tality of the human soul. These, like their proto-gion and to humanity. The false-hearted types on the pantomimic stage, have played their tricks too long at man's expense, to live in harmony with him in the new state of existence to which he is fast hastening. They have too long, like their symbol in the pantomimic, made sport of their victim, they have robbed, insulted, and abused him beyond the point of human endurance. They have decoyed him with their heavenly bait into a labyrinth of error, and have scourged him for obtaining the clue with which to extricate himself from their toils. They have dogged his every step with persevering malignancy, they have brought into play every frightful engine of terror their malice could devise to arrest his course, but despite their every effort man has held steadily on his way, and aided by the lamp of reason he is beginning to emerge from the gloomy shades of superstitions ignorance into the bright meridian day of enlightened scientific knowledge. He is fast outstripping the persecuting enemy of human progress, he will no longer be deluded by the priestly promises of prospective rewards, nor dread the threatening of priestly punishment, firm in the conviction that human means will work out human redemption he will attend to the dictates of human reason to enable him to accomplish so desirable an end. CHARLES DENT. PERSECUTION. (From the Cheltenham Free Press.) WE should have thought that when the "gentlemen" of the Chronicle had entrapped a poor man into selling an illegal pamphlet, and safely housed him for a month in Gloucester gaol for that offence, they would have rested satisfied. But we were mistaken in our anticipations. Such tigers are not so easily satiated. One of that respectable fraternity thus vented his spleen last Thursday against those gentlemen who stepped forward to rescue from starvation those persons who were accustomed to depend upon ADAMS for support : A correspondent, singing himself "J.B." wishes to be informed who the guardians were that proposed 98. a week to Adama's wife? We have no method of ascertaining the precise fact, but if our memory be correct, we believe the Free Press announced that it was the act of Mr. Hollis and J. Nash Belcher, Esq. We decline inserting our correspondent's letter, because no good can result from its publicity. The time of imprisonment was but for one month, we therefore question if these liberal guardians will attempt to continue the payment after Adams's release. If they do, "fair play" must be the result. We see no reason why these guardians of the public purse should award 9s. a week to persons who deny the existence of a god, while those who believe there is an almighty ruler, are doomed to subsist upon a paltry 2s. 6d., and in some instances upon 1s. a week. Well may our correspondent exclaim, "Oh! shame, ye guardians of the public purse!" Well may christianity blush for the deeds done in her name, when professors of her holy faith exhibit a spirit so opposed to reli His writer of that notice knew full well that it was not for Mrs. Adams's sustenance alone that the sum of 9s. was granted, but for the support of herself, her five children, and of another boy, who, being bereft of his parents, was taken by Adams under his protection. there was any squandering of the people's Does this "friend of the poor" think that money in the allowance of TWOPENCE per day for the support of each of these ? remarks about the allowance given to others have nothing to do with the question. If he can produce any case in which the guardians have not allowed sufficient, let the matter be properly investigated, but let each case be judged on its own merits. It should be remembered that what is called full out-door relief is 2s. 6d. a week for each person. The insinuations against the gentlemen who proposed and seconded the grant are too contemptible to be noticed. That scribe should recollect that it is only a few weeks since he had to eat his own words in respect to a similar insinuation made against one of them. There is one thing we rejoice to know. This is not the effusion of a fanatic, but of an hireling. The "tender mercies" of a bigot are cruelty itself, but what are they to be compared to those of a sycophant, who thinks that persecution will be pleasing to his patron ? "We have seen slavery and ignorance blasting under the guidance of priestly hands, millions upon millions of our race, and making melancholy the fairest portions of the earth. We have listened to sighs and the dropping of tears, to the voice of despair, and the agonies of torture and death; we wasted to skeletons with the years of their have entered dungeons, and found captives solitary endurance; we have listened to their faint whispers, and have found that they uttered the cruelties of priests. We have stumbled upon midnight tribunals, and seen men stretched upon racks, torn piecemeal with fiery pincers, or plunged into endless darkness by the lancing of their eyes. And upon asking whose actions were these we were answered 'THE PRIESTS.'"-Howitt, THE HEALTHIAN. A SMALL periodical of this title is monthly issued, and certainly few papers extant can boast of healthier tones of thought. It is impossible to rise from its perusal without prospect of the accession of physical, and certain acquisition of moral strength. Its pages are quite refreshing. Seen through the glasses of the Healthian, apples appear temptingly blooming as when they hung in Eden's fabled gardens; water, pure as the sea gem, and of a more delicious gout than the oft sung nectar of the gods. The work is devoted to the advocacy of simplicity in diet, not from selfish but philosophical considerations, until the conclusion is forced upon the reader, that if the food recommended be but half as nutritious as its theory seems reasonable, henceforth none other should be eaten. : interspersed, in which the most dogged ob jections urged against vegetable, as opposed to animal eating, arise from persons who cannot but think it strange that an infinitely wise creator should permit his creatures so universally to feed more or less ou flesh, if it were unnecessary to health." One clever genius contends that vegetable eating would make us "run counter to the very first command in scripture, and as it were fly in the face of god himself." As illuck would have it, the editor has a scripture and god of his own to support, and so can never meet these objections of the goddists; and it is only by evasion, or a species of intel lectual cajolery quite unworthy the cause and disgraceful to the general soundness of the reasoning employed, that the Pytha gorean supports his position. When the objector cries "we must not run counter to the first command in scripture and fly in god's face," instead of finding all references to scriptures and gods boldly set aside, and the question debated on its true grounds, health and utility, the reply is, "whoever dares to disobey god or his commands, must expect to experience the painful consequences, which are as sure as the commission of the disobedient act. This answer, if ho nestly made, confirms the objectious it was intended to refute. But the editor's god is good or love, or some other conception; and this dissembling being unremarked by the opponent, there follows a contemptible triumph of religious legerdemain. All this is utterly unworthy of the noble subject discussed, and it is gratifying to find such subterfuges nowhere employed except where religion is in the way. Disingenuousness be The cardinal idea dwelt upon, is the invaluable one of self-reform; which strongly recommends itself to the readers of the Oracle for they who aim at pouring cleans. ing streams through the augean stables of religion, would wisely, if not already done, eat a few refreshing sluices in the direction of home. He would be a bold man who should essay to correct the vices of the age, but any one may take the next bold step to it, viz., that of refusing in his conduct to imitate them. He may be an enthusiast who expects to reform mankind, but he fails in his first and most important duty who neglects to reform himself. Great men are often the slaves of little vices. As that charity which is worth anything must begin at home, so must that reform which is to be potent and permanent. It is unfortunately a well-founded reproach that political reform-longs only to the gods. ers appear better managers of the state than of their own households. I have little faith in that love of ALL mankind which enables its possessor to neglect that portion having the strongest and holiest claims upon him, Private corruption is no argument against public reformation, but an insuperable obstacle in the way of its perfection. Individual accelerates general amendment. And as of all policy, that is most sound which secures the greatest immediate benefit without endangering the chances of future good; so is self-reform, of all others, the most valuable, since it is immediately bene. ficial to the individual, and forms the only secure foundation of permanent, public improvement. Considerations of this useful kind are discussed in the pages of the Healthian, and supported on THE WHOLE with sound and healthy reasoning worthy of invigoration's self. Nor are the instances of failure uniustruetive, as the following will show. Here and there in the work dialogues are G. J. H. Dialogue between a Chartist Prisoner and the Chaplam Chaplain-What is your name? Prisoner-A.E. Prisoner-None! I know it to be an abominable and disgusting imposition upon the credulity of inan kind: Chaplain-Get away! get away! I'll not hear another word. said he had been and asked the governor's leave for Next day the chaplain called on the prisoner and the prisoner to stay away from chapel. Prisoner-Very well! I have heard plenty of your doctrines. Exit Chaplain. A Few Friends at the Hall of Science, Worcester. per Mr. Allen, for the assistance of Southwell, Holyoake, &c., 9s. Printed and Published by THOMAS PATERSON, No. 8, Holywell-street, Strand, London, to whom all Communications should be addressed.-Agent for Sheffield, George Julian, Harney, Bookseller, 11, Hartshead; Bristol, J. Chappell, News Agent, Narrow Wine-street; Macclesfield, Mr. Roche, Hall of Science; Barnsley, Mr. Thos. Lingard, New-street; Coventry, J. Morris, 35, Union-plane, Butts; Preston, Jas. Drummond, 112, Friar-gate. And Sold by all Liberal Booksellers. Saturday, October 8, 1842. ORACLE OF REASONS Or, Philosophy Vindicated. "FAITH'S EMPIRE IS THE WORLD; ITS MONARCH, GOD; ITS MINISTERS, THE PRIESTS; ITS SLAVES, THE PEOPLE." No. 43.] EDITED BY THOMAS PATERSON. Originally Edited by CHARLES SOUTHWELL, sentenced, on January 15, 1842, to Twelve Months' Imprisonment in Bristol Gaol, and to pay a fine of 100, [PRICE ID. Second Editor, G. J. HOLYOAKE, sentenced, on August 15, 1842, to Six Months' RELIGION. ALL religions have authorised innumerable crimes. The Jews, intoxicated with the promises of their god, arrogated the right of exterminating whole nations. Relying on the oracles of their god, the Romans, like true robbers, conquered and ravaged the world. The Arabians, encouraged by their divine prophet, carried fire and sword among the Christians and the Idolators. The Christians, under pretext of extending their holy religion, have often deluged both hemispheres with blood. people be trained scientifically, the whole pile of mummery falls to the ground. "I would, in conclusion (said Judge Tindal), further suggest that the effectual, and only effectual, method of counteracting the attempts of wicked and designing men to undermine the principles of the lower classes and to render them discontented with the established institutions of the country, is the diffusion of sound religious knowledge (in which there can be no excess!) amongst those classes who are the most exposed to their attempts, and the educating their children in the fear of god, so that all may be taught that obedience to the law of the land and to the government of the country is due, not as a matter of compulsion, but of principle and conscience." True religion, as the author of "Good Sense" observes, is indeed the curse of mankind. The struggles to suppress the rising spirit of progression in this religious country The heartless, impudent villains, their at the present moment, evidence the fact that its influence is always on the side of tyranny. saviour taught there should be no temporal distinctions. Why does not the god whom Who does not see in the arrests now taking they say sanctions the "institutions of the place the reliance of our tyrant oppressors on country," make the "lower" classes conthe debased intellect of the mass? That tented "in that station in which it has pleased they consider themselves accountable to a god himself to call them?" Why does he not alone for the villanous attacks now making close their eyes to the injustice, tyranny, and on the liberties of man? Would the most vice of his chosen few, the "higher" classes despicable of mankind be allowed to trample par excellence, in all that is disgusting and inin the dust the aspirations of liberty, if re-human-the miscreants after his own heart sponsible to the nation instead of the god-filled with his own holy spirit? Why does priests delight to paint ? Kings and priests he not prevent the pangs of hunger which are aware it is easier to deal with gods than men, they know full well that heaven is more indulgent to their crimes than a people who could see through their trickeries. Were the fanatical notions of a world beyond the clouds dispelled from the minds of men, they would in the justness of their anger appeal from the imaginary divine rights of idle vagabonds, to the natural rights of man. Were anation so enlightened, could they look with any other feelings save those of contempt upon the late farce of a "thanksgiving" to a god for sending monopolists, bishops, and other vampyres a "plentyfull harvest. When will men open their eyes? The address to the jury by Judge Tindal at the opening of the special commission at Stafford, clearly shows that the whole com. plicated machinery of government hangs upon the bigotry of the multitude, but should the themselves, their innocent children, and unhappy partners feel? No! their agonizing cries are more sweet to his ears than the mu sic of the spheres, than the fulsome adulations of the winged seraphims and trunkless cherubims, when they twang their jewsharps, and chant "holy, holy, holy lord, god of sabaoth!" What are the ministers of the poor man's church" doing, that they leave their especial charge so easy a prey to the machinations of wicked and designing men?" Read the Newgate calendar! Instead of feeding their master's flock, they rob and murder them! Instead of watch-dogs to guard them, they are wolves to worry them and not content with goading them to madness and to the commission of deeds of violence alien to their natural dispositions, they follow to "the death," and gloat over the consequences to their victims of their own diabolical conduct ! * Instead of practising | stifle them by the threatened severity of the New Administration, will be so wicked as to justify your resistance even to death, and to life for life!"-Carlile. virtue and honesty, they are committing adultery, whoring, and swindling! Theirs a god of love, of truth, of morality! The liars! He is a 66 concentration of abominations ". the embodyment of pollution, of cruelty, and of vice! Fit "ministers" of such a master! Down, then, with kings, priests, and lords! MORE STRIPES FOR GOD-MONGERY, 66 Truly has Tindal observed that they dread the "undermining of the principles of the lower classes," when that takes place their system of plunder is ended-their days of wanton rioting in the spoils of the widow and the orphan will cease. After such contemptible jargon, employed by such a person for the purpose of crushing the advocates of an oppressed people, it is obviously the duty of every one to instruct his neighbour in the laws of nature-teaching that physics and not metaphysics must henceforth be his study that on this earth alone man must seek his true happiness-and that so long as a body The bigot is impervious to reasoning or of men are set apart for governing, so long remonstrance. Draw a parallel, institute a will they make absurd laws, unsuited to man's comparison, deduce a conclusion, furnish an nature. Blind leaders of the blind-quag-illustration not drawn from or supported by mires that engulph the victims of their delusion-clogs to the progressors-abandoned and profligate squanderers of a nation's wealth, who say that a god made the world to be the sport of the basest of mankind. Ferocious as their god, they prey on the vitals of those they have duped, and are screened by the religion of Christ, who lays it down as a principle that we must renounce all defence of ourselves! The more we consider the detestable nature of religion, the more convinced are we that its sole object is the gratifying the depraved passions of wretches who are a disgrace to the human form, and consider the advice once given to the agricultural labour ers of this country very applicable to all at present. "Yours is a state of warfare, and your ground of quarrel the want of the necessaries of life in the midst of abundance. You see hoards of food, and you are starving. You see a government rioting in every sort of luxury and wasteful expenditure, and you, ever ready to labour, cannot find one of the comforts of life. Neither your silence nor your patience has obtained for you the least respectful attention from the government. The more tame you have grown, the more you have been oppressed and despised, the more you have been trampled on; and it is only now that you begin to display your physical as well as moral strength, that your cruel tyrants treat with you and offer terms of pacification. Your demands have been, so far, moderate and just, and any attempt to *The Rev. Benjamin Vale and Mrs. Mary Ann Vale, whose house had been destroyed during the late disturbances, occupied (says a London paper) a prominent position in front of the court at the Staf ford Special Commission, during the trial of the unfortunate creatures charged with the offence. 354 This his favorite god-book, and his dull eye emits tedged, half-denied, and continually disputed | heightened in the knowledge of the noble miserable victim and victimiser--Jesus, we bands who are ready to advance in the same will apply it to the old parent profligate, god path. himself, or rather the god notion. And no A high and noble office for us who are free god-notion lies more open to the shafts of ri- is to succour and protect those who are imdicule, the battery of denunciation, or the as- mured for truth's sake. While we have apsaults of reason than the beautifully inspired proved and admired they have energetically gnes of the Jew-books, old and new. A acted. The least we can do is to hold out a strong and striking instance of the pernicious helping hand. And truly fraternal aid have and degrading influence of the Jew-book is we received, and generously have numbers the miserable mental vassalage in which its come forward whose scanty earnings have votaries are held. By no other than a re- been iniquitously abridged by state and church ligious discipline could an intelligent being, spoliation, social and commercial rapine, and conversant with the elements of numbers, be their own public and private beneficence. Mr. persuaded that three can be one and one three. Carlile's kind and earnest appeal is worthy of In physics, to broach such a proposition the noble soul that so intrepidly withstood the would be to call forth ridicule and contempt, holy alliance, and triple-power, the foul-power, in theology it wakes praise and admiration. rogue-power, and robber-power. Yet kindly Tell a shop customer that one loaf and one and sympathetic as it was, I am glad to be cheese are three loaves and three cheeses, and able to say, and authoritatively too, that nuvisions of Bedlam will flit across his brain. merous contributions have been received and Tell a church customer that there is a god the much assistance has been rendered. The father, and a god the son, and a god the holy amount, though not adequate to the requireghost, and yet that these three are but one, ments, may be deemed considerable, if we and he will pay you for the information. So consider whence it has been principally great is the difference between physics and derived. The stigman should be fixed, with theology. The bible slavery is the prolific some admirable exceptions, on those whose parent of all other slavery. He who is slave purses are as plethoric as their donations have to his bible is readily fitted for the similar been scanty. The mammon-worshippers, degradation of intellectual and moral bondage like all other god worshippers, have had their o society. A pitiable spectacle truly is he "hearts hardened" by their idol. The auri who, under the influence of written or oral sacra fumes (how apt the synonime, sacred and mposition, creeds, or pretences suffers him- cursed), the accursed lust of gold of the Roelf to be severed in sympathy and brother- mans, is no less the baulk in our iron comwood from his fellowmen. Execrable are mercial days of all human sympathies and hey who convert the feeling of dislike into tenderness. Whenever goddism comes in at he act of persecution. A truly contemptible the door, humanity flies out at the window. bject is he, who surrounded by all the trap- Whether it be a bible-god or a counting-houseings and appliances of authority, mentally god, the results take a similar direction. rouches before the superior moral power and ourage of the very man who is dragged to is tribunal. This we have seen from the me of Eldon downward. But how shall we d words to express the base delinquency, e foul turpitude of those educated hypocrites ho fully aware of the hollow trickeries of e god proclaimers of all kinds, from the ews to the Mormonites, basely follow in the ke of popular delusion, and instead of emming the torrent of religious rancour ast in yelling on the bigots to the work of inrceration or blood? Continually do we d men on the bench, at the bar, and perming high political, commercial, or prosional functions sullying their honor and rally dehasing themselves by truckling to vile prejudices that prevail around them. e few public men that stand out as exples of the moral courage so eminently rning the objects of our special protection, miserably few. The great and noble k of setting the example and leading the y has been performed by the self-devoted ductors of this publication. They are the liberators and our satisfaction is intensely Blood and plunder for the Jew-god; famine and peculation for the mammon-god. It is a great omission in the Jew-Christian list of god-almighties, "angels and lucifers,' to leave out the chiefest of all the idolatries the mammon idolatry. Be it our task to supply the vacancy. All or none, we say. If they try to force their gods upon us we will help to a few more. We will be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. To the holy Jehovah, the holy Christ, the holy ghost, and the holy virgin, we will add the holy mammon, a much more respectable and respected god in reality in our days than any of the other lot. The lords of the earth and the fat things of the earth with the mammon. power will crush down the sons of labour, the rightful inheritors of the soil, till idolatry ceases. Down then with the god, and the cross, and the altar. Man shall not till then walk erect and stately in the might and grace and dignity and beauty of moral and intellectual and physical perfection. Our work is now being ably and bravely accomplished. Another yet remains to take the field. An ally is wanted. The Republican is yet to be |