Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-09-20

dressed 10 the National American, and to which
dsre An extended circulation, Ia order to correct
wrong impressions. Yours, &c,
j. McGILL, Bishop Of Richmond.
To The Editor Of the National AMERICAN
DEAR Sra; Not being personally acquainted
with you, do not know whether or not am ask
ing too much from your sense OF justice, when
request YOU 10 insert this communication. You
have assailed me- on the report OF son third par
ty with the grave accusation of decorating 'thanks
giving day" with political harangue." Would
il not have been more consistent with the laws OF
charity first to ascertain you had received correct
informationS deny that i intended, or really de-
liyered, "a political harangue" on the day desg-
mated and maintain, that have never attempt
ed. or delivered, a "poltical harangue" since
united my lot with the ministry which you affect
to despise.
The discourse which delivered in the Catholic
Church on Thanksgiving day" was deduced from
the oath chapter of the Second Book OF Kings,
where the sin of David in numbering the people 10
act forth, and the prophet announces to him, on
the mart of God, that he shall be punished either
by dseyen years of famine by war, defeat, and
flight before his adyersaries for three months, or
by three days pestlence in the land !" and the
prophet gave him his choice of these three affiic-
tons. David chose in his great strait to fall into
men and he selected pestilence, which, in the three
DAYS, destroyed seventy thousand men from Dan
to Beersheba" When the King humbled himself
and built an altar to the Lord, and offered holo-
causts and peace offerings, the Lord became mer-
ciful to the land, and the plague was stayed from
Israel"
OF course, I do not desire to impose upon you
and your readers the task threading this discourse,
nor inflict upon myself the trouble of writing it
abn ;to MIA nd AM
| you may Judge IL the gentleman, whose zeal sup
piled you with information, was an attentive nearer
| or just reporter.
| announced that the Affections which humanity
| has to endure, are tho punishment of sin, by
which death and all those evils which precede it,
entered into the world. That in the economy Of
Gods providence with respect to his favored peo-
pie, temporal rewards and punshments were more
| frequently awarded than now under the Christian
dispensaton, in which spiritual punishments and
| rewards for the chastisement of sin and the en-
couragement of virtue, are more commonly dis
pensed by Almighty God that nevertheless, the
history of the Church and Of the world, since the
4 DAYS Of the Saviour, manifests numerous examples
/ like those recorded in the Old Testament, where
God has sent upon individuals, communities, and
nations, desolating Affections proving his displea.
sure, and consequently showing that he had been
offended by sin.
i
his anger, which were doubtless provoked by sin,
it was not always upon the offenders only that the
blow fell, as was plain from the passage Of scrip.
4 ture which came especially under our considera.
| ton, and in which we behold seventy thousand
| men struck with DEATH because of the sin of their
king who is thus humbled and chastised in the
misfortunes of the people, over whom he Is placed
| az shepherd and guardian. Hence, when we see
communities AFFLICTED by 9 terrible visitation, like
Il sioia asft nf Sfata
while we cannot infer that the victims of the plague
are the guilty persons, we may suppose that some
where there exists sin which has provoked AL.
| mighty God TO anger, and which He has resolved
to chastise. That these dspensations are from
| his providence, and that He holds the scourge
IA his hand, seems to be recognised by the act Of
- -. n i"insl authority, lip setting apart this day
as day Of thanxs -'sing for iayors to ourselves,
ma Of nrsver that 6e would ~ his mercy stay the
| plague from the communities which are alliosS
| As no one can penetrate the counsels OF the Al
mighty, or know his judgments 1t would not no
lawful for us to attempt TO say what SIN was mere
| punished or by whom committed, whether by the
people themselves or by their rulers, by tho par
tcular portion of the country afflicted, or by the
whole country.
But, il were allowed to divine what sin it Is
which, in our day particularly, has provoked Gods
dispeasrre, should be inclined to designate the
sin of Rnop- Nothingism, because, holding as
do the Catholic Church TO be divine and the true
| Church Of Christ, consider a secret conspiracy
organized for its destruction is sin, which, soon
or or later, will be visited with Gods displeasure,
and be punished by him. But, against my inclina-
ton to designate this the cause of this terrible
calamity which our whole State and even sister
States, are in sympathy suffering, find other
places much more criminal in their efforts against
the Church. and guilty of bloodshed and violence,
as, for instance, Louisville, the chief city of the
State in which / was reared, where the most hor-
rble deeds have been perpetrated, deeds which
cry to Heaven-and yet they are spared from any
such visitation.
AS Il must have been distorted version of this
passage, which your informer carried to you, and
which has elected from you "the reprobation"
with which you have been pleased to speak of my
discourse, need not proceed further in my state
ment of IL, but may be permitted to ask your at
tenton to these facts.
First, Ishoud sderitpresumptuous in me to at
tempt to define the cause Of Gods anger and did
not do SO in my discourse, nor have In my private
Judgment allowed my mind to come to this con-
clusion. felt then, as feel now, that IL had
the right to Judge, should, among the sins Of our
day, select the sin OF Knoto- Nothingioa as the
one most likely to bring down visitations Of Gods
displeasure upon our country.
Secon;a,iiv. did not, in my discourse, and do
not here speak OF nacc--Nothingism as political
theory, or Of the legitimate objecss Shich those
who belong to this party may seek to secure by
legitimate means, but spoke Of il as an organized
and secret conspiracy against what believe, the
true religion Of Christ and the true church Of God
and hence immoral aud sinful Immoral, because
hold Il 70 be immoral TO take an oath before a
man knows to what his oath viii bind him, and
whether the thing be lawful or not and ,infui,
because opposition to the church Of God Is oppo-
sition 70 God
You do not admit my premises, and hence you
viii dispute my conclusion, but presume you are
too good logician TO say, that with a conviction
Of the truth Of my premises could come to any
other conclusion. You certainly do not now, for
the first time, learn that we consider Protestant
ism sinful because heresy, and yet must tell
you that do not regard Professionalism as so rep.
rehensble as Know Nothingism in its features Of
secrecy and hostility 10 Catholicity. Protestant-
ism is an open adversary, and fights our Church
In the name Of religion and with private nterpre-
tations of the Bible. Rnop.Nothingism wages
war upon our Church under the shelter Of secret
oaths, wrapped up in the folds Of the flag of our
country, for which our people, in common with
other citizens expended their treasures and blood