The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-11-06

CCNDAf LAWS AND OUNDAf RECREAMONS.--ln
another page we publish an account of the
manner in which Sunday is spent in Londen,
morning, noon and night 1t is not very credit
able to ourinteligence and love offreedom, civil
and religious, that the citizens of this great me-
tropolis of the New World are SO far behind the
cockneys in the practical disposition of the So
cal question of Sunday laws and Sunday re-
creations. From London, railways carry the
population in thousands to the fresh air Of the
country in every direction, and the day is
thus spent in an innocent and moral manner,
while health and spirits are impaired to the
dropping frames of the poor mechanic and ar
tisan, shut up for the previous six days in the
corrupt and fetid atmosphere of large city.
And we further learn that, from the operations
of the Sunday League-an account of which
will be found in our columns to-day-active
measures are being taken to extend Sunday
| recreations and amusements to still wider ex-
tent.
Now, here in New York, which boasts to be
the empire city of the United States-the centre
| Of its light and civilization and liberty-the
| population are pent up in obedience to
Puritanical laws and prejudices which ORR
| ginated in England, but are long since
exploded in that country by the advanc-
ing intelligence Of the age. The American
| Tract Society even denounces the visiting Of
friends and neighbors on the Sabbath day as
grievous sin, for which the offenders should do
penance in sackcloth and ashes. The re-
suit of such o restrictive system is that
our people are driven to drunkenness and
other vices, from which they would be COM
paratively free if Sunday were observed in a
rational manner, and if nature and its laws
were allowed to teach them wisdom, instead of
being subjected to fanatical aespotsm and the
perversion Of their own passions turned in upon
themselves
A communication in another column shows
up the hypocrisy Of those who labor TO impose
cruel restrictions on the working classes on
Sunday. 1t will be seen, that while they
preach they do not practice for the clergy or
their agents collect their rents on Sunday, while
they would denounce as sinners Of the deepest
dye, and worshippers Of the filthy god Mammon,
landlords and merchants who collected their
accounts on the Lords day; and as for poor
man taking recreation in the pure air of the
country and deriving lessons of profound wis
dom as well as pleasure from the contemplation
of the works Of God, that would be the most
horrible profanity in the eyes of the Mawworms.
We might point out numerous other in
stances of the inconsistency of the Sab
batarians; but we will confine our
selves to one. The clergy who preach
greatest severity and austerity in the
observance of Sunday, making it a
gloomy Jewish Sabbath instead Of day of re-
joicing, are most anxious to have their special
sermons on Sunday reported, and send notices
to that effect to the newspapers. In order to
publish them next morning, reporters, who
might otherwise have emo manner of work" to
do, are compelled to labor hard, and the
printers necessarily set up the type on Sunday
! by which these dscourses are printed on Mon