done at the ordination and ad. mission of a minister; the state of the parochial schools is annually inquired into, and reported; so that it is almost solely a minister's personal or official conduct, into which the presby. tery at its visitation would have to examine. Such an examination it is always a delicate and a difficult matter to conduct; and the disapprobation expressed by the assembly 1796 of the manner in which a presbyterial visitation was managed, will make presbyteries cautious how they proceed in this business.*

When a presbyterial visitation of a parish is appointed, notice of it is given from the pulpit ten free days before it takes place; and the heritors, elders, and whole congregation, are summoned to be present on the day of the visitation, and to acquaint the presbytery if they know any thing amiss in their minister, elders, and other office-bearers in the parish. After public worship the elders are examined upon oath; and the heads of families are interrogated in gene. ral. The visitation is concluded with prayer.†

It is not till a libel has been found to be proven, that any sentence can be passed upon the person libeled. During the dependence of a process against a minister, a presbytery is not entitled either to suspend him, or to prevent him from dispensing the ordinances of religion in his pa.

* Assembly 1796, Session 5.-Gillanders, Synod of Angus and Mearns.

† Act, March 26, Assembly 1596. Aet, Session 23, Assembly 1638. Act 10, Assembly 1646. Act 16, Assembly 1706. Steuart of Pardovan's Collections, book i. title 13.

rish.*

And whatever may come out in the course of the proba. tion, a presbytery is not entitled to inflict any censure for which the libel does not conclude, more particularly if the libel is found to be not proven.†

When a minister is assoilzied, the proceedings against him are not allowed to remain either in the record, or in retentis.‡

Deposition.-If deposition is the sentence that follows, the act of deposing is always preceded by prayer.

The church of the deposed minister is declared vacant from the day and date of the sentence of deposition, and the usual steps upon occasion of a vacancy are taken.

The sentence of deposition cannot be pronounced by a presbytery in absence of the minister to be deposed.§ In 1793, a case of libel came before the General Assembly by appeal from the presbytery of Kirkcudbright. Neither the sentence of the presbytery nor the grounds of appeal are given. But the finding of the presbytery was to the effect, that the minister libeled was not to be deposed. Some of the elders and heads of families of his parish were the appellants. He himself was incarcerated by the civil power. the civil power. An objection was taken to proceeding with the appeal in his absence. But this objection was overruled; and the assembly, notwithstanding hs ab

* Assembly 1785, Session 6.-McLaggan, Presbytery of Selkirk. Assembly 1812, Session 8.--Davie, Synod of Angus and Mearns. † Assembly 1793, Session 8.-Dallas, Synod of Ross.

Assembly, 1818, Session 5.-Clark, Presbytery of Inverness. Session 9.-Lockerby Presbytery of Glasgow.

Assembly 1755, Session ult.-Moncreiff, Presbytery of Zetland.

sence, reversed the sentence ap. pealed from, and deposed him from the office of the holy ministry.*

A minister deposed for immo. rality cannot be restored to his former charge, in any circumstance whatsoever, without the special authority of the General Assembly appointing it.†

Demission. If a minister demits his charge, the presbytery judges whether the demission should be accepted or not. It is not competent for the presby. tery to accept of the demission, if the minister has pursued schis. matical and divisive courses.§ In that case, the presbytery consults the commission, as it sees cause, calls the minister to account, proceeds against him by way of libel, and censures him even to deposition.||

Vacant parish.-When a parish becomes vacant by the death of the minister, the brethren who attend his funeral, assemble after it, and appoint some one of their number to preach in the church of that parish on the Lord's day following, and declare the church vacant from the day of the minister's death. They also direct him, unless the ordinary meeting of presbytery be near at hand, to intimate the vacancy to the patron of the parish; and they farther settle among themselves such supplies of ministerial service for the vacant parish as may

Supplies.--Supplies are usually given once a fortnight for vacant parishes in the country. In towns it is frequently found to be expedient to give them oftener. They are appointed by consulting the convenience of members, or, which is the better way, by following the order of the roll, leaving it to members to make such arrangements with one another in private, as may enable them to obtemper the appointments of the presbytery with the least inconvenience to their parishes or themselves.

The presbytery, during vacancies or suspensions, has the right of free entrance to the churches within its bounds. The custody of the keys of churches lies in these cases with the presbytery.*

Settlement.--When a parish has remained vacant for six months, dating the vacancy from the day of the minister's death, or deposition, or demission, or translation to another parish, and no presentation has been lodged with the presbytery, or with the moderator, or clerk, the right to present to the vacant parish be. longs to the presbytery tanquam jure devoluto.†

* Assembly 1828, Session 8.-Presbytery of Linlithgow.

† Act 7, first Parliament, James VI. 1567.Act 2, twelfth Parliament, James VI. 1592, c. 115.-Act, Queen Anne, 1712, c. 12.

4

Patron.--A patron, in order to present to a vacant parish, must qualify to government, and an extract of his having so qualified must be given in to the presby. tery along with the presentation; otherwise it cannot be sustained. Presentation.-A presentation must be in favor of a licentiate of this church, who also qualifies to government, and who is willing to accept of the presentation. Hence there must likewise be laid on the presbytery's table a letter of acceptance from the presentee, an extract of his having qualified to government, and, if he is not already an ordained minister in the occupation of another charge, an extract of his license to preach the gospel.

It is not competent for the he. ritors of a parish to object to a presentation. The presbytery are the judges whether it is to be sustained; and, unless they find the presentee disqualified, they are "bound and astricted" to receive him on the presentation of an undoubted patron.†

Presentee. The presentee, if a probationer, is appointed to preach in the vacant parish on one or more Sundays, according to the practice of the presbytery; and a day is fixed, posterior to his preaching, on which a call to him from that parish is to be moderated in. Notice of this is directed to be given from the pulpit of the vacant parish, by a member of presbytery, at least ten free days before the meeting for moderating in the call takes place.‡

Moderating in a call.-At that meeting a sermon is preached by the member of presbytery who is appointed to preside; the people are informed, at the conclusion of public worship, of the presentation that has been lodged; and they are invited to subscibe a written call to the presentee to be their minister, and to encourage him by expressing their willingness to receive him in that capacity. The signatures of those who do so are attested as genuine by the ministers present; and the subscribed call is given in by them to the next meeting of pres. bytery.

The meeting for moderating in a call being usually, not an ordinary meeting of presbytery, but altogether in hunc effectum, it is not competent at it to receive objections to the presentee, although they are made in the form of a regular libel.*

The call being laid before the presbytery, and read, the first step is to concur with it. Whether the number of signatures attached to it was such as to make it a good and sufficient call, was long a difficult and an agitating question. But there is much less ceremony upon that point at present; and provided there are signatures attached to a call, a presbytery does not hesitate to concur with it.

The dissatisfaction of a presbytery with the moral conduct of a presentee, does not warrant a delay in concurring with a call, or moderating in it. A libel, in proper form, is the only way of proceeding, where charges affect

Assembly 1793, Session 8-Dallas' Synod of Ross.

ing the character are made.* And, judging by analogy, the same observation should hold in the case of dissatisfaction being felt by the presbytery with the views entertained by the presentee upon doctrinal points. This dissatisfaction the presbytery may have an opportunity of expressing in the course of the trials which the presentee has to undergo. But, as a presentee, if the preliminary steps have been taken, he has a right to be put upon these trials; nor does there seem to be any warrant for a presbytery, upon suspicion or even knowledge of his heterodoxy, to refuse to take him upon trials, unless a regular libel has been served upon

him.

The call being concurred with, it is put into the presentee's hand, and he is asked if he accepts of it. On his doing so, the presbytery devolves on him the care of supplying the vacant parish with public worship. It is understood that, till his admission, the same measure of supply is expected from him, as the presby. tery has been used to give.

It remains for the presbytery to judge of his qualifications. Trials of exactly the same nature with those which he underwent before obtaining his license as a preacher, are prescribed to him; and these being finished to the satisfaction of the presbytery, he is required again to subscribe the formula; the act against simony is read to him, a day is fixed for serving his edict, and another, at an interval of not less than ten

*Assembly, 1771, Session 7.-M'Master, Presbytery of Stranraer.

days, for ordaining and admitting him to be minister of the parish.

If the presbytery is dissatisfied with the qualifications of the presentee, and rejects him on that account, the questions that are put to him, and the answers received from him in the course of his catechetic trials, and the remarks of the presbytery upon the discourses delivered by him as part of his trials, are taken down in writing, and the discourses themselves are laid on the table and docketed by the moderator, that in the event of an appeal the whole may be transmitted to the superior court. In a case which was brought from the presbytery of Hamilton in 1765, the general assembly set aside the trials which had given occasion to the appeal, directed new ones to be prescribed, and enjoined the course mentioned above to be followed.* In another case in 1823, from the Presbytery of Alford, the general assembly, after hearing parties at the bar, ap. pointed a committee of their members to examine the presentee, and on the report of that committee sustained his trials, and enjoined the presbytery to proceed with his ordination.f

In two instances the general assembly has found a want of Gaelic to be a complete disqualification for a presentee in parishes where Gaelic is spoken.‡

A license to preach the gospel obtained without the bounds of

Assembly 1765, Session 6 and 7.-Walls, Presbytery of Hamilton.

† Assembly 1823, Session 9 and ult.--Smith, Towie.

Assembly 1772, Session 9, Aberfoil.-Assembly 1825, Session 5, Little Dunkeld.

this church also disqualifies a presentee;* and it is conceived that a want of physical powers for the proper discharge of the ministerial office would equally entitle a presbytery to reject a presentee as disqualified.† When a presentee is found to be disqualified, the presbytery orders intimation of it to be given to the patron of the parish, and an extract of the finding to be sent to him.

Ordination. On the day ap. pointed for the ordination of the presentee, the presbytery meets before the celebration of public worship, receives the report of the minister by whom the edict was served, and directs the offi. cer to proclaim, at the most patent door of the church, that if any one has objections to the life or doctrine of the presentee, the presbytery is ready to hear them. A formal libel is not required upon that occasion. But any objections that are made must be immediately proved to be valid. They are otherwise disregarded.

The officer having returned, and none appearing to object, the presbytery directs the officiating minister, who had been appointed to preach and to preside, to proceed with the ordination. Public worship commences. After a sermon suited to the occasion, he reads a narrative of the presby. tery's proceedings in regard to the vacant parish since the vacancy occurred, and then calls upon the presentee, in face of the congregation, to answer the fol

Act 9, Assembly 1779; Act 5, Assembly 1799; Assembly 1798, Session 5, Gary, Brechin; and Session 8, Legertwood.

Hill's View of the Constitution, pp. 69, 70.

lowing questions appointed to be put to ministers at their ordination.*

1. Do you believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the word of God, and the only rule of faith and manners?

2. Do you sincerely own and believe the whole doctrine contained in the confession of faith, approven by the general assem. blies of this church, and ratified by law in the year 1690, to be founded upon the word of God; and do you acknowledge the same as the confession of your faith; and will you firmly and constantly adhere thereto, and to the utmost of your power assert maintain, and defend the same, and the purity of worship as presently practiced in this national church, and asserted in act 15, Assembly 1707, entitled, Act against innovations in the worship of God?

3. Do you disown all Popish, Arian, Socinian, Arminian, Bourignian, and other doctrines, tenets, and opinions whatsoever contrary to and inconsistent with the foresaid confession of faith?

4. Are you persuaded that the Presbyterian government and discipline of this church are founded upon the word of God, and agreeable thereto, and do you promise to submit to the said government and discipline, and to concur with the same, and never to endeavor, directly or indirectly, the prejudice or subversion thereof, but to the utmost of your power, in your station, to maintain, support, and defend the said discipline and Presbyterian government by kirk-sessions,

* Act 10, Assembly 1711.