THE FIRST CHURCH.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2785, 20 January 1872, Page 2

THE FIRST CHURCH.

To the Editor. Sir, —Tn last night’s paper you publish a letter signed “ W. R. M.,” the writer of which professes to be a Presbyterian; but if be is so, which I think very questionable, he is certainly a very discreditable specimen of that body. In his letter he pretends to give the grounds of the decision of the Synod in the case of the First Church; but bis account of the matter is, I jeaf, about destitute of truth us his profession of Pre’si byterianism. Like all false teachers, he embodies so much of seeming truth in his statement as gives it a semblance of reality, and makes it pass as truth with the par* tially informed, I have no hesitation in sayiug that when he made the assertion that “ money ” ruled the decision of the Synod, he wrote what he knew was not true. It was admitted even by the supporters of Mr Sutherland, that though. there was apparently a numerical majority in Ids favor, yet it was so small in proportion t<f the whole, as under the circumstances tp produce virtually an equality. It was also clearly shown that the primary pause of the quarrel lay with Mr S,, and the course followed by the officebearers was forced upon them by his arbitrary and domineering behaviour. Under these circumstances it would have been preposterous in the extreme for the Synod to have called upon the office-bearers to resign. They had committed no fault. The whole course of their proceedure was marked by an evident desire to maintain the constitutional rights of the people against a most un-Presbyterian attempt on the part of Mr Sutherland tp rule with despotjc authority. Instead of hfiing hlanjed, our ministers deserve great cfedit for taking such a decided stand against one of their own members, when he attempted to ride rough-shod over the rights and liberties of his congregation. The select few who dissented from the finding of the Synod may yet live to regret the step they took ip signing such a document. And I would advise “ W. K, H, ’’ before he again rushes into print, to make sure of the soundness of the premises from which he draws his conclusions, and also to see that his conclusions, when drawn, are consistent with the principles of integrity and truth. I am, &c. M. R. W.