Brownlow's Knoxville Whig, and rebel ventilator. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1863-1866, 1865-11-15
That church RepOrt.

! Church Holston Rebel Conference held AZ Marion
Virginia. Wogave the Report at the roauest Of
| the ministers furnishing it. without note d COM
menI but now we propose a few words of comment
upon certain striking points in this exceedingly lame
attempt to bolster up bad cause, and to apologize
Tor series of outrages that would have dissraccd
political CAUCUS.
The preamble preceding q long string Of rcsolu-
lions sets forth that, Whereas, loyaLy to the Cor
e71acat Under c1ieh lre lirc is christian duty so
taught in the Scriptures as well as in the Discip-
| line Of our Church sc. These men ought TO have
thought Of the teachings Of the Bible and Of their
Discipline, when they were preaching and s.umping
it in favor Of the rebellion singing Dixie to the SOL
diers Of the rebel army and urging the sons their
Church members to volunteer and Shit nav. die in
the last ditch in fighting for the Independence Of
the South-thereby causing thousands Of young men
who had been religiously educated to fill the graves
/ Of traitors, drunlards, and profanc swearers!
They ought to have thought of this when at the
! Greeneville Conference, in 81, they denounced
! Union men and preachers in open Conference and
! voted to make BsmvegaH a bigoted Roman Cath
olie life member Of their protestant societies for
which they gave their money freely, and for which
! the rebel Generals contempt was only cqualcd by
| heir own pious hatred Of the Government Of the
United States and all who dared adhere toit They
ought to have thought Of the teachings of the Bible
and their Discipline when they Perpetuated the
wicked disgracefuI and antichristian acts at their
Conferences at Athens, in 81, Wytbeyilc, in 90,
and at Bristol in g. which thoy now repudiate and
propose to resciud. They ought to have thought Of
the teachings of the Bible and their Discipline when
they were blasphemoUsly praying to God for the
success Of JEFF Davis, arch traitor not having the
fear Of God before his eyes and for the success Of
the cut-thToats, assassins and highway robbers he
had banded together to effect the overthrow Of the
Government they arc now SO great in love with!
But let US pay our respects 10 the second of their
series Of resolutions, which is in theso.words:
Rssoz-lk That the action of this Conference at
Athens 10y which John Spears was expelled and
W. Il 4. DUggan was suspended for twelve months;
and the action at Wytheyille by which Jonathan
L. Mann, ". II. Rogers were expelled; and the ac-
ton az Bristol, by which James Cumming jesse \.
Hydon, and Th6s. H. Russell were expelled. was
hastU and since We cannot legally restore them here
We do instruct 0aT delegates to the next General
Conference to ask that body to do so.
Your action in expelling better men than "a ma
jority Of your Conference ever daroF to be, simply
because they were Union men, ,-os hosiL" vast?
Nay, it was villainous, mean, cowariIy, and anti
christian wicked and proscrptivo conduct that
would have disgraccI 81 Norman conclave. This .
Conference, or Confederate Dso5 had no power le-
gally to restore set Of injured and prosecuted men
II had power legally 10 prescribe and czpeI from .
the Church Why, reader, the Conference at Athens
was nothing more or less than Ra5rl Court IEqrffqz
All that is arrogant and tyraucal was displayed by