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getting in the cargo of the Agenora, (the latter having lost six men by sickness, and the supercargo, Mr. Joseph B. Anthony, having been accidentally killed by the bursting of a gun,) he intended pushing up the Niger with all despatch, in order to rejoin his companions.

Hopes may therefore be indulged of the ultimate success of the expedition. Should it fail, it will not be for the want of any exertion which can be made by skill, industry and perseverance. From the Providence Literary Journal.

Heligious Intelligence.

Few if any of our readers but must have heard of the decision lately made by the High Court of Errors in New Jersey, relative to a controversy among the Friends or Quakers-the Orthodox on one side and the Hicksites on the other -relative to some property to which each party laid claim. The decision made, it appears, turned on the answer to be given to the question or or inquiry-which of these parties is to be regarded as representing the real Quaker community, as ascertained from the principles and usages which have obtained among Friends, from the origin of that denomination? The decision, it is known, was in favour of the Orthodox; but few of our readers, probably, are acquainted with the facts established, and the scope of the pleadings employed, in the course of the trial. The principle, moreover, on which the decision was made, is of wide application, in all controversies about property among divided religious sects. We therefore think that the following article, taken from the Trenton Emporium, may properly be placed under the head of Religious Intelligence, and may afford interesting and profitable information to Presbyterians, and indeed to all religious denominations in our country.

THE GREAT QUAKER CAUSE,

As it is termed, has been decided by the highest state tribunal. The interest taken by the community in the history and ter

mination of this suit, will justify the space this brief statement occupies in our paper.

It is a matter of publick notoriety, that from the year 1823 to 1827, a difference of sentiment, either in relation to fundamental doctrines or important articles of discipline, had arisen among the society of Friends; which in the latter year produced a separation of the Society.-Prior to this separation, the two parties were known by the appellation of Orthodox" and "Hicksites," the first from their alleged adherence to the faith of the early Friends; and the last from their partiality

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towards Elias Hicks, a favourite speaker with them, although they also claimed to believe with early Friends. Upon the separation, disputes about the large property held by the society naturally arose, to determine one of which, in 1823, this present suit was brought into Chancery.

A bill for relief was filed in the Court of Chancery, by Jos. Hendrickson complainant, against Thomas L. Shotwell defendant, to foreclose a mortgage given by the defendant to the plaintiff as treasurer of the preparative meeting of Friends for Chesterfield, for the sum of two thousand dollars. This sum was part of a trust fund, raised by contributions in 1790, by the members of the meeting, and placed under the control of trustees to be ap pointed by it. Hendrickson was the treasurer chosen by the Orthodox; the Hicksites had, since the separation, elected Stacy Decow treasurer, who claimed payment of the money, as the proper representative of the trustees.

Shotwell, who at that time was not a member of either society, finding himself thus placed between two fires, for his own safety, in 1829, filed a bill of interpleader, desiring that both treasurers might be brought into court, and each party there compelled to make out his title to the money. This brought the disputants face to face in court, where the right of property was to be determined on the question, "which is the true society of Friends?"

In showing forth, on behalf of the Orthodox, their exclusive right to that title, Hendrickson stated their belief to be "in

those doctrines always held and maintained by the society of Friends or people called Quakers; to wit:

First-Though they have seldom used the word "Trinity," they believe in the existence of the Father, the Son or Word, and the Holy Spirit-that the Son was God and became flesh-that there is one God and Father, of whom are all thingsthat there is one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom all things were made, and who was glorified with the Father before the world began, who is God over all blessed forever -that there is one Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father and the Son, the leader and sanctifier and comforter of his people, and that these three are one, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit.

Second-They believe in the atonement -that the divine and human nature of Jesus Christ, the Saviour, were united that thus united he suffered; and that through his sufferings, death and resurrection, he atoned for the sins of men; that the Son of God in the fulness of time took flesh, became perfect man, according to the flesh, descended and came of the seed of Abraham and David, that being with God from all eternity, being himself God, and also in time partaking of the nature of man, through him is the goodness and love of God conveyed to mankind; and that by him man receiveth and partaketh of these mercies; that he took upon him the seed of Abraham, and his holy body and blood was an offering and sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

Third-They believe the Scriptures are given by inspiration, and when rightly in terpreted are unerring guides, able to make wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus-that the Spirit still operates on the souls of men, and in so doing furnishes the primary rule of faith; that the Scriptures must be secondary, in reference to this primary source whence they proceed; but as the dictates of the Spirit are always true and uniform, all idea and views which any person may entertain repugnant to the doctrines of the Scriptures, must proceed from false lights."

These being the doctrines of the present Orthodox, and by them alleged to have been held by early Friends;-Hendrickson proceeded to state what were the doctrines of the opposing party. He ascribes to them

"First-They believe Jesus Christ was a mere man, divinely inspired, partaking more largely of that inspiration than other men; but that others, by resorting to the same means and exertions may receive as great a measure of divine inspiration-that he, and the apostles and prophets, cannot be, and have not been, set above other men -they disbelieve his partaking of the di

vine as well as human nature-that he is one and the same essence with God.

"Second-They deny the doctrine of the atonement, and contend that man may have access to his God, without any Mediator-they contend that the crucifixion and sufferings of Christ, if an atonement at all, were an atonement only for the legal sins of the Jews.

"Third-They deny the divine inspi ration of the Holy Scriptures, and hold that they contain doctrines and injunctions which are incorrect, and that they are a mere shadow."

Stacy Decow, on behalf of the Hicksite party, in his answer to the bill of interpleader, filed by Shotwell, studiously avoids a detailed exposition of doctrines; alleging that "the society of Friends acknowledge no head but Christ, and no principle of authority or government in the church, but the love and power of God operating on the heart, and thence influencing the judgment, and producing a unity of feeling, brotherly sympathy and condescension to each other. The great fundamental principle of the society, the divine light and power operating on the soul, being acknowledged by all its members as the effectual bond of union, the right of each individual to judge of the true meaning of Scripture testimony relating to doctrines of Christianity, according to the best evidence in his own mind, uncontrolled by the arbitrary dictation of his equally fallible fellow-man, hath been, as well tacitly, as explicitly acknowledged by the society." He alleges, that the first difficulties and final separation grew out of an attempt "by a few individuals, (now of the Orthodox party,) who had long been continued in important stations, gradually and covertly attempting to assume and arrogate authority over brethren never delegated to them, and attempted to impose upon the Yearly Meeting a document, in a form designed to operate as a written creed, adapted to their peculi ar views, and believed also to have been intended as an instrument of attack upon some faithful, worthy fellow-members, against whom they had conceived personal offence, and subversive of that freedom of thought and individual opinion, which the society of Friends had always cherished and maintained as an unalienable right."

Decow further insists, "that the questions and facts, set forth by Hendrickson in the original bill, in relation to the schism in the society of Friends, and discrepancies among them in regard to matters of faith and discipline, if they exist as is stated, which he by no means admits, cannot lawfully or equitably affect the right of the fund belonging to the said Chesterfield

Preparative Meeting-that the legitimate inquiry before the court respects the right of property, and that no court have a right to institute an inquest into the consciences or faith of members of religious societies or associations, or subject them to the ordeal of a creed prepared by those claiming adversely, in order to disfranchise or deprive them of their legal rights." He further describes the policy of the society of Friends, as being that of "a pure democracy, all its members having equal rights as brethren and sisters; neither ministers, elders, overseers, clerks, or other officers having any eminence over their brethren, in right, authority, rank, or privilege and carries this principle of equality throughout all the ramifications of their government. "That all propositions, questions, or other matters properly submitted to any meeting, were to be determined by the voice of the majority present.

Each party gives its own version of the transactions inmediately preceding and subsequent to the separation of the yearly meeting of Philadelphia, in 1827, in which there is less collision about facts, than about the motives and views that led to the facts.

Upon the matter thus presented to the Chancellor, the parties were referred to a master, before whom, all the facts considered material in the cause were to be made manifest. In glancing over nearly a thousand pages of evidence, taken before the master, we gather, that the principal points endeavoured to be maintained by the parties, were:

By the Orthodox.-Their belief, as set forth in the answer and original bill of Hendrickson-its identity with the belief of early Friends--the spurious character of the Hicksite doctrines, and their repugnance to those entertained by early Friends-that the separation of the society grew out of the attempt to spread the spurious sentiments on the one hand, and to suppress them on the other-and that the Hicksites were unsound and unlike ancient Friends in belief, and seceders by their own acts; that the society of Friends were never, in their meetings, governed by the voice of the majority, but by the sense of the meeting gathered by the clerk.

By the Hicksites-That their belief and that of early Friends were the same, and that they believed in the Scriptures, both of which points they maintained in so many words, without permitting themselves in more trivial particulars, to be dragged into details, expositions or explanations. That they were not separatists or seceders, but were composed of a majority of the Friends belonging to the Philadelphia yearly meeting. That they were not followers of Elias Hicks, but of

George Fox: that there was no power in temporal courts to inquire into spiritual things, and they therefore declined answering questions touching doctrines. They did not accuse the Orthodox of having departed from the belief of Friends, and were willing to share the property according to numbers. Their contest in this suit was only for their share, and not for the whole.

Upon these pleadings and this testimony, the case came on for a hearing before the late Chief Justice Ewing and Associate Justice Drake, sitting as Masters in Chancery. It was there argued by George Wood, Esq. and Isaac H. Williamson, Esq. on behalf of Hendrickson; and by Gen. Wall and Samuel L. Southard, Esq. on behalf of Decow, defendant. In their opinions read before the Chancellor, both judges concurred in the power of the Court to inquire into the religious doctrines of that Society, in order to settle and direct a trust reposed in that society. On the main question, as to which constituted the real society of Friends, although taking different grounds, they both arrived at the same conclusion; the Chief Justice being of opinion that the Hicksite party had made themselves seceders by their acts; while Chief Justice Drake maintained that they were a new sect, holding doctrines entirely repugnant to those held by the early Friends. In conformity to these opinions, a decree in Chancery was made in favour of the Orthodox claim; and upon which the appeal to the High Court of Errors, just determined, was brought.

The cause on appeal has been argued by Messrs. Wall and Southard, for the appellant, and Wood and Frelinghuysen, for the appellee, in a manner satisfactory to their numerous clients, and eliciting the admiration of the hundreds who heard them. The ingenuity, research, legal profundity, argumentative skill and glowing oratory, which successively intermingled, continually held the ear of the Court in respectful attention, and delighted the numerous auditory, by those who have heard these gentlemen, may be better imagined than described. Mr. Southard closed, and the case was submitted to the Court on the morning of Wednesday last. Thursday, at 4 o'clock, P. M. the council having maturely considered the weighty question, AFFIRMED the decree of the Court below, by a verdict as follows:

On

To affirm-Board, of Bergen; Wood, of Morris; Merble, of Sussex; Clark, of Hunterdon; McDowell, of Middlesex; Green, of Somerset; Seeley, (Governor) of Cumberland.

To reverse-Champion, of Burlington; Holmes, of Monmouth; Clawson, of Salem; Townsend, of Cape May.

Each party to pay their own costs. After the opinion of the Court was delivered, the President made the following communication, viz:

"The Court would most earnestly recommend to the parties interested in the present controversy, to make a speedy and amicable adjustment of all their disputes and difficulties.

We have always regretted to see these religious controversies brought into our Courts of Justice: it has a demoralizing influence on society; is a stumbling block to the unconverted; and a source of great joy and rejoicing to the infidel.

It is therefore the sincere desire of the Court, that all parties concerned will make every effort in their power to effect a speedy compromise of their difficulties, on such just and equitable principles as may properly become those who profess to be influenced by the light within, the Spirit of God operating on sincere and honest hearts."

The decision was listened to in breathless suspense by the crowd assembled, more than one half of which, perhaps, was composed of those considering themselves directly affected by its character.

WESTERN FOREIGN MISSIONARY SO

CIETY.

We have received and perused, with much pleasure, the CHRONINICLE of this society, for the months of July and August. We have not room for extracts of much length, in our present number, and there are no very short articles. We are not informed to what extent the Chronicle is circulated; but we hope the period is not far distant when it will be found in most of the families of the Presbyterian church. This certainly ought to be the case; and if it were, a very important addition would be made to the funds of the society. We are glad to see already, a few items of cash received for the Missionary Chronicle, in the list of contributions-May they be increased a hundred fold.

In the No. before us, or rather the two numbers (for July and August) in one pamphlet, the annual report of the Executive Committee to the Board of Directors, is

concluded. The fields of labour mentioned are, CENTRAL AFRICA, HINDOOSTAN, and the AMERICAN INDIANS. It also appears that the Board contemplate a mission to WESTERN ASIA, in responding to the earnest invitation of Mr. Brewer, now in Smyrna, for missions to be sent to the places where the seven Asiatic churches, mentioned in the Apocalypse, once existed— The Chronicle contains communications from the Rev. William D. Smith, and Mr. Joseph Bushnell, (a native Indian) who are engaged in an exploring expedition among the Western Indians, with a view to ascertain the best missionary stations; from several individuals for the missionary fund; from making contributions or collections Mr. Pinney, giving a detailed account of his operations in Africa, and stating the reasons of his return to this country-which appear to have been satisfactory to the directors; from Mr. Reed and Mr. Lowrie, dated at the Island of Madeira, the former the 25th, and the latter the 28th of June. The missionaries, with their wives, left Philadelphia on the 30th of May, and arrived at Madeira on the 24th of June. They were treated by the captain of the vessel in which they sailed with great courtesy and kindness; were "as comfortable as a sea-faring life and the conveniences of the vessel would permit;" "all suffered more or less from sea-sickness, more especially Mrs. Reed and Mrs. Lowrie." They had one storm which lasted for twentyfour hours, and were becalmed for three or four days; had "morning and evening prayers, attended by the officers, and publick worship on the Sabbath, attended by all who could be spared from duty;" and it was hoped the influence of the Missionaries "might be crowned of the Lord for good to their fellow voyagers." The probable stay at Madeira would be 25 or 30 days. They had obtained

lodgings on shore with a pious Methodist, at one dollar per week, when the captain, doctor, and supercargo were paying three dollars per week. The location of the Missionary family was delightful, and favourable to health," a consideration of some moment in regard to Mrs. Lowrie, whose cough still continued and was discouraging." "We do not, says Mr. Lowrie, by any means regret that we have engaged in this cause, though it were mere affectation to say it costs us no effort. Still our sacrifices and privations are but small when compared with our Saviour's, and with the great object before us. Our prayer is, that the Lord may accept us in this work, and use us as instruments, however humble, in promoting our Saviour's cause. We expect to labour while on the earth. The Lord grant us all admission, with all our beloved

friends, into that rest which remaineth for his people, when our course is ended here below."

The contributions to the Missionary Fund, from June 15th to August 15th, amounted to $1216 914 cents.

We are informed that two or three fellow Missionaries of Mr. Pinney, are expected to be ordained in New York, in October next, and shortly after to proceed with him to the African coast.

The prospects of the society appear at present to be favourable. Let all who love our Zion, and feel for the heathen, unite their fervent prayers, with liberal pecuniary contributions, to encourage and sustain this infant effort to engage the Presbyterian church to take a proper part in the sacred work of evangelizing the pagan world, and hastening its conversion to God.

Diew of Publick Affairs.

EUROPE.

European dates have reached this country so recent as the 8th of August; and the last information received is of considerable importance. BRITAIN. The bill which had passed the Lower House of Parliament for the removal of the civil disabilities under which the Jews labour throughout the British dominions, had been rejected by the House of Lords. "There can be no doubt, however," says the Times," that a bill like this, founded, as it is, upon the soundest principles of pure religion and of enlightened policy, must pass even the House of Lords, at no very distant period. In all probability, the next session will not pass over without the Jews being placed on an equality with the rest of his majesty's subjects." Confidence in the existing ministry, which had been a good deal shaken, seemed to be restored. The Slave Emancipation Bill, which had passed the House of Lords, subject to amendments, was again before the Commons; but the clause granting twenty millions sterling, as an indemnity to the slave-holders, had been agreed to; and it was probable that all the amendments proposed by the Lords would be passed by the Commons. The Bills for rechartering the Bank, and renewing the charter of the East India Company, were both under consideration, but no final decision, in regard to them, had taken place in either branch of the Legislature. The Irish Temporalities Bill, as it is called, introducing Church Reform in Ireland, and providing for the clergy of the established church, which had passed the Commons, was decisively opposed in the Lords, by Lord Ellenborough and Lord Eldon, the great oracles of law, as well as by several other distinguished noblemen. Lord Wellington did not think the bill provided a perfect remedy of the evils for which it purported to be a cure. "But," he said, "for the present the bill would give the church breathing time, and enable it to continue its beneficial labours for some time longer." He therefore voted for the third reading of the bill, and ultimately for its adoption. It was finally passed by a majority of 54, with amendments-and in these amendments the Commons had concurred. His majesty's approbation is all that is wanted to its becoming a law. Several other bills of some importance, but which we must omit to notice particularly, were under the consideration

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