The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-08-23
Hodsrn Barsaua,,s.
[Liyarnool Cathol,o rim..

OF the world, there are barbarians Amou9s
me myriad tribes whose huts stand amids
tne dense foliage on the banks of tb
mighty rivers the name of Christianity !
an Unknown thing. No temples rear thei
stately heads and proclaim peace on cart
TO men of good will.D The knee of th
savage is unbent at the name of th
Sedeemer of the world, whilst all tha
oa1nes the intellect or changes the outwar,
appesra1ce of nature, is to them a god
The tempests that uproot the trees of thei
forests, the storms that lash their lakes o.
| inland sees into fury. the lightning tha
blasts their blossoms and fruits-ali these
are considered as the work of unknown and
| All powerful spirits. For them the arts and
| sciences are still unborn. Civilization, as
we understand it, is still in the womb OF
inture ages, and commerce, with it's vast
cities and emporiums of wealth, and it's
train OF happiness and misery, disturbs not
tnelr CLINE. And yet there il a law, un-
written on parchment it ia true, by which
tribes and people are bound together for
n9tua, preservation and support. The
elders OF the tribes are the chiefs, and the
most powerful of the chiefs are supreme by
reeson OF their superior strength, and in
this manner they are not unlike the nations
who boast of their Christianity and civili-
cation. Laws affecting settlements of tracts
OF land and the exchange of eatables and
the necessaIies of existence. are orally
made and are stringently enforced. II ia
true that these barbarians possess no count
erpart to the Christian laws of marriage.
put IN civilized countries this great sociai
oond ID oftentimes made O simple matter of
convenience and is deemed q species of
commercial contract, aud in this latter light
~ is looked. upon by the savages of Africa
as wen as the civilized ones of this country.
Christian people are shocked to read of the
hoiocausts offered to Africa's many gods,
ana Christian people, like the Pharisees OF
old, thank God that they are unlike the
savages who neither know the benefits of
religion nor feel the epnoblipg Influences
OF civilized society. However, compare
sons, though odious, are ometimes salu
tary, and, therefore, we wish to draw a
comparison which, to our mind, ia apythinD
but favorable to England, the boasted land
d godIy men and the center of civilization.
should an African barbarian leave behind |
1im hls countless gods and his oft CHAN ging |
,ome, and find himself in the heart of the
modern Babylonic London, or in Liverpool, |
whose Tar stretching docks hold the ships |
,f every port, or in Manchester, the busy
awe OF industry and labor, be could not /
out be struck by the contrast between |
glasses OF men-between the rich and the
boot; To-day let him but gaze on a vista
u alleys, where wretchedness and poverty
aise their hideous heads, and to morrow
es MIN feast his eyes on the palatial bank
ng houses and city Offices and the suburban
dwellings, of merchant princes, and the
lppaiing difference will stupefy his reason.
Let him be told that there are innumerable
of Christianity, whose lives are
imposed to be devoted to the religious and
moral training Of the people, and, at the
anne time, let him glance at the colossal
Proportions of oar gaols, our warehouses.
ND !unatic asylums, and Christianity and
lvliization will be to him much the same
8 5 the unknown and awe-inspiring spirits
III the tnmnanfa md or hot III; IL |
arvest in his barbaric home. Let him
70 informed of the category of murders,
Vife- oeatlngs, and now too rife and too
enientiy punished kickings to- death that
re daily recorded in the columns of the
,ewspapers, and the savage might reason
ne ana the same thing If the ministers
the various churches would seriously
onsider their position and their duties
eli imposed-surely they could do some
hing that would ensure an united effort to ;
top the moral and religious decay of the
e0pie The crimes that have become
aoituai among many classes owe their ,
rlgin, to very large extent, to intemper- {
nee; This fact needs no proof of nm !
leidIy statistics to make its truth evident 9
all. 1t can be read in the verdicts from =
10 coroners' courts. 1t is visible in the .
cords OF the criminal tribunals. The !
ults of lntemperance are patent in onr "
lols and lunatic asylums, and our increas-
g pauperism stands branded with drunk =
mess as it's parent. Az for religion, =
onsands upon thousands of the English y
'ople are fast becoming callous to it.
hrrches are empty, and the labors of min
ters OF religion are fast becoming empty Il
rms, or are solely confined to the wealthy,
nose temptations to brutalizing and bar L
.rlc crime may be said to be almost nil. G
II any period in the worlds history de- u
rved the appellation of the age of n
modern barbarian" it certainly is the 2
essnt one; and, viewing the question 4
th calmness and moderation, it may be p
estioned IT the savages of Africa are much 8,
pre- brutal and vicious than the savages of !"
Is country. Foul, dark and hideous u
me is on the increase drunkenness, in v
tie OF all efforts, still makes headway OF
q yet modern barbarians I" live under ':
2 name OF Christians, while the unculti- =,
ted savage, buried IN ignorance and gross v
herstitton, passes under the name of
The Heathen." III
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