Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1855-01-14
Speech of the Rev. DR.. Newton.

At the Anniversary Meeting of the Southern
Aid Society, held in New York on the 25th of De-
tober 1854.
Mr.. President, the man in whose heart the idea
ef the Southern Aid Society was first conceived,
was inspired from heaven. No field ever yet eE-
tered by man could possibly promise more abun-
dant harvest. No people on the face Of the civil
lied globe are more accessible TO the ministry of
grace or have higher sense of respect for the in
situations of Gods house, than the people of tie
Southern States of this Union. As indications of
the public sense in my own State, / may mention
the fact that on the railroad connecting the Mis-
sssippi river with the capital of the State as also
extending farther east every min lister travelling on
business connected with the church, of any denom-
inatiOu for fifteen years, has passed freely without
charge. The stage contractors who reside in the
South very often give free tickets TO minister's and
the hotelkeeper who would exact or accept pay
from minister who is devoted to his work, would
be ashamed to live in any community that / have
known in the South. Nay myself have frequent
lv had the fare sent after me and returned by the
keepers Of houses Of entertainment with respect
ful apology that they only learned, after my lea
wing, that was a minister. They were ashamed
to have it thought, even by stranger, that they
would charge a minister. The same has occurred
to me more than once, from stage contractors
Ferries and tollbridges are usually free TO minis
terS
Iaf9eiity UnknOlca ia the Soa.4.
There IS among the Southern people no system
attic organized opposition to the gospel-none of
the clubs and cliques so common in other parts of
the world, got up by men Of bitter end burning
hearts to bolster up each other and TO instil the
poisonous seeds ofinfdeity into the minds of the
young and the unwery An open and ayowed in
fde in all the South, so far as my observation ex-
tends, is q prodigy; and must have forehead Of
brass, if lie faces Southern public. There We
have no foolish fatal heresies. no mad philosophy
no blind fanaticsn; seiziug the public mind, yea
kening and wasting the energies OF the people Tor
nouvht. We have no Unitarianism, no | niversal-
ism no MilIerism. no Spirtuaiism, no MormOnlsm,
no Swetlenborganisn, except among very lew OF
the travelled aristOcracy, who have caught The IT.
fection in higher latitude; aud rot until lately,
we have heard very little 0l tie 'AOt as Other men
High ChurchiSm.
The southern heart is soft. Its eDmity 20 God
though real and universal j. not direct aud person
al: but consists chiefly, IT not only in friendship
to the world" ald careless negiecting of the in
t.rests of the soul. Every body in the south ex-
pects to Join the church some day. No man delib
erately makes up Lis mind to d@ without religion.
Should the tempter 90 "up and down, to and FRO
throughout the land, with such a proposition as
This. every man. woman and child, white aud black
would rise IN and indignantly excaim, Get thee
behind me Satan Is thy servant dog that has
no soul to be saved, Yes, sir-lhe white and the
black. Why, sir. there is greater proportion of
the slaves at the South who are members Of the
church, than Of the actual day labOrers Of the
North. The rules Of the family and the regulations
ON the plantations, are such as to prevent them
from gathering in crowds, either day night, du-
ring the week, and Of spending the hours of sleep
in dissipation and mischief. And when the Sab
bath comes with its rest from all labor, they are
delighted with the opportunity of coming out in
their Sunday clothes and their dress on this day,
in many parts of th9 country, is about equal TO
that of the whites. They generally turn out in
large numbers to church, and return refreshed and
cheerful and in many, very many instances, II IS
hoped savingly benefited by the preached gospel.
The Ministry reanted.
What we want what we most earnestly pray
ror-ond what we must soon have, or we shall be
uudone,-is the living preacher with human
heart and an educated mind, freed by true learn
inc from the stiffness Of stilted technical theology
we want him to come, and stand among US, not
above MS, to bid our people pause and think, and
attend to the claims of God and their souls. We
want the qualified and faithful living minister who
shall preach the gospel" not with entcing words
of mans wisdom, but in the words which the Holy
Ghost teacheth, and in demonstration of the Spirit
and Of power" We want, not the cast of drOnes
from over filled hives, "oF the busy-bodes dOting
about questions and strifes of words, whereof
eometh envy, ratings and eyilsurmisings; but