Vol. VII, No. 39.—Whole No. 351.
BET. DB. DILL OF BALLYMENA, ON THE .
AMERICAN CONFLICT.
OUR country has no warmer nor clearer•head
ed friends in this conflict than the Presbyterians
of France and Ireland.- Their hearty and stead
fast sympathy has made a large pilot) for them in
our affections and'has formed a tie between us
that no lapse of time will sever. The leading
spirits in the Irish Presbyterian Church,• men
like Professors McCosh and Gibson, Dr. Killen,
Rev. Messrs. T.Y. Killen, Macnaughtan, Cather,
and many others have expressed themselves un
reservedly in favor of the principles for widen
we are contending. On the 21st of April, Rev.
Dr. Dill, of Ballymena, late moderator of the
General Assembly of the Irish Church, and
well known`to Many persons who met with him
and heard him in his travels through this coun
try, delivered a lecture in. Rosemary St. chureh
(Mr. Macnaughtan's) of Belfast, on the Ameri
can conflict, which was a just and comprehen
sive statement of the facts in our struggle, and
an enthusiastic and triumphant' vindication of
our cause. Professors McCook and,Gibson were
both present with seventeen other clergymen,
Dr. Young, the American Consul, and a large
and highly respectable audiance. Rev. Mr.
Macnaughtan, the chairman, in introducing the
speaker, made some excellent remarks, among
which he declared that there was nothing in the
origin of this controversy which would furnish a
warrant to the 'Southern States to take up arms,
as if they had a grievance to complain of, and
demand a, separation between them and the
North.
Dr. Dill's leetn.re, as contained in the Banner
of Ulster, would be worthy of a transfer entire to
our columns, had we the spate. He commenced
by speaking,of the intense interest felt in our
struggle in Great Britain. He said , it would be
no exaggeration lo affirm that the anxiety with
which it is watched is little less in Liverpool
than in New York, in Manchester than in Phil
adelphia, in Belfast than in Boston, in Ballyme
na than in Albany. He then proceeded , to ex
amine the arguments of Southern sympathizers
in Great Britain and laid the Mann of much of
the misconception on the subject to Lord John
Russell's brief and insniting mode of putting it
In the sentence : 44 a :drug& for .emnire on the
one side and for independence on the other."—
Dr. Dill characterizes the explanation thus given
as either " worthless or deceptive." He asks :
4 . Will any one moderately acquainted With the
facts of the case venture to affirm that the.
.Northerns had nothing in view in entering
upon this war but the subjugation of the South,
or the setting up of an Empire of which the
North should be the bead, and the South the
tail? It will, surely, be admitted by the great
est sympathizers •with the South that the effort
to subdue it was, at least, the means to an end.
And that cad will be acknowledged by all, in a
general way, to mean the maintenance, in its
integrity, of the Federal Union. Now, if th,e
free operation of the Federal Constitution gave
the North empire over the South, undoubtedly
the North is,fighting for empire, but just such
empire as Lord Palmerston and Lord Russell, at
this moment, away over Lord Derby and the
Opposition." He then proceeded to show how
the true object of the Notth in accepting and
carrying on the war was to save the National ex
istence, just as truly as it would be the object of
Great Britain if forced to contend fore.her au
thority over Scotland and. Ireland. ,
Dr. Dill spoke very amusingly of the sympa.
thy offered him in America on
,aeeount of the
oppressed condign of Ireland under the tyranny
of Victoria. lie seemed to think there was ne
more ground for sympathy with the South than
with Ireland upon the plea of oppression,
although it was a plea Which had deceived many
in Great Britain... He explained in the following
happy and truthful manner the American's lode
for the Union " The true way, however, to
realize what the Americans mean by. Union is to
consider what that word means , at home, repre
sented, symbolized, cemented, gloriously illus
trated by the crown and sceptre of our own
peerless Queen. wd often smile at what seems
to us the extravagant enthusiasm of an Ameri:
can for the Stars and Stripes,' but that banner
is to him what the Royal Standard is to us, the
symbol of national unity--at home, the guaran
tee of liberty, order, peace, proteetion and equal
laws; abroad, it represents the moral and mate
rial pOwer which foreign potentates are compell
ed to reaped. Under that star-spangled banner•
the American feels as secure of protection in
Pekin as iiCWashingtott ; and no foreign Power
can injure ,of insult him with impunity. No
wonder that Americans should have a strong
affection for the Union."
. ,
The speaker then proceeds to consiaer the
alleged right of secession which he pronounces
dangerous and immoral t , and argues from the
secret and treacherous conduct of the Southern
leaders before the rebellion, that were cod
scions of meditatino., a crime. ne speaks most
strongly of the public robbery, Combined with
treason and perjury of these 'men, and lays on
them the guilt of all the blood shed;in this
frightful struggle. " And these are the men
forsooth," he exclaims,, with whom so many, ef
the high.minded and enlightened peoplenf this
country are not ashamed to sympithiie 1 After
recapitulating the , varions pretexts urged in
defence of the South he indignantly asks :
Well, gentlemen sympathisersOs this all
you have to say for, your friend the Southern
slave.holder ? That he feared the passage of a
tariff hostile to his interests, for he Might have
remained and prevented it; and, therefore, he
Withdrew and makes war upon his countrymen
for a tariff. Or that he lost ground litn elec
tion carried on under the,provisions of the Con
stitution ; and, therefore; must needs shed the
blood of his brethren. Or he is angry With Nor
thern Abolitionists,. and vents his ragetupon all
Northern States indisoriminately. Now, badly
us I think of the Southern. Secessionists—and
they are certainly no, favorites with me, I do not
impute to them the fri fitful, criminality with
which their English apologists: by implication,
charge them—that of going to war with their
brethren and °peal the *agates of slaughter
became of matters o such inferior importance.
Observe, I do not say: that the causes referred to
had no influence on the origin , of the war, but it
Suns to a small extent„ indeed •.When °tapered
with the one . itieat exiting etttiee—eatbe t l be ;
Yond all questiou, was slavery. ~T,l44)l lQ .An s
origo mull. Since the Declaration of 'Ude.
pendenee, this has been the element of distur
bance and discord in all American affairs. It
soon divided the Legislature and the country in
to two great parties, and. arranged them against
one another with more than even political ani
mosity. It has entered into and formed an ele
ment in all social questions, whether they , be
secular or sacred, literary or eeonomio: It has
originated a new school in natural hiStory, and
inaugurated new theories of the origin, of our
race—assigning a different one to the, black and
the white—pronouncing humanity out : of ebony
a decidedly inferior article to humanity carved
from ivory—virtually declaring the negro to be
not 'a man but only three-fifths of a Man. It has
influenced votes on mission boards and munici
pal. councils on tariff bills; and tract societies.
In short, there is nothing American that has been
left undisturbed, unpolluted, unprofitne by, the
loathsome touch of the hideous monster, slavery,
It was long ago predicted by the most sagacious
statesmen that this was the rock on which the
Vessel of the Republic would ultimately be ship
wrecked. The Abolitionists have been perpe
timlly charged by pro-slavery men, North and
South as being the cause of all, the distnrbance
that has ever arisen an this subject, But tor
them everything would, have gone. on smoothly.
This, however, we believe to be a mistake. The
system has within it the seeds of destruction.—
Slavery is destined to end its days by suicide.
Long ago, one of their own poets predicted, this.
In ancient times the prophet andlbe poet were
the same. The, following lines would almost
seem to indicate that the poet still continues to
wear the prophet's mantle:--
Beware:! the Israelite of old who tore
The lion in his path—when poor and blind
He saw the blessed light of Heaven no more I
Shorn of his strength, and forced to grind
In prison, and at last led forth to be
A. pander to Philistine revelry—
Upen the pillars of the temple laid
His desperate hands, and in its overthrow
Destroyed himself, and with him those who made
A cruel mockery of his sightless woe:
The poor, blind sitisc, the scoff and jest 'of all.
Expired, and thousands perished in his fall
There is a poor, blind Samson in this land,
Shorn of his strengh, and boundin bonds of steel,
Who may, in some grim reve2, raise his hand
" And shake the pillars of the commonweal
Till the vast temple of our libeities
A shapeless mass of wreck and rubbish lies !"
" The slave power in the United States has al
ways been an aggressive one. It was greedy of
power ,and influence, and, like the horseleech,
was continually crying—Give ! give I Not cow.
tented with having slavery protected, in those ,
States where it had bee long established, they
demanded that it' shouldne extended into the
Territories and * protected there by law. They
succeeded in passing the Fugitive Slave Law, to
the everlasting disgrace,` of the Free Northern
States, who thus consented. to a law which was
believed to be wholly unconstitutional—a law
which brought the whole Union under the con
trol of the Southern planter, from Texas to Maine,
from Wisconsin to New Yark, and which con
verted the entire territory into a preserve or
hunting ground, where the Southern planter
might lawfully pursue, take, and even kill his
game—that anthropoid animal called a negro.
Nay, by it thelrceborn Northerns were required
to be aiding ' assisting, and comforting, the slave
hunter in the chase. Still not content with this
law, the Southerners demanded that neither the
Congress nor the Territorial Legislature shall
have power to prohibit slavery in any of the
territories of thd United States, but that a South
ern planter shall have the same right and liber
ty to • carry his slaves into any new region that
the Northern farmer had to take with him his
cows, his horses, his pigs, or his asses; and 'that
Congress was bound to pass laws, to protect man's
human property as well as his bovine, equine,
porcine, or asinine. Now, it was because this
doctrine was repudiated 'at the election of Presi
dent Lincoln that the secession took place. It
was because the North would notgive them leave
to perpetuate and extend the peculiar institution
indefinitely. It was because they felt that in order
to perpetuate the slavery it must be extend ed. .it
was because they wanted roans to carry on the slive
trade since Africa and the ocean. were closed
against it. It was that they might hive pick
and,choicecif fresh and virgin soil to which to
transport their human cattle after the old planta.
Lions had been exhausted by the rude, thriftless,
and wasteful cultivation of slave • labor. Here
we have the true cause of the whole mischief
which has ensued. The. demands of the South
received a decided and stern negative in the
deaden of 'Lincoln, and hence:the rebellion.
People talk flippantly of the'South asighting
for independence. And ,that , magic word has
stirred up a sympathy for them in this land of
freedom to which they have little claim.' We are
apt to be misled by their battle -cry of indepen
dence, which has echoed to us „across the ,ocean,
and as at this moment it mingles in the breeze
with the shouts of down-trodden Poland, battling
for freedom against the cruel despotism of; Rus
sia,•we are liable to confound, or rather toidet];
tify their sounds. But never,lsure, was there a
greater, wider, difference: Southern indepen
dence, indeed:! Yes; an independence of the
Abolitionist North that the Southern ;planter
may be free to rivet more closely the fetters of
the slave. Independencel yes, that She mayshut
herself in from the-annoying gaze of :the world,
and render herself independent Of the opinion of
mankind. Indepen'clanca I yes, that she May be
enabled to traffic in' human flesh, and human
soUls too—aye, for . the truth must be spoken—
that {She may sell ,her . , own children. Indepen
dence. of Northern tariffs. Independence I yes,
an independence of, humanity, of conscience,
.and 6f God (Great applause.) Are these,mere
idle Words ? 'Then read the inaugural address of
the 'Hon. Alexander 11. Stephens, Vice-PreSi
dent of the Southern 'Confederacy."
Dr; Till here quotes the rebel Vice President's
well known declaration as to slavery being the
corner-stone of the new government, and pro
ceeds to say : •
" With these facts before us why should there
be any doubt as to ,the aims and objects of the
Southern Confederacy, or why should there be a
moment's hesitation as to the party in the con
filet that deserves our sympathies ? But then,
it is said, the North is not fighting for emancipa
tion, and, should the _Union be restored, slavery
will comeback and nestle as 'before under the
w i n g of the American eagle, As.to the restora
tion of the Union and the conditions on which,
in that event, the South would return, he would
be a hold man who would, at this stage, venture
to predict anything 'certain. `Divine Providence
seems to have taken the matter, as it were, out
of the hands of both,parties, and who shall ven
ture to penetrate into His hidden counsels ? But,
although we may not approve all that the North
has done, we must not forget the enormous diffi
culties with which they had to contend, and we
are bound to give them credit for what they have
actually done. Since the outbreak the whole
SPirit,and policy of the North have been tending
t o ward universal emancipation.,The , eman cipa
tioa proclamation. of the President may, in one
view, be called a war measure; but, even at such,
it:would be unjust and unfair :to disjoin it 'from
* the whole scheme of his administration, of Which
it forms an important part. In truth, the Presi
dent and. Congrees seem to have done, all oit.
they could constitutionally do:for the. emancipa-:
tion Of the, slave (Applause.) They have de-'
Olared all the territories of the Union free, and
PHILADELPHIA, Til
prohibited the introduction of slavery into them.
They have freed the slaves' in the District of
Columbia—the only slavery over which they
had direct control. They have passed a measure
offering compensation to all slaveholding States
who shall agree to a law liberating slaves. And,
though, last not least, they have given full effect
to the international law by which the African
slave trade is declared to be piracy—a law which
was being, continually evaded, and its violations
connived at by a Southern. Administration: And
the present Government have, had the Manliness
to inflict Capital punishment---as was moat richly,
deserved—on the villian who, dared totraffic in
human flesh; contrary to the laws both of God
and man:; for the min-stealer shall surely be
put to death.' (Applause.)
".I spoke of prophecy at tile commencement:
But, instead of prophesying myself, I prefer giv
ing you" the `prophetical announcements Of Count
Gasparin—one of the ablest and most enliiht- -
ened of French statesmen, and one of warm
est-hearted Christians. He says,:--caf
Southern Confederacy should ever take rank
among nations, it will represent , slavery and
nothinc , am ,more—l • wrong :it will also repre,'
sent the African' slave,trade and'the filibustering'
systein. ,In any case, the Southern' Confederacy
will be so far identified with slavery—with its
progress, with.the measures designed to props
gate it here below—that a chain and a whip.'
seenito be the only devices to be embroidered on ,
her flak,, One Cannot With impunity'give full
scope to imagination., and in this year of our,
Lord 1.g61, set, to work' to contrive the plan of a
Confederacy , designed to protect and propagate
slavery.' Nothing could be more imposing, in
fact, if they had the least chance of success:—
The fifteen , Southern-States—already imiriense-L--
joined to Mexioo, Cuba, and Central America—
whit apower this would be ! And, `donbiless,
this pciwer would not stop at. the Isthmus,
Panama. It would be:no more difficult to Te-es
tablish slavery in Bolivia, on the Equator; and
in Peru, than in Mexico. Thos, the patriarchal
institution would advance to regain Brazil, and
the dismayed eye would not find a single free'spot
upon which to rest between Delaware Bay and the
banke of Uruguay. Furthermore, this colossal
negro jail would be stocked by, no.less a colossal_
slave trade. Baracoons -would be refitted, in•
Africa, slave expeditions would be organized on
a scale hitherto unknown, and whole squadrons
of slave ships (those floating hells) would 'lrene.
port their cargoes under Southern colors, proudly
unfurled. 'Patriotic indignation would be arous
ed at the mere name of the right of search, and
the, whole world would be challenged to defend
the liberty of the seas.
This, then, is the system that our great cap
italists are 'at, 'this moment subscribing to support
by taking shares in the Confederate Joan, and
our great organs of public opinion at the
_Press
are laboring to write up into favor in this land ,
of freedom. - Iheard a talented friend the other
day state that the Times newspaper was under
Stood to. represent the mean opinion of the peo
ple of Great Britain. I 'trust the, opinion's of
that groat;journal on the American question and,
slavery are net held by any considerable propor
tion of the, thinking, people of this country. But
there is another and far more appri:gate' sense
in which it maybe said to represent the mean
opinion "of 'the people- , --essentially mean; fore it
isr opinion, moulded by . self-interest—it is an
opinion formed under theirilliieUce of the eatton
trade. ilk.kthp Manchester, interest guided the
pen, and blinded the mind; arid blinded the con
science when • the writer dared before a •British
public to ,become' the apologist for slavery ? Has
the shadow:upon the dial of time gone backwards
ten dearees, when,in this land' of Wilberforce,
and. Clarkson, .0 Brougham, our leading jour
nal ventures to experiment Upon the interested
Southern sympathy. in Great Britain to see whe
ther it may not be pushed up to the point of
approving. Southern. slaveholding ? Do ,pro-sla
very men in this country know or think of the
nature of that thing on which they look so indul
gently. •
"We are,frequently referred to Roman, Grecian
and ,Hebrew_slavery, as being quite compatible
with the highest civilization, and even-the most
exalted, piety. But lam prepared to prove that
Ameripan slavery is'quite a different thing, and
worse than all that`, L went , before i I do not ap
prove of slavery in the abstract, but,let us view
it in, the concrete, its it c is found at thismoment
in the South, and. then ask again; do pro-slavery
English - Men know what they are approving? It
is a system identified with theislave-pen, and the
anction-block. It is a system which sanctions
or connives at concubinage or temporary mar
riages, celebrated, I am afraid, by men calling
themselves ininisters of the Gospel. It is a,sys
tem identified with ,the handcuff and the cow
hide.. It is
. a system • which 'breaks up families
and separates husband froth wife, and parent
from child, and renders the performance of the
relatiie morahinties" Of life impossible by a slave.
I dont care whose opinion is in favor of such a
system) shall 'V etitureto pronounce itithe mean
est conceivable.
And then it is no slight aggravation of the
offence committed, by the,preie, from the (lip/.
ter mums down through all the ranks of the da
major,. an d minoires of Southern, sympathizers,
that their tone of criticism on Northern proceed
ings, is calculated to exasperate a noble people
strangling to'free themselves from an intolerable
incubus. (Applause.) verything is taken `by
the Wrong;handle. Their greatest achievements
axe disparaged, their • motives misrepresented;
and all their mistakes-trumpeted and, jeered at.
I tell you: that;: should this country. get. embroil
ed with America, and hlood be shed, the Times
and its satellites will be•assuredly guilty of stir
ring up' the strife. • But it is pleasing to know
that we have a power'-at the
,press which we
trust may be, sufficient to counteract and neutral
the mischief, and that power .is well-repre
sented in this town of Belfast. (Loud applause.)
,Still my great hope is net so much from the
press as =from a higher Power. -I Took to the
Gospel of Christ as , the true regeneritor,
,arid
emancipator of Mankind, both fiom phisical and
sPil;itnal ho-adage
"We are, I think, on the-eve of better days.:----
In untied and emancipated Italy• but.one strong.
hold of superstition and despotisruremains, and
we trust the truth will speedily follow to make
that noble people free indeed. AuStria has re
laxed, her: grasp , on, Hungary. France is + learn
ing fast in.the school of, freedem. Poland is on
her, feet, and battling strongly for the, true and
right. And all these movements , among the na
tions are, we hope and believe, but the precur
sera of`that glorious era When this'whole earth
shall be brought into the gloripus liberty' of the
children of God. Methinks I see the strong
angel of the Apocalypse, having the everlastinc ,
Gospel to convey to theends of the earth, spread
ing his wings beneath the light of the Millennial
morning,•and, as he moves majestically on his
course, all earth is glad, all heaven is gay.—
There ,he Myers over that sulphurous cloud
which hides the flushed and Turious combatants
on the battle-field; the cloud parts, the weapons
drop from their hands, and they rush into one
another's.arms. And then le enters the dun
geon of the slave, and, as the angel date Peter,
-touches his chains, when they fall from off him,
and 'a glorious light shines through the priaon
bars. And still he moves onward, brightening
and blessing, the but'pf poverty and the palace of
wealth; and at his approach the y tear of sorrow
sparkles with hppe, and the widew's,heart sings
for „joy. The thrones
.of despotism are overturn
ed, and mild paternal governments take their
).
place, 'under which order liberty, and love
is law.' Vice disappears; 'little triumphs,-
The wilderness and the solita place. - are Made
glad, and the desert rejoices a d blossomi as_; the
rose. Then the glad songs earth go up to
mingle with the hallelujahs of Heaven in saintly
shout•and solemn jubilee; pro laiming that the
Lord God omnipotent reign th." (Loud ap
plause.)
0
THE GENERAL ASS !HU":
,
iii. .
The General Assembly of i liresbyteilan
Chuich in the United States, -4, , * the TirSt
Church, on Washington SqUa 4;:i;,:p. ThurSday;
May 21st, atl.l o'cloek,,A.,K
The Moderator of the laet , Aw
Duffield, D. D., offered! prazer
Psalm: - The . 46th Psalm =was s
was offered by. Rev:V. 11. fain
which the moderator`s preached
e. •
' , ls tits last days; peril . ous times slia4flo 4 4 =-2 Tim= iii•li
Whether the phrase, the lest ays, be nn er
stood here to denote the";last, Or; C Outten dispensa
tion, its concluding season, or lieth; which, we , think,
most probable, it is not of moment for our present
purpose, critically„ to inquire. The, general" truth
affirmed by the atle, we understa ,d to be, that
. pos . w .
du
ring the Christian dispensation, *en to its close,
there should occur Seasons Of hardship . and trial, of
peril and perple*ity. :In other words,'
The apostles predicts that the `gospel should
,not
have a regular, peaceful, and trluMpliant progress
through the earth. Qbeitaeles - , .14 dangers of 'a
marked descriptionshould oppose i encodes. ' BOW
-4
ever bright the sun might 'WO e -day; it would be
i;
no proof that dark and stormy eou 8 " shouldno t
arise to:morrow. . The prosperous reeze, fliiitingte
the spread of every 'sail, or the',o4ean's' calm, may
suddenly be interrupted by the drivg tern peet. Na
dons' and Of inankind, are li ke theiymbel used
in prophecy to, repreSent thein—La' treacherous and
boisterous eea, on Which those dinbkiked in proseen
tion of philanthropic, benevolent, Evangelical pur
poses, tenet be - prepared to endoenter the ferocious
gales of despotiC fury, or the sweeping tornadoes of
popular passion. ' Such has been t history of-Chris
tianity inthe earth from the be‘gi rnihg.
i
Seasons' of progress and success, in the preaching
of the gospel have been followed with times , of ,dis
,appoint IntstandAigaster Periecution bas , often
countervailed „prosperity., staey from the faith,
has, in a few generations , de lated regions,.once re
splendent in , the light• of diyine4rxith. From the
days of a persecuting Saul of Tarens, the Christian
religion has had its triumphs 8.44 defeats. It, has
never, in its purity and power, long.maintitined un
disputed possession of tberegions id which itachieved
even its most splendid victories., Perilous times have:
sooner or later arisen, in which:contests, hand to
hand, of truth anderror, have, preceded 'its ilitaari
frearance from one nation, and; prepared the way for
its entrance and glorious selneyements, in another.
Never was;a truer .prediction atteredthan that in the
teat. It is but, another version of the Saviour's
own. "Nation shall rise pgainst nation, kingdom
against kingdom;
. and great ; earthquakes shall be
in divers places,• and famines, : and pestilenees, and ,
fearful sights, and - great signs shall " there be from
heaven. But before all these, they shall lay their
bands on you and ,persecute you, ' delivering you up
to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought
before kings and rulers for paxnaine's sake."--Luke ,
axvi..lo-12.
. .
. .
Centuries have recorded the, verifications of pro: ,
phecy. The world has never long been at rest: nor
any nation in it, ,where tbe. gospel has 'had its tri
umphs. Incur own beloved country, with our genial
institutions;, with.freedom, to worship
,God, freedom
to do right, according to the dietaiesg ,a, r good, Con--
science, with every opportunitf.and inducement - tot
cultivate the arts of peace,--:-with .eyery facility to
spread the gospel, and, penetrating the recesses of the
wilderness, lay, the foundations firm and sure for
many generations,—we have, indeed,'had our glori
ens days of triumph'and gladness, seasons of reli
gious prosperity, powerfurrevivals of religion, some
antepasts of " the days of heaven upon 'the earth."
Driven 'from their homes by persecuting powers, our
fathers westward took their course, bearing with
them the standard-of Abe cross to these ends of the
earth, and here reared the noble temple of liberty,
emblazoned in the light of the glorious gospel of the
grace of God. Little here has been felt or known
of the power of despotic persecution. We had al
most concluded -that 'days of conflict and peril had
ceased; and that our march toward a glorious , fu
tore was to be triumphant; our example radiant, re
splendent like a beam of light from heaven, to illu
mine 'the nations of the earth; and induce the glo
ries of the Millennial day. So thought President Ed
wards, Drs. Bellamy, Samuel Hopkins, and many of
our revolutionary fathers.
But what are these dark clouds that settle round
us? What this' thander in our ears? These light
nings that coruscate over our heads, and gleam on
Our paths? The bruit of the tempest has waked us
from our pleasant dreams, and we find ourselves in
perilous times! " Urion - the 'earth distress' of nations,
with perplexity, men's hearts failing them for fear,
and for looking after those things which are coming
on the earth: Our future as a nation, to states Men,
politicians and the masses of the people is shrouded
with gloom and darkness. The state has reekd and
staggered like a drunken man. The bonds of our
unity httre been 'severed." The elements of dissolu
tion have been at work. Harpies and vultures have
perched upon and nestled in the tree of liberty.
The churches instead of having exerted aoonServing
power, have been the first to exhibit the, tokens of
disintegration. "The land mourneth, because of the
wickedness of its inhabitants!' God has a contro
versy with us. We may well fear,—yea, can we help
to fear the future, in view of present perils throng 2
lug around us?
Allow us, beloied brethren, on this decasien` of atF.
nual convocation, to suggest a few thoughts, we hope
not unseasonable, as to these perils,—their onsitAc-
TERISTICe AND CAUSES, with their REMEDY, and the
RESPONSIBILITIES thence devolvinion us as ministers,
elders and servants of °brief. •
,
The interests endangered must be • ntideratoodof
we would rightly estiinate the perils of the tirriea, and
trace their causes. They maybe classified its theta;
of truth and error, of right and wrong, of God and
man. And they may be viewed in their relation to
the safety and prosperity, alike, of the church and
of the country. Whatever endangers the ,patriotism
and piety, the morality and religion, the liberty, and
lives, of the masses •of the people, imperil the inte
rests both of tho state and church:of the country and
the cause of God. Although our civil and eeclesias
tical organizations are totally distinct., and tiviir in
dependence an essential and of
.our freedom; yet, in the various interests, relations,
and intercourses of social life; the population of our
country is so cemented and blended in one'body Poli
tic, that it is impussible fiir dangers to exhit affeoting
either ,eaclusively. The vital. and nervous systems
are not more intimately united. However distinct
their forces and organization, in the living body,
no scalpel, in the hands of the ablest dissector
can trace their endless ramifications and funotiens.
The church of Christ, in its membership, ie so diffused
within the denizenship of the State, that whatever
forces are developed 'and pulsations felt in society
as a civil community, or as comprising eccleiiastical
organizations, they'Must, in a greater or less degree,
reciprocallyafect each other. Vital questions touch
ing interests of civil polity cannot be divoroed from
their•corielates, in Morals and religion. To derisand
it, is the merest charlatanism. Authoritatively, to
attempt their isolation, is but appropriate to the
tyranny that' ignores the rights and liberty of the
human conscience, by requiring % moral impossi
bility. . . • _
In the notice, therefore, we may take—andit must
be brief—of the perils of.the.times, our remarks can
not be restricted to one or ibe other.
The perilous times, of which the apostle speaks,
take their characteristics from lash the moral and
political condition of the masses of the population.
You will see man portrayed in the context. He says,
"men shall be lovers of their own selves," supremely sel
fish; "covetous," lovers of money; boasters," replete
with self-praise, substituting vanity and self-oonoeit
for the charity that vaunteth not itself, is(notTuffed
up; "proud,"'disdaining whatever judgmtinvor 'opin
iOn is opposed to their own; even: rebelliously disre
garding the authority of God, as the use of the•prigi
nal word in the Old Testament Greek shows—inflated
with a spirit which will not brook restraints, either
human or divine; "blasphemous," speaking evil of
dignities, whatever is good,-whether ChriO#inn:peci
ple, members of religion,,-the churches of Christ,. the
civil authorities,' the sacred Scriptures, or the- one
only living .ntid true -God; the • Father,l Soli *ad
Holy Spirit, Jehovah, Elohim, the three in One;
28 j
"disobedient toparents," regardless of-the veneration'
and respect due to rightful' authority, parental, pas- •
toral and divine; "unthankful,"`kievoid of gratitude ,
to benefactorsj itnholy," 'destitute of benevolence;
"icithont natural affection," indifferent to parental,
filial, conjugal kiie the ties of blood and fr:endship
the dictates of humanity, hard-bparted and 'merci
less; '"iruce breakers," not only covenant breakers,
as the original word is, elsewhere used to denote, '
implacable; men :who will not stand by their en
gagements or meet their obligations, ; but break them ,
whenever, their pas,sions,pr expediency invite; ‘'false
accusers," literally.devih3, e., malignant haters and
liars; "incontinent," men who willinot, exercise ,eelf - ,
denial or. bridle their -hearts? abounding .in.senaual
depravity; "fierce," men that willmot,:brook contra- ,
diction, whn.disdain the charity which bridles ,the -
tongue, which suffereth long,and is , kind; and-is-not
easily provoked . ; despisers.--of them that are . good,"
opposed to , and contemning - those 'that , embark in
benevolent efforts; "traitors' —menthat;likejudges,- ,
will betray the church and causeiof truth, and the
interests' and intliority of Christ'hintself, and sacri
fice to their selfishness the very-goiterartienti under
which they life; "heady, high-minded," kindred
traits_ of character, men - of such pride and Overween
ing eelf-coneeit,and so,devoid 9f all humility ? as p)
be self T willed;•headtitiong, unmannerly, and
ling :to the opinions , and reasoningi,, ornake'
Counsel of ,others. "lovers of pleasure more than
lovers of ,God," willing, and. ready to neglect the
elaima and interests, of morality and religion, when
they interfere with their personal gratificaiions;
"‘ , having. a
_Ann of godliness, but denying the:power
thereof", professing- C,hriitianity, balling themselves
Christians, members' of churches;,. but ignorant of,
and-opposed to the inner lifer and experimentaLpower
of the faith •which whichworks by love, and purifiee the
heart; land overcomes, the world, and' which •is. the
very tneana'and medium of the HolY Spirit's agency,
by whom we must`be renewed and sanetified,,,if ever
are shall be raised' from "the world :which lieth in
Wickedness." • -
vitay, Rev. Geo.
I.d= read the 46th
and prayer
ier, D. D.; after
th e 'senile; as
These characteristics of therperils Of the last dayo;
haie been; in Many particulars, at all times, and
were eapecially, in the apostle's days diecernible in
the heathen World, as he relates in 114. i. 26 2 -31,
and are Still in Pagan countries. Brit hie prophetic
eye rested on the nations of Christendoin. The epos
tacy, of which he elsewhere Reeks, he hereintirnaiss,,
shall unleilinate in the,p_erlip,,of the last days when
the. Vices..which, : ruined . Pagan nations shal l over--
spread the,nominal Cbeistian world., .
then, it may be asked; the preaching of the-,
gospel- prove , a failure in ;the sartht :Not if ,:we
rightly, apprehend •the design , Godi means to wow+,
plish•by it,—that is,to save-bid elect. theApne-ii
tolie!Synod, assembled at Jerusalem,' (Acts xv. 14
15',) Jambe: observed: "Simeon 'bath declared bear-
God at the first, did visit the Gentiles; to take out of
Ilietti a people for his-name. And to this, agree dial
words of the prophets," showing, from Amos, that"
'the preaching of the gospel should be but elective in
its progress.'Ontil the' restoration bf the Jima, sad
re-establishment of the
,dynastf of 'Datil 'ln Paleei
tine, •Milpe, Northern Africa, GreeCe, Asia Miner,
Siria,-Atiabia;Arnienia, Meeopotamiii, and other
slid rerfiliter . Orienta'regions, for nearly eighteen
center*, histpry . has confirmed his comment on
prophesy: 'centuries, even - the nominal,
visible church qf God was overrun with corruptions,
in which , they kill lie buried amid the desolations
that have left them, and their national Localities, re
gions of darlinees; perishing in fatal deetty. The uni
form history of the past may well ,stimth4,he-in
quiry, whether, till the predicted crisis arrivett,:that
of the future will essentially differ fiem` itf• and
whether sources of evil, causes of peril, may not, as
this day, be developing' in the nations of Europe,
among ourselves,the embi:yo of the apostaoy pre
dicted, which shall link the destiny of present with
• '''
past Christendom.
Suffer us, beloved brethren, here to suggat'a few:
thoughts, as to present causes of evil, °Mittens • of
approaching perils. '
The great primary source_of all evil and peril, is,
Unquestionably, what - operates,now, as it did in ages
past, the corruption of human nature. Cirilization,
arid its refinements, cannot change the depraved
heart. Nothing but the power of• God, by his Spirit
and providence, can preserve the Church and world
from being filled again, as they have been hereto
fore, in different places, With destructive vice and
immorality. Such swellings of wickedness in the
earth, as the apostle has predicted, could never be
looked for, were men 'naturally virtuous creatures,
under, the mere moral government of• God, which
modern' theoPhilanthropisbi represent the race to be.
Perifelecini, and perils among innocent beiogs,'is a
•
moral absurdity. The native holiness and perfecti-"
Of.htiman nature, according to their idea,' who
substitute a proud, bewildered reasoning of' their
own, for the faith of the gospel of God our Saviour,
or who make that gospel accommodate their skepti
cism, contrasts, most enigmatically and inexplicably,
with the phenomena, that everywhere meet the eye;
such as the reeking corruptions of earth, the con
stant tendency to demoralization among the maims
•
of mankind, the subversion of governments, the wars
of desolation. the tendencies to barbarism, the op
pressione of tyranny, the ruin of empires,' the ra
vages of pestilence, and the sudden destruction • of
cities and regions, by earthquake shocks and Vol
canic eruptions, are active ones, as obviously ope
rative at this day,. as in the past. 'The restless
ragings of human passion among the nations, are
but the widulatiOne of, the symbolic . sea, which never
cease, art often run, into mountain billows, lashed
by thafary.of the tempest.
The .00ly satisfactory solution of the - phenomena
presented mills Moral condition of the, world is to be
foUnd in the teachinge Of the Scriptilies, whioh pro
fslit& thafeet of a remedial government administered
bY.Oesne Christ, ihe Son of God, in human flesh, as
the Great EXeCittivti,Deity of heaven said earth, die t
peneing)ndgmefit and mercy toward a fallen, cor
rupt', ruined .to. be consummated in the final
retribittione of that day when "He shall be revealed
from bea,ven,, with His mighty angels, in flaming
tire,
from,,
on them that know not God,
and that obey not,the gospel." 2 Therm. i. 7, . 8. There
are mstiVe antagonistic agencies at work, forces for
tvp, ..fou . ntains of pollution, streams of mephitic
vapour, spreading, infectious death, which are only
effectually restrained by the pressure and power of
the purifying Spirit of Christ. The moral aspect of
the world varies as the causes restraining,or
latinchnuten . corruption vary in form and intensity.
The. Christian Church receives but • the earnest
of the . Spirit," until "the times of the restitution ,of
all thinge," hoWever plentifully He may be poured
out in
. ilifferent places. Let that Spirit bp grieved',
and 'ce ase to work and strive with men, what security
Will there be for the present nominal Christian world
against the nascent perils of the future?
To look no further than to our own country
1. How widely is a vitiated moral ineana of, sense
and dangerous sentiments of moral otiligAiOn exert
ing its influence in society! False theories periert
the pop
,of ular conscience. Philosophy discourses of a
. general expediency, the greatest good, the good the
universe, as the exponent and rule of moral etiliga-
Lion: and the masses learn to limit , expedientyto the
narrow precincts of national, social, and even per
sonal interests. What can finite creatores,know of
the greatest good of the universe? To instal it as
the source and rule of moral obligation is virtually
to inaugurate - human selfishness as the governing au
thority:' '
The Moral Law, proclaimed by Jehovah of Hosts,
on Mount Sinai, being disputed, and ceasing 'to be
regarded by government and people as the rule of
duty and obligation His absolute sovereignty is thus
•ignorrod. As a matt er' Of maim, whether philoaOpher
or clown, each"man will frame the law or rule' of his
obligations and condudt for himself, if unoontroverted
by brute force, and crime, anarchy,-and fatal iliaor
dere of the tociarstate, will soon secure Dinh). The
only preventive or corrective of such agitate of Write
iu the world •is in the remedial goverainent
Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the knowledie',of
which, and' of the immunities and blessings of ad
ministration, le to be had through the snored scrip
lures, and by the preaching of His gospel. But the
remedy of'the cross and' the supremacy of the
wordrof God, so 'essential to a just - sense Itit
moral obligation, ceaseestensively to be' apPreciiiri
ted and are disappearing in the teachings of thedaY.
If men are taught that God, the only rightful and
absolutely supreme Lord, is, and must be' sub
ject to some eternal rule of obligation other than His
own will ever accordant with His nature, such as the
nature and fitness of things, the greatest good of the
universe,—the inevitable practical result will be, to
make tbeni judge that they stand on the same level
with Himself, and rightfully supreme arbiters and
interpretersrof both His and their cam respinsibill
ties. 'Such philosophy is high- treason against the
government of God, and, like alttreasson; must tend
•tormitirule, confusion, genefal'rotieraptionJand•rurn:
W e that ' m nett of our preitioo morat correP ti on
as a nation may be traceablirto false pbiltat 4 hie
theories of moi'al 'obligati° n taiiiM *any. of our
colleges and schoble; and eCentin our' pulpits; which
have debauched the popular conscience.
'2. :Formality in religious worship is closely allied
and proceeds, , pari passu, with a deteriorated sense
of moral obligation. The. pagan nations had their
ritual forms of worship. Their .gods were like
themielves, deified'heroes,:great men and women of
former days exalted among the stars. And. their
Worship was cosily, grand, and gorgeous. • hit what
did'it accomplish for the moist virtue and purity of
the masses? Ilsrotbing of value. It was but an
gine of state Which sanctioned corruption, stupefied:
conseience and solaced the perpetrators' of evil: To"
thid, R ina greater * Or less degiee, all, formality in re=`
eon:tends.
.1t men are-not breught by their religious worship
inm,the presence s and under, the purifying influence
and communion with the God that-,abhorreth
sin i•ift they persuade themselves, that He can be
pleased wittt rites Jaw:lt:ceremonies, pomp. and pa
geants, in whiebthe heart neither seeks nor finds
right:apprehensions of 'the. Divine' character, nor a
realizing serietrof:His graeious presence, but is only
affected hy , `the eiteiting power of mere sensuous
fdrins of Worshipthere can be 'no moral or spiri
tuel power in' its to redeem them'fromtheir iniquities.
This forces our glorious Redeemer alone exerts by
the 'presence and agency of the Spirit of God,
which Hir,imitheafee to them that " worship Him
in egrit'and in trith." Faith and not Om is the.
medium throdgit which that efficacious t'Spirit ope-'
rate r s , When He who` wilketh amid the seven gold
en Aandletiticlis, and "who bath the seven, Apirits of
GOcl,",andwho,fz holds the seven stars. in His, right,
hand," vie., the ministry : of reconciliation, gives not
their pparkling,instre to, these diamond gems that
stud His gracious seeptre„and their light is not that
reflected. from. Himself; forms of, worship become
lifeless; and both the ministry And churches will
soon be., appropriatedo by a selfish: world, in some.
way, 'AP , countenance.. and sustain its corruptions.
Withithe want of spirituality in Divine 'worship, and
thwebserice of Christ add His Spirit, revivals of pure
and undefiled religion 'cease, and hypocrisy, which
is but 'another name for'formality in religion, edu
eatee them Who 'think
,that they deceive' God, into
deceit' and `treaddiery among themseiveA. The his
tory•of 'an overestithate of forms of worship and
zeal for ritual services; is that of the decay of spiri
tuality; the progress of public Corruption, the user
matins of an ambitious priesthood, and the preys
lex;pe of vivo and immorality of, various grades
among. theniasse.s. The dines are not unmarked by
enCh developements.
3.-. Despoti c, tyranny in government is another
cause , of-abounding evil in perilous times. As prac
tisedin Church"br, State, it has ever been a power
promotive` of 'popular vice and immorality. A sub
servient priesthoud, a venal ininistrY; when Christ
withdraws His Spirit froni the Churches, and aban
dons to despotic' rule, whether it be that of sove
reign 'king di sovereign people, can always`be, as
they have ever
_been, readily procured to apologize
fer;nr countena nce popular corruption.
NotWittistanding aii our constitutional guarantees ,
of liberty and religious, and political rights, of what
actual efficient value will they be, and the security
they-pledge, if the , will of a corrupt popular ,revolu
tionary majority tee,omes the supreme authority?
Constitution and laws, as has been illustrated in the
present,rebellions states, in such a ease,- prove mere
spider webs, Jimid the frettings of, the storm. Just
as, the flame consumes the tow, so .the fires of de
spotic passion- have been often kindled, both in
Church and State, to, the destruction of constitutions,
covenants,. rights and obligations, once supposed to
be secured for them. The spirit of 'lawlessness
and revolutionary movements, now manifested by
the rebellion and in , various conspiracies against the
enforcement of law, both sanitaryand. sacred, may
at no distant , day, if God prevent not,. break forth •in
forms of wild and wanton violence, to repeat and
renewherathasanguitmiy scenes of atheistic France
displayed in its revolutions toward the close of the
Lek/Century.- Our Federal Constitution declares the
people; to be the, sovereign power, and itself the su
preme laW. As'a simple docuthent it ignores God ;
and although, the people' will 'not yet allow it to be
interpieted by atheistic or infidel - expounders of its
letfiir, - tegartiless . of its spirit, and of their previous
history as citizens of Christian- iitateS,.yet, who can
give a'prophetic pledge, that ere long there may net
arise a corrupt popular majority of 'sufficient force
to claim the atheistic godless exposition, as we do
now the - Christian, to be the only legitimate one? `
God forbid -that ever such a contingency should
occur, Yet if, He, the One only living . , and true
God, ignore .us as a nation as we ,have in our Fe
deral Oonstitution, and oft in other ways ignored .
Hies,: woe betideus I Verily the perils of, the times
in this respect, from this source alone; are not a
4. A fourth proximate cause of ,evil foretokening
peril, is the perversion of female influence,
.and
the youthful mind, through false and pernicious
systems of Education.. It is related that the women,
generally, were tainted with the atheism of the'
day, Which Preceded the sanguinary revolution of
France in the last decade of the last century. It is
in .the poiier of the women of a country to shape
its destiny. The history of the women of Solo
mon's Seraglio, of Jezebel, and of Athaliah, tor_
injury, and of Deborah . , Hannah . , Esther and others
for good, have ever since furnished proofs. Let
the mothers lose their'patriotism, virtue, religion,
and what may we expect but a generation .of
vipers? Haw much has been done to fan rebellion
into a flame, by the women of the South, is known
to all. Blessed be God for the potent female in
fluence at, the North,- which has sustained and
soothed' our sick and wounded soldiers, as well as
cheered and our, sons, gathered in.warring
hosts around:the standard of our country and for
the maintenance of its Government.
Many are the Nightingales among us; like their
English ;exemplar of deserved fame, whose • soft
carols in: kind nursing services, sweet songs 'of the
night—have 'imparted relief and mitigated the
pains. of the 'sick and: wounded, ministered instruc
tiori, counsel, conifoit and sympathy to the dying,
and like angels of mercy; rendered offices of benevo
lence, which . none knoW : so well how to do, as the
Christian female. •:
Memorable are the examples of this sort fur
nished from different cities of our land. God bless
the Ladie,s' Aid Society of Philadelphia!, ! and long
preserve the life of their fragile Secretary, whose
gentle hands hive closed the eyes of more than a
thousand 4,ying-sillcliers, arid whose Christian heart
has expressed its sympathy in prayer with the suf
fering and .departing, whether of ourloyal- hosts,
or of the fallen and captured, from the rebel ranks I 1
Isjo . greater curse can befall a, people than the
perversion of female influence, by removing it from
its legitimate sphere, and enlisting it in the service
of4treason, infidelity and crime. -With all that me
have.for gratitude, for the enlightened benevolence,
religious influence and.devote4 Christian piety and
patriotism of the thousand mothers, sisters, wives
and daughters in our land, yet have there not
been wanting germinant indications, that female edu
cation has not sufficiently recovered among us, the
wise, considerate attention and the proper direction,
its incalculable importance demands. Here and
theinfalse and pernicious ideas prevail on the sub
ject:. Systems too unsuited to the nature, delicacy
andrefinement of the sex, substituting for the studies
recreations and employments ''''appropriate to it,
those of in 'risen : dine order.
MP' ball•roonf, the theatre, the ,revelrons dance,
thepublio skating pond and contests of muscle and
exercises for public promiscuous display, are not the
schools for that intelligent instruction in virtue,
piety, and usefulness necessary to make the women
og a country; the guardian angels of the social state.
The mother must be the first and main teaoher,if ever
habits of i•ocial',. moral and religious worth are to be
successfully initiated, and' whatever sphere ef
study
,or systern of education 'doesbot fit her to be
die wise, the • safe, the Pritent educator of the
daughter; for the duties and sphere in life for which
the great Creatoi has designed the sex, and disquali
fies ' her to make a happy home and to form its chief
attriiiitiinii and thief charm, is a mistake,and must in
the end ~ :k l ciVe a soiree of evil arid peril in society.
Our coun.talc on this subject, is in a transition state.
There are . eon f licts of opinion between systkims and
theories of .femile education, old and new. There
are Mars ct. defect in some errors of excess in
others: The solid and useful are ,often, sacrificed
for thalight and ornamental, or are not judiciously
adjusted and proportioned. We need extensively ,
a much more elevated grade , and enlarged range of
valUable practical studies in female Seminaries, In
stitutes and,. Colleges,. still- -better adapted' to the
lefty influence arid offices appropriate and ordained
of God for the•sex. • Enough has been developed
already to apprize'- of future danger, if;instead Of
seeking:the ornament of a meek and quiet 'spirit,
which in the fright of God is of great priers, the
'femalea , geneially of our country,' should bee4:49
antbitimisrdinaionline attainmentrtand:distinetiPlis,
'Mid 'the generations td'ehine fail t&,be
' reared 9)
&o
virtue, sobriety and iliness, by the: ,chaste
Venation of mothers and wif after' the mariner
in the olden time, when the holy women who trusted
GE.NESEE EVANGEIIST:L—WhoIe No. 888.
in God, adihtivi„ h e m selves, both in mind and
•
person. • • •
, • ~ „
vho children miff yenths h of the country, for the
.
first four or five years of' t heir life, must be trained
up at•home and mainly by mothers, into habits of .
self-denial. To be fitted for self -'government, they
must early taught the fear 'of • the Lord, and the
practice or right. If this period he not improved,
and the . foundations be not 'well and rightly laid,.
the family Will be rendered - the hot bed of
evils,' to be transplanted and take deep . root in BO'
ciety. Whether parents do it or neglect it, children
will be educated as, to temper, habits, moral or
immoral proaiVitieS and practices, while yet very
young. ,
The streets, the, 'precincts of the public school,
the fashionable amuseriaents, the contagious in
fluence of evil example, Will teach morals and
manners, if allowed. to
. 'supplant parental counsel
and control. AB a general rule, it is at home, that
the child must be trained up in the way it should
go, that when nld-it shall not depart therefrom.
There will net, be wanting abundant assistants of
Satan to do his work, .wheid parents neglect theirs.
"In 1814, upon the re-establishment of peace in
Europe' and the return of the Jesuits as teachers
to . France. the adult generation, schooled as they
hive been under the female influence, perverted by
atheistic philosophy, must be givZsi' up as irre
coverably lost to the Catholic Church. Let them
pass away, but let us take the children, rear them
up to love the church, !frequent its sanctuaries,
commit its catechism, practise its rites, and obey
and venerate its priests, and twenty-five years will
not have passed until France will be Catholic again."
The prediction was fulfilled. The History of Pro
testantism affords. important illustrations on this
subject too, which should never be forgotten. Lu
ther in Germany; Caliin in Switzerland, Knox in
Seotland, and our own Puritan fathers understood
the value and necessity of moral and religious edu
cation. No church nor country can safely neglect
it. The present Moral and religious aspects of dif
ferent parts of Northern Enfope can be traced to
the influence of its different educational systems,
whether infidel or Christian. Oar own country
already . furnishes a history on this subject which
calls for careful study. We are in the midst of a
solemn and mighty - contest on this matter. Great,
indeed, 'are the value and important the results of
our system of free public schools for general edu
cation in the discipline and development of the
young intellect. But what provision, at sit ade
quate, is made to educate the young tonne?
The morality and religion of China and India are
taught in their public schools; the young Arab
and Tark and others of the faith of Islam are early
taught to read and made to commit lessons from their
Koran. The Bible once held its place, and Chris
tianity was taught in our public schools. • But how
is it now? The Roman Catholics have their:Beim
rate sectarian schools, and their church zealously
witches and tries to guard the education of her
youth in her day and catechetical schools. - A few
of the foreign Protestants recently arrived among
us, especially;the Lutheran , 'are, in like manner, vi
gilant. But in reference to most Protestant denomi
nations, among our native population, the day school
and moral, aud'religions instruction have been di
vorced. It is political heresy to name a parochial
school. And what have we 'to meet the exigency?
Is there any adequate provision made, or just
ground of expectation, that Christianity, notwith
standing all that is denominationally done, shall
take firm and permanent hold' upon the public
mind ? ' •
The press and the pulpit will suffice, it is replied by
some. But the secular press reaches much farther
than the pulpit. Instead of being a safe instructor,
it sows broadcast over the'land, the seeds of all sorts
of error and licentiousness. It educates the masses
for'evil, mid stimulates the worst passions of our cor
rupt nature. The newspaper is the oracle of thou
sands, who discard that' of the 'Word of God. We
claim the liberty of- the - Press as an essential cle
ment of our freedom, and yet, it is not to be denied,
that that liberty has 'been supplanted by licentious
ness; amid the violent and malignant strifes of
party,''it- is the „foe :of .manly Christian indepen
dence; is a blight 'upon public morals and religion ;•
a source of pollutionto defile and debauch the young
conscience, and is rendering us as a people precocious
in crime, and "laden with iniquity." It proves it
self, extensively, to be the mighty engine of the
devil for mischief. Who knows but how as a ge
neral thing, with honorable exceptions, it teems with
falsehood, and so spices and adapts the lie to a ear
rapt and vitiated taste,..aa to render it more palata
ble than the truth, andbecome the adroit instructor
in his school; who is "the-father of lies," to train
up the generation of his children ?. nor does the re
ligious press .prove •an adequate corrective ; sel
fish in hearts and aims, sectarian policies and anta
gonisms, are so obvious and rife, that multitudes be
come skeptical in relation to the Christianity they
advocate. The pulpit, indeed, has its duties and
responsibilities in this matter. But it is limited in
its extent, variously, too, is it adapted, often, to
different corrupt tastes and fashions. Its antag
onisms, also neutralises its moral power; so that
but partially at best does it effect public sentiment.
The catechetical and pastoral instruction of the
'oung encounters endless embarrassments. But
say you, we have the Sunday school system.
Thanks be to God for: the. Sunday school and Bi
ble class, for the many precious souls saved by their
instrumentality. What would have become of us,
especially of our waste places and wilderness settle
ments without them. Would that their original de
sign had been.more zealously and faithfully prose
cuted, and that the neglected and vagrant youth
should have been more earnestly cared for and
sought after, not only in mission schools but in what
are called the Sunday Schools of the church. Would
that the zeal which prompts the teacher to take
them from the streets and lead them to the house
of God, and seat themselves with their classes in
the sanctuary had not been superseded by expedi
ents which have greatly changed their character aud
limited their usefulness and efficiency.
For that religious teaching which indoctrinates .
children and youth in the distinctive truths •of
Christian Evangelical denominations, the Sunday .
School ceases to be an efficient instrumentality ex
cept in those churches which make them part and
parcel of their ecclesiastical system along with
schools of a higher order. Thanks be to God for it.
The experiment this country is now making on .
the subject of education is one of fearful peril, it
intellect alone, regardless of conscience rule the day.
The, children of the evangelical deneminations con
stitute but a moiety. A vast majority of the popu
lation is composed of those who care for none—prac
tical infidels, or who are opposed to the Bible and
the Protestant faith, and take just enough interest
in the public schools to raise a hue and cry agamst
making the Bible a text Book of morals in them.
Leave out of view the oral instruction and personal
influence . of such secular teachers as are competent
to instil correct religious aud moral sentiment, and
train ,up the young conscience, and who often have
to do it on their sole responsibility, under the risk
1 of being dismissed for 'an offense—and what does
our system of national education accomplish for the
morality, to say nothing of the religion of the
country? The saloons, the theatres, the pnblic gar
dens, and places of resort for drinking aud pleasure
.the Sabbath, and on other days and nights of
the week, are training up a generation illy fitted for
the, duties and responsibilities of domestic society
and civil life. A tobatxxi smoker at 10, a tippler at
16, an occasional drunkard before 20, and •. confirm
edieebriate at 25. Young America thus trained
passes in crowds to fill the drunkard's grave.
Beside, the, fact is not to he questioned, and we state
it with sorrow, as our own deep-seated conviction,
that, somehow or other, very extensively, the Sunday
School system has not much ,of its vitality. llere
and there are notable exceptioas, referrible to
.causes
not necessary to detail. AB a general system it
tends more to excite the sensibilities, to move the
passions and affections, than to enlighten the young
understanding and fbrin the young conscience by
the teachings of the word of 'glad. True, the Bible
occupies its appropriate place, but its study, savewhen antelligent, pious . , conscientious teachers rise
superior to such maclurielai; conducted more by
• theformulasnf analytical and union Question books,
designed to faeilitate . the otte
.business of teaching,
than by leading to personal investigation, prayerful
seeking of the Spirit's teachings, and training of the
young 'mind • and",etiscience into habits_ of sober
thoughtfulness and submission . to the authoritative
and
,infallible testimony of the sacred Scriptures.
The . analyst puts into the bands' of teachers and
sehhlars 'the telescopic question book, by which to
search the letter of the Bible; and often both are apt
:to contslude that they have, done all required, if they
can ob . serve, or read the answer, while not a solitary
troth's stored away in their memories, or appre
hended by their minds,' or applied to their eon
sciences. .
It is not the
,pbstaf t r; of:mon an give vitality to
any system of his ovin Miehinery whatever. The
living fire must come from the Spirit_of God; and