Morning journal and courier., 1883-07-02
Church of the Messiah.

CrIms and Our City COurt-SermOn by
 Rev. MT. HOughtOn.
 "Crime and Our City Court" was the topic of an interesting discourse preached yester- day morning by Rev. M. H. Houghton, the pastor at the Church of the Messiah. His remarks were based on the words found in Ephesians, 4th chapter and part of the 25th verse: stFor we are members one of anoth- er.'' Following is an abstract of the ser mon: The church has Iabored in it's efforts to purify society, yet it is apparent that there is large amount of sin and crime that needs to be overcome. The problem of how sin got into the world and is permitted by an infinitely loving God, is one that our finite minds cannot solve. But it is here and we must deal with 1t. There is 8 strong desire implanted in the heart to defend what is right and overturn and dethrone what is wrong. In some mysterious manner there is cause and need for all the sins of the world, and He that ruleth in righteous ness has purpose in the existing condition | of things. In considering crime, let us direct | our attention to the City court. Men and women are brought there and dealt with &C., cording to the construction of the law and l the crime they have committed. The court does not look into the causes that led to the acts. In looking at the faces of the unfor- | tunates who are taken there it does not re- | quire very skilled physriognomist to read l from their conferences the bent of their | dispositions and the want of symmetry in l their characters In further consider l ing this matter let us inquire
 into the causes that have led to their lament
 able state And first, plainly written on the
 face, is the inherited tendency. The culprit has, in many instances, low, retreating forehead; the higher faculties are almost to- l tally lacking and the coarser and animal propensities are largely in the ascendant and l dominant. From the make up of such indi- 1 viduals 1t would seem that under the present methods their cases are hopeless. The | Church breaches of the regeneratinS inhu- | ence of the Holy Spirit, but the devastating
 influences of society as it at present exists
 frown upon and totally obliterRte the 1 spark of goodness which under different 1 treatment might glow into flame and trsus- 1 form the poor creature into different and 1 respectable and useful being Cold and sad l Is the lot of such unfortunates, frowned upon I by those who should pity and help them. 1 Secondly, ignorance has much to do in mak- l ing criminals. However symmetrical the 1 character may be, without the quickening power of education there cannot be a great diminution of criminals. Schools of learning decrease crime. There were never fewer criminals than at the present time. The ia. cilities for disseminating news were never so
 
 so many crimes wickedness is on the in crease. That is not so. As civilization ad- vances and better methods are used to check crime, and more humane plans devised and put into execution for the improvement of this unfortunate class the number will rapidly decrease and society generally be the gainer. Another consideration which l call your attention to in the production of crime is in dolence. There are many individuals so in dolent that rather than work they would
 steal or commit almost any crime. This con- dition, in some cases inherited, in others &C., quired through circumstances, is pitiable one. Hundreds and thousands through bad associations form habits of indolence which 1 wreck and destroy them. Another cause of crime and one which blights and withers not only the less favored, but also some of
 the brightest of earth's children, is intemper-
 ance. In dealing with those who are ar raigned in the courts the idea prevails that they should receive no mercy, no charity, no sympathy. The old vindic- tive spirit that charaeterizes the orthodox church, born of hate, that the offender is doomed to everlasting perdition and shall be shut out forever from companionship with the good, seems to prevail. And therefore as it is known that they are eventually to re- ceive this doom there is no use in dealing lightly with them while here.
 In conclusion MT. Houghton spoke of the necessity TOT chen8e III the attltuoe or
 the courts and society and predicted that
 eventually instead of criminals being looked down upon and crushed by pharisaicsl men and women and society generally, uplifting and developing methods would be used as
 well as restraining ones, and conjeintly the best results would come out of it.
 West River Channel.
 Forty-six petitioners, headed by Jeremiah Smith, have asked the city to remove cer- | tain Instructions and dig out the channel of
 West river so as to restore the depth of wa
 ter formerly enjoyed at Oyster Point. Sat-