Newspaper Page Text
4
,41 MM I .18®
fiEV. A. J. RYAN, Editor
AUGUSTA, Ga., JANUARY 30, 1869.
mgr- ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS AND
BUSINESS LETTERS FOR TIIE “BAN
NER OF THE SOUTH” SHOULD BE
ADDRESSED TO THE PUBLISHERS -
L. T. BLOME A CO
THE CONFEDERATE CONSTITUTION.
It is no little tribute to the prominent
wisdom ol' those distinguished men who
framed the Confederate Constitution, that
in that instrument alone are to be found
stern and effectual remedies for the enor
mous villainies that at present crust the
best government the world ever saw
from its head to its heels. Starting with
the principles that the ultimate power of
government should be in the hands of
virtue and intelligence, and that the ad
ministration of government should be at
once efficient, permanent, and honest, the
framers of the Confederate Constitution,
while taking the old Federal Constitu
tion as the basis of their handiwork, in
serted into that instrument such wise and
salutary provisions as offer the only hope,
in their adoption, of good government to
the North. Yes ! we do not hesitate to
say that only by conforming to the main
provisions of this “rebel” Constitution
as they call it, the Constitution of the
Confederate States, can the people of the
North assure themselves against bank
ruptcy, and not only bankruptcy, but
even a worse measure of despotism than
they have meted out to us. At this day"
one of their greatest curses is the unre
strained exercise of that hoggish rapacity
in ilieir public men which for so many
years was held in check by the stern
front presented in Congress by the
Southern delegations. Now it ruysriot;
theft is the order of the day, and if any
thing were needed to show what nests of
pilferers their halls of council arc, it
would appear in the fact that the fac
simile of any loil member’s frank may be
obtained for three dollars. With per
sonal honesty at this despicable ebb, it is
not surprising that the public men of the
North are but so many prairie wolves
tugging at the carcass of the State, and
that if in some way they arc not flogged
off of their prey there will soon be no
thing left of “ the best Government the
world ever saw” but its whitening bones.
Some of them sec this and are cast
ing about for a remedy, and, so far as
there is a remedy for such a state of
things, they must And it in the Con
federate Constitution, distasteful as that
may be. That instrument was made
for an honest people and to be admin
istered by honest men, and if this trooly
loil North wishes to save itself from
being robbed by its own chosen repre
sentatives, it must bring them up to the
honorable mark of the fundamental law
of the Southern Confederacy. By that
law no money could be cheeked out of
the Treasury save on a two-thirds vote
of each bouse of Congress, so that when
the people's property was taken it was
taken by two-thirds of the people them
selves as represented in their legislative
halls. By the Constitution of the Uni
tad States a majority of cither House is
a quorum to do business and a majori
ty of a quorum can check out every
dollar in the Treasury and run in debt
for fifty times as much more. As at
present constituted, that corrupt body
which calls itself the United States Sen
ate, consists of 66 members; of these, 34
constitute a quorum’, and of this quorum
a bare majority, or 18, can pass any
appropriation bill however large, so that
the render will sec, the Treasury can at
any moment be at the mercy of 18
rogues out of 66. The same dispropor
tion exists in the lower House. There
are 2*26 members ; a quorum is 114; a
majority of a quorum , 58; and 58 out of
can pass appropriation bills. Now
if the honest rule of the Confederate Con
stitution were applied it would take 44
out of 66 in the Senate and 151 out of
226 in the House to draw a dollar, and
this must be incorporated in the future
government of the North or else it is
bankrupt.
The pill will be a bitter one for the
loil, but swallow it they must. What
was wrong in the Confederacy, and being
human, it had some wrong about it, has
passed away. What was right, and the
right far, far out-balanced the wrong, still
lives; it is immortal, partaking of the
nature of its mother, Truth; and, howl as
these Radicals may, will yet compel
them to admit its merit and accept its
sway.
THE SYNOD.
Week before last the Right Reverend
Bishop of Savannah convened a Synod
of all the Priests of Georgia, at his Epis
copal residence. They met and deliber
ated on the interests and prospects of
the Church in this State, after having
formally accepted the decrees of the
Plenary Couneil of Baltimore. The
sessions of our Synods are open only 1 to
the Priests who have the right to be
present. They meet only for a religious
purpose. Everything alien to religion
is banished from their deliberations.
The Church—and the Church alone—is
the subject of all the discussions. In
connection with the Synod there was
a spiritual retreat given by the Right
Rev. Bishop. It may be of interest to
our readers to know the order of exer
cises followed’ The Priests rise at live
o’clock, make an hour’s meditation to
gether, after which the Synodal prayers
are said, psalms are sung, Mass is cele
brated, and after Mass a sermon is
preached to the Clergy; all of which
exercises seldom close until nine o’clock.
At nine o’clock, breakfast is taken in
silence, after which a portion of the
Priest’s daily office is said. At ten
o’clock there is a session, lasting until
twelve ; when another part of the office
is said. Then dinner is taken, during
which the lives of the Saints are read.
After dinner, until three o'clock, the
Priests are allowed to take a quiet re
creation. At the close of the recreation,
another portion of the office is recited.
Then, from four to six o’clock, there is
another session; alter which, spiritual
reading for half an hour. All then re
pair to the Church to assist at Benedic
tion, after which supper is taken, and
then about half an hour’s recreation. All
then go to evening prayers, and in si
lence retire to rest. Such are the exer
cise of the Synod. Prayers and perfect
silence occupy most of the time —and
this for four days. In the deliberations
perfect harmony reigns. On every ques
tion and subject, each Priest has the
right to speak, and is respectfully heard.
Frequently, in matters of difference of
opinion, the votes are taken ; and every
thing is done in charity, with kindness,
and according to order.
During the Synod, we discovered, Irom
conversations held with the Pastors of
the various congregations, most consoling
signs and evidences of the progress of the
Church. In North Georgia two Churches
are to be built. In Sparta a Church is
iu course of erection. Improvements are
being made in the Church and Chuich
grounds of Washington, A\ ilkes county,
thanks to the energy of Father O’Hara.
Anew and more commodious Church is
needed, and will soon be erected, in Co
lumbus. In Atlanta, Father O'Reilly is
soon to commence the erection ot a large
and grand Church, ihc Missions of
Augusta and Macon arc flourishing. Iu
many places through the State, lots are
gratuitously offered for the erection of
Churches ; and everywhere converts aie
joining the Church. And wc returned
from the Synod encouraged, and with
zeal aflame, and resolved, with God’s
grace, and under the direction of our
Right Reverend Bishop to labor with
greater energy than ever to extend the
Kingdom of our Holy Church. May
O *
God bless ourselves and our holy work in
this portion of his vineyard !
THE BARTER OF PRINCIPLES.
Wc hold that the White Race is supe
rior to the Black, as a general principle,
and that the Government of the United
States and its several subordinate State
and Municipal Governments belong to
the white people of the land, as a par
ticular principle. The first we hold is
universal; the second as applicable to
our country and our day. This latter
is a principle which was always held
sacred and maintained with earnestness
and vigor, by all parties, until a few
years ago, when British gold and North
ern Fanaticism gave birth to Abolition
ism and all its attendant isms and evils.
Then arose a party proclaiming the
equality of the Negro with the white
man—at first it was as “ a cloud no
larger than a man’s handthen it
grew to such gigantic proportions that
its baleful influence overshadowed the
whole land and withered its greatness
and its glory as the breath ol the simoon
withers and destroys all in its path vay.
That party, though in a legal aud un
constitutional minority, has acquired a
power and an influence in the land, which
seems to be almost irresistible; and be
fore that power and influence the Consti
tution has gone down—Liberty has gone
down—and Justice has gone down.
But we of the South have something
left us yet, saved from the wreck, and
ruin, and desolation around us. We
have our principles, and in the devotion
to and maintenance of these principles,
our honor to preserve. Is there a white
man in the South, then, whose body and
soul are his own, who is to-day willing to
barter his principles for a pretended
peace or worthless “privileges ?” Is there
a white man at the North, who has not
sold his honor and himself to party, who
is to-day willing to sacrifice his race for
party ? Is there, in a word, a white man
North or South, East or West, iu whose
heart burns one spark of manhood, or
lingers still one grain of affection for the
Constitution of his fathers, who is willing
to admit the Negro to a social and
political equality with the white people
of the South. If there breathes such a
man, we ask him to read the earnest and
manly letter of Gov. Wise, which we
publish to-day upon the proposition to
baiter our principles and purchase a de
lusive peace, at the price of universal
suffrage. It is worthy of perusal. It is
worthy of precept. It is worthy of prac
tice. We have sacrificed much. We
have conceded much. We have sub
mitted to much. Let us preserve our
honor and our principles.
THE BANNER OF THE SOUTH.
As many of our readers are aware
this is the title of the paper published in
Augusta and so ably aud frankly edited
by “Father Ryan.” It is a large and
handsome sheet aud its literature, select
ed and original, pure in sentiment and
unexceptable in taste.
We happen never to have shared
“Father Ryan’s” admiration of the “lost
cause.” We had his sympathy for the
Gray Jackets—but not for the cause for
which most of our braves were made to
suffer. As we viewed it, that cause was,
Southern Independence—disunion and
endless warfare —all the evils which sub
jugation brought without the blessing of
peace or the hope of recuperation. Still
the Banner is devoted to this cause and
still believes iu its ultimate triumph. We
believe in the potency of sectional feel
ing—in the irrepressible instincts of the
Southern mind—in the inspiring natural
resources of the South and that lie
eventualities of political life will in some
way again make these dominant and
“that the South will be led to victory”
but not perhaps in the manner of the
late disastrous failure ; certainly not for
objects so crude and ill-considered.
Wc share with the Banner its repug
nance to the “Common School System ’
in, that it is Sectarin. We think that
children should be trained up “in the
way they should go,” but we object to
their being cast in the moulds ol Bud
dhism, Mahomatanism, Protestanism or
Catholicism. Educate, religiously, but
independently of all sectarian formulas
or inclination and leave them to make
their own choice, would bo most liberal
if not most politic. However, if the
Banner cannot go so far it is no worse
than the rest. We have no complaint to
make against its frank and many advo
cacy of the Catholic Religion. The
annals of the Church of Rome, with all
its evils are not without grandeur or
worth and no one should object to a fair
bearing of its claims. Taken altogether
the Banner is a good paper and we are
pleased to learn that it is advancing in
popular favor.
We thank our cotemporary for its
kindly notice of the Banner, and trust
that we shall always merit its good
opinion. Though differing from our
cotemporary in regard to Religion and
the cause of Southern Independence, we
have still one common platform to stand
upon—the honor, prosperity and glory ot
the South ; and upon that platform we
shall be proud to have so liberal just aud
generous a Journal battling with us.
ILL-TLMED BIGOTRY IN SOUTHERN
STATES.
The Rev. A. J. Ryan, editor of the
Banner of the South, at Augusta, Ga.,
is doing noble service in the cause of
truth. He is in a position to say things
that it would, perhaps, be cruel in us to
say. In the last number of his paper he
lias comments on an article lrom the
“ Presbyterian of Fayetteville, North
Carolina, In addition to what his paper
contains, which we will publish next
week, we wish the Banner of the
South would ask the good people of
North Carolina, who support the Fay
etteville “ Presbyterian ,” whether the}’
wish us, here in the North, to help them
to keep Catholics away from North Car
olina ? We can can do it if the senti
ment of the Fayetteville “ Presbyterian"
can be shown to be the sentiment of the
people of North Carolina. It is, very
largely, Catholic immigration that has
enriched and developed the Northern
States. They are now very numerous
here and can protect themselves. Were
any of these, or of the like, to go to
North Carolina, they would need to se
cure their happiness, a generous non-in
terference with their religion. If the
sentiment of the people of North Caro
lina supports such a paper as the Fay
etteville “ Presbyterian with its perse
cuting disposition, it will become the duty
of all in positions such as we occupy", to
advise Catholic emigrants to seek re
gions where they will be more welcome.
We will be glad to hear from gentlemen
in North Carolina on this subject.
Father Ryan, iu his Banner oe the
Sovth, has ventilated another very un
fortunate piece of bigotry’, at Savannah,
Ga. The city authorities, there, impreg
nated with the direst form of New Eng
land Puritanism, are running the Yankee
Machine known as Public Schools—that
is, State Schools, Godless, or as bad, and
supported by" a tax on all the people.
The City School authorities of Savannah
have refused any attention to a respectful
appeal of the Catholics for relief. If
this be the spirit of the people of South,
era Georgia, wc feel it as incumbent on
us to advise Catholics proposing to emi
grate, to seek homes in the West, South
west, and Northwest—where the old
sodden spirit of bigotry has not such firm
roots as in some of the older Atlantic
States of the South.
Some two or three yerrs ago, we no
ticed a proposition, at Meridian, Miss., to
build a church for Catholic Worship, as an
inducement for Catholic emigrants to go
thither. It would be an inducement—
less the church than the kind spirit of
the people. We can assure all interested
that, in response to important inquiries
made of us, by" proposed Catholic emi
grants, with money at command, we have
felt constrained to suggest the difficulty,
in the older Atlantic States of the South of
their intense anti-Catholic bigotry’. We
are of the opinion that a little “ventila
tion” of this subject will do good.
[Freeman’s Journal.
Wc regret to say that there is too
much of that spirit of bigotry and in
tolerance in the South of which our good
friend McMaster writes so truly and so
forcibly in the foregoing article. We
believe, however, that the spirit is disap
pearing and that our peop’e are beginning
to discover that the Catholics are not the
terrible creatures which they are some
times innocently supposed to be ; that
Catholic Priests do not have horns por
truding from their heads; and, in fact
that all the ridiculous stories about
Priestcraft and image worship, and ig
norance, are gross falsehoods unworthy of
the belief of so enlightened and so gen
erous a people as those of the South.
They remember that the Catholic papers
of the North were opposed to the war
against them; they remember the friend
ly sentiments of good Pius IX towards
our ill-fated Confederacy; and they grate
fully remember the kindly offices of
Priests aud Sisters of Charity during the
late war; and remembering all these
things, they are inquiring into the charges
against the Catholic religion, and doino
so, the mists of bigotry and intolerance
are disappearing, despite the narrow
mindedness and abuse of sectarian jour,
nals. We hope, therefore, that our Cath
olic friends at the North and else where
who design immigrating hither will not
be deterred from doing so. If North
Carolina is as yet more ignorant and in
tolerant than she ought to be, give her
the go-by and come to South Carolina,
Georgia and Alabama, and the Southwest
they will find numbers of non-Catbolics
who will gladly welcome them to these
States and aid them in securing comfort
able homes here. We believe, however
that there are thousands of good and true
people in North Carolina who will extend
a cordial welcome to tbe Catholic immi
grants who come to develop her great re
sources and build up her waste places.
The narrow-minded sectarianism of the
Fayetteville Presbyterian does injustice
aud violence to the true people of the old
North State. It only reflects the bigotry
aud intolerance of a limited few—who
have no charity in their souls for those
who differ with them.
Right Rev. Bishop Verot is in receipt
of a letter of thanks from our Holy
Father the Pope, for having sent him, in
the name of the Catholics of Georgia and
Florida, the sum of five thousand francs.
A special blessing is sent to all the donors.
NEW YORK CoTrESPONDENCE
OF THE BANNER OF THE SOUTH.
Banner of the South:
Another bubble has burst. The nig
ger Republic of Hayti, not beiug able to
sustain itself, wants the United States to
extend a protectorate over it. For sev
enty years these sable statesmen have
been cutting one another’s throats and
stealing each other’s eye-teeth* and have
just waked up to the fact that they are
not fit for independence anyway, and
want protection from themselves. The
move to give it did not succeed in the
House and the circumstance seems a lit
tle remarkable since one could hardly
have thought the loil would lotego so
capital a chance to secure so many ad
ditional savage suffragans. Beside re
jecting Ilayti, there also indications that
the rogues at Washington are preparing
to deal another blow at their friends by
refusing to pay ‘‘Southern loyalists” tor
their property taken or destroyed by the
Union arms, so that these shrewd patriots
who haie discovered, siuce the war, that
they always loved the dear, old Union,
are not likely to get a taste of the fiesh,
pots after all. This is very sad, no doubt
but still let us hope that the whole igno
ble army of scalawags may be still fur
ther snubbed by these wretches to whose
feet they have humbled themselves and
at whose bidding they have swallowed
ou an average four hogsheads of dirt
apiece. It is said that cheating never
thrives and it may well be added that loil
sycophancy is not over profitable. Be
tween the man who lias snivelled out that
he was sorry for the part he took in the
“rebellion,” and he won't never do so no
more, and will you please give him a
tiny, little slice of the public bread and
cheese; between such a man and Jeffer
erson Davis, how wide the gulf, how une
qual the public estimation, and, if you
will come down even to that ground, how
great the difference in material results.
The loil man, after swallowing up oaths
as though they were pie-crust, and Hang
ing about official back doors till ho
seedy, and swearing himself hoarse in all
manner of disgraceful protestations is
suddenly slapped in the face and bid, hKC
a hound at the kitchen door, begone,
while the gallant gentleman who took no
oath and ate no dirt and endured m no
ble self-restraint every ill that a coward
ly malice could inflict, now wains the
earth a free man with so unsullied a i
cord as extorts even the admiration ami
respect of his foes.
Once more, in this loil claims bus:non
appears the stern fact that nothing. a
solutely nothing, is to be exacted fre™
the honor, generosity, good faith or juso<a
of that rogue body at Washington. -
ter the humiliation to which they u *
put many of their suppliants they uug l
at least have thrown the poor creatures
some half gnawed bone, but no, vim “
even a scruple, they kick them from j f
door. The worse deceived men in thl3