The Portland daily press., 1880-01-05
THE GREAT STEAT
Address r. sau A 6 T.add

\. '1sev. A. S. Ladd, pastor Of Congress street
a, dethodist Episcopal church, delivered an able
e.1ldress yesterday afternoon, at the church, on
a., The duty of the Church in reference to the
addition of affairs in our State"
Mr. Ladd introduced his subject by saying:
1t does not follov because there ale great de-
partments of life over the entrance to which
are written such words as commerce, politics,
&c., that the preacher of the Gospel is not to
enter there. Wherever conscience goes forth
to work out its perilouS problems there the
preacher is to go. Christ and his apostles
spoke against actual sins; sins in the concrete
as we'll as in the abstract, and the pulpit of
this land has never, to any great extent, been
hampered or padlocked.
The speaker then continued: There is wide
spread and intense excitement in our state,
and other states. What is the occasion? The
last political campaign proved unusually ex-
citing and thorough. No doubt means were
resorted to by all political parties that were
both base and sinful to accomplish their ends,
but there is also no doubt that the great ma
jority of the people voted according to their
honest convictions. What was the result?
AS near as my memory serves, the Republ1-
cans had 10 Senators and the F'usionists II.
81 Fasonists. The Governor and Council
counted out Senators and II Representatives,
all Republicans, and counted in Fusionist
Senators and II Representatives. AS elected,
the House had Republican majority of 30.
AS counted in the Fusionists majority of II.
AS elected there was a Republican majority on
joint ballot of So; as counted in Fusionist
majority of 26. 1t is claimed by the Governor
and Council they had the law on their side.
In reply let me offer two things.
1et 1inof 10 for, Of Onu
the law issues from the people and it is very
strange state of things if our laws are such as
to defeat the will of the people.
2d.-If certain legal technicalities were on
the side of the Governor and Council was it
right for them to outweigh the spirit and in
tent of the law? What then is the duty OF the
church in reference to this state of things?
1st.-To pray nightly to God. day of
humiliation, fasting and prayer would be in
order.
2d-It is the duty of the church to ask how
other States look on this affair. For instance
will the majority of the people OF Massachusetts,
receive as much comfort from those proceed
ings as those of Louisiana, and is it difficult to
tell in which of these states the common school
and Christian church has done most for the
people, and which people are most IN love
with the genius of our institutions, and also
what class of people in the North are best
satisfied with this state of things? Those like
the foreign population of New York city, or
the people of the rural districts?
3d-It is the duty of the church to exercise
great patience and suffer thousand wrongs
rather tthan do one. Time will right these
wrongs. A noble people will be nobly ruled.
"Whom the Gods destroy they, first make
mad" There are occasions when is our
duty to fight, even die, but do not believe
bloodshed is necessary for the solving of this
difficulty or the righting Of this wrong.
4th--It is the duty of the members OF the
church to think more of their duty than their
rights. 1t is nothing new for Christian peo-
pie to forego certain rights for Christ's sake.
While conscience is not involved the Christian
can afford to be magnanimcus. This is the
glory of the Christian religion. Its votaries
are not always insisting on their rights, but
are more anxious to know their duty.
5th-It is the duty of the church to resolve
in this trying hour to regard citizenship as a
more sacred privilege than ever. we nave
been too careless about exercising the right OF
suffrage and attending primary meetings. We
have been to apt to consider politics dirty bust
ness. The intelligent Christian men OF this
state must see to it that they attend to these
things and elect competent men to office