The New York herald. [volume], December 14, 1874, Page 8, Image 8

About The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
ADVENT
The Victor)'Christ and the Approach
ing Religious Dawn.
THE CHRIST THAT IS TO BE.
Hr. Ilepwartli on the Chriit;'au'? Inheritance,
As Pointed Out tty Paul.
. , ..
holy playing.
?)r. McGlynn on the Sanctity of St
John the Baptist.
DUTY TO THE POOR, j
CHUECH OF THE DI3CIPLE8.
Bcrman by the R?t. Or. Hrpworth
"The VUt3ry in Christ."
There was a very large congregation in attend
ance at the morulng services lu the Church or the
Disciples yesterday. Tlie Kev. Dr. Hep
worth preached the ecrmoa. The tex* be
?elected wad the fourth verse or tne
third chapter or Paul's Epistle to the
Colossiuns, whxh reads:?"When Christ, who li
our lire, ah ill appear, then shall ye also appear
with him in glory." Whatever St. Paul did, said
the reverend gentleman, was done well. Wlieu
the Apostle attempted to argue with u? we lelt
that It was an unequal contest between an ordi
nary man and a tiant, and wnen, in the guise of
? mend or a brother, he attempted to persuade
?s, his eloquence was as fascinating as tae lan
guage of a mother's love; his arguments
were thunderbolts and his exhortations as
?weet a-> honey. In ttie words or the text
there was both a promise and a statement. In
the promise we lived and moved and bad our
being. On the statement we bunt our character.
The promise was that as Jesus had shared with us
?o shun we share with Him?a thought, irom the
full appreciation or which came the eagerness 01
action. Christ had sat with us at our iiutuan ta
ttle?He had been clotued upon with trie weak
nesses and temptations of our flesh. No troubles
we suffered from but bad overshadowed llim;
there were no disappointments In our hearts
which lie had not lathomcd. In doing this, and la
the subsequent victories He won over the tempta
tions that oeset Him, and In the consolation which,
with His strong arm, Be .brought down lroin
keaven, He had proven His lrtendship lor us and i
His willingness to make any sacritlce in our be
Half. Thruugho'it He was absolutely human; He
?uttered the pangs and tor.ures of hunger and
thirst, tought
A PJ5KS0XAL BATTLE WITH THE EVIL ONE,
bowed His heal beneath tne deep shadow of his
?orrows ana physical agony. He overcame all,
not b.v auy power within Himself, but through the
power of tiic holy spirit of God, and thus He lelt
du a pathway on w.iich to walk a mountain roaO
whlca we haa to climb?a star lu the heavens to
guide us, that we might make no mistake. This
being so. He had promised us that He should share
with us the honors and triumphs in the midst of
which He existed to-day; the time would come
wben we would stand by the side ot the risen
lord, when we should have the white robes of the
resurrection hauging trom our shoalders and
when we would be clothed npon with the spiritual
bo<ljr and be Hired up from the coldness, the sell
tahness and doubts or this foggy earth, and stand
beneath the bright glory of the sun of God's right
eousness In the streets of the new Jerusalem.
Christ attempted to put His iu? so visibly
beiore us us to make it, as It were, a part of our
owu life, of our own experience, to serve as an in
centive to action, as it He were to say, "As I have
been with you. so you shall be with me.*'
We had demonstration of the one, and the otner
aausflcd the agonized longiug of our owa hearts.
The Apostle told us that Curtst was our life. This
was a curious clause, and before we carte to a
thorough understanding of Its whole meaning 11
was necessary to lilt the cover. We could not at
a single glance understand the .Scriptures. The
text b? had chosen was a marvellous utterance.
Jt wu? a continuous revelation for each indepen
dent soul; it drew us into closer rela'iou.stiips with
the great Head of the Church, our 1/ord and
Master, our saviour and our God. Tne Apostle, in
nsiug the language he did, made use oi no ordiuary
term 01 endearment. He did not weigh the price
)n an ordinary balance or measuro it by the or
dinary rule. When we spoke oi the love of a hug
ban'. or of ? w ife, of the close relationship of a
jatner and motner and children, we expressed oar
Idea of devotion ami affection as strongly as lan
guage could do it. But Paul, as it were, played
wini language. He did not compare Christ with
any great character of history, but he said, with a
grandeur of expression,
?*Christ is orn life."
Paul's language, indeed, seemed inspired, and we
Were lilted to such a Uelght by his words thar,
Instead of walking on the level plain, we seemed
to be cclesua! giant*, ever ascending to the mys
terious mountain peak whence nowed all source
?I wie. What ne believed, the reverend
gentleman said, he wanted to believe
andemandingly. What he and thooe who
were listening to him, he felt, certain
wanted was a good strong tonndation for woat
they believed, as for nimscli, he did not give his
confidence to any theory beiore he could learn
what it meant. He would look at it; he would
throw tne gauntlet down to it and give it a chance
to prove itself right, and he would try to find out
What it was made of. and ir, in the end, ho became
satisfied mat it was right, he would not trouble
ttimselt about tne details. Jesus, in an inteliect
Si, spiritual, moral and psychological sense, was
e author oi our faith; and when He said that He
?aid it in the ears of men who r>a l read history.
Christ was, he repeated, the author of tnat taitli
Which has been blossoming for eighteen hundred
years. There was no thought In our history, uo
flap or project, no affection or conception wiu.-n
ad become a part of our fibre, lncorpoiated into
?or being as a motive of action, (hat
did not depend upon the single fact that
Christ bad come among us. The oioom on the
flower, the velvet on the rose, came from the
precious Hook?from the epistle* which God bad
?ent to us irom His own throne in heaven?not by
any post office route, but through the manger of
JetUiehem. our faith came from Christ a? the
river from its source in the mountain side. Did
we appreciate tin*? He thought not. George
Stephenson was the sole author of one depart
ment oi modern progress. He gave a new Impulse
to the world, which it felt Irom end to end. wheu
be achieved Ills crowning work, instead of walk
ing on the low level, the world, as it wi re, took a
leap on the locomotive and dashed on to a higher
plane. He gave us a blow which impelled us
en in the war of progress which every
one felt as irom an electric battery.
In the olden time, when Onttenberg was a mere
boy, Kuiope was on a low level. It was governed
by one Church, one priest, one power; despotism
everywhere reigned; out when he, a man, made
the first wooden type, and then another auu au
?ti.er, till he had completed enough to print the
mole, und in one day produced flliy copies?he
grarted a mine beneath the social strata wnich,
When it exploded, tDrew into a thousand atoms
tub scrKiwrrriONB op aubs;
and In the great upheaval there were thrown np
Its ctiulns and manacles that bad ooand hu
bun ootids in slavery, and there was seen man
liimseit freed, reformed, emancipated, standing
letore his God on the bill toplooEingup thankfully
to heave.i. A man did all that. When Athena
wa> in her splendor and 1'iato was in His prime
philosophers met in coteries and clubs to duncuss
philosophy, ai Istotle was the authority for a whole
series ot thought on given subjects. Ht< bralu,
Bke a great gulvatiiiina battery ??t in the centre
oi th" people, sent out a throbbing impulse that
permeate! ti.e whole world. Now would it be out
oi the w,?y to compare Christ with such men as
Itepacnsua, dattenberg, Aristotle and the rest?
In one rc-pect he believed it was not. To com
? 'k? or(,inary hills in the country with the
Rocky Mountains would not csusc the moun
tains to topple over or render them any
Ibe 1-ss grand in the sight of men. hte
pbenson had given the world an idea; but we
bad improved upon it so that he himself, if he could
some oact into the world, would oe unwilling
logo Irom New York to 1'uffaio ou the engine of
bis invention, snd at the rate it went when lie
tried if. He would buy a first class ticket and go
In a I'uilman car. It was so with Aristotle, fie
gave the world an Idea, but he was now a ci noutiy
en the student's shelf. The impure he g ive to
tinman thought was now the impulse oi an echo.
It was not so wltn the Binle. Christ ga\c us an
impuise oi greater force. But He lived eighteen
years ago, and the social, political and moral im
poiR* Be h id given was the impulse oi to-day. it
was n it an echo, fue great clarion voice of that
Impulse ? as
rnic voice op a eika
and of a God. It had not got round the earth yef,
aud for nges yet to coin'1 that voice would be a
power of pCHuasiou aud of argument and reveia*
ii' ti oi error, home men believed that oiris
ttamu had none down or cbriai uone ud. lie be
invert we bad jet not even reached the fall out
line, ami could not yet eveu catch the hem ol His
garment, and it might be ceuturies be are we
coaiu get near enough to mm to take Him by me
baud aud address Him with familiarity. Oar
loftiest hope was that we might have some appre
ciable friendship tor Him. to be able to get so near
to Him aa to h' ar His voice, to have Him speak
to us, lor He was not lu ttie valley, but on the
mountain top, ou a higher raRge than mat which
we were ascending.
Tne reverend preacher then went on to say that
Jesus Christ was not only the matter and substance
01 lile, but the motor to make us do what ordi
nary men could uot of munseivea do. As an
illustration he spoke 01 the ordiuary iieroiam of
brave men, ol the soldier, who laced death at the
cannon's month on the held ol battle, and ofmeu
like Napoleon aud Cusar, who for ambition's s-.ikc,
braved a!l dangers and muttered so much, and
contrasted it witti tnat of the Christian woman
who, in tne burning sands of the arena, allowed
herself to be torn to pieces by wild beasts rather
than cieii? her faith In Christ, and with the Christ
I nan resignation ol the wile and husband, lather
an I mother who part from tneir loved oneson their
dnng bed and w ho nave the courage to say, ? Tny
will, not mind, oe douo, 0 God."
ET. BTEPHE^a"QHPRCH.
Sermon by tl?? Kev. Or. MeGlytin?TT*e
SsHctity of the Baptist?His Urcat
Humility.
a large and respectable congregation was pres
ent yesterday morning at the high mass In St.
Stephen's, which was celebrated by the Kev.
Father Byron, Nlni's splendid mass in D minor
gave the choir ample opportunities to display their
talents and training. This mass abounds in solos,
the most notable in performance being the "bene
dictus," in A minor. At the vespers In the after
noon the attendance was unusually large, very
many of those present being non-Catholics, at
tracted no doubt by the reputation of the muUc
at this servtoe. Mercadante's vespers, Daly's
"Alma KeJemptor s" and Fraal's "Tanturn Ergo't
were men by tbe choir in a pleasing and credita
ble manner.
Beoie commencing the sermon the Rev. Dr.
McUiynu anaouueed that a bazaar In aid or
the Industrial Heme, East Thirty-first street,
would open in Trenor's Hull, Broadway,
between Thirty-first and Thirty-second streets,
on next Friday evening. He commended
that institution to the charitable consider
ation of liiv bearers, and stated that
within the l&stfew years it b?d afforded shelter to
hundreds of frleudless young women and saved
many from a life oi siiame aud pauper graves in
the Toner's Field."
He then read the gospel of the Sunday, John L
19-28, in which is narrated the tcstim my of St. John
tne Baptist to the divine mission or our Lord, and
delivered an ekiqusnt panegyric on
?TUE HKKAt.D OK UOD"
who was specially chosen to aunounce tbe im
mediate coming, and point out the person, of the
Messiah. Of him tne angel said to Zachary, ' He
sti tli ue ailed with the Holy Ghost even from his
mother's womb;" and our Lord declared, "He was
a hurtling and a shining light." No saint excelled
the Baptist in holiue.-s of life. In heaven be is
honored with the triple crown of virgin, doctor
and-martyr. And here on earth lie holds a high
and honored place in tbe liturgy ol the Church,
being next to the Blessed Virgin in the litany ot
the saints and in tbe general confession.
This day's Gospel contains an admirable lesson
oo tbe virtue of humility. "Who art thou?" sold
the Jewish delegation of priests and Levltes to :
John. And he .confessed and did not deny, and he
confessed, "1 am not tbe Cnrist." In reply to the
direct question. "Who art thou, that we may give an
answer to them that sent uaT" be answered in the j
beautiful language of the truly humble:?"i ain
the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Moke
straight the way of me Lord." He claims to be
nothing more than a mere voice proclaiming j
man's duty toward Go I. Hut according to our
Lord, "lie that humbleth himseil shall be ex- |
ai'ed," and "tne last shall ue first," and therefore
the greater John's self-numillatlon tbe greater his
exaltation. The Fnaneees were seeking tba ,
Christ. Tiiey had heard ttflrty years t?eiore that
etrange sights were seen and *trange sounds i
heard, aud that even a remarkable birth had !
taken place in Bethlehem, "the city lroin whicu
tbe ruler ot his people was to conic." They eveu !
remembered the commotion caused by the arrival ;
of the wise men, who had come to adore Him who
was born King ol the Jews. They had heard of !
THE BKITAI. KLAL'UUTKR
of the innocents, and yet they asked John If lie
was the Christ. The Baptist says, reproach
fully, "There standeth one you whom ye
' know not." He repeats again me lesson of hu- i
miiitv, which is not inaptly called iheloundauon
of an" the ?:her virtues, without which the td flee
o! holiness, no matter how lofty, inevitably tum
bles over and becomes a saddening ruin. He tens
them that tnia greatest of men was in their midst
and tiiey knew Hun not. II such reproach of Ignor
ance was just, with how mush more force should it
strike nsr May it not be as truly B.iid to-day
as it wa* In the first century, "He tame
unto his owq and his own r<*ceived him not?"
i?<h us, while iceliug just confusion at our lndif- i
ference to Him, who has stood so long In our
midst, resolve to know Him rightly by practi
cally acknowledging Him as our lord anu master,
to tnat He may not be lorced to say to us on the
day ot wrath, "1 know you not." And, as "the
tear of the Lord la the beginning of wisdom," we
cauuot do better tnan meditate ou the terrors oi
the "dread judgment," We may rest assured
mat if we prepare ourselves as we snouid fur the
connug of our .saviour at Christmas we will have
bo rea.sou to dread His ttnal coming as "a judge oi
tremendous majesty." ?
CHURCH OF THE 3T&ANOER8.
Sermon by Rit. Dr. Deems on Holy |
Playing.
The services at the Church of the Strangers, in
; Nelison place, near Eighth street, were yesterday
morning devoted to the children more especially, 1
although the sermon which was preached by the
I pastor, Rev. Dr. Deems, was also Intended to point
I a moral for children of a larger growth. The text
was taken from Zechanah, vlil., 3, 4, 6?"Thus
s&lth the Lord of Hosts: I am returned unto Zion,
! and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and
! Jerusalem snail be called a city of troth, and the
mountain of the Lord or Hosts, the holy mountain,
j Thus satth tne Lord of Hosts: There shall yet
old men and old women dwell In the streets
of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff ip nls
band for very age. And the streets of toe city
shall be full of boys and girls playing In the streets '
thereof." After repeating the text over slowly
Dr. Deems took it up piece by piece, and asked the
children questions, so as to assare himself that
they undersood perfectly what be was saying and
to impress more lorclbly upon their minds the les
son he was endeavoring to instil. The answers
wore given intelligently and promptly by the little
ones, and considerable amusement was occa
sioned by the ingenuousness oi some of the re
plies. Wnen the reverend doctor suggested that
to play, and to plar heartily, was not only con
sistent, but almost Indispensable to a holy life, a
look ol bewilderment seemed o overshadow the
countenances ot the "iambs;" the news seemed ,
toj good to be true. But wnen they OuaUy be- ,
came convluced that the pastor was in earnest
tney fairly revelled in their new lound Joy. ]
When ihey were asked If they could "remember
wh<vt the children were doing in Jerusalem" a shout
went up irom all over the nouse, "playing In the i
streets" which leit no room for doubt as to their '
reelings on the Sunday amusement question. ,
When asked what else children were in the habit
or doing In the streets, the preacher was lor a mo- {
uient nonplussed by the reply "ilghttn' " irom a lad '
lu tue body of tne church.
TBI SERMON.
Dr. Deems explained that Jerusalem in the text
was a type of two tiling*?first, Ood'a Cnurch on
eartn; secondly. Clod's Church in heaven. Jerusa- j
lew was a city in Judea. nui.t upon tne top oi a
mountain called /.ion. The Cnurch is like this
city, because tt ;s founded on holiness und built up
in trui h. The church o. God is the city oi our God:
an 111 ever tou arc asked when tin; Church oi Ood ;
will be swept away you can reply never, for even
wnen the lust mountain ana trie last city shall
be swept from tae ntce of the earth tbe Church
will still remain. A prosperous church is like
a pros)>erous city, bonriatitucs, as in the
mining regions of the West, and as tn the oil
regions, cine* s. rin^ up in a lew days like musu- i
rooms, aui m a little while, if you were to travel
thai way, you Would Cm! the bouses going to raeic
and ruin and the streets deserted, a city does
not live by itsell alone. New york, lor instance,
bas been growing and growing. By the rabroads
and steamboats which concentrate here we get
grain irom the West, cotton irom the bontb and
lumber from the .North, iiut it is not the isllroads
that make New York prosperous. It is be- nuse of
the churches, the good people, the praying people
that New York is what it is. it is the same wiiti
any city as U is with any cnurch. It is sale because
God u in it. It is happy because Ood is in it. It
is prosperous because Ood is in it. aud when Ood
goes out ol it Its doom is sealed. Ho ll w# love our
city and li we want to do it good we must become
pravmg men and women: and as Ood loves to
dwell in a lowly and contrite heart the onlv way
we can net (iod to coinc down to New York is
by constant prayer. A city is prosperous
when it has plenty ol o:d men an 1
women in It. To my mind 'lie four sweetest
tiling* in the wot id are? iliri, baby girls; second,
baby boys; tuird, rl^c, ?ood old men; fourth,
ripe, good old lao^es; and a church, like a city, is
prosperous when there are plenty oi old people
and ctiiuiren in it. Now, ihe t??xt says the afreets
' of that city shall he full ot gins and boys playing
in the streets. Now, tne essence of my sermon lfl
| to that word play ; but what eUe can cfiudien do f
(Voices?"Work, learn, study, pray, love, swear,
light.") Yes, Children can wor* aud learn ;nd
i love and i>rav. and ti>?v atiouiii do so: but. then. 1
there is also a time for play. Now, I believe Id i
playing. and you will notice tbat the text ways
that the boys and girls will be piaylng together, <
and (bat's just a? it should be. Now, j
ooya, I don't believe In your playing to
gether ail the time where the gins can't
share your pleasure. Now, men, I don't be*
lievo In stag parties, from which your wives
and sisters are excluded. Now, wumen. I dou't i
believe In *ocietie* or coteries in which men have '
no part or parcel. 1 believe that ihe Creator In- I
tended that men and women shoulJ share their
pleasures anJ amusements. Uirls coming in con
tact with boys and joining with them In their
ruder spurs are stremrtheued, their energies are
developed and ttiey become better able to deal
with tuc boy ol a larger giowtli in alter Hie. And, i
bojs, to b tender and dellcite to a girl is to <lis- I
play true chivalry, true nobility, true manhood. [
1 tuank Uod tbat In the process 01 a^es men and ;
women an) being brougnt nearer together. Now !
in regard to p:ay, we ought to play more than we
do. It is onr houudco duty, and we too olten ne- ;
gleet it. W e need amusement, and we ought to
take It, but we ought to do it as though on a ,
liol.v mountain and in a holv city. 1 intend to turn i
over a new leal myself and play more; :
; lor. alas I as * boy at college, aud still
later on as . a pastor. 1 feei tbat 1
I l ave not had play enough. Now play is exerclae
j lor amusement. It differ* from work, because
! work is exerc.se lor galu. We ought to play, be
cause we can work to so much better advantage
, alterwarus. You children ougnt especially to
j play, because tms period of yonr lile Is essentially
1 your play time; out when you do play there are
live things you must observe, in order to obtain
the lull beuedt thereof, and they are these:?
First, play heartily; enter into the game being
played with all yonr might, let yonr lessens go lor
, a while, and try to remember nothing but that !
you arc In for a good time. And you men, when
; you enter into amusement, do it beartily and ex- ;
tract all the pleasuie trom It that you can. Sec
ond, play temperately, because 11 you get too
much of a thing, you won't enioy it attain. Re- ,
member that the whole object or play la I
ainu.-emcnt and relaxation, ana if yon make I
a task ol it the main object is ac- i
feated. 1'eopie often come to me and I
ask. Do you think It right for me to engage in 1
saca and sncii a pastime:- And! invariably reply, j
it Is not. lor your pastor to say what amusement ;
you shall indulge In; but it is tne duty of your
? pastor to tell you mat in selecting amusements |
iou must select those in the enjoyment of winch
heartily you can come back better prepared to
pray and to work lor Uod. That's the amusement
lor you. Tliird, play unselfishly. Make Miatarule ol
1 lue. Tlie best amuse rneut is that In which tne great
I est number can take part and receive the most
enjownent. Fourth, play truthftiily. Never take
! a mean advantage. Knuckle down tight to the
1 ring when it's in the game, and iu every game be
i just as houest and just as trototol as lu the more
serious business of lite. Lastly, let all your play i
i be consLfteut with holiness. Holiness frightens
people away; they think that a holy Uod is a fad
ll<id, or a mud God, or a hard God, and tbat is
because some people who profess holiness are
! usually sad or mad or hard. Holiness Is periect
Bweetness, perfect love. A man is holv when he
loves uod wnhall his heart and his neighbor as
; hlaiseir. You can play and be holy and you cau be
; holy and play. Angels In heaven play. I <lo not
for one moment doubt tuat they have all kinds of
joy and varieties ol thought and cxerclses. 11 you
cannot determine what kinds of play are consist
ent with holiness 1 can ten you that any play
which mako9 yon reverence the Bible less, the
church less, the ttabba'h less, yonr parents less,
or God less Is unholy play, and all the rest Is bo)y.
I have heard of some association or committee of
men who have been denouncing the
game of croquet as an Impediment to
the cultivation or holiness, but to my mlna !
the holiness that can't stand the strain of an
honest sociable game of croquet Isn't worth carry
ing irom the puipit to the door. The inemoer, the
ottlcer or the pastor of i church who can't be
holy iu his amusement is Dot fit to be in a cnurcn.
The best rule alter all Is to love the Lord with all
your heart ami strength and mind and soul, and
about the rest to do asyou please.
ST. MASK'S CHURCH,
Sermon by Rev. Or. Rylance?Christian I
l?uty Toward the Poor.
St. Mark's church was well attended last night
to listen to Dr. Rylance's sermon on the above |
subject. The text was trom the forty-first Psalm, i
first verso?"Hlessed Is lie that const dereth the i
poor; tae Lord will deliver him in the time of !
trouble." Tnere is, said the Doctor, a very marked !
interest felt and manifested In our community J
just now in the condition of the poor, and various I
methods of reliel are advocated by some, whtle by 1
others all such exertions seem to be looked upon
with doubt or suspicion. It is alleged that there
is a
VAST AMOUNT
of indiscriminate charity given In our ctty, -which
has Has a demoralizing effect upon society, while i
otners urge more strenuous exertions to supply
the need and to mitigate the misery which are
said to abound In our midst. Both or these post- J
tlons are probably sound and true, spita of the
seeming contradiction between them. It is simply
another instance of ex parte evidence and one-sided
conclusions. Fa:ts in abundance are at hand to
justify either or both; but the partisans or one
view, as usual, seem to be blind or morally insen
sible to ti.e truth and practical importance 01 the
other. Said the divine, this comusion arises
mainly irom the lact that, as a people, we have
beeu so long strangers to expenses which of
LATE YEARS
have been rapidly accumulating. We have so
long beeu accustomed to look upon this land as
tue home of freedom and Plenty, where all who
would and could work might nave a living, that
many 01 us cannot believe, peruana, that it is
otherwise now, and so we are tempted to impute
all tne want and wretchedness aronud ns to un
worthy or criminal causes. The problem is com
paratively new to us and we naturally And it per*
plexmg, and so we give various and conflicting
explanations of the tacts in tne cane and suggest
different and mutually destructive schemes lor
dealing with them. The Doctor thought, that,
while we had tins want aud misery in our midst,
it was oar duty to deal with it 111 a prudent and
Christian way. lie said it would not do to pusli
the claims aside or to stop our ears to the cry ol
the suffering or our fellow citizens; lor in a com
monwealth like ours that sort or treatment might
bring In its wake a very grievous
SORT OP BETKIBCTIOH.
For, socially, we are one body?members one of
another, and the head cannot say to the hand or
the loot, 1 Have no need ol tnee. No one class can
generally or seriously suffer among us without
entailing suffering to some extent upon the waole
community, so that we have a common interest
in considering ana handling tue question before
us. I'radence, said the minister, was the first
qualification to regard In our efforts to relieve the
present distress. Wo are all of us enemies to
wliat is denounced as
lNDUCKIMIKATB CHARITY,
because or Its demoralizing and degrading effects
upon cbaractcr. Not to Iramtlr a man's self
respect while we help linn in the time of
bis trouble should be a chief conccrn with
us, and to guard very jealously against paving
a premium for idleness, lest imposture should' be
come an easy and remunerative profession, and
it is well to let the stress o: nee<l be felt at times,
perhaps, as a stimulus to exertion. The Doctor
din not neiieve in indiscriminate charity; he ad
vocated chanty, however, in lis most fervent
sense. He believed that the members of the
different parishes snould, through their pastor or
other agents, visit every case brought to their
notice, and if
WANT AND 8CFFfcHINO
were really there lo relieve them. Such bad uni
formly been the rule with St. Mark'.-, parish, and,
as he believed It to be tu? true and correct one,
he hoped the system would oe universally
adopted. He thought many more would be re
lieved by that course, and much tuat was fraudu
lently represented found out and at once stopped.
CHURCH OP THE DISCIPLES OF OHBIST.
Judgment Alter l>iath?Thc Christ
That Is To Be"?Sermon by tUe fttv,
?>. nT\y?n Husk Irk.
The morning services were very well attended
at the Churcn of the Disciples oi Christ. A new
pastor, Bev. D. R. Van Buskirk, was introduced
by one of the elders. He Is a man rather under
tne medium build and has a (ace earnest, thought
ful and benevolent. As a preliminary part of his
discourse be read tbe last chapter of If. Peter,
but for his particular lext he announced Acts,
xviu, 30?"Because he luth appointed a day in
which he will judge the world iu righteousness, ?
by that man whom he hath ordainedj '
whereof he hath given assurance unto
nil men, in that lie bath raised him
irom tbe dead." The Bible, he began, contains
motives lor obedience to its mandates as deep as
perdition, as high as heaven and as boundi ;?S as
the love oriJod. Atid, perhaps, It is not too much
to say tiiat it contain.- ail motives. As many und
as great ns these motives arc, they may be summed
up in two clisses, us appealing to meu's hopes and
to their tears, lor men are worked upon by lear
us well as or the hope oi reward in this world or
Id tno world to come. The religion ol Jesus is lor
roan. It is not for angels or demons, but for
man, Willi nil his laculties and endowments, all
his weakness and all Ills strength. It reveals to
htm the beauties ol heaven and tne terrors oJ hell. ;
I intend to speak to you of the second coming of
oor Saviour to this world, not in
TDK (Jl'ISK OF POVERTY,
but in the grandeur oi His birthplace, to rail us to
judgment. This event has either taken place
already oris now going on, or It is yet lu the luturo
and will not occur while we are in this condi
tion. 1 shall try to prove from the lllbie that the
last proposition is tne true one. I argue, first of
all, tnat tills period of judgment. Indicated by va
rious phrases in the New Testament, will take
place alter ibis lile, and that we are therefore
takiuff our thoughts, words aud acts up to the
height of auother world. It is not to be
a partial Judgment I. very sentiment of
the heart, will reappear. A man is not
fully prepared for Judgment even in death.
There u a gctUQ in w men we ?UaU Uvc after the ,
grave has closed over us. The Apostle Pani say*
of Aprabam, "He is dead, and yet be speaks." It it
a principle of law tbat a man u not only account
able for bia crime?, l>ut Jor the crimes to which he
iiTTn any way accessory. Thus, a man may be mur
dered on Klghth aveuue. The man who did the
deed was instigated by a man In Chicago: his
plans were all laid for him; the man In Chicago la
a murderer. Tbia Is also a principle in divine
Judgment. Let it not be said or us, "Thou art the
man" tbat contributes to the volume of
TUB Tin* OF VICB
tbat surrounds us. We are all accountable for the
agencies that we put In motion. When a stone is
thrown into the water the motion that It makes la |
propagated In concentric circles until It affects i
every atom ol the water, were it eveu tlie Atlantic
Ocean, We are pebbles dropped into the occan of
huamnlty, and live not to ourselves and die not to
ourselves. John Wesiey is dead, yet he still speaks,
ami win be rewarded lor what he is doinsr now. I
Thus judgment Is lar from taking place oeiore !
death, lu the second place, Christ is to be our
Jud^e, and this He cannot to at present, for His !
mission was threefold?Redeemer, Mediator and
Final Ju<l?e. He died for our redemption. He IS
now our mediator, but Ills judgeship Is yet to
conic. He cannot be Judge and mediator at the
same time.
The services wero concluded with communion.
PLYMOUTH OHU&CH.
Sermon by Mr. Beecher on the Slow
Development of Christian Character?
The Rationale of Spiritual GtaWth
Hlnts for ita Cultivation*
The duli^Jeaden, gray clouds that rolled above
us yesterday morning had something to do. doubt
less, with a diminished attendance at Plymouth
church. The house was crowded in every part,
but there was no overflow in the outer lobbies.
Mr. Beecher preached a sermon on the alow de
velopment of the Christian character, fle selected
for his text the soventh, eighth and ninth verses
of the flith chapter of the Epistle to the
Oaiatiana?"Ye did run well; who did hinder you
that ye should not obey the truth? This persua
sion comefh no: of him that callath yon. A little
leaven leaveuth the whole lump." The develop
ment ol Christian character, said Mr. Beecher, be
gan well. It received a check, though there was no
necessity that It should do so. It did not come
from auy limitations in the nature of things, or
me Interposition of divine Influences. It caiue
from reasons that were extremely human and
needless. 11 you consider the low development
of Christian character it does not surprise us, on
looklug back, that men should be inconstant.
When the light broke first it had much of darkness
in it; a light that at best must have been only
twilight. A light that was colored by party views,
by custom, by government, by policy, by a thou',
sand circumstances yiat wero round about. To us
Jesus is not an obsenre Jew, disowned ofHla
countrymen, crucified by the Romans, in barbarity
and agony. So far as we can see we discern a
Saviour that rectilies the barbarities of human
nature. A gradual change that roctltlea the
growth of the soul of man; a new poetry, a new
sovereignty?a chan/c that com?th so gradually
that it dcuoteth a degree of development in our
time?is a cnange of the world Indeed from side to
aide.
CHRISTIANS ok to-pat.
When we consider that those whom we addrc'ss
have passed their life In religious families, that
lo0r'?nt,^*ireHrileHt, ycars they have lived lu the
t? . atmosphere ol Clir.stiau life; when tliey at
last, by their own vo:uutary act, range them
selves among Christian?, we might sav of such
that their growth will be rampant? and tbat Vhei
the gardener lets in the sun all will be green aud
^0.?'n?.on.thfe'r Vet' while we do not"ay
that Chi isiianity has not developed, and we sav
m'nd and instilurions of a single spiritual
genius have thrown their wgbt and their giorv
shining on the age; and whi> we recognize ihu
much, and also that this influence Is greatly in
creasing, yet we say that 11, iusica-l ol looting at
books, at hj mus aud at theories, you will look at
people, the question is an lmportaut aud pertinent
one. Why Is the deve opment of a full Christian
efif/.m nrt5.0h'lu h y. 1 Wl" t:lke wltti allowanco the
statement that being a member ol a church is no
guaraut^e of honesty, l will take with much quail
cation the statement that proiessors of religion
are Just as selfish, proud and uvaricious as any
body else. 1 here are many thliivs to be stated be
fore tlila question is determined uj.ou anv
such giounds as that. But if you s?o
. your own conscience and take the
Sff ? .1 i ! Cospel, for example, "You
shall o^e the Lord thy Uod with all thy hoart
and iliy neighbor as thyself," then observe also
what degree ol ch nge is wrought in natural dls
position and of the great constituent features or
the soul, and see how tncy are affected by it I
think you will agree with me that the stature'of
Christian life is not all tbat we should have w>
JJ?J?0' "J'11* on ? high Plane; we are only looking
up to it. Ihe question then arises, Why do we carry
a yoke that should be so easy, and a burden that
stiouid be so light? There spring up those who
siytous, "if we have only ialth we snail come
Into a higher liie. We have not only a promise of
Vi,ni?tT.<lnes8 ,n 8'n>.hat a deliverance lrom sin."
Bu. the question with me if??is it the promise of
a miraculous work, aud all the inaiign-llke of na
5turf Boes away, ns on the dny oi Pentecost, or is
it a final development, an education? is it to
j come by stages, aiul by process aud development
! an by instruments 11 ties, in which the Inatrnmen
tali tie* and the knowledge are applied?
- . REASONS KOIl 8LOWNK38.
rhJ fea8011 why the work oi ripening in the
Cbr.srlan character is slow is that the work is one
ap?l not of sudden transiormaiiou. A
man who takes religion easily is generally an
I emotive man; but emotion and lmaxlnatlou do
not make the wisest teachers. That is an exue
tint"06 1 w necessarily local and personal and
not pecesHar.ly typical. An Imaginative man la a
changeable man, and he goes up and down ac
! cording to moods. Mr. Beecher here Scribed the
j effect of the relation of the experience ol such
kind ol n,ia tlien aske,J ,f t,lat was a good
kind ol religiou. In reply he said:?There could
?nrVn^j0 HDflwer given, and that was tbat the
springs are around the beginning, are but the
beginning; that the development of the soul
j goes on by slow stages, just as any other education
HP.eA i,-111,18 I'fference, that tnia is ou a higher
plane. Tnere never was a man since the world
? at wa8 born Into Christ suddenly
that did not go through this long gradation of
twi?,r?iho ,1?re are no "'ore striking lUustra
i tiousofthat than are found In the New TeRta*
meat?-there Is a constant repetition of bntldim?
and edifying. Whether it be a tree or a building
the permanent Idea is range. Then this work of
. 0 ltaelf intrinsically more difficult
i fha? any that man can conceive or attempt. We
I ha^e narrowed the interpretation of the Master's
I direction?"Strive to enter in at the strait
gate. In any line of development the difficulty
increases as you go up. There is nothing so hard
1 tu? londamentai development of
Afferent way'? naturei necessarily develop in
TDK PROCESS OF DEVELOPMENT.
; ronfir wHhC.ail,e2 to fh,s 'award growth concur
1 .tl,e development of their Internal af
laiis, so that to overcome it they must overcome
themselves. For, alter all, the world is a greater
!U8Jh,nt'on '?'?an the Church or the Sabbath It Is
in this way that the Inspirations of truth, of good
men hlUi ?'Ibeuevolence must he developed. If
i men had to learn the art of war only on the bAttle
1 ?n i T0"1'1 be considered a very difficult thing
to do. Yet men are pushed Inlo lue for the devel
opment of their Chrlstiun character, and this is
Vn, ou y school. If, then, you say, religion Is so
difficult I may as well not attain it. I have neve?
J1*ed that the way Is difficult. But you can
not afford to live on the mere plane of Hie. The
I business of' your Hie is mo to' live
, that the development shall have awav
I nf orf? i ? Ci,rtl"y elemeuts. The problem
ol life Is how a young man shall get soundness
and put ilc lower life down, it is not more dim
cult for you to live with this spirituul unioKlinir
and developing than It Ik for you to live with your
r IJfJf MLatTlopmet,t B01"* on- 11 would live
i ' early. If yuu would engraft an
early beginning, begin now. Kvery year steadier
grow the tendrils that govern your file. It men
are livlug wrong tt.ejr cannot stop too soon. When
rtMtini'nr iiV 1,118 ln. t,"e "^''t of the lacts and ihe
duties of lire you will be glad of the merciful statr.
nient of the Gospel, "iouneed a lielpiui sniiit "
gM Which say. "The bruised rSlT'i wgl not
LYRIC HALL
Nr. Frotlilngham B?H the Coming
Dtvii
In spite of the disagreeable stale of the weather
yesterday the attendance at Lvric Hall was as
large as usual. Before the sermon Mr. Frothing'
ham spoke of the contributions. He said they were
not,meant lor the general expenses, tut icr the
publishing of fcls own sermons for gratuitous dis
tribution, which was the only missionary work
thej undertook to do. lie read extracts irorn the
Chinese, the I'ersiaii and the Hindoo Scrtpturca,
alter which, he said, this being the Advent sea
son, the thought of dawn is uppermost In our
minds. The Advent season is at the darkest period
of the year and is the bcirinntug of relief from dark- 1
ness. It la not lull day, but the first faint glim
mering of day. We always make this difference
bet ween darkness and llgnt. The Christian world
looked back on the pagan world and thought of it as
a world that lay in, darkness. No language was suf
ficiently strong to express their senso ol the moral
turpitude and degradation In which the world lay
before the coming of Christ. The Protectant
Church lookod back to the Middle Ages, speaking
of tnat as the night, and tho liberal Christian
world looks back on the Prot-atant world in the
same way. The newest thinkers look back on all
Chiistlanily as darkness, and the I ght they see in
the future Is the glimmering of a better day sillL I
YTe look bade and see lio? men wore regarded as i
/alien beings, wHo lay nndef the bflffld or iniquity;
be in 2.1 who In themselves had no power of doing
anything good, who were Hang on (his
planet, wlitch was not to be a home, bnt a
prison under control of the devlL They
thought of atonement by blood a vicarious
atonement, by which the guilt was transferred
from the guilty to the innoceot, and of a vast,
gaping hell, luto which the vast majority of men
were precipitated lor endless burning. Loo*
back on the times when these ideas were be
lieved in and you see a time Which must have
been as dark as midnight.
Now, It is vory easy to exaggerate tie darkness
of night. Christendom exaggerated the darkness
pf paganism: Protestants exaggerated the dark
ness of tuo Itoinan Catholics; liberals exaggerated
tne darkness of Protestantism, aud all tne time
LKiHT BA3 BEKN DAWNING.
Bnt me difference between those times and
ours Is that day was not welcomed as
such. It is our privilege to welcome the
dawn. The week Just ended lias been
signalized by one of the very remarkable
occurrences which characterize our modern
world, the observation of the transit of Venus, a
thing which could not have been done or even
thought of t>eiore the reformation of Lnther. And
now every government sends out Its army of
light and establishes stations all over the globe to
watch this wonderful thing. What is it done lor?
Because light is good for Itself: light expands
mind. We cannot gaze Into .be heavens without
the heavens comlug into our hearts. The scien
tific mun dare go anywhere; he knows he will And
no devil; he knows that the further be goes toe
nearer he Is to the central liotne of his Father. A
great writer on Gothic architecture speaks of IU
weakness, lie says that It makes great preten
sions, but why then these flying buttresses?
wny these numerous supports in every direc
tion? They are a confession of Its weakness*
So in couduct. of life. Under the old system It
was supposed a man's virtue could not be saie un
less be was watched and scrutinized; he must
have a devil to look alter him, and the fear of hell,
with Its abso:ute misery, caps the whole. It Is all
gone?the devil, the Imps, the hell ( the vast
marsh is drained; and children play over the once
yawning abyss. Is human virtue less secure? It
Is more securo, because we are satisfied of this,
that the omnipresent law takes cognizance of
every act and thought; there Is no escape, aud It
Is impossible to believe that any act or turpitude
will be forgotten or go unpunished, and therefore
It is that we, who are the extreme liberals, who
discard theology entirely, who stand outside, are
mure secure of our virtue, knowing that no devil
awaits us, out a perfect law. A kindness that never
sleeps takes us in Its arms and calls us to account
and gives us our discharge or oar dispensation.
This observation of the transit of Venus suggests
another thougnt. Venus Is a star not so large
as our earth; it keeps on Its way through toe
sidereal system, only once in a while It baa to go
through some special passage, which is only part
of its great orbit. Then It attracts the attention
01 the wnole world, but It is unconscious of it so
it is with every human life. People think of them
selves as soiuerlung insignificant, but in every Hie
comes a crisis?Kouietblog to be laced, some ques
tion to be settled?and it is a matter of extreme
Interest to all around whether it Is to be a failure
or a success. Thus the beam of light touches
the material universe. Does not tbo beam
of light Cull auswcrlng voicca from other
things? In ancient Egypt stood a gigantic
statuo of Memnon, ana tradition aays ihat
when 'he sunbeams struck it a strata
! of music was neard. home said It was a trick of
the priests, aud some waul it was so constructed
that the sun had actually the power to produce
the music. There la another statue that has
stood in the world much longer than Mat dark
and crude statue?the human frame. Look back
a lew generations, to the time which we think
was the time of darkness. What was the human ,
Ira in or The matter it was made of was the refuse
stuff oi creation; It was full oi iniquity; its appe- I
tites and passions were to be guanied against;
had It an aliment, it waa a sign of its infamous de
scent ; it was the
UURINB OF DEVILF,
and when it died it was put into the ground as If
the ground was the pit oi the Infernal. Thus, lor !
generations the human frame stood for man's
inspection uninspected. All at once comes ;
a beam of knowledge and falls on i
j the lorehead of the statue, and instantly i
! it makes the matter It Is made ot seem toe finest, i
j aud now, as by the early light of morning, we look !
I at Hits statue, we see that the irame ot uian must
! not be crushed, but nourished, for it perfect form
doe* not impart perfect intelligence, periect form
can alone represent it; and 11 all that comes simply i
from a touch of it beam of light, what will be the
result when the full light of day is upou us? Who
shall guess? Take poverty; it was a dark mass I
which no one thought of potting away. Now It Is {
morning and we see that tins mass Is composed of ;
Individuals, and under the power of tne dav
beam we see individuals leaving this mass and i
this awful thing disappears in mists.
Here was the great spot called crime, a more I
stubborn darkness si ill, and what to do with this
f;reat mass oi iniquity?watch it, kill it, torture
t, hang It on a crucifix? Voa can do nothing
with It. They are not human beings, but fiends.
So, tor long ages it was. The momlug beam falls
on that mass and ovcry criminal U a being with
heart and soul.
'lhe symbols of the New Testament, the miracles
of Christ, have never been realized yet; but with
the advent oi a better day the miracles ot the
New Testament, will be but faint symbols of the
new lurht of beauty that w II take possession ot
| the earth. Morning comes slowly, but with the
I light we come to see things as they are. and
to see things as they are Is to hope ior things as
| they shall be.
DEDICATION OF A MISSION CHAPEL.
In the afternoon yesterday took place the cere
mony or the formal dedication of the Morning
star Union Mission chapel. The new nome of the |
Mission is situated in Twenty-sixth street, near |
Seventh avenue. It is externally an unpreten- I
tlous red brick building, bur the interior arrange
ments are excellently adapted lor tho purposes '
lor whtch it is intended.
The chapel was well filled yesterday, and on the
dais, with l)r. R. P^i'erry, the Superintendent,
were Rev. Drs. Anderson, Armitage, Deems.
King and Hastings; Professor W. H. Gardner and
Messrs. James D. Held, J. E. Coudict and B. J.
Dloss.
The exercises opened with the singing of the
hymn "Praise God, from Whom All Blessings
Flow," alter which the invocatory prayer was
delivered oy Rev. Dr. Armtiage.
Toe superintendent then gave the meeting a
short sketch of the history of the Mis
sion and a statement ol the present
condition of its affairs, in October, 1868,
a room was obtained in I'lke's Opera House.
Tuey commenced with about sixty pupils, but
within three m-mtiu they had mty teachers and
nearly three hundred pupils. When the laie
James Hit bought the Opera House, their hall
being rented for different purposes, the school
found Itself In the street. Since that time for six
years had they been wandering Irom "pillar to
post" nntll last Saboath, when, thanks to the
Giver of All Good, they moved into tnelr new
home.
ltev. Dr. King spoke or the deep lmpres*lon
made on him in his visits to Home or the military
hospitals daring the course or the late Franco
German war by the aotive, disinterested charity
or the members of the "Red Cross," who, Irre
spective or nationality or dlfTerenco or creed,
under this sign of common Christianity devoted
themselves to the care of the sick and wounded.
Most appropriate, too, for their work?the work
or a Union Mission?was the emblem they had
chosen?the Morning Stir. Christ nimseir said,
"I am the bright and Morning Star." (Revela
tion, xxll., 1G.) The brightness or the Father's
glory shone In Ilim, and from Illm comes to us
the light or God. As on the great open seas all
marineis are guided In tnelr course by one star,
so, 11 all ol us raithiully directed our eyes toward
the star, Jesus, divisions would cease and we com
blue In the common work or the Lord. The
speaker concluded by leciting Horatius Bonner's
hymn, "The Morning Star."
Addresses were ai?o Imule by Mr. James Reid
and Dr*. Deems and Hastings. A lurge collection
was then taken up. By means 01 tills and ihe
profits expected to accrue Horn the fair to be
held in the Mis ion House during tho prcseut
week, the committee hope to be able to meet their
liabilities, The whole amount expended lias been
$39,000. In this sum are included the purchase of
the lot, the cost or building, furniture, Ac,, ami a
valuation or donations. 'Itio lair commences on
Tuesday, 15lh instant.
CHURCH FAIB8.
The fair given by the ladles ol the congrega'lon
of St. Agnes' church, In Forty-third street, near
Lexington avenue, will be continued this week.
On Situid ij night last Croton Hull wan crowded,
but the general reception by the three hundred
beauties was postponed until next Saturday, the
closing nlglu, when a grand ball will be given.
One ol tTie greatest reaturi'S of the fair is tho bil
liard table prevented by Mrs. Laurens. She is one
of tuc most industrious ladles in the hall, and has
secured hosts or buyers. 'Ihe lair will be open all
this week.
The ladies or the Morning Star Union Mission
Sunday School will open a lair Iii their now chapel,
Nos. 106 anil lt>7 West twenty-sixth street, near
Seventh avenue, on Tuesday oitcrnoon, December
10, which will be continued evcrv afternoon and
evening during the week. The object or toe un
dertaking Is to raise funds to pay off the debt on
the building just completed.
A children's fair in aid or the French Orphan
Asylum, under the nnsplces of the pupils or Mine.
Tardive!, will be opened on December it.
A fair in aid ol disabled soldiers and their
families will bo held at Masonic Tempie, opening
to night.
The fair in aid of tho Association tor Befriending
Children and Young Girls, now being -held at No.
3o Union square, will be continued until the lsth.
Crowds throng the hall every nuht and none go
away without declaring tho entertainments are
most enjoyable. The terra cotta figures still make
one of the prominent attractions. Among the
ladles in charge of tables aro Mrs. George V.
Becker. Mrs. T. A. Kmmet, Mrs. Mary C. 1). Starr,
Mrs. Klliott, Mrs. O'Connor, Mrs. Jainieson, Miss
Harris, the Misses Gibert, the Misses vTouiu aud
Mrs. bnowden.
PRIMARY EDUCATION.
A New Movement in the Board
of Education.
THE SALARIES OF TEACHERS.
An Appeal for More Primary
Instruction.
The present disturbed condition of the public
mind Ih reference to tbe supposed extern plated
action of tbe Board or Edacatlon as to reduction
of tbe salaries of the teachers of public schools
has awakened a general inquiry among the friends
or education as to the system of instruction.
Following this line of thought tbe tesuit has been
to discover, on tbe part of nearly all the members
of the Mew Yore board or Pabllc Instruction, taat
toe reduction or teachers' salaries Is not the right
place to economise. If tbe present ratio of pay
ment was to be Interfered With It Is deemed by
those moat conversant with the practical work
ings of the system that the change should
be made in the direction of equalization or
salaries rather than in that of reduction.
Tbls controversy, which started on a mere que*
tlon of iibance, has now outrun those limits, and
tbo more tuougbtlhl members of tbe Board, whoso
attention to the practical results of the present
system of education has not been distracted by
tbe glamour or showy exhibitions ot useless ac
complishments, have arrived at the conviction
that to a large extent?as far as practical educa
tional attainments are concerned?the present
system Is fast culminating, to use the forcible lan
guage of one of tbe Board, into "a chronic sham."
It* felt that the primary schools of this city fall
in the great cardinal principle of American free
dom?that of making them the Intellectual nurse
ries of the whole people, and bringing to each
every department or necessary and useiul knowl
edge.
WHAT COMMISSIONERS SAY.
With a view or ascertaining tbe opinion of the
board as to what would be tbe practical effect of
this enforced necessity ror the exercise or econo
my, a reporter of the Herald called upon Com-'
mlssioners baker and Ilalstead. Mr. baker stated
distinctly that be relt certain that the board
would not make any reduction in tbe salaries of
the teachers. That, in Ms Judgment, would be a
very serious mistake, ir any change were made
la this matter or salaries It oujnt to be lu the dL
rection or Increase, not of reduction; for the
lnstructipn of children, which laid the foun
dation of a chaiacter that budded forth
into citizenship and the exercise of all
Its rights, could scarcely be overpaid, however
munificent tbe payment might be. There was.
however, no danjrer on tbe side or increase; he
thought that that was even less likely than reduc
tion. He should be glad to see a compromise made
in this matter oi salary, and an equalization or re
muneration obtained. In 1871 the board, as then
constituted, and which did not have the same
creoit given to It for purity ol purpose and disin
terested management as tue present Board, gives
in its annual report for 1871, the following "rea
sons for receut increase in (he salaries of teach
ers":?
In view of the Important changes which have been
made lor raising the standard ot scholarship In the
public achools, tne Board deemed It proper to offer in
centive* vo 1U teachers by increasing their atnual com
pensation. It may bo thought that at this juncture In
public airalrs, when oach department is reducing the
?mount ot its annnal expenditures, such aclion on the
Surtol the Commissioners ot Education was til advised.
ut In considering toe Importanco of the work which
ih* teacner Is called upon 10 perform, the increase will
neither be regarded as ill-timed nor too large. It Is. in
realiiy. an act ot strict justice and proper economy.
Whenever work is worth doing it i. worm doing well,
and the people who arc engaged lu the sacred liils.-don ot
?dacating the youug of our metropolis and ntting ihcm
or the proper performance ol their duties as citizen*
i should be tairly compensated. Uesldes all tills the Hoard
lias taken measures to awaken a more active spirit
among Its cor pa ot instructors, and while It bold, out
inaucements to the deserving, it is determined to rid the
aystcni ot tbe uuworthy if there be any."
j WHAT TIIK PRESENT BOARD DID.
Th?exact condition of the salary question was
I ilioirii, Mr. baker said, In the Manual or tbe Hoard
' ol Education lor tbe present year, it would show
that tbls Board had already reduced very con
siderably the teachers' remuneration.
(SALARIES OF TEACHERS.
As there is considerable misconception as to the
' salaries or teachers, the loliowiug list, taken lrom
1 the Manual oi 1874, article 13, will seive to correct
j auy misapprehension:?
SALARIBS irr TO FKBUUAfiV 18, lP'i.
Mule principals ? $3,'KM
Mule vice principals . 3.MI
Mule assistants, where one In employed 1,S8J
Male assistant*, where mure than one 1# employed.. 1,052
Feuiale assistant*. average MO
FKMALK DKfARTaVNT.
Principal*, average ntieuilat.ee 100 fl,4ic
Principals, average attendance lot' l,.iM
? sv? prlncipAl^i
Vice principals. average attendance I J) to ift.? 1.18.
Assistants, average 7t>7
I'UIUAKT DKPAItrMKNTS.
PrlncipalK. less than ?*> averaee attendance $1,.1W
Principal*, more tuau AW ana not more tliau 40J
average attendance 1,320
Principals. more tlian <i)J and not more t.'iau 6V)
average attendance 1.50J
Principals, more than GOO average attendance l,*w
Vico principals, average atteuaanc! u.) and no;
more than 300 .. 9U0
Vlc? principal, average attendance more than 300
and not more tlian l.ooo 1,0:8
Vice principals, average attendance more than
1,(00:. 1,200
Assistants, average tKN
rnrbi:?t salariks.
Male principals of schools, with an average at
tendance lor the preceding rear ot 190 or less... .82.290
151 to 300 2.5UO
soi to mo ?,reo
BUI and upward V"J0
Male vice principals ot ? hoots, with an avernge
attendance tor tne preceding year ot a grammar
grade ot ISO or more 2,000
Female principals ol granimnr schools, with nil
average attendance tor the preceding year ot I'M
or le?s 1.200
101 to ISO 1.300
151 to 300 1,500
:ui to wo i.fios
601 and upward 1,700
Female vice principals ot schools, with an average
attendance lor the preceding year ot n grammar
grade. 240or more.. 1,209
Primary principals of school.;, wltn an a verage at
tendance, lor the precedlugyear,of 200 or less.... 1,000
HOI to 400 1,100
401 to 600 1,300
601 and upwards l,oW
Primarv vice principals of school*, with an aver
age attendance, for the preceding year, ot 3V)to
600 you
an to l.ooo l.ooo
1,001 and upwards 1,200
TKAC11KR.S or SI'KUIAl.TItCS.
Teacher of vocal music In grammar or primary
school $i2o
French teacht r in grammar school $>0
Herman teacher Iti grammar school 3H0
Drawing teacher in grammar school .too
In schools wncre no special teacher of music is
employed tlie teacher having charge of the music
Htiull receive $75 salary In addition to the amount
allowed us a regular assistant teacher, provided
the iiMuai Instruction la music Is given; :>ut no
principal or vice principal or a school shall be
appointed to such position.
Mr, Baiter Bald he should be in favor of an
approximation to au equa'izatlon of the salaries.
He was of opinion that too little of the money
was given to the primary schools, iiiere had been
a growing tendency in the public educational
system of New Vork to cultivate the ornamental
at the expense or the uselui. So extensively
prevalent was this tendency ana so deeply Ima Its
roots permeated the system, that the enure :abrlc
or our social life was likely to be demoralize!
by it. For example, the acquirement or what
were really the factors ol all education?viz., read
ing, writing and ciphering?were left by the sys
tem pursued by the Board to the more inetTlnent
and less qualified grade of teachers, lie (lid not
I oppose the acquirement or wtiat was supposed to
1 be an ornamental education; but he did insist
tnat In a country Ilka America, which liad com
paratively no population th.it could alford lo lie
non-producers, and the bulk o! whom hail their
way to make in the world, they should have
an opportunity of being well grounded in these
essentia) elements ol an Instruction. Ihe lacts, as
lar aa New iork were concerned, were these?
that the number of children attending the primary
school * was about two-thirds ol the entire attend
ance, and that tne expense ol leaching these wae
only one-tlnid of tint wlncii was spent ou primary
schools. The report of ly?u shows tlte following
figures:?
Ar frag? Whole Kumher
AUe.n'ntirf. Taught,
Male grammar l.thonls 17,051 32.4SJ
Female grammar schools. 18 in ts ml
Primary l'euartments :<<),.*u 90 297
Priuisry schools 15,S3,14i
The result of this defect of the nystetn
was not only disastrous upon the children,
but it had a prejudicial effect ou the teach
ers. A teacher graduates necessarily through
the public sonoois; the imperfections or the prim
ary system tell upon the early education received
by this graduate, and, despite the excellence ol
the system pursued at tne Normal School, thafe
delect is. as a rule, carried into the work of th?
teacher whenever he or she may bo called upon
to enter upon it as teacher in the primary school.
In addition to this there is ever active In the
mind of tho teacher the desire lor translation to
the grammar school, with increased salary, ami
the feeling that tho primary school U not a place
of honor,
WIJAT A PRIMARY mtMOIPAI. 8AT3.
Mies susau Wright, prlucipal or the prtmuj de
100KTWUED Otl HINTS PA&SJ