Litchfield enquirer., 1876-05-11
Church and State.

in New England" which shows with what
 persistence the standing order" fought
 all reform. and how absuldly apprehen-
 sive they were of untold evil from the dis
 establishment of their chnrch. Rhode Is
 land was as every scheol boy knows the
 New England champion of the principle
 of religious toleration. Vermont was the first of the real Puritan states to l sever the connection between church, and state. This was done in 1907. Ten years afterwards the struggle began in earnest in Connecticut. The Quartely qnotes a very characteristic description of the Tole- ration party, and of the contest which re- suited in the adoption of our present Con- stitution, from the autobiography of Dr. Lyman Beecher:
 The Democracy, as 1t arose, included | nearly all the minor sects. besides the Sabbath breakers, rum-selling. tippling folk, infidels and ruff-scuf generally and made dead set at us of the Standing Order. They attacked the clergy unceas- ingly, and myself in particular, in season and out of season, with all sorts of misre presentation, ridicule and abuse; and finally. the Episcopialians who had al- ways been staunch Federalists were d1sap- pointed of an appropriation for, the Bish- ops Fund which they asked for and went over to the Democrats. That overset us. They slung us out like a stone from sling. I worked as hard as mortal man could, and at the same time preached for revivals with all my might, and with success; till, at last, what with domestic aff1ictions and all, my health and spirits began to fail. It was as dark day as ever saw. The odium thrown upon the ministry was inconceivable. The in jury done the cause of Christ, as we then supposed, was irreparable.
 Afterwards when the effects of this measure had turned out so very different from what the good Doctor had feared, he made the following confession of error:
 suffered what no tongue can tell for the best thing that ever happened to the State of Connecticut. It cut the churches loose from dependence on State support It threw them wholly on their own resour- ces, and on God. They said ministers would lose their influence; the fact is they have gained. By voluntary efforts, socie- ties, missions, and revivals. they exert deeper influence than ever they could by queues and shoe buckles, and cooked hats, and gold headed canes.
 The year after the great victory of Tole- ration in Connecticut the same issue came up for like decision, Tn New Hampshire. The same old arguments were brought up which so often appear Tn the mouth of religious Conservatism. Pass this bill and the temples now consecrated to the worship of the Saviour of the world will soon be deserted and forsaken." Some good people openly declared that "the State had repealed the Christian religion and abolished the Bible, that the wicked ones out-numbered them and religion is clean gone.
 Last of all the New England States, and for no very -creditable reason, Massa- chusetts fell into line with the great move ment. The rise of Unitarianism opened the eyes of the ''standing" order to the two-edged nature of their compulsory system of religious support. Orthodox Congregationalists in the eastern part of the States found themselves turned out of their old churches and compelled to pay taxes for the support of heresy they detested. Finally, but not till 1884. Tole- ration carried in Massachusetts
 This by-gone American issue is live question in England; to day; and Liberals there naturally turn to Americans experi- ence to show how baseless are the fears of danger to religion from dlsestabllshment. Nor is the exploration of these old po- litical battle-felds without its solid use to the American. In no other way can he get any adequate idea of the absurd tim idity as we'll as of the gross injustice with which people cling to tlme-honored ab- uses. Nor is it religious conservatism alone that is timid and unjust. In his message of last week, Gov. Ingersoll al- ludes to the hatefully unequal system of representation that disgraces our state to day; but assumes that it is an injustice that can never be reformed. Just so, in 1774, John Adams said that, Eve might as we'll expect change in the solar system as to expect the people of Massachusetts to give up their Establishment" We have no doubt that the people of Connec- ticut will eventually have fair system of representation, that it will eventually grant it's women the ballot, and accom- plish many other reforms that seem al- most as far off now as did disestablish- ment in Massachusetts to John Adams a hundred years since.