Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-08-04
LETTERS TO GENERAL sFosEMAN-os.
JEcTIoNs ANSWERED.

WHICH cohtouhu them with sumptuary
laws, | have already exploded, and need
not reconsider them. 1t is urged, especi
ally by our foreign.born citizens, that it is
contrary to the genius of our institutions
that the observance of any religious insti.
tutions should be enforced by civil law. To
this answer that people who desire to use
the day religiously have most undoubted
right to do SO, and the Government is
bound by legal enactment to secure to
them the exercise of this right without mo.
lestation or disturbance. Aud to do this
the day must be exempt from labor, and all
noisy and disorderly demonstrations must
be prohibited. Christians have some rights
which other people are bound to respect
Besides, it is not contrary to the genius
of our institutions to recognize and protect
the Christian religion. There are laws in
every State to punish perjury. blasphemy
and gross wickedness to prohibit polyg.
amy, piracy and the slave trade not
merely because these things interfere with
the RIG hts of citizens, but because they are
wicked and demoralizing. Cruelty to an.
finals is visited with civil penalties, not on
the principle of profit and loss, but because
it is violation OF the moral Law. For the
same or similar reasons cruel or bsrbarous
sports are forbidden, and offenses against
public and private decency are punishable
by civil law ON the ground of their i'm.
moral and debasing influence. Govern
ments, in fact, have certain moral obliea-
lions which they can no more discard than
individuals can theirs. In many ways,
therefore, it is the duty of the Govern.
ment to protect religion by legal enact
ment. And those who imagine that it is
contrary to the genius of our institutions
to Go SO have yet to learn the real nature
of those institutions, and should betake
themselves to the study of the Constitution
and the history Of the country.
But then it is objected, as all our people
are not agreed in their religious opinions,
and that as all have equal rights before the
law, it is violation of those rights if one
class of the people are required TO conform
their conduct to the religious opinions OF
another class. Why should Jews, infidels,
Seventh day Baptists or Adventists, be re.
quired to respect the first day of the week
as the Sabbath? Why should any man,
who has no faith in the Sabbath as di.
vine institution, be prevented from doing
on that day whatever is lawful on other
days? have here stated in its strongest
form what | conceive to be the strongest,
or at any rate the most plausible objection
of the opponents of the Sunday laws. |
do this not only from motives of candor,
but because | want to meet them squarely,
and leave nothing behind. In the first
place, men differ as widely in their political
as they do in their religious opinions. But
nope thinks OF making this an objection TO
! other laws and Why should it be an objec-
tiou to Sunday laws? The objection, If it
were valid, would prove too much. Judge
Field, in his opinion, held that ''The
power of selection being in the Legislature,
there is no valid reason why Sunday should
not be designated as we'll as any other day
Probably no day in the week could be taken
which would not be subject to some objec-
tion. That the law operates with incon-
venience TO some is no argument against its
constitutionality. Such inconvenience is
incident to all general laws" To say moth.
ing OF any religious reasons, there was
manifest propriety in selecting the day al.
ready observed by the vast majority of the
people, which harmonizss with the observ.
ance of nearly the whole civilized world,
and which is imbedded in the laws, litera.
ture and history of Christendom. There
always are some inconvenience about the
adoption of one sided or singular theories,
and the Seventh-day people are No excep-
ton to the rule.
And as to infdels, and men of no reli-
| gious beliefs, it is not true that the Sun.
| day law requires them to conform their
conduct to the religions opinions of any
other class. The law recognizes one day
in seven as day of rect mainly from secu-
| lar considerations. Here, again, l avail
myself of the clear and forcible language
of MIR. Justice Field. He says: 2 The
Legislature has given the sanction Of Law
to rule of conduct which the entirl CIV
iliZed world recognizes as essential to the
civil and moral we'll being OF socisty.
Upon no subject is there such concur
renee of opinion among philosophers, NOR
alists and statesmen of all nations d on
the necessity of periodical cessations BON
labor. One day in seven is the rIle,
founded in experience and sustained by
science. There ia no nation posses ing
any degree of civilization where the rul } is
not observed, either from the sanction of
the law or the sanction of religion. j his
fact has not escaped the observation OF
men of science, and distinguished phiIoso-
pliers have not hesitated to pronounce She
rule founded upon law of our race"
Since, therefore, it is necessary that tne
day of the seven shall be observed, frlm
considerations apart altogether from i he
Christian religion, as a civil requiremelt,
what difference can it make to an infi,lel
whether that day be the first day of 4 be
week or some other? 1t being the CT is
tian Sabbath does not compel him to I'M
brace the Christian ,religion. And the
same remark applies TO the Adventist an6
the Jew. He is st liberty to adopt WI at
religion he pleases, or to do without any !;
to worship God on any day he pleases, or
not to worship at all !; he is only required
to abstain from unnecessary labor one day
in the week. And he experiences no more
inconvenience from the selection of the
first day, as the day of rest, than is almost
necessarily experienced by ZONE class in
every general law. The Inconvenience is
far less than it would be, on the whole, on
any other day, and infinitely less than
would be the result of having no fixed day
at all, and no laws for it's protection.
It is still further objected that If the
State may require the people to respect
Sunday as day of rest, why may il not
require them to obey the other precepts of
the Bible? Then we should have genuine
persecution, as in days of yore. The an
swer is that Sunday has a civil ASPECT or
cep.s of the Bible, of more strictly re-
ligious nature, and which do not need the
sanction of law and could not be enforced
by it. This is sufficient. But now pro-
coed to turn the tables. If the fourth
command of the decslogue should not be
enforced by law in its civil provisions,
why should other parts of that code, such
as the third, the sixth, the seventh, the
eighth and the ninth-against blasphemy,
murder, adultery, theft and perjury-be
enforced by legal enactments? The one is
just as binding and as necessary to the
well-being Of society as the other. Con-
sistency, therefore, requires the enforce
ment Of the Sunday laws.
But il is sometimes ohjscted to the con-
tinuance of these laws on our statute
books that they are not and cannot be
enforced. It is admitted that in some
cases, in certain localities, it has been
found difficult to enforce these laws. The
difficulties have arisen mostly from Ger.
tain wealthy and inscriptions corpora
tions and from the liquor interest. And
it is preposterous to suppose these parties
would subject themselves to the labor and
expense they are mourning to effect the re
peal any laws were they already practically
inefficient. The came remark applies to
those who oppose the observance of the
Sabbath as Christian institution, because
of their hostility to the Christian religion.
1t is more reasonable to believe that their
objections spring, not from the alleged
inefficisncy of the laws, but from
the knowledge of the fact that in many
cases the laws have been enforced
from the apprehension that they will soon
be generally enforced. They have already
had the effect of closing innumerable places
of business on the 3abbath day, by law.
abiding citizens, without litigation, and Sc
curing to thousands of our citizens day Of
rest from labor, and the opportunity of az
tending places of divine worship, or Of