Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1876-01-19

20 to work to secure victory--a vie
tory, not for men, but for principles
Clarion Jdcksonidn,
WORDS or WISDOM
Tho wisdom Of the Methodist church
did not die with the advent Of Bishop
Ilavcns folly The Pittsburgh Chris
tan Adrooate has a recent bold article
upon the subject which has flung
into the political arena and arrives at
very decided conclusions upon its all
dlc.hcadcd ecclcsiastic II commences
with the God-in.the.constitution lana
ties and gives them this below;
For four years at least there has
boen an unbending effort by consid-
cradle body fmen with more zeal than
discretion to force into our fundamen-
tai law a recognition Of God. To this,
merely, very fcw will object, for very
few object to 1t when made In the Pres.
idents thanksgiving proclamations, 10
the prayers in Congress and in other
ways by those who stand for the ma
tional authority. The opposition to
this movement springs out Of the set.
tied conviction Of the majority that
those who are opprobnouAly called
'phe God'ln'the.eonstitutlon party VIII
not remain satisfied with such con.
sutuliongl acknowledgment Of the Sd.
preme Being as the Jew, the Unitarian
and the large class OF Freethinkers
who have not gone beyond Theism
will be content with. To suppose that
they will IL TO suppose what the whole
history Of such movements renders
doubtful.
The character Of our government is
thus set forth by the Adrocdte
This is not Catholic government,
it is not Protestant government; il
is simply Christian government, and
that in the broadest possible meaning
of the word. An eminent minister
once asked Alexander Hamilton why
a recognition of God had not beer
placed in the Constitution. Hamilton
answered, "indeed, doctor we forgot
it, But that was not true They did
not forget it. Tho men of convention
were the last men in the world 10 for
get anything of the kind If we mis-
take not they rejected Tranklin's pro
posal to open their daily sittings with
prayer. And why? Certainly not be-
cause they had met to frame secular
instrument of government and wished
to be consistent in so doing and to
leave no precedent which any associa-
ton or party ever thereafter could use
In establishing union of church and
State, directly or indirectly.
Why did they make our constitution
secular2 Because they knew that the
most CALLING dospotism that their ia
theirs ever suffered in the mother coun-
try was the despotism of the house OF
Stuart. They knew that the basest
tools of that despotism were the prom
inent clergy Of the church of England.
They Knew that religion in the hands
Of the Stuart kings was the power that
crushed the ancient liberties Of the
realm. They know that it was this
power, wrestcd from the hand of the
First Charles, which brought him TO
the block. They knew that it was
religion IN the hands of Cromwell
which enabled him TO supplant the
Stuart despotism with one of his own.
They knew that il was religion, per-
verted and corrupted by political asso-
Citations, which brought upon England
the woes of two revolutions. In n
word, they knew that the blackest
period IN the constitutional history OF
England was the period in which re-
ligion mingled with the strife of politi-
cal factions. That is why they made
our constitution secular. They meant
to sever church and State, faith and
faction, once and forever. They meant
to establish government which would
secure the utmost religious freedom to
all, which would protect every sect in
the enjoyment of its rights, while itself
stood apart, the friend of all sccts, but
the patron of none, aui with no religi.
ous character whatever except what il
received from the people composing it
and from accepting those great princi
pies of truth and justice which under
lie all nominally Christian govern
ments. Doubtless they one and al
bplipypd that IN driVn the UOvprumpui