Note 2 — ECCLESIASTICAL RELATIONS (continued 2)
Reading edition
The following statistics are from the Minutes of General Assembly, 1863.
Synod of Northern India—Was organized in 1841. Is composed of three Presbyteries. Now has 19 ministers (only one of these is a native pastor); 9 churches; 246 communicants. (How many of these are natives not reported.)
Presbytery of Canton—Has 4 ministers; no native pastor; 1 church; 12 communicants. (How many of these are natives not reported.) Presbytery of Ningpo—Has 8 ministers; no native pastor; 2 churches; 111 native members.
Presbytery of Siam—Has 6 ministers; no native pastor; 1 church; 8 communicants. (How many of these are native members not reported.)
Presbytery of West Africa—Has 9 ministers; no native pastor; 6 churches; 191 communicants (probably all natives.)
Are these ecclesiastical bodies respectively Indian, Chinese, and African in their character? or are they all essentially American? Yet these are the bodies to which the Committee of General Synod of 1857 referred when they said, "As to the difficulties suggested" [by the Missionaries at Amoy] "respecting the delays of carrying out a system of appellate jurisdiction covering America and China, it is enough to say, that the Presbyterian Church (O.S.) finds no insuperable difficulties in carrying into operation her system, which comprehends Presbyteries and Synods in India as well as here." Why should there be many insuperable difficulties so long as these bodies remain American Missionary bodies, instead of being native ecclesiastical bodies? Practically they do not need representation in the Church at home more than our Missions need representatives in the Board of Missions. In the aggregate of all the above-mentioned ecclesiastical missionary bodies, there is but one native pastor, and this, as might be expected, so far as we are aware, furnished the only case in which difficulty has occurred. Doubtless in the instance referred to, the native pastor was in error, and, as he found some insuperable difficulty in getting his case before the General Assembly, a similar effort is not likely soon to be made.