Winchester, Samuel G. Speech of the Rev. Samuel G. Winchester, in defence of the Act of the Synod of Philadelphia, in the case of the Assembly's Second Presbytery of Philadelphia. Delivered in the General Assembly, May, 1834. Philadelphia: Wm. S. Martien, Printer, 1834. [11428]
Self-wraps, outer pages soiled, 9 x 6 inches, 34 pages, newly stab-sewn. Good. Pamphlet.
An argument regarding the power of the Assembly vs the power of the Synod, in which the author defends the Synod and claiming that the Assembly's making a new Presbytery and then forbidding the Synod to amend or alter it is a power not granted to the Assembly in the Constitution and Laws of the Church.
"The Constitution says to the Synod, you may divide and unite Presbyteries before erected. The Assembly says, you shall not. The Constitution gives the power, and the Assembly forbids its exercise. Here then is a Controversy between the Constitution and the Assembly, - between the instrument creating, and the body created. The Book declares that the Assembly have no power to alter or amend the Constitution, but it is inferred, that the Assembly may, in a given instance, set aside the Constitution, and overrule its express provisions." - p. 26.
"His appearance before the Assembly of 1834 will long be remembered. The subject under discussion related to the grounds of appeal. He was young, he was comparatively unknown to the great majority of the members; and nothing unusual was expected of him when he took the floor. The subject was a dry one, and seemingly afforded but little scope for the display or oratorical power; yet it was the kind of subject with which he loved to grapple. In the discussion of it, the energy of his mind was fully tasked; his eye kindled, the best points of his naturally oratorical manner were brought forth, and with the self-possession of a practiced debater, he reasoned his points with a cogency and fluency which carried conviction to many minds, and held the attention of the house for more than two hours." William Engles, in Sprague, Annals 4:757.
Samuel Gover Winchester (1805-1841), b. Rock Run, Maryland; d. Natchez, Mississippi. From a child he was fascinated with oratory, and he began his education with the study of law at the University of Maryland. He was then influenced by a revival in Maryland in the Presbyterian Church pastored by the Rev. William Nevins, and was converted. He began studies at Princeton Seminary, and he was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Baltimore (1829), and installed as pastor of the Sixth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia (1830). In 1837 he accepted a call to the Presbyterian Church in Natchez, Mississippi, where he was a faithful pastor until his death. He wrote several books of comfort for the sick and afflicted, one against the theatre, and one on the importance of family religion.
