for the plaintiffs, and RUFUS CHOATE and
GEO. WOOD for the defendants. On the part of the South it was
claimed:--That the Fund was the property of those who received the
benefit of it; of which they could not be deprived without clear proof
of a breach of condition:--That there had been no forfeiture by the
separation, because the General Conference, in the exercise of its
legitimate authority, and for good and sufficient reasons, had assented
to that division. They therefore ask that an equitable proportion of the
capital, and of the profits of the Concern since 1845, should be awarded
to them. On the part of the North it was claimed:--That the Fund was the
property of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the beneficiaries receiving
the profits of it merely by way of charity:--That the Southern
Conferences seceded from and so form, at the present time, no part of
the Church; since the General Conference had no power to authorize a
separation; and, in fact, did not authorize it, their action being
prospective, and accompanied by conditions which had not been complied
with. And even had the separation been legitimate, a division of the
property could only be claimed in virtue of a special
agreement--sanctioned by a competent court; and there was, moreover, if
the action of the General Conference was available, a special agreement
as to the property in question, in virtue of which the plaintiffs can
have no claim upon it. At the close of the arguments, the Court
announced that it would not give its decision for some time; and advised
the parties, in the mean while, to make an amicable adjustment of the
matter; intimating that such an adjustment, if made, would receive the
sanction of the Court. The defendants, therefore, made proposals to the
plaintiffs to submit the matter to a legal arbitration, under the
sanction of the Court; without, however, conceding any thing as to the
question before the Court. The plaintiffs, meanwhile, before this offer
was communicated to them, made similar overtures to the defendants.
There is, therefore, every reason to hope for an amicable adjustment of
this vexatious case.

The General Assembly of the New School Presbyterian Church convened at
Utica, May 15. Rev. ALBERT BARNES of Philadelphia was chosen Moderator
by a unanimous vote. The chief topic of interest discussed was a plan
for the extension of the distinctive principles of the denomination,
especially at the West. A few petitions on th