Christian Nation Vol. 18 1893 - Rparchives.org

May 24, 1893.A FAMILT PAPER.have beoome a necessity. It wonld be equivalent to«tax on tools.—Another Anstralian Bank has failed. The MeUbourne City Bank is the unfortunate ooiporation. Financialpanio prevails in the Australian eities. Specialservices of prayer for relief from financialdisasterhave been ordered by the clergy.—Financial London has been on the verge of a panioall week. The news of the week contained the announcementof the failure of four Australian Banks.Shipments of Gold to New York and the depression atWall street caused much excitement.—London Tit-bits recently oflfered a prize for thebest definition of a gentleman. This enterprisingLondon periodical has awarded the prize to the following: " A knight whose armour is honor, whoseweapon is courtesy."—The dinner in honor of Satolli had a very demooraticring. Dr. O'Gorman was represented as acceptingthe separation of church and state as a fundamentalprinciple of political institutions, at variancewith every Romish tradition in the past.Satolli was welcomed as an American at heart.Faith in the people and Ameriean patriotism werelinked with faith in the church and acceptance of herinfallible teachings. It is a sign of the timts, thatthe most aristocratic and close handed of buman institutions,the church of Rome, glories in democracyand democratic ideas.—The Presbyterian Assembly opened at Washingtonon May 18th. Rev. Dr. Young retiring Moderatorpreached an able discourse upon " The glory cfthe Ohristian Church." He vigorously attacked thedestructive critics of the Bible, and well defined therelation of criticism to orthodoxy. Against the captiouscriticism of nationalists he proudly asserted, theBible, the whole Bible will conquer. Prof. W. G.Craig of McCormick University, Ohicago, was chosenModerator.—The Chemical National Bank on the World's Fairgrounds has suspended payments. Several morebanks in Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana have closed inconnection with the failure of the Columbia Bank,Ohicago.REVIEW OF THE WEEK.The Covenant of Blood.Rev. Dr. H. C Trumbull has issued a bookunder the above title which will be read withintense interest. He has amassed many facts,and from these facts he draws an unbiassedconclusion of much value. He shows that th*^Covenant-of-blood brotherhood has long beenacknowledged among the African tribes.Those contracting taste each other's blood, orthe blood of each is transfused into the veinsof the other. In this way brotherhood is established.This bond of blood-brotherhood public fathered the enterprise so as to make itwas the strongest known in Africa, transcendinga masterpiece of Amercan genius, giving athe tie of natural kinship ; this same rite helping hand to make it a success, legislatinghas been found under different forms in all upon the conditions. After all this had been should raise the bar of exclusion against theparts of the globe. It was the origin of the done, the Commission openly defies the law, inoffensive Chinaman. It would be a blotearly relationship of marriage, and largely accountsand allies itself with anarchism. Friends of upon American civilization if there should befor the permanent union formed in themarital covenant, sanctified under the pen oflaw and order will be chary of giving countenanceto a law-breaking institution. In additionany hasty descent upon the Chinese. The onlyalternative is for the Chinese to register. Ofto this the matter may be reduced to very inspiration. In the early Jewish rites he findscourse it is not an immoral or unscripturala twofold indication of the blood covenant, in small compass. The Commission has had beforething to compel registration ; at the same timecircumcision and the Passover. In otherit the choice of God or Mammon. With it is harsh and was intended to make the Chi­words, the entire Jewish dispensation was open eyes and in face of protests from millions nese feel that he was marked with nationalfounded upon a brotherhood of blood. He of the Christian public in the country, they odium, so that to escape such odium, he couldsays, in speaking of the Passover, " In the sacrificehave chosen Mammon. Christians can only be sent away from the country. The Ameri­for the whole congregation the priest now say, light cau have no fellowship withdips his hand in the biood of the sacifiee, and darkness. It is ostensibly for gold, the half.so puts the blood between himself, as the people'srepresentative, and the altar as the pointof contact with God." In the patriarchal dispensationthe idea of blood-sacrifices as thebasis of religious brotherhood ie also prominent.A most ingenious application of theidea is found ih the reference by Dr. Trumbullto the brotherhood of blood at the foundationof the Christian brotherhood, eet forth in thewords of Christ himself, " He that drinkethmy blood hath eternal life." It is the hnmanside of the divine words, " Without shedding ofblood there is no remission of sins."Opening The Fair on Sabbath.By a vote of thirty-five to two the local Directoryof the Fair decides that the Fair shallbe open every day after May 2l8t—open inevery respect, grounds, buildings, plaisanceand all. This resolution provides inasmuch asCongress appropriated $2,500,000, the ExpesitionCompany will relurn to the governmenttbe balance after the Exposition closes, thusfreeing itself from the closing sestriction.Oue ostensible reason for the opening of thegates and buildings is that the daily expensesamount to $45,000, while the average attendanceis 17.000 persons, meaning of course financialfailure. It is not yet known what thenational commission will do. Already a vehementprotest has come from the OhristianEndeavorers and from many divines and prominentpersons. We join with all forcible earnestnessin this protest against a nationaldisgrace, and plead for the maintenance of lawand authority, as well as the upholding of anation's honor. Wilbur Crafts characterizesthis action of the local directorate as anarchy,and he demands that liberty which has " nofellowship with anarchy, but is wedded to theSabbath," shall withdraw the great LibertyBell. John Willis Baer, General Secretary ofthe Society of C. E., has telegraphed to PresidentPalmer, " one million and a half membersof C. E. Societies will stand by the Commissionersin bringing an injunction against Higginbothamand associates if thoy open the gateson Sunday." We cannot speak of the actionof the local commission otherwise than that itis in defiance of the law and will of the peopleof America. Chicago won the right to holdthe Fair in competition with other cities, andCongress in the name of the American Re­dollars of twenty thousand men and women onthe Lord's day, that the Fair is opened. Christianshave it in their power to retain in theirowu possession and to devote to holy purposes,millions of dollars that might have found theirway into the coffers of the Commission. Itmight have paid the Commission to be consistentand law-abiding, even if there was no accountto be taken of the question of rightnessor wrongness. 'We are pleased to notice that the AttorneyGeneral has decided that the Post Office branchin the Post Office depaitment cannot be opened.The P. O. and government exhibits will thereforebe closed on Sabbath.The Qeary Law.A special session of the Supreme Court waaheld last week to hear the arguments upon theconstitutionality of the Chinese Exclusion Act.Joseph H. Choate, pf New Tork, presented theplea and arguments for a writ of Habeas Corpusin the case of the three Chinese arrestedunder the Aot. He contended that it was ingross violation of treaty rights, as well as inconflict with this nation's sense of humanity.Apart from the quibbles of law, which oftentrample upon justice, we think be spoke trulywhen he eaid, " there is no power in Congressto expel friendly alien residents except as apunishment for crime." And yet the SupremeCourt, by the voice of a majority of its members,bas declared that the Act providing forthe exclusion of the Chinese and the expuls'on,of all Chinese laborers who have not registeredis constitutional. Justice Gray in announcingthe judgment declared that to discuss the wisdomor the justice of the Act in question wasbeyond the province of the judicial branch ofgovernment. Three membwrs of the court entereda strong dissent from the opinion deliveredby the majority. Justiee Field, who deliveredthe opinion of the Supreme Court inthe firstcase under the Exclusion Act, heldthat there was a wide difference between exclusionof immigrants, and the deportation ofalien residents, and he characterizerl the Act asinhuman, and violative of the Constitution inevery section. He regretted, as many will alsoregret, that the decision was fraught with thegravest dangers to the priceless constitutionalliberties of the people. The Chinese are notaccused of any crime, save that of being Chinese,and it speaks badly for humanitarianism,that a law which gives refuge to the very roughestcharacters from other countries of the world,can psopli cannot afford to give an exhibitionof harsh and humiliating tactics, paralleled bythe expulsion of the Jews by the Czar of Russia.It is reported that the cabinet have declaredtheir inability to carry out the Act asthere is no money for the purpose.