Review and Herald, Vol. 21, No. 5. (12/30/1862)

Review and Herald

Dec 30, 1862

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 30, 1862

Do Brutes Reason?

By M. E. Cornell

We copy the following from the West Union (Iowa) Republican Era.

MR. EDITOR: I wish to offer a few of the many reasons I have for saying that beasts do, to a limited extent, possess the faculty of reason. In your article with the above caption, you say:—

"To affirm that brutes reason is to affirm without evidence. Animals furnish no evidence of reason, and only those whose theories have perverted their judgment, would affirm they possess it."

Probably none will deny that some brutes possess more reason than some men. All we know of the amount of reason in either man or beast, is by what we see them manifest. In many cases where the organism is defective, man falls below the brute. You see a man who is minus the intellectual organs, sloping immediately back from his eyebrows, and you do not hesitate to pronounce him an idiot. A monkey or a dog knows more than he. This, proves, so far as reason is concerned, man's superiority over the beast consists in his superior organization. Man in general is matter more refined and better organized for the manifestation of mental and moral quality than the brute creation. His body and brains are better proportioned, and his temperaments are more happily compounded for the development of mental property. In man we behold a balance in the coronal and basilar regions of the brain; and the whole is so distributed as to give force to intellectuality.

In regard to reason in brutes, a few words from reliable authors may not be uninteresting.

"The power of fancy is great even in brute animals, in which it is the chief faculty. Most of them have a good memory, and with all some kind of foresight." Dr. Grew.

"Birds learning of tunes, and the endeavors to hit the notes right, put it past doubt with me, that they have perception, and retain ideas in their memories, and use them for patterns." "It seems as evident to me that they (beasts) do reason, as that they have sense." Locke's Essays, b. ii.

"Sensation is an attribute of mind, and the possession of mind certainly extends as far as its phenomena. Whatever beings have conscious feeling, have, unless the preceding arguments amount to nothing, souls, or immaterial minds." Dr. Ritchard on the vital principle.

To affirm a difference between reason in man and the same manifestation in beasts, calling the latter "instinct," is to affirm without evidence. It is all imaginary, and came as the result of a theory which perverts the judgment.

In the Ladies' Repository for March, 1857, is an article on "Mind in Animals," in which the writer says:—

"The contrast between man and beast is not a contrast between reason and instinct, (common and almost universal as is this supposition,) for it can be readily shown that these two mental qualities, though very different, are by no means inseparable; that in point of fact the dog is endowed with reason as well as instinct, and that man performs many actions which are purely instinctive, as well as those which are prompted by reason." Among the many facts to sustain this position, we have room only for the following.

"The battering-train going from the siege of Seringapatum, had to cross the sandy bed of a river, . . . very heavy for draught, and abounding in quicksands. It happened that an artillery man, who was seated on the tambril of one of the guns, by some accident fell off in such a situation that in a second or two the hind wheel must have gone over him. The Elephant which was stationed behind the gun, perceiving the predicament, in which the man was, instantly, without any warning from its keeper, lifted up the wheel with its trunk and kept it suspended until the carriage had passed clear over him." In remarking upon this and similar cases, the writer says that it, "indicates a reasoning power, combining cause with effect, using the light of past experience, or perceiving the suitability of some recourse to present emergency, and that, in some cases, with a sudden promptitude which in man would have been admired as presence of mind. Why should we hesitate to call it so here?"

To your enquiry, "Does our materialist friend make no difference between killing chickens and children for food?" I answer Yes! most assuredly I do. Reason touches us better than to subsist on our own kind. And it is a fact that many beasts have so much reason that they will not kill their own kind for food, even when at the point of starvation.

In regard to the charge of being a "materialist" I wish to say, that I have some pretty good company, even this side of the Apostles. John Wesley says:—

'For what is immaterial fire? The same as immaterial water or earth! Both the one and the other is absolute nonsense, a contradiction in terms. Either, therefore we must affirm it to be material, or deny its existence.' Sermons, Vol. ii p. 150.

"We choose all substance, what remains, The mystical immaterialist gains; All that each claims each shall possess, Nor grudge each other's happiness. An immaterial God they choose, An immaterial heaven and hell; For such a God we have no use, In such a heaven we cannot dwell. We claim the earth, the air, and sky, And all the starry worlds on high; Gold, silver, ore, and precious stones, And bodies made of flesh and bones. Such is our hope, our heaven, our all When once redeemed from Adam's fall, All things are ours, and we shall be The Lord's to all eternity."

God's Commandment for the Last Days.

[Bro. White: The following remarks were delivered before the high school at its close in this place (Coldwater, Mich.,) by one of the students. I think it is not far from the truth.—D. M. Canright.]

"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning-hooks into spears. Let the weak say, I am strong."

Every command of the Almighty, whether given to saint or sinner, the godly man or the son of the Devil, whether it is to build up or pull down, must be obeyed. Reference to past history will show us this. No sooner does he call one nation to punish or destroy another, than they prepare to obey. Does he command Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Tyre, Sidon, or Jerusalem, behold, he is ready! Does he call Alexander to destroy the Persians, he, too, is ready to go at his bidding.

And so, as years and centuries roll on, nations and kingdoms rise to fill their place in prophecy, till we come down to the great day; and here we find a command for all nations to prepare for war. For he says, "Assemble yourselves and come all ye heathen." "The Lord hath a controversy with the nations;" "for the day of the Lord is at hand." "Prepare war," &c.

The time has come for this to be obeyed. Will it be, or will it not? Are the nations preparing for war and waking up the mighty men? or are they getting ready for the glorious millennial peace about which we hear so much? Let us see.

We turn our eyes to the so-called "celestial empire" of the east; and there we behold a terrible rebellion in operation; one which has shaken that mighty empire to its very foundation. Anarchy and destruction reign in every part. The most fiendish atrocities are perpetrated there. And, as if this was not enough, enlightened Americans have gone there to teach them a more effectual mode of destroying each other: to use steel instead of wood, and "iron-clads" instead of ca

noes.

Russia appears to be on the verge of some revolution which may at any time break forth. The army is disloyal and disaffected; conspiracies exist in every part of the kingdom. The czar has entered into a treaty with France, which looks threatening to the future safety of England, and the peace of Europe.

Poland, that down-trodden and oppressed nation, begins to prepare for a deadly struggle to gain her lost independence. In fact, she is only restrained from open and immediate action by the presence of a large army. The Greeks are preparing to invade Turkey. Volunteers are enlisting for that purpose now. A war for the division of Turkey among the European powers, is only a matter of time, which may be brought to an issue any day.

Spain is once more taking her stand among the great military powers of the world, building forts and vessels of war, and raising and disciplining troops.

How is it with France and England, the two great military powers of the old world? Are they idle amidst this general waking up of mighty men? No; they are the most active of all. The throne of France is occupied by one of the most ambitious military princes that ever wielded a scepter, whilst England rejoices in a most subtle, politic, and grasping cabinet. They watch each other like two ferocious tigers, each waiting for the other to make a move. If France builds an iron-clad, so does England. Does England build a fort, France does the same. Does France raise an army, so does England. Facts show that such extensive military preparations, both in land and naval forces, were never made by those powers before; that, too, on a vastly improved scale; that is to say, with more destructive weapons. It is a well-known fact that while these nations hold to us the professed hand of peace, they are at the same time seeking for our destruction. Yes, beneath the glove on that hypocritical hand, lurks a dagger that is designed to shed our heart's blood.

But we turn our eyes to our own beloved, our once peaceful, happy land, and what a scene meets our view! Where once was heard the merry song, is now heard weeping and lamentation. Instead of the axe, we hear the drum. Where rung the church or college bell, are heard the cannons' roar, the shrieks of the wounded and dying. From the cotton fields of the South to the great lakes of the North: from Maine to Minnesota, along the golden shores of California, and the smiling valleys of the Mississippi, in the rich fields of Kentucky; yea, in the capital itself, is heard the tramp of armies. They seem simultaneously to have caught the command from on high, "Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears," and the result is, our plows stand rusting in the sod, our teams are idle in the stall, and our crops are going back into the ground. Jewelry manufactories are turned to making swords, and the arts of peace are forsaken for those of war. Would to God this were all! But is it? Ask the bleeding hearts of two hundred thousand wives and mothers. Go to the firesides of one hundred thousand lonely homes, and ask the poor suffering children that gather around those helpless mothers. They can tell you. Go to the bleaching bones of eighty thousand of your fathers and brothers, and ask them. Look abroad upon our once beautiful States, and you will see the smoking ashes of splendid cities and villages, the broken walls of churches, academies, and halls of learning, ruined crops and forsaken homes.

Thus we have seen that from the remotest bounds of Asia to the western shores of America, from the burning sands of the equator to the frozen regions of the North, the nations, as the prophet says, are angry.

Infidels, your scoffing is about done! your day is come! Ungodly man! the reward of your wicked deeds will now be given you! Though you expect a long life of pleasure and rebellion, you will never have it; for what is the next thing in order? "The nations are angry, and thy wrath is come." This, then, is a sign of the day of God's wrath, and, therefore, that day is at hand in which the mighty man shall cry bitterly, the false shepherds shall howl for the misery that is come upon them; all faces shall gather blackness, the earth shall tremble, the islands shall flee away, and the mountains shall not be found; the sun shall be turned into blackness, and the moon into blood, the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: "for the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand!"

Christ Made Like His Brethren.

CHRIST had his sorrows: when he shed His tears, O Palestine, for thee! When all but weeping females fled, In his dark hour of agony! Christ had his sorrows; so must thou, If thou wilt tread the path he trod; O, then, like him, submissive bow, And love the sovereignty of God.

Christ had his joys; but they were not The joys the son of pleasure boasts; O, no! 't was when his spirit sought Thy will, thy glory, God of hosts! Christ had his joys; and so hath he Who feels his Spirit in his heart— Who yields, O God, his all to thee, And loves thy name for what thou art.

Christ had his foes; the prince of hell And all his angels sought his death! See! human hearts with malice swell, And murder feign affection's breath! Christ had his foes; and so, if thou Shalt with him walk and near him live, The cruel world will hate thee now, And thou shalt suffer—and forgive!

Christ had his friends; his eye could trace, Through the long train of coming years, The chosen children of his grace, The full reward of all his tears! Christ had his friends! and his are thine, If thou to him hast bowed the knee; And where those ransomed millions shine Shall thy eternal mansion be.

The Winter of the Heart.

Let it never come upon you. Live so that good angels may protect you from this terrible evil—the winter of the heart.

Let no chilling influence freeze up the fountain of sympathy and happiness from its depths, no cool burden settle over its withered hopes, like snow on the faded flowers; no rude blasts of discontent moan and shriek through its desolate chambers.

Your life path may lead you amid trials which for a time may seem entirely to impede your progress, and shut out the very light of heaven from your anxious gaze.

Penury may take the place of ease and plenty; your luxurious home may be changed for a single lowly room; the soft couch for a straw pallet; the rich viands for the coarse food of the poor. Summer friends may forsake you, and the unpitying world pass with scarcely a word of compassion.

You may be forced to toil wearily, steadily on to earn a livelihood; you may encounter fraud and base avarice, which would extort the last farthing, till you would nigh turn in disgust from your fellow beings.

Death may sever the dear ties that bind you to earth, and leave you in fearful darkness.

The noble, manly boy, the sole happiness of your declining years, may be taken suddenly from you, while your spirit clings to him with a wild tenacity, which even the shadow of the tomb cannot wholly subdue.

But amid all these sad trials and sorrows, do not come to the conclusion that nobody was ever so deeply afflicted as you are, and abandon every sweet anticipation of "Better days" in the unknown future.

Do not lose your faith in all excellence because your confidence has been betrayed; nor believe that friendship is only a delusion, and love a bright phantom which glides away from your grasp.

Do not think you are fated to be miserable because you are disappointed in your expectations and baffled in your pursuit. Do not declare that God has forsaken you when your way is hedged with thorns, or repine sinfully when he calls your dear ones to the land beyond the grave.

Keep a holy trust in heaven through every trial; bear adversity with fortitude, and look up in hours of temptation and suffering. When your locks are white, your eyes dim and your limbs weary—when your steps falter on the verge of death's gloomy vale, still retain the freshness and buoyancy of spirit which will shield you from the winter of the heart.—An Old Paper.

The Coming Future.

‐THE present condition of the world is admittedly unnatural and anomalous. We are living in times when the Christian and the infidel, the statesman and the divine, seem to agree in the expectation that some great crisis is at hand.

The public mind, both at home and abroad, is held in the calm of a feverish suspense. New and strange blasphemies are coming to the birth; the foundations of the State are loosing, and the church of God is beset and assailed on every side.

Amid these thick clouds, all eyes are fixed with an eager gaze upon the dark and coming future. But who shall unravel its mysteries? Who can decipher its solemn roll of fate? Who can pierce with steady eye into the depths of past history, and read there, as in a mirror, the judgment or mercy in store for after generations? Who can expound the strange dream of this fleeting, shadowy world; or unlock to the faith of the church the royal treasure-house of the good things to come? It is here that the wisdom of the world stands rebuked, and its idols are all mute and silent. The research of its historians here proves futile and ineffectual; the policy of its statesmen is baffled and confounded. The future continues veiled from every worldly eye in deepest mystery; and every effort of

human pride to decipher the solemn hand-writing proves utterly in vain.

Divine prophecy is the only light that can remove this impenetrable darkness. There God himself reveals to his own servants the great outlines of his providence, and enables them, by patient search, to trace through the past and future, the grandeur and the majesty of his high counsels of love.—California Paper.

Ye Who are Young, Come.

YOUTHFUL reader, be persuaded to give your early years to God. There is a special promise for you "Those that seek me early shall find me." Perhaps you think, "I am too young to be religious yet; let me enjoy the world a little; I have plenty of time before me." Too young to be religious! But you are not too young to sin, nor too young to die, nor too young to be lost. You may not live to reach manhood, much less old-age. Multitudes die as young as you. If you enter a burial-ground, how many of the graves are those of young people. Death may be even now preparing to strike you. Oh then come at once to Jesus. You greatly err, if you think religion will make you gloomy. It alone can render you truly happy. Many young people have tried it, who will all tell you that the pleasures of piety are far better than all the delights of sin and vanity. You will find that this is true, if you come to Jesus. Is it likely he will let his followers be less happy than the servants of the world? Besides, how can you dare to live a day longer rejecting him? He commands us at once to believe and obey him. Every day we put off repentance we commit a fresh act of rebellion, and treasure up wrath against the day of wrath. You say you will repent when you are old. But we need the Spirit of God to help us to repent; and if you say, "While I am young I will serve Satan, and not till I am near death will I turn to God," do you think God will give you his Holy Spirit at all? Is not this to quench the Spirit? May you not become quite careless, and indisposed to repent?

Very few are convicted when old. If you come not to Jesus when young, it is not likely you would come at all. Habit will fasten strong chains around you, which will be harder to burst asunder every day. While you wait, Satan works. He is busy tying knots. You are his prisoner; and he is making the cords which bind you more and more secure. Whenever you sin he ties another knot. Every impression you smother, every hour you delay, adds a fresh knot. If you do not escape now, how can you expect to break loose when you are weaker, and your fetters stronger? Oh then, "remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth." Come at once to Jesus, if you wish to come at all. He will be your guide amid the snares, your comfort amid sorrows, your guardian amid the dangers of life. Lose not one day the privilege of possessing such a friend. Say from this moment, "My Father, thou art the guide of my youth."—Sel.

Godliness the Root of Piety.

WHERE there is life there is godliness, and the more vigorous the life, the purer and more perfect will godliness be. Are you making it your first care to see that you have life? You are busy and diligent in the exercises of religion; but busy, diligent in doing what? Is it executing an imitation of piety or in cultivating the reality? If, when you survey at last the result of your prayers and efforts, there is a possibility that you will have despairingly to say of your Christianity what the gifted artist said admirably of a master-piece of sculpture, "It wants only one thing—life," is there not reason why you should pause and ponder now? There are many skillful imitations of piety, and it requires much labor and pains to produce them. It requires the cunning of trained and skillful fingers to mold in wax or paint on canvas such imitations of flowers and fruits as deceive for the moment the eye. But a seed dropped into the ground by a child's hands will, by the power of the life within, germinate and grow. Its life will weave the texture of its leaves and flowers, and secrete the rich juices of the fruit. So while the mere form of godliness is the product of cunning and labor, the reality of godliness is the product of life. Be it ours to seek this life. Filled with it, it will show itself in the blossoms and fruits of godliness. And let us not forget, that if there is no godliness of conduct or character, we want the only sure evidence that life from on high has descended into our souls.—Wilson's Heavenward Path.

Prof. Milligan on the Sabbath and Sunday Questions.

By B. F. Snook

THE following is part of a sermon preached by Prof. Milligan, of Bethany College, to the Disciple church of Bethany, Va., on Sunday, June 17, 1855. Mil. Herb. of July, 1855.

It was highly recommended by A. Campbell, and a large number of their learned men. Mr. Campbell says, "We commend to the special attention and consideration of all our readers, the following discourse of Prof. Milligan's on the sanctification of the Lord's day."

"The sanctification of the Lord's day. 'The Sabbath was made for man.' Mark ii, 27. Of course, then, he needed it. And if he needed it in Eden—if it was necessary to consummate his happiness even before sin had defiled the bowers of Paradise, does he not need it still? To answer this question in a manner satisfactory to all, it may be necessary to inquire into the objects for which the Sabbath was instituted. These are summarily stated in Gen. ii, 1–3. 'Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. On the seventh day God ended his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which he had created and made.' This language is very generic, but it is very clearly and fully illustrated by the subsequent facts, precepts, promises, and threatenings of the holy oracles. Omitting the occasional allusions to this hebdomadal division of time that occur in Genesis, the next direct reference to the Sabbath is in Ex. xvi, 22–30, a short time before the giving of the law from mount Sinai. A few references will suffice for our present purpose. 'Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work; thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it.' Ex. xx, 8–11.

"From these premises it is obvious that the primary design of the Sabbath was commemorative. The fact that the world was not eternal, and that it was not the result of chance, that it was not the work of any finite order of beings, but that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day, was forcibly suggested and clearly proved by this first moral-positive institution. For this purpose it was given to Adam and his posterity. But it was more than commemorative. It was designed for the physical, intellectual, and moral good of the entire race. The specifications of the fourth commandment are chiefly prohibitory: it tells us what we should not do. It enjoins that rest which experience has proved to be in harmony with the wants of man and beast.

"But this day was not designed for slumber. The intellectual and moral powers of man were not to lie dormant during these hours of sacred rest. This is evident from the genius of the institution and its entire history. To sanctify it, or keep it holy, is not to keep it as we do the hours of unconscious repose. Hence on this day there was a holy convocation of the people. Hence on this day our Saviour was in the habit of instructing the people in the synagogues. And hence it is evident that the second, if not indeed the first, object of the Sabbath was, to give man the time, the means, and the opportunity, of cultivating, training, and molding his moral and religious powers and susceptibilities. As a commemorative institution, it reminded man of the origin of all things. As a moral institution, it enabled him to grow in knowledge and virtue.

"I now repeat the question, Does not man still need a Sabbath? Does man's moral nature no longer need the sanctifying influence of the Sabbath? These are not questions of doubtful speculation. They are susceptible of a very definite and satisfactory answer. The history, as well as the philosophy, of Christianity, furnishes the reply. Indeed, we may challenge the world to produce an instance of a church, or even of an individual, eminent for piety and virtue, that has lived in the habitual neglect of a Sabbath. Would it not then be remarkable if the Christian institution were destitute of a Sabbath? Who could believe that he who gave man a Sabbath in Eden as well as in the patriarchal and Jewish ages, would in an institution specially designed for the moral education of mankind, omit an element the great importance of which has been demonstrated by the experience of age? Certainly it would be difficult to find a stronger analogical argument in support of any hypothesis than that which we legitimately deduce from our premises. Indeed, Christianity would be imperfect without it."

REMARKS.

1. In the above the institution and sanctification of the Sabbath are clearly presented. 2. The fact that it was instituted in the garden of Eden is not only admitted, but proved. 3. The author, not like his former brethren, does not hint that the Sabbath was made only for the Jews, but maintains that it was given to Adam and his posterity. 4. He shows plainly that it is a moral institution, and as such is adapted to the moral requirements of the entire race. 5. The Sabbath was made for man because he needed it. He argues that he needs it yet, and hence admits that it is continued to him. 6. This is all true; but notwithstanding, he then says that the Sabbath was abolished! It is strange that such men cannot speak forth God's truth without in some way contradicting it or taking it back. This, however, they are constrained to do in order to save their Papal-headed festival of Sunday. But he contends that Sunday is a Sabbath, and by it the Lord's Sabbath is set aside. He knows, or ought to know, that the Bible nowhere recognizes Sunday as a Sabbath. This he cannot overthrow, that all the sanctity attached to Sunday came by authority of the popes and other wicked men. And he in refusing to keep the Lord's Sabbath after speaking so clearly of its divine obligations and moral nature, is most certainly liable to the solemn charge of making void the commandment of God by the traditions of men. He has given us good Scriptural reasons for keeping the Sabbath, but not one can he give for keeping Sunday which the Catholic may not as consistently give in favor of purgatory, prayer to the saints, image-worship, &c. Would he then have us give up the Lord's holy day, which he says he sanctified and gave to Adam and his posterity, and have us keep Sunday which he never sanctified, and which he did not give to any man to be observed as a holy day?

As he has given reasons for the observance of the Sabbath, we will give some objections to his Sunday observance.

1. It is neither the Sabbath, Lord's day, nor a holy day.

2. Both God and Christ labored upon it. Gen. i, 1–5; Col. i, 16, 17; Heb. i, 2.

3. Neither of them rested upon it, and hence we have no example for so doing.

4. Neither of them ever sanctified it.

5. No man is commanded to keep it in any other sense than as a laboring day.

6. No man is promised any blessing for keeping it otherwise than as a working day.

7. Neither God nor Christ ever denounced a single curse against any man for laboring upon it.

8. It was observed as a business day by the disciples, who kept the Sabbath. Luke xxiv, 1.

9. It was Paul's work day. Acts xviii, 1–4; xx, 7.

10. Paul commands it as a business day. 1 Cor. xvi, 2.

11. If it had been the Sabbath, Lord's day, or any kind of holy day, Paul would have said so. Acts xx, 21.

12. No man, nor follower of Christ, kept it in the apostolic age in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ, and no man since that age has so kept it by divine authority.

These reasons are sufficient to show that there is no divine authority for the religious custom of keeping Sunday for the Sabbath. Its highest authority is Daniel's little horn, Paul's man of sin, and John's blasphemous beast. O that men would be consistent and obey the truth when they see it. But this they will not do, because they love the praises of men more than they love God and his law. B. F. SNOOK.

Self-knowledge.

By Dean Trench

Lord many times I am weary quite, Of my own self, my sin, and vanity; Yet be not Thou, or I am lost outright, Weary of me.

And hate against myself I often bear, And enter with myself in fierce debate; Take Thou my part, against myself, nor share In that just hate.

Best friends might loath us, if what things perverse We know of our own selves, they also know; Lord, Holy One, if thou, who knowest the worst, Shouldst loathe us too! [Dean Trench.

Brethren, Beware!

Deceit and hypocrisy are still practiced, not only by the people of the world, but also by some professing better things. But by their fruits ye shall know them. Matt. vii, 20. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Luke iii, 9.

Wm. B. Davis, a late member of the Seventh-day Adventist church of Avon, Wis., left this place about three weeks ago, destination unknown; but he said he intended to go to Michigan, Ohio, or some place where he could settle in a community of Sabbath-keepers. After he left, numerous reports were circulated of his dishonesty. Therefore the church appointed a committee to investigate the truthfulness of the reports; and at a meeting appointed for that purpose December 21st, the committee reported as follows:

1. Said Wm. B. Davis borrowed a bridle of one man and a saddle of another, saying he wanted to ride a few miles and back; but the facts show that he borrowed them for the express purpose of riding away with them, and did start immediately on his journey.

2. While taking his goods to the depot for transportation, they were about to be attached for a debt of $11.00, but he got a man to be his security for the debt, and said he had agreed with another man to pay the debt. The man positively denies it, and says that Davis was owing him $18.00, and left without paying him. The man that went his security for the $11.00 has the debt to pay.

3. He sold Bro. Putnam one ton of hay, and afterward disposed of it to another man, and thus left the country, being indebted to Bro. P. for wood, work in harvest, threshing, &c., to the amount of $10.00 or more.

4. He told numerous and willful falsehoods to the brethren, promising to pay them before he left, and telling some of his creditors that he had made arrangements with men that were owing him to pay certain debts, which proved to be false, thus abusing the confidence of the brethren.

After a careful and candid investigation of the above, the church appointed a committee of three to write out a statement of the facts, as a duty we owe to our brethren, to God, and the world, that our brethren abroad may not be taken in by him, that we may clear the cause from all the reproach possible, and advertise to the world that we indorse no such men nor conduct in our midst.

Done by order of the church. JOSEPH G. WOOD, H. W. DECKER, } Committee. JOHN RICHARD,

P. S. We say in behalf of sister Carrie Davis, wife of Wm. B. Davis, that she is not implicated with the above, but is a member in good standing in the Seventh-day Adventist church at Avon, Wis., and we sympathise with her in her deep trial. J. G. W.

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