Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1856-02-23

Ill my oWn uclenCc, anu dSdlllsI tllS
party; not against its principles, but
against its mode of propagating them.
In strict truth there was not one word of
politics in my first letter, if | understand
the term. l said nothing about foreign
ers, and no more than this about Catho-
lies: 81 am no Catholic. Put Method
ism and Romanism on the field of fair
argument, and | will stake my all upon
the issue but am not such a coward
as to flee the field of honorable warfare
for savage ambush fighting, or such a
fool as to believe that mans religion is
to be reformed by harassing his person.
Nor am l quite so blind as not to see
that when the work of crushing churches
is begun in the country, it is not going
to stop with one" This was just such
a letter as you tell me yoa would have
INDUCED. Not so with either the saints
or sinners of the Know-nothing party.
They assailed me from all sides and in
all modes. Not one of them gravely
answered my objections to the Know
nothing discipline and dealings. They
chose rather to assail me personally, in
language as unbccoming in them as it
was undeserved by me. Even my liter
airy bagatelle, the amusement of my
idle hours five-and-twenty years ago, was
held up to view as test of the fitness,
morality, and intellectually, for the
sacred Office and responsible station 30
which ] have been called And yet
these public assaults, undetailed in their
severity, were kind, courteous, and pious
compared with the private communion
tons which were addressed to me under
the authors names, in answer to this
letter. They all agreed, however, in
one particular at least; and that was,
that if had never meddled with politics
before, i had done it now, and that this
was crying sin in an instructor of
youth. You perceive, then, brother,
that you grossly misrepresent the Know
nothings when you accord to me the
right of opposing them in any way.
That l should not have very exalted
opinion of them, after what | have suffered
from them, | think you will own was
quite natural Have little charity for
me, then, if ono mandamus from a
bishop, if no influence from presiding
elder, no dogmatism or diction of learned
DOCTOR" no combination of Christians
and politicians, no power of numbers,
can awe me into respect for them.
You say, 81 defy you, my brother, to
specify anything in ACKNOWLEDGMENT of
equal tu,pitude (my italics) with this
attempt to enlist church organization
in crusade against a political party
no matter what that party may be. =
That was hard word, brother, which |
UNDERSIGNED. 1t would have inspired
considerable Indignation had you not
been kind enough to embrace in its APP
plication Mr. Wesley, yourself, the main
body of your church, and the whole body
of Know-nothings Mr.. Wesley en-
deavored to enlist not only his own people,
but all Americans, all Englishmen, and
lrishmen against the American party Of
1776. Was he guilty of turpitude in
so doing? Nay, my brother, mpitude
involves Intentional error; and Mr..
Wesley was not the man to commit that.
He really believed that the colonies had
no just grounds of revolt against the
mother country; that they were periling
everything valuable in Church and State,
everything sacred in fraternal ties, upon
mere political distractions; and 50 be-
lieving, he exerted his influence to its
utmost extent to reduce the colonies to
submission. That was the nobest po-
ltlcal party that ever was formed and
if it be turpitude to enlist a church or
ganization against any political party,
no matter phot that party maybe, where
does Mr.. Wesley stand? Is the modern
american party Cts name was Sam when
! took the pen against it) more holy,
more pure, more noble, more dignifed,
than the old American party? If, then,
/ believed, as verify did believe, that
the Know-nothings were about to reno
churches, inaame passions, sunder friend
ships, and kindle the flames of civil war,
why might | not use my best endeavors
to turn our church at least away from it,
without mourning the guilt Of +" turpi-
tude Z" But this is only by the way
| will show presently that you have mis-
taken my designs in the church matter
entirely.
Recapitulating the incidents which en-
livencd and cemented our friendships,
(wherein you represented my feelings in
describing your own,) you say, 1--WE
tQgethcr have warred strenuously against
the malignant tendencies of abolition ia
naticism, and we suffered together in
that ruthless warfare. True, your efforts
in that struggle were gallant, noble,
powerful; mine were the weakest of my
life, and therefore to myself the most
notifying. But against whom we're we
contending, brother? Against a potiticai
party which has brought its bauoful prin-
ciples into our church. What was our
aim when argument failed to exact JUS
tice from that party? TO set all South
ern Methodism, all parties, all men who
respected religion, right, and fair dealing
against it. What was the issue Of our
labors? The almost entire withdrawal
Of Southern and Southwestern Method
lists from all connection with the Northern
branch Of our church, and the establish
mont of an soJovo,,Jo,,t Go,,tbor, oL,.ob