New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-01-07


One might suppose from the indictment that not
merely the Holy Scriptures OF God' out mus
Scriptures in the suthorizedyerslon IN the hns'n
language" were a part Of the laws OF England
which hardly can be- since the dictum when Is
cited 10 prove the Bible 10 be part OF the common
law. was uttered by Catholic Judge long before
sny such thing as an authorized version IN the En-
rlish language had been so much as thought OIL
Only one count in this indictment even islh'i!
recognizes the possibility of any difference De-
tween the original and version, or the PosSon-
itv that contempt for yerson-such as many
Greek scholars entertain for Pope's Homer-mlght
s,illbe consistent with entire reverence for the
original is that one, namely, which charges the
burning of the Holy Scriptures irrespective OF any
particular version.
The Attorney General for Ireland, in his opening
Of the case evinced the same utter unconscious
ness of any possible difference in the feelings win
which a version and the original might be re-
perded In him, indeed, this confusion OF ideas was
the less 10 be wondered at, since If common report
does not grevOusly belle him, all versions are
alike 10 him; nor does the original text tseii en-
ioy one whit more of his private veneraton OF re-
spect than any other old writing OF which ne
knows nothing and for which he cares just as lttle
Nevertheless. in the discharge OF his Official duty
this latitudinarian encouragement made very
elaborate. eloquent and orthodox speech, for which
he was highly complmented both by bench ana
bar. his object being to prove that there was no
man in the country whose security, life aud prop
erty did not depend on the authorized rers'on oil the
Scriptures, and upon that alone. The argument
was put thus: Judges and juries, witnesses ana all
officers, legislative and executive, from the lowest
lid TO the sovereign, are sworn by kissing the book
70 wit the authorized version. From the hum
best individual who is called to attest any fact, to
1.-THE sovereign who sits on the throne, there 10
ono security for anything, except what IS based
on the authorized rersiOn of the Scriptures This
argument might answer sufficiently well Tor the
meridian of Great Britain, but in those OF our
American States in which Protestant witnesses are
sworn not BY kissing the book but by holding up
the right hand, and in which the book kissed by
Catholics is not the authorized but the Douay
version-it would hardly serve to settle the
question. Moreover, if this is the law, the British
authorities had better turn their attention to an
article in the last number of The Edinbarg Re
rinr, in which the authorized version is
severely handled and the necessity of new
and more perfect one very warmly urged.
There is another part, also, of the learned
pentleman's opening to which we must take the
liberty to except Many of the books and papers
brought to the defendants lodging to be burned,
were. he stated "of light md trivial character
"noyels. romances, and ,ceekiy and daily ppbiiea-
"fions To exhort the people to abandon and
"bring in such works was meritorious." To this
onslaught so far as regards daily and weekly pub.
locations, we must beg leave to enter our protest.
As TO the actual burning of the authorized YER
sion, the evidence left no doubt of the fact. Chris
TOPPER Duff, employed by the defendant to wheel
books to be burnt from the defendants lodgings to
the chapel yard saw among the works in his bar
row Family Herald" 1.-The Mysteries of
London" History of England" and book
with black glazed cover and gilt edges which
witness did not open, but believed to be Tesla
ment Henry Lawson, cOachman, saw in the chapel
yard on barrow, ByrOns Poems, tracts, prayer
book, and small Testament. He saw man take
I'D Testament from one barrow, and he saw the
title page of it. On another barrow he observed
several kinds of old books, and on the top an old
Bible. He saw Holy Bible" the back of it.
A policeman took it up in his presence and laid
it down again. About an hour after he saw pile
of books and papers burning and the defendant
standing near William Stalker Durkin, esq,
Government Sub-Inspector of Factories, met
O barrow of books on the way and fol-
lowed it to the chapel yard. The top books
were nearly all bound in green (not
yellow as with us) and appeared to be of the class
known as Railway publications. He noticed
Family Hrad and The London Journal, also
Bible and Testament He was very much greved
when he saw that these books were to be burned,
and beckoned to policeman, to whom he pointed
out the Testament and Bible Constable John
Halpin, the officer referred to, testified TO taking
I'D and examining the Bible and Testament, which
he laid egain on the barrow. Shortly after he saw
the defendant come up to the barrow. BY his d.
rccton the books were taken by some little boys to
passed between him and the boys, when they pro-
ceeded to light the books with matches, shortly
after which the defendant went away
The defendants counsel exhibited more con-
scousness than ybody else of the distinction be-
tween contempt for a version and contempt for
the original. He adverted to the defects OF the
authorized version and the opinion of Archbishop
Whately that the Scriptures in the original lan-
guages only, in which the inspiration had been