9. The Presbytery passed a vote of censure on me, and referred the degree of censure to be determined by the Synod, for which decision and reference, they have assigned no reaSee dis. chap. 4, sec. 23.

sons.

10.

The charges of slander and dissimulation, are more than constructive and inferential, being sustained by historical and parol testimony, which no court of Christ ought to reject.

11. The Presbytery took testimony which they have not recorded, and to which, no reference is given on their minutes. 12. The Presbytery received information which they did not record, and then took testimony and recorded it, to refute that information.

13.

The Presbytery after hearing Dr. Beecher's defence, and my answer, permitted him to make a rejoinder contrary to parliamentary rule, but they have made no record of the fact.

14. They have not put the reasons of my appeal upon record, which the rules of discipline and justice required them to do.

15.

A respectable minority, composed of men whose soundness in the faith and order of the Presbyterian church is far above suspicion, voted that the principal charges were substantiated by evidence, and have entered their solemn protest against the decision of the majority—whereas, not a few of those who acquitted Dr. Beecher, and passed a vote of censure on me, have by their preaching, measures and church policy, made themselves subjects of suspicion, and have excited discontent and alarm in the Presbyterian churches. To this I refer as a matter of public notoriety.

When the Synod shall have investigated the whole matter of this appeal, and the reference and protest in connexion, I hope to hear them deliver a sentence as clear as that delivered by the Synod of Jerusalem-I expect a decision which shall sustain the friends of truth and order, and exclude from our ranks such as profess to be Presbyterians, yet continue to impugn the standards of our church.

Very respectfully,

J. L. WILSON.

WILSON'S PLEA,

BEFORE THE SYNOD OF CINCINNATI, ON THE

TRIAL OF DR. BEECHER,

FOR DANGEROUS ERRORS, &c.

MODERATOR,

In attempting to sustain the appeal which I have made to this Reverend Synod in the case of the trial of Dr. Beecher, by the Presbytery of Cincinnati, for the propagation of dangerous errors, and for other offences committed against the church of God; and particularly that branch of the church to which he professes an attachment, I shall not detain you by preface or apology, but shall endeavor to prepare your minds for arriving at a correct decision of the several points at issue.

1. By such historical details as shall clearly evince the causes, nature, and importance of the prosecution now brought under review.

2. By pointing out the irregularities of the Cincinnati Presbytery.

3. By an examination of the charges, and the evidence offered to sustain them.

4. By an exhibition of the errors and injustice of the definitive sentence.

I trust that you will notice particularly that this affair is wholly of an ecclesiastical character. It is unmixed with private, personal or domestic disputes. It is unmingled with local interests. It embraces doctrines and practice, in which the whole church is deeply concerned, and when once settled by the highest judicatories in our church, must be referred to the Great Master of Synods and Councils for his final adjudication at the great day; and it affords me great pleasure to say that Dr. Beecher has expressed the same opinion. His words are these "We have had no quarrels. There has not an unkind word passed between my brother Wilson and myself, nor have I any knowledge that he entertains towards me the least personal animosity. Our differences are ecclesiastical only."And again says Dr. Beecher, "This is wholly a question of doc

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trinal differences. There exists no proof of malice on either side." I now ask your attention to such historical details as I shall give to show the causes, nature and importance of this prosecution and this appeal..

As historical facts well authenticated, it is known to the members of this court, that the extensive branch of the Presbyterian Church to which we belong, did, from the beginning of their operations as a society in North America, approve and receive the Westminster Confession of Faith, larger and shorter catechisms as an orthodox and excellent system of christian doctrine founded on the word of God-that when the Synod of N. York, and the Synod of Philadelphia adopted a plan of union, in 1758, they also adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith plan of worship, government and discipline, strictly enjoining it on all their members and probationers for the Ministry, to teach and preach according to the form of sound words in said Confession and Catechisms, and avoid and oppose all errors contrary thereto, leaving every member at liberty peaceably to withdraw from their communion when his conscience no longer permitted him actively to concur in or passively submit to their decisions in doctrine and discipline. This was done by a unanimous vote of 177 members. Digest, pp. 117, 118.

Under this arrangement they practised and prospered, till the close of the American Revolution; after which, a Convention was held, composed of committees from the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, of the reformed Dutch Synod, and of the Associate Reformed Synod, in order to lay the foundation of entire confidence in each other, as corresponding Synods.The 23d chap. of the West. Con, of Faith, which acknowledged the authority of the civil magistrate in matters of religion, was stricken out, and the three Synods gave solemn and mutual assurances of their vigilance in taking all reasonable measures effectually to secure fidelity and orthodoxy in their ecclesiastical officers in all time to come.

This plan of mutual confidence was laid by these three Synods, merely as corresponding bodies in 1786. Dig. pp. 119, '20. One year before, in 1785, the Synod of New York and Philadelphia, engaged in measures preparatory to the adoption of the constitution of our church. It was no small task to revise carefully, every sentence, every word of the standards, adopted near thirty years before; but this was done by three years labor, and in 1788 we find the following record-"The Synod, having fully considered the draught of the form of Government and discipline, did on a review of the whole, and hereby do ratify and adopt the same as now altered and amended, as the CONSTITUTION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA; and order the same to be strictly observed, as the rule of their pro

ceedings, by all the inferior Judicatories belonging to the body. And they order that a correct copy be printed of the Westmins ter Confession of Faith, as now altered, in full, along with it;" and they farther ordered, that the Directory for worship and catechisms as revised and amended should be printed and bound in the same volume, the whole to be considered as the standard of our doctrine, government and worship, to be styled—“ THE CONFESSION OF FAITH, AND DIRECTORY FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP, OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA." Having completed this arduous and useful labour, they by unanimous vote divided themselves into four synods, and appointed the first meeting of the General Assembly to be held in the 2d. Presbyterian Church, in the city of Philadelphia, on the 3d Thursday of May, 1789, and the synod of N. York and Philadelphia was dissolved. Dig. pp. 120, '21, '22, '23, '24, compared with pp. 13, 14, 15, 37, 38, and 52, '3, '4, '5.

Sir, I have brought into view these facts to wipe away an impression made on the minds of many by a contemptible sophism respecting the interpretation of our standards. It is said the standards of our church must be interpreted-and the interpretation must be given according to the usus loquendi of Westminster, and the reigning philosophy in the time of Charles I. Now, I contend that the standards of our church, are to be taken in their plain and obvious meaning, according to the import of the English language, as understood by honest American citizens, in the latter part of the 18th, and the beginning of the 19th centuries. And all learned parade about the usus loquendi, and reigning philosophy of former ages, and all running to Dr. Twiss, or Dr. any-body-else, for the meaning of our Confession of Faith, is but casting dust into men's eyes, under the pretence of making them see more clearly. Any plain common sense Elder knows, without the help of any scholastic professor, that he who is justly charged with guilt, is justly charged with some crime or offence-that when guilt is imputed to any one, he is charged with some sin- he is called a sinner, and treated as a sinner that to be "utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good," does not mean "full ability to do all that God requires."

As I shall have to touch this subject again, I proceed to say that, the Presbyterian Church, under her standards as revised and amended, enjoyed for nearly forty years, a course of purity, peace and prosperity, truly wonderful. Now and then the leaven of error was infused into some parts of the great lump, but by the prompt exercise of wholesome discipline, the mass was preserved sound, and the corrupt fermentation was ejected. Davis, Stone, Craighead, Ewing, and their deluded followers,