Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1885-10-10
THE CHURCH TRIAL.
MANASSAS, Va, Oct. Q, ]

10 The editor Of the Alcrandria Gazette:
ask that you will publish this commu,
nication as an act Of justice to myself.
The fairness of my brief account Of the
trial and acquital of Mr.. Isaac P. Baldwin
OF this place by the church authorities, as
published in the GAZETTE of the 18th ut
as a matter Of news, has, l observe, bctu
called in question BY q card from the com
mittee of trial as published in the GAZETTE
of the 23d ultimo, in which | am charged
with having rutMcssly assailcd mobile Christ
ian ministers" One Of the definitions o.
rutMessly is bmbarouSly, which certainly
cannot be truly said Of my language.
All 1 said in my letter which directly re
ferred TO ministers WAS that the prosacu
ton Earnestly endcavored 10 secure con.
viclion;" and that the "verdict falls with
crushing effect upon e. II. Vaughan and
other ministers of the conference, who con
hdently hoped By their combined efforts,
aided by Bishop Warren, to crush Baldwin,
and relieve themselves from the force Of his
terrible arraignment of them in the lay
mans protest, by turning him out of the
church in disgrace, in which effort they
signally failed" All Of which is true as
Holy Writ. For this language, the writer
of the card charges me with having ruth.
lessly assailed noble Christian minister's
Ignorance mag be pleaded as mitigation o.!
punishment for crime, but cannot excuse it..
With these remarks, | dismiss, for tie
present, this silly and groundess charge,
which I am sure would never have been
fabricated, had / not sympathized with Mr..
Baldwin in the severe ordeal to which he
has been so numerically subjected by these
self-styled s'noble Christian ministers" !
say sef-styled, because l believe one or
more of them wrote the card Of the com
mittee. One reason for this belief is, that
it has some literary merit which do not
think the committee have. But as Mr..
Baldwin is innocent, they cannot possibly
degrade or punish him. BY wise law Of
nature, the innocent cannot be degraded or
punished; though they may be made to
suffer. The guilty alone can be degraded
and punished. Innocence and punishment
are inconsistent ideas" 1t is, indeed, rs
much impossible to punish the innocent as
it is to destroy the oder Of rose by crush.
ing it.
1t must appear evident to any intelligent
and fair minded person acquainted with the
facts in this case that Mr.. Baldwin has not
been pursued as an offender, but hunted
down as ric'im, and that the cruel pur
pose of his enemies is to condemn and dis.
grace him, fairly if they can, but unjustly
if they must, as Bishop Warren recommend
ed in his imprudent letter to one Of the
counsel for the prosecution, in which he
says, "Mr. Baldwin should leave our church.
or otherwise" This language
from this preate shows that even bishops
are not always wise, prudent or just. In
regard to some of these mobile Christian
ministers" of this delectable Virginia con.
ference of the M. E. Church, the least said,
the better for them, though facts are abun-
dant and temptation strong. 1t is no secret,
however, that two of them have fed the
State to escape the law for their disreputa.
BILE behaviour towards ladies of high stand
ing, and that others are charged with sim
liar offences, ard may yet be brought to
answer for their reprehensible behavior
and unministerial conduct in these and
other matters
not only have great respect for all good
Christian ministers, but | love them; ard |
because of that love and respect, forbear
low TO say many things Of these gay Lotha-
los that would wound the feelings of some
rood men and women. Furthermore, |
lont wish to follow the pernicious example !
furnished by the conference ct Roanoke, |
which passed a preamble and resolutions
declaring it their belief that Dir. Badwin's !
Protest" was ''iull of false and slanderous
without having legally and
properly investigated the charges against
lr. Vaughan, or inquired into the truth or
alsity of the statements made in the pro.
est. Consequently they knew as little
bout it as they do about the interior ar
angements of heaven. 1t is very clear that
ONE of these ministers were so DESTROYS of
indicating Mr.. Vaughan that they could
cquit him without trial, and condemn Mr..