The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1866-06-02
TME. CONG ss Ed s. II ON a Z.
Gnu ES e. Al
~ Sc ting CT slac General Asscci:s-
Hon Of Illinois NJ Ottawa.

=
r.zal meeting at Plymouth church, in this
CITY. eomysceing on Thursday of last week,
AL continuing in session until Monday lore
nsaa Of this week. About $50 members
principally clergymen, were present.
The spexIag sermon was preached by Rev
J. z. joy Of Chicago, the last Moderator
After other devotional exercises. the associa-
lion e!ec6ed officers for the ensuing year, as
fsilows:
Rev. Jeei Grant, Moderator.
Raw. S J. White, Clerk.
After some other routine business the
meeting adjourned to 2 o'clock P. NJ.
The afternoon was chiefly occupied IN
reading the report and hearing addresses in
reference TO the Chicago Theological Semi
nary. The Institution is represented as IN /,
prospcrious condition the present building
10 by 60 feet-inadequate to the pressure
upon it for room, and new endorment of
s200, 900 is called for to erect new building
endo~ new professerships, &c.
In The evening preaching by Rev. I'll. d.
Kitche'l
F44ay,s Sess;oa-Afer the usual devo>
tlonal exercises, the first matter Of general
Interest brought before the Association, was
an application from the church 1T Normal,
for sid to erect q church building. Normal
Is bat snail village that has grown up I'M
med3atsIy around the State Normal School
near Bloomington, while the want for much
larger church accomm odations than so small
village can be expected to afford arises from
the lags attendance of pupils at the state
school. 1t was voted that the application
deserved a favorable response.
4 letter from DR.. Ray Palmer, See. of the
Am. Cong. Union, was read in this conectio:,
urging the importance Of the general church
building enterprise:
The Rev. Flavel Bascom, of Princeton, H.,
read, by appointment Of the Association" one
year ago, an essay upon the subject of Sy:>
:smstic Bsheyolence.
The address is to be published with the
prdceedings.
Tne afternoons session was surrendered TO
President Blanchard, Of Wheaton College, to
yre,ent lie claims of hat institrtio He
asked for an endorsement by the association
so that !. might come IN for share CT the
aid that is dispensed for the assistance of
collegiate and theological institutions. TIE
distinctive feature of the school At Wheaton
appears TO be It's opposition to secret societies,
particularly freenasonry. The endorsement
sought vas granted.
Tae evening session was devoted 10 aG>
dresses on the subject of foreign missions.ss
Saturdays .Sessi0a,-Oae hour was spent
in devotional exercises. Nearly all the bus
f.css hours of the days session were devoted
to the report of a committee, appointed last
year, on the subject OF secret societies. The
report is too lengthy fer insertion here, which
We regret. 1t is rather a curious document
Starting oat with the general proposition
that prescription against all secrecy arise:
from the facts that it Is resorted to % to
avoid opposition. and (2l tc avoid exposur,
to disgrace; it yet admits tAat seere5y may
often be resorted to for legitimate ends, such
tom Porary coneealmeRt of public egotations
military combinations, and 'prirate plan,
and arrangements js!,rsst COOL anl ne citi-
Gems, IN great emergencies, to resist tie
saashinatioils efhbs clicked" The upsho: q
the report is, that it condemns lightly the
IA sus secret tenn eraace and other profess
s:1lF benevolent organizations, more poin-
tetly the Odd Fellows, and most heavily
and decidedly the Freemasons. The sen.
tence from the report we have quoted and
italicised shows that the committee desire
distinctly to exclude from their censure what
We and We believe all sensible men must re
gard as the only really dangerous secret
societies am n us-we mean secret political
societies, such as the =. l.. y, knights Of tie
Golden Circle, &c. Probably four,iftLs o.
the members sfthe association were member.
of the former, and as they could not therefore
condemn that, they must, to be consistent
Glso omit the latter in the censure.
Their condemnation of freemasonrv il
based on ignorance. The main charge is
that, 'while claiming religious character
they, in their rituals, withhold all rscognilion
Q. Christ Do tie knight TempIars, the
knights of Malta, or any other higher de,
Grees OF masonry, " withhold all recognition
of Christi If the authors of the repor;
will take some pains TO make themselves
acquainted with the nature, history AMI theory
of frsemasonry, they will find that the whole
of their eensare in the lth resolu.ion is real,
J., nonsense.
The report and resolutions we're laid o7ei
to Monday for final action
Sunday the Association did 10 business
and the various pulpit. in town were fl!e-
during the day by leading members
Mondays Ssss,o"--The subject of secre
societies was resumed, md after brief de-
bate, the report and resolutions were adopted
The usual annual review Of the state 0
religion was presented, giving the followin;
results:
Congregational churches in Illinois, 900
ministers, 2l0 members, Is, 900 Ten house
or worship have been built the past year NJ
as many more are in process Of completion
Many church odifces have beel. enlarged al,
improved mary societies relieved from debt
About 10000 Sabbath school children ar
receiving instruction. Unusually large ad
ditions to the churches have been made a
results Of powerful religious REVEALS
The report on the = State of the Country
was also presented, consisting of series c
resolutions which would be moe appropri.t
at a convention Of radical abclItionists tha
IN a professedly purely religious BODY. III
resolutions go . the whole figure" for negr
suffrage and negro equality, and aie dow