with the Spirit, their salvation is made to depend;—or, that the baptism which the ministry is to dispense is that of water; whilst, as at first, so still, the Son of God himself is the baptizer with the Holy Ghost, to whom men must come for salvation, and from whom alone is to be obtained "the Spirit of life.” The one theory invites men to trust in an arm of flesh; the other, in the love of Christ. The former system is antichrist. The latter is the gospel of the Son of God.

Faithfulness to the truth of Christ forbids us to close, without distinctly marking the sceptical spirit which inspires Macnair's entire book. Whilst professing to accept the word of God as the infallible guide, he does not hesitate to reject the testimony of those very apostles to whom Jesus expressly says, "Whoso heareth you, heareth me." He quibbles about the vision and misrepresents Peter, as though he was hard to persuade to call no man common or unclean. Whereas, the simple fact is, that the vision and expostulation of Peter was respecting the eating of all manner of wild beasts and reptiles. The meaning of this vision was not at first revealed to Peter, (Acts x. 17,) and was only imparted to him, upon the coming of the messenger of Cornelius, with whose summons Peter, without a moment's hesitation, complied. But what must be the writer's estimate of the wisdom, faithfulness, and power of God, whom he admits to have used such special care, in preparing Peter for his mission to Cornelius, and inducing in Cornelius an implicit trust in Peter, as one who would "tell him what he ought to do;" and yet permit Peter to commit a signal blunder, which implies utter mistake as to the meaning of the very commission under which he went forth to preach, given him by the ascending Saviour, on Mount Olivet! In one word, either were the apostles protected from all error in their official instructions and actions, or the Bible is to be rejected as a rule of faith; since we have no criterion of truth, if there be error there. Either are they infallible guides, or they are nothing, and the Bible a fable. It is said that they did sometimes err, as Peter at Antioch, (Gal. ii. 11;) but, in the first place, the case was of private, and not of official conduct. As an apostle, he had the pledge of guidance into all truth. As an individual, he was not yet perfect. And, in the second

place, we should never have known of that error, but for the inspired record condemning it. Thus we are assured, that had the apostles erred in more important matters, the mistakes would have been distinctly pointed out, and not left on the sacred page, to ensnare and mislead the people of God.

In one word, by the distinct admission of our author himself, he and the apostles differ on the subject of baptism. They administered it with water, in the name of the blessed Three, as commanded by Jesus. He thinks they ought not so to have done. The authority of Christ and the apostles is on one side. On the other is our author. The reader will choose between them.

ART. VI.-The General Assembly.

THE General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States met agreeably to appointment in Newark, New Jersey, May 19th, 1864; and, in absence of Dr. Morrison, the Moderator of the last Assembly, was opened by a sermon by William L. Breckinridge, D. D., on 2 Cor. viii. 9. After the usual preliminary services, James Wood, D. D., of Indiana, was chosen Moderator and Ravaud K. Rodgers, D. D., of New Jersey, Temporary Clerk.

Report on Psalmody.

J. Trumbull Backus, D. D., chairman of the committee on this subject, made a report included in the following resolutions, which, after protracted and desultory debate, were adopted.

Resolved, 1. That a selection of psalms and hymns be made from our present book, and from other sources, and published with suitable tunes; and that all the new hymns in this new selection, which are not in our present book, be published as a supplement, for the use of those who prefer it; and that the hymns in the new selection, in addition to their own numbers, shall

retain the numbers in the old book, so that both may be used in the same congregation without embarrassment.

Resolved, 2. That in accordance with the recommendation of previous Assemblies, and responsive to the wish of many in the church, there shall be made a careful selection from the Bible, of passages to be arranged for chanting; and that this shall be fitted to be bound both with the selection of hymns and tunes, and with the supplement, at the option of the churches.

Resolved, 3. That the volumes thus provided for, shall be furnished with ample indices, after the style of the best improvements in this respect.

Resolved, 4. That a committee of five be appointed by this Assembly, who shall have power to employ all needful talent and means, at the expense of the Board of Publication, for the accomplishment of these ends, as perfectly and speedily as possible, and report the result to some future Assembly.

Resolved 5. That the Board of Publication be instructed to defray the personal expenses of the present Committee, incurred in performing this service.

Dr. Krebs, J. T. Backus, R. Davidson, W. Lord, and J. E. Rockwell, were appointed the committee to prepare a new Hymn Book.

Increase of Salaries.

Judge Ryerson introduced at an early period the following preamble and resolutions, which were unanimously adopted, viz.

Whereas, By reason of the greatly enhanced prices of every article of family consumption, averaging fully fifty per cent. more than two years ago, the salaries of the great majority of our ministers have become entirely inadequate to the comfortable support of their families-causing in many cases much of destitution and suffering; therefore,

Resolved, That a committee of five ruling elders be appointed, to consider what steps it may be proper for this General Assembly to take, to remedy this crying evil.

The Judge said that he thought no remarks were necessary to enforce the importance of this proposal, as the facts were

obvious. He had proposed that the committee be composed entirely of laymen, in view of the delicacy that ministers might feel in acting upon a subject of that nature; and he hoped the proposal would meet with the favour of the Assembly.

The committee appointed in virtue of the foregoing resolution, prepared a letter to be addressed to the churches, by the General Assembly. This letter was adopted, and is as follows:

Letter of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, to the Ruling Elders, Deacons and Trustees of the churches under the care of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church.

Beloved Brethren-We have, on various occasions, addressed our churches on the subject of providing an adequate support for the ministers of the gospel, and are happy to know that this obligation has been generally recognized in our communion.

Under ordinary circumstances, it might have been superfluous to advert to the subject again. But the calamitous war, which has been so recklessly and causelessly forced upon our country by unscrupulous and wicked men, bringing with it so many new duties, trials, and sorrows, and affecting in various ways the vital interests of the church, is telling with extreme severity upon the comfort and usefulness of the Christian ministry. Many, very many, worthy, faithful, and devoted pastors, while they and their families have been suffering for want of the comforts, and often the necessaries of life, have most sensibly been caused to realize some of the consequences of the great sin of rebellion.

It would be but a waste of time to dwell upon the greatly increased expenses of living; you have but too many proofs of it already. The inevitable consequence has been a corresponding advance in wages and salaries, and a corresponding loss to all dependent upon fixed incomes. Families have increased the wages of their domestics; farmers and mechanics, of their workmen; merchants, commercial institutions, corporations of every kind, and public offices-municipal, state, and national-of their clerks and agents. A movement so general and comprehensive must have had an adequate cause; the necessity which compelled it must be one reaching all classes of society-all,

at least, dependent upon fixed salaries for a livelihood-and none should be denied a participation in these measures of relief.

We have, however, reason to fear that up to this period, with some rare and honourable exceptions, the claims of the ministry have been overlooked. The salaries of pastors, always small, always much less than they could have earned in secular pursuits, and too often insufficient for even a meagre support, remain in a large majority of cases stationary, while the price of living has advanced fully fifty per cent. We believe this is the result, not of design, but of inadvertence. Pastors shrink from asking an increase, and it is not the way of the world to enlarge salaries where there is neither demand nor complaint. But we are sure that our people would not willingly subject their ministers to the mortification of supplicating an increase of their stipends. We cannot doubt their readiness to act in the premises, whenever it shall be properly brought before them. To believe otherwise would be a reproach to their intelligence, their sense of justice, their appreciation of Christian ordinances, and their fidelity to the Saviour. They are not yet prepared to contemn His wise and equitable decree, "that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." What our congregations need, is that some competent authority should bring the subject to their notice.

It is with this view, beloved brethren, that we address this letter to you, the respected ruling elders and trustees of our churches. We ask you to bring the subject before your respective congregations with the least possible delay. We beg you to have it candidly and prayerfully considered. Deal justly, nay, generously, by your pastors. Your liberality to them will not be a lost investment, but will yield a rich return to you and your families; for in this, as in other relations, "he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." You will begin to reap at once, for a congregation always finds its own present advantage in relieving its pastor of all perplexity about his support, and placing him in a position where he can work with comfort, his mind free from anxious and harassing cares about his temporal support. And then, if other motive still be needed, you have it in those touching and wonderful words of our Lord and Saviour, "Inasmuch as ye have done