History and Ecclesiastical Relations of the Churches of the Presbyterial Order at Amoy, China | Page 7

Amoy be directed to apply to the Particular
Synod of Albany to organize them into a Classis so soon as they shall
have formed churches enough to render the permanency of such an
organization reasonably certain."
It should be noticed that, in the foregoing Report, which was adopted
by Synod, the most important question--the vital question--of our
communication, i.e. the unity of the churches under the care of the
English Presbyterian Missionaries and of us, is entirely ignored; and
consequently, without the fact being stated, we were directed to divide
those churches, and form a part of them into a distinct Denomination.
If the English Presbyterian Church had disapproved of the course of
their Missionaries in uniting with us in organizing the native churches
with our peculiarities, we think even that would have been strange. It
would have appeared to us as though they were sacrificing some of the
essentials of Presbyterianism for the sake of non-essentials, for, in our
organization, they found all that they hold essential in doctrine, order,
and customs. Suppose the position of the two Missions had been
reversed, they had been first on the ground, and when we arrived we
found the Church being planted and beginning to grow up after their
order. If we had found in the Church thus growing up all that we hold
essential and important, even though it had some little peculiarities
which were theirs and not ours, ought not our Church to have permitted
us to work with them, as they have been permitted to work with us? If
such be not the true Christian spirit, than we frankly confess that we
know not, and despair of ever learning from the Word of God, what the
Christian spirit is on such a subject. But whether such disapproval on
the part of the English Presbyterian Church would have been strange or
not, it would not have been so strange as was the decision of our
Church, that the churches organized by the English Presbyterian
brethren and by us--all one in fact, growing out of each other, and all
adopting our order, should not be organically one. Hence, when we

learned from our Board the decision of Synod, we felt (correctly or
incorrectly) that there must be some misapprehension. Surely our
Church cannot have correct views of our position, and our course of
proceeding. Hence, we returned answer to the Board as
follows:--(Letter dated December 23, 1857.)
After speaking of our hearty approval of the course of our Church in
separating from the A.B.C.F.M., though as individuals we took our
leave of that Board with feelings of sadness, we remarked:
"It seems proper to us also, on the present occasion, to allude to a
subject deeply affecting the interests of the little Church which God has
graciously gathered by our instrumentality from among this people.
This Church is now small, but we trust that, with a continuance of the
Divine blessing, the 'little one' will soon 'become a thousand,' and the
'small one a strong nation.' 'The Lord will hasten it in his time.' We love
this Church, and cannot but watch over her interests with jealous care.
Besides this, the Great Shepherd has made us under-shepherds, and
commanded us to watch over the interests of this flock. We gave a brief
history of our work, and an account of the present condition and
peculiar circumstances of the churches here under our care, and stated
at considerable length our views in reference to the future ecclesiastical
relations of these churches, in a paper prepared for the information of
our Church at home, and addressed to General Synod. The facts thus
communicated ought to be known by the Church. It seems to us very
unfortunate that that paper was not published according to our
suggestion. It stated facts of grave importance. If we could have had a
representative in General Synod, the previous publication of our paper
might have been unnecessary. But, without such a representative, it was
hardly possible that the subject, by a single reading of so long a
document, could be brought before the minds of all the members of
Synod with sufficient clearness.... Therefore it is not strange that some
of the important points in the paper should have been entirely
overlooked, and also that certain grave misconceptions should have got
abroad in the Church concerning the views expressed by us.
"So far as we can judge from the report of the proceedings of Synod, as

given in The Christian Intelligencer, one of the most important
considerations--perhaps altogether the most important mentioned--why
the Church, gathered by us here, should not be an integral part of the
Church in America, was entirely overlooked. That consideration relates
to the _unity of Christ's Church_. Our Saviour prays: 'Holy Father,
keep through thine own