1
10
27
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/25778/archive/files/15935b8ff9cf113ab6738a0dff1ef7b0.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=BQ136GIKWK2E3IGFFI5XYolc0tekjW0gjbqaYeqoGUy%7EOeLn%7Eu5kBBWQYwWSLzd2vKqUT1P4hqyFiMbcomelfm5OY7NlmOelY6vLMXetPNzAYuCWraRjZzWhyGmcG6S8qr6pLX-XH%7EUmoGzxuBbuHzAP3eFuBSCdefsvcxGg2vNC3YcgeDN4srV3U-2-2gzM1UzzXU%7EzskKANAaup3TRHlXlwC%7EwDH2QHFKv%7EQKOe%7EUIP0e59g%7Eh5pxH0P0G-ikst55gBzm8ZnECKfY25cD5Ph-FAsK%7E5sxfG%7EDt-eDaNIHQh%7ECEWL4TpnwnUFyQnaZQpqY%7EdDP6CpBfncRgeIlzgA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
89faf8fe41aac70976effd711ffb3646
PDF Text
Text
Mr. Moncube D. Conway, an American now in England,
respectfully informs your Committee that he is prepared to
deliver, during the coming season, Two Lectures on
THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF NEW ENGLAND.
I. The Pilgrims of the Mayflower—the Colony at Plymouth
—the planting of the Church, the State, and the School—the
Manners, Customs, and Ideas of the Puritans—the Geography
and Natural History of the Country—the Indians—the settle
ments of Six States—the First Confederation—the Quakers—
the Witches—the Dawn of a New Era with the Eighteenth
Century.
II. The Formation of a distinctive American Thought and
Character—Franklin, and his Influence—the Colonies and Eng
land—the Chase after Regicides—the War of Independence—
the Effect of Liberty—the Union—Social Formation—the
present Moral, Social, and Physical Condition of New England,
and its Influence on the American Continent—the Modification
of the Anglo-Saxon in America—the Statesmen and Literary
Men of New England—Education—American Tendencies.
A Map is used in illustrating the Geography and Settle
ment of New England.
These Lectures have been newly prepared from four written
last year for the Philosophical Institution of Edinburgh, and
given there and elsewhere, and one delivered in February last
�at the Royal Institution, of Great Britain,—with what success
may be gathered from the subjoined extracts A
“Person® of extremely cultivated judgment, who heard your lecture
at the Royal Institution, have expressed to me the pleasure they derived
from this discourse. They regarded its delivery as perfectly successful.”
—From a Note to the Lecturer written by Professor Tyndall.
“At the Royal Institution, on Friday, the birthday of Washington,
Mr, M. D. Conway delivered a lecture on ‘New England.’ He gave a
very interesting account of the trans-shipment of the Pilgrim Fatherssto
America in 1620. . . . Mr. Conway proceeded to point out in a very
Interesting manner the progress of the settlers in New England, and
their spread over the other? States of America*. In the course of
his lecture, Mr. Conway adverted to a curious fact, which he had men
tioned a few evenings previously at the Ethnological Societflg-that as
the original settlersfadvanced intflthe country, they become gradually
physically changed, and assume some of the pointed characteristics of the
Indians among whom they are located.”— The Morning Post.
“ The lecturer Eve a glowing picture of the summer beauties and
autumnal splendours of the country, and also gave some account of its
natural history, . . . Mr. Conway ^concluded his” (second) “lecture by
giving some amusing illustrations of the Puritan severity in enforcing
Sabbath observance, by resorting to the stocks, and so forth. He also
gave a few specimens of their earlier hymns. . . . The lecturer was listened
to throughout with close attention” (third evening)^ and was repeatedly
applauded during the delivery of the lecgire.”—Scotsman.
“ The lecture was one of great interest, and was treated in a highly
philosophical manner. . . . His account of the first settlers was peculiarly
interesting. On the whole, the lecture was a remarkably able one, and
evinced a thorough knowledge of the subject.”—Car lisle Journal.
“The style of the lecturer, or rather of his composition, was singu
larly elegant and neat* His observations were rather the expressions
of well-matured convictions, than the loud sentiments of the orator”—
Carlisle Chronicle.
“ Last night, a very admirable lecture, on the New-England States,
was delivered in our Mechanics’ Hall, by Mr. M. D. Conway*of Virginia.
, * , Their (the Pilgrims’) hard battle with adversity was graphically
described. The subsequent history of the country, he neatly sketched fl
and at last eame t® the growth of anti-slavery sentiment in New England
—which he dilated upon with an eloquence which stirred his audience to
frequent applause. One special feature in New-England institutions bfl
Commended to our imitation—the free-school system,. which was based
�upon the belief, that a man must no more be permitted to starve his
child’s mind than its body” (Applause)Carlisle Examiner.
" “ Mr. M. D. Conway, a popular American writer, whose reputation,
in common with all that is genuine, has not failed to be established on
this side of the Atlanta^ delivered the first of a series of lectures last
night; . . . an admirable discourse.”
“His lectures during the week have proved a powerful source of
attraction,”—-Northern Daily Express. gE
“ The” (first) “lecture, which was interspersed with many passages of
wit and humour, was well received throughout, the lecturer being fre*
quently applauded.”
“The” (concluding) “lecture was listened to by the largest audience
of the season, amidst the most earnest and sustained attention, and was
repeatedly applauded?*
“Mr. Conway possesses a clear, vivacious, incisive, and pictorial style.
He paints a picture or demolishes a fallacy with equal ease. 4 Circum
stances have raised him above the mere conventionalities of thought. His
treatment of whatever topic he touches is fearless and trenchant. But,
withal, there is a deep vein of tenderness and reverence in this Virginian.”
44 Mr. Conway is a concrete, father than an abstract, thinker. His
ideas recall the original import of the word, being eminently pictorial.
» , * Only the impact <rf mind on mind was Mt. Such as have not yet'
heard him, we would recommend not to low this opportunity of hearing
one of the most distinguished men the New World has yet sent the Old.”
— The Newcastle Daily Chronicle.
Address:
M. I).CONWAY,
6
Westbourne+Grove T&rrace,
^London. W.
��
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
[Notification of Moncure Conway's lectures on] The past, present and future of New England
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway, Moncure Daniel [1832-1907.]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 3 p. ; 19 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[n.d.]
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G5711
Subject
The topic of the resource
Moncure Conway
Lectures
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /><br /><span>This work ([Notification of Moncure Conway's lectures on] The past, present and future of New England), identified by </span><span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk">Humanist Library and Archives</a></span><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Conway Tracts
Lectures
Moncure Conway
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/25778/archive/files/d272e403cd0885fb3df9f1bd79eb35d9.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=QTOKx9vnCvIlmuNWexe8NnwVtxrCUNRis7zbjQQfM6Vvgr--iYh2wA-qrWK6iSVOBHSBs2XvL5GzFSmnIHV1J659zua9MiPRIvntInlgx7qVj6WeujO1rcidqS4xXjkV3ZQ7xnWYqc6bi5SKlDfFECa3OJx2GZBIczVTnrfNTh-CznLvZRSigPek3r5ZuaLd8YhROB2KqNVA6JoNQ%7EkdRt2RCn6af5uvIAEnyfbDn%7EeGerqe-5NaEsfN8oyORkNvG4AZ8KkHqBzMknz0D8Rzb5akxBuGLH3gH-7nD04kSkFq0nypcYgV0U1x6jzHsvcVABEI3hH1j68MfzWZfKfEhg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
2798588ae7539cd91b13bf1d33b7dc5c
PDF Text
Text
A LAST WORD
Spoken at the Athenaeum, on
the
closing of
our Services there, June 27th, 1880,
BY
ONWAY,
ONCURE
^nnbrrn :
PRINTED
BY WATERLOW AND SONS LIMITED, LONDON WALL.
l88o.
�E™—
—.
�A LAST WORD.
It was on the seventh day of this month, 1868, that
I gave at the little chapel where this society was
cradled its first anniversary discourse.
Thirteen years
have brought us to its closing hour. As I have already
stated, my ministry here ends by my own action based
upon personal considerations, but having reference to
the cause we have at heart.
I repeat this because it
would be unjust to those who have so long and
earnestly worked with me, unjust to the large and
sympathetic audiences which have steadily gathered
here, to have it understood that it has been or is
through any suggestion from others, or from any dis
couragement about the condition of this society, that
I have resolved on this step.
On the contrary, this
�4
society appears to me more vigorous to-day than at any
time of its life, and it is a distress to me that I must
adhere to my resolution to close it. That resolution
was formed under a sense of failing health which has
passed away; but there remains a conviction that my
future work will be better done if concentrated upon
one society.
If it were not that I have hope of retain
ing the friendships formed here, and that a good
many of you will be able to unite with us at South
Place, it would be a greater grief than it is to speak
this last word.
I trust it is not a parting word.
I
feel sure that my friends at South Place will welcome
with warm hearts those who have so valiantly, amid
evil as well as good report, sustained this evening
society, to the work of enlarging the strength and
influence of that stronghold of religious liberty.
In that anniversary discourse of 1868, to which I
have alluded, I sounded for our then small society a
key-note caught from him who wrote the Epistle to
the Hebrews. “ Seeing that we also are compassed
about by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside
every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before
us.”
I claimed that as that Hebrew, setting out upon
a novel path against the faith of his fellows, still felt
the good and great of his race to be witnesses around
him, so we were surrounded by the witnesses of
�5
liberty and truth in all time ; and never more than in
abandoning their opinions in the same spirit in which
they also abandoned the outgrown creeds and con
ventionalised errors of their time. I protested against
the limitation of the great religious leaders within the
mere letter of their faith, maintaining that we could
be related to them and derive strength from them only
as we shared their spirit, their independence, their
courage, love of truth and justice ; laying aside, as
they did, every weight, even their own authority, and
running with patience the race set before us, not that
which was before them.
On reading over that discourse I feel a strong
desire to quote this evening some passages from it.
“ Each great teacher, amid many limitations, added
a fresh tint to -the holy ideal which our life exists to
attain, and a new impulse towards it; and each from
being a wing becomes a fetter if we accept his thought
or work for our own, instead of receiving his spirit as
the inspiration of our own.”
“ He who gives men great names as authorities does
much, as if he should ask us to put out our eyes
because near by are excellent guides for the blind.”
‘‘There is no arrogance in refusing the absolute
guidance of the greatest authority.
Aristotle taught
�that an amethyst worn on the breast would prevent
drunkenness.
Does one claim to be greater than
Aristotle because he refuses to accept that supersti
tion 1 Lord Bacon believed in witchcraft. Can one
not accept the wisdom of Bacon without his errors ?
Nay, to follow out faithfully the ethics of Aristotle
and the philosophy of Bacon, I must reject their
errors.”
“Jesus said, ‘ If ye believed in Moses, ye would
believe in me J by which he would say, Moses was not
like you, a preserver of rotten systems and antiquated
errors : he was a reformer, an emancipator of the
people, and though now long ages after he is dead, you
worship the letter and form of Moses, I, in being a
reformer and emancipator, am nearer him than you ;
he is my witness.”
“ It is sometimes said of those who leave narrower
church relations for larger ones that they have changed
their faith. But no—they have deepened, widened,
realised it. As you can trace the blossom in the
apple that grew from it, so shall you find in such the
essence of
that which has apparently fallen from
them.”
“ As a liberal society of believers and thinkers, not
fettered to the world’s infant speculations, nor con
�7
fined in any denominational grooves however wide, it
is important we should recognise our relations to the
past. We have no thought of ‘ sundering the sacred
links which bind together the generations of men,’ or
*of rudely cutting off the solemn perpetuity of the
religious commonwealth.’ We know that from along
and noble past come the burning visions of the future
brotherhood; but we also know that the perpetuation
of the commonwealth of faithful souls up to the realisa
tion of these visions depends on the courage with
which the hearts of the present can lay aside every
weight, and that dogmatism which so easily besets
sects, and run with patience the race set before us in
our own time.”
“We should surely have learned from the ages of
cruel dogma, of paralysing creeds, from which we are
emerging, enough to prevent our forging new chains
for our children.
I would fain trust that we who
have gathered into this company of worshippers recog
nise as the course set before us a maintenance of the
spirit in its absolute purity, apart from any opinions
whatever, vaulting like a pure sky above all temples,
domes, spires, yet a gentle air and soft light enfolding
and illumining all who worship in sincerity, even amid
their errors.”
“ The race we are running is not always to the swift.
�There was an Olympic race in which each competitor
bore a lighted torch ; he won the race who came in
first with his torch still burning.
They who cared
more for swiftness than to guard their torches, had
them speedily extinguished by the opposing currents
their motion excited.
Let us remember, friends, that
promoting a great movement here were no success at
all if our torch were not kept bright—if for such
success we should have sacrificed one ray of the
freedom in worship and inquiry for which we exist.
The rushlight that sends its light to the night-wan
derer is of far greater worth than a candlestick of
gold that bears no flame. No doubt, by compromising
our truth—by accommodating popular superstitions,
we might grow big. The appeal to pure reason is
slower work.
Let us press on unfaltering, unwearied,
taking care above all that our torch shall not be ex
tinguished, but shall send into the darkness and
superstition of the land a steadfast light, leading all
who follow it to that supreme and universal Light at
which our torch was kindled.
Let us press on, and
though every star should set, and suns wax dim, be
sure every spark of truth shall burn and glow in the
firmament of God for ever and ever.”
Such were my closing words at the outset of our
society. Well, it has now, in one sense, reached its
goal, and, I will venture to claim, with torch still
�9
lighted. A good many winds have blown upon it,
but it has not been extinguished. Some of us may
remember that it flickered considerably at one time
under an internal disturbance. In the course of my
inquiries some changes in my own point of view have
occurred, and one of these grieved some excellent men
and women who started with us. I came to the con
clusion that the custom of public and formal prayer
was not in harmony with our fundamental principles
and convictions.
It appeared to me inconsistent with
the belief in Supreme Wisdom and Love that we should
suggest anything to the one or petition the other.
I
explained this as well as I could, and with tenderness
for the traditional feelings of our reverent circle.
They were asked to consider whether they would like
to have their own children petition them daily for
their love and care ; whether they would not feel this
to be rather a reproach than a truly filial feeling.
Some that we loved and could little spare were never
theless offended and left us, though we were happy to
find that our personal relations with them were not im
paired. But by this our movement did not seriously
suffer.
The larger number showed that they had
counted the cost of a life of intellectual and religious
progress, and were resolved to stand by every position
to which they should be led by honest and logical in
quiry.
It is my belief that our reverence grew as the
�■S^B
io
old forms, which confined rather than expressed it,
fell away from us.
It became necessary to continue this kind of selfcriticism. In the course of it our use of the Christian
name came under re-consideration.
The name of the
little iron building in St. Paul’s Road, which some of
us remember with much affection, was the “ Free
Christian Church.”
But it appeared to myself and
others that there was justice in the orthodox assertion
that it was a misuse of language to call ourselves
Christians. If a man call himself a Mohammedan, it
implies a belief in the position assigned to Moham
med by the Moslem world, and in the authority of the
Koran. If a man call himself Christian, it conveys a
similar impression of his belief in Christ and the New
Testament. It is not a question of what the word ought
to mean, or of its etymology, but of the sense it actually
does convey to those around us. The word ‘ Catholic ’
means ‘ universal ’; the word ‘ orthodox ’ means ‘ right
opinion ’
but because we might in an etymological
sense call ourselves 1 catholic ’ and ‘ orthodox,’ it would
none the less convey a false impression to so call our
selves by names whose popular meaning is different.
To call ourselves ‘ Christians,’ when to ninety-nine in
every hundred persons that term must convey the
impression that we held the opinion of Jesus above
the science and discovery of our own time, was felt by
�II
us to be the suggestion of policy rather than of simple
truth.
We felt, too, that our old name,
‘Free
Christian,’ was a contradiction ; we could not fairly
claim to be free, and in the same phrase limit our free
dom by the name of a particular system of belief. So
we abandoned that name. In so doing I believe that
we took a step nearer to Christ himself, who, in his
time similarly abandoned all the pious titles and labels
which might have gained him favour; and we shared
the freedom of the
apostles,
among whom
the
Christian name was known only as an epithet of con
tempt, under which they suffered as much as is now
suffered by its rejection.
Therefore we surrendered this title to popularity;
and it is my firm conviction that thereby our society
gained much in religious life and force.
We left be
hind us the realm of disputation about words and
entered a region where it became necessary for us
to concentrate 'ourselves upon realities. We could no
longer build our spiritual abodes out of the debris of
crumbled creeds and the relics of tradition.
We were
compelled to repair to the laws of nature, to the facts
of our own mind and consciousness, to build our
new shelter as best we could ; and in the energies which
this demanded, in the freedom of spirit and earnest
ness which the new necessities evoked, we found a
deeper, larger meaning in religion itself.
We had
�ft fr
i
SK
12
undergone inward experiences of our own; we had
made some sacrifices of our own; and had discovered
that the religious life consisted not in any doctrines
whatever, but in the spirit in which truth was
pursued and the fidelity with which that which we be
lieved right and true was maintained.
Our trust in this principle was not without test. We
were severely arraigned and criticised in high quarters.
The chief clergyman of the neighbourhood denounced
us as blasphemers and infidels ; the champions of the
Christian Evidence Society were summoned to preach
against us; the pulpit fulminated, and the press
teemed for a year with hostilities ; they who admitted
us to this hall, and even the servants belonging to it,
were persecuted for not persecuting us.
that ordeal we grew strong.
But under
There was not one
single instance, within my knowledge, where any
member or friend of this Athenseum Society failed in
heart or interest because of these denunciations.
the contrary, we were greatly benefited.
On
It led to a
complete revision of the ground on which we stood.
Point by point, text by text, fact by fact, we went
over the whole history of the evolution of liberalism
with our opponents; and many of our number, who
had not done that before, were reassured by discover
ing the incredible fictions, the antiquated delusions,
the defiances of common sense and common senti-
�*3
ment, upon which Christian theology is
founded.
Many of our young people, who had not participated
in the controversies through which the intellect of
Europe and America had emancipated itself, were re
inforced by that memorable discussion which showed
us accomplished and scholarly men driven by the
remorseless necessities of their position to defend the
wild speculations of primitive man about religion
while rejecting the notions of corresponding times on
every other subject.
On that controversy which so long agitated this
community I look back with unalloyed satisfaction.
It appears to me to have been a genuine and thorough
one.
I have always respected the clergyman who
began it.
When he saw what he believed a wolf near
his fold he did not flee like a hireling shepherd ; he
grappled the supposed wolf and did his best to slay it.
He did not conceal his opinions; he did not jesuitically smooth over his dogmas ; he stood by them
honourably, even when the community was shudder
ing at them.
By originating and maintaining that
controversy he did us so much good; he added so
many to our years as a society, that I cannot grudge
him and his church any satisfaction they may feel at
our departure from their neighbourhood. They are
welcome to their relief, for they have aided us to sow
our seed as widely in thirteen years as without them we
�14
might have done in many more; and we know that
the seeds of thought and freedom are of the kind that
do not die, but must bear their fruit manifold.
This society was not begun in any formal way, and
it has not been continued out of any dry sense of
duty.
A few families, dissatisfied with the ministra
tions of the chapel to which they had belonged, with
drew from it.
It was not because of a doctrinal dis
agreement, but for other reasons. That which was so
begun has been continued after the occasion for it
had ceased, simply because we had come to love it.
Nobody has had any pecuniary interest in keeping up
this society; indeed, it has required a good deal of
self-denying energy to support an evening service in a
community where most people were already supporting
other societies. Had I been free to give my Sunday
mornings to this place there is no doubt that this
society would have grown too large for our hall.
We
have no reason to be ashamed either of its dimensions,
its character, or its zeal. It has not catered to popu
lar prejudices, it has had no dissensions, it finishes its
course after having fought a good fight for that freedom
to think and speak honest convictions, which an un
just and oppressive vote in Parliament last week
shows us to be a cause not yet won. Our work has
not been repaid in money, but it has not been without
its reward.
At least, so I feel it, and I trust it is so
�i5
felt by you. We have seen the steady expansion oi
our principles in social influence; we have grown in
love and sympathy for each other ; we have seen in
tellectual and moral activities awakened such
as
cannot slumber again : and as we go to our homes
to return here no more, we shall be carrying our
sheaves with us in the religious emotions and aspira
tions, the personal relations and friendships which
will always be associated with our unity and co-opera
tion in this society.
Thirteen years represent a long time in the brief life
of man.
The years which we have passed together as
a society represent for some of us the best years of our
lives.
So far as they have been well lived their fruits
are with us still, will remain with us, can never be
taken from us. This society as a visible body ends;
but the thoughts and feelings we have had here, the
resolutions that have here been formed, shall never
end; they have become parts of our being, they shall
for ever radiate in our influence, and when we are no
more they will still work on in the life and influence of
our children and of those affected by us, however un
consciously.
And, whatever may have been my shortcomings as
your minister, this at least I have never forgotten for
a moment since I first stood before you,—that every
principle we were here incorporating into our lives
�i6
would be one of endless influence.
The community
would be better or worse for it; many families would
be happier or unhappier for it; children unborn, and
children’s children, would be made more glad or
sad, weaker or stronger, wiser or unwiser, by our
every thought and word.
This responsibility has not
been upon me alone but upon you also ; for I have
spoken to men and women able to think for them
selves, to those who had nothing to attract them here
except their sympathy with our principles, and who
are amply competent to sift truth from error in what
they hear. Nevertheless, we have had the young here
also, and I have felt profoundly the responsibility
under which I uttered my thoughts in their presence,
for errors do not die so easily or pass so harmless as
many suppose. And now, as I prepare this my last
word, it would be to me a happy relief could I recall
and reverse every mistake I have made, and remove
every error committed. But who can understand his
errors? Perhaps time will reveal them. Perhaps
when I am no longer able to stand here and point them
out I shall discover that on one point and another I
did not see so far as I thought while here. But I shall
have this reflection also, that you and I travelled our
thirteen years’ pilgrimage together;
my heart and
thought were shared with you; we have grown so far
together: therefore if I shall gain a new experience,
�i7
or attain a riper thought, it will be my consolation to
believe that you also have attained the same, and will
be able to modify and correct the errors of years less
mature, both for yourselves and your children. For
at least I may claim never to have tried to lord it over
your conscience or your judgment. I am conscious that
truths, however valued, have not been here made into
absolute formulas, but every mind has been taught that
its chief end is to grow. No question has been closed ;
all questions are open. I have heard, from time to time,
not without satisfaction, that outsiders complained that
we did not label ourselves with a name, and they
could not tell just what we did believe.
When on one
occasion the magistrates who license this hall ques
tioned the applicants about our meetings here, and
showed some signs of interference, it appeared difficult
to give any clear account of us.
The magistrates in
quired our belief, and what we were, but no clear
answer could be returned by the applicant, who was
not one of us. I believe he said we were “ seekers
after truth and a long time finding it.”
not far wrong.
If so, he was
It has certainly been less my aim to
urge and defend any doctrine that appeared to me
true than to cultivate the spirit that seeks truth, the
fidelity that follows its lead, and the hope that every
idea reached as truth may presently pass like a blossom
before the fruit of a larger conception of truth.
And
�i8
this evening, in parting with this society, it is with a
trust that the spirit of growth, of progress, of inquiry,
of thought unfettered by authority however kindly
exerted, will be antidotes against any particular mis
takes or partial views which I have uttered.
It is my
real belief, it was stated in that first anniversary dis
course which I gave at our foundation, and it shall be
repeated in this last, that religion means to me no
doctrine at all but a spirit and a life.
An atheist,
earnestly seeking truth, and speaking what he believes
truth, bearing the cross of his denial in the face of the
world, is a religious man,while they who persecute a man
for his fidelity and scourge him for his veracity are
irreligious men, though they may seem to themselves
the protectors of omnipotence.
It is my belief that
until this principle animates society, there will be no
general religion at all.
The dogmas which are estab
lished in hngland are not more self-confident than
the established dogmas which poisoned Socrates, or
those which crucified Jesus ; as those proud systems
turned out to be no religion at all, but the reverse of
religion, so will the dogmas of our time which poison
intellect with hypocrisy and crucify humanity, turn
out to be the real irreligion. The coming man will
preserve such dogmas as fossils belonging to a Saurian
epoch of psychology, when men fancied that to crawl
before a god, and venomously bite all who did not
crawl with them, was religion.
�But beyond these dogmas, even the finer specula
tions of philosophy, even many attractive generalisa
tions, must pass away ; the best statements of truth
cannot share the immortality of truth. Therefore, let
US subordinate all opinions to the spirit of truth; let
US cultivate in our hearts such a love of it, that when
we meet one who disagrees with our opinions, but
shows veracity of mind and the earnest desire for
truth, we shall recognise in him a worshipper of the
holiest, a brother of the best and wisest. Nor let us
confuse this love of truth with a defence of any
particular doctrine or proposition.
Truth is one
thing; a truth another.
A man may defend his
opinions; the opinions may be true; yet he may not
be a lover of truth ; he may not reverence the spirit
of truth when it denies his own opinion; he may not
love truthfulness in his neighbour when it goes against
his interests; or, if he holds an unfashionable truth,
he may not bravely acknowledge it, seek to diffuse it,
and be willing to suffer with it.
But why repeat this now? I should regard our
thirteen years as worse than wasted if this were not
now felt by every one of us as the true religion. Yet
I desire that my last word here should impress it
upon old and young that it is in this spirit our
inquiries must move if they are to elevate our mind,
life, and character.
It is this alone which makes any
�20
opinion we may reach more than a mere opinion,
makes it also an experience, an inspiration, something
that quickens the moral life within us, interprets for
us the wisdom of the past, and enables us to minister
to the higher life'of the present and future. As it is
not so much to give our children wealth as to foster
in them habits of prudence, industry, and enterprise ;
so is it of far less importance to give others our
opinions than to stimulate in them the powers, and
evoke the resources by which they can form wise
opinions of their own. And I will add, that it is of
less importance to give them set maxims and rules of
morality than it is to awaken in them the love of
rectitude, the passion for justice, the sentiment of
virtue, which will lead them securely through paths
we cannot foresee, and instruct them in emergencies
where our best maxims may be inadequate.
Finally, my friends, be of good courage ! Do not
be cast down because this particular society ceases, or
because its enemies rejoice. That search for truth,
for which this society has stood, will not end nor fail;
that standard of a purer religion, which it has up
lifted, will not trail in the dust. The constituents of
this body will not lose their vitality; they will com
bine in other ways, let us trust in higher, larger ways,
and for more effective work.
It will be a pain to us
that we shall no longer gather here to sing our
�21
hymns, to meditate on things dear to us, to clasp
each other’s hands, and smile in each other’s faces ;
but we shall still be near each other, we will still feel
that wherever separated we are still one in loving
and serving the good cause ; and when, after this
society is dissolved, we too shall fall out of the ranks,
and our hands be folded on our breast, it rests with
ourselves to leave behind us the memory and influence
of lives faithfully lived, of tasks honestly performed,
of having done our best.
And so I bid you farewell.
��
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
A last word: spoken at the Athenaeum, on the closing of our services there, June 27th 1880
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway, Moncure Daniel [1832-1907.]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London]
Collation: 21 p. ; 15 cm.
Notes: Printed by Waterlow and Sons, London Wall. Morris Miscellaneous Tracts 2.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
[Waterlow and Sons]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[1880]
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G3345
Subject
The topic of the resource
Free thought
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /><br /><span>This work (A last word: spoken at the Athenaeum, on the closing of our services there, June 27th 1880), identified by </span><span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk">Humanist Library and Archives</a></span><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Christian Doctrine
Free Thought
Moncure Conway
Morris Tracts
Rationalism
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/25778/archive/files/1a3379a67456ce799ec3a5d34cef88d0.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=kJUyCRRoH2O7l7eowCc7FKnGH4HbMZcW%7EZUkpYI-KRLriVwPOxvYU28dmPNB4uBqbn%7EoOnyKsg0cnW0M9JurbY2Yrv7r92YIbWw8FRg4PrGTeaNBBpiYAtNDM9u5saORCxisaRrRlHbZmZ55lEa4znNqzVBeSKzMLw6KnpKtyGEILm5eXL-5Ngri5qU2EzloJG9qodFv8DvIUKhT-zRSh08skJ3LDUrqRmwEMbkOjPbjPzoSb4caqA-xx1VHUU%7ErUxbfL2WAOC98PUQggzHialZdq5TF8iewdABikDC%7EfUB56nHG%7EdP4IFXcbXWNQERM65uaqbzGYgucFLy4XfXxXg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
ff6705ead4bf8c3486057cbc76cb34c9
PDF Text
Text
252,1
ATHEISM
A SPECTRE.
WITH READING FROM MAX MULLER'S SIXTH
HIBBERT LECTURE.
SOUTH PLACE CHAPEL, JUNE 23, 1878.
BY
MONCURE D. CONWAY, M.A.
PRICE TWOPENCE,
�LONDON 5
PRINTED BY WATERLOW AND SONS LIMITED
LONDON WALL.
�READING.
(From Max Müller's Sixth Hibbert Lecture?)
In the bright sky they (the ancient Aryans) perceived an Illumi
nator ; in the all-encircling firmament an Embracer ; in the roar
of thunder and in the violence of the storm they felt the pre
sence of a Shouter and ®f furious Strikers, and out of rain they
created an Indra, or giver of rain. With this last step, however,
came also the first re-action, the first doubt So long as the
thoughts of the ancient Aryan worshippers had something mani
fest or tangible to rest on, they might, no doubt, in their religious
aspirations, far exceed the limits of actual observation ; still no
one could ever question the existence of what they chose to call
their Devas or their gods. The mountains and rivers were always
there to speak for themselves, and if the praises bestowed upon
them seemed to be excessive, they might be toned down, without
calling in question the existence of these gods. The same applied
to the sky, the sun, and'the dawn. They also were always there,
and though they might be called mere visions and appearances, yet
the human mind is so made that it admits of no appearance
without admitting at the same time something that appears, some
reality or substance. But when we come to the third class of
gods, not only intangible, but invisible, the case is different.
Indra, as the giver of rain, Rudra, as the thunderer, were com
pletely creations of the human mind. All that was given was
' the rain, and the thunder ; but there was nothing in nature that
�4
could be called an appearance of the god himself, who thundered
or who sent the rain. Man saw their work, but that was all: no
one could point to the sky or the sun or the dawn or anything
else visible, to attest the existence of Indra and Rudra. We saw
before that Indra, for the very reason that there was nothing in
nature to which he cluDg, nothing visible that could arrest his
growth, developed more than all the other gods into a personal,
dramatic, and mythological being. More battles are recorded,
more stories are told of Indra than of any other Vedic god, and
this helps us to understand how it was that he seemed even to the
ancient poets to have ousted Dyaus, the Indian Zeus, from his
supremacy. But a Nemesis was to come. The very god who
seemed for a time to have thrown all the others into the shade,
whom many would call, if not the supreme, at least the most
popular deity of the Veda, was the first god whose very exist
ence was called in question. . . Thus we read, “Offer praise
to Indra if you desire booty, true praise, if he truly exists.
Some one says : There is no Indra ! Who has seen him ? Whom
shall we praise ? ” In this hymn the poet turns round, and, intro
ducing Indra himself, makes him say : “ Here I am O worship
per ! Behold me here ! In might I overcome all creatures.” But
we read again in another hymn : ‘ ‘ The terrible one of whom
they ask where he is, and of whom they say that he is not: he
takes away the riches of his enemies like the stakes at a game ;
Believe in him, ye men, for he is indeed Indra.” When we thus
see the old god Dyaus antiquated by Indra, Indra himself denied,
and Prajapati falling to pieces, and when another poet declares
in so many words that all the gods are but names, we might imagine
that the stream of religious thought, which sprang from a trust in
mountains and rivers, then proceeded to an adoration of the sky
and the sun, then grew into a worship of invisible gods, such as
the sender of thunderstorms and the giver of rain had well nigh
�5
finished its course. We might expect in India the same catas
trophe which in Iceland the poets of the Edda always predicted,
the Twilight of the gods, preceding the destruction of the world.
We seem to have reached the stage when Henotheism, after try
ing in vain to grow into polytheism on the one side, or mono
theism on the other, would by necessity end in Atheism, or a
denial of all the gods or Devas.
So it did. Yet Atheism is not the last word of Indian reli
gion, though it seemed to be so for a time in the triumph of
Buddhism. The word itself—Atheism—is out of place as applied
to the religion of India. The ancient Hindus had neither the
0eos of the Homeric singers, nor the
of the Eclectic philo
sophers. Their Atheism, such as it was, would more correctly
be called Adevism, or a denial of the old Devas. Such a denial,
however, of what was once believed, but could be believed no
longer, so far from being the destruction, is in reality the vital
principle of all religion. The ancient Aryans felt from the
beginning—aye, it may be more in the beginning than afterwards
—the presence of a Beyond, of an Infinite, of a Divine, or what
ever else we may call it now ; and they tried to grasp and com
prehend it, as we all do, by giving it name after name. They
thought they had found it in the Mountains or Rivers, in the Dawn,
in the Sun, in the Sky, in the Heaven, and the Heaven-Father.
But after every name there came the No! What they looked for
was like the Mountains, like the Rivers, like the Dawn, like the
Sky, like theFather : but it was not the Mountains, «¿/the Rivers»
not the Dawn, not the Sky, it was not the Father. It was some
thing of all that, but it was also more, it was beyond all that.
Even such general names as Asura or Deva could no longer
satisfy them. There may be Devas and Asuras, they said, but
we want more, we want a higher word, a purer thought. They
denied the bright Devas, not because they believed or desired
�6
less, but because they believed and desired more than the bright
Devas. There was a conception working in their mind: and the
cries of despair were but the harbingers of a new birth. So it
has been, so it always will be. There is an Atheism which is
unto death, there is another Atheism which is the very life
blood of all true faith. It is the power of giving up what in
our best, our most honest moments, we know to be no longer
true; it is the readiness to replace the less perfect, however
dear it may have been to us, by the more perfect, however
much it may be detested, as yet, by others. It is the true self
surrender, the true self-sacrifice, the truest trust in truth, the
truest faith. Without that Atheism no new religion, no reform,
no reformation, no resuscitation, would ever have been possible;
without that Atheism no new life is possible for any one of us.
In the eyes of the Brahmans, Buddha was an Atheist; in the
eyes of the Athenian Judges, Socrates was an Atheist; in the
eyes of the Pharisees, St. Paul was an Atheist; in the eyes of
Swiss Judges, Servetus was an Atheist; and why? Because
every one of them was yearning for a higher and purer conception
of God than what he had learnt as a child.
Let no one touch religion, be he clergyman or layman, who is
afraid of being called an Infidel or an Atheist—aye, who is afraid
of asking himself, Do I believe in a God, or do I not ? Let me
quote the words of a great divine, lately deceased, whose honesty
and piety have never been questioned: “God,” he says,'“is a
great word. He who feels and understands that will judge more
mildly and more justly of those who confess that they dare not
say that they believe in God.” Now, I know perfectly well that
what I have said just now will be misunderstood, will possibly
be misinterpreted. I know I shall be accused of having defended
and glorified Atheism, and of having represented it as the last
and highest point which man can reach in an evolution of
�7
fc!
t2
9
<
,
•.
religious thought. Let it be so. If there are but a few here present
who understand what I mean by honest Atheism, and who know
how it differs from vulgar Atheism, I shall feel satisfied, for I
know that to understand this distinction will often help us in the
hour of our sorest need. It will teach us that, while the old
leaves, the leaves of a bright and happy spring, are falling, and
all seems wintry, frozen and dead within and around us, there is
and there must be a new spring in store for every warm and
honest heart. It will teach us that honest doubt is the deepest
spring of honest faith; and that he only who has lost can find.
�I
�ATHEISM.
The boldness of Max Muller’s defence of a faith
ful Atheism which I have read you, does not consist
in its thought so much as in the word he adopts.
The thought is that which sad experience has revealed
to many a reverential thinker in the past as well as
the present. William Penn, the Quaker, said that he
who speaks worthily of God is very like to be called
an Atheist. We owe high honour to the man who
has courage to proclaim in Westminster Abbey the
truth which hitherto has been uttered by the despised
and rejected. But it remains doubtful whether even
the independence and fidelity of the Hibbert lecturer,
and his learning, will be able to recover a word so
fraught with misunderstandings as the word “Atheism.”
If mankind used such words etymologically, “Atheism ”
might be restored ; but they do not; and it is to be
feared that as the name of Jesus could not save
“Jesuitism,” and the name of Christ cannot save
“Christian,” so in another direction the fact that
“ Atheist ” means one who denies the gods of common
�IO
belief, and is without any theory of God, cannot out
weigh the popular meaning of the word. To the
masses Atheist means a godless man, and a godless
man means a bad man. Because of that acquired
accent of immorality Theologians seem fond of using
the word. It is, therefore, a bit of debased currency,
and, as I think, will one day drop out of use. Yet
many excellent people, like Max Müller, see that
while theologically the word carries a vulgar mean
ing, morally it represents the right of man to grow. In
this sense it represents the freedom of man to deny
any and every god which others set up. If that right
had not been exercised we should still be worshipping
Siva or Odin, or the Virgin Mary. The same authority which w’ould to day silence the Atheist before
Jehovah, would have silenced Paul before Diana of
Ephesus. “ Atheism ” is a flag that means unlimited
right of denial, and that involves the right of progress
and the pursuit of truth.
Many liberal thinkers accept the epithet, not as
dogma—not as antitheism—but because they mean to
stand by their freedom, and will not cower before
popular clamour. Trelawney asked the poet Shelley
why, with his high pantheism, he called himself
“ Atheist.” Shelley replied that he did not choose it.
That name was the gauntlet they threw down, and he
picked it up. In that heroic spirit, some still call
�themselvesil Atheists,” even at risk of being misunder
stood. And it must be acknowledged that the epithet
will carry with it a certain accent of moral honesty and
courage, so long as intellectual liberty is met with
menace. When that lingering struggle is over and
past, and the victory of free thought is completely
won, as won it must be, it will no longer be any sur
render of their colours if such brave men and women
consult with their allies to find whether there may not
be a broader, a more universal, banner to represent
our common liberty than that marked “Atheism.” But,
before that time can arrive, earnest and thinking
people must give up their horror of “ Atheism.” That
name now means to most people what devil meant
to our ancestors, and it is equally mythical, unreal,
fantastic. Even many so-called liberal people have
not sufficiently thrown off their theological training to
be released from terror of this latest phantom.
Stat nominis umbra. It is the shadow of a name.
That I propose to prove to you. The laws of nature
have been sufficiently explored to turn the devil into
a grotesque superstition; the laws of mental and
moral nature are sufficiently known to lay this spectre
of “ Atheism ” which has followed him. The so-called
“Atheist” is no more outside psychological laws than
he is bodily outside physical laws. Moral and mental
facts hold him as much as gravitation holds him.
�12
Those facts he may name one way and you another,
but where the reality is the same shall we be tricked
by names ?
There are cases in which the reality is not the
same. A man may believe in a three-headed deity,
in a tri-personal deity, in Jove, Jupiter, Adonai, or
some other celestial thunderer; such belief is not of
thought but authority, it does not pretend to rest upon
fact and evidence, but on tradition or revelation. We
must at present leave all that out of the question.
What we are now concerned with is the difference
between those who, exercising the same reason, in the
same method, upon the same facts, in them and outside
them, state their conclusions differently. One calls
himself 11 Theist,” the other calls himself “ Atheist.”
These words are opposite. But are the realities under
them opposite ?
To find out that we must ask what is in the con
sciousness of each when he so names his conclusion—
assuming that conclusion to be divested of all tradition
in the one case, and of all mere pluck in the other in
each case a genuine product of reason resting on
evidence.
What then is in the mind of the intentionally
rational Theist when he says: “ I believe there is a
God ” ? There is in his consciousness a concept of
law and order in the universe; there is a recognition
�i3
of facts in himself, reason, love, the sense of right, the
ideal, the beautiful; he reasons that because these
things are in him they must be in nature, for he is in
nature, and of nature ; and combining these inward
realities with the law and order of the universe, and
with the tendency of the world to his ideals, the
Theist generalises them all in the word “ God.”
But here many a Theist would break in and say:
“Your statement is incomplete. I believe much
more than that. I believe that God is a personal
Being; I believe that He created the universe; I
believe that He hears and answers prayer.” To which
I reply: “ No doubt you believe these other things ;
but the question is not what you believe, but what you
think, what is purely the product of your reason acting
on evidence. A Catholic believes in his Madonna as
strongly as any Theist in the personality of God. But
what evidence does either give us for such belief?
None at all. What facts show that the world ever was
created? Nobody pretends any. What evidence that
God hears and answers prayer? Absolutely none.”
But then this believing Theist answers : “ It is true
I cannot actually prove the truth of my belief in these
particulars. It may be sentiment, but must sentiment
count for nothing ? What would life be if everything
depended on cold logic ? I feel that I have a Heavenly
Father with whom I can hold communion.”
�14
Very well; but now comes along our man who has
not that feeling at all. He says he feels sure that the
world was never created; that if there were a God
who answered prayer the world would know less
misery; and that he can imagine no personality of
God that would not make him a huge man.
“ Then you are an Atheist! ” cries our believing
Theist.
“ If to disbelieve your private god be Atheism, I
am.”
11 Then I will have nothing to do with you,” the
Theist may say.
“ I am much obliged to you,” the Atheist may
reply. “ In old times they used to have a good deal
to do with us ; it is something to be let alone.”
But now let us cross-examine this Atheist, in his
turn. li Do you believe in the laws of nature ? ” “I
do.” 11 Do you believe in reason? ” “ I do.” “ Do
you possess the sense of right, acknowledge the
sacredness of love, reverence your ideal of truth,
goodness, and beauty ? ” “ These make my moral
and intellectual nature; I can not help believing in
them.” “ Do you believe in the progress of mankind ? ”
“ My life is devoted to it.”
Now, another question—“ Taking all these things
together, what do they sum up in your mind ? ” “A
universe, or nature.”
�15
“Would you mind calling it God?” “Yes; I
object.” “ And why ? ” “ Because most persons when
they say ‘ God ’ mean something very different, and
they would understand me as believing what I do not
believe, and what cannot be proved true. In India
they would understand me as believing in Vishnu on
his Serpent; in Turkey they would think I meant
Allah of the Koran; here some would think I meant
Jehovah, others that I believed in the Trinity, and yet
others that I believed in an omnipotent sovereign
Man reigning over the world.”
“ Then what our Theist calls your ‘ Atheism ’ means
only that you disbelieve all those particular personifi
cations which men have imagined reigning over the
universe, while you do accept all the facts they can
show for their theories ? ”
“ That is what it amounts to. I travel harmoniously
with the Theist so long as he speaks of reason, love,
truth, law, conscience, for these things I know. I
still journey with him when he talks of the vast realm
of the unknown, and of truths and realities that may
be there beyond my grasp ; but when he sets up his
own theory about what is in that unknown, and de
mands that I shall believe that all the same as if it were
proved fact, I am compelled to say I am not convinced.
Then he calls me an Atheist and leaves me—probably
hates me.”
�i6
Now, it is perfectly certain that there is no actuality
in the mind of one of these men that is not in that of
the other. As their eyes see by the same sunshine,
and their lungs breathe the same air, their reason and
rectitude are the same. Yet are they widely sundered—
separated as by an abyss—so that we have the
anomaly of an army of former comrades winning their
common liberty only to use it in fighting each other.
Assuredly there is a serious fault here, perhaps more
faults than one. One is the slowness with which
liberal thinkers raise their hearts to the standard of
their intelligence. In asserting the liberty of reason
it would appear that many of them did not mean to
be taken at their word. That was much the way
with some of the Fathers of the Reformation. Luther
affirmed the right of private judgment, but was aghast
when he found people carrying it a line farther than
himself, and said human nature was like a drunken
man on a horse who, when set up straight on one side,
toppled over on the other. John Calvin too asserted
the right of private judgment. His idea seems to
have been that men -were perfectly free to think as
they pleased, and he was perfectly free to burn them
if their opinions did not please him.
After what happened to Servetus thinkers became
prudent; they followed Erasmus who compared himself
to Peter following his Lord afar oft. But at last the
cock crew. Thinkers took up their cross.
�i7
After many martyrdoms of the best men our laws
have largely, though not fully, proclaimed the freedom
of reason and conscience. But Orthodoxy has never
conceded it. Dogma has been reluctantly compelled
to transfer the faggot and stake by which free
opinion was punished from this world to the next;
and in this world still treats disbelievers as people who
ought to be burned, and will be burned.
But those who call themselves liberal—liberal Chris
tians and Theists—are persons who have avowed the
conditions of freedom in good faith, and if they now
recoil from the inevitable results of those conditions
it is but natural that freethinkers should say they have
not the courage of their principles.
I do not think that explains the whole case ; but it
is natural that it should be so said, and that the anta
gonism of freethinkers should be thereby intensified.
The reserve or hostility of Unitarians and Theists
towards Atheists, so called, is not altogether result of
timidity. They themselves have a severe conflict with
the orthodox, one largely involving their social rela
tions, and they do not wish to be compromised by being
supposed to hold views they do not hold. They
know that men are apt to be judged by the company
they keep, and so they keep aloof from those whose
opinions seem to them extreme and untrue.
Yet are they wrong in this. They are throwing
�i8
their weight in favour of the discredited method of
intolerance, and against the high principle they have
espoused—intellectual liberty. They cannot serve
two masters. They cannot claim freedom for them
selves against the orthodox, then turn and deny it as
against the Atheists. And it is a denial of freedom
when we concede it verbally but treat it when exercised
with aversion or contempt. The moderate liberal
should beware lest in his care not to compromise
himself he does compromise that great and wide prin
ciple of freedom on which he and the Atheist alike
depend. Let him know too that his god is debased
when set against mental independence ; and so long
as any Theism excommunicates any honest thinker it
not only renders Atheism necessary, but lowers itself
beneath that Atheism. For surely that god is only an
idol not yet mouldered, who is supposed to care more
for recognition of his personal existence than for
charity and the independence of the human mind.
Fundamentally, all alienations in the ranks of liberal
people result from the survival in half of them of the
ancient error, that some moral character inheres in
mere opinion. There is a sense in which a man is
responsible for his opinions; he is responsible for the
pains he takes to find the truth, and responsible for
honest utterance of the thing he holds true. But it is
a great and grievous error to suppose that a man can
�19
be morally bound to accept any belief whether he has
reason to believe it or not. For example, to tell a
man he ought to believe in God is like telling a
woman she ought to love her husband. If she has a
husband, and if that husband is worthy of love, and
wins her love, the exhortation to love him is superflu
ous; if otherwise, all the exhortation in the world
cannot enable here to love one who is unloveable. Or,
we may say, to tell a man it is his duty to believe in
God is like lecturing oxygen on its duty to combine
with hydrogen at the moment when galvanism has
decomposed the two.
The liberty of reason being introduced among the
old creeds its effects must be accepted. It can no
more be scolded than any other force in nature. The
thinker must follow his thought, the reasoner must
believe what he finds reason to believe, as the lover
must love what he or she is impelled to love. If the
thinking Theist would convince the thinking Atheist
of a personalised Deity, he must introduce a force
adapted to combine his proposition with the mind to
be convinced. It must be a rational force if it is to
affect the reason. Contempt is not a rational force
—rather it is a confession that there is no rational
force. It is falling back on the old dogmatic and
coercive principle which, if it prevailed, would suppress
all liberty and restore the faggot and the Inquisition.
�20
The unity which I believe possible among the sons
of freedom lies in the spirit of freedom and the spirit
of truth. The position of the simple Theist is not even
yet so popular as to require no sacrifices to maintain
it shall he not respect the still greater sacrifices made
by the man who is denounced as Atheist ? He may
not like the word Atheist; I do not; for I believe
that wherever there is such self-sacrifice, such fidelity
rising above selfishness, there is a spirit essentially
divine. But shall men be blinded by a name—a
word ? Can they not see beyond all phrases that the
spirit in which a man, even an Atheist, earnestly seeks
truth, and bravely stands by what he believes truth—
the spirit which for right, for freedom and justice, casts
away all interests and all ease, toiling, living, suffering
for his ideal right—O can they not see that such bear
in their bleeding hands the very stigmata of Truth’s
own martyrs ? Can we not all see how far above our
doctrines and definitions rises this fidelity of our time,
though it be called infidelity now as it was called im
morality in Socrates and Beelzebub in (Jhrist—while it
was then, is now, the spirit which in all history has been
leading mankind from thraldom to liberty, from dark
ness to light ? If our Theism does not see that spirit, if
our Theism cannot clasp to its heart all hearts animated
by that spirit, be sure it is a mere relic of the past—
some fragment not yet crumbled of ancient supersti
�tion; be sure that the only true God is the God of the
living—and they are the living whose lives are con
secrated to truth and right, however they may be
named, or be they nameless.
Theistic friend, your special theory will pass away.
The highest mind of the past was not able to frame
a god which you can worship unmodified, and you
cannot frame—none living can conceive—an image
which will not be fossil in a few centuries. Nay,
your Theos may be even fortunate if it can be quietly
dismissed before higher light without being degraded
by its efforts to resist that light, sounding war-cries
against earnest thinkers, and gradually taking on the
base insignia of the many Idols, once Ideals, that
kept not their first estate.
I was lately examining a devil carved on Notre
Dame—a hideous creature crushing human beings
beneath his feet. I thought, how hast thou fallen, O
Lucifer, son of the morning ! Thou too wert once a
light-bringer and a god ! But even so must fall all
personifications which try to crush and menace the
reason and nature of man. Just upon the head of
this horrid Notre Dame devil—exactly between his
horns—a little bird has built its nest, and laid its eggs,
with the sky’s soft blue upon them : and as I write it
is probably gathering its young under its wing, and
feeding them, and on the head of that personified
�22
wrath of a god, fearless and free goes on the work of
nature, the divine mystery of life and love.
The Theos of the Theist may wear a halo to-day,
but it depends on his worshippers what that halo shall
be when the personification passes away before another,
or before the eternal Love which vaults above all per
sonifications. That halo may become an immortal ideal
if it mean love to all • but such haloes have generally
turned to horns, and the god of the Theist to-day need
only denounce reason and hate freethinkers to become
quite as grotesque a figure as that Notre Dame
and take the place of that Atheism which now makes
a devil for so many. But above all such tyrannous
forms on their heads, between their finally powerless
horns—the ancient mystery and beauty of Life will
go on. Love will still gather its young under its
wings. Mothers will feed their babes with tenderer
thoughts and purer ideals. Reason will work on;
men and women will think and aspire, will save and be
saved from actual hells regardless of fictitious ones;
the unnamed, uncomprehended, eternal spirit of nature
and the heart will suffer no decay—but ascend for
evermore.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Atheism : a spectre : with a reading from Max Muller's sixth Hibbert Lecture, South Place Chapel, June 23, 1878
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway, Moncure Daniel [1832-1907.]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London]
Collation: 22 p. ; 15 cm.
Notes: Printed by Waterlow and Sons, London Wall. Part of Morris Misc. Tracts 1. With a reading from F. Max Muller's sixth Hibbert Lecture 'On henotheism, polytheism, monotheism and atheism' given at Westminster Abbey in June 1878.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
[South Place Chapel]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[1878]
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G3339
Subject
The topic of the resource
Atheism
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /><br /><span>This work (Atheism : a spectre : with a reading from Max Muller's sixth Hibbert Lecture, South Place Chapel, June 23, 1878), identified by </span><span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk">Humanist Library and Archives</a></span><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Atheism
Belief and Doubt
Free Thought
Morris Tracts
Reason
Theism
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/25778/archive/files/ca43854c747cb628c42688f0803e1eed.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=jDQ-ftxZ9SBDEe3Z3wL77LiLj8jqGE1%7EnOOniq4gB7no0vP45vH60T3jq0ITq1l9yx-oYPy6HrOhMCyyWrUD50XF3Hdb8eTllLmpwDGjGV5dQdWhXPd82ppyHP9JeF8wLeOT0Q%7E1rC8m4kjxVw-Bx5dMDdfmwC4NQC-Qrr%7Eb4-w2hOQ-wlNJKejQWdz1Neeb3oJRVkdI0jfPOGBagV2t3Fr%7ECQNiOEiPUyjxC2SGG8rjzadTyHaWWeq4SHKfivBUizvEq6kpZIBFBpJPkJBSWc8TRhu0wu0bbkI10v3oDzzon-spDYkOJ1kUcQrqLsrcflvVyscC6UgvnoWHokLSCg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
f0afe30778a343ad77c78a180e25bdf6
PDF Text
Text
CONSEQUENCES.
BY
MONCURE. D. CONWAY, M.A.
“ The destroyer of all successes is ill-timed apprehension of danger. ”
Hitopadesa.
PUBLISHED BY THOMAS SCOTT,
NO. 11, THE TERRACE, FARQUHAR ROAD,
UPPER NORWOOD, LONDON, S.E.
Price Threepence.
��CONSEQUENCES.
N eminent writer has lately caused some agitation
by warning the country that there are certain
“ rocks ahead ” on the track of its present course. He
sees danger to the wealth, the greatness, and even the
stability of the nation in every direction. The rocks
concerning which he is most apprehensive are, first,
that the coal will give out, and with it all the manu
facturing and railway enterprises which make the com
mercial supremacy of England ; and secondly, that the
intelligence of the country is alienated from its religion,
which renders it certain that the masses of the people
will presently be also alienated from it; and since they
will be without the restraints of culture, the downfall
of creeds will involve the downfall of social and politi
cal institutions which have grown up along with the
creeds. It will require, he thinks, a culture and refined
thought, which the masses do not possess, to detach
the social organism from the dogmatic parasite which
has grown around it; and when the scepticism of the
educated has filtered down into them, they will make
a rude, indiscriminate sweep of good and evil alike.
It is not within the scope of this essay to consider
the particular “ rocks ahead ” pointed out by our
“ Cassandra.” I merely refer to his warnings as illus
trative of apprehensions felt by many in another direc
tion, namely, the effect of religious inquiry on human
happiness and character. And I do so because his
apprehensions appear to me to rest upon fallacies quite
A
�4
Consequences.
similar to those treacherous fears of the results of free
inquiry which I propose to consider. His main fallacy
is the fear that the same intelligence which has adapted
man to his present condition is to remain standing still
while everything else changes. Our coal mines, it may
be, are gradually to diminish, possibly to fail; but wifi,
that intellect which has invented steam engines, and
other machinery, lose its power of invention, and for
the first time show itself inadequate to meet emer
gencies as they arise ? Is the future to have all our
problems, and to be without brains of its own ? So
also in the case of the violent revolution apprehended,
when the masses share the scepticism of the educated.
Our prophet of evil forgets, apparently, that such a
change as that cannot be an isolated one. He forgets
that in the same length of time a thousand other
changes will also occur; that, for instance, the masses
must acquire some of the calmness and self-control of
the cultivated along with their scepticism; and, on the
other hand, that the social fabric will improve, that the
state will become nobler, and all classes possess too
much interest in both to handle rashly any real and
healthy institution.
This whole method of apprehension is treacherous.
When Jesus said, “ Sufficient unto the day is the evil
thereof; to-morrow will take care of to-morrow’s
affairs,” he uttered a thought as pregnant with philo
sophy as with faith. The plan of prognosticating prac
tical evil has now become a favourite method of trying
to intimidate free thought and free speech. This plan
has been carried to its extreme by the Bishop of Peter
borough, who lately said that he would not stop to
inquire whether the tidings of science were true or not;
he only asked whether they were glad tidings. Not
finding them glad tidings—and they certainly are not
promising for bishops — his lordship unhesitatingly
rejects them, irrespective of their truth or untruth.
This Bishop only caricatures a way of dealing with new
�Consequences.
5
truth which is being more plausibly used by many
others than by this bishop, who has so well merited
the thanks of scientific men by his naive utterance.
Most of us, whose memories run back towards the
beginning of this generation, must recognise a marked
change in the tone of orthodoxy towards rationalism.
In place of the old intolerance, we now find a tone of
apology, and meet with numbers of people who are
eager to persuade us that they are not so orthodox as
they seem. Again, we are as often appealed to to
exercise charity as we have had, in earlier times, to
appeal for it ourselves. It is to be hoped we shall all
cultivate that virtue, but heretics cannot shut their
eyes to the novelty of the situation. When cremation
was lately proposed, and was bitterly denounced by the
Catholic clergy in Belgium, a paper in that country
remarked that it was a pity the Church which so
opposed burning the bodies of the dead had not always
manifested an equal repugnance to burn the bodies
of the living ; similarly, it is an instance of the irony of
history that the religionists who so long ruled England
by reign of terror should now appeal for charity. Even
Protestantism, when it succeeded Romanism in power,
did not break its terrible weapons; it used them until
they became dull. Reduced at last to battle in an
Age of Reason, and to answer argument with argu
ment instead of with prisons and persecutions, it calls
for the toleration it so long denied. Very well, let
us have it,—charity for all! We may doubt whether
we should have heard so much about it had Supersti
tion continued as strong as of old,—but still the high
rule of reason is to speak the truth in love.
At the same time, long experience should make us
prudent. The more valuable a coin is the more dan
gerous is its counterfeit, and the more attractive a
virtue the more necessary is it that its garb shall not
be conceded to its opposite. Charity is due to every
sincere man, but not to proven error. If a man be in
�6
Consequences.
error, the more I love him the more will I hate the
falsity that misleads him. When the wolf pleaded for
compassion, the shepherd replied, “ Mercy to you were
cruelty to the lamb.” It is difficult to see how it can
be consistent with love to our fellow-beings that we
should be tender to the errors that afflict them, or the
superstition that devours them. Clemency becomes
cruelty when it parts from common sense.
All this is too plain to require argument. But of
late its force has been escaped by another plea. We
are now told that in the progress of the world the old
beliefs have lost their darker features. The old talons
of persecution have been pared away; fanaticism has
become unfashionable; hell has been spiritualised;
and creeds that once roused agony, fear, and consequent
intolerance are now softened into unrealised words or
mystical meanings. Superstitions may remain, but
they are now pretty superstitions, like a child’s belief
in fairies. And we are asked, Is it not unnecessary, nay
cruel, to take away such sweet illusions, when they are
so harmless ? A gentleman who takes his family to
church regularly, said to me, “ I know as well as any
one that the clergyman preaches fables, but I do not
care to worry my children by telling them so. When
I take them to the pantomime, I don’t tell them, All
that scenery is only daubed pasteboard, the fairy there
is merely a painted woman, and her jewels only glass,
bought for a penny. Whether at church or theatre I
prefer to humour their pleasant illusions, and let them
remain happy in them as long as they can.” It ap
peared to me strange that this gentleman should not
see the great difference between transient illusion and
permanent delusion. He humours the illusions of the
pantomime, because he knows very well that his child
will outgrow them. It would distress him very much
if he thought that, when his child grew to be twenty
years of age, it would still believe in the reality of
fairies. But, in encouraging the pulpit fables, he is
�Consequences.
7
fostering things that, from being the illusions of child
hood, harden into the delusions of the whole life.
Mr Tennyson has put this common notion into
rhyme, and his verses are the favourite quotation of the
school we are considering. They were recently offered
by the Athenaeum as a rebuke to Mr Morley for his
excellent work “ On Compromise,” and again by a
plausible writer in censure of the plain-speaking of
certain pulpits. The verses run thus :
“ 0 thou that after toil and storm
May’st seem to have reach’d a purer air,
Whose faith has centre everywhere,
Nor cares to fix itself to form,
Leave thou thy sister, when she prays,
Her early heaven, her happy views,
Nor thou with shadow’d hint confuse
A life that leads melodious days.”
These verses are nearly the only ones which the poet
and his friends might wish obliterated from his fair
pages, as representing (one must believe) his first
timorous and unsteady step on a path which we may
hope has since lead to heights that shame their faithless
fears. Passing their undertone of contempt for the
female intellect, of which the poet was probably uncon
scious, let us consider what our duty is to that praying
sister, or brother either, whose illusions we are called
upon to spare. If our sister is praying in earnest, if
doubt has not crept into her heart—we must not call it
her intellect, I suppose—then her faith does not merely
include
“ Her early heaven, her happy views,”
but also her early hell, and some most unhappy views.
If her prayer be not a mere attitude, she is probably
imploring an angry God not to send her children,
brothers, or friends into everlasting anguish and despair.
If that be her creed, she can hardly be leading such
melodious days that it should be cruel to hint that her
apprehensions may be unfounded.
�8
Consequences.
But the poet might remind us that he asks us to
leave her the pleasing side of her creed only—to
remove her fears, hut humour her hopes though they
be false. Our sister must be feeble indeed if this be
possible; her powers must be very weak if she does
not perceive that her Bible and her Prayer-book tell
her as much of God’s wrath as of his love, corre
late hell and heaven, and that she has no better
authority for her hopes than for her fears. But grant
ing that the process be possible, and that we find her
living in an atmosphere of rosy delusions, the question
arises, ought we to avoid disturbing them ? Do not
let us confuse that question with any other. It is not
whether we should obtrude our opinions on others, but
whether we should sanction their opinions when we
believe them false; it is not whether we should be
rude, but whether we should be sincere. One who
loves truth will not need exhortation to try and make
it attractive instead of repulsive. The danger is the
other way, that truth will be so smooth and polite as
not to be recognized for what it really is. The real
question is whether truth should be concealed and
suppressed out of consideration for any one’s pleasant
prejudices.
It is perfectly easy to show on general principles
that such tampering with truth is disloyal and more
dangerous than honest error itself. It is easy to show
that to suppress truth is to suggest falsehood; that it
is to foster a malarious atmosphere which brings forth
not only pretty superstitions but ugly ones, and leaves
the mind to be overgrown not only with gay weeds but
rank poisons; that where a pleasant fiction finds
shelter a dangerous error may nestle at its side; and
that if the great souls of history had smoothed over
falsehood because it was agreeable, and remained silent
before the pet prejudices of weak minds, we should all
be worshipping to-day the painted fetish dolls of the
world’s infancy.
�Consequences.
9
But I propose at present to look at the matter from
another and somewhat lower point of view. This
theory of suppression is not only immoral, hut rests
upon an essential delusion. That delusion is that
truth is hard, cold, unlovely, and that all the beauty
rests with the illusions. The prevalence of this notion
is easily explained. It is the natural tendency of an
existing dogmatic system, when it finds some of its
points coming into collision with common sentiment,
to smooth and explain them away, cover them with
velvet, so as to make itself as attractive as possible; and
one of the oldest tricks of dogmatic art is to paint the
opposing view in as dark colours as possible to make
itself more pleasing by the contrast. The early Chris
tians painted their own saints with beautiful tints on
church windows, but the saints of other religions they
painted as demons with terrible horns and flaming
eyes; and the descendants of those early Christians
have not lost their art. We know their skill in paint
ing the infidel on his death-bed surrounded with
horrors, the materialist given up to sensuality, the man
of science living in an Arctic sea of negation, perishing
without hope. It is no wonder that with these for
bidding pictures in the distance so many are frightened
back from the search for truth, and beg that the realm
of delusions may be spared.
But there is one suspicious circumstance about all
these pictures of the results of beliefs so invested with
horrors; they are depicted by those who have never
held those beliefs, who have no experience of their real
bearings, and who must therefore have drawn upon
their imagination for their facts. We do not hear the
actual materialists complaining that their belief is hope
less, nor the real heretic crying out that he is in icy
despair. They seem about as hearty and cheerful as
other people. In one of our popular dramas, a rigidly
righteous old lady is troubled because a certain blind
youth is constantly cheerful; regarding blindness as
�io
Consequences.
sent by an afflicting providence she shakes her head at
the young man’s happiness, and says that when tribu
lation is sent to us we ought to tribulate. This old
lady, who, never having been blind knew nothing of
its resources, seems to have written a good deal of
modern theology. I do not deny that there is a
certain naturalness about her inferences concerning
things she knows nothing about. When she appears
in the guise of a popular preacher or a doctor of
divinity, he sits down to consider what he would be
and do if he (otherwise, of course, retaining his present
views) were a materialist, or a sceptic, and how Paine
and Voltaire must have died—if they died logically.
But having never tried it, he is compelled to evolve
each result out of his inner consciousness. The image
so evolved must sooner or later be brought face to face
with the fact, and the contrast between the two is
sometimes astonishing. Let us review a few examples.
In former times, theologians could not (imagine that
any man could have an actual and conscientious dis
belief of their dogmas. They attributed all scepticism
to an evil heart, or to a desire to forget and hide the
truth lest it might check their evil propensities. This
being their premiss, it was but a natural inference that
all sceptics must be wicked men. Thus Thomas Paine
was branded as a drunkard—a pure fabrication—and
Voltaire stigmatised for immoralities of which he was
innocent. But there was another inference. These
men being only pretended unbelievers, it was but
natural that when the hour of death arrived, the dis
guise should fall, the truth come out, and the terrors
it was impossible really to disbelieve then come so
close that they would cry for mercy and die in the
agonies of remorse. To suit that theory, fictitious
scenes were invented for the deathbed of Paine, who
died most peacefully, and that of Voltaire, whose only
trouble in his closing hours was that the priests hung
about him like vultures.
�Consequences.
11
But that old theory broke down. The upright lives
of such men as Hume, and Herbert, and Bolingbroke,
and Franklin, and their peaceful deaths, reduced it to
absurdity. There has succeeded to it another, which
is, that unless a man believe in immortality, his life
must be selfish, and he must have an excessive horror
of death. While, on the other hand, the believer
in heaven sacrifices present for future happiness,
and dies with joyful hope. But this theory breaks
down under the facts just like the other. The scep
tical philosophers around us are apparently no more
selfish than other people. If they were devoted to
self, they would take care first of all not to express
their scepticism. There are eminent men of science
around us, disbelievers in Animism, whose abilities
might have made them bishops, but whose self-sacri
ficing devotion to what they believe true, causes them
to live in poverty, and under the denunciation of the
comfortable souls who find godliness to be great gain.
Nor do we find that heretics have any greater dread of
death than believers in a future life. The orthodox
man for whom the grave is a gate to Paradise, sends
for the doctor just as fast as the sceptic, and never
seems in any hurry to enjoy his future bliss. On the
other hand, no martyrs have ever marched more fear
lessly to death than the revolutionists of France and
Germany, who, in nine cases out of ten were unbe
lievers in any future life. The unbeliever in a future
life has not, indeed, much reason for the gloom com
monly ascribed to him. If he has lost expectation of
future joys, he has equally lost all apprehension of
future woes; and, so far as the natural desire for con
tinued existence is concerned, he knows that, if it is to
be, he will attain it just as much as any believer in it,
with the advantage that it will not have for a part of
it the torture of some of his friends.
Let us take another case,—the common idea of what
it is to be a fatalist or necessitarian. The believer in
�12
Consequences.
Free-Will sits down and evolves from his inner con
sciousness, the typical believer in necessity. As the
fatalist believes that what will be will be; that nothing
can be altered by the will of man; so, he must assuredly
be a man who sits passive and allows things to take
their own course. If he be a Calvinist, and believes
that God has predestined from before the foundation
of the world those who are to be saved and those who
are to be lost, he will not fail to give himself up to
sensual pleasures, knowing well that if he is one of the
elect, self-indulgence cannot harm him, and if not, he
will at least enjoy this life while it lasts. But when
our speculative believer in free-will comes to examine
the facts, he finds that the most active figures in his
tory have been those same believers in fate. They
are such men as the heroes of Greece; as Paul and
Mahomet; Luther, Calvin, and John Knox; as Crom
well and his soldiers ; as the Puritans who founded
the American Commonwealth ; men, aggressive, power
ful, irresistible, who have left their impress on the
world in epochs; men, too, who, instead of finding in
their election to divine favour, a reason for self-indul
gence, felt in it an inspiration to surrender their every
power to what they conceived to be the will of God.
As a final example, we have before us the ordinary
conception of a materialist. Very few people are com
petent to pursue those philosophical studies which
underlie the various conclusions called nominalism,
realism, intuitionalism, utilitarianism, idealism, material
ism. But the latter word has a familiar sound:
materialism is related to matter, and matter plainly
means the earth, and flesh and blood,.food and drink;
consequently a materialist must mean a gross, fleshly
character, a man who believes in nothing he cannot
bite, and, as opposed to the idealist, he must be a man
without ideas. This popular notion of a materialist
recalls the sad fate of one of our artists, who made a
sea-side picture, and among the common objects of the
�Consequences.
13
sea-side which, he painted on the sands was a blood-red
lobster. He had never seen a lobster, except as boiled
for the table, and he supposed it had the same colour
when washed up from the sea. He painted in accord
ance with his experience; and his surprising work so
added to his experience, that he is now, I believe, a
respectable merchant. And so the average orthodox
man bestows on the materialist his own experience of
matter, and boils him in the hot water of his theologic
consciousness very red. But when we come to consider
the materialists as they are, we find them quite the
reverse. It would be difficult—I might almost say
impossible—to find in the long list of eminent material
ists a single gross or sensual character. English
materialists have been known to us as men especially
consecrated to ideas. They have been such men as
Shelley, in whose poems of Mature Robert Browning
found a high correspondency with the divine; or
Robert Owen, and his fellow-socialists, giving up life
and fortune in the pursuit of an ideal society; and
such men are fairly followed to-day by the men of
science, and the positivists, and the secularists—men
of plain living and high thinking, almost ascetic in
their self-denial, and ever dreaming of higher education,
of co-operation, and of other schemes for the moral,
intellectual, or social advancement of mankind. Such
are the men for whom Christians in their palaces sigh,
deploring, amid their luxury, the gross materialism of
the times!
Now, let me not be misunderstood. The fact that
believers in these several doctrines have contradicted
by their lives and characters the d, priori theories
formed about them, does not prove their doctrines
true. The fact that Paine, when the American Con
gress voted him money for his writings, refused to take
it, poor as he was, but devoted it to the cause of liberty,
refutes the idea that an infidel must be selfish; but it
does not prove Paine’s belief to be true. Nor does the
�14
Consequences.
life of Paul prove the truth of predestination, nor that
of Shelley the truth of materialism. As little do such
facts show that there is no connection between intellec
tual convictions and practical life. What such facts do
show, is just this : that the implied method of dealing
with questions is treacherous. Truth is not to be
tested by anyone’s speculative apprehensions as to its
results. It is as if a painter should sit down at the
base of a hill he has never ascended to sketch the
landscape which he supposes to be seen from its
summit. The height may command out-looks he can
not imagine until he has climbed it. If the orthodox
believer really occupied the point of view reached by
the thinker seen only from his own, he might find
him surrounded by prospects, forces, influences, which
alter the case materially. Every liberal thinker’s ex
perience must confirm this. The free-thinker knows
well that it is the sign of an embryonic phase of in
quiry, to dread its consequences upon the character or
happiness of any man, woman, or child. It has not
brought gloom to himself, nor demoralization; he does
not find his life a discord in contrast with any
“melodious days” when he believed in a jealous God
and a yawning hell; he knows that truthfulness is the
sustaining thing, and the ardent pursuit of truth able
to fill heart and brain with enthusiasm and hope.
Why should he imagine that what has brought to
himself liberation and light should bring a shadow on
the life of his “ praying sister,” whom he can only re
gard as a victim on whom Superstition, like a ghoul, is
preying 1
The free inquirer will discover full soon that the
only “ saving faith ” is a perfect trust in truth, and
that the only real infidelity is the belief that a lie can
do better work than truth. He will take to heart
Montaigne’s advice, and fear only Fear. No alarms
about the consequences of the diffusion of truth can
shake his nerves or cause the balance to tremble in his
�Consequences.
15
hand. Truth has ever justified herself. She can look
back to fair results, to the noblest triumphs, and in
their light see the chains that bind all the lions on her
path. We pursue our inquiries, not without experience,
not in the infancy of the world, but amid the mighty
shades of heroic forerunners; amid a cloud of brave
witnesses, who knew that the children of Truth have
nothing to fear, living or dying ; whose fidelities have
built up the temples of Science and Civilization amid
the clamours of cowards; and they all cry shame on
the fears that would betray our reason and sap our
strength; they cry Onward ! to the heart that aban
dons the flesh-pots of falsehood, even for a wilder
ness where leads the pillar of truth—be it fire, be it
cloud.
TURNBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS. EDINBURGH.
��INDEX TO ME SCOTT’S PUBLICATIONS,
ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED.
The following Pamphlets and Papers may be had on addressing
a letter enclosing the price in postage stamps to Mr THOMAS
SCOTT, No. 11, The Terrace, Farquhar Road, Upper Norwood,
London, S.E.
Price
ABBOTT, FRANCIS E., Editor of ‘ Index,’ Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A.
S'
’
The Impeachment of Christianity. With Letters from Miss F. P. Cobhe and
Prof. F. W. Newman, giving their reasons for not calling themselves Christians <0
Truths for the Times
_
_
.
_
_
(0
ANONYMOUS.
A Plain Statement,
Address on the Necessity of Free Inquiry and Plain Speaking,
A. I. Conversations. By a Woman, for Women. Parts I., II., and III., 6d each
Christianity and its Evidences
_
_
_
_
Euthanasia ; an Abstract of the Arguments for and against it,
A Few Self-Contradictions of the Bible _
_
Euthanasia,
Modern Orthodoxy and Modern Liberalism
.
Modern Protestantism. By the Author of “The Philosophy of Necessity.”
Nine Years a Curate .
_
_
_
_
One Hundred and One Questions to which the Orthodox, &c Per dozen
On Public Worship
Our First Century
------2
Primitive Church History
Sacred History as a Branch of Elementary Education. Part I.__ Its Influence
on the Intellect. Part II.—Its Influence on the Development of the Con
science. 6d each Part
_
_
_
The Church and its Deform. A Reprint
The Opinions of Professor David F. Strauss
The Twelve Apostles
Via Catholica; or, Passages from the Autobiography of a Country Parson
Parts I., II., and III., Is. 3d. each Part
.
Woman’s Letter
-
-
-
-
1
_
1
AN EX-CLERGYMAN.
What is the Church of England ?
A Question for the Age.
BARRISTER, A.
Notes on Bishop Magee’s Pleadings
Orthodox Theories of Prayer
-
for
0
I0
'1
<0
I0
•1
0
i0
i0
,0
1
’0
,0
0
(
3
6
6
3
0
3
G
G
3
G
3
G
9
1
1
0
0
o
0
6
G
3
9
3
0
The Chronological Weakness of Prophetic Interpretation The Evangelist and the Divine
The Gospel of the Kingdom ------
The Church
of England
Catechism
]
1
0
Examined. Reprint 1
0E theaLegekds of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Critically Examined
dlbaiv i, Mbs a.
Natural Religion, versus Revealed Religion
On Etbbnal Torture ----__
On the Deity of Jesus. Parts I. and II., 6d. each Part
-'
On The Atonement
1
BRAY, CHARLES.
.
-
-
-
Illusion and Delusion ; or Modern Pantheism versus Spiritualism,
I he Reign of Law in Mind as in Matter. Parts I. and II., 6d each Part
u?A”.*™01116 Eemarks on Professor Tyndall’s Address at Belfast,
wsus Authority .
BROWN, GAMALIEL.
An Appeal to the Preachers of all the Creeds
Sunday Lyrics The New Doxology
---III*
CANTAB, A. Jesus versus Christianity
"
0e
6
»
1
0
o
o
.
1
0
A
6
0
G
.
0
1
0
0
6
0
6
3
0
0
0
0
3
G
0
G
*
CLARK, W. G., M.A., Vice-Master of Trinity College, Cambridge
Exgl'anT”01'A
3
3
0
0
0
0
Christ
BASTARD, THOMAS H0RL00K. Scepticism and Social Justice
BENEFIOED CLERGYMAN OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND
BENTHAM, JEREMY.
BERNSTEIN, A.
d.
3
3
.MPaLE? EN™'LED’ “The Pkeseni Dangers of the Church of
‘
resent
�List of Publications—continued.
CLERGYMAN OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.
An examination oe Liddon’s Rampton Lecture
Dr Farrar’s “ Life of Christ.” A Letter to Thomas Scott
Letter and Spirit
--------The Analogy of Nature and Religion—Good and Evil .
The Question of Method, as affecting Religious Thought .
Rational Piety and Prayers for Fair Weather Spiritual Gambling; or, The Calculation of Probabilities in Religion,
0 6
0 6
0 6
0 6
0 3
0 3
0 6
CONWAY, MONCURE, D.
Consequences, ---------- 0
The Spiritual Serfdom of the Laity. With Portrait
0
The Voysey Case
0
COUNTRY PARSON, A
The Thirty-Nine Articles and the Creeds,—Their Sense and their Non-Sense.
Parts I., IL. and III. 6d. each Part
------
COUNTRY VICAR, A.
Criticism the Restoration of Christianity.
Review of a paper by Dr Lang
CRANBROOK, The late Rev. JAMES.
1
o
6
6
On the Existence of Evil
------0
On the Formation of Religious Opinions 0
On the Hindrances to Progress in Theology
0
The Tendencies of Modern ReligiousThought
0
God’s Method of Government,
0
On Responsibility,
----0
Positive Religion—Four Lectures, each 0 3
DEAN, PETER. The ImposSIBILITY OF KNOWING WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY 0 3
Dr CARPENTER at Sion College ; or
The View of Miracles Taken by Men of Science 0 6
DUBLIN DIVINITY STUDENT—Christianity and its Evidences—No.. I.
0 6
DUPUIS. Christianity a form of the great Solar Myth 0 9
F. H. I. Spiritual Pantheism 0 6
FOREIGN CHAPLAIN.
The Efficacy of Prayer, a Letter to Thomas Scott
Everlasting Punishment. A Letter to Thomas Scott,
On Religion
0 3
0 «
0 6
0 3
On Faith ---------Cruelty and Christianity : A Lecture,
-
0
0
FORMER ELDER IN A SCOTCH CHURCH.
GELDART, Rev E. M. The Living God
GRAHAM, A. D.
HANSON, Sir R- D., Chief-Justice of South Australia.
Science
and
Theology --------
HARE, The Right Rev FRANCIS, D.D., formerly Lord Bishop of Chichester.
The
Difficulties
Scriptures
0
4
Discouragements which attend the Study of the
------0
6
0
6
0
6
and
HENNELL, SARA S.
On The Need
of
Dogmas
in
Religion.
A letter to Thos. Scott
-
HINDS, SAMUEL, D.D., late Bishop of Norwich.
Another Reply
to the Question, “What have we got to Rely on, if we
CANNOT RELY ON THE BlBLE ? ”
to the Question, “Apart from Supernatural Revelation, What
is the Prospect of Man’s Living after Death?”
A Reply to the Question—“Shall I seek Ordination in the Church of
England ?”
--------The Nature and Origin of Evil. A Letter to a Friend
-
A Reply
HOPPS, Rev J. PAGE.
Thirty-nine Questions
on the
Thirty-nine Articles. With Portrait
HUTCHISON, THOMAS DANCER—The Free-Will Controversy,
JEVONS, WILLIAM.
-
0
0
0
6
6
0
0
3
The Book of Common Prayer Examined in the Light of the Present Age.
Parts I. and II. 6d. each Part
- 1
Claims ok Christianity to the Character of a Divine Revelation, Considered 0
0
The Prayer Book Adapted to the Age
-
6
0
6
3
KALISCH, M. Ph.D.,
Theology of the Past and the Future. Reprinted from Part I. of his Commen
1
tary cn Leviticus. With Portrait -
0
�List ut Publications—continued.
KIRKMAN. The Rev THOMAS F., Rector of Croft, Warrington.
Church Cursing and Atheism
-
s. d.
-10
- 1 0
- 1 6
-
On Church Pedigrees. Parts I. and II. With Portrait. 6d. each Part
On the Infidelity of Orthodoxy. In Three Parts. 6d. each Part
Orthodoxy from the Hebrew Point of View. Parts I. and II. 6d. each,
- 1
LAKE, J. W.
Plato, Philo, and Paul; or, The Pagan Conception of a “Divine Logos,” shewn
to have been the basis of the Christian Dogma of the Deity of Christ, - 1
LA TOUCHE, J. D., Vicar of Stokesay, Salop.
The Judgment of the Committee
of
Council in the Case of Mr. Voysey
-
LAYMAN, A, and M.A., of Trinity College, Dublin.
Law and the Creeds Thoughts on Religion and the Bible
Cremation
-
LEWIS, TERESA.
MACFIE, MATT.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Religion Viewed as Devout Obedience to the Laws of the Universe
The Religious Faculty : Its Relation to the other Faculties, and its Perils,
The Cardinal Dogmas of Calvinism traced to their origin, -
M.A., Trinity College, Cambridge.
Pleas for Free Inquiry.
Parts I., II., III. and IV.
Mackay, Charles, ll.d.
6d. each Part
the souls of the children
MACLEOD, JOHN
Recent Theological Addresses. A Lecture
MAITLAND, EDWARD.
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
0
- 0 3
-06
-06
- 0 3
- 0 6
0 6
- 0 6
-20
-03
-03
Jewish Literature and Modern Education: or, the Use and Abuse of the
Bible in the Schoolroom
. -16
How to Complete the Reformation. With Portrait
- 0 6
The Utilization of the Church Establishment - 0 6
MUIR, J., D.O.L.
Religious and Moral Sentiments. Freely translated from Indian Writers, - - 0
Three Notices of the “ Speaker’s Commentary,” translated from the Dutch
of Dr. A. Kuenen,
---0
M.P., Letter by. The Dean of Canterbury on Science and Revelation
- 0
6
6
NEALE, EDWARD VANSITTART.
Does Morality depend on Longevity ?
-06
Genesis Critically Analysed, and continuously arranged; with Introductory
Remarks
-10
Reason, Religion, and Revelation, -10
The Mythical Element in Christianity
-10
The New Bible Commentary and the Ten Commandments
- 0 3
NEWMAN, Professor F. W.
Against Hero-Making in Religion Jambs and Paul
On the Causes of Atheism.
With Portrait
On the Relations of Theism to Pantheism ; and On the Galla Religion
On the Historical Depravation of Christianity On this World and the other World,
Reply’ to a Letter from an Evangelical Lay Preacher The Controversy about Prayer
--The Divergence of Calvinism from Pauline Doctrine
The Religious Weakness of Protestantism
The True Temptation of Jesus. With Portrait
Thoughts on the Existence of Evil The Two Theisms
Ancient Sacrifice,
OLD GRADUATE. Remarks on Paley’s Evidences
OXLEE, The Rev JOHN. a Confutation of the Diabolarchy -
PADRE OF THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH.
-06
-06
- 0 6
- 0 6
-03
-06
- 0 3
-03
- 0 3
- 0
- 0
6
6
_
3
- 0 3
-03
q
- 0 6
- 0 6
The Unity of the Faith among all Nations
- 0 6
PARENT AND TEACHER, A. Is Death the end of all things for Man? - 0 6
PHYSICIAN, A.
A Dialogue by way of Catechism,—Religious, Moral, and Philosophical
Parts I. and II. 6d. each Part
-10
The Pentateuch, in Contrast with the Science and Moral Sense of our Age
Part I.—Genesis, Is. 6d. Part II.—Exodus, Is. Part III.—Leviticus, Is.
Part IV.—Numbers, Is. Part V.—Deuteronomy, Is. Part VI.—Joshua, 6d., - 6 0
PRESBYTER ANGLIOANUS.
Eternal Punishment. An Examination of the Doctrines held by the Clergy of
the Church of England
-06
The Doctrine of Immortality in its Bearing on Education
- 0 6
�List of Publications—continued.
ROBERTSON, JOHN, Coupar-Angus.
INTELLECTUAL LIBERTY
The Finding of the Book
s. d.
-
-
SCOTT, THOMAS.
'
o
.
-
"
-
Basis of a New Reformation _
Commentators and Hierophants; or, The Hones tv nf
m Two Parts. 6d. each Part
onestT of Chustian Commentators
Practical Remarks on “The Lord’s Prayer” '
Ihe Dean of Ripon on the Physical Resurrectth^
tU
on the Truth of Christianity
I°1' 0F ^ESUS>
ns Bearing
The English Life of Jesus. A New Edition
'
'
1HK Iactics and Defeat of the C!wptqt«taxt
~
"
*■
SHAEN, MISS—Prayer and Love to God
S°CIETY
’
STRANGE, T. LUMISDEN, late Judge of the HioL L i f
T. L. Strange
An Address to all Earnest Christians
Clerical Integrity
_
Communion with God
'
The Bennett Judgment
”
The Bible; Is it “The Word of God’”
The Speaker’s Commentary Reviewed
iHE Christian Evidence Society
The Exercise of Prayer
0
0
9
1
o
0
«
0 6
4 4
0 6
1 0
. per doz’
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
'
'
~
2
SUFFIELD, Rev. ROBERT RODOLPH.
Church’ Croya°n'
-
-
WHEELWRIGHT, Rev. GEORGE.
“ E?INBUI1gh Review” and Dr Strauss
Ihree Letters on the Voysey Judgment
Society’s Lectures,
_
G
2
and
WORTHINGTON, The Rev W. R.
ZERFFI,E G^G-t Ph.d°PINI0K IN Maiters of religion
-
0 3
0 3
0 6
0 6
6
6
0
0
- 0 o
The Christian Evidence
- 0 6
and
Concrete Nature of
0
the
6
0
The Origin and theJAbstract
.>
Devil.
SCOTT’S “ENGLISH LIFE OF JESUS.”
In One Volume, 8vo, bound in cloth, post free, 4s. 4rf.,
jSECOND EDITION OF
THE ENGLISH LIFE OF JESUS.
RECENTLY PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR,
THOMAS SCOTT,
11 THE TERRACE, FARQUHAR ROAD, UPPER NORWOOD, LONDON, S.E.
Noucb —Poj
a%ders*° be made payable to Thomas Scott,
___________ IPestow Hill Office, Upper Norwood, London, S.E.
Friends to the cause of “ Free Inquiry and Free Expression! are
earnestly requested to give aid in the wide dissemination of these
publuahons.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Consequences
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway, Moncure Daniel [1832-1907.]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: Edinburgh
Collation: 15, [4] p. ; 18 cm.
Notes: Part of Morris Miscellaneous Tracts 4 and the NSS pamphlet collection. Publisher's list on unnumbered pages at the end. Tentative date of publication from British Library catalogue. Printed by Turnbull and Spears, Edinburgh.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Thomas Scott
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[1875?]
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G4863
N177
Subject
The topic of the resource
Unitarianism
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Consequences), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Morris Tracts
NSS
Unitarianism
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/25778/archive/files/3520f2e24f026fa93e23993cbf2cedbf.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=t5b7k3KSoXRAHw7ULi7QGUoF2%7EjBoII-8U2C8WW9cNBDVLgUR-tPXDFCTU8XvMskxLjDceVw4SuomcWDV2bbmQPyD5vAmFfZyErTaL%7ENn1wo0JGqFW0AyCanxEb%7EWRYeXn7knBkPsyMfryohaq0OBZnTuPIB-aiK92dVSAwbUlrVykG1VNtxkPNxPH5sKaiZTgtEA4X7cflKhk6HON6DBmvqBdOt7yUjzpRDMPet6WXrTnF8cWsanQfxqq1QOe8CkY2KOhC1DPSTGLE4iwEi0xl07pRaPYWpuejNnKxsmu5BPDy-p%7E4BsbCirUWgyf3lB0-zHM%7Ezmc4VnbH2FAxdRA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
69ecd7171316326bb9591050ef50c40c
PDF Text
Text
"O «2
c* ' J-
TTW
DAVID FRIEDRICH STRAUSS.
COMMEMORATIVE SERVICES
AT
SOUTH PLACE CHAPEL, FINSBURY,
February 22, 1874.
WITH
JA
DISCOUHSE
BY
MONCURE D. CONWAY.
11, SOUTH PLACE, FINSBURY.
1874.
PRICE THREEPENCE«
�I
�I.
I CANNOT plainly see the way,
So dark the grave is; but I know
If I do truly work my day
Some good will brighten out of woe.
For the same hand that doth unbind
The winter winds, sends sweetest showers,
And the poor rustic laughs to find
His April meadows full of flowers.
I said I could not see the way,
And yet what need is there to see,
More than to do what good I may,
And trust the great strength over me ?
Why should I vainly seek to solve
Free-will, necessity, the pall ?
I feel, I know that God is love,
And knowing this I know it all.
Alice Carey.
II.
READINGS.
Whoso seeketh wisdom shall have no great travail; for he
shall find her sitting at his door. She goeth about seeking such
as are worthy of her, showeth herself favourably to them in the
highways, and meeteth them in every thought. Love is the
keeping of her laws. The multitude of the wise is the welfare
of the world.
�4
Wisdom is the worker of all things: for in her is an under
standing spirit, holy, one only, manifold, subtile, lively, clear,
undefiled, simple, not subject to hurt, loving the thing that is
good, quick, which cannot be letted, ready to do good ; kind to
man, steadfast, sure, free from care, having all power, overseeing
all things; and going through all understanding, pure and most
subtle spirits. Wisdom is more moving than any motion: she
passeth through all things by reason of her pureness. For she is
the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing
from the glory of the Almighty? therefore can no defiled thing
fall into her.
For she is the brightness of the everlasting
light, the unspotted mirror of the power ©f God, and the image
of his goodness. And being but one, she can do all things;
and remaining in herself, she maketh all things new: and in all
ages entering into holy souls, she maketh them friends of God
and prophets. She is more beautiful than the sun, and above all
the order of the stars: being compared with the light, she is
found before it; for after day cometh night, but vice shall not
prevail against wisdom.
Wisdom of Solomon.
The Duke Gae asked about the altars of the gods of the land.
Tsae-Wo replied, “The Hea sovereign used the pine-tree, the
man of the Yin used the cypress, and the man of the Chow used
the chestnut,—to cause the people to be in awe.”
Confucius, hearing this, said, “ Things that are done, it is
needless to speak about; things that have had their course, it is
needless to remonstrate with; things that are past, it is needless
to blame. ”
Kee-Loo asked about serving the gods. The Master said,
“While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve the
gods ?”
�5
Kee-Loo said, “ I venture to ask about death. ”
The Master said, “While you do not comprehend life, how
can you comprehend death ?
“ If a man in the morning hear of the right way, he may in
the evening die without regret
“Yew, shall I teach you what knowledge is ? When you know
a thing, consider that you know it; and when you do not know
a thing, understand that you do not know it This is knowledge.
“ For a man to worship a deity not his own is mere flattery.
“To give one’s-self earnestly to the duties due to men, and
while respecting the gods, to respect also their distance, may be
called Wisdom.”
Confucius.
Mahomet said, Instruct in knowledge ! He who instructs,
fears God ; he who speaks of knowledge, praises the Lord; who
disputes about it, engages in holy warfare ; who seeks it, adores
the Most High; who spreads it, dispenses alms to the ignorant;
and who possesses it, attains the veneration and goodwill of all.
Knowledge enables its possessor to distinguish what is forbidden
from what is not; it lights the way to heaven; it is our friend in
the desert, our society in solitude ; our companion when far away
from our homes ; it guides us to happiness ; it sustains us in
misery ; it raises us in the estimation of friends ; it serves as an
armour against our enemies. With knowledge, the servant of
God rises to the heights of excellence. The ink of the scholar is
more sacred than the blood of the martyr. God created Reason,
and it was the most beautiful being in his creation: and God
said to it, “I have not created anything better or more perfect or
more beautiful than thou: blessings will come down on mankind
on thy account, and they will be judged according to the use they
make of thee. ”
Mohammed.
�6
If Morality is the relation of man to the idea of his kind, which
in part he endeavours to realise in himself, in part recognises
and seeks to promote in others, Religion, on the other hand, is
his relation to the idea of the universe, the ultimate source of all
life and being. So far, it may be said that Religion is above
Morality; as it springs from a still profounder source, reaches
back into a still more primitive ground.
Ever remember that thou art human, not merely a natural
production ; ever remember that all others are human also, and,
with all individual differences, the same as thou, having the same
needs and claims as thyself: this is the sum and substance of
Morality.
Ever remember that thou, and everything thou beholdest
within and around thee, all that befals thee and others, is no dis
jointed fragment, no wild chaos of atoms or casualties, but that it
all springs, according to eternal laws, from the one primal source
of all life, all reason, all good : this is the essence of Religion.
Strauss : “ The Old Faith and the New."
III.
Fall, fall ye mighty temples to the ground !
Not in your sculptured rise
Is the real exercise
Of human nature’s brightest power found.
’Tis in the lofty hope, the daily toil,
’Tis in the gifted line,
In each far thought divine
That brings down heaven to light our common soil.
�7
’Tis in the great, the lovely, and the true,
’Tis in the generous thought
Of all that man has wrought,
Of all that yet remains for man, to do.
Fall, fall, ye ancient litanies and creeds :
Not prayers or curses deep'
The power can longer keep,
That once ye held by filling human needs.
The quickening worship of our God survives
In every noble grief,
In every high belief,
In each resolve and act that light our lives.
IV.
MEDITATION.
V.
The future hides in it
Gladness and sorrow ;
We press still thorow,
Nought that abides in it
Daunting us, —Onward.
And solemn before us,
Veiled the dark Portal ;
Goal of all mortal:—
Stars silent rest o’er us,
Graves under us silent.
�While earnest thou gazest,
Comes boding of terror,
Comes phantasm and error;
Perplexes the bravest
With doubt and misgiving.
But heard are the Voices,
Heard are the Sages,
The Worlds, and the Ages :
“ Choose well; your choice is
Brief, and yet endless.
“ Here eyes do regard you
In Eternity’s stillness;
Here is all fulness,
Ye brave, to reward you.
Work, and despair not! ”
(Gckthk, ir. Carlyl.
�DAVID FRIEDRICH STRAUSS.
Towards the close of the last century a young
German student was climbing amid the Swiss
Alps—alpenstock in hand—gazing with wonder
on glaciers, scaling the dizziest peaks. His Alpine
wanderings were preliminary to the climbing of
nobler summits, commanding vaster prospects.
For this was Friedrich Hegel, destined to create
an epoch in the history of the human mind.
Amid those barren heights and weird chasms of
Switzerland there was born in his mind a doubt
which has influenced the world. Before those wild
desolations he asked himself whether it could
be possible that this chaos of rock and glacier
had been specially created for man’s enjoyment ?
It was a problem which required for its solution
not only his own long, laborious life, but many
lives ; yet, to the philosophical statement of that
one man we owe a new order of religious thought.
If I may borrow an expression from geology, it
may be said that we are all living in the Hegelian
formation; and this whether we understand that
philosophy or not, and even if we reject its terms.
�IO
For Hegel was as a great vitalising breath wafted
from afar, beneath which, as under a tropical
glow,’ latent seeds of thought were developed to
most various results. From afar; for really
Hegel’s philosophy was an Avatar for cultivated
.Europe of the most ancient faith of our race. Its
essence is the conception of an absolute Idea
which has represented itself in Nature, in order
that by a progressive development through Nature
it may gain consciousness in man, and return as
mind to a deeper union with itself. It is really
the ancient Hindu conception of a universal soul
of Nature, a vast spiritual sea in which each
animal instinct, each human intellect, is a wave.
Or, in another similitude, every organic form,
however great or small, represents some scattered
spark of a central fire of intelligence, on the way
back to its source, bearing thither. the accumu
lated knowledge gathered on its pilgrimage
through many forms in external Nature.
Briefly, the Hegelian philosophy means a soul
in Nature corresponding to the soul of Man. Of
■ course—I have already stated it—it did not
originate with Hegel. It maybe traced from the
Vedic Hymn to the cry of Kepler, when, looking
up to the stars, he said, “ Great God, I think thy
thought aftei' thee !” But with Hegel it gained
�II
an adaptation to the thought of Europe, and
passed into the various forms of belief and feeling.
It inspired all the poetry of Wordsworth. It is
reflected in the materialism no less than in the
idealism of our age, and may be felt in the
philosophy of Huxley no less than in that of its
best exponent, Emerson.
Among the many German thinkers who sat at
the feet of Hegel there was but one who compre
hended its tremendous bearings upon the theology
of Europe ; but one through whom it was able to
grow to logical fruitage ; and that one was the
great man whose life has just closed—David
Friedrich Strauss. Strauss proved himself the
truest pupil of Hegel by throwing off the mere
form of his forerunner’s doctrine, just as that
philosopher had thrown off the formulas of his
forerunners. The literal Hegelians, of course,
regarded Strauss as a renegade ; on the surface
it would so appear: Hegel called himself a
Christian, Strauss renounced Christianity; Hegel
was designated an idealist, Strauss a materialist.
But we must not be victims of the letter. Fruit
is different from blossom ; but it is, for all that,
blossom in another form.
I need, not dwell on the outward biography of
Friedrich Strauss. The greatest men live in
�12
their intellectual works. The sixty-five years of
this man were not marked by many salient or
picturesque incidents. As a student of theology
at Tübingen, and as a professor, he travelled an
old and beaten path,—poverty, hard study, hard
work. At the age of twenty-seven he publishes
his great work, the Leben Jesu ; is driven from
his professorship ; offered another at Zurich Uni
versity, he is prevented by persecution from
holding it; and finally settles himself down to a
life of plain living and high thinking. He is
elected by his native town Ludwigsburg to the
Wurtemburg Legislature, but surprises them by
his “ conservatism,” as it was called, and answers
their dissatisfaction by resigning. He marries, and,
alas ! unhappily. Agnes Schebert was an actress,
and she was also a clever authoress; but when she
was married to Strauss there was shown to be
an incompatibility of disposition which led to a
quiet separation without recriminations on either
side. The lady once wrote a parody on the
writing of Hegel, which is amusing, but suggests
that she could hardly have been fortunately
united with a philosopher who had sat at the
feet of Hegel. She left with him a daughter and
a son, who were devoted to their father through
life, and for whom he wrote a tender and touch-
�ing account of their mother that they might think
of her with affection.
He lived a busy life, and wrote a large number
of admirable works, the absence of most of
which from English libraries is a reproach to our
literature.
His biographies are among the
most felicitous that have been written, and have
brought before Germans noble figures which are
for most English readers mere names,—Ulrich
von Hutten, the brilliant radical of the Refor
mation ; the discoverer of lost books of Livy,
Quintilian, and other classic authors ; the fellow
fugitive of Erasmus before the wrath of the
Pope ; the lonely scholar who has made classic
the islet of Lake Zurich where he died :—the
Biography of Hermann Reimarus, who one hun
dred years ago was the leading prophet of
Natural Religion : —the Life of Friedrich Daniel
*
Schubart, poet and publicist, who, beginning as
an organist in Ludwigsburg, lost his place for
writing a parody on the Litany; who in later life
was invited by the Duke of Wurtemburg to
dinner, on his arrival seized and imprisoned in
Asberg Castle for ten years, because of an epi
* His chief works are “ The Wolfenbuttel Fragments,” edited
by Lessing; “The Principles of Natural Religion,” and “The
Instincts of Animals. ”
�14
gram written by the poet,—who, for the rest, has
left songs which the Germans still love to sing.
*
The work of Strauss on Voltaire consists of a
series of lectures prepared by request of the
Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt (daughter of Queen
Victoria), who listened to them ; and the work
is written in a spirit of high admiration of the
great French heretic. If, as I doubt not, the two
biographies which he has left—“ Lessing ” and
“ Beethoven ”—are of equal value to those I have
mentioned, Strauss will have left six works at
least, apart from his contributions to theology,
of a character which must write his name very
high among the literary workers of this century.
When the life of Strauss is written, no doubt
the details of it will be found of great interest ;
but nothing relating to his private and personal
history will ever be so impressive as the unfold
ing of his intellectual and religious nature. Fully
told, even as traceable in his works, this repre
sents the pilgrimage of a Soul from the crumbling
shrines of Superstition across long deserts of
doubt, and the rugged passes of adversity, even
* The principal is one entitled “Caplied” (Cape Song), sup
posed to be sung by soldiers, sold to the Dutch, on their way to
the Cape of Good Hope. Another celebrated poem of his is,
“Die Fiirstengruft ” (The Tomb of Princes).
�to the beautiful temple of Truth, where his last
hymn of joy ended in the gentle sigh of death.
Of this, his mental biography, I can give here
but a slight outline. I have already taken up
the thread of his life at the point where he was
learning the secret of Hegel. That implied a
foreground with which many of us are familiar;
for he was born to orthodoxy, and. had to'flee
that City of Destruction. So much he had accom
plished in his youth, and was ready to set him
self to the real task of his life. The philosophy
of Hegel left room for mysticism, but none for
miracle. Paulus, Schelling, Schleiermacher, and
others, each endeavoured in their several ways tobridge over the gulf between supernaturalism
and reason ; they wanted reason, they must
have Christianity, and so held on to the miracles
without believing them miraculous. But Strauss
had already placed before his mind Truth as the
one attainable thing worthy of worship ; and he
set himself to the task of studying the life of
Christ, with all its investiture of fable, as a
historical phenomenon. The fables he knew were
not true, but he would know how they arose, and
he would know what form they would leave were
they detached from the New Testament narra
tives. In reaching his sure result he was aided
�i6
by the veracity of his mind no less than by his
learning. He had but to apply to a miracle
found in the Bible the same test which everyone
applied to a miracle when found in Livy or Ovid.
He had but to take the method which Christians
used when dealing with the wonders of Buddhism,
and apply it honestly to the marvels of
Christianity. The result was that he tracked all
the New Testament marvels back to their pagan
or Judaic origin; he found that they were the
same stories that had been told about Moses,
Elijah, David, about Isis and Osiris, Apollo, and
Bacchus. In a word he proved that they were
myths, such as in unscientific ages—when the laws
of Nature and the nature of laws were unknown—
had arisen and gathered about every teacher who
had become an object of popular reverence.
In denying the value of miracles as historical
events in the life of a particular man, Strauss
was impressed by the perception that these
myths which had come from every human race to
invest Christ represented something more im
portant than the career of any individual; they
represented humanity. They were born out of
the human heart in every part of the world, and
were types of its aspirations, hopes, and spiritual
experiences. That which could not be respected
�¡7
as history could be reverenced as a reflection of
the religious sentiment. He would place an
idea where the church set an individual.
“ Humanity,” he wrote, “ is the union of the
two natures—God become man, the infinite
manifesting itself in the finite, and the finite
spirit remembering its infinitude; it is the child
of the visible Mother and the invisible Father,
Nature and Spirit; it is the worker of miracles,
in so far as in the course of human history, the
spirit more and more completely subjugates nature,
both within and around man, until it lies before
him as the inert matter on which he exercises his
active power; it is the sinless existence, for the
course of its development is a blameless one,
pollution cleaves to the individual only, and does
not touch the race and its history. It is
Humanity that dies, rises, and ascends to heaven,
for from the negation of its phenomenal life
there ever proceeds a higher spiritual life.”
When this lofty faith in Humanity as the true
Christ, which had unconsciously symbolized itself
as the life of one man, shone out upon the mind
of Strauss, all interest in the individual Jesus
paled under it. Since his great work was pub
lished—near forty years ago—we have, by stand
ing on the shoulders of such men as he, been
�iS
able, no doubt/ to see somewhat further. The
rational study of the New Testament has disclosed
certain fragments of real history, and by piecing
these together we can shape out the figure of a
great man,—great enough to show why it was
that the human heart brought all its finest dreams
and marvels to entwine them around that single
brow. But the grand generalization of this
scientific thinker, who pierced the veil of fable
and recognised beyond it the face of humanity
transfigured with divine light, is one which can
hardly be parallelled by any utterance since the
brave words of Paul: “ We henceforth know no
one according to the flesh ; and if we have ever
known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we
no longer know him.” “ The Lord is a Spirit 1”
Having disposed of the old Christology,
Strauss proceeded to apply his method—the
method of Science—to all the theories of Nature
and of human life which were intertwined with
it What the results of his inquiries were are
summed up in his last work, “ The Old Faith
and the New.” And at the outset I must say
that the whole purport of that book has been
falsely interpreted for English readers by the
blundering exposition of it given by Mr. Glad
stone in a speech delivered in Liverpool. The
�late Prime Minister, it will be remembered, held
up Dr. Strauss before the school-children as an
awful example of what they would come to if
they once began exercising their own faculties.
He admitted his own incompetence to answer the
arguments of Strauss ; it would have been well
if he had also acknowledged his inability to trans
late his words correctly. In describing that
“Universum” wdiich Strauss had declared to be
the highest and divinest conception of human in
telligence, the Cosmos which man should adore in
place of the old deity of dogma, Mr. Gladstone
said that the author represented it—the adorable
Universe—as without reason. The word which
Strauss really uses is “ Vernunftvoll ”—full of
reason ! This inexcusable error makes all the
difference between Theism and Atheism. “ Our
highest idea,” says Strauss, “ is the law-governed
Cosmos, full of life and reason and he censures
Schopenhauer, who declares Nature to be hope
lessly evil. “We consider it,” he says, “ arrogant
and profane on the part of a single individual to
oppose himself with such audacious levity to the
Cosmos whence he springs, from which, also, he
derives that spark of reason which he misuses.
We recognise in this a repudiation of the senti
ment of dependence which we expect from every
�20
man. We demand the same piety for our Cosmos
that the devout of old demanded for his God.”
In this his last work, “ The Old Faith and the
New ”—the translation of which we owe to a
woman as we do that of his first work—Strauss
embraces with enthusiasm the theory of Evo
lution. Thereby his old Hegelian idealism is
transmuted to Darwinian Materialism. Of course,
many people fancy that Materialism is something
which is inconsistent with belief in a deity or
even in religion.
But really, with regard to
divine existence and religion there is no differ
ence between Idealism and Materialism. Strauss
justly pronounces the religious issue between the
two a quarrel about words. They both and alike
“ endeavour to derive the totality of phenomena
from a single principle—to construct the universe
and life from the same blockin this equally
opposing the Christian dualism which divides
man into body and soul, and severs God from
Nature. In their common endeavour after unity
Idealism starts from above, Materialism starts
from below ; “ the latter constructs the universe
from atoms and atomic forces, the former from
ideas and idealistic forces. But if they would
fulfil their tasks, the one must lead from its
heights down to the very lowest circles of
�21
1 Nature, and to this end place itself under the
I control of careful observation ; while the other
i must take into account the higher intellectual
I and ethical problems.” In short, all that the
j Idealist says of soul the Materialist says of
I brain; all that any worshipper can say of his
| God, Strauss says of Nature.
I What the creed of this thinker was may be
I found in this last work, wherein it is expressed with
an exaltation which becomes more impressive
f now that we know that even while he was so
! uttering his perfect faith in the fair universe, the
i terrible cancer was destroying him. These are
his words: “We perceive in Nature tremendous
I contrasts, awful struggles; but we discover that
i these do not disturb the stability and harmony
of the whole,—that they, on the contrary, pre
serve it. We further perceive a gradation, a
development of the higher from the lower, of the
refined from the coarse, of the gentle from the
rude. And in ourselves we make the experience
that we are advanced in our personal as well as
our social life ; the more we succeed in regula
ting the element of capricious change within and
around us, and in developing the higher from the
lower, the delicate from the rugged. This, when
we meet with it within the circle of human life,
�22
we call good and reasonable. What is analogous
to it in the world around us, we cannot avoid
calling so likewise. The Cosmos is simulta
neously both cause and effect, the outward and
the inward together. We stand here at the
limits of our knowledge ; we gaze into an abyss
we can fathom no' farther. But this much at
least is certain,—that the personal image which
meets our gaze there is but the reflection of the
wondering spectator himself. At any rate, that
on which we feel ourselves entirely dependent, is
by no means merely a rude power to which we
bow in mute resignation, but is at the same time
both order and law, reason and goodness, to
which we surrender ourselves in loving trust.”
In one very important matter many of the
admirers of Strauss have felt distress at his
position and influence. Politically, he has the
reputation of being a reactionist and conserva
tive. This reputation—obtained when he resigned
his seat in the legislature because of disagree
ment with his radical constituency—has been
confirmed by his treatment of political subjects
in his latest work. My own belief is that the
views of Strauss on these matters are very
seriously misunderstood by reason of the fact
that they are altogether conceived from the
�ft
o%
Hegelian standpoint. Those who study Hegeln know that his apparent conservatism was the
IE crust outside a fiery radicalism.
The political
philosophy of Hegel is contained in the followfi| ing extract from his writings :—“ Moral liberation and political freedom must advance
together. The process must demand some vast
J space of time for its full realisation; but it is the
d law of the world’s progress, and the Teutonic
9 nations are destined to carry it into effect. The
■i Reformation was an indispensable preparation
J
¡4 for this great work. The history of the world
* is a record of the endeavours made to realise the
idea of freedom and of a progress surely made,
but not without many intervals of apparent
failure and retrogression. Among all modern
failures the French revolution of the eighteenth
century is the most remarkable. It was an
! endeavour to realise a boundless external liberaj tion without the indispensable condition of moral
] freedom. Abstract notions based merely on the
understanding, and having no power to control
wills of men, assumed the functions of morality
and religion, and so led to the dissolution of
society, and to the social and political difficulties
under which we are now labouring. The proI gress of freedom can never be aided by a
�24
revolution which has not been preceded by a
religious reformation.”*
That a similar conviction was rooted in the
mind of Strauss I became aware by personal,
intercourse with him. Some years ago, as I
walked with him on the banks of the Neckar, he
declared to me that the motives he had in pub
lishing his “ Life of Christ ” were hardly less
political than religious. “ I felt oppressed,” he
said, “ at seeing nearly every nation in Europe
chained down by allied despotism of prince and
priest. I studied long the nature of this oppres
sion, and came to the conclusion that the chain
which fettered mankind was rather inward than
outward, and that without the inward thraldom
the outward would soon rust away. The inward
chain I perceived to be superstition, and the
form in which it binds the people of Europe is
Christian Supernaturalism. So long as men
accept religious control not based on reason they
will accept political control not based on reason.
The man who gives up the whole of his moral
nature to an unquestioned authority has suffered
a paralysis of his mind, and all the changes of
*SeeGostwick and Harrison’s “Outlines of German Litera
ture,” p. 481.
�25
f® outward circumstances in the world cannot make
iiihim a free man. For this reason our European
revolutions have been, even when successful,
merely transfers from one tyranny to another.
I believed when I wrote that book that, in striking
•J at supernaturalism, I was striking at the root of
tj the whole evil tree of political and social degrada
ci tion.”
1 At another time, when speaking of Renan,
whose portrait was the most prominent in his
a study, he said : “ Renan has done for France
d what I had hoped to do for Germany. He has
vj written a book which the common people read ;
r > the influence of my ‘ Life of Christ ’ has been
21 confined to scholars more than I like, and I mean
to put it into a more popular shape. Germany
i| must be made to realise that the decay of
it Christianity means the growth of national life,
J and the progress of humanity.”
J
After this it was very plain to me what
1 Strauss’s conversatism amounted to. It means
» only that he had no faith in the abolition of an
; abuse here and there when the conditions which
i produce every abuse remain unaltered,—no faith
in sweeping away a few snow-drifts when winter
is still in the air, the whole sky charged with
snow. We may wish that he had felt more
—
�26
sympathy with some of the popular movements
around him ; but we must remember that as a
philosophical radical he regarded the ever
recurring enthusiasms of the people,—believing
that they would reach the millennium by abolish
ing capital punishment, or abolishing a throne,—
as so much waste energy. He saw hopes born in
revolutions only to perish in disaster and reac
tion. He came to rest his hope for Humanity,
which he loved, on his faith in the omnipotence of
that Truth which he sought to enthrone above it.
Such was the faith, such the work, of the great
man, to whose memory we pay this day our
heartfelt homage. In his writings- I have met
with but one allusion to himself. It is in the
last pages that he ever wrote, and is as follows :
—“ It is now close upon forty years that as a
man of letters I have laboured, that I have
fought on and on for that which appeared to me
as truth, and still more perhaps against that
1 which has appeared to me as untruth ; and in th‘e
pursuit of this object I have attained, nay, over
stepped the threshold of old age.” Then it is
that every earnest-minded man hears the whisper
' of an inner voice: “ Give an account of thy
stewardship, for thou may’st be no longer
steward.” Now, I am not conscious of having
�27
been an uujust steward. An unskilful one at
times, too probably also a negligent one, I may,
heaven knows, have been; but on the whole I
have done what the strength and impulse within
prompted me to do, and have done it without
looking to the right or the left, without seeking
the favour or shunning the displeasure of any.”
These few words represent the benediction of
Conscience upon a faithful man, felt by him as
life was ebbing away, and the dark portal grow
ing more distinct before him. His bitterest
enemy need not impugn that approving smile of
his own heart. It was all the wage of his work.
Others have toiled in full view of heavenly
reward. He laboured on with hope of no recom
pense for devotion and self-sacrifice beyond the
consciousness of having made his life an unfalter
ing testimony to truth. Even those who believe
that they see gleams of light irradiating the dark
valley may count his honour not less but more
that he gave his service uncheered by such
visions.
In Heilbronn, where he was residing, he onct
pointed out to me, near an ancient church, the
trace of the old and sacred fountain which gave
the town its name, which signifies “ healing foun
tain.” He said, with his gentle smile : “ The
�28
theory of the priests is that the fountain ceased
to flow when I came here to reside.” When I
looked up to his magnificent eyes, and the grand
dome of his forehead, I could but marvel at the
depth of that superstition which could permit this
man to live as a hermit in communities which will
one day cherish each place of his dwelling as a
shrine. Holy wells may dry up, and the churches
beside them crumble, but men will repair to the
spots where the lonely scholar sat at his task,
and tell their children—here it was that in the
wildernesses of superstition living waters broke
out, and streams in the desert.
�29
V.
Everlasting ! changing never!
Of one strength, no more, no less ;
Thine almightiness for ever,
Ever one thy holiness :
Thee eternal,
Thee all glorious we possess.
Shall things withered, fashions olden,
Keep us from life’s flowing spring ?
Waits for us the promise golden,
Waits each new diviner thing.
Onward ! onward !
Why this hopeless tarrying ?
Nearer to thee would we venture,
Of thy truth more largely take,
Upon life diviner enter,
Into day more glorious break ;
To the ages
Fair bequests and costly make.
By the old aspirants glorious ;
By each soul heroical;
By the strivers, half victorious ;
By thy Jesus and thy Paul,
Truth’s own martyrs,—
We are summoned, one and alL
By each saving word unspoken ;
By thy truth as yet half won ;
By each idol still unbroken ;
By thy will yet poorly done ;
O Almighty !
We are borne resistless on.
Adaptedfrom Gill,
�M
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
David Friedrich Strauss: commemorative services at South Place Chapel, Finsbury, February 22,1874, with a discourse by Moncure D. Conway
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway, Moncure Daniel [1832-1907.]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London]
Collation: 29, [1] p. ; 15 cm.
Notes: Morris Miscellaneous Tracts 1. Includes bibliographical references. A list of the author's works available from South Place Chapel on unnumbered back page.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
[South Place Chapel]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[1874]
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G3330
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sermons
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /><br /><span>This work (David Friedrich Strauss: commemorative services at South Place Chapel, Finsbury, February 22,1874, with a discourse by Moncure D. Conway), identified by </span><span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk">Humanist Library and Archives</a></span><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
David Friedrich Strauss
Memorial Addresses
Morris Tracts
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/25778/archive/files/98e290544b55a5f9790d43d04cd1ef93.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=GryHgVnapRVJ5HIfi9Fz1ysmxYM51jrZTV4bTmOgLKWO6LStCQGDVb9Pz7juJs51i452-Gqog1isTZQVUtWj8g6TVnex0pBnkaAl3fkS2NvD4GFoFeAaCnxv2WyeiEo4jeyewkYdOMhfL6tEJRp%7E8ux6da3bxTsBHXa4dNf9jqJ1szHzHZc0kMnhU2DjAGGMLaM2C9KBKhDacNUNgp%7E4N8SMjW8EtKCSRJuI4ql4fdeY%7E9JqZf4D-ecGvpgvnee6CmvnMEIsM%7EZxqXQ3U9SZkMlyHFQyvnypomfR5GUzscoscb5EhFAS3tbQPbLvXVZMnqHGPq5NXnVXHfd2jDYxDQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
fc433494be46b3d19d24d6b0aa20cbef
PDF Text
Text
DEDICATORY SERVICES
OF THE
, PARKER MEMORIAL 2
E ETING
HOUS
BY THE
TWENTY-EIGHTH CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY,
OF BOSTON,
Sunday, Sept. 81, 187’3.
BOSTON:
COCHRANE & SAMPSON, PRINTERS,
—
9 BROMFIELD STREET.
1873.
��SERVICES.
I. DEDICATION HYMN.
BY SAMUEL JOHNSON.
(SungMuiChoir^
To Light, that shines in stars and souls ;
To Law, that round* the world with calm ;
To Love, whose equal triumph rolls
Through martyr’s prayer and angel’s psalm, —
We wed these walls with unseen bands,
In holier shrines not built with hands.
May purer sacrament be here
Than ever dwelt in rite or creed, —
Hallowed the hour with vow sincere
To serve the time’s all-pressing need,
And rear, its heaving sea&above,
Strongholds of Freedom, folds of Love.
Here be the wanderer homeward led ;
Here living streams in fullness "flow;
And every hungering soul be fed,
That yearns the Eternal Will to know;
Here conscience hurl her stern reply
To mammon’s lust and slavery’s lie.
Speak, Living God, thy full command
Through prayer of faith and word of power,
That we with girded loins may stand
To do thy work and wait thine hour,
And sow, ’mid patient toils and tears,
For harvests in serener years.
�4
II. REMARKS OF JOHN C. HAYNES,
CHAIRMAN OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE TWENTY-EIGHTH CON
GREGATIONAL SOCIETY, OF BOSTON.
As your representative here to-day in the dedicatory services
of this Memorial to Theodore Parker, the first minister and
founder of our Society, what I have to say will consist mainly
of a brief review of the history of the Society.
On January 22d, 1845, a meeting was held at Marlboro’ Chapel
by several friends of free thought, at which the following reso
lution was passed: —
'•'•Resolved, That the Rev. Theodore Parker shall have a chance to be
heard in Boston.”
At that time he was preaching at West Roxbury. The
Melodeon was hired for Sunday mornings, and Mr. Parker
preached his first sermon there February 16th, 1845, on “The
Importance of Religion.” In November of that year the Society
was regularly organized as a “ body for religious worship ” under
the laws of Massachusetts, the name “Twenty-eighth Congre
gational Society of Boston ” was adopted, and Mr Parker, on
January 4th, 1846, was regularly installed as its minister. The
Society remained at the Melodeon until the fall of 1852, when,
for the sake of a larger audience-room for the great number
who flocked to hear Mr. Parker, it removed to the Music Hall,
then recently erected. There Mr. Parker preached from Sun
day to Sunday until his illness on January 9th, 1859. His last
discourse was on the Sunday previous. He continued, however,
to be the minister of the Society untill his death, which oc
curred May 10th, i860. From the time of the illness of Mr.
Parker to bis death, the Society continued its meetings, in the
hope at least of his partial recovery. After his death, the
Society, seeing the continued need of an unfettered platform
for free thought, and for the maintenance and diffusion of just
ideas in regard to theology, morality and religion, and whatever
else concerns the public welfare, of course maintained its organ
ization and continued its meetings, engaging as preachers the
best expounders of religious thought and feeling within its
reach, laymen as well as clergymen, women as well as men..
�The meetings have been held, without any interruptions except
those of the usual summer vacations, up to the present time,
a period of more than thirteen years since Mr. Parker’s death.
We have had financial and other discouragements, but the
enthusiasm of the Society for the cause of “ absolute religion,”
— the feeling that a pulpit like ours was needed, in which earnest
men'and women could freely express their views upon religious,
social and political questions, — have kept us united and in
action.
Our first serious misfortune, after the death of Mr. Parker,
occurred in April, 1863, when, in consequence of the several
months needful for the putting up of the Great Organ, we were
obliged to vacate the Music Hall and go back to the Melodeon.
Our second principal misfortune took plpce in September,
1866, when, in consequence of the Melodeon being required for
business purposes, we were compelled to remove to the Parker
Fraternity Rooms, No 5 54/Washington Street.
In each case, the removal from a larger to a smaller hall re
duced our numbers.
In May, 1865, ’Rev. David A. Wasson was settled as the
minister of the Society, which position he held until his resigna
tion in July, 1866. Previous to Mr. Wasson’s settlement, Rev.
Samuel R. Calthrop, now of Syracuse, N.Y., occupied the pul
pit continuously for several months.
During 1867 and 1868, for more than a year, Rev. Samuel
Longfellow preached for the Society on successive Sundays.
Mr. Longfellow has continued to preach for us occasionally
ever since.
On December 13th, 1868, Rev. James Vila Blake was installed
by the Society as its minister, and remained our pastor nearly
three years, until his resignation in November, 1871.
Aside from these, we have had the occasional pulpit service of
many men and women, noble in character, and eminent in abil
ity. Among them are Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Lloyd
Garrison, Wendell Phillips, William R. Alger, John Weiss,
Samuel Johnson, O. B. Frothingham, John W. Chadwick,
Francis E. Abbot, Ednah D. Cheney, William J. Potter, Celia
Burleigh, William H. Spencer, and W. C. Gannett.
�6
The Parker Fraternity, which is an offshoot of the Twenty
eight Congregational Society, representing particularly its social
element, was organized in 1858, and has been a valuable adjunct
to the Society. Through its public lectures it has largely in
fluenced public opinion, particularly in the days of the anti
slavery reform and the momentous years of the rebellion. It
naturally recognized the rights of woman, and year after year
placed women among its lecturers.
The Twenty-eighth Congregational Society has always, from
the start, had its seats free. All who chose to come to its meet
ings have been welcome. The contributions for payment of
expenses have always been voluntary. The Society has never
had a creed, and has never used those observances with water,
bread and wine which the sects call “ sacraments.” Through
the twenty-eight years of its existence, the feeling against these
has been constant and universal, so that no question in regard
to them has ever arisen.
Now, for the first time, we have a building we can call our
own. We have erected it as a memorial to our first great
teacher and standard-bearer, Theodore Parker. We dedicate it
to the ideas he represented: namely, to truth, to humanity, to
the free expression of free thought, to duty, to mental, moral
and social progress, and to the diffusion of-religion without
superstition.
III.
SCRIPTURE READING.
[A part of the following selection from the Scriptures of different nations was read.]
Let us meditate on the adorable light of the Divine Creator; may He
quicken our minds.
What .1 may now utter, longing for Thee, do Thou accept it: make me
possessed of God !
Preserver, Refuge 1 leave us not in the power of the evil: be with us when
afar, be with us when near; so sustained, we shall not fear. We have no
other Friend but Thee, no other blessedness, no other Father. There is
none like Thee in heaven or earth, O Mighty One: give us understanding
as a father his sons. Thine we are ; we go on our way upheld by Thee.
Day after day we approach Thee with reverence : take us into Thy pro- l
tection as a father his sons. Thou art as water in the desert to him who I
longs for Thee.
�f
7
. •
Presence us by knowledge from sin, and lift us up, for our work and for
' oumife. Deliver us from evil!
Spirit alone is this All. Him know ye as the One Soul alone; dismiss
all other words.
The Eternal One is without form, without beginning, self-existent Spirit.
The Supreme Spirit, whose creation is the universe, always dwelling in
the heart of all beings, is revealed by the heart. They who know Him
become immortal. With the eye can no man see Him. They who know
him as dwelling within become immortal.
He is the Soul in all beings, the best in each, the inmost nature of
all; their beginning, middle, end: the all-watching Preserver, Father and
Mother of the universe; Supporter, Witness, Habitation, Refuge, Friend:
the knowledge of the wise, the silence of mystery, the splendor of light.
He, the One, moveth not, yet is swifter than thought. He is far, he is
near. He is within all, he is beyond all. He it is who giveth to his crea
tures according to their needs. He is the Eternal among things transitory,
the Life of all that lives, and being One fumlleth we desires of many. The
wise who see Him within themselves, theirs is everlasting peace.
Dearer than son, dearer than wealth, dearer than all* other beings, is He
who dwelleth deepest within.
. They who worship me, He saith, dwell in me and I in them. They who
worship me shall never die. By him who seeks me, I am easily found. To
such as seek me with constant love, I give the power to come to me. I will
deliver thee from all thy transgressions.
He who seeth all in God, and God in all, despiseth not any.
Hear the secret of the wise. Be not anxious ’ for Subsistence : it is pro
vided by the Maker. He who hath clothed the birds with their bright plu
mage will also feed thee. How should riches bring thee joy. He has all
good things whose soul is constant.
If one considers the whole universe as' existing in the Supreme Spirit,
how can he give his soul to sin ?
He leadeth men to righteousness that they may find unsullied peace.
. Who can be glorious without virtue ?
He who lives'pure in thought, free from malice, holy in life, feeling ten
derness toward all creatures, humble and sincere, has God ever in his heart.
The Eternal makes not his abode within the heart of that man who covets
another’s wealth, who injures any living thing, who speaks harshness or
untruth.
. The good have mercy on all as on themselves. He who is kind to those
who are kind to him does nothing great. To be good to the evil-doer is
what the wise call good. It is the duty of the good man, even in the mo
ment of his destruction, not only to forgive, but to seek to bless his de
stroyer.
By truth is the universe upheld.
Speak the truth : he drieth to the very roots who speaketh falsehood.
�8
Do righteousness : than righteousness there is nothing greater.
Honor thy father and thy mother. Live in peace with others. Speak ill
of none. Deceive not even thy enemy. Forgiveness is sweeter than
revenge. Speak kindly to the poor.
Whatever thou.dost, do as offering to the Supreme.
Lead me forth, O God, from unrighteousness into righteousness; from
darkness into light; from death into immortality 1
There is an invisible, eternal existence beyond this visible, which does
not perish when all things perish, even when all that exists in form returns
unto God from whom it came.
—Hindu {Brahminic) Scriptures*
O Thou in whom all creatures trust, perfect amidst the revolutions of
worlds, compassionate toward all, and their eternal salvation, bend down
into this our sphere, with all thy society of perfected ones. Thou Law of
all creatures, brighter than the sun, in faith we humble ourselves before
Thee. Thou, who dwellest in the world of rest, before whom all is but tran
sient, descend by thine almighty power and bless us !
Forsake ail evil, bring forth goo4, rule thy own thought: such is the path
to end all .pain.
My law is a law of mercy for all.
As a mother, so long as she lives, watches over her child, so among all
beings let boundless good-will prevail.
Overcome the evil with good, the avaricious with generosity, the false with
truth.
Earnestness is the way of immortality.
Be true and thou ahalt be free*. Ta be true belongs to thee, thy success,
to the Creator.
Not by meditation can the truth be reached, though I keep up continual
devotion. The. wall of error, is. broken by walking in the commandments of
God.
—Buddhist Scriptures.
In the name of God, the Giver, the Forgiver, the Rich in Love 1 Praise
be to the God, whose name is He who always was, always is, always shall be.
He is the Ruler, the Mighty, the Wise : Creator, Sustainer, Refuge, De
fender.
May Thy kingdom, come, O'Lord, wherein Thou makest good to the right
eous poor.
He through whose deed the world increaseth in purity shall come into Thy
kingdom.
This I ask of Thee, tell me the right, O Lord, teach me : Thou Ruler over
all, the Heavenly, the Friend for both worlds!
I pray Thee, the Best, for the best.
1 Teach Thou me out of Thyself.
The Lord has the decision: may it happen to us as He wills.
�9
“Which is the one prayer,” asked Zarathrusta, “that in greatness, good
ness and beauty is worth all that is between heaven and earth ? ” And the
Lord answered him, That one wherein one renounces all evil thoughts, evil
words, and evil works.
Praise to the Lord, who rewards those who perform good deeds accord
ing to His wijl, who purifies the obedient at last, and redeems even the
wicked out of hell.
—- Parsee Scriptures.
Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is one.
What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to reverence the Lord
thy God, to walk in all his ways: to love him and to serve him with all thy
heart and with all thy soul 1
For the Lord your God is a great God, a mighty and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, neither taketh gifts. He executeth justice for the
fatherless and the widow and loveth the stranger.* Love ye therefore the
stranger. Ye are the children of the Lord your God.
Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. Neither
shall thou profane the name of thy God. Thou shalt no,t defraud thy neigh
bor, but in righteousness shalt thou judge him,
Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart.
But thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
If thine enemy hunger feed him, iMie thirst give him drink. So shalt
thou heap coals of fire upon his head.
Bring no more vain oblations. Wash you, make you clean; cease to do
evil, learn to do good ; seek justice, relieve the oppressed.
Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow, though they
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Justice will I lay to the line and righteousness to the plummet.
When Thy justice is in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness.
The Lord will teach us his ways and we will walk in his paths. And he
shall judge the nations. And they shall beat their swords into plough
shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
For behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth. The wilderness and
the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall blossom as the rose.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures, he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my
life, He leadeth me in the right paths. Yea, though I walkthrough the val
ley of the deadly shadow, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me: Thy
rod and thy staff they comfort me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life.
—Jewish ^Canonical) Scriptures.
2
�IO
Wisdom is glorious, and never fadeth away. And love is the keeping of
her laws : and the giving heed unto her laws is the assurance of incorruptionj
And incorruption maketh us near unto God.
For wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me. In her is an
understanding spirit: holy, one only, yet manifold ; subtle, living, undefiled,
loving the thing that is good, ready to do good; kind to man, steadfast,
sure, having all power ; overseeing all things, and going through all mind ;
pure and most subtle spirit. For wisdom is more moving than any motion,
She passeth and goeth through all things by reason of her pureness. For
she is the breath of the power of God, and a pure influence flowing from the
glory of the Almighty. She is the brightness of the everlasting light, the. un
spotted mirror of the power of God and the image of his goodness. And be
ing one, she can do all things: and remaining in herself, she maketh all
things new; and in all ages entering into holy souls, she maketh them friends
of God and prophets.
Thou lovest all things that are ; thou savest all: for they are Thine, O
Lord, thou lover of souls. For Thine incorruptible spirit is in all things.
To know Thee is perfect righteousness ; yea, to know Thy power is the
root of immortality.
For righteousness is immortal.
— Jewish (Apocryphal} Scriptures.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed
are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for
they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst af
ter righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they
shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
Love your enemies ; bless them who curse you; pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you, that ye may be the children of your
Father who is in heaven. Be ye therefore perfect as your Father in heaven
is perfect.
God is Spirit, and they who worship him must worship him in spirit.
The Father who dwelleth in me doeth the works. My Father worketh
hitherto and I work.
God is Love ; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in
him.
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us. And he that keepeth his
commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we
should be called the sons of God.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself as He is pure.
As many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
�11
Unto us there is but one God, the Father.
One God, and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you
all.
He hath made us ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of
the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
Now the Lord is that spirit: and where the spirit of the Lord is there is
liberty.
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty. Only use not your liberty
as an occasion for the flesh, but that by love ye may serve one another.
And now abide faith, hope, love : but the greatest of these is love.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are
honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
things are lovely: if there be any virtue *and any praise, think on these
things. The things which ye have learned and received and heard, do :
and the God of peace shall be with you.
— Christian Scriptures.
IV.
PRAYER.
BY SAMUEL LONGFELLOW.
V.
DEDICATION HYMN.
WRITTEN FOR THE OCCASION BY W. C. GANNETT.
(Sung by Choir and Congregation?)
O Heart-of all the shining day,
The green earth’s still Delight,
Thou Freshness in the morning wind,
Thou Silence of the night;
Thou Beauty of our temple-walls,
Thou Strength within the stone, —
What is it we can offer thee
Save what is first thine own ?
Old memories throng: we think of one —
Awhile with us he trod —
Whose gospel words yet bloom and burn;
We called him, — Gift of God.
Thy gift again; we bring thine own,
This memory, this hope;
This faith that still one Temple holds
Him, us, within its cope.
-•
�12
Not that we see, but sureness comes
When such as he have passed ;
The freshness thrills, the silence fills,
Life lives then in the vast;
They pour their goodness into it,
It reaches to the star;
The Gift of God becomes himself,
More real, more near, so far !
VI. DISCOURSE.
BY SAMUEL LONGFELLOW.
I greet you upon your gathering in this new and fair home.
It is but a change of place, — not of mind or purpose. You lay
no new foundations of the .spirit. What foundation can any man
lay deeper, broader, more eternal than those you have always
had, — faith in man and faith in God, whom man reveals ? You
build no new walls of spiritual shelter: what other can you ever
need than you have always had, — the sense of the encompass
ing, protecting, and perfect laws, the encircling God ? What
better roof could overarch your souls than the reverential, trust
ful sense of the Heavenly Power and Love; the Truth, Justice,
and Beauty that are above us all; the Perfect which lifts us to
heaven, and opens heaven to us and in us, even as in Rome’s
Pantheon — temple of all the Gods, or of the All-God — the
arching dome leaves in its centre an open circle, through
which the infinite depths of sky are seen that tempt the spirit
to soar and soar, without a bound, farther than any bird hath
ever lifted wing or floating air-ship of man’s building can ever
rise! What spires and pinnacles could you raise that would
point upward better than that ideal within us, that haunting
sense of Perfection which forever calls us to a better manhood,
and toward which in all our best moments we long and aspire ?
What breadth of enlarged space could you open, with hospita
ble welcome of free place for all who would come, beyond that
entire freedom of thinking, of speaking, of hearing, which have
been yours, and your offering to others, for so many years ?
Eyer since, indeed, you gathered together, resolved that “ Theo-
�13
dore Parker should have a chance to be heard in Boston,” and
forrwsd the Twenty-eighth Congregational Society. Founded
in the ecclesiastical independence of that name, you, in coming
here, have not to break away from any ecclesiastical organization. Nor do you need now or ever to ask leave of bishop, or
approbation of consistory or council, — or fear the censure of
either, — for anything that you may do here, for any one whom
Bou may invite here, for anything that may be said here, for any
rite or form or ceremonial that you here may establish or may
omit. Springing from such root of sympathy with fair play and
freedom of speech, — and especially of thought and speech that
were under some ban. of heresy, — you have not in coming here
had to break away from any traditions of orthodoxy or spiritual
constraint. The traditions you bring here, are all the other way.
It is to no experiment of liberty that you \bpen this place of
meeting; to no untried ideas and principles, but to well-tested
ones, which you see no ground to give up or to abate. For
ideas and principles you have, — though you are bound by no
Breed. Bound by no creed, I. say, — refusing to proclaim any.
Not, however, without individual beliefs, and doubtless with
Substantial agreement amid your varieties of opinion ; but not
imposing your beliefs upon each other, as conditions of fellow
ship, still less upon any as condition® of salvation. You do not
impose them upon yourselves as fiscal; but hope that they will
grow out into something larger, fuller, deeper. You may be
afloat; but you are not adrift. You may not know what new
worlds of Truth lie before you ; but you know where you are,
and in what direction you are going. Beneath you is the deep
of God; over you, his eternal stars; within you, the magnet
which, with all its variations, is yet a trustworthy guide. Your
hand is on the helm. The sacred forces and laws of nature
encompass you. While you obey them you will not be lost.
“If your bark sink, ’tis to another sea.” You cannot go beyond
God.
This great principle of Freedom of Inquiry, Liberty of
^Thought, you bring with you. And may I not say for you
that you re-affirm it here ? In using it, it has not failed you or
betrayed you or harmed you. You have not found it fatal or
�14
'
dangerous. It has not led you into indifference, or into license
or moral delinquency. It may have led you to deny some old
beliefs, but it has not left you in denial or unbelief. Its free
atmosphere has been a tonic to your faith. It has brought you
to convictions, —the more trustworthy and precious because
freely reached by your own thought,, and tested by your own
experience, and fitted to your own state of mind. No longer a
report, but something you have seen for yourselves. The story
is told of a well-known hater of shams, that, a new minister
coming into his neighborhood, he sought an opportunity of talk
with him : he wanted to learn, he said, whether this man knew]
himself, anything of God, or only believed that eighteen hunj
dred years ago there lived one who knew something of him. Is
not our faith that in which we have settled confidence, — what
we trust our wills to in action ? It is that to which we gravi
tate, and in which we rest when all disturbing influences are
withdrawn. It is that to which we find ourselves recurring
from all aberrations of questioning and doubt, as to a practical
certainty. We may not be able to answer all arguments against
it, but nevertheless it commends itself to us as true. There is
to us more reason for holding to it than there are reasons for
rejecting it. So, while belief may be called an act of the
understanding, faith is rather a consent of the whole natureJ
It is, therefore, more instinctive than argumentative, though
reasoning forms an element in it. And it is the mighty power
which it is, removing mountains, and the secret of victory,
because it is this consensus of thought, feeling, and will, —• a
deposit of their long experiences, an act of the whole man. It
is structural and organic. But it need not be blind or irrational.
If we must differentiate it from knowledge, I would say that,
while we may define knowledge to be assurance upon outward
grounds, faith is assurance upon real but interior grounds. I
repeat this because many people seem to think that faith is
assurance without any ground. Now that our faith may be
really such as I have described, it must be a personal convic
tion, from our own thought and experience. And that it may
be this, we must have liberty of thinking without external con
straint.
�You do not find that this liberty of yours isolates you. Others,
who count it dangerous, or who dislike the use you make of it,
may cut you off from their fellowship. But the liberty which
frees you from artificial restraints leaves you open to the natural
attractions, and over and through all walls and lines you find a
large fellowship of sympathy in thought and feeling. The elec
tric instincts of spiritual brotherhood overleap all barriers of
-,creed and organization, even of excommunication. Above all
are you bound by such invisible, deep ties with all the noble
company of the heretics and pioneers of thought: and a noble
company it is. For the line of so-called heresy is nearly as
ancient, and quite as honorable, i J that of orthodoxy. Think
of the names that belong to it!
Let me say further thatfthis liberty of yours — your birth
right and sacred charge — is not lawlessn<Ss. You have never
felt it to be so. In a universe of law no true liberty can be
that. It is not that which has made the soul of man thrill as
when a trumpet sounds ; not that to which the noblest men and
women have sacrificed popularity, fortuneBand life. How fool
ishly Mr. Ruskin talks about liberty, misusing his eloquent pen ;
saying that we need none of it; and taking for its symbol the
capricious vagaries of a house-fly ! Is it a Bouse-fl^baprice that
has made the hearts of true menOleap high and willingly bleed
into stillness ; which has been dearer than friend or lover, than
ease or life ? Your liberty, I say, is not lawlessness, — it is not
whim and caprice. It is simply thelthrowing off all bondage of
tradition and conformity and prescription and ecclesiasticism,—
every external compulsion and imposition in behalf of the free,
natural action of the mind and heart. It rejects outward rule
in behalf of inward law. It refuses obedience to outward dicta
tion in behalf of its allegiance to the Truth which is within.
Thus it rejects bonds, but accepts bounds ; for all law is force
acting within bounds, — that is, under fixed and orderly condi
tions. Your liberty is order, not disorder.
Your liberty, again, is not rude or defiant. You do not flout
authority: you give due weight to the natural authority of supe
rior knowledge, wisdom, conscientiousness, holiness. But you
acknowledge no human authority which claims to be infallible, or
�i6
to impose itself upon you as absolute; none which would deny to
you the right — or seek to release you from the duty — of thinking
for yourself what is true to you, of judging for yourself what is
right for you. The opinion of the wisest you will not accept,
in any matter that interests you, unless it commends itself to
your thought, to your conscience, is justified by your experi
ence. You will not take your religious opinions ready made
from pope or synod or apostle. God has given you power—•
and therefore laid upon you the duty — of forming your own.
In that work you will gladly accept all help, willingly listen to
the words of the wise and good ; but their real authority is in
their power to convince your mind ; and the final appeal is to
your own soul. Is inspiration claimed for any, its proof must
be in its power to inspire you. Till it does it is no word of God
to you.
Yet once more, this liberty — won by pain of those gone
before, and by your own fidelity—-is yours not for its own sake
chiefly, not as an end. It is yours as opportunity. It will be a
barren liberty if it be not used. What good will the right of
free inquiry do to a man who never inquires ? Of what advan
tage freedom of thought to one who never thinks ? Of what
value the right of private judgment to. one who never exercises
it ? Freedom, I say, is but opportunity. It is an atmosphere in
which the 'mind should expand unhindered in its inbreathing of
Truth; in which all virtues should grow in strength, all sweet
and loving and devout feelings flower into beauty and fra
grance ; in which the character, unconstrained by artificial
bondages, should grow into the full statue of manhood, the full
possession and free play of faculty. It is in vain that you have
put away infallible church and infallible Bible and official media
tor, and priesthood and ritual, from between you and God, if
you never avail yourself of that immediate access ; if your soul
never springs into the arms of the Eternal Love, nor rests itself
trustfully on the Eternal Strength, nor listens reverently to the
whispers of the Eternal Word, nor enters into the peace of
communion with the Immutable.
Our freedom is founded in faith, not in denial. It springs from
faith in man. The popular theology is founded upon the idea
�i7
of human incapacity : ours upon faith in human capacity. We
believe, not in the Fall of Man, but in the Rise of Man. We
believe, not in a chasm between man and God to be bridged
over only by the atoning death of a God, but in a chasm
between man’s attainment and his possibility, between his
lower and his higher nature, to be bridged over by growth,
government, and culture. We believe that there is more good
in man generally than evil. And the evil we believe to be, not
a native disability, but an imperfection or a misuse, an excess
or perversion, of faculties and instincts whose natural or right
use is good. We believe sin is not an infinite evil, but a finite
one, — incidental, not structural. Man is not helpless in its
toils ; but every man has the fiements of good in him which
may overcome it, and all 'fidefled helps. It is a disease, — some
times a dreadful one, — but notfebsolutely fatal, since there is a
healing power in his nature, and in the universe around and
above him; and the excess or ‘mlsmrection may be overcome by
the inward effort and outward influences which shall strengthen
into supremacy the higher faculties which rightfully control and
direct the lower. We believe iff! the existence of these higher
faculties as original in man’s constitution, — reason, conscience,
ideality, unselfish love. These are as much a part of his nature
as the senses and the animal mind. When rightly used they
are as valid, — not infallible, but trustworthy. They will not
necessarily lead, astray, as the popular theology teaches, but
probably lead aright. That theology, not having faith in human
nature, cannot believe that freedom of thinking is safe for men.
Protestantism proclaims indeed the “ right of private judgment,”
but it is merely the right to read the Jewish and Christian
Bible, and to accept unquestioning its declarations, bowing nat
ural reason, heart, and conscience to its texts, believed to be the
miraculously inspired and infallible Word of God, the “ perfect
rule of faith and practice.” The Roman Catholic Church, far
more logical, seeing that private judgment gets such a variety
of meaning out of this “ perfect rule,” declares that an infallible
Bible, to be such a rule, needs an infallible interpreter,—namely,
the church, or, latterly, the Pope speaking for the church. It,
therefore, logically denies freedom of individual thinking as
�18
dangerous. Father Newman, indeed, with amusing simplicity,
declares that nowhere is liberty of thought more encouraged
than in the Roman Church, since, he says, she allows a long
discussion of every tenet and dogma before it is definitely
defined and proclaimed. Yes: but after? We can only smile
at such a pretension. In London, a friend said to me, “ I do
not see but these Broad Churchmen have freedom to say every
thing that they want to say in their pulpits.” I answered, “ Per
haps so, but then they do not want to say all that you and I
should want to say.” But of what they wish to say or think
much must require an immense stretching of the articles to
which they have subscribed : I do not speak of conscience, for I
will not judge another’s. But what a trap to conscience, what
a temptation to at least mental dishonesty, must such subscrip
tion be! And the Liturgy, from which no word may be omitted,
though many a priest must say officially what he does not indi
vidually believe, — can that be good for a man ? I know what
may be said on the other side, but to us it will seem that all
advantages are dearly purchased at such cost. The Unitarians,
the Protestants of Protestants, in their revolt from Calvinism,
proclaimed the right of free inquiry. And, let it be remembered
to their credit, they have refused to announce an authoritative
creed. But they have not had full faith in their own principles
and ideas. They have hesitated and been timid in their appli
cation. They have been suspicious and unfriendly toward those
who went farther than they in the use of their freedom of think
ing. They have written up, “No Thoroughfare” and “Danger
ous Passing” on their own road. They have now organized
round the dogma of the Lordship and Leadership of Jesus ; and
invite to their fellowship, not all who would be “ followers of
God, as dear children,” but only those who “ wish to be follow
ers of Christ.”
I do not forget that in all churches, Romanist and Protestant,
there is a spirit of liberty, a leaven of free thought, which is
creating a movement in them all,—■ an inner fire which is break
ing the crust of tradition and creed and ecclesiasticism. It
shows itself in the Old Catholic movement in Romanism ; the
Broad Church in Anglicanism ; the Liberal wing in Orthodoxy ;
the Radicalism in “ Liberal Christianity.”
�19
But the freedom which in these is inconsistent, imperfect, or
rmwelcome, with you is organic and thorough. Our faith in it,
I said, springs out of our faith in man and God, to which indeed
our freedom has led us. We think that man can be trusted to
search for the truth without constraint or hindrance, because
we think that his mind was made for truth, as his eye for light;
and that to his mind, fairly used, the truth will reveal itself as
the light does to his eye. And we believe that in his sincere
search he is never unassisted by the Spirit of Truth. We do
not say that he will make no mistakes, or that he will know all
truth all at once. But if a man be earnest and sincere, his mis
takes will be his teachers : his errors wilHbi but his imperfect
apprehension of some truth. We believe that all truth that has
ever come to man, including religious truth, has come through
the use of his native faculties'^ that this is the condition of all
revelation, and ample to account for all revelations. We, therefore, utterly discard all distinction between natural and revealed
religion. We should as soon speak of natural and revealed
astronomy, or establish separate professorships for teaching
them. Newton revealed to men the facnfof the universe which
his natural faculties discovered, and which thequniverse revealed
to him using his faculties. Some of these facts were Unknown
before to the wisest men ; some were only dimly guessed. Did
that prove his knowledge superhuman ? Would it be a sensi
ble question to ask, Why, if human reason were Capable of dis
covering them, were they not 'known before ? Yet such ques
tions are asked in religion, as if unanswerable I We .believe
that the human faculties are adequate for their end. Among
them we recognize spiritual faculties, framed for the perception
of spiritual truths, — a religious capacity adequate to its end.
We find religion — a sense of deity — as universal and as natu
ral to man as society, government, language, science. You
know how the latest and completest investigations into the
ancient religions of the world confirm this belief. They show
that the great religious ideas and sentiments — of God, of Vir
tue, of Love, of Immortality — have been taught with remarka
ble unanimity in all these religions. These are mingled in all
with much that is mythological, unscientific, local, personal,
�20
temporary. But they have all contained that which elevated,
consoled, and redeemed the souls of men. Under all of them,
men have lived the truth they professed, and have suffered and
died in its behalf. Most of them have had their prophet, be
lieved to have been the chosen friend of God, sent to communi
cate His word to the world. He has been worshiped by his
followers, glorified with miracle, deified. In view of these facts,
it is impossible to regard any one of them as the only, the uni
versal, or the perfect religion. Christianity, therefore, cannot
any longer be regarded as other than one of the religions of the
world, sharing the qualities of them all. It has its bright cen
tral truths, eternal as the soul of man, elevating, comforting,
redeeming. It has its elements of mythology, its personal and
local traits, peculiar to itself. What is peculiar in it can never
become universal: what is universal in it cannot be claimed as
its peculiar property. The Christianity of the New Testament
centres in the idea that Jesus was the miraculously attested
Messiah, the King, long expected, of the Jews. “If ye believe
not that I am he ye shall perish in your sins.” “ Every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus, the Messiah, is come in the flesh, is
of God ; every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus is the Mes
siah come in the flesh, is not of God.” “ Whosoever shall con
fess that Jesus is the Son of God [that is, the Messiah], God
dwelleth in him.” “Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Mes
siah, is born of God.” This was the primitive Christian confes
sion,— the test of belief or unbelief, the test of discipleship,
the condition of salvation. Paul enlargecl the domain of the
Messiah’s kingdom to include all of the Gentiles who would
acknowledge him; declared that in his own life-time he should
see Jesus returning to take the Messianic throne, and looked to
see the time when “ every knee should bow, and every tongue
confess that Jesus was the Christ;” “whom God had raised
from the dead, and set at his own right hand, far above all prin
cipality and might and dominion and every name that is named.”
This was the primitive Christian confession. Seeing that it has
never come to pass, that it was a mistaken idea, some modern
Christians idealize the thought, and say that Jesus is morally
and. spiritually King among men. But that is not the New
/
�21
Testament idea, which is literal, not figurative. This Messianic
idea, in its most literal sense, colors the Christian scriptures
BRfrough and through. And with it, its correlative idea of an
immediately impending destruction and renovation of the wor Id,
vThich was to accompany the Messianic appearance. A great
many of the precepts of the New Testament have their ground
in this erroneous notion of the writers, and have no significance
or application apart from it. It is such things as these that
make it impossible for Christianity,- as it stands in the records,
to be the universal or absolute religion. Just as like things in
Brahminism, Buddhism, Judaism, prevent any one of these, as
it stands in its scriptures, from becoming the Religion of the
World. What is local, personal, peculiar, special in each, is of
its nature transient, — the temporary environment and wrappage
of the truth. What is universal in each, — the central spiritual
and moral ideas which re-appear in them all, — these cannot be
■called by the name of any one of them. These, it seems me,
are neither Judaism, Buddhism, nor Christianity,— they are
Religion.
Religion, — a name how often taken in vain, how often perKrerted ! but in its . true essence what a joy, what an emancipation, what a consolation, what an inspiration ! What a life it
has been in the world! Corrupted and betrayed, made the
cloak of iniquity, ambition, selfishness, uncharitableness, and
tyranny, it has never perished out of the human soul. A prod
uct of that soul, an original and ineradicable impulse, percep
tion, and sentiment, it has shared the fate of that soul in its
upward progress out of ignorance into knowledge, out of super
stition into rational faith, out of selfishness into humanity, out
of all imperfection on toward perfection. In every age, and in
every soul, it has been the saving salt. For by Religion, I need
not say, I do not mean any form or ceremonial whatever, any
organization or ecclesiasticism. I mean the Ideal in man, and
devotion to that Ideal. The sense of a Perfect above him, yet
akin to him, forever drawing him upward to union with itself.
The Moral Ideal, —or sense of a perfect Righteousness,— how
it has summoned men away from injustice and wrong-doing,
awakened them to a contest with evil within them, and led
�22
them on to victory of the conscience over passion and greed !
How it has nerved them to do battle with injustice in the
world, and kept them true to some cause of righting wrong,
patient and brave through indifference, opposition, suffering!
And it has always been a sense of a power and a law of right
eousness above themselves, which they did not create and dared
not disobey, and which, while it seemed to compel them, yet
exalted and freed them. The Intellectual Ideal, — the sense of
a Supreme Truth, a Reality in things, with the thirst to know it,
— how it has led men to “scorn delights and live laborious
days,” to outwatch the night, to traverse land and sea, in its
study and pursuit, to sacrifice for it fortune and society; this
al^o felt to be something above them, yet belonging to them ;
something worth living and dying for, and giving to its sharers
a sense of endless life! And the Ideal of Beauty, haunting,
quickening, exalting the imagination to feel, to see, to create, in
marble, on canvass, in tones, in words : itself its own great
reward. The Ideal of Use, leading to the creation and perfect
ing of the arts and instruments of human need and comfort and
luxury: every one of them at first only a. dream in the brain of
the inventor, a vision of a something better than existed haunt
ing his toilsome days and years of self-denial and poverty. The
Ideal of Patriotism or of Loyalty, the sense of social order, of a
rightful sovereignty, or of popular freedom, — how has it made
men into heroes and martyrs, giving up ease and facing death
with exulting hearts. The Ideal of Love or Benevolence, that
makes men devote themselves and consecrate their possessions
to the relieving of human suffering, and discovering and remov
ing its sources. The Ideal of Sanctity, of Holiness, the vision
and the consecration of the saint, the aspiration after goodness,
that by its inspiration gives power to overcome passion and con
trol desire and purify every thought of the mind and every feel
ing of the heart, and mold the spirit into the likeness of the
All-Holy.
All these ideals, differing so much in their manifestation and
direction, are alike in this, — that they all look to an unseen
Better, a Best, a Perfect; that this seems always above the
man who seeks it, yet at the same time within him, not of
�23
his own creation, but governing him by a law superior to his
own will, while attracting and invigorating it; that they all
demand a self-surrender and self-devotion, and sacrifice of
lower to higher, and give the power to make that sacrifice;
and that they are their own reward.
All these ideals — and if there be any others — I include in
the idea of Religion. Is my definition too broad ? I cannot
make it narrower. It will not seem too broad to you who are
accustomed to regard religion as covering all human life. What
ever in that life is an expression of^deal aspiration, is done in
unselfish devotion, and in obedience to the highest law we
know, is a religious act, is a worship and a prayer. It is a ser
vice of God ; for.it is a use of our faculties to their highest end,
which must be His will for us. It is a ^onitact «®fith things in
visible and eternal. For these ideals are of the mind, not of the
body : they are of the soulfland must go with it into all worlds.
They are thus an element, and a puoof, of immortality.
O friends, is there anything the world needs, is there any
thing every one of us needs, more than some high ideal, to be
kept bright and clear within
by sincere devotion ? Is there
anything we need more than a high standardKn character, in
aim, in spirit, in work ? We have it in our bestJwnoments. But
.How easily we let it get clouded in the press of cares. How
easily we yield to the temptation to lower it for immediate
Results I Is there anything we need more than the elevation
of spirit such an ideal gives, the power to rise above annoyance
and fret, above low and selfish thought, above unworthy deeds ?
How ashamed we stand before that, ideal when, because we have
not bee« obedient to its celestial vision, but have too easily let
it go, we are betrayed into the temp#?, the word, the act we had
Resolved should never betray us again ! What is needed in our
politics, in our business — do not daily events teach it to us
most impressively ? — but a higher ideal; a higher standard of
integrity; a high-minded sense of right, which would take no
Questionable dollar from the public purse ; a sensitive con
science, scrupulous of the rights of others given to its trust ?
[Then the haste to be rich would cease to be the root of evil
that it is, and embezzlements, defalcations, political jobs, and
�24
mercantile frauds no longer shock and grieve us with every
paper we take up. Oh, the anguish and self-reproach of the
man who has involved himself, little by little, in the toils and
excitements of temptation, and, accepting a lowering standard
of honesty, sinks, till he is startled to find himself fallen into
the pit!
What is more needed in all our work than a higher ideal of
excellence, a higher standard of truth and conscientiousness ?
How hard to get anything done thoroughly well, — precisely as
agreed upon, and at the time promised ! Most earnestly would
I insist that every right which the “ working-man ” can justly
claim should be secured to him ; his full share of the product
he helps create, and every opportunity for health, recreation,
and culture which he will use. But he should remember that
faithful performance of ditties on his part will be the best ground
for any claim of rights: he must be careful of the right of oth
ers to honest work and honest time in return for fair pay.
How great is our indebtedness to those great and true souls
who have kindled or kept alive within us a loftier ideal! What
an influence in that way has the image of Jesus been in the
Christian world! Many have not seen that what they wor
shiped or looked up to in him was often simply their own ideal
of human excellence, — really not so much derived from him as
projected upon him, with little regard to historic fact. But this
shows us, still, the power of a lofty ideal within us to lift up,
sustain, and redeem. Many, if they were willing to speak
frankly, would say that the human excellence of some noble,
pure-hearted, spiritually-winded friend, with whom they had
walked in the flesh, has been more to them than thenmage of
Jesus. And when we remember that these high ideals have
inspired millions who never heard his name, it is plain that he
cannot be regarded as their origin. There is one Supreme Ideal
of Goodness. “ Likeness to God ” was the aim of the Pythago
rean teaching. “ Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is per
fect.”
All these ideals of Truth, Righteousness, Beauty, Use, Love,
Holiness, of which I have spoken as constituting, in our devo
tion to them, true Religion, unite in the Idea of God. For He
�25
is the Perfect of them all, the Spirit or Essence of them all,—•
the Perfect Truth, the Perfect Righteousness, the Perfect Beau
ty, the Perfect Love, the Perfect Power, the Perfect Holiness.
That is what we mean by saying “ God,” — surely nothing less
than that. This sublime idea has always, in some shape, haunt
ed and possessed the mind of man. The moment the spiritual
faculties begin to germinate in a man or a race, at that moment
the thought of God springs up. From our far-off Aryan ances
tor, who, on those high plains of Central Asia, looked up to
the clear, transparent sky, and said thankfully and reverently,
“ Dyaus-pitar,” Heaven-father, — for he knew that the blessing
of sunshine and rain came thenc^to him, and must have felt a
mysterious sense of some being invisible in that visible, — down
to the child who to-day makes his prayer, “ Our Father, who art
in heaven,” all over the world the reverence of men’s hearts,
/and their sense of blessing and dependence, have uttered the
name of God, and joined with ^t the thought of Father. The
1 conceptions in which men’s thought and language have clothed
that idea have varied with knowledge and culture. But the
central idea of a Power and Beneficence superior to man, in
Nature and above Nature, has been ever present. Delusions
may have gathered about it: but is it a delusion ? Supersti
tions may have distorted it: but can you count it a supersti
tion ? I count it the greatest of realities. I accept the
well-nigh universal verdict of the soul of man. I accept the
experiences of my own soul. I accept the faith which, whether
it be original or an inheritance of accumulated thought, is now
an instinct and intuition within me. I accept the confirmation
of science to the divination of the soul, in its more and more
clear affirmation of a unity and perpetuity of Force in Nature,
and an omnipresence of Law. I accept the testimony of saints
who, through purity of heart, have seen God and felt him near,
— and more than near. Their highest statement is, “ God is
Spirit.” A distinguished preacher has said,— justifying his
declaration that Jesus Christ is his God, — that he believes
it impossible to form the conception of pure spirit. Of course
we cannot form any image or picture of it. But we ’can think
it, surely. For we know thought and feeling and will in our
4
�26
selves, and these have no shape, nor do we confound them with
the bodies in which they are manifested. Thought, feeling,
will, — these are our spirit, our essential life. God is the infi
nite Thought, Feeling, Will, — the infinite Spirit or essential
Life of the universe of matter and of soul. Our conception of
him must depend,’ I .said, upon our spiritual condition. But I
think with every advance in spiritual life and perception, we put
off more and more of physical and human limitation. Said one
to me, the other day, “ I think it will be no service* to men to
undermine their belief in a personal God.” Now, thought, feel
ing, and will are qualities of person, and not of thing, and there
fore we may speak of God as the infinite Person. But he
meant, as is usually meant, by personality, individuality. For
myself, I think it a great-gain to give up the conception of God
as an individual being, however majestic, sitting apart from the
universe, overseeing and governing it, and from time to time
intervening by special act. I count it a great gain to have
reached a conception of him as pure Spirit, the all-pervading
Life of the Universe, the present Power and present Love and
present Justice at every point of that universe, — perpetually
creating it by his present Energy of good. Present perpetually
in the affairs of men, invisibly, restraining evil, righting wrong,
leading on to the perfect society. Present really in the hearts
and minds and consciences and wills of men, not displacing
them, but re-enforcing them. “ If we love one another, God
dwelleth in us,” said the inspired writer of old, — surely inspired
when he said that. “If a man is at heart just,” said the inspired
modern, “ by so much he is God. The power of God and the
eternity of God do enter into that man with Justice.” How
could this be if God be a separate, individual being ? But con
ceive of him as Being, and the difficulty vanishes. It is no fig
ure of speech, but literally true, that He dwells in holy souls,
inspiring and working through him. “The Father who dwell
eth in me,” said Jesus. Yes, but in no special or miraculous
way: in the way of the universal law of spiritual action ; as he
dwells in all souls that aspire and obey. “Above all and
through all and in us all.”
Does this conception of God as Essential Life seem to any
�27
vague and unreal ? Oh, think again, how substantial are
thought, feeling, and will! The moving powers of the human
world setting all the material into action ! How many perplexi
ties of thought, which beset the common view of God as an in
dividual being, disappear under this conception of him as spirit!
How does it make possible the thought of his omniscience and
omnipresence and providence ! No longer the all-seeing eye,
watching us from afar, but the present spirit, knowing us from
within, involved in our thought and our thinking, — the law or
order by which we think and feel, the present power by which
we act. Spirit can thus encompass us, and flow through us,
without oppressing us, or hindering our freedom. Do the forces
of nature — of attraction, of gravitation, of chemical affinity —
oppress us ? We cannot get away from them, but do we not
move freely among them ? The air is around us and within us,
a mighty pressure, — do we feel the weight of it? In such
sweet, familiar, unconscious ways does God, the Spirit, encom
pass and dwell within our spirits. How can we flee from that
Spirit, or go where it will not uphold and keep us ? Our God
besets us behind and before. Our Father never leaves us alone.
Modern science, we are told, is rejecting all notion of volition
from the material world. The conception of God as Spirit has
already done that. For God’s will, in that conception, is no
separate jets of choice, but an all-filling, steadfast Energy, a Power living at every point. His will is no series of finite
volitions, but an infinite purpose in the constitution of things, —
the unchanging element in them which we call their law. God’s
will, therefore, is not in any sense 'arbitrary. A permanent
force, with its permanent laws, from constant conditions it pro
duces constant results. Wrought into the constitution of things
arid beings, it is there to be studied, known, and obeyed.
Friends of the Twenty-eighth Congregational Society: Com
ing at your call to speak to you on this occasion of the dedica
tion of your new house, I have not thought it unfitting to the
occasion, instead of trying to open to you some new topic,
rather to offer you this outline and review of principles and
ideas already somewhat familiar to you. We glance over what
�28
has been gained before beginning anew our quest. You build
here no House of God, but a house for men. A “ meeting
house” you call it,—.the good old New England name, — not a
church : for is not the church the men and women, not the
walls? You have most fittingly made it a memorial of your
first minister. And this in no slavish adulation, and in no slav
ish following of him. You are not bound to his thoughts. But
you can never forget or cease to be grateful to him, many of
you, for the emancipation of thought you owe to him ; for the
moral invigoration, for the quickening of devout feeling, always
to him so precious.
He was a thorough believer in the Liberty of which I have
spoken. He believed that it should have no bounds save such
as love of truth and good sense and feeling might set to it.
And he used the freedom he believed in. And when, in the use
of it, he was led to judge and reject some things around which
the reverence of the denomination to which he belonged clung,
they who had taught him the liberty which he used, with some
noble exceptions,— I am sorry to recall it,— to save their credit,
proved false to their principle. They lost a noble opportunity.
They had always insisted that the essential in Christianity was not
belief, but character and life : now they turned round, and asserted
that it was not a spirit and a life, but a belief in supernatural his
tory. He did not spare them, and hurled at them the arrows of
his wit and the smooth stones of his keen logic. He did battle for
the freedom which was denied. Men mistook his wit for malig
nity, and his moral indignation.for bitterness. But, though he
was capable of sarcasm, his heart was sweet and kind, and full
of genial sympathies, as those who knew him best best knew.
His services to Theology in this country were very great.
His work was partly destructive, clearing away errors and
superstitions, but mainly constructive. He built up a complete
system of theology, founded upon the native spiritual instincts
in man and the infinite perfection of God. Though a vigorous
practical understanding was the characteristic of his mind, he
accepted this ideal or transcendental theory of religion, and,
with his clear common sense and terse sentences, interpreted it
to the general mind. Though no mystic, he had much devout.
�2^
feeling, and loved to speak of Piety, and the soul’s normal de
light in God. You will never forget the deeply reverential tone
of his public prayers to the “Father and Mother of us all.” But
even more than in Piety he believed in and loved and enforced
Righteousness in every form ; and his great power was ethical.
.How clear and sure was his sense of right; .a conscience for the
nation : its guidance sought by how many, in public and private
duty ! Before its keen glance how many an idol fell! He liked
to be called a Teacher of Religion: and he made it cover all of
life. He applied its ideal to the nation, and, finding human slav
ery there, he threw all his energies into rousing the conscience
of the country to feel its falseness and ?ts iniquity, and to work
for its removal. In this cause he rendered you know what noble
and devoted service, gaining the sympathies of many who least
liked his theology. He gave the weight of his advocacy to every
cause of humane reform, pleading for the poor and the perishing
classes, for the rights of woman, for temperance and purity and
peace.
He has left you a powerful influence, and a heritage of prin
ciples and ideas, to whose charge you show yourselves faithful
in building this house, that the work he begun may be carried
on and fulfilled. The men and the women whom you call tospeak to you know that they will have full freedom of speech
and hospitable hearing to their most advanced thought. You
will expect them to speak to you,wot upon theological questions
alone, or on the experiences of devout feeling, or personal du-’
ties, but on all that deeply concerns the welfare of the commu
nity ; upon the vital questions of the da/, and its present needs ;
upon political and social topics; upon questions of moral reform
and humane effort, and rights of man and woman ; upon all the
practical applications of ideal thought. All these you will wish
discussed, in the utmost freedom, and from the highest point of
view.
But not for speech alone is this house to be used. I cannot
but hope that your enlarged space will be used as opportunity
for work .in various directions of help and good will. Why
should not this be a headquarters of action as well as thought ?
�30
And now, may I say for you, that you devote and dedicate
this house to Freedom and to Religion ; to Truth and to Vir
tue ; to Piety, to Righteousness, and to Humanity; to Knowl»
edge and to Culture ; to Duty, to Beauty, and to Joy ; to Faith
and Hope and Charity; to the memory of Saints, Reformers,
Heretics, and Martyrs ; to the Love and Service of God, in the
Love and Service of Man.
VII.
GOD IN HUMANITY.
BY JOHN G. WHITTIER.
{Sung by Choir and Congregation?)
O Beauty, old yet ever new,
Eternal Voice and Inward Word,
The Wisdom of the Greek and Jew,
Sphere-music which the Samian heard I
Truth which the sage and prophet saw,
Long sou®t without, but found within:
The Law of Love, beyond all law,
The Life o’erflooding death and sin !
O Love Divine, whose constant beam
Shines on the eyes that will not see,
And waits to bless us, while we dream
Thou leav’st us when we turn from thee !
All souls that struggle and aspire,
All hearts of prayer, by Thee are lit;
And, dim or clear, Thy tongues of fire
On dusky tribes and centuries sit.
Nor bounds, nor clime, nor creed Thou know’st,
Wide as our need Thy favors fall;
The white wings of the Holy Ghost
Stoop, unseen, o’er the heads of all.
�31
VIII. ADDRESS BY EDNAH D. CHENEY.
In looking over the congregation here assembled, and seeing some
of the old faces which greeted Mr. Parker on those first stormy Sun
days at the Melodeon, I have asked myself what it is which has kept
this society together through so many changes when friends advised
its dissolution, and enemies hoped for its failure. It seems to me it
was no doctrine of Mr. Parker’s, not even a sentiment; but, if I may
so call it, his method of trust in the truth. He never feared to utter
the whole truth, and never doubted that what was good food to his
soul was fit nourishment for others who hungered for it. This has
made the pulpit truly free, so that those who spoke here, and those who
listened, felt that they could speak and hear honest convictions. While
this society is true to this tradition, it will have a place to fill, and, I
trust, this new building is to give it a fresh lease of life, and greater
opportunity of usefulness.
This still seems to me the great need of the time, — loyalty to truth,
not attachment to a dogma. If we feel thftf any truth is dangerous to
our well-being as a society, it is time that Age disbanded, but as long as
we dare to trust the truth, we need not fear that any blast of a trumpet
can blow down our walls.
In a country town, where an independent society met in a hall, when
it was asked of what religion is such a man, it was answered, His is
the Hall Religion. I think there is some value in the phrase, and I
rejoice that this society has not builded a church to be open only on
Sunday, but a hall which on every day of the week may be consecrated
Blithe psalm of life, and dedicated to use or beauty. The echo of the
dancing feet of the children who gather at the festivals will not disturb our devotion, nor the remembrance of the good words of the lecturer mar our enjoyment of prayer or sermon. It is an emblem of the
Religion of Life, no longer divorced from every-day work and pleasure,
bw elevating and sanctifying it. It is said that the great Church of
St. Peter’s at Rome has never been ventilated since Michael Angelo
reared its lofty dome, Snd that the worshipers now breathe the foul and
lifeless air which has not been renewed for nearly four centuries. But
as I hope the physical ventilation of this hall will never be neglected,
but the pure air of heaven will be freely brought in, so we can never live
a true and vigorous spiritual life unless we keep our souls ever open to
the broad, free air and light of heaven, not confined by any creed or
dogma, but perpetually renewing itself by fresh inspiration.
�32
Such seems to me the great principle' of this society, which it is
bound to cherish and carry out, and to which in the worship of God
and the service of humanity we would dedicate this hall to-day.
IX.
ADDRESS BY JOHN WEISS.
Whenever a liberal thinker expresses his belief that the popular the
ologies are honeycombed by the climate of science and information,
and are falling apart beneath the surface, he is asked to observe that
there never was such a time for the laying of corner-stones for church
extension; never such an enthusiasm of temple-building; never before
so many seats filled by worshipers. It is undoubtedly a fact. The
competition between the sects is so great, and the national temper of
extravagance so confirmed, that church extension has become another
vice of the times; and people will run hopelessly in debt rather than
be without their sumptuous building, thus setting an example, to a
country which does not need it, of speculative immorality. For I can
see no difference between extending a railroad over illusory capital and
watering its stock, and watering a congregation with a meeting-house
too large and fine, watering it with a large per cent of empty pews,
which require in the pulpit a man with some of the virtues of an auc
tioneer.
But there is a real decay of the popular theology in spite of these
costly elegancies which seem to announce a revival of religion. Before
every dissolution a period of renaissance, or superficial revival, has
always set in, substituting sentiment for the old impetuous earnestness,
imitating faith by pretty form. We may safely predict extensive decay
when it has become such an important object to secure paying sitters
for the various sects. The old sincerity will be soon crushed beneath
their ornamental expenses.
Then let us have a new sincerity, to be nursed in humbler places,
and supported by honester means. Here let it be, for one place. Wel
come the plainness and freedom of these walls, sb solidly built, so sim
ply colored in their warm, brown tints. Here a real memorial to
Parker is yet to be erected by successive Sundays of free speech, and
week-days of fraternity. To-day you are only laying the corner-stone
of a structure of thought and feeling which will throw its door wide
open to the common, people, to every wayfaring fact and cause against
which so many churches shut their gates.
�33
It pleases my fancy to notice that you have put up this building next
to a grain elevator, for it constantly reminds me of Parker, of his frame,
even, of his manner and his mental style. Solidly laid, robustly built,
not excessively addicted to beauty; but framed for the sole purpose of
receiving aud distributing, with convenience and the least of waste, the
cereals of a thousand fields for which millions of hungers are waiting.
Such was the abundance and nutrition of his genius. He explored
many fields to collect his staples and the simple corn-flowers of his
fancy-: his keel furrowed many seas, but not to gather and bring home
luxuries, nor to hunt up a place where he might enjoy intellectual seclu
sion. .The delights of scholarship were subordinate to his humanity.
He was constantly tearing himself away from those books, the darlings
of his spirit, as if they imposed upon him, and were defrauding people
of his service. He let the exigency of the hour break without cere
mony into the sacred study, and he rose to meet the pauper and the
slave, to perform the great symbolic action of marrying two fugitives
with a Bible and a sword. The perishing classes, the neglected, the
unfortunate, always held a mortgage on his precious time. But life
never seemed so precious to him as when he was killing himself to help
emancipate America. What a homely sublimity there was in this giv
ing of bread to mouths that had munched the old political and sectarian
chaff and had swallowed indigestion 1
Now it is for you to honor him by imitating this action: not so
much to prolong a memory as to resuscitate, a life that was laid down
in the service of mankind; yes, to revivify that bust, poor, passionless
’ and rigid remembrancer of the nature you knew, that was so manifold,
so profuse, so virile with anger, love and friendship: to bid that white
ness mantle again with his florid cheek; to make those eyeballs beam
with a blessing or a threat, so that Theodore Parker shall be heard
again in Boston.
This shall be your service in this place, to reproduce his manliness;
if not with the same fertile and sturdy vitality, or with the same
warmth which lifted up so many beacons of indignation and warning,
which compelled the East to look at him, and the West to listen, and
the South to dread, still, at least, with the old sincerity, the old persis
tent purpose to be dedicated to the rights and wants of man.
5
�34
X.
ADDRESS BY FRANCIS E. ABBOT.
When, nearly thirty years ago, the founders of the Twenty-eighth
Congregational Society' rallied around the unpopular and ostracised
minister of West Roxbury, and, with a laconic brevity worthy of Sparta
in her best days, voted that “ Theodore Parker should have a chance to
be heard in Boston,” what was the real meaning of their act ? Did
they intend to rally about Parker as the disciples of old rallied about
Jesus, in order to proclaim a new personal gospel, to glorify a new per
sonal leader, and to sink their own individualities in that of a new “ Lord
and Master”? James Freeman Clark has said that, when the radicals
give up Jesus of Nazareth, it is only to attach themselves to some other
leader; that they only abandon Jesus in order to take up with Socrates,
or Emerson, or Parker. Was this the real purport of that now famous
and historic vote ?
If this had been your aim and spirit, we should not be here to-day.
When the eloquent voice was stilled, the stalwart form laid in its far
Florentine resting-place, and the man whose words had electrified two
hemispheres had passed away forever from human sight and hearing,
in vain would you have voted that “ Theodore Parker should have a
chance to be heard in Boston.” Small respect would Death have paid
to your resolutions. No ! If your vote had meant only that the pow
erful personality which had so impressed itself upon the times as to be
henceforth a part of American history should still utter itself from your
platform to a listening world, you would have disbanded; you would
have broken ranks, and scattered sadly and silently to your homes;
you would have discontinued your meetings, and surrendered your or
ganization. Parker had been heard; his message had been delivered.
Henceforth the book of revelation that all men read in his speech and
life was sealed forever, and no man could either add to or take away
from its fullness.
But you did not disband. Your meetings were continued. Your
platform was maintained. Other prophets were summoned to speak
in Music Hall, now chiefly known abroad for the work done there by
you and your great minister. They were summoned, not to echo Par
ker, but to speak themselves. They were no servile followers of a dead
leader, no blinded apostles of a vanished Christ. Far from it. They
were called by you to proclaim independently and fearlessly the secret
thought of their own hearts ; for this alone did they come before you.
And still your platform means this, and this only. True, in one sense
�35
Parker is still heard from it; for his ideas are not dead, but living. But
you have perpetuated your organization and your platform for a higher
object than to secure endless reverberations of any one voice, however
piercing, eloquent, or potent. You meant, and mean, that Truth shall
here speak for herself, not that Parker alone shall be heard, magnifi
cent spokesman of Truth though he was. And Truth has infinitely
more to say than has yet been said.
No, it was not so much Parker’s individual voice that you voted should
“ have a chance to be heard in Boston,” as it was the great, heroic, burn
ing purpose to which he had dedicated his all —the purpose to make hu
man life genuinely religious in spite of the churches. I repeat it—to make
human life genuinely religious in spite of the churches. Not ecclesi
astical, not theological, not formal or ritualistic; but religious in the
high sense in which he used the word, as signifying devotion to right
eousness, to noble service, to devout aspiration. This purpose of Par
ker’s soul was even grander than his thought. Thought must change;
it must move j it must advance. |£ven since Parker’s death we all
know that there has been a great onward movement of thought; and to
the best thought of the times, be it what it may, you mean always to
keep open ear and heart. But the purpose to make human life genu
inely religious must abide as the best and purest that can inspire a hu
man soul. This was Parker’s inspiration and power, obeyed under the
frown of all the churches of the land. To this sublime purpose of his
you first voted a hearing, and now ^dedicate these walls. That mar
ble bust before you, perpetuating Parker’s visible features to your sight,
is changeless, immobile, ungrowing; it will be the same a hundred
years hence as it is to-day. But Parker’s mind, could it still have
manifested itself to us, would have been in the very foremost ranks of
thought. This you will remember, and know that, in the best sense,
you hear Parker still in the noblest utterances of ever-developing
knoweledge and ever-deepening aspiration. His mighty purpose shall
still be ours; and all the churches of the land shall lack the power to
quench or cool it. This stately hall, built as a grateful memorial to
the singleness and power with which he put it into deed and word, shall
be a home for all who cherish it,— a place of comfort, enlightenment,
and inspiration to all who love it, a place of mutual spmpathy and en
couragement for all who would pursue it. You could have raised no
fitter monument to Parker, and rendered no better service to those
who would further Parker’s cause.
�36
XI. ADDRESS. BY CHARLES W. SLACK.
Mr. Chairman : The spirit that has erected this handsome build
ing was latent in the community, and needed only to be called into
activity to have ensured the same result before as now. I congratu
late you, and all this large and interested audience, at the splendid
conclusion of our labors in this direction.
You will remember, sir, that it was at the annual meeting of the
Twenty-eighth Congregational Society, on the first Sunday in April,
1871, — only two years and a half ago, — that I had the honor to sug
gest that it seemed to me that we, as a Society, were not doing our full
duty, either to the memory of our great teacher, or to the community
in which we dwelt; that we held great truths in matters of religion
which should have a more conspicuous enunciation; that if we were
willing to adopt the forms of worship in which we were educated,
erect a church edifice, and, in good time, as judgment should approve,
select a permanent minister, who should not only be a guide in thought,
but a visitor and counsellor in our families in the alternating incidents
of life and death; I should be only too happy to lend what energy and
influence I possessed to the consummation of that purpose. You will
remember, too, sir, that the suggestion was kindly received, and it was
felt that the plan of a meeting-house of our own was practicable, if
one-half of the amount of money deemed necessary for its ■ erection
could be secured before operations should commence. It was our
great pleasure, you will also remember, Mr. Chairman, to announce at
the next annual meeting, in April, 1872, that fully fifty thousand dol
lars, in money and work, had been pledged by our small band for the
new enterprise. Thence everything moved with alacrity ; friends were
found on every hand; plans were considered and adopted; and now,
in a little more than fifteen months from the commencement of opera
tions, we find ourselves in this completed and central edifice, with
every convenience and many elegances, ready to proceed to our neces
sary work and demonstrate our need in the community i» which we
dwell.
And there is reason that we should make this demonstration. We
had a leader who, while he lived, was acknowledged to be a power in
thought and personal influence. He uplifted every pulpit in the land,
giving freedom to the voice and thought of their occupants; he bade
the young men of his day accept independence of character and action ;
he taught the liberalizing of opinion, and urged resistance to those often
�brutal episodes of public clamor when the dominant majority sought to
crush out the honest, thinking minority; in a word, he made every man
with a soul within feel the better and the nobler for his ministration in
religion, politics, and morals. If his high aim and earnest endeavor
be not so potent and perceptible to-day as fifteen years ago, possibly it
is because we have not improved our opportunities in presenting his
example and teaching to the world. There is indeed need that we
dedicate ourselves anew to his service when we read, as we may in
the latest “ Biographical Dictionary ” published, bearing the imprint
of the great house of Macmillan & Co., London and New York, and
compiled by Thompson Cooper. F.S.A., this estimate of his public
position': —
“ He became a popular lecturer, and discussed the questions of slavery,
war, and social and moral reforms, with much acute analysis and occasional
effective satire ; but as a practical Teacher he was in the unfortunate posi
tion of a priest without a church and a politician without a state.”
And this is the best judgment of I® intelligent Englishman, so many
years remote from Theodore Parker’s activity among us 1 Surely the
editor is too far away to discern the influence of this great man on
the thought of the times. Possibly he may have been “ a priest ” with
out “ a church,” but he was a minister who made every denomination
in the land envious of his scholarship and eloquence, and more than
half the churches jealous of the throngs of his weekly disciples.
But why be surprised at the judgment of the Englishman, three thou
sand miles away, when we have on our own soil, near-by, a more depre
ciatory estimate by one belonging to the generally large-hearted and
catholic Methodist denomination ? The Reverend Professor George
Prentice, of the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., can afford to
say in “The Methodist Quarterly Review,” for July, 1873, of Theodore
Parker, this: —
£< I am amazed at the daring of a man who never had fine culture and
high philosophic talent; whose chief gift was the gift of exaggeration ;
whose life was largely that of a peripatetic stump-orator, hot with perpetual
lecturing, agitating, denouncing and misrepresenting, when he tries to
mould the thought of the world on a matter profound and difficult.”
And this is the verdict of the Methodist collegiate instructor, and
of his denomination, fitfeen years after the death of Theodore Parker,
of that man’s transcendent abilities — is it? Let me, as the humblest
of the humble followers of Theodore Parker, fling back to its obscure
�38
utterer his flippant, his impudent, detraction of a man whose courage
of opinion has made it possible for his defamer to utter even his slan
der without public rebuke— whose claims to culture and scholarship
will live long after the occupant of the professor’s chair who now belit
tles him will be utterly forgotten, if not despised! The scholarship
of Theodore Parker questioned! — as soon ask if mind and character
are formative elements in New England character 1 Go to the scholars
of twenty-five years ago who measured weapons with Theodore Parker,
and this forward stripling will learn that he had a reputation for cul
ture and humanity that no later-day controversialist can question, anx
ious however he may be that the students under his charge shall never
hear to the contrary, and thus be led to examine for themselves into
his opinions and services.
Without “fine culture ”!•—a “peripatetic stump-orator”! — a “priest
without a church and a politician without a state” ! — this the conjoint
testimony to-day of England and America! Surely there is something
for us to do, friends, to show that there is at least one congegation,
still abiding at the home of this great man, which does not accept this
estimate. Nor are we alone in this. It was but yesterday I was con
versing with Vice-President Wilson in relation to the exercises of this
day, when he surprised as well as gratified me. by incidentally mention
ing that when he first entered the Senate Mr. Seward, the great Sena
tor of New York, a statesman as well as legislator, came to him one
day and said, “You have a wonderful man in Boston — Theodore
Parker. I know of no man in the country who so thoroughly appreci
ates the political situation, has such a comprehensive grasp of the
issues involved, and applies so faithfully the moral teachings that will
safely land us on solid ground.” Surely, friends, we can safely leave
the influence of Mr. Parker in morals and politics, letting alone schol
arship and religion, to those who knew him best and were brought
within the range of his acquaintance and co-operation!
Standing here to-day, then, in the capacity of representative of the
proprietors of this beautiful edifice, it remains only for me to bid all
welcome who find themselves drawn by sympathy or love to worship
with this congregation. May it be the home of helpful teaching and
quickening influence 1 May good-will and all sweet charities abound-!
Spacious in area and soft in coloring, may it typify breadth of affection
and the repose of settled conviction ! Thus used, and thus influencing
us, we shall come to believe that we have made a wise investment, and
�39
take satisfaction in the thought that the good work of the generation
now on the stage of affairs shall descend, developed and multiplied, to
their children for long years to follow.
XII.
GOD IN THE HUMAN SOUL.
BY SARAH F. ADAMS.
(Sung by Choir and Congregation?)
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee 1
E’en though it be a cross
That raiseth me ;
Still all my song shall be, —
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee 1
Though like the wanderer,
The sun gone down,
Darkness be over me,
My rest a stone ;
Yet.in my dreams I’d be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!
There let the way appear,
Steps unto heaven;
All that Thou sendest me,
In mercy given ;
Angels to beckon me
Nearer, my God, to Thee,.
Nearer to Thee !
Then, with my walking thoughts
Bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs
Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee 1
�40
Or if, on joyful wing
Cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot,
Upward I fly:
Still all my song shall be, —
Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee 1
XIII. BENEDICTION.
BY SAMUEL LONGFELLOW.
�LETTERS.
The following letters were received, addressed to John C. Haynes,
Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Twenty-eighth Congrega
tional Society, in answer to invitations to be present at the dedication
of the Parker Memorial Meeting-House: —
Salem, Sept. 14, 1873.
I have been quite ill for a month, and, though now gradually gaining
strength, am too weak as yet for any effort; so that I shall hardly be able
to attend, even as a hearer only, the Memorial Hall services, next Sunday.
I need not say that my best sympathies will be with the occasion, and that
I am sorry to lose the opportunity to hear what will be so quickening to the
higher life as the word it promises to bring with it.
What omens can you ask, better than the house itself, and the secret
forces that impel Its whole movement, and its grand ideal duties, as inevi
table as the rights we claim ?
Sincerely yours,
Samuel Johnson.
New York, Sept. 17, 1873.
The completion of your new hall is an event to be congratulated on, an
achievement worthy of the Old Guard that bears the glorious banner and
preserves the glorious tradition of Theodore Parker. The thing that should
be done in New York, that must be done here before long, and in other
cities, too, you have done in Boston. There Radicalism has a rallying place
and a home. Here it is dependent on the good, must I say, rather, the ill
will, of proprietors who are so jealous for the reputation of their halls that
good, honest infidels cannot use them. With you now, the Young Men’s
Christian Association have not all the fine audience rooms. The devil has
not all the good tunes.
I wish I could be present at your dedication to the Spirit of Truth, the
Comforter. Your'speaker will say the right word. But many right words
need be said on such an occasion, and no speaker can say them all. May
the spirit of the great and good Theodore be with him and you !
You say your hall is commodious. I hope it is handsome, fair in propordon, beautiful in decoration, cheerful, airy, good for voice and ear; attrac-
6
�42
tive and inviting to strangers ; like the new faith itself, which would glorify
every spot it touches. Spare no pains to make it and keep it a centre of
happy influences; crowd into it as much intellect, sentiment, earnestness,
and aspiration as it will hold; and as these angels take up no room, a mill
ion of them standing on the point of a needle, you will have space enough ,
for a good many. Use the room for good purposes. If you have a preacher,
let him have a multitudinous voice, in the persons of truest spirit wherever
found, that a line of prophets may pass before you and deliver their word.
In this way you will best make a worthy succession, for the man who has,
and is likely to have, no successor.
To write these hurried lines, I turn my pen off the task of writing his
biography, which has been the refreshment of my summer. As it draws
near completion, I am conscious of a new indebtedness to the great soul I
admired and loved so deeply. If the readers of the book find what I have
tried to put there, they will confess that not one Memorial Hall, but many,
should be erected to the honor of that great leader.
Thanking you for your kind invitation to be present on Sunday next, re
gretting my inability to be present, because my own services are resumed on
that day, and wishing you the brightest of days and the sweetest of omens,
believe me,
x
Heartily yours,
O. B. Frothingham.
West Manchester, Sept. 20, 1873.
I have just got your note. It is impossible for me to be, as I gladly would,
at your Dedication, having to go -to Salem to-morrow. Were it my privilege
to speak, I should certainly say in what honor I hold Theodore Parker for
his honesty, courage, piety, and philanthropy ; and for the application he
made, beyond any other theologian or scholar of his day, of moral truth and
the results of study to the social condition and want. No such hero wore the
clerical gown. While poets and essayists were willing to leave their views and
visions in their treatises or musical lines, he insisted in putting every prin
ciple as a power in gear ; and, if any error or iniquity were hid beneath, he
would rend the veil of the temple in twain. But if he destroyed, it was to
rebuild, whatever hands beside his own might be required.
I may be allowed to express the early affection I had for him, and to re
member the friendly regard he cherished for me beyond my deserts, so that
I have a debt of gratitude to pay, should we meet again where the warrior’s
armor is laid aside. It was his wish that I should give him the Right Hand
of Fellowship in West Roxbury, but I was away in another State at the
time of his settlement in that town.
As so long indeed he has had it, may he, with you, accept it, in the spirit,
now!
Cordially yours,
C. A. Bartol.
�43
New York City, Sept. 17, 1873.
I have received your invitation to be with you at the dedication of your
new hall, next Sunday. I sympathize very deeply with the Society in this
new opening, but my obligations here make it impossible for me to be pres
ent.
•
After many years of doubt and trouble and hard efforts, you enter at last
upon cheering prospects. The climb has been difficult, but the hill-top is glorious. You will enter now and possess the land, spread out before all with
invitation, but to be possessed only by those who will work in it for the good
of man. No heart among you beats for you more exultingly or more hope
fully than mine.
*
I wish I could figure to my mind the interior of this goodly home which
you have erected. Sometime I shall see it. Meantime I shall think of it as
a worthy body for the soul of the Twenty-eighth Society; neat, clean, lovely,
and simple. It will be a place where the best may be uplifted, and the
worst be not repulsed.
I think I can imagine the joy and enthusiasm with which you take pos
session of your abode. An exquisite composition by William Blake depicts
the union, or reunion, of the soul and the body at “ the last great day,” as it
is called by those who forget that every day is great and is a judgment-day.
The body arises from the tomb, and the soul bursts rapturously from a cloud,
and with inconceivable force descends headlong upon the body, whose neck
it clasps, whose lips it seizes, in the ecstasy of reinvesting the animal frame
with life and joy from heaven. This has been in my mind as an image of
your advent to new life, when you, the soul, enter into your newly arisen
house, the body. I think it is your just reward for a past which has cer
tainly been very steadfast under many discouragements ; and I believe it in
volves for you the prophecy for the future which is so radiantly given in the
above-mentioned poet’s picture.
,
I am sincerely yours,
J. V. Blake.
Monday, Sept. 15, 1873.
We are still in the country, and this, with Mrs. Phillips’s health considered,
renders it impossible for me to be with you Sunday. I am very sorry. Ac
cept my heartiest wishes for your full success.
Wendell Phillips.
New Bedford, Sept. 15, 1873.
I am happy to learn that the “Parker Memorial Meeting-House ” is so
soon to be dedicated. It would give me great pleasure to accept your invi
tation to be present on the occasion; but as I have just resumed my pulpit
duties at home, after several months’ absence, I do not think that I ought to
be away so early as Sunday, the 21st, and must therefore deny myself the
gratification of joining with you in the interesting services. The name, “ Par
�44
ker Memorial Meeting-House,” has a pleasant sound, — not only as holding
the memory of Theodore Parker, but as recalling the primitive days of the
Puritans, of whom Mr. Parker was a genuine descendant, both by the pro
gressiveness of his thought and the robust heroism of his character.
Long may the new meeting-house stand to help keep alive in Bbston the
elements of such character, and so to promote the interests of pure and ra
tional religion.
Very truly yours,
Wm. J. Potter.
Brooklyn, Sept. 15, 1873.
It would give me sincere pleasure to be present at the dedication of your
new “Meeting-House.” I am glad you have named it as you have. I like
the sound of “ Meeting-House” much better than the sound of “Church.”
It is homely and solid, and so joins on well with Parker’s name — he was so
homely and solid. If it has a savor of Quakerism, that will not hurt. I
cannot be with you, because I am just back from my long vacation. I am
sure Longfellow will speak the right word to you,, and then you will have it
printed so that the poor fellows who cannot come to the feast will have a
sort of “ second table ” spread for them.
It seems to me much better that Parker should have a memorial hall
built for him thirteen years after his death than at any time before. A
great many men, who get imposing monuments soon after their death, would
go unmonumented if the world paused a little and considered. But every
year since Parker’s death has made him seem more worthy of remem
brance. In calling your building by his name, I know you do not mean to
make it any citadel of his opinions, but a home for his spirit, which was the
spirit of truth and love and righteousness. And I trust the new “ MeetingHouse ” will justify its name by being not merely a meeting-place for differ
ent people, but also a meeting-place for different opinions and ideas. Radi
calism is good, but still better is Liberality, and the faith that wrong opinions
may somehow represent a truth to those who cherish them. And so, “ with
malice towards none, and charity for all,” may you go forward, and may the
dear God prosper you, and comfort you, and build you up forever.
Yours faithfully,
J. W Chadwick.
Dansville, N.Y., Sept. 18th, 1873.
I thank you for the invitation to be present at the dedication of your new
“ Meeting-House,” and heartily wish it was in my power to accept it. But
I have been debarred from work by illness for some months past, and am
still an invalid, though I trust on the road to health.
I congratulate you on the completion of the Society’s new home, and shall
have pleasure in thinking of you in your commodious quarters. While I
�45
wish you all material prosperty, my desire is a thousand-fold greater that
you may be imbued with the spirit of him whose name you commemorate ;
that you may emulate his courage, his fidelity to the truth however unpopu
lar, his grand catholicity, that could be satisfied with nothing less than the
salvation, temporal and eternal, of a whole humanity. As he recognized the
motherly element in God, and made his religion vital with love as well as
luminous with thought, so may you. May you accord to women in the pul
pit, in the society, in all the walks of life, full equality with man; equal lib
erty to use the powers with which God has endowed her. May you consti
tute such a fraternity'of true-hearted men and women as the world has never
seen ; untramelled by any creed, limited by no boundaries of sect, the world
your field, the sorrowing and sinful your especial care ; may you go on from
strength to strength; and with no doubtful sound proclaim the dawning of
“ the near new day.”
Hoping sometime to be able to accept the invitation to preach for you
again, I am, with all best wishes,
Cordially yours,
Celia Burleigh.
Syracuse, N.Y., Sept. 19th, 1873.
I am glad to be able to congratulate you all on the completion of your
enterprise, which once more gives you a local habitation. The name you
have always had. It is a noble one, and binds you all by many grand mem
ories to the steady and persistent pursuit of Truth in Thought and Righteousmess in Life.
_ The bitter days when the prophets prophesied clothed in sackcloth are
over, thanks to God and their God-directed labors. It is the task of our
generation to help to bring in that Coming Time, which they foresaw and for
which they gave themselves, body and soul. May you all be inspired to do
your full share of the great work.
With kindest remembrances to all your Society, I remain,
Yours fraternally,
S. R. Calthrop.
Marshfield, Sept. 19, 1873.
I received to-day your kind invitation to attend the dedicatory services of
your Parker Memorial Hall, on Sunday. I should be glad to comply with it
and participate briefly in the exercises as you request. It is not easy for me
to leave home for two nights, as would be necessary in order to be in Boston
on that day of the week, and I see no way to do it.
The construction of your hall I look upon as a most auspicious event, as
well as an evidence of the faith and courage of those who, through doubt
and discouragement of no common magnitude, have held aloft the standard
of free thought and speech since your great hero was summoned from earth,
and his body laid to sleep in the Soil of the beautiful Italian city made fa-
�46
mous in history by the genius of Dante and the sublime piety and martyrdom
of Savonarola.
In this marvelous dream which we call life, there is nothing more won
derful and inspiring than the great moral and political revolution which has
been accomplished in this country since Mr. Parker came upon the stage of
manhood. I remember seeing him at the series of reform meetings, held
mostly in Chardon St. Chapel, in i839~4°> t° discuss the character and use
of “ the Sabbath, the Church, and the Ministry.” He was a young, modest,
and unassuming man ; but even then giving signs of the mighty force which
afterwards in the Melodeon and Music Hall exposed the rottenness of Church
and State, and gave such an impetus to the cause of freedom, both of body
and mind.
From him largely proceeded the impulse that has given new life to a na
tion, and emancipated the mind of the age from the thralldom of priestly rule.
His mantle rests upon you. His spirit and purpose are nourished by the
Society which bears his name. You do well to inscribe that name on the
building you have erected. Long may it continue, and be an instrument in
the hands of the Parker Fraternity for the more perfect education, eman
cipation, and elevation of the human race.
Yours, in the everlasting life,
N. H. Whiting.
I
�I
I
I
J
■ ■
i
I'
V
I
��
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Dedicatory services of the Parker Memorial Meeting House by the twenty-eighth Congregational Society, of Boston, Sunday, Sept,21, 1873
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway, Moncure Daniel [1832-1907.]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: Boston
Collation: 46 p. ; 24 cm.
Notes: Dedication hymn / Samuel Johnson -- Remarks of John C. Haynes -- Scripture reading -- Prayer -- Dedication hymn / W.C. Gannett -- Discourse / Samuel Longfellow -- God in humanity (hymn) / John G. Whittier -- Address by Ednah D. Cheney -- Address by John Weiss -- Address by Francis E. Abbot-- Address by Charles W. Slack -- God in the human soul (hymn) / Sarah F. Adams - benediction / Samuel Longfellow. Contains letters (p.39-46) received by John C. Haynes, Chairman, in answer to invitations to be present at the dedication of the Parker Memorial Meeting House. From the library of Dr Moncure Conway.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Cochrane & Sampson, printers
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1873
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G5365
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Dedicatory services of the Parker Memorial Meeting House by the twenty-eighth Congregational Society, of Boston, Sunday, Sept,21, 1873), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sermons
Conway Tracts
Parker Memorial Meeting House (Boston)
Sermons
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/25778/archive/files/2e2f6f2d360f9b69fea6db67ee15e085.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=j0v%7EOqf-2U-YtDGwGKXGm9C-yDHaNlJ6UMIcLzL%7ENs0IR6tL9e3LnNBNJPZPkbr41Lb2FFBGkAsBIoPz4ojUKOM1BLmFQL9OxYYBlHq0gexpow3tGGr5qR9h5jdHKCFPb5BXB3c76Z5KL8JvEXNHIuDoPsKblV0I96B36BysuoH1bB%7EfRvMO5N8TLSmSzK4K4QBCtWYVpJeTgvFAXLRgSH45yKiVt95sxtjaAd%7Etfi9I5bXp42ptrieBetOyY56azceS1xkUrOqDAcDZNkUnueDNee1qzZYkOgmc5HCj5fs6D-J6PGfT2INNfQrko5vahlGlVAZGj%7EQX9DpXxpdyyg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
8450359937ee5db15d9d5edd9355fea2
PDF Text
Text
ENTERING SOCIETY:
A DISCOURSE
BY
MONCURE D. CONWAY, M.A.
DELIVERED AT
SUNDAY, 29th July, 1877.
frige twopence.
�LONDON :
PRINTED BY WATERLOW & SONS LIMITED
LONDON WALL.
I
�ENTERING SOCIETY.
Every physical law runs through the universe; ex
plains equally the rolling world and rolling pebble ;
harmonises flowers and constellations. In the moral
and social world there is a like self-similarity. A
certain unity may be discovered in the culture of a
child, a nation, or the human race. »
Constant is the unity of interests, feelings, thoughts,
making what we term society. There is an endless
variety in human nature, but its distinction from all
lower nature is that its varieties can be utilized to
form a society. In animal swarms and herds same
ness is their strength; feather flocks with-its feathei.
There is a strange tribe of American Indians who
have a tradition that mankind is descended from the
animal world. There was, they say, a mountainous
monster who devoured all manner of animals. He
swallowed them alive, and once, when he had taken
this various meal, a certain Little Wolf that had
�4
been swallowed, found the animals inside the monster
quarrelling with each other; and he persuaded them
that instead of quarrelling they should one and all
unite, and contribute their several powers of horn,
tooth, or other faculty to get out of the monster and
slay him. The animals co-operated; liberated them
selves ; slew the monster; and, in doing that, they
were changed to men, and the human race began.
It is a much more moral and scientific genesis of man
than that in the Bible. Intelligent co-operation of
different species imply humanity; and there are
facts enough to show that, on the other hand, pro
longed strife disintegrates society, and men may be
transformed back to animals.
All human beings are born members of society.
Some pietists and fanatics have tried to escape this
necessity, because society is what they call worldly ;
but, though they hide in nunneries, monasteries,
caves and deserts, they do not get out of society any
more than they get out of the world. If society were
to cease its work of coining, baking, weaving, trading,
then the hermit would get out of it in the one way
possible—death.
There is nothing more grotesque, were we not so
familiar with it, than where the abject language of her
mits who fled society,—and sometimes escaped from
it by the door of death,—and their anathemas on the
�5
world are repeated by Christians enjoying society and
ambitious of its rewards. Possibly they feel bound
for form’s sake to carry the skeleton of asceticism
round the banquet, but, as in the Egyptian custom,
the performance only seems to stimulate the more the
avidity with which the so-called pious utilise and enjoy
the kingdom of this world. The Church of England
merits the credit of having to a large extent abolished
the fiction of a world of sinners and an un-world (so to
say) of saints; and it might become a fairly good
church if it were to lay aside its pretence that the
world is morally an invalid in need of its holy medi
caments. The temptation is great where the deceived
patient is rich, for priests as well as for the doctors
who proffer bread-pills. (The “ Priest in Absolution
really believes in the deadly situation of human nature,
and goes on with the old practice of drugging, blister
ing and bleeding.)
The unpardonable sin of nearly every theology ■
the sin by which it must perish—is the separation it
has effected between two parts of man’s nature, the
antagonism instituted between his social and spiritual
activities, in whose harmony man’s well-being can
alone be found. That only a few eccentric priests
believe and act on that principle does not mitigate the
evil fact that all are taught it, and that the young and
simple have their consciences bruised and their lives
�6
misdirected by it. A result of this figment lias been
that the strongest moral agencies, which a true religion
would have cultivated, have been left to trail or climb
as they could; no sect being willing to acknowledge
that any good force belonged to human nature. Still,
without any aid from the churches, and mostly against
their opposition, Society has been partially able to
cultivate the motives, feelings, aims which constitute
the actual religion,—the guiding, moulding, animating
religion,-—of each civilised community, so far as it is
really guided, leaving the churches to become more
and more museums of antiquarian dogmatic remains.
What is the Social Religion ? Its motive is the
sentiment of honour, the sin it specially hates is
meanness : these two—love of the honourable, hatred
of the dishonourable—branch out from the individual
heart into endless adaptations. Out of the social
sentiment of honour emerge patriotism, justice, forti
tude, supporting states; and that loyalty in personal
relations, generating sympathy and friendliness, which,
when men make the most of them, will cement the
w'orld better than gunpowder. No state can ever be
perfectly civilised until it is held together by simple
force of friendliness.
There is a print often seen in shop-windows which
has been sent by thousands through the world. It is
inscribed—“Simplyto thy cross I cling,” and repre
�7
sents a young woman with the waves of a sea dashing
around her, clasping for safety a cross which rises
from the mid-ocean. It is a perfect mirror of Chris
tian idolatry: it is translatable into many systems of
superstition, where above the billows Faith clings now
to a lingam, next to a wheel, or it may be, to the
symbol of a serpent. But from what engulphing
waves will a stone cross, or any of the like idols, save
those who cling to them? From billows of sorrow,
loss of their friends, or from disease, pain, and death ?
By no means. It is truly written in the Bible that
one fate happens to all alike, whatever be their
prayers and sacrifices; and it almost broke the hearts
of the old prophets and psalmists that the pious got
no advantage at all over others in these things; in
fact, nature’s strict impartiality between the prayerful
and the prayerless was a main reason why priests fell
to abusing nature and building up a cloudy realm, in
which, being its sole creators, they could like other
romancers have things turn out as they liked—all the
“ pious ” happy, all the rest damned. In that world
where cause and effect are of no importance all
the stone crosses are in order. They are effective
enough to save clinging Faith from imaginary billows,
from storms that are not raging, floods non-existent,
' waves of delusive sin against a demonic majesty, and
fabulous furies of a phantasmal hell.
�But for all of these the real religion that grows
around us day by day -will substitute the definite
recognition of actual moral dangers, and the study of
■rational methods by which they may be escaped,
and the health of man and society be preserved.
Even now the finest hearts and minds in this
world are impressing upon us the real hells
beside which those of the sects appear petty and
ridiculous. While the “ lake of fire,” to an increasing
number, reads like something seen by Baron Mun
chausen on his travels, it is no dream that bright and
sweet children are growing up to people asylums and
prisons, to break hearts and desolate homes, and to
pass into degradations which sometimes make death .
seem a tardy joy. If a man has ever had the sorrow
of seeing one youth beginning with promise, throwing
away his life in debauchery and selfishness, much
more if he have seen the anguish of a home when all
its fairest promises are broken, he will hardly require
more to show him the absurdity of priest-made horrors
in the presence of these that are real.
I think it not too soon to maintain that somewhat
more gravity—even solemnity, if you please—should
be associated with what is called “entering society.”
That phrase usually denotes participation in festal
society—a realm of gaiety, beauty, mutual felicitation,
where persons are seen in picturesque tableau.
�9
There are some silly moralists who look upon all that
as vanity j all the beauty of raiment, each effort to
look the best, to be happy and make others happy, as
ministering to ostentation and selfishness, and as
injurious to modesty, humility, and simplicity.
Nothing of the kind. It will never harm the modesty
of youth to enjoy life’s springtide, as nature invites
with her blossom and melody. All that purity
requires is that their mirth and dance keep always in
the light, and that there be no blind ways such as
priests in absolution” provide, and other spiders
that weave their webs along the flower-fringed paths of
early life. There are hard, odious men (not many
.women I hope), who would turn this world into a coal
depot, or a grocer’s shop; but the social health is too
vigorous for them ; and it is a satisfaction to know
that there is a demand for roses as well as cabbages.
They who wear the roses, or other decoration, are
they vain? On the contrary they are conscious of
their need of the rose or the gem to supply that
wherein they fall short. Nor are they selfish; they
do not array themselves for self-admiration; they long
to contribute their part to the general happiness, to
make the social circle beautiful, tasteful, and worthy
of the enormous cost and toil by which it is sup
ported.
The only danger is that the young will believe some
�IO
evil whisper that their circle of social enjoyment is
quite apart from their round of religious interests and
moral duties. They may not indeed adopt the vulgar
cant that these are opposed to each other—one holy,
the other wicked. But even where that notion is not
found, some regard society as a worldly thing, a region
of persons not of principles. The merchant who regards
religion as a thing for Sunday and not Monday; who
conceives the commandments proper between lids of
the Bible, out of place between lids of the ledger ; the
preacher who on Sunday rehearses creeds declaring the
human race under a doom, and everybody moving
amid satanic snares, and then passes the rest of his
week as smilingly as if there were no danger;—these,
and others like them, are generally so unconscious of
the duplicity of their lives that we may see plainly
that the actual every-day world and the so-called
religious world are to those they represent as different
as two planets. But it is impossible that this tradition
can be suffered to go on much longer. That religious
world which has no relation to society, but only to an
anthropomorphic deity and another world, has already
received the verdict of human intelligence that it is
no real religion at all, but a morbid excrescence on
the body of Humanity. The verdict has been passed,
and the sentence can not long be delayed; for it is
impossible that the real interests of man can be
�preserved if his energies, his means, above all his
moral enthusiasm, are diverted from a society in need
to a deity not in need ; from actually existent men and
women to possibly existent angels; from the momen
tous day that is to that which is not.
The fundamental law of society is one with the
fundamental law of religion. It is a higher law than
the Hebrew golden rule (though not inharmonious
with it), for it teaches us that our self-love must not
equal our love of others. In every case the social
instinct requires our personal interest to be held
subordinate to the general good; and there is no other*
foundation of either morality or religion than just that:
self-denial, self-restraint, even self-sacrifice, for things
larger than self, are varied growths from the one germ
of our moral nature—the social self rising above the
personal self.
Unless the endless combinations of society be at
tended and supervised by the moral principle just
stated, increase of wealth and power is but increase
of things anti-social, selfish, unprogressive. An irre
ligious society is self-disintegrating; but how is society
to be kept in pure elevation when religion is off at
tending to mansions in heaven; and when the majority
of young people are taught such notions of religion
that they are only too glad to get rid of it during the
rational days of the week ? They are perfectly right;
�12
the introduction of cant and sanctimoniousness into
the drawing-room, or theatre, or club, or business,
would be like the new beetle amid grain ; for that is
vast selfishness disguised as religion. But there is such
a religion as charity and kindness, as self-control and
love and service to others ; the spirit that desires to
learn and be set right; the courtesy, the sympathy,
which alone can make the true gentleman or gentle
woman j and if this kind of religion does not beat as
pulse of the social heart to transfuse the social body
and all its members, the life of these will be coarse,
their end corruption.
Let us for example consider one of the great social
growths of modern times—the club system. To what
is called polite society the club is almost as important
a development as the railway system to trade. It re
sults from the application of the principle of co-opera
tion to secure personal intercourse under favourable
conditions, and all manner of comfort and culture
with utmost economy of means. That is the most
powerful principle in the world—combination and
though society is itself a product of it, it has hardly
imagined its farther results. But what are the social
effects of club life at present? It appears to me that
great as are their advantages they are fostering some
very serious evils, and it is to be feared, even vices.
Every respectable young man has the opportunity of
�13
entering one or another of the innumerable clubs, and
if he obtains a little means the club almost doubles
them. The average home cannot rival the average
club for comfort, luxury, or various society. The wife
may make herself a slave, but if great wealth be not
given her she cannot make her home compete with
the ample attractions of the club. And how little the
cost 1 A young man, for little more than half of
what it would cost him to marry and found a home of
moderate comfort, may live luxuriously, passing his free
hours in the finest library, with all the current litera
ture of the world, amid decorated rooms for use
or amusement, dining magnificently with clever com
pany ; and all by combining his small means with the
small means of other young men. All very good, and
rightly helpful to many a youth. But for that youth
duties are waiting, tasks presently clamour to be done
by him j and if he remains in his palace after ne has
heard their voice, it becomes to him tne Castle of In
dolence, and probably also the home of sensuality. It
is no narrow or ascetic judgment to say that large
numbers of young men of high tastes and talents are
sinking into lives of selfishness, dilettantism, and
worthlessness through the enticing luxuries of club
life. Nor is the evil much, if at all, diminished when
we consider how many homes after they are foimed
are robbed of their rights by this overpowering growth
of modern society.
�14
How are such evils to be met ? Is there any case
for a crusade against clubs ? If there were it would
be a quixotic crusade. But clubs are not an evil; they
supply great and necessary advantages. All we need
is that there shall be a social religion attending and
guarding these vast social formations. Our need is
that moral culture shall turn from star-gazing and face
moral facts, and a religion rise up to teach every man
from the cradle to the grave that his duty is not
to a dead Christ but to a living humanity, not to a
Virgin Mary but to womanhood around him, not to a
« Holy Ghost” but to a principle of honour,—aye, an
honour which, when it has a religious sanction, will not
be unarmed, but remand every idler in club or else
where to his task, will place every self-indulgent circle
under ban of intolerable shame, and get from each
his or her high duty, with every pure pleasure in its
train.
When there is a religion appealing to the highest
motives in every human heart, that leads each youth
of either sex who enters society to consider that every
advantage corresponds with a duty, then all develop
ments of power and wealth in any direction must be
diffused through every part of society as benefit. We
hear a great deal of social science ; there is one very
old piece of social science confirmed by ages of experi
ence_ that we are members one of another. Hand
�cannot be so well off if foot is lame ; all are weak if
one is weak. Great nations have learned at terrible
cost that when one class or interest advances very far
it is sure to be brought to a stop till other classes gain
their share. The white people in America found lately
that their own freedom could not last another year
unless the black people enjoyed the same. Europe is
learning a severe lesson of the same kind about some
long neglected Eastern tribes. But the law holds with
equal truth of any community, or any social circle in
it. If, for example, co-operation has exemplified its
power in the club, the club cannot monopolise it with
out danger; it must become the economy of homes
also ; both sexes must share it; working men and
working women must share it. And if there is any
society where wise principles are not thus diffused
those who belong to it will be themselves fragmentary
and inharmonious.
Every man or woman entering society should carry
a whole heart into it. Not one instinct or faculty
should be reserved, or left to take the veil. Each and
all, let them enter into life, love it, enjoy it, and not
fail to do their duty by it. The price is not fairly
paid unless you endeavour to diffuse what there is
acquired. You enter the hive to create the sweet as
well as to enjoy it. And in the human hive the
creation means the progressive purification, and per-
�i6
fection of it. In society you have found new thoughts
—higher truth—liberal views ; they all belong to the
hive. And in a high sense your debt to all is secured :
you can have no benefit genuinely unless by giving it.
If God himself were to offer you a private favour and
advantage of which nobody else could reap the least
good, far better decline it. That which is sweet to you
That which is pure and true to
is sweet to others.
you, would be so to others if they felt it as you do.
Then give others your very best. So shall you stimulate
them to diffuse their best; and all shall become
apostles of the sunshine.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Entering society : a discourse delivered at South Place Chapel, Finsbury, Sunday 29th July 1877
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway, Moncure Daniel [1832-1907.]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London]
Collation: 16 p. ; 15 cm.
Notes: Part of Morris Miscellaneous Tracts 1. Printed by Waterlow & Sons, London Wall.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
[South Place Chapel]
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[1877]
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G3336
Subject
The topic of the resource
Religion
Society
Ethics
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Entering society : a discourse delivered at South Place Chapel, Finsbury, Sunday 29th July 1877), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Moncure Conway
Morris Tracts
Religion and Civil Society
Social Ethics
Social Justice
Society
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/25778/archive/files/1df376057b33e5bafd9279f1ce3b0f66.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=Drdz8%7EG2p3akhql6EekzQI9ghkXT2RRnvU9-pKErNDUIKY2EG0KCllgbyffs90XGSQDMqqG4oOo7BWI6Y1%7EQchBW%7E8syOvrN4DQdv0ehbhyuFdC7Lml1kMQ9bAR1EoNaAIDT-Vit8CoKjJ7xhHevhsquc%7EwrvbnIonQ2nsC5zZwa8X3oesMGef9dSZ10dvc2CTTIdCevlIutnYnaejR5VaZK6gREXJeqOcECWSm2kZe6Y21E93jdNwp7nMUAIURI1GWhBOwbvA2PtJ79RsAFkZ%7EDSXciSDoUoWMxjqDWfzDWWmXP9wHO2kWgB0PsLzfwbIMs59HE427JPffntYdHpQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
c8ce00e38cfd26b446c8891cac9431a7
PDF Text
Text
In Memoriam
A MEMORIAL DISCOURSE
IN HONOUR OF
JOHN
STUART
MILL,
BY
MONCURE D. CONWAY.
WITH
HYMNS
.AJSTZD
HEADINGS,
SOUTH PLACE CHAPEL, FINSBURY,
Sunday, May 2 sth, 1873.
PRICE SIXPENCE.
��HYMN.
Britain’s first poet,
Famous old Chaucer,
Swanlike, in dying
Sung his last song,
When at his heart-strings
Death’s hand was strong.
“ From false crowds flying
Dwell with soothfastness ;
Prize more than treasure
Hearts true and brave ;
Truth to thine own heart
Thy soul shall save.
“ Trust not to fortune ;
Be not o’ermeddling ;
Thankful receive thou
Good which God gave ;
Truth to thine own heart
Thy soul shall save.
“ Earth is a desert,
Thou art a pilgrim :
Led by thy spirit,
Grace from God crave ;
Truth to thine own heart
Thy soul shall save.”
�4
Dead through long ages
Britain’s first poet—
Still the monition
Sounds from his grave,
“ Truth to thine own heart
Thy soul shall save.”
Music by E. Taylor.
w. J. Fox.
READINGS.
How beautiful, upon the mountains,
Are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
That publisheth Peace I
Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, have I set watchmen
Who shall never hold their peace, day and night.
Go through, go through the gates ;
Prepare ye the way of the people !
Lift up a standard to the peoples !
Behold my servant whom I uphold,
My chosen one in whom my soul delighteth :
I have put my spirit upon him ;
He shall publish right among the nations.
A bruised reed shall he not break,
And the smoking flax shall he not quench.
He shall publish right in truth.
He shall not grow feeble nor be discouraged,
Till he have established right in the earth ;
And the isles shall wait for his law.
I have called thee for deliverance,
A light of the nations,
To open blind eyes,
To set at liberty those that are bound,
Even them that sit in the prison of Darkness.
Isaiah.
�5
I have heard these words—“ Living in solitude to master
their aims, practising rectitude in carrying out their prin
ciples”—but where have I seen such men ?
To sit in silence and recall past ideas, to study and feel
no anxiety, to instruct men without weariness ; have I this
ability in me ?
The man of character does not go out of his place. He
is modest in speech, but exceeds in action.
He will hold rectitude essential—bringing his work
forth in humility, performing it with prudence, completing
it with sincerity. What he seeks is in himself.
There is a divine nobility and a human nobility. Tobe
a prince, a prime minister, or a great officer, constitute
human nobility. Benevolence, justice, fidelity, and truth,
and to delight in virtue without weariness, constitute
divine nobility. The ancients adorned divine nobility, and
human nobility followed it.
It has never been the case that he who was not sincere
could influence others ; nor that he who possessed genuine
virtue could not influence others.
Whenever the superior man passes renovation takes
place.
The principles of great men illuminate the universe.
The principles they cherish begin with the common duties
of men and women, but in their extent they light up the
'universe.
Confucius.
Buddha was residing at Jetavana. In the night a
heavenly being, illuminating Jetavana with his radiance,
approached him, saying—“ Many gods and men desire to
know the things that are excellent.” Buddha said :
�6
“ To serve the wise and not the foolish, and to honour
what is worthy of honour : these are excellencies.
“To dwell in the neighbourhood of the good, to bear the
remembrance of good deeds, and to have a soul filled with
right desires : these are excellencies.
“To have knowledge of truth, to be instructed in science,
to have a disciplined mind, and pleasant speech : these are
excellencies.
“To honour father and mother, to provide for wife and
child, and to follow a blameless vocation : these are
excellencies.
“ To be charitable, act virtuously, be faithful to friends,
and lead an innocent life : these are excellencies.
“ To be pure, temperate, and persevering on a right path:
these are excellencies.
“ Humility, reverence, contentment, gratitude, attentive
ness to wise instruction : these are excellencies.
“ To be gentle, to be patient, to converse with the reli
gious : these are excellencies.
“ Self-restraint and Charity, the knowledge of the great
principles, and the hope of the eternal repose : these are
excellencies.
“To have a mind unshaken by prosperity or adversity,
inaccessible to sorrow, secure and tranquil : these are
excellencies.
“ They that do these things are the invincible ; they
attain the perfect good.”
Buddha.
Seeing the multitudes Jesus went up into a mountain ;
and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying :—
“Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the king
dom of heaven.
�7
Blessed are the lowly ; for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who mourn ; for they shall be com
forted.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after jus
tice ; for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful ; for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart ; they shall see God.
Blessed are the peace-makers ; for they shall be called
the children of God.
Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness
sake ; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and perse
cute you, and say all manner of evil against you, falsely
.......... for so did they persecute the prophets that were
before you.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a
hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and
put it under a bushel, but in a candlestick ; and it giveth
light to all that are in the house. In like manner let
your light shine before men, that others seeing your
good works may judge of your Father in Heaven.”
Jesus.
Calmly, calmly lay him down !
He hath fought the noble fight;
He hath battled for the right;
He hath won the unfading crown.
‘
Memories, all too bright for tears,
Crowd around us from the past,
Faithful toiled he to the last,—Faithful through unflagging years.
�8
All that makes for human good,
Freedom, righteousness, and truth,
Objects of aspiring youth,
Firm to age he still pursued.
Kind and gentle was his soul,
But it glowed with glorious might;
Filling clouded minds with light,
Making wounded spirits whole.
Dying, he can never die !
To the dust his dust we give ;
In our hearts his heart shall live ;
Moving, guiding, working aye.
Music from Beethoven.
Adapted from Gaskell.
MEDITATION.
Sweet day ! so cool, so calm, so bright,
Bridal of earth and sky ;
The dew shall weep thy fall to-night,
For thou must die !
Sweet rose ! in air whose odours wave,
And colour charms the eye ;
Thy root is ever in its grave,
And thou must die !
Sweet spring ! of days and roses made,
Whose charms for beauty vie ;
Thy days depart, thy roses fade,
For thou must die I
�9
Only a sweet and holy soul
Hath tints that never fly ;
While flowers decay, and seasons roll,
It cannot die.
George Herbert.
JOHN STUART MILL.
Of old it was said “ The righteous dieth and no man
layeth it to heart.” That at least cannot be said of
England standing beside the grave of her noblest son.
Friend and foe have laid to heart the departure from
the world of one who has left so deep an impress upon
it. The Church journal which honestly exults in his
death, saying it is glad he is gone and does not care
how soon his friends follow him, has laid it to heart.
Those who are busily circulating in private a printed
catalogue of slanders against his fair fame, have laid
it to heart.
Let them rave,
He is quiet in his grave.
They cannot rave his truth out of existence. Their
hatred only reveals how deep his arrow has gone into
the heart of their wrong. Great men may be mea
sured, like towers, by the shadows they cast. Their
elevation is attested by the wrath of the base against
them. But they alone know the height who have
�IO
climbed to it, and caught the grander view it com
mands. And whilst a few, with vulture instinct, are
tearing the sod above the great heart, we may well
turn with a sad satisfaction to the general and real
grief of this people at the sorrowful tidings that the
powerful brain so busy with schemes for human wel
fare is still, that the heart which beat only for man
beats no more. The high-toned and impressive utter
ances of the press have done honour to the national
feeling. Westminster Abbey has asked permission
to enshrine his dust. Prime Minister* and Peer have
joined with philosopher and poet to do homage to his
worth. Whatever posterity may have to say of the
shortcomings of this generation, so much we may be
sure will be recorded in its honour. There is a dreary
catalogue in the past of the great unrecognised, of
mighty spirits sitting in the world at mighty tasks,
and departing, to leave a consecration only to the
vacant rooms where they have laboured, and bring
men as‘pilgrims to pay to their dust the homage
denied to their lives. That day is past. The people
listened to this great man ; bore him to their Parlia
ment ; shaped their law to his thought ; and they now
feel on them the shadow of the dark valley into which
he has entered.
Certain eminent men, in giving their names to the
Committee formed to express in some suitable form
* Since this was spoken, Mr. Gladstone has withdrawn from
the Committee formed to prepare some fit memorial of Mr.
Mill.
�this national feeling, have taken care to say that it
implies no unity of sentiment with Mr. Mill on great
■Questions. However needless such a precaution may
rf be, it is another tribute to his distinctive grandeur. It
rf reminds us again that his fame was won without com
cr pliance. It was not by concession to the opinions of
O others ; it was not by bending before the position or
q principles of the powerful, or reflecting established
q prejudice, that he gained the reverence now accorded
rf him. But it is despite a life-long opposition to such
ot i opinions and prejudices that his genius and character
rt make themselves felt, and prevail like some law of
rt nature. And, indeed, this man’s strength lay in his
rt near relationship to the laws of nature. We may say
a ■ of him as Confucius said of his dead friend, ‘ Heaven
38 alone is great and he was like unto it.” No artificial
£2 systems could allure him from his allegiance to the
X) i order of nature and the order of thought. He had
33 j raised his heart and brain into accord with the truth
to of things, to its vision he was ever obedient, and what
'fl he spoke to men was what he had learned while
KJ sitting as a devotee in his solitude, communing with
»9 eternal reason.
There is a date in my own memory, marked round
with vermilion, when I had the high privilege of pass
ffj ing a day with him amid wood and field, and beneath
fii the blue sky. And while he spoke, leaf and flower
If and sunbeam seemed to weave themselves around him
. J as a frame. His words were their kindred, so real
I 'fl were they, so gentle and so true. To listen was to be
J
if
�12
raised into a purer atmosphere. He spoke of a modern
French philosopher, with whom he had been too much
identified, who had treated certain sciences with a
certain contempt as not being of utility to man. “ As
if,” he said, “ any one could tell what is of utility to
mankind ! How many a truth, seemingly insignificant,
has turned out to be of momentous importance ! How
many inventions, after remaining a long time little
more than toys, have become engines of civilisation !
This little plant I have just plucked, and mean to
examine, who can say it may not be just the one link
needed in a great chain of knowledge ? It is never
safe to regard any fact as small. All that we esteem
great truths have been built up by these apparently
small bits of discovery, and to despise any truth
because we cannot see its use would bring our advance
to a full stop.”
At another time, and when listening to his conver
sation on a totally different subject, I had reason to
observe how each conviction he held ran through
and through him. He was this time speaking of
the downfall of slavery in America, and the prin
ciple he had maintained of reverently treasuring every
truth, however small or seemingly useless, re-appeared
in his faith that right ideas should be pursued, how
ever hopeless or visionary they might appear. From an
intimate acquaintance with the chief anti-slavery men
of America, I had said that they had not at all hoped to
see the success of their labours. They had grown up
from nothing; they had been derided as a handful of
�i3
visionaries; they had agreed that they were vision
aries, and the most sanguine among them had never
dreamed of that near consummation of their hope
which they have lived to witness. 11 It was that very
k fact,” said Mr. Mill, “ that made their power so great,
iS and their victory so complete. Not seeing a near
success, not hoping to reap what they were sowing,
they gave themselves all the more absolutely to the
principle. They were not tempted to compromise it
by any prospect of securing success by doing so. It
is no true Utilitarian principle for men to maintain
only that whose practical outcome and effect they can
see and measure; but it is to trust that the truth is
and must be useful, if not to us, to those who come
after us. To serve the truth thus unreservedly is
itself, too, success, even though it may appear unsuc
cessful. The anti-slavery men of America refused to
sanction a great wrong by participating in the politics
of the country : they would not even vote ; but each
man who abstained from voting thereby really voted
very heavily; and the abolition of slavery which has
followed is the sublimest manifestation of purely
moral power which our time has witnessed. It is
a lesson of the might that may lie in the most
seemingly ineffective and unpractical principle that
we hold.”
This, you will observe, is a restatement in applica
tion to morals and politics, of that principle he had
maintained with reference to Nature, that the smallest
and most useless fact was to be studied and rever-
iv
al
ffi
wi
�14
enced as much as the greatest, and that it was con
stantly turning out that the least was the greatest.
It is hard to preserve patience with those who
have attributed to Mr. Mill the belief in that kind
of Utilitarianism which is coarsely conceived by
themselves as a mere consecration of that which
is convenient or immediately serviceable. The whole
life of this man was devoted to ideals. Above
the heads of time-servers and self-seekers, he passed
on with his eye fixed on the star-like truth from
which he never swerved. I will not dwell on that
which his personal friends know : that he might
have been a man of large wealth had he not
held his income more for solitary students, and poor
scholars, and public purposes than for himself ; but I
may ask with what Idealist can you associate more
ideals than with him ? The right of the labourer in
the land, the secular education of the people, the
emancipation of mankind from superstition, the en
franchisement of women—all visions ! As visions he
espoused them ; as fair ideals he lived for them ; as
dreams unrealised he has gone down amid them to
his long sleep. Yet these were the bright hopes of a
Utilitarian philosopher, of one whose Utilitarianism
consisted in his perfect faith that whatever was true
was also useful, and who had proved to us in the world
that though we do not avail ourselves of that truth,
its utility is already manifested in its power to build
up a noble life and adorn it with spiritual beauty.
It is one of the saddest signs of the degree to which
�i5
the most civilised countries are as yet sunk in super
stition that the majority among us, perhaps, can only
think of such a man as a Sceptic, or an unbeliever in
religion. There was infinitely more religion in his un
belief than can be found in all the Churches of Eng
land. In an epigram of Schiller’s it is said : “ To what
religion dost thou belong?” “To none you could
name.” “ And wherefore to none ?” “ For the sake of
religion.” (Aus Religion.) In an age which bows down
to graven images—none the less graven images be
cause set on inward altars—here was one who would
not bow down to such nor serve them, and straight
way the cry is heard “ Infidel,” “ Atheist !” It really
makes religion a mockery. If Infidelity means such
lives, Heaven send us more Infidels ! The truth was
that he could belong to none of the religions around
him simply because he was too religious. There is
a certain characteristic which is inherent in all fine
natures, that what they they think they also feel. It
was the character of Mr. Mill, beyond all the men I
have ever known, that his feelings went along with
his thoughts. It was not enough for him to know
virtue, he must possess it; and it was not enough for
him to possess it, but he must love it. Truth was his
Lord, and his delight was in the law of that Lord ; and
on that law did he meditate day and night. Con
sequently it was impossible for him to follow the
common plan of saying one thing while he felt an
other ; to repeat creeds not in his heart; or to enter
temples where he must leave truth at the threshold.
�i6
But the habitual reverence of his mind, his essen
tial religiousness, made him in every moment a
worshipper, and every spot whereon he stood a
temple.
In matters of transcendent import with which small
theologians have complete though suspicious fami
liarity, he was reticent. On one occasion within my
knowledge he spoke in conversation concerning the
great subjects of human belief and hope—spiritual
existence and immortality. “ On these things,” he
said, “ there is no positive evidence at all. It is true
that in experience we know of mind only in connec
tion with physical organisation; but this is no evidence
that it may not exist otherwise. There is really no
evidence bearing on the subject one way or the other.
All that can be said is, that the common aspiration of
mankind furnishes a presumption in favour of the
reality of that towards which it aspires; but the actual
proof or confirmation of that presumption must wait
for the further increase of human knowledge. Noth
ing is proved—all is possibility.”
This, may seem a very slight faith beside the inti
mate knowledge copiously poured forth from every
little chapel pulpit, where everything is known about
Heaven and Hell and God, even to the number of
his family; but I believe that Humility will rather
go and sit beside the thinker in his ignorance, and
acknowledge its inability to comprehend the incom
prehensible or utter the unutterable. Socrates once
received a prize in Athens for possessing greater
�i7
knowledge than any other; and that knowledge in
which he excelled was knowledge of his own ignor
ance.
It may be noted of Mr. Mill that he is one of the
very few great authors who have never uttered or
written one word of discouragement. As a political
economist he was the first to encourage the labourer
to believe that his lot might and would be improved;
as a social reformer he was the first to encourage
woman to have faith in her larger destiny; and now
here in the region of religious inquiry, in the moment
when he was warning a friend of the lack of real
knowledge of those high matters, he ended with the
cheering words, “ All is possibility!” He knew full
well how many planets had rolled on overhead, un
discovered through long ages, to be revealed at length
to watchers by night when the instruments for seeing
them had been perfected, to say to us, Because you
know nothing now you will never know anything.
Rather amid the darkness he has sounded the watch
word clear and strong—“ All is possibility.’^ For this
really is the tenor of all he has written. And we may
say that his whole philosophic work was an endeavour
to perfect the lenses and the telescopes of the mind,,
to teach men how to use the instruments of thought,
through which that highest knowledge is to be reached,
if it is ever to be reached. And so great was his
service in teaching men what knowledge is and what
it is not, in teaching them the meaning of words and
the values of their ideas, that I doubt not when all the
�i8
fictions and superstitions have cleared away, if then
any insight into supersensual mysteries is attained,
the age attaining it will canonise as a saint this man
who taught men how to look and whither to look.
The ancient world—to use an illustration suggested
by himself—did not much regard the mathematicians
of Alexandria, who passed what seemed idle days and
nights investigating the properties of the ellipse, but
two thousand years after their speculations explained
the solar system, and through their labours ships now
circumnavigate the globe.
There is a passage which Mr. Mill once wrote about
Plato in which, as I think, he unconsciously described
the task of his own life. He says
“ The enemy
against which Plato really fought was Commonplace.
It was the acceptance of traditional opinions and cur
rent sentiments as an ultimate fact j and bandying of
the abstract terms which express approbation and dis
approbation, desire and aversion, admiration and dis
gust, as if they had a meaning thoroughly understood
and universally assented to. The men of his day (like
those of ours) thought that they knew what good and
evil, just and unjust, honourable and shameful, were,
because they could use the words glibly, and affirm
them of this and of that, in agreement with existing
custom. But what the property was, which these
several instances possessed in common, justifying the
application of the term, nobody had considered ;
neither the sophists, nor the rhetoricians, nor the
statesmen, nor any of those who set themselves
�T9
up or were set up by others as wise. Yet, who
ever could not answer this question was wan
dering in darkness; had no standard by which his
judgments were regulated, and which kept them con
sistent with one another ; no rule which he knew, and
could stand by, for the guidance of his life. Not
knowing what justice and virtue are, it was impossible
to be just and virtuous; not knowing what good is,
we not only fail to reach it, but are certain to embrace
evil instead. Such a condition, to any one capable of
thought, made life not worth having. The grand busi
ness of human intellect ought to consist in subjecting
these general terms to the most rigorous scrutiny, and
bringing to light the ideas that lie at the bottom of
them. Even if this cannot be done, and real know
ledge be attained, it is already no small benefit to
expel the false opinion of knowledge; to make men
conscious of their ignorance of the things most needful
to be known, fill them with shame and uneasiness at
their own state, and rouse a pungent internal stimulus,
summoning up all their mental energies to attack these
greatest of all problems, and never rest until, as far as
possible, the true solutions are reached.
Such was the aim of Plato who lived in an age of
transition, inquiry, doubt, like our own ; and such was
the aim of Mill. Where he saw the houses built on
sand swept away, there at least he would dig deep and
lay foundations which could never be shaken, based
on the truth of things, the eternal rock. We may
build on it in darkness, but there will come those who
�20
shall build on it in light. However much we may
misunderstand those sent to guide and raise us, we
may be sure posterity will make no mistakes. When
they cast their eyes back they will surely detect those
who amid groaning humanity sought only their own
good,—cringed to the strong,—repeated the servile
creed,—their double tongue uttering all that is sordid
and base. And they will pick out those who came to
the rescue of humanity in its time of trial, who stood for
justice and simple truth, faithful unto death.* They
will say that in the grave of John Stuart Mill closed
one of the few sacred lives of history.
There was blended with his intellectual work other
that required a yet higher nature, work that needed
preponderating moral sensibilities, a deep human
sympathy, a rich emotional nature. I have said that
Mr. Mill always felt what he thought,—and whenever
he spoke the blood in his cheek spoke too. But there
were two themes only upon which I have known his
habitual calmness give way to agitation,—two only
where, as he spoke, his mind caught flame and rose
into passionate emotion. One of these was when
before emancipation had taken place in America he
saw humanity enslaved, and a Republic fettered by
the same chain it had bound around the negro. The
other was when he saw women struggling to break
the galling political and social chains inherited from
ancient, from a barbaric past. Into their cause he
* I have remembered here words spoken by Emerson on the
death of Theodore Parker.
�21
entered with an enthusiasm which brought again the
age of chivalry, and the brave efforts he made to
secure woman from hereditary wrong made him to
our prosaic time the figure of St. George rescuing the
maiden from a dragon. The world has felt a silent
sympathy as in the French town he sat, studied, wrote,
at a window overlooking the grave that held that trea
sure of his soul beside whom he now reposes ; but it
has admired as it saw this personal devotion to one
noble woman consecrating him to the cause of all her
sisters. Ah, ye women, who amid many buffets and
sneers are striving to attain a truer position and larger
life, to help man to raise the suffering world to a
higher plane,—ye women, what a friend have you lost!
Daughters of England! weep not for him, but weep
for yourselves and for your children !
The Hindoo standing beside his dead is accustomed
to render him back solemnly to the elements. “ O
Earth,” he cries, “ of thee he was formed, to thee we
commend our brother. Thou Fire, emblem of purity,
dids’t quicken him, to thee we return him. Air that
gave him breath, to thee we yield him. Water that
sustained, receive thy share of him who has taken an
everlasting flight!” Even so must we .consign to
Nature which gave him to us the man for whom we
mourn. Great-hearted brother of all the sons and
daughters of men, brave warrior of truth, you have
fallen at your task suddenly, when your hope and ours
were highest for your future work ; but we consign
you to the elements that worked in and through you,
�22
not without consolation; for we know that the prin
ciples you maintained are deep in the heart of that
nature to which you return. The flowers blooming
over your grave shall write them in the dust, and the
rustling leaves repeat them; the sighing winds will
whisper, the storm will publish them ; they shall move
with the stars in their courses.
Part in peace ! Is day before us ?
Praise His name for life and light;
Are the shadows lengthening o’er us ?
Bless His care who guards the night.
Part in peace ! with deep thanksgiving
Rendering, as we homeward tread,
Gracious service to the living,
Tranquil memory to the dead.
Part in peace ! such are the praises,
God our Father loveth best;
Such the worship that upraises
Human hearts to heavenly rest
Music by Miss Flower..
AUSTIN AND CO.,
PRINTERS,
Sarah F Adams.
17, JOHNSON’S COURT,
FLEET STREET, E.C.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
In memorium: a memorial discourse in honour of John Stuart Mill ... with hymns and readings
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway, Moncure Daniel [1832-1907.]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [London]
Collation: 22 p. ; 15 cm.
Notes: Part of Morris Miscellaneous Tracts 1. Printed by Austin & Co, 17 Johnson's Court, Fleet Street, London.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
South Place Chapel
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[1873]
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G3329
Subject
The topic of the resource
Sermons
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /><br /><span>This work (In memorium: a memorial discourse in honour of John Stuart Mill ... with hymns and readings), identified by </span><span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk">Humanist Library and Archives</a></span><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
John Stuart Mill
Memorial Addresses
Morris Tracts
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/25778/archive/files/43173c56bac3c794f90b4854cd1e634b.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=RLDOlZ2mzOzYrQi87zsEhURZKpSksGEloocqLk38IJESGuWQ7tLONQpM61Gb4qfj4pHmnOlVaZwCH-xqF3KdzgCTtGZETm1JLguIO1KSW1eD7Bs4Rb-vIYDOPmJH-8jZ7mI0J8iu4ViDmYOog%7EyKcusJ%7E0k2-81LkOFFWNS9keYf4yars7p6%7EKCfmWs2mSjJG3mUH2%7EVrD7eF6zkOF0tXif1oGjSOMHYt22jzfZkzq0uNPGvwEKE1sufmTQVc7XUB5UOX%7EjU1iP-tWP57iD2ZivX1lSSs39JipMVWk0bGFIDNwYyI1LxJdA4-7Y7sa2Y9VVCqMZu4Kt-uqUKbtWJHw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
4208d40eea5f0c4944796b7dda96e5ee
PDF Text
Text
LAUREATE DESPAIR
A DISCOURSE GIVEN AT
SOUTH PLACE CHAPEL
DECEMBER nth 1SS1.
BY
Moncure D. Conway, M.A.
LONDON
II, SOUTH PLACE FINSBURY.
PRICE
TWOPENCE.
�FREDERICK G. HICKSON & Co.
257,
High Holborn,
London, W.c.
�LAUREATE DESPAIR.
T ET me say at once that I am glad the Poet Laureate
J—4 has written the poem called “ Despair/’ which I
propose to criticise. It is a cry out of the heart of an
earnest man; it utters the sorrow with which many
people in our time see their old dreams fading, and no
new ones rising in their place; and it reminds free
thinkers that theirs is a heavy responsibility and duty.
They have to meet and respond to that need and pain
■which thousands feel where one can give it expression.
Men of science and philosophers do not always under
stand this. The most eminent of them are pursuing
ndeals far more beautiful to them than those that have set.
They have special knowledge, or special aims, which
Kindle into pillars of fire before their enthusiasm, and can
Inot see how to those of other studies and pursuits their
guiding splendour is a pillar of smoke rising from a fair
world slowly consumed. The 'man of science, hourly
joccupied with discoveries which blaze upon him, star by
fetar, till his reason is as a vault sown with eternal lights,
feels that he is in the presence of conceptions beside
Which the visions of Dante and Milton are frescoes of a
�( 4 )
in his eye a latter-day glory of which history is the pro
phecy and developed man the fulfilment. Such enthu
siasms imply continual studies, occupations, duties, which,
leave little room for attention to the shadows these lights
cast upon the old world of dreams—each shadow a dogma
or its phantom. Nevertheless, that world of dreams,,
shades, phantoms, is still real to many. It is real not
only to the ignorant, whom it terrifies, and to the selfish,
whose power rests on it, but to spiritual invalids, whoneed sympathy. And, beyond this reality, the phantasmson which religion and society were'lfounded possess a
quasi-reality even for robust minds. You may recall the
saying of Madame de Stael, that “ she did not believe in
ghosts, but was afraid of them.” After dogmas are dead
their ghosts walk the earth; and even some who no
longer believe in the ghosts are still afraid of them.
When their intellects are no longer haunted their nerves
are.
There are others, again, for whose vision’or nerves the
pleasant dogmas alone survive in this attenuated, ghostly
form. They no longer believe in the ghosts, but still love
them. Of this class is the literary artist. To the pictorial
artist a ruin is more picturesque than the most comfort
able dwelling. ’Tis said of an eminent art-critic that,
being invited to visit America, he replied that he could
not think of visiting a country where'there were no ruins.
Alfred Tennyson is the consummate artist in poetry. We
all know with what tender sentiment Tennyson has
�( 5
)
■' painted the scenery of Arthur’s time, with what felicity
described many other reliques of human antiquity.
“ His eye will not look upon a bad colour.” He sees
■'® the mouldering ruins in their picturesque aspects, leaving
lout of sight the noxious weeds and vermin that infest
Anthem. Where these loathsome things appear no man
more recoils from them. If the White Ladies of Superstition haunt them, these he admires ; but he impales the
gnomes and vampyres.
j In this, his latest poem, “ Despair,” he shows a childlike
lil simplicity of desire to retain all the pleasant and reject all
-f| the unpleasant consequences of the same principles. His
Jl attitude is indeed kindlier to the agnostic than to the
-J orthodox ; for the first he has lamentation, for the other
His denunciation of orthodoxy is bitter. The
Tf anathema.
r poem is the supposed utterance of a man to his former
ffi ■ minister. “ A man and his wife, having lost faith in God
u and hope of a life to come, and being utterly miserable in
this, resolve to end themselves by drowning. The woman
is drowned, but the man is saved by the minister of the
sect he had attended.” He has no gratitude for the
rf! minister who rescued him, only a curse, attributing to him
[fi the first cause of the hopeless horrors amid which the two
01 found themselves.
He tells the minister they broke away
111 from Christ because Christ seemed to speak of hell, and
331 so they passed from a cheerless night to a drearier day—
rt from horrible belief to total unbelief.
Where you bawl'd the dark side of your faith, and a God of
eternal rage
�( 6
)
Till you flung us back on ourselves, and the human heart, and
the Age.
But pity that Pagan held it a vice—was in her and in me,
Helpless, taking the place of the pitying God that should be I
Pity for all that aches in the grasp of an idiot power,
And pity for our own selves on an earth that bore not a
flower.
Again he says :
Were there a God, as you say,
His Love would have power over hell till it utterly vanish’d
away.
Ah, yet—I have had some glimmer at times, in my gloomiest
woe,
Of a God behind all—after all—the Great God, for aught that
I know :
But the God of Love and of Hell together-they cannot;be™ Jhou?ht: ,
It there be such a God, may the Great God curse him and
bring him to nought!
This is what the Poet Laureate thinks of the God of every
creed in Christendom, for every creed maintains an
eternal hell.
But the agnostic, the know-nothing sceptic, is summoned
to bear his share in this tragedy of hopelessness and
suicide, fl he poet does not suggest that disbelief in a
future life or in a Deity would alone lead to suicide. In
his imaginary case unbelief is only a factor. The man
and wife were in terrible trouble. One of their two sons
had died ; the eldest had fled after committing forgery on
his own father, bringing him to ruin. It is under such
fearful circumstances that, without faith or hope, they sink
into despair. The man says :
Why should we bear with an hour of torture, a moment of
pain,
If every man die for ever, if all his griefs are in vain,
�( 7 )
And the homeless planet at length will be wheeled thro’ the
silence of space,
Motherless evermore of an ever-vanishing race ?
*
*
*
*
*
*
For these are the new dark ages, you see, of the popular press,
When the bat comes out of his cave, and the owls are
whooping at noon,
And Doubt is the lord of this dunghill, and crows to the sun
and moon,
Till the Sun and Moon of our science are both of them turned
to blood,
And Hope will have broken her heart, running after a shadow
of good.
It is a striking fact, in our sceptical age, that such
lamentations as these are not heard from among the poor
and the drudges of society. They who are asking whether
life be worth living without the old faith in immortality,
and they who say it is not, are persons of position and
wealth. Any one who has taken the pains to observe the
crowds of working people who attend the lectures of
secularists, or to read their journals, will know they are
cheery enough. We never hear any of them bemoaning
the vanished faith. In truth the more important fact is
not that the belief in immortality is gone, or the belief in
Deity, but that belief in a desirable immortality and a
desirable Deity has gone out of the hearts of many. In
one of his humourous pieces Lucian, describing his ima
ginary journey through Hades, says he could recognise
those who had been kings or rich people on earth by theii
loud lamentations. They had parted with so much.
Those who on earth had been poor and wretched were
quiet enough. "We may observe similai phenomena in
�( 8 )
this psychological Hades, or realm of the Unseen and
Unknown, into which modern thought has entered. Those
to whom God has allotted palaces, plenty, culture, beauty,
can eas ly believe Him a God of Love ,• and it were to
them heaven enough to wake from the grave to a continu
ance of the same. But they who have known hunger,
cold, drudgery, ignorance, have no such reason to say
God is Love. Such may naturally say, “ If we have
waked up in this world in dens of misery, why, under the
same providence, may we not wake up to a future of
misery ?” The old creeds met that difficulty. They
showed a miraculous revelation on the subject, by which
God had established an insurance against future misery,
an assurance of future luxury. It was all to be super
natural. By miraculous might poverty was to be changed
to wealth, the hovel to a palace, rags to fine raiment,
ignorance to knowledge, folly to wisdom, and scarlet sin
to snow-pure virtue. Without such tremendous trans
formations the masses of the miserable could have no
interest in immortality. But gradually the comfortable
scholarship and theology of our time, in trying to prove a
God of nature, have done away with the God of super
nature. Their deity of design is loaded with all the bad
designs under which men suffer. Fifty years ago Carlyle
groaned because he could not believe in a Devil any more.
Philosophy had reasoned a Devil out of existence. The
result was to make the remaining power responsible for
all the evils in the world, and ultimately bling him into
�( 9
X
J loubt and disgrace too. Dismssing the Devil out of faith
alias not dismissed evil, the mad work of earthquake, hurriiAane and fire. As we think of the shores with their wrecks,
$.s we think of those people in Vienna gathered around the
^harre 1 remains of their families and friends, must we not
z.iisk if this is providential work what would be diabolical
oivork ? Reason says to Theology, “ At least you can be
QKilent, and not malign the spirit of good within us by
z'asking us to call that without good which we know to be
JIDad ! ”
. .
P| Similarly theologians in trying to rationalise the idea of
S
They have tacked it on
1®immortality have naturalised it.
;o evolution. But what the miserable suffer by is evolu
tion : unless they can be assured of a supernatural change,
pf a heaven, they do not want to be evolved any more.
. Only a miraculous revelation could promise them that
ijBniraculous heaven; and the. only alleged revelation is
. Rejected by the culture and the charity of our age. It is
n&enied by Culture, because it reveals some impossibilities ;
Xy Charity, because it reveals a God capable of torturing
Q|Deople more than they are tortured here. What are eight
.lihundred people burned swiftly in a theatre compared to
ijlnillions burning in hell for ages, if not for ever, as Revelaidkon declares ? Our ?oet Laureate is a man of both
iXulture and charity ; he cannot sing pf a revelation which
^Includes Hell, however he may cling to hopes that came
Xy the sanae revelation, or mourn at thought of pai ting
icKrom a world so fair.
�(
10 )
Candour compels us to admit that there is as yet no
certainty of a future life for the individual consciousness.
The surviving seed of the human organism if it exist has
not been discovered. There is nothing unnatural in the
theory. It would not be more miraculous to find our
selves in another world than to find ourselves in this. If
two atoms of the primeval nebula, thrown together, had
been for one instant capable of speculation, how little
could they have imagined a company of men and women
gathered to meditate on life and eternity 1 All this is
very marvellous if we conceive it contemplated from a
point of non-existence. For all we know there are more
marvels beyond.
But suppose there are none ; suppose death be the end
of us; is there any reason for despair ? Even for the
man and woman on whom life had brought dire
calamities, was there any reason for suicide ? Just the
reverse, I should say. Belief that this life was all were
reason for making the most of it. Belief that their ruin
would not be repaired hereafter were reason for trying torepair it here, as well as they could. Has Tennyson
evolved his man and woman out of his inner con
sciousness ? It is doubtful if in the annals of freethought
such a case can be pointed out; though many instances
may be shown where believers in a future world slew
themselves to get there. Suicide was a mania in some
old convents until the church fixed its ' canon 'gainst self
slaughter.’
�(
II
)
• However, it may be that instances ofthe kind Tennyson
■describes may occur. We are but on the threshold ofthe
age when men are to live and work without certainty
of future rewards and payments. The doubts now in the
head must presently reach the heart, then influence the
hand ; if people have built their houses on the sand of
mythology, and they fall, it may be that some will not
have the heart to begin new buildings on the rock.
What then ? It will be only the continuation of the old
law—survival of the fittest. Suicides at least do not live
to increase their race. Only those tend to prevail in
nature who can 'adapt themselves to the conditions ofnature. If nature has arrived at a period of culture when
•supernaturalism passes out of the human faith, then they
"who sink into despair or death, on that account, show
themselves no longer adapted to nature. There will be a
■survival of those more adapted to the new ideas ; who
prefer them ; who do not aspire to live for ever, but have
.a heart for any fate, and a religion whose forces and joys
are concentrated in the life that now is. If natuie and
humanity need such a race for their furtherance, such a
race will be produced ; and they will read poems like
this “ Despair,” with a curiosity mixed with compassion,
wondering how their ancestors could have been troubled,
about such a matter.
. Something like this has occurred in the past in several
instances.
While Christians find fullest expression of
their joyful emotions in the psalmody and prophecy ofthe
�(
I2
)
Hebrews they often forget that those glowing hymns say
no word about a future life. There is no clear affirmation
of immortality in the Old Testament, but much to the
contrary.
Buddhism also, which has awakened the
enthusiasm of a third of a human race, arose as a protest
against theism and immortality. In such instances therewould appear to have been reactions against previous,
theologies, which had so absorbed mankind in metaphysics
and' speculations about the future as to belittle this life and
cause neglect of this world. Despised and degraded nature
avenged this wrong by making asceticism its own
destruction, and worldliness a source of strength and
*
survival.
Some such Nemesis seems to be following
the extreme other-worldliness which, for so many Christian
centuries, has bestowed the fruits of human toil upon
supposed supernatural interests. This earthward swing of
the slow pendulum of faith is not likely to be arrested
until religion has been thoroughly humanised. As a
brave clergyman (Rev. Harry Jones) warned the Church
Congress at York, the Church will never conquer
Secularism, except by doing more for mankind than
Secularism does.
We must almost remember that no oscillations of the
pendulum between theology and humanity, no reactions,
determine the question. As Old Testament Secularism
* As it is said in Ecclesiasticus : “ He has also, set worldli
ness in their heart, which man cannot understand the works
that God does, from beginning to end.”—Dr. Kalisch’s
Translation.
�s
i:
fi
r
'I
followed Egyptian Mysticism, Talmudic visions of heaven
succeeded. Every ebb alternates with a flow in the tides
of human feeling; and these tides are the generations which
nature successively creates to fufil successive conditions,
and to find their joy in such fufilment, whatever be the
despair of the ebbing at faith of the flowing tide.
| But, no doubt, these rising and falling ages of speculation
:j and religion will show calmer and happier phenomena in
h] the future than in the past. There are traces in the earth
'>j of tremendous operations in the past, which geology
was unable to account for by any forces now acting,
i| until Astronomy discovered that the Moon had been
steadily receding from the earth, its mother. The moon
is now 240,000 miles away, but is proved to have b^en
o once only 40,000 miles distant. At that period the tides
were to the tides of our time as 216 to 1. This country
r 4 and many others must then have been flooded with every
if tide, and the enormous geologic results are now understood. There would appear to be some correspondence in
id all this with mental and moral phenomena. In religious
‘31 geology also there are traces of convulsions and huge
511 formations which it has been difficult to account for,—
at mighty religious wars, massacres, whole races committing
I?) slow suicide for the sake of their Gods. Comparative.
studies now show that the lunar theology was much nearer
of to mankind then than now, and the tides more furious.
T1 The extraneous influence is withdrawing more and more.
Where theologians used to burn each other they now fight
o| combats with pens. Where heretics were massacred they
�(
U )
are now only visited with dislike. Instead of crusades,,
with Richard and Saladin, we have young poets singing
on the crest of a sparkling tide, and their elder, from
refluent waves, murmuring rhythmic Despair. There isa vast difference between the emotions awakened
by belief in a deity near at hand, pressing down upon the
life, and those awakened by a hypothetical deity of
philosophy or ethics. When men attributed their every
hourly hap, good or bad, to the personal favour or to the
anger of their deity, their feeling at any supposed affront
to their deity, mingled with selfishness and terror, rose to
a pitch very different from any now known when few
men refer any event to supernatural intervention. Yet
do the great movements of the universe go on, the cycles
and the periods fufil themselves, the planets roll on new
orbits with changed revolutions; and, whatever be the
corresponding changes in human opinion, they cannot alter
the eternal fact.
If immortality be the law of the universe, it will be
reached by believers and disbelievers alike. But, could
the world be made absolutely certain of it beforehand, by
the only means of certainty—scientific proof—what were
the advantage ? It would no longer be a miraculous thing
promising all a leap from earthly sorrow to heavenly
bliss, but merely a law of nature—mere continuance—the
millions rising from their graves to go on with existence,
just as they will rise from their beds to-morrow. There
would be no further note of despair from the Laureates ;
but how would it be with the general world ? One of the
�!
L
i
s
j
f
ft
i
1
>
i
[•
i
j
t
j !
7 ■
E
3
j
el
it
}
a
fl
a
J
I
most powerful poems of our time has been written by a.
French lady, Louise Ackermann. It is entitled “LesMalheueux”—the Unhappy. The last day has come ; the
trumpet has sounded. A great angel descends ; uncovers
all the graves of the dead, and bids them come forth for
everlasting life. Some eagerly come forth, but a large
number refuse. To the divine command that they shall
emerge, their voice is heard in one utterance. They tell
him they have had enough of life in His creation ; they
have passed through thorns, and over flinty paths—from
agony to agony. To such an existence He called them—
they suffered it; and now they will forgive Him only if
He will let them rest, and forget that they have lived,
Such is the despair with which one half of the world
might answer the joy of the other should a mere natural
immortality be proved.
A great deal of the poetry of the world has invested
with glory man’s visions of heaven and heavenly beings.
The very greatest poets have invested nature and theearth with glory, and set the pulses of the human heart
to music. This has been the greatness of Homer, Shakespeare, Goethe. But the majority have given the world
visions of heaven, divine dramas, and hymns of immortality ; and it is these that have been taught to earth’s
millions in their infancy. These happy hymns have for
ages soothed sorrowing hearts, and helped the masses of
mankind to bear the burthens of life—this not only in
Christendom, but in so-called Pagan lands and ages..
These have been as the songs of Israfel in Eastern faith.
�They said a sweet singer among the angels left heaven to
go forth over the suffering world and soothe mortals with
his heavenly lyre and his hymns, until all were able to
Tear the griefs of life because of the joys beyond,
rehearsed by Israfel. But once—while this angel was
^singing with his celestial seven-stringed lyre—one string
of it snapped. No one could be found to mend the string
-or supply its place; and, every time Israfel tried to make
music, it was all jangling discords, through that broken
■string. So Israfel took his flight, and never returned to
the world. The tale sounds like a foreboding of what has
in these last days befallen the sacred poetry which so long
made the world forget its griefs. The lyre of Israfel is
the human heart, and the snapped string is its faith in a
supernatural heaven. It has been snapped by the
development of nature ; it therefore cannot be restored
unless by a further development: and so Sacred Poetry
has taken its flight from the world—its last great song
being of a Paradise Lost. In other words, the hope of
immortality has ceased to have power to soothe and
uplift those who most needed it, because the recognized
reign of law forbids belief that such life—should it come
—would be very different from the life that uow is.
■»
But there is another story of a broken string, with a
•different ending. It comes from Greece (Browning
has finely told it in The Two Poets of Croisic), the land
of Art and of the Beauty that adorns the earth. It is of
a bard who came with his lyre to sing for a prize. He
•came with other competitors before the solemn judges.
�The others had all sung their poems ; now came our youth,
with his. His theme rose high and higher, till at length
he came to the great theme of his song—Love. Just then,
he felt beneath his finger that one string of his lyre had
snapt, a string that presently must do its part, or else his
song be put to shame. On, on, his strain went, as if to
its death ; but just as he drew near his note’ of Despair,
lo, a cricket chirped loud, chimed in with just that needed
note ! Saved, he went on, and ever as he returned to this
broken string the cricket duly made good the snapt string,
and thus the judges missed no note of the music, which
won the crown. On the poet’s statue was carved the
cricket which contributed from the lowly hearth the
needed note in that hymn of Love, when the old string
had broken. That tale too, I doubt not, came out of that
truest of all poets, the human heart. For the heart of our
race is aged in such experiences as those which elicit
rhymes of Despair. It has seen beautiful symbols fade in
myriads ; symbols of heavens innumerable, every one
clung to by suffering Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, as
much as any Christian clings to their successors. It has
seen troops of bright gods and goddesses perish, nymphs
and fairies leaving wood and vale desolate ; and yet, just
as its gladdest heart-string has snapt, its faith in heaven
given way, some cheery note from the earth has come to
remind it of the love near at hand, of the divine joy van
ished from its ancient heavens only to be revealed at the
hearth.
A cricket-chirp ! That is all. While our great Laureate
�(
i8
)
is employing his art to sing of despair, and other poets
aspire to ambitious themes, the notes are as yet but few
and humble, which cheer man with a trust in the love that
is near him. But there are such notes making up for the
■creed’s snapt string. Nor are they near only the happy.
The cricket sings from many an overshadowed hearth. It
tells the heart to be brave, and never count life lost so
long as courage remain. It bids man cease thinking so
much about himself—whether he be likely to die next year,
or die for ever—and go fall in love with something, an
out-self; to dispel morbid meditations. It warns us not to
worry over what may never happen, or, if it happen, may
be for the best, but turn to make what paradise we can on
•earth ; nor admit into it the destroyer of every paradise,
■care about the morrow, or about the far future. All these
spiritual despairs are diseases of the imagination. In a
sense, it is hereditary disease. For many generations our
ancestors employed their imaginations for little else than
to realise the charnal-house and picture happiness or
horrors beyond it. So their children have inherited a
morbid tendency of imagination, whereby they may turn
from the happiness they have and make themselves
miserable with dreams about its vanishing. Such work of
the imagination is illegitimate. Imagination is the
brightest angel of the head, as Love is of the heart; they
are twin angels and their office is to make life rich and
beautiful. And they can so enrich and adorn life, though
passed in a hovel, though amid pain, though destined to
end for ever, provided they be not dismissed from their
�(
W )
post of present duty and sent wandering through clouds
| to find love’s objects, or digging into graves to find life’s
i fountain. I love and admire our Laureate for his great
; heart and his beautiful art, but will not follow his muse,
I singing of Despaii, except with a hope that it is his way
I of writing its epitaph. I will follow the happy minstrel.
[ That poet who shows life to be environed with beauty,
I makes deserts blossom in his song, whose poem is a
! fountain of joy for all the living, bringing forgetfulness
[to pain, and a sweet lullaby for the dying—that shall be
I my poet. And if, among the minstrels of our time, such
[happy ones connot be found, because some string of faith
[or heart is snapped, then let us listen to the cheery
[ cricket, to the voices of children, to the gentle words of
affection, to the unbroken song of the merry hearts in
nature that remember only its loveliness. We will listen
Ito these until the new Poetry shall arise—as arise it will
|—with fresh songs, to bid all spirits rejoice in that which
to the old brought despair. That is the task of Poetry
and Art. Every new thing destroying the old brings
(despair; none brought more than Christianity—shatter
ing the fair gods, and Protestantism—over whose havoc of
prayers and pieties Luther’s poor wife wept; but Poetry
(and Art did their work, and none now long for restoration
|of Aphrodite or Madonna. So also shall our age of
iscience find its poets and artists, and our children shall no
snore long for a buried faith than we for the holy dolls of
jcrumbled altars, whose power to charm has fled.
�SOUTH PLACE CHAPEL
WORKS TO BE OBTAINED IN THE LIBRARY.
BY M. D. CONWAY, M.A.
Prices.
Demonology and Devil-lore................
.............................£1 3
The Wandering Jew ...
.............................
5
Thomas Carlyle
.............................
.............................
5
The Sacred Anthology : A Book of Ethnical Scriptures ... IO
Idols and Ideals
............................
6
The Earthward Pilgrimage ...
............................
5
Republican Superstitions
................
............................
2
Christianity ....
............................
1
Human Sacrifices in England
............................
1
Sterling and Maurice...
............................
0
Intellectual Suicide ...
................
............................
0
The First Love Again
............................
0
Entering Society
.............................
.............................
0
The Religion of Children
.............................
0
The Criminal’s Ascension
............................
0
The Religion of Humanity ...
............................
0
The Rising Generation
.............................
0
A Last Word
.............................
0
Thomas Carlyle
............................
0
The Oath and its Ethics
................
............................ .02
BY Mr. FREDERIC
“ Pantheism and Cosmic Emotion ”...
4
0
0
0
0
0
6
6
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
HARRISON.
.............................
0 2
BY Dr. ANDREW WILSON.
The Religious Aspects of Health
............................
0 2
BY A J. ELLIS, B.A., F.R.S., &c., &c.
Salvation
.........................................
Truth......................................................
Speculation .........................................
Duty......................................................
The Dyer’s Hand
.............................
Comte’s Religion of Humanity
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
............................
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
2
2
2
4
BY W. C. COUPLAND, M.A.
.............................
The Conduct of Life ...
Hymns and Anthems
................
................
0 2
Is., 2s., 3s-
REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE OF LIBERAL THINKERS,
1878
...............................................................................
1 0
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Laureate despair: a discourse given at South Place Chapel December 11th 1881
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway, Moncure Daniel [1832-1907.]
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: London
Collation: 20, [1] p. ; 15 cm.
Notes: Part of Morris Miscellaneous Tracts 2. A list of works available from the South Place Chapel Library on back page.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
South Place Chapel
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
[1881]
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G3352
Subject
The topic of the resource
Poetry
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Laureate despair: a discourse given at South Place Chapel December 11th 1881), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Alfred Tennyson
Belief and Doubt
Free Thought
Morris Tracts
Poetry
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/25778/archive/files/7a5017f905dbb1c820b568a88eaae16e.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=vkmz7RAOwqGcptSuvBZ3jTczBprny7LqS8Ow81AuQk6rq-D%7EEsx-Xlt%7EOaptUdEjfgJ8WNcEe-BF1%7EzQXcVX-5Tm--m59FNrkinyilKNip2TuDkoGNHfjxWzMV-WtwJy2oQARCvkos3iD63gEd5I3Ep689PMRSDC84adgxtlBQPFToAKiWl64ghH4802zVLXEdmx1J8XJ3dSTmNBLg4hIOY4CMj1weAVM3fSlNXQO53BF3SK7bCZGFGxN4e8kgTwX9DA28GsVGvz29DnKMAv%7EEYReAXyT7eSwG88KimUMHIYIsFw2ZTekN%7EhidC62wln0VJTUv%7EanpamPFVUzewAnw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
8a8cf7ed953331dc4978c6e0a331863f
PDF Text
Text
LAWS
OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORK,
RELATING TO TIIE
PASSED IN 1866 & 1867.
USEEW YORIA:
BERGEN & TRIPP, STEAM PRINTERS,
114 rr^ssA^-cr steeet.
1867.
��LAWS OF 1866.
CHAPTER 74.
AN ACT to Create a Metropolitan Sanitary Di^rH and Board
of Health-Therein, for the presciwation of Lifcjgnd Health, and
to Prevent the Spread of Disease. PikSgj'eb ®a|gg6, 1866,
three-fifths being preseiwM
The People of the State oflj[ew
Assembly, do enact
follows :
Section 1. So rnuclwof the territory of the State oWNcw
York, and of the cities, plages and t JlE1 gf
w com' Limits of dis
trict.
poses the Metropolitan police district of ty St|^^ of New York,
shall constitute, and is hereby declared, a district to be known
as ‘‘The Metropolitan Sanitary DMM‘ict MW) State of New
York.”
§ 2. Within fifteen days after the passage of this act the Gov
Mode of appoint
ernor shall nominate, and, by and feithfehe^SEn of the Senate, ment of tirst
commissioners.
shall appoint four suitable pcrsofl indents ggid distfflcAthree
of whom mist be physicians, and one E™!0
all^J resident
of the city of Brooklyn who, wife the HetMh OffiHer of the port
of New York for the time being, shall bcEnitaEComiffissioners Sanitary Com
in and for said district; andlh^^Kl Sanitary Commissioners, missioners.
together with the Commissioners, for any time being, of the Metro
politan Police, (not exceeding four,fend being the pi^nt four and
their successors,) shall constitute a board of health for the said
Metropolitan sanitar/district, and said btferdtfhallbe denomi Designation of
nated “ The Metropolitan Board of Health®’ anjlfivemembers of Board. .
which, at any regularly called or adjourned meeting, shall organ
ize and constitute ^quorum for the transaction of business; and Quorum.
the phrase “ said board, | or ‘"he board,J” when used herein un
less clearly referring to some other body, shall be construed to Mean-ng of
mean said “The Metropolitan Board of Health” and the phrase phrases.
“ said district, ” or “the district, ” unless the same clearly refers
�4
Official term of
first Commis
sioners.
Oath.
Term of Office
and appoint
ment of subse
quent commis
sioners .
Vacancies.
to some other district, shall be construed to refer to said “The
Metropolitan Sanitary District of the State of New York.” And
the term “ sanitary commissioners” shall refer to the members of
said board who are not also members of the Board of Police, and
whenever the words “police,” “board of police,” or “police
commissioners” are used in this act, they shall be taken and con
strued to mean the “ Board of Metropolitan Police Commissioners
of the Metropolitan police district of the State of New York.”
And whenever the words “place, matter or thing,” or cither two
of said words, are used in this act, they shall, unless the sense
plainly requires a different construction, be construed to include
whatever is embraced in the enumeration with which they are
connected in either and both clauses of the fourteenth section of
this act.
§ 3. The said four persons so appointed shall hold office as
such Sanitary Commissioners respectively for the terms following
namely: One for one year, one for two years, one for three years
and one for four years, and until their successors are appointed
and qualified. Immediately after the appointment of said four
persons as aforesaid, they shall meet in the office of the Secretary
of State, and shall proceed, under his direction, to determine by
lot which of them shall hold, for the respective terms of one, two,
three, and four years, the said office of Sanitary Commissioner.
Immediately, and before entering upon the duties of the office,
they shall take the oath prescribed for State officers by the con
stitution of the State, and shall file the same in the office of the
Secretary of State, who upon receiving the said oath of office,
shall issue to each of said commissioners a certificate of appoint
ment for his respective term of office so determined as aforesaid ;
upon receiving which they shall severally be and become San
itary Commissioners, and shall possess and exercise the powers
and perform the duties of said board as defined in this act.
§ 4. The term of office of each of the said Sanitary Commis
sioners, after the expiration of the terms aforesaid, shall be four
years, and they shall be appointed upon the nomination of the
Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
Any vacancies that may occur by reason of death, resignation,
removal from office or otherwise, shall be filled in like manner,
But if any vacancy shall occur during the recess of the Senate,
the Governor may fill such vacancy by appointment, and the per
son so appointed shall hold office until twenty days after the next
meeting of the Senate.
�§5. * Immediately after the four appointed Sanitary Commis- Organize,
sioners shall have taken the oath of office as above provided, they
shall meet with the Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police,
and the Commissioners ofMetropolitan Police with them and the
Health officer of the port of New York, and organize as a Board
of Health by electing one of saLd^fed-d tzBMMmesident. and one president,
of said Board to be Treasurer thereof, and by appointing a proper
person to be Secretary of said Board. And the successive Presi
dents of said Board of Health shall be annually e'ectcd by the
said Board from the members thereof, and the successive Treas
urers shall be members of said Board; but the Secretary shall
not be a member of the Board. The Treasurer and Secretary secretary^and
shall respectively continue in office as such until removed by the
election of a successor or otherwise. 'The said Sanitary Com- Salaries,
missioners shall each receive a salary of two
hun
dred dollars a year ; and each Police Commissioner who may be
a member of said Board of Health, and the Health officer, shall
as such receive a salary of five hundred dollars a year and the
member of said Board of Health, who acts as Treasurer, shall re
ceive an additional compensation of five hundred dollars a year
for his services as Treasurer. All salaries allowed under this law
shall be payable as the Board shall provide. But for every regu- tend meetings,
lar or special meeting of said Board, which any Sanitary Com
missioner or the Secretary shall fail to attend, there shall be de
ducted from the salary of the person so failing the sum of ten
dollars ; and for every failure of a Police Commissioner, or of said
Health officer to attend any such meeting, there shall be deducted
from his said salary the sum of two dollars; and
be the
duty of the Treasurer to see that all such deductions are made
before payments of said salaries.! The Board may appoint a Cor- sew’etai°"dinS
responding Secretrrl thou
sand dollars.
§6. The
|Mscrve president,
order at the meetings oaifeWBo1 Cygbs^nce of
or inability of the regular Secretary to attend, he shall appoint a
Secretary pro tern., who, for
gg’form any
duty of the Secretary.|| The President shall have all the power Sucpt Cleanin
and authority given to the “City Inspector,” in
hundred
and forty-sixth chaptfljof ^^a^ oBgightgi hundred and sixty* Amended,
+ Amended,
t Amended,
|| Amended.
Laws of 1S66, Chapter 6S6, Section 4.
Laws of 1S67, Chapter 956, Section 16.
Laws of 1866, Chapter 6S6, Section 4.
Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 1.
�6
Old contracts.
Officers, pro.
tem.
Duties of Sec
retary.
Salary of Secre
tary.
Seal.
Treasurer.
Bond.
Treasurer’s ac
counts.
five, (passed May first, eighteen hundred and sixty-five), in res
pect to the making, awarding or executing of a contract or con
tracts for street cleaning, or any matter thereto pertaining. But
nothing herein contained shall be construed as effecting in any
manner the validity of any contract heretofore made by virtue of
said act. And the Board at any time, in the absence of the Pre
sident or Secretary, may elect a President or Secret ary pro tem.
from their number, who shall exercise the powers of such officers
*
respectively. The Secretary shall, subject to the direction of
said Board, keep and authenticate its acts, records, papers, and
proceedings, preserve its books and papers, conduct its corres
pondence and aid in accomplishing the purposes of this law, as
the Board may direct ; and said officer (as well as the other offi
cers and agents appointed by said Board) shall be subject to re
moval by the Board for cause, to be entered in its minutes, and
said Board may appoint his or their successor ; and his salary, to
be fixed from time to time'by the Board, shall not exceed three
thousand fivehundred dollars annually!] ■ Said Board may design
and adopt a seal and use j,he same in the Authentication of its
orders and proceedings, commissioning its officers and agents,
and otherwise, as the rule®. of the Board may provide.
§7. The Treasurer of said Board shall be the fiscal officer'
of the Board. He shall hold, and on check and voucher, duly
disburse, as said Board may order, and for the purposes of
and in conformity to this act, the moneys he may receive, or be
longing to the fund herein provided; and shall deposit the same
when paid to him by the Treasurer of the State of New York, or
otherwise, and pending the regular disbursement thereof, in a
bank or banks in the city of New York designated by such last
named officer. He shall execute a bond, with not less than two
sureties, conditioned in a penalty of thirty thousand dollars, to
the people of the State of New York, for the faithful discharge of
his duties as such Treasurer. The sureties, not less than two in
number, shall justify before a Justice of the Supreme Court, in
the aggregate in a sum not less than twice the last named
amount; but before the said Treasurer shall enter upon his duties
the said bond shall be approved by and filed with the Comptroller
of the State. The Treasurer shall keep, or cause to be kept,
books showing all his receipts and payments, and shall preserve
his vouchers therefor ; and should any collections ever be made
on such bond, or in suits or proceedings, or otherwise, by said
* Amended, Laws of 186T, Chapter 956, Section 1.
�7
Board, the amount thereof shall be received and accounted for
by the Treasurer, or in case of collection on his bond, by the re
cipient thereof, to the State Treasurer, and be deposited in the
bank or bariks aforesaid, applied for the legitimate uses of said
Board, or as herein elsewhere provided.
8 8. Any sanitary commissioner of s®d Board who shall ac®
n
,. • T
• I J
i
-TI ki® term ot office, no other
p Hold
cept or ,hold any polwicajl or municipal office during t- +
office, or shall b® publicly nominated for any office eljgti^e by the
people, and shall not, within ten days succeeding his knowledge
thereof, publicly decline the said nomination, shall, in either case,
be deemed thereby to have vacated his membership of said Board,
and the vacancy so cii^Wd||}aB|l befi11
to other
vacancies; but membership of this Board shall not affect member
ship in the Board of Police or the office of Health officer.
§ 9. Any member of the said Board may, at any time, be re
moved from office by the Governor, under the provisions of thelaws commissioners,
relative to the removal of sheriffs from office, which provisions are
hereby extended so as to relate to the members ofSMIBoaWl; but
before such removal, suclt^Bmber'^lill
specific
charges, stating the der^icMon of duty complained of; and shall
be afforded an adequate opportunity to publicly answer the same
and to make his defen c’flgretg, upon reasonable notice to IpKven
him; and on tha application of the Governor, or the party charg
ed, any judge df the SiAenwGoi^Mhll have as full power and
authority to compel the ^tegdam^^m examination of witnesses,
touching such charges oilfefe&ice^MMthe production of books
and papers relating the»to,ft the place and time where the afore
said proceedings or hearing may take place, as is given herein in
respect to the e^ii^myion
the production of pa
pers, on the application of said Board, in the fourteenth section of
this act. And it shall be the duty of such judge (and olany
other judge named w said section) to exercise such authority,
and to take or supervise the taking of such examination to be
used on the hearing of suM charges or defence. And if, by re
movals or other cause, the members of the Board shall be less Powers of Boarfl
than five (but not less than threa) the existing members shall flyeenless than
still constitute a Board, competent, by unanimous action to exer
cise the powers delegated by this act.
§ 10. Said Board shall have powe^jloHreate a chief executive
office, and appoint a suitable person to fill such office, who shall indent.UP
be an experienced and skillful physician, resident in said district,
whose full name of office shall be, “ The Sanitary Superintendent
�8
of the Metropolitan Sanitary district of the State of New York,”
but he may be designated as “Sanitary Superintendent.’ It
shall be the duty of said officer, as he may be directed, to exe
cute, or cause to bo executed, the orders of said Board, and gen
erally, according to its instruction, to exercise a practical super
vision in respect to the inspectors, agents and other persons
(other than the Secretary, Treasurer and members of the Board,
or the members of the police force,) who may exercise any
authority under this act; and said officer shall devote his services
to the aforesaid purposes- as the Board may from time to time
direct. He shall be entitled to receive a salary to be fixed by
Salary of Super the Board, which shall not exceed five thousand dollars annually
*
intendent.
Such Superintendent shaft make report® weekly, or oftener, if di
rected by the Board, in writtag, ‘stating generally his own action
and that of his subordinates, and the condition of the public
health in said district,.‘and any causes endangering life or health
that have come to his knowledge during said period. And said
Assistant Su
Board may appoint two f Assistant Sanitary!
S
* uperintendents,
”
perintendents.
one of whom shall be a resident of th® city of Brooklyn, and shall
principally perform his duties in that city, whose duties shall be
of the same nature as those of the last named officer; and their
Salary of Assis salaries,, not to exceed thirty-five hundred dollars a year each,
tants.
shall be fixed by the Board.f
§ 11. Sail Bdlard may appoint and commission such number
Sanitary Inspec of “ sanitary inspectors
■
as the Board may deem needful, not
tors.
exceeding fifteen, and, from time to time prescribe the duties and
*
salaries J of each of said inspectorsand the place of their perfor
mance (and of all other persons exercising any authority under
said Board, except as herein specially provided ;) but at least ten
of such inspectors shall be physicians of skill and of practical
professional experience in said district, and the residue thereof
shall be selected with reference to their practical knowledge of
scientific or sanitary matters, Wvhich may especially qualify them
for such inspectors^ Each of such inspectors shall, twice in each
Duties of In
week, make a written report to said Bwd, stating what duties
spectors.
he has performed and where he has performed them, and also
such facts as have come to his knowledge, connected with the
purposes of this act as are by him deemed worthy the atten
tion of said Board, or as its regulations may require of him; and
Deports pre
such, and the other reports herein elsewhere mentioned, shall be
served.
* Amended, Laws of 1S67, Chapter 956, Section 15.
■t Amended, Laws of 1S67, Chapter 956, Section 15.
J Amended, Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 15.
�9
preserved among the records of said Board. The Board may
also employ such number of clerks and servants, and fix their Clerks.
salaries, and take such legal advice and employ such attorneys, Attorneys.
as may be necessary to the efficient, safe and economical dis
charge of the duties by this act d<Bolw4 on said Board. And Offices,.
may also rent, lease, fit up and furnish such officK^affillhe conven
ience of the Board, its officers, agents and employees, and the
prudent and proper discharge of the duties of thcapM’d may re
quire ; and may make siuMncffleffial and additional expenditures, Incidental ex
penses.
having due regard t® economy, as the purposes ai^^RvBions of
this act and the dangers to lifHand public hmlth may justify or
require; and ma^provide
anHmlwe of a|H officcMagent
Forfeiture of
or employee of the Beard to du^Kulfill his engagements or dis pay.
charge his dutyj shall cause a fiS^ture of the whole or any less
portion of the salary oiwjompenmtion of such officer, agent or
employee, as the Vul® or practice of the Board may provide.
And the Board of Police iM^mhorized to allow the Boar® of
Offices.
Health to occupf afportio] of its pren^H,
§ 12. * The authoritrndu^^^Mpowe^^^MthergivenMany
have
law; or by any ordinance ma^^fflhereunder heretofore (for the Board tohereto
powers
fore exercised
purpose of presetting or protecting life oahealtl™ oiBpr eventing by .other boards
disease) conferrecyupon or now belonging to, or being exercised and officers.
by the board of ffimth, or the board of public health of or
in the city of New York, or of or in the city of Brooklyn, or else
where in saidjgmB®, the mayor andcommon council of either
of said cities, the mayor of the city of New Yorfl by and with
the advice and consent of the board of aldermc^BtlHpresident
of the board of aidermen, the jHsident of the board of psistant
aldermen (or councilmen,) the resident ^^HcianMthe health
commissioner, the mayor ancMtlfflBommiRioiiera of health, the
commissioners of health, the city inspector,(or the city inspect
or’s department of either of said cities ; or conffired upon or
now belonging toMy tu® or more of the said bodies or officers,
or last named boards or deparmnentH or to any board of health
or health officer or agent in said distril or exR’cRed by any of
ficer or person appointed by or deriving aumority from any one
or more of the bodies, officers, departments or last named boards
(so far as said powersRnd Authority can be exerfflLfland such
duty performed bjMie board hereby^S'eated, without interfer
ence with the proper discharge of the duties, other than san
itary duties, heretofore imposed upon the board of metropolitan
* Amended, Laws of 1866, Chapter 68G, Sec. 3.
2 -
�10
police), are hereby exclusively conferred upon, and shall hereaf
ter bo exclusively exercised by the aforesaid “ The Metropolitan
Board of Health
the members and officers thereof, as herein
How to be exer provided ; and the same are to be exercised as herein set forth,
cised .
(and to such an extent and in such place and manner as said
Board may provide,) for the greater protection and security of
health and life in said district, and the appropriate parts thereof;
and after this act goes into effect no salary or compensation shall
Cities to pay no be paid to any officer, board or agent, or in respect to any ser
salaries.
vice, expenditure or employment under the authority of any
health law, ordinance, regulation, or appointment of or in said
cities; or any part of said district, unless such salary, expendi
ture or employment shall be authorized by the Board hereby cre
ated and contemplated by the provisions of this act.
*
And the
aforesaid power, duty and authority hereby transferred to and
Power conferred
by certain Ordi conferred upon said Board shall be held to include all the power,
nances of New
York, transfer duty and authority given, or conferred or purporting to be given
red to Board.
or to be conferred to or upon any person, officer or board, in or
by any ordinance contained or purporting to be contained in the
first ten chapters of ordinances, being numbered from one to ten
inclusive in a compilation of “Laws and Ordinances relative to
the Preservation of the Public Health in the city of New York,”
and purporting to be published under the authority and by the
direction of the Mayor and Commissioners of Health of said
city, in the year one thousand eight hundrefl and sixty, and by
any existing amendments and additions thereto. But no fees of
No fees.
any kind shall be charged for the performance of any duties im
posed by said ordinances. And said board shall also possess
(and may exercise by its own agents, or by order to be executed
by said board of police,) throughout said district, all the power
and authority for the protection of life or health, or the care or
preservation of health, or persons diseased or threatened there
with, conferred by any law or ordinance relating to any part of
Powers given
said district, and especially by the act of the seventeenth of April,
by Brooklyn
charter transfer
eighteen hundred and fifty-four (being the three hundred and
red to Board.
eighty-fourth chapter of the laws of eighteen hundred and fiftyfour,) upon the Mayor, Common Council-Board of Health, or
the Health Officers, (or upon any two or more of them, or other
officers) in said act mentioned. But the powers and authority in
W.iatboardsnot
this section given shall not be held to interfere with the powers
to tie affected.
and duties of the Croton Aqueduct. Board, Street Commissioner,
* Amended, Laws of 1S66, Chapter 6S6, Section 3.
�11
Superintendent of Unsafe Buildings, Comptroller of New York
city, or the board authorized to contract for street cleaning (un
der the law of eighteen hundred and sixty-five;) nor shall anytliing in the aforesaid laws or ordinances contained be construed
as a limitation of any power in this bill elsewhere given to the
said board, or to limit the penalties and expenses it may enforce
or collect; and all the power recited or given by said ordinances
shall belong whollH^^Ml board, who may exercise the same
without the advice, assent or co-operation of any municipal board
or officer, and in any manner not inconsistent with the other sec- thor/tyPnotato
tions of this law, without being limited to the means or by the lnterfereprocedure in .....
said ordiAnd no muni W al body or
x „
1
1
H
A or appoint ofhothcr authority inIMgL diMMW 1 EHeafHMm»e or employ pense.
c«-rs orincurexL j
any officer or agent, or incur any expense, under any of said (or
other) health la wo or orMnanct® or in any respect of any matter
concerning wl«i said board is by this act given control or juris
diction. All the aforesaid powers are to be possessed and exer
cised as fully as if herein repeated and separately confc^Sl upon
said board.
8 13. Said BoaMfiialMpMcEBMtheBmthorilEind be chBrffcd th-,, deaths
MBH
E
°
anct niarriages.
with all the duties conferred or imposed on the City Inspec
tor of the City of New York, by the act passed on the sec
ond day of ApHBme thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, or
by any and all acts relative to births, deaths or marriages ; and
the duty of all persons and officers in any such (or any aforesaid)
acts mentioned shall hereafter be the same, in respect to said
Board, as if said law or laws had contained
name H^aid
Board instead of that of the City Inspector of the City cBMjew
York (or other officer,) and said acts are hereby extended
throughout said district; but the powers now possessed by the
*
City Inspector with reference to the inspection of weights and
measures, are herebwcoimjrcd^En the Manor of the City of Weisrhts and
New York. And it shall be the dutH of said Inspector, and Mcasures‘
of whoever may have possession or control thereof, to transfer City Inspector
and deliver to said Board all public books, records, statistics and
papers in his or their possession, or under his or their official or
personal controlMid to give such information to said Board as
he or his department may possess relative to any matter in this
section, or in either of said last mentioned laws referred to, and
his authority and duty unH® Baid laws shall cease when this
act goes into effect, and the JusticeBof the Supreme Court shall
* Amended, Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 11.
�12
No fees to be
demanded.
Duty to report
births and
deaths.
Penalty for
omission.
"What Board
may order done.
Declare nui
sance.
have jurisdiction to enforce this provision by mandamus. And
said Board shall perform all the duties by this section imposed,
as a part of its regular duties, and no fees shall be demanded or
received by reason thereof or anything in said act or acts con
tained. It shall be the duty of the next of kin of any person de
ceased, and of each person being with such deceased person at
his or her death, and of the perso^ occupying or living in any
house or premises in or on which any person may die, and of the
parents ofan^chil^ born in Igaid district, (and if there be no
parent alive thatjfcas made such report, then of the next of kin
of such child born,) and oH every person present at such birth,
within five days after such birth or death, to report to said
Board in writing, so far as known, the date, ward and street
number of said birth, and the sc^ftid color of such child born,
and th#’ names of the parents, and the age, color, nativity, last
occupational d cause of death of such deceased person, and the
ward and stye^^g^ place of such person’s death and last resi
dence. AiSw every Emission of any person to make and keep
the registry required by the acts referred to in this section, and
for every omission to report a written copj^of the same to said
Board within ten days after any birth or marriage provided to be
registered, andl&r every omission by any person to make the re
port of anJKleJmBWfflrth, with the particulars as herein requir
ed, any person guilty of said omission shall be liable to pay a fine
often dollars, whiclA»^ be^uedjifflr ar$8wj#covered in the name
of said Board, for the benefit of said Board. But no person
shall be liable for such fine for not making the report herein re
quired, if he or she shall prove that suchBeport had been made
to the Boar®H some other person before suit brought for such
penalty, or that he or she was ignorant of such birth or death.
*
§ 14. First—Whenever any building, Brection, excavation,
premises, business pwsuit, matter orRUwig, or the sewerage,
drainage or ventilation thereof, in said di'sttl’ict, shall, in the opin
ion of said Board (whether as jayvhole or in liny particular,) be
in a condition or in effect dangerous to life or health, said Board
may take and file among its records what it shall regard as suffi
cient proof to authorizJfe^tefelaration that the same, to the ex
tent it may specify, is! a pffiR nuisance, or dangerous to life or
health ; and said Board may thereupon enter in its records the
same as a nuisance, and order the same to be removed, abated,
suspended, altered or otherwise improved or purified, as said or* See Laws of 1S67, Chapter 956, Section 11,
�13
<3er shall specify; and shall cause said order, before its execu Service of
tion, to be served on the owner, occupant or tenant thereof, or orders.
some of them, which to said Board, may appear most directly in
terested in its execution, provided said parties, or any of them,
are in said district and can be found, and such service can be
conveniently made, and if any party so served, (or intended to
*
be according to this law,) shall, before its execution is commenc
ed, or within three days after such service or attempted service,
apply to said Board, or the President thereof, to have said order
or its execution stayed or modified, it shall then be the dutv of
said Board f to temporarily suspend orKnodify said order or the
execution thereof, (save in cases of imminent dtHer from im
pending pestilence, when said Board may exercise extraordinary
Impending pes
powers, as herein elsewhere specified,) and to give such party or tilence.
parties together, as the case in the opinion of the Board may re
Hearing.
quire, a reasonable and fair opportunity to be heard before said
Board, and to present facts and proofs, (according to the pules
or directions olsaid Board,) against said declaration and the ex
ecution of said order, or in favor of its modification, according to
the regulations of the Board,J andlhe Board shall enter in its
minutes such facts and proofs as it may receive, and its proceed
ings on such hearing, and any other proof it may take; and
thereafter may rescind, modify or reaffirm its said declaration
and order, and require execution of said original, or of awiew or
modified order to be made, in such form and effect as it may
finally determine.||
Second.—Said Board may order or cause any excavation, erec
What Board
tion, vehicle, vessel, water-craft, room, building, place, sewer, may order done.
pipe, passage, premises, ground, matter or thing (in said district
or adjacent waters) regarded by said Board as in a condition
dangerous or detrimental to life or health, to be purified, clean
ed, disinfected, altered or improved;, and may also order any
substance, matter orE.hing, being or left in any street, alley,
water, excavation, building, erection, place or grounds (whether
such place where the same may be, be public or private,) and
which said Board may regard as dangerous or detrimental to life
or health, to be speedily removed to some proper place ; and may
designate or provide a place to which the same shall be removed,
when no such adequate or proper place, in the judgment of said
Board, is already provided. The said Board may require the
* See Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 5, and Laws of 1867, Chapter 908, Section 9.
+ Amended. Laws of 1S66, Chapter 686. Section 6.
JSee Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 12.
I Amended, Laws of 1866, Chapter 6S6, Section 6. Laws of 1S67, Chapter 956, Section 10.
�14.
said Board of Police to execute any of the orders referred to in'
this act. It shall be the duty of the Board of Police to execute
the orders of the said Board of Health, and the said Board of
Police may employ the necessary persons and means about such
Health Board
execution. "Or the said Board of Health, if it shall consider the
may execute its
own orders.
public health or interests so to require, may execute such orders
through its own officers or persons, and means to be engaged by
the said Board of Health ; and about the execution of the said
orders, both the said Aard of Police and the said Board of
Health shall lAe, each as well as the authority conferred by this
§53 and 54 of Act
act as all the poweiHand^®oritBconferred by the fifty-third and
of 25th April,
|fc64.
fifty-fourth sections fflthe^ffltropolitan Police act, passed on the
twenty-fifth daS of April, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, and
of any ameiBntsnfl|to said act or to be made enlarging
sucfoauthoritB and all powers and authori^BpoBesscd and exer
cised by said Boardof Police under saitfflact pertaining to sani
tary matters, or in conflict witliB.be obj As and'purposes of this
act, |hall hereafter be enjoyed, possessed and exercised by said
Health powers
Board of Health, and the orders of theffiid in this section sec
of police, trans
ferred to Board ondly mentioned shall, BheHopcr peiAn or persons are known
of Health.
to the Board, and can be ccffljenien tly found in said district, on
whom to make the service, be seriBd upon one or more of the
owners, occupants, lessees or tenaiBs of the subjecB matter to
which said order relates, or upon one or more of the persons
Service of
orders.
whose duty it was to have done what isBtherein lAuired to be
done, as the cast^ffly rettleiBust and proper in the opinion of
said Board; an^^^Bd orc® is not complM with, or as far
*
complied with as the Board may regard as rfflonable, within five
days after such service or MeinBtod serHc, or Bithin any short
er time which, in case of pestilence, the Aard may have desig
nated, or is not thereafter speedily and fullB exBcuted, then any
such ordcr^B be executed as herein elsewhere provided in re
gard to any of the orcflrs of said Board. And if personal ser
Service of order.
vice of any aforesaiB order cannot be made under this section by
reason of absence from said district, or inabilitIto find such per
*
sons therein, to be shown by the official certificates of the officer
having such ordeAo serffl then servicefflay be made through
the mail, or by a copy left at the re^rence or place of business
of the poison sought to be AAd, witll a peBon of suitable age
and descretion, and the expensfflattending the execution of any
and all such orders respectively shall be a several and joint
Police to execute orders.
* Amended. Laws of 1867, Chaj'ter 956, Section 5; Chapter 90S, Section 9.
�15
personal charge against each of the owners or part owners, and Expenses a
charge.
each of the lessees and occupants of the building, business, place,
property, matter or thing to which said order relates, and in icspect of which said expenses were incurred; and also against ev
*
ery person or body who was by law or coiBractboufel to do that
in regard to such business, place, street, propertM matter or Expenses a lien
on rent and
thing which said order requiH, and said expenses shall also be a compensation.
lien on all rentrand compensation due, or to groiBduB, foBtheuse
any place, roomBbuilding, premises,^Mtter or thing to which
said order relm.es. and in respect ofB'hich
wre in
curred; and also from the time of filing, as afore«d, f alien cn
all compensation due or to groMdue for the cleaning of any
street, place, ground or thing, or for theMeansing (or removal)
of any matterBthing or placeBU® failure to do which by the par
ty bound so t® do, or the dofflig of theBa^MnBdiole or in part
by order of said Board, was the cause or occasion of any such or
der or expense.■ Said Board of Health, its assignee, or the party
who has under its ordcB or that of the Board of Police, acting
Action by as
thereunder, incurred said expense, or has Hidered service for signee.
which paymeiB is due, and as the rules of said Board of
Health may provide,, may institute Bmd^^^^BnBaBuit against
any one herd™ declared liable fcBexpeiBes as aforesaid, or a®inst
any person, firm or corporation BwingBoB who im^Bo^^Kuch
rent or comftnsation, and may rBiover the expenses so incBrred
under any order aforesaid.I| And only one or more of such par
ties liable or intercsHl may be made parties to such action as the Parties to suit.
Board may elect; but the parBes made responsible as aforesaid
for such expenses shall be liable to^Bntribu® or to make pay
ment as betwaJiBthenBclves, in respect of such ^Mnses and of
any sum reco^Md for such expenses or compennBor by any
party paid on account thereof,Biccordigr to the legal or equitable
Every body’s
obligation existing^fflveen them. And it is her^B' declared to duty to eh an,
drain, Ac
be the duty of ever^Mvner andMirt ownH an® person interest
ed, and of every lessee, tenant and ocMpant of, or in any place,
water, grountB lBo^^^^MaBartment, IMWiigsa erection, vessel,
vehicle, matter and thing in said district, and of every person
conducting orBiterested in busineiB therein or thereat, and of
every person who has undertaken to clean any place, g«md or
street thereint’and of evcr^HrBm, public officer and Board hav
ing charge of any gBmnd, place, IjuildH; oBcrectiMtherein, to
* See Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 13.
+ Amended, Laws of 1866, Chapter 6S6. Section 5.
J See Laws of 1S67, Chapter 956, Section IS.
[ Seo Laws of 1S67, Chapter 956, Section 13.
�16
keep, place and preserve the same, and every part, and the sew
erage, drainage and ventilation thereof, in such condition, and to
conduct the same in such manner that it shall not be dangerous
Authority of
or prejudicial to life or health. And in any suit in this action, or
bepre' elsewhere in this act, authorized to be brought, the right of said
Board or the Board of Police to make any order or cause the ex
ecution thereof, shall be presumed. Any member of the police
force. and every inspectMoM officer of said Board of Health, as
spectoiV&c11' ^1G regulations of either ofBaid boards may respectively provide
relative to its own subordinates, may arrest any person who shall
in view of such member or officer, violate, or do or be engaged
in doing, or comiiMiMO said district any act or thing forbid
den by this act, or by any law or Ordinance, the authority con
ferred by which is given
saffl Board of Health, or who shall
in such pr(gen(Sr«g|, or be engaged in resisting the enforce
ment of any of said orders of said Board, or of the Board of Po
lice pursuant thereto. And any person so arrested shall be there
after treated and disposed of as any other person duly arrested
for a misde 1 nMMMWdBoard of Health, having first enArrests orJ.ered
. .
•
by Board.
tered on its minutes, or filed in its records, what it may regard
as adequate proof of a violation or resistance by any person in
said district, of any such law, ordinance or order, may order (by
its warrant, under its seal and r®sted by the signature of its
president and secretary, and iMKating, as far as conveniently
practicable, the time, place and nature of the offence committed)
the arrest of any such person, and such order of arrest shall be
of the same effiMBaMiKBi 1 be executed as a warrant from a jus
tice or judge, duly issued ; and the party arrested shall be taken
before a magistrate, and thereupon and thereafter shall by all of
ficers, be treated as bffing and have the rights and liability of a
party under arrest by ordeflof the proper officer or tribunal, for
a misdemeanor of the nature indicated in the said order of arrest.
Proof, by whom p(-Oofs, affidaiMMmMMa mi nations as to any matter under this
taken.
■
act may bp|Moi by or before one or more members of the
officers may ad-Board, or othi^RHson. as the Board shall authorize; and the
secretary, the saWary. and assistant superintendents, and any
member of said Board shall, severally, have authority to admin
ister oaths in such matters, and any person guilty of wilfully tes
tifying falsely shall incur all the pains and penalties of perjury.
Any judge of the Supreme Court of any judicial district, wholly
der examin-cr' or partly within said sanitary district, or who is holding court or
ation'
chambers therein, upon the written application of said Board or
its president, to be made by or through its attorney or counsel,
-i
�17
may issue bis order by him subscribed, for the examination with
out unreasonable delayby or before such justice, of any person
or persons, and the production of books and papers, or the inspec
tion and taking of copifilof tha>hol<|A part^Miereof, at a time
and place within <said district, and in said order to be named ;
and it shall be the dutHif^Hh justiceto take or superintend such
examination, which shall be under oath, and shall be signed by
the party or partieSeHnined and be certified by said judge, and
with any copies of books or papers be delivered toBaid Board or
its secretary, for the use of said Board. And such examination,
and any proceeding^Hnecwd tlBiwvM or under said order,
may wholly or in part be had, con^^Bd or conMucd bj^r be How conducted.
fore any other of said judges, as will as .that one Biereofwho
made said order; and in and about the same, every such judge
shall have as full power and authority to pu®® for ccMempt,
and enforce obedience to hi^miB or other order or directions res
pecting the matter aforesaid (o^^^HfHny other judge,) as any And enforced.
such judge or the Supreme Court may now have or shall possess
to enforce obedie^Har puconin any case or matter
whatever. Such application shall name or describe the person or
persons whoseBx^Biation is sought (and so far as possible the What applica
tion to contain
books or papers desired to be inspected.) and the mattew or
points affecting life or health in said district as to HfflHifeaid
board requests the same to take place, and the judge shall, on the
proceedings, decide what questions are pertinent and allowable
in respect tlBrcto, and shall require the same to be
swered ; but no answer ofBiny person so examined shall »tised
How
in any criminal proceeding. Service of .any order of any such orderjudge's
served
judge may be made, and the same proved
manner as
the service of either an inj unHon or of a subpoena may now be
made or proved. And it shall b®g duty olHjHid jWRs to
facilitate the early determination of the aforesaid pg>ceedinjg|
§ 15. It shall be the duty of said Board to give alMfiHRation Board to give
and receive
that may be reasonablyBequ^»d concerning any threatened dan formation . in
ger to the public health, to the Health Officer of the port of New
York, and to the Commissioners of Quarantine of said poi^frwho
shall give the like information to said Board; and said Board
and said OfficerlandBaid QuHntine CommissioneiHhall^o far
as legal and practilLblS co-operaB together to prevent the
spread of disease, and for th^^sr "ection of lifiHamBfor the pro
motion of health, within the sphere of their respective duties;
3
�18
and the authority and power of said Health Officer and Quaran
tine Commissioners is not by this act affected, save as last afore
said, anything herein elsewhere to the contrary notwithstanding..
Board to ascer
§ 1G. And said Board shall use all reasonable means for ascer
tain and prevent
disease.
taining the existence and cause of disease or peril to life or
health, and for averting the same throughout said district; and
To inform and
be informed by shall promptly cause all proper information, in possession of said
such boards.
Board to be sent to the local health authorities of any city, vil
lage or town in this State which may request the same, and shall
add thereto such useful suggestions as the experience of said
Board may supply. And it is hereby made the duty of said
health authorities to supply the like information and suggestions
to said Metropolitan Board of Health. And said Board may
Vaccination and
take measures, and supply agents, and afford inducements and
medical relief.
facilities for general and gratuitous vaccination and disinfection,
and may afford medical relief to and among the poor of said dis
trict, as in its opinion the protection of the public health may re
quire, and may remove or cause to be removed to a proper place
within said district, to be by them designated, any peison sick
with small pox or other contagious disease. And in the presence
*
When pesti
of greatBind imminent peril to the public health in said district,
lence impend
ing to take ex by reason of wq^nding pestilence, it shall be the duty of said
traordinary
measures.
Board to take such measures and to do and order, and cause to
be done, such ac^Band make HiclBexpenditures (beyond those
duly estimated for or provided) for the preservation of the public
health (though not herein elsewhere or otherwise authorized) as
it may in good faith declare the public safety and health to de
mand, aHthe Governor of the State shall also in writing approve.
Six members to But the exercise of this extraordinary power shall also, so far as
concur.
it involves such excessive expenditures, require the written as
sent of at least six members of the Board. And such peril shall
not be deemed to exist except when, and for such period of time,
as the Governor of the State, together with said Board, shall de
clare by proclamation the same to exist or continue.
§ 17. It shall be the duty of said Metropolitan Police Board
Police to report
danger to
(and of its officers and men, as the last named Board shall direct)
health.
to promptly advise said Metropolitan Board of Health of all
threatened danger to human life or health, and of all matters
thought t<> demand its attention, and to regularly report to said
And violations
of ordinances. Board of Health all violations of its rules and of said ordinances
and of the health laws, and all useful sanitary information.! And
Powers of
Health Officer
and Quarantine
commissioners
reserved.
*Am ended, Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 3.
+ Amended, Laws of 1S67, Chapter 956, Section 2.
�19
said last named Boards shall, so far as practicable and appropri
ate, co-operate for the promotion of the public health and the safe
tv of human life in said district. And it shall be the duty of said roiice to exeMetropolitan Police Board, by and through its proper officers,
r'
agents and men, tomdhfnlly and at the proper tj^®e®d-ce and
execute the sanitary rules and regulafflons, and the orders of said
Board of Health (made pursuant to the power of said Board of
Health,) upon the same being received inH’itingffid duW au
thenticated, as said Board of Health may direct. And said Po- Police tocmlice Board is authorized to employ and use the Appropriate per- £'cOy persons>
sons and means, and to make the necessary and appropriate expen
ditures foiyihc execution and enforcement of said rules, orders
and regulations, and such expenditures so far as the samamay
not be refunded or compensated by the means heremelsewhere
provided, shall be paid as the other expenseaof said Board of
Health are paid. And in and about the execution of any order
of the Board of Heaffih or of the Board of Police made pursuant Authority as
under special
thereto, police officers and policemen shall have as ample power warrant,
and authority as when obeying any order of or law applicable to
the PoliceJBoard, or as if acting under a special warrant of a
justice or judge, duly issued, but for their conduct they shall be
responsible to the Board of Police and not to the Board of
Health.
8 18. It shall be the duty of said Board, so far as it ma be
able without serious expense, to gather and preserve such infor- deaths, &c.
mation and facts relating to deaths, disease and health, from oth
er parts of this State, but especially in said district, as may be
useful in the discharge of its duties, and contribute to the promotion of the health or the security of life in the State of New York.
And it shall be the duty of all health-officers and boards of health
in the State to communicate to said Metropolitan Board ofHealth portstobecom.
„ , .
,
i ,
,
.,
. P
municatedto
copies of their reports, and also such sanitary information as may Board,
be useful in said district. And said Board shall keep records of
its acts and proceedings as a Board, and of the execution of its Eecords keptorders, so far as reasonably practicable.
§ 19. It shall be the duty of said Board, on or before the first
Monday of December in each year, to make a report in writing MUa rep°r
to the Governor of this State, upon the sanitary condition and
prospects of said district ; and such reports shall set forth gene
rally the statistics of births, deaths and marriages, the action of
said Board and of its officers and agents, and the names thereof what to con
fer the past year, and may contain other useful information, and tain‘
�20
May print re
port .
By-Laws, <fce.
Publish ByLaws .
Code of health.
Penalty.
shall suggest any further legislative action or precautions deemed
proper for the better protection of life and health, as well in other
parts of the State as especially in said district. Such annual re
port may contain the sanitary rules and by-laws adopted by the
Board hereby created. And the annual report of said Board
shall also contain ^detdMjstd^ment, under the oath of the
treasurer, of all money received and paid out by said Board, or
its treasurer, and a detailed statement of the manner of its expendi
ture during the year last past, and of the funds on hand. Said
Board may annually have, not exceeding one thousand copies of
said repin an economical form, at the expense of said
Board, and may distribute the same as shall be best adapted to
promote the purposes
H cop® of said report shall
be sent to each duly organized Board of H(SJh in the State of
New Torequested such copy, and shall have
f urnished^yt^^^^^wi^ copy of its own annffiK report.
§ 20. Said Board may enact such by-laws, rules and regula
*
tions as it may deem advisable, in harmony with the provisions
and purposes of this act, and not inconsistent with the constitu
tion or laws of this State, for the regulation of the action of said
Board, its officers and agents, in the discharge of its and their
duties^fiffiM the protection of life and public health; and from
time to time may alter, annul or amend the same. And said
Board shj^g^^ manner,
and ordinances take
effect,
more fully carrying into effect the intents and pur
poses of this act, annually, on or before the tenth day of May in
any year, make
week for three suc
cessive weeks next thereafter, in two daily newspapers published
in the city of New York, and in one daily newspaper published
in th^T city of Brooklyn, a “ code of health ordinances” for the
protection of the public health in said district, to take effect on
and after tBq
tSiiSm- fi™>wing, and to
remain in fullj^frtue,
and effect within said district for the
term of one year, unless annulled ;f and all courts and tribunals,
or any judfml^nitW^^BeQfKKl take cognizance of and give
effect to said ordinances and the several parts thereof, and may
enforce such
not exceeding fifty dollars
for each offeiiollteo vy
oi3 district court,
with costs; but nMhiB^in this section jOnained shall be con
strued as in any manner limiting an^powers herein elsewhere
contained. J
* Amended, Laws of 1866, Chapter 6S6, Section 1.
+ Amended, Laws of 1866, Chapter 6S7, Section 1; Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 10.
J Amended, Laws of 1866, Chapter 6S6, Section 1; Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 10,
�21
§ 21. Said Board shall cause to he kept a general complaint
book, or several such books, in which may be entered by any
person, in good faith, any complaints of a sanitary nature which
such person thinks may be useful, with the name and residence
of the complainant, and may give the name of tlie person or per
sons complained of, and the date of the entry of the complaint,
and such suggestions of any remedy as may in good faith be
thought appropriate, and said books shall be open to all reason
able public examination as the Board may authorize ; and the
Board shall
complaints to be in
vestigated, and the appropriate remedy to be applied.
§ 22. Said Board may, from time to time, engage a suitable
person or persons to
ito
make or supervise practical and scientific sanitary investigations
and e x a min
n^B^yrinl^S^lW»^^aill. and
to prepare pl a
v
made the duty of all boards, officers and agents having the con
trol, charge or custody of any public structure, work, ground or
erection, or of ^^^Wanis
thereof, or relating thereto, made, kept or controlled under any
public authority, to permit and facilitate the examination and in
spection, and the making of copies of the same by any officer or
person therCa^^MlMMraM-d1 authorized; and the members of
said Board,
;r
any of the aforesaid sanitary inspectors, and such other officer or
person as may at any time be by said Board authorized, may,
without fet or hindrance, enter, examine and survey all grounds,
erections, vehicles, structures, apartments, buil dings and place s
in said
1
1
waters, and all cellars, sewers, passages and excavations of every
sort, and iMj^^
ES niake
plans, drawings and descriptions thereof, according to the order
o r regulat
nay make and pub
lish a report
i
.Em 1g result of the in
spection of any place, matter or thing in said district so inspect
ed, or otherwiaEEIaiMSial^EMl^^Mnjjit£ElaM^M^^Rh< >oard,
such publication may be useful, And said Board may provide a
badge of metal, with a suitable inscription thereon, and direct
and require it to be worn, in a position to be designated, by any
person or officer under the authority of said Board, at such times
and under such circumstances as the rules or by-laws of said
Board shall direct. It shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by
Complaint
book.
Complaint to bo
investigated.
Engineering
service.
Inspection of
charts. Ac., to be
permitted.
Right to enter
and inspect.
Make sanitary
condition
public.
Badge.
�22
False represen
tation or perso
nation .
Regular and
special meet
ings.
Meetings and
orders presum
ed authorized.
Board to enforce
Health Laws.
What included.
Boards may re
quire repoi ts
from institu
tions, asylums,
&c. ‘
imprisonment in the county jail, or, in the city and county of
New York, in the penitentiary, for not less than one year nor
exceeding two years, or by a fine of not less than two hundred
and fifty dollars, for any person, not an officer under this act, to
falsely represent himself as such, with a fraudulent design upon
persons or property, or to have, use, wear or display, without
authority, any shield, or other insignia or emblem such as is worn
by such officers But no more than five thousand dollars in any
one year shall be expended for sanitary engineering service.
§ 23. Said Board shall hold regular and special meetings as
frequentlyfes tne proper and efficient discharge of its duties shall
require | the same to be held (unless it shall be impracticable so
to do, or shall be, for good reasons, otherwise ordered,) at the
regular office of said Board in the city of New York; and the
rules or by-laws shall provide for the giving of proper notice of
all such meetings to the members of the Board. And all meet
ings shall in every suit and proceeding be taken to have been
duly called and regularly held, and all orders and proceedings
to have been duly authorized, unless the contrary be proved.
§ 24. It shall be the duty of said Board of Health to aid in the
enforcement of, and so far as practicable to enforce all law’s of
this State, applicable in said district, to the preservation of hu
man life, or to the care, promotion, or protection of health; and
said Board may exercise the authority given by said laws to en
able it to discharge the duty hereby imposed; and this section is
intended to include all laws relative to cleanliness, and to the use
*
or sale of poisonous, unwholesome, deleterious or adulterated
drugs, medicine or food. And said Board is authorized to re
quire reports and information (at such times and of such facts,
and generally of such nature and extent, relating to the safety of
life and promotion of health as its by-laws or rules may pro
vide), from all public dispensaries, hospitals, asylums, infirma
ries, prisons and schools, and from the managers, principals and
officers thereof; and from all other public institutions, their offi
cers and managers, and from the proprietors, managers, lessees,
and occupants of all theatres and other places of public resort or
amusements in said district; but such reports and information
shall only be required concerning matters or particulars in re
spect of w’hich it may, in its opinion, need information, for the
better discharge of its duties in said district. And it is hereby
made the duty of the officers, institutions and persons so called
on, or referred to, to promptly give such information and make
�■
23
such reports, verbally, or in writing, as may be required by said
boards. And it is hereby further made the duty of all persons, Board to be
officers and boards to make to said Board of Health the reports
and returns, and to give the informatioiSancl afford to said Board
the aid and facilitiesRhich by law or ordinance tngU any of
them were required to make, afford or give to any person, offi
cer or board, when any powers herebHonft^red on said Board
of Health were exercised by any other officer or board.
8 25. Such Board shall not be requireMto nflHanS return or Beturns not rec
quired of Board.
report, or give any information or advice, or do any act which,
under the former admHstration of the health ^Hs in Rid dis
trict, was made neces^® or Bppropwt^M^Ron of g^mrious
officers, boards or agents by or through which said laws were
executed or administered, or the powers hereby conferred were
exercised; and said Board may establish reasonable reguHions Re gulations as
as to the publicity of its records and proceedings ; and may pub- toreCurdslish such information as may, in its opinion, be useful, concern- May publish
ing births, deaths, Hrriages, sicknH and the general sanitary inlormatloncondition of said district, on any matter, place or thing therein.
§ 26. The department knoH as the ‘gK|lREctc« Depart- City inspector’s
ment,” and every bureau thereof, and so much of the^^^Ry-sgg ffitheoffi-nd
enth section of the four hundred and forty-sixth chapter of the ces abollshedlaws of eighteen hundred and fifty-seven, as relate thereto, and
each and every office in the said d^Hict i^Bg|o public health,
or the duties of which are confemed on said Board, except the
Health Officer of the port of New York and the Board of Quar
antine Commissioners Hid its officers, are hereby abolished.
And no salary or coMen«iongHllB)e due oMpaid by any offi- galarles of
cer or board whatever, to any officer or agent or board in said ^J.^®^8
district for seSfes to be rendered after this act goes into effect,
under any law or ordinance cowerning life or public health, ex
cept under this act and as Mhorized by the board hereby creat
ed. And all other bo ards and officers now existing in said dis- ■
' trict under or by virtue of any law or ordinance relating to
public health, are hereby also abolishes; and no compens»ion
shall be paid to or in respect of the same for any service rendered
after this law shall go into effect, save as gN Board of Health
shall authorize.
§ 27. All the sums of money provided or raised for meeting Funds of Board,
the expenses, compensations and payments provided by this act,
or that may be authorized
said Board (except penalties or
other sums received and amounts collected by suit as herein pro-
�24
vided,) shall be paid into the treasury of the State, and shall
constitute a fund, to be so far as needed, used by said Board
in the performance of its duties-and discharge of its obligations ;
and may and shall be paid therefrom, on the order of the treas
urer of said Board, as |®id Board may direct, and shall be ap
plied and paid by thqjgpii^pr |Sf $aiic^ Board only as this act
payable?'hen and the reguUtfens of said Board may authorize. And unless
this Board shall otherwise specially provide, all salaries and com
pensation
.shaljp, so fir as practicable, be
paid quartering And any member or officer of ®aid Board may,
if a judge sMEo order, be summarily examined upon an order
may be’exam” (to
made on application and Avritten affidavit oa the oath of
ined.
three freeholders of said district) requiring such examination,
and signed by any justice of the supreme court of the first judi
cial district, and directing such examination to be publicly made,
at the chambers of said justice, aE day and hour to be named,
not less
personal service of said orHow examina,
.
...
x
tiun conducted, cler, and
be confined to an inquiry int0
any alleged wrongful diversion or misapplication of any of said
moneys
delinguepEEMKcl W said affida- vit, touchi^SWrEffio^fe
or neglect of duty of
which A hs
for
that such
memb" of said Board or said officer HMgmSjfcdg® or informa
tion.
I pertinent
questions
diiftf, and the ex
amination may be continued from time to time as such judge
may order^^wpictwSydE^^^H p
ch mEH shall not be
used against him on any criminal proceeding. The proceedings
may be pontB®d before any other judge in said^district, and
other witnesses, as well as the parties fSlSrBkmh application,
may, in the discretion of such judge, be compelled to attend and
be examined touching such alleged delinquency; and such judge
may punishany refusal to- Jw^^fgich exSjtfwation or to answer
any questiommfrsuafflA io his order as for and being a contempt
of court. And such examination, affidavit and orders shall be
filedin the toffiet |of the IBoh^^jCterMfa^ the county of New
York. And in regard to this last es^hinBioiJI and matters
therewith connected, any such jwage"shall have all the powers
and authority ponferiW, in M?bpecti| to th.® examination or pro
ceedings mentioned in the fogyc^entl^ section hereof, as if herein
repeated.
Board of Esti§ 28- The Mayor and Comptroller of the city of New York,
mateand the Mayor and Comptroller of the city of Brooklyn, togeth-
�26
er with the members of said Board, created by this act, shall, oh
■.•easonable notice from said Board, convene at the office of When to meet,
said Board of Health, as jauBoard of Estimate, a majority of
whom shall form a quoruinFraAjg|Ml annually, on or before the
first day of August, make up a financial estimate and statement,
including all sums and expenses in arrear, and also any sum bor
rowed, as herein elsewhere provided for, of the sums required
for the year, commencing on the first day of January ensuing,
annually (above any sums on h|BII| for the expenses and proper
support, and for the discharge of the duties of Bggig^^Bncltid
ing the proper expenses and disbursements of said Board, and of
the members or officers thereof in the discharge of their official
duties, and for such other general or incidental expenses as may
from time to time, in the judgment of such Board of Estimat e ,b e c ora ©■ we
e
Sums raised foflfeft ^SfS^^of
Limitation of
H
1
J ;
amount,
hundred thousafldolla^^^^^HnS|W|g»WM|| of such sums
as may have been expended in the presence of great and immi
nent peril to the public health in said district by reason of im
pending pestilence, and independently of the sums herein else
where provided, to be paid by or recovered back from any per
son or corporawon. Ai^lK® expenses for the remainder of the
*
current year after the passage of this act, to be reckoned at the
said rate of one hundred thousand dollars a year, independently
of said extraordinary expenses, and of said sums to be paid or
recovered back, shall be estimated and apportioned to the seve
ral cities, counties and towns in said district as hereinafter pro
vided, and collcSed in the next annual tax levies. Such estimate
shall be accompanied by a written apportionment, made by said
Board of Estimate, of the proportions of expenses applicable to
and to be paid by each county, city and towm in said
And in apportioning the salaries of the members of the Board, Mo(le of appor.
its officers, agents and employees, the following rules shall |]|e tionment.
observed:
1. The salaries and compensation of all members of the board
appointed to this board, cSBftli^MhM^5mMofficS, from any
county, and of all officers, agents and employees thereof, whose
principal sphere of duty shall be in any county, shall be appor
tioned against and p
2. The salary of the Health Offim^Hd ^[11 general, office,
* Amended Laws of 1S67, Chapter 95(, Section 15.
4
�26
Committee of
revision.
If committee of
revision object.
contingent and other expenses of the board, not included in the
first class aforesaid, shall be apportioned against and paid by the
respective counties and towns (or counties to which they belong)
in the ratio of the taxable property, real and personal, of each,
in said district, according to the assessment under which the last
preceding taxes therein were respectively levied.
3. But no apportioning^ against any county (or town therein),
other than the counti^^Bkew Yorkfend Kings, shall be made
under the two foregoing clauses, unless as follows, that is to say :
Each other ccgnty (and each of said towns) shall have appor
tioned agairBro ancBshall pay all disbursements and expenses
arising, caused or ordered therein, to or by said Board, or for
salaries, and services,Bo" portions thereof, earned or rendered
therein, as the regulations of said Board may provide ; but such
salaries and servicMwillpiot include any portion of the salaries
of the members M^O^oard or of its .general officers.
4. It is further prOKecK in respect of each of said counties,
that all the expenses caused by any act or any order of said
board, W the execution thereof in or for any particular county or
part thereof, shall ^^HiorBoned to and be paid by said county
or part thereof; and any sums collected in either shall be cred
ited to such county or
unless the same was on ac
count of expenses incurred in some other county, city or town,
and in that event it shall be credited thereto. The said estimate
and statement shall, at least ten days before the first day of
Septenib(M|^»sMefi|g su^Ktecl to the committee of revis
ion, compose<ffloSth^HEdM:s of the boards of supervisors of
the counties
Kings, Westchester and Richmond,
and of the presidents of the b|M of1 aidermen of the city of
Brooklyn, and of the supfipsors of the respective towns of
Newtown, FlBshiMaSl Jamaica, in the county of Queens, who
may meet, by a majority thereof, and consider and act upon the
said estimate and enumeration on or before the first Monday of
September in each year. If the said committee of revision, on
or before the second Monday of said September, shall object in
writing to such estimate or apportionment, or any portion there
of, and so in writing, by said date, mgjfify, or cause to be noti
fied, the said board of estimate, it shall be the duty of the latter
to immediately and carefully revise the same, and considei the
said objections. If such committee shall fail to meet, or if said
board of estimate shall adhere to their original action and esti-
�27
mate, or if they shall modify the same, but they shall not in If fail to meet
crease the same, then their final determination, apportionment or adhere to be
conclusive.
and action shall be binding and conclusive upon all concerned.
to be
And the board of supe»jsors of the counties of New York, Moneyin re
raised
spective coun
Kings, Richmond and Queens (the expenses in the last-named ties and towns.
county to be charged and collected in,Kd in ®espe®t of the
property of the towns of Newtown, Flushing and Jamaica), re
*
spectively, are empowered a»|direBedEm»:iMvMto order and
cause to be raised and collected, by tax upon the estates, real
and personal, subject to taxation according to law, within the
said respective counties and towns, their respective proportions
of the sums of money as aforesaid, annually estimated and as ap
portioned and finally determined upon, as said total expenses
and estimate aforeffiiid. The sums of money so respectively Disposition of
money.
raised, as provided for in this act, shall be, by the rar<B|r offi
cers, immediatelyrand^Hhoft deduction, paid into the Treasury
of the State,,:Bd shall corgg® the separate ft®l|Wi«n else
where mentioned and pr^HedHid be used only for the purpo
ses of said Board, and shall be paid from the State Treasury, un
der such appropria® regulations as shall bSagreed upon between
the Comptroller of the State, the State Tre^H-erKd the Treas
urer of said Board.
§ 29. The said Board magborro^^Rthe credit of this
and Board may
borrow.
of the fundsHo be raised Emeremid^Msuch amouiffl (the borrow
ing of the same respectively to be first BpMrowd^^^Sting by
the Governor of the State) as may, in the opinion of said Board,
be reasonably necessary mid proper to enable it to discharge its
duties and defray its e?®enses hereby authorized, up to the time
when the Requisite funds can be realized for said Board and pur
poses fromMhe^^Etion and soureffl herein provided for and
authorized ; ffldBuch moneys so borrowed, with legal interest,
shall be a charge upon and shall be repaid by th^Sid counties and
cities and towns in the proportion hereinbefore prowled,and the
amounts-thereof shall, in addition to the requisite annual ex
pense to secure a future annual fund, be included or allowed in
the next or fi^M annual estimate of the sums required and expen
ses as aforesaid, and shall, with interest, be included, and the
amount, with intere^Jcollected in and with the tax in this act
provided for, and the same shall go into the said fund, and shall
from thence, by the Treasuffl of the Board, be paid to or in fa Certificates for
money borrow
vor of the parties entitled. And said Board may issue its certifi ed.
cates to those of whom it borrows money, as herein authorized,
* Westchester added, Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 4.
�28
under its seal, and signed by its President and Secretary, and
bearing interest at the rate of not more than seven per cent., and
payable at a time not more than eighteen months from the date
at which any sum may have been borrowed.
*
Penalty for vio
§ 3O.f Whoever^hall violate any provisions of this act, or any
lations, &c.
order of said Board, mad® finder the authority of the same, or
of any by-law or ordinance therein referred to, or shall obstruct
or interfere with any per-soa. in the execution of any order of said
Board, or any order of the Board of Police, in pursuance or ex
ecution of the order of the Board of Health, or wilfully omit to
obey any such order, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be
liable to be indicted Mid punished. for such offence : and in cases
Misdemeanor.
where it was made a misdemeanor to do or omit any act or
thing, when any powif- orlauthority hereby conferred upon this
Board were exercised by airy othm^bpard or officer or officers,
the omission. or doing of suclmor a corresponding act or thing,
which this act requires, or contemplate® to b© done or forbids,
shall in like manner be a misdemeanor, .and the offender shall be
liable to indictment ancl^ 'punishment for the ®ne. A wilful
Wilful violation omission or refusal of any individwd, wrporation or body to con
form t© any sanitary regulation ©f said Board duly made for the
protection of life, or the care, promotion of preservation of health,
pursuant to its power or authority, shall be a misdemeanor, and
the person « officers guilty thereof shall be liable to indictment
and punishment a® for a misdemeanor. And all prosecutions
Before whom
and proceeding® against any person forTr misdemeanor under
trials had.
this act may be had or tried before any judge or tribunal having
jurisdiction of any misdemeanor within said district, or within
the town, city oijjvillage within which any such misdemeanor
under this act was committed. Hind any person, corporation or
Pecuniary lia
bility of delin body which may have- wilfully done of omitted any act or thing
quent.
which is in this act, of any law or ordinance therein referred to,
declared to be, or to subject tihe party guilty thereof to punish
ment for a misdemeanor, shall, iafeddition thereto, be subject to
a penalty of two hundred!, and fifty dollars,, to be sued for and re
covered bysaAft Board in any civil hribunal in said district, ex
cept that in the n®,rine, or justice, or county courts, no greater
amount can be ref^Vered tha^jthe extent of the jurisdiction in
*
other civil suits. And any luch -Suits may be against one or
more, or each or all of those who participate hi the act, refusals
or omissions complained of, and the recovery may be against one
* Amended, Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 10.
+ Amended, Laws of 1866, Chapter 686, Section 2.
�29
or more of those joined in the action, as the justice or court shall
■direct. And the provisions of this section as to jurisdiction of
tribunals and costs shall apply to all suits by said Board or its
assignees, or the assigiWg of thd®jMp»i'$ tinder this act.
*
§ 31. Copies of the records of th^m-oc^^m^krof »id Board, Records as eviof its rules, regulations, by-laws and books and papers constitut- dence’
ing part of its arct^H, when authenticated by its secretary or
secretary pro tew.,f shall be presumptive evidence, and the au
thentication be tak««IMWesi^m>tM|mMorrMMmM any court of
justice or judicial proceeding, when they may be relevant to the
point or matter in controversy, of the facts, statements and recitals therein contain^Mand the action, proceedings, authority Action of Board
and orders of said Board shall at all times be regarded as in their dicuun^ie^ai
nature judicial, and be treated asjust and legal.
§32. It shaltafefl®Muty of all prosecuting officers of criminal prosecutions to
courts and police justices to act promptly upon all compMt,s be prompt,
and in all suits or proceedings for any violation of this act, and
in all proceedings; approved or |romold by said BotMBMfrl to
bring the same to a speedy hearing or termination, and to ren
der judgment apjflldir
§ 33. This act, so far as its relates to the appointment of the when
Sanitary Commissioners provided for therein, shall take effect effectimmediately, an®
other respects, go fully into effect on
the first day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-six.
* See Laws of 1866, Chap^fr 6S6, Action956.^^ffljnsfo W8 17
+ Chief Clerk added, Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 1.
to take
I
�30
CHAPTER 686.
By-Laws and
rules.
Code of Health
Ordinances.
Ordinances of
1866.
Penalty for vio
lation.
AN ACT to amend an Act entitled “ An Act to create a Metro
politan Sanitary District and Board of Health therein, for the
Preservation of Life and Health, and to prevent the spread of
disease therefrom,” passed February 26, 1866. Passed April
19, 1866, three-fifths being present.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section twenty of an act entitled “An act to create
a Metropolitan Sanitary District and Board of Health therein,
for the preservation of Life and Health, and to prevent the
spread of Disease therefrom,” passed February twenty-six, eigh
teen hundred and sixty-six, is hereby amended so as to read as
follows:
§ 20. Said Board may ei^3 such by-laws, rules, and regula
tions as it may deem advisable, in harmony with the provisions
and purposes of this act, and not inconsistent with the constitu
tion or laws of this State, for the regulation of the action of said
Board, its officersfcand agents, in the discharge of its and their
duties, and from time to time, may alter, annul or amend the
same ; and said Board shall, in like manner, for more fully car
rying into effect the intents and purposes of this act, annually, on
or before the fifth day of May in any year, make and publish
twice a week, for three successive weeks next thereafter, in two
daily newspapers published in the City of New York, and in one
daily newspaper published in the City of Brooklyn, “ a code of
health ordinances” for the protection of the public health in said
district, to take effect on and after the first day of June next
thereafter following, and to remain in full virtue, force and ef
fect within said district,, until altered, amended, or annulled
and may at any time alter, amend or annul the same, or any
part thereof, upon publishing the same as altered and amended,
or such portion as is so altered and amended, and for a like time
as said original ordinances: but during the year eighteen hun
dred and sixty-six such code of health ordinances shall take ef
fect at any time after it shall have been published as aforesaid for
two weeks; and every person, body or corporation that shall vio
late or not conform to any ordinance, rule, sanitary regulation or
* Amended, Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 10.
�31
special or general order of said Board, duly made, shall he liable
to pay a penalty not exceeding fifty dollars for each offence,
which may be sued for and recovered by and in the name of said
Board, with costs, before any justice or tribunal in said district
having jurisdiction of civil actions ; and all such justices and
*
tribunals shall take jurisdiction of such actions. And upon the plaint°n com‘
complaint of any citizen of said distt^;tE,g~ains^Sv person for a
violation of any rule, sanitary regulation, ordinanMcM order,
made to any police justice or magistrate having jurisdiction in
criminal cases, such justice or magistrate shall order the arrest of
any person against whom such complaint is made, as in any
other case of a criminal offence«nd, by his HirrantBmay re
quire any policeman or constable to make such arrestland may,
after such arrest, proceed summarily to try such person for such
alleged offence; but no such trial shall be had on any arrest Notice oftrial.
made in the City of New York without sufficient notice thereof
being first gives to said Board,pSits President. And upon an ap- g ®™i^1g>
plication in behalf of said Bo^d, made before the trial is com
menced, the trial of such person, togeth^^Hh the papers, shall
be remitted to the Court ofj^>ectel Sessions, upon which Court
jurisdiction to try feu cig person^ is hereby conferred; but the
right of any person
elect to be tried before a jury as it may
now exist, is not affected! by anything herein contained. If such
person shall, upon such trial, be found guilty, he or she may be Amount of fine,
fined in any amount not exceeding twenty-five dollars ;f and the
payment thereof may be enforced in the same manner as ^Bisual
in other cases where fines are imposed. Such fines, when col
lected, shall be at once paid over to the Treasurer of said Board,
to the credit of said Board. Reports of all such trials, and of
fines imposed for violations of this
or of the code of health J"®ttices to reordinances hereby authorized, shall be made moimhly to said
Board by the justice before whonmsuch trial is had. But noth
ing in this section coiwained shall be construed as in any manner
limiting any powers, penalty and punishment in this|H else
where conferred.
& 2. Section thirty of said act is hereby amended so as to read
as follows :
§ 30. Whoever shall Biolate any provisions of this act, or any Penalty for
order of said Board, made undei the authority of the same, or latl0Ils’ &eany by-law or ordinance therein referred to, or shall obstruct or
interfere with any person in the execution, of any order of said
* See Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 2.
t See Laws of 1S67, Chapter 956, Section 2.
vio-
�82
Misdemean or.
Wilful violation
Places of trial.
Penalty of $250.
Parties to ac
tion .
Board may
bring suits.
Board, or any order of the Board of Police, in pursuance or exe3
*
cution of the order of the Board of Health, or wilfully omit to
obey any such order, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and be
liable to be indicted and punished for such offence, and in cases
where it was made a misdemeanor to do or omit any act or thing,
when any power or authority hereby conferred upon this Board
were exercised bvLtoy other board or officer or officers, the omis
sion or doing of such, TOffl i corresponding act or thing, which
this act require®, Or contemplates to be done or forbids, shall in
like manner be a misdemeanor, h>nd the offender shall be liable to
indictment and punishment Jfor the same. A wilful omission or
refusal of any individual, corporation or body to conform to any
regulation of said Board duly made for the protection of life, or
the care, promotion, or preservation of health, or the carryingout the purposes of this act pursuant to its power or authority,
shall be a misdemeanor, to® the person or officers guilty thereof
shall be liable t<| indictment and punishment as for a misdemean
*
or. And all ptostoWtions and proceedings against any person
for a mfadefstfStoor under thi® act may be had or tried before any
judge or tribunal having jurisdiction of any misdemeanor within
said district,' or within thef town, city or village within which
any such misdemeanor under this act was committed. And any
person, corpCtfatiM ^Mbody which may have wilfully done or
omitted any tot or tMnj^tvhich is in this act, or any law or ordi
nance therein referred to, declared to be, or to subject the party
guilty thereofto punishment for a misdemeanor, shall, in addi
tion thereto, be [wbject to a penalty of two hundred and fifty
dollars, to fee sued for and recovered by said Board in any civil
tribunal in said district, except that in the marine, or justice, or
county »artdl^>iffireater amount can be recovered than the ex
tent of the ilMgmtiofoin other civil suits. And any such suits
may be against one or more, or each or all of those who partici
pate in the act, refusals or omissions complained of, and the re
covery may be against one or more of those joined in the action,
as the justice of the court shall direct. And the provisions of this
section as to the jurisdiction of tribunals, parties, and costs, shall
apply to all suits by said Board or its assignees or the assignees
of the Police Board under this act. And said Board of Health
may institute and maintain in its own name all such suits and
proceedings as shall be reasonable, necessary, and proper for re
covering any moneys expended, enforcing the payment of any
fine, the punishment for any offence, or in other respects carrying
* See Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 17.
�33
out the objects of this act. All processes ancl papers usual or
*
•
i
.
By whom
necessary m the commencement and prosecution of actions, or process served,
for the collection of money, in suits or proceedings under this
act on execution, may be served by any policeman, and in and
K»out such matters, the policeman so engaged shall have all the
Rowers of marshals, and no fees shall be charged by any court,
magistrate, or clerk for the issue of any paper or process, or the
(performance of any duty in suits under this act. Any civil ac- uonmay bT ac'
'tion brought under or by authority of this act, shall be in the bronshtname or by the authority of said Board, and may be brought in
»ny court in said district having jurisdiction in any civil action, Costs
to an amount as large as is demanded in such action, and if judg
ment be rendered for the plaintiff in any amount, costs of the
court in which such action is brought shall also be recovered
without reference to the amount of the recovery, provided pay
inent was demanded before suit brought, and the defendant or
defendants in the action against whom the recovery is had, did
not, as the code of procedure authorizes, offer to pay an amount
equal to the recovery against him or them, except that in cases
where the recovery shall be less than fifty dollars, the amount of
posts shall be ten dollars, and in case no recovery is had, the
plaintiff shall not pay costs, unless the judge or justice at the
(conclusion of the trial shall certify in writing that there was not
reasonable cause for bringing the action, and in such case the
costs shall not exceed ten dollars, unless the amount claimed ex
ceeded fifty dollars. No action shall abate or right of action al- Aotlons not t0
ready accrued be abolished by reason of the expiration, repeal, abateor amendment of any ordinance, code of health ordinances, or
regulation of said Board; nor shall any court lose jurisdiction
iof any action by reason of a plea that title to real estate is in
volved, provided the defendant is sought by the pleadings, to be
charged in said action on any of the grounds mentioned in this
act, other than by virtue of ownership of such real estate. In
respect to all proofs and proceedings by said Board, or its agents Papersfiied
•
deemed entered
br officers, under this act, papers filed shall be deemed entered
upon or in the minutes of the Board.
§ 3. Section twelve of said act is hereby amended so as to read
as follows :
§12. The authority, duty and powers, whether given by any powers^f’iocai
law, or by any ordinance made thereunder heretofore (for the
and °f'
* See Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 8.
5
♦
�34
Cities to pay
salaries.
Powers given
New York by
certain ordin::
ces. conferred,
upon board.
purpose of preserving or protecting life or health, or preventing
disease) conferred upon or now belonging to, or being exercised
by the board of health, or the board of public health of or ill
the city of New York, or of or in the city of Brooklyn, or else J
where in said district, the mayor and common council of either
of said cities, the mayor of the city of New York, by and with
the advice and consent of the board of aidermen, the president
of the board of aidermen, the president of the board of assist
ant aidermen (or councilmen), the resident physician, the
health commissioner, the mayor and the commissioners, the
commissioners of health, the city inspector, (or the city inspector’s department), of either of said cities ; or conferred upon
or now belonging to any two or more of the said bodies or offi
cers, or last named boards or departments, or to any board of
health or health officer or agent in said district, or exercised
by any officer or person appointed by or deriving authority
from any one or more of the bodies, officers, departments, last
named boards, (so far as said powers and authority can be exer
cised and such duty performed by the Board hereby created,
without interference with the proper discharge of the duties, otlj^
er than sanitary duties, heretofore imposed upon the board metro
politan police), are hereby exclusively conferred upon, and shall
hereafter be exclusively exercised by the aforesaid “ The Metro
politan Board of Health the members and officers thereof, as
herein provided ; and the same are to be exercised as herein set
forth (and to such an extent, and in such place and manner as
said Board may provide), for the greater protection and security
of health and life in said district, and the appropriate parts there
*
of; and after this act goes into effect, no salary or compensation
shall be paid to, or fees demanded by or expense ordered to be
incurred by any officer, board or agent, or in respect to any ser
vice, expenditure or employment under the authority of any
health law, ordinance, regulation or appointment of or in said
cities, or any part of said district, unless such salary, expendi
ture, employment, fees or expense shall be authorized by the
Board hereby created and contemplated by the provisions of this
act. And the aforesaid power, duty and authority hereby trans
ferred to and conferred upon said Board shall be held to include
all the power, duty and authority given, or conferred, or pur
porting to be given or to be conferred to or upon any person,
officer or board, in or by any ordinance contained or purporting
to be contained in the first ten chapters of ordinances, being
* See Laws of 1S6T, Chapter 956, Section 10.
�35
numbered from one to ten inclusive in a compilation of “ Laws
ancl Ordinances relative to the Preservation of the Public Health
in the City of New York,” and purporting to be published under
the authority and by the direction of the Mayor and CommisEBmers of Health of said city, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and sixty, and by any existing amendments and addigatms thereto. But no fees of any kind shall be charged for the Ko fees.
performance of any duties imposed by said ordinances. And said
Board shall also possess (and may exercise by its own agents, or
Jbf order to be executed by said Board of Police), throughout Local powers
extended over
said district, all the power and authority for the protection of district.
life or health, or the care or preservation of health, or persons
diseased or threatened therewith, conferred by any law or ordi
nance relating to any part of said district, and especially by the Health powers
act of the seventeenth of April, eighteen hundred and fifty-four, of Brooklyn
charter confer
(being the three hundred and eighty-fourth chapter of the Laws red on board.
eighteen hundred and fifty-four), upon the mayor, common
pouncil, board of health, or the health officers, (or upon any
two or more of them, or other officers), in said act mentioned.
But the powers and authority in this section given shall not be
Certain boards
held to interfere with the powers and duties of the Croton A.c- not interfered
with.
feueduct Board, Street Commissioner, Superintendent of Unsafe
Buildings, Comptroller of New York City, or the Board author
ized to contract for street cleaning (under the law of eighteen
hundred and sixty-five) ; nor shall anything in the aforesaid laws
or ordinances contained be construed as a limitation of any power in this bill elsewhere given to the said Board or to limit the
^penalties and expenses it may enforce or collect; and all the Municipal au
thorities
Jpower recited or given by said laws or ordinances shall belong interfere.not to
wholly to said Board, who may exercise the same without the
advice, assent, or co-operation of any municipal board or officer,
and in any manner not inconsistent with the other sections of
this law, without being limited to the means or by the procedure in said ordinances stated. And no municipal body or other
■authority in said district shall hereafter create or employ any of Nor incur ex
pense.
ficer or agent, or incur any expense, under any of said (or other)
health laws or ordinances, or in respect of any matter concerning
Vihich said Board is by this act given control or jurisdiction.
All the aforesaid powers are to be possessed and exercised as
tfully as if herein repeated and separately conferred upon said
Board. And the powers of said Board shall be construed to in- Additional pow
ers.
clude the ordering and enforcing, in the same manner as other
�36
orders are provided to be enforced, the repairs of building®
houses, and other structures; the regulation and control of all
Markets.
public markets (so far as relates to the cleanliness, ventilation and
drainage thereof, and to the prevention of the sale or offering
Instructions in for sale of improper articles therein;) the removal of any obstmcthe street.
tion? matter or thing in or upon the public streets, sidewalks or
*
places, which shall be in their opinion liable to lead to results
detrimental to the public, or dangerous to life or health : the reg
ulation and licensing of scavengers ; the prevention of accidents
Scavengers.
life Or health may be endangered; and, generally, the
^Accidents.
abating of all nuisances.
§ 4. Section five of said act is hereby amended so as to read as
follows:
§ 5. Immediately after the four appointed sanitary commis
sioners shall have taken the oath of office as above provided,
Organize.
they shall meet with the commissioners of the metropolitan po
lice, and the commissioners of metropolitan police with them,
and the health officer of the port of New York, and orga
nize as a board of health by electing one of said board to be
President, and one of said board to be Treasurer thereof, and by
President.
Treasurer.
appointing a proper person to be Secretary of said Board. And
Secretary.
the successive Presidents of said Board of Health shall be annu
ally elected by the said board from the members thereof, and
the successive Treasurers shall be members of said Board; but
the Secretary shall not be a member of the Board. The Treas
Term of office
of Treasurer and urer and Secretary shall respectively continue in office as such
Secretary.
until removed by the election of a successor or otherwise. The
Salaries.
said Sanitary Commissioners shall each receive a salary of two
thousand five hundred dollars a year ; and each Police
Commissioner who may be a member of. said Board of
Health, and the Health Officer, shall as such receive a salary
of five hundred dollars a year ;f and the member of said
Board of Health, who acts as Treasurer, shall receive an addi
Salary of Treas
tional compensation of five hundred dollars a year for his servi
urer.
ces as Treasurer. All salaries allowed under this law shall
be payable as the Board shall provide. But for every regular or
special meeting of said Board which any Sanitary Commissioner
or the Secretary shall fail to attend, there shall be deducted
failure to’attend, from the salary of the person so failing the sum of ten dollars ;
and for every failure of a Police Commissioner or of said Health
Repair of build-
* See Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 6.
+ Amended, Laws of 1867, Chapter 956, Section 16.
�“Officer to- attend any such meeting, there shall be deducted from
ms said salary the sum oftwo dollars; but these provisions shall not Not to apply to
adjourned meet
apply to any adjourned meeting, and it shall be the duty of the ing.
Treasurer to see that all such deductions are made before pay- Corresponding
Secretary.
■nents of said salaries. The Board may appoint a Corresponding
Secretary at an annual salary not exceeding one thousand dol
lars.
§ 5. Section fourteen, sub-division second, is hereby amended Amendment of
§14.
by striking out the words “from the time of filing as aforesaid,”
where the same immediately follow the words “ and also” in said
sub-division.
§ 6. Said Board may, by resolution, confer upon the President Power may be
confered on
power to exercise, in the absence of the Board, the authority President.
given in the fourteenth section, to temporarily suspend oi’ modi
fy any order or its execution. And said Board may change or
Power to modi
modify any order made under the first clause of the fourteenth fy order.
section, except that in cases where no hearing is asked for by the
party affected, the order shall not be so altered as to render its ef
fect more stringent than the original order.
*
§ 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
* Amended, Laws of 18G7, Chapter 956, Section 10.
�LAWS OF 1867.
CHAPTER, 956.
AN ACT relating to the Metropolitan Board of Health, and to
the duties and powers of the commissioners of said board, and
the salaries of their subordinates. Passed May 25, 1867 •
three-fifths being present.
7be People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
President and
Secretary pro
tem.
Chief Clerk to
certify papers.
Courts to take
judicial notice.
Duty of Police.
Minimum of
penalty.
Section 1. The Metropolitan Board of Health shall hereafter
have the power of electing persons to perform, pro tempore, the
duties of secretary or president respectively, during any time
when either of said officers may be absent, or be unable or may
refuse to perform their respective, duties; and the board may
designate one of the clerks in the secretary’s office of said board
as “ chief clerk,” who may perform such duties of the secretary
as shall be assigned him ; and papers certified by said chief clerk
shall be of the same effect, as evidence and otherwise, as if certi
fied by the secretary; and all courts shall take judicial notice of
the seal of said board and of the signature of its secretary and
chief clerk.
§ 2. It shall be the duty of the officers and men of the Metro
politan police force to enforce all of the ordinances and regula
tions of said board of health, and to report all violations of the
same; where, in any case the minimum penalty for a refusal to
obey, or for a violation of any order, regulation or ordinance of
said board of health, or any law is not fixed, the amount recov
ered in such case shall not be less than twenty dollars; and the
judge or justice who presided at a trial where such penalty is
claimed, shall, on said trial, in writing, fix the amount (not con
trary to said provisions) of said penalty to be recovered, and
shall direct such amount so fixed to be and it shall be included in
the judgment.
�39
8 3. Saicl board shall have the same powers in respect of per- Persons sick J
0
„
. „ .
,.
.
with pestilent™
sons afflicted with pestilential or infectious diseases, as are given or infectious
by the sixteenth section of the seventy-fourth chapter of the laws
of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, or otherwise, in respect of persons afflicted with contagious disease, and shall have power to
provide and pay for the use of proper places to which to remove places to be
such persons, as well as to designate such places; and said expenses paid.
board may cause proper care and attendance for such persons so
Eick or removed, when it shall appear to said board that any
such person is so poor as to be unable to procure for himself such
mare and attendance.
| § 4. That portion of the fourth subdivision of the twenty- Supervisor8 of
eighth section of the seventy-fourth chapter of the laws of Westchester to
eighteen hundred and sixty-six, which reads as follows, viz.:
“And the board of supervisors of the counties of New York,
LKings, Richmond and Queens (the expenses of the last named
■Bounty to be charged and collected in, and in respect of the
Property of the towns of Newtown, Flushing and Jamaica), re
spectively, are empowered and directed annually,” is hereby
Emended by inserting the word “Westchester,” between the
qvords Kings and Richmond aforesaid, in said act.
§ 5. Service of any order of said board of health shall be
rleemed sufficient, if made upon a principal person interested in |®^ieeofor’
(or upon a principal officer charged with duty in respect of) the
business, property, matter or thing, or the nuisance or abuse to
[which said order relates; or upon a person, officer or board, or
[one of the board who may be most interested in or affected by
its execution. And if said order relate to any building (or the On agents of
.
.„
.
,
£. tenement and ■
drainage, sewerage, cleaning, purification or ventilation thereof, lodging houses, i
Rr of any lot or ground on or in which such building stands) in
the cities of New York or Brooklyn, used for or intended to be
rented as the residence or lodging-place of several persons, or as
a tenement house or lodging-house, service of such order on the
agent of any person or persons for the renting of such building,
lot or ground, or for the collecting of the rent thereof (or of the
[parts thereof to which said order may relate), shall be of the
same effect and validity as due service made upon the principal
of such agent, and upon the owners, lessees, tenants and occupants of such buildings, or parts thereof, or of the subject matter
feto which such order relates.
§ 6. The word nuisance, as used in this act, shall be held to Nuisance de
embrace public nuisance as known at common law, or in equity fined-
�jurisprudence; and it is further enacted that whatever is danger-]
ous to human life or detrimental to health; whatever building!
or erection, or part, or cellar thereof, is overcrowded with occu
pants, or is not provided with adequate ingress and egress to and
from the same, or the apartments thereof, or is not sufficiently
supported, ventilated, sewered, drained, cleaned or lighted, in
reference to their or its intended or actual use; and whatever ren
ders the air, or human food or drink, unwholesome, are also,
severally in contemplation of this act, nuisances; and all such
Liability for ex nuisances are hereby declared illegal; and each and all persons
pense of abating.
and corporations who created or contributed thereto, or who may
support, continue or maintain or retain them, or any of them,
shall be jointly and severally liable for or toward the expense of
the abatement and remedying of the same; but, as between
themselves, any such persons and corporations may enforce con
tribution or collect expenses, according to any legal or equitable
relations existing between them; but nothing herein contained
Common law
liability reserv shall annul or defeat any common law liability or responsibility
ed.
in respect of nuisances. Provided, however, that nothing con
tained in this act or in the act entitled “An Act to create a Me
Stalls around
tropolitan Sanitary District and Board of Health therein for the
Fulton and
Washington
preservation of life and health, and to prevent the spread of dis
markets not to
ease,” passed February twenty-sixth, eighteen hundred and
be removed.
sixty-six; nor in the act amending said last-mentioned act,
passed April nineteen, eighteen hundred and sixty-six,
shall be construed to confer or as conferring upon the said Board
or its officers or agents the power or authority to order the re
moval, tearing down, or injury of any of the stalls or stands
around Fulton or Washington Markets, in the city of New York,
which were erected or enlarged to their present size prior to the
first day of May, 1866, at any time before the first day of July,
1869; and if, at such date, the erection of a new market or mar
kets, in the place of said markets, shall have been authorized by
law, such power shall not be exercised at any time prior to the
first day of May, 1870. But it is hereby expressly declared that
Powers as to
ventilation,
the said board shall have and possess full and complete power
drainage and
cleanliness re with reference to the ventilation, drainage and cleanliness of
served.
said stands or stalls, and shall have power to order the removal
Stalls erected or
of all stands or stalls which have been erected or enlarged upon
enlarged since
May 1, 186(5,
may be remov any street or sidewalk in said city since said first day of May,
ed.
1866, or shall hereafter be so erected; and that the power given
Power over ob
to said board over obstructions in the streets or on the sidewalks j
structions in
the street af
by existing laws is hereby expressly reaffirmed, except as herein
firmed .
�41
Plans for
modified; and the said Board are hereby directed to propose market tonew
bo
and submit to the next Legislature plans and recommendations submitted.
for the building of one or two new markets, whichever they shall
deem necessary, to replace the Fulton, Washington and West
WVashington Markets in said city.
1. Said Board of Health may institute and maintain, in any
fB|Ft in the Metropolitan Sanitary District (having jurisdiction Board may in
stitute suits to
in suits where the amount claimed exceeds one thousand dollars), abate nuisances
a suit or suits for the abatement or remedying of any of the
Bights of board
aforesaid nuisances, either completely or as fully as may be without suit.
thought necessary by the court. And said board shall also have,
fin said district, all common law rights to abate any nuisance
Disposition of
without suit, which can or does in this State, belong to any per costs.
son whatever. And all costs collected in any such action or proBBeding shall be paid over to the Treasurer of the board arid ac
counted for by him.
2. To all such suits the provisions of chapters seventy-four and
Chapters 74 and
six hundred and eighty-six of the laws of eighteen hundred and 686, laws of 1866
to apply.
Lsixty-six, relative to jurisdiction, costs and parties, shall be aprpllCable ; and the courts shall allow the plaintiff, at any proper
stage of the case, to amend, by joining other parties defendant; Eight to amend
and no suit shall be dismissed or defeated by reason of there be
ing other persons interested therein or concerned in causing, Suit not defeat
ed for defect of
creating or maintaining the nuisance complained of in such suit parties.
where such person is not a necessary party to the suit.
3. Such suit shall be tried as an issue of law, and without a How issue to be
j
unless some defendant shall, in his answer, or by notice in tried.
writing to be served on the plaintiff’s attorney within five days How jury de
after service of said answer, demand a trial by jury on some manded or
waived.
question of fact, to be in said answer or notice distinctly stated,
and in respect of which a right of trial by jury exists ; and if
lany such demand be so made and served, the case shall, as to all
■the defendants, be placed on the calendar of jury trial cases; and
to be
when reached for trial, if issues of fact for the jury have not be- Issues in writJ
stated
ing.
fore been settled, the presiding judge may state in writing the
issues of fact to be submitted to the jury, or the trial shall proceed upon the material issues of fact made by the pleadings
without such written statement of issues ; and the judge who
presided at the trial (or some judge of the same court, if said
Judgment to be.
judge he unable) shall, on receiving the verdict, or as soon there- settled.
6
�42
TVliat judgment
to contain.
How expense
to be borne.
To state on
what property
it is a lien.
IIow lien may
be removed.
Judge may or
der discharge
when expenses
paid.
oa
d given.
Or on consent.
Papers to be
filed.
after, and at the same term, if possible, settle and cause to be
entered the proper judgment in said suit.
4. If the judgment be that any nuisance may be abated or reme
l
*
died, in whole or in part, said judgment shall contain sufficient]
directions for its proper execution, and the judge shall, from the |
pleadings and from the evidence given at the trial, find and state!
what proportion of the expense of such execution shall be paid
or be borne by each or all of the defendants, jointly or severally;
and if, in the opinion of the court, any part of or all the expense
of such execution should be borne by said Board of Health, or
the execution of such judgment should be made by said board,
or under its direction, said judgment shall contain the appro
priate directions in respect to such last-named payment or exe-l
cution. And the court may also adjudge the board to pay or
advance such proportion of the expenses of exccuting’such judg
*
ment, as the judgment shall not direct to be paid by some one
or all of the defendants. Said judgment, if against any defend
ant, shall, on its face, state that it will be a lien on the real prop
erty, corporeal hereditaments of such defendant or defendants
respectively, to which the said nuisance shall have related, till
his oi’ their proportion of such expenses of execution are satis
fied, or the lien thereof shall be otherwise discharged according
to law.
5. Any person prejudicially affected by the lien of any such
judgment may, on eight days’ notice to said board, make a mo
tion before any judge of the court in which said judgment was
rendered, for an order that the lien of such judgment be dis
charged as to all or any specific property set forth ; and if it
shall appear to such judge, on the hearing of such motion, that
such eight days’ notice of such motion has been given to the
Board of Health, and that such judgment has been executed and
the expenses paid, which the lien sought to be discharged was
designed to secure ; or if a proper or sufficient undertaking or
bond, with sureties, shall be given for the payment of such ex
penses ; or if said Board of Health, through its attorney or coun
sel, shall in writing consent to the discharge of the last named
lien, as to any or all property referred to, or as to one or more
defendants, then said judge may order said lien discharged of re
cord by the proper officer, to the extent and as to the person or
persons that the order shall specify; and it shall be so dis
charged ; and such order and the moving papers shall be filed
with the proper clerk, as the judge shall direct.
�43
6. No appeal.by any party defendant shall stay the execution Appeal not to
stay proceed
of miy judgment aforesaid, except to the extent, in reference to ings, except by
special order.
the persons, and on the conditions the judge who tried the case
(if he can be conveniently applied to, or, if not, some other judge
of the same court), shall, on the settling of the judgment, or on rnotion, and on four days’ notice to said Board of Health, and with due
reference to the public interests involved, specially order ; and if
no such order shall be made, the judgment shall be executed, not■withstanding any appeal, undertaking or security, and without If no stay judg
any liability on the part of any person (other than as herein else- ment to be
executed.
where provided, in respect of said board), by reason of any damages or consequences growing out of the execution of such
■ mdgment, whether the same be reverffid or not. All appeals by
the defendant from any judgment in the said abatement suits Time within
which appeals
■shall be taken within ten days after notice in writing to the de- to be taken.
fendant or his attorney, of the entry of the judgment therein, Temporary stay
and the judge who tries the case may, in his discretion, and may be allowed.
■(without security, but only for the period of the said ten days,
order a stay as to the execution of the judgment; and within
said period of ten days an undertaking or security on appeal (to
Undertaking to
stay execution of the judgment, as herein provided) must be be filed.
*
filed, the same to be otherwise of the form and obligation as is
required in ordinary appeals from judgments, but which shall alWhat to con
so be conditioned for the payment of the appellants’ adjudged tain.
share of the expenses of executing such judgment as the court
may have estimated and said judgment may have stated, or (if
not estimated in said judgment), as the judge, on application and
three days’ notice to said board, shall estimate the same, in conformity with the judgment, for the purpose of such security on
^Rppeal. But, pursuant to any order, or otherwise, the execution No stay longer
than ten days.
■of any judgment against the defendants shall not be delayed beyond said ten days, if within that period the proper undertaking
or security on appeal, approved by the judge, has not been filed,
and the appeal perfected, as herein provided ; and the judgment
■may state the estimated expense that will have to be paid by
any party towards executing said judgment. But said board Board may ap
peal without
<
■nay appeal in any such case, or any case to which it is a par security.
ty, within ten days after the entry of any judgment, and withEffect of appeal.
out giving any security ; such appeal shall be effectual, and shalloperate as a stay on the judgment, or upon the part thereof in
* respect to which said board appeals.
%
�44
■Blnini for penalty may be
joined in same
action,
Motion for new
.trial.
What judgment
at general term
to contain.
[Appeals to
court of appeals.
When change in
code of proced
ure to apply.
Statement of
expense of exe
cuting to be
verified and
filed.
Notice of filing
to be given.
7. In any such abatement suit said board may join a cause
of action for any penalty oi' penalties that may have been in
*
curred by either of the defendants, by reason of, or in connection
with, the nuisance complained of, or by reason of any omissioq
\
or refusal of any defendant to obey or comply with any order of
the Board of Health touching such alleged nuisance, and have the
proper provision in any judgment therefor against one or more
of the defendants. No motion for a new trial on a case made
shall be entertained in any such abatement suit, except as a part
of and as arising upon the. papers upon a regular appeal to a gen
eral term of the court, and to be heard therewith.
8. The judgment of the general term, if it shall to any extent
direct any change in the judgment appealed from (but shall di
rect, or allow or fail to forbid the judgment in part to be exe- J
cuted), shall also contain the requisite specific provisions, so that
the judgment as modified may be executed, and the due propor
tion of the expenses of such execution may be assessed on the
defendants respectively, or on said board, as the general term |
may adjudge. Upon any appeal from the general term to the
court of appeals, in such abatement suit, the provisions hereof as
to appeals from the judgment to the general term, and as to se« »
curity on appeal, shall, in all particulars, including the length of
time given in which to take an appeal, apply; and no change in
the code of procedure, or otherwise, hereafter to be made, though
in subject matter applicable to said abatement suits, shall be
construed to modify the aforesaid or other provisions of the J|
health laws, as to any suits thereunder, unless such act shall spe- I
cifically declare such modification to be intended.
9. Upon the execution in whole or in part of any such judg
ment (if said board shall, as it is hereby authorized to do, decide
the public interest to demand only execution in part thereof,) a
statement of the expenses of such execution shall be made, and ■
such expenses shall be therein apportioned not contrary to any
provisions of said judgment; and upon the same being verified
by the oath of some person who by due authority, took part in
or had charge of the execution of such judgment, or by some
officer of said board, such statement, entitled in the case, may be
filed or given to the proper clerk to be filed, with such judg
ment ; and notice of such filing or delivery, and a copy of such
statement, shall be given to the attorneys of the defendant in the
suit, or to the defendants themselves, or to some one of the joint
defendants; and unless within ten days aftei- any such notice,
�45
such defendants shall give due notice in writing, to said Board When statemenl|
to become final.
or to the person who, as assignee or by order, executed such
judgment or is entitled to payment of such expense (in case it
was not executed by said board), of a motion, and serve there
with copies of affidavits to correct such statement in particulars
to be mentioned, and separately and clearly stated in such affida
vit, such statement aforesaid shall be, in all suits and proceed
ings and tribunals, and at all times, deemed and taken to be
final, conclusive, and correct; and no formal defect in such state
ment shall in any wise vitiate the same. And on any hearing of Proceedings on
hearing of
such motion, any party in interest, or said board, may read affi- motion to cor
rect statement.
Idavits in support of such original statement; and the finding of
Iwiy judge on the hearing of such motion, as to the said state Judges finding
ment of such expenses and other matters in such motion involved final.
or statement contained shall be final and conclusive, and not sub Effect of modi
ject to appeal; and such finding or statement as modified by fied finding.
such finding, when filed, shall be of the same effect as such orig
inal statement would have been, had no motion in regard there
to been made ; and for the purpose of an execution for such ex- Finding to bo
fpense, and creating a lien under any judgment;, such statements part of j udgment.
and finding or modified statement shall be regarded as a part of
said judgment, and the lien thereof shall extend to any amounts
(stated in such final statement and finding.
When
10. For the proportion and amounts, as authorized by such tion toexecnbe
issued and top
(judgment, and contained in such finding or in such statement or what.
modified statement, when either of the same shall have become
filial as aforesaid, said board or any assignee of such board, or
any other person who has executed such-judgment, or has otheiwise a right to receive the expense of so doing (or the portion
thereof that may be due from any defendant), shall have execu
tion, on such execution being allowed ex parte, by a judge oi
the court in which any judgment was recovered (and such exe
cution shall, in due form, be allowed by any such judge) ; such Against whom’
execution 10 be.
Execution to be against any one or more defendants or joint defeedants for the recovery of any amount due from such de
fendant or defendants, which the party claiufeg such execution
is entitled to receive ; and such execution, except as herein especially provided, shall be of the same effect and form as any exe
cution duly issued pursuant to any judgment. But no execution No execution
for less than
shall be issued against any defendant for less than the whole amount due.
sum due from such defendant, or for less than he shall be liable
execu
to pay in such suit; but any sum adjudged against any defend Separatecosts,
tion for
penalty, &c.
ants or defendant, in any such abatement suit for penalties,'costs,
�46
or for other cause than the expense of the abatement or remedy
ing of such nuisance, may be collected by separate or other exe
cutions (than those authorized tor collecting- such expense), to be
issued in due course of law.
'When prelimi
nary injunction
may be granted.
11. In any abatement suit aforesaid, the court, or a judge
thereof, may issue and enforce an appropriate preliminary in
junction, whenever it shall be asked for pursuant to an order of
said Board of Health, by affidavit, and there shall appear to such
judge to be reasonable cause therefor; and such injunction may
also be granted whenever it shall be made to appear to the court
On what
grounds.
or a judge thereof, by affidavit, that such injunction is needed to
prevent any illegal act, conduct, or business aforesaid, or its con
tinuance, or to prevent serious danger to human life or serious
detriment to health, or great public inconvenience touching any
matter or thing to which this act or the health laws aforesaid re
late. And in any such injunction order the court may require
[What injunc[tion order to
any building, erection or grounds to be put in a condition that
contain.
will not be dangerous to the life or detrimental to the health of
any occupant, before the same shall be leased, or rented or occu
pied, or before any rent or compensation shall be collected for
the rent or use of the whole or any portion of the same. In
any such injunction order, and also in any judgment in any abate
ment suit, the judge or court may require the tenants, lessees
Court may or and occupants (or either or any of them) of any such building,
der rents to be .
paid to Board. erection or grounds, to pay the rent thereof (or compensation there
for) due or to grow due, to said board, and said board to collect and
IIow money to
receive the same, and to apply said rent to pay the expenses of
be applied.
putting any said building, erection or ground in a condition that
will not be dangerous to the life or detrimental to the health of'
any present or future tenant, .lessee or occupant, or of any other
persons; all such collections and payments to be made in such man
ner, to such extent and oil such conditions as any such order or
judgment may provide; and every such payment to said board,
Treasurer's re and the receipt of its treasurer for such rent or compensation,
ceipt to be a
discharge.
shall be as effectual to protect any person who has made the
same, and every such tenant, lessee and occupant, and all his
and their rights under any lease or occupation, as if such pay
ment had been made to and such receipt had been given by any
lessor or owner, or any proper claimant of any such rent or com
pensation, who had, but for such order or judgment, the right
and authority to receive the same. (But no undertaking or se
No undertaking
on injunction. curity shall be required or necessary, on the part of said board,
�47
as a condition of granting such injunction, or the same being
effectual; and in any final judgment in such suit there may be injunction on
enjoined whatever, if about to happen or threatened, would be flnal->lldsmeutthe proper subject matter of a preliminary injunction.) And
when the public interest seems to the court to require a speedy Trial may bo
trial or hearing of any such suit or appeal therein, it shall be the exPedltedHuty of any judge of any court aforesaid, or of the court to
(whom application by said board may be properly made, to cause
such suit or appeal to be brought to a speedy trial (and before
it would otherwise be reached for trial or argument in due course
on the calendar,) as the judge or court may by special order
Kirect.
12. In so far as any judgment may be directed to be executed Ast0 expenses
at the expense of said board of health, or by any party defend- bnoa^red by tbe
ant at his own expense, and shall by such party defendant be so
Executed, the expense of such execution shalMiot be stated or
Embraced in the aforesaid statement or finding of expenses ; but
if any part of the execution aforesaid, which any party should
have borne or paid, shall (by reason of the delay, refusal or
defective act or execution of such party or any other cause,) be
paid, borne or incurred by said board of health, in and about the
Execution of such judgment, then the said latter expenses of said
board may be embraced in said statement and finding, 'and col
lected by execution as aforesaid.
13. Whatever expenses said board of health may lawfully and Expenses m.
1
e
e
.
properly incur in the execution of any iudgment aforesaid, or in enrred by board
r 1
.J
.
.
.
.
J J
°
.
in ,s°°ci faith to
executing, or in connection with its own orders, made in good be paid from its
?
.
.
.
. °
funds.
faith, or in and about th® discharge, in good faith, of its sup
posed duties, or-in satisfying any liability or judgment it may
have in good faith incurred or suffered by reason of its acts done
in good faith as aforesaid, or in satisfying any claim against its
officers or subordinates, arising from their acts in the discharge
fin good faith of their supposed respective duties, shall, so far as
established, be paid out of its fund or other moneys, and shall be
apportioned, assessed, collected and paid as is provided in the
health laws aforesaid in respect to the expenses of said board
and such sums paid or recovered under this act, shall not be Such expenscs
included in or considered as a part of that class of the expendi- pW ta™olned
tures of the board in respect to which there is or may be a specific limitation as to amount.
§ 7. No member, officer or agent of said board of health, and Membersand
no person (but only the board itself,) shall be sued or held to noVpersonaHy'1
liability for any act done or omitted by either person aforesaid liable-
�48
Board liable to
action.
Must be brought
within six
months.
What may be
recovered where
no undertaking
given.
Name of Board.
Service of pa
pers on board.
Name of Board
of Excise.
No injunction
against board
except by Su
preme Court on
notice.
(in good faith and with ordinary discretion,) on behalf dr oH
under said board, or pursuant to its regulations, ordinances or
said health laws. And any person whose property may have]
been unjustly or illegally destroyed or injured, pursuant to any
order, regulation or ordinance, or action of said-board of health!
or its officers, for which no personal liability may exist as afore!
said, may maintain a proper action against said jboard for the
recovery of the proper compensation or damage to be paid by
and from the funds of said board of health. Every such suit]
must be brought within six months after the cause of action
arose, and the recovery shall be limited to the damages suffered
And there shall be the same right to sue and recover against said
board (the amount to be paid from its funds,) when no security’
or undertaking is given by the board on appeal, or the granting
of an injunction, that would have existed (pursuant to the fore’
going provisions,) to sue and recover of any party to such under-]
taking, had the same been duly executed by any such party and'
board, and duly approved and filed, according to the practice in
analogous cases.
§ 8. Said board of health may sue or be sued in and by its
proper name, as “ The Metropolitan Board of Health,” and not
in or by the name of the members of said board or any of
them ; and service of all process in suits and proceedings against
or affecting said board, and other papers, may be‘ made upon the
president of said board, or upon its secretary, and not otherwise;
except that, according to usual practice in other suits, papers in
suits to which said board of health is a party, may be served on
its attorney. But when a party plaintiff or defendant to a suit
(or otherwise designated in any manner, in its capacity as a
board of excise,) said board of health shall be designated in said
capacity, and said board of excise shall hereafter be known and
described as “ The Metropolitan Board of Excise,” and only by
such last name shall it or its members sue or be sued.
§ 9. No preliminary injunction shall be granted against the
Metropolitan board of health, or of police, or its or their officers,
or against the commissioners of said boards in their capacity as
a board of excise, or against the last named board, except by the
supreme court, at a special or general term thereof, after service
of at least eight days’ notice of a motion for such injunction^
together with copies of the papers on which the motion for suehj
injunction is to be made.
�49
| 10. The sixth section of the six hundred and eighty-sixth § G, Chap. 686,
Laws ot 1866
chapter of the laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, is hereby amended.
amended by substituting the word “ burthensome” in place of
the word “ stringent,” therein contained. The “ code of health
Code of
ordinances,” mentioned in said six hundred and eighty-sixth nances. ordi
‘chapter, shall hereafter be designated as the “ code of sanitary
ordinances,” and the same may embrace all matters and subjects
What
to which, and so far, as the power and authority of said board of brace . to em
health extends; nor shall anything in said acts be construed as
limiting their application to the subject of health only; and said
ordinances may respectively be designated as, or incircle, rules
and regulations. Hereafter said code shall be published once
only in any week, and for two weeks only in the aggregate, in
any one year, and it shall not be necessary to publish any por When to be
published.
tion of said code which has remained unaltered since its last pre
vious publication. The twenty-ninth section of the seventy
fourth chapter of the laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-six shall
be deemed applicable to any case hereafter to arise, when said To what § 29 of
Chap. 76, Laws
board may find it necessary and proper to borrow money to dis of 1866 appli
cable .
charge its duties and defray its expenses, as in said section more
particularly mentioned;. but no more than twenty-five thousand Amount which
dollars shall be borrowed by virtue hereof, or under said section, may be borrow
ed.
in any one year. The right given in the seventy-fourth and six Right to sue for
certain
hundred and eighty-sixth chapters of the laws of eighteen hun ties. penal
dred and sixty-six, to said board of health, to sue for and re
cover, in its own name, any penalties, shall embrace any and all
penalties that might, before the acts aforesaid, have been sued
for or collected by the mayor, aldermen and commonalty of the
city of New York, the city of Brooklyn, or any person (or body
in either of said acts referred to,) under or in respect of any law
or ordinance, the power or authority given or conferred, or pur
porting to be exercised by which is now possessed by said board
of health.
§ 11. If any person shall knowingly make to said board of
health or any officer thereof any false return, statement or report False return of
births, &c.
relative to any birth, death or marriage, or other matter con
cerning which a report or return may be legally required of or
should be made by such person: or if any member, inspector or False report.
officer, or .agent of said board of health shall knowingly make to
said board of health any false or deceptive report or statement,
(in connection with his duties,) or shall accept or receive, or au7
�50
Bribe.
Punishment.
thorize or encourage, or knowingly allow any other person to
accept or receive any bribe or other compensation as a condition
of or an inducement for not faithfully discovering and fully
reporting or otherwise acting according to his duty in any
respect: then any and every such person shall be deemed guilty
of a misdemeanor, and shall be liable to be for such crime in
dicted, tried and punished according to law, and shall, in addi
tion, forfeit all compensation due or to grow due from said
board.
§ 121 ^TP011 the application of any party in interest in any
pending examination before said board of health, bv affii
? J
davit stating the grounds of such application to any judge of a
court of record, and asking that any person or persons therein
named shall appear before said board of health, or any person
taking or about to take such examination, at some time or times
and place, to be stated in said affidavit, it shall be the duty of
such judge, if he discovers reasonable cause so to do, to issue his
order requiring such person or persons named to appear and sub
mit to such examination as and to the extent such order may
state, at the times and places to be in said order named; and
such order, to be signed by such judge, may be served, and shall
in all respects be obeyed as a subpoena duly issued; and a refu
sal to submit to the proper examination may be punished by
such judge, or by any judge of such court, as a contempt of
court, upon the facts as to such refusal being brought before any
such judge by affidavit.
eeimns orders'
§ 13> ^ie
board, its assignee, or any person acting under
to be a lien.
p-g authority, in executing any order of said board, shall have a
lien for the expenses necessarily incurred in the execution of
said order, and said expenses shall be a lien upon the land and
buildings upon or in respect of which, or either of which, the
Priority of ii»n wo1’^ required by said order has been done, or expenses incurred,
which lien shall have priority over all other liens and incum
brances, except taxes and assessments. But no such lien shall
where notice to be valid for any purpose till the said board or person shall have
caused to be filed in the office, or -with the officer where notices of
mechanics’ liens are now or maybe hereafter required to be filed,
a notice containing the same particulars required to be stated
what to conwith reference to mechanics’ liens, with the further statement
tall‘'
that the expense has been incurred in pursuance of an order of
said board, and giving its date. Upon such filing the said offi
cer shall make the same entry on the book or index in which
mechanics’ liens are entered as he is required to enter in cases of
Rmpei™7
to attend before matter
board.
i
�51
mechanics’ lien, together with a reference to said order by date;
and thereafterffhe same shall, except as herein elsewhere pro
vided, have the same effect in all respects as a mechanics’ lien;
land all proceedings with reference to said lien, its enforcement
/and discharge, shall be had and carried on in the same manner
Bis similar proceedings with reference to mechanics’ liens are
how or may be hereafter by law had or carried on. The filing
of such statement shall, as to all persons, have the same effect as
filing of notice of mechanics’ lien ; and unless within two months
When notice to
after actual notice of such filing, proceedings are taken by the b- come coneluparty against whom or whose said property the lien is claimed siveto discharge such lien, the filing shall, as to all persons having
such actual notice, become conclusive evidence that the amount
claimed in such statement, with interest/is due, and is a just lien
’upon said land and building. Such lien shall continue to be a Hotv long to
Alien for the space of four years from the time of filing such state continues lien.
ment, unless proceedings are in the meantime taken to enforce
or discharge the same, which may be done at any time during
its continuance. In case proceedings are so taken, it shall remain a lien until the final termination of such proceedings; and
if such proceedings shall result in a judgment for the amount
claimed in such statement, or any portion thereof, such judg
ment shall, to such extent, be a lien in the same manner, and
grom the same time, as said statement.
§ 14. The said Board of Health may from time to time fix and Powers of board
over coroners
define the time of making, and the form of returns and reports in New York
to be made to said board by the coroners of the counties of New and Kings.
York and Kings, in all cases of post mortem inquests, or view
ing of dead bodies held by them or any of them ; and the said
coroners are hereby required to conform to the directions of Coroners to
said board in the premises, and it shall be the duty of every obey directions,
loroner at once, and before holding any inquest, upon being
Duty of coro
failed upon to hold an inquest as aforesaid, or notified thereof, ner:- to notify
boa’d of call for
to immediately transmit and cause to be delivered to the secre inquest.
tary of said board of health, written notice of the fact of such
call for holding inquest, in which shall be stated every particu
lar then known to said coroner as to said call, the body, the
place where it is, and the reported cause of death. If at any Board may or
der burial ot
time said board, or the sanitary, or assistant sanitary superin body in certain
tendent, shall deem the protection of the public health to de- cases.
U|and, it may (so soon as the coroner’s jury shall have viewed
the dead body, and an autopsy thereof shall have been made,
�52
provided the coroner deems the same necessary,) order the im
mediate burial of any dead body, or if he or it deems that the
public health demands an immediate removal of said body from
the place of death to another place for inquest, may likewise at
any time order said immediate removal, and shall have, power to
cause said orders to be obeyed and executed.
Limit of expen
§ 15. The seventy-fourth chapter of the laws of 1866, is
diture.
amended, by substituting in the place of the words “ one hun
dred thousand dollars,” where the same occurs in the twenty
eighth section thereof, the following words, viz : “ one hundred
Salaries of Su and fifty thousand dollars.” The salary of the sanitary superin
perintendent,
tendent shall be five thousand dollars per annum; of the assis
asst, superin
tendent. Inspec
tant sanitary superintendent thirty-five hundred dollars, and of
tors, may be
classified.
the sanitary inspectors not less than eighteen hundred dollars,
nor more than twenty-five hundred dollars; and said board may
Asst, inspec
divide said inspectors into classes, and fix the salaries of each
tors .
class within said limits. Said board may appoint such num
Expense of ex
ber of assistant sanitary inspectors as they shall deem necessary,
ecuting orders
not covered by
and fix their salaries at an amount not exceeding twelve hun
limit.
dred dollars each. And all sums that may be expended in exe
cuting any order, resolution or regulation of said board of health,
or in executing any judgment that may be recovered by the
board, or in paying any sums that may be recovered against the
board of health, shall be deemed sums provided to be paid by
and to be recovered back from some person or corporation,
within the meaning of the said last named twenty-eighth sec
tion,.
§ 16. By reason of the additional duties to be performed by
Salary of com
missioners as a the several commissioners of said board of health, in their ca
board of excise.
pacity as commissioners of excise, the salary of each thereof,
except the health officer of the port of New York, is increased
by the sum of fifteen hundred dollars, and a reasonable compen
May increase
sation or salary in addition to what has been heretofore author
salaries of offi
cers .
ized may be paid by said board to any of its officers or employees
whose labors are for that reason increased ; the said increase of
salary to date from the first day of December, one thousand
Increase to date
from December eight hundred and sixty-six, and the same shall be paid from the
1,1866.
moneys received for licenses. The provisions of the seventy
Quorum, mode fourth chapter, of the laws of 1866, so far as the same relate to
of calling meet
ings, seal, &c., the calling and holding of meetings, or a quorum thereat, the
of board of
duties of the secretary, the dismissal and control of officers and
exciseagents, the designation and use of a seal, the authentication and
Or its removal.
�53
presumptive effect and legality of the records, papers and acts of
the board, shall be held to apply to said board and the commis
sioners named in said act and to their doings, in their capacity
as a board of excise. Said board of excise shall make a like an- lo report,
nual report as is required of said board of health. ■
§17. Any wilful omission or refusal to obey or conform to Neglect or retu.
.
.
sa1 to obey a
any part of this act, or any willful resistance of or refusal to misdemeanor.,
obey any order, regulation or ordinance made in pursuance of
this act, shall be subject to the same punishment, penalty and
liabilities, both civil and criminal, as if such omission, refusal or re
sistance was in respect of either of the acts mentioned in the tenth
Section hereof, or in respect of an order, regulation or ordinance
made in pursuance of either of the last named acts.
§ 18. When any order of said board of health has been exe- statement. <>r
°
J
.
.
expense, of excuted, or so far executed as said board may require, the expen- editing orders
ses of such execution, giving in general terms the items of such
expense and the date of execution, shall be stated in an affidavit,
and the same shall be filed among the records of said board,
with the order so executed; and said board shall take care, by
or through some proper officer, or otherwise, that the expenses
of such execution be so stated with fairness and accuracy ; and
when it shall appear that such execution, or the expenses there
of, related to several lots or buildings belonging to different per- Espcnse to bc
sons, said affidavit shall state what belongs to or arose in respect apportioned
to each lot of said several lots or buildings, as said board or its
authorized officer may direct; and the correctness of such ap
pointment or expenses, as stated in any such affidavit, shall not
statement
be called in question or reviewed elsewhere than before said corrected,
board; but said board may revise and correct the same, as said
board shall think truth and justice may require.
Claim for pen
Whenever the expenses attending the execution of any order alty and for ex
pense joined in
of said board of health (and all such expenses are to be a lien one action
and charge as said original act specifies as to certain expenses,)
may be made the subject of a suit by said board, or its assignee,
(or the person having a right to recover such expenses,) there
maybe joined in the same suit a claim or claims for any penalty
or penalties for violations of either of said chapters, or of this
act, or for the violation or omission to perform or obey said
order, (or any prior order of said board,) or for the not doing of
that or any portion of that, for the doing of which said expenses
i arose or were incurred; and said board may make an assignment ciaim for pen, .
alty may he asof the claim for any such penalty or penalties, to enable the claim sagged.
�54
Joint or several
judgment.
Expenses and
judgment a lien
upon rent.
Also upon com
pensation refer
red to in § 16,
Chap. 76, Laws
of1866.
How lien ren
dered effectual.
Copy of order
with statement
of expense or
transcript of
judgment to be
served.
Upon whom
served.
Demand of rent
may be served.
for the same and the claim for said expenses to be joined in the
same suit; and the proper joint or several judgment may be had
against one or more of the defendants in the suit, as they or
either of them may be liable in respect of both said claims, or
either or any of them.
And said expenses of executing said order, and the expenses
of executing any judgment in any abatement suit herein pro
vided for, and the several judgments that may be recovered
hereunder, or otherwise, for any such penalty or expenses, (or
both such penalty and expenses together,) until the same are
paid or discharged, shall be (a lien as other judgments, and also)
a lien and charge upon rent and compensation due or then ma
turing from any tenant or occupant of the building, lots and
premises, or the parts thereof to which any such order or judg
ment relates, or'in respect of which any such expenses were in
curred.
And such expenses and judgments shall respectively be liens
on the several compensations mentioned, and under the circum
stances stated (as to certain expenses being such lien) in the
fourteenth section of the seventy-fourth chapter of the laws of
eighteen hundred and sixty-six, as if the provisions there contained
were here repeated. For the purpose of rendering such lien and
charge more effectual to secure payment of any such expenses or
judgment, from any rent or compensation aforesaid, the follow
ing proceedings may be taken:
1. The board of health, or any person owning any such judgment,
or the claim for any such expenses, or having a right to receive
payment therefor, may serve a copy of the order under or by
reason of which such expenses were authorized or incurred (with
a copy of any affidavit, stating the expenses of the execution of
such order,) or, if the claim be a judgment, may serve a tran
script of such judgment (and any affidavit showing the expense
of its execution, if there be any) upon any person or corporation
owing, or who is about to owe, any compensation (in respect of
any matter or thing in said fourteenth section mentioned,) or
owing or about to owe any rent or compensation for the use or
occupation of any grounds, premises or building, or any part
thereof, to which said order or judgment relates, and in respect
of which such expenses or the expenses embraced in said judg
ment related or were incurred; and may, at any time of such
service, demand in writing that such rent, or any such compensa
tion (to the extent of said claims for said expenses, or of any such
�55
Efflgtnent or expense in executing the same,) shall, when such
rent or compensation becomes clue and payable, be paid to the
Uwsurer of said board of health.
2. After the service of the papers aforesaid and such demand,
do6'a
any tenant, lessee, occupant or other person owing or about to ?a’d t0 treas"
Owe, any such rent or any such compensation, shall, when such
rent or any such compensation shall mature or become payable,
pay the same, and from time to time any other amount thereof,
as the same may become due and payable, (or so much thereof
as is sufficient to satisfy any such judgment or claim for expen
ses or both, so served,) to the treasurer of said board of health ;
and such treasurer shall give his receipt as treasurer therefor, Treasurer to
stating on account of what order or judgment and expenses the an^deposiUn
'same has been paid to him and received; and the amount so re
ceived shall be deposited in some bank in the city of New York,
where other funds of the board are kept, to the special account
of such treasurer.
3. Any person or corporation refusing or omitting, as herein di- Persons refusi
i
,
r.
.
o in.?to pay liable
rected, to make such payment to said treasurer, after service of for amount,
the paper and demand aforesaid, as herein required, shall be per
sonally liable to said board of health, or to the party owning
any such claim for expenses or judgment (if not belonging to
said .board,) for the amount that should have been paid to said
treasurer, according to the provisions hereof, and may by such
barty (or board, if the owner aforesaid) be sued therefor; and thereforSUed
Buch persons shall not in such suit dispute or call in question the whatnot to be
authority of said board of health to incur or order such expense,
uted in suoh
Or the validity or correctness of such expenses or judgment in
any particular, or the right of the party making said demand, or
his assignee, to have the same paid from such rent or compensa
tion. But the receipt of such treasurer ,for any sum 1
paid him as receipt efiectTreasurer’s
1
J
aforesaid, shall, in all suits and proceedings, and for every pur- ualpose, be as effectual in favor of any person holding the same as
actual payment of the amount thereof to the proper landlord,
lessor, owner, or other person or persons who would, but for the
provisions of this statute, or said service and demand, have been
entitled to receive the sum so paid to such treasurer, could or
would have been. And it is further expressly declared, that no
tenant or occupant of any lot, building or premises, or his or dispossessed be
their assignee or lessee, shall be dispossessed or disturbed, nor u treasurerDt
shall any lease or contract, or rights, be forfeited or impaired,
nor any forfeiture or liability be incurred by reason of any omist
�o6
sion to pay to any landlord, owner, lessor, contractor, party of
other person, the sum so paid to said treasurer, or any part
thereof.
Treasurer to re
4 . The treasurer of said board of health shall retain said money
tain moneys till
twelve clays af so paid him until twelve days after it s^iall be made to appear to
ter notice.
said board of health, or some proper officer thereof, by satisfac
tory affidavit, that the party or parties, or his or their agent for
the collection of any such rent or compensation, who (but for ■
the provisions hereof would have been entitled to receive the
same,) has had written notice of such payment being made, to
said treasurer, and a copy of his receipt therefor; and if at the
If suit to recov end of said twelve days, the party or parties aforesaid, so noti
er not brought fied, have not instituted suit to recover said money, as herein
within twelve
days amount
to be applied on after provided, then the same shall, by said treasurer, be paid to
claim.
any person who may own or have the right to recover the
amount of the judgment or the claim for expenses so served as
aforesaid (or so much thereof as the party may be entitled to,)
or on account of which the money was paid to said treasurer;
and after such payment by the treasurer, the party or parties
When money
may be claimed aforesaid (who failed to sue) shall have no right to demand or
back of treas
urer after
receive any such money unless they shall, within six calendar
twelve days.
months from the expiration of said twelve days, in a suit allege
that they had no notice of such payment to said treasurer, and
What to prove shall, on the trial of such suit, prove said allegation, and also
on trial.
that they were not liable to pay the said claim for expenses or
the said penalty or judgment, and that the said board had not
jurisdiction to order the expenses aforesaid, on account of which
the money was so paid to said' treasurer, or on which any such
judgment was obtained; and in case of a recovery in such suit it
Who to be made shall be only to the extent such parties were not so liable; and
parlies.
in such suit any person or persons who may have received said
money from said treasurer or board shall, by the plaintiff, be
made a party defendant; and if the plaintiff shall recover such
Board may have
judgment
money, or any part thereof, said board of health shall be enti
against co-defendant.
tled to any equitable judgment in such suit which the court may
see lit to direct for recovering said money back, or any part
thereof, from such co-defendant, which had been paid to him by
said treasurer.
5. In case any suit shall be brought under the last subdivision ot
if suit brought
within twelve
this section, or before the expiration of the said twelve days,
days, who may
be parties.
said board of health (but not said treasurer) shall be joined as a
party defendant; and any person or persons, other than said
�57
^oardjBlwning the right to receive said money on account of
said order, expenses or judgment, or who has received the same,
shall also hy the plaintiff be made parties defendant; and no
answer need be made by said board, (except at its option, or if What answer of
it be not a claimant as having paid or incurred said expenses, or board to con
tain .
as being the owner of said judgment,) further than the allega
tion that it holds said money so paid, and is ready to pay it over,
as the result of the suit may render it proper, or to pay an equal
amount to the plaintiff, if adjudged to do so; and said money shall Money to be
be held by said board pending said suit, (if not paid over before held pending
suit.
suit brought as aforesaid,) and provided said suit be diligently
prosecuted to judgment; and on its conclusion the board of
health shall cause the money, if still with its treasurer, or the
proper amount from its funds, to be paid as the determination of
No costs
the suit may render proper; and no costs in any suit in this sec board. against
tion mentioned shall be recovered against said board of health.
But to entitle a plaintiff to recover in any such last named suit, What plaintiff
to prove.
he must make the same proof and establish the same facts as is
required to enable him to recover in any aforesaid suit in this
section mentioned, except as to his not having had notice of such
payment to such treasurer. The treasurer shall obey the direc Treasurer to
obey board.
tions of said board, and shall not be personally liable (unless for
Ilfs own fraudulent acts) for or in respect of any such money or Not personally
facts aforesaid to any one, but said board of health shall pay liable.
such sum as may be finally adjudged against it in any suit.
§ 19.. Said board of health is hereby authorized and directed Board to codify
laws.
to employ such competent person or persons to reduce to the
form of a code all the laws applicable to said board or such parts
Of them as are deemed appropriate to be enforced, and to add
thereto such provisions as said board may deem needful; and To prepare code
also to prepare a complete code of ordinances appropriate to be of ordinances,.
enacted and put in force in said district; and also such general
regulations, and blank forms, as in the opinion of said board
are requisite in the discharge of its duties ; the same to be re
ported to the legislature as early as they can be prepared and To be reported
perfected, and not later than the opening of the session in eight to legislature.
een hundred and sixty-nine ; and said board may incur the ne
cessary expense for the purposes aforesaid, and said board may
have such report printed.
, § 20. No law heretofore enacted or hereafter to be enacted This or prior >:
Shall be construed to repeal or modify any portion of this act or acts not repeal-!
ed by implica
of any law relating to said board of health, or to the members tion.
8
�58
Board of police
may build
telegraphs.
Board of health
may use
telegraph.
Board of police
to detail patrol
men as sur
geons.
Police surgeons
may be detailed
to assist board
of health.
Of said board, their duties or powers as such or as a Board of Ex
cise, unless and except in so far as said law shall expressly thereto refer, and repeal or modify the said laws.
§ 21. The Board of Metropolitan Police shall have power to
erect, operate, supply and maintain, under the general laws of
the State relating to telegraphs, all such lines of telegraph to
and between such places in the district as for the purposes and
business of the police the board shall deem necessary. Said
board may procure and shall own and control all instruments,
fixtures, property and materials procured for the pnrpose above
mentioned, but the cost thereof shall be chargeable to general
expenses of Metropolitan police. The board of police is hereby
permitted to use the said telegraph lines to aid them in facili
tating the operations of the board of health, and when so used
the expense thereof shall be charged to the said board of health,The board of Metropolitan police may detail from the force
members thereof, not exceeding five in number, to perform sur
geon’s duties in any part of the district, and may remand them
to post duty, and while they are so detailed to surgeon’s duties
their pay shall be the same as other surgeons. The pay of sur
geons shall be chargeable to the respective counties in which
they served as surgeons; and any surgeon may be dismissed by
resolution of the board, but the unanimous vote of the board, all
the commissioners being present, taken by ayes and noes, and
recorded, shall be required to adopt such resolution. The board
of police may, if requested by the board of health, employ their
surgeons to aid the sanitary inspectors in the discharge of
their duties, under such regulations and order as the board
of police may make and issue.
§ 22. This act shall take effect immediately.
�59
CHAPTER 908.
AN ACT for the regulation of tenement ancl lodging houses in
the cities of New York and Brooklyn. Passed May 14, 1867.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. From and after the first day of July, eighteen
j
i ■ .
■.
When to take
hundred and sixcy-seven, no house, building, or portion thereof, effect,
in the cities of New York or Brooklyn, shall be used, occupied,
leased or rented for a tenement or lodging house unless the same
conforms in its construction and appurtenances to the require
ments of this act.
§ 2. Every house, building or portion thereof, in the cities of Vg t_
New York and Brooklyn, designed to be used, occupied, leased windows,
dt rented, or which is used, occupied, leased or rented for a ten
ement or lodging house, shall have in every room which is occu
pied as a sleeping room, and which does not communicate
directly with the external air, a ventilating or transom window,
having an-opening or area of three square feet, over the door
leading into and connected with the adjoining room, if such ad
joining room communicates with the external air, and also a
ventilating or transom window of the same opening or area,
communicating with the entry or hall of the house, or where
this is, from the relative situation of the rooms impracticable,
such last- mentioned ventilating or transom window shall com
municate with an adjoining room that itself communicates with
the entry or hall. Every such house or building shall have in
th© roof, at the top of the hall, an adequate and proper ventilax., x .
tor, ot a form approved m New York by the inspector of public hal1buildings, and in Brooklyn by the assistant sanitary superintendent of the metropolitan board of health.
§ 3. Every such house shall be provided with a proper fire Pire esc
escape, or means of escape in case of fire, to be approved in New
York by the inspector of public buildings, and in Brooklyn by
assistant sanitary superintendent of the Metropolitan board
of health.
1
§ 4 The roof of every such house shall be kept in good re- Eool in repair.
*
pair, and so as not to leak, and all rain water shall be so drained
�60
or conveyed therefrom as to prevent its dripping on to the ground^
or causing dampness in the walls, yard or area. All stairs shall
be provided with proper bannisters or railings, and shall be kept
in good repair.
Water closets
§ 5. Every such buildingshall be provided with good and suffi
or privies.
cient water closets or privies, of a construction approved by the
Metropolitan board of health, and shall have proper doors,
traps, soil pans, and other suitable works and arrangements, so
far as may be necessary to ensure the efficient operation thereof.
Such water closets or privies shall not be less in number than
One to every
twenty occu
one to every twenty occupants of said house; but water closets
pants.
and privies may be used in common by the occupants of any two
or more houses, provided the access is convenient and direct,
and provided the number of occupants in the houses for which
they are provided shall not exceed the proportion above required
To be connected for every privy or water closet. Every such house situated
with sewer.
upon a lot on a street in which there is a sewer, shall have the
water closets or privies furnished with a proper connection with
the sewer, which connection shall be in all its parts adequate
for the purpose, so as to permit entirely and freely to pass what
ever enters the same. Such connection with the sewer shall be
of a form approved in New York by the Croton Aqueduct
To have traps
Board, and in Brooklyn by the Board of Water Commissioners.
and water.
All such water closets and vaults shall be provided with the
proper traps, and connected with the house sew’er by a proper
tight pipe, and shall be provided with sufficient water and other
proper means of flushing the same; and every owner, lessee and
Owners and
others to pre
occupant shall take adequate measures to prevent improper sub
vent obstruc
tions, exhala
stances from entering such water closets or privies or their con
tions, &c.
nections, and to secure the prompt removal of any improper
substances that may enter them, so that no accumulation shall
take place, and so as to prevent any exhalations therefrom, offen
sive, dangerous or prejudicial to life or health, and so as to pre
Cesspools only vent the same from being or becoming obstructed. No cesspool
.when unavoida
ble.
shall be allowed in or under or connected with any such house,
except when it is unavoidable, and in such case it shall be con
structed in such situation and in such manner as the Metropoli
How construct tan Board of Health may direct. It shall in all cases be water
ed.
tight, and arched or securely covered over, and no offensive
smell or gases shall be allowed to escape therefrom, or from any
Yard or area to privy or privy vault. In all cases where a sewer exists in the.
be connected
street upon which the house or building stands, the yard or areal
with sewer.
shall be so connected with the same that all water, from the roof
Stairs.
�61
or otherwise, and all liquid filth shall pass freely into it. Where °jtterh street
no sewer exists in the street, the yard or area shall be so graded
that all water, from the roof or otherwise, and all filth shall flow
freely from it and all parts of it into the street gutter, by a pas
sage beneath the sidewalk, which shall be covered by a perma
nent cover, but so arranged as to permit access to remove ob
structions or impurities.
§ 6. From and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred ^dansotoc*
and sixty-seven, it shall not be lawful, without a permit from the
Metropolitan Board of Health, to let or occupy, or suffer to be require permits,
occupied separately as a dwelling, any vault, cellar, or under
ground room built or rebuilt after said date, or which shall not
have been so let or occupied before said date. And from and cgl]ar to he
after July first, eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, it shall not be used
lawful without such permit to let or continue to be let, or to
occupy or suffer to be occupied separately as a dwelling any ments.
vault, cellar or underground room whatsoever, unless the same
be in every part thereof at least seven feet in height, measured
from the floor to the ceiling thereof, nor unless the same be for
at least one foot of its height above the surface of the street or
ground adjoining or nearest to the same, nor unless there be
outside of and adjoining the said vault, cellar or room, and ex
tending along the entire frontage thereof, and upwards from six
inches below the level of the flooi’ thereof up to the surface of
the said street or ground an open space of at least two feet and
six inches wide in every part, nor unless the same be well and
effectually drained by means of a drain, the uppermost part ot
which is one foot at least below the level of the floor of such
vault, cellar or room, nor unless there is a clear space of not less
than one foot below the level of the floor, except where the same
is cemented, nor unless there be appurtenant to such vault, cellar
or room the use of a water-closet or privy kept and provided as “have^
in this act required, nor unless the same have an external win- windows, &c.
dow opening of at least nine superficial feet clear of the sash
frame, in which window opening there shall be fitted a frame
filled in with glazed sashes, at least four and a half superficial
feet of which shall be made so as to open for the purpose of
ventilation. Provided, however, that in case of an inner or back
vault, cellar or room let or occupied along with a front vault,
cellar or room, as part of the same letting or occupation, it shall
be a sufficient compliance with the provisions of this act if the cellar may be
front room is provided with a window as herein before pro- front one.
vided, and if the said back vault, cellar or room is connected
�62
with the front vault, cellar or room by a dooi' and also by a prop
er ventilating or transom -window, and where practicable
also, connected by a proper ventilating or transom window,
or by some hall or passage, or with the external air.
Provided always that in any area adjoining a vault, cellar
May have steps
to area.
or underground room there may be steps necessary for access to
such vault, cellar or room, if the same be so placed as not to be
over, across or opposite to the said external window, and so as
to allow between every part of such steps and the external wall
of such vault, cellar or room, a clear space of six inches at least,
and if the rise of said steps is open ; and provided further that
over or across any such area there may be steps necessary for
Also over area.
access to any building above the vault, cellar or room to which
such area adjoins, if the same be so placed as not to be over,
across or opposite to any such external window.
§ 7. From and after the first day of July, eighteen hundred
After July 1,
■868, every
and sixty-eight, no vault, cellar or underground room shall be
cellar requires
permit.
occupied as a place of lodging or sleeping, except the same shall
be approved, in writing, and a permit given therefor, by the
Metropolitan Board of Health.
§ 8. Every tenement or lodging house shall have the proper
garbage boxes.
and suitable conveniences or receptacles for receiving garbage
fcombustibles or and other refuse matters.
No tenement or lodging house, nor
unhealthy
articles not to
any portion thereof, shall be used as a place of storage for any
be stored, or
animals kept.
combustible article, or any article dangerous to life or detrimen
tal to health; nor shall any horse, cow, calf, swine, pig, sheep
oi’ goat be kept in said house.
§ 9. Every tenement or lodging-house, and every part there
To be kept clean
of, shall be kept clean and free from any accumulation of dirt,
filth, garbage or other matter in or on the same or in the yard,
court, passage, area or alley connected with or belonging to the
To cleanse to
same. The owner or keeper of any lodging-house, and the
satisfaction of
Board of Health. owner or lessee of any tenement house or part thereof, shall
thoroughly cleanse all the rooms, passages, stairs, floors, win
dows, doors, walls, ceilings, privies, cesspools and drains thereof
of the house or part of the house of which he is the owner or
lessee, to the satisfaction of the Metropolitan Board of Health,
so often as shall be required by or in accordance with any regu
lation or ordinance of said board, and shall, well and sufficiently,
To whitewash
to the satisfaction of said board, whitewash the walls and ceil
twice a year.
ings thereof twice at least in every year, and in the months of
April and October, unless the said board shall otherwise direct.
�63
Owners and
Every tenement or lodging-house shall have legibly posted or agents names
painted on the wall or door in the entry, or some public accessi posted.
ble place, the name and address of the owner or owners, and of
me agent or agents, of any one, having charge of the renting
and collecting of the rents for the same ; and service of any pa
Service of pa
pers required by this act, or by any proceedings to enforce any pers .
of its provisions, or of the acts relating to the Metropolitan
Board of Health, or the Department for the Survey and Inspec
tion of buildings, shall be sufficient if made upon the person or
persons so designated as owner or owners, agent or agents.
§ 10. The keeper of any lodging-house, and the owner, agent Officers of'
Board of Health
of the owner, lessee and occupant of any tenement house, and to have access.
every other person having the care or management thereof,
shall, at all times, when required by any officer of the Metro
politan Board of Health, or by any officer upon whom any duty
or authority is conferred by this act, give him free access to such
Sick persons
house and to every part thereof. The owner or keeper of any be reported. to
lodging-house, and the owner, agent of the owner, and the lessee
of any tenement house, or part thereof, shall, whenever any per
son in such house is sick of fever, or of any infectious, pestilen
tial or contagious disease, and such sickness is known to such
owner, keeper, agent or lessee, give immediate notice thereof to
the Metropolitan Board of Health, or to some officer of the
same, and, thereupon, said board shall cause the same to be in House may be
disinfected,
spected, and may, if found necessary, cause the same to be im clothing, furni
ture, &c.
mediately cleansed or disinfected at the expense of the owner,
in such manner as they may deem necessary and effectual; and
they may also cause the blankets, bedding and bed clothes used
by any such sick person, to be thoroughly cleansed, scoured and
fumigated, or, in extreme cases, to be destroyed.
§ 11. Whenever it shall be certified to the Metropolitan Board Buildings infec
ted or out of
of Health by the Sanitary Superintendent, that any building or repair may be
ordered vacated.
part thereof is unfit for human habitation, by reason of its being
so infected with disease as to be likely to cause sickness among
the occupants, or by reason of its want of repair has become
Notice to be
dangerous to life, said board may issue an order and cause the posted and
same to be affixed conspicuously on the building or part thereof, served.
and to be personally served upon the owner, agent or lessee, if
the same can be found in this State, requiring all persons therein
to vacate such building for the reasons to be stated therein as
aforesaid. Such building or part thereof shall, within ten days
thereafter, be vacated; or within such shorter time, not less than
�64
twenty-four hours, as in said notice may be specified; but said
board, if it shall become satisfied that the danger from said
house, or part thereof, has ceased to exist, may revoke said or
der, and it shall thenceforward become inoperative.
§ 12. No house hereafter erected shall be used as a tenement
Houses here
after erected or house or lodging house, and no house heretofore erected and not
converted to
comply with
now used for such purpose, shall be converted into, used or
additional
requirements. leased for a tenement or lodging house, unless in addition to the
requirements hereinbefore contained, it conforms to the require
ments contained in the following sections:
§ 13. It shall not be lawful hereafter to erect for or convert to
Distances be
tween buildings the purposes of a tenement or lodging house a building on the
on front and
rear of lot.
front of any lot where there is another building on the rear of
the same lot, unless there is a clear open space exclusively be
longing thereto, and extending upwards from the ground of at
least ten feet between said buildings, if they are one story high
above the level of the ground ; if they are two stories high, the
distance between them shall not be less than fifteen feet; if they
are three stories high, the distance between them shall be twenty
feet; and if they are more than three stories high, the distance
Buildings on
between them shall be twenty-five feet. At the rear of every
rear of lot.
building hereafter erected for or converted to the purposes of a
tenement or lodging house on the back part of any lot, there
shall be a clear open space of ten feet between it and any other
Distances may building. But when thorough ventilation of such open spaces
be modified.
can be otherwise secured, said distances may be lessened or
modified, in special cases, by a permit from the Metropolitan
Board of Health.
§ 14. In every such house hereafter erected or converted, every
Height of rooms. habitable room, except rooms in the attic, shall be in every part
not less than eight feet in height from the floor to the ceiling ;
and every habitable room in the attic of any such building, shall
be at least eight feet in height from the floor to the ceiling,
throughout not less than one-half the area of such room. Every
Windows.
such room shall have, at least, one window, connecting with the^
external air, or over the door a ventilator oi perfect construction,
connecting it with a room or hall which has a connection with
the external air, and so arranged as to produce a cross current of
Sizo of windows. air. The total area of window or windows in every room commnnicating with the external air, shall be at least one-tenth qf
the superficial area of every such room; and the top of one, ah
least, of such windows, shall not be less than seven feet and six
Order may be
revoked.
�65
inches above the floor, and the upper half, at least, shall be made
so as to open the full width. Every habitable room of a less small rooni to
area than one hundred superficial feet, if it does not communi- ventilation,
cate directly with the external air, and is without an open fire
place, shall be provided with special means of ventilation by a
separate air shaft extending to the roof, or otherwise, as the
'Board of Health may prescribe.
§ 15. Every such house hereafter erected or converted shall have chimneys,
adequate chimneys running through every floor, with an open
fire-place or grate, or place for a stove, properly connected with
one of said chimneys, for every family and set of apartments.
It shall have proper conveniences and receptacles for ashes and ^bbTshnd
rubbish. It shall have Croton, Ridgewood, or other water fur
nished at one or more places in such house, or in the yard there- Waterof, so that the same may be adequate and reasonably convenient
for the use of the occupants thereof. It shall have the floor of Cellar floor
the cellar properly cemented, so as to be water tight. The halls
dt
on each floor shall open directly to the external air, with suita- ends,
ble windows, and shall have no room or other obstruction at the
end, unless sufficient light or ventilation is otherwise provided
for said halls, in a manner approved by the Metropolitan Board
of Health.
8 16 Everv owner or other person, violating any provision of Punishment for
O
J
a
n i
-1
• violation.
this act, after thesame shall take effect, shall be guilty of a mis
demeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than ten dollars, nor
more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment.for not more
than ten days for each and every day that such violation shall
continue, or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discreLtion of the court. He shall also be liable to pay a penalty of jtow recovered
ten dollars for each and every day that such offence shall con
tinue. Such penalty may be sued for and recovered by the Me
tropolitan Board of Health, and when recovered shall be paid
over to the treasurer of said board. In every proceeding for a
/‘ violation of this act, and in every such action for a penalty, it
shall be the duty of the owner of the house to prove the date
of its erection or conversion to its existing use, if tnat fact shall
become material, and the owner shall be prima facie the peison
liable to pay such penalty, and after him the person who is the
lessee of the whole house, in preference to the tenant or lessee
of a part thereof. In any such action the owner, lessee and oc- owner, lessees
t cupant, or anv two of them, may be made defendants, ancl jucig- may be deiend-
�66
ment may be given against the one or more shown to be liable,
as if he or they were sole defendant or defendants.
Definition of
§ 17. A tenement house within the meaning of this act, shall
[tenement house.
be taken to mean and include every house, building, or portion
thereof which is rented, leased, let or hired out to be occupied,
or is occupied as the house or residence of more than three fam
ilies living independently of another, and doing their cooking
upon the premises, or by more than two families upon a floor, so
living and cooking, but having a common right in the halls,
■Definition of
stairways, yards, water closets or privies, or some of them.- A
dodging house.
lodging house shall be taken to mean and include any house or
building, or portion thereof, in which persons are harbored or
received, or lodged for hire for a single night, or for less than a
week at one time, or any part of which is let for any person to
sleep in for any term less than a week. A cellar shall be taken
to mean and include every basement or lower story of any build
Definition of
[cellar. #
ing or house of which one-half or more of the height from the
floor to the ceiling is below the level of the street adjoining.
§ 18. The Metropolitan Board of Health shall have authority
Board of Health
may modify.
to make other regulations as to cellars and as to ventilation,
consistent with the foregoing, where it shall be satisfied that
such regulations will secure equally well the health of the occu
pants.
§ 19. This act, except when it is otherwise expressly pro
When to take
effect.
vided, shall take effect in May first, eighteen hundred and sixty
seven.
CIOFTEI8. 700.
Board of Health
to regulate driv
ing of cattle. &c.,
in New York
arid Brooklyn.
AN ACT with reference to the powers of the Metropolitan
Board of Health in the regulation of cattle driving and other
matters. Passed April 24, 1867.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate
and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. From and after the passage of this act it shall not
be lawful to drive any cattle, sheep, swine, pigs, or calves,
through the streets or avenues of New York or Brooklyn, or
any of them, except at such times and in such manner as the
Metropolitan Board of Health may by ordinance or resolution
prescribe. But so long as said board shall permit the business
�67
©f "augHt-ering animals for food to be carried on, in that portion
of the city of New York south of Fortieth Street, it shall be
lawful to drive through such streets and avenues in the city of So long as
New York as may be designated by said board, and under such hous^permitrestriction as to numbers as said board may prescribe, cattle bed<wven tiif
from eight o’clock in the evening till two hours after sunrise in sunrise?andfter
the morning, and sheep until twelve o’clock at noon. But in sheep tlU B0011,
designating the streets and avenues the said board shall have
regard as well to the convenience of persons driving the same ^nate sti-ee^8"
as to the character, condition and ordinary use of the said streets Xmbers°rib6
and avenues.
§ 2. No person in charge of any cattle, sheep, pigs, swine or cattie, &c., no«
calves, shall, if able to prevent it, permit any such cattle, sheep, acrosFside-1"
pigs, swine or calves, to pass upon or across any sidewalk in walk‘
said cities, and any per.-on violating any provision of this act
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction be Penalty forvio.
punished by a fine of not less than ten or more than fifty dol- latinslawlars, or by imprisonment in the penitentiary for not more than
thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
§ 3. In all cases to which said Board of Health is a party,
either when acting as such or as a Board of Excise, preference fn°d excisehtolth
shall be given to the same by all courts and judges on all motions, trials, and appeals, in the same manner as to cases to which
the people of the State are directly parties plaintiff, and when
ever said board shall seek any provisional remedy,1 or shall 1
pros- give undertakBoards need not
J
ecute any appeal, it shall not be necessary before obtaining or
on appea^B
prosecuting the same to give any undertaking, but such board
shall be liable in the same manner as if an undertaking had
been given in the ordinary manner.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
,
CHAPTER 6S7.
AN ACT to authorize the abatement and prevention of certain
nuisances deemed dangerous to the public health in the city
of Brooklyn. Passed April 23, 1867, three-fifths being pres
ent.
The People of the State of Yew York, represented in Senate
and Assembly, do enact as follows :
| Section 1. Whenever it shall appear to the Metropolitan ZSePpSond«M
Board of Health, that any surface water has been, or shall be of health
liable % be ponded at any place in the city of Brooklyn, and commissioners.
�68
remain stagnant, so as to be or become a nuisance dangerous
to the public health in the vicinity thereof, they shall cause a
notice in writing to be served upon the Board of Sewerage Com
missioners of said city, specifying the location of such place.
Sewerage com
§ 2. Said Board of Sewerage Commissioners, upon receiving
missioners to
ascertain cause. such notice, shall examine and ascertain whether such ponding |
of water has been or is liable to be caused by the erection of
any building, fence, wall or other obstruction, so as to prevent
the natural or usual flow or passage of surface water, and
May enter upon
lands.
for that purpose, and for the purpose of draining such water
from such pond, the said Sewerage Commissioners, their agents
and workmen, shall be and hereby are authorized to enter into
and upon any lands and premises in the vicinity of the place
May cause
Brain to be
designated in said notice, and cause a suitable drain to be madeJ
made.
or a suitable pipe to be laid across any land above or below the
surface thereof, as they may deem best, so as to drain such water
from such pond or place, and cause it to flow and be discharged
into some public street or sewer.
'Sewerage com
§ 3. Said Sewerage Commissioners shall estimate the damages
missioners to
estimate damwhich may be sustained by the owner or owners of the lands
ages.
upon which such drain shall be made, or pipes laid, after giving
Ten days’ notice to such owner or owners ten days previous notice in writing, of
to be given
[owners.
the time and place of making such estimate, which notice shall
be served upon such owner or owners personally, or leaving the
same at his or their usual place of residence, or upon the premi
ses where such drain or pipe shall be made or laid, with some
person of suitable age to receive the same.
Bi deemed prop
§ 4. If said Sewerage Commissioners shall, under all the cir
er, may pay ex
penses from
cumstances deem it proper that such damages and the cost and
general sewer
age fund.
expenses incurred in making such drain, or laying such pipe,
should be borne by the public, as being necessary to prevent or
abate a nuisance dangerous to the public health, they shall pay
the same out of the general fund raised for sewerage purposes ;
but if they shall not deem it proper that such damages, costs
Or may assess
Bpon lands ben
and expenses should be so paid, then they shall make a just and
efited.
equitable assessment thereof, upon all the lands upon which th®
buildings, fences, walls or other obstruction, which has caused
such water to pond, shall have been or shall be made, and upon
such other land adjacent thereto, if any, the owners of which,
in the opinion and judgment of said commissioners, ought in jus
Assessments to tice to bear and pay any part thereof, and the assessment so
to be liens.
made shall be liens upon the lands assessed, and shall be collect-
�69
edln the same manner as other assessments made for the costs
and ^xpenses of constructing sewers in said city are collected.
§ 5. If any person shall wilfully destroy or injure any such
drMn, pipe, or obstruct or prevent the passage of water through
the Same, he or she shall be guilty of misdemeanor.
§ 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
Misdemeanor to
impair or ob
struct drain.
CHAPTER
AN ACT to incorporate the Soldiers’ Business Messenger and
Dispatch Company. Passed April 15, 1867.
The People of the State of Phew York, represented in Senate
and Assembly, do enact as follows:
* * * Section 6. Said corporation is hereby authorized
and shall have power to erect and maintain covered stands or
fcooths on the streets of the cities apd villages in said district,
except Broadway in the city of New York. Provided, that no
booth or stand shall be placed upon the sidewalk, without pre
vious consent of the owner or lessee of the property adjoining
or against said booth or stand; and the number, size and loca
tion of said booths or stands shall be determined by the Metro
politan Board of Health, or a majority of said board, who shall
determine and locate the same upon application by the president
of this corporation.
* * Section 9. This act shall take effect immediately.
Corporation
may place
,
stands in street
if approved by
board of health
*
�70
CHAPTES
Permits to visit
vessels at quar
antine .
AN ACT to enable the Board of Supervisors of the County of
New York to raise money by tax for certain county purposes^
to extend the powers of the Metropolitan Police, and to pro
vide for the auditing and payment of unsettled claims against1
said county. .Passed April 25th, 1867, three-fifths being pres
ent.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
* * * Section 26. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to
conflict in any manner with the Quarantine laws, or with the
rules and regulations of the Health Officer of the Port of New
York; nor shall any permit or licenses issued under the act
hereby amended, authorize any person to visit any ship or ves-J
sei under quarantine, without the authority of the Health Offi-’
cer of the Port of New York, or the Metropolitan Board of
Health.
CHAPTER 586.
t
AN ACT to enable the Board of Supervisors of the County or
New York to raise money by tax for the use of the corporaJ
tion of the city of New York, and in relation to the expendi
ture thereof; and. to provide for the auditing and payment of
unsettled claims against said city, and in relation to actions
at law against said corporation. Passed April 23, 1867 ; threefifths being present.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
Moneys appro
priated to Board
to clean streets
not provided
for by contract.
Moneys appro
priated to clean
streets oftencr
than required
by contract.
(EXTRACT.)
“For the Metropolitan Board of Health to pay the expense of
cleaning such streets, alleys, squares and public places in the
city of New York, as are not provided to be cleaned by any ex-l
isting contract, the sum of five thousand dollars, or so much,
thereof as may be necessary for that purpose. If at any time
the said board shall be of the opinion that the public health re-
�71
quires that any street or streets, avenue or avenues, public place
o'i'i places, should be cleaned more frequently than is required by
the existing contract for cleaning the streets, they may order
the same to be cleaned as much oftener as in their opinion the
public health requires, and the comptroller shall pay to the per
bon doing the work, on the certificate of the president of said
board, the amount that may be agreed upon therefor, not ex
ceeding in the aggregate the sum of twenty thousand dollars,
which sum is hereby appropriated thereWr. But. nothing here
in contained shall be construed as exempting th[e contractor
for cleaning the streets from any existing liability.”
Existing con
tracts not affect
ed.
�CHAPTER 57S.
Board of Health
Eonstitute Board
of Excise.
Extent of disBh'ict.
Inspectoi- of ex
cise.
Salary.
License requir
ed.
Board to grant
licenses.
LAWS OF 1866.
AN ACT to regulate the sale of intoxicating liquors within the
Metropolitan Police District of the State of New York, passed
April 14,1866; three-fifths being present.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section- 1. The persons who are and from time to time shall]
be Commissioners of the Metropolitan Board of Health, are hereJ
by constituted and created a Board of Excise, in and for the Me
tropolitan District of the State of New York, excepting and
excluding the County of Westchester, and from and after the
passage of this act, they alone shall possess the powers and per
form the duties of Commissioners of Excise within said Metro-!
politan Police District, excepting said County of WestchesterJ
They shall receive no compensation for their services as such
Board of Excise.
*
§ 2. There shall, in the said Metropolitan Police District, be an
officer called and known by the title of “Inspector of Excise,”
who, under the Board of Excise, shall be charged with the per-a
formance of such of the duties herein imposed upon them as they
can and shall delegate to him. The Board of Excise shall havepower to appoint and remove such officer, and to pay him out of
the moneys to be received by them, as hereinafter provided, such
salary as they shall deem proper, not exceeding two thousand
dollars a year.
§ 3. From and after the first day of May, 1866, no person or per
sons shall, within the said Metropolitan Police District, exclusive
of the County of Westchester, publicly keep, or sell, give away
or dispose of any strong or spirituous liquors, wines, ale or beef]
in quantities less than five gallons at a time, unless as he or they
may be licensed, pursuant to the provisions of this act, and may
be permitted by it.
§ 4. The said Board of Excise shall, subject to the further
provisions hereof, have power to grant licenses to any person or
persons of good moral character, and who shall be approved by
them, permitting him and them for one year from the tune the
same shall be granted to sell and dispose of, at any one named
place within said Metropolitan Police District, exclusive of the
* Amended, Laws ofl86T, Chapter 956, Section 16.
�County raWestOKfester, strong and spirituous liquors, wine, ale Rate of license
and beM in quantities less than five gallons at a time upon re- fee.
ceiving a license fee, to be fixed in their discretion, and which
khall feiot be less than thirty nor more than two hundred and
fifty dollars.
§ 5. Such licenses shall be in the form of a written or print- Form of licensed
Mfcertificate, stating the name of the person or persons, and the
place licensed; shall be signed as the said Board of Excise shall
provide and direct; shall be kept posted by the person or
*
persons licensed, in a conspicuous position in the room or License to b
posted and ex
place where his or their sales are made, and shall be exhibited hibited.
at all times by the person or persons so licensed, and by all persons acting under such licenses, on demand to every sheriff, con
stable or officer or member of police: any omission so to display
Result of
and exhibit such certificate shall be presumptive evidence that omission.
any person or persons so omitting to display and exhibit the
same has and have no licenses.
§ 6. Such licenses shall only be granted on written applica- Form of ap
plication .
tion to the said Board, signed by the applicant or applicants,
Hecifying the place for which license is asked, and the name
*
or names of the applicant or applicants, and of every person inter
Bld or to be interested in the business to authorize which the
license shall be used.
§7. Personsnot licensed may, within the said Metropolitan Unlicensed perd
sons may sell
Police District, exclusive of the County of Westchester, keep, more than five
gallons.
and in quantities not less than five gallons at a time, sell and dispose of strong and spirituous liquors, wines, ale and beer, provided that no part thereof shall be drunk or used in the building, But not to bo
On any building, yard, garden or inclosure communicating drank on prem
ises.
with, or in any public street or place contiguous to the building
in which the same shall be kept, sold or disposed of.
§ 8. Licenses granted as above shall not authorize any person Not sell on SUBday
or persons to, nor shall any person or persons publicly keep, sell, day. or election
give away or dispose of any strong or spirituous liquors, wines,
ale or beer on Sunday, or on any day upon which a general or
special election or town meeting shall be held within one-quarter
mile from the place where the same shall be held.
§ 9. The said Board of Excise shall keep a complete record Record of licenk>f die names of all persons licensed as herein above provided, ses to be kept.
‘with a statement of the place licensed and license fee imposed
and paid in each case, which record they shall at all times per
�74
mit to be seen in a convenient place at their principal headquar
ters in the City of New York.
Licensed per
§ 10. Persons licensed as herein provided shall prevent, so
sons to preserve
order.
far as is in their power, and shall at all events give immediate!
notice to the nearest sheriff, constable, officer or member of po
lice, of all and every disturbance, disorder, or breach of the
peace in any place which shall be so licensed, and shall forthwith
Shall close if
cause all persons to be removed therefrom, and the place to be
necessary.
closed, and kept closed until quiet is restored.
§ 11. No person shall sell, give or dispose of any strong or spiritu
No sales to mi
nors or appren ous liquors, wines, ale or beer to any apprentice or person under
tices without
consent.
eighteen years of age, knowing or having reason to believe him
to be such, without the consent, in the case of an apprentice, of
his master or mistress, and in the case of a person under eighteen
years of age, of his father, mother or guardian.
§ 12. No person shall sell, give, or dispose of, and no person
No sales to
drunkards or
licensed as herein provided, shall suffer any person for, under, or
intoxicated per
sons.
employed by him, to sell, give or dispose of any strong or spiri
tuous liquors, wines, ale or beer to an habitual drunkard, or to
any intoxicated person or persons then being under the influence
of liquor.
§ 13. No person licensed as herein provided shall, against the
request of any wife, husband, parent or child, sell, give or dis-l
Sales to wives,
&c.
pose of any strong or spirituous liquors, wines, ale or beer to
the husband of any such wife, wife of any such husband, parent
of any such child, or child of any such parent.
§ 14. All persons licensed as herein provided shall keep the
Places closed
Sundays and
places at which they are so licensed to keep, sell, give and dis
from midnight
till sunrise.
pose of strong and spirituous liquors, wines, ale and beer, ordei’l
ly and quiet, and between the hours of twelve o’clock at night
and sunrise, and on Sundays, completely and effectually closed.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed to prevent hotels,
Hotels on Sun
days.
from receiving and otherwise entertaining the travelling public]
upon Sundays, subject to the restrictions contained in this sec
tion.
§ 15. No person or persons except those licensed as herein
Unlicensed per
sons not to pro provided, and those permitted to sell in quantities more than five
fess to sell.
gallons at a time, shall give out or profess to sell, or to have for
sale, strong or spirituous liquors, wines, ale or beer, or shall have,
permit, or continue in or about his or their premises any sign,
notice or token that such liquors, wines, ale or beer are there
Signs,
�kept for sale, or give notice or advertise thart he or they have Advertisements
such liqllors, wines, ale or beer for sale.
Punishment
§ 16. Every person who shall violate any of the foregoing violation. for
provisions of this act, shall for each offence be guilty of a misde
meanor, and on conviction thereof, shall be punished with a fine
of not less than thirty dollars, nor more than one hundred dollars,
or with imprisonment for not less than ten days, nor more Fine and im
prisonment.
than thirty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. In ad
dition thereto, every person who shall violate any of the forego
ing provisions hereof shall be liable to a penalty of fifty dollars Penalty.
jfor each offence, recoverable in a civil action in the name of said
Board of Excise, provided that any person or persons may com
plain to the President of such Board of Excise of any such of
fence; and, on the recovery by said Board of the penalty
therefor, the said Board shall pay to the person or persons so
first complaining, if not members of the Police Department, the
one-half of the penalty so recovered ; and said Board shall have Attorney.
authority to employ and pay attorney or attorneys to prosecute
actions for the recovery of such penalties.
§ 17. No person who shall trust any person for any strong or No payment for
'spirituous liquors, wines, ale or beer, on a sale thereof in quanti sales on credit.
fies less than five gallons, to be, or which shall be drunk, or used
in the building, or in any building, yard, garden or enclosure
communicating with, or in any public street, or place contigu
ous to the building in which the same shall be sold, can recover
or compel payment therefor.
§18. Any conviction for violation of any of the foregoing Conviction
provisions hereof, by any person or persons licensed, or at any forfeits license.
place licensed, as herein provided, shall forfeit and annul such
license.
^ § 19. It shall be the duty of every sheriff, constable, police Police to en
man and officer of police to compel the observance, and to pre force law.
vent the violation of the foregoing provisions hereof; if necessa May close
ry, by summarily closing and keeping closed any places in which places.
shall be violated any of such provisions.
I § SO. Every sheriff, constable, officer or member of police shall Arrest without
forthwith arrest all persons who shall violate any of the provis warrant.
ions of this act, and carry such persons before any magistrate of
the city or town in which the offence shall be committed, to be
dealt with according to the provisions of this act. And it shall Duty of magis
be the duty of every magistrate to entertain complaints for a trates .
�76
violation of any of the provisions of this act made by any person
under oath.
Intoxicated perg 21. It shalla be the duty of every sheriff, constable, officer IH
sons to be ar°
J
d
.
.
tested.
member of police to arrest any person who shall be intoxicated
in the street, any public place or places where strong and spin®
tuous liquors, wines, ale or beer are sold, publicly kept or dis
posed of, and to take him before any magistrate of the same city
or town; and if such magistrate shall, after due examination,
deem him too much intoxicated to be examined, or to answer onf
Magistrates to
oath correctly, the magistrate shall cause him to be confined unoat™ine Undei til he shall become sober, and then to be brought before the]
magistrate, who shall examine him on oath or affirmation as to
the cause of such intoxication, and ascertain from him from
whom he obtained the liquor he shall have drunk; but such ex
*
amination shall not be used as evidence against such intoxi
cated person in any prosecution, civil or criminal, such intoxicain'toxlcation1/01" tion being hereby declared to be an offence, punishable upon j
conviction by a fine of ten dollars and costs, and imprisonment
until the same shall be paid, not exceeding ten days.
§ 22. The said Board of Excise may at any time, and, upon
i vokeliTeTs™" the complaint of any resident of the said Metropolitan Police!
District, except in the County of Westchester, shall summon be
fore them any person or persons licensed as aforesaid; and if
they shall become satisfied that any such person or persons has
or have violated any of the provisions of this act, they shall re
voke, cancel and annul the licenses of such person or persons]
which they are hereby empowered to do. Upon any inquiry
tendan^Lfwu- the saicI Board, or the party complained of, may summon, and
nesscs.
said Board may compel, the attendance of witnesses before them
and examine them under oath.
Disposition of
§ 23. All license fees and penalties herein provided for shall
andVenaities^ be received by, and all fines herein provided for shall be paid,
over to the said Board, and shall be by them, after deducting
therefrom the necessary Expenses of collection, appropriated to,
and to diminish the expenses of the Police Department of the said
Metropolitan Police District, exclusive of the County ofWestchesJ
ter; provided that nothing herein contained shall divert from
state inebriate Bie State Inebriate Asylum such proportion of license fees as is
now set apart for said institution by existing laws. The said
i Board to report. Board shall annually report all sums so received by them,, and
�77
Magistrates
all magistrates and courts shall monthly report and pay over to and courts to
pay over.
said Board all fines imposed and received hy them.
*
Grand jurors
I § 24. All courts having jurisdiction to try offences against the to be charged.
visions of this act shall instruct and charge grand jurors to
inquire into all such offences and to indict all offenders.
§ 25. Any person who shall sell any strong or spirituous Persons selling
liquors or wines to any of the individuals to whom it is declared in violation of
the law liable
by this act to be unlawful to make such sale, shall be liable for for damages.
all damages which may be sustained in consequence of such sale,
and the parties so offending may be sued in any court in this
State by any individual sustaining such injuries, or by said Board
of Health, and the sums recovered shall be for the benefit of the
party injured.
§ 26. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provis Repealing
ions hereof are hereby repealed, so far as the same Aall apply to clause.
the said Metropolitan Police District, except the County of
Westchester.
§ 27. This act shall take effect immediately.
* Amended, Laws of 1867, Chaptei- 470, Chapter 80G, Section 6, Chapter 843, Section 4,
jlphapter 8S9, Chapter 926, Chapter 956, Section 16. Bee post.
�78
CHAPTER, 77.
Quorum.
’Ma’ority of
board to concur
AN ACT to fix the number necessary to form a quorum of the
board of excise, in and for the Metropolitan police district of
the State of New York, excepting and excluding the county
of Westchester. Passed March 11, 1867.
The People of the Slate of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. A majority of the board of excise in and for the
Metropolitan Police District of the State of New York, except
ing and excluding Westchester county, is hereby declared to be
a quorum thereof,with power to do any and all business entrust
ed to said board. But no action or order shall be had or taken
by the said board, unless at a meeting thereof, regularly called,
there shall have been a vote thereon had and taken in which
vote a majority of said board shall have concurred.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
CHAPTER 470.
Commissioners
of charities and
correction to re
ceive twelve per
cent, of excise
moneys.
AN ACT to amend an Act entitled “An Act to establish an
Asylum for Inebriates in the City of New York, and provide
for the government thereof,” passed April 8th, eighteen hun
dred and sixty-four. Passed April 20, 1867, three-fifths being
present.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section i. * * * Said Commissioners [of Charities and
Correction] are hereby authorized to receive from the Board of
Excise, from time to time, twelve per cent, of the aggregate
amount of moneys received in each and every year by said
Board of Excise, from and after April first, eighteen hundred
and sixty-seven, for license fees received for licenses granted in
the city and county of New York, and said board on application
of the said commissioners, are hereby authorized and directed to
pay over from time to time to said commissioners such per centage, which moneys shall be strictly applied by said commission.
�79
HRIx> the building, maintenance and support of said asylum,
and duly accounted for in their annual report. But nothing in
this act contained shall be construed to divert from the State
lhebriate Asylum, or interfere with the proportion of said license
'fees set apart for said institution by existing laws. The said Also fines for
commissioners are authorized to demand and receive all fines ^0XK‘atl0n»
imposed for intoxication or disorderly conduct in the city of
New York, which fines, without any deduction, shall be paid
over monthly by the magistrate, clerk, or other person who re
ceives the same, to the said commissioners, and shall be by them
applied and accounted for as other moneys received by virtue of
this act.
CHAPTER. §06.
IAN ACT to enable the Board of Supervisors of the County of
New York to raise money by tax for certain county purpo
ses ; to extend the powers of the Metropolitan Police, and to
provide for the auditing and payment of unsettled claims
against said county. Passed April 25th, 1867, three-fifths
being present.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
* * * Section 6. The Metropolitan Board of Health, ere- Excise money
ated by the act chapter seventy-four of the laws of eighteen "e paid wmimishundred and sixty-six, acting as the Board of Excise, as author- fn°g™'ndofsin,s1
ized by the act chapter five hundred and seventy-eight of the
laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-six, is hereby authorized and
directed, from and after the passage of this act, through the per
son acting as treasurer of the said Board of Excise, to pay over
monthly to the Chamberlain of the City of New York, for the
use of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of said city, and How applied,
to be applied by said commissioners, as provided by law, for the
redemption of the city debt, all license fees and fines which may
be collected by the said Board of Excise in the county of New
York, in pursuance of the act chapter five hundred and seventy
eight, before mentioned, after deducting therefrom twelve per
cent. of all such moneys received since the first day of April,
^eighteen hundred and sixty-seven, which are now provided by
law to be paid annually to the Commissioners of Charities and
�80
State Inebriate
Asylum t<> be
state"yt< °
Enectbm de-
feucted.
gaiary oftreas-
Correction, and also deducting ten per cent, of all such moiieyl
received prior to April first, eighteen hundred and sixty-ei^M,
which ten per cent, shall be paid to the New York State Inebrl
ate Asylum, at Binghamton, which said ten per cent, shall be
. ,
,
...
?
T , .
1
paid to the said, Hie agw lore State Inebriate Asylum, as now
required by law; provided that the trustees of the said asylum
shall, within sixty days after the passage of this act, make and
execute a conveyance to the State of New York, by deed, dulyl
acknowledged and recorded, of all the real estate, with the
buildings and improvements thereon, and appurtenances thereto,
owned by said asylum in the County of Broome, in said State]
which conveyance the said trustees are hereby empowered to
ma^e; and also deducting the necessary expenses and salaries
incurred in collecting said fees, as authorized by law; and no
portion of license fees and fines, except as above provided, shall
be paid over to any commission or corporation. The treasurer
of the Board of Excise shall receive for his compensation in col
lecting such license fees and fines the sum of one thousand five
hundred dollars per year.
CHAPTER §43.
AN ACT to incorporate the Inebriates’ Home for Kings
County. Passed May 9th, 1867.
The People of the State of Phew York, represented in Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
lent.1 of excise
Kin^fcounty
inebriates’10
Home.
aiso fines.
* * * § 4- The Treasurer of the Board of Excise in and
^or ^ie Metropolitan Police District of the State of New York,
shall pay to the Treasurer of the said Inebriates’ Home of Kings
County, or his order, twelve per cent, of all the moneys hereaf|
ter received by said Board of Excise for licenses granted under
said excise law to persons residing in the county of Kings, after
all legal deductions therefrom, and deducting therefrom the
proper proportion of the expenses of said board, and such sums
as now or may hereafter be appropriated by law to other purposes. And all fines hereafter received by said board for viola!
tions of said excise law committed in said county of Kings,
shall in like manner be paid to the treasurer of said Inebriates’
Home of Kings county. The money herein directed to be paici
to the treasurer of said Inebriates’ Home, shall be so paid ha
�81
the treasurer of said Excise Board within thirty days after the
receipt thereof by such board; which money shall be applied to
the founding and maintenance of such Inebriates’ Home, and
for no other purpose.
CHAPTER 889.
AN ACT providing for the application of moneys hereafter
collected in the Metropolitan Excise District for certain fines
and from licenses for the sale of liquors. Passed May 10th,
1867, three-fifths being present.
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and
Aseembly, do enact as follows:
Section- 1. From and after the first day of May, one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-seven, the Treasurer of the Metropoli
tan Board of Excise shall pay over all sums received by him for ^’“nen
licenses and fines, as follows :
ln BrooklynAll such sums as are received for licenses granted in the city
of Brooklyn, and for fines imposed for offences in said city, to
the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of the city of Brooklyn, In Plichmond
to be applied by them without deduction to the extinction of countythe debt of said city; all such sums as may be received from
the towns in the county of Richmond to the Commissioner of
Common Schools in said county, to be by him apportioned
among the several school districts in said county, rateably in Jn country
proportion to the number of scholars attending school in each, towns of
and applied for the maintenance of the schools, and the erection
and improvement of school buildings therein respectively; in
the towns of Kings county, except the city of Brooklyn, to the
Commissioner of Schools, the money received from each town
to be apportioned by him among the several school districts in in Queens
such town, in proportion to the number of scholars attending countyschool in each district, and applied for school purposes ; and in
th© towns of Queens county to the highest officer having the
general charge of schools in said county, to be by him distrib- Dedustions,
uted in like proportion among the towns from which it is re
ll
�82
ceived, and to be applied for like purposes. But before payingover such sums the said treasurer shall deduct the proper pro
portion of the expenses of said board, and the ten per cent, now
provided by law to be paid to the State Inebriate Asylum. He
shall also deduct from the sums received from Brooklyn any
sum now provided by law to be paid to the Inebriates’ Home.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
CHAPTER 926.
License fees
and tines in
New Utrecht to
go to schools.
AN ACT appropriating the excise fees and fines collected in
the town of New Utrecht, to the use of Common Schools in
that town. Passed May 16, 1867.
The People of the State of New York, represented in- Senate and
Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. All license fees provided for by the act to regu
late the sale of intoxicating liquors within the Metropolitan Po
lice Department, of the State of New York, passed April sixteen,
eighteen hundred and sixty-six, and all fines therein provided
for which shall hereafter be received by the board of excise of
the said Metropolitan police district, from the town of New
Utrecht, in the County of Kings, shall, after deducting the ne
cessary expenses of collection and the amounts otherwise provid
ed by law, be paid over to the supervisor of the town, and shall
be applied by him to the payment of the wages of the teachers
of the different districts in proportion to the amount of scholars
in each district in the said town.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
�index
Page.
Abatement suits may be instituted
41
Abatement suits how tried...........
41
Abatement suits, claim for penalty
may be joined with.... .......
44
Abatement suits, motion for new
trial in,....................................
44
Abating nuisances, liability for ex
penses of.................................
40
Absence, deductions lrom sala
ries for......................................
5, 37
Access to be permitted.................
63
Accidents, prevention of..............
36
Act, when to take effect.............. 29, 37, 5S,
59, 66, 69
77
Action for damages, Board liable to
48
Action for damages, when to be
brought....................................
4S
Action for damages, what recov
ered in......................................
4S
Actions not to abate......................
33
Adjourned meetings, no deduc
tions for absence from............
37
Advertising by unlicensed persons
75
Affidavit of expense of executing
orders...............
53
Agents, name of, to be posted....
63
Agents, service on........................
39, 63
Agents of Board not personally
liable........................................
47
Air-shafts in small rooms............
65
Aidermen, powers of President oi,
conferred on new Board.........
9, 34
Alley, removal of articles from,
may be ordered.......................
13
Amendment to be allowed..........
41
Amount to be expended annually
25, 52
Amount to be borrowed................
49
Amusements, places of, may be re
quired to report... . ................
22
Animals not to be kept in tene
ment houses............................
62
Answer in suit for rent...............
57
Appeal, action for liability on....
48
Appeal, when to stay e.vecution..
43
Appeal, when to be taken............
43
Appeal without security..............
43
Appeal, undertaking not needed on
67
Appeal to court ot appeals..........
44
Application for license, contents
ot...............................................
73
Appointment. Secretary ol State to
give certificates of...................
4
Apportionment of expenses of
Board....................................
25
Apportionment of expenses of ex
ecuting orders........................
53
Apprentices, sales to...................
74
Arrests. Board may order ..........
16
Arrests, effect of order of..............
16
Arrests, justices and magistrates
th Order....................................
31
Arrests, policemen and constables
k to make....................................
31
Arrests,undertaking not needed on
Arrests without warrant..............
Arrested, who may be...................
Arrested persons, how treated....
Ashes, receptacles for...................
Assignee may institute suits.......
Assistant aldermen,powers of pres
ident of, conferred on new
Board.....................................
Assistant Sanitary Superinten
dents, two may be appointed.
Assislant Sanitary Superintend
ents, one in Brooklyn............
Assistant Sanitary Superintend
ents, duties of.........................
Assistant Sanitary Superintend
ent, salary of.’..........................
Assistant Sanitary Superintend
ents, may administer oatfhs.. .
Asylums may be required to report
Attendance of witnesses compelled
Attorneys, Board to employ.........
Authenticate papers, Ac., Secre1 ary to......................................
Authority of Board presumed....
Page.
67
75
16
16
65
15, 55
9,34
8
8
8
8, 52
16
22
50, 76
9, 75
6
16
Badge may be provided...............
21
Badge, wrongfully wearing, a mis
demeanor .................................
21
Bedding may be cleaned or des
troyed ......................................
63
Births, powers as to.......................
11
Births, acts as to, extended
throughout district.
11
Births, false returns of.
49
Births, publish information as to
23
Births, penalty for omission to
keep registry of, and to repoit
12
Births, statistics of, to be reported
19
Births, whom to be reported by..
12
Births, what report of to contain.
12
“Board” or “said Board,” mean
ing of........................................
3
Board, authority of, presumed...
16
Board, first meeting of.................
5
Board, funds of......................................
23
Board, health officers and quaran
tine commissioners to co-op
erate..........................................
17
Board, how constituted.................
3
Board, how papers served on.......
48
Board, how sued............................
48
Board, injunction against............
48
Board liable to action....................
48
Board may borrow........................
27, 49
Board may order what done.........
12
Board may procure offices............
9
Board may make proper expendi
tures.........................................
9
Board may modify order..............
13, 37
Board may modify tenement act..
66
Board may confer power on presi
dent to suspend or modify
order .......................................
37
�84
Page.
Boai d may execute orders............
14
Board may order arrest................
16
Board, members of may adminis
ter oaths. ................................
16
Board, members of, not personally
liable........................................
47
Board not to make returns...........
23
Board, powers ot............................ 7. 8, 9,10,
11, 12, 13
30, 33, 36
37, 41, 51
Board, powers of existing officers
conferred on............................
9
Board, powers of City In.pector
given to...................................
11
Board, powers of. to borrow.........
27, 49
Board, authority of, presumed ..
16
Board, removal of members of....
7
Board, rent ordered paid to..........
46
Board, right of members of, to en
terbuildings............................
21
Board, salaries of............................
5
Board to employ clerks and ser
vants ........................................
9
Board to employ attorneys...........
9, 75
Board to gi\ e information............
17, 18
Board to keep record of acts.........
19
Board to keep record of execution
of orders...................................
19
Board to pay (torn funds expenses
incurred in good faith............
47
Board to report to Governor an
nually ......................................
19
Board to regulate booths on walks
40, 69
‘•Board of police,” meaning of...
4
Board of police to execute orders
14,19
Board of police may employ per
sons and incur expenses.........
14, 19
Board of police, authority of, in ex
ecuting orders........................
14,19
Board of police may let rooms to
Board of health........................
9
Board of police, powers of, as to
sanitary matters given to new
Board................. 7....................
14
Board of health, existing powers
of, conferred on new Board....
9, 34
Board, croton aqueduct, not interferredwith................
10,35
Board of estimate, how constituted
24
Board of excise, authentication of
records of..................
53
Board of excise, compensation of.
52
Board of excise, dismissal of offi
cers of.. . ..................................
52
Board of excise, duties of Secre
tary of......................................
52
Board of excise, meetings of.......
52
Board of excise, powers of............
72, 76
Board of excise, quorum of.........
52, 78
Board of excise, report of..............
53
Board of excise, seal of.................
52
Board of excise, suits against.......
48
Boards of supervisors to raise and
collect money..........................
26
Body, burial or removal of, may be
ordered......................................
52
Bond to discharge lien..................
42
Books, Secretary to keep..............
6
Books, Treasurer to keep..............
6
Books, production of, compelled..
7, 17
Books, &c., City Inspector to sur
render......................................
11
Booths on walks.............................
40, 69
Borrow, power of board to............
27, 49
Bribe, penalty for receiving.........
50
Brook.yn, excise moneys tn.........
80, SI
Brooklyn, one assistant sanitary
superintendent in...................
8
Brooklyn, one of sanitary com
missioners must reside in...,
3
PafM
Brooklyn, penalties given to au
thorities of, enforced by board
Brooklyn Sewerage Commission
ers, power of, over sunken lots
Buildings, infected or out of re
pair, ordered vacated..............
Buildings, when a nuisance..........
Buildings on same lot, distances
between....................................
Buildings, expense of executing
orders a lien on......................
Buildings, public, may be inspect
ed /. ..........................................
Buildings, public, plans of to be
exhibited.................................
Buildings, removal of articles from
may be ordered.....................
Buildings, repair of, may be or
dered ........................................
Buildings, when may be declared
nuisance...................................
Buildings, when may be declared
dangerous or detrimental.......
“Burthensome” substituted for
stringent...................................
By Laws to be enacted.................
By-Laws may be altered..............
49
67.68
63
39
64
50
21
21
13
36
]2
13
49
20, 30
20, 80
Cattle not to pass over sidewalk..
67
Cattle drivin.. regulation of.........
66, 67
Cellar, definition of.......................
66
Cellar, drainage of ........................
61
Cellar, floor of, to be kept tight....
65
Cellar, how constructed...............
61
Cellar, rules as to, may be modi
fied ...........................................
66
Cellar, ventilation of.....................
61
Cellar, when permit required ror..
61, 62
Cellar, when a nuisance................
40
Certificates may be issued for
27
loans. ..•.................................
27
Cesspools, how constructed..........
60
Cesspools, when allowed...............
60
Charities and Corrections, Com
missioners of............................
78
Chief Clerk.....................................
38
Chimneys to every floor................
65
City Inspector’s department abol
ished.........................................
23
City Inspector, powers of, given to
Board........................................
9,11
City Inspector, powers of, in street
cleaning commission given to
president..................................
5
City Inspector to surrender books,
&c ...........................................
11
Clean, every one’s duty to...........
15
Cleaned, what may be ordered....
13
Cleaning streets, appropriation for
70
Cleaning streets, expense a lien
on compensation for..............
15
Cleanliness of markets, powers
over...........................................
36, 40
Clerks, Board to employ................
9
Clerk, Chief...................................
38
Clerks of courts, fees not to he
charged by...............................
33
Code of health ordinances to be
published................................. 30, 30, 4$
Code of health ordinances, when
to take effect...........................
20, 30
Code of health ordinances, penal
ties for not complying with..
31
Code of health ordinances, how
designated.............................
49
Code of health ordinances, what to
embrace....................................
49
Code of ordinances to be prepared.
57
Code of procedure, change in, not
to affect abatement suits.......
44
Collections, how credited..............
26
�85
Page 1
Commissioners may administer
' oaths.............................................
Commissioners, removal of...........
Commissioners, right to enter buil
dings ............................................
Commissioners, where less than
flve..........?...................................
Commissioners, sanitary, who are.
Commissioners, sanitary, how ap
pointed ........................................
Commissioners, sanitary, one must
reside in Brooklyn.................
Commissioners, sanitary, succes
sors of. how appointed.............
Commissioners, sanitary, three
must be physiciins.................
Commission's, sanitary, salaries
of...................................................
Commissioners, sanitary, terms of
office .. ........................................
Commissioners, sanitary, draw
lots for term..............................
Commissioners, sanitary, take and
file oath........................................
Commissioners, sanitary, hold no
other office.................................
Commissioners, sai.itary, not de
clining nomination, vacate of
fice ................................................
Commissioners, health, powers of,
conferred on new board............
Commissioners of excise, salaries
of...................................................
Commissioners of police, members
of Board......................................
Commissioners of police, salaries
as members of Board...............
Commissioners of quarantine, in
formation to be given to..........
Commissioners of quarantine to
give information........................
Commissioner, street, not inter
fered with....................................
Common Council, powers of, con
ferred on new Board.................
Common law liability reserved..
Compensation, how forfeited.. ...
Compensation not to be paid to
health officers............................
Compensation, expense a lien on„
Compensation, suit to recover back
Complaint, arrests to be made on.
Compla!nts to be investigated ...
Complaint book to be kept............
Comptroller not to be interfered
with..............................................
Comptroller of State to approve
Treasurer's bonds.....................
Constables to make arrests..........
Contagious disease, persons sick
with, may be removed..........
Contract for street cleaning not
affected........................................
Contribution, liability to..............
Conviction forfeits license...........
Coroners, powers over.................... Corresponding Secretary may be
appointed....................................
Corresponding Secretary, salary of
Costs, when recovered.....................
Costs, amount of................................
Costs against Board in suits for
rent...............................................
Costs in abatement suits account
ed for............................................
Costs, separate executions for ...
Costs, when to be paid... . ..............
Court in which suits may be bro't.
Court may grant injunction.........
Court may order rent paid to Board
Court may order speedy trial.......
Court, preference in.......................
Courts to act promptly...................
16 Court, fees not to be charged by..
7 Couits not to lose jurisdiction by
plea of real estate......................
21 County to bear expenses incurred
I
for.................................................
Croton aqueduct board notinter3, *
fered with...................................
3 I Damages. Board liable to action for
Damages, limit of recovery —.....
3 Dangerous or detrimental to life or
j
health, what may be.................
4 j Date of erections, owner to prove..
Deaths, duty to gather and preserve
3|
factsasto......................................
i Dead body ordered removed or
5|
buried............................................
Death, false report of.........................
4 Deaths, next of kin to report...........
i Deaths, penalty for omission to
4
keep registry of.........................
Deaths, publish information as to
4 Deaths, powers as to.........................
j Deaths, acts as to, extended
7j
throughout district..................
s Deaths, statistics of. to be reported
! Deaths, whom to be reported by..
7 Defect of parties, suits not dis5
missed for...................................
9.34 Defendants, who to be, in actions
under the tenement acts_____
52 . Demand of rent gives lien..............
i Disease, duty to gather and pre3I
serve facts as to.........................
| Disease, persons sick with, be re5]
moved....................... ..... .............
’ Disinfected, what may be ordered..
17 > Disinfection, gratuitous, may be
i
provided.......................................
17 Dispensaries may be required to re1
port.................................................
10, 35 ' Dispossession forbidden when rent
|
jiaid to treasurer.........................
9, 34 I “ District” or ‘"said District,” mean’ 40 '
ing of............................................
50 District, sanitary superintendent
must reside in_
______ _______
23 District, sanitary, what it embraces
15, 54 Drainage, duly to provide for..........
56 ' Drainage of marke ts, powers ov« r..
31 | Drugs, deleterious, adulterated or
211
poisonous, powers as lo .........
21 i Duties of officers of institutions, ic.
Page.
29
33
33
26
0,35
48
48
13
65
19
51.52
49
12
12
23
11
11
19
12
41
65
54
19
18,39
13
IS •
09
55
3
3
16.40
36.40
22
22
11,35 I Elect’on day, no sales on.................
73
21
I Engineer, sanitary.................... —
6 i Engineering, amounts to be expend31 [
cd for ?.......................................
22
I Erection or conversion, owner to
65
IS I
prove date of...............................
24
I Estimate, Board of, how corstitute.1
24.26
6 [ Estimate, Board of, duties of...........
25
151 Estimate, what to contain.... ...........
29
75 I Evidence, records as.........................
51I Examination, what application for
17
I
to contain..................................
17,18
Examination, how enforced.............
16
Examination, judge may order........
17
Examinations, how taken.................
24
Examinations, power of judge as to
17
Examination, service of order for..
48
Excise Board. designation of..........
Excise Board, expenses of............... 6, SO, SI
72
41 Excise Board, how constituted____
48
45 Excise Board, injunction against,...
52
33 Excise Board, meetings of..............
52
Excise Board, officers of.................
41
74,76
46 Excise Board, powers o£........ ..........
52,78
46 Excise Board, quorum of____ . -__
53
47 Excise Board, records of..................
53
67 Excise Board, report by........... ........
�86
Excise Board, salary of Treasurer..
Excise Board, seal of.....................
Excise Board, Secretary of.............
Excise, Inspector of...................
Excise moneys appropriation of....
Excise moneys in New York..........
Excise moneys in Brooklyn,..........
Excise moneys in Kings county ...
Excise moneys in New Utrecht......
Excise moneys in Queens county...
Excise moneys in Richmond county
Excise moneys, salaries to be paid
from..........................................
Execution, againstwhom..............
Execution, by whomissued..........
Execution, when and for what is
sued ..........................................
Execution of orders, statement of
expense of...............................
Execution ot judgment, when
statement of expense of.......
Execution of judgment., when
statement of, final...................
Executive officer, chief, must be
physician...............................
Executive officer, must reside in
district .......
Expenditures, proper, Board may
make.........................................
Expenditures,extraordinary, when
Expense of abating nuisance, lia
bility for..........................................
Expense of abating nuisance ap
portioned in judgment...........
Expense of abating nuisance,state
ment of to bo tiled...................
Expense of abating nuisance re
covered when advanced.........
Expense of abating nuisance, what
not stated in finding.......... ....
Expense of executing orders, ag’st
whom a charge........ ................ _
Expense of executing orders, alien 15,
Expense of executing orders to be
apportioned..............................
Expense of execut ing orders, state
ment to be filed.......................
Expenses for 1866..........................
Expenses to be reported................
Expenses, how apportioned.........
Expenses incurred in good faith to
be paid lrom funds of Board..
Expenses, what not included in
limitation of............................
Expenses, amount of, which may
be incurred.............................
Expenses of Board of Excise....... 76,
Page.
80
52
52
72
76
7S,79
81
80,81
82
81
81
52
45
45
45
53
44
44
7
7
?
18
42
44
47
47
_ 15
50, 54
53
53
25
20
25
47
47
25, 52
80, 81
Facts and proofs may be presented
13
False report, penalty for................
49
Fees for licenses, disposition of.... 76, 78, 79
80, 81, 82
Fees not to be taken........................ 10, 12, 35
Fees not to be charged by courts,
magistrates or clerks ...........
33
Filed, papers to be. on discharging
lien......................................................... 42
Filed, statement of expense of ex
ecuting judgment to be........ .
*14
Fines may be imposed for neglect
of duty.....................................
Fines on conviction......................
Fines, payment of, howenforced.
Fines paid over to treasurer.........
Fines, reports of, to be made........
Fire escape............................... ...
Floors of cellars to be tight..........
Food, powers as to........................
Front and rear buildings, distance
between...................................
80, 81, S3
9
31
31
31
31
59
65
22
64
Funds paid into State Treasury....
Funds, bow drawn and paid............
Falcon market stalls not removed..
Garbage, receptacle for, to be pro
vided.................................
Goats in tenement houses..............
Governor, approval of, necessary to
borrowing.................................
Governor has power to remove ...
Governor to approve exercise of ex
traordinary powers..................
Governor to appoint Sanitary Com
mission ....................................
Grounds, removal of articles from,
may be ordered.......................
Ground, duty of those who have un
dertaken to clean.....................
Ground, when maybe declared dan
gerous or detrimental...............
Page,
23
23
40
62
63
27
7
18
3,4
13
15
13
Halls, ventilation in.......................
59
Halls, open at ends........ .................
65
Health Board, designation of..........
48
Health Board, injunction against...
48
Health, Board of, how constituted..
3
Health, Board of, may institute
suits.................................. 15. 31, 32,41, 65
Health, duty to enforce laws relat
ing to.......................................
Health,duty to gather and preserve
19
40 facts as to..................................
57
Health laws to be codified..............
Health, what is dangerous to, to be
12
declared a nuisance...................
Health, what may be declared dan
13
gerous or detrimental to.........
Health ordinances, code of, to be
20, 30
published.................................
Health ordinances, code of, when
to take effect............................ 20, 30,47
Health ordinances, code of, i-en31
alty for not complying with. .
Health, powers of existing Boards
9, 34
conferred on new Board..........
Health Commissioner, powers of,
9,34
conferred on new Board..........
Health Officer of Port of New Yoik,
3
a member of Board................. .
Health Officer, authority of not af
18
fected ......................................
49
Health ordinances, code, of............
Health ordinances, code of, what to
49
embrace....................................
Health Officer, salary of, as member
5
of Board...................................
Health Officer, information to be
IT
gi ven to.............................. ■ ■ •
17
Health Officer to give information.
17
Health Officer to co-operate............
Health Officer, power of, conferred
9, 34
on new- Board...........................
Health Officers to communicate re
19
ports ........................................
Health Officers to communicate in
19
formation....................... ..........
Health Officers not to be created or
employed by municipal authori
11
ties ...........................................
Hearing, parties applying for, to
13
have...,......................• -•••••
Hearing, speedy, to be given in
47
courts.......................................
61
Height of rooms............................
62
Horse in tenement bouse.................
22
Hospitals may be required to report
74
Hotels on Sundays..........................
36
Houses, repair of, may be ordered..
impending pestilence............... .
13, IS
Inebriate Asylum,State, license fees
to............................................... 76,79, SO,82
�87
Page.
18
Inebriate Asylum in New York....
50
Inebriates’ Home, in King s County
89
Infectious diseases, poweis as to...
Infirmaries may be required to re
22
port...........................................
75
Informer under excise law.............
40, 47
injunction in abatement suits.........
injunction in abatement suits with
46
out undertaking ......................
Injunction in abatement suits, action
48
for damages on..........................
48
Injunction ag’stBoard.lioW granted
51
Inquests, duties of coroners as to...
Inspections, result of, may be pub
21
lished ........................................
8
Inspectors, Sanitary, bow many...
8
Inspectors, Sanitary, duties of......
8, 52
Inspectors, Sanitary, salaries oi....
• 49
Inspectors, Sanitary, false report by
S
Inspectors, ten to be physicians....
Inspectors; those not physicians to
8
be selected for qualifications....
21
Inspectors, right to enter...............
52
Snspectois, Assistant Sanitary.......
inspector, City, powers of, given
Board........................................ 9,11, 34
Inspector, C,ty, to surrender books,
11
etc........................................... •
institutions, reports may be requir
22
ed irom ....................................
76
Intoxicated persons, when arrested
72
Intoxicating liquors, act to regulate
76
Intoxication, punishment for.......
Intoxication, disposition of fines for 77, 79, 80
81, 82
Issues, how settled, and tried in
41
abatement suits.......................
Page.
Lessees, expense of executing or
ders, a charge against................
15
Lessee, duty of. to place and keep in
safe condition............................
15
Lessees may be ordered to pay rent
to Board....................................
46
Lessees to pay rent to treasurer....
55
Lessees, duty of. under tenement act 60, 62, 63
Lessees, when liable to penally.......
65
Lessees to be made defendants........
65
Liability incurred in good faith to
be paid......................................
47
License to scavengers......................
36
License io sell liquors.....................
72
License, to whom granted.. ..........
72
License, what allowed by................
72
License, how long to run.................
72
License, rate of................................
73
License, form of...............................
73
License, to be posted......................
73
License, application for.................
73
License fees, disposition of............. 76, 78, 79
80, 81,82
Licenses, record of, to be kept........
73
Licenses, forfeited by conviction...
75
Licenses, when revoked..................
76
Licensed persons to preserve order.
74
Lien, expense of e^eijuting orders..
50
Lien, effect of filing notice of..........
51
Lien, how enforced...........................
51
Lien, how long to continue............
5L
Lien, notice of, to be filed................
50
Lien, priority of..............................
50
Lien, when valid............
50
Lien in abatement suits.................
42
Lien on rent....................................
54
Lien on compensation for cleaning.
54
Lien on rent, how made effectual....
54
Life, what is dangerous to, is a
nuisance...................................
12, 39
Life, what may be declared danger
ous or detrimental to................
13
Light, want of, is a nuisance...........
_ 40
Limit of expenses..........................
25,52
Limit of expenses, what not to be
included in................................
47
Limit of time to sue for rent...........
56
Liquors, intoxicating, act to regu
late.............................................
72
Loans, ceitificates.may be issued for
27
“ Lodging-house,” definition of.......
66
Lodging-house, orders may be
served on agent of................
39,63
Judge may order production of
17
books........................................
18
Judge may order examination........
46
■Judge, may grant injunction..........
46
Judge may order rent paid to Board
42
Judge, when may discharge lien....
43
•Judge, when may order stay..........
judge, ruling of, as to statement
45
final............................... ...........
Judgment, in abatement suit, how
41
settled.....................................
Judgment in abatement suits, what
to contain................... _.............. 42, 44, 46
Judgment in abatement suits,execu
tion of................... •••■•;..........
Judgment, in abatement, suits, to
42 Magistrates, duty of, under excise
state on what it is a lien.........
law...........................................
■Judgment, when statement of ex
44 Magistrates to order arrest..............
pense to be final.....................
Magistrates, fees not to be charged
Judgment, statement of expenses of
44
"by...................................... .......
executing to be filed.... ...........
47 Mail, service of orders through.......
Judgment, injunction in................
47 Maps may be copied........................
■Judgment against Board to be paid
51 Markets, regulation and control of,
■Judgment in lien cases...................
given to Board...................
54
^Judgment in actions for penalty...
31 Markets, new, plans for to be pre
Jurisdiction of actions to be taken .
pared.........................................
31
■Justice to order arrest....................
Markets, Fulton and Washington..
Justices to take jurisdictions of ac
31 Marriage, false return of................
tions..........................................
Marriages, power as to...................
Keeper of lodging-house, duty of.. 62, 63, 65 Marriages, acts as to, extended
throughout district...................
80, 81
King's County, excise money in....
Marriages^statistics of, to be reported
Marshals, police have power of.....
Land expense of executing orders,
50 " Matter,” meaning of......................
* lien on ..................................
57 Mayor of New York, powers of, con
Laws to be codified..........................
ferred on new Board.................
Kjtaws and Ordinances relative to
Mayor of New York, powers as to
Preservation of Public Health,”
weights and measures, given to
authority conferred by, given to
9,35 Mayor and Common Council, pow
Board........................................
ers of, conferred on new Board.,
Laws relating to health, duty to en
22 Mayor and Commission’rs of Health,
force .........................................
powers of, conferred on new
20
Legislation to be suggested...........
Board........................................
14
Lessees, orders may be served on..
75, 76
81
33
14
21
36,40
41
40
49
11
11
19
83
4
9, 34
11
9, 34
9, 84
�88
Meaning of terms...........................
Measures and weights, powers as
to, given to Mayor ofNew York
Medical relief to poor may be pro
vided.........................................
Medicines, power as to..................
Meetings, regular and special, when
held .. .. ....................................
Meetings, notice of........................
Meetings, taken to be regular in all
proceedings...............................
Members of Boa'd, salaries of........
Membeis of Board, removal of. ....
Members of Board, right to enter..
Membeis of Board may administer
oaths.........................................
Members not personally liable. ...
Members summarily examined......
“ Metropolitan Board of Health,” the
name of the health board.........
“Metropolitan Board of Excise,” the
name of the excise board.........
Midnight, liquor shops closed at....
Minors, sales of liquor to............
Minutes, papers filed deemed enter
ed in...........................................
Misapplicationolfundsinquired into
Misdemeanor, parties arrested to be
treated as for.............................
Misdemeanor under health act, what
is.......................... '.................... 2S,
Misdemeanor under excise law
Misdemeanor under tenement act...
Money borrowed a charge..............
Motion for new trial in abatement
suits..........................................
Municipal authorities not to inter
fere ..........................................
Municipal authoiiiies not create or
employ health officers or incur
expenses...........................
Page.
3,4
11
18,39
22
22
22, 52
22
5,52
7
21
16
47
24
48
48
74
74
33
24
16
32, 50
75
65
27
44
11
11
Pagel
Occupants, duty of, under tenement
act.............................................
fit), 65
Officers, not personally liable.........
47
Officers, false reports by.................
49
Officers, dismissal of......................
6, 52
Officers, names of, to be reported...
19
Officers, pretending to be, a misde
meanor ......................................
21
Officers, Board may procure...........
9
Omission, ■willful, to obey order, a
misdemeanor............................. 28. 82, 53
Order may be reaffirmed, modified,
or rescinded.............................
13, 37
Order, special or general, penalty for
not complying with.................
82, 53
Order, power may be conferred on
President to suspend or modify
37
Order not to be modified so as to be
more stringent..........................
37
Orders, mode of serving.................
13, 14
39, 68
Orders, against whom expense of,
is a charge.................................
1§
Orders, obstructing execution of, a
misdemeanor............................ 28 82, 53
Ordets, violating, a misdemeanor.. 28. 32, 53
Orders, suspension or modification
of, on application......................
18,37
Orders presumed to be authorized...
22
Orders, expense of executing, a lien
50, 54
Orders, apportionment of expense of
executing..................................
53
Orders, statement of expensed exe
cuting ......................................
53
Orders, authority of Board in execu
ting...........................................
19
Ordinances, amended, to be publish
ed ..............................................
30, 49
Ordinance s, duty of police to en
force .........................................
19. 88
Ordinances, code of, to be published 20, 30, 49
Ordinances, code of, when to take
effect......................................... 20,30,49
Ordinances, penalty lor not comply
ing with... ................................ 20, 2S, 31
32, 53
Ordinances, sanitary......................
49
Ordinances a codification to be sub
mitted to the Legislature.......
57
Owner, duty of, to place and keep in
safe condition................. .......
15
Owners, orders served on............... 13,14, 63
Owners.expense of executing orders,
a charge against........................
15
Owners, duty' of, under tenement
act............................................. 60, 62, 63
Owners, names of to be posted.......
68
Owners to prove date of erection..
65
Owner, prim a facie liable.............
65
65
Owners to be made defendants........
Name of Board...............................
4S
Name of owner or agent of tene
ment house to be post 'd..........
63
Name of officers and agents to be re
ported .......................................
19
New York, trial not to be had in,
without notice..........................
31
New York, excise moneys in........
78, 79
New York, penalties given to local
authorities in.,..........................
49
New Utrecht, excise moneys in...
82
New trial, when motion for enter
tained........................................
44
Nextofkin toreportbirihs and deaths
12
Notice of lien, where filed..............
50
Notice of lien, effect of........ .......... 50, 51,54
Notice of payment of rent to treas
urer ..........................................
56
Nuisance defined.............................
39
Papers filed deemed entered on
Nuisance, liability for expense of
83
minutes....................................
abating......................................
40
33
Nuisance, suits to abate..................
41 Papers, how served........................
12
Parents to report births.................
Nuisance, common law right as to
Parties to suits .............................. 15. 2S, 32
reserved..........................................
41
56
Nuisances, abating..........................
36 Parties to suits for recovery of rent
65
Nuisances, Board may declare.......
13 Parties to suits under tenement act
Part owner, duty of, to place and
keep in safe condition..............
15
Oath, Sanitary Commissioners to
take and file.............................
4 Penalty for violations...................... 20, 28, 31
32
Oaths, who may administer...........
16
Penalty for not complying with reg
Obstructing execution of orders a
ulations, Ac.............................
20, 32
misdemeanor............................
28, 32
Penalty, minimum, under health
Obstructions on streets and walks,
law............................................
38
removal of.................................
36, 40
Penalty, judge to fix.......................
Occupant,duty of, to place, and keep
38
in safe condition.......................
15 Penalty, claim for, joined in abate
44
ment suit ................................
Occupants, orders may be served on
14
45
Penalty, separate execution for ...
Occupants, expense of executing or
ders a charge against................
15 Penalty, claim for, joined in suit for
53
expenses...................................
Occupants to pay rent to Board....
46, 55
�89
Page
Penalty, claim for, may be assigned
53
Penally, judgment in action for....
54
Penalty, when recovered back by
landlord....................................
56
Penalty under tenement act...........
65
Penalty under excise act..................
75
Penalties, certain, to be sued for...
49
Peril, in case of, no limit as to ex
pense.........................................
25
Peril of pestilence, powers given in
13, 18
Perjury, wiiatis. .............................
16
Persons interested, duty of. to place
and keep in safe condition.......
15
Persons interested, orders served on
39
Personating an officer, a misde
meanor......................................
21
Pestilence, impending....................
18
Pestilence, when peril of, exists,ad
ditional power given.................
13.18
Pestilential diseases, powers as to..
39
Physician, chief executive officer,
must be....................................
7
Physicians, ten of inspectors, must
be...............................................
S
Physicians, three of Sanita’y Com
missioners, must be.......... ...
3
Physician, resident, powers of, con
ferred on new Board................
9, 34
Pigs in tenement houses.............
62
Pigs, driving....................................
66
Pipe,when may be declared danger
ous or detrimental...................
13
*• Place,” meaning of......................
4
Place of business, service of orders,
by copy left at..........................
14
Places of resort may be required to
report........................................
22
Plans may be copied.......................
21
“Police Commissioners,” meaning
<>f............................................. 4
| Police.” meaning of......................
Police Commissioners, members of
4
Board......................
3
Police Commissioners, salariesof.
5,52
Police Board to report danger to
health........................................
IS
Police Board may let rooms to
Board of Health........................
9
Police Board and Board of Health
to co operate.............................
IS
Police Board to execute orders.......
19
Police Board may employ persons
and incur expenses...................
19
Police Board, injunction against....
48
Police Board to build telegraphs...
58
Police Board to detail surgeons....
58
Police Board to dismiss surgeons..
58
Police to report violations..............
IS, 3S
Police to enforce excise law............
75
B’olice to arrest without warrant...
75
Police may close liquor shops.........
75
Policemen may serve process and
papers.......................................
33
Policemen to make arrests............
31
Police justice to order arrest .........
31
Poor, medical relief for, may be
provided...................................
IS, 39
Port of New York, health officer of,
a member of Board...................
3
Power of Board, what included in.. 7, 8, 9, 10
11, 12, 13
36, 39, 40
11, Ml
Powers of Board, how exercised...
Mower given by any law relative to
health to be exercised...............
Powers of City Inspector given to
Board........................................
Preference in courts........................
Resident to be elected annually.. .
President faAe a member of Board.
President, duties of.........................
9
10.34
11
67
5
5
5
Page.
President may’ appoint Secretary’
pro tern.....................................
President pro tein. may be elected.
President, power may be conferred
on, to suspend or modify' ■ rder
President has powers of City In
spector on street cleaning com
mission .....................................
President, process may be served on
President of the Bo .rd of Alccrmen, powers of, conferred on
new Board...............................
Premises, when may be declared a
nuisance....................................
Premises, when may be declared
dangerous or detrimental.........
Prevention of accidents...................
Privies required............
Privies, how fitted................... ...
Privies,number of..........................
Privies connected with sewer........
Persons may be required to report
Proceedings presumed to be au
thorized....................................
Proceedings to be regarded as ju
dicial and legal........................
Process, how served,.....................
Proclamation of peril.....................
Production of books, judge may’ or
der.............................................
Proofs, how taken..........................
Prosecuting officers to act promptly
Prosecutions, before whom....... 28. . 31,
Purified, what may be ordered....
Pursuits, when may be declared a
nuisance, &c............................
Quarantine, Commissioners of,
to give and receive informa
tion ...........................................
Quarantine, Commissioners of, to
co-operate.................................
Quarantine, permits to visit ves
sels at.......................................
Queens county, excise moneys in.
Quorum of Board of Excise..........
Quorum of Board of Health..........
6
6, 38
37
5
4S
9, 34
12
13
36
61)
60
60
60
22
22
29
33,48
18
17
16
29
32. 76
14
12
17
17 ■
70
81
52,78
3
Rain water to be conducted from
roof,..........................................
59
Receipts and expenses to be repor?
ted..............................
.........
20
Records, Secretary to keep..........
6
Records, regulations as to............
23
Record of acts and execution of or
ders to be kept........................
19, 53
Record of licenses.........................
73
Records as evidence.......................
29,53
Records, facts stated in, presumed
true.. . . . . . . . . ...........................
29
Registry’ of births and deaths, pen
alty' for omission to keep.'....
12
Regulations to be enacted............ 20,22,30,49
Regulations may be altered.......... 20,22,30,49
Regulations as to records and proceedings...................................
23
Regulations, penalty for not com
20, 28
plying with................. .
31, 32, 53
Regulations, duty of police to en
19.38
force ................ 1........................
Regulations may be included in
49
code................... . ....................
59
Regulations to be prepared...........
Removal < f Commissioners, pro
7
ceedings for.............................
6. 52
Removal of officers, how effected..
18.39
Removal of sick authorized..........
Removal of obstructions on streets
36.40
and walks.................................
Removed, what may be. ordered... 14,36,40
46
Rent ordered paid to Board..........
�90
Page.
Kent paid to Board, how applied..
46
Kent, expenses a lien on..............
54
Kent, judgment a lien on..............
15, 54
Kent, how lien on. made effectual.
54
Kent, 1 ability fir, after demand..
55
Kent, suit for.................................
55
Kent, suit to recover back............
56
Kent, notice of payment of,to treas
urer........ . .................................
56
Repair of buildings may be orderi d
36
Repair, roof to be kept in..............
59
Repar, buildings out of, vacated.
63
Repeal, none by implication.........
57
Report to be made annually.........
19
Report may I e printed..................
20
Report of Board of Excise..............
53,76
Report, lalse, by inspector...............
49
Reports, to whom, to he sent..........
20
Report of birth and death, penalty
for omission to make...............
12
Reports from all persons.................
22
Reports may be required from insti
tutions, Ac.................................
22
Reports of trials to bo made to
Board........................................
31
Resisting order subjects to arrest..
16
Residence, service of orders by copy
left at....................................'.
14
Return, false, punishment for.........
49
Resident | liysician. powers of, con
ferred on new Board................
9,34
Revision, committee of, when to
meet................................
26
Revision, committee of, what to do
26
Revocation of licenses...........
76
Richmond County, excise money in
SI
Roof not to leak....................
59
Room, when declared dangerous or
detiimental....................
13
Rooms, height of...................
64
Rooms, ventilation of............
59,65
Rubbish, receptacles for........
62
Rule, penalty for nut complying
with..........................................
20 30
Rule may be altered........................ 20. 80, 49
Rules to be enacted........................ 20,30,49
Salary of Assistant Sanitary Super
intendents.................................
Salary of Assistant Sanitary In
spectors.....................................
Salary of Inspectors........................
Salary of Sanitary superintendent..
Salaiy of Secretary..........................
Salary of Treasurer........................
Salary not to be paid to health offi
cers............................................
Salaries, how paid............................
Salaries of members of Board;. __
Salaries, deductions from, for ab
sence....................... .................
Salaries not to be paid certain offi
cers...........................................
Sale of improper articles in markets
Sales of'iquor on credit..................
Sales to apprentices........................
Sales to drunkards..........................
Sales to wives. Ac............................
Sales without license......................
Sanitary Commissioners, who are..
Sanitary Commission! rs, how ap
pointed......................................
Sanitarv Commissioners, three must
be physicians............................
Sanitary Commissioners, one must
ie.-ide in Brooklyn...................
Sanitary Commis-ioners, term of
office..........................................
Sanitary Commissioners to draw
lots for term..............................
Sanitary Commissioners, take and
file oath....................................
S, 52
52
52
8,52
6
5, SO
10.84
5, 24
5,52
5,37
10,34
36
75
74
74
74
72
3,4
3,4
3
3
3,4
4
4
Sanitary Commissioners to be con
firmed by Senate......................
Sanitary Commissioners, salaries of
Sanitary Commissioners to hold no
other office...............................
Sanitary Commissioners not declin
ing nomination to office vacate
place..........................................
Sanitary condition, publish informa
tion as to...................................
Sanitary Jtistiict, what it embraces
Saniiaiy Engineer...........................
Sanitary engineering, amount to'bo
expended fo-............................
Sanitary Inspectors, 11jw many ...
Sanitary Inspectors, duties of...
.
*
Sanitary Inspectois, salaries of.......
Sanitary Inspectors, ten to be phy
sicians.......................................
Sanitary Inspectors, those not phy
sicians to be Selected for quali
fications....................................
Sanitary lnsp< clots to report.........
Sanitary Inspectors Assistant........
Sanitary Inspectors may be classi-
3,4
5152
7
7
21,23
3
21
S
52
Sanitary Ordinances, what code of,
49
to contain.................................
Sanitary regulations, penalty for not
complying with . .29, 28. 80. 31, 32, 38^53
7.8
Sanitaiy Superint udent, duties of.
8,52
Sanitary Superintendent, salary of.
8
Sanitary Superintendent, reports by
Sanitary Supiru teiident may ad
16
minister oaths..........................
Sanitary Superintendent, right to
21
ent r.........................................
Sanitary Superintendents, Assistant,
S
two may be appointed..........
Sanitary Superintendents, Assistant,
8
one in Brooklyn......................
Sanitary Superintendent, Assistant,
8
duli< s of....................................
Sanitaiy Superintendent, Assistant,
8
salary of....................................
36
Scavengers, licensing of.................
36
Scavengers, regulation of...............
22
Schools may be require d to report.
81,82
Schools, excise moneys to support ut’
6,52
Seal..................................................
’88
Seal, courts to take I oliee of..........
5
'Secretary to beappointed................ _
Secretary not to be a member of
5
Board..................... ................
5
Secretary hold office till removed..
6, 52
Secretary, duties of........................
Secretary to keep records, books,
6
and papers.... ........................
Secretary to conduct coirespond6
ence..........................................
Secretary to authenticate papers,
6
etc.............................................
. 6
Secretary, salary of..........................
6
Secretary, how removed................
16
Secretary may administer oaths....
5,6,38
Secretary
tern...........................
481
Secretary precess may be served on
5
Secretary. Corresponding, salary ot.
Secretary of State to give certificate
4
of appointment.........................
Security on appeal, Ac., board not
43,67
to give................................... •
Senate to confirm sanitary commis
sioners......................................
Servants, Board to employ.........
Servants. Board to fix salaries of...
Service of oiders...................... ...13,
Service of orders for examil atiotis.
Sirviceof process on Board............
Sewers, water closets to be connect
60
ed with..................................
60
Sewers, yards to be connected with
�91
Page.
Sew'i-rS, ■whffl may be declared dan
gerous or deliimentlll...............
31
getvi-rag--, when may be declared a
‘ nuisance.......................................
12
Sewerage, duly to provide for.........
la
Sewerage Commissioners, poweisas
to ponded walers........................
67,68
Sheep in t« neim-nt house.................
62
She-p. when driven...........................
67
Sheep not to pass on sidewalk........
67
Sick, removal of authorized............
18,39
Sick persons to be r< ported.............
63
Sickness, infoi mation as to, may be
publi bed.....................................
23
Sidewalks, removal of obstructions
on „................... ........................
36, 40
Sidewalks, cattle. &c.. on.................
67
Signs foi bidden to unlicensed per
sons...............................................
74
Sleeping moms, how ventilated....
59, 64
Small pox.persons s ck with remov
ed ..................................................
18
Soldiers’ Messenger Corps, stalls of.
69
Special Sessions, trial may be icmoved Io......................................
31
Stat sties of births, deaths and mar
riage . lobe report! d.................
19
Stairs to have bannisters.................
60
Stalls, market, not removed.............
40
Sta Is on sidewalks.............................
40.69
State luebriite Asylum..................76,79,80,82
Statement of expense to be filed ....
44
Statement of expense, not ce of fil
ling ..........................................
Stateim nt of exp-use. when final.
Stateim lit of exp. use. modifi- <1....
Statement of expense, part oi judg
ment..............................................
Statement of expei seof executing
orders............................................
Storage in ten- incut houses.............
Streets, appropriation for cleaning.
St:eels through which cattie driven
Streets,duty <>t those who have und< rtaken to clean.......................
Streets, removal of articles from,
may be ordered...........................
Street , r. moval of obstructions on
Street clean.ng, contract for, nut af
fected ............................................
Strei t cleaning, expt use a lien on
compensation for........................
Strei t cleaning, commission f.r, not
44
45
45
45
53
'62
70
67
15
15. 36
36, 40
6, 71
intern red with..............................
15
11
Street cleaning c •mmis-ion. p overs
cf City Inspector in given to
President......................................
5
Stre-1 coinmissim er. m t inlerlered
with..............................................
10,35
Structures, repair <■!, may be order
ed .................................................
36
Suits, Bo-rd may institute 31, 32. 33,41, 65,75
Sui’stoab te nuisances...................
41
Suits lor damages, when brought...
48
Suits fi r rent when may be brnu-ht
Suit to recover back rent.................
Suits, parties to............. 15, 16, 28, 32 44, 56,
Sums raised to be paid to Treasuier
of State.........................................
Snnken lots in Brooklyn.................
Sunday, no saiesof liquor on............
Suin'ay, liquor stores clos- d on....
Sunrise, liquor stores open at.........
Sup rintendeiit. sa- itary, is chief
executive i.fficer..........................
Superi nt- ndent, sanitary, must be
physician................ .'...................
Superintendent, sanitary, duties of
Superintendi-nt. sanitary, salary of.
Superintendent, assistant, may ad
minister oaths............................
55
56
65
27
67
73
74
74
7
7
8
8
16
Superintendent, right to enter........
Superintendent, assistant, right to
enter ............................................
Superintendent., two assistants may
be ap] ointed................................
Superintend nt, assistant sanitary,
one in Brooklyn.........................
Superintendent of unsafe buildings
not interfered with.....................
Snpervis -rs. B .-arils of, to raise and
col lpet money..............................
Supreme C- art, power of judge of,
on proc- edings to remove com
missioners.......................
Supreme Court, injunction by, only
Surface water ponded tn Brooklyn
Surgeons! police to detail.................
Surgeons, police may disini.~s..........
Surgeons of police to assist Board..
Surveys, right to make.....................
Telegraph, police may build............
Tenant to pay rent to Board............
Teiiat t, when made defendant........
Tenant, duty of to place and keep on
safe condition..............................
Tenants, oiaters may be served on..
Tenants, expense of executing orders, a charge against..................
Tenants liable under tenement act.
Tenement house, orders may be
set ved on agents of...................
Tenement house to be kept clean..
Tenement house may be cleansed or
Gismiected ..................................
Tenement bouse hereafter elected
requirements for.........................
‘■Tenement house,” definition of...
The .ti cs may be ja quired to report
‘•Thing,” m aningof... .................
Time within which orders are to bo
complied with......... ..................
Treasurer to be elected.....................
Treasurer to be a member of Board
Tr. asttrer. hold office till removed..
Treasurer, fines to be paid over to..
Treasurer,costs to be paid to...........
Treasurer, receipt of, a discharge..
Treasurer, rent to be paid to..........
Treasurer to deposit rent.................
Treasurer when liable to repay
rent................................................
Treasurer to obey board..................
Treasurer not personally liable....
Treasurer, salary of...........................
Tiea-urer, duties of...........................
Treasurer to deposit funds in bank
Treasurer to give bonds...................
Treasurer's bonds, moneys collected
on...................................................
Treasuier of State, sums raised to
be paid to....................................
Treasurer of State, regulations as to
payments by................................
Trial not to be had in New York
without notice...........................
Trials, reports of, to be made to
Boar J ...........................................
Trial may lie removed to Special
Sessions........................................
Trial, speedy, to be given..............
Tr.bunals to take j urisdiction of ac
tions..............................................
Undertaking in abatement suits...
Undertaking by board not required
Unlicensed persons, what may sell
Unlicensed person not to adv-rtise
Unsafe buildings, superintendent
not interfered with....................
Page.
21
21
8
8
11,35
26,39
7
47
67
58
58
58
21
58
46, 55
65
15
14
15
65
39,63
62
63
64
66
22
4
14
5
5
5
31
41
46,55
55
55
•
56
57
57
5,80
6
6
6
6
27
27
31
31
31
47
81,32
43
46,67
73
74
11,35
�Page.
Vacancies, bow filled.......................
4
Vacancies, appointees to, how long
to bool .....................................
4
Vacated, building may be ordered..
G3
Vaccination, gratuitous,may be pro
vided................................................
Ventilation of markets, powers
over .........................................
36, 40
Ventilation, duty to provide tor.. 15, 59, 64, 65
Ventilation, wanrto', a nuisance....
40
Ventilation < f sleeping rooms.......
59, 64
Ventilation in small rooms...........
65
Ventilation <>t cellar........................
61
Ventilation in hall..........................
59
VentilatOn, rules as to, may be
modified...................................
66
Vessels at quarantine, permits to
board.........................................
70
Vessels, when may be declared dan
gerous or detrimental..............
13
Violations, penalty for............ 20, 28, 31, 82
38, 53, 65, 75
Page,
Walks, removal of obstructions on.
36, 40
Walks, cattle, <te.. on.....................
67
Wa rant, a’rest without.................
75
Washington market, stalls around..
40
Water, ponded in Brooklyn ..........
67 I
18
Water in every teneiii'-iit house....
65
W at r closets required.................. ■.
60
Water closets, how fitted...............
60
Water closers connected with sewer
60
Water closets, numb r of................
60
Weights aid measures, poweis as to
given Mayor of New York....
11
Westchester county, money to be
raisedin..................................... #
39
Whitewashed, tenement houses
twire a year.............................
62
Windows, number and size of.......
64
W itnesses, attendance of, compelled 7, 50, 76
Yard to be connected with sewer..
Yar i to be graded...........................
Yard to be kept clean.....................
60
61
62
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Laws of the state of New York, relating to the Metropolitan Board of Health and to the Metropolitan Board of Excise, passed in 1866 & 1867
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway, Moncure Daniel [1832-1907.]
New York (State)
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: New York, N.Y.
Collation: 92 p. ; 24 cm.
Notes: Includes index. From the library of Dr Moncure Conway.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Bergen & Tripp, printers
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1867
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
G5380
Subject
The topic of the resource
Health
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /><br />This work (Laws of the state of New York, relating to the Metropolitan Board of Health and to the Metropolitan Board of Excise, passed in 1866 & 1867), identified by <a href="www.conwayhall.org.uk">Humanist Library and Archives</a>, is free of known copyright restrictions.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Conway Tracts
Health
Legislation
New York
Taxation