COMPILED FROM THE RECORDS

OF THE

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

OF THE

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

IN THE

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

AND FROM THE RECORDS

OF THE LATE SYNOD OF NEW YORK AND
PHILADELPHIA,

OF THEIR

ACTS AND PROCEEDINGS,

THAT APPEAR TO BE

OF PERMANENT AUTHORITY AND INTEREST;

TOGETHER WITH

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE MISSIONS
CONDUCTED BY THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

BY ORDER OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

PHILADELPHIA:

37

PRINTED FOR THE TRUSTEES OF THE ASSEMBLY BY

R. P. M'CULLOH.

Eastern District of Pennsylvania, TO WIT:

BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the fourth day of March, in the forty-fourth year of the Independence of the United States of America, A. D. 1820, the Reverend JACOB J. JANEWAY, D. D. and ROBERT RALS TON, Esquire, on behalf of the Trustees of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, in the United States of America, of the said District, have deposited in this office the Title of a Book, the right whereof they claim as Proprietors, in the words following, *to wit:

L. S.

"A Digest, compiled from the Records of the General Assembly, of the Pres"byterian Church, in the United States of America, and from the Re"cords of the late Synod of New York and Philadelphia, of their Acts "and Proceedings, that appear to be of permanent Authority and Inter"est; together with a short Account of the Missions conducted by the "Presbyterian Church. By order of the General Assembly."

In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled "An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts and books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies during the time therein mentioned." And also to the Act, ntitled, "An Act supplementary to an act, entitled, An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts and books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies during the times therein mentioned," and extending the benefits thereof to the Arts of designing, engraving, and etching Istorical and other prints."

D. CALDWELL,

Clerk of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

EXTRACT

From the Minutes of the General Assembly in 1818. V

THE following overture was submitted to the Assembly, and being amended, was adopted: viz.

Resolved, That Drs. Janeway, Neill, and Ely, be appointed, and they are hereby appointed a Committee, to extract from the records of the General Assembly, and of the late Synod 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 people in our churches; and that they report the same to the next Assembly.

Resolved, That said Committee be authorized, and they are hereby authorized, to employ a person to transcribe any part of the records, that may be necessary for the above work.

EXTRACT

From the Minutes of the General Assembly in 1819.

THE Committee appointed by the last Assembly, to extract from the records of the General Assembly, and of the late Synod of New York and Philadelphia, all such matters as may appear to be of permanent authority and interest, reported; whereupon,

Resolved, That the work reported by the Committee, be completed on the plan reported; and that when thus finished, the Committee be authorised to have 4000 copies printed, and offered for sale at a reasonable price.

Resolved, That the Trustees of the General Assembly be requested to defray the expense of printing the above work, and secure the copy right of it; and that the Presbyteries be requested to promote the sale of the same.

PREFACE.

THE General Assembly is the Supreme Judicatory of the

Presbyterian Church. As such it superintends the general interests of all our churches, and constitutes "the bond of union, peace, correspondence, and mutual confidence" among them. It is invested with power to preserve a due regard to the principles of our ecclesiastical government in all the Sy nods, Presbyteries, and Sessions; and to bear "testimony against error in doctrine or immorality in practice" in any portion of the church.

Established for purposes so important, and invested with powers so extensive, the proceedings of the General Assembly must necessarily be interesting to the whole Presbyterian Church; and consequently the knowledge of them ought to be diligently and extensively circulated among the members of that church.

From the very commencement of their operations, it has been the uniform practice of the General Assembly to publish annually extracts from their minutes, that were deemed important and interesting. But such is the extent of territory over which our church is spread, and so rapid has been its increase, that the measures heretofore adopted for diffusing a knowledge of the Acts and proceedings of its Supreme Judicatory, have proved insufficient. Very few of our ministers are in possession of the Printed Extracts that compose the first volume; and, many through accident, or inattention, have lost part of those which constitute the second. Indeed it is apprehended that the number even of Presbyteries posses sing these records of the General Assembly is small.