The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1869-05-18
Religious Liberty In spain.
From The I1iIadelphiu Ledger.

The great speech of Castelar, on the
church question in Spain, delivered in
the C0rtes on the 18Th of April, is one
which, while it will immortaliZe him,
M II vigorous thinker and an eloquent
orator, is, we should hope, destined
also TO prove A regenereting power in
the Spanish Government. It was the
more extraordinary, as being an I'M
premeditnted reply to long speech OF
Canon ManIerOla, a distinguished dig
nitary of the clerical party who strong
ly advocated the sovereignty of the
Church. CASTELAR, declares that, in re-
sisting the organization of the Church
ns q power OF the State, he attacks no
belief. no worship, but maintains that
the anxiety to subject the civil anthori-
ty to the criterion OF the Church
would constantly menace all rights.
After the conclusion Of SO many re-
ligiuus wars, and though the Church
has had TO accept the civil existence OF
80 many religions, she still believes all
civil powers to be uSurpation of her
sovereign rights. 1t is this funGament-
al principle that Castelar, so power
fully denOunces and so bravely battles
against. He npplauds the presence of
Bishops aud Cardinals in the Cortes,
and thinks that without those who
guarded the morals and ancient be-
liefS OF the people, the genuine ex-
preston of the country could not be
obtained. H0 maintains the utmost
respect Tor those consecrated to the
worship of pure and abstract ideas, in
tho midst of much materialism and in
di1ferentism, and even comedies to
them something of the infinite and the
divine. But he most nobly declares
that when liberty comes, the material
bonds are lCosened, and when the ma
terial bonds are loOsened, the moral
bonds are frightened. Thus, to have
hOnHa bonds IF iHooc
rights and duties, imposed not by civil
authority, or by armies, but by reason
and conscience, it is necessary that So
ciety should live in freedom. The fes-
tival of Sunday, for example, is never
kept among enslaved peoples, but is
always observed among freq nations.
There is nothing so voluntary as re-
religion, and the separation of the
Church from the State engenders the
grand principle OF the voluntary accep-
tatiOn OF religion, or OF metaphysics, or
of the morality each individual has in
his own conscience. Those who desire
that no civil rights, no political honors,
should be enjoyed by those who do not
carry the marks of Il religion imposed
by authority of the State, only initiate
the ancient Pagans, who desired the
King to be the High Priest. The State,
Castelar, forcibly declares, cannot COM
mune, cannot die; it has no soul, and,
therefore, as "A political body can have
no religion, and should make pretence
to none. But II it is to have such au-
thoritY, then we must recognize the
right OF Henry VIII TO change in day
the Catholic religion for the Protestant,
of TheOdosfnS. TO change in the Roman
Senate the Pagan religion for the Cath
Ollie, of the French Convention to &C
cept the worship OF the Goddess OF
Reason, or of Bonaparte tOoblige men
to bend the knee to the old Pope and
the new Charlemasue.
II ia grave error, and q retrocession
in religion as we'll as in policy, TO ask
for any OF its forms, material aid from
the State. For, if we believe the i'm
posed form, the support ofGovernment
IS useless. the support of conscience be-
ing all sufficient to secure our adhe-
renee; and five do not believe il, it is
injurious, compelling hypocrisy, and
punlshinG truthfulness. Two ideas
have never been realized in history. the
idea of one nation for all, and one reli-
giOn for all. Alexander, Caesar. Charles
V, Napoleon, all tried the former and
failed. 1llustrIous pontitis have triad
the latter, and have been equally foiled
by the variety OF conscience. The four
fundamental races in Europe, the LAT.
in, German, Greek and Sclavonian.
each have their peculiar cast ofthocEht,
which cannot rapidly intermingle with
the others. In the East, The Indo-Eu.
ropeau and the Semttical, one the pro.
gressive race, and the other the reli.
gious, have both carried into their
Christianity their Psychology and their
historical character. Castelbar we'll
says: Your unity of religion is an i'm
possibility, for no metaphysical princi-
pie can destroy the eternal variety of
nature" He denied that Spain was an
intolerant country, and pointed to the
illustrious times OF Frederick III and
Alonzo y, agreeing with Nine de Stael,
who said, 1.-The ancient here is liberty;
the modern despotism." ALI persecu-
tiOns and religious intolerance have
cmanated from the union OF the author
ity of the Church with the power OF the
State.
In his peroration, which is said, in