characteristic of the unfledged clergymen of the Presbyterian order. That the spirit of intolerance which has long been exhibiting his frightful visage among the Calvinistic churches generally, may take his departure without shedding any more of his Bohon Upas influence; that charity without which religion is worse than vanity, may fill the hearts of all professors, at least to a tolerable extent, and that Heaven's blessing may descend upon the other religious societies in Delhi, as well as on Mr. L's "sacramental host of God's elect," is the sincere prayer and ardent desire of the writer of this chap ter. CHAPTER V. "FIVE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES, ARE STILL WITHOUT A PREACHED GOSPEL." THE above declaration was made before several hundreds of the good citizens of Cincinnati, in November 1832, on the Lord's day, in the second Presbyterian church in that city, by the Rev. Mr. Peters, the Secretary of the Home Missionary Society. Mr. Peters also went on to state, that "In the United States, containing thirteen millions, there are but eight thousand ministers of all denominations." Again: This Rev. Secretary said, "Six years ago there were but three ministers of the gospel in the State of Illinois, at present there are but thirty, and twenty-sia of them were sent out by the Home Missionary Society." He then added, "Six years ago there were but three ministers in Missouri, now there are but twenty, and sixteen of them were sent by the same society." Now, the Rev. Timothy Flint, of the Presbyterian church, somewhere in the neighborhood of the time Mr. Peters says there were but three ministers in Illinois, wrote from that State to a Presbyterian editor of New York, declaring that there was but one minister in the State! Which of these slanderous parsons are we to believe? The above contradic tion reminds me of an occurrence I once witnessed. At à synodical meeting in East Tennessee, where the Presbyterian clergy, one by one, were giving the most appalling accounts of the desolations of our country. Dr. Coffin, then of Knoxville, remarked in substance as follows: "I am not pastor of any regular church, owing to the relation I sustain to the East Tennessee College; but from my knowledge of Knoxville and its vicinity, I am prepared to say, that much harmony and brotherly love prevails among the citizens, and the cause of God is prospering." The Rev. Mr. Foster, of the same place, came forward next, who, being absent when the old Doctor made his statement, and not knowing what had been said, remarked, in direct opposition to him: "Wickedness and party spirit prevail to a very great extent in Knoxville!" Well, said I to myself, this is strange work! Upon leaving the place, said I to an Attorney of my acquaintance, when you lawyers have a difficult cause on hand, and a number of sorry witnesses to examine, I am told you usually get them out behind the house and drill them, or learn them all to tell the same story.. With a significant smile he replied, "the like has been done, and I think those preachers ought to have come to a similar understanding likewise." But to return. At the time Mr. Peters disgorged himself in Cincinnati, there were about fifty travelling Methodist preachers in Illinois,-there were forty-six in the Missouri Conference; and there were many local preachers who had emigrated to, and been raised up in those States, besides the many Baptists, and Cumberland Presbyterian ministers, preachers of the United Brethren, &c. &c. Now Mr. Peters, where do your five millions of heathen live? Surely not in North America. But what do these gentlemen understand by the terms heathen and heathenism? What countries are known as heathen among the inhabitants of Protestant Christendom in Europe or America? I an swer, those countries that are not under the influence of the gospel. Those countries where other religions than that of the christian prevail; where idols, the work of men's hands, are objects of worship; such as Turkey in Europe and Asia, China, Japan, Persia and Africa. These are heathen countries, and the worship of idols, brother Peters, is the heathen mark. Did ever a Presbyterian missionary, during his peregrinations in the West, find any persons bowing down to a god of their own make? I think not; unless they were some of the most stupid of the Western Indians. Once again: The Rev. Thomas A. Morris of the Methodist Episcopal Church, at present the editor of the Western Christian Advocate, was present in Cincinnati, and heard Mr. Peters utter these most appalling religious statistics that ever came to the ears of a civilized people; and Mr. Morris immediately exposed the Secretary, through the columns of the Christian Advocate and Journal. Well, the burst of in dignation soon became so great, that Mr. Leavitt, the editor of the New York Evangelist, and a near neighbor of Mr. P's, came out and said, "we do not know who T. A. Morris is, but we do assuredly know, that brother Peters never made any such statements as above represented." To this Mr. Morris replied with the following certificates, which put an end to the controversy. "We do hereby certify, that we were at the second Presbyterian church and heard the sermon refered to by Rev. T. A. Morris, dated Nov. 27, 1832; and we do recollect that the stranger, calling himself the secretary of the Home Missionary society, did make the statements marked as quotations by Mr. Morris, and more especially those in reference to the number of ministers in Illinois and Missouri, and that he did not qualify the expressions by either prefixing or affixing any terms to refer the members to any one church. JAMES SHARP, J. JORDON. Cincinnati, Jan. 23, 1833." "We also were present and heard the sermon above referred to, and do certify that the Rev. Mr. Peters not only made such statements, but we believe the identical statements given by Mr. Morris. Jan. 23, 1833." JAMES ARMSTRONG, In conclusion. By the last census of 1830, the population of the United States was 12,866,020. From the best authenticated documents for 1833, as collected from the official reports of the respective denominations, (not including the Roman Catholics) it appears that there are 17,000 preachers in the United States, even supposing the local preachers of the Methodist church, not to number more than 5,000. In the valley of the Mississippi as it is called, there were, in 1833, as many as 22 religious papers, having in all 35,500 subscribers. And in this, I have not reckoned the Catholic papers. In addition to the religious papers published in the valley, I ought to add, that many thousands of those published in the East, are circulated here. There are several political papers in the West, which also publish much religious intelligence. There are also, a great many literary and scientific publications in the west, and most of them too, have quite an extensive circulation. And now, candid reader, I ask you, is the western country a heathen country? I am sorry to see such highly exceptionable features, in the major ity of the reports of the Presbyterian missionaries. I allude to the sectarian rule by which the moral character of a people is estimated, and to the want of that friendly and respectful feeling to which ministers of other denominations are entitled at least, for their work's sake. After mustering up all the charity I am master of, I cannot resist the belief that, the object of the writers, is not to look out the truly des titute and supply them with the means of grace, but to find the people who are without a Presbyterian ministry; and that, in their opinion, wherever Presbyterian ministers are not sufficiently numerous to supply the whole population,there the people are in the "region and shadow of death!" Verily, verily, I say unto all such, the kingdom of Heaven consists not in lies and falsehoods, but in righteousness, peace, truth, fair dealing, and joy in the Holy Ghost. These are strange times in which we live! Had our unworthy brother Peters, given us this doleful account of some land inhabited by savage tribes-some remote heathen nation -some place where Juggernaut and other sanguinary idols are worshiped, then might we have read the account with deep interest. This brother Peters, I suppose, is one of the many dear youths who are so spontaneously produced by the red sand stone mountains of Connecticut river, between Northampton and Massachusetts, and all that country near the south line of Vermont! The geology, geography, climate, inhabitants, together with the animal and vegetable productions of all that country, are quite favorable to the growth of such missionaries; and also to wooden nutmegs, wooden hams, and improved patent clocks! And how very benevolent they are, in that they condescend graciously, to crowd to the "Great West," and to labor and toil among the most vile and rude-the most loose, unchaste, immodest, off-scouring of the whole earth! Surely, if there be merit in works they will not loose their reward! What! men loose their reward, who, by their zeal, and talents, and lofty erudition, through thick and thin, have sustained the honors, and promoted the vital good of christianity, among such a vast tribe of untutored savages, as inhabit the valley of the Mississippi! No, really, they shall be so blessed in this life, that it may be said of them, "they sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play;" and should they neglect to repent, as they in all probability will, in the life to come, they shall be blessed with everlasting destruction! Lastly: Upon the authority of these filthy little missiona. ries, the Presbyterian prints to the East, all unite in represent ing the western people as one vast tribe of ferocious and un⚫ tutored wanderers-nay, savages, even the rudest of nature's children, having their dwelling places west of the Allegany mountains; and where, as in the republic of Sparta, theft, instead of being execrated as a crime, is dignified into an art, and an accomplishment, and on that footing even admitted into their system of education! These men and editors, supposing that we do not even possess a single vestige of a moral regimen that we are even destitute of the theology of conscience; and that, with the fierceness and frenzy of a Cataline, or the rage and fury of a Nero, we traverse the hills. and valleys; or that we like the natives of Hindostan, assemble with delight around the agonies of a human sacrifice;supposing this to be our state I say, they light down among us, richly laden with the inconsistencies of Calvinism, and endowed with prophetic vision, so as to behold, among the yet undiscovered secrets of futurity, the certain doom of the reprobates, and the equally certain joys of the elect! And if the doctrines they preach to us be true, the conclusion is inevitable, that we are under the government of a malignant and unrighteous God, at once the patron of vice and the persecutor of virtue. From the soul-damning influence of such doctrines, good Lord deliver, even us poor barbarians of the west! CHAPTER VI. THE STATE OF INDIANA A GREAT MORAL WASTE. IN the Home Missionary, for September, 1833, I find a communication from the pen of the Rev. Moses H. Wilder, agent of the American Tract Society, written from Jefferson county, Indiana, and headed, "WIDE FIELDS TO BE OCCUPIED!" Mr. W. after making some preliminary remarks, and after speaking of his extensive tour through this state, and of the many things which come under his observation, politely adds: There is a missionary field situated between Fort Wayne and Logansport, which is of first importance. A town, Huntington, is springing up on the Wabash, 24 miles from Fort Wayne, on the line of the canal, which is destined soon to be a town of some importance. In one direction there is no Presbyterian preacher within sixty miles. There is one at Fort Wayne, twenty-four miles, and with . |