ence: "And also, when requested by an Annual Conference, to appoint a preacher for a longer time than three years to any seminary of learning not under our care;" also, "He shall have authority, when requested by an Annual Conference, to appoint" agents, etc. See Discipline of 1876, pp. 102, 103.

If some, on being refused, were to secede with their pastor, their fate in attempting to stand alone would soon work a cure. There is, however, no necessity for great haste. It is desirable to provide for exceptional cases. It would be better not to attempt it than to jeopard the wonderful and complex mechanism which we now possess. This plan, which comes from the "ends of the earth," may be feasible. Let it be thoroughly considered. For in some such direction as this, if at all, must relief be obtained.

NOTES TO EDITOR IN REGARD TO THE OLD

HYMN BOOK.

MR. EDITOR: The review of "The Revised Methodist Hymnal," by Dr. Wheatley, in the July issue of the METHODIST QUARTERLY, did not meet the eye of the writer until recently, which may explain the delay in sending you the following notice of some of the errors into which the reviewer has fallen.

Referring to the former alterations of the Hymn Book, Dr. Wheatley says: "The fifth revision, though nominally the joint work of the Revs. D. Dailey, J. B. Alverson, J. Floy, D. Patten, Jun., and F. Merrick, with whom were associated Messrs. R. A. West and D. Creamer, was mainly the product of Dr. Floy's tireless energy and assiduous application."

The completed volume, in allusion to Dr. Floy, is said to have left "his hands," and it is designated as "Floy's revision," and "Floy's version"! On what ground rests this bold assumption? Did Dr. Floy himself aspire to any such distinction above his confrères? Does Dr. Wheatley profess to speak from personal knowledge? The whole force of his words is in their truthfulness.

What are the facts relative to the method that was pursued in the "fifth revision" of the Hymn Book? The General Conference of 1848 appointed a committee of seven persons, whose names are given above by Dr. Wheatley, for the accomplishment of that work, in connection with certain other agencies referred to subsequently.

After the adjournment of the General Conference the HymnBook Committee at once entered earnestly upon their labors in the city of New York, where all their meetings were held, and Dr. Floy and Mr. West, who resided in that city, were appointed a subcommittee to act as secretaries. Their duties embraced whatever legitimately belonged to the revision and was matter of record, as. correspondence, (which was very extensive,) arrangement of the hymns chosen by the Committee according to an adopted plan, and correcting the proof-sheets of the work as they came from the press.

The Committee had three sessions, and nine meetings at each session, making twenty-seven meetings in all, in the course of which the old book was examined throughout three times, and a separate vote was taken upon every hymn before it was admitted into the revised version. There were six members, out of seven, present at every meeting of the Committee.

Besides the labor expended in committee, much more was accomplished by the members at their homes; and Dr. Floy probably traveled considerably in visiting various libraries in pursuit of his portion of the work. He thus spent several days in the library of the writer, at Baltimore, which were industriously devoted by both of us to the selection of hymns for the revised book; where, twenty-nine years afterward, in 1877, Dr. Wentworth spent nearly two weeks in a similar employment with the writer and his son.

Professor Merrick, who attended only the first session of the Committee, comprising three days and nine sittings, compensated for his absence from the subsequent meetings by sending to the Committee at its second session a valuable manuscript criticism upon the whole book to be revised, which was carefully consulted both in committee and by the several members thereof. There were also similar criticisms forwarded to the Committee by outside parties, from which much useful information was derived.

The distant members of the Committee were in constant correspondence with the subcommittee or secretaries, and no new hymns, as in the case of the old ones, was allowed to be entered into the revised book until it had received the approval of a majority of the Committee. And it is but fair to assert that every member thereof has left his impress upon that work.

Within a year from their appointment, the Committee having completed their labors, in accordance with the directions of the General Conference, submitted their work to the Book Commit

1880] Notes to Editor in Regard to the Old Hymn Book. 159 ·

tee and the Editors of the Book Concern, for their joint examination and revision; and having been approved by them, it was presented to the Bishops "for a final review," which they gave to it, and then cordially recommended the new book to the patronage and adoption of the Church.

The above is a very brief and inadequate detail of the manner in which "the fifth revision" of the Hymn Book was accomplished; from which I infer that it was not the work of any single pair of hands, nor, indeed, entirely of the seven pairs of the whole Committee, but the joint production of the Hymn-Book Committee, the Book Committee, the Editors of the Book Concern, and the Bishops of the Church. And it can no more, with propriety, be designated as the sole work of Dr. Floy than the new "Hymnal" can be characterized as the individual production of Dr. Wentworth or Dr. Rice; the relation of these gentlemen to the Committee of fifteen being similar to that of Dr. Floy and Mr. West to the former and smaller Committee of seven.

More than thirty years have elapsed since the publication of the Hymn Book of 1849, a longer period than the Church has awarded to the use of any other of its hymnals, and an unequivo cal testimony of its true merits; during which interval five of the seven brethren who composed the Committee have taken their departure from earth, leaving only Dr. Merrick and myself to tell the story of "the fifth revision." But as Dr. M. was not present at the second and third sessions of the Committee, it seems eminently proper that the writer should give to the Church and the world this correction of the dubious statement of the reviewer of the new Hymnal. DAVID CREAMER.

BALTIMORE, December 7, 1859.

DR. WHEATLEY'S REPLY.

REV. DR. WHEDON: Mr. Creamer's communication calls in question a statement I never made, namely, that Dr. Floy was the sole author of the fifth revision. It does not affect the statement that Dr. Floy was the principal factor of that production. The authorities for that statement are as follows: 1. Dr. Floy's own hymn book, in the margin of which are entries in his own handwriting, stating that such and such alterations, etc., were made by his sole authority. 2. The statement of Rev. J. Longking, who was printer at the time, that Dr. Floy transposed hymns, altered meters, etc., while the book was passing through press, and that he did this without the concurrent aid of the

the

Committee. 3. The statement of Dr. Curry, who, as an intimate friend of Dr. Floy, regards the fifth revision as the noblest monument to the memory of that gifted man. 4. Repeated statements made by ministers and laymen to the effect that Dr. Floy was the principal and most efficient agent in the construction of the last revision.

My article does not deny the efficient co-operation of Brother Creamer and of the other members of the Committee. It simply presents Dr. Floy as the leading member of that Committee; and, for the sake of convenience, speaks of the fifth as " Dr. Floy's revision" of the Hymn Book. R. WHEATLEY.

805 BROADWAY, N. Y., December 11, 1879.

ART. VIII.-SYNOPSIS OF THE QUARTERLIES AND OTHERS OF THE HIGHER PERIODICALS.

American Reviews.

BAPTIST REVIEW, July, August, September, 1879. (Cincinnati.)—1. God and the Bibles; by Prof. G. D. B. Pepper, D.D. 2. An Exposition of Genesis vi, 3; by Rev. J. F. Morton. 3. An Introduction to the Book of Isaiah; by Rev. Thos. D. Anderson, Jun. 4. Theism Grounded in Mind; by Hon. James M. Hoyt, LL.D. 5. Reason's Sphere in Things Revealed; by Rev. I. N. Carman. 6. The Foundation and the Keys: Exegesis of Matthew xvi, 18, 19; by Rev. S. W. Culver. 7. The Belief of the Hebrews in the Immortality of the Soul; translated from the French of M. Gregoire by Rev. W. H. H. Marsh. 8. The Portraiture of Jesus; by W. N. Clarke, D.D.

BIBLIOTHECA SACRA, October, 1879. (Andover.)-1. The Angel of Jehovah; by Prof. C. Goodspeed. 2. Notes on Grotius' Defense; by Rev. Frank F. Hoster. 3. Bible Illustrations from Bible Lands; by Rev. Thomas Laurie, D.D. 4. The Last Days of Christ: Exegetical Notes on the Basis of Mark xiv, 17-xvi, 20; by the late Rev. Horatio B. Hackett, D.D., LL.D. 5. Reiations of the Aryan and Semitic Languages; by Rev. J. F. M'Curdy, Ph.D. 6. An Essay in Systematic Theology; by Rev. George T. Ladd. 7. The Sabbath Under the Old Dispensation; by Rev. William De Loss Love, D.D. 8. Theological Education. LUTHERAN QUARTERLY, October, 1879. (Gettysburg.)-1. Church Orders; or, The Necessity of a Right Call to the Office of the Ministry; by L. A. Gotwald, D.D. 2. Home Mission and Church Extension Work Among Lutherans, Especially in the Great North-west; by S. W. Harkey, D.D. 3. Qualifications for the Gospel Ministry; by Rev. P. Born. 4. The Annihilation Theory Briefly Examined; by Rev. D. M. Gilbert, A.M. 5. Aspiration and Perspiration; by M. Valentine, D.D.

NEW ENGLANDER, November, 1879. (New Haven.)-1. Needed Improvements in Public Worship; by Rev. George Harris. 2. The Rise of an Orthodox Socialism in Germany: by M. Laveleye, translated by James F. Colby, A.M. 3. Modern Education: its Opportunities and its Perils; by President Noah Porter. 4. Some Perplexities of Thought; by Rev. Jotham Sewall, Jun. 5. Shall the Church rely on Revivalism or on Christian Nurture by Rev. William B. Clarke. 6. The Baconian Influence in Religion; by Prof. H. M. Whitney. 7. Language and the Egyptian Language; by Dr. Carl Abel, translated by Poultney Bigelow. 8. The Mystery of Free-Will-where to find it; by Prof. Lemuel S. Potwin.

NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, November, 1879. (New York.)-1. The Other Side of the Woman Question; by Julia Ward Howe, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Lucy Stone, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Wendell Phillips. 2. Malthusianism, Darwinism, and Pessimism; by Professor Francis Bowen. 3. A Page of Political Correspondence: Stanton to Buchanan. 4. The Diary of a Public Man. Part IV. 5. Tariff Reactions; by Professor Arthur L. Perry. 6. Some Recent Works of Fiction; by Edward Eggleston.

December, 1879.-1. Romanism and the Irish Race in the United States. Part I; by James Anthony Froude. 2. Young Men in Politics; by George S. Boutwell. 3. The Religion of To-day. 4. Is Political Economy a Science? by Professor. Bonamy Price. 5. English and American Physique; by Geo. M. Beard. 6. The Permanence of Political Forces. Part I; by Cuthbert Mills.

Professor Bowen's article on Malthusianism, Darwinism, and Pessimism, is a production of special value. It opens some veins of thought, brings them into fresh combination, and educes and suggests conclusions, both doctrinal and practical, of most momentous importance.

Malthusianism and Darwinism (with an occult assumption of Atheism) are the twin premises of which Pessimism is the conclusion; and Pessimism is the ruin of our race. Both Malthusianism and Darwinism are based upon the idea of over-population: the former of the human race, and the latter of the animal races. Both doctrines require the suppression of life as a safety-valve; and from both demonstrate the worthlessness of life, human as well as animal. If life is worthless, then suicide is innocent and murder a trifle. Before us, then, is the abyss!

WHAT IS MALTHUSIANISM?

In order to refute the doctrines of human perfectibility taught by Rousseau and Condorcet, which taught the coming of an age of peace, virtue, and happiness over the earth by natural development, the Rev. T. R. Malthus published in 1798 his "Essay on Population; or, a View of its Past and Present Effects on Human Happiness." This book for the first time threw the awful shadow of over-population before the eyes of mankind as the fatal terminus in the way of all not only perfectibility, but great permanent improvement. The more peaceful, virtuous, prosperous, and growing the community or the nations, the nearer and surer the result. The more science, charity, good morals increased, the more rapid the ruin. The only angels of redemption against this dire terminus were celibacies, suppressions of life, wars, pestilences, and famines.

For the law is common to the vegetable and animal kingdoms, the human race included, that the rate of increase, however slow