The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-12-17
UNCONVENTIONAL CLUB
4 LARGE MEETING AT PLYMOUTH
 CHURCH LAST EVENING.

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 Iipps--A Masterly Address by Dr. R. R.
 Meridith of Brooklyn-New Members
 Elected and Proposed.
 The new Plymouth church at the cor Fner of Chapel street and sherman ave- nue was the scene last evening of gathering in which nearly every church in New Haven and vicinity was repre- sentea, the occasion being the meeting of the New Haven Congregational club with the special object of observing "Forefathers' Day"
 Early in the evening a bounteous col lation was served by the ladies in the spacious dining doom in the basement, to which about $50 persons sat down. Rev. pr, Phillips, pastor of the Church of the Redeemar invoked divine bless ing.
 After the spread had been thoroughly discussed there was an adjournment to the lecture room, where the regular club meeting was held. John c. North, pres ident of the club, presided and Rev Charles Ray Palmer offered prayer. The minutes of the previous meeting, held at the Second Congregational church in Fair Haven, were read by the secretary, William M. Parsons, after which the following new members were elected: Walter Allen of the United church, John Karley of Dwight Place church. William Ritchie of Humphrey street church, Charles B. Rowe of Second Con- gregational church, Fair Haven, D. E. Russell of Orange Congregational church, Willis K. Stetson of the United church, and Frank E. Williams.
 The nominating committee reported the following names of candidates for membership: Rev Charles R. Palmer of the church of Yale college, F. B. Snow of Guilford, W, NJ. Wells of Unit ed church, George H. Booth of Dwight Place church, Rev. G. $. Dickerman of United church, Raymond G. Baldwin of Plymouth church, Frederick P. Newton of Grand avenue Congregational church, These names went over to the next meeting to be voted upon
 1 The next business to be done was to act upon the following amendment of 1 the bylaws: That the membership of ] the club be confined to members of the Congregational church or to those who attend that church."
 | A motion was made to lay the matter on She table, but Professor Chandler stated the object of the amendment and the motion was lost He then offered a slight amendment. making membership open orly to members of the Congrega- tional church, and spoke at length upon l the matter.
 1 The discussion of the matter waxed warm as many thought such an amend ment undesirable and uncalled for as they thought it would be inhospitable to members of other churches who were already members of the club.
 | Henry G. Newton spoke strongly against adopting the amendment, and Rev. Dr. Phillips voiced the sentiments of the majority of the club membership when he said that such an amendment ought never to have been proposed or brought before the club, at least. He said he would regret much to have the club go on record as voting for such a measure. He thought that the best thing to do was to refer the matter | back to the executive committee with the understanding that they give it de- cent burial. He then moved to that ef- feet and was loudly applauded His motion was passed overwhelmingly.
 This concluded the business part of | the meeting.
 After singing 70 God Beneath Thy l Guiding Hand" President North intro duced in a few well chosen words Rev. Dr. Merideth of Brooklyn, N. Y, who l spoke on "The Forefathers and Their Sons" pr. Merideth has been slightly iii for some time and to add to this his house in Brooklyn caught fire a couple of nights ago, so that he was unable to prepare his address. He showed, however that he was a mas ter of his subject and better address from preparation is hard to conceive of. He began his remarks in a somewhat | humorous vein, saying that the matter of ancestry had never bothered him much. He had always thought of a man not ''Where does he come from? ?" but What is he?" He never consid- | cred ancestry necessary until he lived in Boston and then he began to think about it carefully Test he should find 1 it running up a tree" He said the | character of the PuritanS was pure upright and lofty. Every virtue under | heaven has been attributed to them and | yet it is well to say the same thing over again. James Russell Lowell in | looking over some old papers which had come down through his family | found an epitaph composed by one ol his ancestors for the tombstone of a deceased brother and at the bottom was a figured up account, which showed just as many four pence as there were letters to that point and then the writer evidently thinking it woudl cost toe much to write more. wound up with 1 ''and he possessed every virtue known under heaven" and this same expres- sion applies to the Puritans. They were not drawn over the stormy ocean | by a longing for wealth or knowledge They were neither traders nor explori CTS, but were driven over the wintry waves of the stormy Atlantic by might of a purely religious principle and the nation which they founded was a grand religious protest. A book has been writ ten to prove that they did come ovel for trade, but the man who believes that would believe that the 300 Spar. tans at Thermopylse stood their ground