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4 REV. A. J. RYAN, Editor AUGUST A, Ga., NOVEMBER 28, 1868 THE ORIGIN OF THE BAPTISTS* We publish, in thus issue of our paper, the first number of a series of papers on the above subject. They are from the pen of a learned lawyer in South Caro lina, and written in a spirit of courtesy and fairness, which will, we feel sure, se cure for them an attentive perusal. “HISTORICAL CORRECTION,” We published sometime ago a com munication from R. C. I)., Deer Lodge, Montana Territory, correcting a statement of Mr. Paul A. Botto’s in a Reminiscence of the Battle of Spottsyl vania, taken from the Natchez (Miss,) Detnocrat, and published by us some time previous. In this week’s Banner, we publish the reply of Mr. Botto, taken from the Democrat , of Nov. 10th. We do this in justice to that gentleman, and to the gallant Mississippians whom he so ably defends. We believe that our Montana correspondent did unintentional injustice in this regard, and feel sure that he will acknowledge this much, at least; for, where all acted so nobly, it would be the height of ingratitude to de tract from the merits or honors of any. For ourselves, our love for the “ boys in grey” knows no such narrow boundaries as State lines. It embraces all who de fended the Lost Cause —the living and the dead; and our pen, humble though it be, is ready aud willing at all times to honor their deeds and preserve their memories. We can, therefore, and do, most heartily endorse the language of Gen. Il irris, in his letter to Mr. Botto : “Each and every command of the Army of Northern Virginia achieved sufficient fame, by its own deeds of valor. Between them, now, there should exist uo particle of jealousy, but rather a generous spirit of emulation.” THE ENGLIShTIECTIONS. The election in Great Britain for Mem bers of Parliament have taken place, and the Cable despatches report a very handsome Liberal majority of Members elect. This will, doubtless, be followed by the retirement of Disraeli, and the or ganization of anew Cabinet, with Glad stone as Premier. Another, and the most desirable result of all, will be the disestablishment of the English Church in Ireland. This “Establishment,” as it is called, is a great burden, to the Irish people, for, largely Roman Catholic as they are in population, they are compelled to maintain that “Establishment,” while also supporting their own Pastors and Churches. This is one of the weightiest sources of Irish discontent, and will, as we have said, doubtless, be removed by the new Parliament. The Liberals, also, propose an extension of the suffrage, a reduction of taxes* the curtailment of na tional expenditures, and important modi fications in the administration ot Irish affairs. These reforms having been made in the shape of demands by the Liberal electors, and that party having triumphed in the elections, it is evident that civil changes of great magnitude are impending in the United Kingdom, changes which, wc hope, will result in good to the whole people, but particularly to those of down-trodden and oppressed Ireland. SOUTHERN INDEPENDENCE, At the risk of being styled weari some, wc deem it our duty to keep this subject, threadbare though it be, before our people. They can be independent of the North. They can be independent of that plan, is so plainly and briefly set forth in the following article from the Ma con (Ga.) Journal <P Messenger, that wc cheerfully give it a place in our columns, and ask for it our attentive perusal, and careful consideration of our l eaders : Independence —Tha true policy of the South is to assert its agricultural, mechanical, and manufacturing indepen dence of the world. This can be done : Ist. By making on our own soil every thing we consume for the support of life. Our fruitful fields and genial cli mate invite us to do so. Georgia can produce its bread, its meat, its vegetables, its fruits, its beer, and its wine. Its forests are full of game, and its coast abounds with fish and oysters. Why should we go abroad for fond ? 2. By giving encouragement to our own home mechanics, and by stimulating every form of productive industry. By encouraging our boys, now growing up, to devote themselves to the mechani nal arts ; and by giving the honors of social and civil life to those who prove themselves most worthy by doing most to develope these arts in the South. The mines, and the forests, and the fields of the South yield us the needed material for mechanical productions of every kind, and in sufficient abundance to supply the world. Bd. By developing our vast resources in water power for die purpose of estab lishing manufactories of every grade, by which our leading staple may be pre pared lor consumption—not by making coarse fabrics only, but by manufacturing the finest cotton goods, in every style aud variety. It is hardly necessary to argue the advantages the South enjoys for such work. These will be enhauced greatly when we become the cheapest food-pro ducing portion of the land, as we are ca pable of becoming. The South needs nothing but good Government, and the following of a wise policy, with economy and industry on the part of the people, to make her inde pendent of the world. GRANT’S ELECTION^FROM AN IRISH STAND POINT. When a person is ignorant of any sub ject, he generally exhibit good sense in keeping silent upon that subject. If he undertakes to write upon such subject, he is generally aft to hold of the wrong end of the horn, and to draw the most far fetched and unjust conclusions. We ot the South had a right to look to Ireland, of all countries in the world, for encour agement in our struggle for independence and for sympathy in our defeat. She, like ourselves, is groaning under a des potism, and under the rule ot an unscru pulous party, which gives neither pro tection to property or liberty, but is drawing her very life-blood out in sup porting institutions which are distaste ful toher people and inimical to her pros perity’. How' strange it is, then, to see Irish papers rejoicing at the election of Grant, aud the perpetuation of a power in the land which is the author of all our woes and the destroyer of every principle of human liberty. In the Belfast Ob server, of November 7th, appears, an ar ticle, entitled “ The End ot the Contest,” in which Grant is highly lauded, and his election greatly rejoiced at. That jour nal says : “ General Grant is a soldier, and, so far as he has hitherto given the world an opportunity of judging, he would seem to be nothing more than a soldier. He de spises the tricks and graces of oratory ; reared in camps, he has been a doer, not a talker; but we are very much mistaken if the genius that controlled the vast armies of the Great Republic, and led them to victory over a gallant and des perate enemy, will not guide with a firm aud powerful hand the people who have, by a vast majority,elected him their ruler.” Charity to an Irish coteiuporary com pels us to believe that, absorbed in its own National troubles, it has had no time to devote tu, American affairs, and is, therefore, in utter ignorance of the sub ject whereof it writes. Grant “despises the tricks aud graces of oratory,” simply because he is as ignorant ot oratory as our Irish friend is of American cotempo raneous history. If be is a doer and not a talker, he is a doer of nothing. His biography will have nothing to record of him except his inveterate habit of smoking, his reticence on political subjects, aud liis dogged persistence in destroying the lives of his soldiers, declaring his determin tion to “ fight it out on this line, if it took all Summer.” And, then, the idea of guiding, “ with a firm and peaceful hand,” tlio people of a Republic! It might be reasonable for Victoria, or Palmerston, or Disraeli, to guide the people of Ireland “ with a firm and pow erful hand,” and yet the editor of the Ob server doesn’t think so; but, in a Repub lic, where it is the people who guide “the powers that be,” such a thing would be an anomaly, to say the least of it. And, finally, our cotemporary is mistaken General Grant is not elected by a “ vast majority;” but, on the contrary, Seymour is the choice of the majority, and, leav ing the illegal votes out, the overwhelm ing majority of the people. We might follow the Observer through the rest of its paragraphs, but we have given enough to show how mistaken it is upon this subject; and the reader will not be surprised to learn that it continues : “ And, with the support which will be tendered to him, he can, and we believe he will, carry out the true policy of re construction with no stinted measure of generosity to the Southern States. Asa soldier, Grant fought against them; but, like a true soldier, lie laid his animosity against them aside on the scene of Ids last triumph over them, and the victorious General will prove a kindly ruler over those whom his genius disarmed.” With such imperfect knowledge of affairs, and mistaken ideas in regard to Grant, we are prepared for the assertion that, to the Observer, his election “ is a source of unmitigated pleasure,” hut we were not prepared for this, which follows: “ The Union needs consolidation, and there is no man so fitted to achieve that great work as he by bis ability, and by the facility which his great popularity will give him in doing so. In his hands the dignity of his high office will be quite safe: he will not brook insubordination at home, nor encourage and foster predilec tions and practices which may ripen into disastrous rebellion.” Has not our cotemporary encouraged and fostered “lebcllion” in Ireland ? If it has, why should it rejoice that there is at least one man in the United States who can prcVeut rebellion here? Is re bellion any more sinful iu America than it is in Ireland ? Is “consistency” less “ a jewel” there than here? We leave the Observer to answer, merely assuring it, that the party which has been defeated in this country is the party of free dom, of justice, of economy, of Nation al greatness, of peace, of prosperity, of protection to foreigners, the party which destroyed Know Nothingism— the party which sustained and kept alive Constitutional Liberty-—the Demo cratic Party; while General Grant is the representative of a party which has de stroyed the Union, its prosperity, its liberty ; a party which has persecuted foreigners and Catholics ; a party which has made the South a second Ireland— a party which will destroy every vestige of Constitutional Liberty —the Radical Party. Let our cotemporary ponder these facts, and then, if he can rejoice over the elec tion of Grant, let him weep at the election of a Liberal Parliament. The Dublin Irish,man, of the 7th inst., also contains this paragraph : “ The Presidential elections in Ameri ca, have resulted in the return of Grant and Colfax as respectively President and Vice-President. This result is certainly owing to the fact that the Fenian vote was given in favor of the Republicans. Formerly, the Irish people in America supported the Democrats, but, on the pres ent occasiou, the great majority of them threw the weight of their influence into the scale against their former favorites. Grant is an able soldier and statesman of a rugged but honest school, who detests spouting and diplomacy. In his hands the rights of naturalized citizens are sure to be respected.’ The remarks which we have applied to the Observer, will apply with equal force to the Irishman ; and we have, therefore, only to add that the “Fenian vote” in America was not cast for Grant and Colfax, nor was the weight of Irish influence thrown in favor of the Repub licans. The very reverse is true. The Irish element went, as it always does, for the Democratic Party, with but few ex ceptions ; and, if it had not been for the fanatics of the North, aided by the Ne groes and traitors of the South, Grant would not, to-dav, be the President elect of the United States. We trust that our Irish cotemporaries will instruct them selves more fully in regard to American affairs,, and not be blinded by the state ments and misrepresentations of Repub lican journals. The Melancholy Days. The following mournful refraiu, inspired by the drooping of Nature’s efflorescence, while it wails of decay, sings of rejuvenescence, and institutes a rather pretty comparison between the giants of the wood and the lords of creation : NOVEMBER. There is a mournful music in the breeze, The wild autumnal wind that sobs. And sighs and wails among the forest trees, The giants of their green dress robs. The leaves that, in the Summer’s balmy breath. Hung quivering in the rosy light, Now flushing with the hectic hue of death, Drift down before the chilling blight. And now r from them the aisles that thread the wood lie broader to the sunshine’s track; But, in their fall, they sow a future good That shall arise when Spring comes back. The fields have yielded up their store of grain, Now housed and sheltered from the blast; For all the toil aud care is labor vain, If ’tis not garnered at the last. Thus man will, ripened by the frosts of years, In the blest sunshine of good deeds, Be safely gathered from the storms he fears, And lind the refuge that he needs. And, when a good man falls, shall rise a host, More numerous than his life had known, W 7 ho, as they drop the friendly tear, shall boast, “His death more than his life hath shown.” For the Banner of the South. THE ORIGIN OF THE BAPTISTS. NO. I. A little volume, healing the above title has recently fallen into our hands. In its preface it professes to prove “ a very acceptable historical contribution to the masses of the people”—“a bold outline of the history of the people now called Baptists.” It is said to furnish, in a condensed form, authentic historical facts, to answer the question, “ Where did the Baptists come from ?” Whether it does or not, and bow and whence those facts are derived, and whether or not the facts said to be there in contained arc correctly set forth, is the object of this scries of letters. The Baptists of the present day arc di vided into numerous societies, differing in so many important points of belief and practice, as to render it impossible for them to say that they have among them but “one faith, one baptism.” The particular class, however, to illustrate whose history the volume was written, is that particular branch connected with the publishing house once presided over by Graves, Marks & Cos , established at Nashville, Tennessee. When we trace the origin of a Church through the stream of Time, it is neces sary to attend to the distinctive marks which declare its presence, in order to prevent confusion. It must be found in every age, proclaiming the same doctrines, and enforcing the same practice and dis cipline.* If a Church be found, in one of the earlier centuries, baptising by immer sion, it does not follow that it belonged to the Mormon persuasion, because the Mormons may happen to baptise in the same manner at the present time. When investigations of this character are entered upon, and antiquity is invoked, as a herald office for the purpose of tracing genealogy, great care is necessa ry to avoid the spurious, and confine at tention only to the legitimate lineage. The doctrines and practices of the ancient Church must, in all things, conform to those of the moderii Church, whose ori-'* gin we arc in search ot. Inasmuch as Dr. Ford, in endeavoring to find an answer in the pages of anti quity for the question, “ Where did the Baptists come from ?” commenced at the eighteenth century, and worked his way’ up to the first century, setting up his “mile stones on the track of time,” wc will take the liberty of going over the survey, in order to ascertain the correctness of his field-work. At the first century, and on his fifteenth station, he closed his lines, fully satis fied that he had finished the location of his grant; aud, with great gratification, proclaimed that “the primitive Churches were, in every distinguishing character istic, Baptist Churches but, ho forgot that he had worked his way almost entire ly by latitude and departure, and made no allowance at all for the variation of the needle. The Doctor, evidently, did not consult, while on the survey of this century, such witnesses as St. Ignatius, Bishop "of An tioch, a disciple ot St. John, the. Evan gelist, and an intimate friend of Poly carp, the Angel of the Church of Smyr- na; nor did lie inquire of St. Clement Bishop of Rome, what course he should have taken, or where he would find ki s next station, and what the distance was to the mark of which he was in search I’hosc old gentlemen had, within their memories, much that would hare en lightened him on the location of Churches and knew something of the situation of the water courses. He -did not attempt to compare notes with Dionysius, the Aveopagite; from whom lie might have obtained some valuable information, in asmuch as it is said that this old gentle man was an intimate acquaintance of St. Paul, and learned the art of ecclesiastical surveying from that ancient Apostle. He did not admire the system of St. Clement, of Rome. In fact, Rome was one of the corners that the Doctor avoid ed while in search of the Church, be cause he could have been told directly there “where the Baptists came from and he was fearful that he would have to blot out his fine plat, and go over all his work, had lie lingered there on his wav. St. Clement could have told him that he had started from the first station with the earliest pioneers, and could teach him some practices of the primitive Church entirely discarded by the Baptists of the present time, and that, inasmuch as the Baptists of the present time did not follow the customs of the ancient Church ii all things, the mere tact that they plunged their members under the water only once did not connect them with the an cient Church, while several important points of faith and practice otherwise di vided them. St. Clement’s name is w T ritteu in the Book of Life, as we are informed by St. Paul; and he himself informs us that St. Peter taught his hearers the doctrines contained in the following extracts: ' “ But, should it happen that envy, in fidelity, or any of those evils enumerated above, secretly steal into a man’s heart, let him not, if he have any regard for his soul, be ashamed of confessing them to his director, that he may, through the Word of God, be healed by him and his salutary counsel, whereby lie may, by sound faith and good works, be enabled to escape the pains of eternal fire, and at tain the rewards of everlasting life.” Now, let us examine how many tints of the Doctor’s chain are imperfect. The Church of the Baptists of the present day docs not practice Confession, and has no laith in good works. Two full links entirely gone. Therefore, it is too short, and his miles ar% too short at the cim mcncemeut, so that his mile-stones are not correctly set up. Again : St. Clement, speaking ofwbat St. Peter taught, says, “He taught, that man should keep a perpetual watch over the actious of his life, and have God ever present before his eyes; that we should firmly believe that wicked thoughts en tertained in his heart, give immediate offence to Christ, and arc to be disclosed to the Priests of the Lord.” This old member of the Primitive Church declares that lie heard St. Peter teaching, orally, to his congregation the efficacy of good works, and the propriety and necessity of confessing sins to a Priest. These errors of Home , of St. Clement, of Home, are not taught in the Churches of the Baptists of the present day, so that it is fair to infer that the Baptists did not come from the disciples of St. Peter. Baptism might, generally, have been administered by St. Clement and St. Peter, by twice immersion, but neither St. Clement, nor St. Peter, could extend the right hand of fellowship to the Baptist denomination, while differing so widely with them on points of faith ot vital importance. They were not of the same faith and order with the Baptists of the present day, hence, Dr. Ford stu diously avoided a comparison ot chart* with St. (.’lenient. Had he examined the plat of St. Igna tius, Bishop of Antioch, who died, a mar tyr, in the year 107, he would have found a very marked difference between the Church of that period and the Church of the Baptists of the present time, not only in the mode of administering Bap tism, but, in many other points, regarded, in those early days of the Church, as ma terial and highly necessary to be ob served In the Epistle of St. Ignatius, written to the Wallians, the following words are found, “ 1 know that your sen timents are pure, your hearts inseparable in patience and meekness, which is no: passing, but as it were natural: :IS ! learn from your Bishop, Polybius, congratulated with me in my chains m Christ Jesus, in such manner that in Fm I beheld your whole multitude. Deceiv ing through him your gootl will m God, I gloried, finding you to hr. as I knew, imitators of God. As you are subject to the Bishop as to ( brisk you seem not to live 'according to me but according to Jesus Christ Here, we have a species ot 1 !, uicu government, in the davs of St. Ignatius,