Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1866-02-17
4 O'CLOCK r. Me
0OvERNMENf SECURITIES.
TIE CHRONICLE AND run FIRST PRES
BYTERIAN CHCROR AGAIN.

TIE CHRONICLE. AND ral FIRST PRES
BYTERIAE CHURCH AGAIN.
The Chronicle has singular notions as to what
constitutes fairness Of discussion in dealing
with measures and men. That paper deems it
legitimate editorial handling to hold up the
officers of the First Presbyterian Church TO
reprobation in every form of open or insinua-
ted charge of disloyalty, simply because they
objected to have their pulpit given up to the
use Of Fred. Douglass to enable him TO launch
his scurrilous abuse at the President. The
officers Of the church, feeling how inju-
dicious would be such a political demonstra-
ton in their house of worship, offered to
guarantee TO the Colored Home the amount of
money it would realize by the lecture OF Fred
Douglass; but this did not suit the political
managers of the affair. The Fred. Douglass
TRADE against the President they were deter
mined TO have: and determined TO have it
delivered from the vantage ground of a con-
spicuous pulpit, with such accessories as
afforded by the presence of the Chief Justice Of
the United States and other notabIlities. The
members Of the congregation who had the au-
dacity to object to such use of their house OF
religious worship are designated by the Chroa-
iclc as "chIvalric hyper critics." "pro.slavery
propagandists," men "who insist upon enjoy
ing the protection of fighting and self-sacri-
ficing Government and people, and not only
never giving any of their own material help,
but insist upon the right Of abusing every
body W no does" men "ilIiberai," "unchris-
tian," /" whose hearts were over the river with
JEFF. Davis, and whose bodies, under the safe
shelter Of Uncle Abraham" &c, &c. The
Chronicle tells them they need not put forth the
hypocritical preface that the real cause
of their protest was their opposition to
the Chronicle, "kDows the real cause of il
TO be IN their strong repugnance to the patriotic
principles of all such men as Dr. Sunderland. ~
This style of truculent and indecent calumnia-
ton of a body of men AS loyal, respectable and
christian as are to be found in any community,
the ChroRicie seems to think TO be the correct
thing, but the moment the Star puts in a mod
crate word in behalf Of these gentlemen, that
paper is Mortified; we have gone over TO re-
bellon and treason, and are little better than
the accused. Our good-humored exposition
of the kinks and idiosyncrasies Of the amiable
but notorety craving little parson of the First
Presbyterian Church, given by us TO show the
true cause of the classification" in that church
characterized by the Chronicle as ssvituper-
GUS" "villainous," 'sdisgracefuI," with other
dsagreeable applications in which the Chronicle
vocabulary so rich. We have no space or
epithets. and neither do we see that much Is to
be gained by pitting allegation for allegation
with the Chronicle in the matter of the intestine
diffc ulties of that Church. Either the ChronicIc
has been badly informed or we have The Chron-
icle says as far back Is 1857 the classification"
commenced, when he DIR. S. refused to become
the plant tool of the pro-slavery propagandi.ts
in the Church" Now we are positively as
sured that slavery had nothing whatever to do
with that ''disaffecton;" that it was occasioned,
as We have already stated, by his utter want of
balance, his eternal proclivity to tack himself
TO the tail of every sensation kite af1oat as
IN the instance Of his bedraggling his minis
terial robes about the court room sensationally
at the time the greatest scandal-deyelopment
of the age was in progress-ths Sickles trial
We repeat that il is notorious that Dr. Sunder-
land in those days was only restrained from
political preaching from pro- slavery stand
point, by the remonstrances Of judicious men,
bers of his congregation, who did not want po-
litical preaching Of any sort-either pro.slav-
cry or anti-slavery-from their pulpit 1t is no.
torious that DIR. Sunderland on coming to thi.
city claimed that he was martyr at the North
10 his ssconser vative convictions: and it is no.
torious that it was past 1867 and quite up to the
time that he began to aspire to a Congress
sional chaplaincy before he got on the other
TACK. IL Is qulte useless, therefore, in this
community, where these facts are so well
known, TO attempt to controvert them: but
the Chronicles allegations are intended for
use abroad where the facts are not known
We leave the readers of that paper to recon-
cile as well as they can the contradictory
statements in it, that the congregation that
had become so intensely disaffected to DIR. s
by his patriotic anti-slavery course should
be SO unhappy IN his absence, and SO indefati-
gable in getting him back. The truth, we take
it, is that the congregation were determined to
have their pulpit filled; and would not have
been seriously grieved if the "American and
Foreign Christian Union" had been sufficient
ly charmed by their acquisition to retain him
at Paris, and allow the congregation to get
preacher of qualities more solid if not q ute so
brilliant.
In conclusion, we assure the Chronicle that
we have 30 disposition to quote it incorrectly
We certainly believed that we were quoting
from that Journals report of the Fred Douglass
lecture, in the paragraph given by us IN yes
terday's article, but we find that il was clipped
from another contemporary. The Chronicle will
probably not deny having reported Douglass
as denouncing the President as a Pharaoh "Sc.
COURT MARTIAL CASES
no fol