Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1870-06-10

A valuable lecture By T. L. Lawrence. Esl.,
If Burlington, was given Def re 81 good lection
Of people az A1nkJJa Bo-l,' on ths --i u.-
He subject vas " Life"
The speaker took high ground ps.h-ps some
critics would say his discourse was roo high
toned 10 suit the mental capacities o.. '' back
town 80 audience, nevertheless a large portion Of
his hearers c0mp-ehenlel his arguments and
appreciated their value, especially when he
iwelt on man 10 hi, 'ati0n 90 GOT. 10 his re-
lation to himself, in his relation TO the c1mmu-
nifty, and IN his relation 60 The family the COM
plrison be drew between the domestic hsup.ness
resulting from COOL order, where the acquisitions
Of the moral law ereiiu'y observed and The
confusion, the misery, prevailing, IN other Ami-
lies in which that " higher law was ignored,
or its authority disputed was So well drawn as
to lead any one possessing a grain Of common
sense to decide in favor of the &c higher law
Now il the Interpreters Of the common law Of
the land, as defined in the '' Vermont Statutes"
would, like Mr.. lawrence, occasionally leave the
lawyers table or the judges bench, come down
among the people, and, from the standpoint Of
" lay-preachcrs,' instruct their hearers concern
ing " the beauty aud exceiieucy there is in the
TRUTH the people would be the direct recipients
Of the good, and the teachers, by the recoil.
be also made partakers aud this might be done
without conflicting in the least degree with the
" ordained " ministers Of the Gospel, proyile led.
as in the case under notice, the object aimed At
by each class is the trIe elevation Of the public
sentiment OF the community
At Monkton, on the occasion we are s1eaking
Of, there was happy cooperation notice Of the
lecture had been given from the desk Of the
Methodist, and the Baptist minister gave up his
desk and congregation TO the speaker while Sc
rious men Of ether denominations extended the
notice in their way.
\ newspaper article is not expected TO contain
full report Of a lecture which required an hour
to deliver orally, while 5revity may disfgure
the matter reported. We have spoken Of SONS
subjects discussed, other claim attention, and
among them that Of Labor" In rural dis
t,;c;, whose inhabitants mostly eat their bread
in the sweat Of the face prompting to labor
might seem supeIhuous, but when We resd in
the newspapers extrayagant accounts Of the
success Of a mat Of small means leaving
the pillow and specializing on the differ
ence between the prices of farm produce on
his neighbor's farm and in the Boston mar
ket, OF which his neighbor may be ignorant,
we may well query whether the community is
the richer by this mans success-not in labori-
Gus production, be it remembered, but in shrewd-
ness in dealing. With the exhibition Of such sue
cess o. before Us, We can perceive the fitness Of
the lecturers admonition.
After the conclusion Of the lecture the ndebt-
edness Of the congregation 10 the speaker was
publicly acknowledged much more so privately
while the people were being dispersed and if Mr..
Lawrence will indulge the people of Monkton
with another visit Of this kind he may rely on a
still larger company Of hearers.
Hopes are entertained that this lecture will as
sis; the young men Of the town ia forming a
young mems association for intellectual and
moral improvement.
Much work might be said on this interesting
subject, but at present forbear.
H. VI.
Monk,on, May "a, 1870.