“Whereas, in the providence of God there are now in the mission a sufficient number of ordained ministers to constitute a Presbytery and as it seems expedient that we, cut off as we are from the privileges and oversight of our respective Presbyteries, should meet together from time to time in a formal public capacity as a judicatory of the Church of Christ to consult for her best interests in this our field of labour; and hoping that it may be beneficial to ourselves and the Church at large, “Therefore, Resolved, That in accordance with the resolutions of the General Assembly held in Baltimore in May, 1848, making provision for ‘the formation of Presbyteries by the action of missionaries in foreign fields’ a Presbytery be constituted at Bangkok on the first day of September next, to be called the Presbytery of Siam and to be composed of the following persons, viz.: Rev. Stephen Mattoon and Rev. S. R. House, of the Presbytery of Troy, New York; Rev. J. Wilson, of the Presbytery of Beaver, Pennsylvania, and Rev. Daniel McGilvary, of the Presbytery of Orange, North Carolina; and that said Presbytery be opened by a sermon by Rev. S. Mattoon, the oldest of the ministers of the mission; and “Resolved, second, That the day of the opening of the Presbytery be observed by the members of the mission as a day of special prayer for the blessing of the Spirit of God upon us, and that a special meeting for prayer be held at 9 A. M.” At the appointed time the Presbytery of Siam was formally organised, Rev. Samuel R. House being chosen first Moderator and Rev. Daniel McGilvary being elected Stated Clerk. Mr. Mattoon, who was about to take a furlough in America, was appointed the first commissioner to the General Assembly, to meet in Indianapolis the following spring. Here, again, as in the organisation of the first church, the missionaries were taking a step in anticipation of the fruit of faith more than in actual need. Two of the very important functions of a Presbytery are to oversee the churches and to ordain candidates for the ministry. But there was only one church in Siam at the time and there were only two “native” members on the roll; and a Presbytery could add little to the fellowship of the missionaries except the formalities. However, the workers in the field were certain of the harvest and in simple faith they went about setting up the organisation for the proper care and nurture of the native churches that were yet to be established. In December of 1858, when the dry season had returned, Dr. House, accompanied by Mr. McGilvary, made a twelve-day tour up the Meinam, commencing labours at Angtong and continuing as far as Bansaket. The results of the tour were unusually hopeful: