The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1872-08-28
Communism in Georgia.
4 QUEER LOT-A LEADER WITH AL
MOST DICTATORIAL POWERS-SE-
CESSION FROM THE RANKS.

A QUEER LOI-A LEADER WITH AL
MOST DICTAToRIAL PoWERs-sE-
CEssIoN FROM THE RANKS.
Some months since q religious
colony purchased the Stearns
place, on the Washington Road,
about eleven miles from this city,
and there settled with their house
hold goods. The colony at first
was small, consisting OF only two
Or three families. They gradually
received accessions to their ranks,
and at the beginning of the pres
ent week mum mbered about fifty
souls. This colony, embracing
families from Springfield, Mass,
and other places in the New Eng
land States, and one from Phila-
delphia, has been under the lead
ership Of Joseph T. Curry, of
Springfield, who, we have under
stood, is clothed with almost
DIcTAToRIAL POWER
aad exercises the functions of a
judge in settling all disputes be-
tween the members of the colony,
and of a religious instructor, in
which latter capacity he conducts
the peculiar services of the belief,
though every man Of the body
has the right to preach whenever
he feels so disposed. Monday
last a difficulty occurred between
Curry and several of the colony,
which resulted in the secession of
the latter from the settlement.
These. consisting Of four families,
numbering about twenty persons,
conveyed their movable property
TO this city, and rented the large
brick house, owned by Foster
Blodgett, on the corner of Greene
and Lincoln streets. Here we
succeeded in interviewing one of
the men yesterday. We found
him to be a very intelligent per.
son: but though polite and cour-
teous in every respect, he seemed
extremely reluctant to give any
detailed account of the colony or
the difficulty which caused the
secession, and we were only able
to obtain a few facts. He stated
that himself and family were from
Springfield, Massachusetts, and
had only been on the settlement
four weeks when they became
dissatisfied. Another Of the Sc
ccding families had remained there
but a week. He said that the
principal cause Of
THE TROUBLE
was that the society had adopted
for its guidance very strict rules,
which were enforced in some in
stances, while in others they were
not. The colonists had sold out
everything that they owned at
the North, except what few things
they could transport easily, or
which old associations made un-
pleasant to part with, and settled
down upon the land which they
had purchased. Here the major
ity Of them were compelled to
live in one house until others
could be built. He (the seceder)
had erected a substantial cottage.
When this was finished, Curry
declared that it was too large, and
that the rules had been violated.
His reply was that he did not
consider that he had violated any
rule, md that he had made the
house somewhat large because he
had a fine piano and other furni-
ture which he wished to put in it..
The dispute: which was the cul-
minating point of previous dissat-
isfaction, led to the secession above
stated. The seceders have rented
the house in which we found them
until the 1st of October. The
men are frst-cIass cabinet.makers,
carpenters and timers, and hope
to obtain work in the city. If
they can do this they express the
determination to settle perma-
ncntly in Augusta. Our inform
ant stated that they had by no
means abandoned their religious
belief, but felt convinced that they
had made q false step somewhere,
and wished to take time to con-
slider where that mistake had
been. As far as we could gather,
THE FAITH
of the sect seems to be an implicit
belief in the whole Scriptures in-
terpreted by themselves. Accord
ing to their Interpretation, bap-
tism by water is not necessary,
but only that by the Holy Ghost;
or a receiving Of the faith, so to
speak. They celebrate Saturday
as the Sabbath, and do not admit
strangers to their services on that
day. On every Sunday evening