World Affairs Institute

WATCHMAN, WHAT OF THE NIGHT?Author(s): Daniel HillSource: Advocate of Peace (1847-1884), New Series, Vol. 2, No. 20 (AUGUST 15, 1870), pp. 268-269Published by: World Affairs InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27904759 .

Accessed: 16/06/2014 10:20

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

World Affairs Institute and Heldref Publications are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extendaccess to Advocate of Peace (1847-1884).

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.152 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:20:05 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

M8 THE ADVOCATE OF PEACE. Aug., 1870.

which no man shall see the Lord." And again, " Ye know

that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." And again, " Now if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of

His." And yet in view of all this, the .writer of this biography says

there were hymns of joy that day, with angels and seraphs, and the nosts of heaven, over that happy ransomed spirit. When we reflect that war cannot be prosecuted without violating some of the plainest and most positive commands of Christ and

His apostles, and that it is in direct antagonism to the whole

spirit of the gospel, it seems almost like blasphemy to hear men, calling themselves Christians, talk thus. If a man, with a

hungry family looking to him for bread, should be caught in the act of stealing, and shot down, no one would be so pre sumptuous as to affirm, that there would be joy in heaven over his **

happy ransomed spirit," and that it would be welcomed to the paradise of God. And yet, killing is no less a violation of the command of Christ, than stealing, and produces infinitely more suffering and misery to mankind. We pity the heathen mother, who, ignorant o? the gospel of Christ, and having no

knowledge of the plan of salvation, throws her child into the

Ganges, or willingly sees its young life crushed out beneath the wheels of the car of Juggernaut. And yet the same Christians (?) who weep over her benighted condition, and send missionaries out to labor for her conversion, are them selves bowing down to an idol equally heathenish, and wor

shipping at a shrine equally bloody. Whilst she does those things ignorantly, they do even worse, with an open Bible in their hands. May we not reasonably fear that it may be said of those who teach this bloody religion,

" It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of judg ment than for you." The soldier who fights and dies, is less criminal than his religious instructors, who teach that war is in harmony with the gospel, and that death on the battle-field is a passport to heaven.

It may be said this view of the subject of war leaves little

margin for soldiers who die in battle to be saved. I answer that it is for this very reason that I feel it my duty, as a friend to their never-dying souls, to warn them of their danger. I ! believe soldiers may be saved. That many of them have been saved. But it is just as all sinners are saved, by

" repentance

toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." Parents look well to your libraries and the books your cliil- .

dren read. Religious teachers, you may plead the merits of the blood of Jesus, but let not your garments be stained with the blood of your fellow-men.

WATCHMAN, WHlT OF THE NIGHT ? The June number of the Advocate contained our own

annual report. The one for July a synopsis of that of the London Peace Society and a notice of the annual meeting of the Philadelphia branch of the Universal Peace Society.

We now publish an abridgment of the report of the Exe cutive Committee of the Friends' Peace Association, and a notice of the A nnual Meeting of the Ehode Island Peace

Society. From these various statements something may be

learned of the interest felt in the cause of peace, and of what is being done for its promotion. THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OP EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OP

THE PEACE ASSOCIATION OP FRIENDS IN AMERICA.

Since the last report we have had the following documents stereotyped, viz :

Whelpletfs Letters to Gov. Strong, of 186 pages ; Churches of Christendom responsible for the continuance of War, by Thomas Chase, . A., of 16 pages ; A Bloody Record, by John Ashworth, in Palestine, of 1 page.

As a knowledge of our Association spreads through the land, the demand for our publications increases.

Large numbers of orders have been received and filled for tracts to read and circulate by persons outside of the Society of Friends.

1,194,880 pages ofPeace matter h?ve been sent out from this

office ; more than one hundred thousand of which were Illustra ted tracts for children.

Some of these tracts have been purchased from the American Peace Society of Boston, and some from the New York Tract Association of Friends ; but most of them have been our own

publications. Feeling that ministers of the Gospel of all denominations

need to be more fully informed on the subject, an arrangement was made last autumn with the American Peace Society, by which it was agreed that our Association should supply the ministers in the States of Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New

York, New Jersey, anvd all the Southern States except Mis souri, and that Society those in all the other States. There are in the territory assigned to us probably not less than 30,000 ministers. We have obtained the names and address of large numbers of them, and are supplying them as rapidly as possible. We send to each one about 200 pages of selected matter. This number will pass through the mail for two cents. Thus far we have supplied 1,566. We should have been much further along with this work, but have been delayed by not

getting printing done as fast as ordered. Large numbers of ministers were supplied in a miscellaneous

way before this arrangement was entered into. A number have written to the Secretary acknowledging the

reception of the documents, and expressing their hearty appro val of the object of our Association, and their sympathy with the cause of Peace. Some have expressed a willingness to work for the same, and requested tracts to circulate among their members. We have heard of several instances where the minds of persons have been changed by reading our pub lications.

Deeply sensible that a living speaker is a powerful agent for

arousing and correcting public sentiment, we have employed R. W. Douglas, of Wilmington, Ohio, and W. G. Hubbard, of New Vienna, Ohio, as travelling agents and lecturers. R.

W. D. entered upon his duties on the 15th of Tenth mo. last, but owing to sickness and death in his family, and other causes, has only been*in the field a part of the time.

He has delivered eleven lectures in Ohio, fifteen in Indiana, two in Maryland, three in Virginia, one in New York, and eight in North Carolina ; one of which was, by invitation of the

members, before the Legislature of the latter State ; besides which, he has made several short addresses on the subject where there was no opportunity for a regular discourse. His

report mentions several instances of a change of opinion as a result of his labors on the part of prominent persons.

One man said, "I gave three sons to the Rebellion, and would have given six more had I had them?but you are right

?your arguments are unanswerable." A minister in Golds boro\ N. C., said, "I raised a company for the Confederate

Army, but now I see it all in a different light ; that it was all

wrong." All our agents make it a point to call upon ministers, editors, and other prominent persons* and press upon them the

importance of giving more attention to this subject, and often with good results.

A great many commendatory notices have appeared in the local papers where they have spoken. Wm. G. Hubbard, who was formerly an agent of the Ameri

can Peace Society, entered upon his duties as our agent on the 3d of Ninth month last, and has been actively at work ever since. He has delivered ten lectures in Iowa, twenty-two in Indiana, thirty-two in Ohio, nine in New York, and ten in other

places. Fifteen of these lectures have been in or near colleges. He reports that some of his most deeply interested audiences have oeen among the students of colleges, who seem glad to

get information, and disposed to investigate the subject. Sev eral college libraries have been supplied with Peace books, all of which has been thankfully received.

He has also put in circulation a large number (about 250,000 pages) of tracts, sold several volumes, and received considerable money by donation from those who were willing to give in aid of the work.

He has hid some twenty-five or thirty articles on Peace, pub lished in religious and secular newspapers, scattered through the country from Boston to Iowa. Many persons who have read those articles in the papers have written to us desiring tracts and documents to inform themselves further on the sub

ject of Peace.

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.152 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:20:05 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Aug., 1870. THE ADVOCATE OF PEACE. 269

Jacob S. Willets, of Vineland, New Jersey, has been ope rating for a few months past in that State. He has called upon ministers, made a personal appeal to them on the subject of Peace, and also supplied them with documents. His report mentions several interesting and encouraging incidents in con nection with his labors. We have thus briefly sketched the

leading features of the work in which we have been engaged. The standing committees of most of the Yearly Meetings in

the organization have been more or less actively engaged in the work within their own limits.

Never before perhaps in the history of the world have there been so many appliances at work to enlighten and change pub lic opinion on the criminality and destructiveness of war, as at the present time. The question of disarmament is claiming the serious attention of nearly all the governments of Europe.

What'may be the final result of this stir among the European Powers it is impossible to say. One thing seems certain, how ever?Peace h?s nothing to fear from such agitation, while war has everything to dread from exposure. The public mind was

perhaps never so susceptible of enlightenment on the subject of Peace as now. It is therefore very important that the friends of Peace should be actively at work, to keep this ques tion prominently before the public, and help to hasten the day seen by the Prophet, when " Nation shall not lift up sword

against nation ; neither shall they learn war any more." We propose that the Yearly Meetings raise the sum of five

thousand dollars, the same as last year, to enable the Associa tion to prosecute the work.

On behalf of the Association,

Daniel Hill, Secretary.

BHODE ISLAND PEACE SOCIETY. The fifty-third annual meeting of this Society was held in

Providence on the 28th of June. This is one of the oldest of our State Societies, having been organized in March, 1818, at which time the venerable William jones, a former Governor of the State, was elected its first President. The succeeding Presidents have been Asa Messer, John Howland, Edward B. Hall, and Gilbert Congdon.

At the annual meeting mentioned above, the President, Gil bert Congdon, opened the meeting by reading portions of

Scripture from the second chapter of Luke, and the fourth

chapter of James, after which he led in prayer, The records of previous meetings were read by the Secretary,

and approved. The Treasurer presented his annual report which was ac

cepted showing a balance in the Treasury of $ 90.90.

It was voted to appropriate

this year, fifty dollars to the American Peace Association of Friends, and fifty dollars to the American Peace Society.

These Societies are actively engaged in the dissemination of the principles of peace by the delivering of addresses, and the circulation of publications on the subject. One of their objects is to place peace publications in the hands of the clergy of this

country. There are in the United States some fifty thousand ministers

who address and influence more or less fifteen million of peo ple. The importance of placing in the hands of these ministers the publications of the Peace Societies, can readily be seen.

The following persons were elected officers of the Society for th? ensuing year :

President?Gilbert Congdon. Vice-Presidents?William Chace, Samuel Austin, and D. K.

Whittemore.

Secretary and Treasurer?S, S. Wardwell.

Auditor?George J. Adams.

Trustees?Joseph Jewelt, George J. Adams, Charles Perry, Jonathan L. Slocum, Edward O. Bartlett, Benjamin F. Grid

ley, and Joseph H. Atwater.

The funds of the Society consist of a few shares of bank stock, a bequest to it by the late Moses Brown.

Any person by signing the constitution ean be a member of the Society.

GEO. PEABODY. " The London Evening Standard }t contained the follow

ing lines while the remains of George Peabody were on their way from England to America. We republish them, not only as a deserved poetical tribute to Mr. Peabody, but as an evidence of the kindly feelings which exist in Great Britain towards-the people of the United States, and a true expression of the folly of war.

We send him home. The land he loved, to his own loving land? The loan to the lender ; and we add thereto A royal usury,?a people's tears.

We send him home? And sending, say, "This body spans the gulf We stretch across as with a fleshly arm, And our own flesh (Oh never doubt) will clasp The hand of brotherhood with strong right hand,

Wipe out the past?all but the old kind years Before an oft regretted harshness snapt The filial link ; the years when England still Was home to far off hearths and saw with pride Her Titan offspring towering into strength Wipe out the pasty-the wrongs, the unnatural strife And the red blood that English hands have poured From English veins. War is a curse ; but war Betwixt one race, one kindred, doubly cursed."

What gain in war ? No gain ; but loss of much Of life, of treasure. Gain of honor then ? The weaker falls ; what honor to the strong? Oh war ! what honor hast thou ? Honor, none. But war treads down the blossoming rose of peace ; With iron heel stamps out the smouldering sparks Of spiritual fire, and the strugglings faint Of poor, blind, dumb humanity for life.

We send him home Who showed a better way. With good, not ill, He nobly conquered, and where darkness reigns Amidst the abodes of night, made day himself, Illumined by the brightness that he gave.

He taught us love ; and let us learn the theme, Join we our hands above the gracious dead, And mingling tears in one long sorrow swear To write his epitaph above him?Peace, H. C. P.

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS AND PUBLIC LIBBARIES.

We have received from Hon. Cephus Brainard, of New

York,? chairman of the general committee of the Young Men's Christian Associations of the United States and the British Provinces, a list embracing about 800 of these in stitutions. To them as well as to about 200 public libra ries, we design sending the Advocate of Peace during the

ensuing year free. That the gift of our paper is apprecia ted may be seen from the following letter :

?

Rooms of the . . . A., Charleston, S. 0., 1870.

American Peace Society, 40 Winter St., Boston,?

Brethren : ? In accordance with a resolution passed at the last regular meeting, allow me to tender you the thanks of the

Association for your kindness in sending to our rooms, ** the

Advocate of Peace.

Wishing you a brilliant future and abundant fruit, I remain,

Yours truly, G. L. G. Cook.

Chairman Committee Library and Reading Rooms.

This content downloaded from 185.2.32.152 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:20:05 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions