in the name of the Hungarian Reformed Church, in presenting to the Council the most complete statistics relating to our churches and schools. It sets forth the state of the churches, the synods, the presbyteries, and all the courts of the Church, as well as gives the figures showing all we are doing by means of beneficial and philanthropical institutions. For three centuries our Church has been divided sometimes into three and sometimes into four and even five bodies, which differed from each other politically and in other ways. We have now become united, and this book is the proof of our unity and brotherhood, and of the fact that all the branches of the Presbyterian family which were divided, or differed from each other politically or in other ways, have combined their forces, their hopes, and their faith to assist in the progress of our system and our Church. The Report was received.

Dr. MATHEWS-I think we owe a hearty vote of thanks to the printers of our Report. Last Thursday morning there were 200 pages in the packet which came from the printers; this was returned to them so that they got it in Edinburgh on Friday morning, and on Saturday morning we had the volume in London as it now exists.

The CHAIRMAN:-I am sure the meeting will go with me in cordially thanking Professor Balogh in the name of the Council for the

return.

Dr. WARDEN, Convener of the Committee on the Reception of Churches, gave in an interim report recommending that the application of the Scottish Synod in England, in connection with the Church of Scotland, be agreed to. The Council accepted the report, and agreed to place on the Roll the names of the delegates elected by the Synod, Rev. Dr. Donald Macleod and J. M'Vicar Anderson, Esq.

The Council then took up the subject presented for discussion in the Programme. Papers were read by the Rev. Dr. ANDREW THOMSON, Edinburgh (United Presbyterian Church), and Rev. Dr. JOHN DRURY, New York, on "How best to work the Presbyterian System, more especially as directing the Eldership and the Deaconship in their various lines of influence and work."

Dr. THOMSON, after explaining that want of time compelled him to leave out the deaconship, said :-The title of my paper does not require me to enter upon any statement in reference to the divine authority and permanent obligation of the office of the ruling elder in the Church; but, rather assuming this, to throw out some suggestions in respect to the manner in which this part of our Presbyterian system may be most efficiently worked, both for the edification of the Church and for its

beneficent influence on the world. Addressing an assembly, not only of Presbyterians but of Presbyters, any elaborate statement in proof of the Scriptural sanction for the eldership would be superfluous and out of place. Still, it is of no little importance, even when we are engaged in considering the best methods of working the eldership, that we have the clear and settled conviction that this office is not a mere arrangement of human expediency arising out of felt necessities, but something for which we can plead Apostolic direction and example. It is certain to give us greater confidence, both in our deliberation and action, if we are conscious of moving on divine lines.

Had I entered on this question of evidence, I would have shown that it was the usual, if not indeed the uniform, practice of the apostles, after a number of disciples had been formed into a congregation, to ordain over them a body of men who had previously been chosen by the free votes of the members, and who should exercise over them spiritual oversight; one or more, in addition to rule, being set apart to be the stated Christian teachers of the people. Those who were thus chosen and ordained were called presbyters or elders, bishops or overseers, and it was their function to administer over the congregation the laws of Christ's house, to receive members into the Church, and to exclude those who might prove themselves unworthy, to regulate the dispensation of Christian ordinances, and, in general, to promote the edification, purity, peace, unity, and benevolent action of the congregation. This constitutes the differentia, I might even say the distinguishing excellence of our Presbyterian polity, so far as the individual congregation is concerned; differing, on the one hand, from Episcopacy, which lodges ecclesiastical power in its bishops, with various ranks and orders of clergy under them, and from Congregationalism, in which the people themselves are the governing body. In reference to such men in our own days, quite as much as in primitive times, the injunction may still be given : "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour."

1. But it is not sufficient that the convictions of a people should be clear and firm on the subject of the divine authority of the office of the ruling elder; one thing that every congregation will need, at intervals, to concern itself about, is that, in the responsible exercise of its right of election, the qualified men be chosen for the office. A mistake, or an act of negligence in this initial step, is certain to mar or weaken the working of the institution, however excellent in itself, and may work mischievously for a generation. In the action of our Presbyterianism, it is of no little moment that our congregations should be distinctly taught that every church member, even though he may be a true Christian, is not, as a matter of course, fit to be

a ruler in the house of God, any more than every soldier in a regiment is qualified for military command. When we think of the nature of some of the duties which belong to this office, such as those which are involved in the matter of Church discipline, and in the reception of new members, it becomes evident that personal piety, though indispensable and supreme, is not the only necessary qualification; but that intelligence, experience, practical wisdom, good temper, and other qualities, are necessary in an elder; and that he ought therefore to be chosen from among the men of outstanding excellence in the congregation, the best from the best. It is gratifying to be able to say that many of the best men in our churches are to be found in our kirk-sessions, and that the biographies of not a few of those who have gone up to their reward would do much to enrich our Christian literature. At the same time, there are instances more than sufficient to prove that, through negligence on the part of a people, or a desire to pay an easy compliment, or the rising spirit of faction, men have found their way at times into this office, who would have been better out of it, and who have become sources of weakness or roots of bitterness." The detailed description by Paul of the qualities of a good bishop or elder shows how high an ideal of the office dwelt in his own mind, and which he aimed to hold up before the churches in every age.

2. Speaking of the formation of the Session, we are naturally led next to speak of the means to be taken for giving scope to the working power of its members, and facilities for efficient spiritual oversight. Among these may be mentioned the framing and keeping correctly of a church-roll of all the members, the division of the city, or town, or parish into districts, each of which is committed to the care and superintendence of an elder, and the members residing in which he is expected to visit at least twice in the year,-the sick and the aged much more frequently. These arrangements have done much, especially during the past thirty years, to bring out some of the strong points, and to reveal the beneficent effects of our Presbyterian system. It is not unseasonable, however, to remark that, in order to such happy results, there must be real official visitation, not a mere hurried call by the elder, with an exchange of courtesies and good wishes, or discussions about the weather or the latest news, but a short, cheerful, religious meeting, in which the whole family shall, as far as possible, be present, in which there is a faithful feeding of the flock and watching for souls, and recent incidents in the family history are devoutly gathered up and woven into the elder's prayer. The benefits of such visits, in which no one is overlooked, can scarcely be over-estimated. It makes the family feel that it is a living part of

the congregation. There are in this way so many electric cords connecting the minister and the elders with the people. And the proper state of things is reached when each individual in the elder's district has been made to look upon him as his friend, and when, along with the minister, he is the person to whom the members naturally turn for advice in difficulty, and for sympathy and consolation in sorrow. When a congregation is thus organised and supervised, it becomes like Jerusalem in its ancient palmy days, "a city compactly built together." I have little doubt that it was this feature in our Presbyterian polity which induced Owen and other great men among the Puritans to incorporate an eldership into their congregational order, even when they refused to accept of courts of review.

3. I would not forget that there is another roll, besides that of our church members, which exists in many of our congregations, and which ought to exist in all: I refer to the list of the children of our members the baptized children of the Church. I make separate allusion to this, because I seriously question whether many of us who are rulers have sufficiently realised the peculiarity of our relation to those children, their claims upon us, and our responsibility to them, and to Christ in them. They occupy a place in connection with the Church which is distinctly their own, nearer and more sacred than that of other children. Their infant baptism implies this. We have the special commission of our heavenly King in regard to them, "Feed my lambs," and we are bound to watch for their souls also, as those who must give an account. They stand within the Church's pale, and ought to have an individual place, especially in the affectionate interest, the supervision, and the prayers of its elders. Neither parental training nor the work of the Sabbath-school can warrant our dispensing with this duty. We are bound to make sure, in every instance, that "from a child they know the holy scriptures." And all through the formative periods of their childhood and youth, our eye should rest lovingly upon them; nor should we think that our duty towards them has been fully discharged until we see them brought to the feet of Jesus, and folded in the bosom of His Church. If there be truth in the statement which has been made by many observers, that by far the greater number of hopeful conversions take place between the ages of 16 and 27, what force does this fact give to our suggestions? If some of these baptized ones, as they grow up to manhood or womanhood, show themselves persistently indifferent and wayward, we must still follow them with affectionate anxiety and hope that will not die, resolved that, if the connection between them and us is ever severed, it shall be by their hands and not by ours. I am persuaded that the percentage of loss to the Church every year is very great,

because we lose hold of this class of persons too soon, and abandon hope, and prayer, and effort too readily.

4. Looking now at the elders, as associated in Session, I would refer to two principles which ought to animate and direct their action. One is that their relation, and that of the Church over which they have been set as overseers, to the irreligious part of the community outside of them and around them, should be one, not of mere attraction, but of determined and persistent aggression, doing earnest battle with the kingdom of darkness in its various forms of evil. And the other principle is that, for this end, every member of the Church should, in some form or other, be a worker for Christ. The best time for enlisting these soldiers of the Cross is when they make public profession of their faith and openly confess Christ in Church membership, and when the fire of first love is glowing in their young hearts. Our placing in prominence this duty of aggressive action is by no means superfluous, because the congregations are not few, especially in the rural districts of the land, in which, while our Churches throw open their doors to those who enter them, there is no going out to those who do not come, and, by every resource of earnest persuasion, compelling them to come to the feast of heaven's love. What priceless opportunities of doing good are lost by this timid folding of the hands and sleepless inaction? Nay, it has often happened, and it is happening at this hour, that when earnest evangelists have come to the neighbourhood of these "castles of indolence," preaching the Gospel with liveliness and interest-though it may be with much mingled imperfection and extravagance and questionable novelty— the effect has been to draw away many of the young and impressible, and to alienate them from the church of their fathers, in which, if they had been seasonably encouraged by their natural leaders, they would have formed no small part of the Church's strength. The point of elevation which should be sought to be reached by every one of our congregations is that it shall be an aggressive community, pledged to do earnest battle against sin, and against suffering which is the fruit of sin; that its elders shall be seen moving in the van of every evangelistic and benevolent action; and that every member of the Church shall be an active member of the sacramental host. For this reason I am not fond of the designation-"The missionary society connected with the congregation." I would rise to a higher plane, and say that the congregation itself is a missionary society and every member a missionary. Our system of eldership affords peculiar facilities for turning this ideal into fact, because, when our elders are constantly moving among the people, they come, in observing the diversity of gifts, to know what are the special talents of each, and in this way,