Morning journal and courier., 1891-12-21

pilgrims to the Holy City. The bishops resent this intrusion on their prerogatiye and the Archbishop of Aix, Mgr. Gouthe. Soulard, replies in csustic terms that the bishops have "no need of your (the minis ters) invitation, either in the past or pres ent, and nothing warrants your giving it for the future. For the matter of that" he adds, "we know what we have to do" The incident is one that adds force to the current sentiment threatening to issue in the divorce of church and state.
 There Is a strong appeal to the senti- ment of human brotherhood in the propo- sal to hold during the summer of IS93' in connection with the worlds fair, a con gress of religionists of every nafionalitv and name. Catholics, Protestants, Jews and representatives of the Greek church. Buddhists, Brahmins, Confucians, Parsees and Mohammedans are to be invited tn sit together in friendly intercourse, and .to tell each other what they believe and why. Such congress, if successfully carried out, would mark new era in the worlds history and give to the young Hercules among western cities, aud, indeed, to the republic itself, added distinction in the an nals of mankind
 Professor Benjamin C. Bloiratt in ths columns of the Congregationalist makes A plea for good hymns and tunes that comes not one whit too early. The hymns that are now sung in the services of many churches are, in the estimation of rsverent minds, hippant, frivolous and even yul- gar. They are void alike of poetry and sense, and have been written by uncuI- tured persons in periods of emotional ebuilience. Emerson said: Tt is not ft that men of common powers should write our hymns Professor BlOdgett agrees with him and ably advocates the abandon ment of such doggerel as is found Halle lujah, 'tis done," Hold the Fort" /" Have You Any Room for Jesusl' Dare to be Daniel" &c, and a return to the rythmic. stately and worshipful strains that are one ot the nnblest heritag-s "f the church.
 The sixtieth anniversary of the New York City Episcopal society finds that mo- ble Organization engaged in a work that cannot fail to be prids, and incentive to Episcopslians everywhere. It ministers to the poor all over the city, and in asy- lums, homes, hospital. and prisons. It employs thirteen miss;Onaries, eleven of them in orders. Two hundred thousand persons are reached every year by church services and nearly one huudred thousand by private visitation. The contributions for and cost of the work for the past year has been forty six thousand dollars.
 In the Arena Mir. Edgar Fawcett thinks proper to speak of Christianity as a fraud, and says that ''if to-day there is any class of men who entirely desert the require ments of their avowed (sic9 profession, it is the class of clergy" IL is, perhaps, neither wonderful nor important that Mr Fawcett should write thus But here, in- deed, is new and resssuring thing under the sun, to wit, defense of the Christian clergy from MT. Fawcett's charges by Rab- bi Abram S. Isaacs, editor of the Jewish Messenger. ''There Is no movement for social, political or educational reform, !" says Dr. Isaacs, (which is not headed and oficered by clergymen; SO it is simply stu pid to arraign them as hypocrites and make them appear needless of the wants of the working people" Thus the world moves! s. GIFFARD NELSON.