Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-01-16


and directly opposite the old quarters.
Gun EXCELLENT FRIENDS of the Boston
Recorder have been somewhat excited. Some
body.down South has denounced the Recorder
''as ain incendiary," and classed it with Gree
ley, Phillips, Cheever, and Parker" This is
cruel, aud eur friends do well to resent the in
suit. But, on the other hand, the Recorder
suffers from the abolitionists, who term it
"pro slavery sheet" "Here we are between
two fires" say the editors, and "what shall we
= do 2" The case is hard one. certainly, and
we do not see how the Recorder can escape
from such fluctuations, unless it take one side
or the other, with such downright earnestness
that nobody can mistake its position. Its po-
stion is now defined as follows =
"Our hope is that God will in his providence
put an end to slavery, as soon as it can be done
with safety to the master and the servant.
God is wiser than we are He can accomplish
His purposes of mercy and Judgment in His
own time and way. We hope that the time is
near, when He will break the yoke of every
oppressor Our desire is, and always has
been. to see the time when liberty shall be pro-
claimed through all our coasts. If this be pro-
slavery, then we are proslavery; or if this be
incendiarism, then we are incendiaries. We
admit neither of the charges, but repudiate
them both"
This view of the matter is qualified and
tempered by the following explanation 1--WE
have supposed, and still suppose, that we can
do more service to the cause of Christ by
graphing with the sins among ourselves, than
by protesting against sin that is five or ten
hundred miles distant from u.s." 1t is always
good for preacher to preach against the sins
of his own parish, and not spend his time and
force denouncing the Pharisees and Sadduces
who lived and died at Jerusalem two thousand
years ago. But the Recorder is mistaken. The
sin of slavery is not so far off as it supposes.
That sin fills the whole atmosphere of the
country. 1t comes everywhere, seeking
to change and control everything. 1t has
apologists and defenders everywhere; and
no man can successfully hide his duty in
regard to it, by passing it over to God and his
Providence, as if it were something to which
human agency and responsibility had no
more relation than to volcanoes and earth
quakes. This theory of Providence, which is
used so cody as release from responsibility,
has in it shocking falsehood it is almost as
bad as atheism and, we notice that those
who preach it most earnestly, never get up an
excitementby graphing with sins of any kind.
They usually merit such praise as good old
lady bestowed on her minister, saying of him
that he always preached the gospel, and never
said word about politics or religion"
We do not think it possible for our friends
of the Boston Recorder to defend slavery as
good thing; but, according to their own show
ing, their position has not been SO clear and
positive as to be unmistakable and this, ito
use the midest term we can think off, is
misfortune. The Recorder contrives tomake
itself understood ON other points. Nobody
will accuse it of being "Taylorite" in theol-
ogy, or doubt its zeal for theology of the OPP
posite kind. There is, in fact, current sus-
picion that the Recorder places theological
metaphysics far above great moral principles.
This suspicion may be very unjust to that pa
per; but there are some things which excuse,
If they do not justify it. The other day,
New England clergyman, well known to the
editors of the Recorder, became pastor of
leading church in South Carolina. He was
introduced there as perfectly sound on the
slavery question, in the South Carolinan
sense of soundness, and we all know what
that is. His "soundnes, IS" and the vouch-
ers for it were proclaimed in the news
papers of that state. The Recorder has
no criticism or censure for this case but
it did not hesitate to bring against Henry
Ward Beecher the false charge of preaching
"Uniyersalism," because he had spoken of God
nobly, in his own way, without much reyer-
ence for the old dialect of doctrinal theology.
Who, that observes such things, can be blamed
for finding in them seeming warrant tor the
supposition in questions
We counsel the Recorder not to fear @fanat-
icism." There are great many worse things
than that. There never was bold and sue
cessful affirmation of great principles, which
was not denounced by somebody as ''fanat-
icism." Two hundred and fifty years ago, the
Puritans were the foremost fanatics of the
world. They were denounced, libelled, ridi
culcd, prosecuted, and hated. 1t is only in
our age that the popular literature of the world
has begun to recognize their merits and do
them justice. Yet they not only impressed
and moved the world in their own time, but
have also shaped institutions and influenced
the progress of civilization ever since. Do
not be afraid of fanatics" for genuine fanat-
icism always means something, and those
whom it moves are nowise likely to be classed
with the poor creatures who are "neither cold
nor hot"
Ease loving, sleepy conservatives, cannot
bear the neighborhood ofanything that is very
much in earnest; and, they never hesitate to
denounce earnestness and call it bad names
but no truth can be killed; no great principle
can be exterminated; and it usually happens
that Goods Light-Bringers. the men through
whose agency new developments of truth are
realized and new applications of justice made
in human affairs, are at first denounced as zen
thusiasts," fanatics" troublers who would
"turn the world upside down" 1t would give
us great pleasure to hear that our contempora
ry, the Recorder, had become vehemently ZEN
Unused" in this way, and thus relieved from
its present tribulation between two fires"
A touch OF downright fanaticism would also
improve its theology, and give its leaders
new sensation
MARTIN VAN buren, has been induced to
break his dignifed silence of many wears for
ft,fao nj