, 1883-02-22

y. \. IINtfs, MONDAY. Dc''ll'I - '''-'
The Rev. Robert Collycr made Wig
urou, attack ON the Sunday laws last
evening in the Church of the Messiah
Park avenue and Thirty-fourth street
4 large audience was present, ana Mt
Collyer addressed it from pulpit tastii!
trimmed with Christmas green's lie
founded his remarks on no particular
text. but read as the regular gospel les
son that portion Of the Scriptures con
taininc the declaration, THE Sabbath
was made for man, and not man for the
Sabbath" 1t was natural, he SAID, that
we should all feel deep interest IN the
,ndeavor that was being made to call up
the ghost OF the old Puritan Sabbath
and to insist on our paying 1t proper DEL
erence, on pains Of bonds and imprison'
ment. A very small body OF men, with
very big convictions of how Sunday
should be spent, had made up their
minds TO compel us to fall into line with
tneir convictions. If We did not have
their blessing We should be under their
ban. They found the law on their SIDE
and they set it up in place OF the Bible
The old refrain, Hark from the tombs
doleful sound" had suddenly taken Oh
n new and startling significance, MIR,
Collyer said. The poor old apple wo-
man on the street corner had heard 1t
and -trembled. She had been confronted
by the ghost of the Puritan Sabbath, and
it had threatened to deyour her and her
table. The poor little newsboys had
heard it and had shaken in their shoes.
The bravest little fellows on Manhattan
Island we're the newsboys. They could
give most of us points in endurance.
But there was no hope for them on that
Sunday when the ghost made its appear
ance. The watchdogs of Moses were
after them, and they had the alternative
of being led off by the ears or OF being
stuck with their papers. Mr.. Collyer
said he wouldn't like to report all the
newsboys said that day, but he was not
sure that the recording angel had not
blotted it all out with the tears shed by
the little ones One pathetic little Grip
pie on Union square was warned by
friendly policeman that the Sabbatarian
scouts were out, and he had better hide
himself in his den. Their were thou
sands of poor creatures wanting food for
themselves and their children, but they
found that the ghost had his eye on
them and meant business. They meant
business too, but they couldn't do it. 1t
was an old saying that the rich kept the
feasts of the church and left the fasts to
the poor. 1t was so with us now.
Mr.. Collyer spoke OF the giant of big
otry, and remarked that we had not
counted on the strength of this giant to
bind us with cords while we slept. The
law courts, he continued, had given lis
some very choice bits Of gospel these last
few weeks, and he wished to thank the
magistrates from his pulpit for their de-
clination to enforce the strict letter of
the law. The cruelty and injustice OF
the law came home to our hearts. There
came time in France when there was
one law for the rich and another for the
poor. We said there was no danger of
such thing in this free country. We
spoke without the book. We had now a
law that was grossly unfair toward the
poor. We prided ourselves that we had
shut up the groggeries. That was q
good thing, but the poor fellows who
went to the groggeries to their own hurt
knew that the rich could get from their
own cellars enough liquor to swim in if
they wanted to. They knew that the
rich could have it sent to them in their
rooms at hotels and they knew that the
rich could have it on the public tables
where they ate. 1t was simply question
of % cents or cents for drink. A man
had said to Mr.. Collyer that he could not
pay his rent and support his family with
out his Sunday work. Nomatter. That
man must go down. Mr.. Collyer's news
boy had whispered to him, " They'll be
after us tomorrow, put you shall have
your paper" Mr.. Collyer got it aud
iead it. He knew some Of the editors
and stockholders of newspapers, and
liked them, but he thought they should
; have first been hauled up for having
made the first sale of their papers on
Sunday. These Sabbatarians should
hit one of their own size. They should
not hit small boys. But ghosts were al
ways timid and always attacked women
and children.
We would be justified in scorning
these laws, Mr.. Collyer continued, as men
would not Hccognize bigotry aud narrow
Al. A G. 4. 1,