The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-06-06

Vme Co1o ~ Su01o OOkvor In 090UASH'
The reader will find elsewhere some par .ticu.
lars of case which will remind him of the I'D
tales of New England in the days of the Scarlet
Letter and the Puritan busySodies Judge Cul-
yer is parsonage who is well known, not only
in Williamsburg, where he lives, but in this city
and elsewhere. He is understood to be man of
strong opinions on several political and social
questions; for instance, he is said to entertain
strong anti-slavery prejudces, and to be given to
express them in places and ut times at which per-
haps they are not precisely seasouable. However
this be, Judge Culver seems, by some proceeding
or other, to have given mortal offence to GER
tain of his CO disciples In the Baptist faith at
Williamsburg; and accordingly, some weeks
since, ecclesiastical proceedings were duly In
stituted against him, not for the alleged license
Of his tongue, not for the freedom and looseness
of bis opinions, but for-can it be believed
for an alleged sinful commerce with one Widow
Brown, o person whose husband had the mis-
fortune to be killed some years ago.
The indictment laid, the deacons of the First
Baptist church in Williamsburg fell to examining
the case. They summoned ali manner Of wit
nesses and put them through the GUS
tomry indecent interrogatories. One can
easily perceive how these deacons relished
the job, and licked their lips at the
foul and prurient parts of the examination. In
deed, the only feature in their conduct which
can be compared to the prurience of their ina
ginations is the intensity of their stupidity, in
receiving all kinds of hearsay evidence, and
finally making up case on which the Judge
was found guilty.
This however, was done 1t had probably
been resolved beforehand; and if poor Widow
Brown could have saved herself, there would
have been Widow Smith to take her place
By formal sentence of the deacons Judge Gull
yer was expelled the church, and left to pursue
his remedy in higher courts.
We believe that the case is unparalleled in
modern times. In the early history of New
England such cases were not uncommon: we
find several of them in Winthrops journal; and
it is impossible not to persuade oneself that they
were often got up by the judges for the sinful
pleasure of putting indicate questions to
blushing maidens, and extorting indecent reve-
lations from young wives The peculiar taste
such as il is-seems to have descended to the
deacons of the First Baptist church of Williams
burg. But when the qualification of such plea
sures involves, as it has done in this case, an in
decent and miserable scrutiny of a mans pri-
vate life, they ought to be stopped. No one of
US is safe If any enemy can accuse us
of having commerce with widow, and
charge us and our family, wife and daughters
through the scandalous ordeal of An ecclesias-
teal prosecution for fornication. In such a
case an acquittai is no consolation for the out.
rage And when we are judged by deacons,
we have no security that we shall be judged
according to the evidence.
The churches certainly seem to be doing their
best to disgust the public with the very name of
religion. Here we have the religious papers
scolding at each other like very drabs, all in
the name of Christ and the gospel. Then the
clergy every now and then fall foul Of each
other, and send each other to hot places. Week
after week sermons are preached which are
positively immoral in their tendencies, and COM
pared to which even Paul de Kock is almost
harmless. And now the deacons of our churches
undertake to try the members of their congre-
cations for fornication. These gentlemen are
certainly trying our patience. They may some
day find that they have gone too far. They
may drive US 10 remember that religion costs
us in the United States over two hundred mil
lions Of dollars every year, independently Of
the cost Of new churches, and that this enor-
nous outlay yields positively not o cent Of re-