The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-01-22

I God forbid that / should Judge my
| brother. But his shouts sent stiffness
and deafness through the congrega-
| ton, and his boys standing at the
church door, would say to their young
companions. See that old hypocrite,"
| Heaven knows that when / first heard
| 1t, L grew sick at heart. and / said to
my soul. THIS is WHAT MAKES
INFIDELS! Christian brother, whose
| eyes Shall fall upon this line be as
sured that your children study your
actions infinitely: and that indulging
| them. spending your money on their
| lusts: inconsistency praying in the
| morning for the extension of Christ's
kingdom, and doing nothing in the
| day to promote it. be assured that all
| this will lead them to doubt your piety,
to dispise all religion and to wound
| the Reedemer in the house of his pro-
fessed friends. Remember that your
| conduct may aid the influence of the
obscene, fictitious or sceptical books
you may suffer them to read, in max
| ing your own children infidels
"CHRISTOPHER DUNCAN"
The reader very naturally will ask.
why should such a letter do so
much harm? The answer is. Mr.. Ruff
| i'm Tucker Il man very prominent in
This city, at that time and member
| Of the Methodist church. thought the
| etter WAS intended to describe him:
| md he became very angry. He set
| about at once to ascertain who Chris
| TOPPER Duncan was, SuSpicioning, in
| the meantime. Rev. Charles F. Deems.
D. D.. who at that time was a Profess
| sor in the University of North Caro-
| lima.
! DR.. Deems when approached by Mr..
| Tucker, gave him to understand that
he knew who was the writer, but was
not at liberty to tell. from which Mr..
Tucker for time inferred that he was
! not the author of the letter Mr.
| Tucker demanded of the editor OF the
| paper the name of the writer, but ne
declined to give it; in the meantime
writing to DR.. Deems saying, Il shall
| write to Tucker and keep him al bay:
shall tell him the article had no
marks of personality about it, etc.
| DR.. Deems. in June, 1S47, some four
months after the christopher Dun
| can letter was written, and While Mr..
Tucker was still very angry with him
| CDeems). was elected a Professor in
| Randolph Macon College. of which
| Rev. VIM. y. Smith D. D., was the
President Dr. Smith knew of the diff
iculty, and in a letter written to Dr.
Deems. before he. Deems, had moved
to Randolph Macon. ne informed him
of conversation he had recently hela
with gentleman from North Caro-
lima who suggested the Importance of
a reconciliation between him, Deems
and Tucker, and also spoke of a con-
versation had with Mr.. Branch. of
Petersburg. who, as Deems friend
was very anxious that the matter be
settled.
DR.. Deems replied to Dr. Smith, in
which letter he said among other
things: Il have done all that a Chris
tan and q gentleman can do to settle
this matter. Do write TO
IOnr hn,. ,nl. .1..z
ter and let him show it to Mr.. Lea.
Dr. Smith afterward used this letter
against DR.. Deems and the word ZEN
close had been changed to "endorse."
for the purpose as DR.. Deems claimed,
&c make it appear that he, Deems,
wished his statement TO be endorsed
by Dr. Smith. Subsequently Dr.
| Deems, speaking of What he had done
to make peace. said: Il then offered
to make known to Mr. Tucker what
/ knew about this matter; he declined
To receive it, and has brought ON a
trial Now he must show, first that
the article applies to him. Second,
That it was slanderous; and third
That / wrote it, I shall confess moth
ing. l shall deny nothing
The readers Will be astonished to
hear that six or seven years went by
| between the appearance of this Chris
tcpher Duncan letter and the first
trial and it was eleven years, and Mr..
| Ruffin Tucker was dead and i'm Heaven.
before the matter was finally disposed
OF. The first trial was in 1884 at Pitts
thuro-that was Smith against Deems.
A committee to whom the matter was
referred by the conference, after re-
viewing the whole case arrived at what
/ they considered. a fair and righteous
verdict, which may be summed up as
follows: That DR.. Deems erred in not
admitting that he was the author of
the christopher Duncan letter; but
| circumstances were of such a charac-
ter as to palliate his course. and not
! considering what he had done was i'm
| moral they recommended the passage
CT his character which was done by
| q unanimous vote
Afterward, that same conference
| passed a resolution diSSuading Dr.
! Deems from accepting the presidency
of Centenary College. Louisiana say
! ing: while we regard him in he
highest sense, in every way qualified in
intellect. integrity and learning, yet we
! beg our brother to consider the state
of the work in North Carolina both
as regards the pastorate and inStitu-
! tons of learning. and if he can find
| it consistent with his duty to the
church, that he decline the offer that
/ has been made him.
| In the conference OF 1896 q reSoiu-
ton was passed. because of some re-
marks that had beer made intimating
that the Pittsboro conference did not
vote an acquittal of him,) which en-
| phatically declared that he was
unanimously acquitted" by said Pitts
boro conference
| mention these things to show that
| while DR.. Deems MAJ, have acted in
discreetly the North Carolina confer
| ence did not consider HIM guilty of any
| immortality but mad confidence in his
| Christian integrity and honored him
for his learning and great ability.
If we are to believe the statements
made by Drs. Leroy M. Lee and Will
| liam a. Smith, DR., Deems was Il very
had man: but | doubt if some of the
statements that were made would have
been made but for the fact that Il
parting of ways was brought about in
the election of a bishop. Up TO GER
tain point Smith Deems and Lee We're
friends, years after the appearance of
the christopher Duncan letter. but
fafter Deems voted in the General Con-
ference. for John Early, instead of Dr.
smith for biSHOD n change took place