The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1891-02-19
WHY THE SUPREME BEING II
NOT NAMED IN she FEOER
INSTITUTION.

The New York Sunday Mercury has
the following reasons in answer to this
query, which we give as contribution
to the current discussion ON this subject.
1t says:
In these days of hasty and loose writ
ing many pretentious newspapers do far
more harm TO our institutions than igno-
rant demagogues in public. There is
little regard for the facts of history or
the status of the States and the general
Government. Ignorance of the Federal
Constitution is an evil which breeds
anarchy. There has been n senseless
clamOr of tongues in favor of an amend
ment to thatinstrument which emanated
chiefly from clergymen, very few, if any,
indeed, of whom have endeavOred to I'M
deTstand why God is left out of it. The
Supreme Being has no need of such men
ton, and the human reasons why it was
not made seem to be satisfactory to most
intelligent and studious persons. They
certainly satisfied the trainers of the
Constitution. A pretentious metropoli-
tan morning paper publishes such stuff
as the following in an extended laudation
of religious denomination:
1.-THE fathers of the American COnsti-
tuition, though strongly imbued with re-
| liCiOus sentiments, were SO firmly con-
WINGED that in framing the Federal chart
they were dealing merely with human
affairs, that they abstained from even
so much as mentioning the name of God.
They were engaged in drawing up a con
tract with which, as it was a purely
secular matter, the Divine had nothing
to do. Their intention to keep the State
outside and beyond questions of religion
which are matters for the individual con.
science, was SO pronounced that they
wrote: Congress shall make no laws re
spccting an establish of religion or pro
| hibiting the free exercise thereof.
The quoted lines are part of the frs
of the ten amendments commonly calleC
the Bill of Rights. Jefferson and Madi
son were the authors OF the amendm cnts
The former had been the champion o.
religious liberty in Virginia and had tina
fact, by will, engraved on his tombstone
He was Il Unitarian in belief, or at leas
he favored that creed more than othcl
creeds. His enemies, the IIamiltonian
Fedcralists, called him infdel-in fact
everything which could prejudice peopl,
against him. Yet in the Declaration o
independence he wrote of Mature anC
Natures God and of his own and til,
reliance of the signers on Divine PrOyi
dencc." But that instrument which de
clared the thirteen States free and indie
pendent left them in their sovereignty t,
acknowledge the hand of God in sucl
blessings as came to them. So New
York, free, sovereign and Independent
State, in her Constitution says: 1--WE
the people of the State of New York
grateful to Almighty God for our free
dom, in order to secure its blessings, d,
establish this Constitution This &C
kuOwledmCnt was reserved right of
principal. The Federal Gov, mment wa
designed rs an extension OF the seyera
States. These States delegated sue
powers to the extension as would be il
the interest of the general economy an,
convenience. The States then create,
an agent simply. There was no nccessit
for declaration which belonged to til
principals Severally. The Federal Gov
eminent being mere extension who's
powers could at any time be Curtailed b.
amendments, two-iold declaration O
the existence and help of the DeiU
would have been absurdly superfluous
1t was necessary, too, that the agent wit
delegated powers, which are cXpreSsl
enumerated should not legislate on IT
ligious matters, for that would eventual
in sect supremacy, and perhaps blood
war. These IN the reasons why God
not mentioned in the Constitution.