The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-06-18

published in 1892. ~
I.
To indicate the esteem In which Mr..
Holyoake has been and is held by men
and women whose good opinion has
great value, we subjoin brief extracts
from letters addressed to him by Goodwin
Smith. Wendell Phillips and Harriet Marti-
neau. The following words occur In a letter
lately received by him from Prof. Goodwin
Smith, with whose championship OF the
Northern side during our civil war Mr..
Holyoake warmly sympathized. you and
have lived together through many eventful
and painful years The world In these
wears has, hope and believe, grown better
than It was when We came into 1t. In re-
spect Of freedom OF opinion and industrial
Justice, the two objects to which your life
has been most devoted, real progress has
certainly been made Pointing out that
the main objects OF his life are here out
lined In six words, Mr.. Holyoake recalls the
admiration and envy testified by Golden
for Goodwin Smiths power Of expressing
an argument or a career in q sentence. On
July %, 1874, Wendell Phillips wrote letter
to our author thanking him for copies OF
several of his pamphlets. He went on to
say of them: That on John Stuart Mill was
due certainly to "A just estimate Of him, but
how sad that human jackals should make it
necessary. That on Cooperation | read
and read again, welcoming TIE light YOU
throw on it. for it is one OF my most hopeful
stepping stones to higher future. Thank
you for the lesson-not the first by any
means-ior have read everything Of yours
! could lay my hands on. There Was one
small volume on Rhetoric Public speak
ing and Debate methods of address hints
toward effective speech, &c which stud
led faithfully. We reprinted some ten
years ago one of your wisest tracts, The
Difficulties that Obstruc Cooperation 1t
did us yeolnan service" The letter from
Harriet Martneau from which We are
about to quote was penned in November
1855, and was addressed to W. L.. Garrison
who had printed in his paper, the L'terdtor
an attack on Mr.. Ho!yoake's character by
W. j, Linton. Il wish. wrote Miss Mari-
neau, i could give you an idea Of the alb
surdity that it appears to us In this country
to charge Mr. Holyoake with sneaking, with
desiring to conceal his opinions and get
rid OF the word Atheism His whole life,
since he grew up, has been of public ad-
vocacy of the principles he holds, of weekly
publication Of them under his own sigma
ture and Of constant ecturing In public
places. One would think that a man who
has been tried and imprisoned for Atheism
and has ever since continued to publish the
opinions which brought him into that posi-
ton might be secure, if any man might,
from the charge Of sneaking The adop-
ton of the term Secularism is justified by
its including a large number OF persons
who are not Atheists and uniting them for
action which has Secuarsrn for its object
and not Atheism. On this ground, and
because, by the adoption of a new term. a
vast amount Of impeachment from prejudice
Ia got rid of, the Use of the name Secularism
is found advantageous; but it in no way
interferes with Mr.. Holyoake's profession
Of his own unaltered views on the subject
of First Cause" Miss Martineau added:
II may just say for myself that constantly
and eagerly read Mr. Holyoake's writings,
though many of them are on subjects-o
occupied with stages Of subjects--that would
not otherwise detain me- because | find
myself always morally the better for the
influence of the noble spirit Of the man,
for the calm courage and composed temper,
the genuine lberalty and unintermitting
justice with which he treats all manner of
persons, Incidents and topics. certainly
consider the conspicuous example of Mr.
Holyoakes kind of heroiSm to he one of
our popular educational advantages a,
this time.
Further light will he thrown on the char.
acter of the author of these "reminiscences
II we mark the ground on which he parted
company with MIR. Charles Bradnugh
who, finding that he could not occupy the
seat in the House of Commons to which
he had been chosen without subscribing
TO an oath which involved n recognition
OF the Supreme Deity, ultimately Offered
to take it, though VIGOROUSLY for him i,
would be Il mere Formally With Charles
Bradlaugh our author had had persona
relations all his life, had taken the chair
/ for him at the first public lecture he de.