Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1859-11-21
0Nortester Daily Spp.

cherished, and also greatly esteemed by his
immediate acquaintance for his personal quail
ities,-publishes the following reply to certain
injurious statements which were made in
some OF the Boston papers, several months
ago
To the Editors oftae atlas and Daily Bees
GENTLEMEN :-On the 18th Of January last mo f Tho
Boston newspapers contained editorial paragraph en-
titled "Spirituasn IN the Family Circle" which was
made assertions concerning certain alleged domestic
difficulties Of The immediate OF this par
agraph which went the rounds of the American press
to give the widest publicity matters of strictly
private nature 1t also furnished for articles in
other papers, containing the gross and unounded
Residing in another state, have hitherto forborne re-
Ply, partly rom reasons OF sefrespect partly because
tnls INVASION OF the rights OF private life, though of
fence at which human nature revolts admits Of no re
dress and makes rcmonsrance and alike i'm
possible at the cost of exposing still farther what
sacred 10 the Lie OF the individual
year two ago heard with indignation the story
OF INNOCENT men dragged naked through the streets BY
the rutans OF frontier town. An editor drags the
private life of any through his columns for purposes
VI coInlts an action no less shameful and
ardy. double baseness attaches him. when he at
de oned by every consideration dccency or social pr
prlcty, as well as by every feeling common to gentlemen
nat snail be thought Of men who take the of
the town as sufficient authority such outrages and
who debase their office by giving and currency to
injuries like these No denial follow such as
pensions Nor can Justification be entered upon for it is
never possible to unfold to the street the private world of
every man life The maxim, Man knows the fact God
the Glrcqm mn would apply here, if the
But have not the choice left permanent
have acted have assaed through me and that tn
private acts OF life have been publicly alsed to east
additional reproach npopui ar faith seek
either the private the public issues which have been
made in my OWE life, on this central social problem Of
Marriages but have shrunk and do not shrink now
from meeting the responsibilities public and private
which have been placed upon me. Principles are only
tested by the aithiuness of individuals their convc-
4Ons. Society is emasculated by spirit of mean CON
tormy by the practical denial the right Of private
more prevalent than in Protestant New England
My especial reason for rendering this account the
present time, through you to my friends and the public,
is, that write the of departure country
for period OF several months All that is necessary
me to say propose to say now intend to upon
no controversy believing in the fullest discussion of
common honesty from my opponents and leave thus
others the field, which only occupy by necessity
shall deal in as few words possible with the msrepre
senatons of private affairs, then state the
general principles which have induced my action.
may be allowed to say advance that the persons by
whom have been assailed, claim excuse for
their conduct that they wholly ignorant of my pre-
of thrtyeight years had lived in the city Of Boston
without any reproach having been my private
character. My connection with the Fire Alarm Tele-
graph,-which originated in partnership with friend
and presented to my native city, and which becoming
essential part of the organization American
M9nicralty had not lett me without public witness,
either in me Citizen or of student of Science
am s1agsd in the offensive paragraph which have
of Sprtualism have abandoned my wife to
find spiritual affinity with another young lady that
on this development my wife had assenIed my re
quest for separation and that had gone Indiana to
obtain divorce i'll order to marry my new affinity"
might simply brand this narrative indecent collec
ton ofalsehoods; but oppose to it the following
not and never have been ''Sprtualist" Insay-
Ing so, mean to imply disrespect the many good
and thoughtful persons founding their faith Spiritual
ISM on the phenomena called by that name wish sim
ply to relieve myself and the Sprtualists OF burden
which belongs to neither In capacity of observer
have examined like many of SCIENCE the physical
phenomena of Spirtuasm and stated to scientific body
the precise conclusions subsequently published by Dr.
Luther " Bell, without making any attempt spccu-
late in assign causes have nothing to do with the
vague jargOn of "afinities." My separato from NV
ie took place more than nve years ago from
tanned wholly within the union itself No human being
either man or woman intenered contributed in any
way to bring about this result. have nothing further
of the causes of separation, either in Yndication
conviction duty and necessity only to regret
now that retained the social semblance Of marriage
during the years Immediately following from re-
gard to others But ii serves to the elaboration
with which decided, year and half ago, that ought
TO seek the separation i'll law Which already existed in
facl
policy with regard to marriage and DIVORCE In
Massachusetts the marriage could be set aside
except for physical inability or evasion or violation to
the physical contract Mental, moral spiritual impo-
tency vacated 1t not! The legal contract OF body
law. 1t recognized only the animal relation. At the
West the doctrines was substantially held that is The
duty and interest Of society TO release the parties
permanently diScorddnt unioR This principle admitted
the dstnctvely humane grounds Ufreligon difference
thoroughly accepted II as the only true and conservative
one in the interest of marriage and which requires
the plainest enunciation at the present time.
found that the laws of Massachusetts oppressive
i'll what had become to me matter OF conscience.
membcred that Massachusetts herself settled by
igrans treated in their day as dsorganzers and branded
tugitives who left their native country because they
could conscientously observe its laws therefore
claimed and used the American of choosing the gov
ernment under which | would live | terminated my
residence in Massachusetts with great regret su
cient cost to prove nv sincerity, ana became
citizen in all honor and good faith to the state, whose
freer institutions invited me.
In becoming citizen of Indiana. sought release from
an oppressive Obligatl0n already null in It's essential hui
man conditions. l sought and obtained this release for
its sake matter of personal and social duty. |
did not seek it lin order to marry new affinity" At
whenever considered it conducive to my welfare,
having also due regard to the welfare OF Others. have
exercised this right for sufficient to myself into
which no human being has title to inquire and which
my past assalants would be the last to appreciate.
have referred to the laws of Massachusetts, setting
marriage aside account of physical FAILURE, but
recGsnlzg mental moral or as enter
UeyJdH 1t is this NATURALIZATION of marriage which is
relation OF society No Institution can rise much above
its ideal and marriage made by law the unalterable
contract Of bodies thus deprvng 1t of all the conditions
which distinguish human marriage and degrading it to the
level Of an enforced permanent, animal relation
riage which suiced the Christian world before the Re-
formation, sacrament OF the Catholic church. by
the doctrine of sacranents the rite OF marriage became
the open door, through which all possible religious
ton and divine influence held to flow into the pair
who thus made one before the altar To those hold
ing human nature thus at the tenure OF the church, this
constituted sufficient and honorable marriage AT least
the ideal of the people not Cebased though nature
still stirred instruction against this usurpson of her
rights.
of sacraments and grandy asserting the direct relation
and accountability of man to God. But il retained ne
ccssarily Of marriage which hencefrth became
only SHE'LL Invested OF its inward efficacy aud power.
From this time forth the rite OF marriage ceased to be
equivalent marriage itself and the social regulation of
marriage necessarily embraced new elements
Laws Of divorce had never obtained under the Catholic
church But the necessary result of Professionalism
the early Reformers-Wickffe, Erasmus, Luther, Me-
rather release to qualify marriage system, which had
become of mere outward contract but which still
,Ifa IN thn mos n
heart well those of the body. As further result
lively extended the facilities of divocc and this process
going year by year. in accelerated ratio from well
asceraned social necessity England has just taken
important forward step, in remedying thus OF the
results of the inherent mperfecon OF the system
How does this impecction show itself? Only the most
eursory statements possible here The law which makes
destroys as far as in society, all reverence for
what God made to be the center of human life Almost
inevitably marriage such terms entered into reckless
w for law recognizes conditions condition of
fitness and persisted in to the depths of degredaton
and society drinks TO the dregs this cup of pollution
Where the parties to the physical contract opposed
in Intrinsic life and character, opposed in structure Of
mind and body and in the place and uses for which they
were made T. Is SIMPLY an 70 INVOKE ,ne
the disgust Of their union. No pOweron earth can change
the essential aecords Of living forces any than Of
material forces make any less impure and contamat-
ing marriage which binds together adverse natures
Neither any system of moral repression sufce in
the aggregate Of society to preserve order where nat
raj law Is violated Hence the reactions against the OPP
The corruption which grows up with it, PROSTITUTION Is
the inevitable attending shadow OF the systcm-a part OF
the system ITSELF Every Christian State naton eX-
ccpt Sweden where the action has almost overthrow
marriage ITSELF either licenses practically tolerates
prostitution, which has been proclaimed In America
ITSELF to be 1.-THE safety valve of marriage" But prost-
tuuon is small evil compared with all the other crimes
of force and fraud against which flow from the
source Of enforced, unnatural unions And all OF
these evils are again nothing to the untold outrage
PROCLAMATION and suffering which have legal exstcnco
within the pale Marriage ITSELF Out Of these things
well as out Of less wrongs, come collisions In married
life for which law at length provides remedy But
than collision Is the still wider acceptance of the
inlamy Of unnatural unions account of the popular
creed which holds such marriage In the language OF the