The Portland daily press., 1870-12-17

A DIVINE DEJEuNER.
and International Christian
moral Science Association.
"A MINISTERIAL MIXING OF BEEEsTEAKs
AND RELIGIoN-SwALLowING COFFEE
AND SSPITTING OUT PREJUpIo,Es
From the N. Y. Herald, 18th.
The dining room of the Astor House was
yesterday morning the scene of an unusual
festival for that well-known public caravan
sery. Over one hundred clergymen sat down
to breakfast at niue O'Clock precisely, in ODE.
dience to an invitation which each gentleman
had received, to meet Rev. DIR. Gather Of
London, now on visit to the United States
and Canada, to submit to the members of all
evangelical churches the formation of an
American and International Christian Moral
Science Association.
Alta little after eight o'clock the dyines be-
gan to assemble in the hat and cloak room.
adjoining the dining room, with anxious eyes
for breakfast. Seldom if ever had call for a
union of clergymen been so universally honor
ed. Every sect was well represented. There
were present Episcopalians, few ritualists.
blue and yellow Presbyterians, Lutherans.
Baptists, Moravians, Congregationalist., Free
Will and Seventh Day Baptists, Methodists
and Methodist Episcopalans, Socinians, An
tinomians, Erastians, Anabaptists, Reformed
Dutch, Cavinists, Low Churchmen, Sweden
bOrgians, Wesleya1s and one solitary, glum-
looking Quaker The Rev. DIR. Gather, who
| THE HEAD AND FRONT OF THE MOVEMENT
which Is intended to bring all Protestant
| sects together when an issue is made in a
provisional council, is fine, tall, portly-look-
| ing old Irish gentleman, with an Oxford train
| ing and pronunciation. At five minutes past
| nine o'clock the reverend gentleman sung out
Breakfast" in the hall, and Immediately
there was an awful rush to deposit hats and
coats, and many of the most distinguished
| clergymen were seen diving for the breakfast
room, whose doors yawned wide and convent
emily for the purpose. There were four ta-
bles in the room, one OF which was a cross
| table for the chief dignitaries. In a moment,
with American enterprise, all the seats were
| filled, with the exception of few seats oppo-
site the Presidents chair, in which Henry
Ward Beecher sat with his usual dignity and
grace. Seeing the Herald reporter standing,
meekly awaiting his turn, Mr.. Beecher said
| to him with courtesy,
"Brother Reporter, get yourself a chair and
| sit down to breakfast"
After few minutes Mr. Beecher again
| asked,
"Brother reporter have you an appetite P"
and proper answer was given. Prayer, a
| short and comprehensive one, was offered by
the Rev. DR.; Tiffany, of Newark, and selec-
| tion from the seventeenth chapter of st. John
was read by the Rev. Mr.. McVicar, of Trim
| ity Episcopal church, Harlem, who is a great,
broad-chested blonde, Geoffry De,mayne sort
of fellow, and quite good looking.
The Bev. Henry Ward Beecher, on rising
to speak, was hailed with great applause from
the hundred or more clergymen present. He
| said that the world had waited long for Just
such union as was proposed by the Rev. DR..
| Gather, and expressed his sympathy in glow
ing terms with the object of the meeting. A
plentiful breakfast had been laid by the Stet-
sons on the table, consisting of rolls, tender
loin, beefsteaks, mutton chops, sausages and
| fried eggs, together with fried Clipped pota-
| toes. A reverend brother who sat near the
| reporter, said to him: "Brother Reporter, does
| it not strike you that it is very cheap feed
| for an evangelical feed? Why, it seems to
| me that the steaks have been warmed up the
second time and the mutton chops are quite
| 'gamey,' if l am not mistaken. l see that
| Brother Beecher does not partake of the
steaks or chops, but contents himself with
d
| those fried eggs"
In the course of his eloquent remarks Mr..
Beecher said that by Christian union he did
| not mean that those present should give up
| all their church organizations and services,
but that they should come together in Christ
Mr.. Beecher said, the Church is like glad
| household; and no one should interfere with
another mans affairs. / don't wish any man
| to give up his private opinions, but let us all
l olaSD hands tho hroa 1v,la ofT
There are many things that am opposed to-
don't like dinner at six O'Clock, and may
| dislike the way some houses ara kept on Col
umbia street, Brooklyn, but I tolerate them
because know my house is right. Laugh
ter.) My church is right, and there's only one
| Pope on Columbia street. and that's me-
| (Laughter.) Mr.. Beebher, in conclusion, said
that he was sorry that it was necessary for
| him to be present at "Christian Union"
which would take place at halfpast eleven
O'Clock, and as it was then eleven he would
call the Rev. DR.. Buddington to the chair,
who, no doubt, had his speech committed to
memory already. (Laughter.)
The Rev. DIR. Buddington took out his
watch and, coming up to the Presidents seat,
said he did not think it was fair of Brother
Beecher to put him in such predicament. as
he twas. like Brother Beecher, in hurry to
get away. (Laughter.)
The Rev. Dr. Gather then explained the OBJ
| ject of the meeting. He said that thew had
met to form a Christian Moral Association,
as there were associations of social science
and political economy, and it was needful that
we should have Christion moral science to
counteract the influence of Roman Catholi-
cism, infdelity and positivism.
The Rev. DR.. Gather stated that the en-
trance fee to the organization would be for
clergymen twenty-five dollars and for laymen
fifty dollars. At this remark Mr.. Daniel
| Drew, who sat at the lower end OF the table,
frightened up. There were to be hundred
members in America and one hundred in
England, with the possibility of increasing
| the number of the Provisional Council to the
number of two hundred and forty members,
If necessary. Books were to be sent to the
different members of the association. The
The following resolutions were then offered
by the Rev. DIR. Gather: u
First,-That resolve6, That we heartily re-
joice at the effort now being made to give in
creased prominence to the great idea of the vis-
ible Catholic Church (at this iuncture o1e of
the Irish walters began to grin in hdeous
way) OF Christ, consisting, as it does, of the
sum of all true-i. e., NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
This resolution was moved by the Rev.
Stephen Duryea, Presbyterian clergyman,
who said that the Pope had recognized him
and given him his blessing by the laying his
hands on his head and the 'Pax vobiscum," )"
and the Pope had told him, '.All who have
been baptized belong to me-" The reverend
gentleman had watched anxiously the result
of the Vatican Council to see if theIPope were
pronounced infallible, just as he would wait
for the probate of will for its fee simple were
he legatee, for, if the Pope were infallible,
then he was sure of salvation. (Laughter.)
The Rev. DR.. Ormiston, who seconded the
resolution, declared that he glored in being a
blue Presbyterian and Calvinist, but that
he would heartily join in any movement for
Christian union, yet would not go into any
association where there were men who did
not believe in a Saviour or would preach that
Christ was a myth and had no existence. Zap
plause.)
The nezt resolution which was offered and
seconded by Daniel Drew was as follows:-
Resolued That we hail with special pleas
ure the formation of this International Christ
ian Moral Science Association, because 1t will
be mutual recognition on the part Of ;all its
members of their fellow Catholic Church mem.
| bership, on the ground OF their common loyal
ty to Christ, and their entire competence 10
differ to those details which are consistent
Herewith.
The third resolution was offered by the
Rev. II. B. Ridgaway, of st. Paurs Methodist
Episcopal Church.
ResolUed, That we regard with the deepest
interest and satisfaction the proposed work o
this association, by the creation of a science O.
Christian economies, or systematic beneficepce
which is only possible to the combined wisdom
and experience OF the whole church, and whicl
is tlikey, under God, to augment the power q
evangelical Christianity in manner nevsr he
fore witnessed.
Professor Conant, a Presbyterian. seconded
this resolution. Rev. Mr.. Ridgaway, in NOV.