New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-12-25
DEYoUyCING THE CODE AND IT'S SPIRIT

Park-ave., to large audience, upon the SUBJECT
" In DEFENCE of abbath breaking"
at is quite natural" DIR. 90 lyer said, THAT we
should feel deeply interested in the endcavOr
now being made TO call up the gnOst OF The
old Puritan Sabbath in our city, and to insist our
paying It n proper degree of reverence on pain OF
fines and imprisonment small body Of men with
very deep convictions, have made up their minds
that we shall conform to their ideas and that if we
do not accept their dictatiOn with their blessing,
shall have their curse, Iney have found certain
laws on their side, and they have taken these old
laws with cheerful goodwill As substitute Tor the
Gospel That old hymn, Hark, from the TOmbs
q doleful sound, suddenly assumed r terrible sig
nifcance Oh Sunday morning not long ago. Poor
old apple women on the curbstOnes heard it and
trembled. Newsboys heard II and shook
in-i was going TO say they shook in thei-
shoes but not many Of them have any shoes worth
bravest little men this island of ours and they
could give most of us many points in courage and
endurance. They were trying to make
feed themselves but the watchdogs of Moses
wouldn't have IT. The little waits saw tho ghost,
heard the doletul sound, and had the alternative Of
beng Laid by tine heels or OF being stuck Oh their
papers," as they say. Tho poor little cripple with
the pathetic brown eyes who haunts Union Square
with MS box on his arm, guessed that something
was wrong when the big policeman wouldn't have
freo shine, but warned lin in broken Irish
that the SaObatari an was abroad, and ordered him
back 10 his den down town. An old fellow once
sad We keep all the feasts aud fass in our parish
with great regularity, but 1t has come TO be so
arranged that the rich keep all the feasts and the
the Puritan sabb ath. |hy, there arc
arguments against that ghost for a week
and laughter and ests against 1t for forever.
But our city met the crisis not unwOrthly. The
law courts spoke good gospel and the magistrates
understood the need Of "A rational leniency. Blessed
are the merciful. Thanks TO them for scOrning the
letter of such laws. hey followed the lead OF
the Master who openly broke the Sabbath as 1t was
understood BY the bigots OF the time. lie declared
that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for
the Sabbath.
There came a time in France when there was
one law for the Tich and for the poor. The
down-trodden people stood 1t az long tuey could.
and then there was carnival of blood such as the
world had never seen before. lhs ghost clutches
the poorest OF our people, Who have to sell on sun
day TO make afew snillIngs with the crueest bands
he grOggerles should be SHUT but the poor
w0rkingmen who go to them on Sunday know that
those who look with cOmplaceucy on the workings
of TINS present law get enough liquor on Sunday
10 swim IN from their own cellars In hotels and
grand restaurants. Iney do it, too. IL is only a
question: tell you, of "a 20 cent drink. Small
boys and poor old women selling papers had 10 rive
up their business. l know some editors. and like
thcm and / know some stock 40 ders and Ike
some of them, but 1 thuk if the Law
has right 10 stop boys selling papers.
IL has more rigut TO stop the printing
of them ON Sunday. Why didn't the friends of that
law hit some one of their size ana 20 what WOuld
happenf IL is tImId ghost ana Ike other ghosts
isfond OF chasing women and children. Somewhere
between Saturday night and sunday morning there
Is vast amount of work done in Printing House
square that If not work of charity or necessity
The edtors have done ell IN lau Thug and Kissing
down that law, and IN showing us that we are not
hying III the Boston OF 100 years ago. We are ms
tuned In scUrning such IA law on grounds laid
down by our DIVINE Teacher. The Sabbath ia Tor
man IL IS not for small minority among Us; it is
not for band of nquisitOrs to compel us 10 con
form To their arbitrary rules.
10 easy to lind the taproOt Of this evil II lies
IN the naTrowness ana higotry of the system OF
calvin. We met 1t In New England 100 years