New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-12-03

these narratives and this sad proof o.
violence do not arise from any disturb.
ance of the peace, several clergymen Of
various persuasions here unite in . certii-
cate of public order. We are gratifed a.
Republicans to see this concurrence Of
primates who, in another land, could not
be convened for any object. sacred OF
temporal, putting their hands to this as
surance that tie poor people shot,
wounded, deprived Of their crops, and
driven like the prosecuted Christians to
olive out at night" in the woods, are en-
tirely mistaken. In most countries it
would be ''aat blasphemy" to question
the words of the priests in comparison
with the words of the people. Here the
ecclesiastical authorities have no such
Jurisdiction, and their anathemas may be
exercised with q single text of the New
Testament.
1t is, however, triumph of religious
freedom to behold the ''prelatical dumb
dogs" putting their names to the same
paper with the disciples of John Knox;
q representative of the only true Church
recognizing the clerical veracity Of the
hereto, while the Church of God, but not
of Christ, prosecuted throughout Europe
as an in6del faith, in America stands
proudly and safely upon the pedestal of
equal freedom of faith, arm in arm with
those who have for SO many ages held it
to be moral leper. Such is the triumph
of Republican justice as displayed by the
united and concurrent testimony of the
cathedral, the synagogue and the meet
ing houses, that peace prevails through
out Louisiana. Yet these are not all the
witnesses who may lawfully depose as to
the condition Of Louisiana.
There is the Baptist clergy, represent
ing Sc, 14O members, and the Methodist
$4,000. The Episcopal clergy speak for
1890 members usually resident in our
city, and the Presbyterian elders repre-
sent A, 265 members, in like manner also
chiefly resident in the city. The Catho-
lies in the whole State have been been
put down at 60, 525, while the Israelites
number 1000. From this it will be seen
that the two Protestant Churches which
have not concurred in the ecclesiastical
declaration of peace and order represent
larger numbers than those who have tes-
tilted to public peace. When we make
known to the public abroad that great
number of these non-concurring Protes-
tants are colored Republicans, residing
here and in the parishes of the interior,
it will be readily seen why the Baptists
and Methodists can not conscientiously
declare that to be true which they know
to be otherwise.
We have said, and repeat, that no i'm
putation is intended upon the city clergy.
They have not seen and we suppose do
not believe there has been murder or in
timidation; but there are others who,
under the religious equality of Repub-
lican government, are as well entitled to
belief as if the sacred chrism of Rome or
the apostolic inspiration of prelatical
hands had descended upon them. We
may say to all these modes of faith that
there appears missionary ground among
the bulldozers of the Felicianas and
Ouachita which they should all hasten to
occupy. 1t is much nearer than the
Ghauts of India or the wastes of Turkey.
To assert that peace and order reign
throughout the interior of our State is,
from our standpoint and that of the Bap-
fist and Methodist clergy, equivalent to
an admission that the certifying clergy
are not as well represented in the par
ishes as they are in the city. We
respect the influence of the clergy.
We have made no imputation upon their
integrity, but We assert that the minis
tiers of other Christian persuasions
who have not united in the testimonial of
order would be also entitled to equal Gre
dence, and that those who have not seen
for themselves the conduct of the cam
paign and election in the interior par
ishes, though they stood in all the regalia
Of ecclesiastical pretension, are not as
much entitled to belief as the humblest
negro who has been shot, cut, whipped,
beaten or otherwise outraged in their own
persons, and testifes to the truth not only
on the Evangelist but with the very evil
aence of open wounds which convinced
St. Thomas himself.
TvEn