The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-07-13
EV Err IN The LEAD.
ALEAF OF NORTH CAROLINA
HISTORY.
She Made the Pledge ofReligious
Liberty a Condition Precedent
to Her Adoption Of the Federal
Observation-Disclosures and
Successful Insistence Upon
federation.
ICharlOtte ObSerYcr.

editorial article on Church and State,
which is copied from the New York
SIN and printed below. 1t is no
more than just in saying that North
Carolina led the fight in the early
days Of the republic for religious liberty.
1t is q part OF the history Of this
country that North Carolina is al
ways in the front fights for civil and
religious liberty. She did well when
she stood out against the adoption
of the Federal constitution until she
secured guarantees Of the permanent
disassociation Of Church and State;
and she did we'll when, i'll her ncw
constitution OF 1855, she removed the
last vestige of discrimination against
any class of people on account of their
religious belief.
But there is one passage in the
SIMS otherwise very agreeable cdito-
rial which must pain deeply every
citizen Of the State. This is its refer
ence to the sChism act, to which it
charges the "large per ccntagc OF
illiteracy and the backwardncss Of
intellectual activity characteristic Of
the State today" 1t is not true that
North Carolina is sunk in ignorance
or that there is absence Of intellectual
activity in the State, but the country
believes these things Of Us and this
belief has done the State incalCuablc
harm. While it Is most unjust, there
is enough ground for it TO render it
very difficult to overcome, and the only
way to combat it successfully is to re
move all reason for it. This done, il
must disappear. This is d matter Of
time but the end is worth all the time
and all the money we will spend to
accomplish it. We must educate our
peoplc-wc must, we must. This
stigma upon Us rs Il State must be re
moved, and if such references As That
in this SIN editorial shall stimulate
Us to prove its injustice, this Scner
alton can afford to bear the huinli
alton of such illusions for the benefit
Of the next. The SIN says:
! There is no question OF deeper interest
| to the provinces of he Canadian DOmin-
| ion, or to any country which at present
| lies outside TIL" boundaries OF the United
| States, than the inquiry what would be
! the rights OF such prOVimc" or country
III respect to provisions concerning rc-
| lI"Ion within it, territory. so iai as the
| Federal governments i; concerned, that,
! i
! the matter, by the first amendment TO
| the constitution, which declares that
Congress shall make no law respecting
| an establishment OF II religion or pro
| libiting the Tree cNcrcS" thereof. That
limitation Oh the powers of Congress is
| largcly due to the course taken by North
! CarOlina, which, as is we'll known, refused
to adopt the constitution, unless supple
| mentcd by amendments of which this
| was the chief. The fact shows that North
Carolina was determined to reserve TO
itself as Il State the exclusive right o.
regulating religion; and, for chat reason,
the record Of the relations OF Church and
| Staten that commonwealth peculiarly
| Instructive. The subject has recently
| been discussed at length and with singu-
lar lucidity by Prof Stephens b. Weeks
i'll Il contribution to the series OF the
Johns Hopkins studies III historical and
| political science.
In North Carolina, as in Virginia., the
| Church OF England was by law cstab-
| llshcd up to the outbreak OF the RcyOlu-
ton, and the abolition Of it was one OF
the first steps taken i'll each State by the
convention called to frame Il cOnstitu-
ton. That amajority OF the inhabitants
OfNOrth Carolina We're disscntcrs through
| ba for. of I,, NJ
| proved by the extreme difficulty, not 10
say impossibiity, OF levying tithos and
| providing other resources Tor the main
tenancc OF the Anglican clergy. Never
thcIcSs, although the payment OF tithcs
could be evadcd, there were other hard
ships and disabilities which dissentcrS,
including lresbyterians, as well as BaD-
| lists, MethOdlStS, Quakers, MOrayianS.
Mennonitcs, DunkarQs, I'nitaiians, and
Catholics could not avoid. All these
noncOniOrmstS suffered from the muster
law, by which IL distinction was made
III favor OF the clcrgymcn OF the Church
OF England and against dissenting min
listers. Then, again, although Scotland
was supposed to enjoy equal rights with
| England i'll tn" colonies, even presbvtc-
rian ministers were not allowed to per
form the marriage ceremony till 1866;
and, when they did perform it, the fee
went to the local minister OF the Church
OF England. TO other disscntcrs, QUA
kcrS excepted, this right was not con
coded before 111G. Worst OF all was
the enforcement i'll North Carolina OF the
| SchlSin act, repealed in England in 11!S.
which prohibited anyone from keeping a
school III the provinces unless he had
obtained Il certificate from the Anglican
nj Il
the enforcement OF this act up to the
period OF the revolutionary war, through
the widespread Ignorance which it en-
gendered, is directly responsible for the
| large percentage OF ilIiteracy, and for the
backwardness of intellectual activity
characteristic OF the State to-day.
II the Revolution really began in North
Carolina, as the natives OF that State
contend, 1t was because the people were
even more intlamcd by desire for reIig-
iOuS freedom than by the wish for pOlit-
zeal Independence. The bill OF right sand
state constitution, adopted by the Pro-
vlnclal Congress at Halifax in December.
lll6, asserted tn" natural and naicn-
able right OF men to Worship Almighty
God according to the dictates OF their
own conscences. 1t was further laid
down that there should be no establish
m"nt OF any one religious Church or
denomination in the State Of North
carolina III preference to any other
Neither should any person, on any pre-
tencc, be compelled to attend any place
OF worship contrary to his own faith or
Judgment, or be Obliged to pay for the
purchaS" OF any glebc or the building OF
any house ofwOrship, or thomaintenance
OF any minister, contrary to what he
believed right or had voluntarily and
personally engaged to perform. On the
contrary, all persons should beat liberty
to exercise their own mode OF Worship.
These declarations involved the down
tall OF the established Church. 1t only
remained IOr the laws OF the new State
to be brought into conformity with the
new constitution. Marriage was put on
aProper footing in HIS by a law giving
the privilege OF performing the ceremony
to all ministers alike. Yet, the terms OF
the affirmation for Quakers, MorayianS