The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1861-01-26


of his promises an easy matter. He is under too
many obi r''n, to the fancy men, the shoulder
hitters and .ne rowdies Of the city, for him not
TO exhibit N their regard an occasional rclent-
ing O! the stern purpose which at present
animates him. His predecessor made no pro.
fcSsions but he performed his duty vigi.antly
and without regard TO his persona! interests
And yet be was abused and driven out Of Office
by thosc who, if they really felt any interest in
the Efficient administration Of the laws. should
have been the first to defend and sustain him.
THE story or Puritan sm-Real Orig I'm OF
Southern Secession.
In another part Of this days HERALD we pub
lish what VIC have no doul most OF our readers
will regard "a an interesting history OF Purl-
tanism, very appropriate to the present time,
and bearing directly on the fierce controversy
which has sprung from the propagandism Of
,he Puritan sect of New England, forming
combination with dcsparate politicians who
caught up the pious cry against "the slave
power" as means of bringing them to Office at
the risk Of breaking up the government by re-
volution. The chief value OF the historical
sketch which we publish consists in its trutl
and impartaity, having but little in common
with the vurth of July orations and Pilgrim
celebrations, at which even such men as Daniel
Webster have been so long in the habit OF glori-
f,ing New England and its Purians At the OK
pense Of the rest of the people OF the
conlederacy, and CLOSING over the indubitable
facts of history which tell q very different tale.
Our historian goes back for the origin Of the
puritans 10 the time OF Edward the Sixth of
England, who brough, with him some German
fanatics to that country. But he might have
gone back nineteen centuries, to the time when
the first Of the sect, tho ;harsees, were rebukcd
by the founder of Christianity, who observed
them PRAYING apart by themselves and ''thank-
ing God they were not like other men, "Stand
by hysclf, | am lolier than thou" is still their
motto. as the very name Puritan imports. The
one idea that pcnetrates and pervades them Is
that they have right to regulate the whole po-
litical moral aud religious world, and that
God has appointed them as supervisors over
the conduct of their fellow men, to control
even their domestic affairs. Hence the rcvo-
hlionary resistance now being organized at the
South
The root of the evil underlying the anti
slavery agitation in the North is to be found
| in an impudent assumption Of II superior intelli-
| gence and a high. purity, fostercd by self
| compliment divincs in the pulpit, and fattering
orators Mt mutual admiration anniversaries,
where Plymouth Rock, the blarney-stonc of
| New England, is set q, as an idol for pub
| lie worship. 1t is impossible for gen
uine descendant of the Pilgrims of
the Mayfowcr to divest himself of the
notion that he is one of a superior race,
and that he is born to rule over all other races
by force or fraud, Notwithstanding the asser-
ton Of The Declaration of Independence that
all men are created equal" 1t is this innate
feeling which prompts the New Highlander to
deny the Southern States their rights in this
confedcracy as co-equal partners, and to insist
upon forcing his ideas of negro servitude down
the throats Of all men, Worth and South, at the
point of tho bayone. This has led to the
present disastrous condition Of the Union, and
what else il may lead to time will soon de-
velope.
The sincerity Of the Puritan politicians touch
| ing the slavery question is on par with their
sincerity touching religious persecution in
DAVIS of old If we believe their narrowing
tale, their ancestors fed to America from per-
seculon in England by the Established Church
and government, and hose enemies Of perse-
cution for conscience Jake brought into the
New World the principles of civil and religious
liberty, on witch tho federal and State govern
! mcnts are constructed. So far from the truth
| is this claim that history shows the icrcest Of
| religious prosecutors in England md Scot
| land were the Puritans-so intolerant were
they Of other mons political and religious opin-
| ions and social habits that they look up arms
against them, and involved the country in The
horrors of civil war, as they are now laboring
hard to do al this side of the Atlantic. If they
were afterwards prosecuted 1t was be-
cause when they had the power they
were prosecutors themselves. A party OF
them seeded to Holland, which they left in
| disgust after sojourn Of eleven years, because
the people there were not sufficiently rious for
them, would not adopt Il If doctrines or their
practices, and were far too numerous t. De
prosecuted. Again they secede' against the
will of the good natured Dutch, and after return
ing to England to take with them some more Of
their party, proceeded to America in the May
flower in 1920. They had intended to settle in
the rich lands of Virginia or New York, but
Providence or the cunning Dutch captain, who
did not want to bring them in contact with his
| fellow countrymen who had already establish
| cd settlements southwark, landed them on the
Rock of Plymouth when they took possession
OF the most barren spot on the whole continent
and which, but for them, would have remained
uninhabicd by white men till this day. Had
they settled in Virginia they would have been
aveholders to the present hour, nor would
they have had the same chance Of propagating
their rapaical opinions through the country,