Earlier text: THOUGHTS ON DANIELTHE SABBATH IN THE DARK AGES.
By John Nevins Andrews
The history of the Dark Ages is full of the edicts of emperors and princes, and of the decrees of popes, bishops, and councils, all directed to the one object of establishing the sacredness of Sunday. Miracles, prodigies, and judgments, were not wanting with which to confirm these edicts and decrees. Banishment, confiscation of goods, stripes, slavery, the loss of one hand, and then of the other, and the like, were the penalties by which Sunday observance was, by these edicts, forced upon the people. One of these miracles is thus given in Francis West's "Historical and Practical Discourse on the Lord's day." He says;— "Gregory of Tours [about 590] reporteth that a husbandman, who, upon the Lord's day, went to plough his field, as he cleaned his plough with an iron, the iron stuck so fast in his hand that for two years he could not be delivered from it, but carried it about continually to his exceeding great pain and shame." According to Morer's "Lord's Day," p. 271, the council of Paris, A. D. 829, brought forward that Sunday argument, which in these days is often and largely used to supply the place of Scripture testimony. They announced God's judgment upon those who labor on that day:— "For, say they, many of us by our own knowledge, and some by hearsay, know that several countrymen following their husbandry on this day, have been killed with lightning, others, being seized with convulsions in their joints, have miserably perished. Whereby it is apparent how high the displeasure of God was upon their neglect of this day." To strengthen the sacredness of this "venerable day," the doctors of the church were not wanting. Heylyn makes the following statement:— "It was delivered of the souls in purgatory by Petrus Damiani, who lived A. D. 1056, that every Lord's day they were manumitted from their pains, and fluttered up and down the lake Avernus, in the shape of birds."
—History of the Sabbath, part ii, chap. v, sec. 2. And even hell itself could be benefited if those yet living upon earth would keep Sunday well. Morer, in his "Lord's Day," p. 68, speaks thus:— "Yet still the others went on their way; and, to induce their proselytes to spend the day with greater exactness and care, they brought in the old argument of compassion and charity to the damned in hell, who, during the day, have some respite from their torments, and the ease and liberty they have is more or less, according to the zeal and degrees of keeping it well." In A. D. 1095, Pope Urban II. consecrated the Sabbath to the weekly service of the Virgin Mary. This was a great indignity to the Creator of the heavens and the earth. In the following century an apparition from St. Peter charged the king of England to allow "no buying or selling, and no servile work," on Sunday. Morer's "Lord's Day," p. 288. But in the very midnight of the Dark Ages, when the papal power had reached its highest elevation, Pope Innocent III., in A. D. 1202, sent into England by one Eustachius a roll which fell from Heaven, containing the long-needed divine authority for Sunday. Here is this remarkable document:— "A HOLY MANDATE, touching the Lord's day, which came down from Heaven unto Jerusalem, found on St. Simeon's altar in Golgotha, where Christ was crucified for the sins of all the world, which, lying there three days and three nights, struck with such terror all that saw it, that, falling on the ground, they besought God's mercy. At last the patriarch and Akarias, the archbishop [of I know not whence], ventured to take into their hands that dreadful letter, which was written thus. Now wipe your eyes and look awhile on the contents:— "'I am the Lord who commanded you to keep the Lord's day, and you have not kept it, neither repented of your sins; I caused repentance to be preached unto you, and you believed not; then I sent the pagans among you, who spilt your blood on the earth, and yet you believed not; and because you did not observe the Lord's holy day, I punished you awhile with famine; but in a short time I gave you fullness of bread, and then you behaved yourselves worse than before. I again charge you that from the ninth hour [i. e., three o'clock, P. M.] on Saturday, until sunrising on the Monday, no man presume to do any work, but what is good, or if he do, let him repent for the same. Verily I say unto you, and swear by my seat and throne, and by the cherubim which surround it, that if you do not hearken to this my mandate, I will send no other letter unto you, but will open the heavens, and rain upon you stones, wood, and scalding water, by night, so that none shall be able to provide against them. I say ye shall die the death for the Lord's day, and other festivals of my saints which ye have not kept; and I will send among you beasts with the heads of lions, and the hair of women, and the tails of camels, which, being very hungry, shall devour your flesh. And you shall desire to flee to the sepulchers of the dead, and hide you for fear of those beasts. And I will take the light of the sun from your eyes, and send such darkness that, not being able to see, you shall destroy each other. And I will turn my face away and not in the least pity you. I will burn your bodies and hearts of all them who do not keep the Lord's day. Hear then my words, and do not perish for neglecting this day. I swear to you by my right hand, that if you do not observe the Lord's day and festivals of my saints, I will send pagan nations to destroy you.'"—History of the Sabbath, part ii, chap. vii, sec. 6; Morer, pp. 288–290; Wilkins' "Concilia Magna Britaniæ et Hiberniæ," vol. 1, p. 510; Matthew Paris, p. 141, and many other writers. 511We have two very remarkable facts in the history of Sunday, and of the Romish apostasy: 1. The first act of papal aggression was in behalf of Sunday. 2. When the papal power had reached its utmost height of usurpation, it furnished the world with a roll from Heaven, commanding the observance of Sunday under awful penalties. The two arose together from very small beginnings to vast power and greatness. But God was not in either. The mission of Eustachius was attested by miracles and prodigies. Thus we read in Heylyn's "History of the Sabbath," part ii, chap. vii, sec. 6, as follows:— "A carpenter making a wooden pin, and a woman making up her web, both after three on Saturday in the afternoon [for the pope in this letter had fixed 'the Lord's day' from three o'clock on Saturday afternoon until sunrise on Monday], are suddenly smitten with the palsy. A certain man of Nasserton, baking a cake on Saturday night and keeping part until the morrow, no sooner brake it for his breakfast but it gushed out blood. A miller, of Wakefield, grinding corn on Saturday after three of the clock, instead of meal found his bin full of blood; his mill-wheel standing still of its own accord." But God did not leave himself without witnesses to his truth, even in the Dark Ages. A portion of the Waldenses bore the title of Sabbatati. Mr. Benedict, in his "General History of the Baptist Denomination," vol. ii, pp. 412, 413, edition of 1813, says of this term:— "Mr. Milner supposes this name was given to them because they observed not the Romish festivals, and rested from their ordinary occupations only on Sundays. A Sabbatarian would suppose that it was because they met for worship on the seventh day, and did regard not the first-day Sabbath." Mr. Robinson, in his "Ecclesiastical Researches," chap. x, pp. 303, 304, speaks thus of this designation of the Waldenses:— "One says they were so named from the Hebrew word Sabbath, because they kept the Saturday for the Lord's day." Other writers allude to this term in the same manner.
The Cathari, or Puritans, were a body of witnesses, who, during the Dark Ages, protested against Rome. The papal writers, to whom we are indebted for our knowledge of this people, say of them, that they kept the Sabbath, and held also to circumcision. The same statement is made concerning the Passaginians, a branch of the Waldenses. Mr. Benedict speaks of them as follows;— "The account of their practicing circumcision is undoubtedly a slanderous story forged by their enemies, and probably arose in this way. Because they observed the seventh day, they were called, by way of derision, Jews, as the Sabbatarians are frequently at this day; and if they were Jews, it followed, of course, that they either did, or ought to, circumcise their followers. This was probably the reasoning of their enemies; but that they actually practiced the bloody rite, is altogether improbable."—General History of the Baptist Denomination, vol. ii, pp. 412–418. Dr. Francis White, bishop of Ely, says that the Petrobrusians, and a portion of the people known as Anabaptists, were observers of the seventh day. "Treatise of the Sabbath day," pp. 8, 132. Thus, within the limits of the Roman Empire, God preserved faithful men, who kept his commandments during the Dark Ages. And it is a remarkable fact that the Abyssinians of Africa have held fast to the Sabbath to the present time, as have also the Armenians of the East Indies. See Geddes' "Church History of Ethiopia," pp. 87, 88; "Buchanan's Christian Researches in Asia," pp. 159, 160. When the Reformation of the sixteenth century had lifted the veil of darkness that covered the nations of Europe, Sabbath-keepers were found in Transylvania, Germany, Holland, France, and England, and in other countries of Europe. It was not the Reformation that gave existence to these Sabbatarians, for the leaders of the Reformation, as a body, were not friendly to the Sabbath of the Lord. On the contrary, these observers of the Sabbath appear to be remnants of the ancient Sabbath-keeping churches that had witnessed for the truth during the Dark Ages. And now we come to a remarkable event in the history of Sunday. In the latter part of the sixteenth century, a controversy arose between the Episcopalians and Presbyterians of England, that compelled the latter either to give up the first day of the week, or defend it by the Bible. They chose the latter course. Hengstenberg's "Lord's Day," p. 66. It was at this juncture that Dr. Nicholas Bound, of Norton, England, discovered what he called the "True doctrine of the Christian Sabbath." This was nothing else than that the law of God does not require the seventh day, but only one day in seven, or a seventh part of time. With the aid of this theory, Sunday has, since that time, wrapped itself in the authority of the fourth commandment, and challenged the obedience of the world as the veritable Sabbath of the Lord. Sabbath-keepers still remain in England, and for more than two centuries have they been found in the United States. The Seventh-day Baptists during this period have stood as witnesses to this great memorial of the Bible, the Sabbath of the Lord. During the past thirty-five years have arisen also the people known as Seventh-day Adventists, who are interested in the proclamation of God's commandments and the faith of Jesus, as presented in the third angel's message. They hope to induce many to turn away their feet from trampling down the Sabbath of the Lord. And when the Sabbath shall be observed in the new earth by the whole host of the redeemed, they hope to be of that number who shall assemble on that day, every week, to worship in the heavenly Jerusalem before the Lord of hosts. Rev. 14:12; Isa. 58:13; 66:22, 23. IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS.
By S. N. Haskell
WE look upon the cause in California as having reached an important crisis, but this happens in almost every undertaking and affair in life. "If he can pass the crisis," says the physician, "he will recover." Business men who have passed through financial struggles, know full well what such times are. While we look with much thankfulness upon the blessings which God has bestowed upon this Conference in the past, we see before us battles to be fought, and when the victory is won, then the fact will be evident that the important time was just now, when plans were being laid and the army equipped and organized. Before us are weighty matters to be considered. One of the most important is the school problem. It will require much prayerful thought, and a large outlay of means, if such a school is founded upon the Pacific coast, as there should be. Not only should the sciences be taught in addition to the theological and Biblical departments, but there should be such an arrangement that young ladies may be practically instructed in the art of healthful cookery, and useful employment. Food improperly prepared has contributed as much to physical suffering as any one cause. It requires but a moment's reflection to see this when we contrast the despondency and gloom of a nervous dyspeptic, with the hopeful buoyancy which characterizes health. To realize that this change can be and is often brought about, simply by the food we eat, will convince any person that there is "religion in a loaf of bread." There should be sufficient land in connection with the school, that students may have needful and useful recreation by its cultivation. It is very essential that physical exercise should be had in connection with mental study, and if this can be in the form of some useful employment, by learning some trade, the student will have practical knowledge when he leaves the school. There are many who have a liberal book knowledge but they are not practical men and women, and cannot be depended upon to stem the tide of evil. They have no knowledge how to apply themselves to the practical duties of life, and being a little short of that excellent commodity, "sanctified common sense," they are of no benefit to society unless it be to help make up the census. It is not an uncommon occurrence to find a graduate of some noted college or seminary employed as a hostler, street-car driver, or in some such thing, which any uneducated person might do as well. There are thousands of men and women mere drift-wood in society, who have sufficient education to hold almost any position of trust, but they lack moral stamina. In the institutions of learning where they spent years to fit themselves for usefulness, the usual habit of overcrowding the students with studies, existed to such an extent, that no time was allowed to cultivate the moral faculties or to train the brain and muscle to some useful employment. As a result, habits were formed that broke down in them that integrity of soul which is necessary in every individual who would be a benefactor to his fellow-men. Practical instructions in the missionary work and Conference business should also be given, and as the publishing interest has proven to be an important factor in spreading a knowledge of the truth, particular attention should be paid to composition and the preparation of manuscript for the press, and a monthly sheet issued by the students, under the directions of a proper person. The object of a school should not be simply to impart instruction in the common branches, although a school of this kind might pay in the advantage of having the youth surrounded by proper influences, but the aim should be to prepare men and women for usefulness in the various branches of the work of God. To decide where and how to commence such a school as will fitly represent the cause we profess, is a question of no little importance. The steps taken at the commencement will mold it for the future. Therefore it can be readily seen that much prayer, consultation, and thought, should be given to it. Already several openings have presented themselves before the committee. Napa, St. Helena, Petaluma, and Healdsburg, each offer inducements, and these are all to be considered in locating the school. It was at first thought advisable to rent this year, but some considerations have led the committee to contemplate purchasing. Then here is our publishing interest, second to no enterprise on the coast. Much of the time the presses are running night and day to earn means to free the institution from present embarrassments and meet expenses; and God is blessing the effort. But the principal object in establishing the office was not to do job and outside work, but to publish the present truth. When the publishing first started, the brethren showed their appreciation of the light they had received, by taking from one to one hundred shares each in the Association, and it was thus the work commenced. Since that time hundreds have been made to rejoice in the same truths, who have not had their attention called to the wants of the Publishing Association. These will be as willing to assist in this manner as others have done. We therefore invite them to show their love for the truth in the same way. The shares are placed at the small sum of $10 each, that all may have at least one share. If a sufficient number of shares were taken, then the embarrassment would be removed, and whatever profits might arise from its outside work could be devoted to the spread of the truth. Any one forwarding the amount of one or more shares to the SIGNS office for this purpose, will receive in return a certificate of stock for the amount sent. While the Office publishes present truth, missionaries are wanted to distribute these publications. Cities, towns, and villages should be thoroughly canvassed, and not less than five thousand SIGNS should find their way into as many homes on this coast this present season. Scores of colporters and agents are wanted to make a thorough canvass for subscribers for our paper. When the proper efforts are put forth in this direction, the demand will be increased for our publications, and the presses will be devoted to our denominational work. Thus the six power printing presses, the school, the missionary workers, the ministry, and all, will in perfect harmony contribute directly to the end for which the office was established, namely, to spread the truths of the third angel's message. We believe the friends of the cause in California will come up to the help of the Lord at the present time, and take an advanced step in the work of God. THE LAW FOR SUNDAY-KEEPING.
By R. F. Cottrell
THE law for Sunday-keeping is a most singular law. Its power over the consciences of men may be readily discerned by an examination of the nature of the law. We will look at a few particulars, drawn from the position of its advocates, which will exhibit it in its strength and beauty. 1. There is no command in the Bible for the observance of the first day of the week. All its advocates admit this, who have read the Bible through and tell the truth. But the Bible says, where there is no law there is no transgression. Consequently it is no sin to labor on Sunday. 2. It is impossible to tell which the first day of the week is. If this point could be ascertained, any person that can count seven could tell when the seventh day comes—a thing which the advocates of Sunday-keeping say is impossible. Hence had a command for keeping the first day been given, it could have no force whatever. It would have been a perfect nullity. Thus the law for Sunday-keeping is just as strong without a command, as it possibly could have been had one been given. 3. The day does not begin all around the world at the same moment. Therefore it is impossible to keep the first day all over the world. Hence, had a command been given for Sunday-keeping; and had no time been lost, but we were sure we had the correct numbering of the days of the week; still it would be utterly impossible to keep it. 4. One-seventh part of time, and not any particular day is all that is required to be kept. Hence had there been a command given to keep the first day of the week, so that we could know when Sunday comes; and besides this, did the day begin in all places at the same moment, or had we the privilege to commence its observance when it did commence in each place; still the law for Sunday-keeping would be as really obeyed and as fully satisfied by keeping the second, third, or any other day of the week, the "old Jewish Sabbath" not excepted. Who can but admire the strength and beauty of this law? How well calculated to convict the transgressor of his sin! But enough of irony. If the morality of Sunday-keepers is as loose as the law they advocate, it is loose indeed. It is no wonder that the people are lawless, while their religious teachers give them such expositions of the law of God. Let us imagine a person brought to judgment for violating the law for Sunday-keeping; for if it is the law of God, mankind will be judged by it. Judge. You are accused of laboring on the first day of the week. Prisoner. There was no commandment in the statute book that forbade it. J. Very true; but still you ought to have kept it holy. P. It was impossible to tell which was the first day. And if I could have found the day, it commenced at different times in different places, so that it was utterly impossible for me to keep it. J. You ought to have lived up to the best light you had, and kept the day that had the strongest evidence in its favor—the day that Jews and Christians were all agreed upon as the first day. P. The "ambassadors of Christ," the "called and sent," who made it an important part of their duty to teach the people to keep Sunday holy, declared that one-seventh part of time, or one day in seven, was all that was required, and not any particular day. I have doubtless rested from labor one-seventh part of my time; for I have generally rested more or less every night, and then there were the rainy days, the leisure hours and odd spells, which certainly make up the balance. In fact every day was a holy day with me—I served my God every day. Reader, it is said in reference to the law of God, that every mouth may be stopped; but the law for Sunday-keeping has no power to stop the mouth of any one. If the arguments by which the first day observance is sustained, are good for anything, no one can be condemned for not keeping Sunday. It is Sunday all of the time, any time, or no time, just to suit the convenience of every quibbler. But the law for the keeping of the Sabbath of the Lord, is unlike the law for Sunday-keeping in every particular. It is enjoined by the most explicit commandment, which tells us how to keep it, when to keep it, and why we are to keep one particular day in preference to all others. "The Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27), man was made to inhabit a revolving globe, and the true reckoning of the week has been preserved. It has needed no miracle to preserve it; but, on the contrary, it could not have been deranged without a miracle. Jesus, when on earth, recognized the Sabbath as then observed by the Jews, and vindicated himself and his disciples from the charge of violating it; and all mankind,—Jews, Christians, and Mohammedans,—are perfectly agreed in the numbering of the days of the week. To suppose that the true reckoning of the week has been lost, is to suppose that all these made an error in counting the days of the week, that they all made the same error, and that they all made it at the same time—a thing utterly impossible, unless God should work a miracle to effect it; and he could have no object in doing so, but to make it impossible for men to keep his holy, just and good law. I say, the law that God has given for the observance of his holy Sabbath, is unlike the law for Sunday-keeping in every particular. Because. 1. It is a law. 2. We know when the day comes. 3. The revolutions of the earth, so far from being an obstacle in the way of keeping the Sabbath, are the very means that the All-wise law-giver has instituted to bring the Sabbath to us regularly, wherever we are. 4. No substitute will answer the demands of the law. It is the seventh day, and not one day in seven and no day in particular, that is to be kept holy. To neglect to keep the seventh day holy, is a sin. And, having the light that all in this land of Bibles may have, to offer to God a substitute, by keeping any other day in its stead, is to add insult to the Majesty of Heaven to disobedience. 5. Consequently, the Sabbath law is capable of judging men, and every mouth of its violaters will be shut, and all of this generation, that reject the light now shining upon the subject from the third angel's message, will be guilty before God. We judge no man; but we preach the revealed truth of God, and leave each individual to the decision of that judgment which is now transpiring before the ark of God's ten commandments in Heaven. Be entreated, dear reader, to choose the way of obedience, that you may be acquitted in the Judgment, through the efficacy of the blood of Jesus Christ. ILLINOIS, Clinton.—Bro. C. H. Foster writes that he held meetings six weeks in a school-house seven miles from Clinton, De Witt Co. "Notwithstanding the muddy roads, we have had a full house from the first. Nine promised to keep the Sabbath—six adults and three young people." INDIANA, Churubusco.—Eld. W. W. Sharp writes from this place: "Our having to leave to attend the camp-meeting, and the bad weather, were much against the interest of the meeting; yet ten have promised to keep the Sabbath, and some of them seem thoroughly converted to the truth." MICHIGAN, Washington.—Bro. L. A. Kellogg writing from Grant Co., reports two having embraced the Sabbath in North Star. Of labors in Washington he writes: "Organized a church of eleven new members; and the five that were obeying the truth when we came, will probably unite with them. Ten of these members513 were received by baptism. Others will unite soon. The Bible plan of paying tithes was set before them, and s. b. was organized. Nearly all took part in this. This will be known as the Washington Center church." THE TEXAS CAMP-MEETING.
By Smith Sharp
This meeting was held near Dallas, according to appointment, Oct. 27 to Nov. 1. It was my privilege in company with Eld. Butler, to be present from the beginning to the close. I was agreeably disappointed in seeing so much interest manifested in the cause of present truth, by so many that have lately embraced the message. Railroads are not very numerous in Texas, and fare is high; so that the large majority of our people came with teams. Heavy rain-fall for several days previous to the meeting, had made the going very bad, which no doubt lessened the attendance considerably, yet there were one hundred and twenty-five of our people that camped on the ground. There were twenty-three tents besides the large accommodation tent, in which several families lived. The camp was some two miles from the city of Dallas, and the road between the two places not very good, which was no doubt one reason that the attendance from the outside was quite small. The Texas Conference, Tract and Missionary Society, Health and Temperance, and Sabbath-school Associations were held in connection with this meeting, and all of the business proceedings passed off pleasantly and harmoniously. The cause in this new Conference is steadily growing in numbers and financial ability. The greatest lack seems to be a want of laborers, and it is to be regretted that among the many young men of ability in this Conference, there are not several consecrating themselves to the work, preparatory to entering the ministry. The ground was canvassed for subscribers for our periodicals, on Sunday, with quite satisfactory results. Fifteen new members were also obtained for the T. and M. society. The preaching was mostly of a practical nature, and was well received. When the call was made for sinners and backsliders, fully fifty responded. Eight of these were baptized by Eld. Kilgore on Monday. Almost all stayed for the closing meeting, which was held Tuesday morning, and the testimonies that followed in rapid succession were to the effect that all had been benefited, and that the meeting had been a success. SMITH SHARP.
Chanute, Kan., Nov. 2, 1881. THE secretary of the V. M. Society in Belvidere, Boone Co., Ill., has sent us a number of responses from those who have received the SIGNS. A card from Oswego, Kansas, says: "I love to read them, and will be happy to have you send more of them to me." A letter from Boscobel, Canada, P. Q., says: "About a year ago I received from you a postal card and some papers which were very interesting to me, and I beg to apologize for not answering your card. Accept my thanks for your kindness, and if you have any more of those papers I would be exceedingly glad if you would send them." A lady in Warrensburg, Ill., writes: "I take great pleasure in reading the papers which you were so kind as to send me. I find much truth in their columns, and I feel glad that a few are endeavoring to live up to and follow the counsel of that great book the Bible. I would like very much to have you send me the papers, and hope soon I may be able to subscribe for it." From Gibson's Station, Guernsey Co., Ohio, a lady writes; "Thanks to you for the papers you send me. I will read all you send me, and also let my neighbors read them." Another from Ashkum, Iroquois Co., Ill., says: "I am very thankful for the paper, and think it teaches the truth; I have read every one, and let a lady friend take them to read." A gentleman writes from New Orleans: "I should be very happy to receive your paper which I like very much." A letter from Sheffield, England, says: "You will be pleased to learn that after I have read the SIGNS OF THE TIMES I send them around a district and they are received very gladly; they are very interesting and edifying." And later the same person writes; "Have received more papers and your letter, our prayers go up together for a blessing upon the papers circulated." A lady in London writes. "I take the opportunity to write to you to thank you for sending me the papers, which I have read, and I thank God that I have been benefited by doing so. I should be most happy to receive more. I like them very much, and think it a great pity that they are not more known and read in England." From Cliftonville, Miss., a lady writes: "I have received the papers you were so kind as to send me, and appreciate your kindness more than words can express. I was going to write to the editor of the paper to get your address so that I might write and thank you for them. I read and enjoy the papers very much, and think they are calculated to do a great deal of good. We think they are so good and instructive that after we have finished reading them my sister forwards them to a gentleman friend in Columbus, Miss." Another letter has been received by the same worker from this young lady:-a very cordial and friendly one, calculated to cheer the heart of the missionary. A lady in Edinburgh expresses much thankfulness for the papers; says she likes to read them very much. Among these letters is one from Pacific Garden Mission, corner Clark and Van Buren streets, Chicago. We can testify from personal observation of the good work being done at this Mission. God bless these laborers for the poor and the friendless. We invite our friends who may visit Chicago, to visit this mission. Meetings every evening. Temperance.
By W. N. Glenn
THIS is the one grand boast of American citizenship, and is by some classes construed to mean license to do as they please. This definition is especially the pet idea of those engaged in the liquor traffic. They have always resisted restriction or regulation of their business by law; in this respect they have ever been law-abiding only by compulsion. No matter what the measure for the benefit of the public—the maintenance of peace, the safety of property, or the protection of the innocent or unfortunate—the liquor business is always ready for combat, with money and influence, for personal rights. If a city ordinance provides that business must close by a specified time, the liquor traffic resists; it must have all night. If the law says business must close one day in seven, the liquor interest demurs; it must have seven days in a week. If any institution is protected by metes and bounds, the liquor seller is the first, and generally the only one, to try to push over the prescribed line. As to obeying any law restricting unbridled license, the liquor trade and its co-ordinate enterprises always stubbornly resist, and doggedly obey when compelled to. “A free country,” is always the plea. Dr. R. D. Merrick, of San Francisco, delivered a lecture on the subject of “Personal Liberty,” before the Oakland Health and Temperance club, Sunday evening, November 6, and presented the subject in a most reasonable light. He said that at one time temperance reformers only advocated, and temperance societies only required, a limitation in the quantity of liquor a man should use; but now they had come up on higher ground, demanding total abstinence from anything likely to contain alcohol. They had formerly depended upon moral suasion as an offensive weapon, but this does not answer the purpose; all the saloon-keepers in Oakland might be persuaded to-day to pour out their liquors and tear down their signs, and to-morrow their places would be filled by others. The temperance movement has been fought all along by the argument of personal liberty. The lecturer now used this plea in behalf of temperance, and on this ground demanded a prohibitory law for the protection of the personal liberty of all classes. He illustrated the workings of this liberty in some other respects. A man goes out to exercise his horse; it is his own horse and he can drive as fast as he pleases, of course. But suddenly a policeman hails him; the law forbids fast driving in certain limits, it provides against the possibility of accidents in this respect. A company owns a block of ground in the city, and essays to erect powder works thereon; but the law forbids it, as against the safety of the community. An individual owns a lot in a certain part of the city, and commences to erect a frame house for a home; he claims the personal liberty to build as he pleases upon his own property. But an officer of the law comes along and peremptorily stops him; the law forbids the erection of frame houses in that locality; it contemplates the safety of the community. Now the temperance reform only asks that the same principle may be carried out in reference to the liquor traffic—that the law in regard to this evil also may provide against injury to others. But we meet the argument, Let every one carry out his own convictions. If liquor is bad, any one can keep away from it, let it alone if he chooses. This was also illustrated: A man is walking along the sidewalk, attending to his own business; two drunken rowdies come reeling out of a saloon, and in the frenzy of excitement begin firing pistols, and the innocent man is hit by a random shot. He was letting liquor alone, but it didn’t let him alone. The lecturer was acquainted with a man in San Francisco who let liquor alone, but his wife was drawn into its meshes, and the family disgraced. A drunken expressman lay down in his stable in the center of a block that contained several valuable residences; the fire from his pipe ignited the straw, and great damage was the result. The residents of this block were letting liquor alone, but it did not let them alone, and the temperance reform asks that the State will protect them against such accidents, as well as against damage in other respects. But it is Constitutional enactment that is demanded, not merely Legislative law. One Legislature may pass a law, and a clique of politicians may, with money influence, get it repealed at the next session. But incorporate prohibition in the Constitution, and it cannot be repealed without the consent of the people. The lecturer then appealed directly to the audience, and said that the people were partners in the evil results of the liquor traffic. They contract with the saloon keepers to do the work, by selling them licenses for the purpose, thus reaping part of the pecuniary benefit. He had nothing to say to the liquor sellers. The people were the principal parties in the transaction, were the rulers of the country, and had the power to quell the evil and protect the public. In harmony with the arguments advanced in the lecturer’s remarks, we may add that now is the time to move for prohibition. The whole country is on the qui vive in regard to the temperance question, and all temperance workers should be active while the tide is favorable. If the opportunity moment is not seized, the fair wind may soon lull again, and the good temperance bark be caught in a calm of inactivity and unconcern, on the part of the people, or be beaten back by adverse storms. Let personal liberty be freely used in the contest—liberty to contend for protection against injury, crime, and death. THE TENNESSEE CAMP-MEETING.
By S. Osborn
WE think our recent camp-meeting the best ever held in our Conference. Those who stayed away for secular purposes have surely sustained a great loss. There were seventy-three Sabbath-keepers on the ground, and these camped within a radius of three hundred yards. Thus all were enabled to attend the prayer and social meetings, which accounts largely for our success. Though our Conference is small, union and love prevail throughout the entire field, and there is a healthy growth. We had a session of the Conference, and T. and M. society the first day of the meeting, and the greater part of the business was accomplished before the Sabbath. One new church was added to the Conference. We now have five churches, with about seventy members, and quite a number of outside Sabbath-keepers. There have been twelve additions to these churches by baptism during the past year, and fourteen others are keeping the Sabbath. The financial condition is much better than last year. Then we were in debt about $130. After the ministers were settled with this year, there was a deficiency of only $26.50. Our tithes amounted to about $335.00. We do not despise the day of small things. We have now two ordained ministers and one licentiate, who expect to give their time to the cause. We have no reason to be discouraged. Cross Plains, Tenn., Oct. 13, 1881.