The principal acts of the general assembly, convened at Edinburgh, May 25, 1758.
I. Sess. 1, May 25, 1758.—The King's Commission to Charles Lord Cathcart produced,
and ordered to be recorded,
The General Assembly, &c.
II. Sess. 1, May 25, 1758.—The King's most gracious Letter to the General Assembly,
presented to them by his Majesty's Commissioner.
George, R., &c.
III. Sess. 3, May 27, 1758.—The General Assembly's Answer to the King's most gracious
Letter.
May it please your Majesty, &c.
IV. Sess. 5, May 30, 1758.—Act declaring Mr Thomas Boston, late Minister at Oznam,
incapable of receiving or accepting a Presentation or Call to any Parish in this Church,
without the special allowance of the General Assembly.
There was transmitted to the General Assembly, from their Committee for Bills, a
reference from the Synod of Merse and Teviotdale, concerning the Rev. Mr Thomas
Boston, who had deserted his charge of the parish of Oxnam, and set up a separate
meeting in the parish of Jedburgh, containing an overture given in to them by a committee of their number, and the Synod's approbation thereof, bearing, that Mr Boston's
conduct deserved severe censure; but that, in order to give weight to any censure
which may be inflicted, they proposed the authority of the General Assembly of this
Church should be interposed; and, therefore, had appointed the Presbytery of Jedburgh to transmit to this Assembly extracts from their records, of the demission given
in to them by Mr Boston, and of their deliverance thereupon; and that the Presbytery should cause summon Mr Boston to compare before this Assembly, in order to
their giving a final judgment or direction in the affair as they shall see cause. Upon
the reading of the above reference, 'the Presbytery of Jedburgh being inquired at, with
respect to the appointment laid upon them by the Synod, represented, that, in
obedience thereto, they had ordered Mr Boston to be summoned to this Assembly;
and an execution being produced and read of his being accordingly summoned, he
was called, but did not compear. Then the Assembly caused to be read the minutes
of the Presbytery of Jedburgh, dated the 7th of December last, containing a demission given in to them by Mr Boston of his charge at Oxnam; and a question being
moved, how far it was proper for the Synod of Merse and Teviotdale to have taken
up this affair, and to have brought it immediately before the Assembly? that part of
the 4th Act of Assembly, 1739, concerning ministers who secede from this Church,
which directs the several judicatories in their method of procedure in such cases, was
read. After some reasoning, the General Assembly did agree, in respect of the particular circumstances attending this cause, to take Mr Boston's demission under their
consideration, together with the proceedings of the Presbytery of Jedburgh, relating
to him; whereby the Assembly finds that the said Mr Thomas Boston has declared
himself to be no minister of this Church, and that he will not hold communion with
her judicatories; and, therefore, they did, without a vote, and hereby do, declare, that
he is incapable of receiving or accepting of a presentation or call to any parish in this
Church, without the special allowance of some future General Assembly. And the
General Assembly do hereby prohibit all the ministers of this Church from employing
him to preach or perform any ministerial offices for them, or from being employed by
him, unless some future Assembly shall see cause to take off this prohibition. And
Mr Boston being called, and not compearing, the above sentence was publicly read.
V. Sess. 9, June 3, 1758.—Act anent Presbyteries neglecting to send up their Opinions on
Overtures transmitted to them.
The General Assembly, considering that a great many Presbyteries neglect to send
up their opinions concerning overtures transmitted to them, whereby the consideration
and enacting of several overtures has been postponed, do hereby enact, that when any
overture hath been twice transmitted, the General Assembly will, without further
transmission, take them into consideration, and pass them into Acts, or reject them, as
they shall see cause, although Presbyteries have not sent up their opinions.
VI. Sess. 9, June 3, 1758.—Act anent Parochial Schools.
There was transmitted to the General Assembly, from the Committee for Overtures,
a representation by the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge,
setting forth—"That by divers laws and Acts of Parliament, particuarly the 17th Act of
the Parliament, 1646, and 26th Act of the Parliament, 1696, it is statuted and ordained, that there be a school settled, and a schoolmaster appointed, in every parish; and,
for that effect, that a commodious house be provided for a school, and a salary modified for the schoolmaster, not under 100 merks, nor above 200 merks, to be paid by
the heritors and liferenters, according to their valuations, and to be laid, on and uplifted in manner mentioned in the foresaid Acts; and, particularly, by the said Acts
it is provided, that if the heritors of the parish shall not convene and agree amongst
themselves anent the premises, that the Commissioners of Supply, or any five of
them, upon application from the Presbytery, shall have power to settle a school, and
modify a salary to the schoolmaster, as aforesaid. That, notwithstanding of the above
quoted, and other acts of Parliament, as well as several acts of the Privy Council of
Scotland to the same purpose, the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian
Knowledge are sorry to find, that in no less than 175 parishes, within the bounds of
39 Presbyteries, where the Society's schools are erected, parochial schools are not yet
erected, and of these parishes the Society have given in a list, founded on the information of the Presbyteries in which the parishes lie. The Society are extremely
sensible that it would be improper for them to point out to the Assembly the fatal
consequences of this neglect; these must occur to every person who considers of how
much consequence it is to train up the youth of this, or of any country, in learning
and Christian knowledge. The Society are also unwilling to suggest to the Assembly to what causes, at least in some places, this neglect may be owing. They are sorry
to say, that those for whose benefit this salutary regulation was principally designed
are not always so ready and willing as they ought to be to carry it into execution,
although the burden it lays upon them is so extremely small, as to bear no proportion
to the benefit derived from it. The Society have done every thing in their power to
have this neglect remedied; so far as their influence has reached, they have excited
all concerned to comply with so reasonable a demand. They have done more; they
have threatened to withdraw their charity schools from those parishes which neglect or
refuse to provide parochial ones; they have passed and act to that purpose, and have
notified the same to every Presbytery where their schools lie. It was never surely
the intention of the donors, nor of the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge,
to substitute their charity schools in place of parochial schools, which are by law
appointed to be established through the whole country. It will easily occur to the
Assembly that there is work enough for both. As it is but too certain that in many
places the heritors are backward in raising and establishing parochial schools, and as,
by the acts already quoted, in every case when that happens, the remedy in by an
application from the Presbytery to the Commissioners of Supply, the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge thought it their duty to apply to the Assembly, that, by their authority, it may be recommended to every Presbytery through
Scotland to inquire whether or not a parochial school is established in every parish
within their bounds, and in every instance where that shall not be found to be the
case, that an immediate application be made by the Presbytery to the Commissioners
of Supply, to have a parochial school forth with established in that parish. And as
they conceive this affair to be of the last consequence to the interests of learning, religion, and virtue, and to the peace and prosperity of the country, the Society beg
leave further to suggest, that the result of the above inquiry and requisition be forthwith
notified to the Procurator and Agent for the Church, that under their direction a process may, in name of the particular Presbytery, and of the Procurator, be, in case of
necessity, immediately commenced, for having a school erected in that parish; and
that the expense of these processes, which cannot be considerable, as the law is clear,
and as one summons will do for all the parishes within the same Presbytery, may be
defrayed out of the Church's funds." The General Assembly, having heard the said
representation read, with the opinion of the Committee for Overtures thereupon, do
hereby appoint the several Presbyteries of this Church to inquire whether or not a
parochial school is established in every parish in their bounds, and where such
schools are wanting, the Presbyteries concerned are hereby appointed to make application to the Commissioners of Supply for having parochial schools, with legal salaries,
erected in every parish, as the law directs. And the General Assembly appoint the
Procurator and Agent for the Church, at the public charge, to commence and carry
on all processes necessary for having the laws respecting parochial schools put in
execution.
VII. Sess. ult., June 5, 1758.—Commission to some Ministers and Ruling Elders for
discussing Affairs referred to them.
The General Assembly, &c.
VIII. Sess. ult., June 5, 1758.— Commission to some Ministers and Ruling Elders for Reformation of the Highlands and Islands and for Managing his Majesty's Royal
Bounty for that end.
The General Assembly do hereby nominate, commission, and appoint, the Rev.
Mr Thomas Turnbull, minister at Borthwick, their Moderator, &c.; to be a committee of this Assembly, for reformation of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland,
&c. (The Act proceeds in the same terms as that of last year.)
IX. Sess. ult., June 5, 1758.—Act appointing the Diet of the next General Assembly.
The next General Assembly of this National Church is appointed to be held in
this place, on the fourth Thursday of May next, being the 24th day of that month,
in the year 1759.
Collected and extracted from the Records of the General Assembly, by
George Wishart, Cls. Eccl. Scot.
Overtures of last Assembly re-transmitted.