Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1863-02-03
From the Louisville Democrat ]
A Streak of Light.

1t is gratifying to see any evidence Of good
feeling, or even of the absence of bad feel
ing, in any portion of the people who are now
srrayed against each other in civil war. We
have just rea the Pastoral Letter from the
Bishops Of the Protestant Episcopal Church
to the Clergy and Laity of the Confederate
States of America, delivered before the Gene.
raj Council, in St Paul's Church. Augusta
Saturday, November %, 1862" We cannot
but admire the Christian spirit of this letter
1t breathes the spirit of love and kindness =
The separation from he Protestant Episcopal
Church of the United States is several times
spoken OF as q matter Of necessity, and never
as matter Of choice Forced by the Provi.
dence OF God to separate ourselves from the
Protestant Episcopal Chuch in the United
States--a church with whose doctrine, dsci.
pHue, and worship we are in entire harmony,
and with whose action, up to the time OF that
separation, we were abuudantly satisfied"
&c
The spirit Of the letter may be seen in
such passages as the following
"Our tirst duty, Therefore, as the children
Of God, is to send forth from this Council our
greetings OF love to the Churches of God all
the world over. We greet them in Christ and
rejoice that they are pArtakers with US of all
the grace which-is treasured up in Him We
Law Dwn to-day, before the aio of .fhe Cruel.
lied all our burdens of sin, and offer our
pcI ers for the eurch Militant upon earth.
Whatever mag lhai r'aspeet towards us DO.
htically, weT Cannot forget that they rejoice
with us lin the one Lord, the one Faith, the
one Baptism, the.on'e God and Father of all,
and we wish them God speed in all the sacred
ministries ol the, Church. Nothing but love
is consonant with the exhibition of Christ's
love, which is manifested in His Church, and
any note OF mans bitterness, except apainst
SIM wopd be sound OF discord minglinp
wAh Me sweet harmonies of earth and
heaven"
Ii spirit like this had prevailed in every
determination North and South, disunion
would have been impossible. When the
Devil undertook to destroy this nation, the
fret place he entered was the pulpit The
preachers words, which TO so many appeared
shining with light from heaven, were words
tina burned with the fire Of he'll
On the subject Of tue slaves we will quote
q few sentences; II
The time has come when the Church shou Id
press more urgently than she has hitherto
d me, upon her laity, lhe solemn fact that the
slaves on the South are. NOT merely so much
properly, but are sacred trust committed 10
Us, as people, to be prepared for the work
winch Uod may have Tor them to do in the
future While under this tutelage, He freely
gives TO US their labor, but expects us TO give
back to them that religious and moral instruc-
ton WHICH Is to elevate them IA he scale of
oelngs And while inculeating this truth the
Church must oder more freely her ministra.
tons for their benefit and improvement -
her iaity must set the example Of readiness
TO iulnll their duty towards these people, aud
ner clergy must strip themselves OF pride and
iastldiousness and Incidence, and rush, with
the zeal Of martyrs, TO this labor of love +"
III is likewise the duty Of the Church to press
upon the masters their obligations. as Chris
tlan men, 50 TO arrange This Institution as moi
to neeessitate the violation Of those saered
relations which God has created and which
man can not, consistently with Christian doty
annul The systems Of labor which prevaii
In Europe, and which are, in many RESPECTS
more severe than Gus, are so arranged AZ m
prevent all necessity for the separation of
parents and children aud 4 husbands and
wives and very little care on our part would
RID the system upon which we are about 10
plant our national life Of these unchristan
features II belongs especially to the Episco.
pal Church TO urge proper teaching upon
this subject; for 10 her fold and in her com
greRAtions are found yery large proportion
Of the great shareholders Of the country We
rejoice TO be enabled TO Say that the public
sentiment is rapidly becoming sound upon
this subject and that the Leeslaures NJ
several OF the Confederate States have alreadv
taken steps towards this contamination :
Hhherto we have been hindered by the pros.
sure OF Abolitionism. Now that we have
tnrown on from US that hateful and infidel
pestienca, we should prove to tho world that