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14 (206) f U l i g i o u i s i n t e l l i g e n c e . FOES OF THE MORMON CREED AND SYSTEM. BY THE REV. I). L. LEONARD, OF SALT LAKE CITY. I t may be that, among the various forces at work to undermine and overthrow the Mormon Creed and Church system, too little account has been taken of the “ Josephites,” or the “ Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” This body dates from 1860, when its members withdrew from the Utah organization, and cliose for leader the younger son of the “ prophet,” Joseph Smith, Jr. The headquarters of the sect are fixed at Plano, 111., and at Lamoni, Iowa. They abhor “ Brighamism,”— i. e., polygamy, all interference of the priest hood with political and business affairs, temples, secret endowments, tithes, etc., deeming these, one and all, wicked additions to the original and celestial principles of Mormonism, hut hold most tenaciously to the divine mission and prophetical office of Joseph Smith, to the gifts of the Spirit— such as tongues, healing with oil, prophecy, etc. In spirit and manner they are truly Christian, are patriotic also, and wholly friendly to all non-Mormon churches. Their preaching has little of the Utah rant and cant, while their prayers are reverent and earnest, and from them is utterly absent the familiar patronizing, self-righteous, self-satisfied tone heard always and everywhere in that terri tory from old and young, great and small, male and female. Their strange theologi cal opinions aside, they would readily pass for a queer and old-fashioned Christian sect. They are peaceable neighbors, and make no trouble of any sort. These Josephites report 50 conferences scattered through the United States and in foreign lands, 500 churches, 1,500 elders (of whom a goodly number are missionaries abroad), and nearly 30,000 members. A number of the elders are actively at work in various settlements in Utah and the neighboring territories, with fair success in their attempts at reclaiming the Brigham-* ites from their apostas}7. A congregation has been gathered in Salt Lake, and a neat chapel has been built. Within afew weeks the Rev. W. W. Blair one of their ablest and best preachers, vis ited Manassa, Conejos Co., Col., the Mor mon stronghold in that state, and showed up polygamy and priesthood in such con vincing fashion that two or three scores applied for baptism and churcli-member- ship. Within two years two strategic move ments have been carried through to suc cess, which to Mormon eyes, are of great sigificance. First, after a long lawsuit with John Taylor et al , by a decree of the courts they have come into possession of the first temple, built at Kirtland, Ohio, in 1836. This edifice is most sacred in their eyes, and will soon be put in complete re pair. Then, to all Mormons, Jackson Co., Mo., and Independence in particular, is to be the grand focus for the faithful iu the future. Thither they all expect to return. There the temple of temples, the grandest the world ever saw, in due time is to be built. This is to be the matchless Jerusa lem of the latter day. Now what should these most provoking but certainly very shrewd Josephites do but steal a march on their unsuspecting Salt Lake brethren. For, the Utah “ proph et, seer, and revelator ” all unknowing, they went quietly to work and bought up the entire site of the force-to-be, a spot des ignated by Urim and Thummim to the “prophet” Joseph in 1836, and got the title deeds all recorded. A n o t h e r im p o rtant judgm e n t has been lodged against the English R itualists. The Church As sociation succeeded in driving the Rev. A. H. M ackonochie from his incum b ency w h ither be had been tran s f e r red to escape the judgm e n t of the C o u rts; and now the Bishop of M an chester’s course w ith reference to the Miles P lat ting living has been approved by Baron Pollock of the Suprem e C o u rt of Justice. This case grew out of th a t of the Rev. 8. F. Green, a g a inst whom, as incum b e n t of Miles P latting, s u it for illegal r itualistic practices was successfully prose cuted. He was im p risoned nearly two y ears for contum acy, and when he was released the living became vacant. The patron, Sir Percival Hey- T H E IN D E wood, presented the R 9V.]Mr. Cowgill, ^who^had been Mr. Green’s curate, to the living, b u t th e Bishop of M anchester refused to in s ti tu te him on the ground th a t he would not prom ise to ab stain from certain practices which had been de clared illegal by the Courts. On th is re fusal Sir Percival brought suit before Baron Pollock, who, as already stated, has given judgm e n t in favor of the Bishop. The la tte r ’s defense was th a t Mr. Cowgill, as c u rate, h ad worn illegal vestm ents, had adm inistered mixed wine at com munion, had unlawfully used lighted can dles at the a ltar when not needed for light, had genuflected during the prayer of consecration, and had elevated the paten and chalice. The Bishop alleged th a t, by reason of these acts and the circum stances under which they were done, Mr. Cowgill was guilty of com m itting offenses against the laws ecclesiastical, of failure to ob serve the Book of Common Prayer, and of ob stinate disobedience to the laws, canons and constitutions o f the Church. On exam ining Mr. Cowgill as to his fitness for the benefice, the Bishop found, it is alleged, that he had h a b itu ally com m itted these acts, and th a t he refused to celebrate divine service according to the Book of Common Prayer in resp ct of these m a tters. Thereupon the Bishop found th a t M r. Cowgill was a p erson u n fit to have the benefice. Baron Pollock, in delivering judgm e n t, said th a t by the Eccle siastical Laws the Bishop m u s t b e the judge of fitness, b u t it was clear that, in an action quare im p edit affecting the righ t of patrons, the Bish op was b o u n d to state his grounds for his re fusal to adm it. This had been done in the present case, and the C o u rt had no hesitation in saying th a t a Bishop m ight refuse to adm it a clerk by reason of acts which, if com m itted by a beneficed clergyman,would, according to modern practice, be m e t by m o n ition a n d n o t by depriva tion. This, however, would not affect the exer cise of the discretion of the Bishop in the pres en t case, for i t could n o t be held th a t the Bishop had no discretion when he required a pledge as to the commission of fu tu r e offenses, and which the clerk who was to be instituted ex pressly declared he would not give. To hold this would be c o n trary to all law and to all rea son, and would be unfair alike to the patron, to the Bishop and to the parishioners. The Guar dian (H igh Church), thinks this is a common- sense view, and the T im e s says the Bishop “ has won a victor\r which wili work, on the whole, for the cause of sound discipline and good order in the Church.” I t appears to the Spectator th a t the righ t o f pu tting clergymen, as to whose p revious practice there is any proof of illegality, to the question as to their future in tentions in the new positions to which they are appointed, is now solemnly s a n c tioned; and as there are so very m any clergymen, of ail Rliades of opinion and practice, who have com m itted il legalities in th e ir conduct of the Church ser vices, this issue opens out a very formidable prospect for futu r e inquisitions. The Church Association should be on the look-out to press on all Low-Churcli Bishops th a t they should strictly interrogate R itualists who can be proved ever to have worn a stole, as to their intentions for the fu tu r e before instituting them to a benefice ; while the Church U n ion m ight, if they chose—fortunately, they have never chosen—re taliate by urging on all H igh-Church Bishops to subject Low -Chuich presentees, who have been guilty of the m a n y deficiencies of r itual in vogue am ong the Evangelicals, s u c h as the failure to give the elem ents to each com m u n icant individ ually, w ith a s eparate address to each, to a strict interrogatory as to their future intentions o n this subject. The Catholic papers predict th a t the last book of F a th e r C u rci, in which he declares that the tem p o ral power is an unm ixed evil, will fall flat. The work is dedicated to the young clergy, and the Tablet says the young priests of Im o la have issued a p rotest against— “ first, the dedi cation of the book, w h ich is an attem p t of the author to make them accomplices in his outrages upon the Church and the P a p a c y ; secondly, against his calum nies respecting the law of the celibacy of the clergy, a law insupportable only to those who, forgetting their vocation, render themselves unw o rthy of the grace of G o d ; thirdly, against the insults to the memory of P ius IX, w h ich proceed from a secret rancor against th a t g reat Pontiff ; fourthly, against his erroneous appreciation of the Syllabus, and of the devotion to the Sacred H eart, and against his treatm e n t of the Sacred Congregation of the In d e x ; fifthly, against the author’s pretension to be the guide aud teacher of the clergy.” Among those who have reviewed the book is Signor Bonghi, wTho essays to answer some of the charges. The following is a specimen of his way of doing it, as described by the T a b let: “ As to Padre Ourci’s charge that Catholic preach ing in Italy no longer has tor its subject Jesus Christ, his work and his teaching, Signor Bought rem arks that this is precisely the accusation which Luther brougtit against the Church in his time, aud that if it were true that in the center of Catholicism Christ was eclipsed, and accessories which have no foundation independent of him were preferred to him, Catholicism would no longer be the principal instrum ent of Christ’s work ia the world, and the suggestions of the Abate Curci would be quite ino a- pable of b reathing into it the spirit of which he de plores the absence.” The Scotch Presbyterians are g e tting ready for another campaign for disestablishment. Principals Cairns and Rainy, Professors Lindsay and Calderwood, Mr. Dick Peddie, M.P., and others have held a conference in Edinburgh. The general apathy was explained as due to the fact th a t the question as to the principle of dis establishm e n t had been trium p h a n tly settled and people were only w aiting for the proper oppor tunity to come to express themselves at the polls. The fear is th a t some burning question will draw atten tio n away from the issue at the next election. It was conceded th a t the only hope for disestablishm e n t is th a t the time may come when it will become the great question of the hour, overshadow ing and eclipsing every o t h e r ; but th a t tim e cannot be expected very soon, not a t least while d isestablishm e n t is limited to Scotland. All th a t the friends of the move m e n t can do, it was thought, is to attach their question in some way to some g reater question of the day. This has led them to consider how it stands related to franchise extension. They are prepared to go for franchise extension on the ground th a t it would hasten the final settlem ent of the Church and State question, inasm u ch as the mass of the new voters would support dises tablishm e n t. The conference determ ined at once to raise “ a n election fu n d ” of £ 20,000, in order to be prepared for the com ing struggle. One of the objects to which the money is to be applied is “ the fu r ther enligLtenm ent of the people o n the question by lectures, meetings and literature.” ....A correspondent of the London Tablet gives an account of the Catholic quarrel in the Province of Quebec which an Apostolic Commis sary has been vainly trying to settle. The pres ence of the Commissary has only served to add bitterness to the conflict. Says the letter : “ The principal combat is in the archdiocese of Quebec, where a powerful section has placed itself in almost open rebellion to the Archbishop, whom they accuse of liberalizing tendencies. At the head of the recalcitrants Is the Cercle Catholique of the city of Quebec, in union with which is an influeu- tial section of the laity of that city and some of the clergy. This party is strangely misnamed “ ultra montane ” aud claims a considerable support in the toivns and cities of the province, and especially in the city of Montreal. The hierarchy generally sus tain the hands of the Metropolitan, though his lord ship of Three Rivers, and Mgr. Bourget, formerly Bishop of Montreal, are said to take the other side. The Laval University, which enjoys the patronage of Mgr. Taschereau, Archbishop of Quebec, has been the special object of attack; and the re«ent dispute in reference to the establishment of a branch of that university in Montreal was but the outcome of the general dissension. One thing is undeniable, that the so-called “ ultramontanes,” who are for the most part laymen, have not hesitated to adopt the role of censors of the episcopate. For the present, affairs are in the most deplorable condition. Mgr. Taschereau has not only withdrawn his patronage from the Cercle Catholique, which was established with no party aims, but on New Year’s Day he r e fused to receive its members.” Before the visit of the German Crown Prince to the V atican a bill was pending in the P russian Cham ber of D eputies for the restora tion of those articles in the C o n s titu’ion con cerning C h u rch affairs which were stricken out in the heat of the. Culturkam p f. The considera tion of th e bill was p u t over un til the results of the interview with the Pope were published. The debate was recently resum e d ; and the Min ister of Public W o rship took occasion to declare that, in no case, would the G o v ernm ent sanction the approval of the measure by the House, and that with such im p o rtunate dem ands the Cleri cals only h arm ed their own interests. The Min ister also explained th a t, w h atever its concilia tory attitude to other non-juring prelates, the G o v ernm ent deemed the reinstatem e n t of the Bishops of Posen and Cologne to be incom p a ti ble w ith a lasting peace between Church and State. His speech drew from Dr. W indthorst an avowal of his apprehension th a t the country was on the eve of a new C u lturkam p f era. “ Our m o tion,” declared the Clerical leader, “ d irectly aims at the re-establishm e n t of the status quo ante — i. e., anterior to th e C u lturkam p f; aud I repeat th a t we shall not rest till this task is ac complished.” The Italian Supreme Court of Cassation has given a judgm e n t establishing alienation and conversion of the property of the Society for the P r o p a g a tion of the F a ith. Nearly fifteen millions’ worth of real estate belonging to the Propaganda wili be sold a n d invested in Italian bonds in tru s t for the Propaganda. The Pope has decided to com m u n icate th e fact to all Catholic Powers as a new attack against his in dependence. A h igh C h u rch dignitary in Rome says: “ The P ropaganda will n o t meekly subm it to the decision. I t is exasperated by this ty rannical abuse of power. E ight million francs w o rth of the Propaganda property was, as a m a tter of fact, seized and converted even while the law suit was pending. The Governm ent har asses the P r o p a g a n d a at every tu r n , and the Court of Cassation attacks its principles and outrages its s p ir itu a l power, and annuls the so- called law of ‘guarantees.’ The Italian gov [February 14, 1884. ernm e n t will p robably find its legal victory b a r ren or worse. M eans can be easily found of evading the effect o f the legal sentence. M o re over, Italy henceforth will have the whole co lonial influence o f the Catholic missions arrayed against her.” The E n g lish B a p tists have w ithin the lim its of the London postal district 231 churches, exclusive of mission-halls, while in England and Wales they have 2,476 churches, of which 540 are in the Principality. In Scotland there are 92 churches, and in I reland 25, giving a grand total for the British Isles of 2,593 churches, as a g a inst 2,573 in 1882, showing an increase of 20 d u ring the past year. The num ber of chapels is 3,738, and members 304,802, being an increase of 13,884 o n last year. P t e r m w . T h e Central [African Mission of the London Society, has now a fine vessel on Lake T a n ganyika. The boat is of iron, and it was transported in sections, on m en’s shoulders from the Coast to the Lake, a distance of 800 miles. It was a v ery difficult undertaking, and required all of Captain Hore’s tact, experience and strength to accomplish it. The trip took 105 days from the Coast. The caravan entered U jijiF e b ruary 23d. A boat-shed was erected, and the vessel was p u t together. It is 32 feet in length and 8 feet iu w idth. Its nam e is the “ N y o taya A ssubu.” ( “ M o rning S tar.”) The launch was successfully accomplished on the 2l8t of May, and concerning it Captain Hore w r ites: “ As the boat neared completion she was daily visited by people of many tribes. She was the sight of the place. People landing from boats after a voyage made lirst for the white man’s building ehed, and Wajiiji, from the hills, who seldom or never vis ited the town, came down to see the wonderful iron canoe. As the steel sides grew up the natives tapped and felt in silent w o n d er; the Arabs and Wangwana confessed ‘ this, indeed, is work.’ As the shell of the boat became filled up with the various fittings, the excitement and wonder increased, and when the bulwark and rail rose up, the gold stars on her bows shone forth, and inside and out gleamed with paint and varnish, she was pronounced to be the most wonderful thiog, at least, in all the world they knew. ‘ Those Wangwana,’ said the natives, whose work we used to wonder at and admire, where are they beside such work as this? Tut! They are no where.’ The last few days we often could scarce get eibow room to work, the shed was so crowded. At last, on Saturday night, all was ready; the last touches of varnish were left to dry till Monday morning, and a public announcement was made of the forthcoming launch. Said bin Habid sent a bullock to be slaughtered on the occasion, as an ‘ apology,’ said he, for his absence; for he was already living in camp preparatory to a journey. Msalim, the son of Muinyi Heri, the governor, s ent another bullock, and a third was purchased. Early on Monday morning we started from the house, with our men carrying the masts, ropes, and all gear nec essary for the launch. Blocks had already been laid from the shed to the Lake, a distance of 100 feet. A stout, long rope was passed round the boat and se cured, the blocks were greased, and we only waited for the long promised help. A number of natives came soon, and the boat itself was almost hidden by the willing hands surrouudiug it. The word was at last given; the props were removed; the rope stretched out like elastic uncier the weight of the Wajiji in front, and, at its furthest tether, off glided the boat without a jar or shake. When just cleared of the shed, we put in the mizzen mast, and hoisted the British colors. A smooth, steady drag brought the boat to the w ater’s edge, sliding over the blocks as smoothly as could be; here the mainmast was put in, aud our Mission flag, the dove with olive branch, hoisted. One more good pull and our boat was afloat, upon the waters of Tanganyika, while, from a hundred African throats, she was pro nounced to be the ‘ N yota ya Assubui,’ or ‘ Atorning Star.’ Numbers of the people rushed into the water, firing off their guns and dancing and shouting, until it was announced that the promised beef was to be distiibuied.” s' A Scotch m issionary, the Rev. W. Macfar- lane, has been spending some time in Germany, studying the plans of the G erm an missionary societies. Some of the societies have a system of collection a n d of working parties. A num b e r of ladies, six or more, hold a m eeting every fortnight, of about three hours, at some mem ber’s house, and make articles of c lothing f o r the missions, one of the members reading to the party the m o st recent intelligence from the mission field. Women a re appointed as collectors, each collector looking a fter ten contributors and no more. If she meets others who are willing to contribute, a new collector is appointed to form another ten. For every ten collector there is a superior collector. Each member of these groups gives three m arks annually. The collections are taken weekly. Special collections are also taken in the churohes and missions. Most of the G erm an societies a re voluntary and n o t ecclesiastical organizations. M r. M aofarlane speaks h ighly of the fullness and accuracy of the G erm an m issionary literature, which is, he says, provided in abundance. He gives the statistics of nine societies, showing th a t they have 517 missionaries, 65,062 native C h ristian commu nicants, 178,783 a d h e rents and au annual inoome of $620,705.
