The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1859-07-06

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who sets aside every principle OF right
reason, and sets at defiance all just laws
! human and divine" / will not now ut
tempt to sho,D that the Bible is of Divine
origin or that there is any being, or pow
er, or principle to whom or to which it is
proper to apply the term diyiae. But this
l say, and am ready to abide by the as
sertion, that the great, important and fun
damental principles of the Bible have re-
manned the same from the time that the
first commandment was given to our first
Parents, and after the fall a Savior was
foretold in the assurance that the seed Of
The econean should br,sise tie Serpents
heed, until the present time, and will re-
main the same through all time and
through eternity. The great principles
both of the law and the gospel were pro-
claimed in the garden of Eden and there
also was preached the first sermon by tho
Father otEies. Abel was justified through
the merits of the same atonement in which
we trust, and fell n martyr to the same
spirit of opposition to the truth, which is
exhibited by infdel writers at the present
day. | admit that good men, men who
endeavored to fear God and keep bis COM
mandments, have erred in every age Of
the world. Many reasons might be given
for this. Good men have often imbibed
and practiced doctrines and errors and
justified them by the Bible. But the great
principles of truth remain the same. No
person justiiies David in the sins which he
committed, and there is probably no chris
tian who does not sometimes find his own
feelings of pcnitonce and self adherence
we'll expressed in the 5lst Psalm. Vital
goodness in the heart is the same in all
ages and among all nations. 1t would be
strange, if in some respects, even those
who found their belief upon the Bible, did
not grow wise from generation to genera
ton. The Bible is deep mine and we
do not suppose that all its treasures have
yet been exhausted. But still its essential
truths are SO plain that, acaytaring men,
though fools, shall not err therein.
1t is something in favor of those whom
the Professor and others Of kindred spirit,
wish to hold up to ridicule, and rcproach,
that these writers are obliged to 90 back
moro than $50 years in order to find
food for their yenomous appetite to feast
upon. Who has ever heard q speech, or
read an article dorogatory to the cbarac-
ter Of the Puritans and their descendants,
which has not referred to the Salem
Witchcraft? The Professor, in this one
article alluded to above, refers to it,
think four, perhaps five times. Why did
he not refer also to the Old Blue Lavs
Of Connecticut? Perhaps he found that
the community generally had found out
that thoy were only the caricatures of Il
man, who possessed all Of his hostility to
the faith AMI conduct of the Puritans, with
powers of sarcasm far superior.
will not say that tho Professor inton-
dod TO deceive in what he says of the Sa-
lem witchcraft; but whatever he intended,
his remarks are calculated to make an er-
roneous impression. Note the following.
"Those wretched fools, reverend diyines
and others, who were strangling men and
women for imaginary crimes q little more
than a century ago among us, were set
right by layman, and very angry it
made them to have him lpoddle."
Again, an that miserable delusion re-
ferred to above, the reverend Aztecs and
FIians argued rightly enough from their
premises no doubt for many men can do
this. But common seusc and common
humanity were unfortunately left out from
their premises, and q layman had to sup
ply them. A hundred more wears and
many of the barbarisms still lingering
among US, will of course have disappeared
like witch-hanging."
As you are the Professors ondorser,
will you please to point out some Of tie
barJariSms still lingering among as, and
especially countenancod and upheld by
the clergy, the reverend AStecs and FIJI
ans, who domineer over the people of
these United States, and are only waiting
for favorable opportunity to roast and
cat them?
But my object in making the above
quotations, was to direct the attention to
what is said of the clergy compared with
the laiety. The plain meaning of the
Professor is that all the clergy, all minis
tiers of the gospel, favored the punishment
of the witches with death and that lay
man was the first to discover and point
out to thom their error. But let us look
at the facts. 1t is admitted that Cotton
Mather chad an important agency" and
probably oxorted considerable influence in
bringing about the tragic scenes connected
with the Salem witchcraft. Cotton Ma
Their was one of the most learned men in
America and also, without doubt, very
considerations, pious, cody man. Aud
still, his mind does not seem to have been
well balanced. The unprecedented ver-
diet concerning him now is that his char
acter was strange mixture of strength
and weakness, of desirable and I'm iesira-
Die qualities" Some minist, rs, besides him,
I know not how many, favored the afro
cities which every one has condemned for
more than hundred years past. But on
the other hand, many ministers opposed
from the beginning. Among these, was
his father, Rev. Increase Mather, d. d.,
President Of Caingridge College concern
inc whom VIC are told that, ''Though be
was believer in witchcraft, he strong y
- IL, l..rritia t,vH taffttuus Of tESl