Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1871-12-15

Germany; but the present was the first occa-
sion upon which the 4 man Catholic Church
in Eng land has sent out an organized foreign
mission. 1t was most appropriately the 1rst,
because it was special mission to hive mil
lions of blacks in the United States, who had
been but short tiEe ago released from the
yoke Of slavery which England had imposed
IN their f0refathers OF all the nations Oh the
earth England had been the most guilty in
regard to slavery, and it was most fitting that
the reparation to the now liberated slaves
should proceed from England. The Mission
airy College Of St. Joseph had been founded
not for the education of priests for Ordinary
work, but for the special work of conducting
a mission to America This was an excep-
tional wurk-for in the heart Of Christian
nation there were to-day FIVE millions of peo-
pie without pastors and without instruction..
This was mission to people who We're III
deed within the warmth of civilization, but at
the same time left out in the cold of neglect.
These missioners GO wholly and exclusively t."
labor for the blacks. and they were about to
bind themselves by a solemn vow t" God t."
work for the blacks alone, and tn suffer moth
ing to call them away, even for moment
from this work. They went in the spirit of
the prophet who said: The spirit IF the 'rd
is upon me, wherefore be bath Amounted me
to preach the gospel to the poor; he bath sent
me t. preach deIiverance to the captives and
sight to the blind TT set at liberty them that
are bruised to preach the acceptable year OF
the Lord. aud the day of reward They 90
to the most downtrodden, humble and humll-
lated of all races-a race always despised aud
rejected of men. They are no longer physl-
cally enslaved, But the CALLING marks of bon
dage are still upon their souls AS well as on
their limbs, aud they are still imprisoned in
the walls of prejudice and pride. These
priests go as the vanguard of others who will
follow you, inAamed with the love OF souls
souls not loveable for their intelligence and
virtue, but souls black with ignorance, lovea-
BILE only because your master died for them.
You gave yourselves forever said the Arch
bishop, addressing the priests, ito be the faith
ers aud servants of the blacks, and to labor
exclusively for them until your death, in the
spirit of Peter Caver, who had Inscribed upon
his cincture the words. Forever the slave of
the slave.'"
Commenting upon the above mission, the
Philadelphia Press says that "the mission of
these priests is apparently but little under
stood in England or Rome. The colored
people of the South, although unre6ned, I'M
lettered and untutored, are not uncivilized or
idolators. Probably they are the most devout
people on the face of the globe, with larger
proportion Of church members. and practic
ing as well as protesting Christians, than
many that boast of more culture tut p Ssess
less faith" To. which the Baltimore Sun
adds: "This Undersigned testimony to the
Christian culture which the colored people OF
the South received in former days from the
white people of the South is somewhat in
consistent with the accounts of Southern
character which are generally found in the
columns Of the Press. The truth is that. be-
fore the carpet Ragggers took them in hand,
the colored me- hers Of Southern churches
amounted to larger number than all the
heather converted to Christianity by the
combined missionary societies of Great Bri
tain and America. 1t may be, however, that
the worthy missionaries who have arrived
among US are fearful of serious backslidng in
those sections where the colored people have
been subjected to new and demoralizing
political companionship. In this view of tn"
case, it is possible that the enterprise may
promise happy results, though it is to be re-
GREETED, for the sake of complete efficiency.
that it should be confined entirely to the col
ored people, and should not include also the
carpet-bag emissaries, whose influence is S
demoraliziDg."