Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-05-18
RANK ERRORS" REJOINpER.

Editor Register Il still hold that tenn
perance is Christianity. In my formerI
communication, | said that it was not the
whole of Christianity, but that it was es-|
sentially a Christian principle. BY es-|
sentially, mean in essence. in truth. in|
nature. in substance. BY Christianity in|
man should be understood the life of the
spirit. With other things enumerated by|
Paul in Galatians as the fruit of the spirit
Is temperance. Love and faith are in
that enumeration. Are love and faith
simply virtues or moral attachments? Dol
they not rule in character and become the
foundation and government for making
more character: And do they not in that
way stand forth as principles in the
Christian man: Is not the same true.
or should it not be, of temperance. which
is put by the great interpreter of Chris
tianlty in the same category? 1t sur
prises me to see good men apparently
contending against the idea of principle
III temperance. and endeavoring to make
it appear that it is wrong to speak of tenn
perance as Christian principle. Chris
tianity enjoins, builds up in men. as a
proper part of itself, to exist and to grow
in them, temperance principle, hope.
The radical defect in the Prohibitory or
third party movement is. that so many
who undertake to manage it do not see
to the bottom of their subject. The flip
pant quotation from the gospel, "Let the
dead bury their dead" and the failure to
seriously recognize the fact, that the living
should do all they can to save the living,
marks the method too often. The line of
work with many of this class is altogeth-
er superficial and abortive. They think
they must create party to promote Il
principle (ought to say "a handmade"
IA virtue"O whereas, they should in all
possible ways. as true principles are be-
gotten and developed, create principle
to sustain good righteous party. They
have no commission, so far as | can see.
from heaven or from earth, to make a
party, and in so doing sacrifice any princi-
pie, certainly not truth and consistency.
1t is ''horrible" to me to see persons claim
prominence for purity of purpose and
then violate the best moral sentiments: to
teach and then deliberately deny in prac-
tice what they profess to hold. If others
see inconsistency and hypocrisy in such
course, | will not bedim their vision.
In Massachusetts | heard Mr.. Penni-
man say that he would not advocate tenn
perance: that he proposed to form par
ty. heard him malign and misrepresent
the party which saved this government
from destruction in the days of the civil
war. heard him assert that the party
in this country, which did all it could to
uphold and promote the extension of
slavery, and has always in its platform
and recognized policy, and in most other
respects, stood opposed to temperance,
had done more and better work for the
country than the Republican party had
done. At Burlington, the Monday morn
ing after he had delivered his address i'm
Middlebury, he said he should speak in
all parts of the State of Vermont (and
we know under what auspices he is speak
ing, he should do what he could, and he
expected Cleveland would be reelected
Recently, in Massachusetts, the Prohibit
tory party. by helping to elect Democrats
to the legislature, defeated the submission
of prohibitory amendment to the peo-
pie for which Republicans, the previous
year, had voted. They showed, and
some openly said, they did not want tenn
perance legislation to succeed in the
hands of Republicans. The same tactics
have been adopted elsewhere, notably in
New York. The bill looking to prohibi-
tory amendment, which passed at Albany
recently. received no sympathy from the
third party men. The third party sup
porters, by being false to principle, are
doing more harm than good In fact, it
is all harm, when for the sake of mere
advance in the race of national politics
they deliberately work to hand over for
longer or shorter time the administration
of the country to those who have not its
real moral and industrial welfare at heart.
Ii ought to be remembered by some of
the third party folks. that the party of
abolition did not abolish slavery. That