Cheraw gazette. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1835-1838, 1837-01-03
ATTEMPTS AT EvANGELlzATIoN IN SPAIN
AND IN PORTUGAL.


rable situation. Some troops, Scduced BY,
iutriguers, have proclaimed at Madrd and
at Lisbon, cons itu,ions, not accordant 10
the opinions, manners or wants OF the oou'h
pf Europe. Civil war desolatcs the Spa
nish peninsula. and Don Carlos, opposing
the excess of liberty by an excess OF des
rotism, has proclaimed. if we may believe
the Journals, the re-es' abliShnlcnt OF The In
QUESTION that bloody and infamous trlbu,
nal which was abolished by king Ferdinand
VII. In this struggle of conflicting pas,
SONS, amidst the shouts OF cN"cu'lonerS ana
the groans of vic inns. it IS difficult tor the
Gospel to make is voice heard. Can the
cals of the God of peace awaken the con-
science and convert the soul, amidst war,
carnage, mourning, dcsolatlon and runs
However, there is little good along wEh
the mass of evil, and some rays OF an ap-
preaching dawn begin to eniighcn tho dark
ness which covers the Peninsula.
1t is a fact generally admitted. even by
the partisans of Rome, tha; the Spanish and
Portuguese clergy have lost great portion
of their influence, especially With the MD
die classes of the nation. The time is gone
bv when the word of prirsf can be cntor-
ced as the word of God and when ignorant
and tynnnca monks can rule the PENN
suIa with an iron roI. The eyes Of the ma
ton begin to be opened. The people have
torn off the mask of these modern Pharl-
sees, and have discovered their shameful
hypocrisy; they have uncovered these Will
ted sepuchrcs, and have found within
mass Of dead mems bones and ali uncIean-
MSS. Never, Ii may be safely sald, will
Popcrv recover ;hc ground it has lost; nc
ver viii Rome exert there tire absolute do
mnon she once possessed. Possibly Don
Carlos may enter Madrid, and may gradu-
allv subiuga'e all Spain but even should
TINS suppositon be realized, the Spanish
clergy will never recover its ancient power;
for it would be surrounded by modern opln-
ions anil modern manners. What is, is.
Nothing on earth can make Spain and Por-
tugal 60 back to the stupid preiudiccs of the
sixteenth century. Thus Rome has ire.
vocably lost her two strongest fortresscs-
the retreats in which she pretended 10 bid
defiance to all the forces Of the human
mind.
Unhappiiy, the inhabitants Of the PENN
sula, in leaving one extreme, have run mo
another; if they are no loagcr superStltlous,
they have become inidel, and while rcfus-
ing to believe every thing, imagine they
ought not 10 believe any thing. This re-
suit was almost inevitable; for having been
instruc I'd in merely human religion, the
religina Of the priests, when they rejected
this false religion, they knew of no other,
and embraced skep,icsm. The number
of infidels is immense in the Peninsula, and
the responsibility Of this sad STATE of things
rests upon the Romish clergy, who have
shut the door of the kingdom of Heaven
agains, nation that had loolishly confidcd
10 them is religious des'ines.
The friends of The Gospel, in France, feel
that they have important du.ies to perform
in these circumstances, and tha: God calls
them 10 enter mo this field OF tures. They
have had the New Testament printed in the
Spanish language, as well as many tracts.
The distributors Of these religious tracts, 1t
is true, meet with many difficulties, anc the
inhabitants are not favorably situated for
receiving the Gospel of Peace. Yet the
Lord condescends 10 encourage Christians
in their arJuous work. and VIC can already
remark some fruit Of their labors in this new
field. An English traveller who has resided
for some time at Barcelona, writes in the
following words from that city 20 the Bible
Sociev Of Paris:
81 find things here in state that makes
me think RON no risk in providing myself
with copies of the word of God, ana offer
ing them o those who will purchase Or take
them. The same day that received your
letter, | sold three dozen copies Of the Bl.
bic for f6 los. s;erling, and distributed
six gra III ously. In the ten days following,
| found purchasers for 100 copies, and gave
away 40. cannot tell you, however, the
difficulties which prevent, in Spain, the i'll
production Of a single copy Of the Hoy
Scriptures: hut Il C goodness Of Col is grca-
ter than the opposition Of men. Indeed,
was about 10 send back 10 Marseilles $50
copies Of the Bible which had on board a
vassei, owing 10 TIC impossibiii'y of cutcr-
ing them, when succeeded, in Il lawful
way. but secretly, i'll Introducing them at 4
small expense. have on hand six hun.
dred copies. bat as | dispose of number
every day, | hope that they will soon all be
in the hands OF the inhabitants Of this city.
where there is great spiritual darkness, how !
ever distinguished the inhabitants are for
Intelligence and natural talents"
The journals of Spain begin to notice the
labors Of Bible Societies. A Journal pub.
lished a, Madrid, called L'Espaenol has
LATELY published a long article on This sub
iect, which has been copied into paper in