Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1861-01-09

THE Day or HUMILIATION AND PRAYER.-The
day set aside by the President for the voice of
united people to ascend in prayer for divine di-
rection in Their political affairs, gave very little
evidence in this city to the casual observer of diff
fering in any particular from other business days
The stores ard banks and offices were all open,
ready to catch the passing penny, and the throng
upon the business streets was as numerous and
as eager as IT the proclamation had never been
issued. There are few we presume, who did not
offer silent prayer that the threatened evils may
be averted, but while doing so they were striving
to make the pot boil at home and the ends of their
income and their expenditures meet This thing
ofbalancing accounts now DAYS requires work, and
a good deal Of humiliation must be done with the
hands, and great deal of praying must be done
with the feet
The churches all observed the day and ser
vices were had by each denomination we believe.
So far as we heard-we could not of course be
every where-matters were decorously conducted,
with but one exception. The Presbyterians and
Congregationalsts had union prayer meeting at
the Second Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Mr..
Tindall is the pastor, gentleman with all the
ambition, but not quite all the genius of his pre-
decessor in the same pulpit-Rev. Henry Ward
Beecher The Rev. Mr. TindalI thinking that as
he wore the cast off shoes of the great Brooklyn
divine, it was incumbent upon him to do some
thing, went and ''done' it-thereby getting up a
very pretty little clerical muss, which has caused
considerable talk on the streets, and quite eclpsed
for moment the brilliant movement of Major
Anderson.
The meeting being in Mr.. Tindalls church, he
opened the exercises by stating that the slavery
question had brought the country to its present
condition. condition that required the prayers
of Gods people. He was opposed to slavery, and
he proceeded to reld the opinions of great many
writers to prove that Christianity at war with
slavery and that the progress of the first must in
evitable lead to the extinction of the last. He
did not say that he would take the bible in one
hand and the sword in the other and wipe out the
institution but he strongly limited that such would
be the duty OF the faithful followers of the meek
and lowly Saviour of men.
Rev. Mr.. Stevenson replied mildly and firmly
ID tlllS uHCjlcI tuuuS VI lhc
Mahomet. Mr. Stevenson said he thought the
meeting was appointed for humiliation ard
prayer, and not to discuss the slavery issue. He
defended the Christian men and women of the
South, and appealed to facts in history to show
that the prayers of the slaveholdins States must
have been answered in revolutionary times.
Mr. Ketchum stepped in between the clerical
disputants, and talked Abolitionism very mildly
and very softly, as he always does. Like an ass
between two bundles of hay he nibbled little al
each, but it plain to be seen that his sympa-
thies were with the first speaker.
Rev. Mr. Hyde thought it necessary, like a
shrewd politician, that he should be placed right
on the record and he to soy that he r"s oP
posed to slavery. He did not say much else, and
it was only his manner of delivering himself that
made his short speech at all remarkable.
Mr.. Tindall, when Mr.. Hyde sat down, alb
ruptly closed the discussion. With his own he
had three abolition speeches to one conservative
and thinking he was ahead he resolved to keep so
He gave out Il mn, and the prayer meeting be
| gun.
The Rev GIr TindalI has succeeded in making
himself notorious by his ill,judged and il-man
nered proceeding, and that is all he wanted to do
If to succeed in an object is an evidence of great
ness, Mr.. Tindall is very great man.