William Miller (minister)
Encyclopedia
William Miller/ar was a minister of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria
who served the John Knox Church, cnr Little Lonsdale
and Swanston Streets
, Melbourne 1851-64, and was the first Chairman of the council of Scotch College
in Melbourne.
Miller should not to be confused with his contemporary Rev William Baird Millar/er, who belonged to the United Presbyterian Church of Victoria 1851-53, and never held a charge but engaged chiefly in teaching.
Presbytery of Linlithgow
on 14 August 1849, married Mary Brisbane nearby in West Calder
on 21 March 1851, was ordained for Melbourne
, Victoria
on 17 April and arrived in Melbourne on 11 September. He was received by the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria on 22 September, and appointed to the oversight of the John Knox Church in Swanston Street, its founding minister James Forbes
having died the previous month. His ministrations were so acceptable that the congregation soon extended a call to him, which he accepted, and was inducted into the charge on 16 December.
Miller laboured faithfully as a minister of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria, and was spoken of as “highly esteemed”, “possessing good abilities”, “amiable in character” and “commanding the love and respect of the community”. However, he did not have the vision or capacity of James Forbes.
Miller had arrived in Melbourne the same day as Robert Lawson, the rector appointed by the Free Church of Scotland for the Academy planned by James Forbes and later known as Scotch College
. On 9 November 1851 the Free Presbyterian Synod appointed Miller Convener of the Academy Committee (the other members were the members of the Session of John Knox Church), and so he may be regarded as the first Chairman of the College Council. In 1853 Miller, along with Rev Duncan MacDiarmid Sinclair (1816-1887), Rev John Tait (1809-60), John Armstrong (1810-1857) of Bush Station and Archibald Bonar, merchant, were appointed the first trustees of the East Melbourne site of Scotch College. Miller was subsequently replaced as Convener of the Academy Committee by Dr. Adam Cairns (1802-1881).
In 1853, Miller was appointed to the church committee which was to investigate and potentially negotiate the basis for union with the various Presbyterian denominations in Victoria. A union basis between the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria and the Church of Scotland Synod of Victoria was drafted, but by 1856 Miller opposed further negotiations due to disputation over the doctrinal standards, legislative basis and ministerial supply. The John Knox congregation supported this stand by resolution at a congregational meeting in August 1856. Of his own denomination, “he hoped they would have grace and courage to maintain their own integrity and consistency by refusing all further negotiations until this point (i.e. the legislative basis) should be conceded.”
Miller and several other opponents of union on the proposed basis were expelled by the majority in April 1857, through an apparently illegal motion of 26 paragraphs by Dr. Cairns. A minority synod of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria, of which Miller became the moderator on 14 April continued. It became the only Free Presbyterian Synod when the majority, with the blessing of the Free Church of Scotland, entered into the union forming the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in April 1859 on a basis drawn up in 1858.
Funds were raised to send Miller to Scotland to represent the interests of the minority at the May 1860 Assembly
of the Free Church of Scotland. The Assembly would not receive him as a deputy of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria, but only as one of a body "calling itself" the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria. This he declined. On the advice of friends, he appealed to appear by way of petition as an individual. The Assembly urged reconciliation and reunion.
The rebuff by the Assembly did not help stability in the Victorian Synod, and this was aggravated by the May 1861 Assembly undertaking, by a vote of 341 to 64, to recognise the minority only if they ceased to claim they represented the position formerly occupied by the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria. In May 1864 the Free Presbyterian Synod divided down the middle and Miller took the side of those who thought union with the Presbyterian Church of Victoria was appropriate. At the close of the year he submitted his resignation from the ministry of John Knox Church, citing the poor health of his wife, although the difficult church situation must also have been relevant. The congregation sided with those opposed to union but ultimately joined the union church in 1867 through the influence of a visiting Scottish minister, Rev J.O. Dykes. The kind of union that occurred in Victoria in 1859 did not occur in Scotland until 1900 and 1929.
Miller returned to England about March 1865, where he served the Presbyterian Church at St Helens, Merseyside
for some years, before he retired to Callander
in Scotland
. He suffered an angina attack at the newly constructed Railway Buildings in Callander
where he died, age 59 on 10 August 1874. He was survived by his wife. No children have been identified to date.
Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria
The Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria, also known as the Free Church of Australia Felix, was an Australian Presbyterian denomination founded in Melbourne, Victoria in 1846 as a result of the Disruption of 1843 in the Church of Scotland....
who served the John Knox Church, cnr Little Lonsdale
Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Little Lonsdale Street is located in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. A part of the Hoddle Grid, it runs roughly east-west. North of Lonsdale Street and south of La Trobe Street, Little Lonsdale Street's eastern end intersects with Spring Street while its western end intersects with...
and Swanston Streets
Swanston Street, Melbourne
Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Australia. It is historically one of the main streets of central Melbourne, laid out in 1837 as part of the Hoddle Grid, the layout of major streets that makes up the central business district...
, Melbourne 1851-64, and was the first Chairman of the council of Scotch College
Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
in Melbourne.
Miller should not to be confused with his contemporary Rev William Baird Millar/er, who belonged to the United Presbyterian Church of Victoria 1851-53, and never held a charge but engaged chiefly in teaching.
Life and ministry
Miller was licensed by the Free Church of ScotlandFree Church of Scotland (1843-1900)
The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...
Presbytery of Linlithgow
Linlithgow
Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....
on 14 August 1849, married Mary Brisbane nearby in West Calder
West Calder
West Calder is a village in West Lothian, Scotland, located 4 miles west of Livingston. The village was an important centre for the oil shale economy in the 19th and 20th Centuries. West Calder has its own railway station. It is also has the most northerly centre of the Dogs Trust, closely followed...
on 21 March 1851, was ordained for Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
on 17 April and arrived in Melbourne on 11 September. He was received by the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria on 22 September, and appointed to the oversight of the John Knox Church in Swanston Street, its founding minister James Forbes
James Forbes (minister)
James Forbes was a Scottish-Australian Presbyterian minister and educator. He was the first Christian minister to settle in Melbourne, holding the first Presbyterian service there in 1838...
having died the previous month. His ministrations were so acceptable that the congregation soon extended a call to him, which he accepted, and was inducted into the charge on 16 December.
Miller laboured faithfully as a minister of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria, and was spoken of as “highly esteemed”, “possessing good abilities”, “amiable in character” and “commanding the love and respect of the community”. However, he did not have the vision or capacity of James Forbes.
Miller had arrived in Melbourne the same day as Robert Lawson, the rector appointed by the Free Church of Scotland for the Academy planned by James Forbes and later known as Scotch College
Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. On 9 November 1851 the Free Presbyterian Synod appointed Miller Convener of the Academy Committee (the other members were the members of the Session of John Knox Church), and so he may be regarded as the first Chairman of the College Council. In 1853 Miller, along with Rev Duncan MacDiarmid Sinclair (1816-1887), Rev John Tait (1809-60), John Armstrong (1810-1857) of Bush Station and Archibald Bonar, merchant, were appointed the first trustees of the East Melbourne site of Scotch College. Miller was subsequently replaced as Convener of the Academy Committee by Dr. Adam Cairns (1802-1881).
In 1853, Miller was appointed to the church committee which was to investigate and potentially negotiate the basis for union with the various Presbyterian denominations in Victoria. A union basis between the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria and the Church of Scotland Synod of Victoria was drafted, but by 1856 Miller opposed further negotiations due to disputation over the doctrinal standards, legislative basis and ministerial supply. The John Knox congregation supported this stand by resolution at a congregational meeting in August 1856. Of his own denomination, “he hoped they would have grace and courage to maintain their own integrity and consistency by refusing all further negotiations until this point (i.e. the legislative basis) should be conceded.”
Miller and several other opponents of union on the proposed basis were expelled by the majority in April 1857, through an apparently illegal motion of 26 paragraphs by Dr. Cairns. A minority synod of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria, of which Miller became the moderator on 14 April continued. It became the only Free Presbyterian Synod when the majority, with the blessing of the Free Church of Scotland, entered into the union forming the Presbyterian Church of Victoria in April 1859 on a basis drawn up in 1858.
Funds were raised to send Miller to Scotland to represent the interests of the minority at the May 1860 Assembly
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body[1] An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland, A Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition .-Church courts:As a Presbyterian church,...
of the Free Church of Scotland. The Assembly would not receive him as a deputy of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria, but only as one of a body "calling itself" the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria. This he declined. On the advice of friends, he appealed to appear by way of petition as an individual. The Assembly urged reconciliation and reunion.
The rebuff by the Assembly did not help stability in the Victorian Synod, and this was aggravated by the May 1861 Assembly undertaking, by a vote of 341 to 64, to recognise the minority only if they ceased to claim they represented the position formerly occupied by the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria. In May 1864 the Free Presbyterian Synod divided down the middle and Miller took the side of those who thought union with the Presbyterian Church of Victoria was appropriate. At the close of the year he submitted his resignation from the ministry of John Knox Church, citing the poor health of his wife, although the difficult church situation must also have been relevant. The congregation sided with those opposed to union but ultimately joined the union church in 1867 through the influence of a visiting Scottish minister, Rev J.O. Dykes. The kind of union that occurred in Victoria in 1859 did not occur in Scotland until 1900 and 1929.
Miller returned to England about March 1865, where he served the Presbyterian Church at St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
for some years, before he retired to Callander
Callander
Callander is a burgh in the region of Stirling, Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the former county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands....
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He suffered an angina attack at the newly constructed Railway Buildings in Callander
Callander railway station
Callander was a railway station located in Callander, Stirling .- History :This station opened on 1 June 1870 along with the first section of the Callander and Oban Railway, between Callander and Glenoglehead...
where he died, age 59 on 10 August 1874. He was survived by his wife. No children have been identified to date.
Publications
- Letter on the Position and Necessities of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria, to the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland (Glasgow 1860, 32pp)
- Victorian Pulpit #5 (sermon, Melbourne n.d. [186-]).
- Free Presbyterian Church in Victoria (reprinted from Paisley Herald, Glasgow 1861, 20pp).
- Presbyterian Union in Australia - To the Editor of the Scottish Guardian (Glasgow 1861, 2pp).
- The Edinburgh Presbytery and the Australian Union (reprinted from The Witness, Edinburgh 1861, 12pp).
- Union in Victoria. Additional Extracts with remarks. (Edinburgh 1861, 4pp).
Sources
- The Free Presbyterian Church of Australia by James Campbell Robinson, W.A. Hammer, Melbourne VIC 1947.
- The Bush Still Burns by Rowland S. Ward, Melbourne VIC 1989.
- Address on the Present Position of the Free Presbyterian Church of Victoria delivered at the Close of the Meeting of Synod on 18 April 1865, by the Moderator with Relative Correspondence etc. by Rev. Arthur Paul, Walker May, Melbourne VIC 1865.
- Minutes of John Knox Free Presbyterian Church, Swanston Street 22/11/1846-1/08/1865 PCEA Archives, Wantirna, Vic.
- Minutes of the Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church of Australia Felix (afterwards Victoria) from 9 June 1847 PCV Archives, Melbourne