Daily Republican., 1880-08-09

spplied the knife with dexterous skill
in opening and laying bare the short
comings OF the great camp meeting
held over across the country, (meanine
Chester Beigbts)whioh was carried on
by big preachers with great double
DIS. to their namea. Referring to the
Brandywins Summit Camp, he preferred
1t to the great fashionable camps,
though the tendency was to make
that camp like others.
There can be no doubt Of the correct
ness Of the position which Father
Hance has assumed. Compared with
old time oamp-mestings when converts
could be counted by hundreds there is
q decadence in spirituality which makes
the camp-mseting Of the present day
only a pleasure resort or place for
recreation and rest. II does not follow
however that the camp-meeting Of the
present day is total failure in spir
itusl point Of view on that account,
True, tLey have ceased to be places
where hundreds of persons are con-
verted as in olden times, but for all
that much good Ia done in social and
physical point Of view, and the reli
gious services which are held serve as
proper moral and religious restraint.
They are necessarily held in the warm,
pleasant season Of the year and are
generally attended by people from the
cities who are wearied and worn out by
cares and troubles incident 10 an active
city business life. This class Of peo-
pie generally attend camp meetings for
the sake Of a change and to get a little
rest. They do not feel much like taking
an active part in the religious exerci-
ses, and though they would te pleased
to see great rev:vals yet they would
rather leave that part of the work TO
such energetic through going men as
Father Hance and Rev. Mr.. BcGeP, " no
are wholesouled laborers and such lay
members as Brothers Sharp and Thatch-
sr who having rested all the year are
prepared for hard work at camp meet
ing. Father Hance said that for the
last three or four years there were no
great revivals at the Brandywine Sum
NIT camp. and he was correct. The
great majority Of the people do not 60
there to engage in the religious services.
There ia not the great necessity for
camp meetings for the conversion Of
people as there was when Father Hance
was a boy, though the people need
conversion just as much and perhaps
more. In those days churches were
few. They neoessitated the holding of
camp meetings, when the great preach
srs of that day could have opportuni-
ties of addressing the assembled thous-
ands. Now the case is different. The
large cities are full of churches and the
country Is dotted over with them and
the laborers even learned double DIS.
as Father Hancs calls them are by no
means few. This creates the impres.
sion that revivals should be carried on
in the churches and that the camp
meetings which seem to have gone into
spiritual decay should be- kept up more
as social resort which protesting chris
tians can attend and return home from
not worse than when they started in a
spiritual point Of view, and much i'm
proved physically. While this is the
case 1t will be somewhat difficult to get
up a revival spirit, and If the faithful!
and energetic efforts Of Father Hance,
Rev. Mr.. McGee and others who are
endeavoring to have an old time revi-
val, should provo successful, they will
deserve credit for their urtir ing ener-
gy and large faith.