the act of our  
,church1 and a correlative act on their 
own part1 become an integral part of the
 ,church in ,america8 ,in a similar way 
they might become an integral part of   
the ,church in ,england4 ,they are now  
an integer of themselves4 ,to make one  
portion of them an integral part of the 
,church in this country1 and another    
portion an integral part of the ,church 
in ,england1 is to be guilty of causing 
a violent rupture4  ,we felt that the   
consequences were so momentous1 that1   
before we should allow ourselves to be  
instrumental in thus 7as we supposed7   
rending the ,body of ,christ at ,amoy1  
we should make another effort to get the
 facts before the ,church4 ,as yet1 we  
could not1 if we would1 carry out the   

resolution of ,synod1 and organize a    
,classis in connection with the         
,particular ,synod of ,albany1 for1 it  
was not till several years after1 only  
very recently1 that we had materials    
enough to render the permanency of such 
an organization reasonably certain4     
,therefore we wrote1 as above1 under    
date of ,december #bc1 #aheg1 and       
frequently wrote on the subject1 as     
occasion offered4  ,although our views  
were not made public 7the ,board judging
 that they had no right1 or that it     
would not be for the good of the        
,church1 and the interests of the       
,mission1 to publish them71 still we    
continued to prosecute our labors1 in   
connection with the ,english            
,presbyterian brethren1 receiving and   
giving mutual assistance4 ,we were      
encouraged thus to continue our work3   
#a4 ,because of letters we received from
 home1 some of them written by          
individuals who were able advocates of  
the decision of the ,synod of #aheg4    

,they told us that it could not be      
otherwise than that a separation must   
come between us and the brethren of the 
,english ,presbyterian ,church1 but they
 would not have us inaugurate that      
separation4 #b4 7and more important7    
,because a marvelous blessing from on   
high was attending our labors4 #c4 7and 
most important7 ,because we knew this   
harmonious and mutual assistance to be  
entirely in accordance with the spirit  
of the ,gospel4  ,in process of time a  
,church was organized at ,chioh-be by   
the appointment of elders and deacons1  
then at ,peh-chui-ia1 then at ,mapeng1  
and then the ,church at ,amoy was       
divided into two distinct organizations4
 ,thus we had five organized churches1  
all of our order--the elders and deacons
 chosen and set apart according to our  
,forms1 and all our ,forms in use so far
 as there was yet occasion for them4    
,two of these churches were under the   
especial care of the ,english           
,presbyterians1 and pecuniarily the work

 was sustained by funds collected in    
,england and ,scotland4 ,the other three
 were under our especial care4 ,the     
pecuniary expenses1 beyond what the     
native churches could themselves raise1 
were borne by our ,church at home4  ,one
 of the essential principles of our     
,church polity is1 that individual      
,churches are not independent of each   
other4 ,they are members one of another4
 ,they are to be subject to each other4 
,they are individual parts of a whole4  
,each part should be subject to the     
whole4 ,hence the necessity of higher   
judicatories4 ,thus we felt that these  
five churches had a right to an         
ecclesiastical organization1 by which   
they might enjoy this essential         
principle of ,presbyterianism4 ,i trust 
we shall hear no more of the charge that
 the ,missionaries at ,amoy are         
,congregationalists4 ,but we were afraid
 to give this organization to the native
 churches1 lest we should give offense  
at home4 ,we knew that we were          

misunderstood1 and as yet could see no  
way to make the ,church acquainted with 
our position and our views4 ,if the     
,master should plainly call us to go    
forward1 of course we must obey1 and    
leave the results with ,him4  ,these    
churches1 having grown out of each      
other1 were essentially one1 and were as
 closely united together as it was      
possible for them to be1 without a      
formal organization4 ,the first formal  
meeting of all these churches was held  
at ,chioh-be 7a church under our care71 
in #ahfa4 ,no ecclesiastical power was  
assumed4 ,the next similar meeting was  
held in ,april1 #ahfb1 in the churches  
at ,amoy4 ,this was still more formal4  
,it was composed of all the             
,missionaries of our own and of the     
,english ,presbyterian ,church1 and of  
one representative ,elder from each of  
the five organized churches4 ,this body 
may be called an incipient ,classis4    
,the only ecclesiastical power          
exercised1 however1 was connected with  

church discipline4 ,heretofore each     
individual ,church1 in connection with  
the ,missionaries1 had exercised the    
power of discipline1 even to            
excommunication4 ,now certain cases of  
excommunication were referred by        
individual ,consistories to1 and acted  
on by1 this body4 ,is it necessary to   
defend such acts8 ,we felt that if each 
individual church could exercise such   
power1 and the principles of our        
,presbyterianism be scriptural1 then    
could a body1 composed of the           
representatives of these churches1      
together with the ,missionaries1 with   
safety exercise such power4 ,it was     
approaching as nearly as possible to the
 practice of our ,church at home4 ,we   
expected soon to be called to the       
performance of ecclesiastical acts more 
momentous4 ,already had two of the      
churches chosen two of the native       
members1 who were now engaged in careful
 study1 that in due time they might be  
set apart to the office of the ,ministry

 of the ,word1 and ordained pastors of  
the churches respectively choosing them4
 ,but for reasons given above we would  
not go forward faster than we were      
plainly led by the hand of ,providence4 
,therefore1 while the ,missionaries1 in 
presence of this assembly1 examined     
these pastors-elect1 in reference to    
their qualifications for the office of  
,pastor1 the body1 as such1 took no part
 in the examination4  ,this incipient   
,classis met next in the autumn of the  
same year at ,peh-chui-ia1 a church     
under the care of the ,english          
,presbyterian brethren4 ,at this meeting
 it became a real ,classis1 not fully   
developed as a ,classis in a mature     
,church1 but possessing the constituent 
elements and performing the functions of
 a ,classis4 ,not only were there cases 
of discipline to act on1 but a distinct 
application was made by one of the      
churches1 that a pastor be ordained1 and
 placed over them4 ,the body decided1   
not only that they had the right1 but   

that the plain call of the ,great ,head 
of the ,church made it their duty to go 
forward in this matter4 ,preliminary    
steps were taken1 other meetings of     
,classis were appointed and held1       
candidates were examined1 calls         
presented and approved1 until early in  
the present year the ,first and ,second 
,churches at ,amoy had each a native    
pastor ordained and installed over them4
 ,by the authority of this ,classis1 in 
the early part of this year1 a third    
church was organized at ,amoy according 
to our order4 ,it is in the suburb      
called ,e-mng-kang1 and is under the    
especial care of the ,english           
,presbyterian brethren1 as mentioned in 
a previous part of this paper4 ,so now  
there are six organized churches1 all of
 the same order1 and some others almost 
ready to be organized4 ,if the          
,missionaries at ,amoy have been guilty 
of any great mistake1 it has been in    
this matter of forming such a ,classis1 
and proceeding to the ordination and    

installation of native pastors1 and the 
organization of new churches4           
,therefore1 this subject demands a      
careful examination4  ,when we commenced
 the work among the heathen1 it was     
found that the ,constitution of our     
,church had made no provision for such  
work beyond the simple ordaining of men 
as ,missionaries4 ,we might preach the  
gospel1 but no provision was made for   
receiving into church fellowship1       
administering the sacraments1 electing  
and ordaining office-bearers1 and all   
the incipient steps of the organization 
of the ,church from among the heathen4  
,the ,constitution was made for the     
government of a ,church already         
organized and matured1 and in ,america2 
therefore1 it is not strange that such  
things were not provided for4 ,our duty 
seemed very plain4 ,we must fall back on
 the great principles of church         
government taught in the ,word of ,god4 
,we believed these principles to be set 
forth in the ,constitution1 and other   

standards of our ,church4  ,when1       
through the instrumentality of the      
preached ,word1 men gave satisfactory   
evidence that they had experienced the  
renewing of the ,holy ,ghost1 without   
the advice of ,consistories1 by virtue  
of our office of ,ministers of the      
,word1 we administered to them the      
sacrament of baptism1 thus admitting    
them into the church4 ,now the ,lord's  
,supper must be administered to these   
believers1 baptism to their infant      
children1 and to new converts1 and the  
discipline of ,god's house maintained4  
,by virtue of that same office1 and by  
virtue of the authority given by the    
,master to his ,church1 we felt that we 
had the right1 aye1 that it was our     
bounden duty1 to perform such acts4 ,we 
could not yet for a long time set apart 
a proper ,consistory1 but we must not   
therefore be lords over ,god's heritage4
 ,in receiving new members1 and in all  
acts of discipline1 we must advise with 
the church already gathered4  ,the      

church grew1 and in due time a          
,consistory was called for2 must the    
work stop1 because the ,constitution had
 made no provision8 ,no4 ,the little    
church had the right to choose men1 and 
having chosen suitable men1 it was our  
duty to ordain them4 ,the authority we  
thus exercised was not usurped1 but was 
implied in the commission we received   
from our ,master through the ,church4   
,the same may be said of the authority  
of the brethren at ,amoy1 when1 in      
connection with the representative      
elders of the various churches1 they    
proceeded to the ordination of native   
pastors1 and the organization of new    
churches4 ,it was not necessary for the 
performance of every act to get a new   
commission from the ,church4 ,when the  
,church sent us out1 the one commission 
contained all the authority necessary   
for the complete organization of the    
church4 ,it is an absurdity to deny1 on 
constitutional grounds1 the right of the
 ,missionaries to perform these last    

acts unless you deny their right to     
perform all their other acts except the 
simple preaching of the ,gospel4 ,their 
acts were all extra1 not contra         
constitutional4 ,if their authority thus
 to act be justified in reference to the
 former acts1 and denied in reference to
 the latter1 the justification and      
denial must be on other grounds than the
 ,constitution of our ,church4  ,will   
any one assert that the ,classis thus   
formed at ,amoy is not a ,classis de    
facto8 or that the native pastors       
ordained and installed by that body are 
not scripturally set apart to their     
offices1 and that its other acts are    
null and void8 ,if so1 then1 as yet1    
there are no organized churches--no     
,consistories--at ,amoy1 and there have 
been no scriptural baptisms1 for all    
ecclesiastical acts performed there1    
have been performed on the same         
principles1 and by the same authority4  
,no one will have the hardihood to      
assert such a doctrine4 ,it will be     

admitted that there is a ,classis de    
facto at ,amoy4 ,then it is competent to
 perform all the functions of a         
,classis4 ,but it will not be contended 
that that ,classis is a part of the     
,dutch ,church in ,america4 ,yet it is  
essentially like a ,classis in ,america1
 just so far as the present state of    
development of the ,church at ,amoy1 and
 its ,chinese character1 render likeness
 possible4 ,it is ,chinese1 not         
,american4 ,the organization of such a  
,church is what we always supposed      
required of us4 ,we never imagined that 
we were sent to organize the ,american  
,dutch ,church in ,china4 ,if your      
,missionaries are allowed to proceed1   
and are not required to repel the       
,english ,presbyterian brethren from    
their united labors with us1 there will 
be but one ,church at ,amoy of the      
,presbyterian order4 ,with the continued
 blessing of ,god on such harmonious    
labor1 it will be the ,church of that   
region4 ,it will be dear to both the    

,presbyterian ,church in ,england1 and  
to our ,church in this land1 and        
peculiarly dear to our ,church in this  
country1 because of its ,dutch          
characteristics4 ,your ,missionaries    
will still be your agents1 responsible  
to the ,church at home1 as they have    
always been4 ,the near relation to the  
,church in this land1 which they have   
always held1 they desire to retain4 ,the
 late action of ,synod contemplates the 
formation of two denominations at ,amoy 
of the ,presbyterian order1 giving our  
peculiarities to one-half instead of to 
the whole1 thus producing rivalries1    
injuring the efficiency of the native   
churches1 and making the relation of the
 ,missionaries to the ,church at home   
more distant1 thus weakening your hold  
on them1 and all1 as we think1 without  
any remunerating advantages4 ,but before
 we proceed to the discussion of this   
subject1 a few other preliminaries      
demand some attention4  ,the ,english   
,presbyterians1 as they are accustomed  

to speak of all the ,classes of our     
,church in ,america1 call this ,classis 
at ,amoy a ,presbytery4 ,hence the      
question has been put to us with all    
sincerity and gravity1 ,is it a         
,classis1 or is it a ,presbytery8 ,some 
seem to be afraid that the ,church we   
are forming will be half ,dutch and half
 ,presbyterian1 and that it will soon be
 swallowed up by the ,presbyterians6    
,are there any ministers1 or elders1 or 
intelligent members of the ,dutch       
,church1 who have yet to learn that a   
,classis is a ,presbytery1 and that the 
,dutch ,church is a ,presbyterian       
,church8 ,surely not4 ,why1 then1 such  
questions and suggestions8 ,can they be 
designed to prejudice the ,church at    
home against the ecclesiastical body    
which has grown up at ,amoy8 ,we will   
not impute such a motive1 and1          
therefore1 ,i merely say that we are    
surprised at all such remarks4 ,it is   
proper for the ,english ,presbyterian   
brethren to speak of the ,presbytery at 

,amoy4 ,they never speak of it as an    
,english ,presbytery4 ,they do not      
regard it as a part of the ,church in   
,england1 but as a purely ,chinese      
,church4 ,they have liberality enough to
 assist in building up such a ,church1  
even though it has some things peculiar 
to us1 for it has all the essentials of 
their own order4 ,will it not seem to   
them that our ,church is deficient in   
liberality1 when they learn the decision
 of the last ,synod8  ,in connection    
with this subject1 it is proper to speak
 more particularly of the liberality of 
the ,english ,presbyterian ,church4     
,when it is remembered that that ,church
 is really a branch of the ,free ,church
 of ,scotland1 it will not be supposed  
that their liberality is the result of  
indifference to anything which they     
regard essential or important4 ,seldom  
has our world witnessed such sacrifice  
for the sake of principle as was        
exhibited by that ,church1 when she came
 out from the ,establishment4 ,their    

liberality is a beautiful illustration  
of the ,christian spirit4 ,the course of
 their ,missionaries at the first       
organization of a church at ,amoy1 and  
the approval thereof1 have been already 
alluded to4 ,in consequence of the      
recent formation of a ,classis1 the     
subject naturally came up again this    
year4 ,it was laid before their ,synod1 
which met a few weeks previous to ours4 
,in the report of their ,foreign        
,committee1 which corresponds to our    
,board of ,foreign ,missions1 the       
following language is used in reference 
to the ,church at ,amoy3  ,as all the   
elements of ,presbyterian organization  
thus existed each church having native  
elders1 a further step was taken last   
,april #ahfb1 when a ,presbytery was    
constituted at ,amoy by mutual consent1 
consisting of all the ,american brethren
 and our own1 as well as representative 
elders from the several congregations4  
,its name is neither the ,greek         
',presbytery' employed in this country1 

nor is it the ,latin ',classis1' which  
has long been used in ,holland2 but it  
is ',tai ,tiong-lo-hoey1' or ,great     
,meeting of ,elders1 genuine ,chinese1  
and a hopeful earnest of the facility   
with which our representative and       
consultative system of polity will find 
its way among a sensible and            
self-governing people4 ,of course it is 
not intended that this ,presbytery      
should in any way come between the      
,missionaries themselves and the        
,committee or ,board by which the       
respective ,missions are administered at
 home2 but for the management of local  
matters1 for disposing of questions     
which may arise in the several          
congregations1 and in regard to which a 
session may require counsel or control2 
and for the very important purpose of   
exemplifying in the most legitimate way 
ecclesiastical unity1 it is essential   
that ,missionaries and native           
office-bearers should come together in  
some such capacity4 ,the proceedings are

 conducted in ,chinese1 which is the    
only language understood by all the     
members of ,court1 and it is in ,chinese
 that the minutes are kept4 ,three      
meetings have already been held4 ,at the
 last1 held in ,january1 important      
business was transacted affecting the   
#ast and #b;d ,congregations of ,amoy1  
both of which are under the immediate   
superintendence of the ,american        
,mission4 ,each congregation is desirous
 of the settlement of a stated pastor1  
and each has agreed to call a minister1 
the one congregation promising a stipend
 of #ad a month1 and the other #ac4 ,the
 calls were sustained1 and the          
,presbytery agreed to meet on ,february 
#bast1 to proceed with the 'trials' of  
the brethren thus elected4 ,as these    
proved satisfactory1 ,sabbath1 the #bith
 of last month1 was appointed as the day
 for their ordination4  ,dr4 ,peltz1 the
 esteemed ,corresponding ,secretary of  
the ,board of ,foreign ,missions of the 
,r4,p4,d4,c4 of ,n4,a41 has apprised the

 ,committee1 that it is possible that a 
,presbytery of this composite character 
may not secure the approval of their    
,synod4 ,in separating from the         
,a4,b4,c4,f4,m41 and in setting up a    
separate and ecclesiastically organized 
mission1 that ,synod was anxious to     
introduce into its different ,mission   
fields a system of ,church government   
which it believed to be scriptural1 and 
adapted to all lands4 ,consequently1 in 
these ,mission fields it sought to form 
,classes or ,presbyteries which should  
be connected with ,provincial and       
,general ,synods in the same way as are 
the ,classes on the ,american continent4
 ,and ,dr4 ,peltz is apprehensive lest  
the ,general ,synod in ,america should  
regard as a deviation from this plan the
 amalgamation in one ,presbytery of     
their own agents with those of another  
,church4  ,we are hopeful1 however1 that
 on further consideration1 our brethren 
in ,america may allow their             
,missionaries in ,china to continue the 

present arrangement1 at least until such
 time as it is found that actual        
difficulties arise in the way of        
carrying it out4 ',behold how good and  
how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
 together in unity2' and there are few  
brethren towards whom we feel closer    
affinity than the members of that       
,church1 which was represented of old by
 ,gomarus and ,witsius1 by ,voet and    
,marck1 and ,bernard de ,moore1 and     
whose ,synod of ,dort preceded in time1 
and pioneered in doctrine1 our own      
,westminster ,assembly4 ,like them1 we  
love that ,presbyterianism and that     
,calvinism which we hold in common1 and 
we wish to carry them wherever we go2   
but we fear that it would not be doing  
justice to either1 and that it might    
compromise that name which is above     
every other1 if1 on the shores of       
,china1 we were to unfurl a separate    
standard4 ,we would1 therefore1 not only
 respectfully recommend to the ,synod to
 allow its ,missionaries to unite1      

,presbyterially as well as practically1 
with the brethren of the ,r4,d4,c42 but 
we would express the earnest hope that  
the ,synod of the sister ,church in     
,america may find itself at liberty to  
extend to its ,missionaries a similar   
freedom4  ,these sentiments were        
unanimously adopted by the ,synod of the
 ,english ,presbyterian ,church4  ,it   
seems perfectly reasonable that two     
,churches of ,christ so nearly alike1 in
 attempting to plant the ,church of     
,christ in the same place in a heathen  
land1 should strive1 if possible1 to    
form their converts into one            
organization4 ,the existence of         
different ,denominations in the same    
place in any ,christian land1 at the    
best1 is only a necessary evil4 ,god may
 bring some good out of this evil1 but  
this is not a sufficient reason why we  
should create such divisions1 for their 
own sake4 ,hence1 the liberality of the 
,english ,presbyterian ,church is so    
manifestly in accordance with the       

,christian spirit1 that it might have   
attracted no especial notice from us4   
,but the proceedings of our own ,synod1 
by contrast1 as it seems to us1 have    
forced it out in bold relief4 ,they were
 willing to support their ,missionaries 
in laboring with ours1 and building up a
 ,chinese ,church1 not differing        
essentially from theirs1 but with some  
characteristics peculiar to ours4 ,we1  
though the ,church thus organized has   
not only all the essentials but all the 
peculiarities of our own ,church1 still 
refuse such ,christian co-operation1    
preferring to rend asunder the ,church  
already formed1 and organize a part of  
it a distinct ,denomination1 connected  
with the ,church in ,america4 ,i cannot 
yet believe that such is the sentiment  
of our ,church4 ,there must be some     
great misapprehension4 ,but such is     
really the decision of the last ,synod4 
,here is the language of the ,committee 
which was adopted by the ,general       
,synod3  ,your ,committee do not see any

 propriety in re-enacting the law of    
#aheg already quoted1 because it has    
never been repealed1 and remains        
therefore in full force and virtue4     
,nor1 if the reasoning in this report be
 correct1 would they have the law       
repealed1 believing as they do1 that the
 maintenance of the principle contained 
in it is essential to the success of our
 ,missionary operations in foreign      
parts1 and to the wholesome liberality  
of the ,church at home4  ,the ,committee
 are not prepared1 however1 to recommend
 that any violent or coercive           
resolutions should be adopted for the   
purpose of constraining our brethren in 
,amoy to a course of procedure which    
would rudely sever the brotherly ties   
that unite them with the ,missionaries  
of the ,english ,presbyterian ,church4  
,but a ,christian discretion will enable
 them1 on the receipt of the decision of
 the present ,synod in this matter1 now 
under consideration1 to take such       
initial steps as are necessary to the   

speedy formation of a classis4 ,much    
must be left to their discretion1       
prudence1 and judgment4 ,but of the wish
 and expectation of this ,synod to have 
their action conform1 as soon as may be1
 to the resolutions of #aheg1 your      
,committee think the brethren at ,amoy  
should be distinctly informed4 ,they    
therefore offer the following3  #a4     
,resolved1 that the ,general ,synod1    
having adopted and tested its plan of   
conducting ,foreign ,missions1 can see  
no reason for abolishing it1 but1 on the
 contrary1 believe it to be adapted to  
the promotion of the best interests of  
the ,foreign ,missionary ,churches1 and 
of the denomination supporting them4    
#b4 ,that the ,board of ,foreign        
,missions be1 and hereby is1 instructed 
to send to our ,missionaries a copy or  
copies of this report1 as containing the
 well-considered deliverance of the     
,synod respecting their present         
relations and future duty4  #c4 ,that   
the ,secretary of the ,foreign ,board   

be1 and hereby is1 directed to send to  
the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,hamilton1 of ,london1   
,convener of the ,presbyterian          
,committee1 a copy of this ,report1 with
 a copy of the action of #aheg1 and that
 he inform him by letter of the wishes  
and expectations of the ,synod          
respecting the ecclesiastical relations 
which this body desires its churches in 
,amoy to sustain to it4  ,the above is  
only an extract from the close of the   
,report of the ,committee1 and contains 
the result at which they arrived4 ,in   
reference to it we would make three     
remarks4 7#a74 ,it 7,res4 #c7 seems     
rather a cavalier answer to the         
fraternal wish of the ,synod of the     
,english ,presbyterian ,church1 as      
expressed in their action4 7#b47 ,the   
action of ,synod is made to rest 7,res4 
#a7 on the fact that ,synod had tested  
this plan of conducting ,foreign        
,missions4 ,if this be so1 and the plan 
had been found by experiment            
unobjectionable1 the argument is not    

without force4 ,but how and where has   
this test been applied1 and found so    
satisfactory8 ,our ,church has three    
,missions among the heathen3 one in     
,india1 one in ,china1 and one in       
,japan4 ,has it been tested in ,japan8  
,no4 ,they have not yet a single native 
,church4 ,has it been tested in ,china8 
,if so1 the ,missionaries were not aware
 of it4 ,the test applied there has been
 of an opposite character1 and has been 
wonderfully successful4 ,the test has   
only been applied in ,india1 and has    
only begun to be applied even there4    
,there1 as yet1 there is but one native 
pastor4 ,their ,classis is more         
,american than ,indian4 ,we must wait   
until they have a native ,classis1      
before the test can be pronounced at all
 satisfactory4 ,true1 that ,mission has 
been very successful since they formed  
what is called a ,classis in connection 
with the ,synod in ,america4 ,but has it
 been more successful than the ,mission 
at ,amoy8 ,compare the amount of labor  

and the money expended on the two       
,missions1 and then look at the results1
 and thus decide about the tests4 ,it is
 in no spirit of vainglory that we call 
for such a comparison4 ,studiously have 
we avoided it1 and the responsibility   
must rest on those who compel us to it4 
7#c47 ,no consideration is had for the  
feelings1 wishes1 or opinions of the    
native ,churches4 ,some consideration is
 shown for the feelings of the ,english 
,presbyterian ,missionaries4 ,this is as
 it ought to be4 ,yet it is a matter of 
comparatively little importance4 ,the   
inalienable rights of the native        
churches1 their relation to each other1 
their absolute unity--things of the     
utmost consequence--are not at all      
regarded1 are entirely ignored6  ,it    
would have occupied too much space to   
have quoted the whole of the ,report of 
the ,committee4 ,the preceding part of  
it occupies nearly six pages of the     
,minutes of ,synod4 ,yet we may not pass
 that part over in silence1 for1 while  

with much of its contents we have no    
dispute1 it contains some grave mistakes
 of fact1 and1 as we think1 some very   
grave errors of doctrine4 ,it grieves me
 to say thus much1 and also to feel     
compelled to add the following          
strictures4 ,but1 in order to discuss   
this subject1 duty required the careful 
examination of the whole of the ,report1
 and1 finding in it such errors1 the    
clear statement of them4 ,it might be   
easy1 perhaps1 to account for the fact1 
that mistakes1 in a report1 unprinted1  
and of such length1 should escape the   
notice of ,synod1 but an attempt to     
apologize for that body might give      
occasion to infer more disrespect than  
simply to point out the mistakes4       
,after some introductory remarks1       
chiefly concerning the difficulty of    
their task1 the ,committee begin with   
the assertion of principles4 ,these they
 make three in number4 ,the sum of the  
first principle is that a ,church1 by   
divine arrangement1 has government4 ,the

 essential idea of their second         
principle1 so far as we can understand  
it1 is1 that the ,dutch ,church has a   
clearly defined government4 ,the        
,missionaries at ,amoy1 as well as the  
ministers in this country1 admit both   
these principles fully4 ,but they do not
 affect the question in dispute4 ,not so
 with the third principle of the        
,committee4 ,lest ,i might be supposed  
to misrepresent1 ,i will quote their own
 language3 ,no government can1          
voluntarily1 relinquish its powers1 and 
abnegate its authority without thereby  
inviting disorder1 disquietude1 and1 in 
the end1 its destruction4 ,is this1     
indeed1 as the ,committee assert1 one of
 the admitted principles of our ,church8
 one of the convictions in the mind of  
our ,church1 hardly separable in idea   
from its very existence8 one of the old 
truths maintained through blood and     
flame8 ,if the doctrine be true1 the    
,church in ,holland had no right to     
relinquish its authority over the       

,church in ,america4 ,if this doctrine  
be a principle of our ,church1 never1   
never could your ,missionaries consent  
to be instrumental in bringing the      
,church in ,china1 which now has liberty
 in ,christ ,jesus1 into such perpetual 
bondage4 ,once bring the ,chinese       
churches under the authority of the     
,church in ,america1 and it matters not 
how great may be their growth1 and how  
many centuries may pass away1 the       
,church in ,america can never relinquish
 her authority over them6 ,but this is  
not an admitted principle of our        
,church4 ,the ,dutch ,church is         
protestant1 not papal4 ,instead of the  
principle being one of the old truths   
maintained through blood and flame by   
her1 it is an old error of the ,papacy1 
for rejecting which she poured out her  
blood so freely1 and would do the same  
to-day4 ,yet in the ,report of the      
,committee this error of ,romanism1     
guilty of the blood of thousands upon   
thousands of the saints of the ,most    

,high1 is made to lie at the basis of   
the action of the last ,synod6  ,the    
,committee next proceed to the statement
 of certain historic facts4 ,as with the
 admitted principles1 so with the       
historic facts4 ,with some of them we   
have no dispute4 ,but when they come to 
describe the present condition and      
relations of the churches at ,amoy1     
their language1 to say the least1 is    
very unfortunate4 ,these six ,churches1 
say they1 have grown up together under  
such an interchange and community of    
labor on the part of our own            
,missionaries1 and on the part of those 
belonging to the ,english ,presbyterian 
,church1 that all are said to have a    
two-fold ecclesiastical relation--one   
with ,england--one with ,america1 and   
still a third1 and economical and       
domestic relation among themselves1     
which is covered and controlled by what 
is styled ',the ,great ,presbyterial or 
,classical ,council of ,amoy4'  ,we do  
not know by whom these native ,churches 

are said to have a two-fold or          
three-fold ecclesiastical relation4 ,it 
is not so said by the ,missionaries4    
,they contend that the native churches  
are neither ,english1 nor ,american1 but
 ,chinese churches4 ,they are           
ecclesiastically related to each other1 
and ought to remain so4 ,but the effort 
is now made to sever this ecclesiastical
 relation to each other1 and bring half 
of them into ecclesiastical relationship
 with the ,church in ,america1 making   
them the ,protestant ,reformed ,dutch   
,church of ,north ,america1 in ,china6  
,at present the native churches have an 
intimate1 but not an ecclesiastical1    
relation to both the ,church in ,england
 and ,america4  ,from the above mistaken
 statement the ,committee have drawn out
 three particulars which they seem to   
think especially worthy of note4  #ast4 
,that while this ,chinese ,presbyterial 
or ,classical ,council is itself an     
autonomy--having the right to ordain    
ministers1 exercise discipline1 and do  

whatever else a 'self-regulating        
,classis' or ,presbytery can or may do1 
still the whole in ,england is claimed  
to be the ,presbytery of ,amoy1 and to  
this ,synod it is reported as the       
,classis of ,amoy4  ,how dreadful6      
,english ,presbyterians call the body at
 ,amoy a ,presbytery1 and ,american     
,dutchmen call it a ,classis6 ,if this  
language is also meant to imply that the
 ,classis at ,amoy is usurping          
authority1 it is answered in other parts
 of this paper4  ,the next particular of
 the ,committee is3  #b;d4 ,the         
,missionaries1 while they are members of
 this ,grand ,presbyterial or ,classical
 ,council1 exercising full ministerial  
functions in it1 are1 at the same time1 
members either of ,classes in ,america1 
or of ,presbyteries in ,great ,britain4 
,the meaning of this second particular  
is1 that the ,missionaries have a       
two-fold ecclesiastical relation4 ,is   
there anything contrary to ,scripture   
doctrine1 or to ,presbyterian           

principles1 or to common sense1 that    
ecclesiastical relations should         
correspond to fact8--that the           
,missionaries should have some sort of  
an ecclesiastical relation1 both to the 
,church at home and to the ,church in   
,china8 ,they have a peculiar           
relationship to both these ,churches4   
,why forget or ignore the fact that they
 are ,evangelists and not ,pastors8 ,why
 object to an ecclesiastical            
relationship exactly corresponding to1  
and required by1 their office and       
position8 ,the two parts of this        
relationship do not contradict each     
other4 ,they are altogether correlative4
 ,the ,missionaries are still agents of 
the ,church which sent them out4 ,their 
ecclesiastical relation to it should be 
direct1 that they may be controlled by  
it1 independent of any intermediate     
body4 ,the ,church at home cannot afford
 to cut off her ,missionaries from this 
immediate relationship so long as they  
remain her agents4 ,this does not       

conflict with1 but requires some sort of
 a corresponding relationship to the    
,churches planted and growing up through
 their instrumentality4 ,their          
relationship to those ,churches must    
have reference especially to local      
matters1 for the proper organization1   
and control1 and development of the     
native churches1 not at all to be       
controlled by them4 ,when they cease to 
be agents of the ,church at home1 and   
become the proper pastors of the native 
churches1 then will be the proper time  
to put themselves under the control of  
the native churches1 instead of the     
,church at home4 ,we must not confound  
evangelization with colonization4 ,does 
any one imagine that ,paul and          
,barnabas1 and ,timothy and ,titus1 or  
any of them 7for they were not all      
apostles71 had connection with the      
,church which sent them out1 only       
through the churches and ecclesiastical 
bodies organized by them8 or that they  
were in any sense under the control of  

those bodies8  ,the next and last       
particular of the ,committee is #c;d4   
,that while the ,churches1 three at     
least1 are organized under and according
 to the ,constitution of our ,church1 it
 is1 nevertheless1 claimed that the     
members of said ,churches are not more  
members of the ,reformed ,dutch ,church 
here1 than they are members of the      
,presbyterian ,church of ,england4  ,the
 words of this third particular are     
almost 7not quite7 accurate4 ,yet they  
appear to us like special pleading4     
,they would have been strictly correct  
if they had run as follows3 ,these      
,churches are all 7why say1 'three at   
least'87 organized according to 7not    
'under'--see pages #bh-cj7 the          
,constitution of our ,church4 ,therefore
 it is claimed that they form a ,church 
of our order in ,china1 but that the    
members thereof are neither members of  
the ,reformed ,dutch ,church here1 nor  
members of the ,presbyterian ,church in 
,england4 ,such are the facts4 ,it would

 have been better if the ,committee had 
so stated them4 ,the effort is now made 
to divide these churches1 and make three
 of them a part of the ,dutch ,church in
 ,america4  ,there is one more paragraph
 in the report of the ,committee which  
demands notice4 ,it is3  ,your          
,committee can easily understand how    
reluctantly our ,missionaries may have  
been1 or may still be1 to disturb1 or   
alter1 or modify the relations of the   
,churches at ,amoy4 ,but they conceive  
it to be their duty to say that feeling 
should never be allowed to take the     
place of conscience1 nor to discharge   
its functions2 and so long as our       
,missionaries claim to be subordinate to
 the authority of ,general ,synod1 they 
should allow this body to assume the    
responsibility of its chosen and        
deliberate policy4  ,it seems to us the 
,committee are not much more fortunate  
on the subject of casuistry1 than on    
,church government and historic facts4  
,the ,missionaries do claim to be       

subordinate to the authority of ,general
 ,synod1 but they also claim to be      
subordinate to the ,supreme authority4  
,now suppose--we shall not be charged   
with insubordination for the mere       
supposition--suppose the ,synod1 through
 some misapprehension1 should direct us 
to pursue a course1 which1 after the    
most mature reflection1 we felt to be   
injurious to the cause of ,christ1 and  
consequently contrary to ,his will--will
 the fact of the ,synod assuming the    
responsibility clear our skirts8 ,who is
 the ,lord of conscience8 ,general      
,synod8 ,it seems to us1 while the      
,committee conceive it to be their duty 
to deliver to the ,missionaries at ,amoy
 a lecture on the importance of giving  
heed to conscience1 in the very same    
sentence they direct us to hold         
conscience in abeyance4 ,but where did  
the ,committee learn that their         
,missionaries were influenced by        
feelings and not by conscience1 and that
 too in reference to the laying of the  

foundation of the ,church of ,christ in 
such an empire as that of ,china2 that  
they felt called upon in this solemn    
manner to deliver such a lecture8 ,would
 such a reflection have been cast on any
 other body of ministers in our ,church8
 or is it supposed that men who give    
themselves to the work of preaching the 
gospel in heathen lands are less under  
the influence of conscience than those  
who remain at home8 ,they conceived it  
to be their duty6 ,was it8  ,so much for
 the ,report of the ,committee of       
,synod4 ,the decision of ,synod has been
 given1 as stated above4 ,the important 
question now is1 what will be the result
 of this decision on the ,church at     
,amoy8 ,this question1 however1 cannot  
yet be answered with certainty1 for we  
cannot yet even guess what course the   
,missionaries there1 when they learn the
 decision of ,synod1 will feel it their 
duty to pursue4 ,there may be more1 but 
,i can now only think of three ways open
 before them4 7#a47 ,to ask the ,board  

to recall them4 ,they firmly believe    
that their course of proceeding1 in     
organizing the ,church at ,amoy1 is not 
only in accordance with the teachings of
 the ,holy ,scriptures1 but also with   
the principles of our ,church4 ,to be   
the instruments1 then1 of dividing the  
,church1 which ,god has gathered by     
their hands1 may be to sin against their
 consciences4 ,they may therefore ask   
the ,board to appoint other agents to   
carry out the decision of ,synod4 ,this 
would not be insubordination1 but       
perfect subordination both to the       
authority of ,synod and also to that    
authority which all ,protestant         
,christians acknowledge to be supreme4  
,this1 ,i suppose1 would be the most    
natural course for the brethren to take1
 except for one consideration2 that is1 
their love for the ,churches gathered by
 them1 or under their care1 and their   
responsibility in reference to the      
spiritual welfare of those disciples of 
the ,lord4 ,it would be the severest    

trial they have ever been called on to  
endure to be recalled from their work4  
,therefore 7#b47 ,they may delay their  
action1 making one more effort to get   
their views published1 hoping that the  
,church will yet change her decision1   
and not require of them to engage in a  
proceeding which they think will be so  
injurious to the cause of ,christ2 but1 
on the contrary1 will approve of the    
course heretofore adopted by them as    
altogether scriptural1 and the true     
doctrine of our ,church4 ,or 7#c47 ,they
 may possibly1 after mature reflection1 
think the least evil will be to carry   
out the decision of ,synod1 although    
that decision be altogether contrary to 
their own judgment4 ,then they will take
 three of the six churches1 which now   
are all of our order1 and organize these
 three a separate ,denomination and an  
integral part of the ,church in         
,america4 ,this is the course which at  
home will be generally expected of them4
  ,now let us suppose that they will    

adopt this third course1 and then let us
 look calmly at its results--at the     
supposed or real advantages thereof1 and
 the supposed or real evils thereof4    
,we first look at the ,advantages4  #a4 
,the most important is1 or is supposed  
to be1 that there will thus be higher   
courts of jurisdiction to which appeals 
may be made1 and by which orthodoxy and 
good order may be the better secured to 
the ,church at ,amoy4 ,such advantages1 
if they can be thus secured1 we would by
 no means underrate4 ,there sometimes   
are cases of appeal for which we need   
the highest court practicable--the      
collective wisdom of the ,church so far 
as it can be obtained2 and the          
preservation of orthodoxy and good order
 is of the first importance4 ,now let us
 see whether the plan proposed will     
secure these advantages4 ,let us suppose
 that one of the brethren feels himself 
aggrieved by the decision of the        
,classis of ,amoy1 and he appeals to the
 ,particular ,synod of ,albany1 and     

thence to the ,general ,synod4 ,he will 
not be denied the right to such appeal4 
,but1 in order that the appeal may be   
properly prosecuted and disposed of1 the
 appellant and the representative of    
,classis should be present in these     
higher courts4 ,can this be secured8 ,is
 the waste of time1 of a year or more1  
nothing8 and where shall the thousands  
of dollars of necessary expense come    
from8 ,now suppose this appellant to be 
a ,chinese brother4 ,he also has rights4
 ,but how1 on this plan1 can he possibly
 obtain them8 ,suppose 7which of itself 
is an absurdity7 that the money be      
raised for him1 and he is permitted to  
stand on the floor of ,synod4 ,he cannot
 speak1 read1 or write a word of        
,english4 ,not a member of ,synod can   
speak1 read1 or write a word of his     
language1 except it be the brother      
prosecuting him4 ,i ask1 is it possible 
for him thus to obtain justice8 ,but1   
waiving all these disadvantages1 the    
only points on which there is the least 

probability that an appeal of a ,chinese
 brother would come up before the higher
 courts1 are points on which these      
higher courts would not be qualified to 
decide4 ,they would doubtless grow out  
of the peculiar customs and laws of the 
,chinese--points on which the           
,missionary1 after he has been on the   
ground a dozen years1 often feels       
unwilling to decide1 and takes the      
opinion of the native elders in         
preference to his own4 ,is it right to  
impose a yoke like this on that little  
,church which ,god is gathering by your 
instrumentality in that far-off land of 
,china8 ,but it is said1 that these     
cases of appeal 7because of             
impracticability7 will very rarely or   
never happen4 ,be it so2 then this      
supposed advantage will seldom or never 
occur1 and if it should occur1 it would 
prove a disadvantage4 ,the highest      
practical court of appeal for the native
 churches can be secured only on the    
plan for which the ,missionaries        

contend4 ,why must we deprive the native
 ,christians of the benefit of the      
collective wisdom of all the churches of
 like doctrine and order among them8    
,as regards orthodoxy and good order1 it
 is incumbent on the ,church at home to 
use her utmost endeavors to secure      
these4 ,doubtless this was the great    
design of ,synod1 both in the action of 
#aheg and in the action of #ahfc4 ,but  
will the plan of ,synod give us any     
greater security for these things8 ,how 
can they be secured8 ,we answer1 under  
,god1 only through your ,missionaries4  
,the greater your hold on your          
,missionaries1 the better security for  
the churches under their care4 ,the plan
 of ,synod would place your             
,missionaries ecclesiastically almost   
beyond your control4 ,they must be      
dismissed from the various ,classes in  
this country1 and1 together with the    
native churches under their care1 form  
themselves into a ,chinese ,classis4    
,either they will have a controlling    

influence over the native portion of    
this ,classis or they will not4 ,if they
 have1 then your only way to discipline 
them will be to discipline their        
,classis4 ,it would be a new doctrine in
 our ,church1 to make the ,board of     
,foreign ,missions an ecclesiastical    
medium between the ,synod and one of its
 ,classes1 or to enforce discipline over
 the ministry by the money rod4 ,the    
,classis1 as such1 must be disciplined  
by the direct act of ,synod4 ,or1       
suppose the ,missionaries do not have   
such controlling influence over the     
native members of ,classis1 for the     
native members will outnumber1 and1     
unless the action of ,synod 7as we      
greatly fear7 seriously retard the work 
at ,amoy1 will very soon greatly        
outnumber the ,missionaries4 ,what then8
 ,your ,missionaries are under the      
ecclesiastical control of the native    
converts4 ,their doctrines and morals   
are to be decided on by a court composed
 mainly of recent converts from         

heathenism4 ,the only way to bring them 
before the higher courts in this        
country1 is through this native court1  
as we have already seen1 almost an      
impossibility4 ,is it not plain that the
 ,church at home will not thus have a   
moiety of the control over her          
,missionaries she now has8 ,is this the 
way to keep the ,church at ,amoy sound  
and pure8 ,it seems to be supposed by   
some that the ,missionaries desire to be
 separated from the control of the      
,church at home4 ,this is altogether a  
mistake1 and another result of          
withholding their views from the public4
 ,they have no such desire4 ,the        
contrary is altogether the fact4 ,they  
do not desire to be placed under the    
control of the native ,chinese churches4
 ,they did not derive their authority   
from those churches1 they are not       
sustained by them1 and they are in no   
sense their agents1 but they derive     
their authority through1 are sustained  
by1 and are altogether the agents of the

 ,church in this country2 therefore the 
,church at home has and should retain   
control over them4 ,they are amenable to
 the ,church at home1 through their     
several ,classes4 ,these are the only   
courts qualified to take cognizance of  
their doctrines and morals4 ,they desire
 to remain in this relation4 ,we think  
they have a right to demand this1 until 
such time as they become agents of the  
,church in ,china1 instead of the       
,church in ,america4  ,suppose by some  
means suspicion should arise at home    
concerning the orthodoxy or morality of 
one or more of your ,missionaries4 ,on  
the plan proposed1 what can the ,church 
do with them8 ,may the ,board of        
,missions1 on mere report or suspicion1 
recall them without giving them a proper
 trial8 ,can the ,board try them8 ,no4  
,it is not an ecclesiastical court4     
,will the ,church be satisfied with the 
decision of a court1 a majority of whose
 members have recently been converted   
from heathenism through the             

instrumentality of these very           
,missionaries8 ,but continue the plan of
 the ,missionaries and all will be      
simple4 ,if any of the ,missionaries    
give occasion for suspicion1 let them be
 tried by their proper ,classes in this 
country4 ,this is all that the ,church  
at home can do ecclesiastically towards 
keeping the ,church pure in ,china4     
,whether the proposed nominal union be  
consummated or not1 the only hold you   
will have on the ,chinese churches will 
be through your ,missionaries4 ,if they 
will not receive the instructions1 and  
listen to the advice of your            
,missionaries and of the ,synod through 
them1 you would not expect them to obey 
the injunctions of ,synod4 ,your only   
other resort will be to withhold from   
them help4 ,can you not do the same now8
  ,but in all this discussion1 ,i fear1 
we lose sight too much of our dependence
 on the ,head of the ,church to keep    
,his ,church pure4 ,sure ,i am that the 
,church in ,china cannot be kept pure by

 legislation on this1 the opposite side 
of the globe4 ,but we expect ,christ to 
reign over1 and the ,holy ,spirit to be 
given to the churches1 and the proper   
ecclesiastical bodies formed of them in 
,china as well as in this land4 ,why    
not8 ,such are the promises of ,god4    
,the way to secure these things is by   
prayer1 and the preaching of the pure   
gospel1 not by legislation4 ,let the    
,church be careful in her selection of  
,missionaries4 ,send only such as she   
has confidence in--men of ,god1 sound in
 the faith1 apt to teach--and then trust
 them1 or recall them4 ,don't attempt to
 control them contrary to their         
judgment4 ,strange if this1 which is so 
much insisted on as the policy of our   
,church1 be right1 that she cannot get a
 single man1 of all she sends out to    
,china1 to think so4 ,can it be that the
 ,missionary work is so subversive of   
right reason1 or of correct judgment1 or
 of conscientiousness1 that all become  
perverted by engaging in it8  #b4       

,another supposed advantage is the      
effect it will have in enlisting the    
sympathies of the ,church in behalf of  
the ,mission at ,amoy4 ,it is said1 tell
 the ,church that we have a flourishing 
,classis at ,amoy1 a part of ourselves1 
connected with ,general ,synod1 just    
like all the other ,classes of our      
,church1 the effect will be wonderful in
 enlisting sympathy1 money1 and men in  
behalf of that ,mission2 otherwise the  
opposite evil must be apprehended4 ,if  
these things be so1 they are indeed of  
grave importance4 ,the ,mission in      
,china cannot live without the sympathy 
of the ,church at home4 ,but are these  
things so8 ,it seems to us that the     
supposition takes for granted that our  
,church in its ,missionary work is      
influenced by a desire for self-glory1  
or self-gratification2 or1 at least1    
that she is not a ,church of liberal    
views--that she is not at all to be     
compared1 in this respect1 with the     
,english ,presbyterian ,church1 or the  

,free ,church of ,scotland4 ,allusion   
has already been made to the liberality 
of the ,english ,presbyterian ,church4  
,i may now also remark that a large     
amount of the funds for carrying on the 
work at ,amoy is raised in ,scotland    
from members of the ,free ,church4 ,they
 never had any idea that the churches   
gathered in ,china were to be a part of 
their own ,church4 ,they do not even ask
 that they be a part of their sister    
,church in ,england4 ,they only ask that
 they shall be sound in the faith and   
hold to the essentials of               
,presbyterianism1 even though they have 
some characteristics peculiar to the    
,dutch and other ,reformed ,churches4   
,these ,presbyterian brethren in        
,england and ,scotland are not only     
ready to support their own ,missionaries
 in their work of building up the       
churches under their especial care1 but 
they stand ready to assist the          
,missionaries of our ,church in building
 up the churches under our especial     

care4 ,of their frequent offers to      
assist us1 when they feared we should be
 in want of funds1 our ,board can bear  
testimony4 ,we are not yet willing to   
believe that our people are a people of 
narrow views in a matter like this4 ,it 
is contrary to our history in time past4
 ,it is contrary to the facts of the    
present day4 ,it is contrary to all my  
observation among our churches4 ,our    
people do not first ask whether it be   
building ourselves up1 before they      
sympathize with a benevolent object4 ,we
 believe the contrary is the exact      
truth4 ,it requires a liberal policy to 
call forth liberal views and action4 ,as
 regards the enlisting of men1 look at  
the facts4 ,every man who has gone out  
from among you1 to engage in this       
,missionary work1 begs of you not to    
adopt a narrow policy4 ,so in regard to 
obtaining of funds4 ,usually1 the men   
who are most liberal in giving are most 
liberal in feeling4 ,this must be so in 
the very nature of things4 ,the way to  

alienate the sympathies of the ,church  
from the ,mission at ,amoy is to divide 
the ,church there by a sectarian policy2
 and the way to enlist her sympathies is
 to continue the former plan1 and let   
the work go forward with the ,divine    
blessing as in days past4 ,the people   
will be more encouraged1 and praise ,god
 more heartily1 when you tell them of   
six organized churches like our own1 and
 many others growing up all around1 than
 they will if you tell them of only     
three churches1 and only a few          
out-stations1 under our care4 ,they will
 not object to hear that the ,english   
,presbyterian brethren are laboring with
 us1 and organizing churches so nearly  
like our own4 ,however powerful the     
motive addressed to the desire to build 
up our own ,church1 there are motives   
infinitely more powerful4 ,such are the 
motives to be depended on in endeavoring
 to elevate the standard of liberality  
among our people4  ,let brethren in the 
,ministry try the experiment1 and tell  

their people of the wonders of ,god's   
grace3--that he has led his servants    
from our own ,church in this land1 and  
from the ,presbyterian ,church in ,great
 ,britain1 in their work of evangelizing
 the heathen1 and laying the foundation 
of the ,church of ,christ1 to lay aside 
all national animosities1 and rise above
 all denominational prejudices and      
jealousies--that he has given to the    
,presbyterian ,church in ,england1 and  
the sister ,church in ,scotland1 a      
spirit of catholicity and liberality as 
exhibited in the previous part of this  
paper--and that1 as a consequence1 he is
 causing his ,church to grow up in the  
region of ,amoy in beautiful            
proportions1 all the congregations under
 their care and ours also manifesting   
the same spirit of catholicity and      
liberality1 submitting to each other    
according to the ,divine command1       
working together with the utmost        
harmony1 and1 as a consequence1 with    
wonderful effectiveness4 ,can you       

account for such things except by the   
energy of the ,spirit of ,god8 ,surely  
it is not the spirit of the world1      
neither is it the spirit of the devil4  
,try the experiment1 then1 and see      
whether the wonders of ,god's grace will
 alienate the hearts of his people4     
,your ,missionaries have no doubt--we   
can hardly understand how any who       
examine the subject can doubt--we are   
sure that no one can personally behold  
the work and yet doubt1 that the        
wonderful blessing of ,god1 which has   
accompanied the work at ,amoy1 has been 
both the cause and the result of this   
harmonious labor on the part of your    
,missionaries1 and those from the sister
 ,churches in ,england and ,scotland4   
,therefore1 we feel assured that the    
simple recital of the grace of ,god thus
 manifested1 must influence the hearts  
of his people most powerfully1 and      
therefore it is that we beseech the     
,church not to interfere with1 and      
hinder the work of ,god4 ,may we not    

refer1 without being charged with       
disrespect1 to the ,synod of ,jerusalem 
as a proper example for our ,general    
,synod8 ,peter says1 ,why tempt ye ,god 
to put a yoke upon the neck of the      
disciples1 which neither we nor our     
fathers were able to bear8 ,and then the
 decree1 which the ,synod sent to the   
,churches1 runs thus3 ,it seemed good to
 the ,holy ,ghost and to us1 to lay upon
 you no greater burden than these       
necessary things4 ,the ecclesiastical   
power which the ,lord hath given to his 
,church is to edification1 and not to   
destruction4  ,if the ,missionaries be  
allowed to proceed in building up a     
,church1 like our own1 simply with      
reference to the evangelization of      
,china1 doubtless brethren in the       
ministry1 and other influential men1    
could take occasion therefrom to        
prejudice the ,churches against our     
work4 ,they could do this1 if they were 
so disposed1 without any such occasion4 
,but will they do it8 ,we cannot believe

 that they will4 ,they love the cause of
 ,christ too well1 and desire to see the
 world converted to ,god too ardently1  
to permit them to throw any obstacles in
 the way of our work1 even though that  
work be not carried forward in the      
manner which they consider altogether   
the best4 ,if we are right1 these       
brethren will soon see that we are      
right1 and however powerful the motive  
to be addressed to the desire of        
extending our own ,church1 they will    
find infinitely more powerful motives to
 be addressed to a more noble desire of 
the ,christian heart4 ,if our people    
have not yet learned1 they should be    
taught to engage in the work of         
evangelizing the world1 not for the sake
 of our ,church in ,america1 but for the
 sake of ,christ and ,his ,church1 and  
when the ,church thus built up is like  
our own1 they should be fully satisfied4
 ,we believe they will be satisfied with
 this4  #c4 ,the only other supposed    
advantage ,i can now think of1 is the   

advantage of carrying out the policy of 
our ,church4 ,this1 in itself           
considered1 might be regarded worthy of 
but little attention4 ,cannot--ought    
not--the ,church change her policy if   
wrong1 or if a better can be adopted8   
,surely her laws are not like those of  
the ,medes and ,persians4 ,but the      
argument has been used with so much     
earnestness and perseverance1 both in   
the ,reports of the ,committees and in  
the discussions in ,synod1 that it      
demands some investigation4 ,instead of 
the course pursued by the ,missionaries 
being1 as it is contended1 contrary to1 
it is the true policy of our            
,church--the policy in existence long   
before the decision of #aheg4 ,if the   
course now required of them be the      
present policy of our ,church1 it is a  
mistaken policy1 contrary to the very   
genius of our institutions1 and ought to
 be corrected4 ,it is so contrary to our
 time-honored ,constitution that either 
it or the ,constitution must be         

sacrificed4 ,in order to save the policy
 it was found necessary during the past 
year to amend the ,constitution by a    
clause so sweeping1 that if the         
circumstances of a ,missionary ,classis 
require it1 all the ordinary            
requirements of the ,constitution may be
 dispensed with by the ,general ,synod4 
,can it be that a policy which requires 
such constitutional changes can be the  
old and proper policy of our ,church8   
,but if the policy be continued we are  
not yet done with changes4 ,the very    
name of our ,church must be changed4 ,it
 now is ,the ,reformed ,protestant      
,dutch ,church in ,north ,america4 ,we  
must expunge the words in ,north        
,america1 or must add ,india1 ,china1   
and ,japan1 and every other country     
where the ,church may undertake         
,missionary work4 ,we know it has been  
said of this policy1 it is our settled1 
irreversible policy4 ,is every thing    
then to be regarded as unsettled and    
changeable but this policy of the       

,church8 ,we answer1 ,no4 ,the ,church  
may change her name1 if she please1 as  
she has changed her ,constitution4 ,or  
she may change her policy4 ,but there   
are certain fundamental principles of   
,church government which she may not    
change4 ,hence1 even yet1 the principles
 for which the ,missionaries contend    
must remain the true policy of our      
,church1 for they lie at the very       
foundation of ,presbyterial order4 ,a   
full discussion of this subject will    
come up most naturally when we discuss  
the evils of the course now required of 
us4 ,i will now allude to only one fact4
 ,the ,board of ,foreign ,missions was  
formed on this principle4 ,if the       
,classes at ,arcot and ,amoy are to be  
considered integral parts of the ,church
 in this country1 related to ,general   
,synod like the ,classes in this        
country1 then the ,missionaries at those
 stations properly should come under the
 ,board of ,domestic ,missions4         
,suppose1 according to the new plan1 the

 ,missionaries form themselves into the 
kind of ,classis now required of them2  
what will be the relation of the        
,classis of ,amoy to the ,board of      
,foreign ,missions8 ,is the ,classis1 in
 evangelizing the heathen around1 to    
operate through the ,board1 or the      
,board through the ,classis8 ,the       
,classis at ,amoy decide on a certain   
course of ecclesiastical procedure1 or  
evangelistic labor1 and the ,board      
decides on another course2 how is such a
 matter to be settled8 ,will it be said1
 there is no danger of such difficulty8 
,the ,classis and ,board will both be   
composed of men with infirmities4 ,ask  
the ,board whether there have not       
already been incipient difficulties1 in 
the supposed clashing of the powers of  
the ,board and the powers of the        
,classis of ,arcot4 ,but the ,classis of
 ,arcot as yet is little more than an   
,american ,missionary ,classis4 ,what   
will be the difficulties when it becomes
 an ,indian ,classis8 ,but we are told1 

keep the ,mission and ,classis distinct4
 ,is the ,mission1 then1 to attend to   
all the evangelistic work1 and the      
,classis to do nothing8 ,or are there to
 be two distinct evangelistic policies  
carried on at ,amoy1 the one by the     
,mission1 and the other by the ,classis8
 ,or is the ,classis first to come over 
to the ,synod1 and so get to the ,board 
in order to carry on the work around8   
,instead of this new plan being the     
settled policy of our ,church1 we       
believe it to be a solecism4 ,when a    
,church is established among the heathen
 after our order1 then is the true      
policy of our ,church carried out4 ,let 
the present relations of the            
,missionaries to the ,board and to their
 several ,classes remain1 and there will
 be no occasion for the clashing of the 
powers of the ,board with those of any  
ecclesiastical body4  ,so much for the  
advantages4 ,they are really            
disadvantages1 leading to serious evils1
 which of themselves should be          

sufficient to deter the ,church from    
inaugurating the policy proposed1 or1 if
 it be already inaugurated1 to lead her 
to retrace her steps1 and adopt a better
 and a consistent policy4  ,now let us  
consider the real or supposed ,evils 7in
 addition to the above7 of carrying out 
the decision of ,synod4  #a4 ,it will   
not be for the credit of our ,church4   
,she now has a name1 with other         
,churches1 for putting forth efforts to 
evangelize the world4 ,shall she mar    
this good name and acquire one for      
sectarianism1 by putting forth efforts  
to extend herself1 not her doctrines and
 order2--they are not sectarian1 and her
 ,missionaries esteem them as highly as 
do their brethren at home--but herself1 
even at the cost of dividing churches   
which the grace of ,god has made one8   
,the decision of the last ,synod may not
 be the result of sectarianism among the
 people of our ,church4 ,we do not think
 it is4 ,but it will be difficult to    
convince our ,presbyterian brethren and 

others1 that it is not so4 ,by way of   
illustration ,i will suppose a case4 ,a4
 is engaged in a very excellent work4   
,b4 comes to him1 and the following     
dialogue ensues3  ,b4 ,friend ,a41 ,i am
 glad to see you engaged in so excellent
 a work4 ,i also have concluded to      
engage in it4 ,i should be glad to work 
with you4 ,you know the proverbs1       
',union is strength1' and ',two are     
better than one4'  ,a4 ,yes1 yes1 friend
 ,b1 ,i know these proverbs and believe 
them as thoroughly as you do4 ,but ,i   
have a few peculiarities about my way of
 working4 ,they are not many1 and they  
are not essential1 but ,i think they are
 useful1 and wish to work according to  
them4 ,therefore1 ,i prefer working     
alone4  ,b4 ,yes1 friend ,a41 we all    
have our peculiarities1 and1 if they be 
not carried too far1 they may all be    
made useful4 ,i have been making        
inquiries about yours1 and ,i am glad to
 find they are not nearly so many1 or so
 different from mine1 as you seem to    

suppose1 and as ,i once supposed4 ,the  
fact is1 ,i rather like some of them1   
and1 though ,i may not esteem them all  
so highly as you do1 still ,i am willing
 to conform to them2 for ,i am fully    
persuaded that1 in work of this kind1   
two working together can do vastly more 
than two working separately1 and the    
work will be much better done4 ,besides 
this1 the social intercourse will be    
delightful4  ,a4 ,i appreciate1 friend  
,b41 your politeness1 and am well aware 
that all you say about the greater      
efficiency and excellence of united     
work1 and the delights of social        
intercourse is perfectly true4          
,but--but--well1 ,i prefer to work      
alone4  #b4 ,it will be destroying a    
real unity for the sake of creating one1
 which1 at the best1 can be only        
nominal1 and hence will really be a     
violation of ,presbyterial order4 ,it   
seems strange to us that it should be   
constantly asserted that we are striving
 to create a formal union between two   

bodies which are essentially distinct4  
,there is nothing of the kind4 ,there   
are six organized churches at ,amoy4    
,they are all ,dutch 7i4e4 ,reformed71  
and they are all ,presbyterian1 for the 
,dutch ,churches are all ,presbyterian4 
,but they are ,chinese1 not ,american1  
nor ,english1 nor ,scotch4 ,if these    
churches are not one1 then it is        
impossible for two or more individual   
churches to be one4 ,if schism in a     
,church be a sin1 then the separation of
 this ,church will be a sin1 for it will
 be an actual schism4 ,you can make     
nothing more nor less of it4 ,if you say
 that schism is only an evil1 then the  
separation of this ,church will1 at     
least1 be an evil4  ,perhaps it will be 
thought that schism is too hard a term  
whereby to designate the separation of  
the ,church at ,amoy4 ,never mind the   
word1 then1 but let us look at the      
facts4 ,the proper ,classis of ,amoy1   
composed of all the churches of like    
order1 and of the ,missionaries1 has    

proceeded1 according to the order of our
 ,church1 to ordain and install native  
pastors1 and to perform a few other     
necessary ecclesiastical acts4 ,these   
pastors are now called on to separate   
from1 and break up that body1 through   
which they received their office6 ,the  
opinions and wishes of these native     
pastors1 as well of the native ,classis1
 and the native churches1 are all       
ignored6 ,are such things right8 ,are   
these the doctrines or policy of the    
,dutch ,church8 ,we are told that we    
need say nothing to the native churches 
on the subject4 ,is this right8 ,is the 
,dutch ,church a hierarchy8 ,does the   
,general ,synod claim authority to order
 the division in such a manner of a     
,classis of the ,church of ,christ      
without the consent of that ,classis8   
,what ,god hath joined together let not 
man put asunder4  ,in consequence of    
fallen humanity1 there are evils which  
we call necessary evils4 ,such is the   
case of different ,denominations of     

,christians in the same region of       
territory4 ,they differ in sentiment on 
important 7or supposed to be important7 
subjects1 and because of this difference
 in sentiment1 they can work together in
 greater harmony1 and with greater      
efficiency1 by being formed into        
distinct organizations4 ,such1 however1 
is not the case of the six churches at  
,amoy1 and others growing up under their
 care and the care of your own and the  
,english ,presbyterian ,missionaries4   
,even when ,churches agree in doctrine  
and order1 it is sometimes better1 and  
sometimes necessary1 in consequence of  
geographical separation or national     
distinctions1 to form distinct          
organizations4 ,it is better1 or        
necessary1 that the ,churches in        
,holland1 and ,america1 and ,south      
,africa1 be ecclesiastically distinct4  
,we do not call this an evil1 for all   
the advantages of ecclesiastical courts 
and control are better thus secured4    
,but suppose a case4 ,there are1 say1   

thirty ,dutch churches in the city of   
,new ,york4 ,now1 suppose there were no 
others of the same order throughout this
 whole land3 instead of allowing these  
churches to remain one organic          
whole--forming ,classes and ,synods1 as 
the growth and convenience may allow and
 direct--it is proposed to take one-half
 of these churches1 form them into a    
distinct organization1 thus depriving   
them of ecclesiastical relations to the 
other half1 and attach them to an       
ecclesiastical body in ,china--a nation 
of different customs and different      
language4 ,how should we designate such 
an act8 ,the first part would be schism1
 and the last part would be folly4 ,the 
only difference between such a procedure
 and that required of us is1 that the   
churches at ,amoy have been gathered    
partly by our instrumentality1 and are  
dependent partly on us for instruction4 
,if our ,presbyterial order be          
scriptural1 all these churches at ,amoy1
 growing out of each other1 are bound to

 associate together1 ecclesiastically4  
,it is their duty to submit to each     
other4 ,they would also be bound to     
submit to the ,church of the same order 
in ,england and ,america1 and every     
other country throughout the world1 if  
it were possible and convenient4 ,but   
such relation is not convenient1 or     
possible4 ,therefore1 we must choose    
that which is possible and most         
convenient4 ,it is possible1 and it is  
convenient1 that they associate         
together4 ,it is not possible that they 
all be subject to the ,church in        
,england1 and1 at the same time1 to the 
,church in ,america4 ,it is not         
convenient that they all be subject to  
either of these ,churches4 ,we do not   
think it is convenient that one-half of 
them be subject to either of these      
,churches4 ,besides the sin1 or evil1 of
 schism1 they never can be properly     
represented in the higher ecclesiastical
 bodies of either of these ,churches4   
,they never can have an ,elder present  

7,i speak now of their connection with  
the ,church in ,america1 for this is the
 subject before us74 ,they never can    
have a full representation of ministers4
 ,only very seldom can they have even   
one minister present4 ,he usually will  
only be one who is ill1 and consequently
 not a proper representative4 ,the      
native element1 i4e41 the chief element 
of the ,church can never be represented 
at all4 ,the representation1 at the     
best1 will only be a representation of  
your ,missionaries1 not at all of the   
,chinese ,church4 ,therefore1 we assert 
that such a union would not be real1 not
 even apparent1 only nominal4 ,in       
striving after it1 we are pursuing a    
chimera1 destroying a substance for the 
sake of a shadow4  ,but it is offered as
 an objection to our views1 that the    
,presbyterian ,church 7,o4,s47 has      
,presbyteries and ,synods in ,india and 
,china4 ,yes1 they have three           
,presbyteries and a ,synod in ,india1   
and have had for twenty years4 ,but even

 yet there is not so much of a native   
element in their whole ,synod as there  
is already in the little ,church in the 
region of ,amoy4 ,as an ecclesiastical  
body1 it is not ,indian in its          
characteristics--it is ,american4 ,so   
with all their ,presbyteries in ,siam   
and ,china1 with the exception1 perhaps1
 of the ,presbytery at ,ningpo4 ,they   
are ,american ,presbyteries1 not native 
in their character4#b  ,footnote #b3    
,the following statistics are from the  
,minutes of ,general ,assembly1 #ahfc4  
,synod of ,northern ,india--,was        
organized in #ahda4 ,is composed of     
three ,presbyteries4 ,now has #ai       
ministers 7only one of these is a native
 pastor72 #i churches2 #bdf             
communicants4 7,how many of these are   
natives not reported47  ,presbytery of  
,canton--,has #d ministers2 no native   
pastor2 #a church2 #ab communicants4    
7,how many of these are natives not     
reported47 ,presbytery of ,ningpo--,has 
#h ministers2 no native pastor2 #b      

churches2 #aaa native members4          
,presbytery of ,siam--,has #f ministers2
 no native pastor2 #a church2 #h        
communicants4 7,how many of these are   
native members not reported47           
,presbytery of ,west ,africa--,has #i   
ministers2 no native pastor2 #f         
churches2 #aia communicants 7probably   
all natives47  ,are these ecclesiastical
 bodies respectively ,indian1 ,chinese1 
and ,african in their character8 or are 
they all essentially ,american8 ,yet    
these are the bodies to which the       
,committee of ,general ,synod of #aheg  
referred when they said1 ,as to the     
difficulties suggested by the           
,missionaries at ,amoy respecting the   
delays of carrying out a system of      
appellate jurisdiction covering ,america
 and ,china1 it is enough to say1 that  
the ,presbyterian ,church 7,o4,s47 finds
 no insuperable difficulties in carrying
 into operation her system1 which       
comprehends ,presbyteries and ,synods in
 ,india as well as here4 ,why should    

there be many insuperable difficulties  
so long as these bodies remain ,american
 ,missionary bodies1 instead of being   
native ecclesiastical bodies8           
,practically they do not need           
representation in the ,church at home   
more than our ,missions need            
representatives in the ,board of        
,missions4 ,in the aggregate of all the 
above-mentioned ecclesiastical          
missionary bodies1 there is but one     
native pastor1 and this1 as might be    
expected1 so far as we are aware1       
furnished the only case in which        
difficulty has occurred4 ,doubtless in  
the instance referred to1 the native    
pastor was in error1 and1 as he found   
some insuperable difficulty in getting  
his case before the ,general ,assembly1 
a similar effort is not likely soon to  
be made4  ,so is the ,classis of ,arcot 
appealed to4 ,such appeals put us in a  
somewhat painful position4 ,as with the 
,presbyterian bodies just mentioned1 so 
with the ,classis of ,arcot4 ,we have no

 rivalry with the brethren there1 and do
 not wish to say a word that looks like 
stricture on their policy4 ,we do not   
utter a word of this kind1 except in    
self-defense4 ,we rejoice in all their  
successes4 ,but the time will come1 if  
the blessing of ,god continues to follow
 their labors1 when they will be        
compelled to adopt our principles4 ,the 
,missionaries at ,arcot are not properly
 pastors of the native churches4 ,they  
exercise the pastoral office only       
temporarily1 until native pastors are   
raised up4 ,their relation to the       
,synods in this country is not like that
 of the other ,classes of our ,church4  
,they never have had and never will have
 a proper representation in these higher
 courts4 ,they have never had a native  
elder present4 ,they never have even a  
partial representation of ministers1    
except under the afflictive             
dispensations of ,providence4 ,for      
several years past they would have been 
without any representation at all1 but  

for the fact of one of their number     
being in this country whose ill health  
forbids his return to that field of     
labor4 ,it is by being unfitted to be a 
member of the ,classis that he becomes  
able to be a representative of the      
,classis in the ,synod6 ,at the present 
time1 because of the still ,american    
character of their body1 they may feel  
no serious inconvenience4 ,if our       
position had been like theirs1 occupying
 the ground at ,amoy alone1 possibly we 
should have done as they have4 ,we      
should have understood well enough that 
the connection of the native ,church    
with the ,church at home could only be  
nominal4 ,but if our ,church desired    
this1 so long as it did not injure the  
native ,church1 we probably should have 
made no objections4  ,but we are told   
that it is not desired that this        
connection with the ,church in ,america 
should be perpetual4 ,it will last only 
until the ,church at ,amoy has          
sufficient development to stand alone4  

,then1 of course1 our ,church will      
consent to the separation4 7,a very     
different doctrine1 by the way1 from the
 assertion of the committee of ,synod   
that the ,church can not voluntarily    
relinquish its powers47 ,after that1 the
 churches at ,amoy which have been under
 our care1 and those which have been    
under the care of the ,english          
,presbyterians1 may again unite in one  
,denomination1 if they see fit4 ,this   
sounds pretty well4 ,but look at it4    
,first separate the churches long enough
 to engender rivalries and allow        
prejudices to grow up1 and then attempt 
to unite them1 and what will be the     
result8 ,unless they have a more liberal
 spirit than is usual in the churches in
 this land1 instead of making one       
denomination out of two1 we shall have  
three4 ,but who shall be the judge when 
the proper time has arrived to liberate 
the ,church in ,china1 if the opinions  
of those on the ground1 and of the      
native churches1 are all to be ignored8 

#c4 ,it will injure the efficiency of   
the ,church at ,amoy4 ,besides the      
objection--which the heathen will thus1 
as readily as the irreligious in this   
country1 be able to urge against        
,christianity--furnished by the increase
 of ,denominations1 it will deprive the 
churches of the benefit of the united   
wisdom and strength of the whole of them
 for self-cultivation and for ,christian
 enterprise1 and will introduce a spirit
 of jealous rivalry among them4 ,we know
 it is said that there need be no such  
result1 and that the native churches may
 remain just as united in spirit after  
the organization of two ,denominations  
as before4 ,such a sentiment takes for  
granted1 either that ecclesiastical     
organization has in fact no efficiency  
7such is not the doctrine of our        
,church71 or that the ,chinese churches 
have arrived at a far higher state of   
sanctification than the churches have   
attained to in this land4 ,do not       
different ,denominations exhibit jealous

 rivalry in this land8 ,why1 your       
,missionaries are already frequently    
charged with being too liberal towards  
their ,english ,presbyterian brethren in
 giving to them members and churches    
which1 it is said1 properly belong to   
us4 ,is ,chinese human nature different 
from ,american8  ,in consequence of such
 division1 the native ,churches will not
 be so able to support the ,gospel among
 themselves4 ,look at the condition of  
our western towns in this respect4 ,why 
strive to entail like evils on our      
,missionary churches8 ,their strength   
will be weakened for evangelistic       
effort4 ,their ,missionary efforts is   
one of the most striking and            
praiseworthy characteristics of the     
,amoy churches4 ,how will they be shorn 
of their strength by division and       
necessary rivalry6 ,besides this1 if the
 connection with the ,church at home be 
anything more than nominal1 our churches
 should1 in part at least1 work through 
the ,church at home4 ,no8 ,then why form

 the connection8  #d4 ,instead of the   
,dutch ,church being the ,presbyterian  
,church at ,amoy1 it will only be a     
small ,church1 bearing about the same   
proportion to the other ,christian      
,churches there1 that it does to the    
other ,churches in this land4 ,why is   
not the ,dutch ,church the principal    
,presbyterian body in this land8 ,unless
 we are mistaken in regard to its       
excellency of order1 it has all the     
adaptedness1 and it was here first4 ,do 
you wish a similar result in ,china8    
99       99       99       99       99  
,that it may be seen whether the        
,missionaries of ,amoy have asked of our
 ,church to surrender the ,constitution1
 the policy1 the interests of our       
,church1 nay1 even their own welfare1   
and that of the ,mission they are so    
tenderly attached to--whether what they 
ask for is flatly in the face of our    
,constitution and order--whether the    
,synod has no right to form1 or to      
authorize any such self-regulating1     

ecclesiastical body1 or to consent that 
any ,ministers of our ,church should    
hold seats in such a body--whether1 if  
we do it1 we transcend the most liberal 
construction which has ever been known  
to be given to the powers of the        
,general ,synod--whether1 by granting   
the request of the ,missionaries1 we    
violate our own order1 our fundamental  
principles1 the polity to which we are  
bound by our profession1 by our         
subscription1 by every tie which can    
bind religious and honorable1 men--,i   
will append the resolution which was    
offered by me in the ,general ,synod as 
a substitute for those offered by the   
,committee4 ,if it called for           
declamation like the above1 well4 ,these
 are the words3  ,resolved1 ,that the   
,synod learn1 with gratitude to ,god1 of
 the great progress of the work of the  
,lord at ,amoy1 and in the region       
around1 so that already we hear of six  
organized churches with their           
,consistories1 and others growing up1   

not yet organized2 two native ,pastors1 
who were to have been ordained on the   
#bith of ,march last1 and the whole     
under the care of a ,classis composed of
 the ,missionaries of our ,church and   
the ,english ,presbyterian ,church1 and 
representative ,elders of the several   
churches4 ,it calls for our hearty      
gratitude to the ,great ,head of the    
,church1 that the ,missionaries of      
different ,churches1 and different      
countries1 have been enabled1 through   
,divine grace1 to work together in such 
harmony4 ,it is also gratifying to us   
that these ,churches and this ,classis  
have been organized according to the    
polity of our ,church4 ,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  
,amoy1 after our order1 therefore1 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 ,church1 and the 
churches under their several care1 so   
long as the present harmony shall       
continue1 and no departure shall be made
 from the doctrines and essential polity
 of our ,church1 or until this ,synod   
shall otherwise direct4  ,some1 after   
reading the foregoing discussion1 will  
be ready to say to us3 ,your views are  
in the main correct4 ,it would have been
 better if ,synod had decided otherwise1
 but the decision has been made1 and we 
must put up with it4 ,we answer1 ,not   
so4 ,we must obey ,synod1 but may not   
the ,church change or improve her       
decisions8 ,here is one of the good     
things we hope to see come out of this  
mistake of the ,church4 ,jesus rules1   
and he is ordering all things for the   
welfare of his ,church and the          
advancement of his cause4 ,sometimes1   
the better to accomplish this end1 he   
permits the ,church to make mistakes4   
,when we failed in former days to get   

our views made public1 it gave us no    
anxiety1 for we believed the doctrine   
that ,jesus reigns4 ,so we now feel1    
nothwithstanding this mistake4 ,the     
,master will overrule it for good4 ,we  
do not certainly know how1 but we can   
imagine one way4 ,by means of this      
mistake the matter may be brought before
 our ,church1 and before other          
,churches1 more clearly than it would   
otherwise have been for many years to   
come1 and in consequence of this we     
expect1 in due time1 that our ,church1  
instead of coming up merely to the      
standard of liberality for which we have
 been contending1 will rise far above   
anything we have asked for or even      
imagined1 and other ,churches will also 
raise their standard higher4 ,hereafter 
we expect to contend for still higher   
principles4 ,this is the doctrine3 ,let 
all the branches of the great           
,presbyterian family in the same region 
in any heathen country1 which are sound 
in the faith1 organize themselves1 if   

convenient1 into one organic whole1     
allowing liberty to the different parts 
in things non-essential4 ,let those who 
adopt ,dutch customs1 as at ,amoy1      
continue1 if they see fit1 their        
peculiarities1 and those who adopt other
 ,presbyterian customs1 as at ,ningpo   
and other places1 continue their        
peculiarities1 and yet all unite as one 
,church4 ,this subject does not simply  
relate to the interests of the ,church  
at ,amoy4 ,it relates to the interests  
of all the ,missionary work of all the  
,churches of the ,presbyterian order in 
all parts of the world4 ,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     
crown6 ,but if she do not1 then we trust
 that some other of the sacramental     
hosts will take the lead and receive too
 the honor1 for it is for the glory of  
the great ,captain of our salvation1 and
 for the interests of ,his kingdom4 ,we 

need the united strength of all these   
branches of ,zion for the great work1   
which the ,master has set before us1 in 
calling on us to evangelize the world4  
,in expecting to obtain this union1 will
 it be said1 that we are looking for a  
chimera8 ,it ought to be so1 ought it   
not8 ,then it is no chimera4 ,it may    
take time for the churches to come up to
 this standard1 but within a few years  
past we have seen tendencies to union   
among different branches of the         
,presbyterian family in ,australia1 in  
,canada1 in our own country1 and in     
,england and ,scotland4 ,in many places 
these tendencies are stronger now than  
they have ever before been since the    
days of the ,reformation4 ,true1 human  
nature is still compassed with          
infirmities even in the ,church of      
,christ4 ,but the day of the world's    
regeneration is approaching1 and as it  
approaches nearer to us1 doubtless the  
different branches of the ,presbyterian 
family will approach still nearer to    

each other4 ,god hasten the time1 and   
keep us also from doing anything to     
retard1 but everything to help it       
forward1 and to his name be the praise  
forever4 ,amen4     ,appendix ,a4       
,further to illustrate the unity of the 
,churches under the care of the two     
,missions1 ,i will transcribe from the  
,reports of the ,amoy ,mission1 for the 
years #ahfa and #ahfb4   ,from the      
,report for #ahfa4 ,dated ,feb4 #bd4    
#ahfb4  ,our work is so interwoven with 
that of the ,missionaries of the        
,english ,presbyterian ,church1 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 stations4 ,we have1   
therefore1 thought it best1 both on this
 account1 and because the ,churches     
gathered by us and by them are really   
one1 to give statistics of both         
,missions with brief remarks4 ,these1   
besides simplifying the matter1 will    
enable the ,church at home to become    

better acquainted with the real progress
 of the cause of ,christ in this region4
  ,missionaries and ,assistant          
,missionaries of the ,reformed ,dutch   
,church at ,amoy1 at the close if the   
year #ahfa4 ,here follow their names1   
and remarks concerning them4            
,missionaries and ,assistant            
,missionaries of the ,english           
,presbyterian ,church at the close of   
the year #ahfa4 ,here follow their      
names1 and remarks concerning them4     
,tabular ,view of the ,churches and     
,mission ,stations under the care of the
 ,reformed ,dutch ,church1 and ,english 
,presbyterian ,church1 in ,amoy and     
vicinity4                               
----------------------------------------
-------------------------------         
,native                    ,no4 of      
,rec'd ,churches and         helpers    
,church       during ,mission           
sustained                 ,members1     
the ,stations4            by            
,mission4,elders4,deacons4,jan4 #a1     

#ahfa4year4                             
----------------------------------------
------------------------------- ,first  
,church at ,amoy      #c        #d      
#d        #ajb       #bd ,second        
#b        #d      #d         #gh        
#ac ,church at ,chioh-be        #b      
#d      #d         #dg        #e        
,peh-chui-ia      #c        #b     44   
#be        #c         ,ma-peng          
#b        #b      #c         #cc        
#f ,station at ,an-hai         #c       
44     44          #g       #bc         
,khang-khau     #a     ,the ,church     
members at this ,station                
are reckoned to the ,church at ,ma-peng4
           ,kang-thau      #a     ,the  
,church members at this ,station        
are reckoned to the ,first ,church at   
,amoy4           ,e-mng-kang     #a     
,the ,church members at this ,station   
are reckoned to the ,first ,church at   
,amoy4          ,chiang-chiu     #b     
----------------------------------------
-------------------------------         

----------------------------------------
-------------------------------         
,no4 of         ,churches and           
,church        ,under ,mission          
,members1      suspension ,stations4    
,dead4,excommunicated4,dec4 #ca1        
#ahfa4;,dec41 #ahfa4                    
----------------------------------------
------------------------------- ,first  
,church at ,amoy   #b        #b         
#abb          #d ,second                
#a        #a               #hi          
#a ,church at ,chioh-be     #a       44 
#ea          #c         ,peh-chui-ia    
#a       44               #bg           
#a         ,ma-peng       #a        #a  
#cg          #c ,station at ,an-hai     
#a       44               #bi           
444           ,khang-khau,the ,church   
members at this ,station are reckoned   
to the ,church at ,ma-peng4             
,kang-thau ,the ,church members at this 
,station are reckoned                   
to the ,first ,church at ,amoy4         
,e-mng-kang,the ,church members at this 

,station are reckoned                   
to the ,first ,church at ,amoy4         
,chiang-chiu                            
----------------------------------------
-------------------------------         
----------------------------------------
-------------------------------         
,infants  ,colporteurs ,churches and    
baptized sustained   ,mission           
during   by ,native  ,benevolent        
,stations4            the year4,church4 
,contributions                          
----------------------------------------
------------------------------- ,first  
,church at ,amoy    #ac        #a       
,second                #aa        #a    
#dga4cc ,church at ,chioh-be       #e   
#a         #bjj4bi         ,peh-chui-ia 
#c       444        444444              
,ma-peng         #c       444           
444444 ,station at ,an-hai        #d    
444        444444                       
,khang-khau,the ,church members at this 
,station are reckoned                   
to the ,church at ,ma-peng4             

,kang-thau ,the ,church members at this 
,station are reckoned                   
to the ,first ,church at ,amoy4         
,e-mng-kang,the ,church members at this 
,station are reckoned                   
to the ,first ,church at ,amoy4         
,chiang-chiu                            
----------------------------------------
-------------------------------  ,then  
come remarks about native helpers1 not  
included in the above2 ,schools         
sustained by each of the ,missions1 and 
by the native ,churches2 ,theological   
,class2 ,students sustained by each     
,mission4  ,remarks on the above        
,tabular ,view4  ,the two ,churches at  
,amoy1 and the one at ,chioh-be are     
under the care of the ,missionaries of  
the ,reformed ,dutch ,church4 99  99  99
  99  99  99  ,the ,churches at         
,peh-chui-ia and ,ma-peng1 are under the
 care of the ,missionaries of the       
,english ,presbyterian ,church4 99  99  
99  99  99  99  ,the ,congregation at   
,an-hai is under the care of the        

,english ,presbyterian ,missionaries4   
,it has not yet been organized into a   
,church4 ,it is so far removed from     
,amoy that it cannot conveniently be    
placed under the supervision of either  
of the ,consistories4 99 99 99 99 99 99 
,khang-khau is a station under the care 
of the ,english ,presbyterian ,mission4 
99 99 99 99 99 99  ,kang-thau is under  
the care of the ,reformed ,dutch        
,mission4  ,e-mng-kang is a suburb of   
,amoy4 ,the ,congregation worshiping    
there belongs1 mostly1 to the ,first    
,church at ,amoy4 ,the ,station is under
 the care of the ,english ,presbyterian 
,mission4 99 99 99 99 99 99             
,chiang-chiu is a large city1 some      
twelve miles or more beyond ,chioh-be1  
and about thirty-five miles from ,amoy4 
,in times past1 several efforts have    
been made to establish a ,station at    
,chiang-chiu1 but always without        
success1 until during the past year4 ,at
 the close of the year there had not yet
 been any baptisms at that ,station4    

,since the beginning of this year1 there
 have been several4 ,the ,church members
 are reckoned to the ,church at         
,chioh-be1 and are under the oversight  
of the ,chioh-be ,consistory4 ,both     
,missions work as one at ,chiang-chiu4  
,each ,mission is to furnish half the   
expense4 ,to simplify the work1 it was  
thought best that one ,mission be       
responsible for the control of the      
,station1 and direct the work4 ,at      
present this is the ,mission of the     
,reformed ,dutch ,church4 ,if the work  
be prospered1 it is proposed to form two
 ,stations1 one under the care of each  
,mission4  ,the remaining part of the   
,report1 having no bearing on the       
subject before us1 need not be quoted4  
,from the ,report for #ahfb4  ,it will  
be sufficient merely to transcribe the  
,tabular ,view1 and add one or two      
explanatory remarks4  ,churches and     
,mission ,stations under the care of the
 ,reformed ,dutch and ,english          
,presbyterian ,missions at ,amoy1       

,december #ca1 #ahfb4                   
----------------------------------------
-------------------------------         
,no4 of   ,died                         
,members1 during,excommunicated         
,dec4 #ca1 the   during                 
,elders4,deacons4#ahfa4    year4 the    
year4                                   
----------------------------------------
------------------------------- ,first  
,church at ,amoy    #d      #d          
#abb     #f        #b ,second           
#d      #d        #hi    444      444   
,church at ,chioh-be      #d      #d    
#ea     #a       444                    
,peh-chui-ia   #b      #b        #bg    
444      444         ,ma-peng       #a  
#c        #cg     #b       444 ,station 
at ,an-hai      44     44        #bi    
#b       444          ,khang-thau,the   
members at this ,station are reckoned to
 the                      ,first        
,church1 ,amoy4          ,kang-khau ,the
 members at this ,station are reckoned  
to the                      ,church at  

,ma-peng4          ,e-mng-kang,the      
members at this ,station are reckoned to
 the                      ,first        
,church1 ,amoy4         ,chiang-chiu,the
 members at this ,station are reckoned  
to the                      ,church at  
,chioh-be4         ,go-chhng            
,te-soa              ,khi-be            
----------------------------------------
-------------------------------         
----------------------------------------
-------------------------------         
,no4 of    ,under       ,infant         
,helpers                      ,members1 
suspension  baptisms   supported by     
,dec4 #ca1  ,dec4 #ca1    during        
,native                      #ahfb4     
#ahfb4       the year4  ,church4        
----------------------------------------
------------------------------- ,first  
,church at ,amoy    #aci         #d     
#ag          #a ,second                 
#ajj         #c           #b          #a
 ,church at ,chioh-be       #gj         
#b           #i          #a             

,peh-chui-ia    #cj        444          
444        444         ,ma-peng         
#ch        444         444        444   
,station at ,an-hai        #cj          
444         444        444              
,khang-thau,the members at this ,station
 are reckoned to the                    
,first ,church1 ,amoy4                  
,kang-khau ,the members at this ,station
 are reckoned to the                    
,church at ,ma-peng4                    
,e-mng-kang,the members at this ,station
 are reckoned to the                    
,first ,church1 ,amoy4                  
,chiang-chiu,the members at this        
,station are reckoned to the            
,church at ,chioh-be4         ,go-chhng 
,te-soa              ,khi-be            
----------------------------------------
-------------------------------   ,of   
the three new ,stations1 ,go-chhng and  
,te-soa1 are under the care of the      
,reformed ,dutch ,mission1 ,khi-be under
 the care of the ,english ,presbyterian 
,mission4 ,the other ,churches and      

,stations as in previous ,report4  ,the 
,board of ,foreign ,missions1 being     
simply the organ of ,synod1 felt bound  
in their ,report to eliminate1 as far as
 possible1 all the ,presbyterian        
elements from the above ,reports of the 
,mission4 ,by so doing1 we think that   
they1 undesignedly of course1 keep our  
,church in ignorance1 not only of the   
absolute unity of the ,churches in the  
region of ,amoy1 but also of the real   
progress of the cause of ,christ and of 
the ,church of our order there4 ,among  
the members set down to our churches are
 those who belong to stations under the 
care of the ,english ,presbyterian      
,mission1 as is shown by the ,tabular   
,views4 ,the ,church at home1 not aware 
of this fact1 gives to their ,mission   
credit which does not belong to them2   
and then1 when1 in the progress of the  
work1 new churches are organized at     
these stations1 and these members are   
set off to them1 because they belong    
there1 the ,dutch ,mission is charged   

with deficiency of denominational       
feeling1 in giving to the ,english      
,presbyterians that which1 by all rules 
of ,christian courtesy and harmonious   
,missionary action1 belongs to the      
,dutch ,church4 ,is it well that we     
should be disputing among ourselves     
concerning who shall have that credit   
which all belongs to ,christ8 ,i know it
 has been asked1 with disapprobation1 by
 very high authority 7not1 indeed1 by   
the ,board7 concerning the unity of the 
,churches at ,amoy--how it came to exist
 at all4 ,in answer to such questions1  
let us consider one case1 that of the   
,station1 now ,church1 at ,e-mng-kang4  
,it is near enough to the ,first        
,church1 at ,amoy1 to be under its      
supervision4 ,doubtless1 we might have  
said to our ,presbyterian brethren1 ,in 
gathering a church1 we are willing to   
labor with you in preaching the ,gospel1
 for no one will censure us for that1   
and we admit that1 by all principles of 
our ,church order1 it would be          

altogether proper that the converts     
gathered in at ,e-mng-kang should be    
received and watched over by the ,first 
,church1 at ,amoy2 but1 by allowing     
this1 there will be danger of unity     
between the ,christians at ,e-mng-kang  
and ,amoy 7that they all may be one71   
which will be a violation of the        
important and radical distinction       
existing between them1 because some are 
supported by our funds1 some by the     
funds of the ,english ,presbyterians2   
and then1 when it becomes necessary to  
divide these ,churches1 for where there 
is such a radical distinction1 a        
division will necessarily come at some  
period1 and the longer it is delayed1   
the more trying and sorrowful it will   
be1 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--therefore1      
rather than incur such risks of unity1  
we had better violate our principles of 
,church order at the commencement1 and  

not allow the native ,elders any        
responsibility in receiving and watching
 over the ,church members4 ,we might    
have acted on such principles1 but shall
 we be censured for not doing it8  ,let 
it be distinctly understood1 that ,i do 
not publish the above ,reports with such
 remarks with any design of throwing    
blame on the ,board of ,foreign         
,missions4 ,the members of it1 and the  
,missionaries1 have had no feelings     
towards each other but such as are      
altogether pleasant4 ,perhaps the       
,board1 in view of all the              
circumstances1 has simply performed its 
duty4 ,i add this ,appendix only to     
illustrate the unity of the churches at 
,amoy1 and show that the ,missionaries  
have acted according to the doctrines of
 ,god's ,word and the fundamental       
principles of our ,church order4        
,appendix ,b4   ,in the ,christian      
,intelligencer of ,june #ah1 #ahfc1 in  
the ,report of the ,proceedings of      
,general ,synod of ,thursday1 ,june #aa1

 the last day of the session1 appeared  
the following paragraphs3       ,,amoy  
,,mission4       ,rev4 ,dr4 ,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 sessions1 delightful as they 
all had      been4 ,he was informed by  
his beloved brother ,talmage1 that by   
permission of ,synod1 he would like to  
express briefly his content1      in the
 main1 with the action which the ,synod 
had taken respecting      the ,amoy     
,mission4 ,it is of the ,lord4 ,he has  
melted all hearts      together as one1 
for his own work and honor4 ,we see eye 
to eye1 and      ,zion may lift up her  
voice in thanksgiving4       ,rev4      
,j4,v4,n4 ,talmage said he wished to    
express his gratitude to the            
fathers and brethren for all their      
kindness to himself and the             
,missionaries at ,amoy4 ,if the ,synod  
has not arrived at the very best        

decision1 he hoped it is the best under 
the circumstances4 ,he felt      no     
desire to disobey the ,synod1 nor will  
the ,missionaries at ,amoy4      ,if we 
cannot organize a ,classis at once1 we  
will do the best we      can4 ,he had   
been defeated1 and he had no qualms of  
conscience in      submitting to the    
decision that had been reached4  ,i was 
willing to allow the previous1 and1 as  
,i considered1 very partial1 report of  
the proceedings of ,synod to pass       
unnoticed1 but felt that ,i had no right
 to allow errors1 such as are contained 
in the above two paragraphs1 to remain  
uncorrected4 ,therefore ,i addressed to 
the editor the following note3       ,to
 the ,christian ,intelligencer4         
,mr4 ,editor3       ,in looking over the
 report of ,general ,synod1 as given in 
the last      number of the             
,intelligencer1 ,i find a very grave    
mistake in      reference to the        
position taken by me near the close of  
the      session4 ,a similar mistake    

appears in the report made to the ,new  
,york ,observer4#c       ,footnote #c3  
,i addressed to the editors of the      
,observer a card1      correcting the   
mistake which had appeared in their     
paper1 and they      published it4      
,when1 in the order of business on      
,thursday morning1 there seemed a       
suitable opportunity for me to address  
the ,synod1 ,i was sitting      near    
,dr4 ,porter1 and remarked to him that  
,i wished to make such      address4 ,he
 said that he desired to speak first4   
,he arose and      addressed the ,synod1
 in substance1 as is reported4 ,i was   
altogether      surprised1 for ,i had   
given him no authority to speak for me2 
neither had ,i expressed to him or any  
other man the sentiments he             
attributed to me4 ,i felt that his      
speech was altogether      unfortunate1 
for it seemed almost to demand of me a  
restatement of      my views4 ,but ,i   
felt1 also1 that it would be improper1  
then1 to      occupy the time of ,synod 

with any further discussion1 and        
contented      myself with merely taking
 exception to ,dr4 ,porter's statement1 
saying that ,i could not use the        
language he had just used4       ,i also
 stated that although the ,synod had not
 arrived at the best      decision1 yet 
perhaps it was the best under all the   
circumstances4 ,as these circumstances  
seem to be entirely      misunderstood  
by some1 ,i may now explain them4 ,i had
 remarked in      the previous debate1  
and still firmly believe1 that the      
decision of      ,synod1 if it be fully 
carried out1 would only be disastrous in
 its      results1 as far as the        
churches at ,amoy were concerned4 ,but  
there      was another disaster to be   
apprehended4 ,if the ,synod had allowed 
the work of ,god to proceed at          
,amoy1 as it had always been carried    
forward1 and with such      marvelous   
blessings from on high1 for so many     
years past1 it was      feared that some
 of the members of ,synod would use     

their influence      in the ,church     
against that ,mission1 to such an extent
 as possibly      to cut off the        
resources of the mission4 ,such were the
      circumstances to which ,i alluded1
 and ,i was well understood1 at         
least by some of the members of ,synod4 
,it seemed necessary to      choose     
between two evils4 ,my own opinion was1 
and is1 that the      ,synod had chosen 
the greater evil1 still ,i was willing  
to yield      'the benefit of the       
doubt1' and therefore remarked that     
perhaps      7,i used the word          
'perhaps'7 the decision was the best    
under the      circumstances4       ,i  
did express for myself1 and as ,i       
believed1 in accordance with      the   
views of the ,missionaries at ,amoy1    
that we did not wish1 and      never had
 wished to disobey the injunctions of   
,synod4 ,besides this1      we were     
under obligations to do what was best   
for the churches      under our care4   
,if we were not allowed to do that which

 is      absolutely best1 we should do  
the best we could4       ,i also        
expressed my gratitude that the ,synod  
had manifested so      much patience and
 ,christian courtesy towards myself and 
the      ,mission1 for with one or two  
exceptions1 not an unkind word had      
been uttered4       ,the closing        
sentence of my remarks being somewhat   
playful1 might      have been omitted   
from the report1 but if thought worthy  
of      publication1 it should have been
 given correctly4 ,i know that ,i can   
give it now with accuracy1 almost       
verbatim4 ',i have fought hard1      and
 have been beaten2 ,i could wish ,i had 
been able to fight better1      but ,i  
did my best1 and consequently have no   
qualms of conscience on      the        
subject4' ,does that mean that we had no
 qualms of conscience      about        
'submitting to the decision that had    
been reached8' ,no4 ,it      means that 
,i was not responsible for the evils of 
that decision4       ,it will1 ,i think1

 serve the cause of truth1 ,mr4 ,editor1
 if you      will be so kind as to      
publish this card in your next issue4   
,if ,i      was so unfortunate in the   
use of language as not to express       
sentiments similar to the above1 ,i     
desire now to express them4       ,allow
 me also to ask whether you will open   
the columns of your      paper for a    
full statement of the views of the ,amoy
 ,mission on the      subject of the    
ecclesiastical relations of the churches
 under their      care8 ,i find that    
there is still altogether a mistaken    
impression      among our churches on   
this subject4 ,our people who sustain   
the      ,mission have a right to know  
the condition of that ,mission4 ,from   
the report in the last ,intelligencer1  
they will get no light on      that     
subject1 but will get the impression    
that some great mistake      has been   
committed by the ,missionaries at ,amoy4
 ,allowing this to      be the case1 the
 ,missionaries have a right to be heard 

before the      churches4 ,let the      
churches understand the matter1 and     
decide      concerning the mistake4 ,the
 ,missionaries have been desirous for   
years to get their views made public1   
but have not yet succeeded4  ,very      
truly1 yours1 c1 ,j4,v4,n4 ,,talmage4   
,june #ai1 #ahfc4  ,instead of finding  
my note inserted in the next number of  
the ,intelligencer ,i found the         
following3       ,,rev4 ,,mr4           
,,talmage',s ,,letter4       ,we have   
received from the ,rev4 ,j4,v4,n4       
,talmage1 a communication               
respecting our report of his remarks at 
the close of the session of      the    
,general ,synod1 accompanied with a     
request that he be permitted      to    
appeal through these columns to the     
,churches in support of his             
position4 ,the communication is long1   
and perhaps we can give the             
substance of it briefly4       #ast4 ,he
 wishes to correct the statement of     
,rev4 ,dr4 ,porter4 ,and      this he   

shall do in his own words1 viz43        
',i felt that his speech was altogether 
unfortunate1 for it seemed      almost  
to demand of me the restatement of my   
views4 ,but ,i felt1      also1 that it 
would be improper then to occupy the    
time of ,synod      with any further    
discussion1 and contented myself with   
merely      taking exception to ,dr4    
,porter's statements1 saying that ,i    
could      not use the language he had  
just used4 ,i also stated that1 although
      the ,synod had not arrived at the 
best decision1 yet perhaps it was       
the best1 under all the circumstances4' 
,so far ,mr4 ,talmage1 in disclaiming   
agreement with the statement      made  
by ,dr4 ,porter4       ,we can1 on this 
point1 only express regret that there   
should have      been either seeming or 
real difference4 ,but as ,brother       
,talmage      confesses that our report 
correctly represents him as having said1
      that       ',although the ,synod  
had not arrived at the best decision1   

yet      perhaps it was the best1 under 
all the circumstances1'       ,we       
therefore suppose that the report of    
verbal differences--if the      spirit  
of the remarks be anything--between him 
and the gentleman to      whom he       
refers1 cannot be accounted as very     
serious4       #b;d4 ,as it respects the
 opening of these columns to a fresh    
discussion of the matter relating to the
 ,amoy ,churches before      ,synod1 we 
have simply to say that we dare not give
 consent1 for the      following        
reasons3 ,the ,synod is the legislative 
body for the      ,church4 ,the         
documents and statements respecting the 
,amoy ,churches      were full and      
thorough in the information imparted4   
,four sessions      and more of the     
,synod were occupied with a careful     
preparatory      hearing and final      
adjudication of the matter1 and it is   
not the      duty of the ,christian     
,intelligencer to allow itself to be    
used as      the agent of dissension    

among the ,churches1 and of opposition  
to      the constituted authority of the
 ,synod4  ,whether my views were        
misrepresented1 and whether ,i was      
charged with seeking a different object 
from that for which ,i had asked--,i had
 not asked that the columns of the paper
 be opened for a fresh discussion of the
 matter which had been before ,synod1   
but for a full statement of the views of
 the ,amoy ,mission1 because of mistaken
 impressions in our ,churches--the      
,church will be able to decide as       
accurately as myself4 ,but ,i wish to   
say this much4 ,your ,missionaries do   
not consider that by becoming           
,missionaries they lose their rights as 
men1 and ,ministers of the ,dutch       
,church4 ,they have the right to expect 
that1 when away from home1 their        
reputation will be protected4 ,when     
mistaken statements concerning their    
views get abroad in the ,church1 there  
should be1 and we believe there is1 a   
responsible party whose duty it is to   

correct such statements4 ,at any rate1 a
 paper which professes to be the organ  
of the ,dutch ,church1 has no right to  
refuse to the ,missionaries themselves  
the privilege of correcting mistaken    
statements of their own views and their 
own language1 that appear in its        
columns4 ,the ,editor doubtless is      
responsible for what appears in his     
paper4 ,he may refuse to publish        
improper articles1 but he may not garble
 and misrepresent them without incurring
 reproof4 ,the expense of publishing in 
pamphlet form corrections of mistakes   
which appear in the columns of a        
newspaper1 is too heavy a tax to impose 
on any of the ,ministry of the ,church1 
especially on your ,missionaries2 and1  
even then1 the corrections can be read  
by only a small portion of those who    
read the misstatements4