REFERENCE FROM THE PRESBYTERY OF EDINBURGH.

Dr CANDLISH stated the reference, and the Procurator proposed the following motion:-"That the Commission sustain the reference from the Presbytery of Edinburgh, and recommend to the Presbytery, in all disputed and litigated causes, the decisions in which would carry civil consequences, to stay proceedings, and refer them to the superior court, but in all other matters and causes advise them, and all other inferior Church judicatories, to perform their functions as usual.”Agreed to.

The Committee to whom the drawing up the petitions to Parliament were entrusted, laid the same before the Commission, when it was agreed that the Duke of Argyll be requested to lay the one before the House of Lords, and that the Marquis of Breadalbane be requested to support it; and that the one to the House of Commons be entrusted to Mr Fox Maule,-Mr Rutherfurd, Mr Plumptre, Mr Maxwell Stuart, and Mr Campbell of Monzie, being requested to support it. The Commission then adjourned about twelve o'clock.

PETITION TO PARLIAMENT OF COMMISSION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Unto the Honourable the Commons of Great Britain, in Parliament assembled The Humble Petition of the Commission of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

Sheweth-That by the constitution of the kingdom of Scotland, as settled at the Revolution, the ultimate and exclusive jurisdiction of the Church and her Courts, in matters spiritual and ecclesiastical, was recognised and ratified.

That this exclusive and ultimate jurisdiction had been claimed and asserted by the Reformed Church of Scotland from the period of its institution; and that, so early as 1567, when her jurisdiction was recognised by the Legislature, in the "preaching of the word," correction of manners," and "administration of the sacraments," it was declared by statute 1567, c. 12, " that there be no other jurisdiction ecclesiastical acknowledged within this realm, other than that which is and shall be within the same Kirk, or that which flows therefrom, concerning the premises."

That a few years thereafter, King James VI. obtained an act to be passed (1584, c. 129), declaring that the sovereigns of Scotland were, by themselves and their councils, "judges competent" to their subjects"in all matters;" but that by the subsequent act, establishing the Presbyterian government, and ratifying the General Assemblies, Synods, Presbyteries, and Kirk-Sessions, appointed by the Kirk" (1592, c. 116), it was declared that the said statute should "noways be prejudicial, nor derogate any thing to the privilege that God has given to the spiritual office-bearers in the Kirk, concerning heads of religion, matters of heresy, excommunication, collation and deprivation of ministers, or any such like essential censures, grounded and having warrant of the word of God;" and by the same act, all statutes and laws against the "liberty," "jurisdiction," and "discipline" of the Kirk, as then exercised, were rescinded, and power was sanctioned in the Church Courts to put order to all matters and causes ecclesiastical, according to the discipline of the Kirk.”

That for a century thereafter a constant struggle was maintained between the Kings of Scotland on the one hand, and the Church and nation on the other, regarding the admission into the constitution of the principle that the sovereign was "supreme ruler in all causes, as well spiritual and ecclesiastical as temporal and civil," and that, after having been alternately rejected and acknowledged, it was finally repudiated at the Revolution.

That on one of the occasions on which this principle was re-introduced into the constitution of Scotland, namely, the restoration of King Charles II., the acts establishing the Presbyterian Church then repealed (and particularly the Act 1592, c. 116), were described in the statute whereby they were so repealed, as acts "by which the sole and only power and jurisdiction within this Church doth stand in the Church, and in the General, Provincial, and Presbyterial Assemblies, and Kirk-Sessions."

That the acts of Parliament so characterised by the Legislature of Scotland were revived and ratified at the Revolution, (by statute 1690, c. 5), and the statute recognising the principle, that the sovereign was supreme ruler in causes spiritual and ecclesiastical, was repealed, as being "inconsistent with the establishment of Church government" then desired; which repeal was effected in compliance with the second article of the Claim of Right of the Estates of Scotland, forming a condition of the offer of the crown to King William and Queen Mary.

That, at the same time (by statute 1690, c. 5) the government of the Church by General Assemblies, Synods, Presbyteries, and Kirk-Sessions, was declared to be the "only government" of the Church within the kingdom; and the Confession of Faith was ratified and approven, wherein it is set forth, as an article of religious doctrine and belief, that the Divine Head of the Church "hath therein appointed a government in the hands of Church officers distinct from the civil Magistrate."

That, in regard to this matter, the constitution of England is directly opposed to that of Scotland, the sovereign, who is the source of judicial power, being there acknowledged to be supreme ruler in all causes, “as well spiritual and ecclesiastical as temporal and civil;" and this principle being admitted as a doctrine of religion in the articles of the Church of England.

That in forming an union with that kingdom, in which, besides the distinction in the form of Church government, the constitution so greatly differed in regard to a matter that had formed the subject of such a long continued and arduous contest, crowned with success at the Revolution, the most anxious provision was made by the Scottish nation against any alteration or innovation in reference to the Church as then established, the Commissioners for the Union not being allowed even to treat of any such alteration, and it being provided by antecedent stipulation, “as a fundamental and essential condition" of the treaty, inserted in the treaty, and in the acts of the Parliaments of both kingdoms ratifying the same, that the “government, discipline, right, and privileges" of the Church, as settled at the Revolution, “in prosecution of the Claim of Right,” should be maintained, “without any alteration thereof, or derogation thereto, in any sort, for ever."

That from the time when Scotland yielded up her separate and independent Legislature, the practical observance of the solemn stipulations of this treaty of necessity depended on the good faith, justice, and honour of the English nation, whose representatives possessed a voice so paramount in the united Legislature.

That while the Scottish Church and nation deemed that they had good cause of complaint in the passing of the act of Queen Anne restoring the right of patronage, which stood abolished at the Union,-an act promoted with a view to the overthrow of the Revolution settlement, and of the succession of the royal house which so happily reigns over this empire,—that act was never, till recently, so construed or employed as to be made a means of encroaching on the spiritual government and discipline of the Church.

That till within a few years the Court of Session in Scotland, a Court of statutory origin and limited jurisdiction, instituted exclusively for the decision of "actions civil," did not attempt to interfere with or coerce the church courts in the performance of their functions, but, on the contrary, disclaimed all right so to interfere, restricting the redress given by them, when they deemed the proceedings of the church courts to be illegal, to the disposal of the temporalities attached by law to the spiritual cures of the Church, and determining whether and how far civil consequences followed, according to law from the sentences of the church courts,-matters which the church freely acknowledges to be within the exclusive and ultimate jurisdiction of the Court of Session.

That of late that Court, no longer confining itself to the disposal of civil rights, and the decision of causes appropriated to its exclusive jurisdiction, has, for the first time since its institution, interfered with and reviewed the sentences of the church courts, in matters confessedly within the province of the Church.

That the occasion of the first interference on the part of the said court, was the rejection of the presentee to a parish, in respect of the dissent of the congregation, under the fundamental principle of the Church, "that no pastor be intruded on any

congregation contrary to the will of the people,"-a principle forming part of the discipline of the Church, when established in 1592|with its then subsisting discipline, -which was declared in 1638,-re-declared in 1736, up to which time it had been, with few exceptions, acted on from the date of the Act of Queen Anne, and which was again re-declared in 1834,—and a principle which, although the Church has always been ready and willing to alter the form of it, she cannot abandon.

That the interference of the said court has not, however, been confined to enfor cing the admission of a patron's presentee, when rejected in respect of the dissent of the people, but has been extended to almost all the various matters set forth in the statutes herein before recited as belonging to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Church --such as the "preaching of the word, "administration of the sacraments," "correction of manners," "collation and deprivation of ministers," and other matters falling within the "government of the Church," and the "putting order to all matters and causes ecclesiastical ;"-suspending such sentences, and interdicting their execution, restoring suspended and deposed ministers to their functions,-prohibiting the preaching of the word and administration of the sacraments throughout whole districts,-staying and paralysing the discipline of the Church, and subverting its go

vernment.

That the General Assembly, which met in May last, agreed to and adopted a Claim, Declaration, aud Protest, wherein are set forth at length the several acts of encroachment, on the part of the said court, complained of, and the diverse statutes which ratify and secure the jurisdiction of the Church, and exclude that of the civil court, in the matters to which these acts refer.

That since the rising of the said Assembly, additional and farther encroachments have been made on the spiritual jurisdiction and government of the Church; as, for instance

In the Culsalmond case, the court suspended and interdicted a sentence of the General Assembly, which rescinded the settlement of a minister effected by a Presbytery, on the ground exclusively of certain irregularities in the procedure, admitted by all parties in the Assembly to be in contravention of the laws of the Church.

In the Arbroath case, they interdicted the inferior church courts from refusing Christian privileges,-including, of course, admission to the Lord's table-to an excommunicated person.

And in the Stewarton case, they suspended and interdicted the establishment of an additional pastoral charge in a parish,-prohibited the reception of the minister of it into the Presbytery, the institution of a new kirk-session, the allocation of a special district for the purposes of pastoral superintendence and spiritual discipline, or the making any alteration in the state of the parish as regards these matters.

That the establishment of additional charges, and the admission of the ministers to church courts, had been invariably and in numerous instances, extending from the passing of the act 1592 down to the present time, effected by authority of the church courts alone, without challenge or question, and the validity of her acts as to this matter bad, in accordance with a train of high legal authority, been recognised by an unanimous decision of the Court of Session so lately as 1836; while the power of the Church to erect districts or parishes quoad spiritualia was expressly acknowledged by an act of his late Majesty King William (4 and 5 William IV., c. 41); and that the practical effect of the decision above mentioned, if submitted to by the Church, would be to extinguish about two hundred pastoral charges, of eminent utility to the country, and maintained without expense to the State,-to annihilate as many kirk-sessions, now in active and useful operation, to throw back the whole population of overgrown parishes (extending in one case to 110,000 souls,) on the exclusive pastoral superintendence and spiritual discipline of a single minister and kirk-session,-and to subject all increase of the means of such superintendence and discipline, though at the sole expense of the inhabitants themselves, to the absolute will and pleasure of any proprietors of a parish holding one-fourth of the land within it.

That by these and the former decisions of the said Court, nearly the whole pro

vince of the Church's jurisdiction has been invaded, and scarcely one function is left to be performed by her Courts free from interference and coercion.

That the Church has not been able to recognise in the statutes establishing or conferring power on the Court of Session, any warrant given to it by the state to declare authoritatively the conditions of the Establishment,-to prescribe the limits of the Church's jurisdiction,-to coerce her Courts in the exercise of their functions within their own province,-or to pronounce and declare the law, and the mind and will of the Legislature, as to these matters, while the supreme Court of appeal cannot, as such, exercise any jurisdiction not belonging to the Court whose judgments it reviews; and the Church being vested with a jurisdiction sanctioned by the state, has not felt herself at liberty to abandon that jurisdiction, merely on the declaration of another Court, not authorised by the state to determine its nature and limits.

That if, however, the Legislature, as the supreme power of the state, shall, whether tacitly or expressly, recognise in the Court of Session such a power, or adopt its decisions as declaring the law in the matters in question, the Church will, of course, recognise these as law, and hold that the conditions of the Establishment must thenceforth be deemed to be such as the Civil Court has declared, and that the powers asserted by it over the Church Courts must be deemed to be recognised as having been conferred upon it by the state.

That in the Claim, Declaration, and Protest, above-mentioned, the General Assembly set forth that the Church must, in any event, "refuse to intrude ministers on her congregations," and to "submit to the unlawful coercion attempted to be enforced against her in the exercise of her spiritual functions and jurisdiction," even at the risk of the loss of the benefits of her Establishment.

That the late decisions of the Court of Session, and other recent events, tend more and more to confirm and increase the conviction of this Commission, that if effectual redress be not afforded by Parliament, a speedy disruption of the Establishment is inevitable.

That, deeply impressed with the grievous evils to the nation, as well as to the Church, which would thence ensue, the Commission would earnestly entreat your Honourable House to take into your serious consideration the matters above set forth, and which are more fully detailed in the Claim, Declaration, and Protest above-mentioned, together with the true character and nature of the Church's claims, and the statutes to which she appeals in support of them, as well as those establishing the Court of Session, which, as she conceives, do not confer the powers of late, and for the first time since its institution, exercised by that Court, and thereupon provide protection and security to the judicatories and people of the Church of Scotland in the enjoyment of their constitutional and guaranteed rights and liberties; so as to save from subversion a Church dear to Scotland, which, your petitioners venture to think, has conferred some benefit on the country, and which is associated with the cause of liberty and order, and the extension of knowledge, religion, and piety, in this part of her Majesty's dominions; and, at the same time, to keep unbroken a solemn treaty, on the faith of which the Scottish nation gave up its independent legislature.

Your petitioners therefore pray, that it may please your Honourable House to take the premises into your serious and favourable consideration, together with the Claim, Declaration, and Protest, above mentioned and hereunto appended, and thereupon to adopt such measures as to your Honourable House may seem meet, to secure the judicatories of the Church of Scotland and members thereof from coercion and interference, in regulating and disposing of the said several matters above recited, as to which it is provided by the acts of the Parliament of Scotland before mentioned, "that no other jurisdiction be acknowledged than that which is in the Church, or which flows therefrom," and that the statute declaratory of the power of the sovereign should not "derogate or be prejudicial to" the powers of the office-bearers of the Church; and also in administering the " government" of the Church recognised by statute, as being “ only" in the Courts of the Church, and as having

been established therein "distinct from the civil magistrate;" and in esta-
blishing additional charges, as she has been immemorially in use to do, and
increasing the means of pastoral superintendence and spiritual discipline;
and to protect the sentences of the Church as to these matters from being
reduced or suspended, or the execution thereof interdicted, as to their effects
in respect of spiritual and ecclesiastical status, functions, and privileges:—
not interfering with, however, nor encroaching upon, the undoubted power
and jurisdiction belonging to the Civil Courts absolutely and exclusively to
determine in what circumstances, and to what extent, civil consequences,-as
to the possession of the temporalities and civil rights attached to ministerial
charges within Scotland,-do, according to law, follow upon such sentences
in any particular case: and how far civil aid shall be allowed for carrying them
into effect: and, in like manner, to adopt such measures as to your Honourable
House may seem meet,-by alteration of the law, in regard to the presenta-
tion to church livings in Scotland, as recently declared by the Civil Court,
for securing that no minister be intruded into any benefice in Scotland con-
trary to the will of the congregation: Your petitioners further pray, that they
may be heard by certain of their number, or by their counsel, at the bar of
your Honourable House, in support of this their petition.
And your petitioners shall ever pray, &c.

APPOINTMENTS, &c.-Mr Robert Welsh, preacher of the gospel, has been presented by the Earl of Moray assistant and successor to Mr Guild of Auchtertool, Presbytery of Kirkaldy.

Mr Joseph Isdale, preacher of the gospel, has been elected minister of Inverteil Church, Presbytery of Kirkaldy.

The Queen has been pleased to present the Rev. Walter M'Farlan, preacher of the gospel, to be assistant and successor to the Rev. William Thorburn, parish of Troqueer, Presbytery of Dumfries.

The Earl of Zetland has presented the Rev. James W. Taylor of Grangemouth to the church and parish of Fiisk, Presbytery of Cupar-Fife.

The Queen has been pleased to present the Rev. Peter Morrison, formerly minister of the High Bridge Chapel, Newcastle, to be assistant and successor to the Rev. William Forfar, minister of Saline, Presbytery of Dunfermline.

The Rev. Mr Mackenzie has been elected minister of Dalbeattie Church.

CALLS.-On 22d December, Mr Veitch's to the West Church. No dissents. On 12th January, Mr Cameron's to Ayton. No dissents.

On 2d March, Mr Grant's to Wallacetown, Ayr. Sustained.

On 16th March, Mr Ferguson's to St David's, Edinburgh. No dissents.

ORDINATIONS, &c.-On 22d December, the Presbytery of Glasgow met and ordained the Rev. Robert Reid as minister of Chalmers' Church. Mr John Reid of Brownfield presided.

The following ordinations have taken place in the Presbytery of Strathbogie :

11th January, the Rev. Thomas Wright to Rhynie. Mr Dewar of Fochabers and Mr Robertson of Gartly presided.

17th January, the Rev. Mr Taylor to Glass. Messrs Dewar and Robertson presided.

18th January, the Rev. Thomas Bain to Mortlach. Mr Henry of Marnoch presided.

19th January, the Rev. R. Moncur to Botriphnie.