Republican gazette — Concord, N.H., 1801-08-13 00:00:00, page 1

From the Albany Regiftcr.
AS many of our Clergy, and others of
our fellow citizens, appear to be very
anxious for an union of Church and State,
it may not be amiss, for their informal
tion and convi&ion, to give place to the
following excraa: from the second vol.
of the works of the reverend and pious
Doctor Watts:
" The great fdefign of civil govern
ment, and the institution of magistracy
among men, is to keep the peace, to fe:
cure the persons and properties of man
kind, who are innocent, from all man--
ner of injury ; and there is nothing more
of religion comes within their province,
than is absolutely necessary to secure the
public peace. Now, upon this account,
and that with some appearance of rea
son, it hath been supposed, that atheists,
or those who deny God, or his provi
dence, or his government of the world,
may be juftiy punished by the magis
trate, so far at lead as to be banished
from their dominions ; bec^ufe they who,
deny the knowledge and justice of God,
a superior governor, can give no securi
ty by oaths of their allegiance or loyalty
to any government whatsoever; and will
break all manner of bonds when they
can do it fafely. But where some di
vine power is owned and acknowledged,
who knows and will punish perjury and
falfhood—the civil government hath no
farther power in the affairs of pure reli
gion, whe^e the peace of mankind, the
property of man, and- the fafety of the
state are not concerned : Now these pri
vileges and powers are not impaired by
any article of the religion of nature.'
" This was the notion of the wiser &
better heathens by the light of nature,
and therefore you do not find them usu
ally quarrelling about their Gods, and
bringing,one ^another before courts of
justice, because of their contentions and
differences in matters of their relig
ion : nor could the 'magiftrates bear it.
This appears in the case of St. Paul at
Corinth, Afis 18, 12, 16 — And when
Gallio was the deputy of Achia, the Jews
made infurreElion with one accord against
Paul and brought him to the judgment
feat, faying, this fellow perfuadeth men to
worJhip God contrary to the law. And
when Paul was about to open his mouth,
Gallio said unto the Jews, if it were a mat
ter of wrong or wicked lewdness, Os ,e
Jews, redfon would that IJhould bear with'
you; but if it be a question of words and
names, and of your law, look you to it ; for
Iwill be no judge of such matters^. And he
drove them from the judgment fat. But
then Gallio was much to be blamed in
[the 17th verse, when he took no cogni
zance of the Greeks beating Sohhenes,
an innocent man, being the ruler of the
synagogue: which was a crime against
the peace of the city, and an offence a
gainst the government, which Gallio
ought to have resented. But, however,
Dr. WATTS vs. Church & State Union.
political ffliscelUnp.
A MOST EXCELLENT ESSAY.
REPUBLICAN GAZETTE.
CONCORD, N, H. Thursday, August 13, 1801—Vol. I. —2B.
“ But this hath been the unhappiness of
chriftians almost in all ages since chrif
tianity began, they have been cited be*
fore magistrates, and punished even by
their fellow chriftians, as well as by the
Jews and Heathens, for these notions and
practices wherein the magift rate hath no
power. Thus the Jews began you fee
very early, and the Roman governors
and Heathens have carried it on; and
chriftian magistrates have carried this
matter to the height, but it is in.the Ahti
chriftian church. They have done this
by the bloody persecutions, racks, tor
ments and murders of the best of their
fallow chriftians, where the very light!
of nature diaated to the best and wisest
of heathens, that they bad do power or,
authority ; and it is a plain confeffion of
it, where Feftus and Gallio were not wil
ling to meddle ; nor would Pilot, him#
felf, who crucified Chrift^have done it,
if the Jews had not almost con drained
him, as fufficiently appears in the hiftory
of the death of thrift. Let us remem
ber then, that the religion of Christ is
not built upon the wisdom or power of
men, NOR DOTH IT NEED SUCH
SUPPORT—aII that Christianity wants,
is, to have the person, property, and
peace of its profefTor secured against the
outrages of wicked men. Its own truth
and excellency, and divine authority,
will make its own way into the world,
by the assistance of the blessed spirit,
when human powers do but let it alone,
and preserve it from the unrighteous vi
olence of its neighbour#."
the civil magistrates among the heathen'
had nothings do in matters of pure re
ligion, yet the Jews were continually
running to the civil magistrate with their
charges against those who opposed their
religion, or any part of it. And this is
the plain apparent reason of it: The go
vernment of the Jews was a theocracy ;
God was their king,.as well as their God
—the law that he gave them by the hand
of Moses, was the law of their secular
affairs as well as the rule of their reli#
gion ; and therefore the high prteft was
made a judge in many civil, as well as
religious affairs. Their religion and their
civil government were so interwoven,
by Gods being their king as well as their
God; that there were many crimes in
religion to be punished by the civil ma=
giftrate, by the appointment of God him
felf; which makes the case of the Jews
different from the case of all other na
tions under heaven ; for no people ever
had God for their civil and political go
vernors and lawyers, but the Jews alone.
Christianity does not claim, or assume, or
pretend, to any such privilege or power:
It doth not alter this matter from what
the light of nature hath determined: It
introduces no new civil government, but
leaves all those matters as it found them ;
and since the Judaic state and govern
ment are abolished, there is no magif^
trate on earth hath power to enquire or
command, to rule or punish, any fun
ther in matters of religion, than to fee
that the state fuffers no damage, and the
peace of mankind, and the government
be secured.
LIBERTY AND THE CONSTITUTION.
PARTIES have frequently attempted
to maintain their influence by lies and
deception, but they have flever long fuc#
ceeded by these means.
If, as we have fully shewn, the a& of
Congress made in July 1790, for fixing
the permanent feat of government at a
place on the Potomac, which is now call
ed Washington, had in view the advan
tages of that river for a navy, John Ad
ams did right, when he established the
firft dock there : and Thomas Jefferfon.
does well, in improving it for the pur
pose that Adams appointed. The pros
priety of this measure is strongly evinc
ed from this circumstance, that the gov
ernment of the United States has exclu
sive jurifdi6tion there, to command and
preserve the property. The ad of Con
peace establishment, passed
■l% directs that all the Chips
fyjlx frigates, shall be haul
■lFis m the last printed vo-
FTaws ending in March 1801.
This a& may be wrong, but Jefferfon
had no concern in it, excepting that he.
signed it as President of the Senate. The
fliips were to be hauted up. Congress
had ordered the President to provide
two docks ; one only, has been as yet
provided, the other is not begun ; in that
one, the veffel&are placed. How would
any President dare to place, or haul them
up in any other ?
There were orders to provide for buil
ding fix Chips of seventy four guns, con*
trads have been made, while Mr. Adams
was President, for a part of the timber:
Jefferfon has suspended the power of
making contrasts, until Congress shall
be assembled, he is therefore charged
with being an enemy to the navy. But.
when this is examined he will appear irJ
I sincerely believe that there is not a
real pious, and truly enlightened divine,
in the United States; that wishes for such
an union ; or who does not cordially a
gree in opinion with the reverend Dr.
Watts, in this matter. But it is to be
lamented, that there are many of the
clergy, and other classes of citizens in
our country, whose fafcinated fouls are
so riveted to the old school of the an.
cient order, of what they call regular
governments, that the most powerful and
convincing arguments, will not effect a
change in their wishes for a union of
church and state. These, however, are
but comparatively few, when contrasted
with the real republican friends to our
constitutional rights ; and are more the
objeds of pity, than of fear or alarm.—
Hence, wherein they think differently,
let them remain the monuments of the
fafety in which error of opinion may be
tolerated, where reason and truth are left
free to combat it. Candidus,
From th Chronicle.
The CANVASSER—Ab.
The NAVY of the NATION.
AMERICAN POLITICS.
Great is Tau th, and it will prevail.