New Oregon plaindealer. (New Oregon, Iowa) 1859-1866, 1864-05-27
THE CLERGY. E.

TIE following able, eloquent, and
truthful remarks are copied from a
speech Of tie Hon. D. W. Voorhees, Of
Indiana, delivered 10 the House OF
Representatives Of the United States
March 5, 1854.
"That large portion Of the clergy of
the land who, claiming to be the agents
Of the merciful Redeeuer, ell the cup OF
his sacrament with rancor and ven .cnce
hear none Of the sweet, angelic tones
which plead from every page of his gos
peis in favor of that individual charity
which sufere,h long and is kind.
They teach their fncks no longer to
hunger and thirst after righteousness.
but to hunger a"d thirst for til"
blood # saeIr enemies. they ;sceud
The sacr'A desk no m're I" pray III.
gcuiie tcacr. like the Acws + Heaven
may descent ulon oar wounlcd and
distracted c"untvy. hu. to aecIai.n IL
warhke strains IN ihe face If the Al .
mighty upon the delight which they
feel in the in!l.ction Of human agony.
They have reversed the order of the
millennium which the Christian world
has looked forward to since the days Of
,he prophets. The che which they
hail in fond anticipation is thatin which
every ploughsharc sha II become 4 sword
aud every pruning hook a spear; in
which con c,lption, slaughter aud tax
alton shall 60 hand in hand; when the
keepers of the house shall tremhlc. aud
the strong men shall! bow themselves,
and the grinders cease because they
are few, and those that look out of the
windows shall he darkened, and the
doors shall be shut in the streets when
the sound Of the grinding is low: 81
because, man goe,h to his long home:
and the mourncrs 60 about the s;rcots.'
To these men Euch Of the sorrow
which now oycrshadows our homes is at
trlbutable. They have ever been, and
are to-day, the foremost enemies to
domestic tranquility citation On
matters pertaining to civil government
has been their element Sedition o.
cainst laws which conflict with their
ignorant and selfish bigotry has been
their fa,orite calling in all countries !,
and in every age.-They have high
er law than the sermon on the mount; |
and the word of Cod is made to fit the
Procustean bed of their blind and furi-
Gus prejudices, which they mistake for
sir, l here proclaim as
fact to which history attests, that wher-
ever in the tide of time the ministry of
the Most High have assumed as part
of their duties the control Of affairs Of
State and the policy Of nations, they
have appeared us the advocates Of des
po!ism, the friends Of high prorogative
the defenders Of oppression, the allies
OF yrana1y--obstacles in the pathway
Of progress: enemies to popular rights
anAcxtortiouers ofthe poor and laboring
masses. l might dwell long on the
evidence which the new and old world
furnish on this point, That great
author and majestic thinker. Buckle,
whcm ! have already quoted, in speak
ing on the conduct Of the political clergy
iii the reign Of james II, says:
"They looked on IN silence while the
Klng was amassjng the material, with
which he hoped to turn Tree govern
ment iuto All absolute monarchy.
They saw Jeffreys and Kirke torturing
their fellow-subjects. They sac the
jalls crowed with prisoners, and the
scaffolds streaming with blood. They
were well pleased that some of the best
and ablest men in the kingdom should
be barbarously prosecuted; that Baxter
should be thrown into prison, and that
Howe should be f reed into exile
HENRY WINTER DAVIS, Of Mary
land, the Oldest Republican in the