Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1864-03-24
from The Philadelphia Presbylerian.l
The Military Rule of the Churches.

the mart of Generals and Heads of Depart
nnanta to take the care of the churches ilpon
themselvos and To make rules for their g,Ii-
dance, we regard this step as unwise and
mn nworranted. and sure to end In UNPLEASANT
President Lincoln ANNOUNCE
ed n sound and safe principle when he said,
In his letter to Gen. Curtis, that ''the United
States Government must not undertake to
run the churches" He ayows, further,
that he has acted, and intends to act upon
this nrinciple. saving, in a letter written by
him In December of 1851 have never in
terfered. nor Thought of interfering. as to
who sball or shall not preach in any church;
nor have I knowingly or belieyingly tole-
rated auy one else to interfere by my au-
thoritv = In this last sentence the inten-
tion Of the President is quite sufficiently
clear - '-.'.'.
We do NOT see how the order lately issued
by General Butler can be made to agree
Will, the sound principle enunciated by the
President: for this order literally puts the
apnointment of every pastor I'm General
Rntler,s Department i'm the hands of the
Provost Marshal. of the town or military
most where he Is stationed; and the addition.
nj provision. that these APPOINTMENTS are Il,
be made "subject to the approval of th,
Commanding General,n simply makes hin.
A military Bishop. presiding over a very
wide nroyince. We do NOT question Gen
Buffers zeal, or his determination to admin
ister the affairs of his department In tn
most efficient manner; but we believe tina
it would have been far better for him, t.
churches were used as centres of disafiec
tion and tlisloyalty, to close them entirely
| and not to have placed the worship of Co
under the supervision of the Provost Mar
|
Another of our Generals has latel'
| brought the rule of the Provost Marshal {
| bear Ipon the churches. BY a dispatch froI
st. Louis, we learn that General Rosecran
has issued a special order, requiring a.
persons attending religious conventions
assemblies, synods, conferences, and othe
meetings held in this department, to TAX
the most stringent oath Of allegiance. An,
violation of this order will subject the as
sembly to dispersion by any Provost Mar
shall"
We do not object to the oath of allegiance
whenever administered by proper authority
or whenever its administration is called 70
by any moral or political necessity. Butw
believe that the incessant and useless repe
tition of the oath, tends to bring int
contempt, or begets an Indifference to tn
obligations imposed by it, which will b
very prejudicial to the interests of the State
: -
We are sorry, also, to observe in som
quarters, a disposition to turn the privileg
allowed by the War Department to til
churches of sending missionaries to til
South into eansof sectarian advancement
We have read a letter from q missionary
EMPLOYED by the United States Presbyteriai
Church. to labor among the freedmen, anC
who is residing in Vicksburg, Mississippi
in which the writer exults in the possession
of the Presbyterian church in that place
and broadly hints that there can be no rea
son for restoring it to the church to whicl
It rightfully belongs, but very good reason
whV it should not be restored, inasmuch a
the Old School PRESBYTERIAN Church "ha
turned a sharp corner on the subject 0
slayerv.n etc. We do not suppose that thi
impertinent letter-writer will ever have tn
mower To do what is evidently I'm his hear
10 do. but we earnestly hope that tn
churches who have SO large and so impor
tant a work to do i'm the South, will nc
begin the work by the attempted spoliatio
of each other. II the United Prcsbyteria
Church wishes to establish itself in th
South, let it do so by the use of prope
means, and at its own expense, and we wi
bid it Gvd-speed in the good work.
From another quarter, we have propo
: sition so radical and sweeping, that we ar
constrained to notice it. The Religio,
Telescope, the organ of the United Brethre
in Christ, denomination which is littl
known in the East, but is prosperous in tn
West, opposes the late orders from tn
Secretary of War, giving Methodist an
| Baptist churches in the Southinto the hand
, of the Board of Missions of these churche:
3 and chiefly because of the alleged partialit
of the. order. 1t says: M. u.f I.
j ''The Secretary OF War, it seems to u
, should give to all religious organizations a
/. equal chance to aid in re-organizing reli
{ gious society In the rebel States. Any loyi
I church should be authorized to send well
accredited laborers South, to open school
: among white and black, and gather tn
. people into the vacant houses of worship
Then, when such houses shall be sold unde
the contiscatlon law, as they should be, tn
, new organizations, under the new order c
We do not doubt that all religious OF
ganizations will have ample scope for thei