The New era. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1865-1871, 1867-01-03
HENRY WARD BEECHEERs

sition. He makes such sudden and rad
ical "changes of base, = that it becomes
necessary to lei the people Know, enee
q month, or oftener, where he has fieun-
dered TO. He wrote a letter to the Sol
dier,s Convention at Cleveland, last fall,
in which he played the role Of Conser-
vative. The anti-radical press OF the
country, attaching to Henry Ward more
importance than he deserved, and Civ
ing him creditor political honesty which
he was never entitled to, caught up his
letter with the avidity Ola hungry bass
at & disabled minnow, and trHng the
changes" on it. In less thau two weeks
the Recefe5sd gentleman wrote Il second
letter backing down from the position
taken in his Cleveland epistle, and leav-
ing his Democratic and Conservative
admirers in a rather "bad fix They
ought have known better than to rely
on the political honesty or stability of
such chameleon.
Beeeher has written another letter, or
delivered a lecture. In this he out
Beeehers himself and goes the whole
nigger-suf'rage, equality, "eban skin,
gfzzard-foot' and all. We are truly
glad that he has gone entirely out of the
Conservative party. We want no po-
litieal fellowship with any of the Beech
ers. We do not and never did confde
in the family-We see no good reason
why we should. On the contrary, we
find them disagreeable, and beg them to
go away. We would, il we could, have
the law making power pass IAN act, en-
titled an act amending an act" by which
the Beechers were called into existence,
thereby suppressing the whole concern.
Henry Ward Beecher is stump ora
tor in the pulpit, and a pious eXhorter
on the stump; a gentleman whose mind
seems to be in perpetual spasm. His
religion as his politics, seem to be in an
everlasting state of scarlet fever. When
the difficulty between the North and
South first assumed shape, he made him
self noted for loud demands for war on
the Southern States, but when war in
all its fury burst upon the country, the
fighting preacher shouldered no musket
and shed no blood. He had no stomach
for the fight which he had labored to
bring about, and like Others of his ilk,
took great care to keep his precious car
cas- beyond the reach Of rebel bullets.
And now when the war is over, he es-
says to be the most loud-mouthed in his
demands for unconstitutional legislation
to punish and degrade noble people
who have proven themselves as chival-
ric and heroic as any on the face of the
globe.
When man undertakes to perform
the difficult role of hot-gospeller, we
want him TO play it out. If the cause
comes to grief, he will share the ruin.
Had Henry Ward Beecher shouldered
his musket, and quietly, or with yells,
if more tc his taste, marched down South
and led on the war he so eloquently
preached, we should at least have had
respect, if not admiration for his con-
duct. Hereafter we beg Henry Ward
the Reu. Henry Ward-to keep his re-
iigion and his politics separate, as the
poor fellow proposed at the cheap board
ing house to have the cooks hair and
the soup in different dishes, SO that each
could mix to suit himself. We must
say for ourself that we can we'll dispense
with both. Mr.. Beecher's religion is
not to our taste We have our own
opinion as to what a pastor should be
and his wisdom governed by humanity
his stern advocacy of the right, tenn
pered by forgiveness and charity-go to
make up character widely differing
from this brain-proud charatan who
turns his church into theatre, and acts
as if he thought the Lord ought to be
thankful to him for the little agency he
carries on for the insurance Of souls.
Beecher's whole life has been charac-
5erized by a restless striving after noto-
riety-an insolent. selfish, brain-proud
spirit Of dctation. And this is a char