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INDULGENCES
The following is the doctrine of the
Catholic Church in regard to Indul
oenCcS misrepresentation to the con
trary, notwithstanding :
“To explain now, in a clear and regu
lar manner, what an indulgence is: I
suppose, first, that no one will dec y that
a sovereign prince, in showing mercy to
;i capital convict, may either grant him a
remission of all punishment, or may
leave him subject to some light punish
ment.' of course he will allow that the
Almighty may act in either of these
ways with respect to sinners. 11. I
equally suppose that no person who is
versed in the Bib e will deny, that many
instances occur then of God’s remitting
the essential guilt of sin, and the eternal
punishment due to it, and yet leaving a
temporary punishment to be endured by
the penitent sinner. Thus, for example,
the sentence ot spiritual death and ever
lasting torments was remitted to our
first lather, upon his repentance, but
nut that of corporal death Thus, also,
when Gid reversed his severe sentence
against the idolatrous Israelites, He add
ed, ‘Nevertheless, in the day when I
visit, L will visit their sin upon them.’ —
VjXo I xxiii, 34. Thus again, when the
inspired Nathan said to the model of
penitents, David, ‘The Lord hath put
a way thy sin,’ he added, ‘Nevertheless,
tb • child that is born unto thee shall
die. —2 King >, alias Sam., xii. 14.
Finally, when David’s heait smote him
after he had numbered the people, the
Lori, in pardoning him, offered him, by
his Prophet, Gad, the choice of three
temporal punishments, war, famine, or
pestilence. — Ibid. xxiv. iii. The Catho
lic Church teaches that the same is still
the common course of God’s mercy and
wisdom, in the forgiveness of sins com
mitted after Daptism; since she has for
mally condemned the proposition, that
every penitent sinner who, after the
grace of justification, obtains the remis
sion of his guilt and eternal punishment,
obtains, also, the remission of all tempor
al punishment,’— Cone. Trid. Sess,\ i.
can. 30. 4he essential guilt and eter
nal punishment of sin, she declares, can
only be expiated by the precious merits
of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ; but a
certain temporal punishment, God re
serves for the penitent himself to endure,
lest the easiness ot his pardon should
make him careless about falling back in
to sin f—Sess. vi, cap. 7, 14, Sess. xiv,
cap. 8. Hence, satisfaction for this tem
poral punishment has been instituted by
Christ, as a part of the Sacrament of Pen
ance; and hence, ‘a Christian life,’ as the
C nincil lus said above, ‘ought to be a
penitential life.’ This Council, at the
same time, declares that this very satis
faction for temporal punishment is only
efficacious through Jesus Christ.— lbid.
Nevertheless, as the promise of Christ to
the Apostles, to St. Peter in particular,
and to the successors of the Apostles, is
unlimited : ‘WHATSOEVER you shall
loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in
Heaven ’ — Matt, xviii. 18—xvi. 19;
hence, the Church believes and teaches,
that her jurisdiction extends to this very
satisfaction, so as to be able to remit it
wholly or partially, in certain circum
stances by what is called an INDUL
GENCE.— Trid . Sess. xxv. lie Indulg.
8l Paul exercised this power in behalf
if the incestuous Corinthian on his con
version, and at the prayers of the faith
ful.—2 Cor ii. 1G; and the Church lias
claimed and exercised the same power
mer since the time of the Apostles dowu
t<> the present.— Tertul in Lib. ad Mar
u!fCi. e. St. Cypr. 1. 3. Epist. Coned i.
Me. Aneyr, Ac., Ac. IV. Still, this
power, like that of Absolution, is not
arbitrary: there must be a just cause for
the exercise ol it; namely, the great
good of the penitent, or of the faithful,
or of Christendom in general; and there
must be a certain proportion between
die punishment remitted and the good
work performed.— Bellann. Lib. CDc
Indu/g. c. IA Hence, no one can ever
be sure that he has gained the entire
ooueiit of an indulgence, though he has
pei mi mod all the conditions appointed
! J ,r t ‘ lls en d (Ibid); and hence, of course,
the Pastors of the Church will have to
un : s ' v °r for it, if they take upon them
*elves to grant indulgences for unworthy
° r lnsufficitJ 'R purposes. V. Lastly, it is
in us ei\od uoctrme of the Church that
: Ul ln(l ulgence, when truly gained, is not
1 m my H relaxation ol the canonical
penance enjoined by the Church, but
J f o . an aciual remission by God himself
ut , tlle wh »le or part of the temporal run
‘•'iiment due to it iu His sight. The con
opinion, though held by some
-ueologiaus, has been condemned by
r),' ( Art • 19, inter.\ Art. Damen.
p lhen >) and Pins VI, (Const. Aucta.
. l(i -) and, indeed, without the effect
•'' mentioned, Indulgences would not
! *Tavcnly Treasures, and the use of
a um would not be beneficial, but rather
! pernicious to Christians— contrary to
| the declaiations of the last General
.Council, as Bellarmin well argues. (Lie.
7, Prop. 4) — Milner's End *?/
versy, pp. 258, 259, 260.
[Note —For the canons regarding In
dulgences, and the use of the money "that
is to be paid for them,s in the Church of
England (Protestant) see Articuli pro
tfero, A. D. 1584, Sparrow p. 194 and
also p 105. These indulgences were re
newed under the same titles in the synod
held in London in 1597 —Sparrow pp
248 252. “That no Chancellor, Com
missary, or official, shall have power to
commute any penance in whole or in
part ; but, either together with the
Bishop, Ac., that he shall give a full and
just account ot such commutations to the
Bishop, who shall see that all such
moneys shall de disposed of for charitable
and public uses, according to law—sav
ing always to ecclesiastical officers their
due and accustomable fee. — Ca?wn 14.
Sparrow p. 368. In the remittance of
grievances presented by a Committee of
the Irish Parliament to Charles I, one
ot them was “several Bishops received
great sums of money for commutation of
penance (that is, tor Indulgences) which
they converted to their own use.”—
Commons Jour, piloted by Curry, voi. 1,
p 169. Luther granted an indulgence
to Philip, Landgrave of Hesse; to marry
a secolid wife, his former being living,
in consideration, for so it is stated, of
his protection of ProL siantism.
For the Banner of the South .
OPEN LETTER TO SENATOR SPRAGUE-
Gadsden, S. C., April 5, 1869.
Senator Sprague:
Dear Sir: I have long contemplated
writing a letter of the following charact
er, to someone of promince in Amur sec
tion of country. Heretofore I have been
in doubt as to whom to address it. know
ing scarcely anybody at all at the North,
and the prominent gentlemen there only
through the public prints. My first
thought was to address it to Mr. Fes
senden, having known him through the
columns of the Daily Globe, to which I
was a subscriber before the war. The
boldness and foresight evinced in your
late speeches in Congress have deter
mined me to address it to you, hoping
that you will excuse the liberty I take
without your acquaintance, save through
the newspapers. After a few words in
regard to myself, using the personal pro
noun 1 more frequently, perhaps, than
good manners will warrant, and for
which 1 crave pardon, I shall devclope
the purpose of this letter :
I am a survivor of the Confederate
Army, badly lamed I fear for life; my
political creed. I imbibed from mv re
vered master-at-law, Gen. Gregg, who
died of a wound received the same day
I was unfortunate enough to be wound
ed. It is to be, perhaps, too concise and
brief, uncompromising devotion to Free
Trade and States’ Rights, in other words
bay where you can buy cheapest, and
sell where you can do so to most advant
age—that each State in these United
States has the right under the Constitu
tion of 1789 to govern itself—that it
has the right to make whatever laws its
domestic concerns may suggest as pro
per or render necessary, provided those
laws are not in direct and palpable vio
lation of the Constitution of 1789, of
which violation the Judiciary as con
templated by the said Constitution are to
judge, and in the event of their inability
to do so satisfactorily, a Convention of
all the States comprising these United
States. It was not the Union per se,
odious tho’ it had become, that caused
the uprising of the Southern people m
1860 and ’Ol with an unanimity, in a
great measure, unexpected by them, and
certainly unparalelled in history, but
continual and unjustifiable infractions of
the Constitution of 1789, or, to convey
my meaning more clearly, the Articles
of Partnership between the States com
posing the Union The most rabid se
cessionists of 1860 and '6l like their
idol, the immortal statesman, Mr. Cal
houn, would have been content with a
Union of States, as provided for by the
Constitution of 1789, and which the
framers of that instrument thought they
had secured to their posterity. Your
last speech in Congress induces me to
believe, that, like myself, you see that
the existing Cover n?nent (?)of ihe United
States is “riding on the neck of danger”
and plunging into purposes “big with
death ”
With these remarks by way or pre
face I shall proceed to disclose my plan
for restoring this country, regardless of
sections to a degree of prosperity that
was never dreamt of in the past. It
may strike you as the dream of a crazy
man, or as “visionary, foolish and im
i practicable.” Columbus was regarded
I by the superficial as crazy when he spoke
oi a continent or world “lying to the
: West.” Thousands saw an apple fall
: before Sir Isaac Newton did. All I
ask for it, is calm, close dispassionate
consideration, that it be subjected to the
crucible of reason.
In the effort at extrication from their
troubles the United States, or, mote
properly speaking, the Northern Stales
| are met on the threshhold by their im
mense indebtedness. I lay down as an
incontrovertible fact that, individual
indebtedness, unless checked at the pro
per time, or provided fur in sumo man
ner, must and vviil result in utter ruin.
By a purity of reasoning perfectly legi
timate, Governmental indebtedness must
and will result similarly. To the liquid
ation of this immense debt then, with as
little taxation a* possible the Northern
States should first address themselves.
How can this he done ? If Congress
will not recognize the doctrine of States’
Bights i. c. the right of each State to
manage its domestic concerns, as it may
deem necessary, proper and best, which
the Constitution of 1789 provides for
and guarantees, provided such State be
guilty of no infraction of said < bmstitu- 1
lion in the passage of its laws, let a Con-j
vention of all the States (Ex-Confederate '
included), meet and place the doctrine
on a firm and vn mistake able basis. Be
fore the iate war (if memory serves me
correctly) the commercial marine of the
J Lnited States, or, tospeax more proper
ly, of the North was the largest or/the
high seas. During the war arid perhaps
since, it has been comparatively idle,
which has doubtless caused serious injury
somewhere. Employment for this JVfa
vine, as large perhaps as ever, will not
only be given by my plan but prove a
fruitful source of revenue, and may ex
tinguish the United States debt in twen
ty years or less entirely. I hope I haz
ard little in saying that no sane man
will deny, that the African ii? his condi
tion of slavery here, has reached a high
er degree of civilization, than he has
ever been known to reach in his native
jangles According to all accounts Af
ricans are essentially imitative. As boy
and man it gave me amusement and in
terest. to see the pride and pleasure with
which their descendants here as staves,
adopted or imitated the habits and man
ners of their respective masters and mis
tresses. 1 trust I hazard as little in sav
ing that, so far from being a source of
weakness, slavery as it existed in the
South, previous to the War, was rather
an element of strength. In the face of
experience, I do not see how an Ameri
can and even an Englishman can hold on
to the idea that it is a source of weakness.
This country conducted a seven (7)
years’ "\\ ar with the mother country
without the semblance of an insurrection
on the part ot the blacks. The Ex-
Confederatc States warred four years
with similar conduct on their part. In
both instances the opportunities for in
surrections, slaughtering the whites, and
thereby emancipating themselves were
golden.
Upon inquiry 1 learn that about three
fourths of the late slaves’ still reside on
the plantations of their former masters.
Let the United States Army remain in
the late slave holding States, until as
many of these arc removed, as can be,
without manifest cruelty. Let the Ma
rine of the North import laborers from
Africa and sell them to the inhabitants
of the late slave holding States, the
United States Government imposing a
tariff or duty of fifty (50) dollars per
head on grown ones and adults, and
twenty-live (25) dollars per head on in
fants. With the capacity of the United
States Marine (1 have it not), arithmetic
will tell you how soon the debt of the
United States can be extinguished en
tire I}' 1 }' Apart from being a Southerner
by birth and the son of a slaveholder, I
think something as an act of simple jus
tice is due the minors, who were despoil
ed by the War of their expectations in
slave property, and have therefore been
compelled to forego the advantages of
education, yes ! even to be denied in a
great measure tin* ordinary comforts of
life. With their present indebtedness
it will be utterly impossible for the
Lnited States to do anything towards in
demnifying them or even helping them
in any way. You may urge as a bar
riers to this, the “Treaty for the sup
pression of the Slave Trade.” I answer
annul the Treaty and thereby save the
United States the unnecessary expense
ot keeping up au armed force for its sup
pression, ail accounts up to the breaking
out of the late War having shown that
the efforts in that behalf were futile
Indeed since reaching years of maturity,
and thinking for myself I have regarded
that Treaty as an artful move on the part
of England and France et id omnegenus,
of dealing a blow at the increasing growth
of the United States by causing a dimin
| ution of the supply of iabor for one sec-
I tion of it, while the labor for other sec
tions was on the increase all the time.
You may urge further that England and
France would object to this. Here my
answer is plain, and I do not think anv
reasonable man would gainsay it, I am
quite sure that the late War has proved
conclusively, that, in the event of Eng
land or France or both together not be
having properly in any matter of vital in
terest to this continent, the North and
South “shoulder to shoulder’’ would soon
teach them a wholesome lesson. I shall
be frank enough to state to you, that,
with the present generation of Southern
ers, I believe the breach caused by the
War and its ill—gotten, child, Emancipa
tion incuiable. Apart from Emancipa
tion too many parents lost their first and
last boru, too many children orphaned,
too many good women widowed. What
may be the feelings of infants of to-day
and those to be born, can only be a mat
ter of conjecture about which you can
conjecture as well as I can. Tuis com-
munication is much longer than I de
signed or hoped it would be when I be
gan, and I do not know how I can better
conclude it than by an extract from that
most eminent New York Statesman,
Hon. J. K. Paulding, Duchess County,
“ibis Confederation may be likened to
the great system of the Universe, and it
is only, by the benign and gentle influ
ence ot attraction, that the bright stars
ot our c mstellation can be kept in there
orbits. Those who attempt to bridle or
spur them, will in the end, fare like the
rash tool who aspired to direct the cha
riot of the sun.” Letter of Hon. J. K.
Paulding, to the secession Party of
Charleston District, dated Hyde Park,
Duchess County, N. Y., September 6th,
ISSI Ynry Respectfully,
Your ob’i serv’t
11. Walker Adams.
P. S.—l tirst thought of making this
an anonymous communication, but 1 de
testfraud iu every shape, from the best
possible government, which, while it is a
necessary evil, is still a fraud on those
whom it is designed to protect, down to
the common New York or Massachusetts
swindler—l therefore sign iuv name.
Since writing the above, I have thought
that l might as well mention wiiat I
have always thought and still think, to
wit: that the late contest between the
North and South has not ceased, but has
been transferred from the field to the
forum, and that it may yet go from the
forum back to the field, but that South
ern sod will not he iu any case involved
or implicated. H. W. A.
NEW YORK CORRESPONDENCE
OF THE BANNER OF THE SOUTH.
LETTER FROM TYRONE POWERS.
New York, April, 1869.
Editors Banner of the South :
After a period of unusual somnolence
our old friends the isms of Yankeedom
are plucking up a little life and coming
out of their holes, being indeed driven
thereto by the fact that their once great
power is ebbing away. The tree is
known of its fruits and as these abomin
able devices have produced no crop but
absurdities and delusion, it seems enter
ing even the rock like cranium of the
Saints that ism is pretty much syuony
mus with humbug after all* Hence the
emergence, as aforesaid, from the holes
of our old friends. The Woman's Rights
women, he aid she, have felt called on
to beat the gong and sound the trumpet
in defence of their “advanced ideas,” but
the beating is but feeble compared to
what it once was, and whereas formerly
they screamed with the* scream of eagles
the noise of their disputations now is but
the chattering of daws. That we are to
see the final extinction of this particular
species of insanity is not very likely so
long as New England turns out her
quota of sour spinsters and “philanthro
pic” men, but. the indications are that,
like Fourierism, and Communism, and
Pkalangism. this dug has had his day
The strong-minders being thus feeble
compared to what they were, one comes
next to Spiritualisai and here the Umists
—rough word that—-make a better ap
peal anco. The other night your corres
pondent took occasion to look in ut a
monkey-show of this description and here
is about what, the thing is. The iirst
point with your true-bred fanatic is to
give his folly a fine name and according
ly these capers about to be narrated were
termed A I) irk Seance, a special dark
seance, and dark enough it. was, l as
sure, both specially and in general. Fan
cy a long narrow room filled with ordin
ary lecture-room benches save a little
space at one side waere was a platform
and on that platform a tilde and ou that
table a violin and guitar. At either side
of the table were chairs and in these
chairs the “ mejiums ” were inserted.
The idea is that these fellows are to be
tied hand and foot in their seats and that
then the lights are to be put out and,
though physically helpless, the
unis," through the influence of their fa
miliar spirits, are to play upon the mu
sical instruments aud even make them
sail about in the air over the heads of
the audience. This looks a little weird,
as one must admit, but now for a des
cription of the procedure and then a
word as to the texture of the miracle.
The “mejiums" being securely bound,
all present were warned to keep silence,
those on the front row were requested
to join hands so that no one e«»uld pass
in to the table from the rear of the au
ditory and twang the instruments, and a
stnct injunction was laid against striking
a light. Then the gas was turned out
and Egyptian darkness reigned. Miaouiv!
went a voice like a cat's i , a distaut. cor
ner of the room but it was soon known
this was the base device of some scof
fing skeptic and not the spirits at all
Then upon the dead silence there came
the sound of a faint, little smack but
neither was this from the spirit world
but a young fellow kissing his love.
"My name is Smith!” was the third in
terruption in a stentorian voice and here
there was a great laugh,. cheered and
sustained by which the unknown jester
thundered forth a second bon mot,
“Hands on your pocket-books.” This
smiting the audience in a tender place
there was a general move as though the
advice were being complied with aud ere
the little stir died away there came the
echo of a second smack from the inge
nious young man and his love. Then
all was still. And then the “sperrits”
came ! Twang! twang! twang !
went the guitar ; prut! trut l tut!
twiddle! twaddle! tweedle! went the
violin ; bang! crash ! boom ! went both
together and then the master of cere
monies bawled “strike a light.” This
being done, there were the “ mejiums”
hard bound in their seats and the mu
sical instruments lying calmly on the
table as if the dust of ages were upon
them. There was a hum, a murmur, a
scraping of feet and one old votary
squeaked out “That’s nothing to what
the spirits will do in live years,” and
then out went the lights again, the idea
this time being that the instruments
were to fly about in the air. And sure
enough, bang! whiz! crash! went
something about the room, and then the
lights were struck and there were the
mediums still bound and the musical in
struments held by persons in the audi
ence 1 Still a third time was there
darkness and as the instruments had
been rubbed with phosphorus terriiic
meteors gleamed dismally in the dark
ness. Divers of the faithful groaned at
this wondrous manifestation and one
spectator was actually assaulted by the
“sperrits” and taken bodily by storm,
his claw-hammer coat being rest from his
corpus. Then the lights were struck
and the dark seance closed.
Now this is all very wonderful, is it
not/ But let us get below the surface.
The “ mejiums ” were tied before the
lights went out and were found tied in
the same manner when the lights were
lit; therefore they could not have done
the twanging and throwing about of the
instruments and the taking away of the
man’s coat. Granted. Moreover as
those on the front row had held of hands
from one side the room to the other no
one could have come in from the rear of
the room to perform these wonders. Let
us grant that too, but who shall warrant
us that there were not accomplices of
the “mejiums” iu the front row/ Three
would be all that would be needed aud
with that number, honest as the rest of
the audience might be, the “miracles”
could be performed. Thus, suppose that
at any given point iu the front row the
three accomplices were seated side by
side, A, B, and 0 At the command
join hands , A reaches out his left hand
and forms the connection with the skep
tic on his left ; C, in like manner,
touches the skeptic on his right ; but as
A and C both understand the game they
do not join hands with B who sits between
them, or if they do join before the lights
are out no sooner is it dark than they
loose the hold. This leaves Bat pr rfect
liberty to step up to the table and twang
the instruments aud brandish them about
in the air, either with or without the
phosphorus upon them, in the manner
described. Then, before the light is
struck, he skips back to bis place and
completes the circle by joining hands
with his accomplices. And tins is the
wav the ' sperrits’' conic. As to the
coat business, how is any one to know
but that the innocent spectator's indeed
au accomplice and takes it off himself?
Such is 1 an inside vdew of the dark
seance, and yet there are hundreds of
poor gulls who believe that it and other
monkey-shows like it are in reality the
work ot supernatural power.
Quite an interesting decision in a mu
sical point of view has lately been ren
dered here in a City Court. It seems
that a certain German Mynheer \ onder-
5