Our New York Letter.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 929, 20 December 1889, Page 8

Our New York Letter.

When a couple of years ago the Mjethodists met in national conclave at' the Metropolitan Opera House, I thought them the finest looking body of men, lay or clerical, that I had evet seen assembled' tinder a single roof in any part of the world, T havef seen many great assemblages, both'here and. in Europe, where the imposing symbols‘of official dignity lent light and colour to th6’ occasion, but up to that’ time I do 'hot' recollect ever seeing any public body 'that compared with the' Methodist * National. Cpn- T ' vention. J ’ "• ' ; ' ' •' •’ This week has been marked by an assemblage which, for distinguished ability,’ piety, dignity; intellectual ’culture, w tas never been surpassed and" hardly equalled oh’ this side of the Atlantic. To be d minister of the Episcopal Church is no small, honour ; to arrive at that distinction involves ibiijj 3'ear3 of patient study &nd selfdenial and intellectual' culture much beyohd thq average of his fellow-men. To be selected; as a bishop from such' a con’clave as this argues superlative qualities among a body men intellectually 1 above then;, fellojvp. Assembled t,h St. George’s churoh were all the bishops in the United States, with very

few excepticna, and in addition to these ware hundreds of distinguished clergymen and laymen, to whom .Episcopal honours could add neither dignity or power. It was a grand sight and one that will be remembered as long as life remains by those who were privileged to sea it; Tho sermon of Bishop Whipple of Minnesota, vi as worthy of the occasion, and not a word of it was lost on “that vast and distinguished assembly. Never in any Episcopal body before was there such a broad and catholic spirit displayed aa in this, 'there was not a single dissenting voice when the venerable bishop exclaimed, in a voice almost drowned with tears :—‘One of the great hindrances to the speedy evangelisation of the world is the division among Christians, and the saddest of all this is, that the things that separate us are not necessary to salvation. There are blessed signs that the Holy Spirit is deepening the spiritual life of long separated brothers.’ And again he exclaimed with fervour :— ‘ Denunciation will not silence nnbelief, and the name of infidel has lost all its terrors.’ The only inference to be drawn from Bishop Whipple’s magnificent sermon, and the unstinted praise with which it was received, is that henceforth the Episcopal Church will welcome with open arms assistance from every Christian source, that can aid the propagation of the gospel of Christ and the evangelisation of the race. If this be the end and aim of the Convention it will go forth from our city with a nation s benediction, and not only the Episcopal Church but all Christendom will have occasion to rejoice that the ancient barriers of prejudice and conventionalism are broken down, and the Christian Church no longer bound by the shadows of form and creed, marches onward as a united army to the accomplishment of the great work where Christ is all in all. It is hardly necessary to say that the bishops, priests, and the lay visitors were royally entertained. Our richest families mostly belong to the Episcopal Church, and New York has a building specially provided for Episcopal entertainments, the gift of the sainted Catherine Wolfe. Trinity church, too, is one of the richest church corporations in the world, so that there was no lack of anything. The centennial celebration of the founding of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America has been a success in every respect. Sunday was a red letter day in all the Episcopal churches, every pulpit being, graced by a bishop, and the attendance was the largest seen in Sew York for a generation. Besides the bishops there were many distinguished clergymen and laymen whose repatation is world-wide. Prominent among them were the Reverend Mr Rainsforth, the English athlete and bold exponent of muscular Christianity, with the strength of a lion and the heart of a woman, whose life is dedicated to the poor and suffering almost without fee or reward, and the Rev. Heber C. Newton, sharp and scholarly, whose unbelief in Eve’s apple and Aaron’s rod ha 3 failed to undermine his standing in the orthodox Episcopal Church. Everybody seems pleased and happy ; tho little tussle over the apostles’ creed and the alteration in the Book of Common Prayer, only served to cement a stronger union, and so passes into history the centennial celebration of the founding of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Tuesday was a memorable day. As I sat at my desk writing I heard the thunder of gun? from the Navy Yard. What could it be ? The wildest flight of imagination could scarcely conceive it. A negro born in slavery, who never knew his father’s name, doomed by his birth to the bitterest degradation and the lowest estate that man can know ; who for one-half of his life never dared to set his foot within the limits of the State where he was born for fear of being triced up to a whipping post, sailed out of New York bay in a national warship, to the thunder of guns, as the representative of the grandest republic on the face of the earth. In history or fiction there is nothing like it. It is over twenty years ago since I was on my way from Maine to New York, and I had telegraphed from Boston for a stateroom on one of the magnificent steamers that ply between Fall River and this city. I was tired and sleepy on the arrival of the train at Fall River, and went at once to my state-

room, and lying down slept for a couple of hours. I then arose and walking out in the main cabin saw an elderly coloured gentleman dozing in one of the chairs. I passed him by, but on my return took a closer look and saw it was Frederick Douglas, who had been down in Maine at Mr Blaine’s invitation to stump the State for General Grant. 1 roused him up and asked him what he was doing there, and learned that he had no stateroom, nor could he get a birth on the grand New England boat. I at once offered him half my stateroom, which he was glad to accept, and it was a service he never forgot. And now he goes forth as a nation’s representative to a republic founded by his hia own people, which so far has scarcely demonstrated its capacity for self-govern-ment. Perhaps the arrival of this new prophet, who has demonstrated in his own proper person the highest possibilities of his race, may help this benighted and semi.barbarous public on its way to the light. Let us hope so at least, and bon voyage to our departing minister. But while Frederick Douglas was steaming down the bay on a national warship an extraordinary scene was being enacted in one of the Criminal Court 3 of New York. The court room was crammed to suffocation, men craned their heads, and many stood up on the benches despite the staves of the court officers, when the court crier rapped on the Judge's desk and e> claimed in a loud voice, ‘Oh, yes! oh, yes! James Flask, James Flack, come into court,’and there before the bar stood the High Sheriff of New York arraigned for felony ; the felony consisting of a conspiracy with certain judges and court officers to procure a fraudulent divorce from his wife for the purpose of marrying a creature by the name of Cherry with whom he had been living for eighteen years past uuder the name of Raymond. Sheriff Flack is a bookbinder, and keeps a large number of people employed, among whom are some very pretty girls. Eighteen years ago Mr Flack became infatuated with one of the book sewers, and went to live with her under the name of Raymond ; a son was born to them who is now eighteen of ago, and here i 3 the extraordinary part of this affair,—-that for eighteen years he could have carried on this liason, living at fashionable boardinghouses and hotels as Mr Raymond, and never got detected. It is not as if he were an unknown man ; he was one of the best known politicians in New York, a Grand Sachem away up in Tammany who had sufficient influence to claim the two highest and richest offices in its gift, the County Clerk and Sheriff, each worth nearly one hundred thousand dollars a year. Beside the sheriff in the criminal dock stood his only son—the son who had conspired against his own mother in favour of his father’s harlot, No wonder he bowed his head in shame. Nothing meaner or more dastardly crawls the earth to-day than he. His old mother confided in him ; she trusted him implicitly ; he was the darling of her old age, her only staff. His father had deserted her, but she still had a son to whom she could confide her sorrow, and he, Judas-like, prepared the papers that betrayed her. Such a crime is almost past belief, but that was the offence for which William Flack stood indicted on Tuesday last. Youm Kippur, the most sacred holiday in the Jewish Calendar, occurred this week, and secured a very general observance from all orthodox Jews. The last day of the sacred holidays that precede Youm Kippur is observed as a strict fast, not even a drink of water being allowed between sundown and sundown. Of late years, however, there has been quite a large body of Jews who still claim to hold to the faith of their fathers, who have not been especially strict in their observance of the orthodox ritual. To remedy this reprehensible laxity, a rabbi of great sanctity and learning was imported from Russia over a year ago, and hacked by some of our most influential Hebrews, he want for these profligate sinners without gloves, but the thunders of the Pentateuch and tho lightning of the Talmud made no more impression on their rhinoceros hides than ‘ The Saint’s Rest ’ or * Bunyan’s Pdgrims’ Progress.’ The rebels are known as Progressionists. They only attend the synagogue when they feel like it; they don’t observe fasts, but whenever there is a feast

about they are generally on deck. Pork chops are no strangers to their menu, and in many ways they have made themselves offensive to theic more orthodox 'brethren. This year on Youm Kippur they started in to have a dance and jollification while the orthodox party, only a few doors away, were mortifying the flesh with fasting, tears of repentance and prayer. This was too much for flesh and blood to stand, so they got a lot of clubs and they went for the Jewish Heathen ; they smashed the windows, broke tho fiddler’s fiddles and m ule it so lively fur tho heretics that the police had to be called out to protect the public peace. * Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity,’ &0., &c., &c. Good-bye. Broadbrim.