Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1877-04-18
The Cause and the Truth.

At the Sunday evening temperance meeting Mr..
Heath presided, and spoke Of our duty ms tenn
perance people, to steadily uphold our cause and
to be faithful toit lie said this duty required us as
consistent truthful persons to uphold according to
the truth those persons who are enlisted n and
are, or have been, aborng for temperance. lie
said that one manner Of our opponents in their
endeavor to do our cause HARM was and il to
claim to be friendly our cause but to find great
and many faults with its advocates and to hold
them up, although consistent temperance people,
to dersion and scorn for errors in other matters,
and so thereby to break down our cause itself by
destroying the reputation and influence of its ad-
vocates lie characterized this as unfair and in
sincere. lie urged upon all true temperance
people everywhere, in whate,e err station or posi-
ton, to stand by, uphold and defend the cham
pions, advocates and friends Of temperance where
ever, whenever and by whomsoever attacked.
He said such attacks had been made upon the
lady who lately had done so much for us; that he
believed she was unjustly maligned and that we
ought in justice to ourselves to fairly expose such
ISLANDERS and her slanderers, and 70 to defend the
temperance cause; and as all present were i'm
patient to hear what the people at the home Of
would call upon Colonel Brown to come forward.
Colonel Brown said 1t was pretty generally un-
derstood in this community that attacks had been
made in the columns OF the ArgUs of this place,
upon Mrs Molloy, who, under God, as he believed,
had recently been instrumental in effecting n
glorious reformation in this town on the subject
OF temperance. He was prepared to attempt
to vindicate Mrs. Molloy from the unjust at
lacks that had been made upon her character
and integrity, instigated, Ms he believed by no
other motive than to njure the cause OF which
she was so brave champion. He said the prin-
cipal cause Of the attacks upon Mrs. Molloy was
on account Of one expression made by her in one
OF her lectures in which, referring to the crusade
in the West, some time ago, she said that the
Christian women Of Elkhart, Indiana where she
then resided, found that in that place they had
four enemies to contend with "the world the
flesh, the devil and the Episcopal cergymen
She stated in proof OF her assertion, that the
Episcopal clergy there we're opposed to them, that
some of them were not temperance men practi-
cdHy, and that one of the Episcopal clergy had
signed liquor dealers petition to the licensing
authorities for license to sell liquor in certain
quantities, and that clergyman had been de-
ing habits. This statement had been caught up
by the editor of the Argus, and so broadened and
enlarged as to be construed as an attack upon the
entire body of the Episcopal clergy throughout
the country, and upon the Episcopal church of
which the editor of the argus happened to be
a member
Colonel Brown claimed that Mrs Molloys state
ments were not susceptible OF so broad an appli-
cation as had been made Of them, and so the COM
plants against her on the part Of the argus were
without any foundation in fact. Mrs Molloy dis
tinctly stated that in England the Episcopal
church, and especially the clergy had become
thoroughly aroused in regard to the evils of in
temperance, and had taken very decided steps in
advance on the subject and she was glad to say
also that the same was true in this country, and
that in some places the Episcopal clergy, and
prominent members Of that church, were among
the earnest workers in the temperance reform
The broadening by the Argus Of her statement
in regard to individual localities, so as to cover
alaentire and respectable body of the Christian
church, was Misrepresentation of what she said,
and so the whole case, on the part of that paper,
was CHhoW foundation Eager to prove some
thing bad against Mrs Molloy, the editor of the
-'J"o "ioeo W lultnt, anu auOtHti
gentleman in this town wrote to South Bend,
Indiana, for evidence to prove her statement.
false. In due time letter was received by the
editor of the Argus from gentleman now living
in Toledo Ohio, who signed himself G. Arnold
Christensen; another letter was received by tn,
other gentleman, from gentleman now living in
Mankato Minnesota, who signed himself W
Richmond both denying the statements made by
Mrs. Molloy, as they had been reported to them
Thereupon and upon the basis of these letter.
the square lie was given to Mrs MJlloys state
ments by the Argus
Colonel Brown then read letters and documents
certificates from some of the most prominent and
influential men and women in South Bend hel
native place, fully endorsing Mrs Molloy rs II
lady of irreproachabe Christian character and in
tegrity, preceding these statements by reading al
open letter from Mrs Molloy.