, 1880-05-17
The American Sabbath.

The New York Sabbath Committee,
which is an unsectarian organization,
composed of several well-known gentle
men of different denominations, held q
meeting Sunday evening at Association
Hall, attracting an audience that COM
pletely filled the largo room. The
chairman of the committee. Mr.. Nor
man White, presided, and interesting
speeches were made by Richard w.
Thompson. Secretary of the Navy, Rev.
Roswell D. Hitchcock, Mr.. George d.
Andrews, Mr.. W. W. Atterbury, the
secretary of the committee. and Mr..
White. Secretary Thompson was re-
ceived with applause. He said that in
listening to the eloquent tribute OF the
preceding speaker to the greatness OF
our country he could not help asking
himself the question, How did it be-
come SO? We have seen the other ma
tons of the earth struggling for CEN
turies through difficulties and embar-
easements, and yet they have not
reached that point in grandeur which
we in one century have SO gloriously
gained. How did all this come about ?
The answer is plain. Our fathers
brought with them across the briny
deep the Holy Word of God. Jap
plause.) Herein is the mystery, if
there be any mystery about our gran
deur and greatness. It is the Bible
that has made US great. We are Chris
tian people, entertaining diverse views,
practicing different forms of worship,
but tracing all our faith to that great
fundamental law given to us amid the
thunder and lightning OF Sinai-that
God made the Sabbath day for man,
not for himself. He needs no rest; He
is spiritual being-a pure essence.
But when He created us of material
substances-of bones, muscles, nerves
and tibers-He taught us that we do
not possess the power of incessant la
bor.
L take it there is no principle better
fixed in the American mind than the
determination to insist upon the con-
formity Dy foreigners to our Sunday
legislation. We are Sabbath keeping
people. (Applause.) Men say that we
have no power to interfere with the
natural right of in2ivid uals-that a man
may spend Sunday as he pleases. But
society has right to make laws for It's
own protection. They arc not religious
laws. The men engaged in this grand
work of securing the enforcement OF
the Sabbath laws do not want to force
you into any church, for these gentle
men represent all denominations. They
want to make you observe the Sabbath
day as day of rest merely-peaceably
if they can, forcibly if they must, only
so far as it is necessary to protect soci-
ETY.. Destroy the Sabbath and you go
out of light into darkness. A govern
ment without the Sabbath as civil in
stitution could not stand long enough
to fall. (Applause.) Why are we so
especially interested in Sabbath laws
Because there is no other government
that depends SO much on the morality
of its citizens as ours. Here. where we
have republic with its existence de-
pending upon the mass of the people,
it is necessary TO nave general observ-
ance of the Sabbath. (Applause.) Our
national life may depend upon it. We
may quarrel to any reasonable extent
on anything else-about banks and the
tarif-perhaps we could do without
both !; but the American people will
never give up its Sabbath. Mr.. Thomp'
son concluded with an eloquent picture
OF the benefcent effects to the working
man of the Sabbath at home with his
wife and family, and closed with stir
ring appeal to the assemblage to dc
everything to preserve what has come
to be known in Europe as " the Amer
ican Sabbath" lie had come to New
York, not to make a speech, but be-
cause he has been interested in this
cause and has been a worker for it for
thirty years, and he earnestly added
that he intended to work for it fol
thirty years to come.-N. Y. Herald.