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“Holy Bible, —Book Divine,
Brecious treasure, thou art mine.”
H. C. HORN AD Y and JAMES N. ELLS,
EDITORS AND PROPRIETORS.
J. M. WOOD, )
J. S. BAKER, VAssociate Editors.
D. P. EVERETT, )
ATLANTA, OEORGIA:
Saturday, October 4, 1862.
The readers of The Banner and Baptist
have been informed of the new relationship
entered into by the present proprietors. —
We tender a respectful salulem to oui read
ers, and friends everywhere. With, we
trust, some realization of the responsibilities
incurred in assuming our present duties,
we take the humble post assigned us ’neath
the folds of our Banner— pledging our best
efforts for the promotion of those principles
calculated to advance the cause dear to our
hearts. J- N. E.
Regard for Others.
There is no more striking evidence of
the fallen condition of man than is to be
seen in the selfishness which he exhibits in
his intercourse with his fellows. Rushing j
on in hot pursuit of his own real or sup
posed interests, he does not often stop to
consider what effect his eagerness for per
sonal good may exert upon the welfare of
those around him ; and hence in his reckless •
career he too unfrequently jostles, and per- '
chance overthrows, those who have as good
claims to success as himself. But where
the religion of Christ is adopted as the gov- ;
erning principle of life, selfishness, sharply ■
defined, seems to be entirely out of place.,
This blessed religion inculcates regard for
-LoUa-asta. -ofLolhers ; aiid in
order to make its behests more influential,
it begins with the sentiments and affections
of the mind and heart. ‘Thou shall love
thy neighbor as thyself,’ is the great prin
ciple upon which man is called to act as he
passes along the path of life. Every action
which we perform affects, either directly or
indirectly, the happiness of others, and, as
a consequence, what is-done should be well
and truly considered with reference to its
bearings upon our fellow men. There are
certain inalienable rights possessed by ev- 1
ery man which ought t# be regarded as
sacred, to say nothing of the claims of
mercy and humanity. Christians are not
at liberty to live for themselves alone, but
there are certain claims which every man
has upon their consideration, that can not
be overlooked without violating the very
fundamental principles qpon which their
religion is based. To feed the hungry,
clothe the naked, visit the sick, and relieve
the distressed, are duties ; which, if entirely
neglected, show the delinquent as destitute
of a real and saving knowledge of Christ—
and so the Great Judge has taught us lie
will decide in the day of final reckoning.
‘ Inasmuch as ye did it not to these, ye did
it not to Me,” is the judicial language of the
Great Arbiter of human destiny.
The fatherless and the widow, the help
less and the oppressed, are the peculiar!
objects of the Divine care, and woe be to
those who oppress or even neglect them ini
their day of trial and suffering. And of
this class of human beings, how many
wretched examples are seen in these times
of war and death ! The husband and the
father, with a noble and patriotic impulse,
buckled on his armor, and in obedience to
his country’s call rushed to the tented field,
leaving his dependent family to the grateful
protection of his fellow-citizens. On the
blood-stained field he bared his bosom to
the shock of battle: and, far from the loved
ones at home, he fell, and was buried in a
soldier’s humble grave. Over his ashes
the Tree of Liberty rises in grandeur and
beauty—drawing its support from the
crimson tide which flowed from his per
forated heart, as he lay with only a soldier’s
blanket around him. In his onee-happy
home are seen the weeds of widowhood,
and are heard the cries of his orphaned
children. In that home, once the abode of
plenty. Want stalks with its gaunt form
and sends a chill to the hearts still left
beating, more terrible than that which per
vades the heart of the brave soldier who
hears no more the ‘ long roll’ which ouce
summoned him to arms. Can these widows
and orphans Inc neglected and no blush of
shame crimson our cheeks as we behold
them in their wretchedness ? Will the rich
man surround himself with all the comforts
and even the luxuries of life while the help
less families of as brave and true hearts as
ever beat in a soldier’s bosom are starving
at his very door ? j-Will wealthy Chris
tians, who have the means of relief at com
mand, fail them in iheir hour of need? —
The cold and cheerless winter will soon be
here; the chill winds of hoarse December
will soon be wailing around their humble
homes, if homes they have, and no cheerful
fire be heard crack Hug, upon the cold and
dreary hearthstone. In the name of our
country, in the name of humanity, and in
the more revered name of Jesus, we call
upon every patriot, and especially every
Christian, to remember the fatherless and
the widow in their afflictions, remembering
that ‘ he who giveth to the poor lendeth to
the Lord.’
Dear brother —follower of Jrsus: the
Master is looking into thy heart all the
time thou art reading these lines, and He
will note thine action against that day
when, poor and friendless, thou shall stand
before His bar awaiting thy final awa an—
and a hundred blood-stained fields the
voices of the patriot dead arc crying to thee
from the ground, and imploring thee to re
member their bereaved ones in the hour of
their need. And, above all, the bloody
scenes of Calvary—where the peace of thy
soul was purchased by the dying Redeemer
—a Voice potential cries to thee to remem
ber the fatherless and him that hath no
helper.
Blow is tlie TiirteJ
Now is the time for the friends of THE
BANNER to be up and doing. In less
than a month we shall have reached the
close of our third volume, and The Banner
must be admitted as one of the existing
facts of the times. Friends are rallying to
its support, and if each will do its duty it
will continue to wave in triumph, in ‘ the
land of the free,’ and be unfurled in ‘ the
homes of the brave.’
We have made arrangements to have in
each number a column, or more, of origi
nal and selected reading suited to the wants
of our Soldiers, and those who have rela
tives in the army can not confer a greater
benefit upon them than to send each of
them a copy of the paper. We will send
the paper to soldiers at $2,50 a copy, be
cause we arr particularly desirous that our
brave boys should have the means of
spiritual improvement in some available
form.
Our City Subscriber*
The term for which a good many of bur
city subscribers have paid is about to ex
pire. And as we have labored hard to
sustain the paper, we hope they will still
continue to favor us with their patronage.
They can obtain their papers either through
the Post Office or by calling at our office,
in the Franklin Printing House.
‘ Pub. DoeJ
VVe are under obligation to our esteemed
Representative, Hon. L. J. Gartreli, for a
copy of the Report of the Committee on
Post Offices and Post Roads —accompanied
by a Bill from the Chairman, Hon. W. P.
Chilton, of Ala., upon Sunday Mails.
This is a good move, and we hope that
|our Congress will pass the Bill, and that it
may ultimately become the law of the land.
Mrs. J. E. Dawson
We are pained in bavin- to record the
death of sister Dawson, the widow of the
late Rev. John E. Dawson. She died, as
we understand, at the plantation of Dr.
Walker, in Dougherty county. She was
an amiable Christian, and the friends of the
deceased will pause to drop the tear of be
reavement as they think of the loss they
have sustained.
The Cilild’K Index
This is anew paper, published by bro
ther Samuel Boykin in the city of Macon,
and,"as its name indicates, is designed for
the use of children. The first number, a
copy of which we have received, 5s certain
ly a good thing, and we hope the enterprise
will receive that encouragement which its
importance merits The specimen which
we have received is very well illustrated,
and it will doubtless prove very attractive,
as well as instructive, to the young.—
Now that we are cut off* from a supply of
reading matter for children from other
| sources, we should go to work to produce
|it for ourselves. The Child's Index will
| l>e sent at the rate of three copies to the
dollar. Now is the time to give eocour
jagement to this enterprise.
A Serißon-Xt'xl WecV.
We have received from brother A E.
Marshall, the accomplished phonetician, a
sketch of the sermon recently preached by
jour senior, in Forsyth, and thank him for
lit. This discourse will appear in our next
edition. # *
j All Baptist ministers and others, in the
j Confederate States, friendly to the paper
5 are requested to act as Agents.
The War.
Since the battles of Sharpsburg and
Shepherdstown, ‘ all lias been quiet along
the Potomac.’
The battle of Sharpsburg seejrw to have
bei n the fiercest of the season, and both
armies have doubtless suffered severely.—
‘ P. W. A.’ thinks it was a drawn battle,
but ‘ Personne ’ (correspondent, of the
Charleston Courier) claims a victory for
the Confederate arms. At Shepherdstowo
the enemy were almost al nihilated.
If Northern accounts are to be credited,
Buell has succeeded in reaching Louisville
and is acting on the defensive. General
Bragg is reported to be within twenty
miles of the city, and is preparing to strike
a blow which we. hope will be entirely
successful.
The Confederate steamer ‘2 4 JO’ is re
ported to have captured Gem ral Phelps
and Commodore Porter.
Gem ral E. lvirtiy Smith is somewhere
in the neighborhood of Cincinnati, and is,
perhaps, meditating an attack upon that
city. Gen. Sterling Price is somewhere in
Mississippi, and is watching the movements
of the Federal general, Bosencrants.
In all probability, before our next issue
we shall have to record some bloody fight
ing in Kentucky. *
L.et Speculators Stand from i iider.
Our armies within a few days (remarks
the Milledgeville Union) have invaded
Kentucky, Ohio, and Maryland, and have
also recovered portions of Tennessee, Vir
ginia and Missouri, that have for a long
time been in possession oi the enemy.—
! These states (listen, gentlemen,) are filled
jto overflowing with flour, bacon, lard, and
all kinds of provisions. They have also
been well supplied with northern and im
ported dry goods. As soon as communica
tions can be established with’them, all of
those articles that have been so high in our
markets will flow in, in continued streams;
of course the exorbitant prices now asked
for such articles wilt fall —will ‘comedown’
with a perfect rush.
In prospect of such an event, many be
nevolent persons have asked what will
become of the Speculators?
Manv plans and ways have been devised j
to dispose of them, but the best plan is
the one suggested by our metropolitan co.
■tampinauiy-- —.w.proposes to foim them
all, old and young, into a brigade by them
selves, and send them into the army.—
Let them be kept entirely separate from
the other troops, for fear of demoralizing
the rest of the army. Let the brigade of
Speculators be reserved until there is a
favorable opportunity to charge, and it is
sure that no troops in the world can stand
their charges. *
Im;oriant Decision.
Judge Gould, of Augusta, has made an
important decision. It seems that Jsadore
Rosenfeldt, a citizen of Augusta, was ar
rested in Warren county, when on a visit,
by Walter I’. Greer, sub-enrolling officer,
who claimed him as a conscript. He was
tied by the officer (but the rope was cut
from his hands by the citizens of Warren
ton), v. as brought to Augusta and placed
in jail. A writ of habeas corpus was ob
tained from Judge Gould, who, upon a
hearing, discharged the prisoner—upon the
ground that the officer had no right to
arrest a citizen of Richmond county. —
The enrolling officer asserted, in his evi
dence, that he had the power to declare
martial law and suspend the writ of habeas
corpus, and he was so instructed by Major
Dun woody.
Is it not high time that the powers of
the militar y authorities and the rights of
the people were distinctly defined ? *
~~ --
none} Deceived for Colporinge.
New Prospect Church, $25,00.
Stone Mountain Association, $17,55.
Western Association, p<*r It. 11. J., $lO.
G. W. Milner, $7,00.
Tle ISiMincr for 1 he,Soldiers.
The following sums have been received
fur sending The Banner to our soldiers :
Stone Mountain Association, $19,00
Lawrenceville “ 70,00
Western ‘ 30.87
€'ol|oriage amongst Ilie Soldiers.
The editor of this paper has l>een author
ized. by Elder A. E, Dickinson, to employ
six Colporteurs in the Western and South
western armies, and he calls upon the
friends of the Soldier to aid in this good
work.
Contributions may la* sent either by
mail or by express to this office, and will
be faithfully employed in the manner des
ignated by the donors. There are hundreds
of brethren, and sisters too, who can aid
us in this enterprise, and we appeal to them
in the name and in behalf of their own sons,
brothers and husbands.
11. C. HORN AD Y, Local Agent.
Subscription price, three dollars a year.
Editorial Correspondence.
Jackson vh.i.e, Era., Sept. 13*
Dear Danner : I once more address
you from the town of Jacksonville. I
came down to look after the little property
left behind by toy. sob’s family, 'when they
were chased away by the Yankees. The
Yankees showed them but little favor, and
*
the natives still less. The latter appropri
ated to their own use every article of any
value, whether appertaining to the dwel
ling, kitchen, office, faiin or garden, leaving
behind not? even so much as an empty box
or barrel. One or two have returned what
was in their possession—others hold oil to
what they have, and there is no possibility
of enforcing law here as yet. One has my
bedding ; I wrote to her, notifying her that
l was here and had much need of it, butshe
still holds on to it, as well as to some chairs
and other things, so that 1 still slumber on
a —-fodder bed. By the way, 1 find fodder
an excellent substitute for a matress.
Our Confederate soldiers have manifested
but little more respect for our individual
rights. There is on our lot as beatftiful a
pine grove as ever you saw, and two springs
—one of them a very bold one, yielding
an inexhaustible supply of water. On ac
count of these advantages, several com pa
nies have, at different times, camped on the
loi, and, instead of paying sl2 per M. for
lumber at the mill, and four or five dollars
for hauling, they help themselves to such
as they can find adapted to their purposes
in the fences and buildings around them.—
They are fighting to defend our light to
slave property, but seem to be forgetful of
the fact that one’s right to the materials of
which his fences and ituildings are composed
is as absolute and as sacred as is his right
to his slaves. The government will proba
bly pay, ultimately, for the slaves stolen
by the enemy, but will it pay for the pa
lings, weather-boarding and flooring taken
by Confederate soldiers ? I guess not.
Florida is retrieving its character. In
the early part of the war they evinced the
want of that pluck which was necessary to
enable them to defend successfully Fernan
dina and Jacksonville. They are now do
ing better with fewer men. On last Thurs
day (or the night preceding it), they fired
upon the enemy’s,gunboats, from a battery
recently erected on St. John’s Bluff, about
twenty miles below our town’ and five
above St. John’s Bar. The engagement
continued until between ten and twelve a.
rn , when the gunboats retired. Of course
they got the worst of it. Our loss was one
killed and four or five wounded; but I pre
sume you will see a detailed account of it
in the papers.
The curse threatened in Leviticus xxvi.
on those who profaned the Sabbaths and
Sanctuary of the Most High appears to
I have fallen in all its blighting influence on
j our ill-fated tow n. It now has its Sabbaths.
No harping is heard in h<r halls; no din
of business in her streets. Grass grows on
the sidewalks,'and the Jamestown and cof
fee weed in the midst of the streets. Yet
for all this the Sabbath is not kept holy—
the Sanctuary is not frequented. There is
rarely any preaching in town. The ears
are running back and fortli on the Sabbath
as they were not wont to do in a time of
j: eace.
I have no more paper—must therefore
close. This sheet was imnursed in the
St. Mary’s, on my way down.
—1 rob an old letter to add, That you
may soon expect to hear of more daring
deeds in East Florida. Busy preparations
are being made—balls and cannon are being
conveyed by boat and cars, but for what
purpose it would not be prudent to state.—
There is a little boat on our river, of light
draught, that has rendered gogd service in
the transportation of arms. She has been
chased repeatedly by the Federal gunboats,
but escapes by running up some little creek
that-would appear to be haidlv navigable
in a common yawl boat. J. S. B.
Coua Association.
This body of will hold the next
session at Cedar Town, Gu., commencing
on Saturday before the second Sabbath in
October. As the writer has been connect
ed with the missionary operations of the
Coosa for many years, he w ill L.- allowed to
remind the- brethren that funds will be
needed. Three missions have been to some
extent sustained by your 1 if *• r. li< > : the
Mountain, the Coosa, and tin Clmrokce In
dian missions, bur these it is hoped the
churches wilt provide liberally , not forget
ting col portage among the sol liers —a very
important field of labor at this time.—
Those who subscribed last fall for th>* sup
port of D.* M. Foreman, w ill remember
that now is the time t<> pay and will bring
or send the funds to Cedar Tow n.
May the Lord grunt a delegation and
a gracious meeting!
J. M. Wood.
P. S. it is especially desirable that all
the members of the Executive Committee
should be present and hold a session on
‘ c *
Saturday night. J. M. W., Ch’mn.
COMMUNICATIONS.
Shall we not slave* lo
Read I tic Scripture#?
Our Creator informs us dial He “ hath
made of one blood all nations for to dwell
on all the face of the earth, and hath de
termined the times before appointed, and
the bounds of their habitation ; that they
should seek the Lord, if haply they might
feel after Him, and find Him, though M*
ibe not far from every one of us. (Ad*
xvii., 20.) The Founder of the Gospel has
declared that “lie is the propitiation hr
our sins; and riot for ours only, but also
for ihe sins of the whole world.” (1 John
ii., 2.) Ueter held the language, viz : “Of
a truth I perceive that God is no respect' l
of persons; but in every nation he that
feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is
accepted with Him.” (Acts x., ->t.) And
again: “There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free, there is m i
ther male nor female; for ye are all one in
Christ Jesus.” (Galatians iii. 28.) Thus
we ;e that however men may vary in co!
or, in condition, in their relations to one
another, they are treated by the Lord, their
Saviour, as being brethren and equals in
respect of f l cir origin and of the Gospel.
That we justify our title to the bodily
services of a portion of our fellow nu n hi
this state by the law of God as revealed in
the Old and New Testaments, we make no
doubt. But it would seem to require a
bold claimant to assert in the lace of the
Scriptures a right over their souls—a right
forcibly to step in between them and God
—a right violently to arrest from them
appropriate methods of learning of Him
His will.
The Scriptures, it seems to me, give no
countenance to such pretensions, but ex
pressly affirm the contrary. W-e shall
search them in vain for the grant to one
man, or a class of men, of a monopoly of
their provisions and privileges. The Jews
claimed it in our Saviour’s day, but it was
denied to them. The Catholics h ive claim
ed it, and, consistently enough, have com
mitted the precise sin against which a large
portion of the best population in Georgia
are now protesting as having unfortunately
found way into the legislation of this State,
viz., the prohibiting of their fellow-men, to
the extent of their unhallowed power, from
reading the Scriptures. And nobly have
Protestants confronted and beaten them
down in the argument upon the point. —
Baptists, as a body, have ever been accus
tomed, so far as Ibe writer is informed, to
contend for an open Bible, an unrestricted
right of access to it, and absolute f reedom
of conscience in construing, receiving or re
jecting it. But what are the privileges of
the Bible, what, the security by which we
may hold them, if it be allowed to men in
power to place by public law .a lock and
key upon the Book at will? And if they
may do so in respect of a portion of its ben
eficiaries, however humble, they may equal
ly do so in respect of them all. Moreover,
a right on the part of temporal rulers to
close the Scriptures to the eyes of men,
does not consist with the duty of men t><
“ search” them. They were written doubt
less that they might be read ; and if' to be
read, why not by all? Who is to draw a
line of distinction, and where is it to be
drawn ? The Catholics, it is true, have ar
guetl that as the disciples were only re
quired to “ preach ” the Gospel, therefore
it may be legitimately closed to the reading
of all but certain official expounders of it;
but how the duty of Christian ministers to
I U'ea i|| ill. ' ' • ■ i o I.e I I 111 1 111 to ,1
right on the part of any to forbid the read
ing of it, they have not been able to explain
to the intelligence of Protestants. In vain
do they labor to connect in the relation of
premise and conclusion, cause and conse
quence, propositions so dissimilar. But it
is too plain for contradiction, I take it, that
if the prohibition to read tlni Bible* can be
extended on Gospel principles, by human
governments, to the “ bond,” it cun be
equally extended, on Gospel principles, by
human governments, to the “ free ” : since,
as we have seen in the outset of this article,
it is expressly revealed in the New* Testa
ment that “in Christ Jesus” there is
“neither bond nor free.” And what a
right is this on the part of us all to be sus
pended on the uncontrolled discretion of a
transient bod y of politicians ! Will the
people of Protestant Georgia longer lie
down passively under a statute of the State
containing su Ai an extraordinary and un
warrantable assumption of ecclesiastical
authority? In all this, however, the writer
is careful to question the character or rno
lives of no rnan; he would regret, in mat
ter or manner, to offend any. But is it
not apparent that the Act in view, in so far
as it prohibits the teaching of our slaves to
read the \Y ord of God, is a plain encroach
ment on a religious right of the highest
moment, in conflict with the teachings of
the Gospel, and in principle a most dan
gerous precedent ? If so, it is the duty of
the people of the State to see to it, it is re-