Scotland, by appointing the moderation of a call, to give the people an opportunity of encouraging the labours of their future minister, by addressing to him this invitation; and, in consequence of this practice, one of the legal steps in the settlement of a minister is a sentence of a presbytery sustaining the call. But, whatever was the state of matters when the practice began, it is now understood that a call may be sustained, however small the number of subscribers; for, although the matter was long vehemently contested, and is still occasionally the subject of discussion, the church courts have shown, by the train of their decisions during the greater part of last century, that they do not consider themselves as warranted by law to refuse admission to the presentee upon account of any deficiency in the subscriptions of his call."

233. Although, however, the call is now in practice a mere form, yet, as being still held a necessary form in the admission of ministers, it deserves consideration; and the preceding statement as to its original nature will be of service in affording principles by which to determine questions of mere formal procedure which may arise regarding it.

234. Thus, in consequence of its having been originally an election by the people of the person to be presented to the presbytery for examination and trial, it follows, that between the judgment of the presbytery sustaining the presentation, and the day for moderating in the call, no steps can properly be taken by the presbytery towards the trial of the qualifications of the presentee,' unless a regular libel have been served on him, in which case the church courts are in use to stay all procedure till it be brought to an issue. The first step of procedure, therefore, after sustaining the presentation, is to fix a day for a meeting of presbytery at the church of the vacant parish, to moderate in a call to the presentee, whereof intimation must be given from the pulpit of the parish, by a member of presbytery appointed to preach there with that view, at least ten days prior to that so fixed. The presentee, if a probationer, is at the same time appointed to preach in

1 M'Master, Sess. 7, 1771; M'Lean, Sess. 5, 1830; Stark, Sess. 9, 1831. 2 Lochbroom, Sess. 5, 1743.

the parish church for one or more Sundays prior to the meeting for moderating in the call. If the presentee be an ordained minister, this is not in practice required of him.

235. On the day appointed a sermon is preached by the presiding member of presbytery, and at the conclusion of public worship there is submitted to the people for their subscription a written call to the presentee to be their minister; and the signatures of those who subscribe are attested as genuine by the ministers present.

236. The meeting of presbytery on this occasion being usually entirely in hunc effectum, they cannot enter into the consideration of any objections taken to the presentee, though made in form of a regular libel. There would seem, however, to be no obstacle to their simply receiving such libel, and superseding consideration thereof till the next ordinary meeting of presbytery. If a declaration by the parishioners, or the majority of them, setting forth that they declined to concur in the call, and disapproved of the presentee for their minister, be competent in itself, this would undoubtedly be the proper time for tendering and receiving it; but as, according to the decision of the church courts, the approval or disapproval of the people is in reality of no consequence, such a declaration might be deemed altogether irrelevant.

237. The call thus subscribed and attested is presented to the first ensuing meeting of the presbytery,3 whose next step is to pronounce a judgment concurring with it, which is the form representing what originally was mainly a judgment holding the election by the people to be a good and sufficient election, and a warrant for the presbytery to proceed to the trial of the presentee, preparatory to his ordination and admission, analogous to the judgment of the presbytery sustaining the presentation. As already mentioned, however, the presbytery hold the call to be sufficient, however few signatures may be attached to it; and, indeed, on the principles at present held on this subject, the total absence of any signatures,

1 Dallas, Sess. 8, 1793. Hill's Practice, 57.

This was done in the case of M'Lean, 1831, and it was sanctioned by the General Assembly.

Hill's Practice, 57.

or of any substitute for such, would scarcely seem a sufficient ground for not proceeding with the settlement, since the moderating in a call is said to be considered as merely affording the people "an opportunity of encouraging the labours of their future minister, by addressing to him this invitation," 1 but not at all necessary as an essential step in his admission.

238. This is the proper stage for considering any ex facie disqualification which the church consider as a bar to admitting a party to trials for the pastoral office.

Any such disqualification, which may either have been incompetent as a legal objection to the presentation, or may have been then omitted to have been taken, would form a proper reason for not concurring with the call, as, for instance, the having obtained a license or accepted ordination in contravention of the act of Assembly 1779, and so it would also be the proper time for taking an objection on the ground of the presentee holding an incompatible office which he was not obliged to resign on admission.

239. Objections to a presentee on the head of character or doctrine cannot be entertained as a bar to sustaining, the call if not in the form of a libel, and there even appears to be some difficulty as to whether, consistently with the principles at present acted upon as to this matter, it be competent for the presbytery to delay or refuse to concur with the call in respect of such objections, though in the regular form of a libel. The call is, in form, the election by the people of the presentee to be their minister; and when it is presented, the principal question before the presbytery is, whether it be a regular and legal election. It is clear, therefore, that the presbytery cannot, proprio motu, enter into any consideration as to the presentee's character or qualifications, these being per se, and apart from their being made the grounds of objection by the congregation, quite irrelevant to the question as to the validity of the call, and forming the proper subject of consideration at a future stage. At the same time, as the concurring with the call may in part be considered an approval of the choice, apart from the correctness or validity of the call other

Hill's View, 71.

wise, if a libel be actually served, it would seem proper that the presbytery should stay proceedings till the issue of the process.

240. Without a libel, however, objections to the character or doctrine of the presentee, on the part of the congregation, will not be received. If the presbytery would look at the nature of them merely to determine whether the disapproval were reasonable or unreasonable, so as to refuse to concur with the call, in consideration of there being a reasonable disapproval on substantial grounds, in respect that such reasonable disapproval in itself established that there was no valid call, it would be perfectly correct for them to enter into consideration of the objections at this stage without a libel; but as, according to the principles at present acted on, presbyteries will not do this, and will merely consider the objections-not as grounds justifying the disapproval of the people-but only as in themselves grounds of rejecting the presentee in respect of his own unfitness, without reference to the disapproval of the people, the entering into the consideration of such objections, except in the form of a libel, is inconsistent with those principles; and while these continue to be acted on, if there be no ex facie disqualification, the presbytery should at once concur with the call.

241. When this has been done, the presbytery proceed towards the trials and examination of the presentee, preparatory to his ordination and admission, to be considered in the succeeding chapter.

CHAPTER VII.

OF EXAMINATION, ORDINATION, AND ADMISSION.

242. THE presentation, (being the real title to the benefice,) and the call, (being the title in form to the pastoral office,) having been sustained, the presbytery proceed to what is more especially their peculiar province, viz. the examination of the presentee, his ordination to the pastoral office, and his admission to the benefice.

243. If a libel shall be served against the presentee on account of conduct or doctrine, either before he has been admitted to his trials or during the course of them, the presbytery will thereupon stay proceedings in the settlement till the issue of the process, which will fall to be conducted in the same way with a similar process against a minister. It would appear to be the practice of the church courts not to receive from the parishioners objections against the presentee on the head of doctrine or morals, without a formal libel, except at the diet for ordination. If no libel have been presented, the presbytery, after having concurred with the call, place it in the hands of the presentee; and he having accepted it, the presbytery appoint trials to him of the same nature with those prescribed prior to obtaining a license, unless the presentee be already an ordained minister, when this is not required.

244. By act of Assembly 13, Sess. 23, 24, 1638, it was ordained that none be admitted to the ministry under twentyfive years of age, except such as for rare and singular qualities should be deemed worthy thereof. This exception allows a discretionary power which has been liberally exercised, and at all events, no objection on the head of the presentee not being twenty-five could be pleaded in bar of his being taken on trial, whereby alone his rare and singular qualities can be ascertained.