Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 4.djvu/103

Rh try better calculated to awaken the thoughtless and secure, to caution convinced sinners against what would stifle their convictions, and prevent their issuing in conversion, and to point out the difference between vital Christianity, and specious counterfeit appearances of it."

During the eleven years that Mr Gillespie occupied the charge of Carnock, he kept close to the humble and unostentatious yet useful duties of the pastor of a country parish. He seems never to have taken any prominent part in the business of the church courts ; he was, both from habit and disposition, retiring and reserved, fond of the studies of the closet, but destitute alike of the ability and the inclination for managing public affairs, and leading the van in ecclesiastical warfare. It was his scrupulous conscientiousness, not his ambition, that made him the founder of a party. He was thrust on it by circumstances beyond his intention.

Mr Gillespie entered the ministry in the Church of Scotland, when the harsh operation of the law of patronage, was causing painful and lamentable contests between the people and the dominant party in the church courts. It had already caused the Secession; and there still remained in the church of Scotland many elements of discord and sources of heart-burning; whole presbyteries even refused to act, when the settlement of obnoxious presentees was enjoined by the superior courts ; and to effect the execution of their sentences appointing the settlement of unpopular individuals, the general assembly had at times wholly to supersede the functions of the presbytery, and appoint the induction to be completed by committees of individuals not connected with the presbytery; it might be men Avho, without scruple, were willing to act on whatever was ecclesiastical law, and carry through the matter intrusted to their care, in the face of the menaces or murmurs of a dissatisfied and protesting people.

This method of settling obnoxious presentees by riding committees, as they were called in those days by the populace, was confessedly a most irregular and unconstitutional device. It was a clumsy expedient to avoid coming in direct collision with recusant presbyteries. It was found to answer the purpose very imperfectly; and it was soon seen, that there remained to the General Assembly but two alternatives, either to soften the operation of the law of patronage, and give way to the popular voice, or to compel the presbyteries to settle every man who received a presentation, against whom heresy or immorality could not be proved; otherwise there would be perpetual collision between themselves and the inferior courts. The assembly chose the latter and the bolder alternative. In 1750, accordingly, the assembly referred it to their Commission, "to consider of a method for securing the execution of the sentences of the Assembly and Commission, and empowered them to censure any presbyteries which might be disobedient to any of the sentences pronounced by that meeting of Assembly."

In 1751 Mr Andrew Richardson, previously settled atBroughton, in the parish of Biggar, was presented to the charge of Inverkeithing, by the patron of the parish. He was unacceptable to the body of the people, and his call was signed only by a few non-resident heritors. Opposition being made to his settlement by the parishioners, the presbytery of Dunfermline, and after them the synod of Fife, refused to comply with the orders of the commission to proceed to the settlement of Mr Richardson. The case came before the assembly in 1752; and it was justly anticipated that it would bring to an issue, the conflict between recusant presbyteries, who had a conscientious regard for the rights of the people, and the dominant party in the assembly, who had no regard for them, but were resolved to give effect to every presentation. The lord commissioner, the earl of Leven, in his opening speech, with sufficient plainness indicated the course of procedure which the government desired arid expected the assembly should pur-