New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-10-27
RELIGIOUS DESTITUIIOs AT THE SOUTH

RELIGIOUS pESTIrUIIOS AT THE SOUTH
Some months since we had discussion with
distinguished writer at Mobile on the relative
prosperity of Religion, North and South growing
ont of the assertion made down there that they
had majority, per capita, Of the churches. We
ventured TO dissent from so bold, though so
characteristic an assertion, and went into some
detail to show the contrary, instancing among
other things the existence Of the Southern Aid
| Society in this City then recently created, to
supply the obvious spiritual restitution Of that
region. We are sgain remindedof the subject by
the Anniversary of the Southern Aid Society,
which took place in the Mercer-st. Presbyterian
Church on "wednesday evening. This Society is
a pet of The Journal Of Commerce, Mr.. Gerard
Hallock being one Of it's founders, as well as its
Treasurer; and the elabOr ,te statements put
forth in the official report of the Society, as read
by the Rev. DR.. Stiles and published in that
journal, may doubtless be relied upon.
The Report sets out by informing us that
within the limits Of the United States religious
"destitution lies comparatively at the South and
Southwest" and that "frOm the first settle
"ment of the country the North has preserved
ga decided religious superiority over the South,
especially in three important particulars-in
"ample supply of Christian institutions extensive
"supply of Christian truth and thorough Chris
"tian regimen, both in the Church and in the
community" 1t is likewise asserted in his
Report, that "while the Southwestern States
"have always needed stronger arm of the Chris
"tian ministry to raise them up toward Chris
titan equality with their Northern brethren their
"supply in this respect has always been decidedly
"inftriOr." The italics are lot ours, and the
emphasis of this prime authority on the wretched
condition of religion at the South, should hence
forward render southern writer's more modest 10
the way Of asserting their spiritual advantages.
Why this inferority should exist at the South it
would be expecting too much Of the Rev. DR..
Stiles to state; but we may help him out Of the
scrspe by saying that the worst possible basis for
Christianity is the stealing of men and women,
both enslavipg the original articles and all their
descendants, and making licentious intercourse
by the whites with blacks almost as common in
the South as marriage. We propose this as an
emendaton to report at the second anniversary,
this one of which We are treating being the first.
We are further informed that the southern
ministry is inferior to the northern, both in num-
bers, in strength, in labor in access to the field.
Here we are at last-sparse population because of
niger plantations preventing concentration aud
its lights. Under the fret head of the report
we are informed that " bile at the North there is
something ike one minister to every 900 souls,
at the South there is only one minister to every
1900 souls. What the report means by souls is
not cleaI-whether it means the niger drivers,
pure and simple, or includes the niggers, "one
remove above the brute is point that should
be cleared up by The Journal of Commerce.
Next, We are let into the secret that the north
ern clergy are regularly brod set of men, but
the southern have hardly "One. Gfh" of their
number drought up within their pale" The
old joe about the southern divine who apologized
for the deficiencies of his education by saying
Nanny reads, but 'spounds and 'splains,"
might have been added effectively as a note to
this part of the Report. Under the head of the
Labor Of the ministry We learu FROM the docu-
ptnt in question that the clergy men of the North
are exclusively devoted to their calling, bu!
you would starve host of southern ministers
you declared them from seeking additional
support for their families by worldly occupa-
" ton" Indeed, there are twenty one ministers
in the PresbJ terry Of Tennessee who only get
$3.50 apiece. Like produces like, and so we find in
the novel of Joseph Andrews, written at the ear
y part Of the last century, when the field labor
ers of England were about as low as those of
Tennessee now, that Parson Adams dined with
the squires coachman-glad enough to get little
something to eat in the servants hail. Other
authorities inform us that the clergy in England
also blaeked boots at pinch. The difficulty Of
access to the field for preaching in the South is
described in the Report as SO great that one par
son here goes for two South.
IL Is not necessary to 90 through all the par
tculars OF the report, our object being achieved
in arrayipg so indisputaSle an authority as this
Society and its pro-slavery officers to testify to
the spiritual destituton of the South, which needs
Religion in the same proportion that it needs
Liberty, Justice and Education We fear, how.
ever, that nothing Efficient eau be done toward
SUPP !iDg these great needs so long as Slavery is
retained as the basis Of the whole social fabric
The F7press, referring to ,hs late important
letter ffom Dominica published by The Baltimore
Patriot saws that after all what we conied fran,