The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-02-28

Revival OF the sabbatarian Wharf.-The
Saints Again In the Saddle.
We see that the Sabbatarians are again In
movement, and, in anticipation of the innocent
enjoyments which warmer weather will bring
about, are opening all their small artillery
against Sunday recreations. The idea that
poor man should sun and air himself on the
conventional Sabbath is as gall and worm
wood to them. Far better would it be for his
souls health that he should continue to inhale
the reeking atmosphere Of the closely packed
tenement house to which his poverty confines
him during the other six days OF the week; or,
as an alternative, they would drive him to the
barroom or grog shop, which they pretend to
hold in such adherence.
The amount of nonsense that is talked by
these Sabbatarian philosophers would be in
credible to any one who does not keep close
eye on their proceedings. There is not a
statement they put forth that is not full of
well known, are the readiest arguments that
can be pressed into the service of a bad cause.
They lie with plausibility thatimposes on the
credulous, and they pass current for the
simple reason that but few care to
spend time in verifying them. When
parson is found making free use
of figures on question like this it is q fair in
ference that he feels himself unequal to deal
with 1t on broad common sense principles.
The issues involved In the present movement
are freedom of conscience and natural rights,
and these are not to be decided by the aid Of
statistics borrowed from countries whose insti-
buttons differ widely from ours.
To show, however, the lengths to which these
advocates Of Sunday restrictions will 60 in the
way of perversion and misstatement we shall
just briefly notice few of the arguments made
use of by the Rev. Mr.. Cook, at the Cooper In
stitute, the other night. After quoting the pro-
portions of illegitimate births in London and the
Continental cities-which in the latter are as to
the former about eight to one-he leads his
hearers to infer that this difference is caused by
the greater laxity which prevails on the Cont
nent in the observance of the Sabbath. Now,
every one who has visited Europe, or who has
bestowed any attention on social questions, is
well aware of the fact that there is not the
slightest relation between the cause and effect
alleged here In France and on the Continent
generally, the difficulties interposed in the way
of marriage are so great that young people are
driven by them into a state of concubinage.
People, even in the very humblest condition of
life, will not allow their children to mar
ry unless there is a provision of some
sort for the children of the union.
But although the iaisons to which
these obstacles give rise are to be deprecated
in themselves, they are of very different
character indeed to the disgusting proaigacy
which is practised in England, where the per
centum Of illegitimate births is alleged to be 80
low. So far as constancy and the observance
of a certain respect for public opinion are con.
cerned, the habits of persons thus situated in
France bear at least the outward stamp of de-
cency. Then, again, it should be stated in ex-
PLANTATION Of the apparent disparity which exists
between the per centage Of Legitimate births
in London and Paris, that abortion is crime of
comparatively rare occurrence in France, for
the simple reason that the State provides re-
fuge for children thus born, where they are
taken In and provided for without any at
tempt being made to identify the parents. If
the facts could be accurately investigated we
believe it would be found that there is in reality
very little, if any, difference in the actual per
centage Of illegitimate births in the two cities
the excess Of population in the one being, of
course, taken into account.
Having exposed the absurdity of the at.
tempt to establish relation between bastardy
and the lax observance of o police Sabbath,
let us just take the converse of the argument
Every one who has visited Scotland must have
been struck with the Puritanical rigor with
which Sunday observances are enforced in the
large cities. Even under the Roundheads re-
Ggious tyranny was never carried to greater
lengths than we remember to have seen prac-
tised in Edinburg and Glasgow. The sound
of piano or other musical instrument heard
in house on that day led to an immediate
descent of the police. And yet profigacy was
never more rife in any European city than it
was at the period to which we refer Prostitu-
tion drunkenness, gambling, and vice of every
description, fourished in concurrence with
Sunday edicts that were almost Draconian in
their severity.
1t is precisely because we apprehend the
same results from similar causes that we resist
the efforts of these Sunday fanatics to saddle
ua with restrictions which are not only unjust
and unrighteous in themselves, but which are
opposed to the spirit Of our Institutions In
no community where these observances have
been enforced by the strong arm Of the law
has any good resulted from them. We do not
feel any great alarm, however, at the progress
made by the present movement. If its authors
can find no better arguments in support of
their views than those we have just noticed,
their converts will be confined to the narrow