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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron News-Record, 1891-07-15, Page 4Ifuron Neum-Reoora 1.60 yi7ear.*-01.25 lu.atirence W.e(l(iestlaY, ,Inly Otht 1891, 1 :. L.IaI(1N,ANV POLITICS. A more thau ordinarily intellf- g4n0 Protestant, apt an Orltngemen, considers our editorial of July let anent "roman ohureh dedication" as indict;ting a spirit of sycophancy to I•iomau Catholics. The gentle man has a different conception of the English language to whet we Lave to enable him to come to auy such conclusion. THE Ni1ws RECORD cannot truth- fully be charged with servility to any religious or political element in our comtnunity. Though we are opposed to tn'tuy of the teachings and dogmas of the churj h of Rotne, we would have no possible justification in attempting to preveut those who do believe in them from assembling in their places of worship and acting in accordance therewith. Religious as well as civil liberty we must concede to all, else we des- troy the very foundation of Prptes- tantiem. Herein is where. so far as history teaches us, lies the radical difference betwoen.the two faiths. Protestant- ism coucedes the right of every man to worship according to his con- science, be ho Roman Catholic, Jew, Mohammedan or Proteatant. It does not, however, by any means follow that we condone what we con- sider the errors of Romanisrn, Juda- ism or Mohamtnedism. Wu du not believe that total abstinence from spirits or tobacco is necessary to man's salvation, however much we rray tespect those who do so yot we would not by any means dogmatize that men shall not be abstainers from these. Wu do not hold that a belief in the dogmas aud practice of the ceremonies of the church of Rome is itecuse:uy to uaau's salvation,yot we would not inhibit those who adhere to these dogmas and practices from following them. It this is syco- phancy, then wo plead guilty to it. A belief i . what we hold to be a right course to follow in order to advance the condition of man in this world and secure his happiness hereafter is what may be called principle. To denounce and try to prevent believers in Apposite priii• ciples from the reasonable enjoy- ment of theirs would be fanaticism. The Mohammedans aro considered fanatics because they justify the killing of unbelievers in their reli- gion as a service to their victims and ea securing for themselves the espec- ial favor of Allah,aud all the glories of a future paradise. Men can be servile aud sycophan• tic to their own beliefs. They can and often do worship their own er- rors. They often appear to be en- gaged in taking the notes out of their brother's eyes whereas it is just possible that several square feet of timber is obstructing their own optics. Among other things we said : "We concede the right of Rotnaniata to live and die by an "unreasoning faith," we also claim the equal right to hold by what Romaniste may call our unreasoning faith."-- This may be heresy from a Protestant stand point, it may be called sycophancy and servility to Rome, but we stand by it. We could not be a Protes- tant and hold by anything else. .And we believe wo represent the great majority of bur readers, This liberality extends to religious bo - lief; to matters of conscience affect- ing the impalpable inwardness of those who differ from us. But our liberality does not extend to even a couseientions belief that the head or hierarchy of any relig- ious faith has the right to interfere in secular matters. The moment that a belief in the supernatural by any body of men is seized by the teachers of that supernatural belief as a lover to coerce men into being mere voting machines in worldly matters we cry a halt. Iu connection with the objection- able editorial referred to we quoted, and we approve the words, from Pat Grant when he takes exception to the pulpit remarks of a Chicago Jes- uit priest : "That the Pope has as good right to direct the politics of the Catholic people in this country as he had to safeguard their relig• ion." "It was simply monatrons for thin prieet to, tell' the .p ople .that they had• as good a right to look Rf'' ter 1holt: p.olittcB aa'ba dad. attar treat religion ?r !That the, Pope 11:new the issues whish underlie polities better thko the people." If these expressed views of a Jes- uit Catholic priest are incorpor- ated in the cried of that church as part of its religious faith, we cer- tainly have the right aud the desire to attack them as subversive of the oivil rigbte of those to whom they were addressed, and as likely to iw• piuge agaivat the secular welfare of all those of a different faith. Herein is where the whole diffi- oultybetween religious and politi cal rights come in. Protestants hold that not only themselves but Catho- lics should have full, free and unre• served control over their status as members of the great brotherhood that is tryiug to develops the mater- ial resources of the state of which we all form a part. If it is a tnatter of faith in the Romanist creed that the "Pope knows better the issues that under• lie politics than the people thew- selves hewselves do," and if that article of faith is thundered forth from their pul- pits, then, certainly, our, wish to see "Catholic obutchea stud the laud as thickly as peas in a pod" must bo taken as not said. When political thunder has resounded from Protes- tantic pulpits we have raised our voice against the prostitution of the office of those who claim to follow in the footsteps of Him whnse king- dom is nut of this world. Herein also comes the difference between she Protestantieul of Or- angeistn aud the Protestantism of bigotry. The Protestantism of Or- angeism protests against interference with the civil or religious liberty of those of any faith or party• A true Orangeman cannot he a bigot. In- tolerance is expressly tabooed. He is bound to do to others es he would have them do to him. Ile is will- ing to concede to others liberty of conscience, he demands that for him- self. He demands all she civil li- berty that British representative in- stitutions will afford,he would grant the satne to all others irrespective of their religious faith. A Protes- tant bigot thanks God for the terror he can strike into the hearts of those who differ from in religion and agrees with the Bislnarkian express- ion : "I would not admit any Catho- lic to be a member of the govern- ment". and thus deprive him of his civil rights. No real Protestant can be a bigot. But if Pat. Grant's estimate of tho Jesuit portion of the Catholics be correct a real Jesuit cannot be anything but a bigot. INDIRECT TAXATION. "The impo<sihility of taxing the people, iu proportion to their revenue, by direct taxation, eeems to have given occasion to the in- vention of taxes upon consumable commodities. The state not know- ing how to tax, directly and propor- tionately, the revenue of its subjects, endeavors to tax it indirectly by taxing their expense, whioh, it is supposed, will, in most cases, be nearly in proportion ,to their re- venue. Their expense is taxed, by taxing the consumable commodities upon which it is laid out." The above extract is froth Dr, Adapt Smith's "Wealth of Nations" and gives tersely the basic principle that underlies indirect taxation as the result of the impossibility of taxing people in proportion to their revenue—in other words of taxing them in proportion to their ability to pay. Municipal experience will bring hone to any observant man that direct taxation is a failure so far as it affects the raising of revenue for lacal purposes. It needs no elabora- tion to convince those who will give the matter any thought that if municipalities had to depend for their revenue solely ou direct taxa- tion, on the equitable basis of a levy on contributors in proportion to their ability to pay, the scheme would oneronely burden those who are least able to contribute, A great part of the wealth of the richer class is not in the form of houses and lands, and cannot be reached. Assessore will readily admit this. Many confound the incidence of indirect taxation with protection. There is not necessarily any con- nection between the two, Proteo- tson may lesson the revenue by giving employment to home labor in the maunfactut•e of what other- wise. would be imported. • Prete°. tion in Canada t however, ra..not cat-ried so fares to prevet?t a healthy competition of foreign eianufaoter- ere and producers with those of our own cooutry, aud consequently we raise considerable revenue by its operation, while the consumer in that free :trade betwre,en eanada rind Durforeign: geighbors wbw ;foot ftp in round numbers- only 60,0.00,000 would be wore ,profitable than free trade with out~ Own farrow subjects uumberIpg six times as many people whose'weeta. are ao diversified that they could buy from us, and whose many cases buys those taxed coin- l produotionsare ao different from ours modities as cheaply as if,they were that we old trade with them,with not subject to a duty. A consider- able part of our revenue is collected indirectly by tariff duties which_ have no connection whatever with proteotiou. Duties that are imposed solely for revenue purposes are nearly always paid by the consumer, as would be the case if there were a duty on tea, coffee, sugar, raw cot- tou or any other articles of prime necessity whish we cannot produce and must hus. Duties that are imposed for pro- tective purpoaee are hardly ever paid by the euusunter. Because by protection hunte manufacturers may be so stimulated th•tt the supply will exceed the demand, or at least be so ample as to excite rivalry to the extent of forcing wares on the market at the least possible margin of profit, and iu some cases at a positive loss. Indirect taxation is the most equitable mode of raising taxes even when they are required for revenue purposes only. In every depart- ment of life we are taxed indirectly. When a merchant sells goods he gets his revenue by indirect taxa- tion. He does not tax his customers directly so tench per head. When he sells a lb of tea for 60 cents he does not say to his patron that it cost him fifty cents and then de• mend a direct tax of ten cents. The artizan or labor dues not figure out what it costa him to live and demand that' that be returned to him, and then demand an additional 25 or 50 cents a day as a direct tax. The whole system of private enter- prise and trade is supported by in- direct taxation. It has existed from all time and will continuo to the end of time. EDITORIAL NOTES. There is not as Much truth in the American newspaper reports that Canada wants to join the United States as there is in the statement that some of the states of the Union are desirous of rejoin- ing the British Empire. The latter is probable, the former impossi- ble. Blake's old time Kansas paradise has recently been scourged with hailstorms, lightning, cyclones and many forms of elemental dis- turbances. One of the local papers refers to a traveller who was caught in one of these storms a few days ago and blown into the next county. Greety's old aphorism will have to be changed to, "Go West and blots up with the coun- try." Absolute iutlepeudence of any power outside of the Dominion is pretty talk. But it is foolish talk all the same. Interdepeudenca between the various portions of the Empire would give the several parte more real independence, Imperial and Colonial federation would knit more closely together our 367,000,000 and perpetuate responsible government. Senator McDonald has with- drawn hie bill for the constituting the higher courts courts of divorce. This is to -be regretted. In some Provinces divorce courts exist. The Federal Parliament should give power to refer alt such cases to the higher courts of all the Provinces. It is possible now in Canada for a marriage to be valid in one Pro- vince and not in another. This is the great difficulty in the States and causes much looseness in divorce proceedings, Some wiseacres ask why does not Canada do this or have that ; the States do this or have that. One tnight as well ask why the boy of six years old does not do or have the same as the man who is four times his age. Canada is but a youth. The United States have' been a Government for over 100 years. The Dorninion for less than 25 years. A suit of clothes that will fit a man 25 years old would not do very well for a six year old lad. An American paper rises to re- mark that Queen Victoria's eubjecte foot up in good round numbers 367,000,000, and adds : "No other sovereign ever ruled so many." Quite true. And yet Canadian pigmy politiciana, affect. to believe advantage to all concerued. Where. ae the produots of our yeighbore. and ours are eo similar that to trade with them would be an attempt on the part of each to force the other to buy what it did not want. Brit-' ish federation and reciprocity be- tween the various cotnponente of this world wide federation of 367,- 000,000 of people is what we want, There were received at Chicago during last year 223,320,030 bus- hels of grain and at New York 116, €82,589 bushels. There were ex- ported to foreign countries, chiefly to Great Britain, 180,000,00 bushels of wheat alone. In the face of the enormous production and export of grain by the United States, it is the heigth - of absurdity to say they are hankering to import Can- adian grain and pay higher prices than they themselves are getting. The Grits are sad and weary. They have been singing and sighing and sorrowing for free trade in sugar. We have got it. And yet they are nut satisfied. The wail now goes up from them that free trade in sugar is a,blow at protec- tiou. Ilow sad. Aud yet free sugar has nothing to do with pro- tection. '1 he duties formerly un- posed on sugar never had anything to do with protection. They were imposed as a matter of revenue. They were kept on by a Grit and a Conservative government in order to raise revenue, not from a protec- tive standpoint. The duties on raw sugar protected no home industry at Any time. With these duties and duties on tea and coffee the Grits could not make ends meet. The Tories have taken them all orf and by economical manage- ment have several millions of a surplus. It's a very sad and sour time for the Grits. Probably some of them won't buy sugar at the low prices that prevail, but will go right Along payiug 10 cents a pound for their sacchar'no pur- chases, as a matter of principle, rather than buy it for 5 conth a pound and thus countenance the involved blow at protection—and probably they won't. We rather think they won't. Some of the Grit papers affect to deplore the miscarriage of legisla tion providing for a plebiscite vote on prohibition. Mills and other Grit members spoke up for it in the House. When Taylor's motion in favor of it came up not one of them supported it. There can be no question that if prohibition should ever become law it must have pub- lic sentiment behiud it to give it a ghost of a chance of being enforced, or it will be the miserable failure the Scott Act was. In order to get at what public sentiment is,a straight vote on the issue, without any per- plexing political or religious en- tanglements,•ie necessary. In order to vote intelligently more informa- tion ie necessary than is possessed by the people generally. The royal commission to be appointed under Mr. Foster's bill will obtain that information and give it to the peo- ple. The principle that the Govern- ment has acted upon in this matter should satisfy the most prejudiced prohibitionist. Though we must confess that we have no faith that legislative prohibition will prohibit the manufacture and use of alcoholic liquors. Educated public conscience, hygienic and sanitary legislation and the stringent enforcement of all regulatory laws are the only means that will check the acknowledged evils that result from the indis- criminate use of spirituous beverages. On another page is an interesting article touching this question, entitled the "Antagonism of Alco- hol" taken from the Canadian Health Journal, whose editor ie opposed to the use of alcoholic beve- reges.as commonly used. Let' 'us Ase how the Grits stand with regard to taxation. Tho Gov. erntnont must have monoy to carry on the business of tbo country, Our•revenueischieflydery °°frisi ari> dutleg. The: (;trite say tisk Canadian ;pxoduoare pay the tariff on their prgde.ptssen;t to the Unit- ed. States and cotrsoquout,y help: to. pamper up Ilia great American eagle so that every fourth of July its lusty screech may be be0 from the straits ofMagellan to Behring Sea. By equ- ality of reasoning when foreigners' send their produce into this country they pay our tariff duty. Looking at the removal of the duties from sugar in the Grit light, we are depriving the foreiguer of the pleasure of pay- ing Cauadiau duties int, the. Canadian Treasury. Bat Cauadiau consutlters of sugar -will go on sweet- ening life with cheap auger quite eatistied that as we cannot pruduue it the removal of the duty urf it is the removal of a tax equivalout to the duties hitherto imposed. Protection as an incident 'of a national policy . is simply self preservation. Protection encourages the employment of capital in the home trade. It puts into motion a a greater amount of home industry. It gives employment and revenue to the greater number of inhabi ants. It promotes the prosperity and welfare of the country by developing home resources. It encourages production, and th greater the production the cheaper the price of the commodities pro• duced. ' i'rotection ie more in the interest of labor than capital. Though it employs capital, there are so few. possessed of capital in com- parison with the vast numbers who have their labor to invest that it does good to the great majority. The revenue from a man's labor must necessarily exceed his expendi- ture: If he consumes one dollar's worth of protected commodities per day, and thee are taxed twenty ceuts, aud he gets cue dollar and a halt' per day, through the product of his labor being taxed twenty per cent, he is the gainer by ten per cent over what he would be were there no protection at all. Because, though he bought his daily supply of necessaries for eightyccuts, that is their normal value without the` duty, he would receive only ono dollar and twenty cents for his im- pratected days labor, its normal value without protection. That is, tinder protection he wueld receive $1.50 a day and spend $1. leaving him a profit of 50 cents a day, while without protection he would re- ceive $1..20 a day and spend 80 cents, leaving him only 40 cents a day profit. • MISSIONARY WORK IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. ['Che following paper by Miss Lizzie Baker was read at the June monthly meeting of the teachers of St. Paul's church Sunday eciool, Clinton] :— What is the general position of the Sunday school to the Church ? "The S. S. is the nursery of the Church," is a vary old saying but none the less true hesause of its age. I think in it we may. find the clue to the importance of mia- aiouai•y work iu S Scheele, The church is the family or household of God, and as in the natural household, the whole training of the nursery should be arranged with a view to the enabling of the ohild.en et a very early age to undertake their due share in the duties of the h••usehold, and ultimately to be fitted for citizenship in the social and political world ; so the training in the S. S. should be such as to enable its inmates very soon to become active partners in all branches of work pertaining to the spiritual household, and finally to become citizens of the kingdom above. This is the great object of the S. 8. not merely that we may have systematic organizations, exoellent machinery, pleas- ant picnics and agreeable tea -meetings, hut that we may under God's blessing, so enlighten the minds, touch the hearts aud mould the lives of our pupils as to lead them to become good citizens, intelligent, earnest and devoted Chris- tians, ready and willing to enter with spirit and understanding into all bane - fluent enterprise.. To every right miuded teacher, €hie is the one object tf hie labors ; for this he lives, work° and prays. Whatever elite is accoutplished by means of the S. S., if this is nor done the school is a fail- ure, if this is done the eohool ie a euc- oe6.. Now among the many enterprises in which the churoh Li called to engage, none ie more important than the Mis- sionary eoterpriee, and therefore there is none in which it is more neeoseary that the ohildten of the "church nursery" should be taught at an early age to take an interest and hear a part. All are well aware that improesione made upon the minds of a young child are seldom if ever forgotten, and that habits formed in childhood oontinne to mould the life and guide the heart long after the removal or extinction of the causes which pro- duce them. How important to it then that our ehildren should early learn to take a practical interest in the Mission work, for the epirit of missions is the spirit of Christ. And that S. S, in wbinh the echolars are not taught by preoept, example and practice to aid l.n sending the Gospel to the heathen at home and abroad, is not obeying the Master's express command ; is not teaching the 65—tf Christ of the scriptures, nay more. is robbing its soholare of that high and holy privilege of being oo-workers with God in the exteneton and building up of hie kingdom. flow then shall we prooeed in order to bring about a consummation so devoutly to he wished ? flew ehall we get the S. 8. to take its proper position of practical interest in Mission work? soh.olors leprapprelon to WO ability to earaprehen At. 'no ¥r@a1 lun4Mwental primal ,le,. than all ttua lf#e cotteiliti iii giving,that the . sup; ghee its light and heat ta,aheor end warm the eerttt —i bat the ocean;givee IltI viper to form the clouds --teat the el'udtt give their moisture le rain t0 waiter the planta upon 00- earth and t0 Corm spripgs and rivers sad that fbo springs and rivers give hack their is eters to the owns—arid ties mother gives her We to the rearing and oarit#gg of her °bild- •that God gives ue things riobly to enjoy—that he gave his only begotten sou our Lord Jesus Christ to aavo us, and that he oaks us to give Him our hearts and to tell ethers of bis loving, gifts en that others- too may be bit led to give themselves to His service and ter His glo- y. 2 By provoking sympathy for mia- eienary objf.ctr. ,Chia is inseparably oonneo`ed with the giving of iuformation and results from it. There is eceroely any thing that will prove mete interest - tug t. the child mind, than will the stories of hra'.hen darknees and misery As ntraeted with those of Christiane,. The ucconot of the position which w, men and girls occupy in heathen Inde—of how the Hindno mother sorne- times thrnws her infant girls into the Ganges to be eaten by the crocodiles, set over agaivat the Cbristian mothers loving °ate—of huw in heathen lands woman ht a al ttvf', a drudge, at best a mere toy of the man, having no experi- ence of leer here nr of hype or happiness hereafter—in cir'r'i! with the lot of the Christian wore, ' as the friend and ckmpaui,.n, the adviser, the equal of man, loved and respected here and with him ehariog the same hope of the future—the account of these °entreats and , f others such as theirs oan }ae eeatly made to tilt the youug hearts with gratitude, an d to ceuee the youthful soul to pour forth in genuine sympathy aud practicer beusvolebue towards those oho a,e so benighted and degraded, especially when by r, ferenee to the hie- t•ey of our ancient aroestora the Saxons anti Not mxaa, puiuti ig out that we, without the gospel should have ! sen in the same darkness and misery, Closely allied to this an.I serving similar purpose in iuepiring the schr.lars with sympathy for miteiouary work in the story of Mies Heroism, Show them that our L,r,l an.l Saviour not only tvught Hie dieciplee to enter upon aud eugage heartily in mission w. rk, but also th.,t Le was li'meelf the greet pioneer in the mleeien field, that he not r.nly said '•Ge ye" e•e, but that before He gave the command, ho set the example, by leaving lits own beautiful home in heaven and uuming to this sin- ful world livieg the life t a servant, sufferirg the hnnt;er end thirst ,f a beggar ; enduring the s':orn aud con- enotempt, hatred and abuse muted out the ,dean and degra.'.eJ, and at last dying the painful and shameful death of the malefactor io order that he might buy us hack from the bondage of Satan and give to ue the glorious liberty of the children of God. (,lean from the INew Testament fields and relate to them ae graphic, illy as poaeibl, the stories of the travele, trials and tribulatiucn of the geeat Missionary Apostle of the Gentiles. Tell them of his giorinue zeal and glori- ous triumph° as he held on his way, countiog not his life dear unto him that he might finish his course unto joy. Dasoribe to them the deeds of Patrick, Colombia, and Augustine, in the early Christian centuries and ehow them what a glorious record has been their euccea- Bora is modern timee. Relate to them the story of John Eliot, the mieeionary of the red men of our own continent with his life of unwearied toil and patient gentlentea,--of Henry Martin Melting into hie lonely grave in plague stricken I'ldit,—of Judson and the horrors of his Burmeee prison ; of Alen Gardiner starved to death in the long winter of an antarctic island while on a rock near which his skeleton was found he had painted the words "my scut wait thou upon God, for my hope i° in him'' ; of Bishop Mackenzie sinking through fatigue and lever in the swamps of Zam- beei, "Notl•eokicg for earthly happiness as he said to his deter, b .t 10 be the sharer of everyone's sorrows, the com• fort of everyone,' grief"; cf David Liv iugstone the missionary explorer laying down his life in au Af,iean hut with no white tacs near. Hie last words being, "all I can ask in my solitude is heaven's richest blessing en every one who will help to heal the open sore of the world ; of Bishop Patterson the noble' martyr of Melanesia forsaking the comfort and re- finement of his cultivated home, falling A prey to the bludgeon° of the savages of the Pacific whom he went to teach ; and last but not least the Christian soldier Gordon, and how night after night he paced his lonely round, the only white man in a city of dark skinned traitors ; of how each morning a folded handkerchief laid outside his door was the signal no muet not be disturbed during his hour of devotion to hie God, of haw he fell stabbed by the cowardly rebel and died the nnbleet Christian bear t that has bled a quarter of a cen- tury: Tell them of there and others and assist then to find in the pages of oar mission- ary papers stories of many who are spending themeelvee and being spent in order to win the heathen to Christ. The effect must be to stir up the school to a grand missionary zeal and per chance to lead some youthful hero to ooneecrate hie young life to the same noble cause and to win the reward of those who hereafter "shall shine as the stare for ever and ever." LaLM's Starch EnanmeI. This is an •article worthy of every lady's attention. If you want to save time and labor, buy a box. If you want your ironed clothes to look neat and clean and to last much longer, buy a box. If you want the starch to stay in the clothes on the line in spite of rain or frost, buy a box, If you want everything to look like new, such as shirt bosoms, collars, cuffs, lace curtains, etc., buy a box. AqtBrery Storekeeper keeps it now, and where the merchant dons not keep it wo want a lively agent to represent ue. Manufactured by 1. Ry giving information. Beginning _ wtkh ttejet 404.,eless.-dndn.taoutiarring, through the different grades, teaohing the W. J. LOBB Holmeevillo New Blacksmith Shop GEORGE TROWHILL has opened out a gen- eral Blacksmith and Repair Shop to the building lately occupied by Mr. Gavle , apposite Faire lumber yard, Albert street Clinton, Ont. Blacksmith and Iron work in ail its branches. Iiorso•Shoeing promptly attended to and satis- faction guaranteed. The public are invited to bvels'cxderinr�nnpvhistr-arrrrrt ti -otne 487—If GEORGE TROWHILL.