The weekly Anglo-African. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1859-1861, 1859-11-12


be treated to poetic effusion by the same
gentleman, in the shape of a Masonic po-
EN-. Having heard him as an orator, they
are now anxious to hear him as a poet.
He will doubtless add fresh laurels to his
brow on that occasion.
The following articles appeared in one
of our city papers last week, respecting
the recent triennial session of the General
Convention of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, held in Virginia. 1t was doubt
less written by one of the clerical or lay
delegates from this diocese:
THE CHURCH IN DARKNESS.
During the sitting of the recent Episcopal Tri-
ennial Convection, at Ricnhmond, while preparing
for ballot for missionary bishop, the gas lights
were suddenly extingushed, throwing the whole
congregation into CONSERVATION. Taken in con-
nection with the late outbreak at Harper's Ferry,
some were not sure but that the insurrectionists
had reached Richmond, and that their first move
was to cut off all communication with the foun-
tain of light; and this feeling was strengthened
when it was discovered that all the lights in the
CITY had gone out at the same time. Such was
the confusion caused by this sudden darkness that
DR.. Creighton had to strike his hammer and call
out "Order in the house p good many times be-
fore ANYTHING like order could be produced; and
by the time when affairs settled down into some
thing resembling quiet and few candles had
been brought in and distributed through the
church, it was too late to do any further business,
and the house adjourned.
In reading the above, | was reminded of
an editorial of yours in respect to the Do
cesar Convention of New York, entitled
"a Laugh in New York" in which you
commented on the contemptuous manner
with which that body treated preamble
and resolutions offered therein in respect to
the revival of the slave trade, by Mr.. John
Jay. The above extract shows that in
richmond the laugh was on the other side
of the mouth. How significant it was that
the capital city of Virginia, (the oldest
State of the Union and the mother of Pre-
sidents,) and the assembly of the whole
American church, should be Simultaneous
ly darkened at the same time that the in
surrection was transpiring at Harpers Fer
ry Did not this event indicate that the
American Church and State had been
weighed in the balance and found wanting ?
| wonder if any of the members could see
amid the darkness the handwriting of Je-
hovah on the walls, cleaning in blazing
letters of fre-"Mene, meme tetel up]e0r-
SIN" l am really glad that this insurrec-
ton, connected with the above incident,
happened as it did, for two reasons-frst,
many Northern clergymen and laymen
would have come back with the highest en-
comiums to lavish upon slave-holding in
situations, which the terror and panic they
saw created by twenty-five men from the
centre to the circumference of that slave
holding State will now forbid them to in
dulge in; and second, the CONSERVATION
that Providence permitted to seize upon
the members of the General Convention by
that moment of darkness that came over
them, is sharp rebuke to that "laugh in
New York." the leading diocese of the
church, which attempted to stife the cry of
bleeding humanity. l do not contend that
it was necessary to pass that preamble and
resolutions as offered, because | think that
such kind of work BELTS political rather
than ecclesiastical conventions. These lat |
ter conventions ought to concern them
selves most with their own internal disci- |
pline, taking good care that it should al
ways tell in behalf of God and humanity
Canons, therefore, and not resolutions, be-
fit ecclesiastical bodies, and this resolution |
ought to have been referred to the Com |
mittee on Canons to inquire what action,
if any, was necessary to be taken, in order |
to purge the church from any completely |
in this nefarious traffic, condemned alike by |
the laws of God and the Constitution and |
laws of our country. And if it might be
feared that any clergyman of the church |
would not use his powers to excommuni-
cate any member of his flock who could |
be proven guilty of participation in this
traffic, then positive canon should have
been enacted, making it the bounden duty |
of every clergyman to excommunicate all
such persons, and to prescribe that they
should thus remain accommodated until
they had done public penance. l have no
doubt that, if Bishop Doane was living, he
would, on this point, prove himself to be
the Ambrose of the American Church. |
This holy father, who was Archbishop of
Milan in the fourth century, did not hest
tate to excommunicate the Roman Empe
WOW Tboodoc;,, orpooJI occIr, o+o;r;pcr bic