The Montrose Democrat. (Montrose, Pa.) 1849-1876, August 21, 1866, Image 1
A. J. GERRITSON:, Publisher.} •0 v ICI P. : : 10 LBTIRR FROM JUDGE BLACK, IN REPLY TO BEV. ALPILED NEVIN, D. D. To the Rev. Alfred Nevin, D. D. : My DEAR Sin :. Your letter addressed to me through the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, ,disappoints me; because I did not expect it to come in that way, and because it does not cover the subjectin is sue between us. But if lam silent you friends will say with some show of reas on, that you have vindicated political preaching so, triumphantly that all oppo sition is confounded. I must therefore speak freely in reply. I fully concede the right you claim for clergymen to select their own themes and handle them as they please. You say truly that neither lawyers nor physicians. nor any other order of men have the least authority' to control you in these particu lars. But you will not deny that this is a privilege which may be abused; you ex pressly admit that some clergymen have have abused it, " and by doing so did more than any other class of men to com mence and continue the late rebellion."— While, therefore, we can assert no power to dictate your conduct, much less to force you, we are surely not wrong when we entreat you to impose upon yourselves those restrictions which reason and reve lation have shown to be necessary for the good of tLe church and the safety of civil society. I acknowledge that your commission is a very broad one. You must "declare the whole counsel of God," to the end ;hat sinners may be convinced and con verts built up in the holy faith. Truth, ::stice, temperance, humility, mercy, peace, brotherly kindness, charity—the whole circle of the Christian virtues, must he assiduously taught to your hearers; and if any of them be inclined to the op posite vices you are to denounce them without fear, by private admonition, by open rebuke, or by a general delivery of the law which condemns them. You are not, bound to pause in the per formance of this duty because it may of fend a powerful ruler or a strong political But, the political preacher directs the attention of his hearers away from their own sins, to the sins, real or impu ted, of other people. By Leactng - nisi eougregatton that they are better than other men he file their hearts wi h self ,'r•ntent, bigotry, spiritual pride, envy ha tred, inAlice, and all unelt.ir t .b'ettes. In r•tead of casting the beam ow of their eye, h. igeitert theta tot ruck the :note from tiieir brother's. lle does not till them %hitt they shall do to be saved, but lie in -1 r:racts thrill very, carefully how they act for the destruction of others.— lic rouses and encourages to the utmost of his ability those brutal passions vtliich result in riot, bloodshed, spoliation, civil war, and general corruption of morals. Yuu commit a grievous error in sup posing that politics and religion are so mingled together that you cannot preach one without introducing the other. Christ and his apostles kept them per fectly separate. They announced the great facts of the Gospel to each individ ual whom they addressed. When these were accepted, the believer was told to repent and be baptized for the remission of his sins, and afterward, to regulate his own life by the rules of a pure and per fect morality. They expressed no prefer ence for one form of government over an other ; they provoked no political revolu tions, and they proposed no legal reforms. If they bad done so, they would have flatly contradicted the declaration that Christ's kingdom was not of this world. But they accepted the relations which were created by human law and exhort ed the disciples to discharge faithfully the duties which arose out of them. Though the laws which defined the au thority of husbands, parents, masters and magistrates ' were as bad as human per versity could make them, yet the early Christians contented themselves with teaching moderation in the exercise of legal power, and uniformly inculcated the virtues of obedience and fidelity upon wives, children, slaves and subjects-- They joined in no clamors for or against any . administration, but simply testified against sin before the only tribunal which Christ ever erected on earth ; that is to say, the conscience of tbo sinner himself. The vice of political preaching was whol ly unknown to the primitive church. It is true that-Paul counseled obedience to the government of Nero ; and I am aware that modern clergymen interpret his words as a justification of the doctrine that support of an existing administration is " part of their allegiance to God." Sev eral synods .and other eclesiastical bodies have solemnly resolved souiethiug to that effect. But they forget that. what Paul advised was simple submission not active assistance, to Nero. The Christians of that day did not indorSe his atrocities merely because bewas "the administra tion duly placed in power." They.did not go with him to the theatre, applaud his acting, or praise him in the churches When he kidnapped their brethren, set fire to a. city or desolate a province. Nor, did they assist at his apotheosis after his deatb,,or pi onounce funeral sermon's to show that he was greater than Scipio, more virtu ons`thart, Cato, and more e loquent, than Cicero. • Political preachers Would have done this, but Paul and Peter did no such thing.. There is nothing" e' in the Scriptures to justify the Church in applying its disci pline to any member for offenses purely political, much less .for MS mete opinions or feelings on public affairs. The clergy are without authority, as they are often without fitness, to decide for their congre gations what is right or what is wrong in the legislation of the country. • They are not called or sent to propa crate any kind of political doctrine. The bhurch and the State are entirely separ ate and distinct in their origin, their ob jects, and the sphere of their action ; in somuch that the organism of one can nev er be used for any purpose of the other without injury to both. Do I therefore say that the Christian religion is to have no influence on the po litical destiny of man ? Parfrom it. Not withstanding the unfaithfulness of many professors, it has already changed the face of human society ; and it will yet ac complish its mission by spreading peace, independence, truth, justice and liberty, regulated by law, "from the sea to the uttermost ends of the earth." But this will be accomplished only by reforming and elevating the individuals of whom so ciety i composed ; not by exasperating communities against each other ; not by any alliance with the governments of the world ; not by any vulgar partnership with politicians to kill and plunder their enemies. Every time a man is reformed and his character brought up to the standard of ( hristian morality, an addition is made, greater or less, to that righteousness which exalteth a nation, and an equal sum substracted from the sin which is a re proach to any people. Sometimes a sin gle conversion is extremely important in its immediate effect upon the public in terest of a whole nation. No doubt the acceptance of the truth by Dionysius the Areopagite had much to do in moulding the subsequent laws and customs o Athens. A gospel preacher addresses the con sciences of his hearers for the honest pur pose of converting them from the error of their ways; a political preacher speaks to one community, one party or one sect, sup - BIS Llienic is community, .L , IIC4i“-Do va. The latter effects no religious pur pose whatever ; but the chances are nine ty-nine in a hundred that he excites the bad passions of thole whu are present, while he slanders the absent and undefen ded. Both cla.ses of preachers freqnent ly speak upon the saute ur similar sub jects, but they du so with different ob jects and aims. I will make my meaning more clear by taking your own illustrations. You be lieve in the first day of the week as a Sabbath, and so believing your duty un doubtedly is to exhort all persons under your charge to observe it strictly ; but you have no right to preach a crusade against the Jews and Seventh-day Bap tists, to get intolerant laws enacted a gainst them for keeping Saturday as a day of rest. If drunkenness be a sin which easily besets your congregation, you may warn them against it, and inasmuch as abstin ence is always easier than moderation, you may advise them to touch not, taste not, and handle not; but your position gives you no authority to provoke violent hOstilities against tavern keepers, liquor dealers or distillers. If any of your hearers be ignorant or coarse enough to desire more wives than one, you should certainly teach them that polygamy is the worst feature of Asiatic manners, inconsistent with Christianity, and dangerous to domestic happiness ; but you cannot lawfully urge them to car ry fire and sword into the territory of the Mormons merely because some of the Mormons are in this respect less holy than you. If the holdinkof slaves or- bond. servants be a practical question among the members of your church, I know of nothing which forbids you to teach what ever you conscientiously believe to be true on that subject. But in a communi ty where slavery is not only nnknown but impossible, why should any preacher make it 'the subject of his weekly vituper ation ? Yon do not improve the religion of the slaveholder by traducing his ar acter; nor wend the spiritual condition of yogr own people by, making them thirst for the blood of their fellow men. If any one to whom the.service of an other by the laws of the State in which lie lives, shall need your instructions to regulate his personal conduct toward the slave you are, bound in the first place to tell him, that so long as that relation ex ists, he should behave with 'the *most humanity and kindness ;f0r..t14 you hAve the clear warraut,of the Apostolic eiana -ple and precept. In dealing with such a person you may go as much faither as your own conscious interpretation - of the Bible, will carry you. If you ,are sure that the divine law does, under - all eireumstatides; - makellie mere existence of such 'a relation Sinful on the part of the master, you should' induce him to :dissolve it by the itanlediate emanci pation of . bis slaves ; for that„is trukh,to you which you believe to be true: MONTROSE, PA., TUESDAY, AUG. 21, 1866. But *here is the authority for preach ing hatred of those who understand the scripture differently? What precept can you show for inciting servile insurrec tion ? Who gave you the right to say that John Brown was better than any other thief and murderer, morel., be cause his crimes were committed against pro-slavery men ? I think the minister, in his pulpit dis courses, is forbidden to touch at all upon that Ass of subjects which arc purely po litical; such, for instance, as the bankillg law, tariff, railroad charters, State rights, the naturalization laws and negro suf frage. These are questions of mere polit ical expediency ; religion takes no cogni zance of them ; they come within the sole jurisdiction of the statesman ; and the church has no more ri g ht to take sides upon them than the civil government has to use its legislative, judicial or executive power for the purpose of enforcing; prin ciples wholly religious. In short, if I ant not entirely mistaken, a Christian minister has no authority to preach upon any subjects except those in which divine revelation has given him an infallible rule of faith and practice; and, even upon them, he must speak always for the edification of his own hearers, " rightly dividing the word of truth" so as to lead them in the way of all right eousness. When he does more than this, he goes beyond his commission, he be comes a scurvy politician and his influ ence is altogether pernicious. The use of the clerical office for the pur pose ofpromulgating political tenets,uuder any circumstances, or with any excuse, is in my judgment not only without any , au thority, but is the highest crime that can he committed against the government of God, or man. Perhaps I ought not to make this broad assertion without giving some additional reasons fur it. In the first place it is grossly dishon est. I employ you as a minister, pay your salary, and build you a church be cause I have confidence in your theologi teal doctrines. But you may be at the same time wholly unfit for my political leader. Now you are guilty of a base fraud upon me it; instead of preaching re- ligion, you take advantage of the posi tion I have given you to ventilate your crude and ignorant notions on State af fairs. I have asked for bread and you give me a stone ; instead of the fish I bar 4_, • pent that sfings - and poisons me. It destroys the unity of the church.— There is no room for rational dispute about the great truths of Christianity; but men will never agree upon political slbjects, fur human government is at best but a compromise of st lfish interests and conflicting pas:.ions. When you mix the two together you break the church into fragments, and instead of " one Lord, one faith, and one baptism," you create a thousand warring sects, and substitute the proverbial bitterness of the odium the ologieum for the " charity which thinketh no evil." No one will deny that a union of the church and state is always the cause of bad government, perverted religion, and corrupt morals. Ido not mean merely that legal union which exists in Europe. an countries. That is bad enough ; but you have less common sense than I give you credit for if you do not see that this adulterous connection assumes its most polluting form when the church is volun tarily prostituted by her own ministers to a political party in a popular govern ment. The evil influence of such connections upon Church and State is easily accouut et! for. Both of them in combination will do what either would recoil from if standing alone. A politician, backed by the prom ise of the clergy to sustain him, can safe ly defy honesty and trample upon law, for, do what he may, he is assured of cler ical support here, and of heaven hereaf ter. The clergy on the other hand, and those who are under their influence, easi ly acquire the habit of praising indiscrim inately whatever is done by, their parLY men. Acting and reacting upon one an other, they go down together in the di rection of the pit that is bottomless; and . l both. are found to have "a strange alacri ty at sinking." No man can serve two masters faith fully ; for he must hate one if he loves the other. A minister who admires and fol lows such men as those who have already ruled and ruined this country, must ne cessarily despise the character of Christ. If he glorifies the cruelty, rapacity and falsehood of his party leaders, he is com pelled by an ;inflexible law .of human ture to "deny the Lord who bought him:" „ The experience •of fifteen centuries proves that political preachers arc the 'great curse of the world. More than half the bloody wars which'at different times have desolated christendom, were pro duced by their direct instigation ; and whereyer they have thrust themselves in to a Contest commenced by others,' they always envenomed the strife and made it r more cruel, tiavK4e . and uncompronifsing.. The.religions Wari, so called, had nothing religious about them except that they were hissed up by the clergy: 'Look batk 'mid see if this be net true. The Arian controversy (the first great schism) was followed by wars in which millions of lives were lost. Do you sup pose the real quarrel was for the insertion or omission of Itlioque in that part, of the creed which describes the processiog of the Holy Ghost ? Did a homoorisian slaughter his brother because he was a homoofisian ? No, it was not the differ ence of a dipthong, but the plunder of an empire that they fought for. It was the politics of the church, not her religion, that infuriated the parties, and converted men into demons. The thirty years war in Germany is of ten supposed to have been a fair stand up fight between the two leading forms of Christianity. It was not so. The relig ious difference was a false pretense of the political preachers for the promotion of their own schemes. There was not a sane man on all that continent who • would have felt himself impelled by motives merely religions to murder his neighbor for believing or disbgeving in transubstantiation. If proof of this were wanting, it might be found in the fact that, long before the war ended, the sectarian cries were aban ed, and Catholics as well as Protestants, were fighting on both sides. It is utterly impossible to believe that the clergy of England and Scotland, if they had not been politicians, would have thought of waging bloody wars to settle questions of election and reprobation,fate, fore-knowledg,e, free will and other points of metaphysical theology. Nor would they, apart from their politics, have en couraged and committed horrid crimes of which they were guilty in the name of re- Can you think that the Irish were ins:ti ded, and compered, and oppressed, and murdered and robbed, for centuries,ruere ly beetuse the English loved and believed in the Protestant religion ? I suppose you know that those brutal atrocities were carried on for the purpose of giving political preachet's in England possession of the churches, cathedrals, glebe lands and tithes which belonged to the Irish Catholics. The soldier was also reward ed by confiscations and plunder. The Church 'find the State hunted in couples, and Ireland was the prey which they ran down together. Conk; to our country, you find Mas sachusetts and Connecticut in Colonial `.. 4 i — T.,.`"rgii r e . r i s P . Their treacherous warn upon the — Indians for purposes wholly mercenary; their enslaving of white per sons and red ones,and selling them abroad or "swapping them for blackamoors ;" their whipping, imprisoning and killing Quakers and Baptists, for their conscien tious opinions ; and their base treatment of men 'like Roger Williams and his friends, will mark their Government thro' all time as one of the cruelest and mean est that ever existed. Political preachers have not behaved .any better since the revolution than be fore. About the commencement of the present century they werb busy in their vile vocation all over New England and continued it for many years. The wilful and deliberate slanders habitually uttered from the pulpit against Jefferson, Madi son, and the friends who supported them were a disgrace to human nature.. The immediate effect of this. was the Yankee plot to secede from the Union, followed by corrupt combinations with a foreign enemy to betray the liberties of the coun try. Its remoter consequences are seen in the shameless rapacity and bitter ma lignitir which, even at this moment, are bowfin. for the property and blood of an unarmed and defenceless people. You and I both remember the political preaching, which ushered in and support ed the reign of the snow Nothings, Blood 'rubs and Plug LTglies, when Ma ria Monk was a saint, and Joe Barker was Mayor of Pittsburgh; when pulpits resodnded .every Sunday with the most injurious falsehoods against Catholics ; when the public mind was debauched by the, inculcation of hypocrisy and decep ; when ministers met their political 'allies in sworn •secresy to plot against the rights of their fellow citizens. You cannot forget what came of this-riot, murder, church-burning, lawless violence all over the land, and the subjugation of several great States to the political rule of a par- , ty 4Ostitute alike of principle and capaci ty. reould. easily prove that those clerical politicians who have tied their churches to the tail of the abolition party, aro crim inal on a grander scale than any of their predecessors. But I forbear, partlY,tu catk I hallo no time, and partly because it may, for aught I know, be a sore sub ject with you. I would not excite your wrath, but rather "provoke you to good works." Apart from the general subject there aretwo.er 'three special ideas expressed in your letter front which I venture to dissent. . You thatthough a minister. may speak from ; the pulpit on politics ho ought ,not.to indicate: what party he belongs to. It strikes me that if be has a party, and wants .to give ecclesiastical aid or com fort, he,should boldly avow himself to be Avila', 114 is, 1'46 :! that., all..men may know Siucerity is the first of virtun,l,z„ (See Fourth Page.) RESTORATION. 10 :I t . 0 %, .1 340 I ). The_National Union' Convention met in Philadelphia,on the 14th inst. . At about noon the delegates began to arrive at.tiott wigwam, and the galleries filled up with the spectators. A band over the entrance door beguiled the time with mush). The first inipulse given to the proceediogs'was the announcement, Postmaster-Gerel Randall, that the delegations from Massa chusetts and South Carolina would enter; arm in arm. This caused the whole as- semblage to rise and cheer lustily; and, as the representatives of those two States headed by Mr. Orr of South Carolina and General Couch of Massachusetts, walked up one of the aisles in this fraternal man- ner, the highest degree of excitement and enthusiasm was Manifested—the band playing successively, Flag," "Away down South in Dixie," " The Star Spangled Banner," and " Yan- kee Doodle." Mem waved their hats and cheered vociferously, and the ladies Aviived their handkerchiefs. Mr. Hogan, Memb er of Congress from Missouri, then called for likehonors for President Johnson, to the Uphill, the Red, White and Blue, &e. Altogether, the convention seemed to open under very promising aspices as to har mony and general good feeling. Hori. A. W. Randall, at half-past 12 o'- clock, called the convention to order; and said: For the purpose of the. temporary, organization of this Convention,l propose that General John A. Dix, of lew act as temporary ;Chairman. The propo sition was unanimously agreed to. Gen. Dix, who, on advancing to the desk of the presiding officer, }vas greeted with cordial and. prolonged cheering said: BPLIECLI OF GRNER.S.L DIN. Gentlemen of the Convention, and Fel low citizens* of the whole Union, [cheers:] I return you my sincere thanks for the honor you have done me in choosing me to preside temporarily over your deliber ations. I regard it as a distinction en° ordinary character, not only on account of the high personal and political standing of the gentlemen who compose this 'con vention, but because it is a convention of the people of all the States i&i t hit u linvz,* 1 . harmony and good judgment, it win lead to the mast important results. It may be truly said that no body of men ;has met on this continent ander circumstances so momentous and so delicate since the year 1787—the year when our ancestors as sembled in this city tofi-ame a better gev ernment for the States which were parties to the old. Confederation—a government which has been confirmed and made more enduring, as we trust, by the fearful trials and perils which it has encountered and overcome. (Applause.) The Constitu tion which they came here to frame, we are here to vindicate and restore. (Cheers) We are here to assert the supremacy of representative government over all who are within the confines of the Union ; a government which ,cannot, without the violation "ofits fundamental principles, be: extended over any but those who are rep resented in it, (loud applause) over those' who, by virtue of that representation, are' entitled to a voice in the administration of the public affairs. (Rene - wed applause) It' was, such a government oar fathers ' framed. and 'put in 6peratiiin. kis the government which we ere bound by eve ry consideration of 'fidelity, justice - and good faith to defend' and to maintain. (Cheers) Gentlemen, we are - not living under such a government. (Applause and cries of " That's..true.") Thirty-six States have for months been governed by twen ty-five ; eleyen States have - bear wholly without representation 'in the legislative body of the nation ; the numerical-propor tion of the represented States to the un represented has just been' changed by the admission of the delegation from Tennes see—a unit taken from the smaller and added to the larger Oninher ; ten' Btrites are still denied the representation in Con gress to which they' are entitled under the Constitution. It' is this wrong which we have come hero to 'protest against, and as far as in us lies, to redress. (Ap plause.) When the President of the United St's declared that armed resistance to the au thority of the Union was over, all the States had a right .to' be represented in the National Legislature. (Loud cheer ing.) They bad tinder the Con stitution. They bad. the right under the resolutions passed by both houses "Of Con gress in 1861. Those resolutions, were not concurrent, but they were subStanti ally identical. More.oVer, the_StateS were' entitled to he se:represented bri other grdtindA of fairn'e'ss and geedfaith. The Vresideut, not hi T ursuance; of any constitutional power, had ;"called on the confed'orated States to accePt conditions for their rid- mission to the exercise of their legitimate functions as members of the Union, these coVitions being' the ratification of' the_ amendments tothe Constitution alplist ing sfayery,:do' the rePadiatip, debts cnikra4eif 011bitto it,OVernineni. rlieBii - Cotitiiitana were 1 VOLtME .-.-X.,III;'N't:IIII.ER.-1.54: met and aecepted. ' The'exaotien• conditions is tinjasc a t violatitaief the' faith .of the government, subversiie of the principles of: our political system . and, dangerous tolhe •piiblic prosperity 'and' peace. (Applause) - • - Each bows' of: Tr*sy, - as 'tint judge of the' Sltialifinations of its ow'n' members; 'reject 'individuals for jest' muse, but the - tivo bodies, acting , jointly; canna eiclude _entire delegatione without an unwarrantable assumption of power. "''(Applause). Congress has not only done this, it has gone farther. - It has-mcarporated now conditions into a mendments to the Constitution, and sub mitted them for the ratification of the States. There is no probability that these amendments - will I , e ratified by three fourths of the *.ates: To insist on the conditions they contain is to prolong hi definitely the exclusion of more than 011;3•; • • fourth of the States from representation' in Congress. Is this the government our fathers fought to establish? (Cries of - "No! No ) Is this the Union we have been fighting to preserve ? ("No! Nor) The President has done all in his power . to correct this wrong (applause), and to restore the legislative body to its full pro- portions, by g iving to all the members of the 'Union their proper share in the pub lic councils. (Cheers.) Legislation with out representation is an anomaly in our political sy s tem. Under any other form of government-it would be but another name for usurpation and-misrule. Gentlemen; I trust that in our delibera tions here we shall -confine ourselves to one main purpose—that of redressing the wrong to which I 'have referred, There is much in the administration of the gov elliiinent which needs amendment—genie ' things to be done and others to be un done. There are commercial and finan cisl reforms which are indispensable to the public svelfard. But we shall have . : the power to carry' out these until we' change the political"toinplexion of Cong. ress. (Enthusiastic and long-continued applause.) This should be our first, oar immediate aim, It is in'the Congressional districts that the vital contest is to take 'place. The eontrol of one branch of Con gress will enable 'ns - . to prevent paktial, unjust, •and perniciOns legislation. The control Of both hoaseS; with the power to . introduce and carry out saltitaryteforms s C _ rr e TaVt'takkers-in.l - * . • with wise,harnioniOusanjudieloesaction on our part, and on the part of those' ive `- represent, this need not be long delayed. (Applause)'.' I believe that public opinion is right, and, that it is only necessary to present to the people more clearly the is sues between 'us and the political organi zation which' controls the action of Con gress. And, gentlemen, is not the object for which we are contending, aeons:ummotion worthy Of our highest and most'deroted efforts, to bring baOk the - republio (purl- fied, strengthened by the fiery ordeal through which it has pasSed) to its an cient prosperity and power (applause) to present to the world an example worthy - of imitation, not a 'mere Utopian vision of good government, but the grand old real ity of the Vetter times (applause) with which:the memory of our fathers; the rec ollections of the past ; and all our hopes of -- the flittire,- are inseperably entwined (ctieersyL-ext ccluiqTrix,, ONE FLAG, OM! UNION 40E44E4 STATES. (Long con tinued applause.) "Rally around the The convention was opened with prayer after which the call, ,for the, convention was read. ,:Appropriate, rules of order, were adopted, and committees appointed on credentials and organization. Next the circular inviting Democrats to parti cipate in the convention, was read, .alao the address-:of Democratic Congressmen approving the convention. The convention adjourned to meet at 12 o'clock to-morrow. Wednesday's Proceedings. The weather being now pleasant, the attendance Was with prayer._ r_reeeedinfig were opened- with prayer. The commit tee on organization, reported the name, of lion. J. R. Doolittle of Wisconsin for the Presidency of the convention, and a V . ice Pr.esident and Secretary from each State, , Senator p., who was received with in tense epthusiasm, said: ammo' • or sr:lA.l.cm DoouriEta. - , Gentlemen of the Convention and Fel- . low. Citkiens of the United States, (ap plans°) For the distinguished _honor of being called upon to preside over the de- liberations of this Convention, I sincerely, thank you. I could , have wishedi'that >, its responsibility had fallen mpon another; • but relying ,upowthat txmrtesy and gen-. crone, cOnfidenee 4hich hate called , me to the chair, I will enter upon its duties with an. earnest:desire for ,the success of that,- great cause in . which we are-now engsgad. Among the great • events. of our day, this.etruvention, iu my opininn,:will prove to be buotolthe greatest, for , "PeaCe bath lier victories, No less reupwneil.thau war." . ': , Amnl this ,C 11 vectiOn IS` o riiVOl heir - 410, cittining• viato• ry FOr the tirsti time is siSE - )%eatili's nay `1 „i , _ ?