Present - The Rev. Peter Gunn, of Campbellfield, (Moderator); Rev. Andrew Love, of Geelong, and David Elliot Wilkie, Esq., M.D., Elder of the Scots' Church, Melbourne.

This was a pro re nata meeting of the Presbytery, called by the Moderator on receipt of the Rev. James Forbes' resignation of the pastoral charge of the congregation of the Scots' Church, Melbourne. The Presbytery having assembled and duly constituted with prayer, proceeded with the case of the

The Moderator laid on the table a letter from the Rev. James Forbes, demitting his charge on certain conditions, and enclosing his protest against the deliverance of the Synod of Australia's recent adherence to the Residuary or Established Church of Scotland. The conditions accompanying Mr. Forbes' letter of demission were as follows: -

1. That all monies due to me on any account be first paid.

2. That the improvements made by me on the Church, manse, &c., be valued by two neutral persons, and their equitable value at this present time paid to me.

3. That I be relieved from all responsibility for the debt of the Church.

4. That three months notice be given me before I be required to leave the Church, manse, &c., and that till the expiry of that period no attempt be made to disturb me in conducting the services of the Lord's Day.

On compliance with these conditions, Mr. Forbes intimated his readiness to relinquish his position, but in any other event, he would resist a l'outrance.

The Rev. Peter Gunn spoke at considerable length in reference to Mr. Forbes' protest against the proceedings of the Synod, combatting with great force and clearness the principal statements contained in the document, vindicating the proceedings of the Synod, and maintaining the necessity for the decision which had been arrived at by that body.

The Rev. Andrew Love said: - "Moderator - I need not say how grieved and sorry I am for the circumstances which have occasioned our meeting here to-day. The result of a question which has kept the Presbyterian church, in this country, in a state of unhappy suspense for upwards of three years, has led to the secession of a much and justly respected member of this court, a fact that ought to humble us deeply, and to cause us the most sincere regret. When we think of the ability which Mr. Forbes has ever displayed in promoting what he conceived to be the best interests of the Presbyterian cause, and his great aptitude for general business, together with his unwearied zeal, and faithfulness, in the discharge of his pastoral duties, we must admit that his secession will be to us, and also to the Synod, a very serious loss."

"Notwithstanding the position of enmity in which Mr. Forbes has placed himself in reference to his late brethren, and the full and undisguised utterance he has given to his feelings in speaking and writing of us, I would do violence to my own feelings were I not thus publicly to bear testimony to the character of Mr. Forbes. This remark does not, however, foreclose my right to notice Mr. Forbes' unseemly conduct towards his former brethren, when a suitable occasion offers. In reference to the documents now before the court, I will confine my observations chiefly to the conditions on which Mr. Forbes proposes to leave the church."

Mr. Love then noticed shortly the chief points of Mr. Forbes' protest, and proceeded to discuss seriatim the conditions contained in the Rev. gentleman's letter of demission, urging in favour of compensation to some extent being given to Mr. Forbes, but saying it should be borne in mind that the additions to the manse, for which compensation was sought, were made in the prospect of a disruption, and after Mr. Forbes had refused to sign Mr. Gunn's drafts for his allowances from the Church at home, on the ground that the disruption would have taken place before they could reach their destination.

The three first of the conditions, Mr. Love said, related to matters with which the Presbytery could not possibly interfere, and ought to have been sent to the Trustees of the Church, and not to the Presbytery.

With regard to the fourth, which proposed a three months tenure of the Church by Mr. Forbes, Mr. Love said, - the fourth condition is exceedingly unreasonable, and will tend, if persisted in, very much to the injury of the congregation, inasmuch as Mr. Forbes' remaining in the church now will necessarily tend to scatter it, a result which I am sure he does not, and cannot as a Christian minister truly desire.

In his introduction to those conditions Mr. Forbes says, that "In consequence of the largeness of the majority in the Synod on the recent occasion, and the injury which any contest for the retention of temporal possessions would occasion to religion, I do not mean to retain possession further than is hereafter set forth."

Now this would have been well, but for the conditions which follow, conditions which Mr. Forbes knew could not be complied with, inasmuch as it is ultra vires of the Presbytery to interfere in temporal matters - at least such as those contained in the conditions before us - so that these conditions are, in effect, tantamount to a determination not to remove until legally compelled to do so. And then where is the regard for religion herein set forth? If this claim for compensation be a just one, and we think it is, he can have recourse to the usual means, to induce the trustees to give it, but in seeking that which may be obtained by fair and honorable means, how can he allow himself to follow a line of policy so crooked, or to exhibit such a spirit? But whatever may be his ideas of the propriety of his acting in this way, why should the Presbytery be put to inconvenience, because they have not seen it to be their duty to act in concert with Mr. Forbes, in seceding from the church of their fathers?

They have not sought for his removal, they have done nothing to compel him to go out, but have endeavoured by every means to induce him to remain. And why again should the trustees, or the congregation, be put to any inconvenience? His leaving the Synod is not their doing - they would have been glad if Mr. Forbes had remained amongst them as he was. This spirit I am afraid will be regarded by good men as being woefully at variance with the meekness, the charity, and the self-denial, which Mr. Forbes has been accustomed to preach, as it certainly is with the disinterestedness of those devoted men whose example he professes to follow.

Besides, the position which Mr. Forbes has assumed cannot be of any personal advantage to himself, because the mere holding of possession cannot in the smallest degree compensate him for the money he has expended on the property. To the trustees alone he must look for compensation, which the simple fact of his holding possession cannot compel them to give, whilst the Supreme Court will ultimately eject him irrespectively altogether of his claim upon the trustees. There cannot be debt on church property in this country, as Mr. Forbes well knows, and therefore to contend in such a case is to shew a bad spirit, a spirit of contention, which I could not have supposed he would have displayed, when he reflects upon the injury it would cause to religion, as well as the contempt it was sure to bring upon himself.

For these reasons, I sincerely regret that Mr. Forbes has not seen it to be his duty to act otherwise. In this case he will compel the Synod to eject him from the property, by legal process, which in the eyes of the world, must seem an unseemly proceeding. But there is this consolation, wise and unprejudiced men will exonerate the Synod from any blame, for the steps which they are compelled to take, in opposition to such gratuitous obstinacy. Nor need Mr. Forbes expect to have the sympathies of the public to the same extent that he would have had, if, like the disinterested men of Scotland, he had gone out at once without any signs of hankering after temporal possessions. The sacrifice is now incomplete, for it is evidently made with a grudge. A champion Mr. Forbes might have been, but the opportunity is past, and should he now affect the martyr, in that character the world will not receive him.

With regard to the obloquy Mr. Forbes has thought fit to heap upon his late brothers, we would only say, that it betrays a very different state of mind from the meek and quiet spirit of his master, who, "when reviled, reviled not again" - and who said "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, &c."

And we might presume to remind Mr. Forbes, that the use of bad language never yet did honor to any cause, and least of all, when coming from the lips, or the pen, of a minister of the gospel. And with regard to the false position in which he is attempting to place us in the eyes of the public, we will only say, that his conclusions are drawn from premises which we do not admit. We hold the doctrine of Christ's supremacy, as solemnly, and as tenaciously as Mr. Forbes himself, or any living mortal, can do. And we will yield to no self-styled martyr on earth, in the integrity of our adherence to all the principles of the Scottish reformation.

The following resolutions were then proposed by Mr. Love, seconded by Dr. Wilkie, and agreed to:-

1. "That in consequence of the secession of the Rev. James Forbes from the Synod of Australia, by formal protest and demission, now on our table, the Presbytery declare him no longer Minister of the Scots' Church here, nor a member of this Court."

2. "That the Scots' Church, Melbourne, be declared vacant, according to the usual forms, and the congregation instructed to take the necessary steps for filling up the vacancy."

3. "That an extract of this deliverance of the Presbytery be forthwith transmitted to the Moderator of the Synod, accompanied with copies of the documents which have led to this decision; and at the same time begging of him to call a pro re nata meeting of the Synod to consider this decision, and to give effect to it."

The Moderator was appointed, in accordance with the customary forms of the Church, to preach at the Scots' Church vacancy on Sabbath, the 29th instant, and the Rev. A. Love was appointed to preach on Sabbath, 6th December. Regular supplies for the Church will be appointed at next ordinary meeting of Presbytery, which takes place on Tuesday, 8th December proximo.