Remonstrance to the Religious Amendment.
The Christian Statesman of March 22, 1873, publishes the following item of information:— “On the 26th of February, the day when the National Convention to secure the Religious Amendment of the Constitution met in New York, the Counter-petition was forwarded from the office of the Index, by express, to the Hon. Charles Sumner. The total number of names appended was thirty-five thousand, one hundred and seventy-nine (35,179). We have seen no account of its presentation in the Senate.” Some professed religious teachers and papers are disposed upon every possible occasion to represent our views upon the position this government holds in prophecy, as utterly absurd and ridiculous; and they sneer at the idea that the present movement on the religious amendment means anything or will ever amount to anything. But it seems from the above paragraph that somebody who took the trouble to get up a list of thirty-five thousand names, and the thirty-five thousand who put their names on that list, deemed that this matter gave sufficient promise of success to warrant some earnest effort against it. If this counter movement was merely negative, designing to leave things in their present state, it would not have the effect which we believe it is calculated to produce. But it is not merely negative; it is aggressive. It designs to sweep away every vestige of religion. And if there is anything that will arouse religionists to press the amendment project, it is such movements as this. Instead of this violent opposition being an evidence that the amendment will not succeed, it is one of the most convincing indications that it will.