General Synod. He
will not be denied the right to such appeal. But, in order that the
appeal may be properly prosecuted and disposed of, the appellant and the
representative of Classis should be present in these higher courts. Can
this be secured? Is the waste of time, of a year or more, nothing? and
where shall the thousands of dollars of necessary expense come from? Now
suppose this appellant to be a Chinese brother. He also has rights. But
how, on this plan, can he possibly obtain them? Suppose (which of itself
is an absurdity) that the money be raised for him, and he is permitted
to stand on the floor of Synod. He cannot speak, read, or write a word
of English. Not a member of Synod can speak, read, or write a word of
his language, except it be the brother prosecuting him. I ask, is it
possible for him thus to obtain justice? But, waiving all these
disadvantages, the only points on which there is the least probability
that an appeal of a Chinese brother would come up before the higher
courts, are points on which these higher courts would not be qualified
to decide. They would doubtless grow out of the peculiar customs and
laws of the Chinese--points on which the Missionary, after he has been
on the ground a dozen years, often feels unwilling to decide, and takes
the opinion of the native elders in preference to his own. Is it right
to impose a yoke like this on that little Church which God is gathering
by your instrumentality in that far-off land of China? But it is said,
that these cases of appeal (because of impracticability) will very
rarely or never happen. Be it so; then this supposed advantage will
seldom or never occur, and if it should occur, it would prove a
disadvantage. The highest practical court of appeal for the native
churches can be secured only on the plan for which the Missionaries
contend. Why must we deprive the native Christians of the benefit of the
collective wisdom of all the churches of like doctrine and order among
them?

As regards orthodoxy and good order, it is incumbent on the Church at
home to use her utmost endeavors to secure these. Doubtless this was the
great design of Synod, both in the action of 1857 and in the action of
1863. But will the plan of Synod give us any greater security for these
things? How can they be secured? We answer, under God, _only_ through
your Missionaries. The greater your hold on your Missionaries, the
better security for the churches under their care. Th