The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-07-07

d reisuhg W we hlS'oiy VI hSshed. This evan
e 1uliy anu saIsia1 G c. die benefit OF the
h gelist wrote his Gospel hebrew, in which the
IS jews, not IN the Ven, but in that Syriac
Old Testament was Which had been adopted
/, or Chaldaic dialeeS BABYLON. What has be-
If after the captivinal verS;on If the Gosnel ac-
n come OF tnls Matthew? That particular Syr-
r corolng 70 hich has been published under the
ut lac Verstshe Peshito has evident reference to
'e name x translation, if it is not directly rem
e. the &om it.
vs. dehd the question is-have we here the orig
in al Gospel of ST. Matthew, or anything which
toWe can accept an approximation to 1t ? The
very title of it, as it appears in the manuscript
| is, The Distinct Gospel of St. Matthew at
least, that is the translation which DIR. Cureton
gives to the Syriac title Professor Bernstein, of
Breslau, the father of Syriac scholars of the
present day, asserts that the words thus trans
lated by DIR. Cureton really mean the Gospel
divided into lections-that is, portions appoint
ed to be read on certain days throughout the
year-an Interpretation which seems to be in
applicable to copy where there is no such dli
vision. Perhaps it would be dangerous to lay
too much stress on the title of the Gospel, and
the learned editor chiefly calls attention to the
facts regarding the formation of the Syriac
canon and the internal structure of the Syriac
Gospels.
He brings forward evidence to show that the
| Gospels of st. Mark and ST. Luke were transla-
ted into Syriac even before the present canoni-
cal Greek version of Matthew was in existence,
and that in any case the Syriac canon of the
| New Testament cannot be referred to later
age than the second century of the Christian
era-at a time, therefore, when the original
Aramaic or Hebrew Gospel of ST. Matthew was
still to be found, and when it would have been
absurd to produce a Syriac translation of the
Greek version, itself translated from the Syriac.
How the original Syriac of st. Matthew came
to be lost sight Of is a question which must be
rather puzzling to the critics but taking into
consideration the fact Of the probable existence
of the original Gospel of Matthew down to a
very late period-down, perhaps, to the time of
Jerome-and comparing the version of st.
Matthew which we have in the present manu-
script with the versions of the other Gospels,
which very different, and bear marks of
translation not to be found in the first of the
| Gospels, DIR. Cureton arrives at the conclusion
that in the manuscript of the Natron monastery
| he had discovered what we may accept as be-
ing very nearly the Aramaic original. After
summing up the evidence, he says:
Whatever conviction these arguments may
| bring to the mind of others, have no hesita-
ton in saying that they have fully satisfied my
own that this Syriac text of the Gospel of st.
Matthew which now publish has to a great
extent retained the Identical terms and express
sions which the Apostle himself employed f.;
and that we have here, in our Lords discourses,
to great extent, the very same words as the
Divine Author of our holy religion himself ut
tered in procaiming the glad tidings of saliva
ton in Hebrew dialect to those who were listen
ing to him, and, through them, to all the world
! Ut course, we cannot in these columns go
over the evidence which Dr. Cureton brings to-
gether all the historical testimony and all the
verbal criticism. These are arguments which
each scholar must weigh for himself. We can
give but the general result, which is evidently
of no small importance. DR.. Cureton has salts
fed himself that here for the first time the
scholars Of Europe have submitted to them the
original Gospel of ST. Matthew. Who that
ever thinks seriously of these things but must
take a lively interest in such statement, and
ask with some Impotence whether these schol-
airs will endorse his views?
ANOTHER PRo-SLAvERY SCHEME.-A letter
dated at Nebraska city, and lately published in
the St. Louis Ere'aing Neacs, says
! ave, of Nebraska Territory south Of the
Platte river are agitating the question of State
organization with Kansas, and all the counties
south of the Platte have elected delegates to
held at Wyandotte city, K. T., on the 18th OF
July, 1859. | have canvassed the whole Of
South Platte, and know that a large majority
ofthe people south of the Platte river are in favor
of coming into the Union as part ofthe State oil
Kansas. Our election took place at the same
time the election was held in Kansas for dele
gates and the returns will show that there are
about six to one in favor of the measure and
hence this part of the country will be represent
ed in the Kansas Constitutional Convention, if
the Kansas Convention will receive our dele
gates that they will be received, I have but
little doubt, for the public men in Kansas and
the newspapers are in favor of the admission of
the delegates from Nebraska, without distinc-
ton Of party. Our people here are impressed
with the conviction that their true interests
consist in an early organization into State ;
that they are also satisfied that a Territorial
! Government, such as James Buchanan has
! given US in Nebraska, is farce, and they long
to get out Of a Territorial condition. | do not
! believe the Administration Democracy here,
which consists Of ofice-holders, could poll one
vote in six, if the party lines were drawn"
There is, we fear, a cat hidden in this
| meal-tub. 1t looks fine on the surface as the
Philadelphia North american says, but the
men elected are Democrats, whatever their pro-
LESSONS may be, as no other party obtains sway
| for the Republicans in the Kansas Constitution
al Convention and should these Nebraska del.
egates be admitted, the Democrats will have a
decided majority. In case of the admission of
Kansas as State, this Union would also in
sure the election of Democratic State officers
and United States Senators, and Democratic
majority in the Legislature. John Calhoun,
the famous hero of the candle-box fraud, re-
sides in that portion of Nebraska which it is
proposed to annex, and is no doubt at the bot
tom OF the present movement. We therefore
hope that the annexation may fail The effort
to constrain Kansas to come into the Union as
Democratic State, and to induce her to forego
her attachment to free principles to secure ad-
mission, is plain through all this.
How THEY MANAGE VOTERS IN ENGLAND.-
The London Examiner contains a report of
curious case of electoneering which lately came
before the Criminal Court of Cirencester. Mr..
Pole of Stratton House." it seems, a gentleman
of plentiful estate and tory politics, stood
charged, in company with his gardener his
butler, and his groom's wife, with kidnapping,
inebrating, and plying with drowsy sirups,"
a certain liberal voter named Kibblewhite, on
the night preceding the election, and for the
purpose Of preventing said voter from voting
thereat, contrary to the statute in that case
made and provided Following the course of
evidence, we first see Mr.. Pole and his garden
er, on the day before the nomination, passing
beer-house in the village of Stratton. They
meet the elector, and the gardener tells him
that his master has job for him to do at his
mansion-namely, to open a drain that was
choked up.
~, NJ