THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1877.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2518, 31 January 1877, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1877.

In another column we publish a letter from "J. Horn," many parts of which, though we do not agree with the whole of it, are well worthy of perusal. The letter seems to have been drawn forth by the attacks lately made on a clergyman at the Thames, and though we intend to have nothing to do with these, yet we would say a few words on the subject of which Mr Horn treats, viz., religious toleration. Mr Horn points out, and justly too, that those who complain that they are not allowed to think as they like, and deem others intolerant because they wish them to agree with them, and talk a great deal about allowing every man to think as he chooses, yet in practice only allow this tobecarried out when what he chooses to think coincides with what they choose to think. That this is so many instances are not wanting toprove. Take the instance of a churchman and a dissenter; the latter disagrees with the former on some point, perhaps a trivial one, and considers the Churchman intolerant, because he condemns his opinions, and straightway withdraws; and then by condemning the Churchman shows himself guilty of just the same kind of intolerance which he blames in the other. As Mr Horn puts it, who are to decide what is false doctrine? Is that with which a man does not agree to be considered false for no better reason than that he does not agree with it ? If so we fear there would be no doctrine in the world but a false one. Except where there is identity of interests it is very hard to get even a few men to" think the same on even unimportant matters ; how much more hard it is to get any number of men to agree when discussing deep polemical mysteries, many of them incapable of convincing proof, can readily be understood. Mr Horn tells us that many of the sect termed Puritans migrated to America in order to enjoy liberty of opinion, but liberty of opinion in their eyes meant no more than this, that every one Nshould have liberty to think and. act as they themselves thought .and acted. Those who have read the work on toleration, for such it is, termed "Eirenicon," can tell how the author imagines that by every one religious body giving up some point or; another,. the whole ,of the churches of Christendom may become one and united. Unfortunately this state of things is not likely to be brought about. We commend Mr Horn's letter to public attention to which we have given insertion although it trenches, upon matters which we are averse to' discussing in these columns.