The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-12-14

and feel that you cannot keep the sand
out of your eyes. ~ta
That night DIR. Huffman made another
great speech ON The Reasons for Pre-
serving and Teaching Baptist History"
1t was an address full of historical ref
erence, which he has dug out himself by
long investigation; tender and touching
illusions of the brave early pioneers who
planted the Baptist church in North Car
DINA; a glowing appeal to the church to
collect and preserve the records of the
men who had given them the rich herit
age of a powerful denomination. He
began by saying: II am standing before
q great company of heroes
The only thing that God has given me is
to find out the good i'll men. | feel the
thrill that is in your hearts for the good
work of this year. How was lit done?
John White did great deal. look into
the faces of the pastors of country
churches, who draw small salaries, with
love. They are those of whom the world
is not worthy. | am proud of such men
Sometimes they tell us that the
age of heroism has gone. | stand in the
presence of men worthy to be embalmed
in song and story.
''The Catholics have preserved the
records of their great men. As boy, |
pored over the history Of their heroes.
Sometimes. instead of going to church,
| would stay in the home of the Cath
ole family where / boarded and drink
in the deeds of self-sacrifce and valor of
Catholic heroes We have let
the men of our faith die and rot with
fhr,,. w of hn hat
tile our founders in North Carolina and
Virginia had with the established church
for the right to preach the Gospel. The
established church arrested our preach
ers and put them in Jail. We have
never told the story of our martyrs.
81 love North Carolina. l hope | will
never draw breath across her borders.
Some of my friends have said that
read the Word: Go into all the world
of North Carolina and preach the Cos
pei God Almighty might have made a
prettier country than Cleveland county,
but He never did.
The history Of North Carolina has
never been written. The War of the
Regulators was the opening of the Rev
dictionary War. 1t began in resistance
of wrong. and it deserves to be written
in letters of living gold. The iron heel
of oppression was ON the State.
thank God that from old Albemarle,
Hartford, Halifax, came Baptists to
stand for liberty. In Randolph county
one Baptist church, before Herman
Husbands led the patriots against Try
on. had 1000 members. Shortly there
after the number was decreased to
thirty. Why? Tryon pursued all who
fought under Husbands with such vigor
that they had to flee for their lives. Bap-
fist church memberships decrease shows
who fought in the War of the Regula-
tors. Tryon sent men to arrest Joseph
Murphy. They burnt up the church rec
ortls We come of stock like
that. The glory or the shame of that
war belongs chiefly to the Baptists. Lab
erty would never have been achieved in
North Carolina but for that uprising.
"When they wanted to make North
Carolina a commonwealth, the office
holders We're afraid of their shadows
Some men--such Baptists as Henry Abb
bott and Lemuel Burgess-received the
messages from Wiley Jones and marched
in triumph over the coward, craven spir-
it. Samuel johnson was left at home.
Such Baptists as Elisha Battle led the
fight for freedom. These are the men
who said: we will be free or we will
die
"In 1865 there wasn't seed corn In
twenty miles of Raleigh. The bum
mers' had swept away everything as
with a bosom of destruction, and be-
tween Raleigh and Fayetteville delicate
women kept their children alive ON
parched corn. Wake Forest College had
been quilted. There stretched out be-
fore US scene of desolation. Our peo-
pie were brave. They said: we will re-
build our Jerusalem. NY heart
grows tender with every recollection Of
DIR. Wingate. Tn the days Of hardship.
his wife said. Go ont and preach the
Gospel And she did her household
work that he might preach. Our instit1-
tons are built in blood and tears and
anguish Of men and women.
"In those years between 1865 and
1876 there lies epic poems. before
which Dante sinks into insigniicance.
"The angels are busy writing down
the history Of men here That does not
excuse us for denying the inspiration to
our people that the history Of our heroes
and martyrs would afford"
In a running debate on the proposition
to change the time OF holding the Con-
vention to Tuesday from Thursday some
one said. seThe proposition would abolish
Sunday" DR.. Hufham paused mo-