commune with these brethren for the purpose of removing their scruples, and to prepare an overture upon the whole affair. This committee brought in their report next day, viz. "That severals of the brethren of that presbytery could not agree to any active enrolment of Mr. Stark, minister of Kinross, as a member of their presbytery." The assembly instantly ordered them to retire, with all their brethren in town, constitute into a presbytery, receive and enrol Mr. Stark as a member, and return a particular report of the behaviour of each member. This being done, and report made, the assembly find the majority of the presbytery to be for enrolling Mr. Stark, and therefore appointed a second meeting of the presbytery to enrol him judicially, and the report to be returned next day. A committee was, in the meantime, named to consider what censure should he inflicted upon the members of that presbytery. Next day, this committee returned their report by the presbytery of Dunfermline, a paper was also given in by the reclaiming members of that presbytery, and the whole was delayed till the following Monday.

On Monday, the assembly passed an "Act, Concerning some of the ministers of Dunfermline, and for preserving the subordination of the judicatories of the church, and good order therein," to the following effect:—“ The General Assembly having fully and maturely considered the disobedience of Mr. James Wardlaw, and Mr. Ralph Erskine, at Dunfermline; Mr. John Gib, at Cleish; Mr. Daniel Hunter, at Carnock; Mr. John Geddes, at Culross; and Mr. Thomas Mair, at Orwal, ministers of the gospel, members of the presbytery of Dunfermline, to the act of the General Assembly, dated the 12th day of May, one thousand seven hundred and thirty-two, and several acts of the commission of the said assembly, appointing the said presbytery to enrol Mr. Robert Stark, minister of Kinross, as a member thereof, and the behaviour and conduct of the said ministers before this assembly, during their procedure on the said affair, do judge it highly contrary to, and utterly inconsistent with the subordination of judicatories happily established among us, and the duty they owe to the said judicatories, which they had engaged to perform at their ordination, and therefore deserving the highest censures. Yet the assembly inclining to show all

tenderness towards the said brethren, they appoint them to be sharply rebuked in their presence, and appoint and command them to own Mr. Robert Stark as minister of the gospel at Kinross, to encourage and strengthen his hands in the Lord's work in the said parish, and to discourage all separation from, and non-subjection to his ministry. And the assembly do hereby strictly inhibit and discharge the said brethren from admitting any of the parish of Kinross to sealing ordinances, without the consent of Mr. Robert Stark, according to the 12th paragraph of the act of assembly, February 7th, 1645. And further, the assembly do hereby strictly discharge the offering, admitting or receiving any protest or dissent by any member of the said presbytery, or other person whatsoever, against the said Mr. Stark's sitting and acting in the presbytery of Dunfermline as a member thereof, and minister of Kinross. And they empower the commission to be appointed by them, to summon before them any person or persons who shall offer any such protest or dissent, and also the said presbytery, if they shall receive or admit the same, and censure the said persons or presbytery as they shall see cause. And in regard, severals within the bounds of the said presbytery do withdraw from the ministry of their respective pastors, therefore, the assembly does hereby enjoin the observation of the act of assembly, dated the 24th day of August, 1647, against such as withdraw themselves from the public worship in their own congregations, and ordains the foresaid paragraph of the act 1645, and the said act 1647, to be publicly intimated by the ministers of the presbytery of Dunfermline, from their respective pulpits on any Lord's day of June next, with suitable exhortations. And the assembly appoints the saids ministers to appear before the commission to meet in August next, and report their obedience to this whole act and appointment. And appoints and requires the said commission, in case of disobedience or nonappearance, to proceed to the highest censures if they see occasion for it then, or any subsequent diet or meeting of the commission.

"And because the brethren within the bounds of the presbytery of Dunfermline, who have done their duty in obeying the appointment of the assembly, may be in hazard of being discouraged in the exercise of their ministry, by persons of a

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schismatical and divisive temper, notwithstanding of what is contained in this present act; therefore, the assembly considering that these brethren deserve all encouragement, do enjoin the commission to receive any complaint that may be offered by any of these brethren, and to judge and censure as they see cause, any minister, or ministers, or others who shall give them disturbance or discouragement in their work. And appoints this act to be read in the first meeting of the presbytery of Dunfermline, and recorded in their register, and that this act be printed and published among the other acts of assembly."*

This was certainly straining church authority to a very high pitch, and, as this affair was purposely carried through before entering upon the case of Mr. Erskine, gave too good grounds for every one to foresee, that wherever his wrongs might be redressed, it was not to be at the bar of this assembly-nor can there be a doubt that the assembly meant, by the singular boldness and severity of their sentence, to strike terror into the hearts of many of the more timid of those who heartily approved of what he had said, and wished him a safe deliverance upon the question. Perhaps, he himself was not without painful misgivings, when he looked at the current of authority thus rolling resistlessly along, but he had fairly committed himself, and neither honour nor conscience would allow him to desert the station in which, in the exercise of his duty, he had come to be placed, though darkness for the time might cover it, and danger on every hand seem to surround it. His appeal to the assembly, he supported by the few following reasons, which, whether we consider their pointed bearing upon the subject, the piety that runs through them, or the noble spirit of independent feeling which they breathe, are alike admirable.

"Mr. Erskine, according to course, having preached at the opening of the synod at Perth, October the tenth, one thousand seven hundred and thirty-two, from Psal. cxviii. The stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the head stone of the corner.' He, according to the purpose of the text, could not shun to lay open the corruptions of the Jewish builders as lessons to the present generation, that they might

* Vide Printed and Unprinted Acts of Assembly, 1735.

not dash upon the same church-ruining rock, which he did, without stating a comparison betwixt them and any set of men in the world. And being, quite contrary to his inclination, put in the chair at Stirling, and therefore obliged to preach before the synod at Perth, he found himself under a necessity, by virtue of his commission from God, and in an agreeableness to the commendable acts and constitutions of this church in former times, to be free and faithful in declaring what he looked upon as a departure from the corner stone, whereby any other church, as well as that of the Jews, might be in danger of ruin from the Lord, and this method he judged to be his safety before God, his own conscience, and all unbiassed persons. But, to his great surprise, the same day, at the opening of the afternoon's meeting, as though he had vented some notorious heresy, his sermon is attacked, a committee appointed to take the same to consideration, and report to the next sederunt, which accordingly was done, and after long debates till the third day of the synod's meeting, about ten at night the question was put, If, or not, Mr. Erskine is censurable on the account of the expressions he emitted in his sermon? When it carried by a scrimp majority, censurable.

"It is with no small concern that I must appear at the bar of the venerable assembly, as an appellant from the sentence of the reverend synod, whereof I am a member; yet it is a considerable alleviation, that twelve of my reverend brethren, and two ruling elders, were so much convinced of the injustice done me, as to dissent from the deed of the synod, against which I found myself obliged to protest, and flee to the venerable assembly for redress of the injustice I humbly conceive is done me, before whom I lay my following reasons of appeal:

"Imo. Although the appellant gave no occasion of irritation to any member of the synod during the three days' debate, yet he found the spirits of the prevailing party of his judges so biassed and imbittered, that he did not think men of their present temper capable of judging impartially in his cause. They knew very well I was a stranger lately come within their bounds, which, according to the rules both of natural and revealed religion, bound them to humanity and

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civility-especially when standing upon the matter as a pannel at their bar, willing to submit to any censure clearly founded on the word of God, or the rules of this church. But such hard names and speeches were past in the course of reasoning, as plainly discovered a bias and ferment; and that not against me only, but against the grave and honourable audience before whom I had preached. But I forbear to be more particular, unless I be obliged to it, before the bar of this assembly. I shall only add as an evidence of the keenness of their spirits, that they were going on, as is plain from the minutes, to judge the appellant censurable before ever they allowed him to see or hear a material libel they had formed against him, and this favour was not allowed him, when he demanded it, without a great struggle, and the solemnity of a vote; and when the favour was granted, all that was allowed was only to see the remarks in the clerk's hands, and no more time for forming answers to their long paper, than from Wednesday at eleven or twelve at night, till ten of the clock on Thursday. when the precise hour was come, one message is sent me after another, to attend the synod, though they wanted not other business, the minutes of the last synod not being all this time entered upon, so hot and fiery were they in this chase. "2do. This method of procedure has an evident tendency to gag and shut the mouths of such as God has ordered to 6 cry aloud and not spare; to lift up their voice like a trumpet, and to tell the house of Judah and Israel their transgressions.' Ministers are ambassadors for Christ, and are obliged to bespeak their hearers with as great freedom as though Christ were personally present, or speaking with an audible voice from heaven, 2 Cor. v. 20. Heb. xii. 25. And if he deliver nothing but the truth of God, he is to charge them, in the name of the great God, to make application. But here I am judicially sisted before the bar of the synod, for desiring every one of my hearers to judge whether any of the sins and corruptions of the Jewish builders were to be found in the day wherein we live; which method, in my opinion, smells of the spirit of those who required the prophets to preach smooth things, and prophesy deceits. A watchman must exoner himself upon the peril of his soul. 'Tis true, he ought not