The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-05-13

AANH
Church on sunday Evening last On the
Duty OF the State 10 Encourage Moral.
ity.
As remarked in the ISTELLIGENCER OF
yesterday, the Rev. James D. MOffat
preached an interesting discourse Sunday
evening on the Duty Of the State to En-.
courage Morality. Below We give a pretty
full abstract Of his remarks, as follows:
IP,ter, 2:l4, Governors are for the P%aPtsh%s1t Of
svil-dOen aud for the praise II them that do we'll"
IhaVe on q former occasion contended
Tor two Positions:
First, That the Sabbath rest is Il God.
given right OF which every man ought to
avail himself. The law Of the Sabbath is
the law Of God, binding upon every con.
science, and demanding rest from daily
toll and the spending OF the time in
some manner that will recognize
the day as q sign that the Lord is
our God. (Ezek. 20:90) The sole de.
sign OF the law is not to ecu to God the
reverence. and respect due 10 Him, Il
was enacted for mans good, and is an in.
stitutiOn designed to secure for man the
rest needed for the development Of all his
powers us a This'right to rest is also
a natural right Of man, inasmuch as expe.
rience has proved that 1t is necessary for
the best development Of the man. 1t is
the glory Of u country that it protects
all men in their natural rights.
And It ought to make M American cit.
zen blush to ask the engineer aud fire.
men, the pilot and deck hands to forego
their rights Us men 10 rest and TO spend
one whole day with their families, and
give it to work that he might have the
means OF amusing himself. But | have
observed that Sabbath breakers seem in
capable Of shame. ! have known a com.
pany Of them when informed by the au-
thoTities Of a neighboring city that their
presence as q company OF excursion
lists was not wanted, to laugh, and
go. They seemed to say you do
not want us, but we want to come, and
that is enough" They know moi how TO
respect the wishes of others when these
conflict with their own selfish desires.
Does it not seem as il men lost manliness
in proportion as they trample on the Sab
bath rights OF their fellow-men?
The second position contended for was
that it is the duty OF the State 10 protect
all men in this God.given and natural
right. 1t is not to exact Of any the relg-
iOUS observance Of the day. That is be.
yond tho power Of all the governments on
earth. Nor has any State the right to
control any mans religious nature. 1t is
simply the duty Of the State to stand as a
breakwater between workingmen and
we are all wOrkingmen-and the con-
stantly incoming tide Of avariCe and devo-
ton to selfish amusement. To protect
right is the chief eud OF government, and
to interpoSe for the protection OF q single
brakeman in his right to rest against the
greed for gain OF a railroad corporation,
or the desire for amusement OF accompany
OF pleasure seekers, is an act worthy Of a
great government. We cannot keep il
TOO prominently before the public mind
that the chief end OF all Sunday legisla-
tion IS simply TO secure TO all men the rest
OF one seventh Of their time in addition
to the nightly rest nature exacts, and that
these laws have nothing whatever 10 do
with r iigion or the religious observance
Of the day.
Tonight | wish to support this third
position, that 1t isof the utmost importance
the State should in all proper ways foster
morality and encourage its cultivation
among I'LL the people.
The so.callcd continental" Sabbath
in which many people work hard 10
amuse themselves, and many others 10
amuse tends to cultivate a lawless spirit,
The proof OF this is to be found in any city
where continental ideas prevail. Where
ever idleness is general temptations are
multiplied. The maxim taught us in
childhood finds abundant illustration
Satan finds work for idle hands to do"
One cannot see u Sabbath in Chicago with
its theatres open, its gambling bells in
full blast, and solicitations to unnamable
vices, pressed on the streets without saw.
ing in his heart the Sabbath isa curse 10
this city, Work is always better than
idleness. It is better to wear out through
lncesSant labor than TO rust out by period
ical idlenesS. immortality must increase
when idleness gives the time and
multiplied temptations the occasion andin-
centive TO evil doing.
PIool OF the same fact appears when we
compare ZONE countries with others. IA
Rev. Joseph Cook says: ut does not
seem 10 ME accidental that Switzerland,
Scotland, England and the United States,
the countries which best observe SUNDAY,
constitute almost the entire map OF sale
popular Government"
Goodwin Smith has wisely said: at il
free religion and hallowed Sundays which
explain the average moral prosperity OF
America"
Moreover, such modes of spending the
day are degrading in their Influence over
men, instead Of being as Sabbath OBJ.
seryanee should be, a mode Of eleyating
and enlightening man. The menwho work,
eat and sleep fol. six days and spend their
seventh in idly trying to amuse them.
selves, live as II they had no mind to
instruct, no heart to cultivate. What do
they do TO show that they are more than
apimals2
It's because ahcliday Sunday tends to
degrade men tha tdespotshave encouraged
70 WHa1laan anya that EnNnNaan Inanatla