The Practical Church Member: being a Guide to the Principles and Practice of the Congregational Churches of New England. By John Mitchell [pp. 243-268]

Mitchell's Church Member.
actually enjoyed and used on both sides; and, in some cases,
within our recollection, the votes of the Congregational delegates had no small influence in carrying measures proposed
in our General Assembly. In the mean while, a similar plan
of" union and correspondence" was formed by the General
Assembly with the Churches of Vermont, in 1803; of
New Hampshire, in 1810; and of Massachusetts, in 1811.*
Not long afterwards articles of corrospondence were adopted
by the General Assembly, with the Associate Reformed
Church; with the Reformed Dutch Church; and with the
German Reformed Church. The three latter, however,
though all Presbyterians, in forming their articles of correspondence, declined admitting the privilege of voting as one
of them, as inconsistent, in their opinion, with constitutional
regularity. And hence, for eight or ten years, we had the
singular spectacle of all the eastern delegates voting, on all
questions, however exclusively interesting to our own.
Church; while none of the delegates from the Presbyterian
bodies were called upon to exercise the same privilege. This
anomaly excited attention, and led to those views and suggestions which resulted in the change as to this point which
was soon afterwards effected. Mr. Mitchell, indeed, tells us
that the privilege of mutually voting in each others public
bodies is still exercised, and is one of the evidences of the
unity of Congregationalists and Presbyterians. He is, however, under an entire mistake. It was abolished a number
of years ago. And as the proposal to introduce it came from
the General Assembly, so did the request that it might be
laid aside. The reasons which prompted the Assembly to
propose its relinquishment, were the following.
1. The mutual voting by these delegates which had been
long practised, appeared, to many of our wisest and most experienced ministers, on serious consideration, so far as our
Church was concerned, to be unconstitutional. The form
of government under which the General Assembly acts, and
by the rules of which it is just as much bound, as any of the
lower judicatories-makes express provision for that body
maintaining a correspondence with sister churches at home
and abroad; but not for receiving their members into authoritative co-operation with us. It deelares, very explicitly,
in what manner the General Assembly shall be constituted,
* At later periods a correspondence has been established with the Consociation of Rhode Island, and the General Conference of Maine.
1836,]
257;