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14 “Holy Bible—Book Divine, Precious treasure, thou art piine.” H. C. HORN AD Y and JAMES N. ELLS, EDITORS AND PROPRIETORS. J. M. WOOD, ) J. S. BAKER, V Associate Editors. D. P. EVERETT, ) ATTuAISTTA, GEORGIA: SatiiK’day, November 39, 1863. Religion in Camps. We are told by those who have a right to know, that there is much in camp life to demoralize and destroy the souls of men. And there can be no doubt but that there are many strong temptations in the army to which men are not subject at home.— In other words, the camp is the place to test men and reveal the sincerity of their pro fessions. Many who have maintained a fair character for integrity and piety at home, are found wanting in the camp—not because they lose their religion, but owing to the fact that they were either self-deceived, or mere pretenders, before they entered the army. Thousands who left their families with a name upon the records of the church have already given their hopes to the wind, have broken over every restraint, and be come open and shameless scoffers. Thou sands of others perhaps have backslidden, and their Christian graces are buried be neath a mass of rubbish and sin which it will takeyears to remove. Some who were the most active and useful in the churches at home, have lost their interest in the cause, and if they shall be spared to return home, will probably be useless, as church members, the balance of their lives. What then'? Is there no religion in camps ? Must a man, because he is a sol dier in the employ of the Government, for get the obligations which he is under to his God ? Surely, surely not. God has a place for Christians in the camp, and He certainly has a people in the army. To them the in junction, “Ye are the light of the world,” comes with peculiar force, and if anywhere they should “ let their light so shin© that men seeing their good works may glorify God,” they should certainly do so in the camp. There they are in a special sense witnesses for God ; and woe be to them if they shall fail to testify for Him, or if they shall bear false testimony in regard to Ilis religion. Jf a Christian*soldier would maintain his integrity, he must have some stated seasons for meditation. He must retire from the noise and bustle of the crowd, to commune with himself and his God. Then conscience will have an opportunity for being heard, yea, and felt too. The excitement conse quent upon being constantly in promiscu ous company is very unfavorable to growth in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. “ Alone with God” should be*the Christian’s desire whenever it is practicable, and he should make opportunities if none present themselves. lie should also have stilted seasons for reading the Scriptures and for prayer. The word of God is the food of the soul, and no Christian can long maintain a healthy and vigorous condition who en tirely neglects it. “ Search the Scriptures” is the Saviour’s injunction, and this implies something more than a careless reading of the sacred volume—its fulfilment demands sta hj and 'prayer. This exercise may be difficult in camps—circumstances certainly will not favor it—but it can be done, and if so, there is no excuse for its neglect. God sees the soldier in his tent—marks the thoughts of his heart, the bent of his affec tions, and for all his shortcomings will cer tainly bring him into judgment. Sinning in a crowd does not make it less dangerous, for God declares that ‘though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished.’ He has forewarned against the presumption of numbers by saying, * Thou shalt not go with a multitude to do evil.” Soldier of the country, let not thy heart deceive thee in this matter; for“ God is not mocked ; whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap,** whether his sowing be done alone or in the crowd- * Waking Up.— The editors of the Chris tian Index, at Macon, and the Southwestern ; Baptist* atTuskegee, have come to the con- j elusion that three dollars a year is not too! much to charge for a weekly paper. Tar ms of The Banner and Baptist— three dollars it year, in advance. The Rule of Prices. —lt is well known that the price of labor or rate of wages is determined by the rule of demand and supply. The same holds good with respect •to every article of merchandise. Wherever this great law meets with unrestricted op eration, perfect equity is secured. It brings the wants of society into immediate contact with the powers of labor and the resources of art, and exercises a vital energy over the whole human race. No drones are admis sible into the hive of human industry.— We take the world for our platform, and do not speak of mere sectional or particular interests. Society requires in one way or other, either for the amelioration of its moral or physical condition, the full indi vidual powers of each of its members. — Only the aged and infirm are discharged from this service. The more full, perfect and complete the labors of each individual, the better will the whole of society fare.— Production will increase, plenty will abound and prices decrease. These are the true indications of wealth, far more than the possession of mere gold. The mere increase of price does not, of itself, indicate the introduction of any ele ment calculated to disturb or prejudice the means by which prices are fixed and regu lated. It is the pecuniary interest of every man to buy in the cheapest and sell in the dearest market, and this motive alone, so far as commerce is concerned, tends to equalize prices everywhere. The only le gitimate result of an increased supply of money is an increase of prices, in which there is neither advantage nor disadvantage. This result is as obvious as that an addi tional supply of water will elevate its level. The tendency of increase of money is increase of all prices. This, we say, is the general tendency of increase of prices; but this circumstance can not, of course, exer cise the same effects equally on every arti cle of trade. The particular price of any article at any given moment depends upon demand and supply. The scarcity ol arti cles in general use will enhance their price —the scarcity of demand will lessen their price. Many different elements enter into competition before the particular price of any article is established, and it may be a difficult matter, at all times, to trace their varied operation. Still, these may ulti mately be all reduced, with regard to fixing a price, to the unfailing rule of demand and supply. * Once More. —As fait as possible, copies of the New Testament and I’salms, for gra tuitous circulation among our soldiers, are being issued from the press of the Franklin Printing House in this city. The publish ers inform us that this good work is much retarded by the want of paste-board for the eovers. We therefore make another ap peal to the public to do all they can in for warding to J. J. Toon 6c Cos., Atlanta, Ga., anything and everything in the way of paste board boxes that may hb available.— Surely, if our people at horn* could realize the importunities of our brave soldiers, in hospitals and camps, for ‘ a Testament,’ they would with alacrity respond to this appeal. We hope brethren of the press will aid in directing public attention to this import ant matter. # Prayer for Peace.— A Suggestion.— We publish, to-day, a communication which appeared in the last number of the South western Baptist, written by a lady in North Carolina, and urging upon the Christian women of the South to set apart ‘the first Monday in December’ as a day to pray to Almighty (bid for an ‘ honorable peace.*— We believe our beloved women desire none other than an honorable peace; and wo feel sure that many hearts will respond to this call. Let no wife, or sister, or mother, or daughter, who has the good of our repub lie at heart, fail to comply with the request. And in answer to their united supplication, may our Heavenly Father soon speak the words, ‘ Peace, be still l ’ The Modern Pharaoh. —An editorial in the Confederate Baptist notices the stri king parallel between the despot who occu pies the white house at Washington, and the Egyptian oppressor of God’s ancient people; showing that God is evidently dealing with our infatuated tyrant as fie dealt, in former times, with the Egyptian oppressor. Driven to desperation, he con templates the universal ruin of our country, the enthralment of his own people, and the extinction of liberty. He can not recog nize ‘ the finger of God.’ % Death of Rev. J. L. Pritchard.— We are pained to learn that this excellent and useful minister, pastor of the Ist Bap tist church in Wilmington, died on the 13th instant, ..f the prevailing epidemic, yellow fever. The deceased enjoyed an enviable reputation as an honored and leading divine, and his loss will be deplored by our whole denomination. Letter from a Georgia Soldier. The following paragraphs are extracted from a letter to one of the editors of this journal, from his brother, the Adjutant of a Georgia regiment now in service in Virginia: But what shall I write you as ‘news’ from the army ? What has happened you already know; what will occur no one knows, but every body surmises, f am content to know that McClellan has been removed, and Burnsides succeeds him in the command of the Yankee army ; that we have Generals infinitely his superiors— Generals in whom our army has unbound ed confidence. 1 am fortunate in being among those of the great mass ot the army who have no fault to find with Generals Lee, Longstreet, Jackson, the Hills, and Stuart. It amuses me when I take up a newspaper, sometimes, and read grave crit icisms penned by scissors-and-ink warriors who sit in comfortable sanctums and dis course to their readers about war —the mistakes of tfhis officer, the imbecility ol that one—what point will next be attacked, and who the President ought to make Sec retary of War. Are all these accomplished military gentlemen ‘over and above’ forty years of age ? * * * Our army is ‘ here or hereabouts,’ ready for Mr. Burnsides, or any other abolitionist that may deem it prudent to attack us. — I believe that Lincoln has done the South immense service by displacing McClellan. He was one of the ablest, generals the North had. Ilis fighting in front of Richmond is evidence of his ability. I consider his reach ing his gun-boats, without the annihilation of his army, a wonder, and due almost as much to his generalship as to the lack ot energy on the part of one of our officers. * * The third Georgia regi ment is somewhat anxious to meet Burn sides with bis forces. You will remember we had a tilt with a portion of them, last April, at Sawyer’s Lane, near South Mills, N. C. We think that we can whip them again. The cold weather caught a great many of our troops totally unprepared for it. — Hundreds were barefooted, and many near ly sans ailotus. Gon’l Longstreet felt that the men were suffering, and has used every exertion to have his corps fully clothed; but the, resources of the Government are inadequate, and had it not been for the ef forts of our friends at home, the state of things would have been terrible. General L. advised the making of moccasins of raw hides; these have been tried and found to contract as they become dry, and pinch the feet so much as to render it necessary to cut them off. * * Wo want recruits for our regiments. — Will the men of Georgia volunteer, or will they shield themselves behind the disaffec tion of our good-hearted but wrong-headed Governor ? Georgians have done their duty heretofore, and 1 believe will continue to do so, and not attempt, at this time, to throw obstructions in the way of President Davis or any one else. We are confedera ted for the purpose of fighting together for States’ Rights; let us win them, and have them acknowledged by the world—then settle the details among ourselves. * I can tell you of many of my old Georgia friends 1 have seen since we last met —some of them, alas ! for the last time. I have grasped the hand of some of my old Mexican-war comrades : Col. John Lb Cum ming, of the 20th ; Major P. J. Shannon, of the 15th; Captain John McGregor, of the 17th, and Captain Albert Ross, of the 20th, all officers, and good ones. Lieut. Colonel R. B. Nisbet, of our regiment, is an old friend whom you remember at M. M. Mason’s famous Vineville Academy near Macon. ‘Rube’ was wounded at the battle of Malvern Hill, and had returned to duty just as we left Richmond last August to pay our respects to the abolitionists in the vi cinity of Manassas The Yankees paid their respects to him again at Sharpsburg. He led the regiment into the light, and was wounded and taken prisoner. We are all happy to learn that he has been ex changed, and that he will be with us again as soon as he sufficiently recovers from his injuries. I had begun to mourn him dead, and to think of what he had so often told me during the campaign—his longing to be buried (where every Macon boy wishes to moulder back to dust and ashes) in Rose- Hill Cemetery. But, thank God, he is spared to us; and that the author of that ‘speech’ which we used to so proudly de-. claim at school —“ From an island of the middle sea, came the man of destiny ” —is enabled to rejoice that his son is still alive. Some of our old schoolmates are gone, Jim. ’Tavy Rodgers and Phil Tracy fell at Sharpsburg, and so did Spalding Mcln ; tosh. Bob Smith received hisdiath blow in front of Richmond, and Sam Smyfhe died, nobly, on the second field of Manassas. I love to call them by those familiar names ; they were home heroes, fighting for home, and not soldiers ‘ seeking the bubble repu tation at the cannon’s mouth.” But I met with one old friend whom i had not seen since my return from Mexico, in ’47: the Rev. Adam T. Holmes, now of Decatur, Ga. You know how i almost worshiped his brother Isaac, ray old Captain in Mexico. 1 have doubled my years since then, yet his memory is fresh in my heart. Mr. Holmes was in Richmond; he came on to sec his son in the army. Think of it — a man who, when I first knew him, had probably no thoughts of a wife, now appears before me, the father of a grown-up soldier. Am I getting old at thirty-four! When I first knew him,! was a little boy only five years old. Nearly thirty years have pass ed, yet I remember well the old schoolroom in the basement of the Courthouse at Ma con. A few •'years later rises up to my j mind’s eye the old Baptist church, near thej old grave yard, in the same city. I re-1 member the old sexton who complained that he had not buried a ‘living soul’ in three weeks, I see before me our honored ! and sainted father who ‘ raised the hymns.’ 1 remember well the time when old bather Mercer visited Macon ; he came with the missionary Rice. 1 receive comfort yet from the first text I recollect a sermon be ing preached upon, by Mr. Holmes in that old church : “it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ, Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom 1 am the chief.” Yours, John. Religion In tlse Anny. The following is a copy of a letter from the Rev. Dr. Stiles, who is laboring as an Evangelist in the Army of the Potomac, to the Rev. Mr. Price, of Richmond, Secreta ry of the United-Synod’s Board of Mis sions. The religious feeling now pervading every portion of pur vast armies in the field is one of the most notable and, we think, favorable indications of the war. With praying Generals and God-fearing subordi nates, aided by a just cause, our troops must prove invincible. The Petersburg Express understands that the Evangelical Tract Society in Richmond, upon the re ception of Dr. Stiles’ latter, immediately forwarded, per Express, nearly 100,000 pages of tracts to Gen. Lee’s array : My Dear Brother :—My diminutive sheet and pressing cares forbid the attempt at eveu a general sketch of the scenes of in terest-social and spiritual—which it has been mine to witness and take part in since I left you. My only object in addressing you a note at this time, is to apprise you. and all sympathing Christian brethren and sisters in Richmond, of the happy, religious condition of that part of the army of the Potomac which lies within the range of my present observation. At his earnest request, l preached to Gen. Pryor’s Brigade last Sabbath. Upon one hour’s notice he marched up twelve or fif teen hundred men, who listened with so much interest to a long sermon that I was not surprised to hear of such a beginning of religious interest in various regiments of the brigade, as issued in a half way promise on my part to fall in with the pro posal of the General to preach very early to his soldiers for a succession of nights.— In Gen. Lawton’s brigade there is a more decided state of religious excitement. The great body of the soldiers in some ol the regiments meet for prayer and exhortation every night, exhibit the deepest solemnity, and present themselves numerously for the prayers of the chaplains and the church.— Quite a pleasant number express hope in Christ, fn all other portions of Gen. Ear ly’s division (formerly General Ewell’s) a similar religious sensibility prevails. In Gen. Trimble’s, and the immediately neighboring brigades, there is in progress, at this hour, of one of the most glorious revivals 1 ever witnessed. Some days ago a young chaplain of the Baptist Church— as a representative of three others of the same denomination—took a long ride to so licit my co-operation, stating that a prom ising seriousness had sprung up within their diocese. I have now been with him three days and nights, preaching and laboring constantly with the soldiers when not on drill. The audiences and the interest have grown to glorious dimensions. It would rejoice you over deeply to glance for one instant on our night meetings in the wild woods, under a full moon, aided by the light of our side stands. You would be hold a mass of men seated on the earth all around you, (1 was going to say for the space of half an acre,) fringed in all its cir cumference by a line of standing officers and soldiers—two or three deep—all exhi biting the most solemn and respectful earn estness that a Christian assembly ever dis played. An officer said to me last night, on returning from worship, lie never had witnessed such a scene, though a Presbyte rian elder —especially such an abiding so lemnity and delight in the services as pre vented all whispering in the outskirts, leav ing of the congregation, or restless change of position. 1 suppose at the dose of the services we had some sixty or seventy men and officers come forward and publicly so licit an interest in our prayers, and there may have been as many more who, from the press, could not reach the stand. I have already conversed with quite a number, who seem to give pleasant evidence of are turn to God, and all things seem to be rap idly developing for the best. The officers, especially Generals Jackson and Early, have modified military rules for our accommodation. 1 have just learned that Gen. A. P. II ill’s division enjoys as rich a dispensation of God’s spirit as Gen Early’s. Ask all the brethren and sisters to pray for us and the army at large. I would not be surprised to learn that the condition of things, above described, pre vails extensively in portions of our soldiers at present out of our view. One thing more. We famish for the want of tracts. Do write to our Petersburg brethren forth with, and beg them to send to me, at W in ehester, care of Dr. Boyd, as large a sup ply as they can spare. The chaplains are constantly inquiring of me on the subject, aud l can see the tracts promptly and judi ciously distributed. They would be of vast assistance and consolation at present. Have two preachings to day. Must be done, begging the kind remembrances of all. P. S.—l have opened this letter the sec ond time to inform you of the widespread holy influence. In General Pickett’s divi sion, also, there are said to be revivals of religion. Take Notice! We can not—we do not—we will not Take individual change bills in payment for The Ban.veh. They are useless to us here, and if our friends send them, it will only incur post age in returning them. Send as bills on some Bank, or Con federate notes. Those sending un - current money will /ail to receive tlie paper the money being held subject to their order and h which case they will please enclose stamp to pay [For The Banner and Baptist.] 15,000,000 Page*. Since the war has been waging the Bap tist Colportage Board, located in this city, has distributed fifteen millions of pages of tracts among the Confederate soldiers, be sides 50,000 hymn books, 55,000 Testa ments, &e. God’s blessing is upon those little wing ed messengers. This very day I have re ceived the most cheering news from our colporteurs in Alabama, Tennessee, Mis sissippi and Virginia. They tell of hun dreds of cases in which the Word has been made the “power and wisdom of God to salvation.” Wc have some fifty chaplains aiding us, and they, too, testily as to the good that is being effected. The work must go on. It is God’s work. It is helping to people the mansions which Jesus has gone to prepare, with happy re joicing ones. Besides all this, it is making glad the hearts of parents, a.id wives, and sisters, who rejoice over the conversion of their loved ones. It is ensuring the success of the South in this great struggle by sa ving the army from vice, and by causing our God to smile upon us. Men of Israel, help! and help now. — Brother II C. Uornady is our agent in Georgia. Send him what, you are inclined to give. A. E. Dickinson, Gcn’l Superintendent Army Colportage. Richmond, Va., Nov. 20, 18(12. # ■ ■ 'yyy [For The. Banner and Baptist.] (li:i|ilainn—Tiicir DcliiiqticiM'it'S iukl Brethren Editors: Occasional remarks have recently appear ed iri the public press, and more have been made in private, in regard to the delinquen cies of chaplains. That some of this class of officials are, in heart and practice, wholly unworthy of their calling, is, no doubt, a humiliating trnth. With this class the wri ter has nothing to do, save to wish that they were displaced and suitable ones put in their room. But there is a class who sincerely desire to do all (heir duty, ftqd yet fail to meet their own and the expeefa tions of the public. Why do they fail?— The general answer is, they meet with un expected obstacles and discouragements in their work. What are these obstacles and causes of discouragements? I propose to notice some of them in this and perhaps other articles. 1. With some, a small attendance on their ministrations. The preacher at home was accustomed to full and appreciating au diences in his former ministrations, and ex pected to see an entire regiment before him, eager to hear the word of life whenever he should appear to speak for Christ; but alas! they are not there. Ho reasons: Are soldiers really less inclined to attend preaching in camp than, as citizens, they were at home in the churches ? or has ho lost power to interest?- Are soldiers less appreciated, or is he less to be appreciated ? Let the answer to this reasoning be what it may, he is discouraged. After all, howev er, it is likely that he has as large a proper tion of his regiment ns he had of the com munity in which he was accustomed to preach, and which furnished him a large congregation. * Perhaps it would be safe to say that no preacher, nor all the preachers, of any community, in city or country, can draw one-fifth of the population in atten dance on the gospel. The difference is, the preacher in the church sees from two to five hundred before him, and does not think of the thousands at home; while the chaplain sees fifty to a hundred present and remembers that there are six or eight hun dred men in the regiment, and wonders why they are not there, and is grieved and despondent because they are not. 2. Another cause of discouragement is the presence and pursuits of the non-atten dants in sight and hearing of the preacher and his audience. fn houses of worship, in city or country, none arc present but such as are there truly or ostensibly to worship God. The non-attendants may be very improperly engaged, but the preacher and his audience are not disturbed by them —they are miles away. But the chaplain in carnp not unfrequently, whilst preaching, can sec scores of his fellow-soldiers vari ously engaged—seme cooking, some in groups conversing, some playing, others sauntering and lounging with an uir of in difference; and sometimes the hoarse laugh and boisterous shout of merriment rings out upon the air, shocking every sensibility of the preacher’s sou! and distracting the attention of his hearers, perhaps drawing oil some of them to see what is the cause of the excitement. Now, unless the preach er be something more or less than a human being, he will feel not only shocked, but grieved, pained, disgusted, disheartened. Enough for the present. More anon. Observer. —■ , Dear Brother Hornady : Having spent, several months in preach ing to the army, I have had a good oppor tunity of seeing all the real wants of the soldier. If 1 should say they need shoes and cloth ings the bare feet and rags of many a sol dier would verify my statement. But how ever pressing their wants may be, we can not supply them. But they have wants which we, in connection with others who will cooperate with us, cati, in part at least, supply : these wants are of an intellectual, moral and religious character. Our brave defenders need something to read—some thing devoted to their special wants, — Books, except small pocket Bibles or Tes taments, are too burdensome for them to carry, and of these they have but few. — Tracts, however good in their influence, fur nish them but little variety, and this only very rarely. A weekly newspaper, “ The llhldvr's ’Friend” is what they need —a pa per edited with reference to their peculiar wants. Nothing promises so much good as Vol. IV.