h by
its advocates and opposers. Petitions and remonstrances are both being
circulated with activity, and shrewd observers, who have watched the
movement with a jealous eye, and heretofore hoped it would amount to
nothing, now confess that it "means business." No movement of equal
magnitude of purpose has ever sprung up and become strong, and secured
favor so rapidly as this. Indeed, none of equal magnitude has ever been
sprung upon the American mind, as this aims to remodel the whole
framework of our government, and give to it a strong religious cast--a
thing which the framers of our Constitution were careful to exclude from
it. They not only ask that the Bible, and God, and Christ, shall be
recognized in the Constitution, but that it shall indicate this as "a
Christian nation, and place all Christian laws, institutions, and
usages, in our government on an undeniable legal basis in the
fundamental law of the nation."

Of course, appropriate legislation will be required to carry such
amendments into effect, and somebody will have to decide what are
"Christian laws and institutions." From what we know of such movements
in the past in other countries, and of the temper of the churches of
this, and of human nature when it has power suddenly conferred upon it,
we look for no good from this movement. From a lengthy article in the
Lansing _State Republican_ in reference to the Cincinnati Convention, we
take the following extract:--

"Now there are hundreds and thousands of moral and professedly
Christian people in this nation to-day who do not recognize the
doctrine of the Trinity, do not recognize Jesus Christ the same as
God. And there are hundreds and thousands of men and women who do
not recognize the Bible as the revelation of God. The attempt to
make any such amendment to the Constitution would be regarded by a
large minority, perhaps a majority, of our nation as a palpable
violation of liberty of conscience. Thousands of men, if called
upon to vote for such an amendment, would hesitate to vote against
God, although they may not believe that the amendment was necessary
or that it is right; and such men would either vote affirmatively
or not at all. In every case, such an amendment would be likely to
receive an affirmative vote, which would by no means indicate the
true sentiment of the people. And the same rule would hold good in
relation to th