Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1834-12-08
To the Editor, ofiBe Ti,oiuiap

notice The doings of the virginia SYNOD and the
charlottesville Temperance Convention. in rcla-
non 10 the immortality ofthe tr ,fic in ardent spirits
you VIII confer u favor on some # your friends md
subscribers 10y publishing the resolution of the Sy-
nod, winch is IN substance the resolution adopted by
the Convention; and is is follows
: As ardent spirits is a poison the use of which
as a dr'nk Is not only needless INT hurtfnl as il
tends to torn 'o'cmperae appcttcs and habits, and
while II is continued, III evils of lntempcrance can
never be done away as lis use causes a great Dor,
''oh OF the paipcfism, crimes and wretchcdncs, of
The community, increases the number and severity
o. diseases, aud brings down naltitu les premature
" to The gray, as II tends 20 oh,iruct the progress
o, the Gospel and 10 r,,in Tor ettrhty the souls Of
men therefore,
" Rtsolred, That in our rieic, tho traffic in ar.
dent spirits TO he used as a drink) is mofoi}y
"fong, and ought TO be universally abandoned.n
1 MS IS the resolution, Us passed unanimously by
the Synod of Virginia ; this they believed 10 be
the truth on he subject and as the Ministers and
Pastors at a portion of the Church of Chfist, they
have published thoir opiai u to the Cawclcs
"nder Meir care, thai, 10 trnfi: IN ardent splt,ts, TO
be ns'd as Il drunk rs an immoi nlity-a SIN. They
d sire that this declaration should be distinctly nm.
dersiood by every Presbyterian in Virginia no
"a u law, The intraclion Of which would expose
hem TO excis,oo from he Church, C ruur SVnods
have no legislative power bat as the dcclded ~
p'lion OF The synod, winch they intend 10 re up
on the Chuiciies under their care, by The use flhe
most powerful weapons that men can w,,ld bv
he "fre aad fogsot" of Christian love and sound
augmentation. NJ my of your readers were not .
lntlc surprised Ihat you should charge tn Syno
[ whose sfccial duty It Is 10 ms ruei their Churches
IN moral and spiritual lhings) with arrogance IL
exhibiting tn their Own people what they believed
- H., H., $500.
cation ofthcir urn denomination from this anuzine
eyi. Bot the synod of Virginia Is nor alnns Ia
this matter. We believe that nearly all the Jnd,.
ca'ories of Evang"llcal Churches IN the laod have
expressed III substance the above resolution und
we conf lently believe that the day is not Tar dis
iani, when every goo man, and every evan.,lcal
de nomination IN the land will unto in declaring,
that, IN their view, the traffic in ardent spirits, to
he used as IA drnk, is morally ,cr0rg, and ought TO
be uni, ersaHg abandoned.
REMARKS-bythe Editors.
We certainly have as Il tie disposition, ns We
have right, 10 object to the use of any means which
the i Synod Of Virginia mny deem II rropor to
employ, IN exhibiting 10 their o n people the
tue %staaIari, and in attempting a purificatio, of
thor ohn denomination" from any ovll VIII ch II
may suppose To exist among them. And we had
hoped that The fact that the official authorities OF
MI the evangelical churches had sanctioned the reso-
luton upon which we commented, and farther, that
II hal been adopted nearly unanimously by n body
consisting OF men of all denominations, and OF no
denomination al all, would have shielded us from
such an imputation. II was not because a Syaod
adopted this resolution, that we antmndvrricd upIn
II ; for. If we know ourselves, we cordially deiest
hat narrow minded sect lridnI>rn ahdoigoiry which
IS the rcproach of The Christian wo ID, and in our
amman rho mos fnruatJ hi. tn,Aml,,,ont - H..
general spread of true plcry. We objected To The
resolution for the reasons statcd-frsi ,,hnt it woulj
have , tendency to allenale mcoft he friends ofthc
Temperance Reform from lha' great & noble cause !;
secondly that the arbltra y d fn,tlun o; moral rlgh
and wrong, IN matters wherein every mans con
science, enlightened by reason aud revelation,
should be his own euide, savors strongly Of AFRO
game and presumption an ihI,diy, that, carried
to lis Legitimate results, 1t is as dangerous as ii Is
presumptuous. Cunclaves Of very good men ~ the
Northern Suites, Whose zeal GU strlps thelr tllsdre-
ion, have resolved, thai not only the traffic III slarcs,
but the act of holding them, is grossly immoral
nay, tn 1t il Is u SIN So onpardonablc IN us charac-
ter, that he who is guilty of IT, IS 100 urholy 10 re-
cel.e the sacrament al the Lords Supper-too wirk-
ed TO be entitled TO the privileges of the Lotd's
sanctuary And where will these 4" nr'v stand.
ards" end, If we once admit them to he varied &c
cnrding to the whim and caprice of fallible and cr-
ring mortals 7 II the "irafic in ardent spirits" be
denou ced as It Immornl' to day by one convention
Of individuals, why my not tic traffic in powder
and lead, in guns and pistols, in swords and dlrks,
and in polsons be anaihematzrd Tomorrow 7 And,
borrowing the llberty of human action within s I'll
more contracted limits, Why may not ornaments Of
gold and silver, aud costly fabr cS, and rich furhi-
tine, be placed o" the lis of contraband articles the
next day : For our own parts, we believe that inc
lminoraluy consists not IN the q traffic" but III the
lmnnoJcratc use Of Intoxicating lqaors Just as the
act of numbering a man, by a dagger, by a gun Or
by poison, IS not The crime OF the makers or ven
ders of those jendly agents, but Of him who buys
and uses them Tor purposes of mischief. But, we
Will not farther argue thus SUBJECT for winch we
have neither time, space nor inclination.
"SOUTHERN LITERARY MESSENGER"
We suhioin the table of contents of the 81 (or.
Na,cmbcr) No. of Mr.. Whites " Literary Mes
stngrr." its exterior appearance IS equal 20 that
Of lis pred -cessprs. Ofthe character of rs contents
we cannot speak, not having yet founi time 10 pc
rusc it. We shall hereafter take occasion 10 10
so:
CONTENTS.
"Originol Atticlcs in Ptoss.-P Publ isher's Notice
-Sketctes Of The History and Present Conditon Of
TrIpoli, wih some accounts ofthe other Barbtry
states, No. 1.-The ID SIP pttc Man-The Re
pofter's story, or the importance of a Single SyIli-
bIe TIE Cottage IN the Glen-A Leaf from The
Journal Of a Young American Tourist in Italy
Remarks on New Englund-Eniosy on Lafayette
-p,nkncy's Eioquencc-Tte Dandy Chasiised-