Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1865-12-27
BARTON, DECEMBER 81, 1865.
II n R M q
Ministerial Support.


as one minister in the county has had The
good luck to find people willing to give
him adequate support, we take this oppor
tunity to write few paragraphs Tor the
benefit of those who are less fortunate
than he. Probably there is not minister
in the county, except, Mr.. Stone, of Der
by, who lives, or can live decently upon
bis salary. All the rest are obliged either
70 pinch themselves in the necessaries and
comforts of life, to run in debt with almost
no hope of extrcating themselves, or to
resort to some sort of labor to earn the
living to which they are indebted at the
hand of their parisbioners.
They ought not to be compelled to do
either of these things. There is no good
reason why a minister should be deprived
of the comforts that are generally enjoyed
by the people among whom be lives
He stands 10 need of the same things, is
as capable of approaching them, and may
reasonably be presumed to make as good
use of them. Now ought he to be COM
PEELED, by the scantiness of his salary, to
run in debt for them. Every body else
has got out of debt, and means to keep
out II the minister gets into debt it will
be almost impossible for him to escape,
and the burden will impair his usefulness,
diminish his happiness, and unfit him FOR
the work Of his profession. Just as wrong
is it to compel him to work on farm or
any where else to supply the iusufliciency
of his salary. According to our recollect-
ion of what the Bible says on that subject.
the man who breaches the gospel, has a
right to live by the gospel. If he is
obliged to work for part of his living,
he must either neglect his studies, and
preach poor sermons, or be must over
work in order TO answer the demands that
are made upon him. These are the only
alternatives.
1t IS possible some of our readers may
be disposed to question our statement that
only one minister in the county has sal
airy sufficient to afford him a living. But
we have not made that statement unadvis-
edly. That some of them do live on their
salaries is quite possible. Bot it is in such
a meager slinted way as is neither com
Portable TO themselves nor creditdble to
their people. The expenses of some Of
them, we know by direct inquiry, exceed
their salaries, one, two, or three hundred
dollars. How can it be otherwise when
their salaries were fixed with reference to
The prices that prevailed half dozen years
ago, while their expenses are necessarily
determined by the prices which prevail
now. We know by personal experience
that it costs mure than twice as much TO
support a family now as it did before the
war, and everybody knows that the prices
of all the necessAries of life have doubled.
What now must be the condition of a
man who has TO pay the present prices for
all that he buys, while he receives only
the old prices for what he sells. What
would the farmer say, it he were COM
PEELED to pay forty cents a yard for cotton
cloth, a dollar and quarter pound foI
teas and in the same proportion for every
thing he buys at the store, and yet were
compelled to sell his butter for shilling
pound, his eggs for ten cents dozen, bis
oats, wool, wood, and all other products
at no higher prices than they brought in
1860 We reckon there would be some
scolding, if not some swearing among the
farmers. The case which we have sup
posed for the farmer, is the actual case
with the minister. He has to pay twice
as much for the food he eats, the clothing
he wears, the books he studies, and every
thing else he uses, while he gets no more
tor bis preaching and praying, his marry
ing and burying, which are the only pro.
ducts he has to offer 10 return.
We know of few instances in which
the minister's salary has been advanced
hundred dollars or so. But that neither
meets the necessities Of bis case nor the
demand of justice. That is mere COM
promise, an admission of the existence of
a duty, and yet the performance of not
half oft For if a salary need to be ad-
vanced at all, il needs to be advanced more
than hundred dollars. The average
salary of ministers, in Orleans County, be-
fore the war, did not exceed six hundred
dollars, and probably fell short Of that
Now If six hundred dollars was sufficient
salary then, the addition of hundred dol.
lars will not make it sufficient now
Seven hundred dollars will not buy as
much of the necessaries of life now. as
four hundred then. A thousand dollars
o-day is not as good salary as six humid.
red dollars was before the war.
What we have written is for the benefi,
IT the people quite as much as of the
minister's. 1t is poor policy to give
Minister lean support. He will almost
{ necessity give lean sermons in return.
'ut you know good support relieves him
rom perpetual anxiety in regard to bis
worldly affairs, and be will labor with
igor and energy as be cannot exhibit
other circumstances. II you don't be.
Ieve il, try it and see.
sTWe hope our readers will exercise