The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1874-06-17

WINDOW, or door; moral suaslon goes
within and decorates and replenishes
the mansion. Or If the community
bekkened "a field, law telrs upall
theweeds Ind moral suasi0n lays on
all that enriSh es the soil and deposits
the seed. Asain, eachpnes.sphere is
finely seen y che erection Of a bridge
across a flowing stream. When the
contractor commenced te-build the
Victoria bridge across the Clyde, his
first operation was to make a slanting
embankment, so as to-diyert all the
water to one side, and leave half or
more Of the channel quite dry This
accomplishments began, without in
terruption from the flowing water, to
drive in the piles and build the arches.
Law made the embankment-it'kept
off the waters-and moral suasion
built the bridge. st
From this we deduce two great
truths which we earnestly commend
to the moral suasionists:, LIST, That
moral suasion. which is force acting
by instruction, cannot nationally ele-
yate society by its appeals to the con-
science, reason and heart, unless law
suppress all. public counteraeting
forces which act by temptation, such
as saloons, gambling bells, and houses
of prostitution. 1t is most lamentable
that in a nation like ours, where the
doctrine Of opposite forces in things
material is SO we'll understood, we
should be so blind in the region of
morals. In striving to attain for the
community o higher platform of vir-
tue and happiness We act as it we were
bereft Of reason. If a smith, when in
tent on preparing bar of iron for
being forged into a desired shape,
were to keep one man blowing the
bellows to raise the heat and another
man throwing water on the fire to put
it out, we would know the smith was
insane. With the left hand We uphold
ministers, and with the right one sa :
loon keepers, though there be as COM
plete antagonism between the two as
between fire and water. This is pre-
cisely the way we act in morals and
religion. There has been a stream of
evil flowing perpetually from the sa-
looms and yet how tardy are we to
raise an embankment SO as to let our
moral agents 60 on without Interrupt
ton in their work. Hence it is, that
for more than thirty years we have
been laboring almost in vain.
The I'd great truth is, THAT in all
countries processing christianity law
must begin to do its work of removing
public temptation before moral sua-
sion can fully succeed in improving
the mind and character of the people.
Here we shall be met by a remark
from certain class who mean we'll,
but do not think we'll. 1T is not
law say they, ''but the Gospel and
grace of God that will reform society"
We believe as strongly as they, that
without regeneration by the Holy
Ghost the world will never be truly
reformed; but is our intense convic-
ton of this to make us relinquish our
reason? We believe it is God that
giveth the increase in the kingdom OF
nature and that of grace, but We know
that the husbandman and missionary
must precede omnipotence, and per-
form all that human power can do
and We know that just in proportion
as the husbandman tears out the
weeds before he scatters the seeds, is
the increase from God; and We cannot
but believe that if we would thorough.
ly root out all public temptation, God
would also sive US a greater spiritual
increase. To think otherwise, is tt
suppose that God would rather work
with irrational than rational men. NJ
doubt He will always bless, according
to His pleasure, the earnest labor o.
humble faith working by persuasion
but is the plcnteous rain and dew o.
grace not withheld in our day? anG
why withheld? The want Of persua
sive effort and prayer is not the only
reason. If all the farmers in Amer
ica were to pray night and day for ar
abundant harvest while they yet al
lowed their fields to be covered with
weeds and stones, would God answer
that prayer? We believe God would
give more grace if we would show al
much common sense in things Of re-
ligion as we do our worldly business
The plain truth is land we all know
it) that so long as open public tempta
ton abounds, public morality vii
never NATIONALLY improve Wht
is to remove the stumbling blocks
Is it God or man? To expect God t.
suppress public temptation for Vi
| when He has commanded us to do it
| is for the servant to order his master
is plain declaration that we will no
do our part of the work, and is jus
the same as depending on the AL
mighty to remove the weeds and stone
from our farms, is an outrage upol
l oCJSc duu AL "
en-. For nearly six thousand year
Jehovah has shown. in providence
that if men will tolerate public temp
tation, He will allow public ruin
The lesson of sixty centuries is, Evil
if left alone, will overpower the good;
and that lesson We despise! Cincin
natl Is strong exempli6cation of thi
to- day. Deafto the teachings OF scrip
ture, providence and reason, we per
nit thousands of saloons to inflam
and corrupt our people; VIC SOW tn
wind of temptation. and God, in right
eous retribution, lets us reap tn
whirlwind of agony and crime.
4 Never until We shut up the saloo
by legal prohibition shall we succec
in removing intemperance, for all ez
perience proves that it is the presenc
of the saloon that leads to intempel
ancc. All history proves two prope
sitions: LIST, That the demand for il
toxicating drinks did not begin unit