"Great Britain, the nation from which we are descended, has engrafted her constitution and laws upon it; and acknowledged its authority paramount to all human enactments. In the case of the King vs. Walston, (Strange 834,) the Court of King's Bench would not suffer it to be debated whether defaming Christianity was not an offence punishable at common law; alleging that whatever struck at the root of the Christian religion, tended to dissolve civil government. The Court of King's Bench said that Christianity was a part of the law of the land. The same doctrine was recognized by Lord Kenyon, in July, 1797, in the case of the King vs. Williams, for the publication of 'Paine's Age of Reason.""

But " our government," we are told, "is free from religious tests and religious establishments—and is not bound by one religion more than another." "It is truly the happiness and glory of our country that it has cast off the intolerance of a bigoted, narrow-minded priesthood, as well as the imperious claims of a regal master. But it by no means follows that it has so entirely repudiated Christianity, that the authority of Jehovah must not be acknowledged." We know infidels and deists claim this; and it seems that they would pull this nation down from that high eminence upon which Christianity has placed her, rather than have it appear that Christianity has had any thing to do with her elevation. Therefore they ridicule the Christian's God and his ordinances, and cry, "Priestcraft and persecution," in order to induce weaker minds to reject the Christian religion. Thus, by degrees, they endeavor to accomplish the thing at which they have long been aiming. But they never will destroy the Christian religion. They may be the means of breaking us in pieces. They have already taught the people to contemn God, and disregard his claims—and the wicked bear rule. A day of darkness and dread is at hand. The nation which hates God, God will destroy and cast off. A nation of infidels and deists hates God, and we are rapidly becoming such a nation.

In the proceedings of that body which framed our Constitution, and in the several documents relating to our national organization, as well as the practice of many of our first Congresses, it will appear that this nation at that time recognized the God of the Bible as the true God, and as their and our God-the

Christian religion as their and our religion; and the Christian Sabbath as their and our Sabbath.

There was to be sure no "union of Church and State," as there is in some parts of Europe. Let God be praised that there was not. If Jews, Mohammedans, pagans, infidels, and deists, chose to come among us and enjoy the blessings consequent on an observance of the Christian religion, rather than to stay among their own class, and share the unutterable calamities and degradation which are universal and indispensable accompaniments of their religion, let them come. So long as their actions and words did not militate against the Christian religion, and thereby endanger our political institutions, their persons and property would be protected. And by conforming to our wholesome laws, they might become as one of us.

The laws and the Constitution of this country never contemplated that a Mohammed, a Voltaire, or a Nero, might come among us and insist on his right to a change in our laws, to meet his case, nor that we are bound to conform to them in opinion and practice, and thereby introduce a poison into our bosoms, which would inevitably produce national as well as moral death.

Now we say that those infidels, or others of like sentiment, who caused human blood in torrents to flow through the streets of France, have no right to come among us and do the deeds which infidels perpetrated there; because such acts would unavoidably produce the same results in this hitherto happy nation. Such sentiments and conduct would destroy us. It is time this people knew, that as certainly as we give the infidel and the deist the things for which they have long been contending, and which they loudly claim as their right, we shall soon become an infidel nation-worship the infidel's god, and share the infidel's "glory.”

They now boldly say, we have a right to profane your Sabbaths, because we do not believe in a Sabbath—and the atheist has a right to testify in your courts of justice, without swearing by your God, because he does not believe in any God-the laws of your country to the contrary notwithstanding." We deny the position taken by these men. They have no right so to act. God never gave them that right; nor should they have it, because, by the observance of the Christian Sabbath and the Chris

tian religion, our prosperity and our government are to be perpetuated, and they cannot be by any other means. Their conduct, in corrupting the nation and bringing the God of the Bible into contempt, is against all divine, and should be against all human law. The framers of our Constitution and of our laws would never have allowed such conduct. Then away with the notion that Jews, Mohammedans, pagans, infidels, deists and atheists have a right to come among us and do the things (though agreeable to their religion) which will assuredly, if allowed, overthrow this government! Those who hold such sentiments are not only enemies to the Christian religion, but to. every civil government under heaven. They are the enemies of the human race; and it is much to be feared, that they are nearly prepared to act over in this country the scenes so shocking to humanity, which transpired in France not many years since.

These men have already made great advances, and they often declare there ought to be no law regulating moral conduct. "If a man's religion," say they, "would allow of polygamy or promiscuous sexual intercourse, there should be no law forbidding it, at any time, or under any circumstances. Or, if a man chooses to throw his children into the Ganges-bury his parents alive-see wives burn on a funeral pile-worship devils, or 330,000,000 of gods, he should enjoy the privilege." But we deny the claim which is here made. For by such a course they not only destroy themselves, but multitudes of others.

"And as certainly as a nation turns aside from the path, and causes the Holy One of Israel to cease from before them; and as certainly as atheism, licentious morals, and the contempt of the Sabbath and of the gospel pervade the land, so certainly will the same sanguinary scenes be acted over again, which have desolated other nations that would not obey God." There is but one alternative before us: we must either give up our infidelity and deism, and acknowledge the Christian's God as the God of this nation, and give him that place which he claims, or he will dash us in pieces, "like a potter's vessel."

RELIGION RECOGNIZED BY THE CONSTITUTION.

Was the Christian religion common in this country in the days when our government was formed? Let Dr. Franklin answer

the inquiry, as he did in 1751, when he was holding the office of Deputy Postmaster-General, and wrote for the information of those across the Atlantic, who had asked for it. He says:

"Serious religion, under its various denominations, is not only tolerated, but respected and practised. Atheism is unknowninfidelity rare and secret; so that persons may live to a great age, in this country, without having their piety shocked by meeting with either an atheist or an infidel."

No one, it is presumed, will pretend to question the compe tency or the correctness of this witness. He must have known the extent of infidelity, certainly, if one himself, (as our objector claims,) and he doubtless spoke the truth.

In 1787, the National Convention "reported a Constitution for a general Government. This Constitution made a regard for the existence and attributes of God indispensable in every individual whom it entrusted with an office: for it bound them by the sanctity of an oath, or solemn affirmation, and assumed as its national designation of time, the era of a Being whom it was pleased to honor as 'Our Lord;' and moreover provided a Sabbath for the conscience of the President." The Constitution then recognized one Supreme Being, Jesus Christ, and the Christian Sabbath. What will the infidel, deist, atheist, Jew, Mohammedan, or pagan say to this? "Ah! that Constitution will never do-it does not sufficiently recognize my religious rights. Though it acknowledges a religion, it does not acknowledge our religion, but one which we hate with perfect hatred. It will not do." But the Constitution, the remonstrances of these men to the contrary notwithstanding, was adopted.

Let us see further what religion this nation adopted and cherished when in her infancy.

“The Christian religion is founded on, and cherished by, the sacred volume, called the Old and New Testaments. Oaths, too, were then necessary, and the religious faith of the nation is their only bond. Bibles were wanted-the commerce with Great Britain 'was cut off-and they must be procured from some other source. Accordingly a committee of Congress was appointed in 1777, to confer with the printers, with the view of striking off an edition of 30,000, at the expense of Congress. The committee, finding the difficulty of obtaining types and paper

so great, recommended Congress (the use of the Bible being so universal, and its importance so great) to direct the committee of commerce to import, at the expense of Congress, 20,000 English Bibles, from Holland, Scotland, or elsewhere, into the different States of the Union;' and the Congress ordered the importation. In 1780, when it was found, from the circumstances of the wars, an English Bible could not be imported, and no opinion could be formed how long the obstruction might continue, the Congress again resumed the consideration of printing the Bible, and the matter was referred to a committee of three. An individual was found who would undertake the work, and in 1782, Congress appointed a committee of three to attend to the edition contemplated by Robert Aikin, of Philadelphia. The committee 'having attended to the progress of the work, and engaged the assistance of the chaplains of Congress,'-whereupon it was 'Resolved, That the United States, in Congress assembled, highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking, as subservient to the interests of religion, [not Mohammedan, Jewish, infidel, deist, or pagan, but the Christian Religion,] and being satisfied of the care and accuracy in the execution of the work, recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States.' What intolerance thus to aid in diffusing the Bible, instead of the Koran, or the Shaster, and grieving the consciences of [infidels,] deists, and atheists!"

What do objectors now think about a majority of the framers of the Constitution being anti-christian?

We know this is not the same body which framed the Constitution; but many of the members of this body were members of the Convention. Both bodies possessed a similar spirit. Who can now doubt that this nation recognized the Christian religion as its religion; and that those men who framed the Constitution, as well as those who helped to administer it for many years, believed in and cherished the Christian religion?

FASTS.

In 1776, we find the late Governor Livingston obtaining leave and presenting a resolution to Congress for a national fast, which in the following words: "That it becomes," &c. "Congress,