The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-05-19

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| toacn us nothing. II VIII administer
! no discipline 20 our characters or illu-
! minafion TO our understandings. ana We
will find I'm II no light 10 warn us against
the dangers which have brought disasters
In the past
AS LITTLE CHILDREN.
The great historic interest Of the set
| Elements I'm the colonies and In the ofitl-
nal thirteen States Is 10 be found IN me
! fact that they were smali ana nlsg"Ss
| anu Independent communities. Botn IN
! Church and In State they were niue
! children and they grew 10 what thty
/ were 10 be. grew IN ISOLATION as IL W..
and in some senses, Isolation ana ptlsacy
/ are as necessary for the growth or ideas
] and institutions as IL Is for the growth
/ Of children. The difference. for cN-
ample. between the older states OF our
! country-Nirsinia, Massachuseiis, ~"
| York and Pcnnsylvanlt-ln Ideas or gov
I eminent. IN political and religious edu-
cation. and the newer states, IS to be
I found in the fact that the older ones
! grew from infancy ana inc ne" ones
/ were. SO 20 speak. born grown up
They had not the schooling. the whole
some discipline Of childhood. Thcy had
| their constitutions and their politics
I roady-mado for them. and they took
| them rcady-madc without thinking what
/ they meant. without graspins the pfin-
I cipies which they embodied.
The older States worked them out
! fought over them IN the arena OF pOlu-
cal and ecclesiastical discussion.
They had upon them an the Response
/ flity Of striking out a new path in gov
! orr mcnt 10 meet the eXigencies Of their
/ conditions. and that necessity stiuulitfd
| and developed IN them AN undersia ndinS
/ of the IDEAS at the bottom OF HstitH-
That is tho reason why the oder states
! and diOccses are far more interesting
/ in their history than iho new ones
You admit a state into the mon
/ to-day That State has only ropi 'i ITS
/ state Constitution from the older ones
/ You admit diocese, u is The SAM ming
/ They take their constitution and forms
! wholesale. ready-madc-like boy
! brought up in luxury. inheritng Tor
/ tune from father, whose WISDOM ana
! energy and financial ability gained li
/ for linn The boy knows nothing ana
| Oftentimcs the fortune is wasted.
/ virginia was separated from tho Woflt
/ I'm her colonial lifo and her carly DAVIS
/ as a member Of the National Coniedeia-
/ ton. as we cannot imagine now. sep by
/ step she grew in public sentiment. so
/ knowledge of law ann boNrfnW mt
! Her public had time 10 think, were
! obliged TO think. Their conditions Tor
/ thinking and for pure free lie ana
/ honest. calm conclusions were in some
/ respects more favorable than those 81
/ the modern public man. something ol
/ privacy BIS surely needed for healthy
/ growth. For men or for communill.s
| through the spcctacles Of the telegraph
/ and the newspapers. .eip % make them
! solf-conscious ana artificial and corrupt
| in motive.
An ANTIsrpIIc TO CORRUPTION.
Public criticism. that is healthy and
| natural rs am antiscptic 10 corruption
! but sensatiCnalism Is dcpraNlng 10 society
! aud 10 the Individual
| IL is we'll 20 bear this principle IN MIMI
| that we may under stand some feature
/ u the early history OF Virginia hoth
/ as colony and "a state, Whlch DINER
/ wise seems DnaccOuntabc.
! The period gave birth To some OF the
noblest women and 10 many of me Wisesl
! political thinkers the world has ever
/ seen Their environment contributed 20
/ their greatness. They lived out OF lhc
| glare and out Of the publicity Of oar
/ complex civilization. There Was nothing
/ like so much waste and more OF toncch-
! tration in their lives than there often
is in our l.c. They grew, and growth
! Is a slow and silent process.
| The Council here ls the lOuth ConNen-
ti0n Of our Church in Virginia. In me
! year 1875 f>.Ie Was no convention, ana
J between 1883 and 1872 there were many
/ years when the deep depression OF thc
/ Church led 20 ana perhaps compelleu'
! from pOXerty and hOpclcSsueSS, the dhdh-
] dOument of conventional meetings. The
! failure in these years makes TINS the
one hundredth annual convention
| The first convention Of this thuich
! in virginia assembled in Richmond on
/ the 18th day of May. ltSJ, TWO years
| after the close OF the war OF the keNOlu-
ton. IL was composed or thlr'y-sN
!
/ Among the clergy VINO answered 10
the rOll-call were DeyereauX Jarlatt
! from Dmwiddie. David Grihth. from
| Fairfax. Alexander Belmain. from Fred
erlck: John buchanan. from Henrico
! and James Madison. from James CITY,
! and the list of the laity contains names
of individuals and of families among
| the most familiar and distinguished lh
the history of that generation.
I'm the year before an act had nceh
passed by the General Assembly Of Nir-
| gnia 10 grant 10 am chu.fh,s Apply "'
! for 10 am act of Interpretations
The presby opposed with bitter
/ ness the act and the principle OF lne
/ Incorporation of churches. but with ar
| Henry and other able advocates. ~ was
| PASSED hv "a tWO-thiris vote, ana under
! the general law for the incorporation o,
/ churches, the clergy of ia" tpiscopdi
| Church pcttioned the Leslslaiuie LOT
| am act Of incorporation. which. under
| the supervision of Patrick Henry, was
| promptly passed by that body.
| This act Of Incorporation was the ilfst
! constitution and the fundamental law
! of the Episcopal Church in virginia. Inc
| state provided the Constitution for the
| Church defining all the functions and
| the powers and the limitations OF 'he
t,pon the basis and under the authority
| of This fundamental law this iirst con-
| VentiOn was organized ana clolheu Win
| mower for ecclesiastical legislation. The
! Church had been disestablshed ana the
| bonds between II and the state had neeh
| severed. never 20 be tcuultcus out we
| may detect in this act of incorporation
the principle ia The minds Of those
! early churchmcn. that the state must
| h.. behind the Church as the fountain
of its authority IN its governmental
T6e idea of the Church as a voluntary
| eniritual association. under the authority
| of its Divine founder and under the
authority committed by Him 10 the spirit
ual sovereignty of His people, and the
| i3ea of the function of the temporal
! government as limited 10 the protection
| of the rights of property used Tor To-
| Ueious purposes. and 10 the protection OF
the constitutions and laws of churches, I'M
| So far as they were not in Violation q
| the civil law-these principles mad not
! vet dawued upon the minds OF me 'hNf 'n
| i'm Nircinia. though many OF IT'S anlcsl
| members I'm the state believed them
| and were largely instrumental 900 the pas
| ,are Of the celebrated act OF religious
| freedom enacted "a few months after inns
! first Virginia convention adjourned, 10y
the General Assembly.
MANLY AND FAITHFUL
As we look back over the one hundred
| and ten years TO that convention or
| lIS5 which is the mother of all our con-
| history that was behind II and 20 the
/ prospect that was before IT, to the prob
| icms IL Fal TO solve and To- the almost
| utter lack of light IL had 20 solve them.
| we cannot but see in them body OF
| manly and faithful men.
| They issued an address 10 the inemOe"s
| of the Church. and one expression 10
| that address is significant as an evidence
| OF ihe hold of the III iscopai taurch
Of .HNa 81