The daily gazette. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1874-1883, 1881-11-10


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JUDGE BLACK ON INGERsOLL.
Also ON the Conduct Of the ssNorth
American Review"
Judge ]. s. Black, has addressed a
letter 70 the Philadelphia Prees In ex-
PLANTATION OF his failure to reply to Col
onel Jngersoll's second article on the
christian religion, published In the
NORTH american ReoieU. M. Black
says 1t WIS distinctly understood that
any issue Of the magazine containing
one Of Ingersolls articles wrs also to
contain bis answer to the same Article.
Three months afterward ufty pages Of
the foulest and fa,sest libel that ever
was written against God or man was
sent TO me. IL came when / was disa-
bled by an injury from which l could
not hope TO get we'll for soma weeHs,and
l so notified The editor. To my surprise
| YVES informed that no ontradictlon,
correction or criticism Of mia or of any
body else would be allowed TO accom-
pany this new effusion of filth. Mr.. In
gersOll would not consent. Finding the
ReUieao controlled by him 10 suit him
self, l did not think YVES bound TO 60
further. True, VIZ" offered the chance
Of replying In future number, but that
was not the PRIVILEGE had bargained
tor nor the duty agreed to perform.
Besides, II would wrl's an answer,
what confidence could l have that they
would not suppress IL? A prom Sc OF
theirs, EXPIRE or implied, is not, 10 my
estimation, worth 81 raw If they have
an Interest In breaking II. am espe"-
tally biz nable for allowing myself 10 be
taken In by them on tl's occasion, be.
cause he same ;reacherors co lceIn had
basely betrayed me once before.
After tracking me out and hunting
me down to get an article from me on
the great fraud Of 1876, subject then of
much general interest, and making by
Its publication, - the proprietor himself
told me, not less than $4,000, they
handed me and my friends, living and
dead, over to BIO covered with iirevelaut
ISLANDERS on bargain tina. l should Lot
be permitted 10 Ieiute them in their
pages. The pamphlet to which l was
driven could not reach half ths rea iers
Of the Reuie,o, and the other half proba-
bly, believe TO this day that and certain
other men, some of them the best and
worthiest In the land, we're guilty of the
me t atrociops crimr7 known to any
law, divine OF human. 1t was weak OF
me not to prosecute those libe)lers In q
Court of Justice; still weaker to condoRe
the offence and pit mysc f in the way of
being similarly maltreated again. Per-
haps, also, It was anwise at the begin
Ming to look for better behavior from
Adventures conducting a msgazine
without avewed convictions or prlnci-
pies and without capacity 10 contribute
an original thing OF their own except
rags and lampblack."
|. Judge Black then takes up some of
the points of Colonel Ingeisolps second
paper, aud In conclusion he says: Gle
starts another idea which hes the same
special merit of being bis own--namely,
that the material universe 10 not gov
erned by laws. The plaeels move at q
rate and in orbits which can be calcu-
lated with absolute certainly; the earth
reyolves on Its axis with such perfect
regularity that the very second of time
at which the sun will rise at particular
place can be predicted thousand years
beforehand; chemical sui tances COM
bine always in exactly the same relative
proportions; In the animal and vegeta-
BILE worlds like produces like; In all Of
ganized beings certain causes are known
| to produce certain effects favorable or
unfavorable to life and health.
Mr.. Ingersoll's idea Is that these are
| not the results of law or any sort OF
intelligent Encouragement; but fsy
are phenomena which happen, and the
world is ny mere accident prevented
from falling into chaos. In his wisdom
he decides tas matter of fact that
there is no rule back of the phenone'
non which controlling power cem-
pels the subject matter to obey ; II
merely happens, but it happens sc
uniformly that it creates the idea o.
law in our minds, which is, however
a mere delusion. If Gall and New
ton and Keppler and all the other phil
osophers, great and small, have beef
seduced into the weak belief that thu
material universe is under the reigI
of law, it is rare good fortune for u
in these latter days to have found
superior parsonage who, by merel
turning the Drummopd light Of hi
| intellect on the subject, 81 once ex
poses the blunders of the ignorant li'
ing and .the barbarian Gead.'
Another way he has of reaching tn
atheistic conclusion. do not say tina
know what he wants to be at. Bu
as well as can understand him h
asserts that the universe could M
have a design because we cannot tras
back the dc signer to his own origin
the world was not made because v
cannot tell who made the maker. IL
j.. mechanism of o watch Is SO curiol
that lit must, says he, have had
Maker but he adds that the watoi
ma ker himself Ia moro wonderful
made than the watch, and hence l
infers that he also must have had
maker, since the necessity of a Great
increases " it'll the wonder of the ore
ture. He is urquc 3tionably, thou9
perhaps unconsclously right in this.
makes demonstration a. complete
mathematics that man was created
j some pre- existent and self-conscio
v being of power and wisdom to US u
conceivable But instead of acceptl