American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1844-12-12
THE SABBATH CONVENTION.

We continue the publication of letters receiV-
Those below from the Hon. Theo. Frellnghuy-
sen and Chancellor Walworth will be found full
ly worthy of the distinguished sources whence
they emanated.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, Nov. 22d, 1874.
Dear Sir: Allow me through you to express
TO the National Sabbath Convention, about to
assemble at your place, and to which was APP
pointed delegate, my sincere regret that !
cannot, consistently with other duties, attend
its deliberations. | had made arrangements
to be there, and until yesterday | supposed |
should be able to do so.
Not only the religion, but the general mo-
rality of q nation is intimately connected with
the due observance Of the Sabbath; and the de-
- alterations of this convention, have reason to
believe, will have a most important influence
"a turning the attention of every part of our
extended republic to the subject. Experience
has shown that the morals of the people soon
become corrupted where the Sabbath, instead
of being devoted TO the contemplation Of God
and the duties we owe to him and to our fell
low men and our own families is spent by the
mass of tho people in secular employments,
profane revelry, irreligious sports, in travel
ling on business or for pleasure. ! will refer
to a striking illustration of this fact. We
know from history that James the first of Eng
land, in the latter part of his reign, publicly
sanctioned the dissertation of the Sabbath by
his impous declaration in favor of Sabbath
sports in Lancashire and few years after
wards his unprlncipled son and successor con-
summated the work of impiely by charging
the license, and extending it to all England
He also rebuked and censured the excellent
Chief Justice Richardson, and the magistracy,
who had attempted to preserve the holy rest of
the Sabbath from being disturbed by dancing
assemblies and other revery, archery, vaultng
and other sports of the like nature. | regret
that am also obliged to say that the then pri-
mate of England joined with the king in this
censure and rebuke of the upright chief justice,
if he did not indeed instigate the declaration of
Charles the first in favor of Sabbath breaking,
to draw the attention Of the people from the
, encroachments power. The corrupted state
of the public morals which followed, particu-
,harly among the cavaliers and the lower classes,
is to some extent matter OF history, and is
daily becoming more so as the light Of truth is
thrown upon the history of that dark period
The bloody revolution which succeeded, and
the final expulsion of the race of the Stuarts
from the throne few years afterwards, may
properly be considered as but the just retribu
tions of an offended God; that God who, amid
the thunderings of Sinai, had commanded the
'neople to remember the Sabbath day TO KEEP
it holy.
Allow me also to refer TO the case of the
total abrogaton of the Sabbath by revolutionary
France That abrogation was accompanied by
general corruption of morals, and even by
the breaking up of the conjugal relation, under
the law allowing an unlimited divorce at the
mere will of the parties, when, as the Able
Gregoire states, upwards of twenty thousand
divorces were registered in the short space OF
eighteen months, and those in the city of Paris
we're nearly equal to the number of marriages
There again the headless trunks of unnu;nber-
,od thousands of contending factions attested
NE righteous Indignation Of the God Of the
Sabbath, at this national desecration and abro-
cation of his holy day, and the total extinction
of all religion.
On the other hand, may refer with plea
sure to the high state Of public and private mo-
rails which existed among the pilgrim fathers
of our own beloved country, who fled hither
that they might enjoy and maintain the undis-
turbed sanctity of the Lords Day, with free
dom also from religious persecution. Witness
also the approving smiles of Heaven which
followed the proper observance of such holy
day by tue sons and daughters of the pilgrims