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4 REV. A. J. RYAN, Editor AUGUSTA, GA„ SEPT'R 19, 1868. THE CHURCH IN FLORIDA. Asa most pleasing indication of the growth of the Catholic Church in the ‘ Land of Flowers,” we note the fact, that, on the 30th of August, the lit. Rev. John Quinlan, D. D., Bishop of Mobile, on the occasion of his official visit to the city of Pensacola, administered the holy Sacrament of Confirmation to eighty-one persons, in the church of St. Nicholas, at that place. Nine of this number were recent converts to the faith. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the occasion, however, was the large proportion of blacks who composed the class for Con firmation. Indeed, they nearly made up one-half the number of the entire class, the proportion standing thus : whites, 45 ; blacks, 37. Sucli occurren ces as these are cheering- signs for the country. Let the blacks once embrace and practice the doctrines and teachinings of Holy Mother Church, and they will soon acquire, not only that knowledge of religious facts, but, also, that peculiar, but unerring, sense of right and wrong, which, thus far, as a class, they still need to make them good Christians, and good citizens at the same time BE TRUE, AND DO NOT FORGET- It is hard—yet the harder, the more honorable—to be true to what is lost and gone. It is easy to forget what it costs a pang to remember. To many men— when the Past is past—’tis dead, and they bury it with genuine sorrow, perhaps ; but they have no time nor taste to linger at its grave. To repine, is mere useless sentiment, they say ; there is work to do, and it must be done ; so they turn from the Past, and its memory is soon forgotten amid the living interests of the present. And, yet, while we by no means under rate the claims of the Present, while we know that it is our duty to labor in its service, we still feel that the Past has not ceased to have claims upon us— claims upon our memory, our fidelity, our love ; claims upon our admiration for all that was grand in it; upon our veneration, for all that was holy in it; upon our imitation, for all that was hon orable in it ; upon our enthusiasm, for all that was noble, and great, and pure in it. True, we must live in the Present, but the memories of our Past should be a part of that life ; we must work in the Present, but out of our Past should we draw the inspirations that will nerve us to our work. We must be true to Truth in the Pre sent, but not by becoming false to Truth in the Past. II there were principles that made our Past holy and sacred; and if the Present demands their surrender, we must sternly refuse. Cost what it may, and come what will, we must cling to our Past, as a soldier to his banner ; we must never relax our grasp, destrt our colors, nor abandon our post ; and, come bribe or threat, come woe or wrong, we must he too proud and too honorable to betray our past convictions. “We must be true—and uot forget.” Wherefore, then, do so many among us—political writers and speakers—tell us to forget ? Wherefore do they say— and without sorrow in their words—that so many of our issues of the Past, (mean ing rights,) are dead ? Dead are they ? And do rights die ? Does wrong Kill them, and the votaries of success bury them ? Do the leaders of the peo ple understand what they ssk ? They tell us to forget the Past! Ah! we know fidelity to the Past brings us no material reward. It does not pay very well; it does not lead to position. It is a senti ment-only a sentiment—therefore value less; and all the memories of the Con federacy are not worthy to be compared to a political position in the reconstructed Union. And is this their code of honor ? And our rights have we raally lost a single one of them, though the war has gone against us ? and, if we have not, are they dead ? and, if they are not dead, may we not at any time, when we have the power, resume and reassert them ? But no; the Southern people will be true, and will not forget. They will wait—and wait—and wait—till “Each single wreck in the war-path of Might, Shall yet be a rock in the temple of Right.” SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE- At last he has come He has flour ished his trumpets—reconnoitered the position—sent forward a few light skir mishers, and is about to bring up his heavy aitillery, in the shape of tremen dous arguments, to batter down the very citadel of the Catholic Church. Brave as a lion, filled with confidence, and sure of victory, he is not going to subject his forces to the hardships of a long siege ; but, breaking through the out posts, he is going to storm the very strong hold of Catholicity. His name is “In quirer”—a very equivocal name by the way—it meaneth a searcher for some thing which has not been found ; and, in this connexion, we must suppose he is searching for truth, or religion, and, though a Methodist, has not yet discovered it. He has issued his proclamation of war in the Southern Christian Advocate , of Macon. He is going to marshal his ar guments, and make one last grand charge against Infallibility. He is sure of vic tory, “Romanists themselves being judgeslie is going to prove that the Church of Rome (we suppose he means the Roman Catholic Church,) “is not only fallible, but in utter antagonism to Truth—the falling away—the man of sin." He is sorry that he cannot finish his work at once, and plant the banner of Methodism upon the ruins of the Cathol ic Church. “Let the reader,” says lie, study thoroughly, and inwardly digest each number, and he will be better pre pared to relish and digest the next one.” Now, verily, there w*as no need of study ing—much less thoroughly studying— the present number, as we saw nothing in it deep enough or new enough to study; and, for the life of us, we could not di gest the present number; it was very much like rc-heated cabbage—and in fact it acted on us like an emetic We do not, however, give up. We will try to digest the next number; but, for mercy’s sake, “Inquirer,” give us something fresh, and savory, and spicy. Give us some thing pungent, too, and tart, for we do love pickles at dinner as well as in contro versy, If you stick to your bill of fare, we expect a rare banquet. But, for goodness sake, give us nothing stale. We do not relish the food which Protestant ism cooked three hundred years ago. It is musty. We know that there is still in the cupboard of Protestantism a great supply of that same food, but we do hope that you, “Inquirer,” like a good French cook, will give us something entirely new, and, witli this hope, we await the next number of the “ Southern Christian Ad vocate•” NASHVILLE ‘‘CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE.” In the last received issue, of this organ of the Southern Methodist denomination, we find what we must consider barefaced, deliberate, and malicious falsehoods against our Church. It is mean and dis honorable, and cowardly, to concoct and publish what must be known to be false. Attack us if you will—but like brave men. We scorn subterfuge ; we despise the calumniator more than the calumny. Come out openly—challenge us to dis cussion—deal in facts and not in fabrica tions ; do not strike us, as a coward would f in the dark, hut confront us face to face, and we will not shun the battle. The falsehoods of this issue of the above named journal, are too many' for us to enumerate. On the editorial page we find Simla bbi sesm." a furious article against “Romish Schools.” The writer of that article is a falsifier. He assumes that our schools are prosely tizing establishments. Do not judge us, by yourselves. We know the animus of your schools. We know the bigotry, the ignorance, and the tyranny of Method ism. But we are honorable. All know the terms necessary to admission to our schools. •We are not liars. We promise and profess never to interfere with the religious notions of any pupils, Jewish or Protestant; and those who preside in our schools are ladies and gentlemen. We defy and dare the “ Christian Advocate f of Nashville, to present one authenticated instance wherein the religious opinions of auy child have been interfered with by Priests or Sisters who devote their lives to the education of our children, irre spective of creed. Give us names, and places, and dates ; and do not contempti* bly deal in the indefinite. In the same paper there are other assertions and state ments, which, had we time, we could prove to be utterly false. But we pass them over, in order to give our readers, with a comment or so, the following dainty sample of religious principle, taken from this “ Christian Advocate “A correspondent—evidently suffering with dyspepsia, or some kindred disorder— writes that she is tempted to despair of acceptance with God, and wants counsel. We counsel her to remember that, “like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him,” and she knows very well that she is of that num ber ; and, furthermore, that the Lord Jesus is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and never breaks the bruised reed or quenches the smoking flax. Her distress does not affect the safety of her state, though it docs its comfort. There are certain abnormal states of the body and mind, in which it is impossible to realize the “consolation of the Spirit,” which otherwise would be enjoyed. An improved state of health, and a medita tion upon the gracious Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of Christ, and the freeness and fullness of the Spirit’s grace, will result in a comfortable persua sion of acceptance in the Beloved.” So dyspepsia is a source of despair* Well, there may be a sort of Methodist dyspepsia causing such a spiritual effect; but, we beg to say, that we have been a Roman Catholic all our life, and though we have mingled much with Methodists, wc have never caught the disease. How ever, it may not be contagious. But, certainty, and we speak from experience, the dyspepsia of a Roman Catholic must be very different from that of a Methodist. J % i We beg of our Physicians to study this 1 matter. According to the writer of the ! above, “an improved state of health” is one of the conditions necessary for a j “comfortable persuasion of acceptance in j the Beloved.” Sick people, then, cannot, ! with much comfort to themselves, be Methodists. We advise all sick Metho- ' dists to become Catholics. We have a Sacrament for our sick; and we never ' did hear of dyspepsia, in the Catholic Church, leading to despair. Heaven help ■ the dyspeptic Methodists ! A good dose | of Catholicity would, we are sure, cure! them. THE DECLINE OF PRINCIPLE. In the wild whirl of politics, Principle is going down, and with Principle, law ; with law, order; with order, Govern ment—for Principle, law, order, govern ment, stand or fall together. Strike down any Principle, and you have taken a rock from the foundation of Government.— Men and the times are shifting the foundation of this Government from the rock of Principle to the sands of policy ; and, as surely as they do it, reason tells them, and history thunders the same in their ears, this Government shall fall. Devise and attempt to carry out the wild est schemes of policy, but so long as you touch not Principle, so long as you re spect their inviolability, there may be danger, hut there still is hope. Violate, purposely and deliberately, Principle, and there is more than danger, without any hope—there is destruction. The war waged against the South dealt terrible blows against the Principles upon which the Lmion of .these sovereign States was built ; and the force of each blow has justly raeoiled upon the very ones who struck them, and the whole fabric of Government still reels with the shock. Northern cannons were planted, and sent their murderous balls, not only agaiust forts, but against Principles ; Northern soldiers lifted and leveled their muskets, and fired, not only against freemen, but against rights. The forts fell, and the brave men died; but no cannon yet has ever taken the range of Principle ; and never a grave was yet dug deep enough for right. We gave up our forts, and we wept for our dead ; but deathless Princi ple and right, we still proudly, though powerlessly, represent. There is a cer tain terrible logic in events The battle against Principle did not close when the greatest General of the age delivered the purest sword ever wielded, to the man, least heroic, from whose brow the future will tear the ephemeral and unmerited crown with which the generation of to day has decked it. That battle is still raging. When the soldiers had done their work, the law givers of the North began. With pen, and speech, and pamphlet ; with fraud, and bribery, and falsehood ; with threat and threachery, and every vile appliance they have been warring, bloodlessly, yet not the less violently, against Constitu tional Principles. They cannot go back; tkev will not vield. Their war of legis lation is as hitter against us, and as unre lenting, as the war of their sword. Their acts of Congress are as destructive to us as the bullets of Grant’s soldiers. They have planned our ruin, and they are re solved to compass it. Their leader in the battle-field is the leader in the field of politics. It is appropriate—eminently so ; for lie and they represent, in poli tics, what they represented in war ; and, fitly enough, they wish to complete, by the ballot, the work of destruction left undone by their bullets. That battle against Principle, we re peat, is still raging ; ’tis growing fiercer ; the ranks of the combatants are closing. © One day or tiie other, for weal or for woe, the contest will be decided. We care not to forecast the future. We are not prophets. But who looks into that future without misgiving? No one. Who feels secure ? No one. Who now has the good old faith in the stability of our institutions ? Very few. And why ? Because Pas sion rules the hour. But why does Pas sion rule it ? Because Principle has left the Government. But why and how has Principle left the Government ? Because it first left the hearts of the people. Ah! there it is—the source of all our evils— want of Principle in the hearts of the people. Politics and politicians may reach and remedy some of the evils that oppress us, and darken the future ; but nor politics nor politicians can reach the hearts of the people. And they must he reached and purified. If they are cor rupt, how secure a pure Government ? If the Government be not pure how can it last ? Rejoiced as we w ould he to see the success of the Democratic party in the approaching election, we, by no means, consider that success a complete cure for the evils which weigh so heavily on the land, and which are daily on the increase. The country needs a complete political regeneration. The people have fallen far away from political truth, and justice, and integrity. They must he reformed ; but how shall it be done ? Works of Insects.— Great Britain pays annually $1 000,000 for dried bodies of that tiny insect, known as the cochineal ; while another— also peculiar to India—gum-shellac, or rather its pro duction. is scarcely less valuable. More than 1,500,000 human beings derive their sole support from the culture, and manufacture of the fiores spun by the silkworm, of which the annual' circula ting medium is said to he £40,000,000. In England alone—to say nothing of the other foreign parts of Europe—£loo,- 000 is spent every year in the purchase of foreign honey, apart from the value of that which is native, and 10,000 lbs. of wax imported every year. Besides all, these there are the gallnuts, used for dyeing and making ink ; the cantharides, or Spanish Fly, used in medicine. In fact, every insect is contributing in some way to swell the amount of commercial profits. HOW FREE MASONS ARE ADMITTED ALL THE CEREMONIES GIVEN BY THE ARCHBISHOP OF PARIS, The Most Rev. Archbishop of P has written a small book on Free-Masons which is exciting the greatest attention in Europe. Its title, translated, h . “What the Free-Masons are, what thev do, and what they design.” The follow ing epitomised extracts from it, on the “initiation rites,” will be found to be well worth perusal : The aspirant for admittance to the position of Apprentice, has some and, to say the least of it, not unfareical trials to undergo. On entering the Lod<r e he is introduced into a solitary apart ment, where lie is left alone to ruminate on the step he is about to take, for several minutes. He finds the Bible there, open at the first chapter of John, the perusal of which is intended to throw the first rav of light on his darkened understanding He is then stripped of his clothing, his left side and right knee being naked ; he is made to put on a shoe slip shod, his hat is taken off, he is deprived of his sword (a necessary appendage), and all hj s metal, including, of' course, all his loose cash. His eyes are then bandaged, and he is led away to the Chamber of Re flection. Before entering the apartment, he is cautioned not to remove the bandage until he lias heard three loud knocks. After some moments of patient expecta tion, he hears the third signal, and, re moving the obstruction to his vision, finds himself in a room hung all around with black, on the walls of which he read; inscriptions like the following : If thou art capable of dissimulation, tremble!—the depth of thy heart shall read. If thy soul has felt alarm, go no further. The greatest sacrifices may be exacted of thee, even that of life; art thou prepared to make them ? In this chamber, the candidate is re quired to make his will, aud to answer, in writing, the three following questions : What are the duties of man towards God ? What are his duties towards his fellows ? What are his duties towards himself ? The Brother who goes under the name of “Terrible” then carries off the will, and these answers, on the point of a sword. In the fraternal slang, the place of meet ing is styled a Temple; the President is called the “Venerable.” “Brother Ter rible” brings the will and the answers to the ‘A enerable.” Be the replies what they will, the candidate is never refused admission on their account. A French atheist, M. Prudhon, gave as his response to the first query, “ Guer/e a Dieuf without compromising his admissibility in the least. “Brother Terrible” soon re turns to the candidate, blindfolds him a second time, and, passing- a cord around his neck, one end of which he retains in his hand, conducts him, as with a halter, and directs him to knock three times with violence. The Temple is hung with blue, all that is transacted therein being celestial. A Brother, named First Superintendent, gravely notifies to the Venerable these knocks at the door. A few words pass between the Venerable, the Chief Super intendent, and Brother Terrible, after which the postulant is introduced into the Temple. There are two columns, be tween which he is led, by means of the cord, still around his neck. Brother Ter rible rests the point of his sword frater nally against the aspirant’s breast, and the course of interrogation begins The Venerable, placing his spectacle; on his venerable nose, asks in a plaintive voice : “What do you feel ?” “What and > you see ?” Pertinent questions, no doubt, to a man whose eyes are hlindf dded, and against whose heart a sword is pointed. The postulant replies, with candor —"1 see nothing, but I feel the point of a weapon.” The Venerable continues— “ Reflect well on the step which v*u are about to take. You are about to experi ence some awful trials. Do you fin 1 yourself sufficiently courageous to brave all the dangers to which you max be ex posed ?” Postulant—“Yes, sir.” A enerable, without disturbing a muscle of his countenace—“Then l hav. u further interrogation to mak< you Brother Terrible, conduct this mm out side the lernple, and bring him every where a mortal who aspires to know 1 u: secrets ought to pass. forthwith, Brother Terrible take- hoM of the cord, leads away the asp;raiu whose eyes are still blindfolded, and makes him promenade half a dozen tinted up and down a room, called Lost Step- A\ hen he becomes thoroughly bewildered, he is conducted back again to the Lodge: then commences the famous trials. The first awful trial is less foruiidabl' in reality than to anticipation. In the centre oi the Lodge is prepared a large