The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1890-03-06


weeks ago, he uttered these memorable
words about Christianity, some of which
were cabled 10 America. He was speaking
in reply to this remark; said, 'Mr Glad,
stone, we are told in America by some people
that Christianity does very well for weak.
minded men and children in the infant class,
but 1t is not lit for stronger minded men;
but when we mention you, Of such large in
telleetuality, as being a pronounced friend
Of religion, we silenca their batteries" Then
Mr.. Gladstone stopped ON the hillside
where we were exercising and said;
The older grow, the more confirmed am
IN my faith in religion" "Sir,n said he with
flashing eye and uplfted hand. talk about
the questions or the day, there Is but one
question, and that is the Gospel. That can
and will correct everything. Do you have
any Of that dreadful agnosti cism in Ameri
car Having told him we had, he went ON
TO say: ~ am profoundly thankful that
none OF my children or kindred have been
blasted byit. l am glad to say that about all
the men at the top in Great Britain ara
Christians. Why, sir" he said, II have
been In public position flfty-eight years,
aud forty-seven years in the Cabinet OF tae
British Government, and during those forsy.
seven years | have been associated with
sixty of the master minds of the century,
and all but five of the sixty we're Christians"
He then named the four leading physicians
and surgeons of his country, calling them by
name and remarking upon the high qualities
of each of them aud added. They ara all
thoroughly Christian NY friends thins
ii will be quite respectable for little longer
TO be the friends OF religion. William E.
Gladstone. Christian Henry W. Grady, a
Christian. What the greatest of English.
men said of England is true of America and
of all Chrstendon. The men at the TOP ara
the friends Of God and believers in the sane
titles of religion, the most eminent Of the
lawyers the most emiuent of the doc5ors,
the most eminent of the merchants, and
there are no better men in all our land than
some of those who sit in editorial chairs,
And il that does not correspond with your
acquaintancesnip, | am sorry that you
have fallen into bad company. In an.
swer TO the question put last s0ring.
"Can a secular journalist be Chris
tianp l not only answer in the Affirmative
but assert that so great are the responsible
tiles of that profession, so infinite and
eternal the consequences of their ooadiencs
or disobediencs of the words of my text
''fake thee great roll, and write in it with
mans pen" and so many are the surround
ing temptations that the men of no other
profession more deeply need the defenses and
the re-enforcements of the grace of God.
Aud then look at the opportunities Of jour
nalism. praise the pulpit and magnify my
when say that where the pulpit touches one
person the press touches five hundred. The
vast majority of people do not go to church.
but all intelligent people read the newspa.
pers. While, therefore, the responsibility oil
the ministers is great, the responsibility OF
editors and reportersis greater. Come broth
Ell journalists, and get your ordination, not
by the laying on of human hands, but by the
laying on of the hands of the Almighty. Toyou
is committed the precious reputation of men
and the more precious reputation of women.
Spread before our children an elevated lit
erature. Make sin appear disgusting and
virtue admirable Believe good rather
than evil. While YOU show up the
| hypocrises Of the church, show up the stu
| pendous hypocrisies outside the church. Be
not as some of you are, the mere echoes OF
public opinion; make public opinion. Let
the great roll on which you write with q
mans pen be a message of light and liberty
and kindness and an awakening of mora.
power. But who is sufficient for these thingsi
Not one of you without divine help. But get
that influence and the editors and reporters
can go up and take this world for God and
the truth. The mightest opportunity in all
the world for usefulness to-day is open De-
fore editors and reporters and publishers
whether of knowledge on foot as in the book,
or knowledge on the wing, as in the news
paper. | pray God men of the newspaper
| press whether you hear or read this sermon,
that you may rise up to your full opportunity
| and that you may be divineiy helped and res
| cued and blessed.
! Some one might say to me. How can you
talk thus of the newspaper press, when you
| yourself have sometimes been unfairly treated
| and rnisrepresentedg | answer that in the
| opportunity the newspaper press of this
country and other countries have given me
week by week to preach the Gospel to thu
| nations, | am put under so much obligation
| that | defy all editors and reporters the
world over to write anything that shall call
| forth from me one word of bitter retort from
now till the day of my death. My opinion is,
that 81 reformers and religious teachers, in.
| stead Of spending so much time and energy
in denouncing the press had better spend
| more time in thanking them for what thew
| have done for the worlds intelligence and de-
| claring their magnificent opportunity ana
urging their employment of it all for beneii
cent ard righteous purposes.
Again, | remark that Henry W. Grady
stood for Christian patriotism irrespective OF
| political spoils. He declined all o.fic-al re-
ward. He could have been Governor OF
| Georgia, but refused it. He could have been
| Senator of the United States, but declined it,
He remained plain Mr. Grady. Nearly all
the other orators of the political arena rs
soon as the elections are oyer, go to WASH
ington, or Albany, or Harrisburg, or A.
| ianta, to get in city or State or National
| office reward for their services, and not geU-
| ting what they want spend the rest of the
| time of that administration in pouting about
the management of public affairs or cursing
| Harrison or Cleveland When the great
| political campaigns were over Mr.. Grady
went home to his newspaper. He Cemon
strated that it is possible TO
toll for principles which he thought to oe
right, simply because they were right.
| Christian patriotism is too rare commodity
| in this country. Surely the joy of livins,
under such free institutions as those estao-
lished here ought to be enough reward for
political fidelity. Among all the great writ
| ers that stood at the last Presidential cleo
ton on Democratic and Republican plat-
forms, you cannot recall in your mind ten
who were not themselves looking for remu-
nerative appointments. Aye, YOU can couns
them all on the fingers of one hand. The
most liustriors specimen of that STYLE Ok
man for the last ten years was Henry W.
| Grady.
Again, Mr.. Grady stood for the new south
| and was lust what we want to meet three
| other men. one to speak for the new north,
| another for the new east and another for the
| new west. The bravest speech made for the
| last quarter of a century was that made by
| Mr.. Grady at the New England dinner in
| New Yor., about two or three years ago.
/ SAT Wlun MIN tnab evening huo" sOuic-
| thing OF his anxieties for he was to tread on
dangerous ground and might by one mis-
spoken word have antagonized forever both
sections. His speech was victory that
| thrilled all of us who heard him and all who
read him. That speech, great for wisdom,
| great for kindness, great for pacitication,
| great for bravery will go down to the gene
rations with Websters speech at Bunker
| Hill, William Wirts speech at the arraign-
ment of Aaron Burr Edmund Rurke's
speech on Warren Hastings, Robert Emmets
| speech for his own vindication.
Who will in conspicuous action represent
the new north as he did the new SOUTH Who
| SHALL come forth for the new east and who
| for the new west? Let old political issues be
| buried, let old grudges die. Let new theories
be launched. With the coming in of new
nation at the gates of Castle Garden every
wear and the wheat bin and corn crib of or
land enlarged with every harvest, and a vast
multitude of our population still plunged i'll