The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-04-17

ously entertaining the idea that Mohammedan
civilization is better than Christian. He simply
meant to administer severe rebuke to People
processing the Christian fath-Ed Era.
To the Editor of the National Era:
SIR: | am quite sorry that your correspondent
Liberalist lin your No. of April 81 should enter
tain SO poor an opinion Of Christianity. He
rather intimates that the system has proved fail.
ure, and that we had better give IL up, and take
Mohammedism in it's stead. For my own part,
| have not been convinced, by his reasoning, that
the Bible is at all inferior to the Koran--or that
that Christianity, as 1t exists in our own country
or even in England and Russia, is whit worse
than modern Mohammedsm.
shall not take time to say anything in defence
Of the Christianity Of the Old World but in CON-
pairing that ofthe new with Turkish Christianity,
permit me to say, as one who has lived many
years under both systems, that decidedly think
our own is still the better of the two The Sui
tan has done nobly, indeed, in protecting the
Hungarian exiles, but would not American Chris.
tianity have done the same2 The Sultan did well
and literally" in permitting Lord ohm Russell
to send an English Bishop to reside In his domin.
ions, but would his Lordship have had any great.
er difficulty in getting similar Bishop introduced
on our side of the water? Thus far, at least, we
may hold up our heads side by side with the
Turk. But we have done some bad things Liber-
alist reminds us, that the Western people drove
away the Mormons that the Eastern people de-
stroyed nunnery, and the Middle people Cath.
Ollie church. To complete the picture, he should
have added, that the Southerners provoked war
against poor Catholic Mexico. SO we are all in
for it-East, West, North, and South What
shall We say now7 Why, just this; that in all
these four wicked acts, American Christianity
had just about as much to do with them, as Turk
gh-Christianity disowns and reprobates them
all. They we're done by mem who had renowned
the government oflaw, and who probably thought
and cared about alike for Christ and Mohammed
Moreover, as these acts were not done by bigo,s
In religion, so they were not done at all against
religion They are not to be called acts of perse-
cution or religious intolerance. The Mexican
war was not a crusade because 1t happened to be
against Catholics The outrage in Philadelphia
was not committed on account of anything Often
sive In the faith and worship of the Romish
Church. The Mormons might have remained
unframed to the end Of time for aught that ap-
pears, II they had confined themselves to the
peaceable exercise Of their religion unless indeed
it was part Of their religion to revie and plum
der their neighbors. The burning Of Ursuline
Convent was like all the acts Of an excited mob
Many Of the people Of Charlestown thought they
had reason to believe that the institution was
Ill conducted, anu having nad tnelr puoiic author
tiles insulted by the pupils Of the establishment
and their town threatened by the Lady Superior
with mob violence from twenty thousand "Jram
Hishmen," under the command Of the Bishop, some
were so exaggerated as to commit an act unwor-
thy Of men who enjoy free Government. II was
not, however, against Popery, or against liberty
Of conscience, that they acted. They would have
done the same against similar, suspicious secret
institution Of Protestants. And what, under such
circumstances, would Turkish Christianity have
done1 | can tell you thing they were doing at
that very moment Of time. While the flames were
rising from the Convent on Mount Benedict, there
was in another Convent, under Turkish rule,
noble-hearted, educated youth, for no other rea-
son than that he was Protestant, lying and dy-
ing in dungeon between four solid stone walls,
and no redress to be had from Sultan, Prince, or
Pasha Look at these two contemporaneous
facts One was effected by a mob, the other was
the cool, deliberate act Of the Government Let |
Liberalist compare that mob with the one at Alep.
30, and compare that act Of the Government with |
any Of the kind that ever disgraced the annals
of our own degnerscy, and ] am almost sure that,
after all, he will consent to give our present i'm
perfect system little further trial before he will
give his final vote for so very grave change as
the one be has suggested. CD.