This distinguished Divine, so widely known at the
South, and who, not long ago, was before the public at
Pittsburg, Pa., upon the question of his loyalty, it is stated now has charge of a church in
Philadelphia.
Dr. Plumer's course on the occasion of his arraignment was quite strange in the opinion of his old friends at the
South.
He was
President of Alleghany College, an institution established by the Presbyterian Church, and was also pastor of one of the churches of the city, having a large and wealthy congregation.
Dr. P. did not please them on the subject of the war.--He was too non-committal, and would not pray for the success of the
Federal arms.
He would go no further than to pray for peace and restoration.
They put him on trial, and he made a defence which satisfied a majority of his flock, and the balance withdrew from his church.
Outsiders, however, caught up the matter, and the press became denunciatory.
The
Doctor at last yielded to the Abolition pressure so far as to publish a card, in which he declared that under the
Providence of God he had been born under the
Government of the
United States, and believing that Governments were ordained of Heaven, to that his allegiance was due and should be given, even to the extent of his physical powers if needed.
This was understood to quiet the excitement against him, but it is stated that he still persisted in his refusal to modify his prayers, and as we find him now pastor of a church in
Philadelphia we infer that the Abolitionists of
Pittsburg and
Alleghany made his situation there too hot for him and he was forced to leave it.
It is supposed that the embarrassed situation of the
Doctor — his desire to continue his relation, which he considered one of usefulness, to his Church and his country.--induced him to make some concession through generalities which are not exactly compatible with his well known States-rights opinions, and his able and bold defence in former days of Southern institutions.
If so, he has found his policy unsuccessful.
His reservations could not save him from Abolition persecution, while his concessions have surprised and wounded his Southern friends.
