INTRODUCTION.

THE want of a Digest of the Acts of the Supreme Judicatory of the Presbyterian Church was early felt. In 1818 the following overture was adopted by the Assembly, viz.:

“Resolved, That Drs. Janeway, Neill, and Ely, be appointed a committee, and they are hereby appointed, to extract from the records of the General Assembly and of the late Synods of New York and Philadelphia all such matters as may appear to be of permanent authority and interest (including a short account of the manner in which Missions have been conducted, and their success), that the same may be published for the information of ministers and their people in our churches; and that they report the same to the next Assembly."-Minutes, 1818, p.

673.

The committee reported to the next Assembly, and were authorized to complete the work on the plan reported, and to publish it at the expense of the Trustees of the Assembly.-Minutes, 1819, p. 713.

The Digest thus authorized was published in 1820.—Minutes, p. 727. In 1836, upon an overture on the subject of a new Digest, the Assembly

“1. Resolved, That in the judgment of this Assembly, it is expedient that a new Digest of the acts and proceedings of the highest judicatory of our Church be prepared and placed within the reach of all our ministers and elders.

"2. Resolved, That Dr. John McDowell, Mr. Winchester, and Mr. Duffield, be a committee to prepare such a Digest, and report the same to the Assembly as soon as practicable, provided the expense of its publication be not defrayed out of the funds of the Assembly."-Minutes, 1836, p. 262.

This committee made no report. In 1838, the Assembly

"Resolved, That the Stated Clerk (Erskine Mason, D.D.) and Dr. Patton be a committee to prepare and print a complete Digest of all the important acts of past General Assemblies."-Minutes, 1838, p. 661.. This committee "reported progress, and were continued.”—Minutes, 1839, p. 11.

In 1841, they reported "that they were engaged in the duty assigned them, but were not at present prepared to make a final report." The committee was continued.-Minutes, 1841, p. 24.

In 1849, the committee to whom was referred the subject of the preparation of a new Digest, reported that they could not learn that any progress had been made in this matter by the committee who were appointed for this purpose by a former Assembly:

That it is desirable that a new and more complete Digest should be prepared; and that a committee be appointed to accomplish this object.

The plan which has seemed to them most likely to be useful, is to publish a volume containing the text of our standards, with marginal notes, exhibiting, in the proper place, the history of the changes in the Constitution, and the various acts of General Assemblies explanatory of our standards; the whole forming a complete commentary on the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.

The report was adopted; and the Rev. Messrs. E. F. Hatfield, S. T. Spear, and A. E. Campbell, were appointed to prepare such a volume.Minutes, 1849, p. 189.

In 1850, the committee "reported progress, and was continued."Minutes, 1850, p. 308.

Also in 1851.—Minutes, p. 10.

In 1852, the committee appointed to prepare a Digest, reported that a Digest sufficient for the present had been prepared by other hands, and requested therefore to be discharged. Their report was accepted, and the committee discharged.-Minutes, 1852, p. 254.

The Digest referred to was that prepared by the Rev. Richard Webster, of Mauch Chunk, Pa., and published by the Presbyterian Board of Publication. It did not, however, prove satisfactory. In 1854, the Committee on Bills and Overtures reported "an overture respecting a new Digest; and recommended that a committee of three be appointed prepare and publish such a Digest, if it can be done without expense to the Assembly. The report was adopted."-Minutes, 1854, p. 504. The following committee were appointed, viz.: Rev. Messrs. George

to

Duffield, Jr., Henry Darling, and Wm. E. Moore. The Stated Clerk (Rev. Edwin F. Hatfield, D.D.) was added to this committee.-Ibid., p. 505.

The committee reported from year to year till 1857, when

"The Committee on the Polity of the Church, to whom was referred the report of the Committee on the Digest, recommended that the course pursued by the Special Committee, in the preparation of the Digest thus far, be approved by the Assembly.

"That they be instructed to complete the work according to the plan heretofore followed, and to use their discretion in relation to the questions proposed in their report.

"That when completed, it be submitted to the Permanent Publication Committee, and, if approved by them, be published under their direction. The report was adopted."-Minutes, 1857, p. 400.

The committee thus appointed and authorized have been delayed in the performance of the duty assigned them by the want of funds to publish the Digest "without expense to the Assembly,"-a delay the less to be regretted, however, inasmuch as it has enabled them to add to the volume the acts of the last five years,-perhaps the most important years of the Assembly's history.

The difficulty of digesting the acts and deliverances of a series of Assemblies, running through a century and a half, each independent of the other, will readily be appreciated, and may, to some extent, excuse the imperfections of the work. That difficulty has been greatly enhanced, by the failure of the Minutes, in most cases, to present any clear and intelligible view of the questions which have come before the Assembly for its adjudication.

The plan adopted will, it is hoped, meet the approval of those who have occasion to use the work. The effort has been made to digest, under thirteen general heads or chapters, everything of importance in the Acts of the Assembly. The task assigned the committee was not to prepare a history, but a DIGEST of such Acts of the Assembly as interpret the Constitution of the Church, or express her views upon questions of morals and doctrines, or aim to increase and direct her power for good to the world. Much has been omitted that is now obsolete, or that was temporary, or that pertains to institutions not now under our control. For the most part, reports, protests, proposals, and other papers not the Acts of the Assembly, have been omitted. Where the very words of the records are not used, the fact is signified by brackets.

The labors of the committee extend over the whole period of the organized existence of the Presbyterian Church, from 1706 to 1860. The references in the Digest, from 1706 to 1835, are to the three volumes of Minutes published by the Presbyterian Board of Publication, viz.: "Records of the Presbyterian Church, from 1706 to 1788," "Minutes of the General Assembly, from 1789 to 1820," and "Minutes of the General Assembly, from 1821 to 1835." From 1836 to 1860, the references are to the annual Minutes.

The committee have freely availed themselves of the labors of their predecessors, so far as they have trodden common ground. They would cheerfully acknowledge their obligations to the Rev. S. J. Baird, the compiler of the Digest recently published by the Board of Publication.

It is proper to say that the chief responsibility of preparing the Digest has devolved upon one member of the committee.

The aim has been to furnish the office-bearers and intelligent laymen of our beloved Church a volume which will be of practical use to them in their endeavors to serve the cause of the Master through her organizations.

We rejoice in the confidence that no lover of Christ, of orthodoxy, of good morals, of large-hearted catholic liberality, of beneficence, of education, and of liberty, can ponder these acts and deliverances of the Supreme Judicature of our Church without wisdom and profit and grateful admiration. No Presbyterian can read this record without thanking God for his heritage. May the Head of the Church so use our labors as to advance His kingdom and glory, through the enlargement of our branch of His universal Church!

WEST CHESTER, PA., December 31st, 1860.

W. E. M.