The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1858-12-25


All this is the work of our fathers hands.
They besueathed Ills the institutions. They
transmitted the precepts upon which they are
founded, 1.-THE spirit which breathes through
them. Theirs is the merit Is it not rare
and great Were they not true and saga
cious men! That school of English turmoil
and revolution, terrible to human fortitnde
and human sensibiliies, haA not tried and
tempered and taught them for nothing, In
them it bore peaceful aud precious fruits. Is
ii not with ample cause. considered from the
political point oi view alone, that we revere
their memory and perpetuate their fame! But
they were as Jealous OF the Capitalization OF
religious power, us they were of civil. The
church was no less a democracy than the
State. Sole and supreme power resided in
the whole congregation Of believers. Moth
ing was done without their authority, and all
business was transacted in open meeting, by
free discussion and equal suffrage Each
church was an independent body They were
wutchful OF the usurpatons of the priesthood
The clergy were not permitted to exercise the
least authority not specially reposed in them.
No clerical association was tolerated. Every
thing that looked to associated or concerted
effort on the part Of the clergy was rigorous
" prohibited Even associate meetings for
mutual counsel and improvement were look
ed upon Aith SO much suspicion that the few
attempts TO establish them were speedily a.
bandoned. Their policy was effectual The
people remained masters of the church as
well as Of the state. That may be right, or
AT may BIZ wrong. was taught to believe il
right, and the reilecti ,ns of my manhood have
strengthened the teachings Of my childhood.
But that is a point ain not here to argue.
simply state the fact. There either were
no Christian churches iii New England, or the
people were the rulers thereof
And in this connection, it is proper to
speak Of the religious intolerance imputed to
them. The charge 10 true. They were in
tolerant. | do not DENY il. Ii would be fol-
~ to deny the record OF their official acts.
They passed laws expelling those who dis
agreed from them in religious opinion, and
furnishing them if they refused to leave.
know the defence is set up for them that they
came here to enjoy their peculiar religion
That they desired no member to join their
community who did not agree with them in
matters of religious faith That they wished
merely to be let alone And II is true. They
were simply intolerant they did not perse.
cute. They sought not TO compel people o.
| another faith to receive their own. They
| never punished for opinion, us such. They
only sought to exclude from their asy lum such
as disagreed with them, But the argument
only amounts to an excuse. II is not de-
| fence. At home they preached federation
II underlaid the whole argument which they
spread before the world. They were bound
| to practice their own precepts, or recant.--
| They had no right, in nature and in reason
! to establish free civil community from which
people were to be excluded on account of re-
ligious sentiment. We do not enter the civi
state alone from choice. We are born int
| it. But whether we enter it voluntarily o.
Involuntary, our rights as citizens are indie
| pendent of our peculiar religious tenets. 81
our fathers taught And they practised OF h
erwise. But besides the excuse have adver
] ted to, there are two others which may b,
given in their behalf. First They lived il
an intol.rant age That arm aware OF, full
tolerance, at that time, was granted no where
1 Quakerism was not yet developed, and Penn
sylania was not yet founded, Ii ia true tina
perfect religious federation is claimed to hay.
been established in Maryland. But in tina
| colony people holding the sentiments Of thoss
who are wont 10 worship in this house, were
| by law liable to execution. For the senti
| ments which entertain, my own head nigh
have been rolled from the block They wer.
in error. But they only shared the common
error oi the tlmes,--an error from which this
human nina had not yet fully escaped. Nay
from which it has not yet escaped, except in
some small degree. Second: They were
practically tolerant Of all opinions except to-
wards those who made themselves unreason
ably offensive. man might entertain any
opinion he chose, might worship God in any
way agreeable; if only he conducted himself
decently and orderly he was undsturbed.-
The case OF Roger Williams, Puritan of the
Purtans, ia not an exception to this state.
ment. ] esteem his position right honor
him for his adherence to il. But il was not
for the indulgence of Conscientious opinions
that he was expelled. II he did not form m
exception to the rule much less did those
people called Quakers, who suffered at the
hands Of our fathers. In point of fact, they
were not Quakers. The doctrines Of Fox
Barclay and Penn were only just making theil
way over here. These people accepted them
with little knowledge OF their character, and
less appreciation Of their real spirit. Their
conduct was scandaloas, inexcusable and pro-
sSAi1R MY titNA w eip hoEtDG0SCo ouu
ministers in the streets, from windows and
doors. They derided the institutions of the
country. They denounced New England
worship as an abomination. They interrupt.
ed public worship. They ran naked through
the streets. For this they wers warned 70
leave. ii they had left, they would have gone
UNPUBLISHED. Even after the sentence, they
had their choice to leave or suffer Only
such as these suffered Nay, not all of these
but only four for ths infection of capita
punishment upon these four, much a. they
had done to provoke 1t, and little as was the
sympathy TO which they were entitled, rousec
the feelings Of the people, brought them to q
realizing sence Of their attitude, and made an
end of all penalties for religious opinion
This was the answer our fathers made to the
charge OF intolerance. Carried to its end
they saw the inevitable consequences OF in.
tolerance. They shrank from them. They
admitted the error and repealed the laws. Ii
fact, it was only in part OF the colonies that
intolerance existed ut all Connecticut, il
particular, an offshoot from Plymouth, ant
Rhode Island Of course, were always fret
from it. This 10 the extent Of our fathers
offence. Not great, indeed But does moi
the blemish seem greater from its appearing
upon so spotless character!
They were men Of sterling virtues. Relig
I A