Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-04-24

The finances of the society, it viii be
seen. require the immediate attention OF
the Board of Managers.
An effort should be made to add TO our
income by increasing our membership,
and an active committee might double our
roll.
Mr.. Chaplin. our faithful executive off, I
Ger. and Mr.. Olmstead, the teacher, have
been very assidu0us in the discharge OF
their duties.
Mrs. Folker. matron, and Mrs. Lums-
den. seamstress. resigned on the 3lst Of
October. and Mrs. Nancy Johnston and
Miss Theodosia Hodges were appointed to
I'LL their places.
Mrs. Furguson and her daughters. and
Mr.. Olmstead. have conducted the sun
day school during the year, and l take
this occasion TO thank them for their
good work.
Drs. Duncan. Mcfarland, Dupon and
Parsons. and Messrs. Lawton & Cunning
ham. attorneys, have, as usual, given
their services cheerfully whenever called
on.
Before closing this report desire to
call the attention Of the Board of Mana
gers 10 the necessity Of their visiting
Bethesda occasionally. 1t is encourag-
ing 10 the officers TO see that
the managers take an interest IN
the real work of the society. Frequent
visits TO Bethesda will not only be bene-
fetal to the institution but to the visitors,
By enlisting their hearts as we'll as their
pocketbooks in this ancient charity.
J. II. EsTILL, President.
THE ADDRESS OF REV. THOMAS BOONE.
LOVE as THE MOTIVE POWER IL GOOD WORKS.
standing. on this one hundred and thirty
fourth anniversary Of the Union society on
these historic grounds. my mind Is carried
back to the origin of the colony OF Georgia
and 10 the foundation OF this noble charity, IN
very truth a Bethesda house OF mercy
/ remember that the history of Georgia says
that this colony was founded by OglethOrpe,
1.-THE philanthropist;' that she originated IN
Charity. and Is thus hOnOrably distinguished
from her sister colonies. l find that john
Wesley's first sermon in savannah, preached
where Christ Church now STANDS, on the TN
| Of March, 1875, was on CHRISTIAN Charli{.
/ The Countess of Huntingdon, l ma, called
| 1.-THE benevolent" / read that George White
| field. the prince Of preachers came 70 tnese
| shores entirely on mission OF charity tnat
| the ship that bore him brought also with him
| as his companion Ito use the words OF Col
! Charles C0cock Jones' ''the Hon. James Hab-
| erzham, one of the sweetest. purest, most use
1 full and nOblest characters IN the long line OF
| colonial worthless" He also came IN purest
| charity. for. as the historian Of this society
/ says, "the wealth and honor of earth We're
| placed on the one hand before him, on the
| other the service Of Christ, and without CIV
| ing his friends a single reason. he decided to
/ take up his cross and follow Chr ST."
| so find everywhere in the account, wheth-
| er of the origin of the colony or Of the plan
| ming and foundation of the Bethesda orphan
| Home. the words Philanthropy, Charity,
| Mercy. Philanthropy means the love OF man
| kind. Charity is the outgoing OF love 10 assist
/ man, and Mercy is love STOPPING to bless the
| fallen and the needy. Love. then, was the
| handspring of all. The highest possible mo-
/ tive was the motive Of all here.
| purpose then, this morning to dwell for a
| short time upon this motive power, IN the
| hope that by recurring 10 1t we may all ne
| stirred up to a greater and more genuine IN
| terest in this noble charity, and also in all
| works for the benefit Of our fellOw-men-the
| common brotherhood Of Gods children.
| The sublimest revelation Of scripture with
| ont doubt is that which. with majestic SIM
| plicity, announces that God Is love. Inc
] greatest of men. st. Paul. and the greatest
| theologian of the Christian ages, st. John. vie
! with each other ln@ holy rivalry When they
| touch upon this theme.
| Self-eXIstence eternity - pOwer-Iustlce-
what would they be without this essential
/ quality which God iss 1t is also said that
! "GOd is Light" and we praise Him for this
| glorious truth, without which the intellect
/ and the moral sense could never be satisfied,
/ or God be really God to us. But were lie
| only that-glOrious as that would Belle
| would be to Us only Light unapproachaDie.
| But Love is His essence, and 10 Him this
| quality guides. rules. governs all, ana en-
| phatically God IS Love. But Love stOppeth
| not here. God is Love and love IS OF God. lie
| that loyeth not knoweth not God, Tor God Is
/ Love. Again. ENTOQ Is Love. anu ilt tHtAl
| abideth in love abIdeth in God. ana 6od
| abideth in him." But the argument goes
| further still: IF a man say love God and
! hateth his brother he Is lar, for ne that
| lOveth not his brother whom he hath seen
| cannot love God whom he hath not seen"
| And this commandment have we from Him,
that he who l0veth God love his brother also.
| And this essential quality OF God which de
| imparts to man Is reciprocal anu should make
| its first return to Him. 1--WE love him because
He first loved US Next it should extend TO
HON. ryaar 81
| tor and subjects Of the same redemption.
| How grand are these lofty thoughts Of the
! apostle how they lift US above narrow con-
| ception of duty and small questonlngs IN re,
! gard to self-interest or pohcy-the one grand
| idea Of Reciprocal Love.
This love a. experienced toward the suffer-
| ing and needy is Mercy, and in its active out
| going it Is Charity.
1t may be both interesting and profitable
| for Us to consider the different conceptions
| and the diverse outcome OF TINS Qinefence OF
| conception of the relationship between the
| rich and the poor in heather and IN Christian
| times* Happily DR.. Uhlhorn has put this IN
! our power. He shows with great learning
| and candnr that the heather before the COM
| ing Of Christ were liberal that they gave 10
| the poor. that they even had systematic
schemes for their relief. that ancient Athens
| prided herself that her children should never
| beg from strangers. Regular provision was
| made for relief of large classes of the people.
| People Of wealth thought it their duty
| to benefit in some way their Fellow
| citizens. In notable public calamltIes
| the generosity OF Rome was freely
| almost lavishly expended on the sufferers.
! Among the heather there was llberallty.
! What, then, was lackingf DR.. hlhorn pro-
/ ceeds to draw out the marked DIS
| tinctiOn that there was between this
| full and ample h5eralitas and the chart
| tns Of the disciples of CHRIST" As St. Paul
| had said in his grand description of real
| Charity: Though bestow al my goods to
/ feed the poor, and though / give my body to
| be burned, and have not Charity, 1t prohteth
/ me nothing
| this subject more fully before you IN rather
| long quotation from the London guardian.
| 1t says: This distinction between the
/ heather and Christian motive Is marked in
| every way, both in the principle which lay at
/ the root Of the matter and in the outward
| forms which almsgiving assumed. In the
\ first place, DR.. UhlhOrn points out that any
4 feeling of real love, or tie OF brotherhood
/ with the needier classes, is emphaucally
/ ignored in the writings even Of the wlsest
| and nOblest of the heather philosophers.
| Quinctilian asks: rCanst thou. by any means,
| cOndescend so far as that the poor shall not
| appear to thee lOathsOmeP Plato could find no
/ room for the poor in his ideal state. Aristotle
| speaks freely of generosity, but the motive OF
| il Is not benevOlence or love. HIS generous
! man gives because it is beautiful to give
| and thus, for his own sake, to adOrn himself
! with his virtue, and because such conduct is
decOrOus and worthy OF noble man. FOR,
| Of everything praiseworthy, the generous
man takes as his own share the best Eyeno
! Seneca. while he lays much rhetorical empha-
| obtaining the favor Of gods who VIII reward
/ us and of securing the gratitude of those
/ upon whom benefceRce Is exercised, has no
| hesitation in considering pity as something
| morbid and unworthy of wise man.
And as the principle of love was wanting in
\ this liberality, so it was in its results. The
| charities of Athens and Rome were done
| chiefly from political or personal motives; to
meet the necessities Of the State. to cOnciliate
| dangerous class, or to win popular acceptance
| for some particular person; seldom in the
spirit Of love, or in real sense of brotherhood.
/ The highest bond recognized was that of citi-
| zenship: while the citizen receives an ample
| share the non-citizen is shut out, however
| great his need may be There was total
| want of any organized recognition of the
| claims of the widow and the orphan. There
/ were lazarett0s for soldiers and slaves whose
| health was necessary to the public interest;
| but the hospital, with its open doors, was ut
| terly beyond the range of heather thought
| The nearest approach to the Christian idea of
/ mutual help will be found in the COIEegid. of
/ which DR.. UhlhoPn gives a most interesting
l account, and from which, as he freely con-
| fesses. the early Church derived much of the
4 form and organization eff her charities but
| these. at their best, scarcely rose above the
| levels Of 'clubs" for some special purpose. or,
| at their highest Of ''guilds" belonging to some
/ particular trade.
! 1t is easy for DR.. UhlhOrn TO show that it
| could scarcely have been otherwise; that no
| higher outcome was possible from the measure
/ Of light which even the wisest and nOblest OF
efa