St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-10-06
lfttfi'cS.r.
Ro"i at tie ReQpcniHy Of tie CoayrCya-
honM U,uch at Pcachno. Tcmom,
.S;Yf %, 1871.
El OLIVER JOHNSON

Ny DEAR FHIENps: Your kind in
/. vltation 10 me to take part i'll these dci
| icatory services was GLADLY and thankful
y accepted. To BE- inyitcI hithcr un
, der circumstances So auspiciouS, and
asked, as one who chcrishes an honora-
bic pride in the prosperity of h.s birth.
. place, To say what is in my heart ON thi,
occasion, is an honor that any man ol
ordinary scm>ibility might be excused fol
covcting. To me, certainly, it is very
precious. | Will frankly confess, that OF
all the days of my more than thrccscorc
years this is one of the very brightest
and happiest. Many times within the
ID years that have passed over my head
since | left my fathers house on "l'cnny
Street. TO learn the art and mystery Of
printing, have | come back to visit my
kindred, TO look into the faces familiar
TO me in childhood and yGIth, 10 9aze
with fresh rapture at these "recn hills, to
breathe this bracin" mountain air, and
hear again the music OF the brooks in
whose cold, clear waters | sought the
shining trout and always have | found
among you "A hearty and generous wei
come. But to-day | meet you with 4
satisfaction and a joy such a. | have cx-
pcricnced at no former timc. see you
gathered in this house. erected by the
fathers, and now improved and bcauti-
fled by your own enterprise and taste;
|
church and congregation, all old Iuarrels
huShcd, all former alterations forgotten
| see you taking Il ''ncw departure" un-
der the leadership ot minister chosen
10y yourselves, whom you all respect
and love, and under whose mini>tratiomS
you may reasonably hope for many years
OF peace and prosperity. Surely, in view
OF all this, ought 10 rciJicc with you,
and with you give thanks 10 God tor his
great goodness and mercy. And il, in
giving you an instrument fit to Voice
your public praises OF Him in whom we
live and move and have our bein.. and
to whom we owe the conservation of all
our powers, have augmented, ever so
slightly, the sum OF your enjoyment, IN
spirited IN you Il hiI Ihcr courage, AMI
contributed anythin" TO make this day
more suspicious in the history of the
town, | am thousand times rewarded
IN looking into your happy faces; and,
1t this were not enough, III "rcmcmhcr
''ing the words of the Lord Jesus, how
'hc said, 1t i more blessed to "ivc than
to receive.
10 some 1t may seem strange that
one whose religious opinions are radical
rs mine are known to he should "ivt an
organ 10 an Orthodox Church. and avow
a hearty interest in the growth and pros
pcrlty of Il religious society whose creed
differs widely from his own. But Chris
tianity rightly understood, tran>cend> all
crccd-, and uvrrleapS the boundaries OF
sect and dogma and | should have felt
Il rcbukc in my own conscience ii, being
moved to make such 4 %i(t to the Church
III my native placc--thr Church to
which my own parents bclongcd-l had
hcsitated TO do 50 on account OF my dis
sent from some things in your Confess
ion OF faith. Such hesitation would
have been Il rcproach to my professions
OF rrli.iouS librrality, and ry>c:led me to
myself as Il narrow minded sect4rirm in
stead ol Il Liberal Christian. love M
native town, amd have Il deep and abid-
in% interest IN the happiness and prosper
ity ui lis inhabitants. | wish it to bc
forever an attractive place To all who
have been or may bc born With. lis Inn
its, and t. those a. well who come hith-
rr from amy quarter OF the world.
rccu%niIs the Congregational Church
here, IN spite OF what | may deem ii~
errors and impcricction-, rs the nucleus
of the best moral influences in the place.
II were a resident here, | should he a
constant attendant upon RELIGIOUS Scrv-
ices i'll this house. and, in the interest of
public morality, II ON no other 4Iuunl.
liberal supporter OF preaching. Why
then should |, Il Radical thuu"h | am,
have denied myself the pleasure ci doin"
what | could 10 make this merlin@ hul-c
more tasteful and attractive To those who
in future years will "athrr here ior the
worship Of God
II those who all themselves Christ
Ians were more like him OF whom Paul
50 lovingly speaks rs 1.-THE man Jesus
would they not make less Of the letter
that klllcth, and more of the spirit that
maketh alive! Would they not maeni
iy their points of agreement rather than
those of difference and divergence? Would
they not find the love of God shed abroad
in their hearts drawing them tcgethcr in
sweet fellowship, without regard TO sec
tartan lines and systems of theology! If
they were once filled with the Spirit of
the great Teacher whose name they So
often take upon their lips, would they
not be ashamed of their quarreIs, and |
find it easy 10 labor together for the re-
demption Of Il world lying in wicked
ness
However widely | may have wandered
from the faith in which | was reared, |
and which perhaps is as dear to you now
as once it was to me, my trust in God
as the being who has given me life. and
to whom | owe a perfect obedience, has
never for one moment wtvcrcl, and is
TO day alike invincblc and consoling.
read with ever fresh delight the words
of Him who ''Spakc as never man
spake," and feel that in the truths ut
tered by Him, and of which his spotless
life was the eXemplilication, lies the pow
er by which alone the world can be re-
deemed from ignorance and sin Agree
ing in 80 much, as | know we do. why
should we 9pt agree to differ in respect
to things of less importance do not