PRESBYTERIANISM. 372 PRESCOTT. Church of Scotland United Free Church of Scotland Presbyterian Church of England Presbyterian Church of Ireland Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland Calvinistic Methodist or Presbyterian Church of Wales Presby- Church members Si &i 12 37 i 24 661.629 488.795 78,037 106.487 4,000 160.000 Sunday school pupils 222.044 362.372 89,584 108,668 3.500 200.000 Bibliography. V. Stephen. Bistori/ of the Scottish Church (2 vols., Edmburgh, 1894-96) ; Hetherington, History of the Church of Scotland (7th ed., ib.. 1848) ; Eeid, History of the Pres- byterian Church in- Ireland (3d ed., by Killeii, Belfast, 1867) ; Killen, Ecclesiastical History of Ireland (2 vols., London, 1875) ; Hodge, Consti- tutional History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (Philadelphia, 1840) ; Gillet, History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (2 vols., ib., 1873) : Glasgow, History of the Reformed Pres- byterian Church in America (Baltimore, 1888) ; Harper, The Church Memorial, Containing Im- portant Historical Facts and Reminiscences Con- nected icith the Associate and Associate Reformed Churches (Xenia, Ohio, 1859) ; Hays, Presbyte- rians: A Popular Xprrative of Their Origin, Pi-ogress, Doctrines, and Achievements (New York, 1892) ; Latham, History of the Associate Reformed Synod of the South (Harrisburg. 1882) ; Lindsley, "Sources and Sketches of Cum- berland Presbyterian History," in the Theologi- cal Medium. (Xashville, 1877-78) ; McDonnold, History of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church (ib., 1888) ; Centennial Historical Discourses (Philadelphia, 1870) ; Addresses Delirered at the Centennial Celebration of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, Mai/ 24, 1S88 (ib., 1888) ; Nevin, Eticyclopwdia of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (ib., 1884) : Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit, vols, iii., iv., ix. (Xew York, 1869); Briggs, Ann^rican Presbyterianism (ib., 1885) ; R. E. Thompson, A History of the Presby- terian Churches in the United States, in the "American Church History Series" (ib., 1895) : C. L. Thompson, The Presbyterians, in the "Story of the Churches Series" (ib., 1903). PRES'BYTEBY (ML. presbyterium. from Gk. Trpea-pvT^piov, assembly of elders, from wfX(T- j3uT€pos, prcsbytcros. eliier) . Generally, the bodv or class of presbyters or elders in the Christian churches taken collectively. More specifically, in the churches having a Presbyterian form of gov- ernment, it is one of a series of judicatories, ranking next above the session, the coiirt of a local church, and below the sjmod (q.v. ). The presbytery as an ecclesiastical judica- tory is most completely developed in the Presbyterian Clnirch in the TTnited State? of America, where its composition and pow- ers are defined in the Form of Government as follows: "A i;resbytery consists of all minis- ters, and one ruling elder for each congregation, within a certain district. The presbyterv has power to receive and issue appeals from church sessions, and references brought before them in an orderly manner; to examine and license can- didates for the holy ministry; to ordain, install, remove, and judge ministers; to examine and ap- prove or censure the records of church sessions; to resolve questions of doctrine or discipline seri- ously or reasonably proposed; to condemn er- roneous opinions which injure the purity or peace of the Church; to visit particular churches for the purpose of inquiring into their state and re- dressing the evils that may have arisen in them; to imite or divide congregations, at the request of the people, or to form and receive new congre- gations; and in general to order whatever per- tains to the spiritual welfare of the churches under their care." Such a presbytery corre- sponds to a classis in the Reformed churches. The name presbytery is also commonly applied in the Roman Catholic Church to the pastoral residence of the jjriest or priests of a parish. PRESBYTERY. The space in the choir of a church in which the high altar is placed; the name is sometimes extended to the whole choir, but is usually applied to the part inclosed in mediaeval cluirches by the choir-stalls. PRES'COTT. A city, formerly the capital of the Territory of Arizona, and the countv-seat of Yavapai County, 137 miles north of Phoenix; on the Santa Fe, Prescott and Phcenix Railroad (Map: Arizona, B 2). The city is situated at an elevation of over 5000 feet, in a rich gold, cop- per, and silver mining country. The industries include stock-raising and lumbering. There is a public librarv. Population, in 1890, 1.759; in 1900, 3,559. PRESCOTT, Albert Benjamin (1832—). An American chemist, born in Hastings, N. Y. He studied medicine at the University of ilichi- gan, and was made dean of the school of phar- macy there in 1876 and director of the chemical laboratory in 1884. He wrote Qualitative Chemi- cal Analysis (1874). Outlines of Proximate Or- ganic Analysis (1875), First Book of Qualitative Chemistry (1879), Manual of Organic Analysis (1888). Pcriodides (1896), and Assay of Alka- loidal Drugs (1899). PRESCOTT, George Bartlett (1830-94). An American electrician, born at Kingston. N. H. He learned telegrapliy soon after the system had been put into practical use, and by 1858 had be- come superintendent of the lines of the American Telegraph Company. In 1866 he was given the same position in the Western Union Company; from 1873 until 1880 was electrician of the Inter- national Ocean Telegraph Company; was one of the early promoters of the telephone; and was connected with numerous telegraph and telephone companies. In 1852 he discovered that tlie aurora borealis is an electric plienomenon. and the discovery, accounts of which he published in the Boston Journal and the Atlantic Monthly, attracted much attention among scientists. He invented an improvement in telegraph insulators in 1872; with Thomas A, Edison invented and introduced the duplex telegraph and the quadru- plex telegraph ; and also introduced from Europe the system of sending messages in pneumatic tubes. He published: History. Theory, and Prac- tice of the Electric Telegraph (1860) '; Electricity and the Electric Telegraph (1877) ; The Speaking Telephone (1878): Diinamo-Electricity (1884): Bell's Electric Speaking Telephone (1884); and The Electric Telephone (1890).
