of the Sabbath, the securing of Church property, and the undisturbed tranquillity of public worship by every variety of Christian sects. The law makes no distinction among these sects, and gives to no one the predominance over the others. It protects all equally, and gives no political privileges to the adherent of one over those of another sect.

"The laws of the several states author

legislation of the individual states has upon religion, and which sometimes comes not a little to its help, there are cases in which the civil authority intervenes more directly, not in settling points of doctrine, but in determining questions of property; and these are by no means of rare occurrence where there are conflicting claims in individual churches. This, indeed, has happened twice at least, in reference to property held by large religious denomina-ize the acquisition and holding of church tions. The first of these cases occurred property, under certain limitations as to in New Jersey, and on that occasion the value, either by making a special corporacourts decided upon the claims to certain tion for that purpose, or through the agenproperty, urged by the Orthodox and the cy of trustees empowered under general Hicksites, two bodies into which the So-regulations for that purpose. Without gociety of Friends, or Quakers, has been di- ing into detail on this subject, it is enough vided throughout the United States. And to say that they proceed upon the princialthough the trial took place on a local ple of allowing the church to hold a sufficause, or, rather, for a local claim, yet the cient amount of real and personal property principle upon which it was decided affect- to enable it to perform its appropriate funced all the property held by Quaker socie- tions, and, at the same time, to guard against ties in the state. abuse, by allowing too great an amount of The second case occurred recently in wealth to be perpetually locked up in mortPennsylvania, where the Supreme Court main by grants and testamentary disposihad to decide upon the claims of the Old tions ad pios usus. In some of the states and New School, to certain property be- of the Union, the English statute of mortlonging to the General Assembly of the main has been introduced, by which reliPresbyterian Church, on its being divided gious corporations are disabled from acinto two separate bodies, each of which quiring real property unless by special assumed the name of the Presbyterian license of the government. In others, the Church. Here the court had of necessity capacity to acquire it is regulated and limto decide which of the two ought by law ited by the special acts of legislation into be considered the true representative corporating religious societies. The ecand successor of the Presbyterian Church clesiastical corporations existing before before its division. The decision, how-the Revolution, which separated the United ever, did not rest on doctrinal grounds, but wholly on the acts of the bodies themselves, the court refusing to take up the question of doctrines at all, as not being within their province. Not so in the case of the Quakers just referred to. There the court considered the question of doctrine, in order to determine which body was the true Society of Friends.

I apprehend that I have now said enough to place the nature of the mutual relations between Church and State in America fairly before the reader, and will dismiss the subject by giving some extracts from a communication which the Hon. Henry Wheaton, ambassador from the United States to the Court of Berlin, has had the goodness to address to me, and which presents, in some respects, a résumé, or summary of what may be said on this subject: "In answer to your first query, I should say that the State does not view the Christian Church as a rival or an enemy, but rather as an assistant or co-worker in the religious and moral instruction of the people, which is one of the most important duties of civil government.

"It is not true that the Church is treated as a stranger by the state.

"There are ample laws in all the states of the American Union for the observance

States from the parent country, continue to enjoy the rights and property which they had previously held under acts of Parliament, or of the provincial Legislatures.

Blasphemy is punished as a criminal offence by the laws of the several states.

"Perjury is, in like manner, punished as a crime; the form of administering the oath being accommodated to the conscientious views of different religious sects. The Quakers are allowed to affirm solemnly; the Jews swear upon the scriptures of the Old Testament only; and certain Christian sects with the uplifted hand.

"There has been much discussion among our jurists as to how the oaths of infidels ought to be considered in courts of justice. But, so far as I recollect, the general result is to reject the oath of such persons only as deny the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, without absolutely requiring a belief in revealed religion.

"The laws regulating marriage with us are founded on the precepts of Christianity; hence polygamy is absolutely forbidden, and punished as a crime under the denomination of bigamy. Marriages between relations by blood in the ascending or descending lines, and between collaterals in the first degree, are absolutely forbidden in

all the states; and in some, all marriages | overthrow and its consequences; and, finalwithin the Levitical degrees are also forbidden.

ly, the relations which have subsisted between the churches and the civil govern"The common law of England, which ments since the Revolution. We are now requires consent merely, without any par- about to enter upon the consideration of ticular form of solemnization, to render a the resources which the churches have marriage legally valid, is adopted in those developed since they have been compelled states of the American Union which have to look, in dependance upon God's blessnot enacted special legislative statutes on ing, to their own exertions, instead of relythe subject. In some of the states mar-ing on the arm of the state. riage is required to be solemnized in the presence of a clergyman or magistrate.

"All our distinguished men, so far as I know, are Christians of one denomination or other. A great reaction has taken place within the last thirty years against the torrent of infidelity let in by the superficial philosophy of the eighteenth century.

"I believe the separation of Church and State is, with us, considered almost, if not universally, as a blessing."

A review of the ground which we have gone over may be given almost in the very words of an able author, to whom we have been repeatedly indebted.

1. "The first settlers of the United States went to it as Christians, and with strong intent to occupy the country in that char

acter.

2. "The lives they lived there, and the institutions they set up, were signalized by the spirit and doctrine of the religion they professed.

With these extracts, which give the views of one of the most distinguished 3. The same doctrine and spirit, destatesmen and diplomatists of America, scending upon the patriots of the federal and which confirm the positions we have era, entered largely into the primary State advanced on all the points to which they | Constitutions of the Republic, and, if analrefer, we close our remarks on the exist-ogy can be trusted, into the constructive ing relations between the Church and State meaning of the Federal Charter itself. in that country.

CHAPTER XII.

4. "Christianity is still the popular religion of the country.

5. "And, finally, notwithstanding some untoward acts of individual rulers, it is to this day, though without establishments, and with equal liberty to men's conscien

REVIEW OF THE GROUND WHICH WE HAVE ces, the religion of the laws and of the

GONE OVER.

We have now arrived at the close of the Third Book of this work.

We have traced the religious character of the early colonists who settled in America; the religious establishments which they planted; the happy and the unhappy influences of those establishments; their

government. If records tell the truth-if annals and documents can outweigh the flippant rhetoric of licentious debate, our public institutions carry still the stamp of their origin: the memory of better times is come down to us in solid remains; the monuments of the fathers are yet standing; and, blessed be God, the national edifice continues visibly to rest upon them."*

BOOK IV.

THE VOLUNTARY PRINCIPLE IN AMERICA; ITS ACTION AND
INFLUENCE.

CHAPTER I.

THE VOLUNTARY PRINCIPLE THE GREAT AL-
TERNATIVE. —THE NATURE AND VASTNESS

OF ITS MISSION.

THE reader has remarked the progress of Religious Liberty in the United States from the first colonization of the country until the present time, and traced the effects of its successive developments in modifying the relations between the churches and the state.

He has seen that when that country began to be settled by European emigrants, I

in the beginning of the seventeenth cenof the immortal mind were but little untury, freedom of conscience and the rights derstood in the Old World. Those even who fled to the New, to enjoy this greatest of all earthly blessings, had but an imperfect apprehension of the subject and its bearings. That which they so highly prized for themselves, and for the attainment of which they had made such sacrifices, they were unwilling to accord to others. Not that men were not allowed, in evAn Inquiry into the Moral and Religious Character of the American Government,” p. 139, 140.

*

66

On the other hand, as we have shown, ery colony, to entertain whatever opinions they chose on the subject of religion, if neither the General Government nor that they did not endeavour to propagate them of the States does anything directly for the when contrary to those of the Established maintenance of public worship. Religion Church, where one existed. In the colo- is protected, and indirectly aided, as has nies where the greatest intolerance exist- been proved, by both; but nowhere does: ed, men were compelled to attend the Na-the civil power defray the expenses of the tional Church, but they were not required, churches, or pay the salaries of ministers in order to be allowed a residence, to make of the Gospel, excepting in the case of a a profession of the established faith. This few chaplains connected with the public was the lowest amount possible of reli- service. gious liberty. Low as it is, however, it is not yet enjoyed by the native inhabitants of Italy, and some other Roman Catholic countries.

But it was not long before a step in advance was made by Virginia and Massachusetts, of all the colonies the most rigid | in their views of the requirements of a Church Establishment. Private meetings of dissenters for the enjoyment of their own modes of worship began to be tolerated.

A second step was to grant to such dissenters express permission to hold public meetings for worship, without releasing them, however, from their share of the taxes to support the Established Church.

The third step which religious freedom made consisted in relieving dissenters from the burden of contributing in any way to the support of the Established Church.

And, finally, the fourth and great step was to abolish altogether the support of any church by the state, and place all, of every name, on the same footing before the law, leaving each church to support itself by its own proper exertions.

Such is the state of things at present, and such it will remain. In every state, liberty of conscience and liberty of worship are complete. The government extends protection to all. Any set of men who wish to have a church or place of worship of their own, can have it, if they choose to erect or hire a building at their own charges. Nothing is required but to comply with the terms which the law prescribes in relation to holding property for public uses. The proper civil authorities have nothing to do with the creed of those who open such a place of worship. They cannot offer the smallest obstruction to the opening of a place of worship anywhere, if those who choose to undertake it comply with the simple terms of the law in relation to such property.

Upon what, then, must Religion rely? Only, under God, upon the efforts of its friends, acting from their own free will, influenced by that variety of considerations which is ordinarily comprehended under the title of a desire to do good. This, in America, is the grand and only alternative. To this principle must the country look for all those efforts which must be made for its religious instruction. To the consideration of its action, and the development of its resources, the book upon which we now enter is devoted.

Let us look for a moment at the work which, under God's blessing, must be accomplished by this instrumentality.

The population of the United States in 1840 was, by the census, ascertained to be 17,068,666 souls. At present (January, 1844) it surpasses 18,500,000. Upon the voluntary principle alone depends the religious instruction of this entire population, embracing the thousands of churches and ministers of the Gospel, colleges, theological seminaries, Sunday-schools, missionary societies, and all the other instrumentalities that are employed to promote the knowledge of the Gospel from one end of the country to the other. Upon the mere unconstrained good-will of the people, and especially of those among them who love the Saviour and profess His name, does this vast superstructure rest. Those may tremble for the result who do not know what the human heart is capable of doing when left to its own energies, moved and sustained by the grace and the love of God.

Still more not only must all the good that is now doing in that vast country, and amid more than 18,500,000 of souls, be continued by the voluntary principle, but the increasing demands of a population augmenting in a ratio to which the history of the world furnishes no parallel, must be met and supplied. And what this will reNor can the police authorities interfere quire may be conceived when we state the to break up a meeting, unless it can be fact that the annual increase of the popuproved to be a nuisance to the neighbour-lation during the decade from 1840 to 1850 hood by the disturbance which it occasions, or on account of the immoral practices which may be committed in it; not on account of the particular religious faith which may be there taught. All improper meddling with a religious meeting, no matter whether it is held in a church or in a private house, would not be tolerated.

cannot be short of 500,000 upon an average! From 1790 to 1800, the average annual increase of the inhabitants of the country was 137,609; from 1800 to 1810 it was 193,388; from 1810 to 1820 it was 239,831; from 1820 to 1830 it was 322,878; from 1830 to 1840 it was 420,174. At this rate the annual increase from 1840 to 1850

will, upon an average of the years, exceed | necessary in order to give the reader a 500,000. And the whole increase of the ten proper idea of the manifestations of what years will exceed 5,000,000 of souls. To has been called the voluntary principle in augment the number of ministers of the the United States, and to trace it throughGospel, churches, &c., so as adequately to out all its many ramifications there. But, meet this annual demand, will require great before entering upon this, I would fain exertion. give him a right conception of the character of the people, as being that to which the principle referred to mainly owes its success.

At the first sight of this statistical view of the case, some of my readers will be ready to exclaim that the prospect is hopeless. Others will say, Wo to the cause of religion if the government does not put its shoulders to the wheel! But I answer, not only in my own name, but dare to do it in that of every well-informed American Christian, "No! we want no more aid from the government than we receive, and what it so cheerfully gives. The prospect is not desperate so long as Christians do their duty in humble and heartfelt reliance upon God." If we allow that 80,000 of this half a million of souls which constitutes the annual increase of the population are under five years of age, and therefore need not be taken into account in calculating the required increase of church accommodation which must be annually made, as being too young to be taken to the sanctuary, we have 420,000 persons to provide for. This would require annually the building or opening of 420 churches, holding 1000 persons each, and an increase of 420 ministers of the Gospel; or, what would be much more probable, 840 churches, each holding on an average 500 persons; and a sufficient number of preachers to occupy them. That that number should be 840 would certainly be desirable; and yet a smaller number could suffice; for in many cases one minister must, in order to find his support, preach to two or more congregations. So, if 840 churches be not built every year, something equal to this in point of accommodation must be either built or found in some way or other. Sometimes schoolhouses answer the purpose in the new settlements; sometimes private houses, or some public building, can make up for the want of a church. Now we shall see in the sequel to what extent facts show that provision is actually made to meet this vast demand. For the present, all that I contemplate in giving this statistical view of the subject is, to enable the reader to form some idea of the work to be accomplished on the voluntary principle in America, if religion is to keep progress with the increase of the population.

CHAPTER II.

FOUNDATION OF THE VOLUNTARY PRINCIPLE
TO BE SOUGHT FOR IN THE CHARACTER AND
HABITS OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED

Enough has been said in former parts of this work to show, that whether we look to the earlier or later emigrations to America, no small energy of character must have been required in the emigrants before venturing on such a step; and with regard to the first settlers in particular, that nothing but the force of religious principle could have nerved them to encounter the difficulties of all kinds that beset them. But if great energy, self-reliance, and enterprise be the natural attributes of the original emigrant, as he quits all the endearments of home, and the comforts and luxuries of states far advanced in civilization, for a life in the woods, amid wild beasts, and sometimes wilder men, pestilential marshes, and privations innumerable, the same qualities are very much called forth by colonial life, after the first obstacles have been overcome. It accustoms men to disregard trifling difficulties, to surmount by their own efforts obstacles which, in other states of society, would repel all such attempts, and themselves to do many things which, in different circumstances, they would expect others to do for them.

Moreover, the colonies were thrown very much on their own resources from the first. England expended very little upon them. Beyond maintaining a few regiments from time to time, in scattered companies, at widely-separated points, and supplying some cannon and small arms, she did almost nothing even for the defence of the country. In almost every war with the Indians, the colonial troops alone carried on the contest. Instead of England helping them, they actually helped her incomparably more in her wars against the French, in the Canadas, and in the provinces of NewBrunswick and Cape Breton, when they not only furnished men, but bore almost the whole charge of maintaining them. Then came the war of the Revolution, which, in calling forth all the nation's energies during eight long years, went far to cherish that vigour and independence of character which had so remarkably distinguished the first colonists.

And although in some of the colonies the Church and State were united from the first, the law did little more than preScribe how the churches were to be maintained. It made some men give grudgingSOME minuteness of detail will be found ly, who would otherwise have given little

STATES.

or nothing; while, at the same time, it lim- | some government official for the means of ited others to a certain fixed amount, who, needful repair, a few of them put their if left to themselves, would perhaps have hands into their pockets, and supply these given more. themselves, without delay or the risk of vexatious refusals from public functionaries.