Morning journal and courier., 1883-12-22
News by Telegraph FROM ALL QUARTERS. PURITAN AND PILGRIM. Beecher at the New Eng
 land Dinner. THE POWER OF MORAL SUASION Evils That Will Not Perish
 By Law.
 
 THE FRENCH ARMY IN SONTAY Rejoicing fn France Over
 The News.
THE FRENCH ARMY IN sONTAY
Rejoicing fm France Over
 ThG News.
NEW YORK.

NEW YORK.
 Purftan and PiIgrim-Fhe Province and
 Power Of Moral suasion Mesns and
 Methods For Dealing With Poiygamy-
 Henry Ward BeeeheE's Address at the
 New England Dinner.
 NEW YORK, Dec. 21.-At the banquet of she New England aociety Of Brooklyn ct the Academy of Music in that city tonight about three hundred persons sat down. Among the specially invited guests present were President Arthur, General Grant, Henry Ward Beecher, Mayor Low. Rev. Dr. New man and Hon. Horace Russell. The presi- dent of the society, Mir. Benjamin D. silli- man, in his opening address touched upon the leading topics of the day, laying some stress upon the Mormon question, which Eas later made the principal theme in the re- marks Of Mir. Beecher and Mir. Newman. President Arthur was then introduced and received with hearty applause. He respond ed in few neatly turned words of thanks. General Grant was introduced and was ap- plauded. He briefly excused himself from speaking at any length.
 Rev. Henry Ward Beeeher, speaking to the toastj Pilgrim end Puritah," said the difference between the Pilgrim and Puritan was about the same as that between the leaves and blossoms of the same plant. Both had their sprout and start in that period of the history of the mind in middle Europe in which man wGs found to be worth something The Puritan believed that by proper appliea- tion you could evolve rational moral being koGk |, s.-L. work. He believed the lowest man being stimulated and educated could be elevated into dignity and true power. He came to New England for the sake of the experiment, but he brought the ignorance that belonged to his age and of all the ages as to the meth ods of experiment and he used the means of his day to create morality-force and law. He had not yet been educated to understand that 8 man who was susceptible of being eIe vated should be elevated by moral and intel lectusl means and not simply by coercion or laws. Laws are restrictive or directive. In regard to the passions of men, restrictive; in regard to everything higher they are mere ly opponents of the experience of mankind pointing men to what is the best and safest path. Now the Puritans did not make this distinction. They held that all laws should bs restrictive. They undertook to do by restrict
 
 gloriously came to understand could be done only by moral sussion and intellectual in struction. The application of this to our own time is not far to seek. We are trying to make men temperate by applying the Pur- itan standard, not the Pilgrim standard. In so far as intemperancs infames the passions of men and works obviously and openly against the public veal it falls under the do. main of restrictive law, but you can't raise men out of the degradation of intemperance unless you can raise their understanding, their social purity and their moral sense, and you can never raise them by law. (Applause)- The law can do good deal, but it can't do that.
 Meanwhile we are confronted with anoth- CT matter which is like brisrs and thorns at the present day. We are called upon to eliminate in some way the moral leprosy of Mormonism. God forbid that should say one word that should encourage that prac- tice. It is not 8 question to night of the moral character of the system. It is substan- tially priestiy aristocracy of the most com pact kind, and there can be no doubt after five thousand years of experience that polyg amy Is not the outcome of civilization nor the revelation of the experience of the hu man race. But how are you going to help it? By restrictive law If there be lence to higher laws can give us fair foundation on which to stand, in the name of humanity let us enact such laws I know not what they may be, but let me tell you you can't lift great community of quarter of million of men who believe rs firmly in their religion ss you do yours-a little moro firmly suppose-you can't lift them out of the slough by mere leverage of law. It is proposed that polygamy should be made 8 crime-as it is already 8 vice-but how are you going to convict? It hes been tried with signal failure. How are you going to get, hold of 1t? Did you ever see 8 cat trying to eat wasp? That repre- sents the government trying to eat the Nor mons. The cat catches it to her entire satis- faction, but she don't swallow it Qaughter.) It is proposed to send 8 commission there such as governs the District of Columbia. The fruit of such government has not been such as greatly to charm me. Butif there be any advantage in it, in the name of humanity let us have a commis- sion. A commisson, however, is nothing but mechanical force brought to bear against the intellectual and moral convic- tions of quarter of million men. I say this: That this question like every other moral question has got to be treated by moral means and not by the law of violence. Every man that wants to extirpate any form of mistaken belief in politics or in religion by law sndss strieturs Aand force is a Puritan pure and simple. Every man that wants to exterminate an evil and has such faith in humanity and in reason and conscience that he is willing to take time and to do it by these higher means is Pilgrim (applause). am Pilgrim (laugh- ter and applause) Now in regard to this matter these two instances are all that I will give. I could employ great many more, for the law of violence Is in our hearts st every age-we are totally depraved. If I may take you into partnership and we all tend to meet everything
 .I--ks it is our first impulse. But what we want in our time more than anything else is 8 con- tinuous and increasing faith in moral and in- tellectual means to accomplish anything that ought to bs done and the glory of this gov- ernment is faith in the common people. (Applause). It takes time for fifty million people to turn over 8 question and look at 1t on all sides. Ton can't ride roughshod over their faults and folliss by the even cutting of the sword of law or any other form of abso- lute violence. Man can be lifted to higher plane all over the world by reason and moral suasion.
 Rev. pr. J. P. Newman, who followed Mir. Beecher, argued in e different strain. He believed in education and moral suasion, but these without the third unity in the trinity, namely, executive forcs, had often failed. He advocated the plan which he asserted was favored by President Arthur of abolishing the territorial government of Utah and making Mormonism, not polygamy, a crime. This would avoid the difficulty in proving the offense and would not be in violation of the principle of non-interference by the government with re- ligion because 8 tenet of Mormonism is to disregard the laws where they conflict with the creed This makes the Mormons amen able to governmental suppression. School masters, if sent to Utah, would only be ex- fled or converted. Mr. Newman caused some amusement by recalling the fact that Jo. Smith was originally a New Englander and Congregationalist.
 Hon. Horaces Russell, who represented the New England society Of New York, respond ed to the toast to that society. Mayor Low and 0thars alan re4non led fn koasfa and tha