CORRESPONDENCE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 248, 16 September 1884, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

Hr Boon's Sermon.

(TO THE EDITOR OF THK STANDARD.) Sir,— Tt was with feellnjjH i pf p«hi . I read m, your issue pf Friday k»f ;" 4 Mr Burin's virulent attack on those outsiab'tfie uhiuch, coming a« it did from a Minis tin- of the 'Qo^pel of the " meek and gentle " Jes«B.£.. Yonr upace wo\ild not admit of my Rotating ' ont the fallacies of the discourse, ao^ that I shall' confine myself : lo .twotc . points raised therein — the character of ;Thomas Paine and the Concluding inference that without Christianity the world would be giren up tojiumorality of the' incwt HoentioW character. The preacher quoted from " Cook to show that Paine was an habitual drunkard. This is a slander wluch has been refuted. In the year IBSS the Rnv. John Chambers,- of Philadelphia, intimated that one of his congregation who knew bun 7 would testify to his great wickftdnes*^ This gentleman proved to be a Mr Brevenj of New York, and on -tha^; !. strength of the announcement he w*f < intecvinwed by Thomas Curtis^ Thomas Illmau, and J»ime« West, who wished to get at the fciuth of the thing. As Cook has slandered Paine's QMiqe, especially on the' ground of drunken-' ness, I slmll quote ilo substance of the questions asked Breven by hi» i interviewers on this subject. Breven stated that he lived neatly opposite the; house where Paine* lived and died; ' h and had frequently seen him; Breven^ ! was asked whether he had ever seen Paine drunk or intoxicated^ &nd-h« J replied he had not. . He w^ theii asked whether he had ever heard of ■ Paine being a drtirikard and -replied '■ he had not. The next question wmi whether if Paine had been a drunkard he would have heard pf it, to which ? Breven replied "Most cer^inly, because' toe man was so prominent thai' every thins; about himself and life waa matter of public conim.ent, v ; In answer to iftjother question' Breven gave evidence that Paine fiad die<J as he had lived an apostate ; {to i Chrwt-. ! ianity. When Priests ot the Churcb f; will prnpugate unfounded slanderf^ over deaSf men's 1 bonesj pf.hpw much value is their' o\vn estimate of 'trutfr? 1 '* I« it likely that the noble mind whiph said " The world is my country to do good ray religion," was the vile specimen of honianity they would have us believe. Ttie preacher refers to the French Revolution. He will ' admit that a tree is known by its fruits, and the terrible cU»ings,.of the revolution were but the fruits of the Christian trte, under which the nation had beeh. trained for fourteen cenr v turies. I shall *.gd---ta< facts and not suppositious statements to, disprove . the preacher's tale thajb heteroddxy 1 leads to immorality. In the return * m 1873, moved for m, tho Eoglvth^ Parliament by Sir John Fralaroney t there were shown to, be m prison 500 Christians to one sceptic ; m Frairc^ Dr Bow's m view of the Census showi about 20,000 Chdatian prisoners anil not one sceptic ; m Canada the lateit statistics I have show 23J Chri*tiatis : to one sceptic. If more facts are required the preacher may have them . %4 by hundreds, put if he wishes to be ; convinced of the power of ChriHtiani^ x to save from iminoraiity.l would ref«r him to a little book called " Crimea , of Preachers/ where line after line and page after page of the names of reverend gentlemen , convicted ,. an* : nually m the United StatJea, for the most part for crimes of indecency, will rather astonish him. — I am, &c , Ei^YE Hagqeh.