The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1866-01-27
Another Word About the Puri-


observance of saints and other church Holt
days has always been regarded by religious
Of Purltanical proclivities,
we really supposed our casual remark. the
truth of which we now find for the first time
would be accepted by them rath-
er in the light of a compliment thai censure.
1t happened, however. that we pinched the
toes of some very tender footed descendant
of the "Forefathers," and in the Ottawa
Republican two weeks ago appeared a COM
munica.on, over the signature of "Es Cho,'
in which not only this charge Of :'illiberal-
ism" against the Puritans, into which our
remark is tortured, was energetically repealed,
but Il g; were held up as very patterns OF
social, political, and religious freedom.
Hard as it was to swallow such dose, yet
so great was our adherence of getting into
a controversy Especially with an anonymous
scribblerl on subject in which any of the
religious denominst ions around US might
become involved, that we put off Mr.. "Ex
Uno' with a brief paragraph, simply relter>
ating our original casual remark rs we'll
known historical fact,-and there We hoped
the matter would end SEX Uno,' however,
in Thursdays Republican, returns to the
charge, and actually accuses us both of
making a statement for which we ''can show
no line of history" and of casting Ignorant
aspersions'' on the character of the Purltans.
.Ex Uno" uses positive language like this:
sTo saw X that the Puri;anS
attemptei to abolish Christmas. is q MISS
statement of the truth. To ins;nuate that
this attempt was made, begun or continued
in Massachusetts. is very gross blunder.
\ I dcnv that there is any such fact well
known or that there is any such fact
The FREE TRADER cannot show line ct
authentic history to authorize such an asser>
ton. There are no known facts to warrant
such statement. Not s line can be pro-
duced FIR m Authentic and truthful history, to
prove that for twenty years after the settle
ment of Massachusetts, either Christmas or
Easter were in any way observed, or their
observance opposed, or that their highest
authorities always denounced the observance
of Christmas and Easter and SAINTS days as
fond and sinful practice
"Let the testimony be produced, and 1t
will then be time to begin what the accom-
plished gentleman editing that paper so
elegantly ter,;s butting the head against II. >
1t is not in human nature to resist such a
challenge, with the Testimony" right before
US. Did lex Uno'' ever hear OF the old
Massachusetts and Connecticut Blue Laws
There has been published, and he can prob>
ably frd it in orr Supreme Court Library, a
book called Massachusetts Bay Colonial
Laws" Well under date of May. l63l-
elerea years, tless than tlrcnty, observel-
after the landing of the Pilgrims on Plymouth
I Rock. we find the General Court which
was all the legislature they had, making the
following order:
1T is therefore ordered by this count and
the authority thereof, that whosoever shall
/ be found observing any such day as
| CHRISTMAS or the like, either by for5ear-
/ ing labor, ieastipg, or any other way, upon
any such account as aforesaid every oh
person so offending shall pay for every such
/ offense FIVE s..ilings as q fine to the county.
See Mass. Bay Col. Laws, Oh. L., Sec. ,.
The same "offense" is punished with
severer penalties by cotemporaneous laws H.
Connecticut. See Trumbul.
This settles, We think, effectualiy the
question as to the attempt Of tie Puritans
to abolish Christmas And here. perhaps
We ought to stop. b.: the other attempt Of
'Ex Uno" 1--WE hope, parely from ignorance,
for otherwise It would certainly be impu>
dence,) 20 hold up 10 Us the "Old PurItans
not only as the constant advocates, but the
I founders Of civil and religious freedom in
this country, temp;s US so strongly that we
are unable to resist expendlng "a minute
and q half on that point
We know it is the fashion of all New
England writers, even down to the manuiac-
turers of primers and spelling books, TO
! from England for their love Of religious
! freedom. Theyhad possession ef the entire
Government under Cromwell. How did they
exemplify their love of religious liberty
We shall not stop to quote Hume or Macau-
( Law. as to the state OF religion after ten
( wears reign Of Puritanism, Richard Baxter,
whose authority DO Puritan will question,
| SAYS:
! .'Our evils are rot removed or cured, but
! only changed one disease and Devil hath
| left us, and another as bad is come in its
room. Yes, this last extreme is far more
| high, violent, and dangerous In many re-
| spects. Have not worse things come upon
US than ever we had before? % Baxter S
Plain Proof, P. Al
| With such results, according 10 their OWE
/ testimony, il excites no astonishment 10 read
of the JOY with which the people of England,
! now thoroughly sick of Puritanism, vel,
coined the return of the Stuarts, even in the
person Of the brutal and dissolute Charles
III. The few hundred independents that
survived emigrated to Holland. They lived
there some eleven years. The Dutch, though
very Jealous protestants, don't seem to have
liked them. The Dutch clergy regarded
them "as set Of discontinued, factions and
coaceited men, with whom it would be safest
to have no connection" But if the Holland
ers were Disguised with the Puritans, the
feeling was mutual, for we find the Puritans
picking up their traps and leaving, for the
reason, as they themselves declare, ''inas>
much as, in ten years time, whilst we So
journed among them, ace could not bring
them 10 ref5ym anything amiss among them. .
| We submit that 10 one who knows ANYTHING
about Puritanism, that tells the whole story.
1t equals in modesty the case Of the juryman
who reported his colleagues eleven stubborn
fools.