The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1884-02-13
OUR HELENA LETTER,
God in the Constitution.
Tho Mea1her County Patriarch
Makes Speech.
Special Correspondence of the MINER.

Makes q Speech.
Special Correspondence of the MINER.
HELENA, Feb. 7, 1884.
The Convention has been busily
employed all day, reading for third
time, the articles to be incorporated
in the Constitution. The method
pursued is to listen to the corrections
and sanspositions made by the lewis
ing q6mmittee, as read by the assist
ant derk, then the chief clerk read
the sections effected by the changes
made. These are merely verbal,
errors In grammar or awkward ex-
preseions, and the transpositions are
Of sections and clauses to articles
where they more properly belong.
Each section where the language has
been changed, even to the alteration
Of a~ord, Is again adopted, and then
the whole article is adopted by a
yen and nay vote. Fourteen articles
have thus been disposed OF, which
leaves eight more for tomorrow.
The preamble and bill of rights
compose the first article. in which
the following devout passage is in
serted: 1--WE, therefore, the people
Of Montana, acknowledging with
grateful hearts the goodness of the
Great Legislator of the Universe, in
afording US, in the course Of His
Providence, an opportunity, deliber-
ately and peaceatly, without fraud,
violence or intimidation, Of meeting
into IN original, explicit and solemn
compact with each other, and of
forming a Constitution Of civil
government for ourselves and our
posterity; and devoutly imploring
His direction In so grand and inter-
esting design, do agree upon," etc.
Mr.. Fergus moved that this be
stricken out, and gave his reasons In
the following we'll considered and
characteristic speech:
"Mr. President: I move to strike
out all in the preamble between the
words people of Montana ana do
agree upon.' A member on this
floor has remarked that this Consti-
tuition is to endure through all time.
Time, sir. is but the measure Of eter-
nity. Time always was- aud always
Will be. Man came oa the earth, as
it were, but yesterday, yet in that
short time, nations, languages and
religions have had their infancy,
their maturity and their decay. It
is an inexoreble law. Our Govern
ment, our language and our religion
will in turn be swept away by the
scythe of time, and the place that
knows them now will know them no
more forever. Space. too, is every
where, it is without limit. Our
sun is but one of the millions of stars,
and our earth but one of its smooth
est satellites (and poor one at that,
rolling from side to side, burning us
in summer and freezing US with its
winter blasts. If there is q God-an
impartial God-He must divide His
time amongst this great universe,
and Montana's share cannot be worth
asking for. Therefore, I regard the
passage 1 move to strike out as only
an incumbrance to cur fundamental
law. If He guides and protects us,
I have looked for this protecting
power in vain. The cars rush TO-
gether and there is no God to warn.
The engineer asks not God to stay
their mad career, but applies the
air brakes; the invention of fellow
man. The steamship sinks in mid
ocean and no helping hand is there;
the sbrieks of the helpless are borne
on the winds until they are buried in
the insatiate sea. The earthquake,
the cyclone and the volcano, follow
ing inexorable laws. destroy the just
and the unjust, and nature neither
pities nor reioices, neither loves nor
hates. If man is saved he must save
himself; if he is hungry, he must feed
hlmsel; If he Is cold. he must warm
himself. Our prayers are unheeded;
no Deity puts forth His helping
hand. Then why bemean our man
hood by inserting a lie In this our
fundamental law?
Jefferson, IN more superstitious
age, and the trainers of our National
Constitution, pandered not to popu-
lar prejudice. Yet the nation lives,
our own people have ever ruled them
selves; if Montanians cannot do the
same thing they are uutit to be a free
people.
I have heard it said on this floor
that we don't want moss-backs or
old fogies In this case, sir, some Of
the old togies are in accord with the
spirit of the age. Henry Ward
Beecher said in Denver not long ago