Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1846-09-18
Zeal without knowledge.

Duties of Minister'S" from which we make the
following extracts:
"Snce the Liberty party has nominated minister
of the gospel a member to Congress from this Dis
tric and have, also, nominated one for Represent
iave from tins town ma"y o. me FEEDING , Poeanf
suffer account OF ministers leaving their holy calling
to engage In polltlcs
This is not true.
an has long been their object to keep ministers and
Christians away from the baot-box especially II they
went ;herc az Christian men, without leaving their re-
| gion at home
This is not true.
"The politics ofthe old parties have been corrupt
that the leaders have found it for their interest to dis
courage ministers from saying doing much lest their
wicked deeds should be brought to light, and their
corruption exposed, hence they hare iabored 10 impress
upon The public mind the idea that religion and politics
have no conncc ton whatever
This is not true.
otis enough to destroy the piety ofany man, to dis
connect his religion from his duties as n citizen and
Christian and yet this doctrine, destructive as 1t rs, IS
adrocdted, and pracscd upon by the great mass OF
protesting Christians in this nation"
This is not true, Gf we understand what it
means.)
at has even gained such ascendancy that minister
is nolr iooked upon too good man Tor a candidate
for any Office for the more nicked and reckless
diddte is, the more r0tes he rW secure
| TINS Is not true
Now then we again assert. that each ono OF
the foregoing positire afirmaiionS of this Third
Party paper is wholly and entirely false. There
is not one single syllable word of truth in them
from beginning to end We take it this is
broad and satisfactory issue. We call upon the
Gazette. therefore, either to shoc the truth OF It's
allegations or to admit that it has descended in
to the forrest depths of political degradation TO
use its own Words in search of the most mi 1era-
BILE electoneering slang ola pot-housc politician.
1t is true, we believe. that the Sentinel has
more or less. for years, poured out its abuse and
scurility upon Clergymen. and the Faculty OF
the University. for presuming to exercise their
undoubted and ndefoasiblc right to cate, but even
il is wholly guiltess of every charge brought by
the Gazette against the old political parties " IN
this town"
Mr.. Briggs, the Editor Of the Gazette. claims
to be minister of the Gospel" His paper is
certainly most motley and irreverent mixture
, of evangelical aud worldly matters. Appeals to
the Almighty, and imputations of dishonesty and
knavery upon his fellow men. run through his
harrangues in the most miscellaneous manner,
the one, apparently, giving him about as much
concern as the otter. 1t is manifest that he re-
cards himself as a warrior in the Church RH'-
iant," and his special mission to be TO fgh
, with 1.-THE sword of the Lord and of Gideon" and
, with the more carnal weapons of political mis-
representation and deception, the forty thousand
voters of Vermont who do not agree with him
that Third- Panyism is the best 'coy to rid the
nation of Slavery!
We protest against this reckless and Wholesale
abuse and denunciation. and especially from pa
per which lays the largest claim to the religion
of the Gospel of Christ. And we particularly
: protest against this dragging of the MINISTER'S OF
that Gospel into position where theyare made
e apparently to S0Hcim the eleclionccring mis-
It representations and slang of partisan paper
We venture to affirm that Mr. Briggs never
/ heard, and never wW hear the Rev Mr. Parker,
whose election he advocates in the article from
which the above extracts are taken. make the
sweeping and false assertions which he has
II made against both the old political parties in
l. Vermont We have have no acquaintance with
i, Mr. p, but we assume him to be gentleman, and
y will permit his name and character to be used
: a sanction of such species Of political warfare
u he will, of course, determine for himself.
But we have not quite done with the Ga-e"
Z yet. Since the Free Press has been in the
e hands Of its present proprietor, it has been III,
special object of the attacks of this Third-Party
> paper. The very first No. of the Gazette con
tanned a most discourtcous and un"entlcmanlS
imputation upon the sincerity of our Anti-Slavc
ry opinions; and when, week after. in reply t.
J! the Sentinel we stated that the Free Press was
= and would continue to be. an abolition paper, thu
" Gazette goes out of its way to thrust its nose in
'' to the controversy, and again mputes hypocris.
to the conductor of this paper lmmedacyai
ter the election (and in the very paper in whcI
it excuses the want of editorial matter by TIN
W plea of illness y it coarscly and in the most vul
" gar terms falsely charges the Wings of Burling
er ton as follows -
10 "The Wings have made strenuous effort, an
D have it from good authority that more than 20 bar
~ rels flour were paid for whg votes and the amour
We paid for this purpose IN rum, and other things know
,d but TO themselves
And finally. in its last paper, it closes its dis
creditable career of elcctloneerng by the ineN
!, pressble meanness of taking us TO task for tn
81 manner in which we think proper to manage tl
Ia, private business affairs ofour Printing Office :
And, after all this it has the eiirontcry to tai
about what pertains 10 the character and dutie
of "A gentleman
Now if this christian paper, which prdes itse
- on the success which attends its efforts 10 dra
III clergymen from their exalted and peculiar sphci
into the bitterness and contention Of party strt
will find in the columns of the Free Press an
false and mere parii:7a appeals like those "
the have quoted above from its columns, or any =
Err rious statement of fact which is not capable
Cd being shown to be true, we will apologize f
es them both to our readers and tiff it cannot fl
'se such things in our columns, we shall be conte
''h to let the public judge whether loud-nouth,
ne professions of especial godliness and sanctity a