The General Assembly [pp. 529-543]

1875.] THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 531
ance, and brotherly love, and that we await, in charity and hope, the early
coming of the day when we shall again mingle with our brethren of the
Southern Church in Christian fellowship and co-operation.
This is the precise attitude on this subject which we have
constantly advocated since learning the result of the first overtures to the Southern Assembly. We believe that all attempts
on our side to reopen it, before our Southern brethren see their
way, directly or indirectly, to take the initiative, lead more to
widen than to heal the breach, because they tend inevitably to
the hunting up and parading of every offensive or extreme
phrase used in the ecclesiastical votes or documents of Northern and Southern Presbyterians-to crimination and re-crimination. This opens but does not heal old wounds. So far as
the past action of Northern Assemblies establishes any terms
of communion or modes of church action, in reference to parties
implicated in slavery and the rebellion, and measures growing
out of them, these are unquestionably done away by the "concurrent declarations," which formed the basis of re-union,
abundantly confirmed as they are by such repeated express declarations on this particular subject as the foregoing minute contains. If this were otherwise, if any rules and regulations made
in exciting times were now in force which had any offensive bearing upon our Southern brethren and their churches, we should
urge their immediate abrogation. But they are already abrogated.
All that remains is declarations of sentiment by past Assemblies, Old and New School, in reference to slavery and the rebellion, and their surroundings and consequents. Undoubtedly,
some intense language was used, in some instances beyond our
own taste and judgment, both then and now. But this was
largely called forth by language used in Southern bodies-as
abundantly shown by Dr. Nichols in his able speech before the
Assembly-still more repugnant to our taste and convictions,
and those of our whole Church. Now it seems, at first sight, very
plausible, ~o say that, surely it would be very Christian-like for
our Assembly simply to "express regret" for some of these
harsh expressions used in those exceptional and exciting times.
But we think this for the present o~t of place. I. Because,
if there be any such expressions of regret, they should be
mutual. Otherwise, we should both stultify ourselves before