The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-12-17

church and what head he was. But other things were going on at that time. William Tyndale over in Ger many was printing the new testament. It was sent over to England Men read it and saw that the law of Christian life was in Chrlst's life and tried to live like Him, Then they were Purl- tans, They got deeper insight into Gods truth as they saw that Christ alone was the real head of the church and could not stay in the Church of England with Henry VIII. at its head. They were the men who caught the idea of no bishop, no hierarchy, no pope, and no elaborate form-just enough form for organization to hold together and no more. That was Con- gregationalsm and so 1t is fitting for | Congregatlonalists to do honor to their memory. Congregationalism puts down forms.
 Historians say that these Puritans were of the middle and lower classes of the English population, but genuine character does not depend on it's en- vironmsnts. Circumstances don't make men. Carlyle says circumstances make kings" Men make circumstan- ces, Character will flower and bloom and become God-lilSe even in the middle classes, from which some of the grand est heroism of the world has come.
 The Puritans were men of convictions, of unquestionable loyalty to God, and sought with all their power to obey Gods will, and as he gave them strength | thlly i,, ho+ will iy, spite of the wills of all mem on earth, even though it led to the gallows. The spirit of these fathers whom we honor was a spirit that feared God and loved righteousness. It loved freedom and hated tyranny. It gave freedom of conscience to the world. It belonged to ''the lower middle classes" Men of the lower middle classes who have loyalty to God and seek to know His will all ways amount to something.
 The trouble with the descendants of the Puritans is that they haven't got convictions or think it costs too much to carry them. Too many have unload ed convictions and taken on opinions. All grand things done by men and women since God created the race have been done by those with convictions. We need to-day the Puritan spirit. Is ti not time for reaction to stop? Haven't We gotten far enough away from the Puritans and Pilgrims? DO we not need the spirituality of those men to modify the awful materialism of the day in which We live The witchcraft of those men about which such furor has been raised was only a good thing pushed a little too far There isn't spirituality enough in most of our churches to-day l to get up a good witch. Churches need the baptism of the Divine Spirit to get rid of the idea of materialism, and We need the Puritan idea of bringing re- ligion into everything. We need to get back some of the Puritan Sabbath pr. Meredith concluded by alluding to the Armenian massacres, comparing the policy of England at the present day l with that of Oliver Cromwell in similar circumstances. As he concluded his re- marks he was greeted with enthu- siastic applause. His words found an answering chord in the breast of every one present, and the truth of them were made only too plainly apparent.
 His address was a masterly and elo- quent one, such as one rarely has the good fortune to hear, as with oratory was combined a wonderful depth of thought A vote of thanks was tender ed him by the club.