The New York herald., 1871-03-12

which, according to custom, assembled to
hear him on Friday evening last The HERALD
has never refused to admit the marvellous
power Of the Plymouth orator, nor has it ever
been Indifferent or inattentive to his utter
ances. He has often during the course of the last
twenty-five years spoken effectively and writ
ten effectively. We do net think, however, that
Mr.. Beecher was ever more thoughtful more
folicitous, more in harmony with the spirit OF
the hour than he was In his colloquial dis
course to his chosen disciples in the lecture
hall of Plymouth church on the evening of
Friday last. The brief report of the lecture
which we gave yesterday morning must have
been to the many thousand thoughtful readers
Of the HERALD at once a surprise and de-
light, but more delight.
Mr.. Beecher is in perfect harmony with the
HERALD. He does not fnd in the multiplica-
ton of railroads and telegraphs, in the won
drous power of steam and electricity, not even
in the enormous power Of the newspaper,
which has, even in matters religious, put the
pulpit-csmparatively, at least-far in the
shade, any cause for sorrow, any special
ground for lamentation. The world progresses,
he admits; but in spite Of the progress of
which he finds traces everywhere, among all
ranks and classes of the people, in science, in
literature, in art, he does not find that the re-
ligious principle inherent In humanity has suf-
fered, or that Christianity has in any sense
been injured. On the contrary, he finds that
the new age is, above all things, religious, and
that the advanced religious sentiment OF hu-
manity is eminently Christian. 'There never
was, he says, "a time when Christianity was
80 great power as now, or when Christians
were so large and sweet and true and sympa-
thetic." If the early Christians were more in
tense than their modern namesakes, the alb
sence of the intensity is amply compen-
sated by sweetly pervasive power-a
power of universal diffusion and which
most Enthusiastically reveals, not SO much
Paul or Peter, but the Master, Him who spoke
on the Mount In spite of the bad books and
bad journals which do come forth from time
TO time, Mr.. Beecher is proud to acknowledge
the fact that literature is saturated with Chris
tianity. Of course, in such discourse the
select audience Of Friday night had good
right to expect something about the Pope, the
temporal power, and generally the Catholic
Church. In his allusion to the Catholic
Church Mr.. Beecher was singularly happy. He
had only good wishes for the Pope. In Heaven,
should be himself find place, he would expect
to meet Pope Plus the Ninth. This is most
generous; and all that is wanted to round the
beautiful circle of mutual esteem and Chris
tan fellowship is that the Holy Father
| honestly and without any further hesitation or
delay recognize Brother Beecher as a fellow
laborer Gin the Lord" Tom Carlyle was
wont to speak of hierarchies and aristocracies
and all such things as ''old clothes" Mr..
Beecher is scarcely less felicteus when he
speaks of the baggage" of the Roman Catholic
Church, although he rejnices to think
and believe that ''God has thousands
and hundreds of thousands of precious
souls in that old numbering baggage
wagon In all the grand movements
which have taken place in recent times,
silently and without violence or by means of
| what the Chancellor Of the German empire
delights to call ''blood and iron," he finds
proof which admits of no questioning that the
present is not so bad as the past, and that all
the forces of the time, no matter what they
may seem to be in themselves, are impelling
us forward to grander, more enlightened,
more liberal, more religious more Christian
future; and beyond that ''bourn" from which
no traveller returns in the unknown and unde-
Unable future, he expects to find q broad
charity.
| All this is good for Mr.. Beecher, good for
the sectarian teaching Of New England, good
for the Protestant faith, good for the Catholic
Church-good, in fact, for Christianity in the
truest and noblest sense. We rejoice in these
liberal sentiments, not merely on account Of
their intrinsic worth or for the healthful inHu-
ence which, considering the source whence
they come, they are bound to exert, but be-
cause we find in the man who gave them utter
ance an intelligent, earnest, powerful, even
enthusiastic, fellow -laoorer 1t is long since the
HERALD cried Shame" !" upon the cowardly
Christians who dreaded the progress ofscience ;
long since we pointed out the objectionable
niquity Of Christian division and strife-long
since we pointed out the injury done to re-
ligion by those incrustations of centuries
which Mr.. Beecher happily characterizes as
''baggage" and numbering baggage wagons. !"
II is now over three years since We began to
give every Sunday morning an editorial lec-
ture to the churches, and since, through our
Monday edition, we began by publishing the
churches to themselves and to each other.
We have MOI, certainly, been without evidence
that our well meant efforts in the direction Of
the religious Improvement Of the people and
of the reform Of the numerous so-called
Christian denominations were heartily appre-
ciated, and were bringing forth fruit But