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CHRISTIAN LEGISLATION OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS - RELIGION THE BASIS OF CIVIL STATES - RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS OF THE MEN WHO FORMED OUR CIVIL INSTITUTIONS - BURKE'S VIEWS - WEBSTER'S VIEWS - FIRST CONGRESS - FIRST PRAYER IN CONGRESS - DESCRIBED BY ADAMS - DESCRIBED BY WEBSTER AND GOODRICH - LEGISLATION ON THE BIBLE - CONGRESS APPROPRIATES MONEY TO PURCHASE BIBLES - CONGRESS SUPERINTENDS THE PRINTING OF AN EDITION OF THE ENTIRE BIBLE - CORRESPONDENCE ON THE SUBJECT - BIBLES PRESENTED TO CONGRESS - LETTER OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT AND SPEAKER - AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY - RESOLUTIONS OF CONGRESS TO PREVENT OFFICERS OF THE GOVERNMENT FROM ATTENDING THEATRES, ETC. - ADDRESS OF CONGRESS TO THE PEOPLE - LEGISLATION ON THE SABBATH - DISCOURAGE ALL DISSIPATION - CONTINENTAL CONGRESS A CHRISTIAN BODY - THE MORAL ENDS OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT.

PLUTARCH declares that the great care of the legislators of the republics of Greece and Rome was to inspire men with a sense of the favor and displeasure of the gods, and that religion is the cement of civil union, and the essential support of civil government. "A city might as well be built," says he, "on the air, without any earth to stand upon, as a commonwealth or a kingdom be constituted or preserved without religion." "No state," says an American writer, "ever yet existed without the basis of some religion. The earliest state constitution of which we have any clear record is the Egyptian, and this was distinctly a theocracy. The Hebrew state was at first theocratic; and when God gave the people a king, the religious element in their constitution was not withdrawn. The old kingdoms of Assyria, Phenicia, Media and Persia, all made use of some special religion as auxiliary to their civil state."

The testimony of Polybius, an ancient writer and philosopher, to the beneficial effects which resulted from the system of pagan superstition, in fortifying the sentiments of moral obligation and supporting the sanctity of oaths, is so weighty and decisive that it would be injustice not to insert it,-more especially as it is impossible to attribute it to the influence of credulity on the author himself, who was evidently a skeptic. It is scarcely necessary to remark that all the benefits which might in any way flow from superstition are secured to an incomparably greater degree by the belief of true religion.

"But among all the useful institutions," says Polybius, "that demonstrate the superior excellence of the Roman government, the most considerable, perhaps, is the opinion which people are taught to hold concerning the gods; and that which other men regard as an object of disgrace appears, in my judgment, to be the very thing by which this republic is cherished and sustained. I mean superstition, the Roman religion, which is impressed with all its terrors, and influences the private actions of the citizens and the public administration of the state, to a degree that can scarcely be excelled."

"In almost all of the distinguished states," said A. H. Everett, in the Legislature of Massachusetts, "the principal care of the community has been to provide for the support of religion. In Egypt, Palestine, and the Oriental nations, religion has always been the main object of the government. In Greece it was the only bond of union that held together the several members of that illustrious commonwealth of states."

"Seeing therefore it doth appear," says the great and venerable Hooker, "that the safety of states dependeth upon religion; that religion unfeignedly loved perfecteth men's abilities unto all kinds of virtuous services in the commonwealth; that men's desire is, in general, to hold no religion but the true, and that whatever good effects do grow out of their religion, who embrace, instead of the true, a false, the roots thereof are certain sparks of the light of truth intermingled with the darkness of error, because no religion can wholly and only consist of untruths: we have reason to think that all true virtues are to honor true religion as their parent, and all well-ordered commonwealths to love her as their chiefest stay."

Christianity is for all the wants of the civil state, as it is for all the wants of the soul and immortality. Hence it "has entered on a career of universal conquest: first the conquest of men, then of customs, institutions, corporations, and governments. She aims to carry out her spirit in the extremities even of the living framework of society. Accordingly, Christianity holds it to be as much the duty of the state to be born again from a life of selfishness and ambition and worldly glory, to a life of universal love, and justice, and liberty, and devotion to God and his service." A nation and a government thus regenerated would realize John Milton's idea of a civil government, that it should be "ONE HUGE CHRISTIAN PERSONAGE, ONE MIGHTY OUTGROWTH AND STATURE OF AN HONEST MAN."

The American colonies had a profound conviction of the essential need of religion as the only true basis of civil government. They had been schooled in the faith and practice of the Protestant religion, and when the time came for them to institute governments for themselves they were prepared to found them, and carry them on according to the religion of the Bible.

"The people of the colonies," said Burke in the British Parliament, "are descendants of Englishmen. England is a nation which still, I hope, respects, and formerly adored, freedom. The colonists went from you when this part of your character was most predominant; and they took this bias and direction the moment they parted from your hands. They are, therefore, not only devoted to liberty, but to liberty according to English ideas and on English principles. Their governments are popular in a high degree. If any thing were wanting to this necessary operation of the form of government, RELIGION would have given it a complete effect. Religion - always a principle of energy in this new people - is no way worn out or impaired; and their mode of professing is also one main cause of this free spirit. The people are Protestants, and of that kind which is most adverse to all implicit submission of mind and opinion. This is a persuasion, sir, not only favorable to liberty, but built upon it. The dissenting interests have sprung up in direct opposition to all the ordinary powers of the world, and could justify that opposition only on a strong claim to natural liberty. All Protestantism, even the most cold and passive, is a sort of dissent. But the religion most prevalent in our Northern colonies is a refinement on the spirit of the principle of resistance: it is the dissidence of dissent, and the protestantism of the Protestant religion. This religion, under a variety of denominations, agreeing in nothing but in the communion of the spirit of liberty, is predominant in most of the Northern Provinces. The colonists left England when this spirit was high, and in the emigrants was highest of all; and even the stream of foreigners which has been constantly flowing into these colonies has, for the greater part, been composed of dissenters of their own countries, and have brought with them a temper and a character far from alien to that of the people with whom they mixed. A fierce spirit of liberty has grown up; it has grown up with the growth of your people, and increased with the increase of their population and wealth, - a spirit that, unhappily, meeting with an excess of power in England, which, however lawful, is not reconcilable to any idea of liberty, much less with theirs, has kindled this flame which is ready to consume us."

This thorough education of the colonists in the Protestant school of Christianity, from their earliest history down to the Revolution, prepared the statesmen who instituted our forms of government to found them on the principles of Christianity. This policy but reflected the will of the people, as well as the views and convictions of the men who framed our free institutions.

"That some religion," said Bishop McIlvaine, "and that the Christian religion, is recognized as the religion of this nation and government, and as such is interwoven in its laws, and has a legal preference, though not 'establishment' in technical language, over whatever else has the name of religion, and especially over all forms of infidelity, all must admit. We are thankful that our system of government, our common law, and administration of justice, were instituted by men having the wisdom to see how entirely the liberties and interests of this nation are dependent on the teachings and keeping of the truths and institutions of Christianity."

"There is nothing," says Webster, "we look for with more certainty than this principle, that Christianity is a part of the law of the land. Every thing declares this. The generations which have gone before speak to it, and pronounce it from the tomb. We feel it. All, all proclaim that Christianity, general, tolerant Christianity, independent of sects and parties, that Christianity to which the sword and the fagot are unknown, general, tolerant Christianity, is the law of the land."

The statesmen of the Continental Congress, in their deliberations, officially recognized the Christian religion, and incorporated its principles into their legislative acts. That body of great men is thus spoken of by Webster. He says, -

"No doubt the assembly of the first Continental Congress may be regarded as the era at which the Union of these States commenced. This event took place in Philadelphia, the city distinguished by the great civil events of our early history, on the 5th of September, 1774, on which day the first Continental Congress assembled. Delegates were present from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

"Let this day be ever remembered! It saw assembled from the several colonies those great men whose names have come down to us and will descend to all posterity. Their proceedings are remarkable for simplicity, dignity, and unequalled ability. At that day, probably, there could have been convened on no part of the globe an equal number of men possessing greater talents and ability, or animated by a higher and more patriotic motive. They were men full of the spirit of the occasion, imbued deeply with the general sentiment of the country, of large comprehension, of long foresight, and of few words. They made no speeches for ostentation: they sat with closed doors, and their great maxim was, 'faire sans dire.' They knew the history of the past, they were alive to all the difficulties and all the duties of the present, and they acted from the first as if the future were all open before them. In such a constellation it would be invidious to point out the bright particular stars. Let me only say - what none can consider injustice to others - that George Washington was one of the number.

"This first Congress, for the ability which it manifested, the principles which it proclaimed, and the characters which composed it, makes an illustrious chapter in American history. Its members should be regarded not only individually, but in a group; they should be viewed as living pictures, exhibiting young America as it then was, and when the seeds of its public destiny were beginning to start into life, well described by our early motto as being full of energy and prospered by Heaven: -

'Non sine Diis, animosus infans.'

"For myself, I love to travel back in imagination, to place myself in the midst of this assembly,this union of greatness and patriotism, and to contemplate, as if I had witnessed, its profound deliberations, and its masterly exhibitions both of the rights and wrongs of the country."

The proceedings of the Assembly were introduced by religious observances and devout supplications to the throne of grace, for the inspiration of wisdom and the spirit of good counsels.

The first act of the first session of the Continental Congress was to pass the following resolution: -

Tuesday, September 6, 1774. - Resolved, That the Rev. Mr. Duché be desired to open Congress to-morrow morning with prayer, at Carpenter's - Hall, at nine o'clock.

Wednesday, September 7, 1774, A.M. - Agreeable to the resolve of yesterday, the meeting was opened with prayer by the Rev. Mr. Duché.

- John Adams, in a letter to his wife, thus describes that scene:

"When the Congress first met, Mr. Cushing first made a motion that it should be opened with prayer. It was opposed by one or two, because we were so divided in religious sentiments - some were Episcopalians, some Quakers, some Anabaptists, some Presbyterians, and some Congregationalists - that we could not agree in the same act of worship. Mr. Samuel Adams rose and said, 'he was no bigot, and could hear a prayer from a - gentleman of piety and virtue, who was at the sametime a friend to his country. He was a stranger in Philadelphia, but had heard that Mr. Duché deserved that character, and therefore he moved that Mr. Duché, an Episcopalian clergyman, might be desired to read prayers to the Congress to-morrow morning.' The motion was seconded, and passed in the affirmative. Mr. Randolph, our President, waited on Mr. Duché, and received for answer that if his health would permit he certainly would. Accordingly, next morning he appeared, with his clerk and in his pontificals, and read the collect for the seventh day of September, which was the thirty-first Psalm. You must remember that this was the first morning after we heard the horrible rumor of the cannonade of Boston. I never saw a greater effect produced upon an audience. It seemed as if Heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read on that morning. It has had an excellent effect upon everybody here. I must beg you to read that Psalm." It is as follows: -

1. In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.

2. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for a house of defence to save me.

3. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.

4. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.

5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

6. I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the Lord.

7. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities;

8. And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room.

9. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.

10. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.

11. I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me.

12. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.

13. For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.

14. But I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God.

15. My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.

16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me for thy mercies' sake.

17. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave.

18. Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

19. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!

20. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

21. Blessed be the Lord: for he hath showed me his marvellous kindness in a strong city.

22. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.

23. Oh love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.

24. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

"After this," says Adams, "Mr. Duché, unexpectedly to everybody, struck out into an extemporaneous prayer, which filled the bosom of every man present. I must confess I never heard a better prayer, or one so well pronounced. Episcopalian as he is, Dr. Cooper himself never prayed with such fervor, such ardor, such earnestness and pathos, and in language so elegant and sublime, for America, for the Province of Massachusetts, and especially for the town of Boston."

In Adams's Diary, Sept. 7, 1774, the same scene is recorded: -

"Went to Congress again; heard Mr. Duché read prayers; the collect for the 7th of the month was most admirably adapted, - though this was accidental, or, rather, providential. A prayer which he gave us of his own composition was as pertinent, as affectionate, as sublime, as devout, as I ever heard offered up to Heaven. He filled every bosom present."

We give below the prayer as it is printed in Thatcher's "Military Biography," under date of December, 1777.

O Lord our heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings and Lord of lords, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers on earth, and reignest with power supreme and uncontrolled over all the kingdoms, empires, and governments; look down in mercy, we beseech thee, on these American States who have fled to thee from the rod of the oppressor, and thrown themselves on thy gracious protection, desiring to be henceforth dependent only on thee; to thee they have appealed for the righteousness of their cause; to thee do they now look up for that countenance and support which thou alone canst give; take them, therefore, heavenly Father, under thy nurturing care; give them wisdom in council, and valor in the field; defeat the malicious designs of our cruel adversaries; convince them of the unrighteousness of their cause, and if they still persist in their sanguinary purposes, oh, let the voice of thine own unerring justice, sounding in their hearts, constrain them to drop the weapons of war from their unnerved hands in the day of battle. Be thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly: enable them to settle things on the best and surest foundation, that the scene of blood may be speedily closed, that order, harmony, and peace may be effectually restored, and truth and justice, religion and piety, prevail and flourish amongst thy people. Preserve the health of their bodies and the vigor of their minds; shower down on them and the millions they here represent, such temporal blessings as thou seest expedient for them in this world, and crown them with everlasting glory in the world to come. All this we ask in the name and through the merits of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Saviour. Amen!

"It must have been an interesting scene," says Goodrich: - "a minister, bound to forms, finding extemporaneous words to suit the occasion, and the Quaker, the Presbyterian, the Episcoраlian, and the Rationalist, some kneeling, some standing, but all praying, and looking to Heaven for wisdom and counsel in this hour of doubt, anxiety, and responsibility. Adams and Sherman, the Puritans, standing erect, - Thomson, the Quaker, finding the movement of the Spirit in the words of a consecrated priest, - with Washington, Henry, and other Episcopalians, kneeling, according to their creed, and all invoking wisdom from above, would make a touching and instructive picture. Its moral would be, that the greatest minds, in moments of difficulty and danger, acknowledge their dependence upon God, and feel the necessity of elevating and purifying their hearts by prayer; and that the differences of sect, the distinctions of form, all vanish when emergency presses upon the consciences of men and forces them to a sincere and open avowal of their convictions."

Webster described, in the Senate, the same scene as follows: - "At the meeting of the first Congress, there was a doubt in the minds of many about the propriety of opening the sessions with prayer; and the reason assigned was, as here, the great diversity of opinion and religious belief; until at last Mr. Samuel Adams, with his gray hairs hanging about his shoulders, and with an impressive venerableness now seldom to be met with (I suppose owing to different habits), rose, in that assembly, and, with the air of a perfect Puritan, said, 'it did not become men professing to be Christian men, who had come together for solemn deliberation in the hour of their extremity, to say there was so wide a difference in their religious belief that they could not, as one man, bow the knee in prayer to the Almighty, whose advice and assistance they hoped to obtain; and, Independent as he was, and an enemy to all prelacy as he was known to be, he moved that Rev. Mr. Duché, of the Episcopal Church, should address the Throne of Grace in prayer.' Mr. Duché read the Episcopal service of the Church of England; and then, as if moved by the occasion, he broke out into extemporaneous prayer; and those men who were about to resort to force to obtain their rights were moved to tears; and 'floods of tears,' he says, 'ran down the cheeks of pacific Quakers, who formed a part of that interesting assembly; and depend upon it, that where there is a spirit of Christianity there is a spirit which rises above form, above ceremonies, independent of sect or creed and the controversies of clashing doctrines."

That Congress of Christian statesmen appreciated the services rendered by their first chaplain, and unanimously

"Voted, That the thanks of Congress be given to Mr. Duché, by Mr. Cushing and Mr. Ward, for performing divine service, and for the excellent prayer which he composed and delivered on the occasion."

The public worship of Almighty God was personally and officially observed by the statesmen of the Revolution. The records of the Continental Congress present this fact: -

"Saturday, July 15th, 1775. - On motion, Resolved, That the Congress will, on Thursday next, attend divine service in a body, both morning and afternoon."

On the 3d of October, 1775, on the occasion of the sudden demise of Peyton Randolph, Congress resolved to attend his funeral as mourners, and appointed a committee "to wait on the Rev. Mr. Duché and request him to prepare a proper discourse to be delivered at the funeral."

The legislation of Congress on the Bible is a suggestive Christian fact, and one which evinces the faith of the statesmen of that period in its divinity, as well as their purpose to place it as the corner-stone in our republican institutions.

The breaking out of the Revolution cut off the supply of "books printed in London." The scarcity of Bibles also came soon to be felt. Dr. PATRICK ALLISON, one of the chaplains to Congress, and other gentlemen, brought the subject before that body in a memorial, in which they urged the printing of an edition of the Scriptures.

On the 11th of September, 1777, the committee to whom the memorial was referred reported as follows: -

Thursday, September 11, 1777. - The committee to whom the memorial of Dr. Allison and others,was referred, report, That they have conferred fully with the printers, &c., in this city, and are of opinion that the proper types for printing the Bible are not to be had in this country, and that the paper cannot be procured, but with such difficulties, and subject to such casualties, as render any dependence on it altogether improper; that to import types for the purpose of setting up an entire edition of the Bible, and to strike off 30,000 copies, with paper, binding, &c., will cost £10,272 10, which must be advanced by Congress, to be reimbursed by the sale of the books; that, in the opinion of the committee, considerable difficulties will attend the procuring the types and paper; that, afterwards, the risk of importing them will considerably enhance the cost, and that the calculations are subject to such uncertainty in the present state of affairs, that Congress cannot much rely on them; that the use of the Bible is so universal, and its importance so great, that your committee refer the above to the consideration of Congress, and if Congress shall not think it expedient to order the importation of types and paper, the committee recommend that Congress will order the Committee of Commerce to import 20,000 Bibles from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different ports of the States of the Union.

Whereupon it was moved, That the Committee of Commerce be directed to import 20,000 copies of the Bible.

On this motion, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, voted in the affirmative; New York, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, voted in the negative.

So it was resolved in the affirmative.

In 1781 Rev. Mr. Aitken memorialized Congress to aid him in printing an American edition of the Bible. Congress appointed a committee, who submitted a report on the subject as follows: -

By the United States in Congress assembled:

SEPTEMBER 12, 1782.

The committee to whom was referred a memorial of Robert Aitken, Printer, dated 21st January, 1781, respecting an edition of the Holy Scriptures, report, That Mr. Aitken has, at great expense, now finished an American edition of the Holy Scriptures in English; that the committee have from time to time attended to his progress in the work; that they also recommended it to the two chaplains of Congress to examine and give their opinion of the execution, who have accordingly reported thereon; the recommendation and report being as follows: -

PHILADELPHIA, 1st Sept., 1782.

REVEREND GENTLEMEN: -

Our knowledge of your piety and public spirit leads us, without apology, to recommend to your particular attention the edition of the Holy Scriptures published by Mr. Aitken. He undertook this expensive work at a time when, from the circumstances of the war, an English edition of the Bible could not be imported, nor any opinion formed how long the obstruction might continue. On this account, particularly, he deserves applause and encouragement. We therefore wish you, reverend gentlemen, to examine the execution of the work, and, if approved, to give it the sanction of your judgment and the weight of your recommendation.

We are, with very great respect,

Your most obedient, humble servants,

(Signed) JAMES DUANE, Chairman,  

In behalf of a committee of Congress on Mr. Aitken's memorial.

Reverend Dr. White and Rev. Mr. Duffield, Chaplains of the United States in Congress assembled, report: -

GENTLEMEN: -

Agreeably to your desire, we have paid attention to Mr. Robert Aitken's impression of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Having selected and examined a variety of passages throughout the work, we are of opinion that it is executed with great accuracy as to the sense, and with as few grammatical and typographical errors as could have been expected in an undertaking of such magnitude. Being ourselves witnesses of the demand for this invaluable work, we rejoice in the present prospect of a surplus, - hoping that it will prove as advantageous as it is honorable to the gentleman who has exerted himself to furnish it, at the evident risk of private fortune.

We are, gentlemen,

Your very respectful and humble servants,

(Signed) WILLIAM WHITE, GEORGE DUFFIELD.

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 10, 1782.

Hon. JAMES DUANE, Esq., Chairman, and the other honorable gentlemen of the committee of Congress on Mr. Aitken's memorial.

Whereupon, Resolved, That the United States, in Congress assembled, highly approve of the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interests of religion, as well as an instance of the progress of the fine arts in this country; and, being satisfied from the above report of his care and accuracy in the execution of the work, they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States, and hereby authorize him to publish this recommendation in the manner he shall think proper.

CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary.

The American Bible Society published, in 1856, the following statement in connection with the presentation of a Bible to each House of Congress: -

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1) THE BIBLE IN CONGRESS.

A joint note was received in May last from the two chaplains of Congress, suggesting that our Board present a copy of the pulpit Bible for use in public worship at the Capitol. The suggestion was cheerfully complied with, and the following response received, showing, with a thousand other incidents, that, while we have no state-established religion, we are correctly styled a Christian nation -

WASHINGTON, May 19, 1856.

To the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society.

GENTLEMEN: - We have the pleasure to acknowledge the receipt of an imperial quarto Bible for the use of Congress at the hands of your Secretary.

In behalf of Congress, we beg to tender to you our grateful thanks for this appropriate present, and to express the hope that the great truths contained in that sacred record may be impressed upon all our minds and hearts.

With sentiments of the highest respect and consideration, we have the honor to be

Your obedient servants,

JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE, Pres. Sen.

WM. PENNINGTON, Speaker H. R.

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2) THE BIBLE AND THE FIRST CONGRESS.

The above article, coming from the officers of the present Congress, leads us to subjoin a brief account of the doings of the first Congress in regard to the same divine book, as given in Rev. Dr. Strickland's History of the American Bible Society: -

"As early as the beginning of the last century, laws existed in some of the colonies requiring every family to be furnished with a Bible. This supply continued to be kept up by individual exertion until the meeting of the first Congress in 1777, one year after the Declaration of Independence. In the early formation of our government, those who looked upon the experiment with jealous eyes anticipated a speedy dissolution, from the fact that it made no provision for the establishment of religion. Although the legislative power of our country is prohibited from making laws prescribing and enforcing the observance of any particular faith or form of worship, yet it is equally powerless in prohibiting the free exercise thereof; while at the same time it extends its protecting ægis over the rights of conscience. The Government has never been unmindful of the great interests of religion, but has from the beginning adhered to and carried out the language of Washington, that 'religion and morality are indispensable supports of political existence and prosperity.'

"The Congress of 1777 answered a memorial on the subject of Bible - distribution in this country, by appointing a committee to advise as to the printing an edition of thirty thousand Bibles. The population of the country then was only about three millions, and all the Bibles in the entire world at that period did not exceed four millions. Thus it will be seen that its circulation in this and all other countries at that time was exceedingly limited.

"The report of the committee appointed by Congress forms one of the brightest epochs in the history of our republic, and sheds a clear and steady light over every subsequent eventful period. The public recognition of God in that act was of infinitely greater importance in giving stability to the times, securing the permanency of our institutions, than all the imposing and formidable array of legal enactments ever made for the establishment of religion.

"The committee, finding it difficult to procure the necessary material, such as paper and types, recommended Congress, 'the use of the Bible being so universal, and its importance so great,' to direct the Committee on Commerce to import, at the expense of Congress, twenty thousand English Bibles from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different ports of the States of the Union. The report was adopted, and the importation ordered.

"In 1781, when, from the existence of the war, no English Bible could be imported, and no opinion could be formed how long the obstruction might continue, the subject of printing the Bible was again presented to Congress, and it was on motion referred to a committee of three.

"The committee, after giving the subject a careful investigation, recommended to Congress an edition printed by Robert Aitken, of Philadelphia; whereupon it was

" 'Resolved, That the United States, in Congress assembled, highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interests of religion; and, being satisfied of the care and accuracy of the execution of the work, recommend this edition to the inhabitants of the United States.' "

How interesting is a history of the early circulation of the Bible in this country! What moral sublimity in the fact, as it stands imperishably recorded and filed in the national archives! Who, in view of this fact, will call in question the assertion that this is a Bible nation? Who will charge the Government with indifference to religion, when the first Congress of the States assumed all the rights and performed all the duties of a Bible society long before such an institution had an existence?

This was the first Bible published in the English language having an American imprint. It was a small duodecimo, in two volumes, in a brevier type. The report of the committee and the resolution of Congress (sometimes called the Bible Congress) are reprinted on a leaf immediately following the title-page. The recommendation of Congress bore no fruit. Immediately. after the publication of the work, peace was proclaimed, - when it was found that Bibles could be imported from Great Britain cheaper than it was possible to print them here. Mr. Aitken, therefore, not obtaining a ready sale for his edition, which he had carried on with great difficulty, was nearly ruined by the undertaking. Previous to the Revolution and the publication of the edition of the Bible by Mr. Aitken, this country was supplied with Bibles in the English language chiefly from Great Britain.

Chancellor Kent, of New York, states the results and influence of the Bible on society as follows: -

"The general diffusion of the Bible is the most effectual way to civilize and humanize mankind; to purify and exalt the general system of public morals; to give efficacy to the just precepts of international and municipal law; to enforce the observance of prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude, and to improve all the relations of domestic and social life."

Chief-Justice Hornblower, of New Jersey, remarks as follows: -

"Let this precious volume have its due influence on the hearts of men, and our liberties are safe, our country blessed, and the world happy. There is not a tie that unites us to our families, not a virtue that endears us to our country, not a hope that thrills our bosoms in the prospect of future happiness, that has not its foundation in this sacred book. It is the charter of charters, the palladium of liberty, - the standard of righteousness. Its divine influence can soften the heart of the tyrant, - can break the rod of the oppressor, and exalt the humblest peasant to the dignified rank of an immortal being, - an heir of eternal glory."

The following record, found in the Journals of Congress, October 12, 1778, shows their high appreciation of the morality of the Bible as a necessary qualification for the discharge of official public duties: -

Whereas true religion and good morals are the only solid foundations of public liberty and happiness:

Resolved, That it be, and it hereby is, earnestly recommended to the several States to take the most effectual measures for the encouragement thereof, and for the suppressing theatrical entertainments, horse-racing, gaming, and such other diversions as are productive of idleness, dissipation, and a general depravity of principles and manners.

Resolved, That all officers in the army of the United States be, and hereby are, strictly enjoined to see that the good and wholesome rules provided for the discountenancing of profaneness and vice, and the preservation of morals among the soldiers, are duly and punctually observed.

On the 16th of October, 1778, Congress passed the following act, as may be seen on their official journal of that date: -

Whereas frequenting playhouses and theatrical entertainments has a fatal tendency to divert the minds of the people from a due attention to the means necessary for the defence of their country and the preservation of their liberties:

Resolved, That any person holding an office under the United States who shall act, promote, encourage, or attend such plays, be deemed unworthy to hold such office, and shall be accordingly dismissed.

In this place it is appropriate to notice, as a patriotic and Christian memorial, Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, where the patriots and statesmen sat in solemn council, and passed the Declaration of Independence and previous Christian acts, and made their solemn appeals to God. That old State-House still stands as a relic of the Revolution, and its associations and inspirations attract the American people to look upon its venerable form, to tread its rooms and halls, and to gaze upon the portraits of many of the men who acted a distinguished part in achieving our independence and in forming our civil institutions. It was from the steps of this temple of freedom that John Nixon, on the 8th of July, 1776, in the hearing of thousands, read the Declaration of Independence; and from the same spot Samuel Adams pronounced an oration on the great event, in which he said, -

"Brethren and fellow-countrymen! If it was ever granted to mortals to trace the designs of Providence and to interpret its manifestations in favor of their cause, we may, with humility of soul, cry out, 'Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name be praise.' "

The American people, as they look upon this consecrated temple of freedom, will re-echo the words of an American poet: -

"This is the sacred fane wherein assembled

The fearless champions on the side of right, -

Men at whose declaration empires trembled,

Moved by the truth's immortal might.

"Here stood the patriot, - one Union folding

The Eastern, Northern, Southern sage and seer,

Within that living band which, truth upholding,

Proclaims each man his fellow's peer.

"Here rose the anthem which all nations, hearing,

In loud response the echoes backward hurl'd:

Reverberating still the ceaseless cheering,

Our continent repeats it to the world.

"This is the hallow'd spot where, first unfurling,

Fair Freedom spread her blazing scroll of light;

Here, from oppression's throne the tyrant hurling,

She stood supreme in majesty and might."

The most interesting and suggestive memorial in Independence Hall is the old State-House bell. "This bell," says Watson, in his "Annals of Philadelphia," "was imported from England in 1753, for the State-House; but, having met with some accident in the trial ringing after it was landed, it lost its tone received in the fatherland, and had to be conformed to ours by recasting. This was done under the direction of Isaac Norris, Esq., the then Speaker of the Colonial Assembly; and to him we are probably indebted for the remarkable motto, so indicative of its future use, 'PROCLAIM LIBERTY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND UNTO ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF.' That it was adopted from the Scriptures (Lev. xxv. 10) may to many be still more impressive, as being also the voice of God, that great Arbiter by whose signal providences we afterwards attained to that ' liberty' and self-government which bid fair to emancipate our whole continent, and, in time, to influence and ameliorate the condition of the subjects of arbitrary government throughout the civilized world."

The ringing of this bell first announced to the citizens, who were anxiously waiting the result of the deliberations of Congress (which were at that time held with closed doors), that the Declaration of Independence had been decided upon; and then it was that the bell proclaimed the realization of the divine motto inscribed upon it some fifteen years previous.

"That old bell is still seen by the patriot's eye,

And he blesses it ever when journeying by;

Long years have pass'd o'er it, and yet every soul

Will thrill, in the night, to its wonderful roll;

For it speaks in its belfry, when kiss'd by the blast,

Like a glory-breathed tone from the mystical past.

Long years shall roll o'er it, and yet every chime

Shall unceasingly tell of an era sublime;

Oh, yes ! if the flame on our altars should pale,

Let its voice but be heard, and the freeman shall start

To rekindle the fire, while he sees on the gale

All the stars and the stripes of the flag of his heart."

WILLIAM ROSS WALLACE.

In an address to the inhabitants of the United States of America, by Congress, are found the following Christian sentiments and principles: -

"America, without arms, ammunition, discipline, revenue, government, or ally, almost stripped of commerce, and in the weakness of youth as it were, with a 'staff and a sling' only, dared, 'in the name of the LORD OF HOSTS,' to engage a gigantic adversary, prepared at all points, boasting of his strength, and of whom even mighty warriors 'were greatly afraid.'

"As to inferior officers employed in the public service, we ANXIOUSLY desire to call your most vigilant attention to their conduct with respect to every species of misbehavior, whether proceeding from ignorance, negligence, or fraud, and to the making of laws for inflicting exemplary punishment on all offenders of this kind.

"Your government being now established, and your ability to contend with your invaders ascertained, we have, on most mature deliberation, judged it indispensably necessary to call upon you for forty millions of dollars, &c.

"We are persuaded you will use all possible care to make the promotion of the general welfare interfere as little as may be with the care and comfort of individuals; but though the raising of these sums should press heavily on some of your constituents, yet the obligations we feel to your venerable CLERGY, the truly helpless widows and orphans,your most gallant, generous, meritorious officers and soldiers, the public faith, and the common weal, so irresistibly urge us to attempt the appreciation of your clemency, that we cannot withhold obedience to these authoritative declarations.

"On this subject we will only add, that, as the rules of justice are most pleasing to our infinitely good and gracious Creator, and an adherence to them most likely to obtain his favor, so they will ever be found to be the best and safest maxims of human policy.

"What nation ever engaged in such a contest, under such a complication of disadvantages, so soon surmounted many of them, and in so short a period of time had so certain a prospect of a speedy and happy conclusion? We will venture to pronounce that so remarkable an instance exists not in the annals of mankind. Encouraged by favors already received from Infinite Goodness, gratefully acknowledging them, earnestly imploring their continuance, constantly endeavoring to draw them down on your heads by an amendment of your lives and a conformity to the Divine will, humbly confiding in the protection so often and wonderfully experienced, vigorously employ the means placed by Providence in your hands for completing your labors.

"Effectually superintend the behavior of public officers, diligently promote piety, virtue, brotherly love, learning, frugality, and moderation; and may you be approved before Almighty God, worthy of these blessings we devoutly wish you to enjoy.

"Done in Congress, by unanimous consent, this twenty-sixth day of May, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine.

"JOHN JAY, President.

"Attest, CHARLES THOMSON, Secretary."

The Sabbath, in its moral and political influences, was regarded by the Puritans and the Christian statesmen of the Revolution as an essential pillar of support to the civil edifice.

The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, on the 15th of June, 1775, adopted the following, on the Sabbath: -

"As it has pleased Almighty God, in his providence, to suffer the calamities of an unnatural war to take place among us, in consequence of our sinful declensions from him, and our great abuse of those invaluable blessings bestowed upon us; and as we have reason to fear, unless we become a penitent and reformed people, we shall feel still severer tokens of the Divine displeasure; and as the most effectual way to escape those desolating judgments which so evidently hang over us, and, if it may be, obtain the restoration of our former tranquillity, will be that we repent and return every one from his iniquities unto Him that correcteth us, which if we do in sincerity and truth, we have no reason to doubt but he will remove his judgments, cause our enemies to be at peace with us, and prosper the work of our hands.

"And as among the prevailing sins of this day, which threaten the destruction of this land, we have reason to lament the frequent profanations of the Lord's day, or Christian Sabbath; many spending their time in idleness or sloth, others in diversions, and others in journeying, or business which is not necessary on that day; and, as we earnestly desire that a stop may be put to this great and prevailing evil, it is, therefore,

"Resolved, That it be recommended by this Congress to the people of all ranks and denominations throughout this colony, that they not only pay a religious regard to that day, and to the public worship of God thereon, but that they also use their influence to discountenance and suppress any profanation thereof in others.

"And it is further Resolved, That it be recommended to the ministers of the gospel to read this resolve to their several congregations, accompanied with such exhortations as they shall think proper.

"And whereas there is great danger that the profanation of the Lord's day will prevail in the camp, we earnestly recommend to all the officers not only to set a good example, but that they strictly require of their soldiers to keep up a religious regard to that day, and attend upon the public worship of God there, so far as may be consistent with other duties."

The Provincial Congress of Georgia, Thursday, July 6, 1775, adopted the following resolution: -

10. That we will, in our several stations, encourage frugality, economy, and industry, and promote agriculture, arts, and the manufactures of British America, especially that of wool, and will discountenance and discourage every species of extravagance and dissipation, especially horse-racing, and every kind of gaming, cock-fighting, exhibition of shows, plays, and other expensive diversions and entertainments; and on the death of any relation or friend, none of us, or any of our families, shall go into any farther mourning dress than a black crape or ribbon on the arm or hat for gentlemen, and a black ribbon or necklace for ladies; and we will discontinue the giving of gloves and scarfs at funerals.

These facts show the religious sentiments and make us acquainted with the religious feelings of the members of the Continental Congress. That body of statesmen paid respect to religion by system, on principle, and in their official acts. Their state papers do not merely contain general references to a superintending Providence and a supreme Creator and Governor of the world, but they usually contain sentiments unequivocally Christian. Their journals disclose various circumstances which indicate the personal interest taken by the members in the stated and occasional religious services.

"Thus our republic," said Mr. Giddings, in Congress, was founded on religious truth, and it was thus far emphatically a religious government. It has ever been sustained by the religious sentiment of the nation, and it will only fail when this element shall be discarded by the people. The Philadelphia Convention (the Continental Congress) will be remembered in coming time as the first, in the history of political parties of our nation, to make religious truths the basis of its political action, and first to proclaim the rights of mankind as universal, to be enjoyed equally by princes and people, by rulers and the most humble. It was the first to proclaim the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man."

The Continental Congress, in the foregoing acts, kept in view the true aims and ends of a civil government, as expressed by Rev. E. D. McMaster, D.D., in his inaugural address as President of the Miami University of Ohio. He says, -

"According to the notions that perhaps generally prevail, the end of civil society and its governmental institutions is an end purely secular, and this even not the highest of that class of ends. Its object, as is supposed, is to prevent men from the invasion of each other's persons and estates, and, after that, according to the various theories of different political schools, more or less to regulate and promote the industrial pursuits and interests of the members of the community. Nothing can be more unworthy the dignity of the subject, or more untrue, than these low conceptions of the object of civil institutions. The highest end of a state and of its whole order is a moral end, - that is, a religious end. It is that by a scrupulous respect in all its own legislation and administration at home, and in all its relations and intercourse with other nations abroad, to do right, by the equitable and vindicatory punishment of crime and the establishment of justice, it may inspire and cherish in its citizens the love of righteousness. It is thus a great moral institution, of high dignity and of mighty power, whose highest end is the development of man's moral nature and the forming of him to virtue in this respect, and ultimately in all the glory of God, whose ordinance it is."

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