Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-04-20
"a Lay mau's" Notions Of Govern
ment and Morals.

10 me EdtoT 81 INC 0tSpufC".
Shall we have no end to the crude
and unsound reasons given for opposi-
ton to the no.liquor.license law on
which we are to vote on the Goth in
slant? "a Layman" actually VEN
lures lin your issue Of the 10TH to
stand father to the following abortions
Government must not invade the do
main Of Christianity and morals. 1t
knows neither it must have nothing
to do with either. The law looks at
the acts of q man only; it makes no
inquiry into his soul. 1t doesn't know
that be has . SOUL"
do not hesitate to say that it would
have been difficult to embrace in so
few sentences so many false, injurious,
radically vicious, and unhealthy princi-
pies as are involved in the above ;
that "Layman ought to have studied
and reflected little more on the ma
ture Of human government and human
law before he wrote those most I'M
fortunate sentences.
All human government and human
law are founded on the eternal and I'M
changeable moral law Of God. Every
human law against crime looks beyond
the outward act of the nan accused.
1t looks at bis motire-in other words,
at the state of his soul-of his spiritual
nature at The time he performed the out
ward act. in the high and grave crime
Of murder the exact question which the
Jury, under the direction of the judge,
are to decide is what was the intent Of
the soul Of the accused at the time
when he did the act. Was his soul
haIboring a malicious intent or was 1t
not? That is the question, and the
life Of the criminal depends upon it.
And so it is with the whole body of
human law. 1t always looks at the
soul Of the man. tits always addressed
to bis spiritual nature. 1t invariably
treats man as composite being Of soul
and body, and therefore human law
always deals with the soul. Human
government always deals with moral
questions and relations. The assertion
of "A Layman" that government
knows neither morals nor Chris
tianity is one Of the most radi-
cslly .pernicious dicta ever uttered.
Nothing uttered by the Encyclopedias
and Atheists of France dared to 60 as
far as that. Human government always
deals with questions Of crime as ques-
tions of morals, and morals are part
of Christianity-inseparable from it.
| suppose a Lsyman," like many
others, has been led astrsy by false
notion of the fundamental principles Of
the United States Government. God
forbid that those principles should ever
be overthrown. No power exists any
where in our country "to make any
law respecting an establishment of re-
ligion or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof" But how does this funda-
mental principle in any way operate to
forbid Government to make law for
bidding the indiscriminate sale Of an
article which has been proved, by the
experience of hundreds of years, to
tend directly and efficiently to ruin
health, dethrone reason, provoke
debauchery, engender insanity, and
produce crime of every kind? And
how does this principle operate to
forbid ministers Of Christ, as well as
other Christian people. from actively
urging the passage Of such law?
Suppose in our State there was no law
against murder, and suppose the Legis-
lature had provided that the voters
should vote whether there should or
should not be such law-would
ministers of the blessed religion Of
Christ be stepping out Of their proper
place If they actively exerted them
selves to induce the people to vote for
such a law? On this subject the OBJ
jections made to voting for the nc
liquor cense are as unfounded in sound
morals, in sober truth, and in philo-
sophie reasoning as they are wanting
in good sense and enlightened policy.
A PRESBYTERIAN PASTOR.