The Arkansas advocate., 1830-04-28

the neighborhood where it originated. The more rapid and the more frequent this interchange, tho more rapid viii be ] the march ef intellect, and the progress 1 of Improvement. The mail is ahe chief means by which intellectual light, ira
 diates to the extremes Of the Republic. Stop ii one day ill seven, and you retard i one seventh the advancement of our country. So far from stopping the mail on Sunday, the committee would recom- mend the use of all reasonable means to give 1t a greaterexpedition and greater exteniion. What would be the eleva- tion Of cur country, if every new con- cepllon could be made to strike every
 mind in the Union at the same time ?- 1t is not the distance Of a province or state from the seat of government which endangers its separation, but 1t is the
 difficulty and Of
 between them. Our mails reach Mis- ] souri and Arkansas in less time than
 they reached Kentucky and Ohio in the
 infancy of their settlements; and now. when there are three millions of people extending thousand miles west of the
 Alleghany, we hear less of discontent. than when there were few thousand scattered along their western base.
 To stop the mail one day in seven, would be to thrust the whole Western country, and other distant parts of this Republic, one days day j jjearn y tfrren. theseat of Government. But, were 1t expedient to put an end to the transmission of let ters and newspapers on Sunday, because it violates the law of God, have not the petitioners begun wrong in their efforts? 1 If the arm of Government be necessary to compel man to respect and obey the laws of God, do not the State Govern ments possess infinitely more power in this respect? Let the petitioners turn to thene, and see if they can induce the pas sage of laws to respect the observance of the Sabbath: for if 1t be sinful for the mail to carry letters on Sunday, 1t must be equally sinful for individuals to write, carry, receive, or read them. It would seem to require that these acts akould be made penal, to complete the system. Travelling on business or recreation, ex- cept toand from church; ;allp printing, car rying, receiving, and reading ofheYspa- pers; all conversations aGd social inter- course, except upon religious subjects, must necessarily bepunished, tosuppress the evil. Would it not also follow, as an inevitable consequence, that every man, woman, and child, should be com pelled to attend meeting and as only one sect inthe opinion ofsome, can be deem- ed orthodox, must it not be determined, by iaws which taat is, and compel all to hear those teachers, and contribute to their support? If minor punishments would not restrain the Jew, or the Sab batarian, or the ln6del, who believes Sat urday to be the Sabbath, or disbeheves the whole, would not the same system re- quire that We should resort to imprison- ment, banishment, the rack and the flag 1 got, to force men to violate their own consciences, or compel them to listen to doctrines which they abhor? When the State Governments shall have yielded to these measures, it will be time enough for Congress to declare that the ratiing of the mail coaches shall no longer break the silence of this despotisn. 1t is the
 duty of this Government to afford to at ito Jew or Gentle, Pagan or Christian, the protection and the advantages of our
 benignantinstitutions, on Sunday,as well
 as every day of the week. Although
 this government will not convert itself into an ecclesiastical tribunal, it will practise upon the maxim laid down by the founder of Christianity--that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day. If If the siTili ghty has set apart tho first day of the week as time which man is bound to keep holy, and devote exclu- sively to his worship, wcald 1t not be more congenial to the precepts of Chris tians, to appeal exclusively to the Great 4 Lawgiver of the universe to aid them in making men better-in correcting their practices by purifying their hearts
 Government will protect them in thei. efforts. When they shall haveso instruct ed the public mind, and awakened the conseiences of individuals, as to make them believe thatiti is aviolation of God: ! law to carry the mail, open post offices or receive letters o, Sunday. the evil q [ which they complain will cease of itself, without any exertion of the strong arm l of civil power. When man undertakes fn he Gna's aycnrer. he hecomes a de.