The New York herald., 1879-03-10
SUNDAYS LECTURES.

l
| PROFESSOR FELIX ADLEE ON THE ETHICS OF
PRoPERTY-A DEFENCE OF COMMUNISM.
| In considering to-day the ethics of property.
said Professor Felix Adler in opening his lecture at
Standard Hall yesterday. it will be necessary at the
very outset to refer to prevalent mistake on the
subject. The writers of legal text books commonly
represent that property is an ancient institution.
| Communism. the other hand is represented
! innovation. but quito the contrary is true. The
most recent Investigations have established the
| fact that all human society at time
| founded Communistc plans. The weight of
years is the side of Communism; also the weight
| of authority. The anmus of Jesus is still more
plainly against riches 1.-The rich man shall hardly
| enter the kingdom of heaven" He says; the young
man who asks how he may become perfect. is told
| to distribute all his possessions among the poor.
| And is not the meaning of the well known passage
| in the second chapter Of Acts unmistakable where
said that the members Of tho earliest Christian
! Church lived together and had all things in COM
| mon. Moreover. Communism does not mean
| absolutely innovation. It is already prac-
| tised large scale. witness the village
| communities Of Hindostan and Russia which con-
tain millions of human beings devotedly attached
to their Communistic institutions. 1t is foolish to
use the word Communism" a term Of reproach or
| like Robert Owen. not to speak of the ancents-
Plato. Jesus ct al. But Communism at the present
| day is impracticable The men not living who
could act out so high plan Of living. Practically
| Communism would lead to despotism Of indi-
vdnal or the despotism Of the many. both alike In
! tolerable to every free soul.
RIGHTS PROPERTY.
Let us inquire. then. why the right of individual
property should be held sacred. The reason
signed by writer's political economy plausi-
BILE enough at hrst sight but proves unsatisfactory
the fruits of his own labor and dispose Of them as he
may think MT But let us look at this more closely.
On coming into the world we find everything pre-
already built. We need the fruits of the earth. but
we need not begin to subdue the primeval
| mand foreknowledge We find there also that great
preparation has been made. The economist says
truly II have right to the products of my labor; but
if the possessions which I enjoy the result Of
labor long antedating my own existence; If my very
human race-then to the human race belongs what
l can produce; then all I add to the general
iect and my possessons are tho capital loaned to me
by mankind the increase which am able to effect is
barely the interest. But who has ever heard tnat
the interest belongs to the borrower? Is it not
simple rule of business that the interest belongs to
| the lender? And mankind is the lender and am
the borrower and to mankind therefore, belongs all
am and have"
The Capitalization of wealth must be checked by
methods of decentralization. Cooperation Is one.
progressive taxation has been suggested another;
| John Stuart Mill, whom no one will accuse Of
heaulong radcalsm, proposes the curtalment or the
right Of inheritance as third: He points out how
the children of the rich would derive from such
measure the greatest benefit.
| BISHOP SPALDING ON THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
The first of o of FIVE lectures in behalf of
new Childrcns Homo delivered by Right Rev.
j. L. Spalding, Bishop Of Peoria, ILL.,. before large
audience st. Michacls Church. West Thirty
street. last evening The subject was, 'The Catholic
| Church. the Church Of Jesus Christ" What would
| human life be- said the Bishop, but for the
| charm which attaches to the truths Of re-
! ligion? 1t gives that immortal hope that
is peculiar to the heart Of and holds out to him
eternal happiness. am about to provo to you that
the Catholic Church is identical with the religion Of
| God that Catholicism and religion one. The
| Christian religion is the only true religion. and it
| that is not true then all religion is All
| the most precious things enjoy in this world are
traceable directly to tho influence OF the religion Of
Christ Where We to look we would hear the truth
| that Jesus Christ has proclaimed, the voice that
| speaks from Him to manf Our Saviour is o histor-
| lcal parsonage He lived earth in q historical
| time We know the methods that He adopted to
spread His religion. Our blessed Lord. when He had
arrived at maturity. gathered about him few simple
| minded ignorant men. They followed Him. and to
| them He gave fuller information Of Himself than He
| gave to the crowds which assembled to hear His
| teachings They were to be His apostles, to
| preach His word after He had left this earth
| Jesus Christ called upon men not to endeavor
to fathom the mysteries of religion but to believe
in God. to believe in the immortality Of the soul.
| He wrote nothing He had no book in which His
doctrines written; but He taught the people by
| word of mouth. This is the way our blessed Lord
promulgated His religion. Our faith is not derived
| from Bibie nor dependent any written re-
cord. We must trace It to its divine to God
| Himself made man. To trace 1t to any but the au-
thorty OF Christ is to leave 1t open to all the mis-
conceptions of which the human mind is capable.
When the work of Jesus Christ earth
pleted He went back to take His with God the
| Judgment throne; but the work he left to go
| until the end of time. Christ might have chosen
various methods by which to continue HIS work
earth; but 1t IL not for us to fathom the mysteries OF
God. These men. the apostles. who had gone about
| with Him earth. who stood by Him ut
His death, lie told to continue teaching in His
| the sacramcnts that lie had administered.
Though thcy had no human qualifications for this
mission thoy went forth. carrying their lives In
their hands, and in the face of difficulties, preached
Christ and Him crucifod. In this way the religion
of Jesus Christ spread ughout the world and
| without Bible The apostles had New Tcsta-
ment; they truth 1t is In Jesus and
they were believed. In the middle of the fourth
tury tho bishops OF the Catholic Church met. and.
| collecting the various books, placed them In tho
| hands of Christians the Biole The Bible had
nothing to do with the propagation of religion ia tho
| ear days. The Church fought its way by its own
force and not because it's religion embodied any
record. Men having the authority Of the Church
went into Gaul England. Ireland. and everywhere
| persuaded tho barbarians To knccl at the feet of
| jesus Christ. The whole Church. the whole religion
of christ is an acting authority 1t does not depend
for its life any book. but has that within which
| causes IL to live.
SURPRISED AT WORK.