(ftfj A NATIONAL PAPER, PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AN» unmn " ~ ' ■ ' —- — " DAYS M J OHN Ff-NMO, No. 34, NOBTH FIFTH-STREET, PHILADELPHIA [No. 60 of Vol. IV.] Wednesday, December 26, ~i 792 . tAOU. THE COLUMBIAN LtNi INEI THE MONITOR On the moral infl'unci of v reaching. IT is frequently said that the con duct of men is ]inle influenced by what they hear from the pulpit. It is urged that many of the dis courses are not practical nor adapt ed to enlighten the mind. Admit ting this, it is neverthelels anfwer cd, that none of them recommend an ill cotnfe of life, and many preachers paint moral beauty in the molt attrartive colours, or exhibit the turpitude and meanness of vice with so much truth and force, as to make it appear loathfoine to its ve ry followers. Those tvlio deny the ufefulnefs of preaching, fay, that Hs influence is momentary. There is i rssr. " (ay they, ar the door '• <"• ••»<! perhaps it opens, of cons bnt it is S '-ut again and bolted. TJie cwurfe of bad thoughts is nor ftop'd at all, and that of bad acftions for an instant only. The thought ]efs follower of vice plunges into the world, and, considering lerious re fleition as bad company, he con nives to get ri d of it as soon as he can. Tliefe objections only (liew that good precepts w ill not preserve us from falling, if the}' be not sup ported by good habi;s. Yet many fa lie concl ulions have been drawn from tliefe confiderat ions. Why do we pay for preaching, if wo fee inen persist in vice as much as ever > Do we hope better success at this day, than the world, though it has grown old in the attempt, has hitherto fotjnd ? Plausible as these idLeas frem, they are not the less fallacious. Good opinions alone will not fectirea man against temptation. Yet if he be inltrutfed iti his duty, he will f'ure ]y condemn himfelf for violating it; and still more will he condemn ano ther in a like cafe. The minister, by teaching men what they ought <>r ought no: to do, may npt guard them against the allurements of guilty pieafure, but he will do fome thiiig towards p-'eventing error : They wil. not nnllake whatduiyis. Right thinking may not produce Tight acTtion—it is however an ef fentiai parr of our moral education. To make duty pi3in is to (trip vice ofthofe difgu'Tes, which it is oblig ed to aU'utne in order to obtain its jirtt victory over virtue. The mind lhrinkj from that sense of removfe which it well knows is sure to fol low criminal indulgence. This re straint alone is usually fufficient to keep us from falling into great trail fgreffions. This view of the fubje<it regards the influence of preaching only on the operations of a man's own mind, without advert ing to the shame of being seen ?s a criminal by the world. And if we confidcr that sermons are addrefi'ed to our children as well as to rhofe of mature age, we shall fee the inestimable advantage of having the young mind pre-occu pied by good iniprellions, and as it were, diiciplined to virtue.—The preacher, however, does more in fa vor of morality. Shame has ter rors not less formidable than those of the law. Public opinion is the judge, and the minifler of a ven geance which cannot always prevent crimes, but is sure to overtake the offenders. Accordingly we find ihat the morals of a people are nearly as accurate as the general" fl:a;e of ■knowledge among them. Thecler gy, by Jc-fcanting on our duties,en able us to diitinguifir right from ■wrong, and by the frequency of their addrefl'es, tbefe lions become familiar. It is no final] ad vantage to good morals to bring men together—but to do it on the terms of their cbferving decorum, and fitting in lilence as hearers, is a Hill greater point gained.~Add to this, while the nature and confe rences of vice and virtue are re piefented, each man turns his eye en hinifelf, and feels conscious that every man's eye is upon hiin. The law ot opinion is not only interrupt ed but actually enforced at the mo ment. He feels awed by that pub lic which he fees allembled, and en gaged in the work of discounte nancing vice. Thus, by enlighten ing us in regard to our duties, and as it were forcing upon an aflem bled multitude the reflection upon them, che clergy, though they may not pievent the brcaclus of the mo ral law, contribute a great deal to wards securing the (anxious of it. Public opinion mrliciS the punii'n ment, and probably with more ef fect both towards the prevention of offences and the reformation of the tranfgreflbrs, than if it were fuffer ed at the whipping post or the pil lory. It has been before hinted that the authority of public opinion is great ly increased by aflembling men to gether. To men of cold hearts and sceptical philosophy the effects of that mysterious sympathy by which we fuffer or enjoy the emotions of the beholders will seem incredible —Yet it is known that the moral and political condition of Greece was influenced by the discipline of the Gym nail am, and the active e mulation of their Olympic and Ifth niian games. The excels of grief or joy Jometimes proited mortal to. the competitors. Every congregation is with us a moral school in which virtue is not only rendered amiable, but public ly confided to the vigilant protecti on of an allembly deeply interested and carefully inilrutfled to be faith ful to the trust. It is the fault of the minister if in those places vice is not made to hang its head. Is it faying too much, that with us the church is the Gymnasium, in which youthful virtue grows llrong by ex eicife ! While facts Ihew that pub lic opinion did so much in Greece ; is it a ralh hypothecs to foppofe it able to accompli/h so little in our times ? The liinit3 of this paper would not allow us to pursue these consi derations as far as we might do it with advantage. The theory of our eccl liallical institutions is cer tainly excellent. Great credit is due to our forefathers who laid the foundations of them so deeply that our halms concur with our interelts as a people. It would be ufeful to call the attention of the wife and worthy to the means by which the clergy might be rendered even more refpt«flable and influential than they are at present. Splitting of parishes is certainly ail evil. Funn ing funds for the support of miuif. teis would be well repaid by secur ing the peace of parilhes. The result of these refieitinns is, that our moral opinions are formed in early youth and influenced af terwards by I lie clergy. Who does not know the sway that opinion bears ? The world and ha polities are governed by it. It is the bufi -11 el's of the clergy to form and di rect it in favor of virtue. This work they never quit. They begin almost at the cradle, and bear their disciple company to the grave. This order of men is of Ihe greatell nfe to society. The laws govern by force ; but they address themfel»<Js to men's hearts, foas that they shall govern themielves. , 237 E.-.trift from a Charge delivered ij Thomas Smith, Efqu'tre, Pre fide/it of the Courts of Common Picas, ire. in the Jourth circuit, to the Grand, "juries for each of the counties of Cumberland, Mifflin, Huntingdon, Bedford and Franklin, at the open "'§ °f feverat courts cf Qttarter SeJJions, holden in Otlober and No vember, I 792. I had written thus far when I received a letter from his Excell ency the Governor, which, as it is directed to me in my public station, and i elates to the bulinefs on which I am now addrefling you, and as the sentiments contained in it, perfectly coincide with those which I have uniformly exprefled from this place ; it being also founded on a proclama tion of the President of the United States, expressive of the fame fenti ; I beg leave to lead an extract from that letter (referring you to the proclamation, which you have all read or heard read) viz. " Sir, the " Prelident has communicated to " me a copy of a proclamation, " which he ill'ued, in confequettce " of certain irregular proceedings " that have taken place, in particu " )ar parts of some of the States, " contravening the laws far raU " sing a revenue from spirits dif " tilled within the United States : " and I am desirous in every pro «' per way, to manifeft my difpo-' " lition to further the object of " the particular menfure, which he " has at this time adopted, as well " as to promote on every occasion, " a due obedience to the conftitu " tional laws of the union. Permit " n<, therefore, Sir, to reqneft, " that you will take every official " opportunity to inculcate the in " difpenfible duty of obedience to " the atfls of Congress : and, par " ticularly, that you will be pleased " as far as the jurifditftion of your " circuit extends, to charge the " grand juries of the several coun " ties within your diftricl, to en " quire into, and present, all of " fences of the nature to which the " proclamation refers. 1 am per " fuaded, Sir, that you are convin " ced, with me, that the profperiry " of the States individually, de " pends upon the prosperity of the " union, which can only be effei't " ed by a ftrirt and faithful atten " tion to our federal obligations. " I repose a perfetft confidence in " your exertions upon the particu " lar fubjecfi that 1 have now fug " gefted. lam with great efteera, " Sir, your mod obedient servant, " THO. Miffli N." These sentiments of your Govern or, corresponding with thole of the President of the United States, will, I trust, make a proper imprelfion upon the people at large ; as they have the fame tendency with those, which a fenle of duty, an ardent with to promote the peace, profpe ritv, the liberties and social fclicity of the people, have induced me to endeavor to impress upon their minds, with particular earneftnels, in this infant State of our national existence. I flatter myfelf that this fiinilarity will give weight to the addrefles which I have made (o the Several grand juries (ince my ap pointment ; and to lhe observations which I am now going to make on the fubjecl-inatter of the Govei nor's letter. Mod (incerely do I felicitate you, my fellow citizens, in that i liave no occasion to point out a 'ingle of fender against the law under consi deration. I have but of one feeble attempt within this diltriifl, to oppose the execution of it—that attempt did not appear to be ihe ef fert of premeditation ; ic seemed ed rather an unguarded falJ v, an e- [Whole No. 582.] }• Imllition of liberty ; jtiTbmutl) t]|.; the gentlemen who conduit flic nob lie profecutiorrS in the county »I,ere it happened, did nor think it m cell.iry to lend a bill to the grand jury againll the actors. By the 6th article of the conftiru tion of the United States, that con stitution, and the laws of the Uni ted States made in pursuance there of, are the supreme law of the land : the Judges in every State are bound thereby, and obedience is due to them by every citizen ; if therefore you, or any of you, know that any offence has been committed, of the nature to which the Proclamation refers, it is your duty to pi efent the offender. What although fomeof the people of the United States, and 1 a msng the number, may have difap provedof, or n»t fufficiently compre hended, rl.etyitem wlnifTi made the law in quell ion neceH'ary,are a few to let up their private opinion against the wisdom of the society at lai g?, of which they are members ? Js rvlilt ance to any law coolHtutionally made by those whom the society have delegated for that purpole, jultifiable in a few who may have, or effetft to have, objedions to it ? No government could fubiilt, were this allowed ; anarchy, individual ruin and national dellruc r tion, mult be the conlequence. It is equally certain that a firm adherence to the principles of the Union, and a due obedience to its laws, and to thole of the State, will have an equal ten dency to en Cure to us, individual peace and prosperity, and national fafety and greainefs. When we review the condudt of the people of the United States du ring, and since, the formation of the Federal Constitution, and tha cor.ftitutions of the several States, with very few exceptions indeed ; have we not very 11 long and pleas ing evidence, that our fellow-citi. Zens have displayed move real pa triotism, and that they poflels more political virtue and wifdorn, than any other nation now in exiltence, has done in similar circumstances ? Had there cxilted among us, a num ber of men of perverted talents and desperate fortunes, or many men of wild ambition and void of princi ple, or hunters after popularity without merit to deserve it, or craf ty knaves greedy of power, and de termined to acquire it by any means, however base, they would have had, during this eventful peiiod, ample scope to have played upon the pas sions of the people j and on no oc calion more, than on the promul gation of the law in quellion. From the early prejudices imbibed againlk the Excise Laws of Britain and Ire land, by the citizens of thele States who were natives of those countries, I will venture to fay, that by i ing ing vociferoufly and on every oc casion, the changes on about a dy zen of words against all laws for railing a revenue from spirits dis tilled within the United States, how ever necelfary and however modi fied, (and a Parrot might learn to repeat the words in a few hours) the dullest and moll ftopid chai terer, might, for a while, have pas sed for an enlightened patriot, and the mod infignificant character, al though destitute of every molil vir tue, might have been elevated in to political consequence. Mty we not be as much surprised as \ie are happy that so few of such charac ter have appeared among us And that the few who have appeared, have been soon discovered and funk again into their original infignifi cancy, with very few exceptions ? Popularity so gained, i& seldom of duration among any enlightened people. Kiitory will convince eve
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