New-York tribune., 1871-06-03

o,ipo an interest even in our crowded anniversary
week which eclipse many OF the older and better known
religious fixtures this sectaran training season. The
fourtb annual meeting OF the organization was begun last
.yeppo but that sesiOn OF business rather than
n,h,c The Rev. Mr. rockingham wasreelected
President and Mr. Sargent, Mr.. Potter, Mr. HailoweI,
Mrs Cheney and the other well-known Names make up
the rest of the list OF officers The report OF the EAecu
tive Committee made, In which reference was n"o
TO the meetings at the West, the lectures WHICH "eio
given I'm Boston and to the fact that the principles OF ee
religion gaining in power and interest brei anu
interesting speeches were made by the fTesioen' ~
Mrs. Ednha X. Cheney, and others.
To-day the Rev. O. b. rockingham called the audis2ce
10 order rebukng the larger portion for arriving ate.
He said the Association was not Boston institution; IL
was unlimited; it was not even managed by Boston
men, The City OF NewYork, through its public PRESS
had given the Association cordial welcome Inc eau
ing papers there took the trouble TO send reporters
Boston heretofore and devoted considerable space Id
their columns full and accurate reports The op)ect
of the organization rst he said, was TO have every
religion on earth represented in the platform. Alter
ward it became distinctive In its character Win pur
pose and it was not necessary to further enuncate s
principles Cordiality to all religions and hosthty 10
none; wishing to build on the identity OF religious hie
and principles with all the nober forms OF civilization
He believed the movement would eventually become
very popular one, the working minds of the country
in the crusade meant business by putting their views
home to the people, without being aristocratc or ex
~ relion and notifies with an idea Of settling upon
more generous basis OF faith and action.
The Rev. John Weiss was introduced ana reau an
ESSAY on the attribute OF science toward religion. scen
tific naturalism itself he said was divided ana tne
permanent continuance questions which the great
est minds declined answer for the reason that science
had not as yet put facts sufficient into the case Religion
was simply recurrence the human mind Of the facts
of the universe. Science benefited religion by hints at
more practical treatment OF those facts, thus throwing
the pup into discredt Men craved exactness because
they had discovered that it was to be the language OF
The Rev Dr. c. A. Bartol, after pleasant allusion to
wesss essay said the whrgs OF time brought & o aeoTe
was akin the ape. Now, Darwin said the white man
was NO and mSt tn 5s shake of this eaoShp
because negro poor, nor because the whte man
God was not concealed but revealed by his works Ma
ture the crystal through which man saw saw hm; dne
He had no fear OF being swamped in physical science
There never was and there never will be any more uni
than now existed They w9S nus 1enS fau nature With n
God. Human nature, he oontended. was not
Snf SS not Seeve Sea S % GOS Respect the past should
interfere with progress The people were too numerous
not for human body to sit down. but for human soul
70 Tbs Henry Jersson of England spoke of the
ner i'm which the objects OF the Association were viewed
in the old world He objected to teketing man Pc
fore listening to him, and grading his remarks according
to previous estimate reputation rather than making
allowance for any selfimproyement ne might nave b
were now coming TO the surface in speech ss the
thoughts Of child untrammeed by direction IN set
course He was often astoDshed what stupid things
had been believed For instance, the world made in six
days, and then cleared out by dsgse; nair tre
Of th Sss Of Babel which, had
on SRe q the shs the House.
supposed to have been Intended 70 tne fSa oi
ah and aUiES hands looking down upon all our
ton The belief he ssid that pervaded the unthnkng
mnas faaT we're 9I Athes and Huxley nda Others
shared the oboquy Of the belief For himself he desired
pt Withont regard to the narrow limits Of any church.
He advised the Association to be not too anxious TO an
aver questions II it had work to do IL would do 10,
even il portion OF that work not made thoroughly
plain even the teachers man must doubt IN order
TO he prepared TO believe, ana secOnu uouD was ah III
dication Of a better belief. ,. - ,.o. =.
VIM H. Spencer said all knew what an unwee0me
visitor science considered in former ages OF
It was hated feared, and at every new discovery was
prosecuted. Now it would be aoknowledged 6y thking
peope that science helped religion ennObled IT, though
sectarans were slow TO recognize the ad, because 1t
overturned some of their pet theories or origin &C.
Science was a knowledge OF the law, ana reneloh was
Col T. W. Higgnson spoke Of the luxury Of religion
that did not degrade men, and how much that luxury de-
pended on the absence of the element Of fear A ter
rife "if" great drawback to religion, ana men
it was with fearlessness of results In its acceptance
the secret OF mems i freedom GT pee
might come from science let 1t come. II man was
he had the present, and let him be thankful
for it. The only danger from science at pres
of eoneeted over hierarchy Of conceited and
narrow cergymen The artist cracy OF science was the
king OF to-day it was the living force IN place OF the
In the afternoon extracts OF letters from Garrett
Smith VIM LLOYD Garrison, and Rabbi Wise Of Cincn-
natl were read and the Rev. Wm Potter OF New-Bed-
ford read on the origin OF Christianity ana us
tendency to unication of all religious ideas The seets
gradually drawing toward edcR c Stef @ anG a Tne
the natural sequence OF the regard or the prod
xhi I'm
the brutal Governor Of book fame was the
agent who Tne
was appropriate for the finishing touch OF his genius
was needed TO the work complete To say that lie,
a man gave to the world its most perfect religion,
no more irrational than to say that Beethoven or his CO.
temporares gave the world its superior music If Christ
was good we hope for its universal acceptance but
In the essaysts view, general advance OF all belief
necessary TO the attainment of the union aimed at
The Rev o. b. rockingham opened discussion on
snperstition and Dogmatism by delivering essay
10 Which brief abstract do but scant justice. He
aimed 10 simple and direct but said II was impossible
to speak of the existing power 9f superstition without
and is always the same thing It's power is dynamic
mass is fearful it is bounded only by the realm OF
ignorance. stupidity, and creduty 1t popular de
lnson that superstition has disappeared, II
not that it has become harmless. This Is the super
stition OF the superstitous. Our superstition should
not be called superstition The Rom4nlst enlarges ON
the superstiOns Oi the Pagans The Protestant wakes
hot as he describes the superttions OF the Romanis
The Unitarian scorns the superstition OF the Protestant
The Thest fastens the charge on the Unitarian. The
Posyi-t declares that the Ihelsts DeueI III personal
God holds the very soul o it, BY general IL is
admitted that POsltivist has cleared himself from
the asperson; ana by general consent ~ II agreed tha
the POtyst Is An unhappy creature VINO has got rd OF
his devils indeed, but the expense of getting rid OF
his angels. We cannot quite infer that superstition Is
commensurate with supernaturalism The finest minds
NAV point 10 the supernatural. Only the cOarser are
infested with superstition. IL Is familiar saying that
Ignorance is the mother OF superstition. IL would
be hard to say that ignorance was the mother OF super
natIralism No by searching perhaps, can ma ont
cod but very little searching sues TO reveal that God
is not whimsical nor craprcious like ourselves. The
whole history of the intellectual progress Oh the NOl4u Is
but one long struggle OF the intellect or man 10
emancipate itself from the deceptions Of nature;