The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-11-15
FaPos ana Protestant fatOle rance fn Europe
Field for tho Missionaries.

f'aPss and Protestant Intolerance in Europe
Field for the Missionaries.
meeting was held last week in one Of the
uptown churches for the purpose of adopting
some measures calculated to alleviate the evils
arising from priestly intolerance in Europe. The
immediate provocatives of this movement are of a
two-fold origin. In one of the Italian cities the
son OF Jew has been forcibly carried of from
his parents and placed under priestly tutelsge on
the fimsy pretext that, by some accident or de-
sign, the boy had received Christian bantism.
and that, therefore, as a brand pucked from the
burning, the church was bound to take care that
he should not be given over again to the Wicked
One.
In the second case the shoe happens to be on
the other foot. Papal intolerance or pcrsecu-
cution has nothing to do with it. 1t is the good
old Protestant Lutheran kingdom of Sweden that
has given the offence. 1t seems thatssomc unre-
peaied law OF the kingdom imposes civil disabili-
ties on any subject who renounces the Protestant
iaith and adopts heterodox creed The penal
ties for such an offence are Punishment and the
deprivation of any inheritance to which the con-
vert might chance to he entitled This law bas
usually been suffered to remain imperative or OF
least has not often been enforced: but some
five years ago case arose upon it which created
a strong public feeling in Sweden, and which
seems, indeed, to have been got up more
with the design Of having such weight of
public opinion brought to bear upon the
Swedish Diet as would induce it to repeal the
law, than for any other purpose. The case was
kept pending in the courts for the last five years,
in the expectation that this relic Of bigotry and
intolerance would be removed by legislation; but
finally the courts were compelled to pronounce
Judgment, and the six women who were the sub
jects of the prosecution were condemned to the
prescribed punishment.
These, and the question as to Protestant
church in Paris, are the principal causes, we
presume, that have excited those who call them
| selves the friends Of civil and religious liberty,
and that led to the meeting referred to-
1t would be very desirable, no doubt, to see
the restrictions placed upon the human will
and intellect by intolerant and bgoted govern
ments removed. 1t would be pleasant to see the
Pope renounce his claim OF infalliblity, and
acknowledge that there was possibility of COR
rectly interpreting the Scriptures in manner
slightly different from that given to it in the
Vatican; and it would be equally pleasant to
have all other Christian sects manifest little
more Of the Christian virtues. But we are not
silly enough to expect to see such miracle. so
long as churches have power they will not fail
to exercise it, and very little effect can be pro-
duced upon them by public meetings or demon
STATIONS that do not actually menace their exist
enCe or their privileges.
In regard to the Swedish matter, the fault does
not lie in the government Of that country. On
the contrary, the government has for years past
made every effort to have the penal laws on
the subject Of religion abolished but so Ear
il has not succeeded in its enlightened policy.
The difficulty in the matter is simply this-
The Swedish Diet, or Congress, is composed, NOT
Of two houses-as our Congress and as the
British Parliament-but Of four. These four
chambers represent respectively the mobiles, the
priests, the peasantry, and the burgesses or
people Of the cities A concurrent vote of the
| four houses is necessary to give validity TO any
measure. The project Of law abolishing this rcli-
gious penal code In Sweden has been several
times passed by the chamber of burgesses and
the chamber of the peasantry, but has "a often
been rejected by the chamber of mobiles and
chamber of priests, whose class interests are
attacked by the measure. The Cabinet gives all
it. weight to the liberal side Of the question:
but all efforts are Intellectual against class in
forests. The only way, therefore, in which the
evil can be reached, Is BY change in the consti-
tuition, and that is now being agitated in Sweden.
In the meantime, however, it might be good
idea to change the present fields Of missionary
enterprise to fields which present the widest scope
for action. The British and American missionary
societies, Of all Protestant denominations, might
send to Rome the missionaries and colportcurs
that they now keep engaged in Africa and the
East and, on the other hand, the Society for the
Propagation Of the Faith might send the Jesuit
fathers to Sweden and other Protestant coun-
tries to preach liberation and all the Christian
virtues. These missions are quite as necessary
as those that are now kept up in hnathen lands,
and promise quite a. good harvest TO true
Christian cleaners We hope the suggestion will
be favorably considered.
ANOTHER SLAYER AT CHARLEsroS-NUr FOR
THE FIRE-EATERs TO CRACK.-Wc give in
another column an account from the Charleston
Mrcvry Of the SLAYER Brothers, which has recently
been brought into that port. This is the second
SLAYER that has been taken into Charleston within
two months, and they promise to afford our fire.
eating friends In that region an abundance Of
nuts to crack The interest in the case Of the
SLAYER brig Putnam has greatly diminished in
consequence Of the prompt removal Of the mig
gers which, after ALL is the chief point Of attrac-
ton Cor both frn-aafora nnd al,oliinniafn The