Year: 1867

Anu-Reform

 The MurcAnaan, the Episcopal paper oi

 this State, is an excellently conducted jour-

 nal, but we are sorry to say with decided

 ly reactionary tendency. A late editorial

 upon the Advanced School of Reform, J

 after ridiculing universal suffrage and pro-

 hibitory liquor laws, and underwriting the advantages of our public school system, closes as follows :--

 ''Therefore it may be argued, with all the assur- ance of positive conviction, that schemes of so- cial and political Reform, resting upon views of human nature and of society 80 utterly opposed to the voice of Revelation and the facts of experience can end only ill anarchy and ruin. The leaders and thinkers of whom we have spoken, whatever their personal worth and sincerity, crowding the Country up to crisis which will end in a vio- lent recoil, or mad plunge into the disorder and phrensies of revolution

 Those who believe in progress and who also believe in revealed religion have con- stantly to regret the bitter and unnecessa- " quarrels between the extremists of our party. who assume to be the representa- tives of Progress" and the extremists of the conservative party who assume to rep resent Religion" These bitter partisans generally contrive to make an amount of noise entirely disproportionate to their numbers and unite most cordially ill affirm Ing that there IS an 'sirrepressible conflict between the two principles they claim to represent Nothing can be further from the truth. The fundamental principles of reform and progress are the same which lie at the foundation of the Christian reli- zion. Progress" is nothing more in fact than the application to our governmental institutions of the great principles of the New Testament. All it asks is that our State and National Constitutions and legis- lation be made to square with the teachings of the Gospels and by the abolition of in- vidlous distinctions and privileges, and by systems of general popular education, place all mankind as nearly as possible on the same level.

 It is difficult to determine whether the religionist or i,religionist is most at fault i'll the quarrel above referred to. Each is equally uncharitable and inconsistent. The error of the religionist lies in supposing that so long as the individual is christian 1t is no matter how unchristian the goy ernment may be. The error of the ir- religious reformer lies in maintaining that, provided the government is based on " liberty, equality and fraternity" the re- hgious condition of the individuals con- posing that government is of no conse quence. The most notable instance of this disastrous conflict between religion" and reform, " was that movement which ter minated ill the French revolution of 17S9 On the one side were arrayed the most en- thusiastic, sceptical and uncompromising reformers on the other the most bigoted and re-actionary of churches Infidelitv won its temporary victory by turning the weapons of Christianity against itself. With artillery stolen from the New Testament, Voltaire and his successors bat tered down the bulwarks of tyranny and privilege, and toppled over corrupt and superstitious hierarchy

 That any such result can occur in coun- try where religion is so pure and so intel igent as in America, we do not fear; but We regret exceedingly that those who as- sume to speak for large denominations of Christians should hasten to denounce as unchristian and irreligious, political meas ures, the spirit of which they seem to un- derstand so little We are aware that there is 8 re-actionary type of Professionalism which declares that the last few centuries are the "real dark ages of the church, ," but from what we had seen of the Chwchn,an, we had not supposed it held so benighted faith.