The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1866-06-21
Reunion Of the Episcopal Church

Reunion of the Episcopal Church.
At the recent Virginia Episcopal Con-
vention, held at Alexandria, resolution
was adopted to reunlte with the Church Of
the United States, by vote Of ninety y-three
TO twenty.
The debate ON the question was one OF
unusual eloquence and power, and is fully
reported in the Church Journal.
We give an extract from the concluding
J speech, which viii indicate the spirit OF
all. lig,Yi
The Rev. Mr.. Slaughter said that he had
now, after night of conflict and prayer,
come to the onclusion--though the strug-
gle was like the tearing asunder of soul
aud body--to cast his vote for the resoln-
ton. Now, in going back, were they going
back to Jdtherf No. The northern
church was not the father of the church
in Virginia, nor the mother eitherl The
Church in Virginia was founded In 1908,
and was therefore the oldest In this
counfry, for IL was not till 1920 that the
| Puritans landed at Plymouth, and In that
same year u Dutch cargo Of twenty slaves
arrived IN Virginia, and for the first time
in the worlds history the white man and
the red and the black gazed upon another
standing on the same soil. The red man
had disappeared, retreating from hilltop
to hilltop, melting away like the snow
from the mountains, and he had now gone
to seek his grave towards the setting sun
The negro, on the contrary, under southern
protection, had multiplied TO millions; but
since that race had been torn from that pro-
| lection, IL was certain to reach ere long that
same ruin, and would be like the crew OF
the flbled phantom ship that was driven on
and on, ''and anchored ne'er shall be-" He
could understand the struggle through
which, during the past night, he had reach
ed his present determination.
During that night he had had yisons--hC
was told, rather an imaginative man. fIe
had seen "a vision of northern radcalism, ~
u many-headed monster, the very sight oil
which made him feel sick at the stomach
This vision made him all averse to reunion
But then again he had another vision. lie
saw, high upon the Green mountains o
Vermont, the form OF "A venerable old patri.
arch, looking down upon the calm blue NJ
heaven as reelected in lake Champlain. III,
saw him turn towards him, and open hi,
arms and spread out his hands, and heard
his gentle voice saying, like the aged
apostle Of old, 'Children, love one
anotherr' And he felt that he could
go TO him, and lay his aching head upon
his great beating heart, and find rest. III,
was resolved, then, to render the painful
,ods n PAINFUL sacrifice! 20, Virginia, yir.
ginia, thou hast the fatal gin of beauty. on
thy sweet brow sorrow and shame now
mingle their shadows; and how often have
| felt that if ! were only wealthy | would
flee away but as that Is impossible, am,
like the imprisoned bird, fain to beat my
wings on the bars of my cage, crying, i
can't get ont; ! can't get outr"
Yet these deep and bitter feelings--I Of
fer them all as n sacrifice upon the altar OF
the church, From this hour, have no
longer any politics. All my aspirations, all
my hopes, all my dreams, are defeated,
blighted, departed. Nothing hcnceforth
shall affect my relations to the church OF
the living God; and | trust In God that
hereafter that church may be joined to-
gethcr In one spirit, under one law, looking
TO one reward. working under the great
head of the church, heart to heart and hand
TO hand, marching Onward TO one consum-
nation of the destiny of the church ol
IChrist, in the overthrow of sin, satan and
death, and the triumph of truth, and right
and peace. IL is enough that the church Il
the ark of God, am In that ark and SC
long as | am safe there, they may do what
they please with the ship Of state. .r
| = u ! l"And when the waves Of Ire mi
/ - Again the earth shall MI
| That ark shall ride the sea Of fire,
/ Then rest. ZiOnis hill -