St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-04-29

\ y o NE
states have had more OF less of this kind
of legislatian but the nation has been
free from it. Recently great de-
mand has been made for a national
Sunday law which will lead to a flow of
evils that will never stop. The clause
in the constitution that forbids religious
legislation, makes it impossible for
Congress to legiSlate in favor of any
| mans religion, or against any religion.
True re ligiouS liberty will not warrant
any legislation for or against any mans
religion. No man should ever
consent to favor legislation for
his religion, because in brief
as he surrenders his religious liberty,
because he surrenderS his right to
| change his belief thereafter, if his opin-
ions should change. These parties,
| then, who seek for such legislation vir-
| tually desire to resign their right to be-
| the world has yet seen is the right to
assert mans right to believe, but true
religious liberty is that which asserts
| the right of other men to believe,
as they choose. One is religious
| deSpOtiSm, the other true relig-i
ious freedom. Protestants protest
against Catholicism, and Catholics
protest against PrOtestants, but as all
men are created equal, what right has
one to dictate to another? No man has
the right to demand that the civil power
shall be exercised to compel any one to-
act as though he was Christian against
his will. The difficulty has always been
that those who profess to be Christians
almost generally have claimed the right
to absorb all the rights, human and di-i
| vine. Now, profess to be Christian,
yet deny the right of any such to con-
| troll any other for any religious pur-
pose. Now
THE CONSTITUTION PROTECTS
every one in these rights, but last
| spring an amendment was introduced
into congress, and although it died, the
| fact that such an amendment could
have been introduced ought to set all
men thinking. / refer to the educa-
tional bill introduced by Senator Blair,
providing for the teaching of the prin-
ciples of religion in the public schools.
Now, 1 deny the right of
our government to teach the
child of Catholic or Jew the
| principles of the Christian religion.
| Further, to ascertain what the princi-
| pies of the Christian religion which will
not be sectarian and so contrary to the
bill, it would be necessary for a cOnvep-
tlOIi VI vi lllO val lOuS
nations to ascertain what are the
principles Of the Christian religion, they
will virtually manufacture creed
and hand it over to the govern
ment to be established by law.
! Further still, it will then belong to the
majority, and lead to its becoming a
cause of political strife, and lead to all
manner of wickedneSs and evil. The
| speaker then read the substance of the
bill for the Sunday bill introduced into
congress providing for a Sunday rest,
and a religious observance of the day,
and claimed that no government on
earth had any right to pass bills on
religious matters, and then pro-
ceeded to show the evils which
follow such legislation, and why every
honest citizen ought to oppose it. If
congress takes the first step, it will have
to take the last. The bill, although
dead. is a good illustration. Is it in the
province for any government to define
/ what is pleasing to God? If so, it is in
its province to define all things of this
nature and put itself fully in the place
| of the Lord. Now, if it passes
will be necessary, as I showed some
nights since, for the courts to become
official Interpreters of the bible, prac-
| tically establishing another form of
| papacy. If the government, bv its
courts, decides what is the Lords day
without consulting the bible, it puts
| itself
IN THE PLACE OF GOD,
and dictates TO man what he shall be-
| lieve, and so man will have to resign
| his right to conscience. The speaker
| then read from documents of the Amer
lean Sabbath union to show its basis ION
Iala ioSr 70 lNSa ~
God, formed in the moral law and the
fourth commandment especially. He
| then read from the hearing before the
senate committee to show that the in
terest of all the applicants for Sun
| day legislation was to base their
| claim on this commandment, and there
fore the courts will have to come to the
Bible for authority. The speaker then
showed that if the Bible is so consulted
it would be found that the seventh day,
and not the first day, of the week
IS the Sabbath. as he has more
fully proved i'll previous lectures
already reported for the GLOBE. lie
| then read the fourth commandment
| to show that it did not command men to
! keep it civilly, but holy, and there was
| no such thing possible as civil legisla-
| ton providing for observance of the9
| holy Sabbath, and then went on to show
| the result II the courts should consult
the Bible, and be governed by the ordi-
nary rules of law, as has been also fully
reported in the GLOBE. In effect Il
was reading of Judge Cooley's de-
cisions and others to show that the in
tent of the lawmakers and the COM
mon meaning of the words should be
followed, and the common meaning
should be followed continuously as long
| as the law lived, not that an lnterpreta
ton in one direction should be followed
at one time, and another at another
time. On this basis The speaker claimed
it would be impossible for courts to sus-
tain Sunday law from the fourth COM
mandment. He was not, he said.
arguing particularly in favor
of the, seventh day, though that
naturally followed, but to show the
difficulties the courts would get into as
long as they remained controlled by
law in upholding the first day observ-
ance from the fourth compartment.
The speaker then read from tine hear
ING before the senate committee to show