The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1864-03-18

As n class. the men who compose our
army andnavy are intelligent They are
men who have been accustomed to
have their newspapers, their books, and
80 converse with intelligent minds. and
those of intellectual habits. Many OF
these mon have left loving domestic
circles. Nearly all of them have low
inc associations from which they are
now separated The loss of those as
socintims is heartfelt want Many
of these men have had domestic affairs,
and Christian sanctuarios and religious
meetings which they have cherished
and enjoyed. And the want of these
is q painful affection To- them in their
present condition a large portion of
these men are suffering in hospitals
from diseases and from wounds All
of them are liable TO the terrible casu-
altics of the battlefield, or the moro
insidious yet olten-times equal dan
gers of the camp. | believe that our
government has appreciated these ne
cessities of our soldiers, and has done
nj that it could to relieve them, by
its nurses, surgeons and chaplains.
This action Of the government has
been supplemented to some extent aud
and in some particulars by generous
individual effort and by benevolent as
sociatons. Still, the intelligent, watch
ful Christian young men of the coun-
try saw that these necessities were
but partially relieved, and that some
of them were not even contemplated
10y the action to which we have referred.
They consequently called n convention
of delegates from the several Christian
Associations Of the country which
Convention, with prayer and confer
ence formed the Christian Commits
sion for the Army and Navy the
second anniversary of which we are
now celebrating.
Up to that period there had been nc
general organized, extensive plan for
the supply Of these great needs. The
greatness OF the necessity may bo
partly inferred from the extent of the
work of the Commission during the
past year, in tier attempts TO supply
it. I'm this work they have circulated
lG5, copies of the Holy Scriptures
they have circulated orer a million and
a holf Of religious books. some Of them
small to be sure, but al of them suit
ed to the circumstances of the men
for whom they were designed. They
have also distributed three millions OF
magazines and religious papers, and
some hccire million pages of tracts
Now | submit to the Imagination OF
this congregation the estimate of the
greatness OF the benefit which this
amount Of useful reading matter has
been to the army and navy of the
country For ] am sure that words
cannot state these benefits.
1t has been found a more difficult
work to meet the social want of tho
army We cannot take to these hus-
bands, fathers and brothers then
homes And we have no substitutes
for their homes to give them. No
The best which it has been possible
for us to do was to send faithful mes
sengers to them, inquire into THEN
wants, and welfare and report home
their condition. Thus the Christian
Commission has sent more than 1906
Of these delegates among our soldiers
with instructions to assist the surgeons
in binding up their wounds, to nurse
them in the hospitals, to administtl
in connection with their bodily needs
the consultations of the gospel tc
mark the place of their burial, and tc
return to surviving friends at home
the last sad mementoes of the dying
They have therefore almost uniformly
been welcomed and received rs minis.
ters of healing and comfort, as messen-
/ gers of hope and mercy.
The Christian Commission has how
ever, always felt that the moral and re
lgious interests of the army and nav,
were the more important concerns.
They have therefore sent out their del
ogatos to preach the gospel Of Christ
to furnish the Holy Sculptures ant
the reading matter to which / have re-
fclred, They have instructed then
delegates to cooperate with the chap
lains, and as they have opportunity
to hold social meetings for prayer ant
religious conversation, and in every
practical way promote the religious in
terests of those to whom they were
sent. And ! am happy to say, to my
certain knowledge, chat many mer
who went into the army wicked men
as wicked as evil agencies could make
them, have been regenerated by the
grace of God, and have returned tC
their homes to adorn the doctrine O
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
From these statements it VIII be-
seen that i'm our work we do not neg
lect the physical necessities of tn,
mon On the contrary, we have giycr
to sufferers the deepest and tendercs
sympathy; and we have given to suf
fercrs the most direct, efloctual, and ap
propilate ministries which they hay,
received These delegates remember
that the men are immortal accounta
BILE, that they are destined to "A life be
You'd this, and they therefore seek &c
promote their Christian character, thcil
Woll-being here and hereafter, boil
now and forever.
The Christian Commission illustrates
as happily as ever can be illustrated
the maxim that charity is twice blessed
both in him who gives, and in then
who receive, The messages which