Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-01-19
:. Thc sword an.l sle Gown,

From the Mobile ADVERTISER aud Rezisterl
We have no occasion to call the attention
Of our readers to the General Orders No.
40,' from the military Headquarters at
Nashville. 1t Will be read fast enough, and
1t will be remembered long. Bill Arp
tells ,is in one OF his nniqae letters, that
'Sherman's calterpillars took so many liber-
ties" when they swarmed through his sec
tion of Georgia, that the people there had
Every few liberties leit.p Now Gen. Thomas
Isas taken such extraordinary liberties with
the ecclesiastical rights of Bishop Wilne1
and the people OF his diocese, that we do not
feel at liberty 10 discourse on this conflict
between 'sThe Sword and the Gown in a
style at all worthy OF the text. An habituaI
profane swearer, whe, under an extraordi-
nary provocation, didn't swear an oath.
was asked how it happened He replied
that he coaldn't begin 10 do Justice 70
the subject We are dumb for the
same reason, and for another, to-wit that
We are not yet Sufficiently reconstructcd''
70 be able to hold polemics with gen.
tleman who wears a sword and.who has th.s
power TO make his hayonets do his thinking.
We shall have 10 turn the commentary oves
to some Of those New York papers that en-
joy the precious privilege Of being able to
speak their minds fright out in meeting. !
We must say, we soaid like to see our good
Bishop turned loose with his Virginia blood
up and his noble intellect all ablaze in a re-
ply 10 this military, moral and religious dis.
course Of Gen. Thomas. We thiEk the
eGown" would make the fur fly even from
the corselet. As 10 the Eacts of the case, il
the General has coadoned the Bishops's
oilense ON the ground that his people have
disapproved his coarse---the order to remove
the interdiet on the church has no bottom tu
stand upon. The Bishop has been standing
up for principie--the principle OF the per-
feet independence Of the Christian church Of
military authority under the Constitution af
the United States. The General will no.
be able to persuade one living being in Ala.
bama (not an imported radicaD that Bisholi
Wilmer was Influenced by the seditious and
reasonable motives ascribed to him on his
order. We do not pretend to doubt that
Gen. Thomas thinks so, but he is mistakeis
and has been misinformed. Bishop VIII
mer Is not only an eminent divine, but he Il
enc Of natures noblemenn--a gentleman OF
the old Virginia school; and when he took
the oath of allegiance to the United Ssatei
government, he meant to keep it like ut
honest man, and he has kept it. II was M
part of that obligation binding ON him al
the Bishop of a church 10 submit to the in.
ierference of the military power with his ee-
clesiastical functions and duties. Nay, the
oath to support the Consultation ofthe Unit
ed States commanded him to resist such in
reference, because it violated the Constitu-
tion as well as his Episcopal rights.
But it vet remains TO be, explained why
the whole clergy and laity of this Church in
Alabama were made TO suffer for the Bish-
ops single act. And why, any more now
than then, is the Bishop allowed to resume
his suspended dntiesf Is he repeutant ?
Has he bowed his Episcopal crook N The
epaulette and begged pardon for his olense? ?
Not at all. The reasonis that the order came
from Washington. II was plank In the
Presidents reconstruction platform, and he
ordered it to he put down. We conclude that
history will write that in this contest be-
tween the sword and the gown, the gown
has proved tie better reconstruetionist, har-
monist, and uaionist Of the two.