4. The Form of Dismission to other Denominations left to the Discretion of the Session.

Shall members of our churches, who may wish to join churches not in correspondence with the General Assembly, receive certificates in the same form as if they wished to join another church, in our communion, or in correspondence with the Assembly; or has the church session done all that it ought to do, when in such cases the good and regular standing of the persons so applying is duly certified?

On motion, the answer recommended by the Committee was laid on the table, and the following, after amendment, was adopted, viz.:

Resolved, That this whole subject is one that ought to be left to the sound discretion of the various church sessions, according to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church.-1851, p. 28, O. S.

5. Dismission of a Suspended Member.

Is it orderly in any case to dismiss to another church a suspended member, stating the case, and submitting it to the session to which he has removed?

It may be orderly in circumstances of necessity arising from removal to an inconvenient distance, provided that in no instance the session to which he be dismissed be allowed to review or rejudge the case.-1849, p. 239, O. S. 6. A Suspended Person being Restored by the Superior Judicatories may Claim Dismission in Good Standing.

a. In regard to the complaint of Mr. Dobbins, against the Session of the church of Augusta, for receiving members suspended by the Session of the church of Smyrna, the Assembly are of opinion that both Sessions acted unconstitutionally: the Session of Smyrna in suspending said members, and the Session of Augusta in receiving them when suspended. Therefore,

Resolved, That the appeal, on this complaint, be and it is hereby sustained; and the members in question are hereby declared to be still members in good standing in the church of Smyrna; and the session of the church of Smyrna are hereby directed to dismiss said members if they still desire it, that they may regularly connect themselves with the church of Augusta.-1824, p. 124.

b. Resolved, That the Presbytery of Nashville having fully exonerated the appellant from all blame in the matters respecting which he was charged before the session of the church at Clarksville, his character is unimpeached, and that he is now, and ever has been since the action of the Presbytery in his case, entitled to a dismission from the church at Clarksville, whenever applied for, in order to connect himself with any church in the vicinity of his present residence.-1849, p. 237, O. S.

7. A Dismission may be Irregular, yet Valid.

A memorial from individuals in the Presbytéry of Concord, formerly under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Davies, asking the Assembly to determine whether they are to be considered members of the Prospect church, or whether their dismission from the church of Centre is to be considered null and void. The Committee recommended that the Assembly, while not approving of the haste and confusion with which their dismission was given, declare their actual connection with the church of Prospect now to be valid and regular. The recommendation was adopted. -1849, p. 266, O. S.

8. Members Removing should be Furnished with Testimonials of Standing, and should be Counseled to Transfer their Relations.

Overture No. 36, from the Presbytery of Iowa, asking the Assembly to make it the duty of every church to give a letter of dismission to every member when removing to another locality where there is a Presbyterian church, etc. The following answer was adopted:

The Committee recommends that it be enjoined upon the sessions of our churches, on the removal of any members beyond the boundaries of their own organizations, to furnish such members, whether in full communion or members by baptism only, with testimonials of their standing; which testimonials it shall be the duty of such persons at once to present to some church of our connection, and the sessions shall earnestly counsel these members to transfer their relation immediately, if practicable, or at the earliest opportunity.

Also, that in case but a single organization of our order is within reach of the parties so removed, the sessions having care of them shall transmit to that church session a copy of the testimonials foregoing; if there be more than one such organization, then the parties transferred may elect to which organization these testimonials shall be sent.-1869, p. 923, O. S. 9. Churches Receiving Members by Letter should Notify the Church from which they Come.-Blank Forms of the Board of Publication Commended.

Overture No. 1, from the Presbytery of Neosho, on the dismission of church members.

The Committee recommend the following action:

Resolved, That the General Assembly urge upon the Sessions of churches the importance of giving to members who remove from them either letters of dismission and recommendation to a particular church, or, in case of uncertain destination, letters of credence, and that, on the reception of members from other churches, they notify immediately the church from which the member has been dismissed. And they also urge upon all our churches the use of the printed blanks for the dismission and reception of members furnished by our Board of Publication.-1871, p. 587.

[See Book of Discipline, chap. xi., sec. cxi., the action of 1874.]

1. That, on the reception of a minister by certificate of dismission from another Presbytery, it be recommended to the stated clerk of the Presbytery receiving him to notify the stated clerk of the Presbytery granting the certificate of the fact of the reception.

2. That the name of every minister receiving a certificate of dismission be retained on the roll of the Presbytery dismissing him until notice of his reception be received from the stated clerk of the Presbytery receiving him.

3. That similar recommendations be sent to Sessions concerning the dismission and reception of church-members.-1874, p. 82.

10. The Limit of One Year does not ordinarily Exclude, where the Session has Knowledge of the Reasons and of the Religious Life.

The Synod (of Kentucky) except to the Sessional records of a certain church, because of the alleged irregularity of said Session in receiving members on return of certificates alone, after undue length of time, knowledge of such irregularity being brought to the Synod's notice by a protest (Book of Discipline (Old), chap. xi., sec. ii.). Your Committee

recommend that exception be taken to this action of the Synod because, in their judgment, the Synod's exception to the Presbytery's action is not well taken, for the reason that it appears to your Committee, from papers placed in their hands, and which ought to have been in the Synod's possession before taking action in the case, that the parties in question had good and sufficient reasons for such delay, being unsettled as to a permanent home; their moral and religious life, meantime, being well known to the Session as fully comporting with the requirements of the Gospel of Christ. -1880, p. 79.

CXV. In like manner, when a minister, licentiate or candidate is dismissed from one Presbytery to another, the certificate shall be presented to the Presbytery to which it is addressed, ordinarily within one year from its date, and the fact of his reception shall be promptly communicated to the Presbytery dismissing him. [New.]

CXVI. If a church member, more than two years absent from the place of his ordinary residence and church connections, applies for a certificate of membership, his absence, and the knowledge of the church respecting his demeanor for that time, or its want of information concerning it, shall be distinctly stated in the certificate. [XI. 3, 4.]

1. The Standing of Members Absent and Unknown.-Such Absence without Certificate itself Censurable.-If Willful, they should be Suspended.

The Committee appointed on the overture from the Synod of New Jersey, inquiring what a church Session ought to do with members in communion who have been absent for years without having taken a certificate of dismission, and whose place of residence is unknown, made a report which, being read and amended, was adopted, and is as follows-viz.:

That although this particular case is not provided for by a specific regulation in our Book of Discipline (Old), yet it is embraced by certain general principles which are recognized in that book and interwoven with many of its provisions. These principles, together with the result bearing on the case in question, the Committee beg leave most respectfully to state: 1. Every church member is amenable to some appropriate tribunal, by the wisdom and fidelity of which, in case of his falling into any error, immorality or negligence, he may be dealt with according to the word of God.

2. No member of a church can properly ever cease to be such but by death, exclusion, a regular dismission, or an orderly withdrawing to join some other Christian denomination; and must of necessity continue to be amenable to that church until he becomes regularly connected with another.

3. For a church member to withdraw from a use of his privileges as a member, either by irregularly connecting himself with another denomination, or by going to a distant part of the world to reside for a number of years, without making known his removal to the church session, and asking a certificate either of good standing, for the purpose of enjoying occasional communion elsewhere, or of dismission, to join some other church, is itself a censurable violation of the principles of church fellowship, and may infer suspension from its privileges.

4. Church members, therefore, who have been absent for a number of

years in unknown places, are by no means to have their names erased from the churches to which they respectively belong, but are to be held responsible to their respective churches; and if they should ever return, or be heard from, are to be regularly dealt with according to the word of God and the principles of our Church; and although great caution and tenderness ought to be exercised toward those whose withdrawing from Christian privileges may be occasioned by the unavoidable dispensations of Providence, without any material fault of their own, yet in all cases in which a church session has good reason to believe that any of the church under their care have absented themselves with design, either from a disregard of Christian privilege or from a wish to escape from the inspection and discipline of the Church, they ought, without unnecessary delay, to declare such persons suspended from the privileges of the church until they give evidence of repentance and reformation, and of course, in making their statistical reports, ought to enumerate such among the members under suspension.-1825, pp. 138, 139.

[See also Form of Government, chap. ix., sec. vi. (Appendix), 1880, p. 45, a decision on the duties of the Session in case of certain irregularities confirming 1825, above.--1872, p. 89; 1868, p. 58, N. S.; and 1839, p. 24, N. S. See also Digest of 1873, pp. 626-628.-M.]

CXVII. Prosecution for an alleged offence shall commence within one year from the time of its alleged commission, or from the date when it becomes known to the judicatory which has jurisdiction thereof. [XI. 5.]

1. Limitation not to be Plead against the Order of a Superior Judicatory.

[In a case carried by complaint to the Synod of Mississippi, the Synod referred the whole matter back to the Presbytery. The Presbytery entered upon the case; but, finding that two years had elapsed since the act was committed, declined to proceed further, on the ground of the limitation above.] The Assembly declared:

That the Presbytery of Louisiana erred in pleading the limitation of time for their noncompliance with the resolution of Synod, referring this whole case to them for a full investigation.-1850, p. 481, O. S.

2. The Plea is Good where the Offence was Known to Members of the Judicatory more than a Year before Process was Begun.

Overture No. 19 was then taken up from the docket, which is as follows:

When a church session has tabled charges against a church member for falsehood, and summoned the accused with the witnesses, is it competent for the session to dismiss the charges on the plea of the accused that a prosecution is barred by the limitation of time in chap. xi., sec. xv., of the Discipline ("Process in case of scandal, etc."), the alleged crime having been committed and "become flagrant," and known to members of session more than twelve months before process was instituted?

The Committee recommended that this inquiry be answered in the affirmative. Adopted.-1857, p. 42, O. S.

CHAPTER XIII.

OF JUDICIAL COMMISSIONS.

CXVIII. THE General Assembly, and each Synod under its care, shall have power to appoint a Judicial Commission from their respective bodies, consisting of ministers and elders, in number not less than a quorum of the judicatory appointing.

All judicial cases may be submitted to this Commission, and its decisions shall be final, except in matters of law, which shall be referred to the appointing court for final adjudication; and also, all matters of constitution and doctrine, which may be reviewed in the appointing body, and, upon final adjudication by the General Assembly, this Commission shall sit at the same time and place as the body appointing it; and its finding shall be entered upon the minutes of such body.--Adopted 1885, p. 637.

Special Reports of Judicial Decisions by Synods to be Sent up. Resolved, That in view of the importance of the Judicial Decisions made by Synods and Synodical Commissions, the Synods are enjoined to send up to the Assembly, in special communications, all records of such decisions.-1885, p. 662.

[Judicial Commissions, with consent of parties, have been appointed by the Assembly as follows: 1864, N. S., in the case of Mrs. Maria Hill vs. the Synod of Albany; its report was adopted as the action of the Assembly, 1864, p. 477, N. S. In 1865 the Assembly, O. S., as an extraordinary measure (see Digest of 1873, p. 564), appointed a commission to hear the case and report to the Assembly (1865, p. 538, O. S.). In 1867 the Assembly, O. S., appointed a commission in the case of appeal of Lewis R. Lockwood vs. the Synod of Iowa (1867, p. 327, O. S.). By the same Assembly two other cases were referred to commissions (1867, pp. 355 and 360, Ó. S.). Since the Reunion commissions were appointed (1870, p. 27; 1874, pp. 24, 30 and 37; 1876, p. 29; 1878, pp. 22 and 29.). The usage has beer formulated in the law above. See Digest of 1873, pp. 564, 565.-M.]