The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1889-05-04


When | shall disoWn her, or unWitting-
~ lnJure her reputation for, If | for
get thee, . England, "let my right
/ hahd forget her cunning, If / do not
remember thee, let my tongue cleave
/ To the roof OF my mouth; if | prefer
not England "ahoye my chief earth
/ ly) JOY, but still | only desire to face
/ tacts-either America is $50 years be-
! fore the times or England is $50 years
/ behind Now which is it? We think
/ the latter. 1t is all very well for Mr..
/ Bradldugh or any other agnoStlc to
i speak OF religious oppression from the
English standpoint, but il is a shame
! to speak Of it an American Review and
thus classify all Christianity after the
British type. Thank God those pilgrim
/ Fathers had courage enough To declare
+ That they must be permitted TO Wor-
+ ship God according to the dictates Of
\ their own conscience, and ii they could
/ not do this III their native country they
must go where they could. Establish
/ ed at Plymouth they soon forgot their
4 expressions and just as soon forgot
/ they must not Cypress, and before %
| years had el9psed Roger " Illiams was
/ driven from the Colony because he was
/ bent upon doing what they had come
/ TO the colonies for Despite the Cot
/ ton Mather scandalous treatment OF
! witches which was the same spirit that
/ oppressed Roger Williams, from that
memorable period we may date the be
ginning Of true religious liberty iii
/ these States, and 0niY IN these States has
/ u been ercmplifed. why doesn't Mr..
! 5radlaugh and his coadiutors look up
/ American history to prove religious
/ oppression? WHY? Because il doesn't
T .N-igf -.
accomplished religiously i'll the old
/ countries, as well as politically, has
! been the result of contact with Ameri-
can free speech, free press and free in
S-itutiOnS
Then think of the grand roll of con
secrated men that have helped to make
America the power she is to day Bish-
op Asbury, the interchangeable, painstak-
ing, scholarly Methodist itinerant, land
/ mention his name first because he
WAS the first Bishop Of the church that
was FIRST organized, after the Revolu
tlonary war, and because his was the
church that was the FISt " to congrat-
uiate the first President of the Repub-
lie and express sentiments OF respect
and admiration for the Constitution
and loyalty to the infant nation the
man who braved periIS by sea and by
land, and who in the words of Abel
Stevens, the McCaulay OF American
Methodism, Preached about sixteen
thousand five hundred sermons, or at
least one day, and travelled about
100000 miles, or 5000 a year; and who
presided in no less than 22l annual
conferences, and ordained more than
1000 preachers.' He was, in fine, one
OF those men of eXtI&Ordinary-O an
omal0us-greatneas, in estimating
whom the historian is compelled to use
terms which would be irrelevant, as
hyperbole, to most men with whom he
has to deal. His discrimination of
character WAS marvellous; his admin
iStratiye talents would have placed him
unqueStionably at the head OF the lead
ing characters of American ecclaSiasti-
cal history. No one man has done more
for Christianity in the Western hemi-
sphere. His attitude in the pulpit was
solemn and digniiied, if not graceful;
his voice was s0nOrOuS and command
ing, and his disCOurSeS We're often at
tended with bursts OF elOquence which
spoke soul full Of God, and Ike a
mountain torrent, swept all before it,"
Then there was Lyman Beecher the
energetic defender of orthodoxy, q see
Ond Athanasius with the el0quence OF
ChryS0stUm and the devotion Of az
Augustine. And can the sWeet-Spirit-
ed Claiming, be forgotten, the elo-
quent preacher and elegant writer, the
AriQ5 OF modern church history, OF
whom CGlgTIGge said He has the love
OF wisdom and the wisdom Of love"
Hodge the aStGtG thaOlOgian; IhGO-
dore Parker, the apostle OF heterOd0xy,
many-sided, brOGd-SoUlad, &2!d such an
ardent lover OF liberty as to 90 beyond
his bounds; Potter, the devoted Di0ce-
SIN Bishop, Henry Ward BeGcher, the
unique character Of this generation,
whose patriotism VIII outliye his fail
ings, and whose failngS VIII be the
witness OF his humanity to succeeding
generations, for at one time New Eng
landerS We're inclined 10 think that the
Be2Cher's were a Seperate order Of ere
alton, the man of intense eaTnGstneSs,
bHbbling with impassiontd el1guence
who could play with his auditors, as a
List could manipulate the strings Of
his violin. All, those priestly lines Of
Holmes, Edwards, StGTrs, Channin%s,
BeecheTS, Abb0tts, Stoves, Hopkins,
Emerson 5, Hodges and Potters, were
Of right royal blood. Then there was
the saintcd McIlyainc, the beloved
Protestant Episcopal Bishop Of Ohio,
the st. John OF blessed memory. Mat
thew Simpson, the Whitfield Of this
generation, yeritable tongue of fire,
and if we had time to mention those
those Of American birth who still inilu-
cnce the religious world we might
speak of TalmaGe Phillip Brooks, Phil
lip Schalf, CharlesS II. Fowler, VIM.
Armitage, Richard S Storrs. There
can however be no attempt to mention
the names Of all who are worthy TO be