Chapter 103: Withdrawal From The Baptist Union

Chapter 103.
Withdrawal From The Baptist Union

Letters to Dr. S. H. Booth—The Newspapers on Spurgeon and the Union—Statement by Leading Divines—Ministers at Dalston—Spurgeon's Letters on the Controversy—Public Opinion—Mr. James Spicer—The New Evangelical Association—Final Separation from the Union.

At the opening of the year 1887 Mr. Spurgeon was at Menton, slowly recovering from illness. "Weather here is cloudy, cold, and wet," he wrote to a friend on January 9. "What must you be? I cannot say that I feel well, but I am much better than I was, and hope to be in my place for the 23rd. If I am able to do my own home work it is all I can hope, for I am weak, and this last attack has shaken me a good deal as to spirit." He recommenced preaching at the Tabernacle on January 30, and during the same week he opened a new mission station for Walworth at Surrey Square. The Conference began on April 18 at Devonshire Square Chapel, Stoke Newington, and passed off well. Mr. A. Gage Spicer presided at the supper, and the collection amounted to nearly £2,600. This being the year of the Queen's jubilee, a fund was raised on behalf of the British and Irish Home Mission, and Mr. Spurgeon sent this letter to the secretary:—

"My dear Mr. Booth,—I wish your Jubilee fund the utmost success. I shall be ready to pay a personal subscription of fifty pounds through the London Association. I wish I could give more; but as I have just finished a chapel at Thornton Heath, I have, on my own account, celebrated the Jubilee, and really done my part of the very work which you are aiming at."

He opened this chapel on May 3, and two days later spoke on behalf of the London City Mission at Exeter Hall. On the last day of May he entertained at tea at the Stockwell Orphanage the members of the Baptist Board and their wives. In the course of the evening the host remarked that there was no body of ministers among whom brotherly love more abounded than among the Baptist ministers of London. At the Orphanage festival a little later he mentioned that they had received a hundred times as many applications for admission as they had been able to respond to. In connection with the Queen's Jubilee he conducted an appropriate service on his birthday, Sunday, June 19.

Meanwhile that crisis was hastening on in which Spurgeon was to sever his connection with the Baptist Union. Some representations in The Sword and the Trowel to the effect that Arminianism led to Arianism and Socinianism were repelled by a writer, who, according to The Freeman, "well justified his contention." On the other hand, The Baptist was more favourable to those who took a pessimistic view; the statement about the perilousness of the times was endorsed, and it was affirmed that "the Baptist denomination is tainted with the heresy." The last-named journal invited a number of leading men, including tutors of colleges of various denominations, to express their views upon the subject; and the result was that some sympathised with Mr. Spurgeon's views, while many others who could not be suspected of theological unsoundness thought that the pastor of the Tabernacle was too much of an alarmist in the statements which he had made and reiterated during the spring and summer of the year 1887 relative to false teaching. In the autumn, when the storm was thought to be abating, the situation was thus described:—

"The articles in The Sword and the Trowel were the utterance of an earnest and good man, which we thought demanded prayerful consideration and personal application. But they appeared, unfortunately, just at the time called in the publishing world 'the silly season,' when papers are in danger of running short of interesting material. Hence the matter came to be debated in a very unspiritual way by all sorts of newspapers.... The secular press is not a desirable medium for the discussion of such a question. Then infidel papers took it up and shouted pæans on the decline of Christianity; and Church papers took it up and sermonised on the decline of Dissent; and organs of heterodoxy quietly pointed out to young people that if they would be abreast of their age, they must forsake the old declining theology. Then all protests against this development were put down by certain good folks as antagonism to Mr. Spurgeon, and they grew angry.... If Mr. Spurgeon were well and about amongst his brethren and the churches, he would have formed a different opinion. As it is, he gets his information through unreliable channels. He must have some good men about him whose judgments are not equal to their zeal."

He suffered from illness more or less during the autumn; but a sermon on John 1:29 at the Tabernacle on October 16 was supposed to be a rejoinder to certain criticisms to which the preacher had been exposed at the meetings of the Baptist Union and the Congregational Union. Dr. Clifford had also been "interviewed" in The Pall Mall Gazette, and his "Appeal to Mr. Spurgeon" had attracted widespread notice. The letters regarding the withdrawal from the Baptist Union are as follow:—

"Westwood, Beulah Hill, Upper Norwood, "October 28, 1887.

"Dear Friend,—I beg to intimate to you, as the secretary of the Baptist Union, that I must withdraw from that society. I do this with the utmost regret; but I have no choice. The reasons are set forth in The Sword and the Trowel for November, and I trust you will excuse my repeating them here. I beg you not to send anyone to me to ask for reconsideration. I fear I have considered too long already; certainly every hour of the day impresses upon me the conviction that I am moving none too soon.

"I wish also to add that no personal pique or ill-will has in the least degree operated upon me. I have personally received more respect than I desired. It is on the highest ground alone that I take this step, and you know that I have long delayed it because I hoped for better things.—Yours always heartily, "C. H. Spurgeon."

"Beckenham, October 31, 1887.

"Rev. C. H. Spurgeon.

"My dear Friend,—Your letter announcing your formal withdrawal from the Baptist Union reached me here at midday on Saturday last. I cannot express adequately the sense of pain such a step has caused me, nor can I at present calmly think of the future. I can only leave it as it is for awhile, merely adding that I think you have wounded the hearts of some—of many—who honour and love you more than you have any idea of, and whose counsel would have led to a far different result.—I am, yours very truly, "S. H. Booth."

It seems to me hardly necessary to give at length the opinions of leading journals on this act of withdrawal. The Daily Telegraph complimented the popular preacher on "his refusal to add another to the already long list of English religious sects," when his train of admiring followers would have enabled him easily to do so. The Western Morning News, edited by a Baptist layman, said, "Mr. Spurgeon is very definite. What he believes as truth is the truth, and those who teach it in another fashion to himself seem to him always to be taking the side of the Evil One." The Birmingham Daily Post represented Spurgeon to be "a convinced and vehement Calvinist," and, misunderstanding the situation, gave out that he had "seceded from the Baptist denomination." The Scotsman asked, Why leave a church if the members were falling away from truth? "Ought he not rather to remain within it, and use all his great influence to stay it on its downward course?" According to The Pall Mall Gazette, leaving a body like the Baptist Union, which sent representatives "to an annual palaver," was not so serious as breaking away from an ecclesiastical organisation like the Anglican, Presbyterian, or Wesleyan community; but "nevertheless, his protest is well worthy of being numbered among the signs which blaze in the theological firmament." The affair created great interest in the United States, where opinion was quite as divided as in London. "The wisdom of the act is doubtful," remarked The Standard of Chicago, in reference to the withdrawal from the Union. "Better to resist all this drift, so far as it exists, where we are face to face with it, than from any position outside." To understand how the matter was viewed at home by leading veterans, whose devotion to evangelical doctrines was of the most uncompromising kind, it seems necessary to give the following statement:—

"We have learned with extreme regret that our dear friend and fellow-labourer, Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, has withdrawn from membership in the Baptist Union.

"We heartily agree with Mr. Spurgeon in regarding disloyalty to Christ and His Gospel as inconsistent with membership in the Baptist Union. From the beginning the Union has been an association of evangelical churches for evangelical purposes; and this is

Mr. Spurgeon's Funeral - Outside the Metropolitan Tabernacle as true now as in any period of its history. In baptism we make profession of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and take our place among His disciples; we are baptised 'into the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit;' and we avow our readiness to learn and observe 'all things whatsoever Christ has commanded.' In the Lord's Supper we show forth His death and gratefully receive His Word: 'This is my body... this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.' If anyone renounces the profession made in baptism and the Lord's Supper, he has no longer a legitimate place in the Union.

"According to the rules of the Union, 'the constituencies and list of members may be revised by the Council, and their decision shall be duly signified to the persons concerned, who shall have the right of appeal to the assembly.' The Union has exercised this power in past days.

"This power of revision must be exercised in conformity with the fundamental principle of the Union, 'that every separate Church has the liberty to interpret and administer the laws of Christ, and that the immersion of believers is the only Christian baptism.' We feel that the imposition of theological tests or a human creed would contravene this fundamental principle and defeat the objects of the Union, which are declared to be: 'To cultivate among its own members respect and love for one another, and to spread the Gospel! of Christ in Great Britain and Ireland.'

"While we differ from Mr. Spurgeon in the step he has taken, we are at one with him in loyalty to Christ, in love for the Gospel, and in earnest longing of heart that it may be preached in simplicity, uncorruptness, fulness, and power in all the pulpits of the land, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; and we rejoice that, though he has withdrawn from the Union, we shall continue to enjoy fellowship and engage in service with him as members of the same denomination.—Yours, "John Aldis, "Joseph Angus, "Alexander Maclaren.

"November 16, 1887."

Spurgeon left London early in November, and the following letter was read to the congregation on Sunday, the 13th of the month:—

"I have only left you a few days, but I am already rested by anticipation of rest to come. I wish to thank you all most heartily for your constancy and love through four-and-thirty years of fellowship. We have been many in number, but only one in heart all through these years. Especially is this true in the present hour of controversy, for my heartiest sympathisers are in my own church. Several enthusiastic ones had proposed a large meeting of the church members to express their fervent agreement with their pastor, but the ever-faithful deacons and elders had taken time by the forelock and presented to me a letter, signed by them all, as representing their brethren and sisters. Such unity comes through the grace of God, and proves that His blessing is now with us, and Providence will give future happiness. What can I do but thank you all, love you in return, labour for you as long as strength remains, and pray for you until I die? The infinite blessing of the eternal God be with you for ever and ever.—Your faithful friend and pastor, "C. H. Spurgeon." On November 18 Principal Gracey presided at a meeting of over a hundred Pastors' College ministers at Dalston Junction Chapel, when three resolutions were passed, one of sympathy with Mr. Spurgeon, and of thanks for the attitude he had taken. The second resolution had reference to devising some means for return to the Union; but the third resolution decided that no united action be taken until after the report of the Union Council had been received. When these were forwarded the following reply was returned to the secretary:—

"Menton, November 23, 1887.

"Dear Mr. Mackey,—As you are the scribe for the brethren, I thank you heartily, and beg you to let Mr. Gracey and others know how cheered I am by the action of my beloved brethren. I think the three resolutions most wise, as well as most loyal to the truth. I never desire my dear friends to follow me slavishly in every action, but to be influenced by that grand motive which I hope inspires me. Then there will be differences of operation, but all will work for one end.

"It was incumbent upon me to leave the Union, as my private remonstrances to officials, and my repeated pointed appeals to the whole body, had been of no avail. My standpoint had become one from which, as an earnest man, I could see no other course but to withdraw. But you have made no such appeals, and might not be bound to do as I have done until you have had my experience of failure. That you will fail as I have done I fear; but you cannot do any harm by making an attempt. That you should march with me in a sympathy which is practically unanimous is a great consolation to my heart; for there are among our College confraternity two or three over whom I sorrow much. I will not think of them while I remember you, except it be to pray that they may return to their first love.

"Let us daily pray for each other, in reference to the work which lies before us, that we may be faithful unto death—faithful not only to the doctrine of truth, but to the spirit of love—warring our warfare without trace of personal bitterness, but with stern resolve to spare none of the errors which insult the sacrifice of our Lord, destroy the way of salvation in this life, and then seek to delude men with the dream of salvation after death.

"It is a great grief to me that hitherto many of our most honoured friends in the Baptist Union have, with strong determination, closed their eyes to serious divergencies from truth. I doubt not that their motive has been in a measure laudable, for they desired to preserve peace, and hoped that errors, which they were forced to see, would be removed as their friends advanced in years and knowledge.

"But at last even these will, I trust, discover that the new views are not the old truth in a better dress, but deadly errors with which we can have no fellowship. I regard full-grown 'modern thought' as a totally new cult, having no more relation to Christianity than the mist of the evening to the everlasting hills.

"I desire my hearty love to each one of my true brothers in Christ, gratefully remembering in particular the learned chairman.—Yours most lovingly, "C. H. Spurgeon."

On Tuesday, December 13, the Council of the Baptist Union met at the Mission House, eighty out of the hundred members being present. It was felt that the charges made were based on inaccurate information; and it was shown that when members had lapsed into Unitarianism they had ceased to be associates. Dr. Angus submitted a declaration of evangelical faith; but while being in sympathy with this, the Council ruled that the Scriptural rule of a personal interview should be honoured. The officers denied that Mr. Spurgeon "had, in any communication he had made to them, brought any charge as to laxity of faith and practice such as would have justified them in laying it before the Council of the assembly." A. member then said: "I call his brother to witness that I do not impugn the veracity of Mr. Spurgeon. I think he believes he has done things which he has not done; but the statement in his letter to Mr. Mackey as to confidential communications was not true." Thereupon Mr. J. A. Spurgeon left the room. The phrase "not true" was explained as being used in the sense of "not correct." It was arranged that a deputation should wait upon Mr. Spurgeon after his return from France. This meeting was followed up a few days later by the following:—

"To the Editor of 'The Baptist'

"Dear Sir,—I would not occupy your columns with a personal matter were it not of considerable importance that I should do so. In the letter to Mr. Mackey I wrote: 'It was incumbent upon me to leave the Union, as my private remonstrances to officials, and my repeated pointed appeals to the whole body, had been of no avail.' This is not untrue, nor inaccurate. After a painful occurrence at Leicester I made serious complaint to the secretary, the president (Mr. Chown), and others of the Council. At the Orphanage, to which he kindly came, Mr. Chown made to me a pathetic appeal to regard it as a solitary incident, and hoping that I had been mistaken. I did not go further with this matter, for which, possibly, I am blameworthy.

"Since then I have repeatedly spoken to the secretary upon the subject, as he will willingly admit. I think each year either himself or Mr. Baynes has waited upon me to. preach for the Union, or to preach at the mission services connected with the Union gatherings. On each occasion one or other has heard my complaints till they must, I fear, have been wearied. Here I beg to add that I do not confound the mission with the Union; but it so happens that these good secretaries call upon me while making arrangements for the same series of meetings, and therefore I have regarded that which I said to one as said to both. The fact has remained that I have declined to take a public part in the meetings, because I could not feel sure that I should not be compromised thereby. This is surely an action which spoke more loudly than words. With Mr. Williams and Dr. Maclaren I had considerable correspondence, which on their part, at any rate, was most admirable.

"My friend Mr. Williams says my letters were marked 'Private,' and that is just what I said to Mr. Mackey. Mr. Booth did not regard my communications as made to him officially, neither did I ever say that he did. The complaints were, however, made by me to him, while I tried to compromise the matter with my judgment by joining in the work, and not in the talk, of the Union, and I wish it could have been a possible middleway. I will not venture to say definitely how many of the Council knew my views and feelings by hearing me utter them at various times, but more than enough to justify my statement to Mr. Mackey.

"Please note that the first clause of the sentence only is taken, and it is made to be more prominent than I intended by the remainder being left out—'my repeated pointed appeals to the whole body.' My letters on 'The Down-grade' do not deal exclusively with the Baptist denomination, which I have all along admitted to be far less tainted than another; but they did so far concern it. that the republished articles were submitted to the entire ministry and posted to all. 'The organ of the Baptist denomination' likened the affair to a 'big gooseberry,' and stated that certain ministers on the road to Sheffield regarded it as a 'great joke.' At the meetings no public notice was taken except to assail me before a public meeting, where there was no opportunity of reply. Of other expressions of an unkind character then used by individuals I will not write; but the whole together made it clear to me that no one thought my appeals worthy of notice. Had any one of the brethren judged them to be serious he could have mentioned them to the Council, and could have asked that private statements should become public ones; but no one thought this wise. Of this I am not complaining; but it must not be said that I have not spoken the truth in the lines quoted above.

"The fact seems to be that the question asked was not, 'Is that statement made by Mr. Spurgeon true?' but the real inquiry made was, 'Has he so written that the officials felt bound to lay the matter before the Council?' This is quite another subject, as anyone can see with half an eye. Thus I can exonerate questioners, repliers, and others by the theory that they meant one thing and I meant another; and I at once do so.

"But this is a sad beginning for a brotherly conference. The charge was not that I was knowingly untruthful, but that I said what was not true—I suppose through the failure of my mental powers. The inference should be that it is a waste of time to send a deputation to confer with so imbecile a person. I will not, however, draw the inference. I have not descended, I trust, to personalities. I do not even impute motives; but I hope I may write thus much without seeming to be disrespectful to the honoured brethren who request a conference with me.—Yours truly, "C. H. Spurgeon.

"Menton, December 19." The congregation at Stoke Green, Ipswich, having passed a resolution of sympathy with Mr. Spurgeon, the pastor, Mr. C. M. Longhurst, received the following letter:—

"Menton, December 30.

"My dear Brother,—I present to you and your church the heartiest thanks for their vote of tender sympathy, which comes to me just now in a very seasonable manner. I have learned to look to the Lord alone; but He often sends His servants draughts of consolation in the cup of brotherly love. I accept the vote of the church at Stoke Green, Ipswich, as a token of true Christian affection, and I beg to assure you and the brethren that it awakens loving emotions in my own heart in return. When I entered upon my painful task, I did not expect that so many whom I esteem would deny the existence of the evil. It would be far easier to deal with the erring than with those worthy brethren who protect them. Surely the churches will yet speak out. I believe the Council does not know the true desire of the great bulk of the Baptist people. If I were seeking to return to the Union, I would appeal from the Council to the whole body. But I am not desirous of being the reason for any reforms; I am anxious that the question should be decided upon its own merits. Is the Union an assemblage of evangelical churches, or is it an indiscriminate collection of communities practising immersion? Pray much for me. I desire to act firmly and kindly. The Lord be with you and the whole church. Yours gratefully, "C. H. Spurgeon." As was to be expected, a controversy of this kind could not be set on foot without calling forth some searching criticism even from those who held the doctrines of grace without show of compromise. Thus one well-known organ asked:—

"Was Mr. Spurgeon right, not in leaving the Union—for we are not aware that anyone questions his right to do that—but in bringing general charges which expose to suspicion the whole body of Baptist ministry, except such as take sides with himself? Mr. Spurgeon has charged the Union with countenancing and retaining in its membership men whose teaching exposes them to the Apostle's imprecation, 'If we or an angel from heaven preach unto you any other Gospel than that we have preached, let him be accursed.' If this charge can be substantiated, the Union should without delay take every possible step to rid itself of the accursed thing. If it cannot, Mr. Spurgeon has done a grievous injury to the ministers and churches of the Baptist denomination, for which, if faithfully dealt with, he will not be slow to make amends." The jar of controversy was happily relieved on Monday evening, January 9, 1888, by what ranked as a sermon festival, consequent on the publication of No. 2,000 in the weekly issue. Some good anecdotes were told respecting the sermons, and a great deal of enthusiasm prevailed.

Among the home missions which about this time excited Mr. Spurgeon's interest was the comprehensive work in Spitalfields of which Mr. Charles Montague has been the honorary superintendent for a number of years. Spurgeon was well acquainted with Mr. Montague, and recognised in him one of those ragged-school pioneers whose service to London has been past all calculation. An account of the general work appeared in The Sword and the Trowel for January, 1888. The school was commenced in a disused cow-shed over forty years ago; but it has grown until large and handsome buildings are provided, while the influence of the institution extends more or less throughout the whole of Spitalfields. Spurgeon always showed the greatest possible interest in works of this kind—what he called Bagged London having for him a kind of fascination. In his friend Charles Montague he saw a kind of model ragged-school veteran, one who had been associated with the institution from infancy, working his way upward until he had become the most successful of superintendents.

It was also at this time that Spurgeon's friend, Mr. James Spicer, passed away. Mrs. Martindale, of Prestonville, Brighton, supplies the following reminiscences:—

"My father's (James Spicer, of Harts, Woodford, Essex) first introduction to C. H. Spurgeon was at Harecourt Chapel, Aldersgate Street. It must have been in 1856 or 1857; the teachers of the Sunday-school had engaged Mr. Spurgeon to preach for them at twelve o'clock on a week-day.

"My father did not believe it would be a success, and was not very pleased about it; but in the few minutes before the service the young man had completely conquered him, and a look of very great relief came into my mother's face when he returned to the pew and said, 'He's all right.' From that moment began a lifelong and uninterrupted friendship which terminated only with death.

"On entering the pulpit Mr. Spurgeon at once riveted the attention of the audience by saying, 'Of all the hares I ever hunted, not one ever gave me as much trouble as hunting for Harecourt Chapel, and I am very thankful to find that there is a prospect of moving from this building, which was built in times of persecution, to some place where your church may be seen.'

"Edmund Joynson, the paper maker of St. Mary Cray, Kent, while staying in London had attended Mr. Spurgeon's chapel; he was as captivated as my father, and came to him to see if, between them, they could not make better arrangements for the land on which to build the Tabernacle. My father was to carry it through the Fishmongers' Company, getting the Court to sell the land instead of giving a lease. It entailed a great deal of work, but my belief is that it was all carried through successfully. Mr. Joynson paid all expenses, which I believe were £900 or £1,000. If the deeds were examined I believe it would be found that everything was made correct for the future, for I recollect my father saying, 'There will be no difficulties about the land in the future for that church.' As a memento of the service he had rendered the congregation, Mr. Spurgeon gave my father some of his works. The inscription would tell all the tale.

"Mr. Spurgeon wrote to Mr. Henry Edwards, my mother's brother:—

"'Menton, January 17, 1892.

"'Your dear sister's face seems to be smiling upon me now. She looked so loving the last time I saw her in our prayer meeting at the Tabernacle.'

"She died on the 19th."

One of the last things which Mr. James Spicer had read to him was the great preacher's sermon on the text, "I will be to them a little sanctuary;" and one of his last remarks concerning his old friend was, "Spurgeon is as sound as a bell."

Meanwhile the controversy with the Baptist Union was more complicated than at first sight might appear. It was maintained that the Union had no credal basis, and that it never had been intended that it should have. Then if the constitution were revised so as to exclude some of the members, there was danger of their instituting proceedings in chancery against the treasurer. It was supposed to be Mr. Spurgeon's wish that such revision should take place, although in 1873, when some alterations were made, it was said he had protested against time being wasted in such an operation. At the meeting of the Council of the Union, held on January 18, 1888, Mr. Spurgeon's resignation was accepted; and a resolution was passed that the charges, "in the judgment of the Council, ought not to have been made." At the adjourned meeting, held on February 21, a declaration of faith, somewhat different from what had been suggested by Dr. Angus, was adopted; but when this was sent to Mr. Spurgeon he wrote: "It is not a basis of union such as I recommended. I do not write to complain, but simply to correct your mistake. The Council can, of course, vote at its own pleasure; but if the object is to secure a hearty union it has missed the mark." Mr. Spurgeon had recommended "a simple basis of Bible truths," similar to that adopted by the Evangelical Alliance. At a special meeting of the London Baptist Association, held on March 27, a resolution, calling on the executive of the Union "to prepare a sound evangelical basis," was moved but not carried. This action was followed by Mr. Spurgeon's withdrawal from the Association. The most absurd inferences were drawn by outsiders who did not understand the nature of the dispute. Thus one Conservative journal thought it was clear that the Council of the Baptist Union was made up of agnostics and sceptics. It was in reference to this that The Freeman remarked that the enemies of Nonconformity "take arrows from Mr. Spurgeon's quiver and with them assail Mr. Spurgeon's brethren." The storm was reaching its height. The members of the Pastors' College Conference met, the result being that the old Association was dissolved and a new one formed on a fresh theological basis; but this left many leading men outside who did not approve of the credal basis. Meanwhile an eminent preacher thus reviewed the situation:—

"All readers of Mr. Spurgeon's article will have noticed its martial tone. It is a shrill summons to war. The sword is out of its 'scabbard,' and the 'scabbard thrown away.' Christendom is invited to gaze on a widely-raging contest. Already the conflict has begun; churches, associations, as well as the Assembly of the Baptist Union, are to be turned into battlefields for the continuance of the fight. It might be thought this is a domestic quarrel, and should therefore be left to those immediately concerned; but all the faithful are invited to look on and judge between the combatants. What, then, is the 'Jerusalem' of this last crusade? How does Mr. Spurgeon describe his object? 'The dark conspiracy to overthrow the truth,' he says, 'must be dragged to light.' It is a consecrated war. The Union that in October 'was beginning to look like a confederacy in evil' is actually 'an evil confederacy for those who make void the Gospel' in December....

"The Council has said Mr. Spurgeon 'ought not' to have printed accusations and left them where they cannot be investigated. The Union is to say in April, 'That is precisely what Mr. Spurgeon ought to have done.' The Council questioned the justice of calling the Baptist Union a 'confederacy in evil.' The Union in April is to affirm of itself 'all that I stedfastly believe.' The Council has intimated, with unsurpassable mildness, that Mr. Spurgeon 'ought not to say,' unless he is prepared to prove it, that our ministers 'make infidels,' 'scout the Atonement, deride the inspiration of Scripture, degrade the Holy Spirit into an influence, turn the punishment of sin into a fiction and the resurrection into a myth,' 'make waste-paper of the Bible.' The Union is to say in April, by the voice of its delegates and pastors, 'That is exactly what we do,' not a jot less than can be meant by the proposition 'to reverse the vote of censure,' so called. In short, the issue is this: that Mr. Spurgeon may accuse the whole Union of anything he pleases, but no one among us may presume to whisper doubt about his action in a single case. Will Christendom weigh this? Is it too late to ask Mr. Spurgeon to pause and consider whether this is the best work to which the Baptists of Great Britain and Ireland can be put? Is not the fateful crop of disturbing suspicions, broken purposes, imperilled churches, and wounded but faithful workers, already in sight enough? Oh! it pains me unspeakably to see this eminent 'winner of souls' rousing the energies of thousands of Christians to engage in personal wrangling and strife, instead of inspiring them, as he might, to sustained and heroic effort to carry the good news of God's Gospel to our fellow-countrymen! Would it were possible even now to reverse the direction of those newly quickened forces and guide them into the application of Christianity to the lessening of the sin and misery of our race!" In regard to the College Conference, it was felt that no steps should have been taken to form a new association until the old one had met; and over a hundred ministers trained in the College signed "a mild protest" against the procedure of inviting only such as made a certain declaration to the Conference. In reply, the President wrote to Mr. C. A. Davis, of Reading:—

"Westwood, February 18, 1888.

"Dear Mr. Davis,—The slip from The Baptist which I posted to you before I had seen your letter is yet a very direct reply to you and the brethren who had signed your request. I could not endure to give up our Conference to one long wrangle to no earthly purpose. The expense, not merely of money, but of my life, would be too great for a purposeless conflict. The strain has nearly broken my heart already, and I have had all I can bear of bitterness. The brethren in London, at my request, suggested the interpretation of the basis, and all the history of the College and all the design of the Conference prove it to be a true one. Then it was put to the vote of you all in the only way in which all, including the foreign men, can possibly vote. I conceive this to be the spirit if not the letter of our rule, and I fail to see ground of complaint. If every man exercises his vote, it is surely better than for those only to have it who can come to London. Still, to avoid any question in future, I propose to resign my office, and I shall hope that those who vote 'Yes' will all support me in forming a new Conference. Your procedure, which I will not describe, has caused me the utmost grief, and forced me to this decision. Yet I blame none of you, for I am sure that the major part of the brethren signing your letter are with me heart and soul. Those who send in 'Yes' on or before the 23rd will not be understood to approve of my mode of procedure, but only the basis as explained. No one of all of you is asked by me to do this; but nothing would give me greater joy than to find many doing so of their own accord. A gross misapprehension of my action, and a distrust of my motive, must have been upon some of your minds; but I do not in the least wonder, since the quantity of dust thrown into the air just now might almost blind angels. I could not expect more confidence than I have received. It is no small solace that nearly four hundred have voted 'Yes' right straight; and it will be a still greater joy if, after the explanation given, many of you will do the like. I feel sure that not a single one of you will join unless you can do so very heartily. By your love to me, I beseech you do nothing which would be half-hearted. We can do each other more good apart in open-hearted honesty than together with suppressed ill-will. It has been my joy to serve you, and I hope it will still be my privilege; but we can only work together on the lines of the old Gospel; and if any of you are in love with 'advanced thought,' why do you wish to stay with such an old fogey as I am? Go your way and leave me an immovable old man, possibly the proper object of your pity, but assuredly not of your enmity, for I have striven to benefit you all according to my light and capacity. May the grace of our Lord be with the faithful among you, leading you to be wholly and boldly on the Lord's side in this day when men cannot endure sound doctrine!—Yours heartily, but in much sorrow, mingled with hopeful love, "C. H. Spurgeon."

There were four hundred and ninety-six papers returned from the Pastors' College men relative to the "basis of Conference," and of these, four hundred and thirty-two voted in favour of the procedure recommended by Mr. Spurgeon. There were fifteen of an opposite opinion, eight gave a qualified "No," and eight a qualified refusal, while twelve were agreed on doctrine, but objected to the procedure. The following was sent to the committee of the College:—

"Dear Brethren,—The action which we judged to be best has been carried out, but in the process so many objections have been raised about points of procedure, about the original basis, about its interpretation, and, indeed, about everything, that I judge it to be the wisest course for us, as an association or conference, to dissolve. I do not know in whom is vested the power to dissolve the Association, for no provision is made for such an emergency. But so far as this power may rest with me, I formally, as president and founder, dissolve the Conference.

"I know that if this resolve were put to the vote, it would, at my expressed request, be carried with a vast majority; but instead of taking up a long time in formal procedure, I dissolve the Association; or, if this is unwarrantable, I personally retire from my office as president. I ask all the members of the late Conference to regard it dissolved for the sake of future peace and goodwill. This last act of love I think those who are most opposed may do for me without sacrifice of any principle; but if anyone should choose to convoke the old Conference, I first enter my protest against his right to do so, and then remind him that all those who are with me have a clear right to attend such Conference. This would bring about an unpleasant collision, and do no one any good. It will be far more wise for each division to go its way in peace.

"I intend to invite all the brethren who signed 'Yes' to unite with me in forming the Conference anew. Papers concerning this action will be submitted to them as early as possible. These brethren will never know how much the enthusiastic love which so many of them have expressed to me and to the old faith has comforted me in a dark hour. The Lord recompense them according to His grace. I thank each one from my inmost soul. I desire to say to others who have not treated me kindly that I am anxious to erase from my memory the whole of the unhappy past, and to begin a new Conference without an atom of resentment towards those who will not be with us in it. On the contrary, I pray for each one of them that they may receive the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ abundantly.

"If they judge me to have spoken harshly, and to have acted unkindly, I must ask them to exercise their charity so far as to believe that I have acted upon principle, and have no personal ill-will to a single person, but the very reverse. The formal dissolution of the Association will, I trust, be so soon followed by its reconstitution that it will make no break in its history. I trust that the brethren will not raise further questions upon the procedure which I now adopt, but will go with me as one man.—Yours very heartily, "C. H. Spurgeon."

While the controversy was thus raging in England, the excitement it occasioned had extended to the United States, and some of the opinions given would seem to have been characteristic of men who were breathing the pure air of the Republic. One leading journal maintained that to know Spurgeon was to love him, but zeal had got the better of his discretion. It was added:—

"As to the charges he brought, not against the Union, but against some few nameless members of it, all that can be said is, 'Non proven.'...As to the Baptist Union itself, the presumption that it is lying under serious charges is, of course, groundless. For over a quarter of a century it has been doing capital work. The annual addresses, papers, and discussions which have been published under its approval are all open to view. To speak only of the living, Dr. Angus, Dr. Underhill, and Mr. Aldis were champions of the evangelical faith when Mr. Spurgeon was only learning his alphabet.... To assail the Union because, out of its hundreds of members, some half a dozen men are not in full accord with what Mr. Spurgeon holds (and what we hold also) to be the Gospel of our Lord is to set to work to burn down a house because a dozen rats are hidden in the cellar.... The debate is bringing into very distinct prominence the fact that the Baptists of England will have no man to set himself up or to be set up as a ruler over them. If any man might have tried this experiment with a reasonable prospect of success, that man was Mr. Spurgeon. But he himself is the best illustration of our aversion to the bad political principles—'men, not measures.'"

About the same time a well-known religious organ of the strictly evangelical school said of Mr. Spurgeon:—

"His language regarding the Council of the Union is pervaded by extreme bitterness. Their expressions of kindness and brotherly love for him he terms the velvet pad covering the claw. This is hardly becoming language to use regarding men like Maclaren and Angus, and Underhill and Landels, leaders in the Church of God, and known in many lands as men not merely of learning and ability, but of earnest godliness. He throws out insinuations of deceit against the deputation sent to. confer with him—three men of purest character—headed by Dr. Culross, the President of the Union, known in this country by his work on the Apostle John and by other writings—a man of piety and even saintliness. As regards the exhibition of a Christian spirit, Mr. Spurgeon appears at a great disadvantage compared to the men with whom he has had these dealings. The events of the past few months will make a chapter in his history which his biographer will find difficulty in treating. It may be remarked, however, that the extreme consideration and deep respect with which the Council, even under these grave provocations, has treated him show that he holds their love even when they think him wrong. He is a noble man after all."

It might have been added that the bitterness was not all on Spurgeon's side. An appeal was sent to Mr. Spurgeon on behalf of over nine hundred officers of churches, and he was asked to consider "how inevitable are conscientious doctrinal differences in the interpretation of Scripture;" but the only hope of peace and amity was supposed to lie in a credal basis for the Union. "Should there be a decision of the assembly that there shall be an evangelical basis, I am sure you will not regret it," wrote Mr. Spurgeon; "but should there be an unmistakable decision the other way, the inevitable result will be very unsatisfactory to lovers of peace."

While the controversy became more animated as the year wore on, Mr. Spurgeon found solace in hard work; and while some withheld subscriptions on account of his action, others gave more largely because of being in sympathy with him. He was the life of a reunion at the Stockwell Orphanage early in March. On March 20 he gave an address to the Young Men's Christian Association at Exeter Hall, and on the following day he was at Mildmay Hall. No wonder that he suffered from a partial breakdown, which necessitated his resting for a few days at Eastbourne before engaging in the work of the annual College Conference. The first meeting of what was now "The Pastors' College Evangelical Association" opened on April 16. In the Tabernacle in the evening the President showed that his mind was full of the controversy; but he made a bold stand, and spoke out without compromise and without fear of being misunderstood. "In Paul's Epistles there is a note of what is wanted, a form of sound words implying something like faith; but now, because we ask, 'Let us have some idea of what you believe,' we are said to want to impose a creed. No. While men differ, and yet hold fundamental truth, we do not want it; but when men come in who count the blood of the Covenant an unholy thing, it is time to speak." Some who were present may yet remember what emphasis he put on such words as "I care for no man and for no newspaper, but only for God. I do not wish to impose any doctrine of my own, not even the grand old Calvinism; but it is not a question of Calvinism, but rather of the divinity of Christ."

Mr. Edward Duncanson presided at the meeting of subscribers on the 18th of April, when the collection amounted to £3,700. Mr. Spurgeon stated that he had received hundreds of letters from clergymen and others, as well as one from Bishop Ryle, containing words of encouragement. On the following morning the President also declared in the Conference that the religious people were with them, and this was inferred from the cordial greeting received both at Mildmay Hall and Exeter Hall—from people who were said to constitute the backbone of the religion of London. The meeting of the Baptist Union at the City Temple on Monday, April 23, was densely crowded, but at the end it was hoped that the controversy was closed for ever. Mr. Charles Williams moved a resolution, which the present Dr. James Spurgeon seconded. The report and declaration of the Council, with some alterations, were adopted; but in reference "to recent discussions respecting the evangelical character of the Union, the Assembly places on record its judgment that there has been sufficient vindication of the declaration of the Council and otherwise of the evangelical character of the churches of the Union, and of their pastors, and that additional tests of membership are unnecessary, inasmuch as the Council and the Assembly have ample power under the constitution to determine all questions of membership, and therefore can deal with the case of any church or person that may not hold evangelical sentiments." This was what The Freeman called "the Baptist Reunion." It was added that when Mr. Spurgeon's brother seconded the resolution it was as though clear sunshine had succeeded thunder-clouds. It was not regarded as a victory for anyone when there were concessions on both sides. Those who acted were complimented as striving after peace; but, as the sequel proved, the peace gained was not that abiding peace which many had anticipated. The rupture with the Union and the London Association was never to be repaired.