Sunday Law in New York.
By Editor
OUR readers must not suppose, because we have had but little to say of late in regard to the Sunday question, that it is a dead issue. On the contrary, it is one of the most live questions of the day. The Sunday advocates in this State have apparently abandoned the field, but they are simply laying plans for a more vigorous campaign by and by. In New York, however, the subject is before the people, and we shall endeavor to keep our readers informed as to its progress. Some interesting items in regard to it appear in our exchanges. We do not find any more consistency in them than in the papers on this coast. They are agreed only on one point; they want Sunday observance enforced by law. The Statesman says:- “The Baptist Preachers’ Meeting adopted resolutions which supported it on the ground that by the united testimony of physicians, and the teachings of experience, one day’s rest in seven is found to be absolutely necessary for the best physical, mental, and moral health of man; and it has been demonstrated by the best political economists that to work seven days in the week does not increase wealth, but does lower wages. It was deemed inexpedient to base their plea on any higher argument than this.” We congratulate our Baptist brethren on their wisdom and caution. Some are unwise enough to urge thinking people to keep Sunday on the ground that the Bible teaches Sunday observance; but the members of this association, like the California Christian Advocate, know that they “cannot sustain it before the people, if they claim its sanctity as a religious institution.” They are on safe ground, when they say that “one day’s rest in seven is found to be absolutely necessary for the best physical, mental, and moral health of man;” but they forgot to tell us why the rest must be on Sunday. It was doubtless deemed “inexpedient” to try to establish this point.