Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1871-11-30

"thoml duty to appoint n day OF solemn an
public thank giving t" Almighty God for Ii
blessings to us rs " State nnl Nation.
THEREFORE. I, Horace Austion, Governor {
the State of Minnesota do hereby desirnat
aud appoint THURSDAY, the TIllRTIErl
day of NOVEMBER, az such day.
Given under my hand and the great soal (
Isnu.] tie Stats at g. Paul, the day an
year above written.
HORACE AUSTIN,
ny the Governor:
II. M>rrsoS, Secretary of State
Thanksgiving,
In our Colonial infancy, the practic
'ni 'y'riny Mnuhs" prevailed quite uni
yrrSally. 1t is :: historical fact full
recognized, that, Of tho Pilgrims, no
one could be found who was not do
won't believer in God, and a profount
follower Of jesus Christ, His Son.
Those old Puritans mado religion u Ju$
mess. They camc to America to pros
e"utc that business with less opposition
than they met in their native country
They early detected the tendency o.
society, as an organized body, to relax
its discipline. They felt that individ.
uals might, in their cxclusivcness, keep
up the practice Of n formal r;ety, and
Of worshippiny in their closets, their
families, and in their churches, and yet
fail to realize AL the glorious privileges
Of the genuine Christian. They saw,
or Mouylt they did, that religion must
be 7'"1Hrw declared. That, while it
was theirs to enjoy privately, in their
home sanctuaries; and in those specially
dedicated to the purposes of divine
worship, still it was their duty to make
some more public manifestation OF it
than they could do by such Means
They saw, as their numbers increased,
that many kept themselves from con-
tact with Christian organizations, and
from Christian Influences, and that such
could not be reached through tho Or
binary channels Of religious intor-
course.
They, therefore, early enacted, that
no person should be entitled 70 vote, or
to hold any office whatever. who was
not member Of the church in good
and regular standing. This looks to
lis very much like fanaticism and, in
deed, it ,rus 50, but. We must remember
what those earl y christian fathers en-
dured in defeuse Of their religion -
Attcr suffering persecution in every
form, and poverty as long as it could
be borne, they eralcd themselves, in
obedience to their sublime faith, and
sought physical 'ojllerness that they
might enjoy the luxury of spiritual
garden.
10 y9u wonder that they sought to
extirpate the root Of every evil which
sprouted ia their midst and that they
took every precaution against the growth
nc that wickcdness, to escape from
which they had banished themselves
from their native land?
But they soon learned that legal
cnactments were powcrless to estab-
fish tho lovo Of God in the hearts Of
men, or to constrain their feet to walk
in the paths Of righteousness, and they
all test prohibitions. 1t was at
Ibis epoch in their history that THANKS.
GIVING was inauguratcd.
1t is a ceremony that was prompted,
10 doubt, by the protection and bounty
afforded by a merciful Providence, and
yet, it is equally true, that they 6eaired
the benefit Of publicly recognizing the
goodness Of God. They also wanted
to perform some religious service which !!
should involve, directly. every member
Of the community, and which should
make each feel a sense Of his own obi
cation for the blessings Of life which
he had enjoyed.
Tie same feeling operates to-day in
lcrrctuat;ng this old time custom. We
have our means Of religious improve.
lnrnt, as they had theirs, only ours are
more abundant. We enjoy the same
Blessings that maGc their hearts thank
iul, but ours are Of ten-told greater
magnitude.
We have the same reason to be humble
and penitcnt on account Of our sins,
both national and individual, for they
ara many, and great on account Of
our prize with which we are pulled up;
Ivy reason Of our VANITY, which leads
us to place a false estimate upon our
selves and our possessions; on account
Of the 1orivilcyes which we enjoy, and
the ~ SponslbHitirs which they devolve
..,pvn ug. Emotions Of thankfulness
which spring up in the heart,
through an 1no7irdunl recognition of
divine favor, are not unfrc4uently sup
pressed By contact with those in whom
no CORES pondiny feeling exists, and
thus the moral temperature IS always
kept below the point Of congeiaa::'on
but, if tho masses Of the people become
purmeated with the idea Of National
uplifting Of the heart to God in prayer
and praise for his goodness and mercy:
which .:cndurc forcycr;' it generates
a feeling which nothing can suppress
until it has found expression in deeds
Of mercy, aud in words Of love.
Then let US close our places Of bust
ness. withdraw ourselves; from tho cares
ut active life and spend the day in
thankfulnc-s that We i've and that God
rules over us j; that, though lie has