The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1849-05-07

A Crisis In Civilization.
The annual assemblage of the Leading spirits of
the age IN this country, who are devoted to the
moral, religious, and philosophical progress of the
human race commenced yesterday, in this metro
polls, and will be contnued-accordin to the pro-
gramme which we have published-durlng the
week, in the various forms and places designated
for their several meetings
These anniversaries bring to this vast field of
intellect and enterprise some of the intellectual
lights of the age, not only this continent but
MANY from the old world. We have watched and
studied and reported their progress for many years
past. We have been witness to their growing eft
forts and manifold advantages in keeping up the
spirit of the age, for the last quarter of century,
and we were the first, connected with the newspa-
per press, who made an attempt to report regularly
the eloquence, morality, and piety for which many
of those meetings are Justly celebrated Hitherto,
our means have been limited in our efforts to pre-
sent their doings and speeches in proper way, be-
fore either this community or distant regions. For
the first time in career we are now enabled to
report those proceedings with great fullness and
| promptitude, by issuing double sheets every day
| during the present week. when that space may be
demanded for the purpose. Our means are ample,
and our efforts, we hope will be successful, in aid
ing and combining with those eminent men who
meet in convention or public meetings, to add even
solitary ray, if no more, the great light OF the
| age.
Those anniversaries in their origin were princl-
pally confined to few religious sects into which
the christian world on this side of the Atlantic is
divided. Gradually, all men, entertaining every
sort of opinions on morals religion and philosophy,
itota the Iowa
to bring to this metropolis their experience and
their meditations, and send back on the wings of
the press their results for the purpose of fertlizng
the progress of democracy throughout the CONT
nent All religions, all creeds, all systems in mo-
rails or philosophy, are now represented In these
assemblages. The spirit of religious sectariansm
which for some time marred those interesting pro-
ceedings has been much modified of late, and now
approaches to that ancient and lovely spirit of chris.
tianty which characterized the time of the apos-
ties and that of the early founders of the christian
| faith. Catholics and Protestants, Methodlss and
Presbyterans, Quakers and Untarians, are now
much more disposed than formerly to tolerate each
others opinions and allow each others respective
| merits in carrying the great work of christian
philosophy, according to the light which has been
| gwen to them from on High. The regular and
| daily reporting of what those eloquent men say Of
each other has been the means of smoothing down
the asperties of party feeling and the rough edges
of sectariansm to great and remarkable extent
We well remember the time when celebrated d.
vine from Philadelphia INDUCED in the most
corous language and the most frantic execrations
of those who simply thought differently with him
on matters of mere abstraction, the taste of SIM
pie wine-hnguage and eccentricities which
| he would not have dared to express or show
| in his own city, before his own people. He
| thought that he could easily indulge in those
excuses in the deafenng crowd of this great me-
tropolis-where II might never be heard beyond
the walls that re-echoed his voice. The power of
the independent press, however, interviewed, and
the next morning the whole world was made ac-
quainted with the excuses Of his zeal and the bad
taste of his denunciations. That day of rancor
| religious bigotry, and intolerant denuncaton is
all past, we hope, never TO return.
| But while the progress of light and benevolence
and morality, hand in hand with Christianity. and
true philosophy, has been gaining ground for the
last few years. with the aid of an independent and
industrious system of journalism, the world has of
| late been walked up to new feature-a feature of
danger and doubt-a crisis of difficulty that must
| be provided for, that must be met, and that must
not be allowed to corrupt the moral atmosphere of
| this Christian community in this civilized age
| During the last few years, organized efforts by
industrious and talented men, spurred on as Faust
was by the genius of Mephistophiles, have been
| gaining ground in this community, and endeavor-
ing to plant the seeds Of new philosophy called
60 socialism," which is but another name for the
| destruction and humiliation of all religion, all
morals, all decency, all propriety, and all Chris
tanity. This new and dangerous system of morals,
religion, and society," has been imported only
few years, free of duty from one of those sinks of
corruption and folly, and debasemen, of all morals
and intellect, which we find so frequently fes-
| terng IN the great European metropolis of
| civilization we mean Paris Fouuerism or
| Proudhonlsm, or communism, or whatever
| else may be comprehended under the general name
| Of socialism, has been working on the French
mind, and fostering among the people of Paris, for
many years-until during effort of that lntelll-
gent and high minded people to establish a form of
government similar to ours in some unsuspicous
moment, by this new philosophy, they were led
astray; and, by fastening their rrcligous and i'm
practicable rcveries on the workings of practical
| government, have alarmed the whole public mind
of Europe, and given the friends Of monarchy and
| despotism in the old world fulcrum from which
almost into the old track Of privilege and monar-
chy, thus defeating the sincere and natural ex-
pecation Of the friends OF sound republican gov
eminent everywhere.
Ihese same destructive theories, under the name