The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-06-30
nc Prayer-Gaage In Eagland.

IFTaz he Csias9 IhhEat
Dr.. Thompson and Prof Tyndall are
probably quite a much surprised As any
one else to have their proposal to testthe
POver Of prayer carried into eject BY one
Of the most devout secs in England.
This sect Is the @Peculia. People" Who
apparently differ from other Christians
only in insisting upon ; literal interpre-
tsiion Of the whole Bible, instead Of only
part Of il The members OF this or.
ganiEItiOn have discovered in the EPis'le
Of St. james, unfortunately for their
children, the following passage: Is any
sick among you, let him call Tor the
elders Of tie church; and let them pray
over him, amounting him with oil in the
name OF the Lord; and the prayer Of faith
shall save the sick and the Lord shall
raise him up This PFeePt they have
religiously observed. When child fails
sick, instead Of sending Tor physician,
the elder, Of the Peculiar People are
summoned. They pray over the, Julie
sufferer, and smear him With oil in the
name Of the Lori.u SomeIiHes he dies,
but at other times he gets veil. Then
the prayer OF faith has been answered,
As per promise, and the fanatics re-
ioice. Bat generally he dies. Then his
parents say: "l.is the will Of God and
bury him. 1t Is said that twelve chill
dren have been suffered TO die in this
way within = short time, all OF whom
would have been saved by a little medi'
cal attendance. In some cases broken
limbs were treated only with prayer aud
oil. II is needless to say thai mOrtidca.
ton set in and soon killed the victims.
These peculiar practices Of the peculiar
People have attracted the attention Of
the London magistracy. The sect has
been warned 10 stop numbering its chill
dren from q sense Of duty, but it has kept
on. When the twelfth child was sacri-
iced TO the MolOch Of ianaticism, the
matter was brought before grand jury,
which Was asked to indict the offending
superstitious parent, But the jury was
instructed by the presiding Judge that
the parents neglect to resort to sure
methods of saving his child's life vas not
an indictable Odense, provided It was due
to conscientious religious belief. That it
was 30 due could not he doubted. The
grand jury ignored the presentment,
and the "Peculiar People" can hereafter
90 on neglecting their babies at pleasure.
They are now about 70 staTt hospital,
open TO any one, where the only Inedi.
cines used will be prayer and oil, and
whence all doctors will be excluded. As
the oil derives all It's supposed efficacy
from being put on by an elder and in
4the name Of the lord" il may fairly be
considered as a miraculous remedy on a
par with the prayer. The new hospital,
therefore, will give Prof. Tyndall chance
to collect the statistics proposed in Sir
Henry ThOmpson's ertWhile famous ar.
licle. On this side Of the water we might,
perhaps, put legal and speedy stop to
the practice Of Feliglously slaughteTing
children. But England has an act Of
Parliament which establishes the Bible
as the standard Of revealed religion, and
how could the Peculiar People be legally
punished for cliBging closely to the letter
Of this standard thus set up by the law OF
the land! This is what comes Of uniting
Church and State.