Carrropoit)uttrt.
FROM OUR LONDON CORRESPONDENT.
Knox, April 3d, 1865.
,
DEAtt :—The sittings of the-Synod
of the Presbyterian Church in England
have just come to a close at Liverpool.
The Synod is migratory. It holds its sit
tings alternately in Manchester,Liverpool,
Newcastle, Sunderland, and London. One
Synod was - held in Berwick, and one in
Birmingham; but the five towns first
named are the permanent resting places
of the Supreme Court of our Church.
At present the number of our ministers
is 101, and the number. of• sanctioned
charges, or, stations nearly in, that posi.
tion, is upwards "of 110. The sum total
of the contributions for v all pablic imrpoi
ses; that is, exclusive of ministers' stf=
pends, and all home effOrts, building,
missidn, School, and debt extinction—.the
sum paid into the treasury - of the church,
by -all our congregations, for -these five
public purposes, schools, home mission,
foreign mission, college, and Synod
fund, was £7511 14s. 4d. •Of that sum,
£3996 7s. 10d. went to foreign missions.
In addition to all that, however, there is
to be added the large sum - raised toward
the church extension and debt extinction
fund. It was attempted last •year to
raise in five years the sum of £25,000
for this tourpose ; anfl through the exer
tions chiefly of Dr. lames Hamilton, the
minister of Regent Square Church, the
whole of at sum was promised. Du
ring last year the sum of £9338 1 ls. Bd.
was actually received, of which the
larger part has already been paid out for
debt extinction chiefly. This sum has
been so judiciously spent that hardly
any debt of any importance remains on
any of our churches, saving only those
which are well able to bear it, and who
are gradually paying it off. During this
past year, too, the church has had a val
uable legacy left her. An old gentle
man, named Brownley, originally of
Scotch extraction, but born, I believe, in
England, left the whole of his property :
'to the endowment of the college. It is.
not yet clearly and fully ascertained'
what the gross amount will be, but it
already beyond doubt that the ,anniiali
produce cannot be less than 11000.
This relieves the fUnds of the yOhurch to
that extent ; and what has hitherto'been'
called our college scheme,,and which de
manded an annual collection all through
the - aura, and much additional --beg-'
ging, may now be regarded- as ''a thing:
of the past.
Another gentleman died in Scotland,
during the past year, who used to reside
in London, and who worshipped in one
of our Congregations—Mr. D. R-obert
son. He left a very large sum to be di
vided in certain proportions between the,,
Free church of Scotland and our church
here. What the precise amount may be
is •as.yet unknown; for there is the ap
pearance of a suit at law before we can
come into possession.
You in America, who are accustomed
to things on so large and magnificent a
scale, will smile when I tell you that
were all the Presbyterian churches in
England gathered together and formed
into one body, the. whole number would
not reach 200. With the exception of
one or 'two• congregations that' hold by
the Reformed Presbyterian church in
Scotland, there are just three bodies of
Presbyterians in this country. The old
English Presbyterian congregations are
very numerous, but they are Presbyte
rian in nothing but the name. Of the
rest, the 'first and smallest - professes to
hold by the Established church of Scot
land, the second, considerably larger, is
in close and working connection with
the United Presbyterian church of Scot
land; the third, and largest,-is in friendly
connection only with the Free church.
The church is divided into seven Pres
byteries, of which I give you 'the names,
adding4t the same time the number of
sanctioned and regular charges. Pres
bytery of Berwick, 9; Birmingham, 9;
Cumberland, 6; Laneashire, 25 ; Lon
don,
.28; Newcastle, 12,c; Northumber
land, 15; making
.104 in 'all, of- regular
ministerial charges. You will see that
we are very much stronger numerically,
in the North than in the South. In the
North we have a great;many country
congregations of the priinitive English
Presbyterians, that have remained so
since the Reformation. But they are
poor; for of the whole sunt of .£7500,
£lBOO was contributed, in the 'London
Presbytery, and an Neal sum in the
Presbytery of Lancashire. It ought to
be added =that of the- whole sum of
£7500, £1363 was contributed to our
China and Indian missions by the Free
church of Scotland ; and-as a per contra,
that our church also largely helps ` their
Indian missions. Of the congregations
and stations, about 40 are in a positionto
need aid, which they receive from the
home mission fund in grants varying
from £lO to £lOO per annum ; £lOO
being granted to stations in rare cases
and fora brief period at their commence
ment. There is hardly a stipend in our
church below £lOO a year, if there is
one ; many of the poorer congregations
range from £lOO to £l5O ; and in towns
the stipends range from £2OO up to
..£3OO, £350, £4OO, in some 'cases to
£5OO, £6OO, and even, I believe, as
high, in at least one case, as £7OO. I
may as well complete these statistics by
adding that we have in our college two
professors, Dr. McCrie and Dr. Lorimer,
at a •salary of £4OO per annum each,
one resident tutor and a lecturer gratis
in the person of our Synod Clerk, Dr..
G. I. C. Duncan. Our students are far
from numerous, scarcely.ever exceeding
a dozen al a time.
Our Synod met this year, as I said,
at Liverpool, on Monday, 17th April,
an'eontinued its sitting during that
week. We have, as our constituency;
the minister and an elder from each con
gregation, and our number is usually
about 150 to igo members. Out of the
Synod fund the travelling expenses of
Members are paid, so far as 3d a mile
for the whole journey, both ways, can
pay them. If you have come 100 miles
you get 300 d and pay your way out of
that as best you can. Lodging is-also
provided in the houses of the people,
who open their doors and hearts joyfully;
on these occasions. At the expense,.
too, of the congregation of thei'tOwns'
where 'the Synod'Meets, dinner. l'e' l ,pro-':-
vided daily for all members,-deputies,
&c. These reunions are -very pleasant ;1
and are generally' held hi-th l e large Jtoomi
of some respectable lifel. A.ftiverpooli
we met daily on this oceasionfor dinner
in a room *here 300 'people Mild - have'
dined. The Synod held ,its sittings in;
Canning Street -Presbyterian Church.;
The Moderator, ohtisen for this Year,'
was `Mr. Robert H. Lundie; of Birken
head. Mr. Lundie bears a name which
is welt known in America; he is the
son of Wm. Lundie Thincan, and Mary'
Lundie Duncan was his sister by his
mother's side. He, is a ylinpg man of
high respectability' In all ways, and a
hard-working pastor of a large and im
portant
congregation. He has been
settled there about fifteen yearS ; and
Birkenhead was his first charge: : He
occupied the chair with 'great dignity '
and carried on the business of the Synod
with admirable tact and propriety`; 'more
so, indeed, than is nil:lain one so young.
The business before the Synod was of ;
the usual routine ' character; .the' re
ceiving
and discussing the reports from
the various schemes of the ebnich. We
had deputations from Ireland, from the '
Free church Assembly, and" from Our
brethren of the United Presbyterian
church both in. Scotland.ond inzEngland.
Till within the lasttwo, years,-the Eng
lish part / Of . the ' Wilted' I' Plrashiterian
church has had- no Synod meeting in
England ; but, for the last.- two years
there : bee, been a., meeting of :tik.sort of
Synod of that churcty which has' only
powers of discussion without any power
of 'legislation. All , these deputations
made excellent speechetv which were
kindly 'received` and Wit - lily responded
to. The deputation., Min the Free
church consisted of ; Principal Fairbairo,
of the Free Chnreh Widge, at Glasgow - ;
Rev. Mr. Laughton, of. Greenock, and
Mr. Francis Brown Douglass, late Lord
Provost` of the' city of Edinburg. Prin
cipal Fairbairn will be known to many
of your readers as the very first theo
logian in this country. Since the death .
of Dr: . ;
_hightail he has not his equal
O
as a t ologian in Great Britain. He
; lin
is a man of noble physique, measuring
about six feet four inches in stature, and
well 'proportioned in all his parts, fair in
complexion, with a large, massy, well
formed head. He is very regular and
temperate in his habits, a constant and
close student, and daily adds to his store
of learning. He made us a very excel
lent speech on the position of our church
and the balance of theological parties in
this country.
The only matter of much unusual in
terest discussed in the Synod was the
vexed question of a hymn .book. For
the last sixteen years this question has
been kept pertinaciously before the
church. Before that time, with the ex
ception of two or three congregations,
the Psalms and Paraphrases as all but
universally used in Scotland, were used
in our church. At that time an agita
tion began, which continued over a dozen
years, in behalf of *a hymn book; After
various fortunes, a book' was / produced,
and sanctioned by the Synod a few years
ago, and altered to be used in congrega--
tions whel* they desired' it. The col
lection was small atidby no means pop- '
ular, and was introduced into a few of
our congregations, often _causing great
heart-burnings. At the beginning of the
present it was introduced into the
congregation of .11agent Square, Dr.
,Ilamilton's, •where it caused mueh bick
ering and unpleasantness, approaching
even to a small schism. At the last
Synod a gentleman, Mr. James Watson,
the head of the house of J. Nesbit 45,r, Co.,
the well known publisher and elder in
Dr. Hamilton's congregation, introduced
an overture into the Synod, signed by
himself alone, coming through • no Pres
bytery, proposing. to nominate a new
committee, to prepare , during the year a
hymn book to be issued by them in the
name and by authority of the- Synod.
It was pointed out that.this was a very
unusual and unseemly course, the
importance of the matter urged delay,
but in vain.- The overture would evi
dently have been carried bad it been
pressed, but after a discussion extending
over the greater part of two days, the
mover of the overture saw meet to with
draw his overture, stating that he himself
would prepare the book, leaving it to the
Synod or to its congregations to adopt
it, as it or they saw - cause. ,
It is very well known - that there are
many of our congregations, which have
introduced, and are constantly using
hymn books which are neither the
Psalms and Paraphrases, used in Scot
land, nor Watts' psalms and hymns so
commonly used in assenting congrega
tions in this country, nor the hymn-book
authorized by our own Synod. It ap
pears evident to all thoughtful men the,
here we have an element of rapid disin
tegration of our Presbyterian churches,
and resolving them into independent
THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, MAY - 25, 1865.
communities. The authority of the Synod
is set at defiance. Each man has a
whim about certain hymns, and bpancl
by there will be as many hymn-books as
congregations. And , every one who
knows anything about these matters,
*lowa that the hymn-book, not the
creed, not the articles, •not the formulas,
contains the real confession-of faith of a
congregation.
It is also a sign of the times to note
that a discussion took place on an—over
ttire on this question, a short while ago,
in the,Preshytery of Glasgow, when the
overture was lost byu V'ery &hall-Minor
ity. The ' discussion - was Itfterwards
resumed in the Synod of Glasgow and
Ayr; *here again- the question to let
thin - S'yemain as ''they are in I;esp9dt of
Psalmody was carried by a majority so
small that it may jae regarded as a mat.
t t Or of course that a few -yeakS will turn
it -into it WO ' minorit - r''''ln i'congrega;
stionsytocyin Scotland, here! nag, thord i
organs are being introduced; only the
other day one was formally , opened in:
the-congregation - of;Dr Solidit ‘ Lee, of
old Greyfriars, the professor of biblical;
criticism in the university -of Edinburg,
a man whose opinions are as near to
Socinianism as , anything well tan be to'
differ'at all. So runs the tide—ebbs,,
say. I—jaws, say the party of progiass,
young England and young Scotland.
Since I began'Ais epistle' I have
beard the news of the barbarous mui
der of President - :Lincoln. '-and the
attempt -on-Mr. Secretary_ geward. At
first the news was utterly incredible, hut
slowly, bit by bit, the whole, of the hor
rid intelligence has opened out - upon us)
I am old enough,to rememberthe death ,
of George the Third, or George the;
Fourth; and of many anether inotability
in this land. I have seen society here;
stirred •to its .depthsugain and again by !
many awful 'calamities'; but with, the;
sole and solitary exception of the deatiy
of Prince Albert, I - have never seen!
English society so stirred'and moved Us.
by this horrid event. It is in every
mouth; in every heart. You can see it
in the crowded comnibt(Si it Sits 'inthe
faces of the passengers hy steamboat,.
and by rail, it covers ivy newspaper;
it is in every shop windo which makes
~
any-pieffine to'literatttr# ; it lain the
ships, the market, lithe exchange,_ the
houses 'of pailiameht. =' -
,and - in the'fash
fonable-.4ssenibly; Yon'he,at the nerd
r "the President , at every
turning, from every mates - iliontil: his
solemn events like tht3e that show how
deep and triie is - th'e Unddi- current of
real sympathy between two great`na
tiOns. After all,' hloOd isthicker than
4 1
water. We feel for yo tenth you ;
joy in your joy, and above a,r, we sorrow
in your sorrow. Itis an 1001' of ' rest
events ; they come close, and Mkt and
fast upon each other ; but this' great
black cloud has overshadowed - all, and
discloses to us. Milling but itself. It
stands alone, 'paling ;Richmond's cap
ture, Lee's surrender along you, and
what would have been a very great-ex
citement among ourselves, "the confes
sion of the Road murderer." , This last
event which first broke forth on this
eventful morning, had filled all Mouths,
when suddenly mum the electric flash,
"assassination of girresident Lincoln ;"
and all was silence on the other topic.
ASSASSINATION OF 'PRESIDENT
• r
LIN.COLN.'
REv. J. W. .31Eaus--DEAL Snt
take the liberty of sending the• following,
which I transcribe from the Dublin Eve
ning Post, of the 26th of April. If your
space permits, it will Show your readers
the sympathy felt for us abroad, thaloVe
and veneration felt for the character of
the victim of slaveholding malignity, and
'their abhorrence of the bloody deed:
Respectfully, E. D.M.
" The President of the 'United States
has been shot dead by an assassin, and
civilization stands aghast at the colossal
crime..
No event of like character has
ever, run the same shudder through
humanity. Never before was the death
of any king or ruler felt to the same
extent as a awl: by universal society
throughout all its orders. With words
of grace and reconciliation , on his lips;
with the spirit of brotherhood pleading
in his heart, against every prompting of
victory—with no thought but.of amnesty
and forgiveness in his counsels, this pure
and noble Magistrate has received in his
death-wound the most sublime, even, if
it be the most awe-striking homage that
the, vanquished .demon of slavery could
pay to its subduer. We hardly dare
attempt to realize the - Wings --of the
American people in this iternest -trial
Which their virture _yet had to -,en-
' This portettous Crime,embracing every
element of wickedness—monstrous for
its ingratitude, perfidy, and Wantonness;
must bring at the first moment a rush
of g,riet and anger, rto everr American
heart, which we trust, will not be suf
fered to get full command of it.
" When reason-=displaced for a mo
ment, by thisgreat national agony will,
have.been reinstated in her authority,'
the crime, we hope, and its authors, will
be treated by. the American mind in all
its grief, with the solemn and judicial
grandeur which beseems the greatest
and most self-bahmced Commonwealth
in the world."
Tin . NK. not all is well within *hen all
is well without, or thy being pleased is
a sign that God is pleased; but suspect
everything, that is prosperous, unless it
promote piety, and'charity, and humility.
--Jeremy. Taylor.
NOTES OF FOREIGN TRAVEL.
IN A LETTER FROM A MEMBER OF PINE
. • . STREET CHURCH.
' DEAR FRIEND AND PASTOR :
We were highly gratified with our
visit to the lakes in the South of Ire
land, and (I must not forget to say we
all kissed the Blarney stone but Mrs.
Q.) subsequently to the causeway - and
Derry in the extreme North. There e saw
the gate the apPrentices closed,the cathe
dral, the shell thrown by• the besiegers
containing offers for surrender; you recol
lect the imply. We have been upon the
old, walls, - have visited the camping
ground of the enemy, saw where the
chain was fastened over the river, visi
ted the good 'Gay. Walker's chapel and
'monument and various ether interesting
localities. From Belfast we wont to
Liverpool,
.and there encountered so
many of the English that are enemies to
our country. Their impertinent, insolent
remarks were alniost too- iciffeh to laear
With any 'degree - of compoatite. They
, sympathize thoroughly with the Rebelk
and Weittm never conquer them, and
if we'Shiinld,, can never 'live with the*,
as friends. 'They say vie are not sincere
upon' the - abolition question; and that *we
haire no intention of gettingiid of the
curse, and that, even if we ' succeed, our
deb% will be so great that we will be
fOr4ermore a bankrupt Etna degraded
'nation, that our paper dollars are alinost
worthless,- - and-out great debt can 'never
tm - repaid. I have asked theni to con
sider their inconsistency,. for at my for
tiler visits to EnglariA We were censured
for not abolishing slavery 'at - once, and
that now, when there is a' fair prospect
of accomplishing it, they become ohr'op
-ponents and sympathize with the slave
dealer and-holder, and even allow pirat
teal Avessels to nnfitted out to piey-npon
our commerce ; this touches them in a
tender place; they deny all complicity in
the /matter, and say it could not be pre
vented. I ask them; If Ireland was to
Amhel and we were to acknowledge her
as a • beiligerent, and fit out vessels to
destroy English commerce, lend moral
and - Material aid, n every way we could,
have our fairs for their benefit, feast the
piratical officers, have our Raid corres
pondents at London to :leery - the -Gov
ettinient and titter the same faisehoOds
as they dO,' if theY - would •think we
Were their friends or friends of the Re
beg ?' I tell them we Inherited slivery
from England, and that they helped to
fasten it - upon: us, that George 111 would
not sanction the act, of theTirginia house
eflbseffibly for its tilinlition, that' hc: , ir
vessels as. well as our own aided Anita
perpetuation, but thatthey may now de-
Pend upon it that as sure as the sun
Shines, the North 'will conquer, slavery
will be exterminated, and our national
debt paid in face of all their. opposition.
They say we will repudiate and hailers
of our bends will be pined. I ask, do
you hold any ? no one has yet ac
knowledged to me that he did. I- then
say, do not annoy yourself upon - that
subject, as none of you hold the debi,
none of you can suffer,we owe it to our
selves,and we alone will suffer. They say
we are spending millions a day. I re
ply we have an income of revenue and
taxes, of millions, and that if it is not
sufficient we will raise more. I ask
them if they are aware that' in time of
peace they have been spending millions
daily ?- This they deny, but when I bon
vert the pounds sterling into dollars, they
look somewhat aghast. They profess
much feeling for the negro, and say we
have no love for him. I have told them
that as they love him and feel so much
for him, that I seriously contemplate ad
vocating the formation of an emigration
society, having for its object the expor
tation of 60,000 emancipated slaves to
England'; that is rather too much for
their benevolence. Oh no, mh no, they
say, keep them, we don't want them.
But I must say something of what we
have seen in the country where Cicero,
julius Cmsar and Pompey the Great
flourished as statesmen, and where Han
eibal, Belisarius and Jugurtha marshall
ed their hosts for war and conquest, and
the' historians and poets, Plutarch, Pli
ny, Seneca, Ovid, and Juvenal lived,
' wrote and died. AS we journeyed to
Rome we visited Milan and saw the
great cathedral ; Turin, the recent eap
itol of Italy ; Genoa, the birth place of
, Columbus •; Bologna, celebrated for its
sausages, and two leaning towers like
huge brick chimneys ; Florence, noted for
its galleries of art and mosaic work—we
there'spent in hour With our eountry
man, Powers, the sculptor, and found,
him a thorough - Union man classing'
Gov: Seymour with the Rebels—Pisa,
noted for its cathedral baptistry and
leaning tower of marble ; Leghorn, the
seaport, and - thence took shipping to.
wards Rome. 'St. Peter's
. was not the
object to which we first gave attention ;
no, the vein of antiquity within me led
us to that great and grand old ruin, the
Coliseum. There it has stood for nearly
eighteen hundred , years, said to have
been designed by a Christian architect
and martyr, and to have been built by
Many thousand captive Jews. The glad
iatorial scenes there witnessed by 70,000
to 8 0;0 0 0 spectators must b ave been im
posing. But what ot the slaughter of the
Christians, on the' same spot _ ? . My
' biped
chills when I-think of it. There--Igna
tius and thousands' of the faithful in
Christ suffered for tbeir Master. We
visited this ruin by moonlight, and with
the exception of the tread of the French
sentinel, all was quiet 'and bathed in the
soft moon-beams. What a contrast! In--
'ages past the, shout and cheer encour
aged the• combatants, and again the en
raged animals ru4ed upon their victinis I
to gratify the great and wise of thos-e
days. Is it any wond6r rum only re
mains of a building used. - for such pur
poses ? How changed and quiet the scene
now, when the priest every li!riday as
sembles his little congregation and there
holds services' in the centre of the
arena. We wandered through its cor-
I ascended its walls, and plucked a
1 flower for our herbarium.
We have seen the oily old Pope and
have had his blessing several times; we
have seen twelve officiating priests to a
congregation of twenty worshipers. We
attended vespers at *St. Peter's, where
there were over twenty priests and we
the only audience. We attended mass
on Christmas day at St. Peter's. You
- may suppose there was a vast collection
of people there. I estimated it from 5000
=to 6000, and yet no crowd. The aisle was
occupied by , two'lles of soldiers, between
Which his holiness` was, carried in the
clink of 'state,:•. claiming to be the King
Of Kings. The bishops. and cardinals
Were in rich 'apparel, the'seriants of the
servant of ChriSt,Awned, with the, tiara.
Three pontifical crowns were carried be
fore the Pope, whilst silvertrumpets her
aided his approach. In the reserved
seats or tribunali were his Majesty,
King of Sicily; King • of., Bavaria, the.
Queen Dowager, with their Royal High
nesses, the Princes and Princesses of
,Naples.- The diplomatic tribune was
filled with distinguished personages, all
. in court dress. The Pope officiated; his
enunciation is clear and distinct, notwith
standing his late illness. The body-guard
in their ancient costume was curious and:
interesting to al, and the various divsses
of the numerous officials drew forth many
a smile. The ladies of our party atten
ded service at 3 A. M., and again as
above. •
Of course .we visited the museum of
the Vatican. It is a most interesting spot
and its value beyond arty estimate, the
statuary, busts', Ste, being the first in the
world. The * picture-gallery contains but
about 50 specimens. The paintings in
Rome are nearly all in, private places,
but the Vatican abounds in frescoes of
: Michael Angelo, Raphael, ST,c. The li
brary is contained in many magnificent
apartments ; butthe books, with very few
exceptions; are enblosed from. view.
We had the Privilege-of attending ser
vice at the American Embassy whilst
in Romer Church is, held there every
Sunday'by Dr. an Nest, of New York,
forMerly assistant to Dr. Bethune. The
Episcopal prayer-book is used, but the
communion is as open as our own.
I felt more comfortable there than I
ever have done in any of the English
el/inches, for they get too near popery
for me. • -
With_ all our-enjoyments of traveling,
we look with'longing eyes to our far off
but dear home, and on Sunday old Pine
Street, the assembled congregation with
their beloved - pastor, occupies much of
our' meditations, and we long to be there.
We have just received our letters to
the 25th of December; with the news of
the success of our generals and army.
I trust our English friends will find it
palatable.
NAPLES, JANUARY 16, 1865.
THE REM,* OF DR. LEYBURN AND
OTHERS TO THE-NORTH.
We insert thee following note, as in
dicating what we believe to be the gen
eral feeling of the loyal people among
us upon the Ifcibject of the return of such
men as Leyburn, Converse, Read, dm,
to the North, after their four years'
career of devdtion t t the rebelion.
May 17th, 1365.
REV. J. W.MEARS:—I saw a notice
in, your paper of this week, that Ley
burn who left to unite _his fortunes with
the rebels at the commencement of the
war, is - to "leave Richmond on a visit
to friends at the North." I have
no doubt but that he will find plenty of
persons who will glailly extena to him
the_, gglit, hand of fellowship, and it is
on, this subject that I beg leave to ad
dress you, hoping that the column's of
your influential - paper, as well as those
of the Old- School organ, will ear
nest voice, call upon ministers, sessions,
committees, and all others in church
authority, to close the doors of their
sanctuaries against him, and not allow
himto place his rebellious foot in the
pulpit, until he has shaken off the dust
of treason therefrom, and on beaded
knee, before his Maker and his fellow- .
men, cry
Have pity Lord, oh Lord forgive,
Let a repentant rebel live.
I know we are all called upon to love
and forgive our enemies, and those who
have done wrong, as we expect forgive
ness from a justly offended Creator`; but
upon what terms, "Repent and be ye
saved," says the heavenly voice, then
will free and unconditional pardon be
offered to you. So with Leyburn and
the rest, of the treasonable pack, who
four yea,rs ago.so far forgot their duties
to their friends, their church, their coun
try, and their God, to espouse the cause
of the'evil oite,the:coiner-stone of which
was the violation of laws, human and di
vine, they, with the insolence and self
sufficienCy that have characterized those
who have taken part in, the rebtllion,
after finding "their:occupation gone,"
now come whining back, their ga,rments
still polluted with the filth of treason,
and their hands still red withAhe blood
of martyred thousand& Are these the
persons we are to welcome back like
prodigal , children to our houses our
churehes 4114..
,pnlpit?, and hear their
speak from the sacred desk the words
of eternal life, while they still carry the
burden of treason on their hacks. No,
I say, and I hope the voice of:the whole
Christian community, of whatever de.
nomination, will be loudly lifted up
against such desecration of the 'sacred
place. Let them allgibe taboed by the
people of the North, until they
_Shall
with they own lips, over their own sig
nature, purge themselves of the Stigma
and foulness that now rests upon them.
Let them come with an bumble and
contrite spirit, first before their Maker,
and' then before their fellowmen, repent
ingoUtheirp iniquity, and asklng for
giveness and pardon, notwithstanding
they may take - the oath of allegiance,
merely to 3 uiet'a ripple of their troubled
conscience. - . ,
_
Pardon me Ali.. this obtruding upon
your time; but thislis - a subject of such
vast importance, that the attention of the
community shool4
,hs earnestly:called
to it. The imil,enmjce of these rascals
is without bounds, and I hope you Will
use your. efforts; both-Private and public,
to show theg'perSoni;:./ who
or what they are, their true
,position in
the eyes of both :.God :and man.'
Yours A 14;knzi.
LETTERS ON RECONSTRUCTION. I.
May 2d, 1865.
DEAR am amazed _at ,what` I
read and hear about the supposed.-"diffi
culty" of what is called "reconstruc
tion," and about the supposed "delicacy"
of the task of bringing it about.
What have we to reconstruct? Has
our national framework gone to pieces?
I believe the Constitution remains in its
integrity. I believe our Union and unity
remains, though with some Jeduction in
its number of States. The " difficulty"
lies, it seems, in getting back the dis
lodged communities ; and the "delicacy"
that we are cautioned of respects the
treatment they are thought to merit at
our hands.
The Matter seems' to me very simple.
A State is a compound of three ingre
dients: a people, a political organization,
and a territorial base of oteupancy for
both the one and the other.
Nationally speaking, the rebel States,
five years ago, were integrant portions
of the Union. Their people owed it
allegiance, their organisms were compre
heßd ed in its , framework, and their
several areas bore to its area a relation of
parts to a whole. these circumstances
they rebelled. " Secession" could not
take them out of the Union ; but rebel
lion 'could and did—all but the lands
they'decupied. Land was incapable of
treason; incapable of being denation
alized by the treason of its inhabitants.
These, however, by withdrawing from
their allegiance, threw themselves prac
tically out of the Union, and became
voluntary aliens to its citizenship. Not
only aliens, but alien enemies. Of course
they ceased, for the time, to be citizens,
forfeiting all daims to be regarded in
tbat light, and by using their local
organisms, that is,, their governments,
to make war 'upon us, they drew these
also, like so many wandering planets,
quite away from their orbital connection
with the Federal system. So that, as
well the local governments, as the local
populations became, to the extent of the
rebellion, public enemies, separated en
tirely from us by the., law of war, in
which all other laws as between us and
them merged, and were extinguished.
Well, sir, the fire is now/burnt out,
and the Union, surviving, we are dinned
?ith a hubbub of projects for
,getting the
tate-wreeka of treason into place again.
A. dozen ways, of doing it have been
pioneered. Perhaps I may misjudge
the. matter; but I cannot help thinking
that our • proper course is a very plain
one.
We have a Constitution still—a
national • Constitution ; and in it a clause
providing for the admission of new
States by Congress. I would just put
that clause in operation. The rebel
States have fallen in law to the condi
tion of mere territories. Let them be
dealt with accordingly ; and I think
there are some special reasons of advan
tage in favor of this method of treatment.
L It saves us the indignity of having
to hold intercourse with rebels as to
how they are to be relieved of their
disabilities. -
2. It makes them suitors at our doors
for restoration ; which is eminently just.
3. It puts them to the necessity of
loyal action by conventions in preparing
new State charters for the approval of
Congress.; and certainly none of their
old slavery charters will: do again.
4. It'.enables Congress ,to see to it
that there be in every such charter a
clause of sworn preference in favor of
Union allegiance in all time to come, as
compared with the allegiance due or
pretended in favor of particular States.
My dear sir, I hope you. will „pardon
me. You are not a political. man; but
you are an ardent patriot, and you take
a deep interest in what conserves the
welfare of the country. For myself, I
am a long distance from the world, and
have no hold upon its instrumentalities;
whereas you are in one of its great
maelstroms, and can put just ideas in
circulation at.pleasure.
You may indeed dissent from my
ideas of "reconstruction." If you do,
I shall take it for granted - they are
wrong.
' PRAYER.--What should it mean that
God would have us so diligent and
earnest in •prayer? Hath he such
pleasure in our works? Many talk of
prayer and' make it a . lip-laboring.
Praying is not babbling; nor is praying
Monkery. It is, to miserable folk that
are oppressed, a comfort, solace, and a
remedy.--Latimer.