New Series, 01.
Jtoicat llnsljgtoiait.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28,1867.
WHAT OF THE NIGHT?
At this time last year, it was our privi
lege to chronicle An extraordinary number
of revivals in every branch Of the Ghurch
and in every section of the country, North
and West. Each week’s 1 issue went forth
freighted with glad tidings; each paper was
like the messenger, whose very feet upon the
mountains were beautiful with the peace and
salvation which he published to the rejoicing
Church. Hundreds and ; thousands of strong'
men, of fathers and mothers, of the respecta
ble and influential, of young men and of
maidens, gave themselves in public cove
nant to the Lord. It Was about the first of
I March, we think, that this remarkable move-
Iment reached a height, which, perhaps, was
Inot at any subsequent period surpassed, but
itvliich seems to have been maintained for
some weeks. During the month of March,
Swc estimated the number of conversions at
ijjwenty-five thousand. And good judges
®ronounced the work, in many respects,
treater than that of 1858. It was univer
sally conceded that the material brought
Into the churches was of an unusually valua
ble character, the converting influences
having reached the older and maturer per
sons, to a degree unknown to this genera
tion.
As the interest was very slow to decline,
and as revival intelligence, sometimes of the
most stirring character, continued, from time
to time, to gladden the heart and to encour
age the praying and hoping ones, it was but
natural to expect, in the season now passing,
a renewal of the wonderful scenes of the
previous year. This expectation has not, as
yet, been fulfilled. We have had no such
marvellous demonstrations of the Spirit, as
at this time, last year, were electrifiying the
people of God in the region around Phila
delphia, in Towanda, Williamsport, Corning,
Elmira, and other places to the North and
West of us. It must be confessed that there
is nothing in the spiritual condition of the
churches generally, which calls for congratu
lation or rejoicing.
Yet wo ai’e equally convinced that there
is no cause for discouragement. Wo must
remember that the country has been pass
ing through a political excitement as great
as any experienced since 1860. The ques
tion has been forced upon us at the North,
whether, after conquering secession and sla
very, we would exchange places with the
vanquished, and allow them to govern and
to ruin the country we had saved. Consid
ering that the solution of this greatest of
political questions is still incomplete, we
cannot wonder that there has been some
distraction of mind, and some hinderance to
the free course of Gospel truth. And the
Holy Spirit has by no means withdrawn his
special influences altogether from the chur
ches. His glorious workings in places like
Mendham and Belvidere, N. J., Oberlin, 0.,
Freeport and Neoga, 111., Wabash College
and other institutions of learning; in that
■hitherto barren, yot important, field, the
■Pacific Coast; and on missionary ground,
■in Mr. Jessup’s Seminary at Beirut, in Shan-
Itung province, China, and among the villa-
Iges of Kolapoor, show that we are living to
iday in true revival times. Those are notor-
Idinary operations of the Spirit. They show
jus the heavens surcharged with spiritual in
jflnonces. They re-assure us that its win
jdows need but be opened, when a blessing
■will be poured, out beyond our capacity to
■receive it.
Brethron and churches may be discour
aged here and there; special causes may in
terfere with the prosperity of a church in
special eases; but the general principle must
bo maintained and insisted upon, that this is
an era of grace, that we are to expect Pen
tecostal visitations of the Spirit, that a
Bteady tide of pure revival influences is to
rise and flow like a river of God through
the churehes —a river of saving influences,
widening and deepening in all its course, and
pouring its waters into the dead seas of the
impurity, godlessness, and unbelief,
■until they are healed.
It is by no means too late to see great re
vivals this season. Some of our most re
narkable and encouraging news came long
iftcr this period last year. Times and sea
ions must not rule too absolutely our ar-
iv, Nq; 9.
rangements for extending’the Gospel among
men who are dying every day. With some
denominations, a, whole month is set apart
to special religious services at this very time
in the.year ; why.may not our churches, es
pecially in large, cities,take advantage of
the impression made by these observances
in the community, and throw open their
doors, also, with believing prayers to God
for, a blessing ? One thing we have noticed:
pastors who are accustomed to look and to
laboivfor revival as part of the Regular ex
pedience of their churches, express no feel
ings of discouragement, but the contrary,
as, to the present, state of things,in their
churches.. Some who had great ingatherings
last ..year,, roport hopeful indications and
conversions, now. .
, Courage, brethren! Plough and so w the
seed in hope, in humility, and in prayer, and
God will give the increase.
THE LONDON WORKINGMEN IN CONFER
ENCE WITH THE CLERGY.
On Monday, the, 21st of January, a con
ference of. rare character was held in the
London Coffee-house. Three hundred per r
sons were present, including representative
men from the different trades, and. political
leaders of the workingmen, with such men
as Thomas Hughes, and Arthur Kinnalird,
members of Parliament; Mr. Peter Bayne,
Dean Stanley, Rev. Newman Hall, Rev. F.
D. Maurice, Rev. Mr. Binney, Rev. Drs.
Raleigh and Edmond, Canon Miller, and
others. For seven hours a free and friendly
conference between these parties was kept
up, with a view to reach some of the causes
which hinder workingmen from attendance
upon Christian worship. About twenty
genuine workingmen spoke, including a cabi
net-maker, three engineers, a tailor, a plas
terer, a porter, a carpenter, and so on. Con
trary to the .express stipulations of the call,
one or two of these speakers assailed the
doctrines taught in the pulpit and the char
acter of the Scriptures themselves. Allusion
was also made to the Scientific Lectures of
the infidel Professor Huxley to the; working
men of London, as furnishing a valuable
counteractive to the low pleasures by which
the work-people are lured to destruction.
The great complaint urged, was a want of
sympathy between the clergy and the work
ing people. Ministers, said Mr. Paterson, a
cabinet-maker, decline to interest themselves
in the social questions of the day so impor
tant t>> the workingman. The same thing,
substantially, was said by Mr. John Bates,
engineer; another engineer said that minis
ters should sympathize with trades’ unions
and political associations. Mr. Bebbington,
the porter, said ministers were seldom seen in
the homes of the poor; Mr. Thomas, a car
penter, complained that clergymen held
themselves so much aloof from the working
men. Other reasons assigned were the strong
objections of the workingmen to the Estab
lished Church; the usurpation and injustice
involved in State support; the.enormous
wealth enjoyed by some of the prelates
while their curates were starving; and the
gross corruption practiced in the assignment
of livings. Others, again, charged on the
clergy indifference or opposition to the tem
perance reformation, so essential to the com
fort and purity of the workingmen, or com
plained of the absence of discipline and pre
valence of grevious inconsistencies among
Church members; some excused the over
worked" poor for their non-attendanec at
Church on the ground that they required
the Sabbath as a day of rest and recreation,
but Mr. Bebbington, the porter, complained
that many employers compelled their men
to work on that day; sensibly enough he
condemned the running of Sunday steamers
and Sunday conveyances, and said no man
had a right to rob another of his Sunday,
even though it was to take his fellows into
the country to breathe a purer air.
Rev. Newman Hall and Rev. Dr. Miller
responded very fully to the objections; but
the most notable and encouraging feature of
the meeting was the stand taken by the po
litical leaders, Mr. Edmond Beales and Mr.
George Potter. Of these men, the Weekly
Review says:—
“It would be difficult to name two men
who are regarded with more hatred and ap
prehension by the specially respectable, re
ligious, and conservative classes in England,
than ill'. Edmond Beales and Mr. George
Potter. The one is regarded as the fire
brand of political, the other of social, revo
lution. On Monday they both spoke, and
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY,
the burden of their speeches was to urge and
implo.ra workingmen to give ear to the mes
sage of the Gospel and attend the public
worship of God.’'
Mr. Totter made the most practical sug
gestion brought out by the meeting; namely,
“ that the. ministers in the Established
Church and the [Nonconformist chapels name
a 'Sunday evening during the next month,
and let it go through the metropolis that to
the workingmen alone a sermon would be
preached. - Let' it be called the working
man’s sermon,'and ; tpe workingmen would
come and jiear.” Mr. Potter’s concluding
words,are full of practical, Christian wisdom
and put the whole question of reform in its
true evangelical aspect. How encouraging
to all Christian wbrkers for the masses, arc
such sentiments, from the mouth of'one of a
class so generally suspected of anti-Chris
tian sympathies, and in fact so often found
laboring to instil Into the minds of the
working people sentiments of hostility to
the Church and to Christian, institutions.
Some of our American demagogues may
ponder them with.profit. Here they are .
“ Whatever might be the causes for the
alienation which they had met to consider,
as one faithful to himself arid to his class, he
must say, ‘ Workingmen) the truth is pro
claimed, the Gospel is preached, and no ex
cuse can free you from the responsibility of
attending to it.’ (Applause.) As one who
had done much for their social and political
elevation, his heart’s desire for them was
that they should go more to places of wor
ship,, and should think more: of the Gospel
which taught them that they had a, soul- to
save, and that whatever might be done for
them peciiriiarily, morally, politically, )and
socially, was utterly useless unless they laid
hold of salvation and eternal life. ,'• (Loud
applause”) .... ,\
, . Thp‘frankness of this mprieni'ent is well
adapted to win the confidence,of the class
to whom it was addressed. It puts the
whole matter of religion in'a ne w aspect to
them when their own opinions are asked by
its appointed ministers. It is part of that
great series of measures by which the Churph
in modern times is re-establishing her primi
tive character of sympathy with, and adapt
edness to, all men, including all the various
branches of Home Missionary effort. In
countries like England, whero the Church is
burdened by alliance with the State, and is
seen by the poor in the light of odious pri
vilege, such movements are even more ne
cessary than' with us. But both here and
there, there cannot be a more important
•work done than to convince the thronging
mechanics, artisans, and laborers, particu
larly of our great cities, of the necessity of
a hearty acceptance of the truths and per-
formance of “the duties of the Christian re
ligion, to their true elevation. And the
worst enemy of the working classes is the
man who is endeavoring to prejudice them
against the ministers, ordinances, and insti
tutions of Christianity.
THE PLAN OF CONGRESS.
At length Congress has produced its plan
for the reconstruction of . the late rebellious
States and submitted it to the veto of the
President. It is to be commended on many
accounts, —on nearly every account. It repu
diates the entire plan and policy of the. Presi
dent, and undoes all he has summarily and
arbitrarily done in the work of reconstruc
tion. It puts the rebel states under military
control, returning to the status that pre
vailed immediately upon the surrender of
General Lee. It destroys at a blow the enor
mity and scandal of rebel rule over territory
conquered by loyal arms. It re-establishes
the fact that the rebellion in the interest of
slavery was a total, disastrous, irreparable
failure. It puts loyal men, white and black
once more under protection of the flag and
the army of the country. / The flag which
has been folded away and draped in mourn
ing, and hidden in forgotten corners, since
the death of Lincoln, is once more unfurled;
its folds floating and flapping on the breeze,
sing again their glorious song of freedom,
.and shine once more on Southern fields, the
emblem of victorious nationality, the pledge
of a new era of justice anij equal rights to
all. The eminently righteous doctrine that
men have lifted parricidal hands against the
very existence of their country, have neither
the right nor the fitness to partake in its
government, is made fundamental to the
proposed restoration of the States to a civil
position. Only loyal men'will be' admitted
to the privileges of citizenship and of office
holding, at least in the first' formation of the
FEBRUARY 28; 1867.
new governments,- —a provision far in ad
vance of the pending Constitutional Amend
ment. And the right of suffrage is given to
all loyal men, white on black. , 7
There is but.one grave defect, and that we
fear, unless remedied, will nullify the whole
arrangement- —its - execution is in the hands
of the President. We scarcely know what
the Thirty-ninth Congress does mean by in
trusting* its scheme to the hands.of the Pre
sident, unless it be to furnish a last argu
ment for the removal of the present incum
bent, and the substitution of a true man in
his place. ,■
The meeting of these Committees, first
apart,-and then jointly, was held in- Hew
York City last week as announced. Our
own and the joint Committee’s meeting was
held in the study of Madison. Square Church.
Ten members of each Committee were in
attendance. , Bey. George E. \Vlswell, D.D.,
was elected a member of our Committee in
place, of. Dr, Brainerd. The details of the
business transacted'are not, we suppose, de
signed for publication at present, but. no
harm can possibly result from the announce
ment, that,during the two days through the
greater part of which the, joint meeting
extended, no- jarring word was uttered, al
though every member gave free utterance
to his opinions, and that , .the impression
made by the conferences was, favorable to
the result contemplated in: the formation of
the Committees. ... U [
, .In the staid' old' city, of ! Georgetown the
experiment of impartial sriffirage has its-first
trial pi Monday. There is a poetic “fitness
about its taking place 'in the District “of
Columbia, and especially under the eye of him
who vetoed the bill which places the ballot
in the hands of the freedmen. Before this
reaches your readers the telegraph will have
informed them of the result, and the fact
will be demonstrated that those who have
wielded the bayonet are worthy of carrying
the ballot. The conservative candidate is
the'present Mayor, who has filled the office
for'twenty years, and considers that he has
a life-patent of it. He is a violent negro
hater/and but a few years ago carried on a
large traffic in human flesh. The candidates
on the equal suffrage ticket are all young,
active business men, and have been led by
principle to lend their names to the cause at
the risk of social and business ostracises.
More than two-fifths of the registered voters
are colored men: We will not attempt to
predict the result. Whatever it ; may be, we
are confident' that it will not verify the
closing prediction of the message which ve
toed the suffrage bill “that the all-embra
cing extension of impartial suffrage would
end in its destruction.”
' Washington’s birthday was marked by
no uncommon event in the city which he
founded, and which is honored with his
name. Congress was so hard pressed with
work that it could not pay even the poor
respect of an adjournment to the day. The
strangers that now fill the city to overflow
ing made an excursion to Mt. Vernon, and
swelled the crowd at the President’s last
reception in the evening. These occasions
have been too often described to bear recital
by this pen,, though a few reflections may
not be uninteresting. As we joined the
throng pressing for entrance, we had an op
portunity of ruminating over what we saw.
The Executive Mansion is no palace like the
Tuilleries, St. James or the Escurial. Many
a private citizen lives in its' superior. Nor
is it a credit to the nation as the residence
of its Chief Magistrate. But when the na
tional debt is paid perhaps we’ll have a bet
ter one. Our pride as an American is always
touched when we think of it as being mo
deled after the residence of an Irish Duke.
If the British had burned the walls in 1814,
as well as the inside, we might now have a
White House distinctively American. The
huge portico where we are swayed to and
fro by the surging crowd, is of the Grecian
order, of which our public buildings have no
less than twelve, —a circumstance which has
called forth the criticism of foreigners. But
the porch seems almost hallowed when we
look at the “historic window” beneath it,
where the form of our martyred President
was so often seen, and from which he spoke
so many words of encouragement and fulfil
ing prophecy to a nation in its darkest hours.
THE RE-UNION COMMITTEES.
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
Genesee Evangelist, iSTo. 1084.
While considering one of these, we are
whirled by this current of humanity through
the : door and into the broad hall, where the
Marine Band in its gay uniform is discours
ing “ most eloquent music.”
The doorkeepers continually command the
crowd to keep back; but it is like Canute’s
mandate to the ocean. We are carried ir
resistibly forward through the long lines of
policemen to the blue-room, where the Presi
dent stands with TJ. S. Marshall Goding on
one side, and the self-constituted poet-lau
reatCj B. B. French, (who will soon surren
der his fat office as Commissioner of Public
B
uildings), on the'other side. Each one
comes before the President in the height of
perspiration; which accounts for the impos
sibility of distinguishing the original color
of his', glove which has been clasped by a
thousand people during the past hour. We
could not congratulate him on the success of
his policy, as some took occasion to do, but
as we scanned his countenance and contras
ted it with our recollection of it one year
previous, when he made his Niagara leap
into the arms of the copperheads, we thought
the lines'of care were deeper, and the linea
ments of dogged willfulness more developed.
No clue could be gained from it as to the
disposition he would make of the Reconstruc
tion Bill then in h'ispoeket. Oneof hisorga ns
assures him it would be a “most uncomfor
table thing” to have it remain there, while
another notifies him that he cannot approve
it without making himself “a military des
pot over ten states of the South.” So his
only alternative is to veto it, —which is ex
pected; While searching in vain for some
feature in 'his countenance-on which our eyes
could' rest With pleasure, we were reminded
Of-an incident which transpired in the old
Hall of Representatives a short time ago.
lady, with the two daughters
of a friend, were viewing the statuary there
collected, When they came to the marble
busts of Lincoln and Johnson. “Now Clara
and Nellie,” said she to the young girls,
“ study these two faces carefully. Imagine
yourselves in trouble, and away from friends.
To which of these would you flee for counsel
and support, arid in which, if in either, could
you confidingly trust?” Several moments
were allowed them for examination; and
when asked for their decision they both in
stantly replied, “ This one,” pointing to the
bust of President Lincoln, “He would be a
father to us.” A nation has done the same.
When they were informed that the busts
represented Lincoln and Johnson respec
tively, they expressed much innocent sur
prise, as they had been taught to believe
that all evil dwelt in the former, while the
essence of all good abode in the latter.
But we have wandered to the other end
of “ the avenue.” Bet us return to the
White House. Mrs. Johnson comes from
her seclusion for the second time, and assists
in the reception. She is plainly attired and
receives with unaffected modesty. To her,
more than to any human being, the Presi
dent owes his present elevation. She taught
him the alphabet, and while she lives, our
greatest hope of his reform lies in her. Her
countenance indicates abundant good-sense,
and great perseverance, and were it not for
her invalid body she would do the honors of
the Executive mansion second to no one.
We left the Reception easier than we en
tered. It is like office-holding, difficult to
got in, but easy to : slip out.
In the Name of the Prophet—Pigs!—
Our brethren in Southern Ohio must pre
pare for trying times in that region, as that
powerful educational agency, Antioch Col
lege, is to use up their orthodoxy in shoft
order. The Boston Christian Register says:
“In the region about Antioch you meet
the Yankee influence from the Western Re
serve of Ohio, the slaveholders emigrated
from Virginia and Kentucky, and the ener
getic Seotch-Irish from Western Pennsylva
nia. This last people is cursed by a the
ology drawn from the lowest cant.of narrow
Presbyterianism. Here is a grand ganglion
of the forces of our American humanity. If
our foremost Mew England culture will but
grasp it, endow it with life and keep in
sympathy with it, its influence on this and
the next generation will be without limit.
Neglect it, and the consequences be on your
own souls. We have the college with all
the machinery, it [Liberal Christianity?]
only lacks force, more vital power.”
Maj. Gen. O. O. Howard lectures’to-night
at National Hall, on the Ereedmen, before
the Social, Civil and Statistical Associa
tion (colored) of Philadelphia.