She ftTsbjjU'ran
New Series,. Vol. V,. IsTo. 13.
$2 50 By Iff ail. $3 00 By Carrier, l
60cts Additional after three Mouths. : I
fvfsiislftian.
THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1868.
CHIVALROUS ELEMENT IN THE CHRIS
TIAN CDABACTER,
All the good in the' World is from the Holy
.Spirit and belongs to, the. Churoh,. It may not
now be in th&.Ch,ftroh j it did- not all originate
there. But it belongs to the Ghtireh,to be? ap
pro ted, and. made subordinatetp
her spiritual designs. All that is good in philo
sophy or s'cience; all that is glotripus in art'and
in literature; all sweetness of mariners and noble
ness of natural character, so far from exciting ber
jealousy arid hostility, so far from drawing,doWn
her indiscriminate condemnation because .they
arc sometimes outside of her visible linlits, should
be regarded as hints, of tole wbn and
new powers-to be barriered to her.ical’ of.light
and of progress. ! f
That mysterious, bcaut,ijfitV. and-•powe.tfjiil ,iiir
poise which for throe or four centuries (prevailed
among the higher.claSseri eohMtutlng
them an Order of Generous Men for ,th,e: .defence
of the weak, for the cultivation 1 of ndblri ttriils of
character, for promptness, 6elf r saflrigep and mahly
courage in every bold enterprise, and for promo
ting the general safety in a titoe of'.prevailmg law
lessness,; going under the nsriie of Chivalry, has
passed away; and'with it is v gone iritich that J is,
absurd aud worse-than useless.,.. But a certain
dignity of character, a certain superiority to low
forms of selfishness, a certain, upori
good manners, a certain sense of honor and. truth
and contempt of meanness, a certain enthusiasm
tor high and daring.achievepientj
aomo of the choicest .elements of civilization, we
cannot afford to pirt with. The Chtafell' was.
wise enough to recognize the, go,od elements of
chivalry and to attract them to her-service dur
ing the palmy days of knighthood; now" that the
Order has disappeared, the Cburob capnot wisely
overlook its best elements ’tri day. ,
1. The Church should be, and he known to
be, the very sanctuary of truth and rectitude.
Autinouiiankm should bp rejected) not merely
as a dangerous heresy, but as something impossi
ble to Christian purity and honor. He that can
not feel the meanness of making the doctrines of
grace an apology for a sinful life, has none of the
noble moral "senpiftiities of the true Christian
kuiglit. He cannot sympathize with Paul’sin
dignant God forbid ! at the proposal of continu
ing in sin to illustrate the abriujirißce °f grace.
The chivalrous Christian will<feel?that' i heo'f l all i
men is bound to live ah irreproaQhatle life; that
lie must high principles into his every
day business; that in times when such principles
are most likely to. succumb, he, of all, men, must'
bold them high and stand by them firmly; that
sympathy for the Weak a'ridj the oppressed, that
deference to woman, that sweetness ofmapners at
home and in his intercourse with all 'men, that
fidelity to trusts, superiorly tb . meanness and
trickery, and integrity and .truth asiste'ady.as the
fixed stars, are to characterize his daily walk,
that as a consistent Christian he is to be a knight
without fear aud without reproach. Such is the
ideal held before him in the New Testament.
Whatsoever-, things are true, whatever'things
are honorable, whatsoever things are just,’What
soever things are pure, whatsoever things ..are
lovely, whatsoever things are of good, report ;"if
there be auy virtue, if there be any' praise, think
on these things.” And not only in word, hut in
the matchless life of the-Master,, all that is beau
tiful, all that is pure, all that, ihjjthe best, and
highest sense, is chivalrous, is;set. forth.
‘ . . . The best of jnen
That e’er wore earth about fiiiji—•
The first true gentleman that evei: breathed., ,
Shame, 0 shame! on the meanness, the ldvr
luiudedness, the coarseness, the moral .weakness
in the presence of worldly motives, the’ narrow
suspicions, the zeal .for trifles,, found top oftßn'hs
nouiated with the Christian named; Often,-alas,
often, men do in the.very name of Christianity
what would cover, them with blushes as jgentle-
Oue of the most ’ ’ grievous. compromises of
Christian honor, is. the attempt to, divorce the
Church from all connection with the great moral
•|uestious of the day. This dishonorable scheme
in pressed even where the broadest and clearest
mural principles are involved, the dearest, most
primary rights of men at stake, and. tlj§
of opinion doubtfully raging. In such] conflicts,
it is held, the Church is to-bave no-vojee, is{re
siionsible for no weight of influence Updo the
side of truth, justice and humanity; she is too
sacred an .institution to oommit hdrSelf!. A
monkish, unscriptural, and unohivalrouMpctrine;
which we have heard preached iu the latter half
of the 10th century. The chills of something
far worse than old age, the awful premonitions
of apostacy, the lapse into the soulless state of
the fossil and the mummy must be indicated by
such a withdrawal from one of the noblest and
most appropriate spheres of Church life. To
have it for a moment doubful, on Which side of a
clear moral question agitating the public mind,
the sympathies of the Church lie, is to give'her
a wound which it will take generations to repair-
Every struggling cause of -truth aDd justice
should be able to count confidently on'bcr prompt
and generous championship. Her keen instinct
and high state of moral-health should enable her
to recognize, arid lead jier tri espouse, such causes
in their.very emergence,-instead of,waiting to be
driven by God's Providenee arid shamed by the
World ‘ into a tardy and icluctant avowal. By
promptness-and decisiveness she,should train her
people Wri ready Sympathy with virturev fruth,
and justice, jri,oyery.gjre.at juggle of the
should, appear fpr .the . oppressed, the
tempted, and the imperiled, clear as the sun,; fair
as the moon, and terrible as sin” army with ban
ners. . ... . v .. ‘". I /
. 2*. The Church of Christ as the, divine agefacy
'feu; the sriiyation of men, is'tbe e'iribodiiheht'.aild
transfiguration,,of >all;the,most generousriiriprilses
of ; chivalry: :That errand r on which the world's
Redeemer came 'down, might well serve; as the
ideal of the most perfect knighthood. . How
pure, j how; ■ Self-Sacrificing, 'how boundless the
love! How sublime, uriwaveririg, arid iriiimph
ant:the i purpose ! How infinitely gentle; and
tolerant of miScririceptiOn arid opposition, even
from those he came to bless and to save ! Both
his-errand and the spirit in .which he performed
it, stand before, men as the' glorious anti-type and
reality of all the little schemes of man for the
good ! of his " fellow. The Christian is called to
bear share in, the enterprise of his divine
-Master. Not with the frivolty.of, worldly chival
ry, but with glowing earnestness, with unsparing
devotion, with taci, arid geritlenessj arid versatili
ty, and -inexhaustible patience and boldness, and
with'the' clear-eyed intelligence arid crimprehen
siveness,of modern philanthropy, he is to proye
himself- a true Christian ; knight, whose aims,
Vjrhtf^4 !J lriel!Kc)ds, arid'wkwse'spirit pftftake of'the
.greatness of eternity. ; A special order of Chris
tian chivalry is made up of the missionaries on
home and foreign fields; a great field for chival
rous attempt is the vice and crime and home
heathenism of our cities. The work of-'God''in
every pprish arid pulpit, in every family, in every
Sabbath-school class and in every individual,
heart required to be done uridrir the noblrist,’
most courageous aspiratioris, in (conflict with the,
mo.Bt' powerful foes. And >if it -often seems a
wearisomevplodding business, frprn
the' brilliancy of knightly ericounter,. we have
but to remember that, we are enriompaSsed by a
cloud, of witnesses and that the. victor's-wreath,
the prize of the high'calling of God in. Christ
Jfesus, is waiting for our brows. ' 1
3; 'The chivalrous element in Christianity leads
us to treat with candor and fearlessness the ob
jections of its enemies and the seeming: hostili
ties of science. Perhaps Bowhere has’the want
of knightly courage arid honor ainong. Christians
been more sadly manifest than here- Often has
error, or the semblance of error, been met with
fpar, with .unmanly and.,violent opppsitipD, with
base cruelty and persecting rage. Much of this
spirit has passed away. Yet]sitill there is often
a want of a gallant, frank spirit, in dealing; with
error and with' the advances of science, which:
ar4 imagined to be hostile to the, truth,. We
shonld fearlessly conrt inquiry into the truth of
our religion. We should be, willing to have it
tested to its foundations by every method that
skepticism can*devise. 1 Though Renans and Co
leuses,.and Tyndalls,, and' Darwins, and .Positiv ;
ists, and Westminster Reviewers should; swarm
around us, we sliould be >ealin in the thought
that in; the endurance of these ..last, arid severest
tests, our religion will but appear the stronger
and the worthier' of credence from intelligent,
men. The broad, unembarrassed Conflict ; pow
going’on in the world between truth and error is
proof of the, true chivalry belonging to our age
of the Church and the world. Fear of the re
sult, in shell a conflict, is base aud craven. We
should willingly see Natural Science go her way
and draw her conclusions, even though they
seem in conflict with ojir vie ws of Christian truth.
It were ungenerojis to distrust the God.pf Nature
as possibly in antagonism with the ;God of grace
and of the Bible, Let us have faith that as we
get nearer to Him,.by the. road ? pf a constantly
improving'method in Biblicaliand in Natural
'Science, each department of science helping the
other, we shall more and more clearly see Him to
be ONE. And it behooves the men of .science
to;see to it that their, part of the . undertaking is
not devoid of a chivalrous regard; to the claims
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1868.
: and services, the sanctions and supports of the
religion of Jesus, ;
We,rejoice in the nobler manners and prirer
traits of character shown by different denomina
tions of the Ch'urch towards each other at this,
day. The narrowness of bigotry, the meanness
of exclusivism, the littleness of'soul, that eould
see np truth outside of,/the, ac«4>£arice of the
minute details of its oWn tbeory or practice —fea-
tures Chichi have' given 1 such ari re
pulsive appearance to large parts o|Uj.ke. Church
—are disappearing, and a most -hohofablo. cour
tesy and generous recognition” 'their
places. M utual jealousy and suspicibn rife giving
place to confidence and fratefkal;,af]|iofipri. The
broad,,and,clear esseiitifiisfofLphfirikirih doetririe,
duty and order are grasped- the more firmly;
while' miripr ‘differences,'river which our unworthy
conflicts have ichieflyyb, cent fought.ajfg , 11 freely, al
lowed” in new bases; ofuriaottii ! -Wimior- without
orga'nie. unio n, the : reproach, and' liia
derance. of. disunito are passing aWay. r ' A-nobler,
sweeter Christian age is opening' upon; us. The
flower of Christian manhood .is • abejut t to bloom.'
That combinhtkm of purity, gentleness, generosi
ty;‘arid ' courage which / was ’ phrie Ahe 1 ideal of
knighthoodis-again shaping, itself ofttef the ele :
ments at work in the Church of our-time. Ilapi
py the eyes that behpld' patrifris
that aspire to it; , happiest ,they, thatjachieveit!
The wisdom of the children of world'-is
not wholly lost on the children Of ’fight'.' ; The
former have long known the valuejpf conven
tions. rind mass-meetings, of pioie . 'or less infor
mal, character, and embracing individuals from
different localities, united in sympathy for a com
mon object. The formality of; our regular-relig
ious: bodies is generally a barrier- to, the pi-oducV
tion of any great Amount of enthusiasm for their
objects. The annual meetings/rif r Aniurican
Board seem to be the only ones-in the,,religious
world of America approaching our/g|eat politi
cal gatherings in popularity iripS' enßCtayeness.
The whole religious community,-of < afl, denomi
nations, far and near, is warmed,
by them to a higher degree of interest in- Foreign
Missions. The glow of feeling does riot die, out
in the whole intervening year/ / .
The Christian "'conventions which are being
held with such success all, oyer .pur land, espe-.
cially in the North-west and New England, and
One pf which'rilosed, its sessions; rin Wednesday
evening of last week in, our city, have proved
themsrilves a great and needed outlet for Christian
sympathies, arid; a great power' to .cultivate and,
elevate’such.sympathies. :■ Heart has-answered to
heart, as face to face in 1 water., ‘The unity of
real .Christian experienep-and aspiration hgs been;
demonstrated. As soldiers in the thick of bat-
tie nepdjo. see a comrade,,at''theitf]dlbbw in order:
to keep their courage to its fighting point, sp ilhe
courage and working force of individual Chris
tians depends largely upon the consciousness of
lively and active co-operation , on the part of
brethren in every part of the field. Plans of
work are discussed, ? Light is concentrated upon
practical questions from widely different quarters.
Special gifts in anyone quarter are, as far ais
possible, made common to the whole body., (Flag-:
ging zeal is rebuked and (quickened. The re-:
(spousibilities of the laity are explained and en
forced. Aud a place is Vindicated for religion
among the.elements of the social, public, every
day, life of. tbe community,—-as; a power.which ex
pects to make'its way in the world as a great
public, movement, as weij , as by Sabbath-day min
istrations in isolated pulpits, in -prayer-meetmjpy
and in individualized, independent effortAor the
salvation of separate souls of meu.„_ It is true,:
that all great pubic-movementsfior the real good
of'men, prove.their genuineness by the filial in
dividuality of their That which is
truly great is conscientiously attentive to detail.
Judged by these" conventions are
worthy of all approval, for the constant pressure
of tli eiy,inquiries and discussions, and the con
st aqt-fesult of their presence in any locality, is
■towards an increased sense of personal responsi
bility among Christians. In fact, the great pop
ular evangelizing movement istp be realized iDj
the raised Christian activity of members of in
dividual churches, simultaneously realized among
all the denominations of God’s people, in any
given locality. It. is tp. bring the grand army
into.line, to secure a general and united advance,
to convert the straggling shots and encounters
which a few faithful workers are continually ef
fecting not without results, but at great disad
vantage from want of adequate support, into a sim
ultaneous, enthusiastic, overwhelming assault.
The Convention last week was brief. It inter
fered but slightly, if : at all, with the regular
Church services. It drew together .the embers
THE STIMULUS OF COUFEI^PIONS.
of Christian - light and warmth among us. If it
dries nbt seem : to accomplish all that could be
wished, it will be because, iD a great city, like
this, the religious interest which would electrify
a whole western country, might almost escape
notice. In fact, Christian Conventions of alljhe
Churches in a particular ward, might prove of
greater practical value than. one. embracing jthe
entire ;.city and parts of; neighboring Stateri be?
sides. ■' ' 1 - ■ ■ ■
DR. PATTERSON’S VIEW OF THE JOIST
COMMITTEE’S PLAN. ;
Rev. J*.: W. Meaus, D./D.—-Dear Brotrier, I am.
excriridingly sorriy to see: that xriportri are' already
publislied) repres,entirig tKe. Joint Commitiee,/ pm
Reunion as haying unanimously adopted a basis
for reririiriffjvthfiifi wiirsrirprise arid" grfriyri many
friends of our church and lovers of; Christian lib
erty. Very triuch l» ifay regret I was Unable' to
remain with tbe Cririimifitee till tlie coniplptiori of
its work. I was heartily iri'favor of rekunion on
the basis recommended by the Joint'Committee
last,year,,.witli,,an additional
priweyi of the General Assembly. lam ris heartily
opposed;to' reunion o’h the; present basis, arid this
on several-important grounds. , ;
€n due time I will, if Providenoe' permit, give
my views on this whole matter. ? •
; Yours fraternally,,. R. W. Patterson.
Chicago,. March 20,1868. - ; ; :!
SUBSTANCE ,0F jTHE; COMMCTTEfe’S
~-t ’'N; '.. isiliw plan. ■■■'“'■'‘VN.T-' -
' JBeiow we give the substance of the plan pf tbe
Committee, referred to. by our (Chicago corres
prirident, as having appeared in the W. Pfes
byterian. It is believed to have first appeared in
the N. :T. Herald, from which it was copied into
pther papers. It‘is incorrect in some important
respects. . We presume the Joint Committee will,
under present circumstances, conclude to remove
the injunction of sedrecy and authorize the pub
lication of the entire document.
1. The Philadelphia basis as to doctrine with
Dr. .Gurley ’ same rid me nt'. We suppose it will now
read somewhat thus, according to the statement
of the Evangelist: lu the United church the
•Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms
shall be received and adopted as containing the
of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures:
Yet while tbe Confession of Faith and Catechisms,'
our/recognized, standards as' a Church; shall; be
held Ip their integrity,,and in their fair histori
cal, that, is the Reformed or Calvinjstic senseyfull
liberty ia grauted to both sides in explaining-arid
illustrating these doctrines of the Go.-pel.r - ;
' ■ 2.' The two Boards, of'Publication'rihall eon
tinrie their separate ‘ catalogues uritjl the'U.nited
Assembly shall 'organize its,first /Board' or Com
mittee, when the two: . catalogues 1 shall be sub
mitted to it-for revision, it being understood that
only invidious references tp the date divisions shall
be left out. /: .
3. The rights of Presbyteries to : examine min
isters seeking admission was conce'dfed, the .Old
Schpol Committee yielding the imperative rule,;
and leaving each Presbytery to' examine as dis
posed. , ..., ~y. .
4. The seminaries .are. all- advised to put them r
selves under Assembly or Synodical control, arid
upriri’such submission is conditioned their’eccle
siastical recognition and recommendation;
5/ All imperfectly organized, or "“ Plan of
Unjori ”, churches are advised tp perfect their or
ganization presbyterially, within five years, qr/
otherwise be dropped from the rolls. No new'
churches'.thus organised are tri be received.
LATMEN’S .ASSOCIATION.
The , plan :ri'f a As'sbciaitio'n among the
churches otour city has met the approval of the
PaS-tprsb Assoejation, as will be seen from the fol
lowing action
Resolved,- That'tbis Association has heard with
pleasure of the' prospect for uniting the strength
aud resources of our laity, for the more effective
promotion of missionary enterprise, within the
bounds of this city ; and we hupe that those who
have undertaken the matter may be able, by the
Divine blessing, to bring it te a speedy and suc
cessful issue.”
(Extracted from the minutes.);
Chas. Brown, Sec’y.
We trust that those interested wifi now, feel
encouraged to go forward and perfect an organi
zation .from which such important results are like
ly to follow-.
JtSsff" Our assent and approbation to the New
Plan of the Joint Committee, as reported to us
from different quarters, soon after its adoption,
was qualified, as our readers will remember, by
the remark that, not having seen the Plan, we
could not speak finally. From what we have
further learned of the document, we are v incliued
to the belief that the liberal purpose of its fra
mers is capable of more explicit statement, and
that., comparatively slight amendments may be
necessary to make it thoroughly acceptable to all
the friends of Re-union on a safe, permanent,
and liberally Cal\inistic basis.
Genesee Evangelist, ISTo. 1140.
. Ministers $2.00 H. Miss. $2.00.
! Address :—1334 Chestnut Street.
AFFAIRS AT THE CAPITAL.
blcArdle is out of the Supreme Court at last.
The pill withholding jurisdiction in his case and
otherqmmilar, passed the House on Friday by the
thirds majority, and having already
passed tfie Senate was declared by Speaker Col-
be law notwithstanding the Presidents
veto. It is ' understood that. the Court will at
oncie formally dismiss the case. The treasonable
utterances of McArdle through his paper while
was'in the court, hastened the speedy
action'on this bill that should leave him under
the penalties already inflicted hpon him.
The hill ter the relief, of manufacturers has
been iu hands of a Committee of Conference, and
their-report, has been accepted by the House, but
rejected and another Committi e
calj^d the tax .frpm about
tenr:thousand different articles,' leaving tobacco,
ivhisky aritL'pCtroid unites, SorirCbs rif revenue. The
disagreement is .upon the whisky section.. In the
i heVP bill'it is‘provided that in any district where
:the pyceofwhiskyis.ljelow ihe tax, it- shall be
the duty.ofthe revenue officers to seize and close
all the, distilleries oft lie’ district. The tax is still
two dofyari: a gqllqri.', The “ whisky, ring ” have
been very active in the lobby and on the floor of
the trim’Horises, but'have as yet beep ririsuccessful.
It; ,is'feared by .many in the .Senate that this sec
tion of the tax bill is;so stringent that it will'not
accomplish the purpose,aimed at, but Congress is
iq earnestinatsintention to .enforce, the collection
of the tax übriri . distiUed l, liquors, and the frauds
naye ,peen ; .sp. immense, something new must be
doute.'-, -The-Ways and Means Committee are fear
ful ‘least the revenue be not sufficient for expen 7
ses,,te The greap. difficulty has mot been the defect
of the law,- but the;failure of the officers appointed
by President'Johnson te enforce the law; this
was very clearly stated in the letter of the Com
missioner of Internal Revenue, urging the removal
ofGeneral Steadman from the. office of collector
•at New Orleans, which was read-in the House last
week... ■ . "
The,Constitution voted upon at the late, election
in Alabama, is; by vote of'the'House of Repre
sentatives, accepted as the basis of a provisional
Sf**e;. Government; and the officers elected under
it. are to qualify and enter' upon their duties.
Tlie Legislature? is to. be convened and the. Con
stitution again submitted to the people, when a
ihajority of the’ : yofes,cast will ' decide its accep
tance. ,;Adyices., received here
indicate the success of the hew Constitution there
py five',thousand,majority,
Mrs. Frances Lord Bond has been.recommend
ed by a' large- numiber o'f'leading men for some
diplomatic po|itiph abroad, H ld .;is said that she
aspires to represent the government at the Court
of 'St. dames';'but the- 1 President will not be like
ly fto , nominate her, at. least till the Senate has
acted upon the appointment of < Gen. McClellan,
and the Senate knowing the General’s readiness
to wait, do riot seem disposed to hurry him in bis
preparations for moving ori Great Britain. Mr.
Clay and Mr. Hale are coming home from St. Pe
tersburg, and, Madrid, leaving other desirable
places vacant. It may be that President Wade
may he called upon to act upon his own recom
mendation, of’.Mrs.' Bond.
I, understand that the Democrats have ascer
tained that Judge Chase can be their; candidate
only when they come to his platform ; when they
do that, probably Boutwell, Kelly, Logan and
other Badieals will return ,to their old party.
Gen.-'Butler has just concluded a very calm,
clear, and able argument before the Senate,, —the
opening argument, of the impeachment trial. He
reviewed the whole case—‘the nature of the Court;
the right to challenge Senators; the relations of
the President to the Senate; and all the items of
indictment presented by the House. The effort
must add greatly to Gen. Butler’s reputation as a
lawyer, and the manner of presenting it was in
keeping' with the importance and dignity of the
occasion. Some of his points were quite telling;
as for instance, in reviewing the President’s ob
jections to the Tenure of Office act, he proved
that the President had, in ‘ the early part of his
Presidency, approved the, principle of that act,
thus —accepting it or not as it Buits his conve
nience;”-or, again, in putting the claim of the
President in his answer to exercise freedom of
speech, and to instruct the people upon their du
ties, in juxtaposition with some of his ribald and
blasphemous utterances at Cleveland and St.
Louis, showing what the President actually said
in glaring contrast with JLhe smooth legal paper
of his counsel. .W
Mr. Wilson-presented some of the testimony,
and then the Senate adjourned to meet to-morrow
and proceed with the t|ial. Fenwick.
The full and accurate report of the Chris
tian Convention’ on the Second Page, is from the
accomplished! pen of Rev. Samuel W. Duffield.