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Our Platform. N but those who make a credible pro- faith in Christ should be baptized. are really baptized except those who ar&towmal upon a profession of their faith in Christ. 3. None can properly be members of the church of Christ, except they have been bap tized. 4. None can properly be ministers ot Christ who are not members of the church of Christ. 5. Non-affiliation with those wiio refuse to obey Christ in these things—-with those who re fuse to walk according to the Divine rule. 6. We shall insist upon Baptists practising what they hold and teach. • While we shall firmly adhere to the above principles, we clo not deny that others are con verted as w’ell as Baptists; but, as it regards their ‘baptism,’ we consider’ them as being in dis order—unbaptized. baptist fanner. vAj mA : - tii / ‘ The entrance of Thy Word glveth light’ JAS. NATHAN ELLS, Editor. Associate Editobs : H. C. HORNADY, Atlanta. • J. M. WOOD, Newnan. A. C. DAYTON, L Fayette. D. P. EVERETT, Florida. SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1863. ■■■■•■ ; I The Sons of the Forest. On last Sabbath evening, at the First Baptist Church in this city, Elder E. L. Compere (Missionary of the Cherokee Bap tist Convention) gave an interesting state ment of affairs concerning the Red race west of the Mississippi. For the informa tion of our readers generally, we append a few of his statements : The most important of the Indian nations are the Choctaw. Creek, and Cherokee.— The Choctaw borders on Texas, Arkansas, and the Arkansas river. So soon as the State of Arkansas became a member of the Confederacy, the Chogtaw people signified their intention to follow ; and it was not long till a treaty was concluded with the Confederate government, and troops were raised and mustered into the service. At this time there are two regiments, or two thousand troops, in the service from that nation. “ And I may as well state here,” said the speaker, “ what I cannot state of any other district, West or East, that among the Choctaws there exists perfect unanimity of sentiment. Peter Folsom—than whom no man among the Choctaws is more com petent to give a correct opinion—said to me, the last of April, ‘ There is not one man | in this nation who is the least doubtful.’ ” The Creek nation lies rathei north-west from the Choctaw, and took position with the South about the same time with the Choctaws. Unfortunately, however, there I were two parties- —the Mclntosh and the. Ho-po-the-ya-ho-la. Because the latter was jealous of the former, he induced a large number to rally around him ; and when Confederate authorities required "the dis banding of these irregular forces, they ’ sought the protection of the Fejerals—the j result of which was a battle, and nearly half of the Creek people were driven from the nation, t>f course their sufferings were inexpressible; men, women and children moved in mass, and in great confusion and in the midst of winter, to a country they knew not ot. Where they are now we know not—many hundreds of them must of necessity be in their graves, from their ex treme suffering. Our forces have held the country that time, and but one senti ment prevails. At this time there are two regiments, numbering about twenty-two hundred men. The Cherokee country is west of Arkan sas, and south of that miserable land of Kansas. Thus it is the most northern of the principal nations. It is a delightful country, indeed : productive soil, salubrious climate, mountain and prairie scenery, and watered by the most beautiful creeks and rivers,—settled by a race far in advance of any other Indian people, having more in telligence, wealth, enterprise, and white blood. They took possession of their coun try about the beginning of President Jack son’s administration, only a part of them emigrating at first. John Ridge became their Chiet—John Ross* being at the same time Chief of the party remaining in the old nation, b inally the latter party were forced to respect the treaty with the United States and go to their new home. The Ross party outnumbering the Ridge party, Ross re fused to respect the Ridge government which had been established—claimed that his was th# prqpe< government for the Nation, and that he was Chief. This of TO JBAJPSXaS course caused bitter contention, which re sulted in the death of two of the Ridges and Boudinot. They being the principal men of their party, were murdered by men con cealed, and, as every one believes, by order of John Ross. Thus Ross was established Chief there being bitter hate cherished to wards him by the people he had so greatly wronged, and especially by a younger half brother —the present Colonel Stand Watie. ■ Ross, in order to gain popularity, had al ready resorted to the expedient of marrying a full-blood Cherokee—himself being not more than one-sixteenth Indian. Thus he made the full-bloods, who were in the ma jority, feel that he was an “ Edzulaha,” — equal, or brother. (It is due, however, to thepresent Mrs. Ross to state that she is a highly accomplished lady from Delaware.) Ross now resorted to another expedient: to combine his influence with Evan Jones, who commenced his labors as a Baptist missionary among that people forty years ago, and, laboring almost entirely fbr the ! full-bloods, he had gained an extensive in ' fluence by the time we refer to. These, two men were the most masterly spirits in ! the nation, and were to each other as .Jona than and David —save in the virtues of those ancients. And that intimacy has always been a mystery, for Ross was a Methodist . and Jones a Baptist; Ross was an extensive I slaveholder, and Jones an Abolition mission ary. When the Triennial Convention was formed, the Boston Board proposed to Jones that, as he was upon Southern soil, he should come under the patronage of the Southern brethren ; but he requested that he might receive his support as formerly, and it was agreed to—nobody at the South thinking that he would labor to disseminate I his infidel doctrines. That the speaker might be excused for having no confidence in Evan Jones, he gave an instance of that worthy’s duplicity : In course of time there were slaveholders who demanded baptism at his hands, and he received them. But his “instructions” from the Boston Board were, to receive no I slaveholders into the churches. In order to extricate himself from his dilemma, just ! before making out-his annual reports to the Board he would give certificates of dismis sion to the slaveholders, and then report no slaveholders in membership ; so soon as the report was gone he would take- in all the certificates, and thus restore the persons to membership. At the beginning of the war he reported thirteen hundred members.— These were all as he was. His influence was never disturbed till about five years ago when brother James A.Slover entered the nation, under the pa tronage of the Marion Board, and began the work of receiving and baptizing slavehold ers. About two hundred members have been gathered into seven churches, and, with seven native preachers, organized into j an association. • Ross added a third expedient to retain j his position over the people which he has held a quarter of a century : Watie’s influ ence was gaining, and giving the old Chief some alarm, when, tour or five jears since, John (the son of Evan) Jones conceived the idea of a Yankee secret society for political ends—the object of which was to keep Ross and his party in power. At the succeeding elections the Watie party, which .were the Southern and mixed bloods, were defeated in tolo ; and though they were the intelli gent and wealthy part of the population, not one of them has ever held an office sinqta, ! the organization of the “ Pin Society.”—- The rule of an inferior race could not be endured bj a people of proud bearing like tha Southern Cherokees. Under this state > of affairs President Davis tendered a com mission to Stand .Watie, and soon he was in the field at the head of a fine regiment. John Ross still adhered to his neutral pol icy, till after the battle at Oak Hills, which convinced him that right and truth were] on the side of Southern arms. Immediate ly he called a convention of the entire voting i population, and upon his recommendation every man of his party, four thousand war riors. voted for the secession of the Nation ; the Watie party refusing to cooperate, as they had no confidence in Ross and his con federates. A national regiment was raised and placed under command of Col. Drew, and tendered to the Confederate service.— In the difficulties among the Creeks, to which the speaker referred, this regiment, except Colonel Drew and some other officers, deserted our colors and fought with the en emy. But when the enemy was routed, Drew’s regiment desired to return, and it was thought best ly Colonel Cooper, com-' manding brigade, to pardon the deserters — ascribing their conduct to a want of intelli gence. The battle of Elk Horn served this regiment to retrieve its lost character, for in this engagement they did well; and this was a source’of general joy in the nation, as we began to hope now for a return of good brotherly feeling, such as had not existed tor years between the rival parties, now they had fought side by sidejn the same battle. But these hopes were soon blasted. The Federals came down on Grand River, desolating the fairest portion of the West.— Evan Jones was with the enemy; he called upon his people to come to him—and “ the Great Father would protect them, and once more establish his right in'the nation.”—- They flocked to him from all parts, so that the country was in a perfect work. Nearly every man in Drew’s regiment left him and went to the enemy. Rcss was in a bad box: his party had left him, and he was threatened by the enemy—while he did not have the conscience to ask protection from Watie, whom he had so grossly wronged. Hence he allowed himself, with about four teen families, to be taken prisoner and carried to the enemy. The Federals holding Grand river, and such confusion being produced, the Southern people en masse fled their country , leaving every thing behind. At this juncture the present government was organized—Col. Watie was elected Chief, and E. C. Boudi not representative to Richmond. The sufferings of this people, as eloquent ly described by the speaker, touched every heart with deepest sympathy, and especially the reference to the distress and present situation of his beloved associate, brother J. A. Slover. These sufferings have been mentioned in our paper of the 6th instant. Notwithstanding the extreme necessity to which these people have been'red need— many of them having already died, while many more must —brother C. assured us that he had never heard a word of murmur ing on account of their situation, and, in his opinion, the last man and woman would rather die than submit to Federal rule again. M. T. Sumner. We saw this brother for a few minutes, Tuesday, on his homew'ard trip from Rich mond. According to the papers, Elder S. accomplished much good, at the Virginia Baptist Convention, in behalf of the trans- Mississippi portion of our army. After his earnest appeal, the brethren in the Old Dominion contributed three thousand Tes taments and three hundred thousand pages of Tracts. These have been shipped, la belled ‘ Virginia, to her Friends across the River.’ A friend in Augusta informs us that bro ther Sumner, in passing through that city, called at the Factory and bought a bale of domestics (which Mr. Jackson, learning the object, sold at a great reduction) for the suffering Cherokees—stating that he knew his congregation at home would cheerfully pay for it. Os course they will. He is to make a similar visit to Columbus, Ga.— Good for brother S. 1 Soldiers* Orphan-School Fund. We have received another instalment ($45 50) from Mr. H. W. R. Jackson.— Surely our citizens do not intend that Mr. J. shall accomplish the worthy object de signed,' all alone. We ask the people again to read the explanatory announcement, ‘To the Public,’ in this paper. Let us hear from you. To the Public. From and after the 29th April, 1863, in the sale of ‘The Confederate Monitor,’ and all other works published by me, twenty five cents, on each copy sold, shall be do nated to establish and support a Soldiers* Orphans’ Male and Female School, said School to be established in Atlanta or its vicinity. v The editor of the Atlanta (Ga.) Baptist Banner, is appointed to receive any and all contributions made to the object and pur pose above stated. I propose to be one of twenty who may j donate SSO each into the hands of the par ty above mentioned, as the starting point for the establishment of the institution above described, and hope that this hum ble offering will be cheerfully responded to even by more, and many more, than the nineteen who are called upon in this article , to lay the foundation of an institution which must eventually elevate to posts of honor ' and responsibility, “at some future day in this infant Confederacy,”.many of our now humble and destitute orphans of soldiers who have freely given their lives in defence of liberty and their homes and hearths, so sacred and dear to man. I herewith deposit SSO, together with $lO5, as the amount of proceeds of the per cent, set apart in the sale of my publica tions since the 29th April, 1863. Respectfully, tec., Atlanta, May 25,1863.’ H. W. R. JACKSON. Handsome. We understand that the members of the First Baptist Church in Augusta have in creased their Pastor’s salary to $3,000 per 1 annum. w ’ T ’ Religious Mew*. Elder W. W. Odom thus writes from Savannah: ’ I will tell you what God is doing for us down here. On the 31st May I visited South Newington with the pastor, brother Tebo. The meeting continued eight days, and th : rty persons united with the church by experience. It was a glorious time.— To God be all the glory. Terms of The Baptist Banner, $4 a year. Churches In the Army. Elder Daniel Morris, of the 14th regi ment of Ist Texas Brigade, informs me that the Baptists of his regiment constituted themselves into a Church, chose him as Pastor, elected Deacons, tec. Since their organization they have held regular confer ences for all the usual purposes of such meetings, have prayer-meetings twice per week, and regular communion services.— They have licensed a brother to preach the Gospel, who is exerting a good influence in the army, and have received and baptized a considerable number upon a profession of faith in Christ. Brother E. L. Compere, who has been laboring with two regiments of Southern Cherokee-Indian soldiers, also states that the Baptist Indians have a regularly organ- ized army Church. The facts, to my mind, are very impres sive, and will have an important place in the history of Baptists after the close of this war. The examples serve to illustrate the simplicity and efficiency ot Baptist church organization. Who can say that these churches have not been Scripturally constituted The members voluntarily ; agreed to live together upon common art.i --■ cles of faith, bound by a common covenant to work for Christ and His cause. Thus coming together they are competent to re ceive and discipline members, and to do all • other things which any other churches can : do. No such simplicity characterizes other so called Churches. There is, perhaps, not a regiment in the Confederate service which has not Baptists enough to organize a respectable church; and I hope that brethren in the army who may see this article will take the suggestion and organize hosts of army churches. The good results to be accomplished, to my mind, are: Ist. It will be a fruitful source of spiritual improvement and enjoy ment to those who become components of such organizations. Many sigh for the union of hearts and church privileges once enjoyed. This will at least partially gratify, and will bind them the closer together. 2. It will increase the efficiency and use ; • fulness of our brethren in the army. They will be known as Christians, and thereby have power for good. 3. Many of them will select their own preachers from the ranks of the army, call ing them to work, and repudiating the worthless chaplains with which the army is cursed. Or, chaplains of their faith and order, worthy of their confidence, will have anew field of labor and a multitude of co laborers to help them. 4. It would relieve all difficulty about . the regularity of baptisms which occur in the army. It certainly would be more sat isfactory for converts in the army to be baptized by the sanction of an army church . than to be baptized upon the responsibility of individual ministers. Some ministers . are very indiscreet, and some are unscrupu , lous—none are perfect. The most reliable , would rejoice at the Cooperation of his - brethren. Brethren, think of these things, and look j for another article next week. W. | BAPTIST MEETINGS. First District.- -Coosa. • ’ The General Meeting of the First District Jof the Coosa Association will be held at ,• Pisgah, commencing Friday before the first j Sabbath in July. D. B. Hamilton. Flint River Association. The general meeting for the Second Dis trict of this Association will hold its next annual session with the church at Jackson, Butts county, Ga., commencing on*Friday before the fourth Sabbath in July. Intro ductory sermon by J. G. Kimbrell. (There is no small-pox at this time in the vicinity of Jackson, nor has there been for some months.) W. Jeff Speairs. Middle Cherokee Association. Meeting commences on Friday before the fourth Sabbath in September, at Dalton. Rclioboth Association. Meets with Union church in Macon coun ty (three miles from Reynolds, on Colum bus road), embracing third Sabbath in September. Coosa Association. Meeting commences on Saturday before the second Sabbath in October—at Poplar Springs, Chattooga county. Agent in Mississippi. 5. R. Whitten, of Louisville, Miss., is 1 an authorized Agent to receive subscrip tions for The Baptist Banner. Agent in Tennessee. Elder William McNutt, of Cleveland, is an iftithorized agent of The Banner. Our Army Agent. Elder Daniel Morris, of the 14th regi ment cavalry, Ist Texas Brigade, is duly authorized to receipt for subscriptions to The Baptist Banner. The Trustees of one of the Female; Colleges of this State wish to find a suita ble person for President—a good place offered. For particulars apply at this office. [For the Baptist Banner.] Mr. Editor: I was exceedingly well pleased with the article published in the last issue of your paper, on Theatres, and your comments on it. It is to be regretted that the other journals of this city not only fail to con demn theatrical exhibitions, but exhaust the vocabulary of praise upon them. Is it be cause of the little patronage bestowed upon t h em perhaps twelve or fifteen dollars per wee k—that their voices are not raised in condemnation of them ? If that is the rea son, I suggest that the moral public raise a fund for these editors, of an amount equal ’ to fifteen dollars per week for the year, to put a stop to the puffing of such demoral izing exhibitions. Was not the grossly immoral drama of “La Tour de Nesle” per formed on Monday night; and what journal warned its readers against it ? But the theatre inculcates good morals (?) we are told. If obscene language sufficient to make the blood of its moral attendants curdle, and profanity the most shocking, constitutes morality, then we grant the assertion. But we’challenge its advocates to cite a single instance, from the inception of theatres to the present time, when a drunkard was made a sober man or a swearer left off* his oaths, the libertine his licentiousness, or a man was made one iota a better man. The instance cannot be cited. Call upon them for the proof and they say it is puritanical cant, or something else, but fail to produce a single proof of their boast. If the dramas placed upon the stage are so moral and elevating in their tendencies, why is it that it fails to reform those who perform its characters ? Why are so many of them drunkards, gamblers, roues, etc. ? The love of the drama is often the love of the dram-ah! Surely, if you would have your child taught grammar you would have the tutor acquainted with its rudiments. But, says one, you must criticise the drama, not the actor! And we are further told that it is impossible to live up to the doctrines of the New Testament; and why should we demand more of the actor than we do of the Christian ? We assert, with Christian confidence, that by Divine assist „ ance it is practicable to live according to the doctrines of Jesus Christ! It is impi ous to say that He has laid down rules of conduct which it is impracticable for us to follow. He who said “Be ye therefore' perfect, even as your Father which art in heaven is perfect” would not have laid such ‘ an injunction upon us if it was impractica- - ble. But it is impiacticable for the Chris tian (?) to follow up the precepts of Jesus and visit the theatre, where his ears are saluted with oaths and obscenity, and his nostrils polluted with the stench of gin and • tobacco, and the poisonous effluvia arising : from crowding so many together in ill-ven? i tilated houses. It is impracticable for him , who has become subservient to worldly amusements —for “no one can serve two ! masters.” The professor who is beguiled • into visiting such places, is a perfect God send to these champions of thejtnl/ yes, the pit!— significant title. With what vim do these champions tell of the evil influence exerted upon some church-goer, by seeing the pastor he has been listening to, in a vile s place ! Yes, these exceptions furnish them, they imagine, with a complete abattis be hind which they can defend the theatre. We acknowledge that instances have occurred where ministers of the Gospel have degra ded themselves, but it was not the result of ; the doctrines they had espoused. It result i ed from evil communications. We boldly assert that theatrical exhibi tions —like gambling, horse-racing, and its ■ attending licentiousness—“pre productive . of idleness, dissipation, and a general de pravity of principles and manners.” For proof, we cite the lives of almost every actor. It is the legitimate fruit of the sys tem. Has the actor and the Christian ever ■ been combined in the same person ? Never. In attacking the licentiousness of the stage, we must nesessarily attack the characters ' of those who act upon it. • The influence exerted upon the commu nity by theatrical exhibitions has been evil and that continually. How many young men, dazzled by its glare and tinsel, have been, like the poor candle-fly, but lured to his destruction ! How many have robbed their employers (if they stayed with them) to get means to procure an entrance ! How many drunkards, gamblers, and loathsome characters have been made by it! Is it not a notorious fact that these exhibitions are daily growing more injurious in their ten dencies ? If theatrical amusements do not produce , the good claimed for them, they are surely necessary as popular amusements!—this is another deceptive plea set up by its chi m pions, which cannot be sustained. Il is a humbug! The most profitable amusement is to go -1 about doing good. But theatres, circuses, and negro-minstrels are not amusements! Good instrumental and vocal music is harm > less, when not used for improper songs or r tunes. The place for every man and wo man and child at night is around their own hearth-stone. Plenty of amusement there? All the noble and holier sentiments can be j brought into play. What more pleasing . sight than to see the family assembled at night, instructing their minds, or uniting ! with voice and instrument in song. God never endowed man with all his powers to jbe perverted at the theatre. Home is the plach to seek amusement. Those who seek it there never become degraded. A writer in one of our city papers has . justly teimed actors the fungi of society — for they breed upon society without return q ing any benefit whatever. If in ordinary times they ought not to be tolerated, ought they to be countenanced now ? When burn ing houses and smoking ruins form the foot lights, and the piercing groans of the : wounded and dying —the anguish of the bereaved ones, the orchestra of the present drama, ought this mockery to be allowed?