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J 12X 1 2 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 "((' ' -%< tJk ,> ■% ^■5/3 a <4 ;**.; ■• t:^^ TORONTO PUBUC UBRARIES REFERENCE LIBRARY K.-f..'.. • n •! ^^ FV REV. STUARTi ROBINSON TO PEESIDENT LINCOLN. Toronto, Jm. 26, ISCS. To Hi* ExetUeney Abraham Lincoln, PftneUnf, Commander inChi(f:— Sib,— .1 bad the honor to address yoQ m note on the 10th rf Dscembor last, asking r connlermsnd cf "the monetrons order of Otineral Baibldge, of November 19, 18C4, for thfi fiippresBlon of the True Presbyterian, s purely ecolealaetlcal joutnsl published at LoQisvillo, Kontnoky," and explaining to ycu the theory and conduct of that paper In the following terms : " That my paper was establlehed to advo- cate the dootiine (concerning the relations of the government and the churches) oi your f^t. T -ir'? !'•'*' r; that''; novoi contained a paragraph of political or military discnsaion, or even news, except as political and military affairs were obtruded npon the churches; that therefore this sappression,which popular oplnbn asciibcs wholly to Dr. Breckin:idge's personal malignity, and to the odium theolo- i/icum agaluEt me, is a causeless and high- handed violence beyond any thing in the atrbst cf Ool. Jacobs and Mr. Bhipmsn." - FreBnmlng that a great number of similar ontrages in Kentucky were pressing upon your time and attention ; and supposing that uffioial documents laid before the legislature, containing an exposure, by eo ardent a war advocate as Oovornor Bramlette, of the natu- ral imbecility and mendacity and the clown. Ish oificlal insolence of your subordinate, aanoral Burbridge, would constrain ;on, out of " decent respect to the opinions of man- kind," to look Into and rectify these ontrageei,! have waited patiently for six weeks before again troubling you. As, however, I have received no information of any such pui poee it is reasonable to suppose that you aEsume the act of your subordinate, as a public transac- tion for which your administration holds Itself responsible. Aside from a rollanci upon your native sense of jastirse and propiloty, as exhibited in your St. Louis letter, I was awaio of but llltio ground to hope for a fivorablo iesuo of tbii appeal to you. If, naturally enough, *yoii turned for advice, In my case, to your now cabinet minister fiom Kontnckf, you mast I jnsnlt one, uifjrtanateljr for me, whoFo statemonts, persoaal to myself, in the Senot'^ of Kentucky in 1862, I was obliged in slf- dofoBce lo brand la the LoulavlUo Journal as " dlsgraceiuUy leckloss" faleehood, and so effactuslly, that neither he ner his friends have ever dared, within my knowledge, to challenge my counter statement. If you turned to your reverend adviser pcnerel in ilentnuky, whoso HUibitlon \,o p'ay at rinc.-t Cardinal Woolsey and " Blood/ Jeffilts," jou havo at last gratlSod, yon consn!te:l one whoso general treachery and malignity havo made him so loathsome to the people that even his own colleagues, though by I'o means cqacamiah, " spew blm out of their mouths," and aro obliged to disavow his con- nection with their new religious journal at Danvillo; whose special maligalty I bavd brought upon myself by my faitbfalneHS a3 a minister of the church in exposing his worse thanlscaiiot treachery to our Mostei'iJ cause ; and whom popular opinion regards ss the real ontlior of the oatrago against which I protest. If ycu turned to tho journals of the Utate more directly tn the interest of your ad. minlotratiou, thuy are in the hands of thu creatures of your reverend advisor, malignant as himself, to the foil measure of their very n»row and very challoin' capacity. If yon turned at last for light to tho sentiment of tho so-called religious press of tho country, you consult Ihoro whose venolity, corruption and faithlessness to the truth, made my paper i\ nec3ssity of the times, and but for wboje faithlessness to duty I would never have un- dertaken such labor and expense ; nnd there- ft-.fr;- d foie, nktnrally enough yoa find them fairly lepresented by the most venal and treacberons cf them all— the New Yoik Obterver, in its jadgment that my paper "dls. graced Kentnokj" ; and by the most Inane and Btnpid of them all, toe Philadelphia Standard— mhoBe «ixnberant j jy at the snppres- Blon of the logtcsl lash betrays it Into a petty larceny of worn out wit— braying an obituary over the snppresded paper. It is, perhaps, not HarprislDfr that so hlnga> lar a combination of hostile iDfliencos ehonld have proved too strong for yoar native sunse of tight, qalckened thongh it might be by Oov. Bramlette's awfal expo9ntes of yonr sob- ordinates' outrages and oontumpt for the con- atitotion and the laws. D^jprived therefore of the accnstomed obanuel for the ntteranoe of my testimony, yen lud the public will bear with me if la this Icegnlar way I seek to lay before yon, and, throngh the ase of yonr con. spionons name, before the public at large, some of the coneidtirations which have con- strained me. In the True Presbyterian, to eseay the unpopular task of resisting and ezpos< log the dangerous tendencies of the current confneion of the secular and the spiritual powers. My lidelltf to the constitution and laws of the country hiving been Impeached by so many whose pOKitlan, If they were true to it, should give tnem credence with the public, allow mo, without the Imputation of egctism, a few more preliminary words In vindioa> tion of my title to the publio confidence in the statements and arguments about te be snbmltted. I have not only taught and practised sub- mission to lawtui authority as the ordinance of God, but havtj attested my sincerity in so doing by no doubtful proofs. My accusers attest their loyalty by the cheap process of noley bnrrahs for the power that grptiaas thuir pride with offiop, tueir ambition with power, their maUguity with the means of vengeance, and thetr avarice with abundant plunder. I have attested my fidelity to the constitution and laws by the costly process of patient euduranca under infamous abuses of them, without allowing my reverence for them to be impaired thereby. From the beginning of tbis unhappy war, thongh never having ofl^anded against the law, and never having failed in duty as the citizen of a titate remoining in the Union aod therefore entitkd to the piotection rather than the penal ibfllctions of the Federal govern- moDt. 1 have been Bnlij'cted,wlth my fimlly, year by year, to spolUtlon, outrage and 1b- snlr, ana bair^ssea with fears tf a failure of bread to my hcmuh Iri, fcolely on account of the plundering of thw agtttd of the govern- ment that peipetoally reminds me cf my otiligatlcns of gratltuile tud taxes me enor- mously for its paternal care ol my "life, liber- ty and property." In common with a large numtier even of earnest war men I have con- tinually been robbed, not merely by a law. less soldiery but by official representatives of tho government, some of them high In rank. I need not weary yon, Mr. President, with de- tails of facts notorious to hnndrbda of my neighbors, beyond a simple aliUHion to eoms of them. Cormorants suoh ns \ r.ur collector Bobinson, at EvauBvllIu, repTeaeutluit; your financial policy, have tuchlueoly s:;iz ,d aad wasted my property, in contetuot of the aothoriaatlon of their tqnals in diloe, Invol- ving me in most Berlons losBe.-<. Yonr military officers, cluthod with denputio power, and yet f«liing to ruatmlu their subordinates, have despoiled me. Thua your gentleman'y, but intlhcient Oen. Ciz, your nnfortncate Gen. iioammoo. Tout brutal Qen Hunter, and his colleagn^% Oan. Averlli, authorlzad or permitted tbe wanton destruction of my propeity t) the extent of thousands of dollaru ; eeizing and waetlni{ my buats aud engines, entirely deutroylng the enclosures of our farm, and the harvested wheat and |$rowliig com and grass; and, when the waste had been repaired, at an out- lay of thousandd of dollars, repeating the de- vaatatioo during ttie past summer. Tbu", again, your forces retreating, before Loriug, drove ofi before them from my service, the only slaves I ever, evi.>a nominally owned ;— and owned th'sse only because, ^fte^- yonr election, moved by their tears tvd remon- strances against being removed from their home on my premises, I lifted a mortgage of $10,000 from their heads and placed it npou the home of my wife and children ; taking, as my only guarantee, their promise, grate. fnlly to serve me, at least, until their labor should liquidate the debt. Thus, again, yonr Oen. Htedman, while eoJoylDg tbe free hospitalities of my house, failed to ivct «1a Tnrcbin's infamous soldiers, from lutniog naked, in open day in crowds thiouHh my shrubbery, and driving our negro servant women, by their shocking shameiesauecd and obscenity, from tbo kitchen Thu?, :tocr Gen. Gordon Granger, wantonly enoonipod his hosts in our lawn, to kindle their camp fires at the roc:s of our noble forest trees, tether their horses in our youog orcbatdp, and plunder the preziieea genetally, while their general pitched his tent, with a mulatto .mistress in It under the window of our family chamber. And, even as I now write, comes the intdUigeaoe that again, after the enormous expense and patient toll of two years in repalting the damage of previous vandalism, our home— hundreds of miles from the seat of war, on the verge cf lo^al Louisville, aad in sight cf Bepublloan In dlana— hns again tietn ri^vaet■tt6d br a ruth- less soldiery an iitteily as before I Fort/ thousand I'oliars would not make Kood my pecnnlary IrfRyfi through your agenta, dlnct- ly or inatiectly,— thiiF, you" admiii^sttatlou proteu^a p up-nty. Voluntary exile here from my fjimliy, Uiy p'ictoial ch^rg-i, and my bntil- ness, to avoid collision with ani Huno^auce from the miserable creatures whom s • Uut- formly you select to bully and rtooitum- ov>n to this soit of treatment. I snbnciit a t^itjgla testimony to that p.^lut from ene of the truest and mas': trustwt itby, if not the luoft ttubted, of all your military agenfH In K ntuf ky, who occupied a position which ei.i.!i!«(j i;im, of all other men, to know be. t, nHd, thtneforc, atcotlm ny which outwcigbo the mire laut. and lit:8 oi 10,000 such eg tbos» who have assailed oie ijays a letter ftom this high cl&Lial, rtcelTcd by me M lateaa J863: — " I have ftilt that yoars la a pecQliarly hard cue. Fo I never heard even your interest aecu>eit yoa , are acting wisely in rtmaiming a fugitive from your fimiiy, jcuf cotgregation and your buainese " a etttement equally hnnorable to me and dtH.iuceftilto your adminiBtratiLn, That I i!>tvt« letalntd my respect for the ccD'^tUntkb eiid lawr, notwithstanding all theiieoQtr«gbB, ttuJla spite of the hnmiliat- log pictnie of the gcvernment drawn In the last clane>' of thla citation, Is surely no doubt* ful evidence of my fidelity as a citizen, i^nd all this, taken in connection with the fict that I ti^ive retained the confidence of the Presbytery, my conetitntlonal overseers, and of a large and intelligent pastoial charge, who to this day nave refused thsir consent to my iitfioial separation from them, I think Jnsttfi 8 mv tUle to the confidence uf the pub- lic In 8peKt!in< freely of t^e high »nd solemn ISBueti I) t V I a mi and my aiisa!! ints. The wVoio controversy betwefU me and them Is Kt^ucible, in its last analybli^, to these queeticns : Is li competent to the Cburch of Ubiii^t to rtetermiaH secular qnestlo/ie, civil, poiiMca! or military 7 And is it lawfal either for I he ■ tiutch volnntarlly to employ her agencies, in any roannor for the piip^iort of stcular ra a^u ee or in propagatioa cf politi. cal prlncVitB, on the cna band, or for the hHocl.'ir ^o7t;rr;ment to intfrfon- with the conitH ai J tirrttnances cf "ho Chuvch on the Other? I'hro qiestiors my Mfinilants, di- r*'otly or icdirt'it'y, affirm, I if Ey ; and for thla dniiil am denounced by obs'qaious eo- clesiasllnn, persecuted and villifl«i by tbe petty mlulocs of the governnitn^, sni iny ptptr fojDwi'y fiupprofsed with tho hl.h Bpn tjon I f tna atJminlatratlon at Wa-ihl- jr- ton. P>' njit me to sot forth — though the limits of a letter require It to Vxi done in moro outline — the grounds rn which I have op- poeed, first, the committal of the Church to any civil p. virrme'-it In gen» ral ; otid, so- condly, to ilia support of cuch an nftm'nl; tta- tion as J f uiH In particular The 'Ivtl govorLra mt, represon'od to us, primarily, by the ccuotltutlon and laws, and secon^^ai i y by yuui administration, so long as Its ac'B Mccord with the constitation and laws, is nndoubtcdly an ordinance ef Ood. And therefciQ by Divine anthoiity yon wield tl^e power o^* the sword to coerce obedleao*. fiat another government. In itself distinct and complete, is also oidalnod of Ofarlat iha Mediator among all Christianized peoples, to which gcvernment has been committed th« "power of the keys," as to yoa the "power of the Bword." As Andrew Melville hsd oc- casion to remind a tyrant, Htuart..-" Ood'a slUie vaseal"— that " there be two Kings and two kingdoms, one ttie Kingdom of Jeans Christ whose subject Jam s Is, and of whose kingdom he Is neither a king nor a lord but only a member, and they wtiom Cbrist hath called to govern his splrilml kingdom have a sufficient authorl y which no Christian king should control or discharge ," so I may re- mind you thai, there are two l^resldeats and Commonwealths in these United Htates; the one President Lincoln and tbe other President Jesrs Christ, la whose Commonwealth Pre- sident Lincoln hath no sort of official func- tion. And I may say this >rith still mere force than Andrew Melville, u<:tltutlon of the country aa well as of the statutes of Ohriat. The distinction between these two powers is clear enough to all save those who have a purpose to serve in confounding them. The government which you represent, so long as your acts accord with the constitution, is de* rived from God the Author of Nature and has cognizance only of the interests that pertain to the presont life of men— >" Life, liberty and the pursuit of happlneas." The spiritnal gov- ernment of the Chtuch Is derived from Christ the medi&tor, as Its source, and can take cog- nizance only of men's et-rnal Interests. Your g07ernment, In common with all civil gov- ernments, whether among Christian or Heathen people, has f r its rule of guidance the light of nature and reason common to all nations, and equally obligatory on all, whether enlightened by revelation or not. But this spiritual government has for Its only rule of guidanca the positive statute law In the re- vesled statute book of Its great founder and Bnler. Your government, by Its Divinely ap- pointed "power of the sword," restrains overt acts of wickedness and coerces outward obe- dtenco. The spiritual government, by Its ■■ power of the keys" for opening the visible Kingdom of Christ to the penitent and obedi- ent and shutting it against the Impenitent and disobedient, guides the consclenoes of men and alms at the "thougktfl and Intents of the heart," primarily, as Indicated by the overt acta of the life. Not a whit more absurd Is the Mnhommedan notion of enforcing religion by the "power of the sword," than the Eraeti- an notion of enforcing poUtloal dogmas nd meBEtin 8 by i or " power of the heyB." All hifitnry, (1i>inoi)8lrat'H hoo I'iiaiiteeB, hjpi)rr;ti:B " armed with >'ur Hillltsry antbmitv to rob chnrch «)ii»Bnd worsblppera and Condemning the devntod ArmstrocgH and Wiogfields with bucdreds whom they represent to every Ignomy end torture ; now la the way of bodily labor and enlTdilng in Btroet sweeping; or now, worse biill the mtntal torture cf listening, in en- fotced silenc9, to tbe Icgical thlmble-rlggirg (if your Bot'.f rs and Wildes, garnished with their ccarte, codSeb Eentimentalism and self- eraltlng patiluU£>m ; or now, still worse than h\l, the aconite cf a reverent spirit and dell- v\ir> conacience compelled to accept in silence the blaepbeniona "niigli makes right 'dogmas of tboir Yankee etbicii and hellish theology. So I might refer yon aUo to the case of fiivctlmoniouB E-cIesiastloB with a roving contmlBSlon from the war department, ana srmed with tho power of the sword to go ntid rob Southern Cbrletlans, or rather to rob tilt) O.id they worship, of the property conse- ' lated to HlB cance. A'l this, Mr. Preaidcnt, I regard as but tbe logical conseqaence of of the ecoleRiastical sycophancy against which I have so earnestly warned the Churches. With shame Knd humiliation I must crnfeEs, i bat it w .11 the church In the first Instnnce that led yon astray, and these are precisely the results threatened to the chnrch, in the Word of God, as tbe punishment of such wanton proBtitutlon of herself to tbe secniar power. In the strong figure of tbe old pro- phet when the chnrch I'ftij "plftv(d thK h'H'-. lot with tbe Assyrian clothed In blue," her judgment Fhall be the contempt, the exac- tions, Rcd the cruel tyranny of her lover, It is a curious verification t f this rule by its ex- oaptloQ that -the Roman Oatholio Ohnrcb, which has from the first refcsed to prostitute her agencies to political and military purpos- es, now Btnnili frrct and dtfitnt. Nomlli> taryauthoiiiy IntKiferra with hir uiliiiotiy or worship BavK to Nt di I'^d nnd hnoiillntirl No Roman Ca'hollc prict-is pIno and rm ve In exile. Beldum, If evei; baa Uomati CuHi'Mo church property been dfeccr/)t>:(l Hr^i dt« strcyed. And while every joor PritiPtaijt minutAr trembles at your coy ppeolnl crdtis, the members of a piiuaihotd who bav^ no famlilea to leave hrokeu-h^nrtxt whtn tbe war-call Drees thimcff. Tbu (zplunatlim of this anomaly is to be found In tie piirctjile ot the prophetic threat tf jadgijient to bo visited on tbe church In the i bops ot the contempt and insolent ezactloDS < f the seen, lar power to whoso purpcaea pl:f fcuh (iebnatd herself. That this charge against the FroteBtint Churches of apostaoy to s^calarlam is well founded will readily appear by a eimple refer- wco to the political history of the country on the onr hind and to the utterances nnd act« of clurch courts, pulpits, theological profeit- rors and cLmch journals on the ntber. The proper limits of this letter preclude anj thing beyond a general reference to tbe more note- rl us facts. Every intelligent citi/en bnowa that, since tho^orlgln of the government, two great poll- tlcal parties have extated, representing two widely dlffdrent confitinctions of the ccnttl- tutlon. And no logical mind can fall to eon that in the ecciesiastlcal acts and ntteiancos to which reference Is here made the solemn sanctions of religion that bind tbe couBcienco —for church courts and pu'pits apeak In the name and by the authority of Christ— are brought to the support of one of these ccn- strnctlons of the constitution as agalDtt the other, and the measures of one part as against the other. It \» Immaterial to the argument which ot tbete parties Is right, nor have I, as an editor, ever presumed to determine. The simple point of my charge against the clutches is that they shonld have asfumed to deturmir-o rucb questions at all, contrary to the tenor ot all Christ's instrnctiocs nnd to tbe very nature of the spiritual power committed to tbi m. In lllnstratlon and proof of tbl4 I rt fe-r yon to some of the ecclefiiastlcal u'terancea of the last three years, beglnnitg with my own church, that I may not bo suspected ( f sectarian partiality in the matter. The Qeneral Assembly at Coluinbna, l'^ 1862, declared, In the name of Ctarlat, dxt "ii: is the clear and solemn duty of tht national gcvemmfnt to preserve, at whitcvtr cost, the national Unlo", enjuinlng np n n)), in the name and by the nuttorlty of the Lord Jesus to (xainine tb' Ir hK^rt md it-ioper toward the goyirnTt^i* " Aid the r.sxae body, in 1864, In Chi t'.< rnnr.o, thonRh seemingly ca efol not to rmutlnn lb<> rsnrr^ of Christ in their pronuDci~iueri<'.>, eL(l>>)6t< in effdct the leading political acta of t&e party in power, some of which I undorstaud Mo ein Ic (it. eh nl w*r no the n r-1 !l>l0 bo the ecn. »8td yoQ io admit, In ycnr letter to TTodgep, to te vioIiitloDB of tUo C9b' ii't;tf^>3 in ordur to EBVt) H. I'tit' c»h(;r Prrsbvt.ji* A^i'-cnbly nt CIn. clnr.ai.), In 186.2, not ru'j (!i dorHod lu lull year war policy, but «l. o (i.ivh u'toranco to their Hs»'ci'!l "/ou/A/;/,'/ ./.r the govorn- imnt, b'lt tiiry follow tt with t'vo or three miooth «po c^lus lor SuuthnTo InBurrectlon- 1«IH.'' Tliln Bsmo body, in 1863, nuilor tho lt^i>1 of Dr. Btrncs, In a papur, chnracttirl/ud, tH uUcranccB fiom that quartor commonly ate, by Us fclngularly nduiom verboalty, nn- d jtof'k to hittl« th 1 coiit'tiuctl'-.n of the C'iiiBtltatlon~and that ta the contf»ry of M>i(lleou'ii and JciforaoL'd tbuoiiue— end not oriy enuniiatod, but formally sont to your >xcuiltnuy a coularation tbnt mnot have fctcrlloA you with ito ivbHOidity and bnbeor- viuLcy— " Thul the present administration is th* governmeht to waioU uhjne, Tiiiflfr God, all citizens of this nutiuii owe utlei/iance !' Tholiefoirnhd Pubi ytotlan bjm d, in 18G2, denounced "CoBrf^icuH, tho cxocntivo anJ the Judiciary, lu that lor many >(ar8 they have perverted iLo cO' stittiUcn to r.inth the rlglite uf man," and declart:^ that, " itv> comprcmlBe with slavery In the c ntti'.atiou is Ilia rock on wh'.oh wo fcavo fplit." The Synod of the Dutch RufoimB.I Church rcaolved " that H la the duty of all C:iil t bus to support the P'tldtut" Wh!)H »b« Aiueit.aa D»ptist M''B-,i(jn<«ry AadocIMI'ii «'i ctaied it your duty to put down tho u-proMked rebellion, as though thry wero coixp.tcnt to dot^rmlne the isfuee involvfd Iti ail th ■ prtvioui eec- lii nal troublce; end rinoived that hljvery, au the cause and oilttio of the \i'A', muit be exterminated." The conrEo cf Bishtip Totter and the Penn- 8; ivanl-i Epieoopal Clergy in getting cp a F Irma EC ml official piotectagainbt the learn- td and venerable Bishop Hopkins Inform, hi t evidently deii'jjno well known to yon r.ud the public to iiced more than this gentrrii reforence. The Oonferences of the ^Muthcdiat Chnrcb, m might naturally be anticipated from the coupsrotivu iridill rerce of that body to' ch- iDi^ ihfijuredivino autonomy ol the cturch gb n ppirltusl commnnweaitb, have transcended 1*11 olhetH In the ^xt'int and r.bBurdity of thf ir i,o'l(icBl d'^liverances The Erie confjrcnre solemnly rovlcwa nnd i^pprnvos the fiiiRC. ment by Ci'intxmi of thn orciuBion cf fUvery iirm the f'TritOTii'B, of the b^refping conflsca- lionacts, &n, as »U conttltntlonal and joi^t. The blood-thlrBty nnd blas.ihomouB Bpctrh'iP iu the New York conforenco la 18G3, and its political dellvaracce', commending avlgor- fivn proBeculion cf the war, vouching for tla lir.an'ilal policy cf the government, di'uniin- ci! K ccppHthead?, &i; Ac, aro fomowhat uo- to Itius The pious iiilitij»tl( n cf thog^n- oral couforeucH a' Pbilade'phia ovor the cap- ture cf Tilt bnrtui, tbtlr roolvw^ in favor of your war policy and • m*ucipntlon policy aro alno, donaiki'n, familiar to jo'j. And the in- n:.n)eriib!t' Iccliltntal actii of fh'i'n rellgloCH boJicB, tho uttoroi'c.H of Ihtir pulpit.-, prcf ses and theological ( halru have ail been in per- fect accuiu Willi thue ctUcial declarations. Thu3, for inctftPfH, tho jjeneral agBtmbly »*. Newark refused it voto a /att but a thuiikt. giving, inotead, , vir tLo oianghter of Spott- dylvabla and ttio W'Mt rixBa, on the giourd, as stated by tbo UKAer of the Bubslitntf, that Ajast, iudli.atiug rovdraes and dtBpund. ency, would Injuili.Liuy «fl';ct Unite ■■ Wtatea funds in Eaicpn, a-d oiHircss tbo cnbln(t at Wasbtcgtou. Church coorta m4do cfliclal pilgiimagtB to "Loyal Leni;ue roonis,'' gave aeenrancu!] of the ilinmi^ti Btatillly ot tbo tieasury dejiartmint ; lectured the pecpln ior voting Bva'.ufii. pulitlcHl cAndidat^a who hid every mental and moral ijuulificatii.n, Pulpl'o every wbuto ncoundod wtih oiBcoBtttoiia ol the party l£tu"ii of 'bo day, with culN f ir recruUe and money to buy Bul);o f r tiariEcendIng her aphere and wlotidvily perveitlDgOhriai's authority and or- ditiinccB to secu-lr.r ends, by being given over to felly and blindnefs of mind, than is to be f;n;id In tbo am'ziDgabBnrditieB promulgated by church ocurts, preachers and learnt d pro- f HFcrB in thoir uttevarces touching the po- iit'jsl B! d raill'aiy queelious of the day. "iho po'liicaM.iir,.;-,; ^liQ vainly imagine an en- doi.'f ni' )ji o t II Ir thoories aid measures by tl!t"-H )evirDi'd politico evangelisal courta and do. torn, Is of ppecial value, mar find to their BQirntv that under the great law of Christ's Fplritual kicgdora ocdainirg puniahmeut in kind, the political and military wisdom of such men is of all follies the greatest. 1 6 It Is not BQiprlBlDg, Mr. Prfleldent, that, hsvlof; woik«d for the secular govornment eo Bialoudly, to the negltct of thutr own ap- polnttd work of propagatlos^ tho goppel, tho i)i;cl«8laatlc8 should oow begin to clatui of thu civil government a helping hand, and re- solve, aa acsumblles and confeirencos havu done, that the people ehail make their civil conatltotion propagate an orthoi'ox gospel, by amending It eo an not only to leco^nlsu a Uoi— a tiuth of natural religion, which olvH ftuverumtints properly onongh acknowledge— l>nt f '?otbe revealed doctilue of the enprome (iiviiiuy of Jeaas Christ, the InsplratUiU cf thu Kcrlptnres, and their antboiity aa the foundation of civil government. It woald insult your intelligence as a states- mnn, recently ordained Doctor of Laws at Princeton, to suppose any argument needful to yonr petoelvlng that the foregoing church action involves directly or indirectly the ap- samptlon that it is competent to the church to tabo cognizance of, and determine, ths civil, pollticnl and military isgurs thatdlvldo thu political parties cf the country. From the fouDdation of the government, as you well know, a political party, and that, gen- oratly, the dominant party, have construed tho constitution as a bond butween sovereign Uta^es; but these polltlco-eoclcsiastical ut- teianotis and aots, ezpreesly or by implica- tion, adjudge the constitution to bind the people Into one consolidated State. Tcis dominant political party have always held the allegiance of the citizen to be due prima- illy to his State and through the State to the general government; but these eccIoalaBtlcsl jariets declare It is due directly to tho gen> eral governmont— some of them, that it " is due, under Ood, only to the pretent adminUtra' lion." The dominant political party->at least a large section of it— have held that a Union of the States cannot be coerced, nor Is such coercion coiasistent with the solemn co- venants of the constitution, but these politl- cal ecclesiastics, one and all, declare this co- ercion to be a duty of the higheBt acd most solemn obligation to G.d. Tho dominant political party have, in time past, stead faetly maintained that ours Is a white men't constitu- tion, regarding4he negro as both a person and a property, but not a citlzsn ; so, in fact, did all political parties for forty years ; and so late as 1828 a Northern administration forced Great Britain, after a resistance of fourteen years, to pay a mlilion and a quarter dcllbrs indemnity for three thousand slaves taken in the war of 1812, on tho ground that the slaves were " privute ]iropert;/ ;" but these po- litical ecoleslastloB one and all declare tho recognition of any snoh right of property In negro labor a sin against God, calling for His righteous judgment. Not to weary you with specifications I add, finally, that a large, though not the dominant party, at the recent election, by over a million and three quar- teis against less than two and a quarter mil- lions of votes — representing some ten mil- lions against twelve millions of the popula- tion—condemned the prominent measures of your admlnlHtratlon ; its negro omsnclpatlon polli:y. Its coctljcation policy, its exturmlLa tlcn policy, its QoancUl policy, Its arbltia*^^y arrrsts and InaptUoiimouts, iu consolidation of irresponsible power in the central govern- ment ; but these political ecclesiastics, spo^k• Ing In tho name of Christ, havu solemnly eu- dorsed your mt-annres and enjoined the sup- port of them as a religions duty, and tboM most explicitly which your opponents de- nounce as the bloodiest, crudest and insanett of them all. Now, it matters not to tho argument what is my opinion or yours touching those measures, n;>r have I ai^sin, Mr, President, had anythtnf!; tosay cl thum, bur left them to tho jadgin< n*; of citizens as such and to their leaders, civil, political and military. 1 bava elmply couunied, first, on the highest doctri- nal gn.uuds that the church had no function toncnlDg Buch (lUBOttons, »ti1 violated fun- damintblly, her great charter In meddling with thf^ni. And soccnily, on tho grountls 01 tho highest ChristUn expediency, that tha church Binned enormoualy in thuj driving away from her ordinances and infloences into Iniidellty and Popery ton millions of the people to whom she has been oommfs* slcned to preach the gospel, >ni the gospsl only. Wblle, on theso tivo gfoundg, resisting (Ttnerally any league cf tho church with any civil administration ss fatal to tho truth ani dangerous both to the civil and religious liberty of men, I am obliged in candor to say tnat, over and above all thif, I have felt and uttered a epoclnl Tepngcanco on tho score of the just inflcencu of the church and the credit cf religion among the people, at home and abroad, against any euoh league of the churches vrlth your a.lministratlon. Hero again it mutters cot to the argument what my opinions or yours are of that ma** ter. I bimply refor to opinions very widely prevailing in tho world and tho injury to religion in such state of opinion. Neither do I moan any oflFanco in the refdrence, not deeire to enter into the question ho^t far " military nececsity," diplomatic necessity, or political neceseity mny justify any ad- ministration in transcendirg i ho great laws of ethics and the convictiosa cf conscience. But I must remind you that, however man- kind may bear with, and apologise for, violations of ethical laws by secular governments under military, diplomatic or other necesfiity, they alvcaya coudoaan and despise any endorsement of, nr apologies for, such violations by the church of Christ. As to tho application of this fact in the present case, jou csnnot be ignorant that a large body of the people, at home and abroad, charge, whether justly or unjustly I do not say, that your admlnhtration baa boen sig- nalized, in the first place, by a remarkable contempt for the great ethical laws of truth. That coming into power in the midst ot public confusion and politio^kl disor- ganization, yon thought it expedient to employ the strategy of conoe«lmeat f ud deception from dintrnat of your ablllt; to itovHru hj open Htrtlght-forwardnegs of ipeocb and forolblo restraint of tha nnraly Th«t while yonr fihnis scdaloasly pro- olkliD'd yoQ "tbtf houeat," yonr mteiKttcoa, frrm ll'St to laiit, cvluco (bo congcloagnecB ofk necessity to epenk evabivuly aiil decep- tively, Ro tbat each of the two boatile par- tioa might flatter themselves that yon were the champtcu of their meaaarea, nutll yon oonld secure power to enforce yonr policy. That onre cntuniitted to this policy you have b«»n oUlg<.d to contlnu-j it. ETen u It Is alao otaarged that oveiy dc- paitmeut of yonr adminlHtratlou baa caught the Insptiatlou of this policy of governing by deception That your Foreign Bee- retary has been •' mahlDg history" of current events for foreign countries on anch a ecala of deception as to have made Amt^rlcsD, like Cblneso, diplomatic statements a BciiQ and derlBlou ; that yonr War Secrotaty saiislBg and appropriating the telegraph to makicg current history for the people at hem**, pla>B upon popular credulity In a manner wblcli would cause the Chinese to Btare, and tbo autb r of the veritable Baron Tronck or Bsion Muucbansen to wonder. That your Financial Secretary moves tbo wires foT the (Icpletlon of tbo (ockets of the maEaes and thu Implotlon of the pockets of the favored few with all tue treacherous se- cresy, dissembling and faleobnod of the gam- bling boll. That religious journalism, Im- posing upon the popular coafldenco In ( miulstratlou eo conceived of, dei^lioy her iijflnence for good and expose reliction to the Bcrff and deiislnn of the multitude. That however diplomatic 'raWeyrauds may define languogfl as "an tnstiunioiit fo- concealing thought," or military nocoaelty, as »n Instiu. mont for clrcaiatlog fahehcod, the grtat re. prosentatJvBof Gliitt't'H n lig'ou on earth must stand cl; ar cf endoralcg tbo ethloa! justice of either definition. Ho sgflln with tbe popuUr concoptlon of your anmlnlHtratlon ns algnillBed by Ita f \ ■-.] the fiiotR nnoecti'.d with thu Hupp'MjtIng of VtA McC!li'nftni», Bnollii, and rthir rfpvraon- tatlvcH of K ciTlll;t?(l «0(1 roiuly v'i»f(*rti, by the Harniildcn, Itiitlem, Ilnntom, »n'l a hun- dred other ropreHenUtlveu o* n ba bitr ui and rowarcly wirfuro, Btlll the mor*l .MiUincut if thn world, Indt'pmdtnt of pitrtl^iib fiulluj;, liM b*wn fr,TO't»\y < utragi d. 1 epuru yoti mi myHelf ^ht^ paiafal reoltol of iho atroclfl b of your Uutloie, Tnichlnn, McNuU", ml fholr larijii olien ; of ctud cutiogi rff'n h»'lpl<.'8H n^.-oiubataota, even eflrf men, m!iitrfl.nin c.S '<\-)\g\ou, womouard chlldrca ; of 8botiand''ab' ■ cl«wi»«t «tlonH ; of Georgia doportfttlona ot wo- ,iu«Btitl'g«:id>i less irreverence of tho cowArdly-fcuI'.ksAo whom you glvo over weak andl'>h<»H>I«E3.eoBa.K mnnities ; of your pro^o'it-marUhalB," with blaBphemons cflrontery, proanmtig- to con- stitute courts of Joflus Ohil^t by- enforced* milltMy oaths, or as blasphemoualy brtPyfiig a worehfpplns; coDgregatloa and Itv? ministers int;) f lliiing solemn mockery to. Gid la the Biicrlflre of prsyer ; cfmysiads of rmn toin from their famillts by your ruthl'^ea conscilp- tlonx, diivon Into a conflict whlch'as cttlzeinB they revolt at, and Blan;E;htered In a warfare whose Buccens can bring no glory and defont overlcfctlug dli'K •'.-• . Nov, wLo!hi;r tbaa* vlaloiiB cfno (ar(,'(» '\ pvtion of thopub'lo aie real or only hnugin.uy, 1 haV'- oa.no«tly c.ii- tondod tbat thn '^hnrcti of (Jhrlut Bhould not bt» af'oclntml with thtm In the popular ralur. ])ut I weary >ou; aud tliureby, piMliipn, endangoi the ( (V ot of thtso BUiJUfNilo-.u upou you en 1 tho public. It wuuM bavu bet n de- Bliahif, otiiorwin-, to cxpoacid to j on that ou'j utii'jr fLutnro cf my t'Ltiiiirny na an oflitor— tiiy fint?ijonl.)m tn the BnM-il;iv ry iIo,5m»8 cf Ol:nr hauUHta'o— '.rJilch h«i) been wholly on n^llKioiiiJ Kiou&on, btlleviuR all formn of tbi!; ^^:)/.mlk to be directly i-utivor- »lv-i of the lif'i<1hull thfiy tbat »bjii*'o,"— .conthmntd U^>d'B word ami vUll- •ilad tho church of Goii In luoplfed luid nnin- 's^tWod ag<*M alilto-;.!' Eator lnlh.> iho kluga-..m iCfhcaVoa.' Hut fM thl« ^ronl'd, cnxxy m» ibi>yoad'tbo buunUii of public j.ntfiuso. :^ yuch,Mf. l:'r(;nlc!ont,"HietUog>jnerAgro!iad8 ^u'^'wRlcih 'I ■ v'nftlciif.nto' my courlti na iia ■editor .and dnnonn':o tlu> aot cf yonr goyoir. 'mpfat— stipprodef oij \ny f.'ncIoula: tli\l jShi'nal, an nii outraiyo ontno fiJodooa of tho pr* si ow,d I'ol' lo'lRiori. riivlr'i^ notvSil'cbarK'd my f'li'y. «lu]'tf.rin pVc/ttiSting »gain>.t the InJnlt t^ thn 'lavs) la my'p.fnon, I am c->Xitont V> wait pa- 'tld'ntly' ih:) d')Vflio3;m(iiit8 of Ooil'u Provl. donoo as to my fu'airo In* Hla ii>.>rvlco. I f t- ,j3lc'o to io»m that rth ;:rH'lena olrjjotlonable to 'yjburxirijhlonp,' patliap?, nnd a" 'or thiin 1, will provide for tik'^ujj ' iip ray tciilir.oriy, Whother I thriuld labor herenfror turiolit. iiili,' thpm-.tn thin fltriyp^'S pn ttra;!?^^*!^*^^-*-*^. 'chtol cr'f<^rb!cif.lii'1i to ;i j t)^.iit, di:voto mysalf to 'tfe'e'asajinlt on tlio lamj great horuHbs on Iho political eIi^o tbrouj^h the so'cula; p;DB8 in not yot clonr tr) m'.\ I cocfiiSJ tho convlctlou grows upon in3th?il It la QoTs purpor>o todcal jvith tho X rei.'cr.t ^pnstacy of.' tSio churc'a jtfiv'cugh ml^b'ior lastruinontallHes thun such (l^b'biB 'as mino iu' tho ecnlefUstlcil Bpherp. It'haa boon tho method of His I'rovidenca ;oft8n to drive hli apoatats church back to tlia truth' thvoujih etcular mvn as His inaciu- ments. • So He used tho heatton Oyrnw > jHe'UBed proflmJnf'n-'y tho Btat(38'Kan Jifi'ji- ,'son,' reputed aBC£j)tio and yet Rcthcr of tho " 'BlU.for roliglona fr.^odi'm. So Ho probabiy kWlU use a great' polttic:»l patty by obliging It In Eelf.def'''iiy- . i ■4^ t./ mi ■I w ■'?^?*-'' >?« .■•i 1 4 *, J- - --v ,^^ >;;.»^< ■ r-c -