American watchman and Delaware advertiser. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1822-1828, 1822-08-20


lsionary tour will yield him a safe profit till he
liable to End more eligible situation. Thus arcth
,|springs opened and thus the money flows 70
flthesc sacred purposes'!!
u But there is another view Of the subject of whc
levery man who loves his country, who esteems hi
religious privileges and those of his posterity
should be fully apprized The direct tendency o
these institutions is to give to the priesthood an in
fuence which cannot fail ultimately to prove sub
versiye of religious freedom 1T is the avowed OBJ
ject of these Seminaries to furnish sufficient mum
Der of preachers that there shall be one for ever,
1000 persons in the United States This plan which
was set on foot few years since in New England
10y Lyman Beecher, in an Address,, large edition
OF which has been published for distribution by the
N. E. Tract Society, has been zealously copied af
ter by every subsequent writer the subject, anc
at this very time every nerve is strained to accom-
lpsh the object. And what, let me ask would be
the effect oil its accomplishment This Lyman
Beecher himself tells us, under the pretence o
finding remedy for what he calls svital defect
OF our national organization'-.The prevalence,
says he, of pious intelligent, enterprizing minis
tiers through the nation, at the ratio of one for 1000
would establish schools, and academies and Colleges
and habits, and institutions of homogeneous intiu-
ence. These would produce sameness OF views
and feelings, and interests &c. Let this homogene
ous influence once be established; let our schools
academies, and colleges once be under the influence
OF IMAM made ministers in the proportion of one
Tor every thousand persons, and we may then bid
long adieu to the blessings of civil and religious
freedom We should soon an inquislion es
tablished not less dreadful than those recently in
Spain & Goa Or, TO come nearer home, we should
soon see acted over again the bloody and ntol
Grant proceedings which similar homogeneous IN
lfaence produced in New England some hundred &
enlightened national constitution is no certain secu'
rity. Change once the public sentiment by means
such as are in operation, and change of the con.
|stuion easily follows. That the clergy generally
have such design, am far from believing. Most
of them no doubt. would revolt at the idea Of being
actors in such scenes but that this is the tendency
of many of their plansis too papable to be denied
and 1t is dangerous to trust men with power Many
OF them, should also hope, have no idea of pro
noting religious establishment, yet that this was
ACTUALLY in hopeful contemplation few years since
10y the Presbyterian or Congregational Clergy, is
|eyident from the letters of Ignatus Thomson, who
once stood connected with this body of ministers
and has developed the conspiracy. BY these letters
it appears that itthey could have got Chief Magis
trate to their mind the clergy ,Cere to be remember
ed Finding themselves, however, defeated in their
object, their next plan was TO get the Colleges
der their influence THE Calvinistic sentiments,
say they, never will prevail till We get the Colleges
under our influence Young men, when they go
to College generally have not formed their reg-
GUS sentiments. We ought TO have president and
instructors who have the address to nstil the Calvin
stic sentiments oihout the students being sensible
of 1t. Then nine out of ten when they leave the
College will support the Calvinistic doctrine They
will go out into the world, and will have their in.
huence in society In this way we can can get
better support without any law than we have ever
had with, and besides, when all our Colleges are I'm
der our influence, it will establish our sentiments
and influence so that zoe can manage the civil 60
rernn,ent as zoe please.'
Let an ascendency like this once be gained by the
clergy, call them Catholic, Presbyterian, Episco-
paI'aD, or Congregational, and who can doubt for
a moment that we should soon have hierarchy esta
blished more oppressive than the tyhing system in
England and probably as intolerant as any which
has existed in Catholic Countries, And although
some of them may now have no idea of an union of
church and state, and could hardly persuade them
selves they would be advocates of such a measure
yet give them once the power, and let the civil 60
vernment become friendly to the object and we
should soon see their scrupes give way, and their
hands extended to receive their salaries from the
public chest, at the head of government from "a
deposit in each state (4) or more directly from
the hard earnings of the laborious poor!
What then would De the iate OF any man who
should dare to complain, or to teach doctrines diff
fereni from those which should be agreed on as
orthodox, may easily be OWNED from the maliy-
nifty manifested towards such as dare to oppose
them, and from the anathemas hurled against those
whose doctrines do not square with their assumed
standard of orthodoxy. If they are thus bold in
their tone and in the avowal of their objects when
they have not power, what would they not do when
in the actual possession of it
That an establishment is not an idea so unpopu.
lar as some may imagine, the following extract
from the North American Review will sufficiently
discover. we respect and es,eem,' say the Re-
viewers. speaking Of England that love OF order and
reverence for religion which has established and
L L Il q z.