Show SPEAKS FOR HIM HIMSELF SLl believes the bible to be the word of god HE HAS FOUGHT NO DOCTRINE that would interfere with thi the true discharge of holy duties by those who accept them washington may 25 the pres byte by terian riall oal general assembly ado adopted ted 1 the rec recommendation t io n of the T judicial d I 1 tal committee that al eix complaints azat 1 at the new york synod growing out of the briegs trial be referred to the judi judicial a cammi committee tee for trial it also e adopted without dissent recommend recommendation on on the overtures overt urea from the presbyteries presby teries concerning appeals irom from presbyteries presby teries direct to the general assembly that such appeals are proper as to all matters re relating LK L K tu to the aa policy of tile church but an overture from a presbytery as to a pending judicial case such as thai that of professor briggs advising the general assembly as to what action it should take in such case Is irregular and unprecedented in ili ecclesiastical procedure and that the proper way for the presby teries to influence pending cases Is it through their respective commissioners on oil the floor of the general assembly after appointing a committee to aseer talu whether tho tile worlds fair would be open on oil sundays the assembly resolved itself into a court and arid professor briggs resumed his speech in defense of the action of shenew the new york presbytery in his case and in ili opposition to entertaining the appeal ill the tile presbyterian assembly Ti assi a re resolution solution declaring the I 1 worlds fair g grounds rounds to be merely a bonded warehouse and appointed a committee to wait on secretary carlisle to ask him to treat it as each such and close it on sunday as all other bonded warehouses are customs officials however say tills this ie is impossible e there is no way in which an ail exposition building containing bonded exhibits could be closed clow like bonded warehouses except by placing a lock on oil them A committee waited on attorney general aj ainey this afternoon and were delighted at learning ng his instructions to district attorney milchrist after briefly restating the points made yester yesterday dr briges in ili his address said in part t 11 the ile presbytery of new york the r largest argest in tho the presbyterian church after a 1 long ong and patient consideration of the merits of the case gave a verdict of acquittal would the general assembly be willing to give the same amount of time and patience to the consideration of the merits of the case if the appeal were entertained 7 if you override all provisions of the constitution and the maxims of civil law the uses of civil and arid ecclesiastical courts in order to entertain an appeal and illen rush to a bast hasty decision you will strike a deada deadly y blow at tho 0 constitution and the discipline of the presbyterian church B i i s then reviewed the his ory of the c case ase mr t through ough the various stages in the 1 presbytery and general assembly he ile said yon V ou van not entertain this appeal without doing violence to the sense of right which is exhibited in the constitution of our county inthe maxims of common law ili the statutes of our commonwealth and the practice of our civil coulta with ou out t establishing an entirely new and dangerous precedent in ecclesiastical law without doing grave injustice to the defendant and to the presbytery of new york and without undermining public confidence in the equity of the tile presbyterian discipline Is not this too heavy a cost to pay for the sake of be securing curing the tile condemnation of one man however objectionable he may be Is it not too great a strain to put up upon on the constitution in order to gain a becis decision ion on questions of doctrine which may be more clearly and satisfactorily defined anay by tile proceed ure prescribed in ili ithe the form of government the common AM lays down this fundamental funA fundamental principle which applies to this case if to any it is for the publio public good that there be an ail erd erld to litigation at one time during the morning pages began to distribute among the commissioners copies of the pamphlet upon the legal standing of the prosecuting comi standby ruit tee dr thomas homas 0 hall of chicago complained of this saying the attention of or the tile commissioners was being diverted from tho the address by the tile Interrupt ian ni and ano the moderator or ordered Jered the tile boys to cease at 1225 dr briggs yielded for a motion to adjourn having occupied three hours and fifty two nil minutes s after several announcements including the appointment of a judicial commission to hear bear complaints of J J mccook and others against the new york synod the assembly took a recess until p in after tho the recess dr briggs spoke bitterly about the omission from front the tho brief odthe of the prosecutors prosecutor of the question put to him to test bis his faith an and his its answer answers thereto what right had these appellants to omit ornit such matters as they pleased from the official or sem semiofficial semi I 1 official caal document he ile wished to make an explicit denial of the charge that be he had preached doctrines against the fundamental doctrines odthe of the chain church lurch 1 I affirm that I 1 believe be he said turning with outstretched hands to the audience tile holy scriptures to be tho word of god before a decision could be made continued briggs it will be necessary in the interests of common sense and common justice to have the tile interlocutory appeal appeals passed upon these are in ili theli the hands ands of the new york synod and it is attempted to brush aside all these in the tho efforts to bring the matter to a speedy cone conclusion lusion w when the time bayed saved could not belnore be more than a year ear here in ili the capital of the nation it is being attempted to override over ride some of the commonest principles of jaw law in order to gratify the vain ambition of those these prosecutors 11 briggs closed with an appeal that the case might go to the synod of new york if that E 9 done he would aid in the full fall solution of the case and then if it were sent back to the next general assembly he lie would abide by its decision whatever it might be lie ile regretted regret ted if it he lie aid said anything that had caused trouble in the church he ile had taught for twenty years at the union theological seminary and of all the persons that had been taught by him he challenged any of ti them aern to say he had taught them theta any anything hing that bad interfered with the true discharge of their holy duties the general assembly cannot take the case under consideration the matter Is in tho the bands hands of the ilia synod of new york that synod has thrown its shield over the defendant and protect not flot only him but its own rights of hearing the case cas without having its jurisdiction interfered interfered with rashly by the assembly it was bad policy for the church to have intervening courts overleaped over leaped if the assembly en pertains this appeal th the 8 glory of the synods will have departed and I 1 those tose who t thus bus succeeded in breaking down the ilia precedent will drive the coach a and nd four through the br breaches clies into the palace of justice if the assembly should decide to come to a final anal becis decision on it would not vet yet be a final decision for the defendant the presbytery and the a synod nod could not swept it as cither either constitutional or valid dr briegs concluded bis his address at As A he took hie bin seat a wave of a applause ran over the rear of the tile chure church it which evoked indignant rebuke from the moderator then th colonel mccook began the closing 9 argument for the prosecuting committee in support of the recommendation that the appeal bo be entertained almost at the opening e ning dr briggs interrupted to correct vh what at he claimed was a luia rula moderator cra cragg said nd to DrIggs that he had mg been allowed four r and a half hour hours wi without ht inte interruption arru t ion that tha t mccook heard him film thron through h without h out objection and that bri briges I 1 should e allow I 1 I 1 0 w MC mccook to on in t the hes same allic wv the h 1 e his history tory of the case ease in its various stages is e s was wa s reci recited ted by colonel 2 mccook and the regularity of the several steps firmly maintained colonel cook said great weight weigh t has been g given aven the technical questions n s raised in the interest of the tile appellee and based upon the clause in the tile filth fi ith a amendment men dment of the constitution of the tho united states nor shall any person bo be subject t for the same offense to be twice put I 1 in jeopardy irardy of life and limb it has be been ingeniously claimed that tho the appeal from the new york presbytery would place lacette I 1 the appellees appelless app ellees ecclesiastical life in jeopardy jeopardy a second time this inappropriate use of the term ecclesiastical life seems to have confused the minds of some these are not criminal proceedings involving peril to life or I 1 iamb proceedings mb of the appel appellee lee they berlyl ile are pr proceeding 0 aeed ng to enforce a con contract t a c t or rather d determine e t erm I 1 tic whether a contra contract c t has been maintained in all its integrity teg rity 11 at after speaking an hour and twenty minutes a recess was taken until even evening fing at the evening session mccook f cook continued contini his speech and considered tho plea that hn ti acquittal b by tild the lower court bars bar the right tight of appey api appeal a and n asserted isser ted that sue such I 1 i caal claim w was s not true in act fact nor sound law aleo that bat t it was regular ar for appeals to betaken be taken from the pres otery to the general assembly in ill conclusion mccook gave the tile reason to the prosecuting committee why an ail appeal should be entertained among other oilier things alic they say ik it is imperatively necessary that a final dal decision i be reached at the earliest possible date as great and widespread injury is certain to lo come from a protracted delay if the doctrines presented by briggs be erroneous as the committee believes then through delay heretical opinions are sure to gain ground and the church be affected injuriously I 1 through continuance uncertainty art and doubt |