National Republican., 1883-11-30
How the Churches Observed the Day With
Praise and Prayer,
Union Services at Most Of the Sanctu-
aries, With Full Congregations.
Rev. DR.. Rankin Discusses Civil Rights and DR..
Bartlett Shows Calvins Influence in America.
What Reasons the United states Have TO
BE Grateful Co God.
THE STATE AND IT'S CITIZENS.

RIGHTS
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but 10
the evil. wilt thou then not be afraid of tho
power2 Do that which ~ good and thou shalt
have praise Of the same. For he Is minister oil
God unto thee for God.--ROHl 1th, 3-4.
There is no writer on tho proper function Of
government on the rights and duties of citi-
zens, on the rewards held out to good citizen
ship, and the penalties impending over evil
which is clearer and stronger than tho Apos-
tie Paul. True Christianity always makes
man more of q man. More than once Paul
had stood for his own citizenship. At Philippi,
after the midnight earthquake and tho con-
version of the iailor; and when, one would
think, his mind would have been on other
things, he sent word to the magistrates who
offered TO let himself and his companions do
part in peace. "Tney have beaten us
openly, uncondemned, being Romans,
and have cast us into prison. And
now do they thrust us out privily !?
Nay, verify, but let them come themselves
and fetch us OUT" Just as open as had been
the outrage on his Roman citizenship should
be the amends these magistrates should make
Grand old hero He was not afraid of poll
tics He was ready to stand for his civil
rights, amid earthquakes and miracles. At
Jarusalem, too, when the chief captain had
him bound with thongs and was about to ex-
anime him by scourging-that is to see If he
could lash the truth out of his back, in the
the old medi@val style-what happened then
The same utterance as at Philippi: us it
lawful for you to scourge man that is o
Roman and uncondemned? Lawful A man
that is Roman? There is no grander collec-
tion of words in all the annals of Roman
freedom. Here is man under the protection
of law. What law? Roman law. The Ro-
man eagles had carried that gospel all over
the world
L a. osA H. rnnk .Nf
this man, who when God SGT up His kingdom
within him. did not forget he had civil rights;
who, although he had the ministration OF
supernatural powers TO deliver him from
prison, yet when he stood within the pur-
view of his citizenship appealed only to that;
did not pray to God to do for him what he
could claim from man say think we can
afford to sit at the feet of this man, as this
Thanksgiving morning we study the relation
of the citizen of the state to the state.
First what is the state? Literally it is that
which stands. Men come and 60; the nation
stands. 1t is touching to think of the great
names that built themselves into the civil
fabric of this nation between 1850 and 1880.
But where are they now? Lincoln and his
war cabinet? Sumner? Wilson, Fessen-
den? All the mighty dead? But the nation
stands. because they built themselves into it
as living stones.
But for what does the nation stand? ]
give you here the apostles theory of civil
government; nay, the very words of inspira-
tion itself. The nation stands for God. Next
to God, the mightiest thing upon earth Is a
great nation, and she is great because she
wields powers which God has given to WELD
in His name. The function Of civil govern
men came from God.
After clearly and forcibly stating his idea
that government inheres in the nature Of
things, and is not originated by constitution:
ax.I lax. tat, hot kla l.
tory of the science Of civil government is the
history of the effort to adj ust the functions Of
the citizen to the functions of the state, and
discussing the present status of the colored
man in the south, DR.. Rankin argued the
civil rights bill as decided by the supreme
court recently. Discussing this decision, hi
said: "I shun all the learning and ingenuity
by which this Interpretation of the law ha
been defended, though one voice from
border state has been lifted up in the minor
ity, Mr.. Justice Harlan dissenting. Relativ,
to numbers it seems like still small voice.
The letter of the law is one thing, its spirit i
another. The letter killeth. And never was th
spirit of law more cruelty murdered by th
letter in the house Of its friends. The lega
part will leave with the lawyers; but of tn
equity part l shall speak. State rights in
deed What cared the United States govern
ment for state rights? What cared she 70
class legislation when the constitution wa
interpreted in favor of slavery; when tn
American flag had no protection, but onl,
terrors, for the black man; when u. s..
meant /" You Slave" to him; when, with N
such word in the constitution as "slave," tn
United States congress passed the fugitiv
slave law, and the United States suprem
court made the Dred Scott decision, in whc
men who were citizens in many of the state
were stignatized as belonging to a race whic
had no rights that white men were bound t
respect?
1t is true that on the majority decision tn
supreme court goes out Of its way to sugges
this, though under the new amendments /
the constitution, intended to cover the civ
rights of the recent bondmen, congress ha
no authority to legislate in their behalf. Ye
congress may so legislate under section g. Q
article /, where authority is given to regu
late commerce among the several states. Sti
goods and chattels. Still to be treated, nC
as citizens, but as rifles and blankets an
trinkets. Further on the preacher said;
know the bitter irony with whic
it is said, "They havo tho pre-
lection the white man has" 1t
not true. The white man has the protectio
of his color, of his class of his history of RI
sisting oppression, and Of centuries of rar
prestige. He has the moral protection Of th
government which the colorcd man helpe
him to save. q This decision of tn
supreme court is the decision of eight whit
men, honest, conscientious men, l believe
Their color is not against them, ii is aRains
the colored man. Do you think that eigh
colored men would ever have come to such
decision? Do you think that bench of min
judges, with one colOred man on it--and tho
would be only the colored mans rights az
cording to population--would have como I