An interesting meeting.
--On last Sabbath evening, according to previous announcement, a mass Colportage meeting was held at the Second Baptist Church in this city.
Notwithstanding the inclement of the weather, the house was filled with a congregation composed of the various religious denominations.
After the opening exercises, and some interesting remarks from
Rev. A. E. Dickinson, explaining the object of the meeting, an impressive address was delivered by
Lieutenant Governor Montague.
He felt that the distribution of tracts and Bibles among the brave men who are now standing between us and the enemy, was a matter which concerned Christians and citizens.
The latter point he elaborated with great force and power.
Every citizen, whether a professing Christian or not, was interested in the moral improvement of our soldiers.--When the army is disbanded, they are the men who are to be our judges, lawyers, and to fill all places of influence.
They are the men who are to make our laws, and to constitute the bone and sinew of the land.
Hon. S. H. Ford, of
Kentucky, followed
Mr. Montague.
He had seen the blessed effects of army colportage in
Kentucky--had witnessed the beautiful sight of fifteen brave men at
Bowling Green publicly avow themselves on the
Lord's side.
He had himself acted as Colporteur and Missionary in that army and had often seen the tears of penitence as one after another was led to
Christ from the reading of tracts.
He believed this Colportage work to be the very thing for our armies.
The men will often read a tract when they would not hear a sermon, they will often profit by a kind word when they could not be induced to hear a formal discourse.
The speaker illustrated his positions with some touching incidents, which brought tears to many eyes.
Judge W. P. Chilton,
Congressman from
Alabama, believed that unless something is done to turn back the mighty tide of sin and vice in the army, our revolution will prove a sad failure.
There can be no national or individual greatness, except as it is based upon the truth of inspiration.
He looked upon this movement as being one of momentous importance, and believed that it should have the warm support of every man who desires that this effort at free Government may not prove a failure.
The lack of Christian principle had proved the ruin of our old Government; and he desired that, as next Tuesday, we shall begin a new Government, we shall all determine to begin anew to seek for the favor of the God of nations.
The
Judge closed with a powerful denunciation against the distilleries and grog-shops, and called upon the Virginia Legislature, many members of which were present, to wipe out this burning disgrace.
It is a ‘"military necessity"’ more so than the Railroads and other internal improvements now being made.
He said that the other States of the
Confederacy are sending the very flower of their forces to
Virginia, to drive back the invader, and we are sending them back utterly ruined by strychnine whiskey.
He had just been called upon by one of his constituents, who, having re-enlisted for the war, was entitled to return home for a month.
With seventy-five dollars in his pocket he left
Centreville, to see his wife and little ones.
But on reaching
Richmond he was decoyed into one of these ‘"dens of the devil,"’ spent all his money, had all his clothes stolen, and then pushed out into the street.
He came to the
Judge saying: ‘"My poor wife is now looking for me; every time the dog barks she goes to the door to welcome her poor husband; but my money is all gone, and I must go back to
Manassas, not to see my dear ones till the war is over."’ If this state of things is to continue, we had as well give up all hope of securing our independence.
He wanted some temperance tracts to be published, and one put into the hands of every man in the service.
Hon. J. L. M. Curry, an orator of the first order, followed, and though it was quite late, held the audience spell-bound for nearly an hour.
All seemed to be agreed that it was one of the most thrillingly eloquent addresses ever delivered in this city.
It ought to be published in full and scattered over the land.
We shall not attempt any further account of a speech, the delivery of which brought tears to eyes unused to weep.
A collection of
nine hundred dollars was taken up, though a good portion of the audience had, on a previous occasion, contributed to this object.
