The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-05-24
At TT AGAIN

WHAT the Pope or the French Emperor ever
did to the Reformed Presbyterians that the
Committee on the Signs of the Times of the
synod now in session in this city should
have yesterday introduced resolution ex-
pressing thankfulness for their downfall, we
are not exactly able to understand. We sup
pose there is some remote connection in the
minds of the Reformed Presbyterans be-
tween the exile of Napoleon and the occupa-
ton of Rome by the Italian Government and
the massacre of st. Bartholomew, for which
q certain Pope and certain French monarch
who lived several centuries ago were imme-
diately responsible. Exactly how the present
tribulati0ns of the Pope and Emperor ade-
quately counterbalance the slaughter of the
Huguenots is, however, not quite apparent
The nephew of his uncle, 1t is true, has lost his
throne, but he has saved his neck and large
amount of hard cash besides, which will
enable him to live very comfortably
for the balance of his days, while it is within
the range of possibility that he may even
return to France and WELD the imperial
sceptre again. AS for the Pope, he has, it is
true, lost his temporal possessions; but very
great many of the co-religionists of his Holi-
ness, as well as practical common-sense
people outside of the Catholic communion,
consider that this will be decided advantage
than otherwise to him, and that it will in
crease his influence as q spiritual ruler. So
far from the Roman Church having fallen
with the loss of the Pope's temporal power,
it is stronger in many localities than
it ever was before. Some persons indeed
contend, and present strong arguments to
prove their position, that it is in point of
fact the established Church of NewYork State,
and that it holds the balance of temporal as
we'll as spiritual power. Under these crcum-
stances, it is difficult to see the necessity of
the Reformed Presbyterians holding a special
day of thanksgiving in November next, unless,
indeed, it is to give thanks for the misery
which has been brought upon thousands of
innocent people, who were neither directly
nor indirectly responsible for the doings of
the Pope or Emperor, by the events of the
past year.
There is one sensible proposition con-
tanned in the report of the Committee on the
Signs of the Times of the synod, and that is
that the first day of January next be observed
as a day of fasting and prayer for the sins of
the Church. We presume, of course, that
this means the Reformed Presbyterian
Church, and We sincerely think that some of
its members need to do little fasting and
praying on account of the scandal they have
brought upon religion by some of their per-
formances. They also sadly need enlighten-
ment on number of points, and if on the
first of January next they pray earnestly that
the spirit of bigotry and stupidity may pass
away rom them forever, it is possible that
such scanda as that OF the First Reformed
Presbyterian Church of this city, and such
silly resolutions and reports as have been con-
sidered in the synod during the past
few days, will not be repeated in the future.
and the members of the Chureh viii be en-
bled to realize the fact that charity is a
Christian virtue worthy of cultivation. The
fact is, our Reformed Presbyterian friends
are, we fear, obliyious of the fact that they
live in the United States of America, in the
nineteenth century, instead of in the High
4 snds OF Scotland in the seventeenth, and
Il ,ey find it easier TO pass resolutions against
th Pope and the Emperor than they do tC
en-, age in lively opposition to the works Of
the Devil as manifested Immediately before
tbeb eyes. There is abundant social, polin
cal nd religious corruption in our midst tha