New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-06-29

whatever. To say that a rumOr originated with
persons" or with exchanges. y is to say nothing
at all is simply to shirk. The COagregahoHat,d
cannot give the name of one person or one paper
who ever repeated or reported the rumor;" who
ever had any authority for making the state
ment or who would ever profess to be-
lieve lt--except Itself. The rumOr Is improo-
able on the very face of it. No person
would be authority on such a matter except IHb
TRIBUNE, q Senator, and myself; and The ConGrtgd-
iORdlist heard this statement, and never sa"
anybody who pretended to have heard tins state-
ment from THE TRIBUNE from any Senator, or from
myself. No circle is " likely to be well-inlormeu
of my private accOunt-book except my own prVate
circle. This The COngregatOnGHst knows full Wen'
and it knows well that no member of my private
circle and no person who was IN position 10 kho"
anything whatever of my private affairs, ever made
10 il any such statement.
Nor if such "rumOr" existed, would the quit Oh
The CoaQregqRonalst be lessened. writer's private
affairs cannot in any or to any degree become
public property" They may become public plum
der, but public prOperty-neveT! Inc Congregation
alst never did find my private arrangements regaiu-
ing the Clarke letters as public plumber. III never
could find them as public property. purer case OF
tabbv-cat gossip intensified into scandal and rank
with rancid religion, cannot be supplied by oDSerVa-
ton or Imagination.
The CoRgregatiOHaIiSt has simply in the words Oh
ST. John the divine, gone to the dogs who love
and make a lie When it vaguely fOreboded for
me fearful lookiugfor ofiudgment and fiery indig-
nation should the Rev. James Freeman Clarke "feel
inclined to take the trouble" it if not strictly
Congregational, certainly not un-Christian only
very childish. When instead of refuting, or de-
nouncing, or ignoring my published papers, it loves
and makes a lie about my personal and private al
fairs it is still childish, but with the ehdshness OF
a very bad child, with the chlldishness Of the child
rem of this world and not OF the children of light
Indeed, l do not believe that among the
children of this world can be found one who with
so little temptations under especial pressure Of
self-nterest, would do 50 petty, so mean, 80 I'M
manly thing, and, when called to account for 1t,
would stink behind a namcleSS person with such
uncomfortable cowardIce. But as it was in the be-
ginning is now, and ever shall be, Lilies that
tester smell far worse than weeds The religious
sanderer and scandal-mOnger finds that congeniai
which would be odous to bis mere worldly brethren
+ fear the hardly won wisdom of many generations
was concentrated in the confident reply of the old
servant to the friend who was lameuting that his
master must have been cheated by very moral
and religious horsejockcy. "Oh no. sah! we
wasn't cheated, sab! We knew he was pe'ikldh
pious, so massa was on his guard
To the osentatous offer of The COHgregG'ioRdis to
"cOrrccl" the "rumor' if il were " led into error
have no reply to make. The CoEgregqGonolt Will DO
exactly as il pleases 1t was not led into error; II
was drawn away Of its own lust and cnticed. II
is not whose reputation is at stake. II is not by
whom the correction" is needed IT. notI to
whom the fact OF the nature or the publication of
the "rumor" is a matter Of importance, or to whom
its final disposal matt Of the slightest interest
IL of gI'
the work Of its own sole reverend and religions
hands, and looking at this work cxclaim, with one
of the Sweet Singers of Israel,
"servant Of Christ well DONE
Rest from thy loved employ
only wish to call the attention of the Conucga-
tiona churches Of New-Engaud-whose creed in
herit from a godly ancestry, and holn by affection
as well as by conviction and in whose purity have
therefore an especial intcrcst-to the fact that The
COnwegaiioHatist, our leading religious newspaper,
considers and uses personal SANDER as Legitimate
political argument; considers it moral and religious
to catch up, circulate and indOrse as likely 10 be
true. a slandcrous and baseess rumor, Tor which
It cannot give, and does not pretend to give, the
slightest authority; a rumOr degrading to the rcpu-
tation and injurious to the influence Of trllOWmcm-
bers m the Congregational churches. whose stand
ing is as good as its own and does this not only On
careless moment. but persists in its siniulnes7'
with no sign Of reformation repentance or regret
after its attention has been called to the nature oil
its act by a repeated summons for its authority
Aud this paper presumes to sit in judgment upon
our publiC men to characterize and TO stigmatize
the words measures, aud motives Of politicians
Tie COpgregatioaalst has considerable circulation
IN the rural districts and Is doubt the political
gospel of many Of its honest readers. If could by
any means convey to them the fact that my little
recital furnishes trae standard by which To Judge
the value of The CopDrgaiOHalisfs political utter
ances-that the measure Of its political intelligence,
its political insight, It's political trustworhncss, IS
to be found with exactness III the Interpretation
which it puts upon my Tribune letters-l think /
could pardon to this religious SANDER everything
but its imbeclity. GAIL HAMILTON.
p ST. anticipate with my thanks the just and
cordial promptness with which those Reform uews-
papers which republished the slauderous paragraph
Of The Boston CongrcgaiOnaiist will republish this
letter from The NEw-YORR TRIBUNE.