ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1201, 21 February 1880, Page 2

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE OAMARU MAIL. .Sill,—Your correspondent "A Staunch Protestant" seems to me to be off the. track of the truth considerably. He says, first—That " the dissenting clergymen have placed at Chiniquy's disposal the largest church, &c." Now, this was attended to Tj by a committee elected by a general meeting of those interested TO the visit of Chiniquy. says the object of Chiniquy's visit is to vilify and abuse Roman Catholics ? It is not, but to expose the errors of their system. Thirdly—He says a majority of criminals are not Roman Catholics, I question this, and require proof. ■'■ Fourthl y—Why should those whose ■'"mission is to &e. Why ? In order that the truth may be more widely known. Fifthly—Your correspondent §aya M r v Coleman refused to countenance the visit of Henneberv. I have good authority for that to be a " mistake." Doing others as I would they should do. unto me, I am, <&o., A Stauncher Protestant. ITINERANT FIREBRANDS. Do'st think those gilt and hollow conea ... '• That front an organ cause the tones, All, no ! those pealing notes proceed From tube 3 of baser metal, hid. This same remark, we might advancA Holds goocl iii life's mysterious dance 5 In front the pompous pretext find, But the niean motive skulks behind. —Colton. (to the editor of the oamaru mail. )

Sir, —I have resided in Oamaru many years,, and during that time have foup,d • iqy . Rpmaiv, Catholic fellow-townsmen peaceable and inoffensive. raising qbjectionabjg religious controversies/ never endeavoring to force their religious opinions upon people of other denominations always open-handed, and generous in rpatters of public charity, in short, good citizens in every sense of the word. Therefore, it is with.regret I observe that an assemblage of innocent young mien, encouraged by. clergymen (all piss.enters), haye Mr. Chiniquy here, the only result, of .whose., visit will be the stirring •up.of-religious, strife,by insult offered to the religion ' of the Roman Cathodes of this town and district, "I h&vp read Mr. Chiniquy's apd I there nothing now, , least to j' the story, is, an old and oft-'tqld one, and which'though repeated by. ijfty niepfc with contempti 6| all sensible iOathqlics, without the least probability of making onq ; . .iflan change "his religion, -What- good tjxen can. result from the visit ; Qfithisiinan ? - Are th<x Dissenting congregations of—Oamaru contemplating going, '■over', to; Roman Catholic Church that theft' "olfergynien oonsider-it.neces.sary, ,to. enoqurag'e' ai peripatetic apostate priest' 'to 'come here specially 1 to abtise Popery ? Are*}hey nqt'qualified to do it themselves, they not occasionally have a bittfr fling at it from the pulpit f I say, sir, .that, iuviting, a, preacher here, ,under the circumstances, is, in riiv opinion, to produce anything but **, peace and goodwillumongst men." .".How beautiful are the feet .of thomvthat ,preach the Qqgpel bf Pe^ce. 11 Is this quotation Scrip- ■ tiiral;/ and do these clergymen and innocent yputias' : believe in it ? or are : they the r victims of bigotry; intolerance, and religious fanaticism? I have riot had the "•squlrsavirig honor of behqi'ding the f6efe of 1 Pastor. Chiniquy, but may : T a§k if they n^^ ;; by reason of hispreachT ing than... those of the great jenemy of iiharnkind??,;: I; cannot help thirjkiqg, sir, - of disseqsion sown: ri®> germinated and' by his | pgjdlal appendages will be found of a patte'rii'iiot at a}l suited to the boot or shq§ of modern shape. ,

Then it will be seen thntiliis dangerous man turned his back "on the wealthy millions of American Protestants, by whcm he was too well known, and visited! and duped the few thousand gullible Pro--testants:of- Austral&ua, an Dryden says—-'Barteriiig-hiß"Venal ■yvife'or sums of gold, ' He himself liito raie saint-like mould ; Groan'df prayed while godlii neaSNyasgain, Thel loltdest -Migpipe of the squeaking ;traa&i j , !I ear&esjfclyi: recommend the inhabitants ;ofv this pbsliefulttown to abstain. from. Intending Mtf. Chiniquy's lecture, and thus "let hitn understand that he is a species of money-grubber not necessary to our social or religious well-being, although the people of this Colony seem to bo necessary to his commercial prosperity. Liko most things in these days, money is at the bottom of it all, and one thing is manifest that, although Pastor Chiniquy may occasionally in His wild ravings forget God and the.- peaceful precepts of Christ, he is at all- timer stricctly Attentive*'to Mammon, the. la,tter deity being worshipped with the utmost fervor at" the door of every lecture-room or place of public worship placed' at his disposal for the purpose of gratifying the paltry spleeft of the hypocritical, the ignorant, and intolerant, so-called Protestafits, who were they challenged tomorrow would beha,ve very much afti v the manner of Peter, but without the bitter tears. ' I have ho desire to (Champion any' sect of Christians. Who shall say which side is in the right? Shakespeare, says , My poul aches To/know when iiwcauthorities are up—

Neither suprenie—how Soon confusion . . May. enter 'twixt the gap of both,and take The one by the other. I must say that if Pastor Chiniquy's mission here is solely to preach the Gospel of Peace," he has adopted a sinister method of accomplishing his purpose ; and, in conclusion, sir, let me inform him that a careful perusal of the Sermon on ,'the Mourit ; niight be beneficial tp hiin and his it might have the. reminding him of those humane preqeipts which he seems entirely to ignore, l am, Sir, • k A Protestant.