GENESEE EVANGELIST.—WhoIe No. 780. ottrg. PATRIOTIC HYMN• DV tame W. MEINA, D. D. God's blessing be upon Our own, our native laud! The land our fathers won By the strong heart and hand, The keen axe and the brand; When they felled the forest's pride, And the tyrant foe defied, The free, the rich, the wide; Ood fur our native land. To none upon allbrone But God, we bend the knee; No noble name we own Hut noble liberty; Ouys tea brother band; For the spirit of our sires each patriot bosom fires, And the strong faith inspires; God for our native land! Up with the starry sign, The red stripes and the white! Where'er Its glories shine, In peace or in the fight, We own ite high command; For the flag our Fathers gave, O'er our children's heads shall wave, And their children's children's graves: God for our native land! America! to thee In one united vow, To keep thee strong and free, And glorious as now, We pledge each heart and hand; By the blood our fathers shed! By the ashes of our dead! By the sacred soil we tread! God of our native land. For the American Presbyterian. A CHRISTIAN WEDDING IN CHINA, Fuhchau, China, Jan. sth, 1861. EDITOR:—By your permission, I present your readers with an account of a Christian wed ding I attended yesterday in the country, about 18 or 14 miles distant from Fuhohau. I doubt not many of them would prefer to have been mem bers of the party of foreignnrs who were present as spectators, rather than read this hurried, im perfect sketch. My invitation to attend it, given in the name of the eldest living paternal uncle 'of the bride groom, was received on New Year's day. It con sists of a red piece of paper, nine and a half by four and a half inches. On one side was written, in Chinese, of course, the name of said uncle, the nephew to be married, the time selected, and a few other items, all in Chinese style, inviting me to "enlighten" the occasion by my presence. This card was enclosed in an unsealed envelope of red paper, ten inches by five and a half. My Chinese name was written on a narrow slip of red paper, extending the whole length' of the envelope, and attached to It - at the top aua - .N.n - tnose who receive such a formal invitation to a wedding, whether they attend or not, are expected to make a present of money to the bridegroom, which goes towards defraying expenses. .0.01511.117111T -K _ tattoos, were two missionary ladies and the Rev. Otis Gibson, a member of the American Metho dist Mission, located at this city, who had been invited to perform the marriage ceremony, in ac cordance with the principles of the Christian reli gion. We went on board the Chinese boat fur- . nished to take us a part of the way, about half past four o'clock in the morning. We had pro vided ourselves with provisions for a cold breakfast to be eaten on the boat, to which we did ample justice. The boat was propelled by Chinamen, who rowed standing, as Chinese usuallydo. The tide was favorable, and we made good progress. We reached the landing place about day-break, distant from Fuhohau some eight or nine miles. But here we were disappointed in ascertaining that the coolies who were to be in readiness to carry the sedan chair, brought thus far in the boat for the accommodation of the ladies, were nowhere to be found. The original plan was for the ladies to walk and ride alternately, from the landing place to the scene of the wedding. It was too late to send to the neighboring villages to endeavor to hire other bearers, unless we were willing to make a considerable delay, so the ladies undertook to walk the distance yet to be passed over, some four or five miles. Our way lay for a mile or more across a large paddy or rice field. The autumnal crop of rice had been harvested, and some of the ground was covered with winter wheat, sown in beds, in drills, or in rows of hills, about seven or eight inches apart. The wheat was already some eight or ten inches high, and presented a very fine appearance. After we had walked nearly three miles, we succeeded in finding men who could oarry the sedan chair when holding a living per son, it having been brought on from the boat by one of the hands and another Chinaman. Those who carry the sedan well, must have considerable practice, and be trained to the work. The ladies now rode in turn for a short distance. Our path soon leaving the paddy fields, led us along the side of a valley, and gradually became more and more inclined. We aeon found ourselves in very ro mantic if not grand scenery; we, were in the midst of lofty hills; covered Principally with a kind of stinted pine, wild fern, and a singular species of very tall grass. On our left, a hundred or more feet below us, a small rivulet wound its way down towards the Min. In duct time, about half past 8 o'clock, we arrived at the residence of the bridegroom, all delighted with the sublime beauty of the scenery around us. We frequently met on our way, companies of men, women and , boys, carrying wood or produce on corrying-poles, resting on their shoulders, down from their homes, in the mountains, to the river side for sale. We were overtaken and passed se veral times by companies of women, boys and girls, on their way to the hills for loads of grass, leaves and brush, to be carried home in a similar way, for fuel. On our return in the afternoon, we saw several tiers of them going homeward, loaded with as much as they could carry of such fuel, tied up in bundles, and suspended from the ends of a pole balanced on their shoulders. lie'e found a large company, considering bow early it was, already assembled at the residence of e bridegroom. He, and several of his family relatives, were converts to Christianity, and were nierabors of one of the native churches connected. with the Methodist mission. His intended bride was not a church member. On inquiry we found she had brought up bought when a child, and had been in the family as hid betrothed wife. The custom of buying female children, or of re ceiving them as gifts from their parents when quite young, and of bringing them up as the fu ture wives of some of the boys in one's family, is very common among the poorer classes in Fuhohau and vicitkity. It implies no particular disgrace, but is an index of the low pecuniary circumstances of the family which buys or receives the girl thus to be brought up , . The ceremony was.to be performed in a covered court, the reception room of the house. A plain table was placed in the front part of it, and on it were set two old-looking goblets; tied together by a common red cotton string, about three or four feet long. The arrangements having been com pleted, the bridegroom took his position, and the bride was led along by her bridesmaid, a married woman some 40 years old. The parties stood facing the missionary clergyman. The foreign guests stood along the two sides of the court, and in front on the outside. The bridegroom was about 26 years old, of plea sant manners, dignified and composed. We wore a pair of Chinese boots, the uppers of Which were made of satin; and the Chinese cap of ceremony, which had a brass button and red silk tassels on its top. His outer garment was made of fine blue black silk, and extended nearly to his feet. The bride was about 19, and seemed much discomposed during part of the ceremony. She belonged to the large-footed class of Chinese women, and of course her dress was made according to the fashion which prevails among such women at Fuhchau. Her shoes, worn on feet which were stockingless, were of black cottfin cloth, embroidered with , red silk, having thick white soles, and red silk tas sels on the top. Her outside dress was made of black cotton cloth, and extended only a little below her hips. Beneath were pantaloons of the same color and same kind of material. Her costume resembled, in general, the Bloomer cos tume, more nearly than the present popular style of ladies' dress in America. She 'wore no veil or bonnet, but had ear-rings about three inches in diameter. From the top of the hair on her bead 'projected a metallic ornament, washed with gold, some six or eight inches , long, re sembling, as much as anything I can think of, the 'crooked end of some plough handles, or, as others say, a cow's horn turned backwards. Sonie ten or twelve artificial flowers, of several different kinds, were so arranged in a sort of wreath around her head, as to stick out three or four inches from her hair. The minister commenced the services by giving out an accommodated translation of the hymn familiarly called, in English, "The Happy Land," and the Christian part of the congrega tion united in singing it, as follows: " Tieng tong to mo kG nang, muang hok hd tie, He then proceeded to rend the marriage remony of the Methodist Ohnrch, which been translated, with slime Ate ffiftraiktitt4 peenbaritieTs in Chinese easy' eir invt- The portion which challenges the audience object now or never, if there were good-go: Raids of objection, to the marrive_nf-thelaitties, was wisely omitteddn xionritif the fact that they had been engaged for quite a number.of years, as all their acquaintances knew. In the estima tion of the Chinese friends such a challenge would be eminently ridiculous and unnecessary. When that portion was reached which; in the original form, requires the parties to join their hands, in token of their willingness to take and acknowledge each other as husband and wife, the reading was suspended for a moment. A person stepped forward with some hot Chinese wine in a small stone pitcher, and poured a por tion of its steaming contents into the Iwo gob lets standing on the table by them, and tied to gether by the red string. These goblets were then taken by the bridesmaid, one in each hand, who first presented one to the month of the bridegroom, who sipped a little of the wine, but without touching the goblet with his hands; and then held the other to the lips of the bride, who sipped some in a similar manner. This drink ing of wine from these goblets, which is a Chi nese custom invariably practised at marriages among themselves, was substituted in place of the parties taking each other by the hand. All the parties, (bridegrooni, bride, and cler gyman,) knelt down in their places, while the reading of the ceremony was continued to the end. A. long metre doxology was sung in con, elusion. The husband made, slowly and respect fully, a low bow towards his wife, which com pliment she returned, by the assistance of the bridesmaid, by bowing thrice towards him. They then retired to the bride's room, accompanied by some of their relatives and friends, and the company broke up. As soon as convenient, several tables were arranged in the court where the ceremony had been performed, for breakfast for the male por-: tion of the guests. I noticed five square tables, which seated forty persons, each table accom modating eight guests. ,In a room in another part of the house two or three similar tables were spread, for the entertainment of the female guests. The sexes never eat together on pub lie festive occasions. It is said that about one hundred guests were expected to breakfast. Some might have been entertained in another place, not observed by us. - We, foreigners, were provided with an enter tainment of the foreign fashion. It seems that one or two young men, who had lived in mis sionary families, and who knew how to provide food for foreigners, bad been engaged to pre pare breakfast for us. We had sausages, roast chicken, pork chops, boiled pork, ham and eggs, rice and potatoes, wheat bread, with fruit, figs, dates, two kinds of oranges, &c. The bride groom, with his cap of ceremony still on his head, did us the honour to sit down with us, and testified to the quality of the provisions, and the keenness of his appetite, by eating' very heartily. He managed foreign knives and forks much more dextrously than we should have managed chopsticks, under similar circum stances. The bride, during part of the meal, sat down at our table, but remained in perfect silence, and could not not be prevailed upon to eat a morsel, which taciturnity and fasting were in complete accordance with the rules of Chi nese etiquette on such occasions. To attri bute her conduct to moroseness or displeasure, PRILADELPITIA, TRUIATAY: APRIL • 25, .1861. would be doing her manifest injustice; for she evidently enjoyed.the dinner. Several times she came very near laughing outright, on catching a glimpse of some of her female friends in an adjoining room, who `were looking at our com pany. But she strove to maintain her gravity, for to laugh would have been as much out of the way as to eat heartily, according to. Chinese notions of propriety. As above intimated, this was. a Christian wed ding. And it was this fact which gave the oc casion its principal interest to the foreign guests. Such events are a sort of era in this part of Chi na. There have been only some five or six such weddings, where =one or both of the parties were converts from idolatry, in connexion with Pro testant Missions at Fuh Chau, since their com mencement in 1847. • And this was the only one celebrated in the country. One was celebrated last Christmas within the 'walls of Fuh Chau, where both the parties were members of the church under the care of the American Board's mission, the bride being formerly& member of the Mission. Boarding. School, and the bride groom being a native helper. We were cheered by what we saw and what we heard•at the marriage yesterday in the coun try, in proof "of the Christian character of the household. They greeted us as Christians on our arrival. We heard no improper language, nor did we see any traces of heathenism remain ing about the premises. We 'observed, with great satisfaction, that around three sides of the reception room, or the court where the cere mony was performed, there were suspended from the walls seven-large paper hangings, on which were written, in large characters, quotations from the Old and New , Testaments. One of these, some four or five feet wide by seven or eight feet long, contained a translation of the Ten Commandments, the characters for which were written in a bold and beautiful style. On most of the posts of the tout°, and on the door posts, we noticed, also, that a large number of pieces of red paper had been pasted up, con taining sentiments, prepared in Chinese style and according to Chinese taste, alluding to the Bible, or to the truths of the Bible. They re minded us of the command recorded in Dent. vi. 9. They consisted of couplets of five or seven characters in each line, written on slips of paper several feet long and a few inches wide, 'and were substituted for the heathen sentiments, or quotations from the Chinese classics, which formerly occupied their - place. For example, on the posts of the doors of the bride's room, was posted up a couplet, which taught that "males and females ought to learn the true doc trine, "and that "children and grand-children should listen to the gospel." There 1 3_,..durA0-..nacesßity for a longer visit, ltarted on our way back to the river about m o'clock, the ladies walking the whole dis -1- 'We stopped-for a short time, about half to way, at a plaea... A. young native ex horter is living there, with his family. That mission are building there a small substantial chapel, assisted by a voluntary contribution of some available material, and two hundred and seventy days' work, from the native converts living in that vicinity—a large amount, consi dering their great poverty. Just before we left we had a season of prayer, suggested by one of the native brethren. We pursued our course to the boat, and. reached Fuh Chan about 5 o'clock, P. M., and found that the bi-monthly mail from America via England, had arrived but a short time pre vious. SWIM. For the Amertean Presbyterian. A THIRD ERROR? A careful, reading of an article entitled "Two Errors" which appeared in a late number of the AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, has suggested the fol lowing thoughts, which may possibly be of as sistance to some who sincerely 'seek the truth. The first person therein described is, a young lady of intelligence and refinement, who is devoting her life to teaching poor ignorant children in New York City. A "belief in. God," and "reverent sympathy with Him, desiring to do the work which He -would have her to do in the world," are the motives given for her self-denying labor. Her creed is "very defective" in some points which we consider "essential to a perfect belief." From the whole tone of the article, we may infer that she does not believe in a divine, God-incar nate Saviour, through whom alone she can be ac cepted and - saved. Her outward life is beautifill, noble, and worthy of all imitation, but she has not living faith in Christ as "God manifest in the flesh" for her sins. Without this, how can - her character or life be pleasing to God, when He has said, "He that bath the Son hath life; and he that bath not the Son of God hath not life ?" Can the receiving of. Christ as a created being, sent as a great example of benevolence and good works, be -such a vital thing as this? " God seeth not as man seeth," and while we love and admire such a person as the one described, we cannot feel that her heart is right in His sight, until she cordially receives his Son as her Sa viour. It matters little, we think, in what .other points her creed is "defective." There may be.a world-wide difference in belief on- other doctrines or truths, but in this, all true Christians must" agree, for it is the only "door" by which we can' enter into eternal life. The other person described in the article in 1 question, is one whose creed is all right, and out- ' ward life not inconsistent with his profession---but whose main object is to lead a pleasant, conve nient, moral life, with little, if any, self-denial for Christ's sake. That such a person as this, is a hearty, growing Christian, we can hardly be lieve. If in his "perfect creed," he holds from his inmost soul the life-giving declaration, "I be-- hove in Jesus Christ His Son," that makes him a Christian, though he must be in a sad state of lukewarmness and indifference to duty, from which God may'mercifully awaken him by some visita tion of His chastening rod. If, on the contrary, that precious doctrine is but part of a creed be lieved in by the intellect, while.the heart is un touched by true love to' Christ and faith in Him, that man cannot be a Christian. His "fluent prayers,". his "strong augments," his "regular `performance of ordinary devotional ilaties," do THE NORTH BROAD STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH This Church edifice is to be erected on the N. E. corner of Broad and Green streets. The let is 135 feet in length, and 80 feet in breadth, exclusive of twelve feet for side walk. The Church edifice is to be 75 feet by 117, with a tower in the centre of the front; 25 feet broad at the base, and with spire 215 feet in height,—all of Trenton brown stone. A porch of wrought stone, and a rosette window are to adorn the front. The height of the main building is 50 feet:from pavement to eaves, and 95 to the ridge. The style of architecture is Norman. Interior; floor of basement two feet from pave ment, and height of ceiling fifteen feet in the clear. The basement will be divided into a Lecture Room to seat 300, School Rooms to accommodate 500, and Session Rooms. The Audience Room will he 65 by 80 feet, to seat 800. Projecting Gallery, to seat 150. All will accommodate 1000 person's. The seats will be two feet nine inches apart, Snd circular, with wall and side aisles; pews to be circular, in three double blocks. The height of the rbom is 52 feet clear, with arched ceiling, radius 26 feet. There will be five entries in front, with five stairways, and two entries in the rear. The whole is to be warmed by furnaces of the best construction, and ventilated in the most effectual way. The cost of the Church edifice to be $32.700. not make him a Christian in any sense. There fore his life is no more or less pleasing to God than the other one described. Neither is walk ing in the way which God has appointed- 2 -neither is receiving the Saviour He has provided—One is rejecting Him in her creed, the other in his life. Can God look with favor AM either, or on one • more than the other?, - We have written' this under Ihe supposition viers- --- unce - mTor -- m - Ine-...r-Or - t a o denying or doubting the divinity and vicarious atonement of Christ. Otherwise it would not have been said that "belief in God" led her to the life she leads, nor would the defects in her creed have been deemed so "essential." Per haps we have been confirmed in this idea by the fact that exactly such a person as the one de scribed is known to us, engaged in the very labor mentioned—and we have reasoned on her case. "A few truths cordially received" are more than enough to save the soul—one truth, that of salvation through Christ alone, thanks be to God, is enough. But " a few truths received," leaving this one out; form, it seems to us, no ground of hope whatever, any more than a perfect creed, which is only a creed, does so. The article in question concludes by saying, "Arenot those who thus subscribe to the essential articles of our faith in a more hopeful state, &0.," referring to the life of the lady described. We do not regard such a life as necessarily subscribing Ab those articles. We think such a life might be led, with no saving faith in Christ in the heart, which surely is an "essential article of our belief." It might be led, based on wrong ideas of her relation to God as a sinner, .and her position towards Christ as not needing, and therefore, rejecting his mediation. For a person leading the life described, the most yearning pity cannot but be felt by a heart that knows the love of Christ. Vainly seeking peace and rest from sin and self, that thirsty soul will never be satisfied till it takes the cup of sal vation, and drinks of the water'f life freely. MODERATE CALVINISM. Rey. Leonard Withington, D. D., a venerable Congregational minister of Newburyport, contri butes a paper of unusual interest to the April num ber of the Bibliodzeca Sacra; in which-he replies to the inquiry of a correspondent as to-tho degree in which. the views adopted by litim.iq'vuth, har— monize with the views of his more experienced and riper period of life. There is a truly Christian. sweetness of tone and spirit in the article, that com ports well with the aged author's nearness to the. heavenly world. We would like to copy the whole of it into our columns, as a delightful evidence of a rare balance of Christian character and of the com patibility of a genuine Calvinistic creed with ge niality of temperament, but our limits forbid any thing beyond the closing portion, which is in re sponse to the question: Why am I a moderate Calvinist? Some say that this is an impossibility. They ask . : What is moderate Calvinism ? It stands on the side of a declivity, and must slip down to something softer and better. Dr. Channing ea.ys : “If the stern reformer of Geneva could lift up his head and hear the mitigated tone in which some of his professed followers dispense his fear ful doctrines, we fear he could not lie down in peace until he had poured out his displeasure on their cowardice and degeneracy. He would ,tell them, with a frown, that moderate Calvinism was a solecism, a contradiction in terms; and would bid them, in scorn, join their realfriend Artuinius. Such is the power of public opinion, that naked, undisguised Calvinism is not•veryfond of showing itself; and many of consequence, know imperfect ly what it means." Yet notwithstanding - this blast of condemnation, moderate Calvinism. always has existed in the, church, and.l trust always will. But you may ask : What is moderate Calvinitim? Now, moderate Calvinism consists, not in denying any one of the great doctrines,, but in mixing them with other truths equally obvious and equally important. A moderate Calvinist is not a man of one idea... He is willing to take alLthe elements of our moral being, into one, comprehen: sive creed. He knows the maguitude of -these _; i:'y~~~~ :z ~' • '.....--, ::::_, :2-, 4*. , - : ---- p*„...-..g..:ir ikzii--4-1.... t--::...--- - - i,,..._.--.._ ..:-.--.,--2-,-, - Vi 1 Ir ih. , :%. . : . . . . .-•- - - ~..,., ... . : - - 1 , -4 , -, _„--..• f. -.•-•• •-_,_ - ~. - ' .l :`.• 7!"- '''''''''.';'•-%,.•-1.-:,,z- ' „ , -....,A -2 t, 41.5',R, Vii--%lili'ilr 44'4' ii t ' k-0. 4"o,e'V- 45Ek,-- i'"".I,IVZ L;q ~' t id till k.P 1 7 I ‘iill/i Riflij 1.• A ih it-:`-t - —, l' -1 f 2„,t, : lit.L., -''':f" —7 , 1,. ! I ~ , 41'0, ;hi 44-0 '4l ~, 3 1 1 i NI,N. ,irgu.l' speculations and the weakness of our moral power; and therefore he does not make all the deduction from such high declarations which a rigid logic would seem, to demand. He knows the greatness of God and the weakness of man. He knows how inadequate the,human mind is to grasp the vast conception of the plans and purposes of God. - He often says, this great doctrine may be true, but then, I...see ft throu , h a , ass, darkly. J. must , 4 . 011 'l'', It It IWi ,one limitation sanctioned in his word. When. he reasons from God down to man, the divine per fections seem to necessitate the reception of the doctrine of an absolute and absorbing predestina tion. It is an ocean; it swallows np everything. But that truth does not stand alone. When he reasons from man up to God, the freedom and re sponsibility of the creature seem to be necessary to our simplest conception of duty and religion. Here, then, is another truth standing on its own basis, and one of the eternal pillars of religion. And this truth is taught and assumed, ill the Bi ble, as clearly and as often as the other. God is sovereign; man is free. God sees no contingency; man meets scarcely anything else. God foreor dains ; man is capable of good and evil. God works in us; and yet the gospel gate is wide open. Now, I must mingle these truths just as they are mingled in the Bible, and I have no right to make the one weaken the other. The one class of truths is as ',necessary to the fulness of the gospel as the other. I have no right to strike a single quantity from this celestial equation. I must let it stand just as it is. I must leave the compound with all its perplexities and divine contradictions. The different notes are the harmony of the whole tune, and although this mixture is a delicate one, and even good men may differ in the degree of promi nence they give to each of the .parts, yet I must do as welt as I 'can. I must see that these op posing powers form the harmony of the whole sys tem; and this is, as [conceive, moderate Calvin ism. It tells the whole truth; it reads the whole Bible. It is not afraid of, earth-born antagonisms; it aims to be filled with all the fulness of God. All this may be illustrated by what takes place in the natural world. We find that through the whole system of our sun and'planets there prevails the law of attraction s by which all things are drawn to one common centre; and you might ask: Why do they not rusk to one consoli dated union? There is another law, by which they are repelled. And these two laws act in op position to each other; and that opposition is the harmony of the whole. So in the-spiritual world two pillars support the fabric, of which, if either be removed, the roof falls—God and necessity; moral subjects and freedom. Nay, the law of an tagonism reigns throughout all nature: "All na ture's difference keeps all nature's,peaee." The moderate Calvinist is the more confirmed in his views, inasmuch as he finds his system in ',jived, as eitirer of parts assume an inordinate proportion. I have no hesitation in saying, that the worst error that ever infested the church is a distorted orthodoxy, a caricature of truth, a tree with its branches without itslroots; predestination without free agency; a divine will without a di vine reason; a physical necessity, controlling a moral being . ; faith without works; action without motive; sin without law, or a gospel that annihi lates the law; an Antinomian gospel; a God whose only attribute is irresistible power; a God those will makes all things right, whose only righteous ness is his aril All this is horrible, and the more horrible for its partial resemblance to divine truth. Such a rock I have always aimed to shun. Calvin his one fault: he makes sovereignty too absorbing. He was pressed to it by the reaction of the age. I have endeavored to preach a sim pler gospel. I deny nothing in the old forms; I believe all. I have only made a different mixture. I have tried to give my hearers an ampler whole : God is sovereign; man is free. He works in us to will and to do; and when we will well, we do his work. On the question of original or inherited sin, I have always been a moderate Calvinist, seeking to utter no more than the Bible allowed me to know. On this Sensitive point, which always, must come up in ordainingeouncils, and when candidates are examined for the ministry, and on which some good men concentrate all their wisdom, you might see me sitting a 'patient listener, silent as Ig,no ranee herself should be, with my longest finger over one eye and my thumb folded over the other waiting .the result, which was always similar, and having one consolation, that the process must finally . end. It has always seemed to me that Paul, in the sth of Romans (which is the seat• of this doctrine) is very clear as to the effect' of Adam's" transgression, anti , says very littlelis to the mode of the transmission. It seems 10 me he is arguing, in this chapter, against a favorite tenet of the Jews, that the gospel was for them, not so free for the Gentiles; they were the children of Abraham, and heirs of the promise; and yet they were'obliged to confess, from their own authorita tive record, that all men were the children of Aden]. Now the aßostle adroitly seizes this con cession, and proves to them that the Gospel was for ill, because all needed it; and that men were just as certainly sinners as they were descendants of Adam. His object is to teach the universality of sin, as the foundation of a universal 'offer of the benefits of redemption. The mode of jOntICX-• ion or transmission he does not stay to discuss. The broad fact is enough for his purpose. I have been very cautious of adding to his words. I have not chosen to make a paradox where he has only left a mystery.. I suppose that the connexion between my sinful bias and Adam's first trans gression is wholly owing to the sovereign appoint ment of God; if so, it is highly improper to adduce the original, endowments - of Adam as , a solution of the obligations of man,according to our "taunt/ apprehensions of justice. From the very nature of the case, you cannot'make a mystery an expla nation Of itself. =All the formulas about Adam being our federal' head, duk. representative, our sinning in him, and falling with him in his first transgression, of his sin being imputed . to us, etc., may be' reduced to one, viz., that for certain un revealed reasons, God willed that man should be born with just such propensities as he is born with. All these forms of expression resolve themselves into sovereignty. We must bow to his sovereign will. It is right, because the Lord hath done it. The fault'of the high Calvinist was, he sought an explanation where God intended none. His spe culations always play between a mystery and an ex ponent. Sin, from its very nature , is the violation, of an obligation; and in order to now the nature of sin, we wish to know the nature of those obli gations it violates. Now, I cannot see that Paul intends our union with dani as such an explana nation. You cannot make a mystery an explana tion. What was given to try our faith, .was never intended to satisfy our reason. If, then you ask me, my dear Rusticus, how these sentiments appear on review, after the lapse of half a century, to a man who has one Riot in the grave, and the eternal world just before him, I sigh and say, Alas ! I see mtich to lament in my defective spirit, my want of zeal and a want of vi tality to the orthodoxy I embraced; when the truth, was constantly seen, the impression was too feeble, and my preaching was the stammering of a child. But the creed I threw into the council at twenty seven years of age, is my creed, now that I am be yond threescore and ten. I have been, always, a moderate Calvinist: This is not boasting, for some will say, it is a miserable confession; a man ought to be more progressive. Why should he ride at anchor all his life, when he ought to be sailing? I can only reply that lam ready to pull up my anchor when I know whither I am going, and am assured of profitable discoveries. One reason of my cleaving to Calvinism is, that when you have slain the body of it, you cannot exorcise the ghost. It will remain and will.haunt you, and you cannot think its residuum into non existence. As it is with regard to the substratum of matter,"denied or reduced to a minimum by certain Metaphysicians, you cannot think of quali ties without thinking of a primitive in which they inherepo'it is with the hypostasis of this system: it w,ill. not down at your biddingi it will haunt • rr:epuen. lotions 44 he aeny it. - The stron - gest' opponents of the system have felt its power even -when—denyin g -it - The invisible chain of necessi ty was around Erasmus, Episcopus, Whitby, and all the vigorous minds who have striven to break its material form. Priestley himself ran away from Calvinism, and fell into the chains of a stronger necessity. I must add, however, that in my religious in vestigations I have never been under the play of polemic antagonisms. I have never been fond of pursuing truth in that way. My battles have been with my own objections. My issues have been, almost all 'of them, mental. I have been my own opponent and my own convert, and have never, fora moment, dreamed that I was born to stand sentinel over the orthodoxy of the church. I have cheerfully devolved this duty on those of my brethren who selected this mission because they felt themselves born for it. I have always bad enough to do to;? get rid of - my own heresies. I have found- the pitlyof truth so dark and diffi cult, that I have not wondered if some have missed it. As I draw near to the eternal world, j. must confess I feel an increasing, perhaps I - should say an alarming, indifference to the niceties of mere speculation. The spirit of the gospel is all : a spontaneous, an all-absorbing love, is the best light when we tread the dark passage. 0, blessed Redeemer, beam on my dying hour with thy light, and I can adjourn all my speculative diffi culties to the world where I shall know even as 1 am known. IRE RONAN QUESTION. COUNT' CAVOUR I S SPEECH-ROME THE CAPITAL OF ITALY From the important speech delivered in the Sardinian - Chamber of Deputies on the 25th of March, by Count Cavonr, we make the follow ing extracts. It will 6e seen that the location of the capital of Italy is in a fair way of defi nite settlement: ROME THE CAPITAL. The first truth to be proclaimed is, that it is impossible to conceive a constituted Italian kingdom without Rome.for its capital. If we have aright—if it is our duty to wish to pos sess Rome—it is because of this impossibility, Eminent and sincere men may feel a preference for one town or anotheri_but it is incontestable that, if Rome were once our capital, all discus sion on this point would thenceforth be impos sible. The fact alone would bring about an absolute and universal agreement. I avow that, personally, I perhaps prefer the simple and plain streets of my native city to, the ancient and modern monuments of the Eternal City. But my resolution is taken, like that of my countrymen; like that—and I now speak as the representative of Turin—of the noble city which is resigned to that sacrifice which the, country demands of it. We must go to Rome; but with out trenching upon the independence- of the Pope, without bringing the, Church under the domination of the State. f, though I believe that to be ,impossible, France found herself pow erless to oppose our entry into. Rome, we would not, in order to effect that entry, use violence towards her. Let us not imitate Austria in the ingratitude avowed, with a deplorable courage, by the lips of one of her statesmen. DUTIES OF SARDINIA TO NAPOLEON AND THE When, in 1859, we asked for the support of Prance, the Emperor did not dissemble to him self the difficulties of the situation in which this war would place him with.respect, to the court; of Rome. We cannot, after having accepted the boon, aggravate the embarrasiment in which it may involye the benefactor. If we can suc ceed in convincing batholics that the re-union of Rome with the rest of Italy cannot place the church in a position of dependence, the ques tion will have made a great step towards solu tion. Many conscientious people think, indeed, that if the Parliament were in Rome, and the Ring at the Quirinal, the'Pope would lose much of his independence,. andwould! be nothing more than thegrand almoner or the chaplain of the Sing. If these fears were well founded, I should VOL. V.—NO. 35.—Whole - No. 252. not hesitate to say that this re-union would be fatal, not only to Catholicism, but to Italy. No greater calamity can befall a people than the concentration, in the hands of the government, of spiritual and temporal power. When these powers are united, liberty disappears, the rule of caliphs prevails. ' It will never be so in Italy. Let us examine,- under all aspects, this ques tion of the influence of the union of Rome with Italy upon the .jndependence of the spiritual power. Now, in the first instance, does the temporal power render the Pontiff really inde pendent? If it were so, I would hesitate to solve the problem. Bat no person can main tain such a view in the times when sovereigns, resting upon the divine right, regard their do mination as a right of absolute property over men and things. But this is asking what the Pope cannot grant; for his position as a political sovereign is subordinate to his rank as Head of the Church, ince his temporal power ought to be, to him no more than a guarantee, a safeguard for his spiritual power, which latter must stand su preme. By making concessions he would vio late his duties as a pontiff. He may accept and tolerate certain institutions, but he may not consecrate them. Thus, for example, he tole rates civil marriage in France, but he cannot proclaim it in his own dominions. It is the same with a host of other institutions which are opposed to Catholic precepts, but of which it is nevertheless necessary to admit the existence. The Pope should not be reproached for that which is, in reality, not obstinacy, but firmness, and for which I hold that Catholics ought to be grateful to him as a meritorious fidelity to his duty. I have often combated the opinion of those who have insisted that the Pope should grant reforms, and have blamed him for not con ceding them. At the Congress of Paris I was asked to point out which might be exacted of him. I refused to indicate any. I professed openly the opi nions which am upholding here; and, in con junction with M. Mingbetti, who took an impor tant part in these negotiations, I declared that the only means of governing those countries without military occupation, was the absolute separation of the spiritual from the temporal power. All these efforts will be defeated by the radical impossibilities which result from the confusion of the two powers. Europe has long been laboring to invent reforms for Turkey; there is not an effort which has not been made for this purpose; it has been sought to recon cile there the rights of civil life with the govern ment such as is there constituted. The attempt has not succeeded, and never will succeed; the union of the two powers renders its failure ine vitable. Thus the temporal power does not make the Pope independent. Can it be said that in losing it he will only change the form of his subjection? No; we can give him the independence of which he stands so much in need. It is precisely the separation of the powers which will give it to him. When the Church is 'once emancipated from all connection with the temporal power, and separated from the State by distinctly marked limits, the liberty of the Holy See will no longer have to suffer from the shackles imposed upon' it by concordats and the werogatives•o'? the divil-power, which the tem poral power of the Court of Rome has alone.ren clued necessary up to the present time. I believe that every sincere Catholic desires above all things such an enfranchisement. The only difficulty is to discover by what guarantees-this liberty of the Church -will be assured. We will give it ample guarantees; we will inscribe the principle of the reciprocal independence of the Church and of the State in the fundamental statute of the Kingdom, and we will ensure by all possible means its com plete realization. But the surest guarantee is the thoroughly Ca tholic character of the Italian people. Italy has often made great efforts for the reform of ecclesias tical discipline, but she has never raised her hand against the religion with which it is connected. The country of Arnold of Brescia, of Dante, of Savonarola, of Sarpi, of Giannone, has ever, like them sought only the reform of the Church; that ardent desire has always been accompanied by the firm determination that the Church, purified, should subsist and become more free. That freedom will be better ensured by the love of 26,000,000 of citizens than by a few mercenaries. It is said these hopes are fallacious; all your proposals and negotiations are repulsed. I shall not enter into any detail upon this delicate point. I admit that up to this time none of our efforts have succeeded; but I also declare that heretofore we have never explained our intentions openly and fully, as we explain them now. We may, therefore, still che rish some hope. I am not the defender of the temporal power, but I must be just towards it. I hold neither the Pope nor his ministers to be responsible for the atrocious acts to which, at certain points, the re action tended. These acts only prove the deplora ble influence which such a regime exercises over human character. I believe I have sufficiently established the antagonism which exists betr en the Holy See and the populations. If that be so, this power is not for the Pope a guarantee of inde pendence. It is said to be necessary for Catholic Society, and that it ought to be guarantied by the Catholic powers. Are human sacrifices still ne cessary to render the gods propitious? Is it in the name of Him who gave His life for the world the sacrifice of a nation should be demanded for his representative? It is said: But the Pope may conciliate the people by reforn a; a id those who think thus make efforts to obtain fi om the Pope such concessions, never suffering themselves to be dis couraged by refusals. . History shows us that Rome, invaded by the Spaniards of Charles V. saw the Pope some time afterwards crown Charles V. and ally himself with him. 'Why may we not see the same change wrought on Pins IX. at the present day? But if the Pope should repulse us, as he has hitherto done, we shall not cease to remain faithful to the same principles. Arrived at Rome, we shall pro claim the separation of the Church from the State, and the liberty of the Church. When this has been done, and consecrated by the representatives of 'the nation, and when the veritable tendencies of Italians and their sympathy for the religion of their fathers have . been made evident in the" face of Europe, the great majority of Catholics will ap prove, and will cause to fall on the right head the responsibility of the struggle into which the court of Rome would have sought to enter with the na tion. At the risk of being deemed Utopian, I avow my belief that when these principles have been proclaimed and consecrated by you, the soul of Pius IX,. opening itself anew to the generous sentiments which earned for him such hearty ap proval some years ago, will stimulate him to seek to acquire the immortal glory of having reconciled the Italian nation with the Church, and religion with liberty. CLERICAL COSTUME.—In the year 1524 Luther laid aside the monk's costume, and henceforth dressed according to the fashion of the world. He chose black clothes, and consequently this color has become the fashion of the clergy. His reason for choosing this cloth was, the Elector of Saxony took an interest in him, and now and then-scut a piece of blmtilloth, being at that time the court fashion ;A cause Luther preferred it, so his scholars thought it became them to wear the same color as their master. From that time black has been the color mostly worn by the clergy. THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE POPE THE TEMPORAL POWER
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