Many of the Scotch party maintained that the atonement of Christ is intended as a provision for the elect alone. The Puritan party asserted that the atonement is made for the race as a whole, so that it may be truly said to every lost sinner, after he shall be shut up in the eternal prison, "You might have had salvation; Christ purchased it for you, and proffered it to you in all sincerity."

The Scotch party maintained, that unconverted sinners were perfectly unable, in every sense, to comply with the requirements of the gospel. The other party alleged, that "God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that it is neither forced, nor by any absolute necessity of nature, determined to good or evil." Many individuals were found, on both sides, that pushed these views to an extreme; but far the greater proportion of the clergy, in each party, were content to preach the gospel faithfully to their respective flocks, with so little of the controversial spirit, that the greater part of their intelligent hearers, did not understand that there was any perceptible difference in the theology of the two schools. Indeed, the division cannot be said to have taken place on theological principles.

Nor did the difference of measures for promoting religion exert any influence directly in producing the separation. The people of western New York were a staid New England population. When some irregularities sprung up among them, strong remonstrances were called into exercise in their own community, by this infringement of the uniform and long established order to which they had been accustomed. But, the same irregularities, that produced unhappy excitements there, are, at this day, exceeded, by far, in many portions of the Presbyterian Church, that have been wholly moulded by the Scotch party. We have known a church, in a village of western New York, thrown into great excitement, because a member was admitted to the communion of the church, with only one week's probation, after his first expressing a hope in Christ. This, too, when the man was a respectable citizen, a regular attendant upon the sanctuary, and of most blameless morals. Such were the habits of the Christian community, that great anxiety was created by what was there deemed so hasty a step in the reception of a convert to the ordinances of the church. Yet the writer of this article has witnessed in the state of Kentucky, under the Scotch system, an instance of a woman's coming to what was, untastefully enough, called an "anxious seat," on Saturday evening, indicating there and by that act, for the first time, that she was impressed with the great truths of the gospel; and yet she was received to the church the next day, without creating even surprise among the people.

This was not a new measure at the West, because the people were accustomed to it. It would probably be looked on as an act of hurried fanaticism in the most extravagant Presbyterian church in western New York, at the present day.

The causes of the division lay back of any serious differences in doctrines or measures. The Domestic Missionary Society, in New York, was a voluntary association, sending its missionaries to the new settlements of our western frontiers. The General Assembly also employed missionaries to labour upon the same field. Some friends of domestic missions in New England and New York, conceived of a noble project for increasing the efficiency of the domestic missionary movement.

It had been satisfactorily proved by the munificence of an individual, that the sum of one hundred dollars, given to a feeble congregation, would operate as an encouragement to the people, to secure a continuous dispensation of the gospel among them.

After some communications from one to another, among distinguished Christian philanthropists, the Domestic Missionary Society was merged in the American Home Missionary Society, formed in New York, in 1826. This society enjoyed a success which the missions of the General Assembly had never possessed.

The reasons were obvious. According to its plan of operations, every one hundred and sixty-two dollars, secured the planting of a missionary for one year, over a feeble church. Its funds were collected by soliciting from the benevolent considerable annual donations to its treasury. Many wealthy Christians contributed a sum sufficient to support one, two, three or more missionaries. On the plan of the Assembly, every missionary cost its mission four hundred and sixtysix dollars. Its collections, too, were mainly sought for in small sums. "The fifty cent plan," as it was termed, was greatly relied on.

This plan of soliciting from every member of the church, a penny a week, failed to secure any great amount of funds. The wealthy were pleased with a plan so agreeable to a parsimonious spirit; the solicitation was not universal, and great numbers failed to comply with a request so reasonable. Here was the germ of the difficulty. The Home Missionary Society extended its influence rapidly. The plan was popular. The results gave it increased eclat, and those who were connected with it, acquired a vast moral influence in the church. This influence was wielded mainly by those who were of the Puritan party. In Philadelphia, there was another kind of influence. It was ecclesiastical, and arose from that city's being the birthplace of American Presbyterianism, and the place where the

General Assembly held its annual sessions. In that Jerusalem of our beloved church resided men venerated for their years, and respected for their learning, piety, and usefulness. They were of the Scotch party. "They were desirous," as Dr. Miller said of the ministers from Scotland, at another period, "to carry into effect the system to which they had been accustomed in all its extent and strictness." The Home Missionary Society, and the Plan of Union, promoted a rapid growth of the Puritan element in the Presbyterian Church. That portion of the church which had received its cast and tone from New England, possessed an efficiency in impressing its own character upon our growing population, which the Scotch party did not possess. It gave funds for the missionary work with far greater liberality; it educated men for the sacred office in greater numbers, it co-operated with other denominations more freely. It was the more popular and growing portion of the church, and it was evident that the day was not very distant, when it would have a strongly ascendant influence in the Presbyterian Church, unless something were done to check its power.

This naturally created anxiety in those who had been accustomed to a strong control in the ecclesiastical judicatories. They felt that the church would be unsafe, if the power should pass into other hands. Hence arose accusations for heresy against ministers whose reputation for orthodoxy never could be brought into question with any intelligent, uncommitted hearers of their preaching. Three distinguished prosecutions for heresy were instituted as a means of carrying out the designs of the Scotch party. These were the cases of the Rev. George Duffield, of Carlisle; the Rev. Albert Barnes, of Philadelphia; and the Rev. Lyman Beecher, D. D., of Cincinnati. These prosecutions were carried on with great zeal for several years; that of Mr. Barnes lasted six years; but all proved signal failures. There was a tone of moderation and piety in the church, which would not allow such men to be deposed as heretics.

These efforts were accompanied by a warm resistance of voluntary associations in the work of missions, and in educating young men for the sacred office; and also by a complaint of extravagance and new measures in the region where "the Plan of Union" had exerted its influence. It cannot be denied, indeed, that extravagances existed in western New York; but they were extravagances of which the other party had no right to complain, and of which they would probably never have heard, if the Puritan party had been as much accustomed to camp meetings, and anxious seats, and hasty admissions, as

extensive regions of the church under the control of the Scotch party had been.

The Scotch party was doubtless sincere in magnifying every cause for apprehension in regard to the doctrines, and the order of the other portion of the church. Good men accustomed to great influence very easily believe, that if power passes from their own hands, it will be exercised with less discretion.

The moderate party had the advantage in point of numbers; but they had less of esprit du corps, less of organization as a party, and less disposition to contend. The Scotch party organized themselves by conventions and appeals through the press, representing the church as being in extreme danger from heresy in doctrine, and innovations upon established order. The feelings to which they appealed were a warm regard for Presbyterian order and doctrine. The Puritan party really believed that it was unjustifiable to attempt to meet these warlike preparations by demonstrations of the same character. They thought, if they still devoted their energies to the cause of missions, and the progress of piety in our own church, and in the country at large, God would protect their cause.

The General Assembly of 1837, convened in Philadelphia. It was distinctly understood, previously to the meeting, through a convention of that party, that if they could secure a majority, some measures would be adopted which would disable, ever thereafter, the moderate party in the church. The desired majority was obtained. They first abrogated the Plan of Union, and then declared four synods, viz.: those of Utica, Geneva, Genesee, and the Western Reserve, out of the Presbyterian Church. The "Plan of Union" did not make these four synods, it only made the people Presbyterians, and the General Assembly constituted the synods. When "The Plan of Union" was abrogated, it became obvious that those churches, which were partly or wholly Congregational, must lose their connexion with the presbyteries; but how synods and presbyteries lost their Presbyterian character by the removal of what little remnants of Congregationalism had remained in them till that time, it is difficult to conceive. Indeed it is quite manifest that the whole movement was made, as was admitted by a principal leader of the party at the time, for the simple purpose of preventing a future majority of the other party. These four synods, comprising about five hundred ministers, and six hundred churches, and sixty thousand communicants, were attempted to be cut off from the Presbyterian Church, because, if the opposing party was not thoroughly broken by such an excision, the Scotch party would never have a majority on that floor again.

After passing these resolutions, the majority took effective measures to retain the records, and the funds of the church, by passing an order requiring the clerks to pledge themselves not to receive the commissioners from the exscinded synods, in the formation of the next Assembly.

The Puritan party learning that if the moderator and clerks should assume to carry out the unconstitutional acts of 1837, in the organizing of the Assembly of 1838, it would be clearly a conspiracy to deprive them of their rights, appeared by their commissioners and organized the Assembly, at the appointed time and place, in a legal and constitutional manner. The Scotch party also organized, and each body proclaimed itself the regular constitutional "General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America." The party that had exscinded the four synods to secure to themselves a future majority, retained all the funds and property of the church, amounting to more than three hundred thousand dollars.

The General Assembly in its session in 1838, appointed six new trustees, in accordance with the act of corporation, passed by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, in 1799. The new trustees thus appointed, instituted a process in law, requiring of the trustees who had been superseded "To answer to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, by what warrant they claimed to have, use, and enjoy the franchises and privileges of Trustees of the General Assembly."

After a full and impartial trial before a jury, a verdict was rendered in favour of the plaintiffs-the Puritan party: "that is," as explained by the presiding judge," the Assembly which held its sittings. in the First Presbyterian Church, (a portion of which had been cut off in 1837, without trial,) was the true General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in the United States of America, under the charter."

The counsel for the defendants applied to "the Supreme Court in Banc" for a new trial. After hearing the cause, Chief Justice Gibson ordered a new trial. Various delays occurred. The General Assembly is satisfied with the moral effect of the decision rendered by a jury of their countrymen, and has withdrawn the suit.

The reasons for this withdrawment are various. First, the General Assembly is willing to sacrifice something, and even much, for peace. But the great object of the trial has been secured. The Constitutional party definitely offered to leave all the funds in the hands of the exscinding party, if they would allow the separation to be a division of the church rather than an expulsion of nearly one third part of the whole, so that its church property should not be at the mercy of the