The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1866-02-03
TFrom Chicago Times, Dee. 18th.
of PrOvidcuce.


Some rather curious proceedings were
had in Baptist church in this city on
Thursday. Itwas a new church, and the
services were dedicatory. The subjoined
curious specimen of scripture manglngi
we reproduce from loyal" newspaper,
whose report will doubtless be generally
After this followed the dedicatofy sermon
by President Fairfield, who selected for his
text the passage,of scripture to be found in
the epistle of Paul to the Philippians, 1st
chapter, 9th verse:
aLet your conversation be as becometh the
gospel Of Christ .
The speaker thought the translators had
mistaken the meaning of the apostle in the
use of the term given in the text. 70 him
it seemed as if the apostle meant to say,
Let your conduct as citizens beisuch as be-
eometh the gospel of Christ. By this was
meant citizenship in the kingdom OF God,
and such conduct as would best comport with
that citizenship
His text, therefore, suggested its own SUBJ
ject. The relations and duties of ourselves
as citizens to the General Government seemed
to him a subject fitting to be discussed upon
such a day as this.
No one will be surprised that a divine
who could thus easily improve upon Paul
should, without difficulty, be led to the
appended 6 loyal" conclusions:
Years ago We sanctioned the sum of vii
lainies, the fugitive slave law, and made our
former yillainy yet darker. In this we re-
enacted the former sin, and made the last
act much worse than the first transgression.
Our fathers had no right to pass such a law.
The fundamental law of the nation ought
always to have spoken in the clearest tones
Of the fundamental rights of man; gtiaran.
teeing to him the right to life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness. And if the pres
ent generation refuse to ratify the Constitu-
tional Amendment abolshing slavery, upon
their heads will rest all the blood that has
been shed in this broad land from the fall OF
Sumter to the surrender of Lee. We ought
many years ago to have said, we demand
freedom for our brothers abolish slavery OF
be prepared to meet 100, 900 bayonets. This
ought to have been demanded-it ought to
have been firmly said thirty years ago.
Glorious old John Brown lie dared to die
for freedom He was wiser than Wise, and
Wise was a fool to hang him. His soul has
been marching on until, voiced by a million
stalwart warriors, at last it has eliminated
in the grand old anthem, Glory, Halle
lujah p z.t
God, it seems, was ofsthe opinion that
we had one too many churches in this
city prostituted to the celebration of Alb.
olition orgies, for, few minutes after the
close of the services in this one, it was
burned down. We believe in special
Providences. We believe that the boys
who Knocked at Elijah were eaten by the
bears for their irreverence, and not be
cause the bears were particularly hungry
The coming of the bears was not acci
dental, but ordered Whether it wa
worse to say g Go up old baldy" twice
than to sing hallalujahs to horse THE
and murderer while. professedly dedica
ting a temple to the worship of God, is
lquestion about which there ought not t.
be two opinions. We think that th
coming of the devouring fire, like that 0
the deyouring bears, was not accidental
but ordered. This opinion is strength
ened by the fact that the. furniture of tn,
church was burned few nights ago in ;
warehouse, circumstance which shoulc
be pregnant with warning to insurance
companies how they take risks on appur
tenances to John Brown churches. They
have too long insulted the Almighty BY
irreyerent fanaticisn in professed worship
and in this dispensation Of His providence
they may learn that
"The power incensed the pageant will desert
| The priestly robe and sacerdotal state