, 1861-12-12
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ARMY fHARLANS.


Washington, that there is i very general
disposition among the members Of Con-
gress to make some thorough reformation
in tho matter Of Army Chaplains. The
tacts Of the case appear to he simply these:
In the haste with which our loyal rcei-
ments were organized. large number Of
incompetent and otherwise unfit men have
received Chaplain's commissions; aud, III
camp, and in the field, have proved them
sefTes wfetchedly unequal to the duties
that arc imposed upon them
Some by inf1mities of temper, some By
want Of sympathy With the pursuits and
Thoughts Of the soldiers, some by known
dissoluteness Of life, and others by flagrant
pceuniary dishonesty Of which they have
been convicted, hare lost the confidence Of
both officers and men. and remain in the
service scarcely commiserated by the first
and heartily despised By the last.
The duty Of Chaplain is of that kind
which no words can set forth +; he must be
not only the spiritual assistant Of the off
Gers and men, but the Watehful, untiring,
jealous and .selt-sacridcing friend Of each
class; and in ill cases the ready and ear
nest mediator between them. He must be
the counsellor and guide in sickness, and
in health and the men must feel that in
him they have IN unselfsh friend, upon
whom they can always rely and the Off
Gers must know that he IS the one man out
side Of the councils Of war whom they can
trust Of course he must be able to ac-
ceptably discharge the public duties Of his
station; but, though he has the e1oQuence
Of a Bossuet, and does not live a manly
Christian life, his well turned periods and
his spoken truths will not saye him from
contempt. The army is the place, above
all others, in which shams are most easily
hunted down Saints and sinners there
find their level, and the commissioned in
tcrccssor with Heaven for the sins Of men
has no exemption from the common fate,
When, then, Chaplain dwclls upon the
duty Of Christian love in his stated sermon
On SUNDAY, and refuses to speak words Of
comfort and encouragement to the sick and
the weary on Monday; when he recoHl-
mends the sacrifice Of Ill, even life, for the
cause, and refuses 10 have his ease disturbed
TO discharge little duties to his marching
parishoners, that do not come clearly within
the scope Of the *'regulations;' when he
advocates the necessity Of temperance, and
proves himself 3 glutton and wine-bib-
ber; when he e1horts to patience, and
every day proves himself an ill-nat1red
grumblcr: when he says that all men are
brothers, and arrogates to himself the airs
Of d rrincc-hc is sure to 20 down
We do, not for the honor Of the cloth,
speak Of grosser offences involving all the
crimes Of the decalogue, save murder, too
many Of which are proven upon some Of
The men who unworhily wear the Chap
1ain's badge; but when We say that VIC
know Of Chaplains who have presented
themselves to their regiments, drunker than
Bacchus; that We know Of others to whom
frequent violations OF the seventh COM
mandment are with good reason attributed.
that. two others, though they succeeded in
getting from their supeiozs- an inhibition
OF cards IN the soldiers's tents, have never
eThad7f1felr heads inside Of the hospi-
tails Of their regiments; that there are
dozens who are not able, so great is their
unnopularity, to get six hearers each on a
Sunday without the positive orders of
the Colonels commanding; that men are
1rofaning as Chaplains the sacred Office,
who are wholly unknown to the clerical
profession; that others cannot go through
their camps without being followed By q
hiss Of derislon that will rise to the lips OF
the men, we say what can he substantiatcd
by abundant proof
We. know Of no sphere Of an extent 50
cireumsc1ibed in which Christian man can
DO 50 much good, as in the regimental Chap
1ain's office; and we are glad to say that a
large minority, perhaps majority, OF
the men who have assumed the
duties Of that responsible and
most honorable position, have done so un
der the impulse Of motives Of patriotism
and piety that are an honor to human kind
AID that, so far as in them lies, they are de
voting themselves to their work with the
fidelity and love, the courage and patience
HAT are reenacting the history Of purer ana
better days. Such men, ever read,
with their good deeds, as vel
as ghostly counsel, patient, enduring, sell
forgetting, acccptably serving the Master
by discharging their obligations to Man
need no defenders. Such, we believe, non,
wish to disturb in the places where the:
are SO necessary and SO valued But
there is any way in which the clerics
loafers. Who are doing their utmos
to make Christianity hateful, an
the title of Chaplain reproacl
Tan be sent back to private life, and to pul
suits more congen1al to their inclination
and habits, we hope that Congress will NJ
be deferred from freely and quickly apply
ing the axe to the disgraceful and unpa:
donable evil; >,
4 PATH0LOGIC VIEW OF TT.
VIC shall hereafter appreciate the bles
lngs Of solid health all the more, from ha1
ing seen the rayases that disease hav
made upon the Sca.h Carolina campaig,
II