National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1871-01-13
FILGRIM MEMORfiL, No s.


The essential glory Of God comes
of his chaiactrt, and is ever the
same, The manifold glory of God
is uttered 10y his works. The works |
u. God on the earth are mainly the
Development and perfccting of hu.
man beings. IL is plain that the up. |
pcrmost aim of our fathers was to
provide the means, so far as the in.
of society, church and
state could do it, by which man rs
man, individually and collcct.lvc,c.
should become most exalted. most
excellent, most WORTHY Of his ma.
kcr. Education, ove.nmcnt, NOR.
ais, religion, wee Cherished and reg.
ulatcd Tor tbs cnd. By their fruits
they sh''l rc judged. We cite the
char' cite. Of the race produced from
Yer Ioins, and reared under their
of their object. and the success of it.
We point to our churches the NOR
ais and religion they teach, the stiln.
ulous they give to the human mind
end heart, reachingequalIy the high
est and the lowest, the rich and the
poor, to show tho wisdom of our ia.
theirs and the success of their la
bors. We point to our civil govern
mcnt, its freedom, its growth, its
power and stability and extent. We
point to the children of the Pilgrims
their enterprises and energy. Scat
ter,d over all the continent, and oc.
cupling positions of power and i'll
tlucncc in every land OF the globe,
carrying their principles of govern.
ment, order, liberty and religion with
them, and planting them Oh every
soil. 1t is scarcely too much to say
that they are becoming the mission
aries, the teachers, the civil engi-
necrs, the leading tradcsmen of the
world. AT least none are claimed
to be their superiors. We wish all
men were more virtuous and holy,
but we cannot doubt that God is
glorifed by what the Pilgrims and
their sons have done.
Our fathers doubtless hoped to
promote the enhancement Of the
Christian faith" by converting the
Indians to christianity. Untortun-
ately the low and untrustworthy
character of the North American
Indians made them an unpromising
race for receiving the gospel. They
come neal indeed, at one time,-
sweeping the white man from the
soil. And the interest which sue.
seeding generations have taken IN
reading the history of the Indian
wars, has left us almost entirely ig
norant of the Pilgrims Indian mis-
sions.
John Elliott, the Indian apostle
of Roxbury. has seldom, if ever,
hecn :. .cclled l.. labors or in success
by any missionary to the heather :;
and the Mathews and Others wei"
scarcely behind him. Daniel Cook
ms historical collections compiled in
1914 makes the number of praying
Indians in Massachusetts and Plyn
Outh colonies 1000. A few years
later report of two ministers ap'
pointed to visit them says they had
thirty congregations, thirty six
teachers, five school masters, and
twenty rulers. But the conflict of
races soon begun, and the hatred
engcndercd by conflict has contin
ued to this day to make the advance.
ment of religion among the Indians
most dtlicnlt. But in another di-
rcctlon this object has been wonder
fully successful. A continent then
coy ered by heather has been large
" redeemed unto Christ, apd spread
over with His worshipers, with
christian temples, christian teach>
ers. bibles and christian books, and
the institutions and enterprises of
Christian civilization. Nor is it
small praise that the Pilgrim faith,
simplicity and liberty have so large
" penetrated and modified other
communiOns of our common relig-
ION which are not Pilgrim IN name
or in origin. Thus, too, has their
object adv lced and though it bring
them less credit, to God all the same
is the glory.
4. The object of our Fathers, to
bring .'honor to their native coun.
try" has been accomplished by one
of those back handed processes Sc
common in history, as where the
wrath of man has been Overruled
to the glory of God, and TO the Clio