Home and Foreign Journal, September 1856

VOLUME VI. RICHMOND, SEPTEMBER, 1856. f NUMBER 3 PUBLISHED BY THE BOARD SOUTHERN.' BAPTIST H CONVENTION. or jliKIOX. ALABAMA. SKPTE.M 11EU, 1SSC IIARRtSONVILLE, StO. Here we inct with oar former but kind friend. Rev. J. H. Farmer, and with him we lodged. He has been a leading broth¬ er in the I Hue River Association for many years, and is deservedly regarded with much favor by the brethren up to the present lime. Them was a fair turn out at the llapiist Church on Lord's day — where we endeavored to hold forth the Word of Life”— and considering the most of the members of all the Editorial Correspondence. Sr. Louis, Mo., July 2W, 1S56. Still absent from the Mission Room, we (irrj'h a fc"' paragrapbs for the Journal, , this (IMaucc from home. Many things S',: „j ;;»« „.лчП«1и. but so much has been said its pro. pe , _ . t * churches had been to the “Circus’ in ““"'Su'Ida'll the facts of interest are j the Ь^м“8 °f lllI! "c Ы S°od llllPrcs n- I attention and a tolerable collection for Missions. On Monday we left for Kansas City, thence to Westport, on to Indepen place of residence whichdiad no pastor. Consequently on Saturday he had come driving to Richmond for some one of the students to preach on th’e Sabbath. It was more than merely a pleasure to meet before the public. Certain impression lowever, imbibed during our recent visit, (,e. stated for profitable meditation. t M to the probability of Kansas be- i coming a SOUTIIERS STATE. I'ader the present aspect of the case we are di.-posed In doubt that it will soon be- (031C a Slate at all, but if it should become j a Stale within a twelve months, the signs 0f the times indicate a free side as deci¬ dedly as they do a state with southern principles and inslitutions. The Southern people have not yet taken Ihe proper steps in Southernize Kansas. Instead of rely- iagon companies.proiniaeuoiirly selected — mere adventurers without property or in¬ fluence— they should move to Kansas by temliis, taking their servants with them. dence, and we reached Lexington on the following Friday. The “ Circus” had imposed its onerous tax on the churches scveli miles in the country. There we met a small but liberal congregation. Whether any of them had attended the Circus we know not, but we should rather . . , “ guess” that they did not attend, for we with this brother and his amiable compan- j received some SCO from about 15 persons, ion in the '• Brush” of Western Missouii. ; We dined with our excellent fiiend, Judge A night and a morning were -occupied in McDaniels and his family, and in the af¬ ternoon, lode as far as to Dr. J. N. Gar¬ nets, to be ready for a meeting at Ilehobclh comparm transactions, notes and talking over past and wo trust the meeting was mutually condticjvcj^f thankfulness and piety. But the "Sccdnd Sabbath”— that is, the Sabbath after tlie fust in July— came about in duo time, and Brother and Sister New accompanied us to on the next day. We found the Dr., «as we had on the year previous, busy with his crops, but with leisure enough to con¬ verse in regard to the interests of Zion Reiiorkth is a flourishing church under the pastoral This is a small town, but one of which | care of llro. Alward, a graduate of the wc liail often heard through a pious sister, William Jebeil College. He is a young now in Richmond. The influence of her teacher of promise, and from the indica- devoted efforts to build up the churcli j lions of attachment to them, he believed and communities of all these towns in ad- , there is yet felt, and it proves how very I that lie and his young partner in life would vance of us, and wc deemed it a poor , им a feeble, pious, persevering female ; be the means of doing much good. The chance for the Mission cause. Wc should, however, have made a stand at Lexington, hut for the fact that the Church there, though wealthy, is at present burdened with various heavy liabilities, and tho other fact, that they will piobably remem¬ ber our anil their Mission enterprise with¬ out the solicitations of a Secretary. At Lexington we became acquainted with Rev. Mr. Warder, the pastor of the Bap¬ tist Church— a young man of fine educa¬ tion, and it was said— for we never on may do for Christ. Tlt£ Campbellitcs have tho ascendency in Paver, but the Baptists, wo trust, are as the salt that lias not lust its spiritual savotfr. The " Cir¬ cus," however, had also Teen in Dover, ami as usual, licit and poor, while and black, bond and free, little and big, Hie church and the world, must needs go to the Circus together and, they went. This is the church for which Bro. Ligon was soliciting funds, " once upon a lime,” tn church at Rehobeth contribute by a regu¬ lar system, by which they awarded a due proportion to Domestic and Indian Mis¬ sions. They have our thanks. The Sab¬ bath camo on again, and with our faithful young brother Garnett, wc met .Bro. Bell at ZoAR. After losing ourselves two or three times in the prairies, we reached the meeting house a little in advance of Bro. B. This is rather a hard field, and the раАог is much discouraged, but he lias on former occasions been made the instru- ! aid in building a. meeting house, but while This.it is affirmed, the Mis-ourians will j joyed the pleasure of hearing a sermon t engaged in litis enterprise lie was permit- shortly do, and should they do it, Kansas j from him— of excellent preaching talents, j tod to baptize into her fellowship two sill be a Southern Slate. Any steps or j The ncw house of worship now being j wealthy farmers. Shortly after a brotiier i ment, under God, of infusing life and en- [Isas short of this one, must continue to erected by his people, will afford frequent j in Virginia sent him a contribution. This j ergy into broken down churches, and may opportunities for the development of Ids I Bro. Ligon returned with bis thanks, and be again. The great cause of coldness best gilts for the benefit of the large and J die remark that he had buflately baptized and indifference is to bo ascribed to the intelligent audiences which Lexington ' ^200,000 into (lie churchJawHoU|jht not- infrequency of public worship. Preaching will furnish. At this place we enjoyed j any longer to accept aid-.froS'abt-o^tj!', oqco in a month is too seldom— it is next the kind hospitalities of Jiev.T,. S.-Pulm-A] T[iat Churches languish or rather. President Dulin— and his lady — ! as himself is consecrated to Christ when and die under siicli a custom.’ A small They are doing he joins His church. collection was taken up for missions, hut for the "Red Man," Col. Benton, if we [ a magnificent work there in educating. Bro. New 11 brought us on our way” as we saw plainly from the manner and ap¬ prove but failures. Secondly, what a pity tbit Kansas was not allowed to remain the property of the INDIANS ! The land was all theirs, and its green, undulating prairies would have made a fine empire— if thus it might he called— ] at the Female College. a bare been correctly informed, always op- ! hundreds of the young ladies of Western j far as to Bro. Fristoo’s— another valued parent timidity with which it was done, posed, andthaUtrenuouslv theextinquish-! Missouri. And the Baptists of Lexington . disciple — who on the next day conveyed that lire brethren had not been used to nent of Indian titles. Whatever objec* j deserve the highest praise for having pur- 1 Us to Miami. There turning us over to such proceedings. After dining with Sis- tions may be filed against that statesman, chased this Institution— that is, its spacious j ц1С carc of our tried fiiend and brother ter Scott in the neighborhood and obtain- it is now regretted by hundreds, that his j and convenient building — as well as for ; [Sell, he returned home. On the last year , ing a little rest, wc set out for advice oa this point was not followed. An j the admirable judgment displayed in the I we had been confined by sickness for sev- • Arrow Rock, Wan Nation between Missouri and No- j selection of Bro. Dulin as its President. j oral days at the Ituusc of this brother, and j (o fi]| nn appninlm4nl at night lhc Mc. bska would have separated the North! The recent commencement there— which j the very kin'd attentions of himself and ' t|10t|;st Church. Wc arc' rather "old from the South— the Pro-Slavery States ! wc did not witness— was spoken of in ex- wife on that occasion made us the more j inmlm.-irkish” in our willing to trespass on their hospitality cry from the Free— and the agitation and ' ultant terms by the community generally bloodshed consequent on the contest for i and the Baptists in particular, and wc en- sectional predominance, would never have i tertain not a doubt but that it was a taken place. Many wealthy and influen- 1 grand afl’air— perhaps only surpassed by bill settlers of Missouri, ju»l within the jlinc, say they would have preferred such з course : but it is now loo late to make the change — the "Red Man," as usual, lias Ken robbed— and the blood of thousands BJJ be the prospective penalty for the robbery. Thirdly, how will the present troubles ® Kansas effect HIE SOUTHERN MISSION SCHOOLS ? Wb reply, injuriously in any event, but 1Я ^ event of Kansas' becoming a free schools could scarcely he re¬ amed by the Southern Board. The poor Indians would be the sufferers! We rc- ntce that ail debts against the Louisville °ard have been paid— the credit of the i “[.list denomination lias been saved— and r"',l,e prospect of extensive benefit lo f e nd'an is rendered very discouraging 11 e uncertain, unsettled condition of | in that Territory. departure from the tf.rritort. f p e lcft Mission Stations on the 2!>!h tl .ипс‘ s^ler a sojourn of several days, " .lo£ct a'vny. Danger boded from all * o|,_ dl° compass, The citizens of „II ,'г,1|огУ "'«re all "armed to the • . *' Kvery man seemed to look with ,5™il at I'ts fellow, and: "Are yon avrry, or Free Staler" was a qtii-s- «У promiscuous traveller о be required in answer before he .jU *IL‘ finite ready. Having complc- hu>ines.s with tire creditors of the n«n Indian Mission Association, •n were living m the Territory, wc left 1Ие to sPe,ld Ihe last Sabbath in June again. Secretaries arc very apt lo visit those places oftenest where they are cor¬ dially welcomed, and those churches at that of the unequalled "Judson," of Ma- 1 which they get the largest collections, rion, Ala., which, most persons admit, is j Some persons might think this eustomyw- " hard to tied." Rev. Mr. Thompson, of lid and oppressive, but to us it seems Howard County, delivered tire annual ad- based on the principle ofa sound pbiloso- dress before this Institution. That, too, phy. " Whip the horse that pulls" is wo heard highly extolled, ami there can j not so inconsistent with reason as one be no doubt of its excellence— not a tin gtc duult. We had often heard of the el¬ oquence of Bro. Thomp-on, but had never met with him till two weeks before bo de¬ livered this address. As we apprehend no danger of bis becoming spoiled by any¬ thing we could say, wc will say, that for clearness of conception, exactness of ar¬ rangement, brilliancy of imagery, richness of language, fulness of vocabulary, ele¬ gance of utterance, fluency of speech, sound doctrine and an overpowering earn¬ estness of delivery, lie is the most extra might at first imagine. What would one gain by whipping a horse that wont pull. He would wear out his whip but make no progress. So, by begging a poor, stingy church in wastes bis lime, exhausts his energies, worries his patience and gets nothing I We had an appointment for Miami for a night in the week, and but for a rain storm, and the enthusiasm in town to witness the marveiis of a juggler, but should, doubtless, have filled the ap¬ pointment with profit to the Mission cause. Under the circumstances we did ordinary preacher we have ever heard.; not go out. That “Circus," too, had We have hoard the best preachers and J been in advance of us airain ; and carried speakers in the land, and some who would ; away $1800 of the people’s money i kes, perhaps excel this brotiier in the manifes- 1 and that after a season of long continued tation of deep pas-ion, but we never heard j drought, when they had beep murmuring a man who combined so many liigh ele- for rain for a month or more gone by. ments of pure oratory in the same per-on as does Bro. William Thompson of Mis souri. He has promised me, if possible, to attend our next Alabama Baptist State Convention at Marion. The Lord grant him health and prosper his way I I rom Lexington we turned aside to visit an old and valued friend, BRO. SMITH NEW. This Brotiier, years gone by, lived near a certain Institution of learning, in which there were quite a number of young " Theologians"— the writer among them preparing for the ministry. A church— rather a meeting house — was near his Oh! the eloquence of a Circus. It was affirmed most confidently that as many vehicles had never leen in Miami before at any one time. The different churches, as heretofore, were largely and ably rep¬ resented. It might he hazardous for some months to come to preach from the text : “Neither give place to the devil,” in the city of Miami. Of course, we should have gotten a small collection for Missions, but wc should have accepted most cheerfully whatever amount might have been forth¬ coming, had an opportunity been afforded. Friday came on, and with Bro. Bell, wc rode to Ildhel, one of his churches about I to I . . c arc i landmarkish” in our feelings and views, | but thought it no abuse of that doctrine to I preach in a Mcthodi-t Church. While a question might arise as to the propriety of ] Baptists inviting Redoes to preach for them, a Baptist minister has the right, "ox officio," to preach anywhere and every¬ where when an opportunity for so doing presents itself. If we are wrong in this view, Graves or Pendleton will be able to teach us that way mere perfectly. On ar¬ riving in town we soon found a home with a full hearted, genuine Old Kentucky wel¬ come at the house of Dr. Boyer. The Dr. and his lady came from Russellville, Ky,, and arc now established Missourians. As liaplists their hearts arc in the right place, while their hands are ready for any and every good work. Our sojourn with them was made very pleasant by their kind and obliging manners, A good— that is to say —a large congregation assembled at the Methodist meeting house in good time to which wc endeavored to preach Jesus. The "Circus" had been there also, anti imposed on the fun-loving people its usual tax. Will the reader allow a brief episode for a word or two in relation lo this Circus ? in sober sincerity, wc were alarmed for the interests of Zion when we saw how professors of religion in Western Missouri were almost wholly given to this idolatry Many of the pastors not only tolerate their members in the habit of Circus going, but they attend themselves I And this is not peculiar to any one denomination, but it is, we arc sorry lo believe, rather a com mon habit with all of them. If they do not all commune together in the house of God, they have a very jolly time of it under the broad canvass of the show company— this migratory tabernacle of modern times is this practice allowable, or is it sinful ? To say the least, the subject ought to be very seriously investigated by every Christian. Progress down the River, Done with all business in the upper country, we moved on slowly towards St. Louis again, not on tire river but by land in sight of its turbid waters. Finally, Jefferson City was arrived at, and there we took the cars. Eight hours more, and we were in the great emporium of the West. What a city is St. Louis? One hundred and twenty thousand inhab¬ itants! Buildings going up in all direc¬ tions ! Streets opening as by magic ! A commerce that scarcely knows a parallel ! Boats, ch «riots, omnibuses, drays and ve¬ hicles of all kinds and sizes in motion continually! all having something to do, and all in a hurry to do it! Beyond a doubt, St. Louis is destined to become a very large city. Contrary to our inten¬ tions, wo were detained in that city for three days, and, as wc had done in other places, wc were at some pains to make observations in relation to the progress and controlling influence of religious sen¬ timents. Tho churches of every city ought to be able, lo some considerable extent to restrain vice and direct the morals of its population. Unless their moral power is felt and respected, tire natural inference is that there is a decline of consistent spirituality, or in other words, that the churches are conforming to tire tastes and customs of the world. While there were, most unquestionably, many pious, Christ-loving Christians in most of the churches, there is reason to fear that Christianity does not exert that restraining influence on tlie conduct of the people that it would, if professors were less loose and more consistent in their daily walks before the world. The Uni¬ tarian sentiments of lire Church of the Messiah are infused extensively among the citizens. Dr. Elliott is an amiable, polite, and very popular preacher. His sermons— I judge from those he has pub¬ lished— do not trouble the heart much on account of its sins, but leave his auditors to infer that all will he well at last— that is, there will be no ultimate and eternal punishment. Such a doctrine suits exact¬ ly a promiscuous population concentrated in one city from all parts of the earth like that of St. Louis. Many members from other churches whoso hearts have grown cold from neglect of religious duties, have sought a home in that church. The doc¬ trine suits their peculiar condition. Thus through various channels and by a thou¬ sand avenues, the tenets of that society influence the conduct of a large portion of the community— not excepting many who hold membership in evangelical churches. This, at least, is our opinion. The pastors of the orthodox churches have need to be faithful— it is a time that calls for self-ex¬ amination and sound instruction. The Sadrath. Wc attended in the morning at the Se¬ cond Baptist Khurch. The day was serene and delightful j the warm weather had given place to a cool, bracing atmosphere. Every external aspect and circumstance was propitious for a large congregation, liut by the time tlie pastor had gotten through Ihe preliminary exercises and had reached tho end of the exordium of his sermon, the sum total of all present was about an hundred and twenty! About the same number, it is true, was once found together, " in one place," in apos¬ tolic times, but it was rather a small “ showing" for a large church in a popu¬ lous city in the nineteenth century. Bro. Read preached a short, plain, acceptable discourse, and dismissed. A reason for Ihe meagre congregation was assigned — namely, many citizens were absent. No doubt this was a good reason in part, still, if true, vital piety were active in the hearts of (be members generally, the house would have been betler filled than it was even on that occasion The brief service at the Baptist Church allowed us time lo look in .. 1 1. .. >n 4l.„ L L 'll on the congregations in the houses built for Dr. Bullard and the Rev. Mr. Holmes. The congregations at both places, we should think, were thin, though somewhat larger at either than that was at the Bap- ' list Church. The Baptist Churches or Sr. LourS. 1 Our heart was pained on contemplating the spiritual condition of these churches. The Second Church is wealthy and 'her at m.i.