The New York Herald Newspaper, August 23, 1875, Page 8

~ RELIGION Its Manifestation in the City:and Grove, By the River and-Sea. “JORD, IT IS GOOD TO BE:HERE.” Services at Sing Sing~-and Ocean Grove. ‘ Tree Leaves Shivering in the! Re- sonance of Psalmody. FORTY YEARS A MINISTER. ANNIVERSARY SERVICES AT THE REFORMED PRO- TESTANT DUTCH CHURCH OF PORT RICHMOND, & L—A HISTORICAL DISCOURSE BY REY. DR. JAMES BROWNLEE. ‘Within a few yards of the ferry to New York at Port Richmond, Staten Island, is situated a neat religious edifice, over the main entrance to which is inseribed, “Reformed Protestant Dutch Church. Founded 1716. Destroyed in the Revolutionary War. Erected anew 1786, Rebuilt and enlarged 1844." This church is built sub- stantially of brick and is capable of accommodating about 800 persons. The pastor is Rey. Dr. James Brownlee, a ‘venerable gentleman of seventy years, Yesterday this pastor had served his flock faithfully for forty years. ‘The date was the anniversary of bis entrance upon ‘the responsible duties of presiding over the spiritual welfare of this congregation. Invitations had been distributed to members of the congregation and some outside friends, announcing the fact that a special service would be held in honor of the event. Oldand fond memories of generations passed away, and faces of rolatives never to be seen again on earth cluster around this ancient church. Rev. Dr. Brownlee is associated more or less with these reminis- cences. He was familiarly known and respected by the fathers and many of the grandfathers of his present congregation. The old graveyard which adjoins the church bears in its bosom the ashes of numbers of those Joved ones. Wives, husbands, brothers and sisters who departed over half a century ago repose peacefully in this ancient graveyard. The tombstones record their ames and date of demise. Port Richmond and vicinity many years ago were inhabited by a pure Holland stock, ‘The Van Praags, Garrisons and many others of Dutch origin are here buried. Jn commemoration of this anniversary and its pecu- Nar surroundings Rev. Dr. Brownlee’s church was yesterday morning filled by a highly respectable con- gregation. A fine organ and choir discoursed choice music. The front of the pulpit was inscribed with flow- ers—the figures “1835-1875,” emblematic of the forty years during which the reverend gentleman officiated as pastor. The service commenced with prayer, the thanks of the clergyman being poured ont for a forty years’ life of religious usefulness. A bymn was then Bung, after which Rev. Dr. Brownlee remarked that he did not propose to deliver a sermon on the occasion, He then proceeded to read a lengthy historical narrative of the efforts of former ministers of his church on Staten Island and vicinity since the year 1680. In conclusion he sketched the story of his own church, and caine down to the day, forty years ago, when he was called upon to act as its pastor, Some of the congregation who then listened to him were present upon that ocea- sion, while very many others had since sunk into their graves. During these forty years various changes had Yaken place. Ofseventy-one members who originally be- Jo to the congregation only five now remain; of “twelve members of the consistory only three remain. "Ho, the reverend gentleman, had ministered to three genera- tions, had baptized their children and their children’s ebildren. He might feel that he was an old man, but in ‘bodily health he was as strong as ever. He had been in- ‘vited to go to other pulpits, but had not accepted the in- ‘vitation, He had received great kindness at the hands of his congregation. Nothing should terminate rela- tions between a minister and Lis flock unless matters of Bvery serious character, He did not desire a change, and his only wish was to rest at last among those with ‘whom and for whom he had ministered for so many years. The reverend pastor was affected to tears at this Period of his remarks. He then proceeded to give dates ‘and statrsties as to the progress of his religious efforts and those of his predecessors. In July, 1808, the pres- ent edifice had been built. In 1815 a new colony from the church had been established in Tompkinsville, Two after another church was cstablished at the Intter place, and an independent congregation or- ized. Sabbath schools were commenced in his church as early ax 1812, Soon after the reverend gon- tleman’s settlement in 1835 the old church was repaired, and in 1845 a new edifice bnilt, and dedicated in February, 1846. The parsonage was also enlarged a apiece of ground purchased for acemetery. Throug! the kindness and appreciation of his congregation four times had his salary been increased and twice had he been permitted to visit his native land. During these forty years he preached 3,534 sermons, attended over 800 funerals, married 535 couples, baptized 779 children and 77 adults, and received into’ his congregation over 615 members. These were the leading statistics of the reverend pas- NEW YORK HERALD, MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 1875.-TRIPLE SHEET. PRAYERS IN A PARK. BROOKLYN'S PRAYING BAND STILL IN THE FIELD. Shortly after three o'clock about 800 people were as- sembled on and around the platform in Leffert’s Park, Brooklyn, when the conductor of the exercises, Deacon O'Donnell, with a clear ringing voice gave out the hymn, “Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing, my great Redeemer's praise.” The congregation rose and sung the hymn with vigor, and an elderly gentleman offered the prayer, asking for divine inspiration to crown with success the efforts of the band. He invoked the bless- ing of God upon the products of the earth, that tho harvests may be but a foretaste of the happy harvest we shall reap in the world tocome. Rev. Mr. F. H. MeVickers, a Presbyterian minister, of Montreal, Canada, then read.from the Psalm, “The wise man walketh not and sitteth not in the coupsels of the ungodly."” This Scriptural warning was applicable to the men and women of everyday life, who profane the Sab- bath because they have not the love of God in their hearts. Those young men in these great cities who stand upon the corners and wait for the devil to come along and.tempt them are walking in the counsels of the unrighteous. There is nothing more dangerous to young hearts than the scorn or seoffings of the infidel and un- believer. The true man of God sitteth not at the feet of the seorner. In our day we hear a great deal about natural laws-interfering with the laws of God; but that isa fallacy. There can be no conflict between them in the tre light of Christianity. Let us meditate day and night upon the spirit of Christ coming down upon us in our respective churches, What a reproach for us that we do not search more for the Word of God instead of reading the silly trash issued by the secular press, The good man is the successful man; he has the proof and the promises of God, and if you want a mas- ter seek one who has the love and fear of God in his heart. Pursue-the same course in selecting your ser- vants, Deacon Donnell then came forward and said that as there were different congregations each Sunday assembled to hear the preaching he would explain that they were non-sectarian in their services; that they sought to teach Christ crucified; that was the great ob- Jeet they bad in view. There one could not tell a Baj tist from a Methodist, and it had got to be so popular now that he believed the Presbyterians made the most noise. He exhorted them all to do the best they can for the glory of God, After the meeting those who had been touched at heart by the services could wait and give their experiences, Experience meeting would close at five o'clock. ‘‘As we are helping you,”’ said the speaker, “we want you to help us. We will now take up collection, and if you will only pat your hands in your pockets and ‘TAKE OUT A LARGE STAMP for the collectors you will be doing good, and we shall account for every cent received toward defraying the expenses of these meetings.”” Hymns were then sung. Mr. McVickers took for his text the words found in the Gospel of St. Luke, xxii, 57-62 He dwelt upon tho lesson there taught, in which Peter, the Prince of Apostles, in a moment of weakness denied his Lord and Master to an humble servant maid. The speaker thought Peter's heart was better than his head; he was bold and decisive in his manner, and generous, and yet he fell. He dwelt upon the fall and restoration ot Peter at considerable length. WORSHIP IN THE WOODS AT SING SING. A MEMOBIAL DAY FOR THE DEAD—SERMON BY REY. GEORGE 1. TAYLOR. Sing Stxo, August 22, 1875, Once again has this old camp ground been made to ring with the “hallelujahs” and ‘“glorys’ of the singing and shouting Methodists of New York. Away from the din and clatter of the great city; away froth the fashion- able resorts, which are so crowded at this time by the denizens of the metropolis; here in this quiet, restful grove are gathered this afternoon, before the grand stand, about three thousand people, while another thousand or so walk around the place, and amuse or en- joy themselves as best they can. To-day is accounted a great day in Zion here, but a greater and more glorious There is time is anticipated here to-morrow. a great lack of ministers here, and the only reason I have heard assigned is that they are all away at their churches to-day. But they were not here on Wednesday, nor on other days since, so that that reason is hardly sufficient, especially as many of them can be found sunning themselves on the beach at Ocean Grove or Sea Cliff or elsewhere. Besides those ministers named in a previous letter there are now or have been here the Revs. E. Tinker, of Goshen; J. M. Burger, who preached here last evening; Rey. Mr. Bancroft, Rev. Mr. Soillen, of the Swedish Bethel ship, New York; Rev. Mr. Gidden, the venerable Father Reynolds, Pastor Hedstrom, C. C. Keyes, T. W. Chad- wick, Brother Petersen, of the Swedish church, Brook- lyn; George Lansing Taylor, who preached here this after, noon; Rev. F. A. Soulé, of the Troy Conference, and Presiding Elder Crawford, who superintends the meet- ngs. This morning there was a great gathering in front of the stand, but instead of preaching a memorial service was held for Drs, Eddy, Wakeley, Cookman, Messrs. Ross, Cornell, Halstead, McLean and other old pillars of this encampment now deceased. This service was finally transformed, or rather degenerated, into a love feast, which gave A LOT OF MACHINE TALKERS achance to waste time, but to say nothing either to tor's career so far as related to his forty years’ minis- try. The reading of the narrative was attentively Vistened to, and at the end of the services he was sur- rounded by a number of his congregation who shook Dim cordially by the hand. FOURTH STREET M. E. CHURCH, BROOKLYN, E. D. REV. OSCAR HUGO'S BITTER ASSAULT UPON THE CATHOLIC CHURCH—THE POPE AN “OLD FOX” AND A MURDERER. Rev. Onear Hugo, known as the Hungarian exile, preached yesterday in the Methodist church, corner of Fourth and South Third streets, Brooklyn, E. D., on “The Jesuits vs. Free Schools and Free Bible.” Taking his text from II. Timothy, iv.—“Preach the word’’—he violently assailed the Catholic Church and de- nounced its proselytizing endeavors in this country. After explaining that ministers should preach the Gos- pel for two reasons—viz., that God had commanded them and that the canse of sim extends into every place—he said that there are many who opposed the spread of the truths of God, and some of them are preachers They are opposed to the spread of the ‘Word of God, and desire to see it closed from the world ‘and the scholars. Such professed preachers, he said, were no more authorized by God to preach than the fiends in hell, and he (the minister) would as soon sit under the teachings of the devil as under theirs. In the old countries, where the Bible has been inter- dicted, they tell us all within their Church are saved and all outside are damned. We must search the Scrip- fares if we wonld have life everlasting; but how can ‘Wo get it if the Bible is sealed and forbidden? Thanks be to God now the BIBLE 18 NOT INTERDICTED fe Europe, and we can preach the Gospel under the shadow of the Vatican. (Cries of “Amen! Amen!) profit men or glorify God. Some of them were sung down here as they have been sung down, most likely, a hundred times before, and will be again, if they live long enough. They belong toa class who can talk all day and say nothing, and the camp meeting gives them chance to get off something that relieves their own minds, while it burdens others, After dinner the people gathered in the prayer tents, of which there are six—Peekskill, Sing Sing, New York City Mission, the Scandinavian and one in which the Christian temperance women gather. Prayer meetings were held in each and some conversions were reported, notably about a dozen in THE SCANDINAVIAN TENT, where a deep solemnity seemed to rest upon the peo- ple. There was no shouting or unusual noise among them, but the Holy Spirit seemed to be present in power and in salvation, The emotions of the worship- pers were stirred, and there were very few dry eyes in the congregation. In the City Mission and Duane tents two persons entered upon a life of faith, and like re- sults are reported from other tents. While these meet- ings were progressing the children were not neglected, They, too, had a meeting in a tent, in which Mr, ©. C, North directed their exercises, and he and others made short addresses and told moral anecdotes. The rain be- gan to como down as usual, and arrangements wero made to have preaching services in the tents, but the shower came and went, and half an hour of sunshine followed, which made it * pleasant enough to hold such a service at the stand at a quarter to three instead of two P. M., as it had been announced. Here, then, at that hour Rev. George Lansing Taylor delivered a discourse designed to settle the faith of doubters and to impart comfort to the desponding and those whose friends have left this world for the invisible land. His text was Matthew, xvii., 4— “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”? Whether there be such a form of existence as that ‘The power of the Pope in Europe is gone forever, thanks to Victor Emmanuel, to Prince Bismarck and to Gladstone. Defeated there, the Jesuits are doing their Dest to seize upon this land, with the aid of litieal tricksters, who would sell their country as Jedas sold bia Lord and Arnold fold his country. God ts with us, This country belongs to the Lord and not to Rome. (Cries of “Amen,” “That is sure.) They demanded the expulsion of the Bible from the schools eight years ago. The Church of Rome that would break up our public «chools and wants the Bible banished is opposed to republics, and the Pope refused to allow Prayers to be offered for the success of the arms of republi« | can France. He is a reguiarold fox (langhter), who sent this country his pontifical blessings although he has ex- communicated it, The first time he blessed it, three rs ago, we had the horse disease; then two years ago blessed it again amd Jay Cooke failed, and last year | he blessed it again and the West was overrun with grass- hoppers. (Laughter.) Tam OPPORED TO THE POPE I want our God's blessing. ( Hlngo here described how the Protestants were perse- ented in Hungary in 1851, when his father, a Protestant clergyman, was cent to a dungeon, where he died; when he (the speaker) and 400 other ministers were Danished and their property confiscated, and when ©. I. Brace, of the Children's Ail Society, was sentenced to fen years’ imprisonment, but was released after nine months’ confinement, He bitterly denounced the Pope's Concordat, which was abolished three years ago. Sup- pe’s Ablegate, between me and y father, You say, Brother Hugo, the Lord says, “If aman smite you on one cheek turn to him the other also.” TL would turn the other, but if he was foolish enough to smite it then he would have to look out. The Lord does not say we ghan’t then smite back. (Laugier) ROME NEVE CHANGED. It 18 not Christian, it ix not religious, it is a political men!) Mr. power. The Pope says he has 6,000,000 subjects in this country. [tell you they can’t serve two masters, It they are subjects of the Pope they are not patriots, No Catholic is loyal. They are mies of th disguixe, If 6,000,000 of ignorant, bigoted Catholics this country demand that the Bible Hl be expelled from our public schools, 40,000,000 Protestants are, by the grace of God, determined to use it for God's glory i adoration; and I would say, you Catholics are not of God, you never will be Aa ssunied otters minister thiougbous were. ap. country in which we call spiritual—something invisible to our | eyes, and which escapes the search of natural science, | and yet is as truly a reality as the physical universe—ig a question of great importance to every one of us, But | St is of greater importance whether the great facts of the universe lie in the spiritual rather than in the | material, and whether we live more in the spiritaal than in the material, Let ns see what the testimony of the Bible is on this point. The appearances of God are put here as being frequent and numerous all along tho history of the Church and of the race. Theophines they are called. It is @ bard word, but it means | blessed thing. | THERE NAVE BEEN THROPHINES | besides those recorded in the Bible, but all these ap- rances of the Deity find their climax in the transfign- | ration of the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘There have been other | transtignrations, but this was the most manifest of the | superiority of the spiritual nature of humanity over | the material, This tranefiguration is the climax of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth. In His j fancy there was no difference between Him and an other child of man, but when He was baptized a theo: phine came upon Him like adove. When He had that temptation and conflict with the devil in the wilderness in which He showed that He had the moral power to roe He was risen, and they did not. They went up and they came down from that mount just as any other men might have done, but what took ‘place there while they were overpowered with the Divine glory we know not. St, Peter, writing afterward, declares t! he was ‘@ witness of the Saviour’s glory on the mount. Now, it is not possible that Peter would tella lls about this transaction, nor is it at all likely that he would stick to such a delusion through all the intervening years. No, no. He believed it to be tene, and, being true, it Is of very great value to the Church. It solves a great many questions that some of the good people of the world are interested in Let me indicate, said the preacher, a few points in this transaction which are of great value to us, First the doctrine of the trinity is here set forth, A voice speaks from the clouds said, “This is my be- loved Son, bear yo him.” If this was the Son then it was the Father that spoke, And here we have the pa- ternity of God and the sonship of Christ declared, and with that the deity of Christ proclaimed also. It carries our thonght back to the time when God said, “let us make man in our own image,” &e, And it shows us that God exists in a trinity and that one of the trinity is our Lord Jesus Christ, ie relation of the Son and the Father is hinted at here, but the true Messiahship of rist is proclaimed. God has told us to listen to Je- sus, who is God manifest in flesh to us and our means of communication with the Father, There is a glimpse here, too, of the capabilities of the human body, and it Bears upon the doctrine of the resurrection. ‘All the functions of Christ's body were in operation at this time and yet all became lummous by a Bost that was from within and not from without, Moses ht a little of it when he came down from Mount Sinai. And now if God can take the human body and thus in a moment transform and glorify it, what a glimpse it gives us of THE CAPABILITIES OF THE BODY. If Christ's body could be thus transfigured, way can’t my boay and yours be? And if my body is scattered to the ends of the earth, can’t God, who could do this with Christ's body in a moment of time, gather all its parts and make a resurrection body for me, And is not this a better doctrine than to believe that all there is of us dies when the body dies. There were Moses and Elias on the mount with their natural eyes, and yet both of them were out of this world a great while, Here they are. Where did they come from? There could be no meaning in recreating them out of annihilation. They were alive all this time, and they are alive yet, and they will live on forever and ever. There is nothing to hinder, There is a glimpse here, too, of the intermediate state. These men, then, were in that state, Moses does not seemas ifhe had been sleeping for 1,50) years, as the ‘soul sleepers” would like to persuade us. But I never knew when my soul was asleep, and 1 do not think any you did. This transaction gives us a glimpse of the resurrection state also, Some persons think wo shall not know as much in that state as we know now, but I think, said Mr. Taylor, we shall know more, What a glorious experience it will be when we get up to Heaven to be able to know Abraham and David and Paul and all those who have gone before, just as readily as Peter and James and Jobn recognized Moses and Eiijah, The state of conversion is the first step toward the awakening of the faculties of ‘the soul in this direction. We get here also a glimpse of the work and mystery of redemption, It is manifest here that there is a perfect harmony between the two dis- ensations, There are Moses and Ehas talking with Toons, not about His sufferings and temptations, nor merely about His death, bnt about what He should ac- complish by His death. ‘And God says, ‘Hear ye Him’ — not them. The law and the prophets do homage to the Gospel, The Lord Jesus Christ is THE MASTER OF NUMAN THOUGHT, and He is becoming more and more so every day. “Hear ye him” means that when we come to the Lord Jesns Christ we come to God’s appointed oracle for humanity, and He is able to give comfort and spiritual help to the humble trusting soul. And then we find out here also that the great fact of redemption was not an accident, They spoke of His decease, which He was to accomplish sist the devil, and that any other man can resist him | likewise, He received divine help. When He rose from the deal He was invisible to bamun eyes, and at His ascension there was an outburst of glory which affected even His clothes, which, we are Some un this story. they say, to ali ttothe dead, Others, again, ecstasy and thought they And there are afew who think this transaction was an appearance to the inner life of these men. But many more, all along the ages, have believed and will believe that this was A VERITANLE HRY The disciples saw with their ey ears, and there were facts to corresp of sight and bearing, that should make us hold to this idea, disciples up there on Hermon for? in any eestasy when He took them me whiter than snow, rer an allegory relation of C! What did © from their fellow disciples. Christ told them not to | divulgo what they saw and beard on that mount until ‘They | and when they came down they were not different | vealed. } aeity which had found He had power to lay down His life and to take it up again; and then they were talking it all over—all that had been typified and (lassen of Him, The great work of redemption was the only thing to be talked about on such an occasion, and it is the only thing to be talked of here and in heaven. Now, what were the results of this transaction? I don’t wonder that Peter said it was good to be there. It is good to be anywhere with Jesus. It is good to be at camp meeting. Peter and Jobn learned more of theology and of the future life in that brief interview than they could have Jearned in any college course in all their lives’ When a man gets this divine illumination he learns more in aday than he could otherwise by years of study. I know I did, and am ready to say a8 the disciples said, ‘It is good for us to be here,” Heaven comes down our souls to greet ‘And glory crowns the mercy sent, We were talking about the dead of our time this morn- ing as the litte company on the mount were about those who died before their time, But there came an influence over them that threw them to the ground. It was the voice of the power of God. There was a touch of Sinai after all on this mount, and it is a good thing on any camp ground to have the power of Sinai come down and compel men to keep silence and hear God ouly. I bave seen this place, said Mr. Taylor, when there was such a silence and such a power resting upon it, and when God spoke to the hearts and consciences of m en. Mr. Taylor closed with an appeal to the tmpenitent to come to Jesus and be saved, and a prayer that the old time baptism might rest upon Sing Sing cainp ground. OCEAN GROVE, TREMENDOUS GATHERING—-BEACH MEETING— LOVE FEAST—-PREACHING—PRAYER MEET- INGS, &C. It was a great day yesterday at Ocean Grove... The camp meeting, beginning on Tuesday last, had reached the zenith of its exciting fervor. Fully eight thousand persons were present. Ocean Grove, historic for its camp meetings of the past, never presented a scene of more enlivening interest—a scene of undiminished en- thusiasm from af early hour in the morning till late in the evening. A BRACH MEETING. Opening the programme of the day's religious ser- vices was what is designated in the Ocean Grove ver. nacular a beach meeting. This was at five o'clock, and despite the seductive allurements of the matutinal couches over a thousand people were present, Rev. Mr. Adams conducted the services, which comprised praying, singing and reciting experiences, Nearly one hundred told their experience—brief, sententious re- citals that in proportion as those telling them were emotionally eloquent evoked corresponding ejaculatory amens and kindred shouts. And yet there was some- thing grand in this mecting—the sacred stillness of the early morning hour, the calm placidity of the béach, and the praying and heart utterances and singing ming- ling in harmony with the ocean's diapason, The mect- ing lasted an hour and a quarter. A LOVE FEAST. Culinary activities, after all, are inseparable from these camp meetings, and putting their tents in order, a duty something more than metaphorical, engrossed the attention of the great religious encampment till a quar- ter past eight o'clock, when was celebrated a love feast. This was where the regular meetings are held, an ever- green covered canopy, under whose sfiadow fully 10,000 people can comfortably be seated. At one end is a plat- form, raised several feet from the ground, for the occupancy of the clergy and the higher church officials, This meeting was presided over by Rev. Mr. Stokes, and fully three thousand people were present at {ts opening, to which, as the hours advanced, there were constant additions from outside visitors, The great feature was experience telling. A record was kept of the number, and precisely 185 gave oral testi- mony to this good work in their hearts, Prominent atnong the speakers was a colored lady known as “Sis- ter Sarab."’ Her religious autobiography made up an interesting recital. She had what a brother designated ‘asa “wonderful gift of grace and talk.” There was no ‘end to the amens and hallelujabs. APPEALS JO THE POCKET. No camp mecting programme would be complete unless the hat was passed around for contributions, The most fitting time selected for this partof the re- ligious performances was after the love feast, Rev, Mr. Stokes announced that they were trying to build a chureh to the Jesus to whom they had been praying. ‘Already some $4,000 had been raised for the purpose, but more money was needed. The church would cost $8,000. Various brethren were named to collect the cash and | subscriptions. One, on his name being announced, said, in worldly phrase, that he would do his “level best,” While the hats and subseription papers were in active circulation Brother Stokes kept up a flying fusillade of entreaty. He cautioned the erowd against having the shouts taken out of them by appeals to their pocket- books, There was atime, he said, to pray to God, and to shout for God, and to give greenbacks for God. When the last dectmal stamp had been thrown imto the erreumambulatory tin basin, extemporized for the oc- casion, which occupied some half hour, a hymn was sung, beginning :— Jeans, lover of my soul, Let me to Thy bosom tly. SERMON HY KEY. MK. MeREDETH Dispensing with any fruitiess preliminary services, sermon was pre by Rev. Samuel Meredith, 0} A man of robust physique, he threw « good deal into his discourse, He stood on the front of miple of the prim. Methodist denomination, spoke He took bis text from the fifth chapter PW, part of twellth verse—“Rojoice and. be ox- “l, for ¢ is your reward in heaven.” It d Whether a holy infe could be maintained in the probationary state apart from the expec | tation of reward, «The ancient saints had an eye to the recompense of reward, They looked for whowe maker earful ordeals throng! iso they looked for was God, whieb th a better resurrection, NEW TESTAMENT 8AteTS are continually directed to the glory which Is to be ro- 7 tis held before them; by it they are dd to the works of faith.’ Indeed, it 1s & peculiarity of the vrobation of fallen ceaselessly not a characteristic of man’ man; it was i unfallen, If our first circumstances it -, certainly enced by the less servile feeling of hope. If I read the Scriptures aright I find it intimated that even Christ Jesus was sustained in the glorious work to which He gave Himself by the prospect of the joy that was set he- fore Him. The reward, as presented here, is heavenly, There are rewards that wait upon piety in time. There is no man who has forsaken home and brethren for My sake bat shall receive in the present time an hundred-fold and in the world to come life eternal, Earthly rewards come not with unmixed blinn, ‘That hundred-fold is, with persecution, but the blessing of the reward in yonder world is as unmixed as the water of the river of life which, clear as crystal, flows from the throne of God and the blessedness of that world is exhaustless, for. there shall in nowise enter into it anything that deflleth, and God shall wipe away all tears, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crime, nor pain, for they are all passed away. Tho rewards of piety in the present time are contingent, but in the time to come they are certain. “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament,” The doctrine here presented is an il- Jnstration in regard to the doom of the finally impeni- tent, Thero are degrees in the punishments of the Lord, and this doctrine of degrees which speaks of the awards of glory and the punishment of the finally im- penitent is one that commends itself to us, THM SENSE OF EQUITY in us fully indorses this doctrine, The reward spoken of in the text isthe reward in time. Faithgul to the ordeals through which they were to be called t pass they would have an increasing great reward in heaven. There are a few things pertaining to the reward upon which I wish to fix your special atten- tion. bay the principle upon which it is administered. It is that of grace and not of debt, and is absolutely contingent on the consequences of transgression, The wages of sin is death; the gift of God is eternal life, Eternal life is @ gift to individuals who never were anything else but unprofitable servants. Death is wages—that which bas been earned. You say nothing ever was in greater contrast than these two positions; and yet there isa very marked similarity, and that is, that sin is the MEASURE OF THE DEATH and fidelity the measure of the eternal life. Mark, now, both are in equal proportions—the death to the sin, the eternal life to the fidelity. The next point is the conditions by which it is to be secured; these are faith and the obedience of faith. Mark, I don’t say works. I want in all that I say to have you understand that I re- gard as vital the believing, simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; it fixes the question whether you shall be on the right hand or the left hand of the Judge. The laws which OBEDIENCE TO FAITH follow are threefold. Suffering, first; third, giving. Now, mark’ carefully the laws which control the estimate of fidelity. The first. is, equal fidelity secures equal reward. Second, unequal fidelity to equal opportunities will be attended with un- equal rewards. The last thought is Christ's injunction to the disciples, “Rejoice and be exceeding glad.” Tho knowledge that I have a reward increasing on high is to be the basis of my joy. OTHER SERVICES, While Rev. Mr. Meredith was preaching, an outside monoting or a side show, as the profane would call it, was held in a large wagon’ near by. There were more than a thousand at this meeting, and the exercises, comprising praying, singing and further — ex- perience rocitals, were of the most enthusiastic character, At half-past one o'clock there was a largo Sunday school meeting in one of the tents. A de- Yotional meeting, but without any sermon, was held at half-past three, and then there was a respite till half- past six, when there was another preaching meeting. In the evening there was a sermon by Rev. Dr. W. P. Cor- Lar’ of New York. The camp meeting closes on riday, OPEN-AIR EXERCISES IN JERSEY. For the first time during the summer the Sabbath religious exercises at Hamilton Park, Jersey City, were interrupted by rain yesterday afternoon. The services were to have been conducted by the Rey. A. J. Park, under the auspices of the Young Men's Christian Association, which has performed great spiritual work among the street Arabs. Thongh the weather was inclewent, groups collected on the portico of the Third Reformed church at four o'clock, and lingered there for more than hour, when it was announced that the services could not take place, The crowd comprised chiefly brakemen and other employés of the Erie, Dela- ware and Lackawanna and Pennsylvania Railroad com- panies and canal boatmen from Harsimus Cove. Theso are persons who seldom attend services within church walls, Proviston will be made hereafter by the Young Men’s Christian Association for the holding of services within doors on the Sabbath should the weather prove unfavorable, LAYING A CORNER STONE, West Pornt, N. Y., August 22, 1875. Since the arrival of Father T. J. Earley in the little Roman Catholic parish of Highland Falls the constantly increasing number of his congregation has made it evi- dent that a larger building was necessary for their accom- modation, The old Church of St. Thomas can hold little more than one-fifth of its parishioners, and the little chapel in West Point, also attended by Father Earley, is too small for the Catholics there. These facts de- termined the pastor to erect a new chureh large enough to satisfy the wants of both congregations for many years to come. The new church was dedicated to the Sacred Heart this afternoon by Bishop MecNierney, of Albany. The foundation was laid about the beginning of June and the work has been steadily progressing ever since, The edifice which has just been dedicated is about a mile and a half from West Point, at the entrance second, doing; to the village of Highland Falls, The es- timated cost is about $20,000. The length is seventy-five and a half feet, the width forty-five and a half. The chancel adds a further depth of sixteen feet. The spire will measure about 120 feet to the top of the cross. There are to be three aisles, The basement of stone is very capacious, and will be used for low masses, Sunday school rooms and socicties, The height of the main building above the basement will be about forty feet, Your correspondent had a pleasant interview last evening with Father Farley, at his rooms in Stephens’ Highland Falls Hotel. He has not yet a pastoral resi- dence, preferring to finish his church first. Bishop MeNierney arrived about nine o'clock on the evening train from Albany. This morning, at half-past nine, Father Farley said mass in tho little chapel at West Point. The church was unpleasantly overcrowded, and asingle glance fully showed the necessity of getting some larger place of worship. Ata quarter past eleven Bishop MeNierney said mass in the old Church of St. Thomas, which was likewise filled, The Very Rev. Vicar General, Thomas §. Preston, who preached the sermon on the occasion, arrived shortly after the rain had commenced. The ceremonies attending the laying of the corner stone began shortly after four o'clock, the time ap- pointed, Boards had been laid across the beams of the floor so that the congregation could stand within the wali, This extemporized platform was well ‘witnessed the ceremonies crowded, and many from the rond and from under the — trees ‘on the mountain side, If there is any faith or saving principle im the Church that is founded on a rock certainly all unbelievers should flock here, The foundations for the new church are literally Dlasted out of the solid rock. From some of these rocks at the corner of the building a little reaffolding of three or four planks had been raised which trembled under the stout frame of Bishop MeNierney as he superintended the placing of the corner stone in its right position, A tin box was placed in the stone, containing copies of the New York Henao, Telegram and some other pa- rs. A manuscript was putin giving the date of the dedication, the names of Pope Pius IX., Cardinal Mefloskey, Bishop MeNierney, Father Farley, the pas- tor; President Grant, Governor Tilden; the architect, P. J. O'Brien, and the builder, James Dunn. Some coins and specimens of our beautiful paper currency were also put in, The top part of the corner stone was then placed over the box and sealed. Father Preston - dressed a few words to the congrega- tion, His remarks were very brief, in- deed, and soon after he had ended them the ceremonies were concluded. The prayers, laying ot the stone and ser- mon took little more than one hour, Among the distin- guished persons present beside those already mentioned were Father Gallaghun, from Cold Spring, and Mr, O'Brien, of Brooklyn, a'cousin of the pastor, It is ex- pected that the dedication will take place before the new year. The pastor intends to hold service in the church by next winter, THE SEY ‘TY-FIRST REGIMENT. ITS DEPARTURE TO-DAY FOR OAKLAND BEACH, BR. 1.—GOING INTO CAMP, In conformity with the provisions of a recently-iesued general order, the Seventy-first regiment, First division, N.G.8.N.Y., Colonel Richard Vose commanding, will march this afternoon for Oakland Beach, -R. 1, where it has been ordered under canvas for camp duty and drill, The regiment is to assemble in heavy marching order in its armory at two o'clock this afternoon, blankets rolled on knapsacks and each man pro: vided with changes of clothing and extra uniform. In the way of baggage transportation each company is to be allowed one t, and each officer asimall trunk or valise, . P. Wood, who has volun, ntal to Oakland Beach tor the purpose camp in accordance with the requir ts of army reguiations, Company commanders are ordered to as: semble their respective commands and. strict aris, accoutrements and uniforms before th embarks on the contemplated expedition, >} cers nor enlisted men will be allowed to wear cit | dross while the regiment remains ineamp, The | will embark on the Stonington steamer Narragansctt, which leaves pier 3 North River at five o'clock P. NAVAL INTELLIG ‘Tho United States steamer Tennosseo, flagship of Rear Admiral Reynolds, Captain W. W. Low commanding, arrived at Gibraltar July 27 and sailed next day for China, via Malta and the Sucz Canal, THE NEGRO INSURRECTION, de Cause of the Trouble in the Black Belt. GOVERNOR BULLOCK’S LEGACY. Unpaid Poll Tax and No Ballots. Avousra, Ga, August 20, 1875, The counties of Burke, Washington, Jefferson, John- son and Wilkinson hie to the immediate south or southwest of that of Richmond, in which this city is situated, and it is in these that the remarkable negro outbreak has taken place, of the particulars of which the telegraph has kept your readers informed. To une derstand the origin of the trouble it is necessary to re- cur for a moment to some points in the political his- tory of the State since its reconstruction, especially as the same causes are still operative and promise to lead to further raco difficulties. The constitution of Georgia, ‘as framed in 1867-68, provides that ‘‘no poll tax shall be levied except for educational purposes, and such tax shall not excced $1 annually, on each poll,” and also that all the poll tax collected throughout the State shall be sacred to the educational or common school fund. The same constitution makes it one of the qual- ifcations of an elector that he “shall have paid all taxes which may have been required of him, and which he may have had an opportunity of paying, agreeably to law, for the year next preceding the elec- tion;” and it results from this that if an elector has not paid his taxes his vote may be successfully challenged. This, by the way, has been the law in Georgia for nearly a hundred years, or ever since it was a State and had a constitution, but up to the days of reconstruction was virtually a dead letter, it being regarded as infra dig. to challenge a man’s vote on account of delinquent taxes, *As soon as the republican party, however, came into power with Governor Bullock, the democrats, or con- servatives, applied the rule with telling effect, The darky has as great an aversion as his old master to taxes of any kind, even to a poll tax of $1, and while the white man manages to over- come his reluctance in some degree, the ne- gro is desperately inclined to hold on to his dollar, especially as an election day a year ahead is an exceedingly remote and shadowy benefit as compared to a present greenback. The negroes, then, as soon as the reconstructed State government got under way, failed by wholesale to pay poll tax, and as soon as tho re-reconstruction of 1870 was over the whites made havoc with the colored vote by challenging under the rule above stated. In the heaviest negro counties the cutting down of the republican vote was proportion- ately enormous, and to countervail this destructive strategy the radical Legislature of 1870 pasaod a curious act, which declared that as the poll tax was a common school tax, and there were no common schools, there could be no poll tax, and, consequently, that the unpaid poll taxes of 1868, 1869 and 1870 were illegal and uncon- stitutional and that the tax collectors should cross them out of their books, In the next year, Gov- ernor Bullock ‘having fled and the Legislature being democratic, this act was repealed and the taxes in arrear ordered to be vigorously collected, As this virtually made the poll tax for 1871 $4, or $3 arrears and $1 for the current year, the ne- groes were four times less willing than ever to pay, and, asa consequence, the whites had the elections their own way, While the races in Georgia are nearly equal in point of voting strength, the Logislatures are as over- whelmihgly democratic as in Maryland or Kentucky, and for the reason stated, The counties with white ma- jorities, of course, send democrats, and in the negro counties the policy of challenging for the poll tax, which keeps increasing every year, being for 1875 some $8 and interest, enables the white minority to attain a like re- sult, In addition to the act of 1871 bringing about this state of things by reimposing the remitted poll taxes, an act passed in 1873 requires the justices of the peace throughout the State to give in to the collectors lists of the taxpayers in their respective districts, and these lists operate as registration books, facilitating the chal- lenge of non-taxpaying voters wherever they are used. THE BLACKS AND THE BALLOT Box. Under all this legislation the blacks are largely de- barred from the ballot box, and in the counties where they are ina heavy numerical majority great dissatis- faction results, and this dissatisfaction, as will be shown further on, is one powerful moving cause of the turbu- lence and ill feeling which prevail in Burke, Washing- ton and the other counties named. Another grievance arises out of still another act passed last year and re- quiring the various tax collectors “to make return to the Comptroller General of the character and amonnt of all taxes returned and paid by colored taxpayers in this State,” and directing that oflicer to make a full exhibit thereof in his annual report, For 1874 ‘the exhibit has been made and shows that out of a total State tax of $1,265,466 the colored population pays — but $30,788 99, or a great deal less than one-forticth part of the entire tax, and only about one-tenth of the school tax, of which the young Cuffees absorb nearly as much as the white children, This showing has led to a strong feeling among the whites against keeping up the common school system under such an enormons dead weight, and this in turn has generated ill fecling and apprehension among the blacks. Still another clement of discord is found in the military companies, black and white, which are as thick as hops throughout Georgia, There are dandy negro corps in the cities, and out in the country districts ambitious field hands pant for tho glories of epaulets and plume, The fiflng and drumming and drilling, which may be done at odd times and withont any seri- jous interruption of work in the towns, takes time in the country and proves a great source of annoyance and loss to the planters by demoralizing their labor and often depriving them of it altogether at critical periods of the crop. Naturally they object, and the negroes, who see the white companies parading about without remonstranco, become surly at the dis- crimination, and regard it as another blow at their rights. Another negro grievance 1s the exclusion of those of that raco from juries, except in rare instances. There isno law to this effect, but as the constitution requires “upright and intelligent persons” this is construed, in current practice, to exclude the blacks, From this sketch of the grievances, real or fancied, of the colored population in Georgia, it can be seen that there is ample material for demagoguery with that race, and one Jo Morris, who styles himself “general messenger,” of whom or what not stated, and arrays himself in a uniform of white flannel faced with green, has been harping on ali four strings in the counties of the black belt nearest this city for some months past. At the Spring Term of Burke Court he made incipient attempt to mob the Judge on account of his failure to have negroes on the juries and at that time bloodshed was narrowly averted, His next move was to have printed, in this city, a few days since, the following pronunciamiento ;— TON. x, representing the Vayneshoro, counties of the F Burke county, 80), IAT, for the of nominating some propor and fit persons for amajor general and staff of Burke count, i, to be commissioned by the Hon, James M, Smith, Governor of Georgia, 5 The constit that all children trom six. to sixteen schooled by all citi | towns and villages th keep up th rn Georgia, sof this State, n years that this gover eral Messenger, By tha Executive Warseanono, Burke x st 10, 1875, as Leopy from one of the bat ‘the distribution. of of the district failed to create any reat the whites, the fi xt, being vil, and the whole affair a Fenewal of some past abortive at- Aconvention to diseuss the real or fan- sof the negro race in Georgia, On one o6- House of Washington the oficial, and on a stand, prators anil in waiting nititnde once s handbill was q tempts to hole ciod wre easion t county, whieh brok pnd oe ¥ the ¢ were 0 ' where Convention at the neral Messenge | ing, | wireworkers of iT without stopping, so. t more dispersed. ' The ¢ | Turner associations in the principal them | rr tion Into in the fall, and attracted ittie attention untt the following letter, said to have been picked up whert some drunken negroes had dropped it near a country Tumshop, in Johnson county, was found, As publisbe¢ in the papers this letter is translated into some degres of intelligibility, as follows :— THE BLOODTHIRSTY MISSIVE. Aug. 6, 175, Juurs WatrEns—You and your company must start to kill Ing the whites on Ang. 20th,” Kill every one you find, — Tell Hai the whites that he can find and go Gen, Morris on secret. You tell Brother and get every gun he ean. Make you are sorry they think we will 1 if you know of any man that has got money xive it to your Treasurer and it. Have Kill with axes, hoes, pitebforks got gunpowder and shot ax you kill. So I close to depend on yon, CANDY HARRIS, Se By order of Gen, Morris and from Gen, Rivers, This rendition is a great improvement on the original letter, which is in an execrable handwriting. This bloodthirsty missive is clearly a forgery or hoa Unless some over-zealous undorstrapper ot the ‘Gener: Messenger” has issued it in the name of his princi The Messenger is, from all accounts, more disposed to he réte of the common run of negro politician than to act St, Domingo insnrreetionist and murderer, an there are suspicious indications in and about the fetter itself which impugn its authenticity, However, the discovery of such an order instantly created great ox- citement, The whites flew to arms and sent to the Gov- ernor for troops, and to Macon and this city, the nearest available centres for arms, ammunition and men. The Sheriff of Washington county and the editor of the San- dersville Herald, published at the county seat, tele- raphed the Governor that a dangerous insurrection imminent, and the Macon and Augusta military bat- talions, aggregating somo thousand well armed and equipped military, proffered their services at once. The negroes on their part were also strongly moved. Some Tan off, others took to the woods in arms, and bodies of from fifty to a dozen began to collect. His Excellency directed the Sheriff of Washington county to use the local military as a posse, but with the utmost discretion, and not to employ violence unless sbeolutely no- cessary, and also declined to order the Macon and Angnsta military to the sceno of action, on which “a number of the latter __left as individuals to participate in the apprehended fray. In Washington, Burke and Johnson counties, particu- Jarly in the latter two, warrants were issued by tho score for insurrection, riot, &c., and there was no. dif- culty in arresting all’ the parties who could be found, Much indignation was excited by the interference of Prince Rivers, a colored South Carolina politician and a character in bis Ho was formerly Mayor of Ham- burg, a Carolina village, just across the Savannah, opposite this city, and is a full-fledged Major General ot militia in the Palmetto State, and upon parade ‘days turns out resplendent in brass buttons, golil Ince, epan- Jets, plume and other warlike millinery, Having been unpleasantly referred to by the press here for his inter- meddling with the Georgia colored popniation as per pote) incendiary letter, he publishes this communi- cation: — make them all your companies ready; an 2 A LETTER FROM PRINCE RIVERS. 8. nspiraey,”” and your editor on the subject in the same paper, you was pleased to connect my name with the said conspiracy, Thope you will do me justice and state my denial in tom; that [never have accepted an invitation to a political gathering of any kind from your State or an other, except my own, While L make my living honestly % tukes'all my time to give attention to my corn and cotton; that 1 donot know. Morris nor “iinrria. only”. from the asserted communication, which has never been answered by me, while I did not consider it private, from some public “printer.” As I regarded the mectings their own local and State affair, therefore, whatever ma: happen, I desire to sot myself arizhtas a man and Jaw-abi ing citizen; that no encouragement of violence has ever boon advised by me, and that all people, white or black, must obey the law of the land, Yours very respectfully, P, R, RIVERS, In Johnson county, one of the least disturbed, there have been thirty-four arrests, some eighty warrants issued in Burke and a large number in Washington, the county jails fast filling up. Ex-Governor Herschel V. Johnson, the candidate for Vice President on the Douglas ticket and now judge of the circuit in which the disturbance is, will hold a special term of jail de- livery in consequence. In common with the United States Marshal and leading citizens the voice of the Judge has been for peace, and his great influence bi done much to allay excitement and passion, To-day an jiddress was issued by leading citizens of Washington county in which they say:— While the undersigned, in common. with the rest of thelr fellow citizens of Washington county, deplore these evidences of apparent antagonism on the part of the colored popula: , they cannot bring their minds to the conclusion that: kerions disturba lated by them. But as ap- pearances of hostility from letters and documenta found in possession’ of the colored people, it behooves us to net with caution and circnmspection in their investigation, but not to take rumors emanating from excitement for facts, Wo would take this occasion to say to the colored people of this connty, that these apparent demonstrations of heatitley on thelr part nre not iu Keeping with their former, character for good behavior on all previous occasions; and if they wish to sustain thetr former reputation they must couso from these demonstrations, remain at home and pursue their regular vocations, for we assure them that their safety and future Prosperity rest only in this ‘course and. In obeying the laws under which they live. The good sense and temper of this address is strong evidence that there will be no trouble in Washington county, nor does there appear good ground for apprehet sion in Jefferson, Johnson or Wilkinson, but in Burke some conflict seems unavoidable and if not occurring now will, in all human probability, take place on some future oceasion. In one case the whites were actually fired on there carly this morning and in another a party of scouts charged and captared a negro detachment about their camp tires before they could use their arma, With these things as actual oceurrences some bloodshed. isa natural sequence. Moreover, as was stated in the first part of this letter, the legislation of the State is such as to afford ample scope for incendiary appeals to the colored population. POLITICAL NOTES. Parson Brownlow believes that the State rights issue—or, as he says, the ‘secession’ issue—is still the platform of the democratic party. Beck, of Kentucky, and Young, of Georgia, two lead- ing Southern politicians, are fighting the political con- test on the presumption that the North and the South areatany time ready for war, yet the Bunker Hull Centennial was celebrated with gushing fraternizing only the other day. Senator Thurman is reported to have said that the democrats of Ohio are already defeated; first, on the Catholic question, and second, on the demerits of that splendid demagogue Sam Carey. Senator Gordon, of Georgia, believes that the negro will politically gravitate toward the white, because he naturally loves men better than measures. He thinks, therefore, that emancipation was a political benefaction to the South. It is evident from the confessions of prominent Ohio democrats that the rag-a-muffins have come to their Waterloo. Governor Hayes, of Ohio, has inherited $750,000, and it is no longer possible to say that republican leaders in that State are poor. General Garfield says that in Ohio the political issue ta on the power of the Catholic clergy in relation to publie schools. He thinks that the religious contest has been transferred from the Old World to the New, It is not impossible that the recent rebuke to Jeffer- son Dayis will resnit in his making a speech in Iilinois after all, None of his friends will be satisfied until he has shown his enemies not only that he can make a speech in that State, but that he can also express his own opinions, Governor Kirkwood, of Towa, favors temperance and an early resumption of specie payments, Many democratic journals in New York State believe that the State cannot furnish candidates for both the Presidency and the Speakership, and that, therefore, Mr. Cox must give way for Mr. Tilden, Mr. Kerr's chances seem to be constantly improving. The indications aro that the republican party in Calt- fornia is already defeated by the independents, and that the charges of land pecnlation against Colonel Bidwell have ruined the independents, The democrats claim to possess the State by 4,000 to 6,000 plurality, THE JERSEY CITY DEMOCRACY. A meeting of the Democratic General Committee of Trudson coun New Jersey, has been called for next Friday evening, at Franklin Hall, Jersey City, to take into consideration the action of the Freeholders who de- serted their party on the Penitentiary question, Tho members are notified that a vote will be taken on tho expulsion of a Hoboken Freeholder. THE TURNFEST. BIENNIAL MEETING OF THE TURNER UNION, The twenty-first biennial Turnfest of tho North American Turner Union, which was inaugurated by a reception of the visiting Turner delegations, under the auspices of the New York Turnverein, at Tura Hall, on Saturday, was continued yesterday, and will probably oceupy three or four days more, There are now about 1,000 delegates in this city, representing the cities through: out the United States, The proceedings yoster- day included a convention of instructors and teachers of ‘Turner gymnastics, which — came of at Tarn Hall, in’ the forenoon, — wi certain uniform rules for the pr nasties wore adopted, and dur the tice of Turner gy the afternoon a prize lower hall, the prizes for ator. the same time of inthe principal ball, which attra attendance of visitors. A large portion of the visitors were during the afternoon engaged in excursions to different points of interest in cing came olf in which are to an oratorr the viemnity, which bad becn arranged for their entertainment. In the evening a fest con- cort came off at the Turn Hatl, for which a rich programme had been prepared, including a ‘Teception chorns, specially composed for the present fe ot Benn Tt was ron. tt ertafel, accompanied by th et, The Tarner Liederkfana military q citations | Otto, and the’ Bridal Chorus from Wagner's “Lohengrin” was cleverly rendered by the pu pils of the Turn school, accompanied by the orchestra, by sti therofore rogarded simply as a call for another conyen- | The Turn Hall presented an imposing appearance,