Litchfield enquirer., 1881-10-20
WHOLE NO. 2Ss95rp 95p''

the scene in the senate at the obenipg of, the extra session as follows: The weather was delightful this morning. a gentle breeze sdiss playing the flags on the public buildings and the emblems of national mourning everywhere visible. n The galleries of the senate wore filled at an early hour, and those who had the privilege of the floor availed themselves Of 1t. As the senators came in one by one, itwaS1IoI ticable that they have been enjoying their val cotions and came back sun-browned and far more healthy in appearance than when they left in May Roscoe Conkling's absence was, of course, noticed by those who have seen him occupying seat in the very centre of tho sens ate chamber during the past fourteen years That seat is now occupied by A. Cameron. of Wisconsin, gray headed, tall, spare man, who only lacks a kilt and plaid to make hfm alperfeet Scotchman. BurnsIde's seat isfOc. cupied by Eugene Hale, a graceful and ready debater, while in the place of MT. Blaine IS MT. Frye who occupies the seat which Mr. Hale had last spring. Edmundss returns re- iuvenated, and although he appeared to. miss his old friend and antagonist, Judge Thurman, he gave potent evidence during the afternoon of his ability as an intellectual gladiator, strong in argument, displaying great parliamentary keenness and knowledge of public affairs Senator Anthony, the republican nominee Tor the presidency, Sat quiet observer of the con! test, and around him were Allison, ShermaDI Dawes, Ingalls,, Hoar, Logan, Rollins and the other republican war horses, with the more recent corners, including Hawley, Mitchell and Conger. The republican side of the sen. ate contains many strong men and able deba- ters, who will, when opportunity offers, dls7 play their strength. With them, if not Of them, is General Malone, with the delicate frame of a woman, large head covered with flowing brown hair, sharp, piercing eyes and nervous manner which shows his revolution ary instincts. He came late and was the ob- served of all observers when the secretary called his name on the roll. MT. Pendletou, port1y and gentlemanly, was the central fig ure on the democratic side as their caucus chairman. At the commencement of the ses- sion the democratic nominee for the presidency -Bayard- beside him to give his counsel. The senator from Delaware is a gentleman by birth and education, and right minded man by instinct, but he sees chance ot becoming president of the United States by democratic votes and he obeys the bidding of the demo- cratic party. His features show his mixed Teuton and Celtic ancestry, and he is good speaker, well read lawyer, and the possess sor of spotless record Harris of Tennessee is a better parliamentarian, to whom the rules and the manual are as familiar as household worlds" The democratic senators were de- termined look, and evidently meant business. Jones of Florida, now their best constitutional lawyer, had some volumes of debates on his desk and was examining the precedents. Ben Hill sat leaning back in, his chair, apparently rather dejected but his countenance lighted up as he gave Edmunds cordial greeting. La mar and Butler, and Ransom and Hampton, were all in their seats, and David Davis really appeared, as seen from the reporters gallery, to have lost flesh. In the rear of the senators were General Gordon, who has gained for tune by railway speculation since he resigned his senatorship Secretary Linooln, ex Senator West, ex-Senator Withers, and a dozen Or more representatives, There were a few sec retaries delegation and attaches in the diplo- matic gallery, but the familiar, face of Sir Edward Thornton, with his gray mutton chop whiskers, was missed. '''' i" ""- a THE WISDOM OF THE THOMAS DECISION. N.- By large majority the Rock River confer ence of the Methodist church has deposed Rev. Dr. Thomas from the pulpit for heresy and expelled him from the Methodist com munlon. The particular points upon which Dr. Thomas departed from the faith of the fathers have already been discussed in these columns and it would be useless to rccapitu- late them. Suffice tito say that on many of
 
 numerous Christian scholars everywhere who still retain their pulpits and the confidence of large part of the Christian world. .55la,,n
 But another question does come up in con- nection with the case, of interest not only to the church but to the world What effect do such trials for heresy have upon the advance ment of the cause of religion?. There is,no doubt of the right of any set of men to come together and formulate any creed they please, and, if they find that one of their number does not hold the views there insisted upon, to ex- pelhim from the body. But it is question whether such course is expedient for body like the Methodist church, that challenges on their conseiences the support of all rightly thinking men to itself or some other similarly constituted Christian organization. Every once inS awhile we have presented tables of statistics showing how the proportion of grad uates in our leading colleges who enter the ministerial profession has fallen of of late years We also frequently see articles in the religious and secular press commenting on the fact that the membership of Christian church es is composed too largely of women. These only restate a fact. generally acknowledged, that thinking men are not found in the church today, in the same number that they were in the days of our fathers This is undoubtedly to be deplored from any standpoint, for It shows that religion is lesing it's hold upon a conservative class that should naturally be loyal to it, and that must form the backbone of every successful organization. The reason is'not far to seek. These men, whether right ly or wrongly, feel that the church does not appreciate the situation to day. As in the time of thefefofmation, so now, in their view Christian creeds need reformulating to meet the new thoughts and facts of new age. These men acknowledge the influence for good of the church in society, indeed itsneces- sity, but asthey notsubscribe conscientious ly to it's creed they must remain without it's membership. Once in while there ariee men like Dr. Thomas, who seem to unders and this. They say, many of these points are non-essen- tlal, and we are free to acknowledge that the old formulas are insufficient. DonOtstay out of the church for such quibbles. We are ready to grant, we claim for ourselves, the largest license, admitting at once the truth of many of these latest ideas, but at the same time believ- ing that they do not, vltally affect the truth of Christianity. Then comes collision with the powers that be in the church, and like Dr. Thomas, or the young man who accepted Christ's divinity in Ghe Bible times despite the protests of the rulers, they are cast out of the synagogue.i9 25I % T1Hf Do 4r ai'l
 srAs has been said, the right of such action is not questioned, but only it's policy. The ques- tion is, Can the Christian church afford to alienate such support from within in the face of such determined warfare from without 2 Or, to put it practically, did the church of England act more wisely in retain ing and even honoring Dean Stanley despite of theological lapses far wider than those charged against Dr. Thomas, than it would, had it expelled him f- Waterbury Ahaeri- cG'a. z 5a s.s9tge lsIe e7al sf tIa
 
 MERRITT, Nor MORTON. .-Budlong A. Nor ton is Thomas Alfred Merritt, and his first wife, to whom he was.maTried ID Pittsbnrg. Pa., in 1869, was Anna McHutcbeson, who is now living with her parents near Pittsburg. Merritt xnaa then hekrpeen thirty and fhirf v