General Assembly at the earliest time practicable in the sessions." In the Report made by the said Committee of nine on Legal Matters, as appointed, Rev. William H. Black, D.D., Chairman, one item, upon which the Assembly took affirmative action, reads as follows: "Your Committee is persuaded that an important service has been rendered by the Committee known as the 'Committee on Pastoral Oversight' during the past year. This Committee was appointed by the General Assembly of 1906 of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The interests committed to the care of that Committee are now the interests of the reunited Church. It is accordingly recommended: "That the Moderator be authorized to appoint a Committee of eleven, five ministers and six elders, of which the Moderator shall be Chairman, which Committee shall succeed the 'Committee on Pastoral Oversight,' appointed by the Decatur Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and shall have charge of all legal matters arising out of the Reunion; provided, that any expenses incurred by said Committee be raised by contributions. from persons or organizations interested." Acting under the authority thus given him, the Moderator appointed the following persons to serve with him upon the Committee so provided for: Ministers-Ira Landrith, D.D., J. E. Clarke, D.D., William P. Fulton, D.D., B. P. Fullerton, D.D.; Ruling Elders-John E. Parsons, Ben Eli Guthrie, Foster V. Brown, Carroll Robbins, S. Spencer Chapman and Bernard Gilpin. The Chairman of the Committee had correspondence with its several members, and by them was empowered and directed to appoint a Committee of four others of the General Committee to serve with him, as Chairman, on an Executive Committee, all the members of which should be conveniently located for convening as frequently and speedily as exigencies might require; said Executive Committee to advise with the members of the General Committee, by correspondence, and to act for the Committee as a whole. This Executive Committee was constituted as follows: Rev. William H. Roberts, D.D., Chairman; Rev. William P. Fulton, D.D., S. Spencer Chapman, Esq., Bernard Gilpin, Esq., all of Philadelphia; and Mr. Carroll Robbins, of Trenton, N. J. Soon after his appointment Mr. Robbins passed to his reward, and Rudolph M. Schick, of Philadelphia, was appointed to fill the vacancy thus occasioned in the Executive Committee. With the consent and approval of all members of the General Committee, the Chairman appointed Rev. J. M. Hubbert, D.D., as Secretary and Agent of the Executive Committee, to serve under its directions. At its second meeting, the Executive Committee adopted a formal resolution to the effect that, in the matter of directing litigation, it would adopt and continue the same general policy that had been pursued by the Cumberland Presbyterian General Assembly's Committee on "Pastoral Oversight," and would continue the Hon. John M. Gaut as General Counsel of your Committee. Litigation growing out of the Reunion has arisen in eleven different States, in two of which, Georgia and Illinois, cases have been carried by appeal to the Supreme Courts, and the suits there tried have been decided adversely to those opposing the Reunion. A case has also reached the Supreme Court of Tennessee and has already been argued, but the Court has not yet handed down its opinion. With many suits pending simultaneously in several States, it would be impracticable for the Committee to give the necessary attention in detail to all these cases; hence it has been deemed expedient, for this and other reasons, to request Synodical and local Committees to assume such responsibilities in this business as the respective situations may require. These contentions before the civil tribunals are deeply to be deplored, but those who are immediately involved, and have been under the heaviest burdens, are carrying themselves with patience, moderation, and a most commendable conciliatory temper. It is the earnest hope of your Committee that the acute stage of the unpleasantness incident to this litigation will soon have passed, and that the spirit of Christian fraternity will everywhere prevail. A full statement of the financial features of the work of the Committee will be reported to the next Assembly. Owing to the complications of the legal situation, it is impossible to tell at present what the expenditures may be. It is with pleasure we report that voluntary contributions have been made for the work of the Committee by the Boards of Education, Relief, Publication, and the College Board. These Boards recognized the fact that their relations to other Boards of our Church, formerly connected with the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, was a sufficient reason for their making contributions. The Boards of Foreign Missions and of Home Missions and the Board of Missions for Freedmen, however, declined to contribute, upon the ground that they had no authority from the General Assembly to do so. The Board of Publication at Nashville, Tenn., contributed liberally toward the expenses incurred by the Committee. It is for your venerable body further to determine and direct in the matters that, under your instructions, have engaged the attention of this Committee. We make the following recommendations: 1. That the work of the Committee be approved, and that the Committee be continued. 2. That this Report be referred to the Committee on Bills and Overtures, with instructions that they report upon the whole subject, and that said Committee shall give special attention to the question of contributions on the part of the Boards, and that no other Committee shall report upon this matter. Respectfully submitted, S. SPENCER CHAPMAN, BERNARD GILPIN, RUDOLPH M. SCHICK, Executive Committee. JAMES M. HUBBERT, Secretary and Agent. The Assembly took recess until 2.30 o'clock P.M., and was closed with prayer. FRIDAY, May 22, 2.30 o'clock P.M. The Assembly met, and was opened with prayer. Before taking up the Order of the Day, the Report of the Special Committee on Evangelistic Work, the Assembly was led in prayer by Rev. John Bancroft Devins, D.D., and Rev. Mark Allison Matthews, D.D. In the absence of the Chairman, Mr. John H. Converse, the Report was presented by Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman, D.D., and after addresses by Rev. Joseph P. Calhoun, D.D., Rev. William H. Roberts, D.D., Rev. B. P. Fullerton, D.D., the Moderator, Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman, D.D., and Rev. John R. Davies, D.D., and the addition of two resolutions, was adopted, as follows: Seven years ago in the City of Philadelphia the General Assembly appointed the first Committee on Evangelistic Work. Each succeeding Assembly has listened to the Report of the Committee, and has given evidence of its approval of the work by the appointment of a new Committee on Evangelistic Work, and, as a result of the years of labor, we believe that the Church is in better spiritual condition than for years past. For this we are grateful to God, and desire to record our appreciation of the fact that it is the Lord's work and that it is marvelous in our eyes. Originally called into existence to stimulate this spirit of Evangelism, to pass upon the qualification of evangelists and to have general direction of the evangelistic work of the Church, the Committee has in a sense fulfilled its original mission; but the scope of the work has so broadened that we have been called each year to go a little bit beyond the original plan, and so to-day we have to report the holding of conferences, the issuing of inspiring and helpful literature, the direction of great evangelistic campaigns, the encouragement given to communities desiring either the presence of an evangelist or some financial assistance to make his coming possible, and also the coöperation with other Evangelistic Committees appointed by our sister denominations-all this, in addition to the original purpose and plan of the Committee, has been our work for the past year. A few days ago the Interior stated editorially that the past year has revealed in every way the best evangelistic spirit in the history of the Church. It is the judgment of the Committee that the scope of the work is broader and the spirit deeper at the present time than in any of the preceding years. The amount expended in the prosecution of the work from May 1, 1907, to May 1, 1908, was $57,152.13. This amount was contributed as follows: Inasmuch as, by the vote of the Assembly, that portion of the work which in the past has been carried on in Home Mission Synods and Presbyteries was taken up by the Board of Home Missions, the Committee has not been called upon to expend so much money in this department of the work as heretofore; but it has been the pleasure of the Committee to share in the support of the Rev. Joseph P. Calhoun, D.D., whose labors in conjunction with the Board of Home Missions have been confined to the South and Southwest, and it has also been the privilege of the Committee to render assistance in certain new cases in Home Mission territory where the need has been great and the demand has been urgent. CONFERENCES.-Conferences have been held in fully 100 cities and towns by the Moderator, the Chairman, the Corresponding Secretary, the Assistant Secretary and Treasurer, Dr. Joseph P. Calhoun, Dr. James Beveridge Lee and Dr. Howard Agnew Johnston, together with other members of the Committee, as they have been called upon from time to time. WORK IN THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST.-This particular department of our work has been phenomenally successful. Dr. Calhoun has labored tirelessly and successfully. His name has become a household word in the churches of the South and Southwest. He has carried the spirit of evangelism throughout the entire section; he has been used of God specially in cementing the union between the former Cumberland Presbyterians and the members of our own body, and he has been a powerful illustration to all the pastors of the South of the evangelistic spirit of our own beloved Church. His individual report will explain his services. in detail, but this special recognition is rightly made of his magnificent work. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.-For another year Dr. James Beveridge Lee has labored as our representative in the colleges and universities. Successful as this work has been in the past, it has been immeasurably great this year. Letters written to us from college and university presidents, from the secretaries of the Young Men's Christian Associations and representatives of the student bodies in these institutions, all testify to the fact that Dr. Lee's services have been a never-failing inspiration, and he has given the educators of the country, so far as he has met them, a perfect illustration of the fact that the Presbyterian Church is not unmindful of the interests of the students of the land, particularly those who are assembled in our own denominational institutions; while at the same time his message has been given in love to the students of other institutions and of the State universities. SPECIAL FEATURES.-It has been the privilege of the Evangelistic Committee to call into existence a sub-committee for work in the lumber camps. This committee has labored in conjunction with the General Assembly's Committee. The director of this work has been the Rev. J. O. Buswell, who in his report to the Committee will give the story of his work in detail; but it is our privilege to record the fact that we consider Mr. Buswell, in his spirit and in ability, a prince among the workers of our Church. He is a true "Sky Pilot," and his own Christlike spirit has been infused into all t'ose who have labored under his direction, and by day and night he and they have carried the message to the men in the lumber camps, preaching to them around camp-fires, talking with them as they rested in their bunks at night, comforting them in their sorrows, ministering to them in their loneliness. One of the greatest privileges of the past year has been the lumber ca' ip work committed to the charge of Mr. Buswell and his efficient helpers. THE SALOONS.-Throughout this entire year Mr and Mrs. William Asher, in connection with the simultaneous campaigns, have preached the Gospel in saloons, station-houses, pentitentiaries and jails, and their work has been greater this year than ever before. We have yet to hear a single complaint or criticism. All classes and conditions of men have risen up to call them blessed. Mr. Asher by his consecrated genius and Mrs. Asher by her sweet singing and her charming personality have won people to Christ |